Little Qiao resisted the urge to shrink her neck and quickly turned her face to the side, dodging him.

Wei Shao raised his other hand, using his thumb to straighten her face, forcing her to look at him.

His expression seemed slightly displeased.

“I did miss you—” Little Qiao mentally rolled her eyes at him, her voice muffled.

Wei Shao smiled, immediately releasing her. He lowered his head and quickly unfastened his armor, dropping it to the ground.

The weather had turned warm, and the armor was thick and stuffy. As soon as he took it off, Little Qiao caught a whiff of stale sweat from him. His undergarments were soaked through with sweat, clinging tightly to his body.

Little Qiao didn’t dare show any expression of disgust. She secretly held her breath and turned her face away. “The water is ready, my lord should go…”

Wei Shao reached out and pulled her into his arms, his strong arms encircling her as he lowered his head and forcefully kissed her mouth.

The smell of sweat, dust, and other indescribable odors suddenly assaulted her nostrils.

Little Qiao struggled briefly before giving up, closing her eyes and letting him bite and nibble to his heart’s content.

After a while, he suddenly released her mouth, his hands gripping her waist as he lifted her and sat her on the nearby table.

“My lord—” Little Qiao was startled and hurriedly tried to get down, but he pushed her down, forcefully pinning her to the table’s surface.

The furniture of that era tended to be low. The table wasn’t high, and Little Qiao’s feet could touch the ground when she sat on it, similar to sitting on a footstool. Wei Shao laid her down without a word, kneeling on one knee in front of the table. He lowered his head to continue nibbling on her neck, pulling her collar down from her shoulder to expose one side of her delicate collarbone and half of her chest.

Wei Shao’s attention shifted. Poor Little Qiao’s tender skin was rubbed raw by his stubble, becoming red after just a few moments.

It was broad daylight, he had just returned, and there were undoubtedly many people waiting for him outside. Madam Xu was probably waiting too.

Faced with a man who had suddenly let himself go and smelled of stale sweat, Little Qiao really couldn’t handle it. Moreover, his way of showing affection not only failed to arouse her but was torturous. She endured it for a while, but when she felt him bite her and let out a pained “Ah,” she couldn’t take it anymore. She raised her hand and pushed away the face buried in her chest. Just as she managed to push him away and was about to catch her breath, his hand lifted her skirt and reached inside.

“Don’t—” Little Qiao sat up. He pressed down on one of her shoulders with his other hand, forcing her back down.

“My lord!” Little Qiao sat up again, only to be pushed back down once more.

Little Qiao was like a fish pinned to a chopping board, twisting until her hair came loose, her cheeks flushed and breathing heavily.

“Someone will come!”

Wei Shao stared at her intently, his breathing becoming increasingly heavy. Suddenly, he picked her up, stood, and quickly walked to the bed. He threw her onto the bed and lowered his head to undo his belt.

Little Qiao’s face fell. “At least go wash yourself first!”

Wei Shao finally looked up at her, sniffed his armpit, and seemingly realizing the smell, he turned and quickly went to the bathroom. Little Qiao heard the sound of water splashing, and before she could catch her breath, he emerged, completely naked, with water dripping down his shoulders and chest.

At that moment, a voice came from outside the door: “My lord, someone is looking for you in the front hall.”

“Tell them to wait!” Wei Shao shouted without turning his head. He knelt on the edge of the bed and crawled up, reaching out to drag Little Qiao from the corner of the bed like a chicken and pinning her beneath him.

Little Qiao heard a long exhale from his throat.

“Master Gong Sun is looking for you, my lord. He says he has urgent matters to discuss.”

“My lord, you should go quickly!” Little Qiao hurriedly urged him.

Wei Shao’s expression darkened. He stared at her for a moment before finally rolling off her and getting out of bed.

“Come help me change!”

Little Qiao quickly tidied her disheveled clothes, got out of bed, and brought a set of clean clothes that had been prepared in advance. She helped him put on his outer garments and belt while dodging his hands that kept trying to touch her.

Once dressed neatly, he looked handsome and refreshed again.

“Wait for me to return, and don’t try to push me away again!” Wei Shao turned back before leaving, punishing her by pinching her cheek once more. His hand was a bit heavy, but his voice was quite gentle.

……

Wei Shao hurriedly arrived at the front hall, lifted his robe, and sat down, asking, “Master, you urgently needed to see me?”

Gong Sun Yang had been waiting for him for a while and handed him a yellow silk scroll.

Wei Shao: “A letter from Luoyang? What’s the matter?”

“The young emperor has suddenly fallen ill and died. Xing Xun has installed the seven-year-old Prince of Wenxi as the new emperor, changing the era name from Dingkang to Tai’an. Xing Xun has assumed the imperial seal and sword, and now sends a decree ordering all the lords in the realm to go to Luoyang to pay homage to the new emperor.”

Wei Shao raised an eyebrow and unrolled the yellow silk to take a look.

……

Half a month ago, court attendant Guo Xing and minister Cui Jin, dissatisfied with Xing Xun’s tyranny in court, conspired with Zhou Zhui, the commander of the Southern Palace Guard. Using the young emperor’s name, they summoned Xing Xun into the palace, secretly hiding assassins behind a curtain, waiting for a signal to kill Xing Xun. The young emperor, now gradually growing up to fifteen years old, was constantly under Xing Xun’s control, angry but unable to speak out.

He was persuaded to agree to the plan. According to the arrangement, they lured Xing Xun into the palace under the pretext of discussing bestowing him the title of “Father of the Nation.” The plan was set, but having grown up under Xing Xun’s control, the young emperor ultimately feared Xing Xun’s usual tyranny when the moment came. His face showed signs of panic, which Xing Xun noticed.

Xing Xun turned to flee, shouting as he ran. The assassins behind the curtain heard the commotion and gave chase, but were killed by Xing Xun’s guards who rushed in. Having narrowly escaped, how could Xing Xun let this go? That day, he arrested Guo Xing, Cui Jin, and others, beheading them along with their families in the street market. A few days later, the young emperor also suddenly fell ill and died. Xing Xun then installed Liu Quan, the seven-year-old son of the Prince of Wenxi, as the new emperor.

……

“What’s your opinion on this, Master?”

“My lord naturally shouldn’t go. You can feign illness to decline. Although our troops have greatly increased after taking Jinyang, they are of mixed quality and need time to be trained and utilized. Moreover, after a major battle, we should rest for some time. I’ve heard that Yuan Zhe of Qingzhou and Liu Kai of Guangping have already assembled their allied forces and are marching towards Luoyang under the banner of supporting the emperor to attack Xing Xun. My lord can take this opportunity to observe the conflict from afar.”

After Wei Shao took Jinyang and unified the north, Xing Xun naturally wouldn’t sit idly by and would have had to intervene. Now that he’s busy dealing with Yuan Zhe and Liu Kai, it gives Wei Shao a window to reorganize his military affairs and take over the local administration.

“Master’s words are reasonable. I’ll slowly nurse this illness for some time, and when I’ve recovered, we’ll discuss further plans.” Wei Shao tossed the yellow silk onto the table and said with a smile.

……

As soon as Wei Shao left, one matter after another came rolling in, and he couldn’t get away at all. By evening, there were grand victory feasts set up at the Wei mansion and the four army camps outside the city to the east, south, west, and north. Wei Shao had to attend to a round of toasts and feasting. Finally, he managed to escape and return to the west room when the sky had already turned completely dark. Little Qiao had just finished bathing not long ago and was wearing a casual smoke-red soft silk robe.

She was sitting at the dressing table, gathering all her hair to one side of her shoulder, slightly turning her head as she wiped her freshly washed, damp hair. The robe was loose and covered her well, and because all her hair was gathered to one side, only a crescent-shaped nape of her neck was exposed. But on her, in the flickering candlelight, it made her appear even more fresh and delicate, making one unable to resist flights of fancy.

Wei Shao pushed open the door and, seeing this scene, stopped in his tracks at the threshold, staring motionlessly at her post-bath silhouette.

Chun Niang turned her head and saw that Wei Shao had returned, and knowing that they had been interrupted earlier in the day, now seeing him staring at Little Qiao’s back like this, she immediately got up from behind Little Qiao and left the room with two other maids.

Wei Shao walked up behind Little Qiao, crouched down, and slipped his arms under her armpits from behind. He buried his face in the nape of her neck, deeply inhaling the fragrance emanating from her skin and hair after her bath. Suddenly feeling an irresistible urgency, he picked her up in one swift motion and, like earlier in the day, carried her to the bed.

Little Qiao knew that there was no way to avoid this now. Lying under his gaze, seeing his eyes fixed intently on her, she raised her hands to quickly remove his belt and then pulled open his robe. She couldn’t help but feel nervous, lying on the pillow, her eyes wide open, looking back at him.

Just as Wei Shao had opened his robe, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned to the door, opened it, and said to the maid outside, “Unless it’s my grandmother, don’t let anyone in,” before slamming it shut and quickly walking back to Little Qiao.

Little Qiao was pinned beneath him, held tightly in his embrace.

……

During the past few months away, Wei Shao would sometimes think of Qiao Nu at home during the nights. Their last intimate encounter, though brief, had left him with a taste he couldn’t forget. His only dissatisfaction was that he had lost control and was mocked by her. Whenever he recalled this, it irritated him like a cat scratching at his heart. Now that he had finally returned, the fire that had built up during the day hadn’t subsided, and by now his desire had exploded.

Although he didn’t want to cause her too much pain, he found it hard to control himself and wanted to get to the main act quickly. Little Qiao, however, was afraid of pain and kept clutching his shoulders, constantly begging him to go slower in his ear. He couldn’t bear to cause her too much pain either, so just getting started took quite some time, leaving them both covered in sweat.

He had been pent up for too long, and it was like a dam suddenly bursting. Immersed in her warmth, listening to Little Qiao’s soft moans in his ear, and with just a few movements beneath him, Wei Shao felt a tightening in his lower back, shuddered, and once again lost control, releasing all at once.

Little Qiao, having learned her lesson from last time, didn’t dare to laugh this time. Moreover, she wasn’t in the mood to laugh.

Because Wei Shao’s expression looked as if he was about to kill someone.

He just lay on top of her, burying his face in her still slightly damp hair, refusing to get off.

Little Qiao waited for a while. She didn’t mean to provoke him. But Wei Shao was too heavy. Having his entire weight on her for so long was unbearable.

She finally coughed lightly and poked his shoulder with one finger, comforting him: “Manman knows that my lord is a mighty man, and I thoroughly enjoyed it just now. My lord must be tired from the journey today, why don’t you rest early?”

Wei Shao slowly raised his face and stared at Little Qiao for a moment.

Little Qiao was taken aback.

“Rest? It’s still early!” Wei Shao bared his teeth at her, with a hint of revenge, and lowered his head to bury himself in her chest again.

……

The candle on the table continued to burn, gradually shortening from a new seven-inch candle to a stub less than a thumb joint in length.

It was already past midnight.

Only now did Little Qiao truly understand that calling this man a beast was an understatement; Wei Shao was practically an animal. He would take her once, then hold her and doze off for a while, then wake up and take her again. This had happened three times already, not counting the first time.

This was now the fourth time. He had positioned her on the edge of the bed, and this new position he had come up with seemed to excite him to a new height. No matter how much Little Qiao cried, he wouldn’t let her go.

Little Qiao’s voice had already become hoarse. She was crying so hard she was almost hyperventilating.

It was only during the second time that she felt somewhat comfortable.

The third time started to hurt again.

By now, it felt like she was enduring torture.

“Are you done yet?” she asked him once again, turning her head, with tears still hanging on her cheeks.

Wei Shao leaned down, cupped her face with his hands, and licked the tears off her cheeks.

Hmm, even the taste of a beauty’s tears wasn’t bad.

“Say it, am I truly a mighty man?” His expression was somewhat fierce.

“Yes— my lord is—” Little Qiao sobbed.

“Will you dare to laugh at me again?”

“I won’t dare— please finish quickly—”

He moved once, and Little Qiao’s tears fell again.

Wei Shao finally showed a satisfied expression, gripped her waist tightly for a few more thrusts, and let out an extremely content, long sigh.

Little Qiao felt as if all her bones had been removed. As soon as he let go of her, she collapsed to the floor, unable to even crawl.

Wei Shao picked up the sweat-covered Little Qiao from behind, and they entered the bathroom together.

……

Little Qiao slept so deeply that she was completely out of it. Early the next morning, still feeling extremely tired, she vaguely felt something strange at her feet, as if someone was touching them. In her sleep, she curled her toes and tried to pull her feet up.

After a while, that feeling came again.

She was really tired, but finally, she was woken up by it. She opened her eyes groggily.

It was still dark inside the bed curtains. It must still be early.

As soon as she woke up, Little Qiao felt as if her whole body had been run over by a cart, and her thighs hurt with every movement.

Wei Shao was still in bed, wearing only a casually draped white undergarment without tying it. He was half-sitting, half-lying beside her, propped up on one arm.

This wasn’t so bad. The terrifying part was that he was touching her feet.

This was how she had been woken up.

What was this? Not only was he worse than a beast, but he also had some kind of perverted bedroom pleasure.

Little Qiao’s whole body bristled, as if pricked by needles, and she quickly pulled her feet away from his hands, hiding them under the blanket.

Wei Shao seemed to be stunned for a moment. He looked up and saw her staring at him, and they locked eyes for a moment before his gaze gradually moved downward.

Little Qiao looked down and immediately pulled the blanket higher.

Wei Shao coughed dryly, withdrew his gaze, and jumped off the bed. With his back to Little Qiao, he started dressing while saying, “If you’re tired, sleep some more. You don’t need to go see my grandmother and mother. I have some business today, so I’ll leave first.”

This person seemed to become more normal after getting out of bed.

Xiao Qiao let out a small sigh of relief.

After finishing dressing, Wei Shao turned and glanced at her, then suddenly moved closer.

“I probably won’t be going out much in the next few days. I’ll do my best to spend more time with you.”

His voice sounded gentle, and he smiled faintly at Xiao Qiao.