Yu Zhen lazily rose from the bed. His attention drifted to the tiny woman lying beside him, curled up on her side. Her chest rose steadily with each breath she drew in, her eyes closed shut.
Li Xueyue’s hair was sprawled out, dark as the midnight against her pale skin. She slept without a fear for vulnerability, her shoulders relaxed around him.
Yu Zhen brought the blankets up to her shoulders, covering her body. His attention drifted to the red marks on her neck. His lips twitched in amusement. If she didn’t clench the blankets so much and tried to run from him, then perhaps, he wouldn’t have captured her and gifted love bites. Alas, Li Xueyue never listened, did she?
“You’re sleeping a lot easier now,” Yu Zhen fondly said. He reached a hand out and stroked her sleeping face with the back of his fingers.
His heart warmed when she subconsciously leaned into the touch, her body tilting forward.
“Hmmm… Yu Zhen?” Li Xueyue stirred as her eyes fluttered open and she saw his naked form. Her gaze drifted to his ripped chest and the ridges of his abdomen.
“Go back to sleep, Little Hamster. When it’s time for dinner, I will wake you,” Yu Zhen whispered. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead as she reached for his hand.
“And where are you going?” she tiredly asked with heavy eyelids that were barely able to stay open.
Li Xueyue was exhausted, yet he was glowing. She half-believed he had sucked the energy directly out of her. Each time they finished a passionate session, he would be brimming with energy whilst she could barely move a limb. It was almost as if his intent was to tire her out always. She did not know why.
“To feed Xiao Juzi before he feeds on a servant.”
Li Xueyue slowly nodded her head. She let out a quiet yawn before snuggling into the bed, burying herself under the blanket. “I thought Xiao Juzi didn’t eat humans?”
Yu Zhen chuckled.
Li Xueyue felt warm and fuzzy from the sound. It always tickled her heart in the right places, making her fall for him deeper than ever.
“He doesn’t. I was merely jesting.” Yu Zhen left the bed and stepped toward the closet.
Li Xueyue should’ve covered her eyes. She should’ve played the role of an innocent wife. But when her husband looked like a War God, who couldn’t help but stare? She quickly regretted her actions when something familiar came into sight, long and thick. A blush rose to her cheeks and she buried her face into the pillow.
“What’s wrong?” Yu Zhen slipped on a silk robe and loosely tied it around his waist, revealing part of his chest.
Yu Zhen briefly turned around when he heard so much shuffling behind him. She was lying on her stomach now, and motionless. His brows wrung together. Had she fallen asleep?
“Put on more clothes.” Her voice was muffled, almost as if she knew his habit of wearing only one decorative layer of clothing.
Yu Zhen let out a laugh. But for her sake, he slipped on another layer of clothes, inky black, like her sprawled out hair. He had always enjoyed the way it felt on his fingers, smooth as silk, and delectably sweet.
“Are you dressed decently now?” she asked, but still raised her eyes from the pillow. A sigh of relief left her.
“Why do you ask?” Yu Zhen mused. He walked back to the bed and placed a hand upon the top of her head, wondering what caused her blush. His favorite color was fading now, but he knew of ways to provoke her.
“J-just go feed Xiao Juzi,” she grumbled.
Yu Zhen gently smiled down at her. She peered up at him, with large, shimmering eyes of chestnut black. Under the sunlight, it was bright as amber, but in the shadows of their room, it was dark as oak. All she had to do was look up at him with that tiny smile resting upon her lips, and he was prepared to sacrifice the entire Kingdom for her.
“What is it?” she laughed.
And without knowing it, the words left Yu Zhen’s mouth. “I love you, my stubborn Wangfei.”
Li Xueyue rapidly blinked. She hadn’t expected this confession. Nonetheless, her smile widened and she sat up on the bed. She reached her arms out for him and he instantly came closer to her.
Li Xueyue hugged him dearly, burying her face on his shoulders. “I love you too, crazy husband of mine.”
Yu Zhen tightened his grip on her, his fingers sprawled upon her upper back, as his arms came around her tailbone. He breathed in her scent, sweet and floral. It was addicting, just like her lips.
“Now sleep,” he whispered against the side of her head, kissing it.
Li Xueyue hummed in response. He lowered her onto the bed, but she did not let him go.
“Xueyue…” he warned, just when she pressed her breasts upon his chest.
“O-one more time?” she shyly whispered whilst hiding her blush upon the crook of his neck. He was warm. She loved this part of him, and the comfort it provided. There was no other place she wanted to be in this world, aside from his arms.
A dark, chilling chuckle escaped past his lips. “It seemed I did not tire you out enough.”
“W-well—”
“Do not worry. This time, I will make sure you are unable to walk.”
Li Xueyue’s eyes widened. She did not expect that, but it was too late. His lips were upon hers, his hands slithering up her nape. He gripped her head, deepening the kiss. His lips were hot and his tongue was slick. A familiar feeling churned in her lower stomach, for she knew what was about to come.
– – – – –
This time, Yu Zhen was certain she would not wake up, not even at midnight. He had taken her to Heaven and back more times than she had predicted.
Li Xueyue was so deep in slumber, that she barely moved, even when he fondly touched her hair. His thumb brushed upon her bruised lips. Her voice would be hoarse tomorrow, from all of the screams and moans.
Yu Zhen smirked. He would have it no other way next time. “Sleep well, Sunshine.”
Yu Zhen rose from the bed and glanced out of the window, realizing it was nightfall. Regardless, he left the bed. There was something that she was hiding from him. And he knew exactly where the scroll was.
“It’s best not to keep secrets from your husband, my dear wife,” Yu Zhen muttered. He apathetically strutted to the bookshelf and bent down to the last row where a pile of decorative scrolls remained. It was an assortment of colors, but he had memorized every inch of his bedroom, enough to know the top one was misplaced.
“Let’s see…” he trailed off, picking up the odd scroll.
Yu Zhen wondered where she got this scroll from, since she didn’t leave his private study with one.
“A maidservnat probably got it for her when Xueyue returned to the estate,” Yu Zhen concluded with a shrug. It would explain the different quality of the scroll in his hand, in comparison to the decorative ones here. Well, as decorative as the Imperial Family’s official scroll could be.
“She could’ve just asked me for a scroll,” he chuckled, wondering why she was being so secretive about it. He preferred her to have the highest quality of something, and the Imperial Family’s scroll was exactly that.
The Imperial Family’s official scroll was a deep blue, with streaks of white, much like the strikes of thunder in the distance. The edges of the scroll would be rimmed with gold, making the simple item expensive.
“Silly girl, you could’ve just asked me for a scroll.” Yu Zhen shook his head at her foolishness. Was this such a deep secret that she didn’t even want to ask him for guidance?
Yu Zhen unrolled the scroll. His eyes quickly scanned over every word until it directly stopped in front of one name. And it was the only one he needed—Marquis Qin Weizhang.
