The lamp wick burst into flame. After a life-and-death battle, their reunion seemed as if they had never been apart.
“All right.” Yuan Cheng watched Mo Zi approach, his smile deepening.
Mo Zi stopped at a distance of one fist from him. “These past two days I’ve had a good look at the boats you captured. I don’t know if it’s because Nande’s court is truly corrupt beyond measure or if they have no talent—the boats are like tofu. Three or four strikes with an iron ram can shatter most of them. If you go to war on boats like these, I’ll become a widow very quickly.” She’d received word of his return early on, but she was leading Smelly Fish and the others to test water depth and couldn’t just leave at will.
“Are these days hard on you?” She yearned for a simple, peaceful life, yet marrying him made her work harder than anyone—she couldn’t escape either shipbuilding or warfare.
“Hard isn’t really the issue—it’s living in constant anxiety, fearing something might happen to you. This time I’ve also thought it through carefully. You always say I’m soft-hearted. I feel I’ve changed somewhat—I don’t even blink when people die before my eyes, looking a bit like a demon woman. Now that we’re married and I have you, I might as well cultivate this demon woman persona to be consistent inside and out. What do you think?” Her tone was soft, her expression resolute. “Fighting alongside you isn’t for the common people or the masses. I just want to secure a peaceful place for the two of us to settle down. So I plan to use all my skills to build you a command ship. Meng Jiangnu cried down the Great Wall—I used to not understand where she got so many tears. Now I understand that when you wholeheartedly love someone, what you fear most is that person suddenly leaving, no longer existing. I don’t want to be like Meng Jiangnu. I can only do everything in my power while you’re safe to ensure you don’t leave before me.”
Seeing Yuan Cheng not speaking, she felt somewhat embarrassed. “I’m not as good with words as you—you casually produce sentences that make me want to cry. Besides having nimble hands and being able to do some woodwork, I’m rather clumsy at other things. Clearly I like you no less than you like me, but I don’t know how to say it. You always get the upper hand, as if I’m just passively enjoying everything.” Comparing the two relationships—she’d held to her principles and refused to pick up a butcher’s knife for Wu Yan, but now she desperately wanted to build Yuan Cheng the world’s sturdiest warship. What did that indicate?
“I understand.” She was a girl who demonstrated her feelings through practical actions. Of course she wasn’t clumsy. But her hands were always faster than her mouth. Just like with shipbuilding—always silently drawing plans, making models, and only presenting them after repeated testing. Her feelings for him seemed detached, but whenever something happened, she was the first to appear by his side. To say she was emotionally slow was wrong—actually she was perceptive. To say she wasn’t good at expressing herself—it was because she acted first.
“However—” He reached out to gently caress her face. “I do like hearing you say it. Those woodworking projects of yours take too long—my heart’s all aflutter waiting.”
Mo Zi pushed herself into his embrace, holding tight, experiencing that tangible reality. “I waited for you in that cave for five days. Everyone looked at me like I was a wandering ghost.” In war, life and death were separated by just a thin line.
Yuan Cheng swept her up in his arms and walked toward the inner tent. “Let me also see whether you’re human or spirit right now.”
Mo Zi laughed softly. Those incomparable hands nimbly explored into his robe. The moment they touched that smooth, warm chest, her eyes grew seductive. Between husband and wife, this sort of thing—once past the wedding night, it didn’t grow tiresome, only bolder and more satisfying. Meeting the right person was like a fish finding water—limitless potential.
“Prime Minister, General Shen requests an audience.” The attendant outside the main tent reported.
Mo Zi blinked, rarely producing such a coquettish voice. “The Prime Minister should prioritize official business.” Yet her hands didn’t stop, exploring toward his lower abdomen. Feeling his muscles tighten, she buried her laughter in his neck.
So it turned out that sometimes, women just wanted to torment men.
Yuan Cheng lowered his gaze and clenched his teeth, speaking clearly. “Madam is in the tent. Others are forbidden to enter.” Logically, this statement was perfectly appropriate, but he wasn’t an ordinary person. He added, “My wife and I are newly married. After our brief separation, we miss each other terribly. Do not disturb us until the sun rises.”
Mo Zi’s eyes widened. Her smile froze. She also gritted her teeth. “Yuan Cheng, you can’t cure your shameless thick skin, can you?” Do not disturb until the sun rises? This set a wonderful precedent for the emperor neglecting morning court! Moreover, with him saying this, everyone on the entire mountain now knew what the two of them were going to do.
“It’s not a flaw.” He murmured in her ear. “It’s an advantage. Besides, by saying this, those commanders who think I’m lofty and aloof will understand I’m an ordinary man just like them. This is called ‘becoming one of the group’—they’ll soon be calling me brother.”
If anyone in this world had a tongue more formidable than his, she’d willingly kneel to take them as her master.
Mo Zi truly couldn’t argue back even half a sentence. She could only submit. “Married to a chicken, follow the chicken. If my husband has thick skin, this little woman can only have thick skin too and be this pool of beauty bringing disaster. Hey, wait, that’s not right—it’s already deep into the night, the proper time for husband and wife to share a bed. I haven’t brought you disaster.”
Yuan Cheng laughed low. “You’re too well-behaved.”
Mo Zi pulled at his lapels. She lifted her body and her beautiful rose-red lips bit his mouth, then sucked intensely, forming words in the gaps between. “Can’t out-talk you, can only bite.”
Yuan Cheng didn’t speak, had no time to speak. His tender wife was passionate and seductive—he willingly sank into it. Heaven knew, those three days and four nights of passion were with the thought that he’d be too busy to steal leisure after coming down the mountain. Who knew it still couldn’t withstand a few days’ separation?
“I thirst for you.” Mo Zi’s gaze grew hazy. The budding flower that had once encountered rain and dew—shy when first tasted, now knew that indescribable wonderful flavor upon retasting. Deep love, and being husband and wife—either condition alone was already natural and right. How could they not enjoy each other? Those three days and four nights were merely the catalyst for her delicate beauty. The days ahead were still very long.
His robe had already been removed by her to his waist. With a light tug, it floated down below the bed. His breath pressed against her snow-white neck as his hands attempted to remove her work clothes but couldn’t find the method.
Her giggling laughter was enchanting. Ten fingers leisurely climbed across his chest. “Removing clothes is also a kind of pleasure, isn’t it?”
A complete little vixen. He’d thought that hot spring had forced her to reveal her true form and surrender her most genuine side, yet discovered her charms could transform endlessly.
“I’ll help you.” Her eyes shone with luster, her lips were beautifully alluring. Her hands lifted the lapels, pointing to the small round buttons hidden beneath them that specifically obstructed the spring scenery. “This fastener is undone like this.”
Yuan Cheng learned immediately and removed her troublesome outer garment. A painting of sunset over autumn waters leaped into view. Probably only she would embroider such a scene on a chest binding.
At this moment she suddenly sat up, her forehead pressing against his jade-colored chest, then smiled and licked him.
His pupils contracted sharply. He only felt his nose filled with the fragrance of wood, before his eyes her snow-white shoulders and smooth, delicate back made his heartbeat quicken, blood surge, and breath grow rapid. Compared to those days on the mountain, her body seemed to have transformed, becoming incomparably enchanting and graceful.
“Mo Zi.” Finally speaking, yet so low and hoarse it didn’t sound like himself.
She lifted her face, then let him kiss her. But this time neither held back, like two small beasts hungry for so long—without food, they could only comfort themselves by rubbing against each other. Somewhat reckless, somewhat cautious.
The clothing on their bodies gradually scattered to who knows where. At some unknown time, hair entangled with hair, body joined with body. The candle flame was nearly spent, flickering dimly, reflecting fine beads of sweat on both their skin.
She hummed softly, her delicate voice turning melodious. Feeling him enter her body, becoming one—the tension, joy, and anticipation made her bite his shoulder to keep from crying out.
Wave after wave rose higher. Her body seemed to become a ball of fire. Each wave only made the fire burn more vigorously. She closed her eyes, yet his firm body still enticed in her mind, until the scorching heat deep within expanded to an unbearable degree. Ten fingers dug into flesh. That instant when spirit and flesh exploded together, five senses combined into ultimate pleasure.
If the wedding night was dreamlike, then now this was the life of ordinary husband and wife.
The candle flame extinguished. In the darkness breathing remained heavy, the air faintly permeated with traces of fragrance. Laughter arose—hers and his—loving each other, enjoying each other. Rustling sounds as they pulled up the blanket. Half the night passed before they spoke of matters since their separation. In the end, all sound ceased, two shadows embracing in sleep.
The next day, when Mo Zi walked outside, she received countless knowing glances.
“Do not disturb until the sun rises?” Luo Ying nudged her.
Mo Zi covered her mouth. “Having just finished a battle, where would there be so much energy?”
Not saying anything would have been fine—saying this made it even more suggestive.
Luo Ying made sounds of understanding, narrowing her eyes. “So impressive, like fighting a battle? Prime Minister Yuan with his refined scholarly physique—can he handle it? But then again, you two were married only a few days before separating. All these days of anxiety and fear, then meeting again is like dry wood meeting fierce fire—won’t stop until burned to ashes.”
“You’re killing me! Is this what marriage does—makes you dare say anything?” Mo Zi wasn’t blushing, just feared others hearing and thinking her lustful as a wolf or tiger. “Don’t say such things in front of Dou Lu. She’s not yet married.”
However, upon entering Dou Lu’s room, she was immediately asked, “Has the sun risen yet?”
Luo Ying laughed and slapped the table. “It’s risen! Otherwise your brother-in-law wouldn’t let her go.”
Dou Lu propped her chin on her hands, her eyes not at all innocent. “Elder Sister, this way, I can become an aunt soon, right? I’d like a little niece, though a little nephew would be fine too.”
“A little Mo Zi or little Yuan Cheng—just how clever and spirited would that be? Simply put, I’ll take little Mo Zi as a disciple. Smart plus unmatched martial skills—finding a husband in the future will be a bit difficult, but absolutely no one will dare bully her.” This was called long-term vision.
Mo Zi rubbed her temples, groaning.
“Mo Zi!” Qiu Shuang walked in, looking at Mo Zi’s belly in shock. “So fast? You had one already? Did you and Prime Minister Yuan steal a taste before marriage?”
Curiosity killed the cat. Rumors killed the fox.
Mo Zi solemnly declared, “I am not pregnant. Yuan Cheng and I were completely innocent before marriage. Nothing happened.”
“It’s just that once before marriage, Elder Sister went to bathe and Brother-in-law happened upon her.” With Dou Lu’s steady, reliable way of speaking, she easily created one hundred percent trust. That is to say, even her jokes were taken as truth.
“Dou Lu, good sister, don’t joke about such things randomly.” The result of deadpan humor—Mo Zi expressed that the burden was very heavy.
Using her best skill of deflecting with minimal effort, she immediately asked Qiu Shuang, “Was your round trip with Ding Gou smooth?”
Qiu Shuang’s smile faded. “I came to have you go take a look.”
Mo Zi’s eyelid twitched. Ominous.