Chapter 123 -
Yueqing crossed her arms and glared at him.
"I stayed because my own tent was taking too long!" she snapped, pulling the warm blankets higher up her back. "Do you think I wanted to wait in a cold, windy tent while they moved my heavy chests? I would have frozen to death!"
[Besides, your bed is much bigger and warmer!] her mind shouted, though she kept her mouth shut. [Why should I suffer in a cold tent when this one is already heated?! I am the Young Madam! I deserve the best room!]
Wenzhe shook his head, holding his cold hands over the warm fire pit. His arms were covered in goosebumps from walking outside without his heavy coat, but the heat from the fires felt good.
"You turned my command tent into a luxury house," Wenzhe said, looking at the plates of snacks and the steaming tea. "The soldiers outside are sleeping on hard ground, and you have two fires and warm tea."
"They are rough soldiers! I am a delicate lady!" Yueqing retorted quickly, though her voice sounded small and tired.
She shifted on the bed, but as soon as she moved, a sharp pain shot through her lower back. She winced, her face twisting in pain as she let out a soft groan and rubbed her waist.
Wenzhe stopped warming his hands and looked over at her. He saw how pale her face was and how tightly she was holding her back. The annoyance in his eyes completely disappeared, replaced by genuine concern.
"Your back still hurts?" he asked softly, walking closer to the side of the bed.
"Of course it hurts!" Yueqing grumbled, squeezing her eyes shut. "That carriage felt like a wooden box being thrown down a mountain! My back feels like it is broken into a hundred pieces!"
Wenzhe looked down at her small, hurting frame. Without saying a word, he sat down on the edge of the bed beside her.
Yueqing opened her eyes and blinked at him in surprise. "What are you doing? Get off! You are cold as ice!"
"Hold still," Wenzhe said quietly.
He rubbed his hands together near the fire until his palms were hot, then gently reached out and placed his large, warm hands onto her lower back, slowly rubbing the sore muscles.
Yueqing gasped, her breath catching in her throat as his large, calloused hands made contact with her skin. The heat radiated straight through her inner robes, melting the sharp ache in her lower back into a deep, heavy warmth.
She opened her mouth to order him away, to tell him that a proper gentleman shouldn’t lay hands on a lady so late at night, but the sheer relief made her melt against the pillows instead.
[Oh... oh wow,] her inner voice whimpered, all her sharp villainess anger instantly evaporating. [His hands are so hot... and so big. Why are his hands so huge?! Wait, no, Su Yueqing! Get it together! Do not let a simple back massage weaken your iron resolve!]
Wenzhe heard every single word echoing in his mind. A slow, dangerous dark glint flashed in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth curved upward.
"Is this force acceptable, Young Madam?" Wenzhe murmured, his deep voice dropping an octave as he leaned closer over her.
His thumb pressed firmly into a knot near her waist, kneading it with slow, deliberate rhythm. Yueqing let out a soft, helpless moan before she could stop herself, burying her burning face straight into the blankets.
Her heart hammered wildly against her ribs. The tent was suffocatingly quiet now, save for the crackle of the wood fire and the sound of their quiet breathing. The smell of cold steel and clean cedarwood drifted off his skin, surrounding her entirely.
Wenzhe didn’t pull back. Instead, his hands shifted, slowly sliding further up her ribcage, his broad fingers fanning across her thin silk robes. The heat of his body hovered just inches above hers, broad and imposing, blocking out the rest of the cold world.
"You complain so much," Wenzhe whispered, his breath brushing against the shell of her ear, sending a sudden, intense shiver straight down her spine. "Yet your body is so soft."
Yueqing turned her head slightly, her wide, flushed face locking onto his. Up close, his dark eyes were intense, heavy with a heat that had nothing to do with the fire pits nearby. His gaze dropped to her pink, parted lips, staying there for a long, heavy second.
[Wait... wait, wait!] Yueqing’s mind panicked, her thoughts turning into a chaotic frenzy. [Why is he looking at me like that?! Is he going to kiss me again?! In a military tent?! On a army cot?! System! Emergency! ]
Wenzhe’s hand slid from her waist, his long fingers gently catching her chin and lifting her face toward his.
"If you keep looking at me like that, Yueqing," Wenzhe purred, his thumb lightly tracing her lower lip, "I won’t just rub your back tonight."
Wenzhe looked down at her flushed face, a slow, playful smirk spreading across his lips. Without a word, he pulled his hands back from her waist and stood up straight.
The moment his hot palm left her skin, the sharp, dull ache in her back rushed straight back.
"Hey!" Yueqing shouted, pushing herself up on her elbows and glaring at him. "Why did you stop?! Who told you to stop?!"
[Bring those hot hands back right now!] her mind shrieked, her inner persona flailing on the floor in pure agony. [My back is breaking again! You can’t just give me three seconds of heaven and then abandon me to suffer! You absolute teaser!]
Wenzhe didn’t answer right away. He just stood near the wooden rack, slowly unbuckling the heavy leather straps of his chest armor. Piece by piece, the dark metal clanked softly as he set it aside, leaving him in only a soft, thin inner robe.
Then, he reached up to his head. He untied the dark leather headband holding his hair back, letting the long, thick black locks fall freely around his broad shoulders and neck.
Yueqing went completely quiet.
She blinked, her wide eyes locked onto him. She had never seen him with his hair down before. Back at the capital, he was always neat, sharp, and tightly bound like a strict general. But now, with his loose hair framing his sharp jaw and his chest visible under the thin robe, he looked wildly handsome—almost dangerously so.
[Wait...] Yueqing’s brain short-circuited as her face flushed even redder. [Why is he so good-looking?! Is it the cold air making me crazy?! Why does he look like a handsome rogue right now?! Stop looking at his collarbones, Su Yueqing! He is a brute! An unrefined military brute!]
Wenzhe’s lips twitched as her frantic inner screams echoed in his head. He ran a hand through his loose hair, tossing it back over his shoulder.
With slow, deliberate steps, he walked back to the bed. The thin layer of his white inner robe rustled softly, matching her own soft silk nightgown.
He sat down on the edge of the mattress, his large frame sinking into the plush blankets right beside her. He leaned in slightly, his dark, sharp eyes locking onto her wide, blushing face.
"Do you still need the massage?" Wenzhe asked softly, his deep voice carrying a quiet, teasing warmth.