The Prisoner of Beauty - Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Wei Shao had returned quite late, and when he emerged from the bathhouse, he said nothing, going straight to the bed.

Xiao Qiao then extinguished the lamp and climbed into bed after him.

He seemed to fall asleep very quickly.

Gradually, Xiao Qiao began to feel a painful engorgement in her breasts. She slowly turned over onto her side.

Feifei’s routine was highly disciplined. Usually, she would nurse until she was full at the end of the evening, sleep, and wake up once around midnight. After a diaper change and another feeding, she would sleep peacefully until dawn.

Xiao Qiao listened intently to the movements in the adjacent room.

After a short while, a faint cry from Feifei indeed drifted over.

Wei Shao abruptly bolted upright, catching Xiao Qiao completely off guard.

"What is wrong with her?"

In the darkness, Xiao Qiao heard him ask.

"She is awake..."

Wei Shao immediately threw back the covers and slipped out of bed. Lighting a lamp, he hurried outside.

Xiao Qiao threw a robe over her shoulders and followed him.

The wet nurse had finished changing Feifei's diaper and was trying to nurse her back to sleep.

Ever since Feifei was born, Xiao Qiao had been raising her personally.

Feifei loved the unique, nectar-sweet milky fragrance that radiated from her mother's body.

The two wet nurses were naturally clean and healthy young women, but Feifei had never grown accustomed to them. When she was separated from her mother last month, she spent the first few days eating poorly and sleeping fitfully. Only after realizing her mother was not coming did she helplessly and gradually accept them.

The moment Xiao Qiao returned these past few days, Feifei immediately became clingy, seeking out that sweet, pleasant fragrance only her mother possessed. Waking up just now and finding it missing, she grew unsettled, spat out the nipple pressed into her mouth, and began to cry.

As the wet nurse was coaxing the child, she heard the door being pushed open. Turning around to see the Master storming in, she hurriedly covered her bodice.

Wei Shao’s eyes fixed upon the endlessly crying Feifei. Striding over in a single flash, he reached out to hold her, yet he seemed somewhat timid. Subconsciously, he turned his head to look at Xiao Qiao, who had followed him inside.

Xiao Qiao stepped forward, took her daughter into her arms, and lowered her head to gently press her cheek against the infant's forehead. "Feifei, be good, don't cry. Mother is here," she said softly.

Feifei gradually stopped her crying, letting out soft, quiet sobs with tear-streaked cheeks. Her two tiny hands tightly clutched her mother’s bodice, refusing to let go.

The wet nurse felt rather anxious and murmured in a low voice, "Blame my incompetence for disturbing the Lady..."

"It matters not," Xiao Qiao said. "I will bring her back to sleep with me after all." She called a maidservant to fetch a thin quilt, wrapped Feifei in it, and carried her outside.

Wei Shao stood by, watching blankly in a daze. Suddenly snapping back to reality, he saw that Xiao Qiao had already stepped outside and quickly turned to follow her.

Xiao Qiao returned to their chamber. Seeing Wei Shao enter, close the door, and stand rigidly to the side, she smiled and asked, "Would you like to hold her?"

She cradled Feifei and presented her right before him.

Feifei had just woken up and cried her way back into her mother's arms. Resting within her mother's fragrant and soft embrace, her spirits were remarkably high. She nibbled on her tiny hand while widening her dark, grape-like eyes, staring curiously at this person who had suddenly materialized out of nowhere.

Huh? This person looks a bit different from the people who usually move back and forth in front of me—

Wei Shao gazed at his daughter, slowly reaching out to receive her, cradling her within his arms.

His shoulders were slightly stiff.

"Gently support her neck here with your arm, she will be more comfortable that way. Wrap your other hand around like this, yes, like that—"

Xiao Qiao leaned in closer, whispering instructions on how to hold Feifei.

Wei Shao held the soft, pale, and tender little creature in his arms, staring down at her rolling eyes as she seemed to study him. He acted with absolute caution, utterly terrified that a single careless move might hurt her.

The two of them stood very close, separated only by Feifei. Suddenly, an indescribable sweet fragrance drifted into his nose. It felt intimately familiar, akin to the milky scent Feifei radiated, yet it was not entirely the same...

It was faint and elusive, yet it followed his breath straight into his lungs, causing his breathing to hitch.

Subconsciously, he lifted his eyes to steal a glance at her.

She was not looking at him; her gaze was fixed entirely on Feifei in his arms. Her cheeks were as luminous as a crescent moon, the light in her eyes as tender as water, and a length of jade-like neck was exposed above her collar, and further down...

Wei Shao had actually noticed long ago. After giving birth, her figure had filled out subtly, her chest swelling fully, as though a single pinch could cause milk to overflow...

Feifei stared at the face of this strange person who held her rigidly for a moment before losing interest.

Instead, she nuzzled her tiny face closer to his chest.

It was rock-hard, completely lacking the soft, fragrant warmth she was used to from her mother.

She did not like it.

Her little mouth flattened, and with a loud wah, she burst into tears.

Wei Shao was startled. Snapping out of his daze, he frantically patted her to offer comfort.

Feifei’s crying grew even louder.

Wei Shao was instantly thrown into a frantic panic.

He was already burning hot all over, and now sweat began to bead on his forehead.

"Give her to me."

Xiao Qiao reached out and took Feifei back, cradling her and gently patting her back.

Feifei quickly ceased her crying, rubbing her aggrieved little face against her mother, burrowing into her embrace with a trace of urgency.

"She is hungry, I will feed her."

Xiao Qiao turned her body, slightly avoiding his direct line of sight as she unfastened her garments to nurse the child.

Cradled in her mother’s arms, Feifei gradually grew quiet, closing her eyes and parting her mouth to latch on, sucking eagerly.

Wei Shao stole only a single glance before averting his eyes. Yet his ears caught the distinct sound of the tiny creature swallowing greedily in her arms. His Adam's apple bobbed in tandem, and he subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

He stood frozen to the side, his throat suddenly parched, the blood throughout his body growing searing hot.

Feifei gradually drifted to sleep in her mother's embrace.

Xiao Qiao carried her over to the small crib placed beside the large bed, bending down to gently lay her inside and tucking the quilt around her.

The moment she straightened her back, Wei Shao turned around and strode outward. However, his turn was too rushed, and his foot accidentally kicked a nearby incense-burning stool.

The drum-shaped stool was kicked flat onto the ground, rolling forward with a clattering noise.

Wei Shao's heart pounded like thunder. Stopping dead in his tracks, he held his breath and turned his head, seeing that Feifei seemed to be slightly disturbed in her crib. She twitched her arm, but after a short while, she drifted back to sleep.

He slowly exhaled a breath, finally turning his face away, his voice slightly strained. "You should sleep with Feifei... I suddenly remembered there are still some matters to attend to. I will go to the study first..."

He lifted his foot to walk out once more.

"Husband, do you no longer love me?"

Just as he reached the side of the screen, a clear, soft voice suddenly drifted from behind him.

She had come up behind him, extending both arms around his waist to embrace him, gently pressing her cheek against his broad back as she closed her eyes.

Wei Shao’s back went rigid.

The chamber became extraordinarily quiet.

Even the sound of Feifei’s sound sleep from her crib seemed to enter his ears.

Xiao Qiao held him tightly for a brief moment before forcibly turning him around, forcing him to face her directly.

He did not seem to offer much resistance, allowing her to change his direction.

Yet he still stood as stiffly as a block of wood, without moving even a single finger.

She tilted her face up, her beautiful eyes glistening with unshed tears as she gazed intently at him.

"When I returned during the day and saw your mount hitched at the entrance, knowing you had come home, my heart was filled with such joy..."

She paused for a moment. Lifting her two jade-like arms, she hooked them around his neck, hooking her fingers as she stood on her tiptoes, pressing her lips against his dry ones, subtly offering her fragrant tongue.

"Husband, I love you too..."

She murmured in a low whisper, her breath as sweet as an orchid.

Wei Shao stared into her eyes, his breathing completely losing control in an instant. It turned violently heavy, and after a couple of ragged gasps, he fiercely locked her in his arms, cupping her head, opening his mouth to bite into her lips.

He used his mouth to fiercely grind against her tender lips, his iron arms clamping around her body, flattening her tightly against his chest with enough force to crush her into his very flesh.

Xiao Qiao trembled violently within his arms, a tide of passion surging within her womb. The milk that Feifei had not finished draining began to overflow, drenching both of their garments in the blink of an eye.

Wei Shao carried her to the couch, laying her down and pressing his body over hers.

Wet, slick, and sweet...

Xiao Qiao closed both eyes, her head tilted backward, her toes curling tightly together as her body trembled uncontrollably.

"Husband—"

She suddenly let out a broken, soft moan.

Wei Shao fiercely suppressed the urge to claim her immediately, pausing temporarily as he closed his eyes.

The burning anxiety and unrest that had been knotted deep in his heart during his journey back to Yuyang vanished entirely at this very moment.

Her embrace was so wonderfully warm.

Even though he had not done anything else yet, merely being like this brought an absolute sense of comfort across his entire body.

Every pore on his body stretched wide open the moment she accepted him.

He could not help but shudder.

How long had it been since he last experienced this marvelous sensation with her?

...

Even on that day when his forces surrounded Dongjun and she came to find him—at the height of his fury—he had not dared to utter the words that had rushed to his throat, telling her to get lost back to the Qiao family.

He was terrified that she would truly leave, never to return to his side again.

Just now, she said she was joyful over his return, and she even said she loved him too.

Given how heavily she guarded herself against him, was she simply deceiving him once again, or was it the truth?

Hot sweat rolled down from his forehead in streams.

He was extremely unwilling to admit it.

But at this very moment, he knew clearly in his heart that all his reluctance and indignation might only end in absolute surrender before her.

Because he could no longer let her go.

...

Xiao Qiao slowly opened her beautiful eyes.

"Husband—"

She slightly parted her crimson lips. Her eyelashes fluttered, the light in her eyes rippling like spring waves. Like a captive little beast panting beneath him, her expression was utterly dazed and helpless.

Wei Shao’s eyes grew dark. Gritting his teeth, he thrust into her with fierce intensity.

Amidst the tender cries she let out, he blocked her mouth once more.

...

When Xiao Qiao awoke, the sky was not yet bright. Feifei was still sleeping soundly, but the space beside her was empty.

Wei Shao was nowhere to be found.

It was only the middle of the dawn hour.

Xiao Qiao slowly sat up from the bed. After a moment of dazed silence, she climbed down to dress herself. Walking to the side of the crib, she checked on Feifei, straightening the corners of her quilt before quietly stepping outside toward the study.

The night was thick and heavy, and the dim, yellow glow of a lamp filtered through the windows of the study.

The door was not tightly shut. Peering through the crack in the door, Xiao Qiao saw Wei Shao sitting behind the desk. Placed before him was that rosewood box she had not seen for a very long time.

The lid of the box was open, and spread across the desk was a partially unrolled war flag with a black background and white trim.

From her angle, the center of the banner seemed to be embroidered with a golden tiger face bearing fierce fangs.

Years ago, it must have looked exceptionally majestic. Now, the flag was tattered and torn, one corner stained and marred, exuding the dullness of bygone years.

The stain was ancient, yet one could still discern that it was likely a bloodstain.

Wei Shao's gaze was fixed unblinkingly upon this remnant banner.

The candlelight cast his shadow onto the wall.

A massive mass of black shadow, utterly motionless.

He was so deeply absorbed, looking as though he had fallen into a world entirely of his own, such that despite his usual keen alertness, he failed to sense Xiao Qiao standing right outside the door.