Ji Cheng came to her senses and hurriedly pushed Shen Che away. “Get off!” Having been seen in such an undignified state, even Ji Cheng, thick-skinned as she was, felt like jumping into a river.
But Shen Che acted as if nothing had happened, continuing his previous actions. Ji Cheng was once again shocked by Shen Che’s shamelessness and brazenness.
Ji Cheng reached out to scratch Shen Che’s neck, leaving three bloody marks. Shen Che intensified his efforts with Ji Cheng, pinning her hands behind her back. He hissed, “You still dare say you’re not a tigress?”
In this position, the more Ji Cheng struggled, the more it pleased Shen Che’s eyes.
Unable to scratch Shen Che, Ji Cheng could only glare at him fiercely. “Aren’t you going to chase after her?” Ji Cheng knew Shen Che’s strategy was to keep Zaina on the hook.
“Why should I chase her?” Shen Che asked innocently. “Even if I caught up with her, what could I do? I can’t do anything with her, can I?”
His tone sounded so aggrieved that Ji Cheng flicked her leg and said, “You’re staying here with me, aren’t you afraid of offending your great benefactor? Be careful she doesn’t spill your secrets.” After spending so much time with Shen Che, Ji Cheng had learned to be as sharp-tongued as him.
Shen Che cupped Ji Cheng’s face in his hands, pressing her forcefully against himself. He lowered his head to her ear and said, “I’m not afraid. Just hearing your voice is enough to make her unable to walk.”
Ji Cheng was furious, but her anger turned to laughter as she said, “You’re putting in the effort, aren’t you? This flesh trade of yours must be exhausting. Your waist must be tired from all that thrusting. Afraid your benefactor won’t know your capabilities?”
These words were a bit too harsh. However what Shen Che did wasn’t entirely proper, and he did intend to show off his masculinity in front of Zaina because in dealing with Zaina, the male charm was more effective than other methods.
Shen Che gripped Ji Cheng’s waist, ready to get angry, and Ji Cheng was prepared to see him flustered with shame.
But suddenly, Shen Che’s expression changed. Ji Cheng heard him say pitifully, “It’s indeed not easy doing business in our line of work. When we finally meet a valuable client, we have to showcase our skills.” Shen Che deliberately thrust his hips, his fingers touching Ji Cheng’s lips as he continued, “Actually, clients like you, Young Madam, are the rarest. Not only are you beautiful, but you also don’t have any special preferences, and your money is as plentiful as mountains and seas. If you could patronize my business every day, why would I need to go to the trouble of pleasing that new esteemed client? Alas—”
Shen Che got into his role, and his subsequent “service” was exceptionally enthusiastic. He deliberately breathed into Ji Cheng’s ear, “Does Young Madam like how I’m serving you? If not…”
“Then it means I’m not trying hard enough.”
Ji Cheng had to bite her hand to keep from screaming out loud. So he wanted to act, did he? Ji Cheng raised herself, reached out, and slapped Shen Che’s taut buttocks hard. “What’s with all this ‘you’ and ‘I’? You should refer to yourself as ‘this lowly one’. If you make another mistake, watch out for your skin.”
Shen Che looked at Ji Cheng as if he didn’t recognize her. After a moment, he showed a knowing smile. “Oh, so this is the kind of Taotao you are.”
Ji Cheng blushed again at Shen Che’s words, turning her head away from him. “Why is a big bad wolf pretending to be a little lamb? Besides brute force, what else can you do? If you have so much strength, why don’t you go plow the fields?”
“Isn’t this plowing?” Shen Che bit Ji Cheng’s mouth and said, “And besides brute force, I can do many other things.”
Indeed, he could do many things. Ji Cheng didn’t know how she got off the carriage or how she returned to Tongluo City. When she opened her eyes, it was already broad daylight.
Ji Cheng turned her head to look, but Shen Che wasn’t in the room. She had no strength in her body, and a certain part was burning with pain, so she decided to stay in bed. When the door opened, she thought it was Lianzi, but it turned out to be Shen Che bringing in rice porridge and side dishes.
“Are you hungry?” Shen Che put the tray on the table and came over to help Ji Cheng sit up.
Ji Cheng gave him a sidelong glance and said, “I’m so hungry I could eat a whole cow.”
Shen Che acted as if he didn’t understand the hint. He took out clean undergarments and helped Ji Cheng put them on, his fingers deftly tying her clothes. Only then did he bring over the bowl of porridge.
Ji Cheng reached out to take it, but Shen Che avoided her hand. He used a spoon to scoop up some porridge, blew on it to cool it down, and then fed it to Ji Cheng.
Ji Cheng was stuck in this cloying, sticky situation. Shen Che seemed to enjoy watching her pink lips part to swallow the white rice porridge, while Ji Cheng wished she could finish it all in one go.
“Can’t you scoop more each time?” Ji Cheng grumbled dissatisfied.
“This lowly one is afraid of choking you,” Shen Che said innocently.
Ji Cheng almost spat out the food in her mouth. She had to admit that this “lowly one” pleased her. She patted Shen Che’s hand and said, “Bring me my purse.”
There were gold melon seeds in the purse. Ji Cheng picked one and placed it in Shen Che’s palm. “You’ve served well. Give this lord a waist massage, and I’ll reward you with another.”
Shen Che pinched Ji Cheng’s cheek and feigned anger, “You’re getting addicted to this game, aren’t you?”
Ji Cheng hugged Shen Che’s neck and said, “Yes. Why don’t we play the roles of Empress Dowager and little eunuch next time?”
Shen Che pinched Ji Cheng’s face hard again. “You dare to say anything. That’s my grandmother you’re talking about.”
Ji Cheng shrugged helplessly. “Then that’s off the table.”
“Sleep,” Shen Che wiped Ji Cheng’s mouth with her handkerchief. “I don’t think you can get up anyway.”
Indeed, Ji Cheng couldn’t get up. Her whole body was sore, and even moving her legs made her wince. She let Shen Che help her lie down again, and he even tucked in the corners of her blanket.
Ji Cheng knew Shen Che was about to leave, but for some reason, she felt a desire for him to stay. If he left now, it would seem like he was running away after having his way with her, leaving her feeling inexplicably empty.
But Ji Cheng had always been sensible, so she just looked at Shen Che without saying anything.
Shen Che took the bowl and dishes out of the room. Ji Cheng closed her eyes, ready to go back to sleep, when the door creaked open again.
Ji Cheng turned over to look, and it was Shen Che. He walked to the bedside and began to undress. Ji Cheng clutched the blanket and moved back a bit. “Don’t you have things to do?”
By now, Shen Che had taken off his robe. He lifted the blanket and got into bed. “Yes, I do have things to do, but last night I did all the work while you just lay there enjoying it. Don’t I deserve a short rest to regain some energy?”
Ji Cheng knew Shen Che was saying this on purpose. How could he lack energy? He looked refreshed and didn’t even have dark circles under his eyes.
But Ji Cheng was very happy with Shen Che’s thoughtfulness. She moved closer to him, snuggling into his embrace and finding a comfortable position.
Shen Che held Ji Cheng and gently kissed her temple. “Sleep. I’ll watch over you.”
Ji Cheng fell asleep almost instantly. When she was with Shen Che, sleep never seemed to be a problem.
“You’re late,” Zaina said coquettishly to Shen Che.
Shen Che didn’t speak, just sat on the cushion and carefully examined Zaina’s attire.
She wore a peony-patterned skirt with gold embroidery, covered by a large-sleeved robe with gold mud designs. Her hair was styled in a “fallen horse” bun, with a peacock feather gold hairpin inserted at an angle. She looked every bit like a lady from the Central Plains.
Zaina was delighted by Shen Che’s scrutiny. She raised both hands and twirled several times in front of him, then gazed at him lovingly and asked, “Am I beautiful?”
“You’ve always been beautiful,” Shen Che said.
“How do I compare to the one in the carriage last night?” Zaina asked.
This was not the time for brutal honesty. Shen Che smiled and said, “Each has her charms.”
Zaina gave Shen Che a coquettish look. “You’re sly.”
“That one I saw yesterday was nothing special. How could you like such a delicate type? I doubt she could last even one round with you,” Zaina said bluntly.
Last night, Zaina had only caught a glimpse of Ji Cheng, as her attention had been mostly on Shen Che. The perfect lines of his muscles had kept her restless all night, and she had gotten up early to leave a message for Shen Che.
“A woman needs to have stamina,” Zaina said, twisting her waist.
Shen Che didn’t comment. As for Ji Cheng’s merits, he preferred to keep them to himself. He didn’t want to tell anyone. Even as it was, there were already too many admirers. If people knew of her charms, it would be truly troublesome.
Fortunately, Zaina didn’t dwell on the subject of Ji Cheng. She changed the topic, “I hear you’re fond of tea and quite skilled at brewing it. I happen to have some good tea here. Would I be fortunate enough to have a cup of tea brewed by Second Young Master?”
Zaina knew that Shen Che was good at brewing tea, but very few people had tasted tea made by his own hands. She wanted to test him.
Shen Che smiled and said, “Have you prepared the tea set?”
Zaina’s eyes lit up. “Of course.”
Brewing tea is a time-consuming process, during which many topics can be discussed.
Zaina twirled her teacup and said, “This tea is so light. You Central Plains people like such bland flavors. Once you’ve tasted the strong liquor from beyond the Great Wall, you’ll never like this kind of thing again.”
“Each has its charm. For instance, alcohol is suitable for cold weather, while light tea is good for hot days,” Shen Che said.
Zaina pouted and said, “Can tea help you like I can?”
Shen Che put down his teacup and asked, “Oh? How do you intend to help me?”
Zaina leaned over and whispered a few words in Shen Che’s ear, finally curling her tongue around his earlobe.
“This slave has been so devoted to you and hasn’t revealed any of your information to Huo De. Don’t you have any gesture of appreciation?” Zaina pouted coquettishly. “That strike you gave me yesterday still hurts my chest.”
Zaina reached for Shen Che’s hand. “Won’t you rub it for this slave?”
Shen Che withdrew his hand and said, “I already held back significantly with that strike yesterday. Otherwise, you’d be feeling more than just a little pain.”
Zaina’s face turned cold. “Don’t think I’m desperate for you. You’re trampling on my feelings like this. Aren’t you afraid I might turn against you?”
Shen Che said, “You know my background very well. So you should know that for me, the less romance, the better. Preferably none at all.”
“What about her?” Zaina asked jealously.
“I need to have a son to continue the family line,” Shen Che said.
Zaina gave a cold laugh. “You fancy her?”
“Central Plains customs are different from yours. Our marriages are more about parental arrangements and matchmakers’ words,” Shen Che explained.
Zaina had heard of this before, and her jealousy eased a bit. “Then what about me? Are you just going to leave me hanging?”
Shen Che said, “You show sincerity, and I’ll show sincerity in return. I can petition His Majesty to establish a place of worship for you in the Central Plains to spread your teachings.”
Zaina was stunned. She had thought Shen Che would never agree to help her spread Zoroastrianism and would instead choose to take her as a concubine. She hadn’t expected him to bring this up on his own.
“Do you mean what you say?” Zaina asked suspiciously.
“I know you don’t believe me, so I came prepared,” Shen Che said, taking out a bright yellow silk scroll from his robes and handing it to Zaina.
It bore Emperor Jianping’s imperial seal.
“You…” Zaina could hardly believe it.
“It wasn’t easy to obtain this imperial edict. Now do you see my sincerity?” Shen Che said.
Zaina was overjoyed. This was exactly what she had been dreaming of. Moreover, if she went to the Central Plains, she and Shen Che could…
Shen Che observed Zaina’s expression closely. “But as for whether the people of the Central Plains will believe in your teachings, that’s beyond my control.”
“Of course,” Zaina said, not wanting to push her luck.