The Prisoner of Beauty - Chapter 37

Chapter 37

It was already the latter half of the night. Within the silken bed curtains and beneath the soft quilt, a faint, delicate fragrance drifted into the nostrils, refreshing and gladdening the heart.

Having spent the past half a month enduring crude lodgings within the frontier cities, now that he had returned home to this place, Wei Shao paradoxically failed to secure a good night's sleep on this night.

The Qiao woman beside him, however, was sleeping exceedingly broad and at ease, long since entered into a dream state.

During the first half of the night, he had merely closed his eyes for a brief moment. Once he awoke, he was completely incapable of drifting off to sleep again. Already, he had opened his eyes to look upon the person beside him on more than a single occasion.

The matter that had begun accumulating within his heart during the day, alongside that nameless fire presently within his body at this hour, persistently failed to subside.

He closed his eyes for a brief period, then opened them once more, turning his face to confront her.

The two of them had always slept with each individual possessing an individual quilt. Every time she slept, her quilt was consistently pressed down exceptionally tight and firm, wrapping her own person up tightly. Tonight was identical.

The illumination within the curtains was dim and dark. Nonetheless, it remained discernible that her body was curled into a single cluster, wrapped and shrunk within the quilt without a single movement, resembling a submissive kitten.

Gazing at that cluster of silhouette outlined on her person by the hazy night scenery, the fire within Wei Shao's body grew increasingly intense—that scene from that night surfaced anew within his mind. It was likewise upon this very bed that she had executed those acts on his behalf.

At present, he possessed a need once more. Not only did he possess it, but the sensation was furthermore exceptionally intense, rendering it simply impossible to suppress through reliance upon himself any further.

On the previous occasion, seeing that appearance of hers truly eating pain had seemed a fraction pitiful, and in a moment of softened heart he had let it pass.

Although she was a daughter of the Qiao family and he fundamentally possessed no desire to touch her, she was nonetheless also the woman whom his grandmother had taken charge of to wed through the grand gates on his behalf. If he permitted his grandmother to learn that up to the present hour he had not yet possessed the marital reality of husband and wife with her, she would boundlessly chide him.

Wei Shao determined to refrain from continuing to endure.

It was also a coincidence; Xiao Qiao knew not what she was dreaming of within her sleep, but Wei Shao heard her emit a muffled mutter from her mouth as though she were harboring a glutinous rice ball, whereupon she rolled over and tumbled toward him.

His arm was lightly pressed by two clusters of something soft and downy; even spanning across the quilt, it failed to obstruct a sensation that was downy, soft, and convenient to the hand.

It was as though a surge of hot current washed and brushed across his frame. Wei Shao emitted a shiver. Hoisting his thigh, he promptly hooked her leg over, his hand likewise extending across to clasp her waist, dragging her entire person into his own embrace.

...

Speaking of it, it was also strange; ever since Xiao Qiao arrived at this place, she had not a single time again experienced those terrifying nightmares regarding her past life during her night sleep as she had perennially in the past within the Qiao household.

Following her clarification of the cause for Wei Shao's displeasure during the evening, she had consequently turned unburdened.

If he truly desired to be angry with her, she was likewise devoid of recourse. It was not as though she had bidden her grandmother to force him to fetch her.

Inscribing characters upon the mural during the day was truly exhausting. When she only just returned, her arm and shoulder were still merely sore; subsequently when she lay down, she felt that the sore pain had already diffused across her entire frame. Her eyelids very swiftly drooped down, and she drifted off to sleep.

Moments ago, she had been sleeping in a hazy and muddled state, dreaming that Nanny Chun was kneading her muscles and bones. At the beginning, she assisted in kneading her shoulders and back, the movements exceedingly soft and slow, the strength neither heavy nor light, rendering her feeling quite comfortable, even emitting a few "en-en" sounds to encourage her. Subsequently, however, she dreamed that she was kneading the flesh upon her chest and abdomen, kneading for quite a duration, and once concluded, moved further downward... and further...

At any rate, Nanny Chun's strength grew greater and greater, and the positioning of her hands likewise grew increasingly tricky. She had furthermore caused her pain.

Xiao Qiao felt something was amiss even within her dream; Nanny Chun would refrain from groping around in such a random manner, let alone behaving with such rudeness toward her person. Furthermore, this sensation was altogether too genuine; even within her dream, she felt that this ought not to be merely a dream alone. She desired to open her eyes to obstruct that hand, yet at the start she had truly slept altogether too deeply, precisely resembling a pig, her eyelids glued together in a single mass so that she simply failed to open them for a time. Emitting a few "wu-wu" cries, she was precisely experiencing discomfort when she suddenly felt her person being flipped over anew in her entirety by someone. A wave of coolness assailed her frame, appearing as though her garments had likewise been shed, rendering her into a spread-eagle posture flat upon her back. Following that, a weight descended, and something as heavy as a mountain and a fraction hot pressed down.

Xiao Qiao's entire sternum was pressed downward into a slight indentation; fortunately, it was sufficiently supple and flexible, which was the only reason it failed to be pressed flat. Yet her breath hitched, her sleepiness finally vanished completely, and she snapped her eyes open. In a hazy and muddled manner, she appeared to witness a human face situated precisely above her own face, the distance no more than a few inches, and a wave of warmth likewise existed across her own cheeks—it was precisely that person's breath. Struck with a massive shock, she opened her mouth to shriek in alarm, yet the sound had only just commenced a beginning when her mouth was blocked by that person.

Naturally, it was Wei Shao utilizing his own mouth to block her mouth.

He absolutely desired to refrain, at this juncture when he was excited to the absolute limit, from permitting her alarmed shriek to awaken Nanny Chun or whatever other maidservant or attendant sleeping within the adjoining side-room.

The moment he blocked her mouth, he felt that her lips were fragrant, soft, and warm,亲起来 exceedingly comfortable. He was unable to resist extending his tongue to lick a few times; concluding his licks and seeing her mouth still remained open, he took advantage of the opportunity to consume her tongue. The tongues of the two individuals encountered one another in a single place.

By this hour, Xiao Qiao had already thoroughly awakened, and likewise realized that this person manipulating and pressing down upon her was none other than Wei Shao.

Initially, she was truly somewhat incapable of reacting, her brain thoroughly muddled in a loop. She was capable only of opening her mouth, her entire person remaining motionless, precisely resembling a silly Qiao frog pinned by the light of a flashlight within a summer night's field. Only after a brief moment did she realize something. Sensing his tongue probing into her mouth, a sensation incapable of being articulated in words—which ought to carry a fraction of a nauseating creepiness—assailed her person, and she hastily shook her head desiring to dodge away. However, with one desiring to dodge and one excited to the absolute limit, insisting upon consuming her by all means, the two tongues chased one another within her small mouth for a brief period; Xiao Qiao in the end remained unable to dodge away, and finally was tightly sucked by him, twisted together in a single mass.

Xiao Qiao's brain once more turned dizzy.

On this occasion, it ought to be caused by an insufficient inhalation of oxygen. Not until she was on the verge of suffocating to death did that man finally release her mouth.

Fresh air was inhaled into her lungs, and Xiao Qiao immediately opened her mouth to pant with large gasps. Yet prior to even recovering her breath, her lower half was again parted into an open shape by him.

...

Having wed into the Wei family, Xiao Qiao naturally lacked any preparation to clutch a chastity plaque to her bosom. If blame was to be assigned, blame was to be assigned to Wei Shao. On the wedding night, he had extracted a sword from beneath the pillow to point at her nose, and subsequently refrained from sharing a room with her. Even if she desired to offer her body, she lacked that opportunity.

Since her husband was unwilling to sleep with her, she naturally would all the more refrain from eagerly worshiping the cucumber; consequently, slowly, Xiao Qiao had likewise grown accustomed to the two of them sleeping each their own, their well water failing to interfere with the river water—as for that night when he took medicine, it was akin to an act of God within an insurance clause, and naturally did not count.

How could she have ever anticipated that having been out for half a month, the moment he returned, in the dead of the night at the third watch, he would suddenly manifest a surge of passion, appearing as though he were truly about to come for real.

Xiao Qiao felt a fraction of panic within her heart, not yet prepared to suddenly come for real so quickly.

His movements were furthermore rough to the point of death, devoid of any prelude; the moment he came up, it was a stance of desiring to combine closely with her, his salty pig hands furthermore pinching her soft and downy thighs with desperate strength, causing an anxious pain.

Hearing his huffing and puffing heavy gasps of breath, the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast suddenly surfaced within her mind in a thoroughly unseasonable manner.

In other people's fairy tales, although the male lead was a beast through and through, he was nonetheless gentle and considerate toward the female lead.

She herself could at any rate be considered a beauty, yet Wei Shao was actually inferior to even a beast!

Xiao Qiao felt his body strung tight and firm; although she desired to relax and cooperate as much as possible to avoid suffering a bitter lesson, she was fundamentally incapable of relaxing down, appearing to compete in stringing tight alongside him. When that manner of agonizing pain of being rent apart alive by him—which she had experienced for a transient moment on the previous occasion—assailed her anew, she was truly unable to hold it in. Bending her leg, she randomly launched a heavy, solid kick straight toward him.

Xiao Qiao's physical flexibility was excellent. Her leg was lifted high. With a crisp and resounding "slap" sound, resembling a slap across the face, it appeared to land precisely against Wei Shao's face.

He emitted a muffled groan.

Xiao Qiao had not anticipated that her accuracy would be so good as to land precisely against his face; inevitably she felt a fraction faint-hearted once more, hastily lowering her shivering leg as she spoke in a trembling voice: "You are hurting me. Can you not slow down a fraction..."

Just at this juncture, a cohort of hurried footsteps drifted from outside the door, sounding particularly clear and distinct to the ear within this night where all around was thoroughly still.

"Lord-Marquis! General Wei has rushed from Shiyi through the night, stating there is urgent military intelligence to report to the Lord-Marquis!"

A voice spoke outside the door.

General Wei was naturally Wei Liang.

Wei Shao's silhouette instantly solidified.

Xiao Qiao had kicked him so heavily, and with such good accuracy against his face, and was just feeling a fraction faint-hearted when she exhaled a sigh of relief upon hearing the words, hastily urging him: "General Wei has traveled through the night to arrive; may Husband go quickly to take a look, and refrain from delaying proper affairs!"

Her voice carried a fraction of a tremble, and her person was likewise huffing and puffing as she panted for breath.

Wei Shao remained stationary upon a single knee between her two legs for a brief moment, then suddenly threw open the curtains with a single fling, leaping down from the bed. Swiftly donning his garments, he directly cast Xiao Qiao aside and opened the door to depart.

Xiao Qiao pricked up her ears, hearing him exchange a few low words with that individual who came to deliver the message, the sound of footsteps disappearing very swiftly.

She exhaled a long, expansive breath, touching her own chest cavity with her hand; it was already thoroughly drenched in sweat.

Half was squeezed out, and half was born of pain.

...

Wei Liang had already nursed his injuries to recovery; several days prior, bearing Gongsun Yang's letter, he had traveled without a single halt from Shiyi to Yuyang, arriving merely moments ago. Bidding open the city gates to enter the city, and seeing that there remained some time prior to dawn, he was unable to wait, and directly barged over.

Wei Shao received him within the study.

Wei Liang dropped to a single knee before him to execute a military salute, extracting Gongsun Yang's letter from within his robe and presenting it with both hands, saying: "It is truly that the military intelligence is urgent; only because of this did I summon the Lord-Marquis in the deep of the night. May the Lord-Marquis grant forgiveness!"

Wei Shao spoke nothing, receiving the letter from within his hand, unfolding it to scan across it ten lines at a glance, his expression becoming grave.

He bade Wei Liang arise.

Wei Liang arose and stated: "According to intelligence reports, Chen Xiang of Bingzhou has already assembled one hundred and fifty thousand troops and horses, preparing to head toward Shiyi. Furthermore, he has betrothed a daughter to the fifth son of Xue Tai of Xuzhou; aside from the dowry, he additionally sent one hundred thousand hu of grain and one thousand liang of gold, directing Xue Tai to launch a military campaign against Yanzhou. The two individuals have already established an alliance. The Lord-Marquis has wed the Qiao woman of Yanzhou; if Yanzhou reports an emergency, they are bound to request troops from the Lord-Marquis. If the Lord-Marquis dispatches troops to assist Yanzhou, then Shiyi turns critical, and I fear it shall be difficult to resist Chen Xiang's one hundred and fifty thousand troops and horses. If the Lord-Marquis fights with full strength at Shiyi and refrains from rescuing Yanzhou, then Yanzhou shall be difficult to preserve, and the matrimonial alliance between the Lord-Marquis and the Qiao family shall likewise exist merely as a vacant fixture, moreover attracting criticism from others. Rescuing is not an option, yet refraining from rescue is likewise not an option; this constitutes Chen Xiang's strategy of rendering the head and tail incapable of mutual assistance. How shall the Lord-Marquis respond?”