Xiao Qiao gently held one of Wei Shao’s hands, silently gazing at his face. He was truly a handsome man. With his jet-black sword-like eyebrows, long thick eyelashes, and high straight nose, his habitual solemn expression caused the corners of his lips to be slightly pursed, giving him an air of asceticism…
Suddenly, Xiao Qiao noticed his eyelashes quiver slightly as if he was about to wake up. She quickly leaned close to his ear and softly called out, “Husband.”
Wei Shao’s eyelids fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes, meeting Xiao Qiao’s gaze.
“Why have you come here?” he asked in a low voice, his gaze seeming unfocused. He stared at her for a moment before appearing to recognize her.
Perhaps due to his physical weakness, his voice sounded hoarse and feeble.
Xiao Qiao suddenly felt a lump in her throat.
Apart from his bad temper and irreconcilable hostility towards her family, Xiao Qiao knew that, at least towards her alone, he wasn’t particularly unkind.
Sometimes, he was even extremely good to her.
She recalled Madam Xu’s words when he left for the Upper Party expedition, mentioning how he had survived multiple injuries.
At the time, she had thought that since he was destined to ascend the throne and become emperor in her previous life, no matter how dangerous the situation, he would always manage to turn crisis into opportunity. So she hadn’t taken it to heart. Moreover, seeing his usual arrogant demeanor, as if he was always ready to climb roofs and pull tiles, she found it hard to associate him with being in perilous situations.
It wasn’t until just a moment ago, when she came in and saw him so weak with her own eyes, that she realized for the first time that he too was human—a person who could suffer severe injuries.
Xiao Qiao tightened her grip on his hand and said softly, “I arrived in Jinyang early, but you weren’t there. They said you had come here. I only learned from Master Gongsun’s letter the day before yesterday that you had been wounded by a poisoned arrow. Master Gongsun wrote that you lacked someone to take care of your daily needs. I had nothing to do in Jinyang, so I came. I just arrived a short while ago. The colonel just led me into the camp, and when there was no response to the announcement outside the tent, I came in by myself. Did I wake you?”
Wei Shao continued to gaze at her and slowly shook his head.
Xiao Qiao asked, “How are you feeling?” As she spoke, she reached out with her other hand and felt his forehead.
The soft fabric of her sleeve brushed against Wei Shao’s nose and face, and her soft palm gently pressed against his forehead.
Wei Shao’s heartbeat suddenly quickened under her wrist, and he closed his eyes briefly.
“Why does it still seem a bit hot?” Xiao Qiao felt his forehead skin was slightly warm. She withdrew her hand and touched her forehead to compare, her heart suddenly becoming anxious.
Master Gongsun’s letter had said he was out of danger.
But he was still running a fever?
Even a low-grade fever indicated that he hadn’t completely escaped danger.
Xiao Qiao stood up. “You’re still feverish! Where is the army physician? What did they say?”
Wei Shao quickly grasped her hand, pulling her back to his side. “I’m much better now. There’s no major problem. I just need a few more days of rest. Don’t worry.”
Hearing his voice finally regain some strength and seeing his gaze no longer as unfocused as when he first opened his eyes, Xiao Qiao felt his forehead again. It seemed indeed not as hot as before. After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “If you feel unwell, you must say so early on.”
Wei Shao stared at her unblinkingly and obediently nodded. “I understand.”
Xiao Qiao smiled at him. “I came in a hurry and didn’t bring much with me. You can’t eat rich foods right now. Chun Niang packed some excellent dried lychees when we left home. I brought some with me. Are you hungry? I can go make you a sweet soup for a snack.”
Wei Shao held onto her hand, not letting go. “I’m not hungry.”
“Then I’ll make it for you tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
They fell silent, with him lying down and her sitting, her hand held in his as they gazed at each other.
It was now the third month of spring, nearing the fourth month, and the weather was gradually warming up. Xiao Qiao’s hand, held in his for a while, felt his palm becoming sweaty. She leaned in and sniffed his collar. “How many days has it been since you’ve had a body wash? Would you like me to help you clean up and change into fresh clothes? You’ll sleep more comfortably.”
For Wei Shao, when on military campaigns, going ten days or half a month without bathing was not uncommon. But this military camp was stationed near the Western River, making it convenient to fetch water. Wei Shao was also not completely immobile and had already bathed himself last night.
But with her now offering so tenderly to help him clean up, how could he refuse?
“Alright,” he said. “I’ve been lying here for many days and haven’t washed for several days. I can smell my odor.”
Xiao Qiao wrinkled her nose cutely in mock disgust. She then freed her hand from his grip and rose to go outside the tent, calling for someone to bring water.
Wei Shao’s gaze followed her retreating figure, moving with her.
Jia Si had just brought in her trunk from the carriage and placed it outside the tent. Now it was carried in along with the water that was brought.
Besides her change of clothes and other miscellaneous items, the trunk also contained some of Wei Shao’s clothes that she had brought for him.
Xiao Qiao helped Wei Shao sit up and began to help him remove his clothes. When she took off his inner garment, she saw the scar left on his injured arm where the poisoned flesh had been cut away. Although it had started to reduce in swelling and scab over, it was still a shocking sight.
She could imagine how painful it must have been without anesthesia.
Xiao Qiao felt as if she could feel the pain herself.
“Does it still hurt?” she asked as she wrung out the soft face towel she had brought and began wiping his arm.
“It still hurts a bit,” Wei Shao replied.
This wasn’t entirely a lie. If someone were to slap it, it would indeed still hurt.
Xiao Qiao frowned slightly, carefully avoiding the wound as she finished wiping his arm and upper body. Then she changed to a fresh basin of water and towel, dipped it, and handed it to him, glancing briefly at his lower half to indicate he should wash himself.
Wei Shao spread his hands, motionless as if paralyzed, his eyes fixed on her.
“Wash yourself. You still have one good hand, don’t you?” Xiao Qiao turned slightly to the side.
Although they had been together for over a year now, until she was brought into that state by him, Xiao Qiao was still somewhat embarrassed to be naked in front of him, let alone look closely at that part of him for no reason.
Unlike him, who was completely unabashed.
Wei Shao had been looking forward to this moment, only to find that she was, as usual, leaving the crucial part for him to do himself…
After a while, Xiao Qiao heard him sigh lazily, “I’m done.” She turned to take the towel, but he tossed it into the water with a splash, not caring about the water spilling all over the ground. He then grabbed her small hand, pulling her down to sit on his thigh.
Xiao Qiao was startled and looked up at him, her face cupped in his hands.
He kissed her mouth, skillfully pressing her down onto the somewhat narrow camp bed.
Xiao Qiao was caught off guard. At first, she squirmed symbolically under him to show her reluctance, but soon enough, she obediently opened her mouth to let him kiss her.
They kissed wetly for a while. After some time, he grabbed one of her hands and guided it towards his lower region. It was then that Xiao Qiao came to her senses and hurriedly refused, “You’re not fully recovered yet, we can’t!”
Wei Shao, overcome with desire, panted heavily, “I’m fine now.”
“I know you’re not! Don’t lie to me!”
“I am fine!”
“I said no, and I mean no!”
Xiao Qiao forcefully pulled her hand back.
Wei Shao stopped.
Seeing him slowly become still, his mood seeming to drop, Xiao Qiao thought about her tone just now, which indeed seemed a bit harsh. Feeling a pang of guilt, she gently pushed his shoulder and brought her lips to his ear, softly saying, “Be good! I’m doing this for your own sake. Your body really can’t handle it right now. If you don’t listen, I’ll get angry.”
She was coaxing him now, even telling him to be good. Wei Shao felt his blood surging through his body, almost unable to contain himself. He whimpered, nuzzling against the soft, fragrant body in his arms, “I’ll listen to you… It’s just that I feel so uncomfortable… Don’t you believe me? Just touch and see… Help me relieve it a little, and I’ll be fine… I promise not to do anything else…”
Xiao Qiao was truly in a dilemma.
She had come to take care of his health. She shouldn’t indulge his recklessness. But seeing his handsome face twisted in an expression of discomfort bordering on pain, she couldn’t bear it. She didn’t know what she had done to provoke such a strong, unquenchable desire in him.
After hesitating for a moment, she said with some uncertainty, “Alright, but you promised, once you’re relieved, you’ll stop…”
Wei Shao nodded without hesitation, not even blinking, “Alright! I’ll just relieve it a little!”
…
Wei Shao, that big liar! She would never trust him again!
The next day, at the fifth watch, when the outside world was just showing a faint dawn, Xiao Qiao was startled awake by the first long and piercing reveille horn sound from the military camp outside the tent. She opened her eyes in confusion to find herself tightly squeezed by Wei Shao on one side of the narrow camp bed, half of her body almost hanging off the edge.
The only reason she hadn’t fallen off was because his leg was pressing on her stomach. The pressure made her waist and back ache as if she had been run over by a cartwheel again and again.
Last night, he couldn’t calm down at all. Not only could he not calm down, but using the excuses of being weak from illness and unable to stop midway, he had coaxed and half-forced her to sit on top of him…
All of that aside, what made Xiao Qiao feel anxious and short of breath when she thought about it was how she would face people when she went out today.
She swore she had tried her best to endure, making as little noise as possible, and had even covered Wei Shao’s mouth several times to prevent him from making unbearably loud noises that would disturb others. But thinking about the sound insulation of this large tent made of cowhide, she still felt uneasy.
The only consolation was that when she came in last night, she had noticed that the area around the main military tent was cleared, with the nearest tents, probably those of several generals, being about ten zhang away.
Hopefully, everyone had slept soundly and no one had been listening intently…
Xiao Qiao gritted her teeth, trying to push Wei Shao’s heavy leg off her body when suddenly an arm reached out and embraced her. They were pressed together.
Wei Shao slowly opened his eyes, his gaze intertwining with hers.
In the faint light of the dawning sky, his eyes were as bright as two points of starlight from the previous night.
“Now that you’re here, I feel much better,” he sighed, leaning his head towards her and gently rubbing his chin, now covered with a layer of rough stubble, against her warm forehead. His voice was slightly hoarse as he spoke.