The grasslands were bitterly cold at night. Away from the lively crowds, Lin Jiayan burrowed deeper into Chahar’s embrace, shrinking her neck and breathing out a cloud of white mist.
“It’s so cold.”
She rubbed her hands together.
Hearing this, Chahar untied his outer robe and wrapped it around her, quickening his pace toward home.
“I told you your health had only just improved—you shouldn’t be drinking. Why did you still drink so much?”
Lin Jiayan seemed slightly drunk, her words slurring.
“You drank just as much.”
Chahar let out a soft snort.
“Can you compare yourself to me? When we’re out fighting wars, we drink that stuff like water.”
The brazier in their room burned brightly.
Chahar gently set her down on the edge of the bed.
After drinking, Lin Jiayan became especially docile, letting him move her however he liked without complaint.
On the table sat two gourd cups, split in half and tied together with a red cord.
Chahar poured wine into them and handed one half to her.
“The wedding wine?”
Holding the half-gourd cup, Lin Jiayan tilted her head sluggishly. Chahar had once said they would share the ceremonial wedding wine again, but she hadn’t expected him to actually prepare it.
“Yanyan, this is what I owed you on our wedding night. Let’s make it up today, all right?”
Lin Jiayan smiled and raised her cup.
The two of them drank it down together.
Lianxin had prepared a large tub of hot water in advance.
Chahar untied Lin Jiayan’s outer robe, intending to carry her to bathe.
“Don’t… don’t look.”
After another cup of wine, her head felt even dizzier. In her haze, she sensed Chahar removing her clothes and instinctively struggled.
Chahar stood and blew out the candles, plunging the room into darkness.
Only then did Lin Jiayan stop resisting.
Chahar quickly undressed her completely, removed his own outer garments, leaving only a pair of trousers, and gently lowered her into the bath.
“Mmm…”
As her body sank into the warm water, Lin Jiayan let out a contented sigh.
Chahar said nothing.
His expression remained tense as he silently used a cloth to wash her.
Only when the hot water had left her skin flushed pink did he swiftly wrap her in a towel and carry her back to bed.
Chahar’s warm body pressed against hers, his wine-scented breath brushing her forehead like a feather, leaving her heart tingling.
“Yanyan, wait for me.”
He pressed a kiss to her cheek, then turned and returned to the bathing area to rinse off.
Listening to the sound of water behind the screen, Lin Jiayan smiled hazily.
The room remained dark.
Chahar quickly finished bathing and returned to the bed.
Lin Jiayan was still lying exactly as he had left her, and he couldn’t tell whether she had fallen asleep.
“Yanyan?”
The mood was perfect, the timing just right. If she fell asleep now, he would have a difficult night ahead of him.
Her shoulders shook with muffled laughter.
“I’m waiting for you. Were you afraid I’d fall asleep?”
Chahar lifted the blankets and pulled her into his arms.
Tilting up her chin, he lowered his lips to hers, sharing a lingering kiss tinged with the taste of wine.
“You asked me why I drank tonight.”
With her lips close to his neck, Lin Jiayan breathed softly against his ear.
“Because alcohol gives courage to cowards.”
“Then you’re not afraid anymore?”
Chahar’s heartbeat quickened, the veins at his neck standing out sharply.
“Not anymore.”
Before the words had fully left her lips, Chahar pulled her beneath him.
He breathed heavily, the muscles in his jaw tight with restrained emotion.
He had endured for far too long.
…
By the time everything had settled down, it was already deep into the night.
Only then did Chahar wrap Lin Jiayan in his arms and finally drift off to sleep.