The Female Alpha Consort Mistakenly Marks the Empress - TFACMME Chapter 5

That night, amongst splendid attires, with jingling jewelries, Mu Lanshi was sitting calmly at the ceremony.

She was cautious about every food and drink sent her way today. She had also “drunk” the wine her older brother handed her.

After she drank, her older brother’s eyes kept wandering toward her.

Mu Lanshi cooperated, pretending to look unsteady. After a while, she excused herself and said she needed to leave the ceremony.

Mu Mei glanced at her, knowing she couldn’t handle alcohol well, but since it was a special occasion, she said a few words and didn’t press the matter.

After Mu Lanshi stumbled away from the ceremony, Mu Yan’s face showed a proud look. He even followed up his mother’s words, saying: “Sister has just become an alpha, perhaps her body hasn’t adjusted yet. Let her rest for now.”

He then volunteered to replace her and thank the guests on her behalf.

However, Mu Mei decisively refused: “This is your sister’s Awakening Ceremony, you don’t need to step in.”

What if the guests misunderstood?

Mu Yan hesitated, knowing there was no room for negotiation, so he silently clenched his fists.

‘One failure,’ he thought. He would wait. After all, he was just here to thank the guests.

***

Mu Lanshi, however, walked toward the side rooms, crossing the flower bridge, and soon received a reply from Ah Chen.

“How is it? Have you caught the person?”

Ah Chen lowered their head, speaking slowly: “Yes, we caught him… but the situation has changed.”

“What change?” Mu Lanshi asked.

“Did you drink the wine?”

Mu Lanshi shook her head and whispered: “Of course not.”

“There was no drug in the wine,” Ah Chen said hurriedly, “The servant must have realized something was off. He didn’t bring the drugged wine to anyone. I followed him. He quietly entered a side room with the wine, then came out empty-handed. He went to housekeeper Zhao’s place for a while and then snuck out of the residence.”

Mu Lanshi’s brow furrowed the more she listened.

Housekeeper Zhao. She silently memorized this person. She would deal with this person later.

“I caught up with him and questioned him. He cried and claimed he was innocent, saying he hadn’t done anything wrong. The problem was with the wine. He never served it to anyone.”

That was the wine meant for Mu Lanshi. In her past life, she had drunk the wine. How could she have known that her most respected older brother would try to harm her?

Mu Lanshi asked again: “What about the wine? Did you find the side room?”

“I found it, but… the wine was drunk by a young lady,” Ah Chen said regretfully.

Mu Lanshi’s expression changed slightly: “Do you know who drank it?”

“It seems it was the Qi family’s daughter. I saw the Qi family’s family head searching for someone in the residence. But he didn’t want to involve our family. When the servants asked, he just said he was admiring the scenery.”

Mu Lanshi nodded gently: “I understand. Keep an eye on that servant. I’ll interrogate him personally.”

Ah Chen quickly agreed and left to keep watch over the servant.

Mu Lanshi did not know what kind of drug was put into the wine…

***

With the memories of her past life, Mu Lanshi moved through the corridor with great familiarity that night.

The hanging glazed lamps under the eaves lit the back courtyard, making it look like a dream. Her steps, like the heartbeat of a drum, shattered the last bit of gloom under the dark spring night.

As an alpha, she was sensitive to the scent of an omega’s pheromones. Any excess overflowed, and she could feel it.

That sweet scent—

When Mu Lanshi opened the door, she saw the woman who had bowed to her, now crying and leaning against the window ledge, looking back in panic.

It was actually Qi Yingzhu who drank it!

Mu Lanshi pursed her lips, locked the door behind her without saying a word. In the brief silence, she heard Qi Yingzhu’s soft sobs.

Her heart softened.

No matter what, Mu Lanshi could not associate this woman with the enemy she had fought in her past life.

A towering empress, adorned with pearls and jade, who was reputed to be merciless and never used her power for her own family’s benefit.

“Please, don’t…” Qi Yingzhu’s face was tear streaked. When she saw Mu Lanshi enter, she kept retreating, almost knocking into the ancient relics display.

Mu Lanshi frowned, knowing she had drunk the wine and was now likely feeling very uncomfortable. She gently reassured her: “Lady, don’t worry…”

The fragrance of her pheromones was overwhelming.

“No, please don’t come closer,” Qi Yingzhu turned her head, pleading, “I’m in my heat period.”

She was already heartbroken. She was about to marry that emperor, who was half dead. After running away, she had unwittingly drunk the wine, only to have her heat period triggered, and now, Mu Lanshi, whom she had just met, found her.

Mu Lanshi was an alpha, with a bright future ahead.

Thinking of this, Qi Yingzhu bit her lip and turned her head, refusing to look up, enduring the overwhelming waves inside her body.

It needed relief. The redness on her cheeks began to rise.

But Mu Lanshi stood still, like a mountain, unmoving.

Qi Yingzhu closed her eyes, crying: “Could you leave?”

Mu Lanshi just frowned, turned her back, and said nothing.

She stood there, while Qi Yingzhu stared at her figure.

She asked her to leave, but she also desperately wished for her to stay.

Her entire life, she had only respected her parents, loved her sister, but now, everything had changed in a single night.

She was just a pawn for them.

Mu Lanshi resisted the urge to be overwhelmed by the scent of her omega pheromones. Finally, she slowly opened her eyes.

She couldn’t go on like this.

So, she decisively walked to Qi Yingzhu, grabbed her wrist, and said: “Your heat won’t stabilize.”

Until today, she still remembered the feeling from her past life when she had been confused by the pheromones. The drug had been so strong, perhaps even targeted at alphas. Though Qi Yingzhu was an omega, the drug had triggered her heat period uncontrollably.

Qi Yingzhu looked up at her eyes, only a breath away.

Mu Lanshi still remained impeccably dressed, her crown and ribbon sweeping across her brows, exuding an indescribable sense of purity and grace.

Her pair of phoenix eyes were bright and blazing, as if they held the power to scorch the earth.

Such eyes, such youth.

Qi Yingzhu suddenly realized that what she sought when drinking the wine was probably this very result.

She didn’t want to marry that old emperor; she wanted to be with someone of her own age, with an alpha.

So, she suddenly allowed Mu Lanshi to hold her hand, looking at her: “You want to help me get through this, don’t you?”

They both knew the meaning of “get through.”

Mu Lanshi gently nodded.

Qi Yingzhu subconsciously leaned against her chest, the soft and solid sensation seeming to bring comfort. She continued softly: “Am I very sick now?”

…She was the older omega.

But Mu Lanshi still followed her words, saying: “Yes, but please rest assured.” Mu Lanshi thought for a moment before saying: “I have experience.”

She didn’t have to boast about being a top-tier alpha; Qi Yingzhu just needed to know that she could soothe her.

However, the woman in her arms lifted her head, her tear-filled apricot eyes staring at her deeply.

On her brow was a dot of cinnabar, like a goddess’s tear, burning and blinding.

That was one of the omega’s innocent marks.

“Do you often do this, Miss?” she asked in a wronged tone.

Mu Lanshi was momentarily speechless.

“No,” Mu Lanshi whispered, comforting her as she gently lifted her long, graceful hand to brush away the damp strands of Qi Yingzhu’s hair, soothing her: “This is my first time too.”

As Mu Lanshi spoke, a faint blue mark appeared beneath her eyes, resembling a delicate crescent-shaped sickle.

The sickle’s blade was smooth and sharp, starting from the outer corner of her eyes, elegantly curving toward the inner corner, a slight arc resembling the faint light of a crescent moon.

…It was said that each alpha mark was different from one another.

But Qi Yingzhu had never seen any alpha mark before.

Mu Lanshi led Qi Yingzhu’s hand toward the side bed.

She lifted the thick, dense bed curtain, and the two of them stumbled onto the bed.

While emitting her calming pheromone, Mu Lanshi gently reassured Qi Yingzhu, telling her not to be afraid.

Her fragrance was not like the aggressive and invasive scent of ordinary alpha but instead intertwined with the elegant scent of orchids and the faint medicinal fragrance of white angelica. After a while, Qi Yingzhu calmed down considerably, greedily inhaling the scent.

She allowed Mu Lanshi to ease her.

Mu Lanshi’s pale fingers swept through Qi Yingzhu’s dark, waterfall-like hair, revealing a slightly protruding gland.

Mu Lanshi’s gaze darkened. She suddenly recalled that in her past life, she had gone through the same first night with Meng Yan like this.

She didn’t immediately bite down. Instead, she asked: “Is it better now?”

“Miss,” Qi Yingzhu closed her eyes, “I still don’t feel better. I’m so uncomfortable…”

She was still crying.

Mu Lanshi was very clear about how things were with an omega.

The woman in her arms, quietly pleading: “Please, help me.”

Help her escape the fate that had been laid out for her.

If she couldn’t do that, it was still better than being with the old emperor.

“Alright…” Mu Lanshi’s voice was low and hoarse as she agreed. She lowered her head, pressed down on Qi Yingzhu’s rounded shoulder, and deeply bit her neck.

The gland ruptured, and her scent spread, the orchid and angelica scent mixing with a rich, sweet, and cold scent, confusing and intoxicating.

The scent of orchids was already delicate and elegant, drifting in the spring air. But now, mingled with the cold, sweet scent, it penetrated every inch of air.

The two pheromones intertwined in the air, the faint orchid scent trying to entangle the coldness but being dispersed by the cold scent, only to gather again.

Consciousness gradually blurred in this tug-of-war between the two scents, and her body couldn’t help but shiver slightly.

Her toes were tightly tensed, and her ankle jutted out.

Her soul seemed to be pulled into an unknown abyss by the merging of the fragrances, every breath tasting like a dangerous yet tempting forbidden fruit, intoxicating yet terrifying.

She wanted to succumb to the alluring confusion but also struggled to escape the danger.

Her eyes and brows seemed to drown in the golden rain of early summer.

Until snow-like tears dripped between Mu Lanshi’s fingers, moistening them.

Mu Lanshi’s eyes grew even darker.

…She was reminded something by the woman beneath her. In her past life, she had also been addressed with an older honorific.

This was indeed a mesmerizing confusion.

They were of similar ages.

Mu Lanshi wanted to let go, but Qi Yingzhu tightly grasped her wrist, refusing to release it, forcing her to continue.

In the air, the scents intertwined, moist, sweet, soft, and delicate. They continued sticking together and dripping with wetness.

Her damp hair brushed across Mu Lanshi’s face, neck, collarbone, and even more.

“Miss Alpha,” she cried, pleading, “Please marry me. I don’t want to marry the emperor. I don’t want to be a widow…”

Mu Lanshi’s gaze suddenly darkened.

Those fragmented memories from her past life surged up.

…She remembered someone had told her the same words that night.

Told her that she had to marry her.

And so Mu Lanshi willingly gave her entire life. She was a noble lady carefully raised by a prestigious family, and as an alpha, she had to take responsibility for the omega.

That had been how she ended up, in her past life, willing to sacrifice everything for Meng Yan.

Her gaze fell, scanning her trembling snow-white skin. Her eyes were suddenly drawn to a plum blossom mark. That was the only thing she remembered from her few remaining memories in this night from the past life. Yet, Meng Yan had a lotus mark…

Mu Lanshi closed her eyes, recalling the years of wandering and disillusionment. She no longer hesitated, slowly answering the timid Qi Yingzhu’s pleading and gasps: “Alright.”

“Alpha,” she cried again, “They want me to enter the palace. I don’t want to enter the palace. I’m still young.”

In the end, her white neck arched back, bent at a cramping angle, her eyes wet with tears, her body drenched, and they both were soaked.

“I will.”

That was the first thing Qi Yingzhu heard when she opened her eyes from the chaos.