Chapter 124 -
Su Yueqing stared at him, her throat feeling very dry. Seeing Wenzhe with his hair down, wearing only a thin white robe, made her heart beat very fast.
"I..." Yueqing swallowed hard, pulling the heavy blankets tight around herself. "Of course I still need it! Do you think my back stopped hurting in two minutes?!"
[YES, PLEASE!] her mind yelled, feeling completely desperate. [Rub my back! My spine feels broken! But do NOT look at me with those deep, dark eyes! You are making me feel so hot!]
Wenzhe smiled a little. Hearing her funny thoughts loud and clear, he leaned forward and sat right behind her on the bed.
"Lie down then," Wenzhe said quietly, his hot breath touching her neck. "Or do you want to stay like this and keep staring at me?"
Yueqing’s face turned bright red.
[I WAS NOT STARING AT YOU!] She screamed in her mind, immediately flopping down onto her stomach and hiding her red face in the soft pillow. [SYSTEM, ERASE MY MEMORY RIGHT NOW!]
DING!
[System 009: Cannot erase memory. Your heart rate is too high. Please breathe slowly.]
[SHUT UP NINE!]
Wenzhe laughed softly. It was a nice, warm sound in the quiet, cozy tent.
He placed his large, hot hands on her lower back. He was a strong fighter, but his hands were very gentle as he rubbed her sore waist.
The heat from his hands went through her thin nightgown, making her aching back feel warm and good.
"Ah..." A soft sound came out of Yueqing’s mouth before she could stop it.
"Better?" Wenzhe asked softly, his long fingers moving gently across her back.
"It is... fine," Yueqing mumbled into the pillow, her voice sounding sleepy. "Do not get proud. You are just doing your job as my husband."
[Oh my god, this feels so good,] her inner voice whined, feeling super relaxed. [He actually has magic hands! If he stops being a General, he could open a massage shop in the city and get rich! I would pay him so much money to do this every night...]
Wenzhe smiled warmly in the cozy light of the fire. The stressful war plans and cold weather did not bother him anymore. He just felt happy sitting here with his wife.
As he kept massaging her back, he looked down at her and asked softly, "Are you still angry about what happened before I left for the north?"
Yueqing stayed completely still under his hands as his words hung in the warm air of the tent.
The image of that rainy night flashed through her mind, the cold mud, the guards looking away in shame, and Wenzhe standing in the storm holding that white fur coat while she screamed at him.
[Oh,] she thought, her inner voice suddenly dropping its dramatic tone. [So that is why he asked.]
For a moment, she didn’t yell or throw a tantrum. She just lay there on her stomach, her cheek pressed flat against the soft pillow, listening to the crackle of the wood fire and the steady beat of his heart behind her.
"Angry?" Yueqing finally spoke up, her voice small and muffled against the blanket. She turned her head slightly to glare up at him, though her eyes held more fatigue than true hatred. "Why shouldn’t I be angry? I walked through a freezing downpour like an idiot just to bring you a warm coat, and what did I get? I got to watch you cuddle another woman on your couch!"
[And then you had the nerve to hesitate when I asked you about her!] her mind added bitterly, her inner persona crossing her arms with a stubborn pucker. [’If anyone asked me two weeks ago who I loved...’ Blah, blah, blah! What kind of terrible confession was that?! You deserved every single word I spat at you in that courtyard!]
Wenzhe’s hands paused on her back. He looked down at her small, stubborn face, the dark guilt from that night returning to his eyes.
"She forced herself on me, Yueqing," Wenzhe said quietly, his voice deep and completely serious. "I pushed her away the exact second you opened the door. I didn’t kiss her back. I have never kissed her."
"I don’t care whether you kissed her or not!" Yueqing snapped, her face turning red as she buried her nose back into the pillow. "You were still slow to explain! You made me look like a fool standing in the cold!"
"I know," Wenzhe murmured. He lowered his hands back onto her lower back, his warm thumbs gently pressing into her sore muscles again, slower and softer this time. "I was a fool that night but I never wanted you to leave."
Yueqing felt the heavy, honest warmth in his voice, and her heart gave a sudden, uncomfortable flutter.
[Stop it!] she screamed internally, her cheeks burning bright red against the white sheet. [Stop acting like a soft, repentant puppy! Where is the cold, arrogant general who used to ignore me?! If you keep talking like this, how am I supposed to stay a proper villainess?!]
"Hmph," Yueqing grumbled out loud, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her soft side. "Well... your massage is keeping me from dying of back pain tonight, so I will temporarily delay your punishment. But don’t think I’ve forgiven you, block of wood!"
Wenzhe let out a low, quiet chuckle, his lips curving into a gentle smile as he kept massaging her back until her breathing finally grew long, heavy, and quiet.
Yueqing turned her head further on the pillow, her eyes narrowing into a sharp glare. The cozy heat of his hands on her waist only seemed to make her tongue sharper.
"Besides," Yueqing scoffed, her voice cold and full of disdain, "you are a complete hypocrite!"
Wenzhe’s hands paused on her back. "A hypocrite?"
"Yes! A hypocrite!" Yueqing snapped, pointing an accusing finger at his chest. "Do you remember what you said at the Governor’s banquet? You stood there so noble and strict, telling me that even if we do not love each other, we must respect our marriage and refrain from cheating! And yet, you brought her all the way to this border camp yourself!"
[You looked so righteous saying it!] her mind yelled angrily. [’Respect the marriage!’ Blah, blah, blah! And then you bring your little white lotus straight to the army grounds!]
"Not that I care or anything!" Yueqing added quickly, turning her head away. "You can keep ten women here for all I care! But do not act like an honorable gentleman when you broke your own rule!"
When she finished speaking, Wenzhe did not offer a grand defense. He just froze, swallowing hard as he went completely quiet.
He slowly removed his hands from her waist and sat up straight on the edge of the bed. His dark eyes grew cold and shadowed, looking down at the tent ground.
"If I didn’t bring her..." Wenzhe said, his deep voice dropping into a low, painful whisper, "she would have killed herself."
The quiet in the tent suddenly felt heavy and suffocating.
The very second his large, warm hands left her skin, the sharp, throbbing pain rushed straight back into Yueqing’s lower back. A cold shiver ran through her body. His palms had been so unbelievably warm, and without them, the freezing night air seemed to seep right through her robes again.
Yueqing winced, ignoring his sudden dark mood entirely because her body was aching so badly.
She quickly sat up on the mattress, her face twisting in frustration. She reached out with both of her small hands, grabbed Wenzhe’s thick wrist, and forcefully yanked his warm hand right back toward her waist.
"Hey!" Yueqing demanded, trying to press his palm back onto her sore lower back. "Who told you to stop?! Put your hands back right now and keep rubbing!"