Chapter 141: Gluttonous Despite Being Sated

Cheng Zhao lay on the inner side of the bed.

Her hair was combed smooth, her scalp soothed, and her mind felt much more at ease.

She lay down, ready to sleep, but Zhou Yuanshen got up instead.

Cheng Zhao heard him call out, "Someone come."

She originally didn't want to pay attention, but since Nonghua Courtyard was staffed entirely with her own dowry servants, and he was summoning her people, she sat up.

She listened closely to the movements from beyond the screen.

"Pomegranate blossoms..."

She heard Zhou Yuanshen give such an order.

From outside, Qiubai, who was on duty, responded, "They're on the table in the main hall, brought in by Deputy General Liu."

A moment later, Zhou Yuanshen closed the door and carried a basket inside. When Cheng Zhao met his gaze, she felt a hint of confusion.

He then said, "Isn't it the custom to scatter pomegranate blossoms over the bed canopy during the festival? Since we might not be here tomorrow or the day after, it's better to do it now."

But the sight of pomegranate blossoms reminded Cheng Zhao of her clothes stained with the flower's juice, and the marks on her hands that wouldn't wash off. She frowned slightly.

"We won't scatter them this year," Cheng Zhao said.

Pomegranate blossoms could not only be scattered over the canopy but also strung together and hung on the bed curtains.

Cheng Zhao thought she could hand them over to Nanny Li tomorrow, to have her thread them one by one and hang them beside the golden hooks.

As she was thinking this, Zhou Yuanshen had already deftly grabbed the blossoms and tossed them up toward the canopy.

Cheng Zhao: "..."

He threw two handfuls, then said calmly, "We still have to celebrate the festival."

The remaining blossoms were casually placed on the footstool beside the bed.

The man's movements were broad, and several flowers landed on the bed.

Cheng Zhao brushed them over to his side, turned around, and lay down with her back to him.

Zhou Yuanshen let down the bed curtains and covered the horn lantern.

There was the rustling sound of him on his side.

Just as Cheng Zhao thought he was about to sleep, he lifted her blanket and slipped inside.

Cheng Zhao: !

Her protests and questions were swallowed up by him.

He barely needed any kindling; his skin was scorching hot.

Perhaps the sparks that had been kindled in the Pacifying Western General's Mansion had never gone out.

He had held back until now, with no trace of his restlessness visible in the meantime.

His large hand wrapped around her waist.

Cheng Zhao felt as if a few pomegranate blossoms had fallen from the canopy above.

"Cheng Zhao?" When a bead of his sweat landed on her, he called her name in a low voice, and with one hand, he cupped her chin, making her look at him.

Cheng Zhao's eyes were dazed. "What is it?"

"You don't like the Pacifying Western General's Mansion, and you don't like the Duke of Chen's Mansion either, do you?" he asked.

Cheng Zhao thought to herself, that's nonsense.

Whether it was the Duke of Chen's Mansion or the General's Mansion, she liked them both very much.

The wealth and splendor of the Duke of Chen's Mansion were what she had long yearned for. It was just that the real power and riches hadn't yet fallen into her hands.

The General's Mansion was compact and cozy, like an extremely elegant villa. Life there should be tranquil and serene.

They were both very good places.

"You're talking nonsense!" she said.

Zhou Yuanshen bent down and silenced her lips.

It was like a midsummer rainstorm, lashing the branches and leaves into a frenzy of quivering.

Cheng Zhao's arms held him tightly, her nails nearly digging into his back.

For a long time, she still clung to him.

It seemed she came back to her senses and patted him lightly. "Let me get up."

Zhou Yuanshen didn't move.

When Cheng Zhao was short of breath, his own breathing was extremely steady and calm. He was always like this, without any noise.

The only time he had made a sound was that time in the carriage.

He wasn't pressing his full weight on Cheng Zhao. Though he was pressed close to her, his hands and legs bore most of his own weight.

It was intimate, yet not heavy.

Both of them were lightly sweating, and Cheng Zhao wanted to go wash up.

Besides, something was digging into her lower back.

When Zhou Yuanshen moved aside, Cheng Zhao sat up slightly and from under her body, she pulled out a pomegranate blossom that had been crushed to a pulp.

It was as if another flower had bloomed on the bedding.

Cheng Zhao: "..."

First he ruined one of her dresses, and now he had ruined her bedsheet.

The pomegranate blossom was lovely and charming. It hadn't done anything wrong while growing on its branch.

The fault lay with this man. It was he who had picked it, and it was he who had crushed the flower, and crushed Cheng Zhao in the process.

Cheng Zhao snorted.

Zhou Yuanshen glanced at her and turned her by the shoulders. "What's wrong?"

When he saw the red mark on her lower back, he startled as if shocked, showing some rare emotional fluctuation, and asked repeatedly, "Does it hurt?"

Then he said, "I'll get some medicine."

Cheng Zhao watched him as he put on his robe and got out of bed, and called out to him, "Lord Duke, it's not a cut. That's just the petals and juice of the pomegranate blossom."

Under the dim lamplight, it looked like the flesh was broken and bleeding.

Zhou Yuanshen stopped in his tracks.

He turned back, acting as if nothing had happened, casually picked up a cloth, and wiped it for her.

When he finished wiping, he said in a low voice, "It left a mark."

On her lower back, it looked like a pomegranate blossom had bloomed.

Cheng Zhao was a little annoyed. "I have it on my hands too, and on my clothes and bedsheet."

She pushed herself confrontationally close in front of him.

He quietly looked at her, then leaned in and kissed her lips.

Cheng Zhao: "..."

It was impossible to quarrel with him. He had a knack for playing dumb. Sometimes he would ask inexplicable questions. And whether there was an answer or not, he would never ask a second time.

He was so hard to get along with.

While she bathed, Cheng Zhao sighed, feeling that if this went on, her way of talking with Zhou Yuanshen would become very much like her way of talking with her father.

—Better not to talk at all.

Cheng Zhao drifted off to sleep in a daze, feeling as if Zhou Yuanshen had held her for a moment.

The next day was the Dragon Boat Festival, and they had to get up early.

Cheng Zhao was preoccupied and didn't sleep deeply.

She felt someone pull her into an embrace.

She fell into a warm hug.

There were kisses on her forehead, the bridge of her nose, and her lips.

He parted her lips, and she tasted warmth. Very drowsy, Cheng Zhao snuggled into him limply.

The man's fingers stroked her lips and then slipped into her mouth.

Cheng Zhao, drowsy and weak all over, dodged away and muttered in complaint, "I want to sleep!"

"Cheng Zhao, I'd like to kiss you," he said.

Cheng Zhao thought, you haven't held back from kissing me, so why are you asking me in the middle of the night?

It was only when she realized what he truly meant that she woke up completely.

The newly changed bedsheet was wrinkled in the grip of her hand, and her slightly bent legs were trembling.

She vaguely heard the rooster crow.

Zhou Yuanshen poured some hot water from the kettle and wiped her clean. For the first time, Cheng Zhao felt herself going limp, her very bones dissolving into softness.

He dressed her.

"Someone come," he called out the door.

Cheng Zhao saw the daylight filtering in. It was almost dawn outside.

She turned over and sank into a dream.

She thought to herself, even if the sky were to fall, she would still need to get some sleep. At this moment, she couldn't even sit steadily, let alone stand.

When the room was fully bright with daylight, she suddenly woke with a start and called out, "Suyue! Qiubai!"

Her maids came in.

"What time is it?"

Suyue laughed and said, "Well into the morning. The Second Madam has already gone to the Fan residence. The Dowager and the other ladies have all left to watch the dragon boat races. Please, take your time. The Lord Duke said you were feeling a bit unwell last night and didn't sleep much all night. He specifically told us to let you sleep in."

Cheng Zhao: "..."

As she sat before the mirror to do her hair and makeup, Cheng Zhao was both embarrassed and angry.

Others might not know what was going on, but her mother-in-law certainly would.

How could he have had the nerve to tell others that Cheng Zhao hadn't slept much all night?

How did he find the words to say that?

Would he be drowsy and listless accompanying the Emperor today?

Cheng Zhao had no time to think about it further. She quickly washed up and finally managed to arrive at the Grand General's Mansion before lunch.

Luckily, no one asked a single extra question.