“My husband’s body is so warm…”
In the dimly lit bed curtains, Jiang Sui clung tightly to Pei Zhiyu’s waist, burrowing into his embrace like a little kitten, her dark hair tousled into a mess.
Through the thin sleeping garments, the warmth of the man before her came through clearly, soothing her until she trembled lightly all over.
Jiang Sui couldn’t help but bury her face completely into his chest, deeply inhaling the elegant, gentle scent of sandalwood that clung to him. A flush of excitement crept up her snow-white cheeks, and her cat-like eyes narrowed in satisfaction, glazed with a hazy, dreamy sheen.
Pei Zhiyu was tall and broad, able to completely envelop her in his arms… This feeling of being fully embraced,
Was so comfortable.
Comfort like she had never experienced before.
Since their marriage, the thirst that had surged in her heart for three months, the unbearable restlessness that her skin had been crying out for, was finally relieved at this moment.
The fingers Jiang Sui had wrapped around his lower back were turning white from the force of her grip. She hugged him tightly and rubbed against him, yet the man before her showed no sign of waking at all.
She couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh. The guilt she had felt earlier about drugging him had long been drowned by the tidal wave of satisfaction that now flooded her.
This medicine really worked.
If she had known… she should have used it sooner.
Jiang Sui pondered this as she lifted her eyes to look at her sleeping husband.
The man before her had both eyes tightly shut, his thick, dark lashes drooping to cast a shadow like a raven’s wing beneath them. Beneath his high-bridged nose, the faint crimson color of his thin lips was just visible, and his loose, ink-black hair made him look strikingly beautiful and free-spirited.
A deep sense of attachment and reluctance welled up in Jiang Sui’s eyes.
A husband like this… come daytime, would once again become that gentleman who strictly adhered to propriety.
If only it could always be night.
If only he could always be asleep… how wonderful that would be.
Her eyes were shrouded in a heavy darkness, but then she blinked, and clarity returned.
No, no. Father had said she mustn’t think that way.
Jiang Sui instead climbed up to cling to his shoulder, pressing herself face-to-face with him, then gently kissed his lips.
Soft, slightly cool, carrying a crisp, clear fragrance—just like the man himself.
Like the mint tea she loved most to drink in the summer heat.
Jiang Sui’s breath grew heavier, her eyes losing focus as an indescribable tingling numbness spread from her lips and teeth.
When Pei Zhiyu was awake, he always kept things restrained, carrying the principle of “arising from emotion, stopping at propriety” to the extreme.
But what he didn’t know was that those brief, fleeting touches were, to Jiang Sui, like drops of oil into a blazing fire—stoking the flames of her desire even higher.
Now, finally…
Jiang Sui kissed every part of his face with joy, then buried her face in the hollow of his neck, found a comfortable position in his arms, and fell asleep completely content.
When the sky began to take on the pale blue of early dawn, Jiang Sui keenly felt the warmth before her withdraw. Her eyelids fluttered, and she woke.
She opened her sleepy eyes groggily and was met first with Pei Zhiyu’s clear, gentle eyes, full of guilt.
“My lady, I apologize. Yesterday I…”
Pei Zhiyu’s voice still carried the hoarseness of just waking. He leaned forward slightly, looking at his little wife on the bed as she lifted her dazed eyes with her dark hair slightly mussed, her cheeks still flushed with the light red of sleep, like a soft, sweet peach. He couldn’t help but swallow hard.
He wanted… he wanted so badly to take a bite…
His fingers twitched convulsively as he involuntarily recalled what he had seen when he first woke.
He had… he had been holding her tightly in his arms. She was so soft, as if she could melt into his very bones. Her fragrance… it had nearly soaked through him completely.
He had almost lost control and held her even tighter, until a faint, unconscious murmur from Jiang Sui snapped him back to his senses.
No, he couldn’t do that. It would frighten her.
Clearly, before falling asleep, he had carefully maintained his distance. How could he have suddenly been unable to resist… and pulled her into his arms?
Why had he slept so deeply last night that he hadn’t even noticed?
After a brief moment of being lost in thought, Pei Zhiyu’s heart filled with panic, and he quickly got out of bed.
Then, however, he saw that Jiang Sui had also woken up.
But she looked completely bewildered, as if she had no idea what had happened.
The rest of his apology caught in his throat. He thought—if Jiang Sui knew how he had treated her in his sleep, would she… would she come to dislike him?
Seeing that Pei Zhiyu had no follow-up, Jiang Sui frowned in confusion, her soft voice still carrying the thick nasal tone of just waking:
“Husband… what’s wrong?”
Pei Zhiyu jolted, then straightened himself with restraint and said in a low voice, “Nothing.”
No, he couldn’t let her know.
Though Suisui was lively, she was still his teacher’s daughter after all. His teacher valued propriety above all, so she must be the same…
Slowly, slowly… he couldn’t frighten her.
“Oh…” Jiang Sui secretly breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t noticed anything amiss. It seemed the dosage was just right—enough to make him sleep deeply without sleeping too long.
She swayed slightly as she propped herself up to sit, and Pei Zhiyu quickly reached out to gently steady her.
The brief contact made them both catch their breath.
As Pei Zhiyu withdrew his hand, his palm curled slightly, as if he could still feel the lingering warmth and softness. He lowered his gaze to hide his expression, unaware that Jiang Sui’s eyes, fixed on him from the side, held a deep, reluctant longing.
The couple both rose, and the servants waiting outside filed in to attend to their washing and dressing.
After a while, Jiang Sui took the robe that a servant held out and stood on her tiptoes to help Pei Zhiyu put it on.
Pei Zhiyu cooperatively bent down, and when his chin brushed against her soft hair, a sticky, dark glint flashed beneath his smiling eyes.
After putting on his outer robe, Jiang Sui fetched his jade belt and fastened it around his waist.
As her arms encircled his waist, both of them stiffened almost imperceptibly.
Jiang Sui lowered her gaze and bit her lip, restraining the urge to simply embrace him; Pei Zhiyu tightened his fist within his wide sleeve, suppressing the impulse to seize that slender waist.
An intangible tension flickered through the harmonious moment, then vanished as quickly as it came.
Jiang Sui finished fastening the jade belt and withdrew her hands, tilting her face up with a sweet smile. “Take care on the road, my lord.”
Pei Zhiyu hummed in acknowledgment, gave his usual gentle instructions as always, then turned and walked out of the room.
Jiang Sui quickly followed, seeing him off through the courtyard, watching his figure disappear before returning to her chambers.
As she turned around, the soft smile in her eyes faded slightly.
Shiyue, the trusted maidservant who had been with her since childhood, found an excuse to dismiss the others, then leaned in close while combing her hair and whispered:
“Madam, is everything alright?”
Jiang Sui shook her head.
Shiyue let out an obvious sigh of relief. “That’s good…”
Jiang Sui frowned with concern. “Shiyue, do you think this… isn’t quite right?”
Shiyue immediately urged, “But it’s not good for you to endure the illness either, madam. Besides, that medicine only makes one sleep more deeply—it won’t do the young lord any real harm. Please don’t worry, madam.”
Hearing this, the young woman in the mirror curved her lips slightly, dimples forming with a harmless, gentle smile. “…That’s right.”
It’s just to help her husband sleep a little better. Her husband had to attend court and handle official matters during the day… so exhausted, of course he needed to rest well at night.
She mused, taking a sachet from her vanity case, her slender jade-like fingers gently loosening the drawstring and pinching out the porcelain-white medicine bottle inside.
Seeing her playing with the object, Shiyue couldn’t help but grow nervous. “Madam, you should put it away. What if…”
“It’s fine. No one will recognize it.”
Jiang Sui said, giving it a gentle shake, her heart filling with delight.
There was still so much left—enough to let her husband… sleep soundly for countless more nights.
How wonderful.