Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Zhao Chun was truly unqualified to be an attendant.

When he lit the stove to cook, he burned down half the kitchen.

When he washed the laundry, he somehow managed to ruin three of my finest skirts.

Watching him fail at everything he tried while proving himself a master of making trouble made my head buzz.

Out of sight, out of mind. Speechless, I said, “Forget it. You can leave. Write me an IOU, and pay me back when you have the silver.”

I thought he would clear out without another word.

Instead, his eyes went red, and he glared at me as he shouted, “I fail at one tiny thing, and you want to throw me out? Do you have a heart at all, woman?”

I stared at him, dumbfounded. “Listen to yourself. We have a perfectly innocent master-servant relationship. How did this suddenly become a matter of my conscience?”

Zhao Chun yanked his robe open, revealing the bite mark on his shoulder, and sneered. “Perfectly innocent, is it? Then who was the one coaxing me the night before last, calling me her darling, kissing me and touching me, saying she’d fallen for me at first sight and wanted nothing more than to die in my arms?”

I rubbed my nose, mortified.

I thought that whole incident was behind us. If neither of us mentioned it, we could simply let it pass.

Who knew Zhao Chun would cling to it and refuse to let go?

The night before last, I had been out socializing and had drunk a little.

By the time I returned home, it was already midnight, and I was somewhat tipsy.

When I pushed the door open, Zhao Chun was bathing.

As luck would have it, he had forgotten to take his medicine that day, and the lingering poison in his body flared up.

The moment he saw me, he was in such misery that he threw his arms around me.

I was deep in my cups and couldn’t push him away at all.

Fortunately, I pulled myself back from the brink. I didn’t go all the way, and I let him go in time.

I cleared my throat and gave an awkward laugh. “It was just a misunderstanding.”

Zhao Chun grabbed the dirty clothes beside him and hurled them at me, his eyes red as he roared, “You’d rather go to the pleasure houses and drink with some cheap man who looks like me than touch me, is that it?”

Where had that come from?

Zhao Chun had been living in my home for over a month, and more than once, he had gone to the academy to bring me things.

All my classmates knew I had a beautiful, willful attendant. In private, they all assumed I loved him but couldn’t have him.

So they simply invited me out for wine and music, and even found me a man who resembled Zhao Chun.

I was too lazy to explain.

Who knew Zhao Chun had actually misunderstood?

My head aching, I said, “Did you listen to Chu Ying’s husband spout nonsense again? Chu Ying dragged me out to drink and listen to music. Instead of going home to make trouble for his own wife, he came to set fires in my backyard. What a gossiping husband.”

Zhao Chun shot me a sideways look. “I’m only an attendant. How would I dare meddle in your affairs?”

What family’s attendant dared shout at their mistress like this, while dressing indecently every day to seduce her?

I looked at Zhao Chun. Today, he wore a thin indigo robe that made him look several shades more alluring, downright tempting.

Especially when he glared at me from the corner of his eye, his gaze rippled with springlike desire.

I walked over and took his hand.

He tried to leave.

I held on tighter.

He shoved at me, so I simply wrapped my arms around him.

Zhao Chun was half a head taller than me, but once I held him like that, he ended up resting his head on my shoulder.

The two of us tangled together and kissed.

Like dry tinder meeting flame, we burned until we forgot the world around us.

Zhao Chun was pressed against the door panel by me, panting, hooking my leg and only pulling me closer.

In a muddled voice, he said, “Li Yunzhou, today I am giving myself to you. You had better treat me well.”

We stumbled all the way into the bedroom.

At some point, spring rain began to fall outside.

Dampness soaked the whole world.

The bed curtains wrapped around us, binding Zhao Chun and me so tightly there was no space between us.

Every now and then, Zhao Chun bit me. It hurt a little, and tickled a little too.

He wanted me to keep looking at him and not shift my gaze away by even the slightest bit.

I stroked his beautiful eyes with my hand and smiled. “At a time like this, who else could I possibly look at?”

Zhao Chun said sourly, “Who knows? Perhaps you’re thinking about some Zhang or Wang or Zhao or Li. The other day, when I went to bring you a change of clothes, I saw someone introducing you to potential husbands with my own eyes.”

His jealousy had flown all the way to the heavens.

I kissed his endlessly chattering mouth, and Zhao Chun’s arms tightened around me.

Half an hour later.

I let out a long, satisfied sigh.

Zhao Chun’s sweat dripped onto my face. He gazed at me for a long while before finally sinking into a deep sleep.