Chapter 30
At dawn, Xie Yao got up as usual and came to kiss Yuli’s forehead as he usually did.
Yuli was sleeping very lightly and was startled awake. In the faint morning light, she only caught a glimpse of Xie Yao’s profile.
In that instant, she saw that his eyes were a little red, and he looked very tired.
Yuli decided to do nothing, as usual. She would just treat everything that happened last night as a chaotic dream. In the future, she would be more careful and not disturb his emotions.
After a while, Yuli replayed last night’s conflict.
Xie Yao had clearly denied that he had touched another woman, but she had been preconceived and just didn’t believe him.
It was as if she had determined that he had a mistress, was repulsed by him, and treated him coldly, with an attitude of not listening to anything he said. This was simply dancing on his minefield.
For a person who was already crazy, it seemed reasonable for him to do something like letting her stab him.
But Yuli still felt very wronged. Why didn’t he explain more? With just those few dry words, she was emotional. It would have been strange if she had believed him.
He said he had gotten it at a banquet. If he were the wealthy merchant Xie Yao, it might be unavoidable to have social interactions with people. But he was the regent. Who could force him to have contact with women?
And for two consecutive days, after she had clearly brought it up, he had come back at night with that smell.
Now it seemed that it was definitely a misunderstanding. His nature had not changed. He was still that psycho who loved her but could not have her.
Her gains and losses over the past two days had become a joke.
The crux of this misunderstanding was that he had hidden his identity, which made her feel that what he said was not very credible.
In the original novel, after Song Yi’s first escape, she was caught in a net that had been cast far and wide, and she had learned his identity as the regent.
Song Yi was not afraid of power and was dismissive of it. This identity was just another buff to restrict her freedom. But Yuli would not run away anymore, so why did he still hide it from her?
What if he made his identity clear? Would she be forced to live in the Imperial Palace? Then more people would be watching her, and she would have less space to make her own decisions. It would definitely not be as good as her current life.
Yuli thought about it and decided to just pretend she didn’t know. She had to be more mindful of his emotions, get close to him, and coax him, so that he wouldn’t have an episode.
Yuli was awake. She hadn’t eaten much for dinner yesterday, and she had consumed too much overnight. She was starving. She got up early, and Xiyun came in soon after.
The commotion last night was indeed very scary. First, Xie Yao had suddenly left in a rage, and then he had come back in the middle of the night with a gloomy air. There was a collision in the room, and after a long silence, there was Yuli’s shout. Xiyun had mustered up her courage to ask. Although Yuli looked normal, something bad must have happened.
Yuli comforted her a few words, and she also felt helpless. When she was changing her clothes, she only saw a few red marks under her neck, which looked alright.
Xiyun was also relieved.
After Yuli had breakfast, she went to see Xuemi as usual.
Last night, it had suddenly cried out, as if someone had stepped on its paw, looking both surprised and in pain. Yuli hadn’t remembered to care for it last night.
Yuli didn’t see it in its room in the east wing. She looked for it in the courtyard for a while and saw it in a depression on top of the rockery.
Yuli coaxed it to come down. It looked at her warily. After a long time, it wagged its tail and climbed down from the rockery.
Xuemi circled around Yuli’s feet and looked up at her.
Yuli squatted down and picked it up.
“What happened to you last night?” Yuli asked, rubbing its head.
Xuemi just meowed lazily twice and lay on Yuli’s lap without moving.
Yuli held it for a while and then put it back in its nest.
As soon as Yuli left, it moved out of its nest and went back to sleep on the rockery.
Before noon, Yuli was yawning repeatedly. Thinking that Yingniang was coming today, she had her meal early and went to take an afternoon nap.
She was the only one in the big bed, not on tenterhooks like last night.
After not sleeping well for two consecutive nights, Yuli slept very soundly. No one disturbed her, and she slept for a long time, until she woke up naturally. When she opened her eyes, she could feel the rosy glow of the setting sun.
When her vision cleared, she saw Xie Yao’s sleeping face very close to her. Her breath hitched.
Yuli didn’t dare to move and watched him for a long time. His breathing was even, and he seemed to be in a deep sleep.
Yuli still remembered that he had said he didn’t have the habit of taking afternoon naps. She didn’t know when he had come back or how long he had slept.
Yuli got up quietly, stepped over him, and, afraid of waking him, went out barefoot with her shoes in her hand.
Outside, she found Xiyun waiting. Yuli put her index finger to her lips, signaling her to be quiet, and only asked after she had put on her shoes and walked out of Mingyue Residence.
“When did the Young Master get back?”
“He came back not long after the Mistress fell asleep,” Xiyun said, her face tense, also feeling that it was strange.
So it was at noon.
“Has he had lunch?” Yuli asked.
Xiyun: “I don’t know.” She had also been startled when she saw him come back. How could she dare to ask?
Yuli thought he probably hadn’t. It was getting late, and it was almost time for dinner.
Yuli decided to go to the kitchen to cook some delicious food for him.
Halfway there, Yuli remembered to ask, “Has Yingniang been here?”
Xiyun shook her head. “Jingyu said that Yingniang’s maid came with a message, saying that Yingniang is ill and cannot sing for a few days, so it is inconvenient for her to come today.”
Yuli didn’t think much of it and quickly went to the kitchen.
Yuli made a table full of his favorite dishes. When she returned to Mingyue Residence, he was already awake, sitting in the parlor, looking at the scenery in the courtyard. But his eyes were not focused. He was in the exquisite landscape, but he seemed not to be in it, a little lonely.
Yuli tried her best to be normal, smiled and walked over, had the maids put down the dishes, and introduced them to him one by one.
Xie Yao was also as usual, not saying any extra words, just picking up his chopsticks and eating.
Yuli served him food, and he also ate it as usual. Seeing Xie Yao eating with concentration, Yuli no longer paid attention to him and ate her own food seriously.
Tomorrow was the Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon was about to be full, and the moonlight looked beautiful.
After the meal, Yuli said to Xie Yao, “Husband, will you watch the moon with me for a while?”
“Alright,” Xie Yao agreed.
Yuli moved two chairs into the courtyard and sat side by side with Xie Yao. Yuli thought of how there was light pollution everywhere in her past life, and she could only see the brightest disk of the moon, not the moonlight. She hadn’t looked at the moonlight carefully for a long time.
Yuli extinguished all the lights in the room, and also the ones under the hanging flower gate. In the darkness, she and Xie Yao focused on watching the moonlight.
Yuli thought, if Xie Yao had a mental disorder, it was best for her to do less and not to stir up his emotions. It was good to just do some quiet things like this.
Little did she know that as Xie Yao watched the moon in the silence, his heart felt as if it were being branded by fire.
Today, he had ordered the two who had been sent yesterday to be executed, and their bodies sent back to the person who had sent them. The one from the day before, named Chenyue, was also locked up in the Duke’s Residence and would never see the light of day again.
In the future, no one would ever displease him in this matter again. He had not closed his eyes for two consecutive days. When he came back today, he had wanted to be with Yuli and talk about what had happened last night, but she had acted as if it had never happened, so he had to not mention it either.
At this moment, Yuli was sitting side by side with him, watching the moon together. Her face was calm and gentle. But he wished she had really stabbed him, to let the heart-piercing pain cover his desire to hold her, crush her, and swallow her.
Xie Yao’s eyes were fixed on the moonlight, and his breathing gradually grew hot. Yuli did not notice at all and handed him a grape.
Xie Yao turned his head to look at her, held her wrist, and took the grape and half of her finger into his mouth, slowly taking the grape.
His tongue swept over her finger, and he sucked on it faintly. Yuli couldn’t help but shiver, and her whole body went numb.
Xie Yao did not let go of her hand, but pulled it over and kneaded it against his heart.
Yuli pursed her lips, acted as if it were normal, and focused on watching the moon, but her heart was already restless.
Sensing that his body had stiffened for a moment, Yuli realized that he had been injured there last night.
Yuli wanted to pull her hand back, but Xie Yao wouldn’t let her. Her fingers were stiff. “Isn’t it better yet? Should I apply some medicine?”
“It’s nothing,” Xie Yao said, still pressing her hand against his heart.
It was obvious that he was in pain, trembling and stiff, but he still didn’t stop.
Yuli found it strange.
Could he have an episode just from watching the moon with her?
Yuli was at a loss, not knowing what his problem was, and didn’t dare to be forceful.
“You’re hurting me,” Yuli said, having a sudden inspiration.
Xie Yao did indeed stop, turned his head to look at her, his expression full of struggle, so complex that it made Yuli’s heart tremble.
Yuli looked at him, wanting to say that one’s body is a gift from one’s parents and should not be abused. But thinking that he would commit patricide in the future, she thought that he only had hatred for his father.
Yuli said to him, “You only have one life. You should cherish it.”
Xie Yao stared at her, but still did not let go of her hand.
Yuli frowned slightly. “It hurts me to see you injured.”
Xie Yao was stunned.
“Let’s apply some medicine. Husband,” Yuli said in a coaxing tone.
Xie Yao finally let go, only clasping his ten fingers with hers, but he did not move to go into the room to apply medicine.
Yuli slowly withdrew her gaze. The next moment, a shadow fell over her face. Xie Yao suddenly stood up, leaned on the armrests of her chair, and stared at her very closely.
“Call me Mingyan.”
“Ming, Mingyan,” Yuli was startled by his sudden movement and stammered a little.
He leaned on, not retreating. Yuli called out his name again, seriously.
Xie Yao seemed to have lost his strength. He leaned down on her neck and called out “Yuli” in a low voice.
Xie Yao seemed to have returned to normal. Yuli pulled him into the room, called back Xiyun and Jingyu, and found some wound medicine.
The lights in Mingyue Residence were bright. Xie Yao came out of the bath, his upper body bare. His wound was very shallow and small and had originally healed. Just now, after his fuss, the edges had become red and swollen, and the thin wound had turned outwards. It was not serious, but it looked painful.
Yuli took a little wound medicine, gently applied it for him, and blew on it.
Yuli saw a few faint blue marks on his waist. They were the ones she had pinched last night.
Yuli was a little embarrassed. She looked at his back again. She didn’t find any scratches or anything, but she saw an old scar, like a wound that had been pierced by a sharp object.
He was not the type to scar. That little scar didn’t look big, so the injury must have been very serious when he got it.
Yuli couldn’t help but reach out to touch it. The moment she touched it, Xie Yao suddenly turned around and held her wrist. His breathing was a little heavy, but his expression looked normal.
“It’s done,” Yuli said. She didn’t intend to open his old wounds and wanted to take a bath.
Xie Yao let her go. Yuli went into the bathroom. He sat by the bed for a while, untied his belt, placed it by the pillow, took off his only piece of clothing, and sat by the bed, waiting for Yuli.
When Yuli came out, there was only one lamp left in the room. She was loosening her chignon as she walked towards the bed. Before she reached the bed, she saw Xie Yao sitting on the edge of the bed, with a thin quilt covering his waist and abdomen, his long legs bare, propped under the bed.
They had not been intimate for several days. Yuli was a little uncomfortable, thinking it was because of their conflict.
It is said that couples make up in bed after a fight at the head of the bed. Since he had so proactively set the stage, it was not good for her to be coy.
Yuli walked to the bed, wanting to lower the bed curtains, but was pulled into Xie Yao’s arms.
Knowing that he liked to see her with the lights on, although Yuli was shy, she felt it was not a big deal that she couldn’t bear, so she went along with him.
The knot of her sash loosened, and her collar slid down to her arms. Yuli closed her eyes and lay on Xie Yao’s shoulder.
Their skin touched, the familiar temperature and scent. Xie Yao also patiently and gently kissed and caressed her. Yuli gradually calmed down.
Most of the time, Xie Yao was very normal. In bed, he also prioritized her feelings. Several times, after she felt it was enough, he would just finish quickly and not stay inside at all.
Previously, Yuli had been worried about getting pregnant at a young age. Now she was less worried.
Yuli soon went limp in his arms. Although she was shy, she felt that this was a matter for two people, and she would also give him some feedback.
Kissing his cheeks, earlobes, neck, and so on. Because they had just had an unpleasantness, Yuli was a little more enthusiastic tonight.
She kissed his earlobe, then took the initiative to kiss his lips.
Soft, with a scorching breath, full of a strong, warm fragrance.
Yuli only kissed for a while and then let go. She had been proactive up to this point, and Xie Yao’s breathing was already rough. Her task was considered complete.
The bed curtains trembled, and Yuli lay on the bed. Her nightgown had also fallen to the side of the bed.
Yuli looked at the somewhat distant lamp. Fortunately, it was not particularly bright. When she looked at him later, it would not be so clear. Yuli was also less apprehensive.
Xie Yao covered her. Her eyelashes trembled, and she bit her lower lip to keep from making a sound. Her breathing was light and panting, but still steady.
She glanced at the candlelight. The yellowish lantern paper was painted with plantains after the rain.
A simple and elegant scene. Her heart was also calm. She closed her eyes and made a cooperative gesture.
But Xie Yao leaned down, pressed her legs, and pulled her arms above her head, holding both her wrists with one hand.
He lowered his head and kissed her lips, his slender body completely pressing down on her.
Yuli felt a little heavy and a little breathless, but thinking that he wouldn’t kiss for long, she endured it for the time being.
There was a rustling sound above her head. Xie Yao caressed her wrist bones. Yuli felt that he was even heavier. She wanted to speak, but her lips and tongue were blocked by him, her wrists were held by him, her calves were also pressed down, and her body was tightly squeezed between him and the mattress.
Yuli’s panting grew heavier. Just as she was about to turn her head, a cool cloth was suddenly passed through her wrist. She stiffened. The cloth continued to wrap around, and finally tightened.
Yuli was terrified. Xie Yao propped himself up, and the heavy pressure left her body. She gasped for air as if she had been suffocating.
Xie Yao relaxed his grip on her a little, and kissed from the corner of her lips to the side of her face, and her earlobe.
“It’s a couple’s pleasure. Don’t be afraid,” he said to her.