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

[The parts highlighted in red in this chapter violate public order and good morals. How should I revise them? As mentioned before, the female lead wasn't officially registered in the imperial genealogy. Her princess status was obtained through a political marriage, in exchange for the service of a meritorious official. There are many historical examples of princesses sent for political marriages, such as Wang Zhaojun. I've already blocked the keywords; even explicit content was previously prohibited. How else should I revise it?]

Shen Qingruo left the noisy Taiji Hall and didn't go far. She walked alone to the white marble railing outside the hall, crossed her arms, and looked at the lanterns under the eaves. Her small figure looked particularly lonely.

Feeling upset, Shen Wangxi made an excuse to get some fresh air and went outside, where she saw this scene.

The night breeze carried a chill, blowing against her thin dance dress.

He paused for a moment, then walked over anyway. "Why are you here alone?"

Shen Qingruo seemed startled and turned around abruptly. When she saw that it was Shen Wangxi, she quickly curtsied and said, "Your Majesty."

"Get up," he said calmly, his gaze falling on her arms which she had crossed. "Aren't you cold dressed like that?"

Shen Qingruo stood up, still keeping her head down, and whispered, "I'm not cold."

Before she could finish speaking, a night breeze blew by, and she involuntarily shivered again.

Shen Wangxi frowned. She was always like this, pretending to be fine even though she was clearly very vulnerable.

"You didn't dance very well inside the hall just now? Why are you unhappy now that you're out?" he asked, his tone still indifferent.

Shen Qingruo raised her head, her watery eyes looking at him, filled with confusion: "I'm not unhappy, it's just..."

"But Your Majesty, is it because I am no longer your queen that everything I do is wrong?"

Shen Wangxi's heart skipped a beat.

"I practiced dancing so hard because I wanted to please the Empress, but it seems that neither the Princess nor the Empress is happy."

Her eyes slowly reddened, tears welling up, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

"Because no matter how careful I am, I'm still just an outsider?"

Her words gently pierced Shen Wangxi's heart. He suddenly realized that, stripped of that blood relation, she was so uneasy and walked on thin ice.

She tries hard to fit in and to please others, but what she gets in return is likely to be more rejection.

"Nonsense." Shen Wangxi's voice softened slightly. "Nobody said you're an outsider."

Looking at her pale face, he couldn't help but reach out and hold her small hand.

The cold touch made him frown even more.

"Your hands are so cold, and you still say you're not cold? Don't you know how to take care of yourself? How are you being served by your servants?" His tone was reproachful, and he tightened his grip on her hand, trying to warm it up.

Shen Qingruo instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but he held it even tighter.

She looked up at him through her tearful eyes, a faint blush slowly rising on her face, as if she were shy or at a loss.

"I'll take you inside to get some clothes," Shen Wangxi said without room for argument, taking her hand and turning to walk towards the inner hall of the Taiji Palace, which was not far away.

He didn't think much at the moment, he just felt that he couldn't let her stay in the night wind wearing that thin dance dress any longer.

-

Inside the Taiji Hall, the lights were dim, isolating it from the hustle and bustle outside.

Shen Wangxi walked to a rosewood cabinet, opened it, and took out a cloak.

He turned and walked towards Shen Qingruo, speaking gently, "It's chilly at night, put this on and I'll have someone take you home."

As Shen Wangxi spoke, he draped the cloak over her shoulders.

However, his gaze inadvertently fell on her neck, elegant and delicate.

Shen Wangxi paused in tying the cloak, his breathing became heavy, and he looked at her fair neck, unable to ignore the thoughts in his heart. He wanted to untie the cumbersome cloak and see more.

But he has always had great self-control, so he should have remained expressionless.

But at this moment, self-control seems to have no effect; whatever the mind thinks, the body does.

Shen Wangxi loosened her grip on the strap and instead pulled off the cloak that had just been draped over her shoulders.

Her cloak slipped to the ground, and Shen Wangxi stared at her with a frighteningly deep gaze. As if possessed, he reached out and stroked her skin, which was incredibly smooth.

Shen Qingruo gasped in surprise, instinctively taking a half-step back, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness. "Your Majesty?"

Shen Wangxi knew clearly what she was doing at that moment, and she knew how absurd and wrong it was.

Even if she wasn't his mistress now, she should never be someone he laid a hand on; reason was screaming at him to stop.

But his body was out of his control.

Everything that followed happened so naturally and so swiftly that it left no time to react.

Shen Wangxi stepped forward, and Shen Qingruo felt a tightness around her waist. In a dizzying moment, she was lifted up by him.

"No..." She struggled in vain, her voice weak and feeble, trembling with tears.

Shen Wangxi ignored her, picked her up, and strode towards the dragon bed deep inside the inner hall, which symbolized supreme power.

He leaned down, his gaze fixed intently on her, and casually tugged at the sash of her dance dress.

Shen Qingruo's eyes widened as she revealed more of her fair and delicate skin to him.

You saw it, so what?

Human desires are endless; they won't stop after just one glance.

Shen Wangxi's eyes darkened as he looked at her panicked face. His tall figure loomed over her, drawing even closer.

Shen Qingruo shrank back in fright, raising her slender arms to push against his chest, "No, Shen Wangxi, let me go."

Her resistance did not stop him in the slightest.

The dance skirt was easily peeled off and slid off the bed, followed by the snow-white undergarment that covered the last glimpse of her beauty.

Shen Wangxi's gaze was burning hot. Her snow-white skin, slender waist, beautiful face, and long legs were all stunning and captivating.

Shen Qingruo was filled with shame and indignation, and tears welled up instantly, sliding down her cheeks.

Her voice trembled, filled with desperate sobs: "Shen Wangxi, are you crazy? You can't, you can't do this to me."

Looking at her tear-streaked face and listening to her soft, alluring voice, Shen Wangxi was clear-headed, but his body was out of control, and he only wanted to destroy her.

You've seen it, so what? The man bent down and lowered his head...

The curtains had been torn down at some point, concealing the spring scenery on the bed.

Inside the tent, the girl's weak sobs and attempts to push him away came intermittently. Her snow-white arm, which she raised to try to block the man, was quickly gripped by a stronger hand and pressed back onto the bed.

You can't stop him.

Everything is out of control.

In the inner hall of the Taiji Hall, at the pinnacle of power, the aloof and noble Desert Crescent Moon was brought down from its pedestal and fell into the arms of the girl he had once regarded as nothing.