Marchioness Brothel - Chapter 145

Early the next morning, Jiang Xiaolou opened his eyes, and his breathing instantly stagnated.

The man beside her slowly opened his eyes, everything seemed to be full of speed. His eyes, like a deep pool, blinked very slowly. At such a close distance, there was almost no flaw on this face, impeccable perfection. With the power of observation that can see through everything, his eyes quietly stared at Jiang Xiaolou’s eyes. Jiang Xiaolou seemed to be pulled by something, and he didn’t move.

This kind of look, this kind of man, anyone who looks at it will involuntarily move his heart.

“Originally you slept on a beauty couch, but why did you sleep here when I woke up?” her eyes asked.

Dugu Liancheng gently bent his lips, his eyes were dyed with a deep smile.

Jiang Xiaolou clearly saw his smile. In an instant, she felt that her throat was a little dry. It turned out that this man was so amazing, and when he smiled, people’s hearts would be inexplicably nervous and trembling.

Without touching her own heartbeat, she could hear the sound of disorder.

Dugu Liancheng stared at Jiang Xiaolou with ink-like eyes, and the curved corners of his mouth were just right: “If I’m not here, how will they explain when they come in later?”

As soon as the voice fell, there was a knock on the door.

“Two masters, it’s time to get up.”

This was Xiaodie’s voice. Jiang Xiaolou sat up all of a sudden, while Dugu Liancheng paused, then slowly said, “That box… contains Yuanpa.”

Jiang Xiaolou stared at Dugu Liancheng with wide eyes at this moment, but he just smiled at her and closed his eyes again.

He was afraid that if he continued to look at her like this, he would expose his deep love unconsciously. He didn’t want anyone to see the feelings that were suppressed in his heart. Since this powerful net had enveloped her tightly, how could she escape.

Jiang Xiaolou got up and put down the curtain before he ordered: “Come in.”

Fluttershy and several maids filed in, holding the clothes Jiang Xiaolou was going to wear today and the hairpins he was going to wear. Xiaodie looked into the curtain, but Jiang Xiaolou patted her on the head. Xiaodie quickly covered her forehead and whispered: “Oh, miss you!”

Jiang Xiaolou’s face was slightly dark: “Who taught you to be so unruly?”

Xiaodie spit out her tongue, and even if she chuckled lightly, her tone of joy was unprecedented: “Miss, the slave and maid are waiting for you to freshen up.”

Jiang Xiaolou nodded, washing, changing clothes, and grooming according to the normal procedures. Seeing that the maids were all standing and waiting for their orders, thinking that they were worrying about themselves, he said: “You go and wait for Prince Jin to get up. .”

The maids glanced at each other, and their face was a little red, and one of them said carefully: “Return to the princess, the prince usually prepares everything by himself, without the slaves’ intervention.”

Jiang Xiaolou glanced at the motionless curtain, and chuckled slightly. I don’t know why, she just finds it very interesting. She thought that Dugu Liancheng was a young master who didn’t touch the sun with all his fingers, but she never thought that he would not allow those maids to serve. Jiang Xiaolou felt confused and couldn’t figure out which one was the real him.

Jiang Xiaolou slowly lowered his eyes, and had to admit that she would feel excited when she saw Dugu Liancheng. Probably every young girl would have some illusions in her teenage years, and there would be handsome teenagers in her dreams, no matter how overbearing. , Cold, infatuated, and warm, they will stay together with the beloved woman like in a play. But she knew very well that for most people, it was just a girl’s dream, an inexplicable fascination. When you are young, you will easily meet someone, whose love begins, life and death depend on each other, but what is the final outcome? She has been happy and hoped for countless times, just because of Qin Si… but now , She couldn’t even remember what that person looked like. Maybe she was a lover at first, or maybe after suffering a lot of injuries, her heart was like a rock, and she would never waver easily.

No one in the world can be like Dugu Liancheng. Everything he did for him made her feel an uncontrollable affection. She has never met such a person. He can’t escape or avoid him. He Exhausted all means to keep himself safe and proper by his side.

If she doesn’t understand, does she really understand? There is still a betrayal of trust and fear in my heart.

Jiang Xiaolou knew very well that it was because of the latter. She can no longer trust a person wholeheartedly, and can’t believe that the other person is giving everything just to seek illusory feelings.

While he was thinking, Jiang Xiaolou had finished dressing up, Xiaodie reminded him softly: “Miss, you have to go to the palace today to visit His Majesty the Emperor and Empress Empress.”

Jiang Xiaolou nodded, and said: “I know, go down and prepare.”

After breakfast, Dugu Liancheng and Jiang Xiaolou entered the palace. The carriage stopped in front of the palace gate. Just as Jiang Xiaolou was about to get off the carriage, Dugu Liancheng was already waiting next to her and stretched out her hand. Jiang Xiaolou paused for a while, and then put his hand into his palm naturally.

All the way into the Xuanning Hall, the emperor got up early, had breakfast with freshly brewed tea, and waited here to see his newlywed nephew. At this moment, he was wearing a bright yellow kudzu gown with a stone cyan gauze gown, a silky gold belt tied around his waist, sitting on the throne, and a particularly pleased smile on his face: “In a blink of an eye, the city is so big. Now, the emperor’s brother Quanxia will be very pleased to know that to have a son like you is a blessing bestowed on him by God.”

Dugu Liancheng just thanked him faintly, with no emotions in his expression other than respectfulness.

Jiang Xiaolou glanced at the emperor. During this period of time, his body was slightly cold and he had been suffering from phlegm and panting. The whole person was much thinner than before, and the sleeves appeared empty, but the majesty and bearing of the emperor was beyond doubt.

“I–” The emperor coughed a few times, and the maid quickly held the golden spittoon. He spit out the sputum from his throat with two clicks, and then smiled, “After we got married, I was an adult. Those things I said before Er…you should also take up the burden and must not shirk anymore.”

Dugu Liancheng’s expression was exceptionally calm: “Yes.”

The emperor nodded in satisfaction, and gave them countless pearls and jade wares for their enjoyment: “Mingyue, from now on you must take good care of Prince Jin. You must not be self-willed, understand?”

Jiang Xiaolou just bowed his head and responded.

The emperor said a few more words, he couldn’t help feeling thirsty, and he took his tea bowl and drank it. In an instant, the strong theophylline stimulated his taste buds, a cough erupted in his throat, and the maid hurried forward and stroked his back.

“Please take care of your dragon body.” Dugu Liancheng Road.

“Oh, I’m getting old and old. In the past two years, my body has not been as good as before. The wind and cold have always been good and bad. I really can’t do it.” The emperor said, but his eyes were staring at Dugu Liancheng, seeming to be watching his reaction.

“Your Majesty just occasionally feels the cold, and he will be cured in a few days, so don’t worry.”

Dugu Liancheng’s words were very sincere. The emperor nodded and said: “Liancheng, I happen to have government affairs to discuss with you, and you should stay here first. Mingyue… Go and see the queen first. However, she has a bad body for the past two days and is making trouble. Temper, be careful when speaking.”

Jiang Xiaolou bowed gently, then stepped back. Dugu Liancheng glanced at her, his eyes seemed to tell her not to worry.

The female officer Huang led the way, and Jiang Xiaolou entered the inner hall of the Queen’s Palace all the way. There was silence in the inner hall, and all the maids stood with their heads bowed and held their breath, each of them seemed to be turned into stone statues, looking extremely cold and silent.

The Queen Empress was really crooked on the bed, with two round black plasters on her temples, and a red mark was stiffly pinched between her eyebrows, which was obviously a headache.

Jiang Xiaolou saluted her, but she ignored it.

Dugu Liancheng got married against her own will. The evil fire in the queen’s heart could not be swallowed. The more she thought about it these past two days, her headache became dim, and she started to have a high fever. People couldn’t get up for a few days, so the doctor asked Tuo to stay in bed. Rest.

Seeing that the culprit was right in front of her, the queen naturally became more and more annoyed in her heart, so she let Jiang Xiaolou kneel, and she didn’t even mean to get up. But after watching for a long time, Jiang Xiaolou’s face did not show the empress’s expectation of resentment or shame.

This girl is really cheeky, and she is also a person of a certain level.

The queen only felt extremely frustrated. Seeing that the situation was not so good, the female officer Huang quickly offered a cup of fragrant tea and stepped aside. The queen sipped a sip of tea, and finally felt the flame in her heart pressed down, and said coldly: “After all, you girl still does what you want. When you first entered the palace, I thought you were both obedient and sensible, but unexpectedly Now…you stabbed me in the heart.”

Jiang Xiaolou lowered his head and looked respectful: “Niang Niang, Xiaolou is a person who goes with the crowd, and everything must be arranged by God. Although Niang Niang loves Prince Jin, she should also respect his opinions. If she is blindly disgusted and disgusted… it will affect you. Between the feelings.”

The queen sneered: “When is it your turn to teach me? Without me, can you have today?”

“I will never forget Niang Niang’s kindness to Xiaolou, and I am more grateful for Niang Niang’s love and tolerance.”

“Humph, it’s because I was worried about Liancheng, that’s why I agreed to this marriage. It doesn’t mean that I accepted you. Understand?”

Jiang Xiaolou’s brows were calm, but his face was humbly admitting his mistakes.

The queen was angry when she saw her appearance. Although she no longer wants Jiang Xiaolou’s life, she has lost all her goodwill. If she can… she hopes that this woman will never appear in front of her again. . But how can this be done, this girl doesn’t get in at all and is stubborn. Now that it was too late to escape after changing other people, she was bold enough to even dared to run to her.

Next, no matter how ridiculed the queen was, Jiang Xiaolou remained indifferent, angered the queen half to death, but helpless, after all, he ordered the female officer to lead her out.

When the two walked to the door, they happened to see a lady in beautiful dress, surrounded by court ladies.

The beautiful woman with all the hearts holding the moon smiled, and she turned her head and ordered the ladies to retreat, and then said with infinite emotion, “Prince Jin, are you here to see the queen today?”

Seeing An Xiaoshao’s narrow smile on his face, Jiang Xiaolou seemed to have not heard what he meant, and a very strange smile appeared on his face: “This morning… did you come here to see my joke?”

An Xiaoshao’s face turned redder, “Who said I came to see you? Naturally, they have something else today.”

Jiang Xiaolou smiled, his eyes sparkling, and his thoughts turned: “I heard that the ten princes also came into the palace today. Could it be that you just wanted to meet him–”

“…” An Xiaoshao quietly pinched Jiang Xiaolou under his sleeve. The force was so powerful that Jiang Xiaolou laughed happily.

An Xiaoshao glared at her, blinked her eyes and said, “I think you are in a good mood when you marry Prince Jin—”

Perhaps because of the brilliance of the sun, Jiang Xiaolou’s slightly raised eye corners suddenly dyed a faint red: “Aren’t you going to see the empress, go in.”

An Xiaoshao couldn’t help but smile deeper, but the female officer Huang had already taken a step and said apologetically: “Miss An, the maid just fell asleep, and the slave and maid did not dare to disturb, I was afraid to ask you to wait.”

When An Xiaoshao heard the words, she said, “Then I will see Niang Niang again tomorrow.” After that, she took Jiang Xiaolou and walked out, “Come on, I just got a 150-year-old calligraphy book recently. I will take a good look.”

Jiang Xiaolou was dragged by her all the way to the outside of the palace, An Xiaoshao looked elated, and described her painting as if there was nothing in the sky, and she wanted to show it to her immediately. The two of them were walking slowly on the corridor, and suddenly heard a stern scolding in their ears.

The voices of the people in the aisle in the distance were extremely noisy, and women’s whimpers continued to come.

Two eunuchs hugged a young woman, and although the woman had a beautiful appearance, she had scattered temples, shattered clothes, and extremely embarrassed appearance.

“Hmph, I’m still thinking about redressing my grievances. I really can’t help myself. Your Majesty has no time to see you right now!” A leading **** coldly scolded.

The woman’s tears kept streaming down, but her mouth was blocked by the cloth and she couldn’t speak.

Such a scene filled the entire tunnel with a solemn atmosphere. When they were carrying the woman and walking over, the woman seemed to see them, and in a fierce struggle, she rolled down from the hands of the two eunuchs, and half crawled and half threw herself under An Xiaoshao’s feet. She raised her eyes with a whimper, all of them pleading.

An Xiaoshao frowned tightly: “What are you doing?”

The leading **** was taken aback, saw the two noble men in front of him clearly, and came up with a smile: “It turns out to be Miss Ann and Princess Jin.”

An Xiaoshao’s status in the palace is extraordinary. She is the queen’s niece. The queen does not have a daughter. She loves her in every way. His identity is no different from that of the princess. Even Hua Yang, who is particularly beloved by His Majesty, has to retreat when she sees her. Minute. In addition, next to this is the scorching prince and concubine of alcohol… the eunuchs are even more respectful, and dare not even make a sound.

“Miss…this matter is not yours, please go out of the palace.” The **** smiled.

“It’s not in my control? You bumped into me, and what did you say is not in my control? When is the palace so unruly? What kind of business is this in broad daylight? Do you want to openly buy and sell the harem concubine? “An Xiaoshao couldn’t help but exasperated. She didn’t like to be nosy, but the eunuch’s natural attitude angered her. There are rules in the palace. This woman is clearly dressed as a concubine in the harem. Several eunuchs even dared to accuse her. Isn’t this incredible?

The eunuch’s expression changed slightly, and Zuo Siyou thought about it and lowered his voice with a smile: “Miss Ann is not an outsider, and the servant told the truth. This woman is a happy concubine in the Palace of Advancement for half a year and has not been favored by your Majesty. Suddenly became pregnant half a month ago. This is a scandal in the palace. Let’s send people for interrogation on the order of the empress. We must find out who the adulterer is. So, you can’t control this matter.”

After speaking, he waved his hand and lifted the woman away. Le Bi was so frightened that Huarong was pale, and struggling to death from their hands, the cloth strips in his mouth suddenly fell off, and his mouth hissed: “Miss, help me!”

The leading **** hummed twice with his nose: “So you don’t know how to promote, don’t blame us for being polite!” He clasped Le Bi’s chin, pinched with two fingers, and removed her chin joint. After that, Le Bi was trembling, she couldn’t struggle anymore, let alone make a sound, her whole body was drenched with cold sweat. Trying to speak in vain is a heartache.

Upon seeing this, An Xiaoshao looked intolerable. She turned towards Jiang Xiaolou: “Or, I’ll go to the empress…”

“No.” Jiang Xiaolou interrupted her, “Since the empress has made her will, we can’t interfere.”

“Forget it, she still has an innocent child.” An Xiaoshao watched silently, and sighed involuntarily.

Jiang Xiaolou looked at her, his expression slowly becoming indifferent: “Everyone has to pay for everything they do, and this woman is the same. If I were you, I wouldn’t care about such nostalgia.”

The woman in the distance was still struggling and the pain was beyond description. An Xiaoshao stood there, not knowing why, her legs seemed to be filled with lead, and she couldn’t move. The woman’s painful eyes were vividly vivid, like a sharp knife, slowly plucking An Xiaoshao’s heart, her face was faintly pale, her mouth opened, but she couldn’t say a word.

After a while, those people walked far away, and they returned to peace.

Looking at An Xiaoshao’s expression, Jiang Xiaolou couldn’t help shook his head. The queen said that An Xiaoshao had a heart of innocence, and it was true. After being in the palace for so long, I am afraid that I have seen a lot of such things, but An Xiaoshao is still easily shaken. Her heart… is soft after all. It is a pity that the concubine who had fornicated in the palace was forced to death, and absolutely no one could save her.

An Xiaoshao sighed slightly, “It’s a pity that she is still so young.”

The maidservant beside An Xiaoshao whispered: “Miss, don’t you know that the maidservant just chatted with the maids. They said that this woman was the number one beauty in Yunzhou. When she was selected into the palace, your majesty liked her very much. The empress did not like her, saying that she was too young and enchanting, and the fox charm was too strong to let her close. So her Majesty had to cold her and let her dry, only sealed a small concubine, and left her aside… …” When the maid spoke, her voice was extremely low, obviously because she was afraid that others would hear her.

Jiang Xiaolou became interested when he heard the words, and his face was full of enthusiasm for gossip: “That’s why she has an affair with others?”

The maidservant glanced at An Xiaoshao and saw that she didn’t mean to scold herself, she smiled and said, “This…the maidservant doesn’t know. There are so many people coming and going in this palace, either a maid or a eunuch. Who has the ability to dare to have an affair with a concubine, and is still weak, do you think…”

This was a joke, but Jiang Xiaolou found it particularly interesting. Only the eunuchs can go in and out freely in the palace, and most of the guards are in the front hall. It is impossible to go deep into the harem. How did this woman get pregnant? No, there is another kind of person who can enter and exit the harem without any criticism or obstruction.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xiaolou laughed instead, his eyes were especially comfortable. This is a great opportunity given to you by God. Don’t miss it easily.

Three days later, Duguke hurriedly arrived at Prince Jin’s Mansion, and when he saw Jiang Xiaolou, he asked, “Didn’t you say that as long as you deal with it properly, you can bring down the prince? Why is he so good now!”

Jiang Xiaolou sighed slightly, his eyes fell on Dugu Liancheng.

Dugu Liancheng smiled gloomily: “His Royal Highness can sit down and speak slowly.”

Dugu Ke could hardly hide the yin bird: “It’s you, a good wife! She told me that the child in his belly was the Prince’s Royal Highness, who told me to confess that the child in his belly was the Prince’s. When the time comes, Your Majesty will naturally become angry and will punish the Prince heavily! But till now, the father hasn’t moved!”

Le 嫔’s sins wanted to punish the family, but the three princes told the queen to exempt the Le family from death. Le Bi knew that he had to die. Of course, he was grateful to Dade to save the lives of his relatives, and he really confessed that the child in his womb was the prince. Duguke was gearing his hands in excitement, but it was a pity that after two days, the emperor didn’t react at all, as if he didn’t know anything. Duguke naturally couldn’t sit still anymore. He was afraid that his behavior would cause disaster, so he hurriedly asked Jiang Xiaolou.

Dugu Liancheng listened to the whole process, but his eyes were peaceful: “His Royal Highness, fornicating maternal maternal-what is this sin?”

Duguke was taken aback, and an undercurrent raged in Dugu Liancheng’s eyes: “Even in ordinary people’s homes, this is also to be decapitated. It’s just that this is a huge family ugly, and no father in the world is willing to expose such ugly things. ”

“In that case, why do you suggest that I do this?” Duguke’s body shook abruptly, and his hands trembled involuntarily, unable to suppress the full of surprise.

Jiang Xiaolou’s eyes faintly swept across his face, and he smiled: “His Royal Highness is too impatient to find the south, east, west, or northwest. Your Majesty cannot use such an excuse to dismiss the prince, but he has already buried hatred in his heart, prince. The position of your Highness will definitely be lost, but, definitely can’t use the reason of illegitimate concubine—”

Duguke was initially puzzled, but suddenly understood. As the lord of the world, his concubine and the prince actually got entangled together, and secretly made a child, which was a great blow to the emperor. If things spread, his green hat will become the laughing stock of the world. There is a concubine on one side and the prince on the other. In any case, the relationship between the two cannot be made public, so the emperor has to suppress it. The silence now… is just a stopgap measure, it is difficult to conceal the intense anger in my heart. Duguke pondered for a moment before smiling: “Then what shall we do next?”

Jiang Xiaolou didn’t look at him, his soft eyes fell on the curling smoke of the incense burner, and his tone was extraordinarily leisurely: “Next, I have to take care of the son’s ability.”

Duguke’s face changed slightly: “What do you mean?”

“His Royal Highness, since you treat us as allies, you shouldn’t conceal your strength. Hasn’t Gu Liunian been secretly helping you buy out the ministers in the court and attacking dissidents——”

The brilliance in Jiang Xiaolou’s eyes was dazzling, and Duguke let out a sigh of relief: “You can eat indiscriminately, but you can’t talk nonsense, Prince Jin…I and Gu Gongzi are just general friends. Except for occasional necessity There is no such kind of cooperation as you mentioned.”

Duguke’s heart was tense, and his fist was almost crushed.

Jiang Xiaolou snorted: “His Royal Highness, I know who Gu Liunian is better than you. Nowadays, many ministers in the court have fallen on you, and he has also seized the handle of many courtiers. It seems that you are right now. You have indeed mastered a great advantage, and now is the best time for you to do it. But… Gu Liunian will not tell you, he is waiting for you to make up your mind.”

“Timing, what timing?”

Jiang Xiaolou’s long eyelashes trembled slightly, and said in an unusually gentle tone: “Your Majesty is very sleepy, you should give him a pillow.”

Duguke stared at Jiang Xiaolou and didn’t say a word for a long time.

It’s okay to let him make small moves behind his back, and make up his mind to bring down the prince in one fell swoop… it was too risky. But the opportunity is not to be missed and will not come again. If he continues to hesitate, he will have no fate with that supreme imperial power in his life.

Jiang Xiaolou looked at Duguke quietly, with a soft smile that seemed temptation: “Your Highness, you only have this last chance.”

The curling smoke misted her face, only the voice came slowly.

“Anyone can lose, but your Highness can’t. If someone else loses, it’s just a change of master, but if you lose, your Highness will lose your life.”

After Duguke left, Dugu Liancheng chuckled, “It’s not a good habit to cheat honest people…”

Jiang Xiaolou blinked his eyes and looked particularly innocent: “The third prince is not an honest person, and I did not deceive him.”

“Now do it…it is not difficult to successfully bring down the prince, but the difficulty is that it is easy to be suspected by your majesty. Whoever makes the first move will be more suspicious, and you will not fail to understand this truth.” Dugu Liancheng’s expression is particularly gentle, like I was watching the child mess around.

Jiang Xiaolou’s lips smiled deeper: “Yes, he just asked me how to defeat the prince, but he didn’t ask me how to be an emperor. I’m telling the truth, absolutely nothing.”

Dugu Liancheng paused for a moment, unconsciously laughing.

The sky was dark, Jiang Xiaolou glanced outside the window, and suddenly felt a little nervous. For a few days of marriage, every day he rested on the beauty couch, but the longer…she felt more upset.

Obviously there is no place to go beyond the rules, why does her heart ups and downs, never fall to the ground?

It’s weird…

When resting in the evening, Xiaodie made the bed and glanced at Jiang Xiaolou sitting in front of the dressing table weirdly. The lady has been sitting there since half an hour ago, and she has been motionless until now. What is she thinking? ?

Jiang Xiaolou observed Dugu Liancheng from the bronze mirror. He was sitting on the opposite table reading a book, and when he looked carefully, he discovered that his eyelashes were very long and his eyes were beautiful, and his facial features seemed to be finely crafted by God. defect. She always looks kind, her eyes are as gentle as water. For some reason, she suddenly remembered Gu Liunian’s face. He is always arrogant and domineering, as if everything is under control.

These two people are strong, but completely different, one is like water, invisible and silent; the other is like fire, hot and dazzling.

People who meet them will always compare them unconsciously, Jiang Xiaolou thought.

The weather was getting hotter, Xiaodie set the tent and turned around and said, “Miss, you can rest.”

After Xiaodie withdrew, Jiang Xiaolou served a cup of tea and was drinking.

“You are sitting on my bed.” Dugu Liancheng said suddenly.

Jiang Xiaolou almost choked, looking at Dugu Liancheng under the candlelight, he just smiled and looked very serious.

She realized something, her throat tightened a little: “Are you… still sleeping on the collapse today?”

“Are you staying with me?”

Jiang Xiaolou breathed, how did she answer this kind of question, it’s just that the husband and wife share in different beds…it’s weird.

“The Jinbei is too hot, I’ll replace it with a thin one for you.” In the end, she had to answer.

He squinted his eyes, and there was an inexplicable narrowness under the candlelight: “Thank you.”

Dugu Liancheng was still lying on the couch with his clothes, Jiang Xiaolou slowly calmed down and closed his eyes gently.

This night should be the same as usual. In the middle of the night, Jiang Xiaolou felt a gust of wind blowing on the curtains. She opened her eyes, and the carved windows on the east side opened somehow, and the night breeze came in, bringing up the curtains. Ripples. She glanced at Dugu Liancheng and frowned slightly. She had replaced him with the brocade quilt. Now that the night wind is so strong, she would catch a cold… After thinking about it, she just got up and took a brocade to be prepared for him. Cover.

Just as his hands fell on him, those eyes opened.

Jiang Xiaolou’s heart beat and his cheeks turned red involuntarily.

When he spoke, although his voice was calm, he was hoarse: “Thank you.”

The hot eyes made her a little uncomfortable. At night, he looked different from the gentleman in the day, as if he had a more dangerous atmosphere.

There was a drifting brilliance in those deep pool-like eyes, which made her lose consciousness involuntarily.

When he kissed her lips, she realized that she was actually bewildered by his eyes. She was frightened for a while, and she retreated subconsciously, but he took advantage of the trend and pulled her to the cramped beauty collapsing, and her lips and tongues met——

I…I’m just kind…