The Prisoner of Beauty - Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Wei Shao's tender tone, his handsome smile...

Even though he had already been gone for a while, they remained deeply embedded in Xiao Qiao's mind like a gentle spring breeze following a refreshing rain, refusing to fade away.

She felt like crying again.

Why wasn't he going away on a long journey?

To be a bit fastidious about it, she actually missed the days when he used to treat her as though she were mere air. There was no telling what the future held, but tonight—if she were forced to endure an experience like last night's all over again tonight...

Wei Shao only cared about his own immediate gratification, but did she not want to preserve her own body?

Her lower body was truly swollen and painful. When Nanny Chun came in to serve her as she rose from bed, Xiao Qiao could no longer afford to be bashful and hesitantly mentioned a brief word about it to her, which worried Nanny Chun to death.

Seeing the manner in which the Lord had returned yesterday, she knew the Lady would definitely find it grueling. Because she felt uneasy, she had even climbed out of bed to quietly slip out and check twice during the latter half of the night, only to see that the candles in the room remained continuously lit. It was not until around the hour of the Tiger that they were finally extinguished.

The Lady's body was delicate and frail to begin with, and it had not been long since she reached her hair-pinning ceremony. Encountering a considerate husband would naturally be fine, but judging by the Lord's physique, one could well imagine how the bedroom intimacy would be. With the lamps lit for most of the night, Nanny Chun had actually been uneasy for a long time. That was why she had entered the room the moment the Lord left this morning. Even so, she had not expected Xiao Qiao to find it quite this grueling. Upon entering, she saw her lying there listlessly with two faint dark circles under her eyes, making her heart ache at the sight. Hearing her complain of pain, she hastily wanted to inspect it, but Xiao Qiao refused to let her look. Left with no choice, Nanny Chun went to fetch an ointment.

Back when Xiao Qiao was to be married, Nanny Chun had considered everything thoroughly, not forgetting even this kind of ointment to reduce swelling and alleviate pain. It had remained unopened until now. Xiao Qiao took it, turned her back to apply some, and finally felt a cooling comfort. Only then did she exhale a long breath.

While helping her dress afterward, Nanny Chun admonished her in a low voice: "Yesterday, this servant originally thought that since the Lord had just returned home, he would inevitably be impatient, and if the Lady could accommodate him, she naturally ought to accommodate him. But regardless of the circumstances, you cannot allow yourself to suffer such hardship! It is not as if there are no other methods; this servant has taught you before in the past. You, child, are simply too rigid in your thinking!"

Xiao Qiao understood Nanny Chun's hint, but she truly felt somewhat aggrieved.

How was she supposed to tell Nanny Chun that Wei Shao simply paid no heed to her refusals last night, nor did he have any interest in trying other tricks; he was entirely focused on wanting her, and when he wanted her, he took her. She could not beat him in a fight, and weeping and begging was even more useless. The harder she cried and the more she begged, the more excited he seemed to become.

Encountering such a bipedal beast, what could she possibly do?

...

Although Wei Shao had said she did not need to show her face at his grandmother's or Lady Zhu's places this morning, Xiao Qiao herself did not possess such thick skin. A man had just returned home last night, and though everyone knew perfectly well what would take place in the bedroom, if she truly listened to Wei Shao, she wouldn't be able to get by in the days to come. Once the soreness throughout her body eased slightly and she finished washing and grooming, she went to the northern chambers first, just as she usually did.

Wei Shao had been here earlier than Xiao Qiao and had mentioned that she would rise late today. Seeing her arrive at roughly the same time as usual, Madame Xu's attitude was also normal, and she did not ask any embarrassing questions. She merely chatted casually with Xiao Qiao for a few moments, finally mentioning Xiao Qiao's younger brother. She stated that she had already personally instructed the servants to tidy up the room he would reside in, and was simply waiting for her brother's early arrival.

This gesture from Madame Xu allowed Xiao Qiao to thoroughly set her mind at ease.

After all, the Wei and Qiao families had a deep ancestral feud between them. Since her marriage into the Wei family up until now, although her grandmother had always been very good to her and her relationship with Wei Shao had recently begun to break the ice, showing signs of easing, she was ultimately a daughter of the Qiao family who had married out. According to the current perspective, she belonged entirely to the Wei family. The Wei family's acceptance of her as a daughter-in-law and their acceptance of her maternal family were two entirely different matters.

Calculating the time of the envoy party's departure, they should be arriving in Youzhou shortly. Just during these past couple of days, Xiao Qiao had been thinking that if the Wei family did not actively offer to have her brother stay at the estate, she would have to consider how to tactfully sound them out.

It did not matter for the envoys traveling with her brother; they would naturally be arranged to stay at the official courier station. But her brother had traveled from afar, and to arrange for him to stay at the courier station as well—if it were like when she first arrived, it would have been fine, but if it were still the case now, to say nothing of how unsightly it would look, she herself would have a hard time getting past it mentally.

Now that Madame Xu had taken the initiative to bring up the subject, it turned out she had already settled the matter early on. Xiao Qiao was immensely grateful, hastily offering her thanks.

"Your brother is Er-lang's brother-in-law; we are all one family, so what is there to thank me for?"

Madame Xu said with a gentle smile.

...

Xiao Qiao emerged from the northern chambers in a rather pleasant mood, and even the discomfort throughout her body seemed to have dissipated by more than half. She turned toward the eastern chambers.

Ordinarily, whenever she came to the eastern chambers, Lady Zhu would wear a strange, sarcastic face.

Today it was even worse.

That scent of sky-high aversion toward her could be detected before she even stepped inside.

However, at present, presumably knowing that Madame Xu was also protecting her, Lady Zhu did nothing other than give her the cold shoulder. Xiao Qiao had also grown accustomed to it.

The only slight surprise today was catching sight of Nanny Jiang once more.

Ever since Nanny Jiang broke her leg, she had not shown her face for a very long time. Today was the very first time.

For some reason, every time she saw Nanny Jiang, Xiao Qiao always thought of Nanny Rong. A Lady Zhu plus a Nanny Rong—one could well imagine how much Xiao Qiao disliked coming to the eastern chambers.

Yet Lady Zhu seemed to suffer from a form of masochism; clearly detesting the sight of her so much, she nevertheless refused to learn from her mother-in-law, Madame Xu, by actively excusing her daughter-in-law from the morning respects, insisting on having her come before her every single day to cause her vexation.

Once Xiao Qiao finished paying respects to her mother-in-law, she quickly cast aside those two glaring gazes that Nanny Rong had fixed upon her when she came out just now. She returned to her own room, and the remaining greater part of the day was entirely at her own disposal.

During Madame Xu's grand birthday previously, Xiao Qiao had noticed that Madame Xu frequently unrolled and chanted the Buddhist sutra she had gifted. Because the sutra had been copied while she was still at her maternal home, the script was inevitably a bit small for Madame Xu's eyesight. Some time ago, she intended to start anew and copy another volume with a larger script to present to her, and she had already made a beginning. Returning to her room now, she had no desire to rest further. Carrying her gratitude toward Madame Xu, she rolled up her sleeves and sat down, grinding ink as she continued her copying.

Wei Shao did not return at noon either. Xiao Qiao finished her meal alone, rested her eyes briefly, and upon arising, continued her copying once more. After finishing a section, when she needed to switch to a larger calligraphy brush to write the introductory text, she felt that the brush on hand was somewhat worn down and awkward to use.

Wei Shao's study was not far from the bedroom, separated only by a single corridor.

There would definitely be suitable calligraphy brushes within his study.

If it were like the past, back when he still pointed a sword at her nose, Xiao Qiao naturally would not enter his study.

But things were slightly different now. Between a man and a woman, so long as they had experienced true intimacy of the flesh—especially with the kind of wildness displayed last night—regardless of whether it was intentional or unintentional, they would inevitably develop a sense of closeness toward each other to some degree.

Moreover, it was merely to fetch a calligraphy brush.

Xiao Qiao arose, crossed the corridor, passed by two coarse-working maidservants who were sweeping the courtyard, and arrived at the entrance of Wei Shao's study. Pushing open the door, she went inside to select a suitable brush, subsequently exiting.

...

As the hour of the Dog drew to a close after nightfall, Wei Shao returned to the room.

When he first entered, he still seemed to be draped in that layer of the "Lord's" skin from the outside, looking unexpectedly solemn and proper.

Were it not for the fact that Xiao Qiao's lower body still retained that slight discomfort from friction when walking even now, merely looking at this solemn face of his, she would have almost suspected that she had been the one abusing him last night.

Very quickly, however, that skin of his as the Lord was torn away.

Not long after entering the bathhouse, Xiao Qiao heard him call for her to enter as well. Entering with some reluctance, she was asked to scrub his back.

Scrubbing his back was fine, but as she scrubbed, it turned into him massaging her entire body. After rubbing her a few times, he revealed an enthusiastic expression once more, ultimately carrying her onto the bed to engage in last night's physical labor again.

The painful lesson from last night remained vivid in her memory, and the pain below had not entirely dissipated even now. The moment his hand stretched over, Xiao Qiao immediately clutched the pillow with a death grip, pleading for mercy with a woeful face, saying it hurt, it still hurt quite a bit, and when she bathed in the evening, it even hurt upon touching the water, and she had only just applied the ointment.

Wei Shao's surging enthusiasm was interrupted by her, leaving him somewhat disappointed. Shamelessly, he claimed he had to take a look before he would believe her. Xiao Qiao's face turned entirely red, refusing at first. Under his repeated threats, half-forced and half-submissive, she still let him look.

The skin of her flesh there was a delicate pale pink, and the tender edges were indeed scraped of a layer of skin from the friction. After only a single day, it had indeed not yet healed. Smeared with a thin layer of ointment, it resembled a glistening flower under the candlelight, exceptionally beautiful.

Wei Shao stared without blinking, his Adam's apple moving once more.

Xiao Qiao had originally covered her face with the pillow. After a moment, sensing no movement from him, she slightly shifted the pillow aside to look out. Seeing that he was still staring, seemingly somewhat entranced, she hastily lowered her legs and pulled back her skirt to cover herself, sitting up as well.

"I didn't lie to you, right?"

Her cheeks were still quite red.

Wei Shao exhaled a long breath: "I shall let you off for now."

Before Xiao Qiao could finish drawing a full breath, she watched in astonishment as Wei Shao seized one of her feet again, cradling it and pressing it against his abdomen, massaging it a few times before grabbing her other foot along with it.

Xiao Qiao was somewhat ticklish, and the soles of her feet were especially sensitive. Having been squeezed only a couple of times by him, she could not help but laugh, giggling while attempting to pull her feet back.

He gripped them very tightly, and she could not pull them free despite her efforts.

Wei Shao held a jade foot in each hand, massaging them repeatedly for quite a long time.

The Qiao girl’s two feet were indeed, just as that fellow Chen Rui had stated, exceptionally fine. Fair and tender like jade bamboo shoots, they felt fleshy and soft to the touch, and as he massaged them, his desires were unexpectedly stirred up slightly once more.

Regarding the foul words from Chen Rui's mouth that day, claiming he had once enjoyed her until he was completely entranced, he naturally did not believe them.

The night before his departure on campaign, he had only just taken her virginity; how could such a thing have occurred previously in Shiyi?

However, since that fellow Chen Rui had spoken with such precision and specifically pointed out her feet, it could at least be inferred that the fellow had laid eyes upon her feet.

An unpleasant sensation, akin to having one's private property coveted by another, suddenly welled up within Wei Shao's heart. Abruptly bending and lifting one of her legs, he lowered his head and opened his mouth, delivering a fierce bite.

Xiao Qiao had been left dazed and numb from having her feet toyed with, and seeing him suddenly bite her again, she let out a low cry of pain: "What are you doing!"

Wei Shao released her foot, gazing at Xiao Qiao as he spoke slowly: "Did that fellow Chen Rui also bite you like this back then in Shiyi?"

Xiao Qiao felt entirely baffled, not knowing why he suddenly brought up that Chen Rui whom she had nearly forgotten, and even asked such a completely baffling question. Shaking her head, she said, "No. Why do you mention him?"

Wei Shao's heart suddenly felt comfortable again. Staring at her two feet for a moment, a notion suddenly popped into his head. Holding it down, he pressed the soles of her feet against his abdomen and guided them downward.

Xiao Qiao was stunned by his actions, her eyes widening more and more...

...

Xiao Qiao did not expend much effort, and at the cost of her jade feet losing their innocence following her hands, she managed to escape tonight's difficult pass after all.

The two of them washed up, and he held her as they lay in bed, letting her cradle his arm while he encircled her with a single arm.

A very intimate sleeping posture. It was the first time the two of them had slept together in such a manner.

The lamp had not yet been extinguished.

Xiao Qiao closed her eyes and slept for a short while, then quietly opened them to cast a glance at him beside her.

His eyes were closed and his expression was peaceful, as though he had fallen asleep.

But Xiao Qiao knew he was likely not asleep.

She hesitated for a brief moment, saying in a low voice, "In a few more days, the envoys dispatched by my uncle will arrive in Yuyang, and my younger brother will come along as well. You should know of this, right?"

Wei Shao gave a faint "Mm."

"This morning, Grandmother stated that my brother should stay at the estate. I am immensely grateful for Grandmother's arrangement."

As Xiao Qiao finished speaking, she observed his expression.

Wei Shao kept his eyes closed as before, without much of any expression.

After quite a long while, he finally stated, "Since Grandmother has arranged it, simply follow it."

His eyes remained closed, and it was still impossible to discern any other expression.

Xiao Qiao fell silent for a moment, then spoke: "During the day, I entered your study to fetch a calligraphy brush. I thought to let you know."

This time, Wei Shao responded very quickly: "No matter. If you have a use for it, simply enter."

Xiao Qiao said softly, "Thank you, Husband."

Wei Shao slowly opened his eyes, turning his face to cast a glance at her.

Xiao Qiao offered him a faint smile.