The bright moon hangs high, beckoning him down from his pedestal.

Two weeks later, the hottest part of summer finally passed quietly.

Seeing that Shen Qingruo had been staying in Yilan Palace lately, Shen Wangxi was afraid that she would get bored, so one afternoon he took her to the peach grove deep in the Imperial Garden.

The peach blossoms in the peach grove had long since faded, leaving only a few new varieties carefully cultivated by the gardener, with a few late-blooming pink flowers hanging sparsely, swaying gently in the wind as a mere embellishment.

Deep within the peach grove stood a pavilion, where a chessboard sat on a stone table. Shen Wangxi and Shen Qingruo sat facing each other.

Before the game began, Shen Wangxi, wanting to add some fun, made a deal: if she won this game, he would grant her one wish.

If she loses, she will have to do something for him.

Shen Qingruo nodded, becoming serious as well.

The two began to play chess; he played black, and she played white.

Shen Wangxi's chess style was as sharp and domineering as ever, pressing forward relentlessly.

Shen Qingruo's chess skills improved considerably under his personal instruction. She focused intently and played cautiously, but ultimately she was still one move behind and lost the game.

Looking at the already decided defeat on the chessboard, she gently put down the white jade chess piece in her hand, looked up at him pitifully, hoping that he would not make excessive demands.

Shen Wangxi slowly began to tidy up the chess pieces: "Since you have lost, you must do me a favor."

"What does Your Majesty wish Aruo to do?" Shen Qingruo asked softly.

Shen Wangxi carefully put away the last chess piece, looked up at her, his gaze deep and his tone indifferent, but the words made her cheeks flush instantly:

"My wish is that Aruo will take the initiative just once."

Shen Qingruo froze, then her ears burned. She instinctively shook her head, her voice weak: "No...no..."

Shen Wangxi stood up, walked up to her, and his tall figure loomed over her, exuding a sense of oppression: "Why don't you agree? A bet is a bet."

"In that case, Aruo should be punished."

He stood very close, and Shen Qingruo was so embarrassed that she wanted to dodge, but he put his arm around her waist.

Wu Tian, ​​who was guarding outside the pavilion, was very clever. Upon seeing this, he immediately gave a wink to the eunuch behind him.

In a short while, several eunuchs came quickly with thin gauze curtains and swiftly surrounded the entire pavilion.

The gauze curtains were thin, allowing only a vague glimpse of the figures moving inside, with details remaining blurred.

Wu Tian waved his hand silently again, leading all the palace servants of Taiji Hall to retreat to a more distant place, guarding the several entrances to the peach grove to ensure that no unauthorized personnel would intrude.

Inside the pavilion, Shen Wangxi's large hand gently caressed Shen Qingruo's slender waist, his intentions clear.

Shen Qingruo twisted her body and protested in a coquettish voice, "No, there isn't even a place to lean on or sit here, only pillars and railings, it just won't do."

She made excuses, but wouldn't listen.

Shen Wangxi chuckled softly, not forcing him, but simply holding him tighter in her arms and leading him to the railing by the pavilion.

Outside the railing, there was a peach tree that was still blooming with a few blossoms, but it was currently hidden by a gauze curtain, so it was impossible to see through it.

He gazed at the hazy shadows of the flowering trees outside, lowered his head to inhale the delicate fragrance of her hair, and began to slowly tell a story:

"I have heard that a noble lady from the previous dynasty once saw peach blossoms blooming in summer in her own villa. She was so amazed by them that she was determined to find the craftsman who cultivated these out-of-season peach blossoms."

His lips brushed lightly across her delicate neck, then landed on her rounded shoulder, leaving soft, fleeting kisses on her smooth skin.

Shen Qingruo's body went weak from his kiss, but the beginning of his story piqued her curiosity, and she asked in a daze:

"Why would a rich young lady marry a gardener just because of a tree?"

She felt that this logic didn't make sense.

Shen Wangxi guided her small hands to the railing, then leaned close from behind, kissing her gently down her shoulder, his voice muffled and amused: "I'm curious too, I want to know what happens next."

"It is said that the gardener not only knew how to plant trees, but also how to pick flowers."

In order to hear the ending of the story, Shen Qingruo temporarily endured his roaming lips behind her back and urged, "Your Majesty, please tell us quickly, what happened next?"

Shen Wangxi chuckled softly, enjoying himself as he continued to recount the tale of love and lust, the truth of which was uncertain:

"Later, the gardener invited the young lady to the peach tree, saying that only a sincere person could see the peach blossoms at their most beautiful."

He taught the young lady how to touch the flower branches, how to feel the wind rustling the leaves, and how to listen to the sound of the flowers blooming.

Within the gauze curtains, figures were intimate, and the late-blooming peach tree, hidden behind the light gauze, trembled gently in the breeze.