It was late in the night. Within the gauze curtains and soft quilt, a faint, enchanting fragrance filled the air.

After spending half a month in the shabby lodgings of the border town, Wei Shao found himself unable to sleep well on this night back home.

The Qiao woman beside him, however, slept soundly, already deep in dreams.

He had only dozed off briefly in the first half of the night. After waking, he couldn’t fall asleep again. He had opened his eyes to look at the person beside him more than once.

The inexplicable fire that had been building in his heart since daytime, and now in his body, refused to subside.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, turning his face towards her.

The two of them always slept with separate blankets. Each time they went to bed, she would tuck her blanket tightly around herself, wrapping herself up snugly. Tonight was no exception.

The light in the curtained bed was dim, but he could still see her body curled up into a ball, motionless within the blanket, like a docile cat.

As Wei Shao gazed at her silhouette outlined by the hazy night, the fire in his body grew even more intense—the scene from that night flashed through his mind again. On this very bed, the things she had done for him.

Now he felt the need again. Not only that, but the feeling was so strong that he couldn’t suppress it any longer.

Last time, seeing her in such pain had made him feel a bit sorry for her, and in a moment of softness, he had let her be.

Although she was a daughter of the Qiao family, and he had never wanted to touch her, she was also the woman his grandmother had chosen for him to marry. If his grandmother knew that he still hadn’t consummated the marriage, she would surely reproach him.

Wei Shao decided not to hold back any longer.

As if by chance, Xiao Qiao mumbled something in her sleep, as if she had a dumpling in her mouth, and rolled towards him.

His arm was lightly pressed by two soft, plump objects. Even through the blanket, he could feel their softness and how they fit perfectly in his hand.

It felt as if a wave of heat washed over his body. Wei Shao shuddered. He lifted his thigh to hook her leg, and his hand reached out to wrap around her waist, pulling her entire body into his embrace.

…

Strangely enough, since coming here, Xiao Qiao has never again experienced the terrifying nightmares about her past life that she used to have when sleeping at the Qiao family home.

After understanding the reason for Wei Shao’s displeasure that evening, she let it go.

If he was truly angry with her, there was nothing she could do about it. It wasn’t as if she had asked his grandmother to force him to come and pick her up.

Inscribing the mural during the day had been truly exhausting. When she first returned, her arms and shoulders were sore, but by the time she lay down, the ache had spread throughout her entire body. Her eyelids quickly drooped, and she fell asleep.

Just now, she had been in a hazy dream where Chun Niang was massaging her muscles and tendons. At first, she was massaging her shoulders and back with gentle, neither too light nor too heavy movements. It felt quite comfortable, and she even made a few encouraging sounds. Later, she dreamed that Chun Niang was kneading the flesh on her chest and stomach, doing so for quite a while, and then moving lower… and then…

In any case, Chun Niang’s strength seemed to be increasing, and the placement of her hands became increasingly inappropriate. It even started to hurt.

Even in her dream, Xiao Qiao felt that something was wrong. Chun Niang wouldn’t touch her so randomly, nor would she be so rough with her. Moreover, the sensation felt too real; even in her dream, she felt that this couldn’t be just a dream. She wanted to open her eyes to stop that hand, but she had fallen into such a deep sleep initially, like a pig, her eyelids seemed glued together, and she couldn’t open them for a moment. She whimpered a few times, feeling uncomfortable, when suddenly she felt herself being flipped over entirely. A chill ran over her body as if her clothes had been removed, and she was placed in a spread-eagle position facing upwards. Then, with a heavyweight, something hot and mountain-like pressed down on her.

Xiao Qiao’s entire chest cavity was slightly compressed by the weight, fortunately, flexible enough not to be flattened, but her breath caught, and her drowsiness finally disappeared completely. She abruptly opened her eyes and vaguely saw a human face just above her own, only inches away. She could feel the warm breath on her cheeks. Startled, she opened her mouth to cry out, but just as the sound began to form, her mouth was covered by the person.

Of course, it was Wei Shao using his mouth to cover hers.

He didn’t want her startled screams to wake Chun Niang or any other servant sleeping in the adjacent room, especially not when he was so excited.

As soon as he covered her mouth, he found her lips fragrant, soft, and warm, very pleasant to kiss. He couldn’t help but lick them a few times with his tongue. Seeing her mouth still open, he took the opportunity to taste her tongue. Their tongues met.

By now, Xiao Qiao had fully awakened and realized that the person manipulating and pressing down on her was Wei Shao.

At first, she was truly unable to react, her mind completely blank. She could only open her mouth, her entire body motionless, like a stupid frog in a summer night’s field caught in the beam of a flashlight. After a while, she became aware of what was happening. Feeling his tongue probing into her mouth, an indescribable sensation, probably a mix of disgust and queasiness, washed over her. She hurriedly shook her head, trying to avoid it. However, while she was trying to dodge, he was too excited to be denied, determined to taste her. Their tongues chased each other in her small mouth for a moment, but Xiao Qiao ultimately couldn’t escape. In the end, he sucked on her tongue tightly, intertwining them.

Xiao Qiao’s head spun again.

This time, it was probably due to a lack of oxygen. Just as she was about to suffocate, the man finally released her mouth.

As fresh air entered her lungs, Xiao Qiao immediately opened her mouth, gasping for breath. But before she could catch her breath, he had already spread her legs apart.

…

Having married into the Wei family, Xiao Qiao naturally hadn’t prepared to cling to her chastity. If there was anyone to blame, it was Wei Shao. On their wedding night, he had pulled out a sword from under the pillow and pointed it at her nose, then refused to share the bed with her. Even if she had wanted to offer herself, she hadn’t had the chance.

Since her husband was unwilling to sleep with her, she certainly wouldn’t go worshipping cucumbers eagerly, so gradually, Xiao Qiao had become accustomed to them sleeping separately, not interfering with each other—as for that night when he was drugged, it was like an act of God clause in an insurance policy, of course, it didn’t count.

She never imagined that after being away for half a month, he would suddenly become aroused in the middle of the night upon his return, seemingly intent on doing it for real this time.

Xiao Qiao felt a bit panicked, not ready for things to progress so quickly.

His movements were also rough as hell, with no foreplay whatsoever, immediately positioning himself to join with her intimately. His rough hands were also pinching her soft thighs mercilessly, causing her pain.

Xiao Qiao heard his heavy, labored breathing, and suddenly, inappropriately, the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast flashed through her mind.

In the fairy tale, although the male lead was undoubtedly a beast, he was gentle and considerate towards the female lead.

She was at least considered a beauty, wasn’t she? Yet Wei Shao wasn’t even as good as a beast!

Xiao Qiao felt his body tense up tightly. Although she tried her best to relax and cooperate to avoid suffering, she simply couldn’t relax at all and seemed to be tensing up along with him. When that feeling of being torn apart, which she had briefly experienced last time, came over her again, she couldn’t hold back anymore. She bent her leg and kicked out at him hard and randomly.

Xiao Qiao was very flexible. Her leg went up high. With a loud smack that sounded like a slap, it seemed to have hit Wei Shao squarely in the face.

He let out a muffled groan.

Xiao Qiao hadn’t expected her aim to be so good, hitting him right in the face. She felt a bit guilty and quickly lowered her trembling leg, saying in a shaky voice, “You’re hurting me. Can’t you go slower…”

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the door, particularly clear in the silent night.

“My Lord! General Wei has rushed here from Shiyi overnight, saying he has urgent military intelligence to report to you!”

A voice said outside the door.

General Wei was, of course, Wei Liang.

Wei Shao’s figure immediately froze.

Xiao Qiao, who had just kicked him so hard and with such good aim in the face, was feeling a bit guilty. Hearing this, she let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly urged him, “General Wei has traveled through the night to get here. Husband, go quickly and see what’s happening. Don’t delay important matters!”

Her voice was trembling slightly, and she was also panting heavily.

Wei Shao knelt on one knee between her legs for a moment, then suddenly pulled back the curtain, jumped off the bed, quickly put on his clothes, and left, leaving Xiao Qiao behind.

Xiao Qiao listened intently, hearing him exchange a few quiet words with the messenger before his footsteps quickly faded away.

She let out a long breath, feeling her chest, which was drenched in sweat.

Half from holding her breath, half from the pain.

…

Wei Liang had already recovered from his injuries. A few days ago, he had set out from Shiyi with a letter from Gong Sun Yang, riding non-stop to Yuyang. He had just arrived moments ago, called for the city gates to be opened, and seeing that there was still some time before dawn, couldn’t wait and came directly.

Wei Shao received him in the study.

Wei Liang knelt on one knee before him in a military salute, took out Gong Sun Yang’s letter from his bosom, and handed it over with both hands, saying, “The military situation is truly urgent, which is why I’ve come to wake you in the dead of night, My Lord. Please forgive me!”

Wei Shao said nothing, took the letter from his hands, unfolded it, and quickly scanned it. His expression became grave.

He motioned for Wei Liang to rise.

Wei Liang stood up and said, “According to our intelligence, Chen Xiang of Bing Province has already assembled an army of 150,000, preparing to march on Shiyi. He has also betrothed one of his daughters to the fifth son of Xue Tai of Xu Province. In addition to the dowry, he’s sending 100,000 hu of grain and 1,000 taels of gold, instigating Xue Tai to attack Yu Province. The two have already allied. My Lord, you have married a woman from the Qiao family of Yu Province. If Yu Province is in danger, they will surely ask you for military assistance.

If you send troops to aid Yu Province, Shiyi will be in peril, and it may be difficult to withstand Chen Xiang’s army of 150,000. If you focus on fighting in Shiyi and don’t rescue Yu Province, then Yu Province will be hard to protect, and your marriage alliance with the Qiao family will be rendered meaningless, not to mention the criticism you’ll face. To rescue or not to rescue, both options are problematic. This is Chen Xiang’s strategy to put you in a dilemma. How do you plan to respond, My Lord?”