Chapter 2
The scene was so chaotic that Xie Tingyue did not catch what I said. He hurried out of the pond.
I removed my outer robe and, with an expression of pure bliss, wrapped it around his waist.
Then I stole a glance downward.
Oh, what a good boy. What a very big boy.
Xie Tingyue could not remain at the banquet in that condition, so I shielded him from the crowd and took him to my carriage.
Inside, he clutched the robe around his waist, uncertain whether he ought to return it.
One glance was enough for me to press his hands down.
“Don’t.”
“Keep it.”
The view beneath was too scorching. I was afraid I might get a nosebleed.
I turned and called to the maid outside the carriage. “To the general’s residence. We’re taking Young Lord Xie home.”
Beside me, Xie Tingyue lowered his eyes in dejection.
She no longer wanted the robe because he had worn it. She had rescued him only because she was kind. He must not imagine anything more. A woman like her was far beyond the reach of an ugly, big-chested man like him.
His thin lips tightened as he made up his mind.
“Thank you.”
“Please rest assured, Miss Su. I will explain everything to my mother. I will not use what happened today to pester you.”
That deep, sexy voice made my ears go soft.
My true nature burst free before I could stop it.
“What do you mean, pester me? We’re a match made in heaven. You were born for me to play with!”
“I’ve already felt every inch of you. You think you’re getting away now?”
Xie Tingyue jerked up his head, his high nose nearly colliding with mine.
He had not been in the capital long, but he had quietly paid attention to me. He knew I was a good woman who kept her distance from men. Countless noble young gentlemen admired me, yet I never gave any of them the slightest hope.
Even the premier courtesan of South Wind House had fallen for me and offered me his first night for free. I had refused him too.
Yet here I was, saying such things to an ugly man with enormous pecs.
Xie Tingyue curled his long, strong fingers into his palms. A secret thrill rose inside him, making his pectoral muscles quiver.
When we reached the general’s residence, the general and her husband were both waiting at the gate. News of the banquet had arrived ahead of us.
The general’s delicate husband burst into tears the moment he saw Xie Tingyue drenched from head to toe. He had sent his son to the banquet so the boy could befriend the capital’s noble sons, never imagining he would suffer such humiliation.
His son’s figure had already been ugly enough. Now his chastity was compromised too. How could the poor boy ever marry?
The general remained stern. Since an unmarried woman could not enter the inner courtyard, she invited me to the main hall instead.
“Thank you for rescuing my son, Miss Su.”
“He spent his childhood with me at the frontier and has never learned all the proper rules.”
I replied politely, “Whatever the circumstances, I have compromised Young Lord Xie’s honor today. I am willing to—”
The general cut me off.
“My son is only eighteen. I intend to keep him at home for several more years. Marriage is not under consideration.”
She looked at me, expecting me to seize the chance to agree. She knew exactly how ugly her son was. An exceptional woman like me could not truly wish to marry him, and she would never give her son to a woman who did not love him.
Instead, I gazed dreamily into the distance and intoned,
“Eighteen…”
“How can eighteen be this beautiful?”
How could a mere eighteen-year-old have muscles so full and perfect?
I loved them. I loved them so much.
The folding screen trembled.
The man hiding behind it was visibly moved by my words. Even the general looked horrified.
Sensing her distrust, I sighed.
“There is no need to be so guarded, General.”
“My feelings for Tingyue are sincere.”
The general’s face darkened. “Please address my son by his full name, Miss Su.”
I paused, then looked at her with utmost seriousness.
“General Xie, let me explain this in the bluntest and simplest way possible.”
“Everyone has a type. Some women like mature widowers. Others prefer innocent young men. We’re both women, General Xie. Surely you understand.”
Her gaze slid guiltily aside.
What nonsense was I saying? Her husband and son were both hiding behind the screen.
“Mind your words, Miss Su!”
I refused to yield an inch.
“How can love mind its words?”
“One woman’s poison is another woman’s honey. Young Lord Xie’s broad shoulders and magnificent pecs are a jar of honey to me. I want to bury my face in them.”
“If you let him marry me, I will treasure him like the rarest jewel. I will spend every night in his room and fall asleep every day touching his chest and using those pecs as my pillow. I will never neglect him!”
“Xie Tingyue will be mine!”
The screen shook even harder.
For a gentlewoman like me to speak so wantonly—to be driven this mad by love!
Even General Xie looked a little moved.
“But my son does not merely have a large chest…”
She had to make everything clear now. If I discovered the rest on our wedding night and recoiled from him, how could Tingyue endure the fall from hope to disgust?
I gave her a mysterious smile.
“Rest assured, General Xie. I love that part too.”