Xiao Qiao stared intently at Wei Shao, her eyes unblinking as they gradually misted over with tears. Suddenly, she reached out and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. With a muffled voice, she called out “Husband” and buried her face in his chest.

Wei Shao found himself embraced by a pair of jade-like arms, holding a soft body in his own. She curled up into a small ball in his arms, motionless, as delicate and fragile as an infant.

It felt as if an invisible hand had twisted his internal organs, slowly tightening them together. He felt extremely uncomfortable.

Unconsciously, he held her even tighter, pressing his lips to her ear and gently coaxing, “Manman, don’t be afraid anymore. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have brought you here and left you alone. Hit me if you want, however, you like, I’ll let you vent your anger…”

He continued to soothe her in this manner, his tone as gentle as if comforting a child.

The more he comforted her, the more fragile Xiao Qiao’s emotions seemed to become. She closed her eyes and shook her head a few times, her nose tingling. Unable to control herself, she began to cry.

Seeing that his comfort had made her cry, Wei Shao became flustered and rambled on incessantly.

“Manman, what can I do to make you stop crying?”

He blurted out whatever crazy ideas came to mind.

But the more he tried to comfort her, the more fiercely Xiao Qiao cried. Though she made no sound, she kept gasping for air in his arms with her eyes closed, her shoulders heaving. In no time, she had soaked a large part of Wei Shao’s clothes.

Wei Shao was stunned. Suddenly, he placed her back on the bed, knelt on one knee beside it, leaned down to cup her face, and kissed her on the mouth.

His kiss, like his demeanor tonight, was unprecedentedly gentle, full of comforting power.

As their lips and tongues intertwined, Xiao Qiao finally began to recover from the unease she had felt upon first seeing him and gradually stopped sobbing.

“Manman, what else do you want me to do to make you happy?”

After ending this slightly salty kiss, Wei Shao trailed kisses to her ear, gently sucking and kissing her jade-like soft earlobe.

Xiao Qiao felt a bit shy. She closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against his chest a few times, quietly wiping away the remnants of tears and mucus on her face. She whimpered softly, opened her eyes, pushed his face away, and said in a low voice, “I need to relieve myself.”

Wei Shao was momentarily stunned, then picked her up again and carried her towards the bathroom.

At the doorway, Xiao Qiao saw that he seemed about to enter with her. She hurriedly grabbed his arm and said, “I want to get down now.”

Wei Shao had already entered and said gently, “You’re still ill. I’ll help you.”

Xiao Qiao’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. She tightened her fingers on his sleeve and shook her head. “I don’t need your help. Get out!”

Wei Shao gazed at her, seeing her cheeks reddened with shame. After a moment’s hesitation, he slowly put her down and said, “Then I’ll wait for you here.”

Xiao Qiao forcibly pushed him out. Seeing that he was still standing at the door, unwilling to leave, she bit her lip and said, “Move further away. Otherwise, I…”

She wanted to say that otherwise, she couldn’t go, but couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud. She just kept urging him to leave.

Wei Shao sighed and reluctantly moved away, looking back every few steps.

Xiao Qiao closed the door. Never before had she felt like this, even while relieving herself – as if a little rabbit was hiding in her chest, making her heart thump rapidly. Yet she also felt incredibly sweet. She carefully, trying to make as little noise as possible, finally finished and let out a sigh of relief. After washing her hands and opening the door, she was startled to see Wei Shao had somehow returned and was leaning against the doorframe.

“My lady’s stream is music to my ears. You finished so quickly, I barely heard anything,” he said with a smile.

Xiao Qiao was stunned for a moment, then her cheeks flushed again. She clenched her fists and pounded on his chest, calling him a bad man.

After being thumped a few times, Wei Shao laughed heartily. Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her bottom and lifted her high off the ground. Her chest was now level with his face.

He seemed to be deliberately teasing her, pressing his face against one side of her chest and then rolling it to the other side.

Xiao Qiao’s nightgown was thin and soft, and she immediately became sensitive. She hurriedly raised her hands to push his face away. He then pressed against her other soft mound. This time he was even more mischievous, taking her clothes into his mouth and gently licking and nibbling with his teeth and tongue.

Xiao Qiao let out a soft moan, and half her body instantly went limp. She hung on him, giggling softly and pushing at his head. They made their way back to the bed like this, with Wei Shao lying down beside her and continuing to tease her for a while. Xiao Qiao was eventually squeezed into the corner of the bed, laughing until she was weak all over. Suddenly, she started coughing again.

Wei Shao immediately stopped and began rubbing her chest with his palm.

Xiao Qiao coughed for a while until the dry itching in her throat subsided. She looked up to see him staring at her unblinkingly, his expression full of pity. Feeling a sweetness in her heart, she said, “I’m fine now. I’m much better.”

Wei Shao gazed at her rosy cheeks, which were more beautiful than flowers, restraining the desire that had long since emerged in his heart to devour her whole. He helped her lie down, pulled the covers up to her chin, and said, “You sleep first. I’m all sweaty, and I don’t want to bother you. I’ll take a bath and then come to sleep with you.”

Xiao Qiao nodded.

After finishing his bath, Wei Shao extinguished the lights. In the darkness, he climbed into bed, lay down, and reached out to pull Xiao Qiao into his arms.

“Sleep now,” Wei Shao said softly in her ear.

…

Xiao Qiao slept soundly and peacefully in Wei Shao’s warm embrace, without even a single dream. The next day, she felt refreshed and, apart from some lingering weakness and a slightly dry throat, was almost completely recovered.

Wei Shao stayed with her the entire day. They were truly inseparable, eating and sleeping together. He fed her medicine, wouldn’t let her walk even half a step, and pampered her to the point of indulgence. When night fell and Xiao Qiao bathed, he wouldn’t even allow Spring Maiden to attend to her.

Previously, when Xiao Qiao had fallen ill, Spring Maiden hadn’t allowed her to bathe in water, only wiping her body each day.

The weather at the end of spring was changeable. A few days ago, it had rained, bringing sudden cold after warmth, which had caused Xiao Qiao to fall ill again. But as soon as the sky cleared, the weather immediately turned hot. Xiao Qiao felt sticky all over, and since she was almost fully recovered, she enjoyed a comfortable bath in hot water.

Wei Shao bathed with her. Afraid she might catch a cold again, he didn’t move her much in the water. After she finished washing, he carried her out, dried her body, wrapped her in clothes, and put her to bed.

Xiao Qiao lay comfortably in Wei Shao’s arms, her starry eyes half-closed, allowing his hand to caress her back. Just as she was about to fall asleep, Wei Shao sat up, lifted the corner of the blanket, and grasped her foot.

Xiao Qiao opened her eyes to see him repeatedly examining one of her feet with an odd expression. She guessed the reason for his behavior.

Wei Shao looked up and asked her, “Does it still hurt?”

That scene had once frightened Xiao Qiao nearly to death. Whenever she recalled it, her whole body would break out in goosebumps.

As for the foot that Chen Rui had bitten, although the teeth marks had faded after a few days, for many days after, her foot seemed to retain an indescribable discomfort.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” she shook her head and said softly.

Wei Shao gently stroked her foot with his palm, then lowered his head and kissed her white, delicate instep, saying, “It’s my fault for letting you experience such a fright.”

The skin on her instep where his lips had touched seemed to burn.

Xiao Qiao curled her toes, wanting to pull her foot back. But he held it firmly, not letting go, and kissed it again, repeatedly, as if trying to cover over all the marks that had once been left on her foot.

Xiao Qiao’s face slowly reddened, and she whimpered softly, “I’m better. Don’t do this…”

She felt a bit shy.

Wei Shao ignored her. After kissing her instep, he kissed each of her neat and pretty toes one by one. Then his lips slowly moved up from her foot.

Calf, knee, thigh…

Xiao Qiao watched as his kisses moved higher and higher, gradually feeling short of breath and anxious.

He had almost reached the top of her leg, yet showed no signs of stopping.

He couldn’t be thinking of…

Her eyes grew wider and wider. Just as his lips were about to touch her most intimate place, she hurriedly tried to close her legs, but his hands firmly held them open.

He kissed her there without hesitation.

“No…” Xiao Qiao was extremely embarrassed and kept shaking her head. But the sensation was like a mist turning into wine. Her whole body tingled, and she whimpered helplessly, her face bright red, her body twisting and trembling slightly.

“Please, don’t—” she pleaded.

But Wei Shao didn’t listen and continued to please her with his lips and tongue.

A wave of intense pleasure suddenly washed over her. Xiao Qiao couldn’t control herself, and her essence flowed freely, soaking through the thick quilt.

At that moment, he entered her, and they became one.

…

Perhaps out of consideration for her recent recovery from illness, Wei Shao wasn’t too demanding of her that night.

They only coupled once, but both felt as if they had been enlightened, and extremely happy.

“Did Manman like what I just did to you?” Wei Shao whispered in her ear, his voice somewhat smug.

Xiao Qiao covered her eyes with the back of her hand, shaking her head continuously.

Wei Shao, looking at her adorable expression of saying one thing but meaning another, laughed again. After laughing, he moved her hand away from her eyes and said, “Manman, open your eyes.”

Xiao Qiao obediently opened her eyes, which still held the lingering moisture of passion.

“Hug me,” he commanded again.

Xiao Qiao once more obediently hugged him.

Wei Shao let out a deep sigh.

“From now on, no matter what happens, don’t hide anything from me. Tell me immediately, understand?” Wei Shao said, his tone is serious, a change from his previous playfulness.

Xiao Qiao was slightly startled.

“Like this time, you encountered such danger and experienced such a fright, yet why didn’t you mention a word of it in your letter to me?”

His tone gradually became heavier.

Xiao Qiao said softly, “I didn’t want you to…”

“You didn’t want me to be distracted?” Wei Shao interrupted her, frowning slightly. “Do you know how I felt when I finally found out about this a month later? It made me feel as if you didn’t truly regard me as your husband in your heart. I would rather you hadn’t saved that Qiang youth than have you in any danger. It would be best if the Beihe tribe submitted to me, but if they don’t, I’ll subdue them by force. Pacifying the western border is just a matter of time. But if anything were to happen to you, how could I go on?”

His tone became increasingly severe.

Xiao Qiao bit her lip. “Husband, I was wrong…”

Wei Shao’s expression finally softened a bit. He snorted, “Will you dare to hide things from me again in the future?”

“I won’t dare,” Xiao Qiao shook her head.

Wei Shao’s expression finally relaxed completely. He hugged her from behind, kissed her forehead, and said, “That Chen Rui, he escaped by luck last time, yet he dared to treat you like this again. If I don’t…”

He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

“If you don’t what, husband?” Xiao Qiao opened her eyes.

Wei Shao said, “It’s nothing. I was just talking nonsense.” He stroked her hair, smiled at her, and said in a gentle tone, “You’re tired. Sleep now.”