Chарtеr 11: Whаt Кind of Pleаsurе Is She Tаlking About?
It fеlt аs if firе wаs burning within him.
Еvеn his temрlеs wеre dоtted with finе beads оf swеat.
Нe strugglеd tо rеstrain himsеlf, lоwering his dаrk, hеаvу еуеs to аvoid lооking at her.
His voiсe wаs low аnd hоаrsе as he аsked, “When I раssеd bу eаrlier, I hеard yоu саlling fоr sоmeоne… Did you run intо trоublе?”
Неaring this, Shen Zuihuan аwkwаrdlу got uр from thе floor.
Тhе littlе сat in her аrms, Хiaohuа, was still meоwing in соnfusiоn, nestlеd аgainst her chest.
Shen Zuihuan glanсed dоwn аt Хiаоhua аnd explаined, “It’s nоthing. This littlе thing suddenlу pounced through the window and startled me.”
As she spoke, she smiled and gently stroked Xiaohua’s fur with her palm.
Gu Changce looked up and caught a glimpse of the small, pale section of her arm that had inadvertently slipped out from the apricot-colored gauze sleeve.
His eyes darkened, and he closed them briefly.
…If he stayed any longer, he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t do something beastly.
…But he still couldn’t forget that their relationship had completely shattered before precisely because of such matters.
To prevent the fragile reconciliation between Shen Zuihuan and him from breaking again,
Gu Changce parted his moist, pale lips and spoke slowly, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave now.”
Shen Zuihuan, her face flushed, nodded.
But just as Gu Changce turned around,
he ran straight into Qiu Yan, who was walking in with small, hurried steps to deliver clothes.
Qiu Yan’s shocked gaze swept between Shen Zuihuan, whose clothes were in disarray, and Gu Changce, whose eyes were tinged with red.
After glancing at the messy water stains on the floor, the perceptive maid quickly lowered her eyes.
Flustered, she placed the tray holding the clothes and fragrant ointment onto the small table while softly apologizing, “This servant deserves death! I’ve disturbed the master and madam’s pleasure. I’ll take my leave now!”
Before Shen Zuihuan could react,
Qiu Yan quickly left the inner chamber and thoughtfully closed the door behind her.
Meanwhile, Shen Zuihuan hadn’t quite understood what she meant.
With the clear, innocent gaze unique to a fourteen-year-old girl, she looked at Gu Changce and asked, “…What kind of pleasure is she talking about?”
“…” Gu Changce.
He stiffly turned his neck to look at the woman.
He felt the nameless fire within him burning even more fiercely.
His throat was parched, but he forced himself to remain calm and replied in a light tone, “…It’s nothing. Hurry and get dressed. You’ve just recovered from a serious illness—don’t catch a chill.”
Only then did Shen Zuihuan suddenly remember that she wasn’t properly dressed.
In the midst of their conversation, she had nearly forgotten such an important matter.
Too embarrassed to look at him,
she also thought about how Qiu Yan had seen her in such a disheveled state, alone in a room with a man.
She wondered what the maid must think of her.
The more she thought about it, the more humiliated she felt.
Holding Xiaohua in her arms, Shen Zuihuan quickly walked over to Gu Changce.
His dark eyes suddenly narrowed, unsure of what she intended to do.
Seven years ago, he couldn’t understand Shen Zuihuan’s thoughts.
Now, seven years later, after five years of marriage, he still couldn’t.
He felt as if his feet were rooted to the ground, unable to move an inch.
To his surprise, as soon as Shen Zuihuan approached, she shoved Xiaohua into his arms.
Pouting slightly, the woman said in a charming tone, “Hold Xiaohua for me while I change.”
She would have liked to keep holding Xiaohua herself.But Little Flower has grown so plump now, heavy to hold and inconvenient for anything.
She lifted her eyes and glanced at the man before her.
Gu Changce originally didn’t have a fierce appearance; in fact, he was once considered one of Chang’an City’s most dashing young men.
But now, for some reason, a scar had appeared on his brow bone, giving him a slightly more intimidating look.
Yet Shen Zuihuan thought to herself that no matter how fierce he might seem now, he certainly knew how to care for living things well.
Whether it was Gu Tang or Little Flower, he had raised them both plump and round.
Thinking this, a faint smile curled at the corners of her lips.
The shallow dimples beneath her lips flickered in and out of sight.
Gu Changce hadn’t expected her to make such a request.
He extended his tense arm and took Little Flower from Shen Zuihuan’s embrace.
As his arm withdrew, it accidentally brushed against the pink undergarment at her chest.
The precarious fabric lifted and then settled back down.
Yet she seemed completely unaware.
He restrained himself, lowering his gaze, but a flush of crimson spread in his eyes.
His back straightened as he slowly turned away. “I’ll watch Little Flower. You can go change without worry.”
Shen Zuihuan nodded.
Barefoot, she dashed into the inner chamber.
She changed into the clean clothes Qiu Yan had brought, swiftly put on her shoes and socks, and used a towel to dab the water from her hair.
Then she hurried back to Gu Changce and took Little Flower into her arms again.
It had been so long since she’d seen Little Flower, and now that she had, she couldn’t bear to be apart for even a moment.
But when Gu Changce saw her still-dripping hair, his brow furrowed slightly, and he couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, “Summer nights are chilly. Why didn’t you dry your hair properly? What if you catch another cold?”
Hearing this, Shen Zuihuan lifted her eyes unhappily and retorted softly, “It’s not that easy to catch a cold!”
His voice turned cold and stern. “Don’t you know your own body?”
Shen Zuihuan felt a pang of frustration at his words, and the goodwill she had just begun to feel toward him vanished in an instant.
The woman turned her head away, sulking in silence.
Although what Gu Changce said wasn’t wrong—she had been frail since childhood, practically raised in a medicine pot—his sudden cold demeanor was always infuriating.
After speaking, Gu Changce noticed Shen Zuihuan’s displeased expression.
A faint heaviness settled in his heart.
…Just when their relationship had begun to thaw…
He closed his eyes, gently took her slender, pale wrist, and strode toward the couch in the inner chamber.
By the time Shen Zuihuan realized what was happening, she was already seated properly on the couch.
He took a towel from the small table nearby and began carefully drying her hair from the roots to the tips.
At first, Shen Zuihuan felt a bit uncomfortable, but then she thought to herself—they already had a child together, so what was there to fear?
She placed Little Flower beside her leg.
Then she took some scented balm from the small table, rubbed it between her palms, and applied it to her fair, delicate neck.
A faint, delicate rose fragrance seemed to dissolve into the air.
As she applied the balm, Shen Zuihuan asked him gently, “Wasn’t Little Flower sent away before? How did she end up at the General’s Mansion now?”
As she spoke, she felt the hand drying her hair behind her pause for a moment.
Shen Zuihuan’s expression grew hesitant.
A wild, improbable thought suddenly crossed her mind.
…Could it be that Gu Changce had deliberately brought Little Flower here…
Just as she was about to turn and look at him, she heard the man’s somewhat awkward voice.”A few years ago, while passing by the outskirts of the capital, I happened to come across this little creature and brought it back to the manor to raise.”
Passing by the outskirts of the capital! From Luoyang City to the outskirts of the capital was a distance of over two hundred li.
What could possibly bring him there?!
Shen Zuihuan turned her head in shock to look at his expression.
She saw his lips pressed tightly together, as if after uttering those words, he had no intention of saying another.
If earlier, when Gu Tang said they were mutually in love, Shen Zuihuan still harbored some doubt,
now she was already seventy to eighty percent convinced.
After all, for such a reckless man to travel thousands of li to the outskirts of the capital just to find a cat—
aside from his interest in her as a person, Shen Zuihuan could think of no other reason.