By nightfall, the person covered in dirt was dragged out, walking toward Pei Yu with a lowered head like a bullied, dejected little dog.
Only a pair of obsidian pupils remained bright, flashing with some curiosity as she looked at her.
Pei Yu lowered her gaze, finding it somewhat difficult to figure out Jiang Wu’s thoughts for a moment.
Moments ago, she had been so resistant she was driven to tears. Why was she curious now, and what was she even curious about?
Never mind. It had little to do with her anyway, and she had no reason whatsoever to care about Jiang Wu’s emotions.
“Go wash and change.”
The woman said in a low voice, a flicker of disgust passing through her eyes as she looked at the alpha.
Where on earth did she pick up all that filth? How was it that every time she saw Jiang Wu, she looked like a stray village dog?
The wait was exceptionally agonizing. The bathhouse was in the side hall, a fair distance away on foot, yet Pei Yu somehow felt as though she could vaguely hear the sound of the alpha bathing.
Just like that night, sweat rolling down the smoothly contoured lean muscles, the pool of water within her body being stirred, all her senses magnified infinitely until she could only hear heartbeats and breathing.
Did that stupid dog seriously study what the matron taught? What would she do? Helping her protect an unexpected child she didn’t particularly like must be agonizing.
The bedchamber door was pushed open cautiously, and then half a head peeked out sneakily.
At the end of her line of sight, the empress half-leaned against the head of the bed, a soft pillow wedged behind her waist. One hand clutched a volume of records, while the other gently rested over her lower abdomen.
The gentle firelight cast a pale golden hue across her eyelids, making her look exceptionally tender.
Then, as if sensing something, those pretty peach-blossom eyes shifted, looking over at her. All emotion within them shattered, gradually congealing into a layer of thin ice.
Jiang Wu: [.]
She really didn’t do anything; she was just looking.
The alpha curled her lips into an ingratiating smile, edging closer with even more caution, making anyone suspect she was a large dog that had just done something wrong.
“Your Majesty. Um, I,”
“Do you need me to teach you this time?” the woman asked coldly, cutting her off without leaving an inch of room for negotiation.
Jiang Wu blinked, nodding with a fuzzy, furry motion.
Earnest, serious, and eager to learn.
Only after nodding did she feel like something was off, and she hurriedly shook her head. “I will try.”
Try?
Pei Yu’s eyebrows lifted with interest.
Under the heavens, who dared to use the word “try” on her?
If not for the fact that the child in her womb only recognized Jiang Wu’s pheromones, this stupid Alpha wouldn’t even survive today.
The scent of peppermint carrying the alpha’s warmth enveloped her entirely. Pei Yu unconsciously stepped back slightly, only for the person who noticed to press her palm against her waist.
Jiang Wu’s palm was scorching hot, the excessive temperature causing her to shrink back slightly. Immediately after, a flush of crimson and anger crept into her eyes.
“Audacious. Ugh, who told you to…”
Her nape was gently licked, Jiang Wu’s tender tongue tip slipping into the open gap of the gland’s soft flesh, tasting the sweet flavor of the pheromones.
Her pupils lit up.
This tastes amazing!
Jiang Wu hadn’t eaten anything all day, her stomach aching from hunger. She wanted more, desperately wanted more.
Yet, hearing Pei Yu’s words, she forcefully suppressed the urge to eat, turning her head to look at the Omega’s face.
Her view was blocked by the woman’s fingers, while her ears caught the vaguely trembling breaths and lingering cadences.
“Hurry up.”
Was Jiang Wu an idiot?
How could she stop at a time like this? Whose AO marking process ever stopped halfway for sightseeing?
The person who received permission to eat rubbed her face against Pei Yu’s palm with a bound of joy. “Thank you, Your Majesty!”
The woman froze for a moment, not yet reacting to what she was thanking her for, before a more intense sensation instantly battered her against the shore.
She had no choice but to lift her head, tightly clutching the alpha’s shoulders to endure the breath caught in her throat.
“Cheap, cheap dog. Who told you to suck…”
Did she not know how to use her teeth?!
After a long while, the alpha, now slightly full, fished out the person in her arms who had completely gone limp. The moment her marking teeth pierced into the nape and injected her own pheromones, she seemed to hear the sound of weeping within Pei Yu’s breath.
Belatedly, her brain registered the thought: Is Pei Yu crying?
Was it very painful, or was she deeply unwilling and miserable?
The marking teeth withdrew from the side of the neck. Jiang Wu lowered her gaze to look at the curled-up Omega in her arms, a very soft bundle looking exceptionally frail.
It made one involuntarily wonder: Could it be that this fragile body was currently growing a child belonging to both of them?
How unbelievable.
Remembering the matron’s instruction to soothe the Omega afterward, she lowered her head and kissed Pei Yu’s lips. Seeing no reaction and noticing she was still trembling all over, she tentatively stretched out the tip of her tongue.
And then it was bitten right off by the recovering Omega.
The pain caused Jiang Wu’s physiological tears to instantly well up. As she pulled her tongue back, she could taste the metallic tang of blood and the residual iris flower fluid from the other’s mouth.
The empress glared coldly at her, every inch of her body spelling out an order to get lost.
Looking pitiful, she wiped her tears while whimpering.
“May I touch you?”
“Your belly.”
The woman’s previously stiff expression softened slightly. She turned her head and gave a reluctant nod.
Being felt by the other parent would be beneficial for the child.
“Then may I, can I have a piece of the pastry on the table?”
Before she could finish speaking, the pillow the empress had been clutching in her arms was smashed straight into her face.
“Get down.”
Pei Yu was so angry she wanted to chop Jiang Wu into pieces.
She hadn’t even bothered to fuss over this stupid dog coming to kiss her right after doing that kind of thing, leaving her entire mouth tasting of her own scent, yet she was still bargaining with her.
She acted as if she were begging Jiang Wu to touch her and the child, and all she wanted was something cheap like pastries.
The alpha let out a pitiful “oh,” hugged the pillow Pei Yu had thrown, and crawled over to set it on the small auxiliary bed where she couldn’t fully stretch her body.
Since the small bed couldn’t fit the pillow, she covered herself with a thin blanket and hugged it instead.
The faint light of the night lamp fell upon her, making her look exceptionally pitiful and easy to evoke sympathy.
Pei Yu turned over, lying on her side with her eyes closed.
She must have lost her mind to be bickering with Jiang Wu over these things.
Once this freeloader of an Alpha birthed the child and she purged the old ministers left behind by the late emperor, the two of them would never cross paths again.
There was no need, nor any reason, to waste so much emotion and time on her.
She let out a soft breath, then chucked a second pillow onto the small bed as well. Only after hearing the alpha let out an “ow” of pain did the stifled anger in her chest ease slightly.
As she turned back over, seeing that person place her second thrown pillow on the other side for support, her heart softened by another notch for some inexplicable reason.
With the addition of another person’s breathing, the night grew even quieter and deeper.
She was actually starting to get used to it.