“You… are Yang Hao?” Ming Empress sat down, her legs slightly crossed, her toes playfully wiggling.
Yang Hao, unable to resist the temptation, quickly averted his gaze. “Yes, that’s me.” He hesitated for a moment. “Has Emperor Danzhen encountered any problems after taking the medicine?”
Yang Hao speculated that Emperor Danzhen had brought the Ninefold Ice and Fire Heaven technique here. Since only Empress Ming had come to meet him, perhaps Danzhen had encountered some issue after taking the medicine?
“I don’t know,” Ming Empress replied unexpectedly. “He hasn’t come to me.”
“Huh?” Yang Hao was startled and instinctively looked up, only to meet Ming Empress’s dazzling beauty again. His heart trembled, and he lowered his head once more. Yet inside, his thoughts churned. Yang Hao couldn’t quite understand—how could a man not take advantage of having such a beautiful wife? Wasn’t Emperor Danzhen trying to cure his issues for the sake of Ming Empress?
As if reading his thoughts, Ming Empress sighed softly, “Youth fades quickly. I’m no longer young, not like those younger concubines.”
“How could that be!” Yang Hao protested indignantly. Summoning unexpected courage, he looked up and declared, “Young girls may be youthful, but they lack the queen’s grace. Compared to you, they’re nothing but plain and ordinary.”
A faint blush appeared on Ming Empress’s cold face. “Is that so?”
“Of course!” Yang Hao spoke sincerely. “I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you, Your Majesty. My girlfriends are attractive, but only in body and face. Your beauty radiates from within, as if every inch of your skin exudes charm.”
“You flatter well,” Ming Empress’s expression turned cold again. “But you fail to understand—this very grace of mine keeps men at a distance.”
“Even Emperor Danzhen…?” Yang Hao blurted out. He had intended to say that Danzhen was the most powerful man on Leimeng Star, and thus the only one capable of commanding the Empress.
“He hasn’t touched me in a long time… a very long time,” Ming Empress sighed, her voice mournful, like a melody drifting from the cracks of precious porcelain, stirring the soul.
Yang Hao finally felt the pain in his body again. Earlier, Ming Empress’s elegant and noble aura had momentarily distracted him from his condition. Now, the backlash of the true fire surged, making his face pale and drenched in cold sweat. He stopped thinking aimlessly, longing only to leave the palace as soon as possible so that Hunyuanzi could treat him.
Licking his dry lips, Yang Hao asked with difficulty, “May I ask what business the Empress has with me?”
Ming Empress seemed unaware of Yang Hao’s condition. She remained calm, as if living in her own world. After a long silence, she asked, “I heard you’re the owner of the Spring Pharmacy?”
“That’s right,” Yang Hao nodded vigorously.
“You used to go to Dupu District?” she suddenly asked, “specifically to feed medicine to people?”
A chill ran down Yang Hao’s back, as if he had been thrown into an ice cellar, his skin crawling with goosebumps. Indeed, Yang Hao had frequented Dupu District in the early days of his pharmacy, when business was slow. Zhuge Jian had advised him to go there at night to administer love potions.
He recalled how, in the beginning, he had even been raped by a young widow after giving her an aphrodisiac. These were dark, shameful memories. Although Yang Hao had become famous now, he still feared anyone bringing up his past—there was even a risk of imprisonment if anyone pursued the matter.
“How do you know this?” Yang Hao found himself unable to lie to this woman.
“Dupu District is my hometown. I was born there and occasionally return to visit friends,” Ming Empress said knowingly. “If we were to delve into details, you could face serious consequences—enough to land you in jail for life.”
“That bad?” Yang Hao widened his eyes. This woman was clearly trying to corner him.
“How serious it is depends entirely on how I choose to handle it,” a sly glint flickered in Ming Empress’s eyes. “You’re a clever man—you should understand.”
“They call me a sly fox, but this woman seems even more formidable,” Hunyuanzi muttered uneasily. “She’s clearly threatening you.”
That was stating the obvious. Yang Hao could see it clearly—Ming Empress was practically spelling it out. But under the current circumstances, with Yang Hao weakened by the backlash of true fire and holding a dangerous secret, he had little choice but to comply.
“What do you want?” Yang Hao asked with a bitter face. “Whatever I can do, I won’t refuse.”
“You can certainly do this,” Ming Empress showed no surprise at his submission. “I want the best aphrodisiac from your shop—the top quality, something that can drive a person to ecstasy in an instant.”
Such a beautiful woman speaking the words “drive to ecstasy” while Yang Hao stared blankly at her seductive feet—this was truly a man’s torment.
Had this been in the Lingfei Star Sea, Yang Hao might have given in to desire and taken the woman before him. But this was the imperial palace, and the woman across from him was the supreme queen of this planet—the dream of every man, yet only the emperor could possess her.
Thus, the true fire within Yang Hao burned even hotter, causing unbearable pain. The immense pressure on his meridians was growing unbearable—if not treated soon, Yang Hao feared his meridians would soon rupture completely.
Driven nearly mad by desire and the fire within, Yang Hao gave in without hesitation. He reached into his medicine pouch and pulled out two Ninefold Ice and Fire Pills, handing them to Ming Empress. “This yang pill is for men, and the yin pill for women. Taken together, they will ignite passion within a minute. When the two unite, the effect intensifies, ensuring mutual ecstasy.”
In fact, Yang Hao had other ordinary pills like the Dragon and Tiger Great Rejuvenation Pill in his pocket. But it wasn’t hard to guess—Ming Empress was likely trying to please Emperor Danzhen, who was undergoing treatment. No other pills could be taken during the regimen except the Ninefold Ice and Fire, so Yang Hao had no choice but to offer this precious medicine.
“Is this the best you have?” As Ming Empress took the pills, her fingers—delicate as jade chives—brushed against Yang Hao’s palm, sending another surge of heat from his lower abdomen.
Whether this sudden arousal came from Ming Empress or the backlash of the true fire, Yang Hao couldn’t tell. Yet deep within, a voice kept reminding him—this woman before him was untouchable, even the emperor himself had been deterred by her lofty presence.
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