The Regent Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 4

Dai Junwu immediately understood. He quickly stood up and bowed to Shen Lingyan: “Your Majesty and His Royal Highness the Regent, please wait a moment. Your subject will arrange dinner now.”

With that, he hurriedly ran out into the pouring rain. Now, in the front hall, only Shen Lingyan and Zhou Jin remained.

“Why did you insist on having dinner at the General’s residence?” Shen Lingyan sat down and continued to drink the residual tea; her eyes fixed on Zhou Jin.

Just then, the sound of the rain in the courtyard grew louder. Zhou Jin looked out the window, then back at Shen Lingyan, and her voice finally became a little more composed: “Now, the rain outside is also getting heavier. Your Majesty has a carriage, but A-Jin doesn’t. Could it be… that Elder Sister would have the heart to see A-Jin soaked by the night rain?”

Upon hearing this, and seeing Zhou Jin’s captivating figure covered by the red gauze, Shen Lingyan’s face flushed slightly. She found it difficult to refute Zhou Jin’s words.

Zhou Jin, however, could never be serious for more than three seconds. After just a few sentences, she had brought up the matter of whether Lingyan had the heart to refuse her again. Shen Lingyan was unwilling to engage and simply kept drinking her tea. But Zhou Jin curled her lips, gracefully stood up, walked over to Shen Lingyan, reached out, took the teacup away, and placed it on the small side table. To Shen Lingyan’s bewildered gaze, Zhou Jin pulled her into her embrace, her eyes seductive: “Elder Sister… I heard there is top-quality wine in this General’s residence. Let’s not drink tea now. How about we drink wine later?”

Her voice was utterly charming. Shen Lingyan, listening in her embrace, was momentarily stunned and forgot to struggle. It wasn’t until Zhou Jin’s finger lightly traced her cheek that Shen Lingyan finally reacted.

She forcefully pushed Zhou Jin away, tightly gathered her phoenix robe around her, and stared at Zhou Jin like a pervert. At the same time, she wondered how, since they were both women, Zhou Jin could make Shen Lingyan feel such a peculiar sensation.

Zhou Jin, being pushed away, was not angry. Her eyes held a smile, twinkling with a certain resolve.

The two were facing each other in awkward silence when Dai Sulan pushed the door open and announced that dinner was ready. Shen Lingyan showed no pretense of being an Empress, hooking her arm with Dai Sulan’s and walking out, completely forgetting about the wine.

It was only when Shen Lingyan sat down at the table that she noticed a full cup of wine placed in front of her, while Zhou Jin’s wine cup was actually smaller than hers.

“Your Majesty arrived in haste, and your subject’s preparations were also hurried. I beg for your understanding!” Dai Junwu was the first to stand up, bowing to Shen Lingyan and drinking his wine as an apology. After finishing the cup, he began to watch Shen Lingyan. Yunzhu, seeing Shen Lingyan not moving for a long time, gently poked her: “Your Majesty, you should drink your wine…”

Only then did Shen Lingyan realize that she also had to drink. She was about to use her low tolerance for alcohol as an excuse, but Dai Junwu frankly and casually said: “In the past, Your Majesty’s alcohol tolerance was number one in the palace. Even the late Emperor once praised Your Majesty’s good capacity for wine. Today, this humble, rough man finally gets to witness Your Majesty’s tolerance!”

Shen Lingyan, who had prepared a stomach full of excuses, was speechless. Looking at the full wine cup, she felt more troubled than taking medicine. Shakingly, she picked up the wine cup, closed her eyes, and swallowed it down in one gulp. A burning sensation spread through her throat, and her face was wrinkled up like a bun, looking quite adorable.

Zhou Jin quickly picked up a piece of food for her, her eyes curved into a smile: “Your Majesty, why does drinking wine now seem so unaccustomed to you?”

This remark truly sounded an alarm for Shen Lingyan. It was one thing for her to suddenly change her former appearance and become motivated, but how could she fail to manage even these details? If exploited by some petty person, she might even be burned as a demoness.

She had no choice but to pour herself another cup. She didn’t even have time to eat, and she seemingly casually drank three full cups. But Zhou Jin was right in her guess—Shen Lingyan was swaying drunkenly, her speech slurred, and she was close to blurting out that she was a transmigrator. Fortunately, the last shred of sanity stopped her.

After three rounds of drinks, Shen Lingyan was sprawled on the table. Without a word, Zhou Jin picked up Shen Lingyan and was about to walk out. Dai Junwu was stunned, and after a moment, he met Zhou Jin’s cold gaze.

“Quickly prepare a guest room…”

Zhou Jin was also slightly drunk, so her tone was demanding and harsh. However, this did not surprise Dai Junwu. Instead, he genuinely directed someone to take Shen Lingyan to the most luxurious room to sleep.

Initially, they were going to find another room for Zhou Jin to rest, but she simply lay down next to Shen Lingyan, waving her hand contentedly: “You can leave now. I will look after Her Majesty…”

No matter how much Dai Junwu disliked the Regent for stripping Shen Lingyan of her power, in this situation, he could indeed only let Zhou Jin take care of her.

“Then I must trouble Your Highness.”

With that, Dai Junwu closed the door and left. Shen Lingyan was lying beside Zhou Jin.

All traces of Zhou Jin’s intoxication vanished. She propped herself up on her arm and watched the sleeping Shen Lingyan, her finger lightly tracing the tip of her nose: “My Empress, why has your personality changed so much? Did everything change because I came back this time?”

Of course, no one answered Zhou Jin. She also lay down contentedly, the tension in her nerves finally relaxing. She let Shen Lingyan rest her head on her arm, and thus fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, before dawn, the two of them sponged a breakfast at the General’s residence before setting off for the morning court.

Zhou Jin brazenly climbed into Shen Lingyan’s carriage, looking at Shen Lingyan, who was still unsure whether to board the carriage, with utter naturalness, as if it were her own home: “Your Majesty, sit down. Don’t be shy…”

Zhou Jin was still in her red attire, vibrant and beautiful.

Shen Lingyan rolled her eyes and sat down to the side, sitting upright and adjusting her phoenix robe.

Zhou Jin placed her hand on Shen Lingyan’s shoulder, smiling brightly: “Is Your Majesty unhappy?”

Shen Lingyan sneered. Soon, it would be Zhou Jin’s turn to be unhappy.

Today was Shen Lingyan’s first time attending court. For the past few days, she had been throwing tantrums in the palace, and the affairs of the court had been controlled by Zhou Jin. This was too disadvantageous for her to regain power, so today, she was going to resume her duties as Empress and attend court!

That look of pride, when it fell into Zhou Jin’s eyes, only made her look more adorable. She smiled freely, openly staring at Shen Lingyan all the way. Shen Lingyan, in turn, felt shy under the gaze.

What should have been a very short journey felt incredibly long under Zhou Jin’s torment. Finally, the carriage slowly stopped. Shen Lingyan quickly rushed out of the carriage, but almost tripped over the luxurious hem of her skirt. Seeing her face about to hit the ground, Shen Lingyan didn’t reach for anything to steady herself but first protected her face.

In that flash of lightning-quick time, Shen Lingyan heard a soft chuckle in her ear. Her waist was encircled, and with a swift maneuver, Zhou Jin brought her down from the carriage, landing steadily.

Zhou Jin had not yet let go of Shen Lingyan. She leaned close to her ear and asked: “Your Majesty… cares quite a bit about your looks?”

Shen Lingyan snorted coldly. She now viewed Zhou Jin as an enemy, so how could she give her a pleasant look? After catching her breath a few times, she lifted her skirt and walked towards the Imperial Court in the palace.

“Are you going to attend court?” Zhou Jin’s tone finally changed.