Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Jiang Youze stiffened, unsure whether to loosen his hold or tighten it.
Even he despised this damaged, ugly body of his.
Climbing onto her bed was already an immense presumption. To defile her with this body was unthinkable.
He was not worthy.
“Qingqing.”
His voice was a little hoarse, edged with an almost imperceptible bitterness and a gentle plea.
“Could we sleep like this?”
“Mm.” Si Yan agreed obediently, brushing her nose against his Adam’s apple and resting her hand quietly at his waist.
She had not really expected him to undress.
After all, Lord Jiuqiansui in her dream had never loosened his splendid robes, however disheveled she became.
The breathing of the woman in his arms gradually deepened. Jiang Youze’s rigid body relaxed as well.
The candles still burned brightly, revealing her face half buried in the hollow of his neck.
He simply watched her.
Her lashes. The tiny down on the tip of her nose. Her slightly parted lips.
He had kissed her too fiercely just now. Her lower lip was still a little swollen.
He brushed the loose hair from her forehead, his fingertip passing gently over her brow bone.
How could Qingqing be so sweet?
Not even a little fuss.
She might have frowned, pouted, turned over and refused to look at him.
But she had done none of that. Only answered obediently, “Mm.”
With tender affection, he kissed her forehead, tightened his arm a little, and rested his chin on her head.
Outside, the moon moved from the treetops to the eaves, then slipped from the eaves to the roof ridge.
The candles on the stand had burned out. Even the scorched smell of their cotton wicks had entirely faded.
Jiang Youze never closed his eyes.
He was sleepy. He simply did not want to sleep, could not bear to.
The woman in his arms was warm and soft. Now and then, she stirred and nestled closer.
Each movement softened his heart a little more.
By the end, it had melted into a pool of spring water, without so much as a shape.
He had begun longing for a scene like this ever since their betrothal.
It was just past the hour of the Hare. The sky outside was still blue-gray.
But he had to leave.
A tickling touch on her face woke Si Yan.
Something warm and soft brushed her skin gently.
From her forehead to the bridge of her nose, from her nose to her cheek, then from her cheek to her chin.
She buried her head farther in. Meeting warm skin, she nuzzled it lightly.
“Tickles…” Her voice was still sleepy, especially soft.
Jiang Youze rubbed the back of her head, his voice low, hoarse, and extraordinarily gentle.
“Qingqing, I have to go.”
Si Yan had not slept nearly enough. She was too drowsy to open her eyes.
The early-summer morning carried a chill through the unclosed window.
The arms holding her were very warm, so she grew a little willful.
Her arms tightened around his waist. Her leg slipped beneath the hem of his robe and hooked around his calf.
“Don’t go…”
The way she clung to him made it impossible for Jiang Youze to move a step.
His breathing grew a little heavier. His lips touched the crown of her head. “It’s the hour of the Hare.”
The Directorate of Ceremonial held roll call at a quarter to seven.
If he left now, he would have just enough time to return to his quarters, wash, and change into his dragon-patterned robe.
But the woman in his arms did not want him to go.
“No… It isn’t light yet…”
Si Yan’s breath spilled over his neck. Beneath the quilt, her feet grew restless too.
The rubbing tickled Jiang Youze. His fingers tightened in her hair, drawing her head out so he could kiss her hard.
A muffled sound escaped her.
Si Yan’s eyelids stirred. Remembering she had not rinsed her mouth, she kept her teeth firmly together, refusing to let him deepen the kiss.
After all the crying and gasping since last night, her mouth surely could not smell pleasant.
But she had already teased Jiang Youze past reason. How could he care about that?
No!
Even with his reason intact, he would not have cared.
A man who ought to have left was kept by the woman who did not want him to go, with the excuse that it was still early.
This kiss before dawn was his answer to her attempt to keep him. In this way, he told her,
he did not want to leave either. He wanted to stay here, stay within this lingering kiss.
Yet the kiss was her punishment too.
For making him unable to bear leaving, for throwing him off balance, for making his feet refuse to move.
By the time someone knocked, daylight was bright outside.
“Miss? Are you up?”
Jihe’s voice came through the door, a little cautious.
Si Yan sat weak and pliant in Jiang Youze’s arms, her face resting on his shoulder.
He took the pale pink underbodice and put it on her, reaching behind to fasten its ties.
Then he fetched the nightrobe and undertrousers from the foot of the bed and dressed her in them, one piece at a time.
Si Yan kept her eyes closed throughout, letting him arrange her. When he kissed her, she gave a soft sound.
At last, she opened her eyes and looked down at him.
He had already straightened, drawing up the undertrousers, and was looking at her with a half-smile.
Si Yan’s face flamed. Her voice was full of embarrassment and annoyance as she snatched up a pillow and hurled it at him.
“It’s all your fault!”
The kisses were one thing. His hands would not behave either.
Jiang Youze caught the pillow, put it back at the head of the bed, and brushed a kiss over the corner of her mouth.
“I’ll come again tonight.”
Si Yan bit her lip and glared, mortification still in her eyes. “Don’t you dare!”
Jiang Youze raised a brow and laughed softly without answering.
He adjusted his jade belt and smoothed his hem. On touching a certain crease, his fingers paused.
…
Never mind. No one would be able to tell.
This time he did not leave through the window. Without a change of expression, he opened the door and walked out.
Jihe stood outside with the copper basin. At the sight of him, she hurriedly lowered her head.
She had seen nothing.
Only after his figure vanished completely did she carry the basin inside and set it on the stand.
Turning, she found her mistress still sitting on the bed, looking in the direction Young Master Jiang had gone.
“Miss, it’s time to wash.”
Only then did Si Yan come to herself. Still flushed with shyness, she held her waist and rose from the bed.
Only then did Si Yan come to herself. Still flushed with shyness, she held her waist and rose from the bed.
When they were ready and reached Yaohua Hall, the atmosphere was noticeably more subdued than yesterday.
Xue Yushu and Shen Mingzhu sat in their places, no longer laughing and talking as before.
Seeing her enter, both their expressions changed.