Chapter 325: Wouldn’t you profit then?
Long Feiye was immersed in Han Yunxi’s excellent massage skills until a sudden, soft scuttling rose from the area of his waist. It felt like he was squishing something beneath him? He was loathe to disturb this rare-found peace, and very much welcomed Han Yunxi’s soothing fingertip massage. But in truth, the thing by his waist was extremely annoying. It was fine if it only moved once, but it kept wiggling nonstop, making it impossible for Long Feiye to lie still. He was an obsessive mysophobic who had extremely high standards for the cleanliness of his bed.
“You have something on your bed?” Long Feiye’s unhappy voice broke the soft and sweet mood. His hand reached down and instantly grasped a small, furry thing. Who else could this be but Lil Thing?
Lil Thing hadn’t slept much in the past few days, being too busy stealing things out of the palace. Right now, it was dead asleep. Even after Long Feiye appeared and squashed it, it was still sleepily unconscious. After Long Feiye lifted it up, it only cracked open a sleepy eye to see his handsome face.
Huh? How come Mama Yunxi’s face changed?
Lil Thing opened its other eye and looked closely, before recognizing Long Feiye’s icy visage!
“Cheeee…!” Its shrill cry reverberated throughout the entire Duke of Qin’s estate. All of Lil Thing’s fur stood on end. Too scary!
Long Feiye’s icy face was scary to begin with, but now his eyes were shut and crying blackish blood instead. You’ve scared this precious shu darling to death!
Before Lil Thing finished chittering, Long Feiye had already tossed him out the window. Unfortunately, Han Yunxi’s window was too small and Long Feiye couldn’t aim when his eyes were closed! Lil Thing crashed into the window ledge before falling with a plop onto the ground. But as soon as it landed, it crawled to its feet, scurried up the window ledge, and jumped out of the window itself!
Han Yunxi was floored by the sight. Really, what a shameful Lil Thing! What did it think Long Feiye would do to it? Could it transform into a giant squirrel? See how Long Feiye would throw him out then. Aye, owning a pet like this embarrasses its owner, too.
Han Yunxi was still complaining internally when Long Feiye asked, “Aren’t you afraid of the bed getting dirty if you let all sorts of things crawl on it?”
“What do you mean, ‘all sorts of things?’ Only you and Lil Thing’s slept on this bed…” Fortunately, Han Yunxi’s voice was low. Otherwise, if Long Feiye knew his woman had mentioned him and that shu in the same breath, Lil Thing would probably come to grief.
Long Feiye wasn’t used to not hearing Han Yunxi’s answer or seeing her expression. He wanted to open his eyes again, but Han Yunxi quickly stopped him. “Don’t, you have to keep them shut ‘til daybreak! There’ll be more poison flowing out later!”
She didn’t cover his eyes with her hand this time, but brought out her own handkerchief and carefully wiped away the black, poisonous liquid that had already leaked out of his eyes. Long Feiye lay docilely with his eyes shut and asked, “How long will it be until it gets light?”
“Probably about four more hours.” All right, Han Yunxi was secretly wishing it’d get lighter, later. Actually…there was only two more hours before dawn. She didn’t know why she wanted to leave Long Feiye by her side for an extra two hours, but she just knew she didn’t want him to leave. Long Feiye didn’t speak, but allowed Han Yunxi to gently clean him.
“Your Highness, I can help you wash your face.” Han Yunxi had been calling him ‘Long Feiye’ before, but now she’d reverted to ‘Your Highness’ without even realizing it. Long Feiye, however, did notice. He made a noise of assent and said nothing more.
After getting his permission, Han Yunxi scooted off to get water and wring a face towel. In a flash, the elegant, brilliant goddess who never bent her back had turned into a little servant girl. Would the men who loved her feel downhearted by the sight?
Because Long Feiye’s eyes were shut, Han Yunxi seized the chance to study his face. This wasn’t her first time seeing him close-up, but it was the first time she’d looked so long and conscientiously. She discovered that his eyebrows were extremely dashing. He had very long eyelashes and a tall, straight nose. Then there was his lips. Whenever she saw them, she couldn’t help remembering what had happened before. The sight of them began to seem surreal, as if this entire scene was a dream.
She lightly wiped his face clean, from his handsome forehead to his sexy lips. She never noticed that Long Feiye’s eyes weren’t actually completely shut. When Han Yunxi leaned in to clean him with a serious expression on her face, he took the chance to study her closely as well. He saw her tender and beautiful looks, her eyes that danced with a hint of laughter, and the unconcealed adoration in her pupils.
Han Yunxi, just why…why would your lordship allow you to like me?
Why you, of all people?
After cleaning up Long Feiye, Han Yunxi sat guard by his bedside. When she saw that Long Feiye wasn’t moving, she carefully asked, “Your Highness, are you asleep?”
Long Feiye didn’t reply, so Han Yunxi asked again. “Your Highness…”
Once again, Long Feiye made no move. She had noticed that he arrived travel-worn and dusty. Could it be that he’d fallen asleep for real? Han Yunxi carefully tucked him in beneath the covers before sitting with crossed legs nearby to watch over him. But that didn’t last long. Soon enough, she was lying on her stomach by his side, her head propped up in her hands as she stared.
She didn’t know whether she admired, worshipped, esteemed, approved, or liked him more. If you asked her why she liked him, she probably wouldn’t be able to call it love. No, love was the final goal. Ever since he’d explained himself about Duanmu Yao, Han Yunxi had started off on a path of no return. There was nothing shameful about liking someone, so of course she’d like him wholeheartedly.
“Long Feiye, no matter how many of those 100 steps you take, I’ll keep walking from my end. Until…until I’m standing right in front of you,” she murmured to herself, but Long Feiye suddenly spoke up.
“What did you say?”
Han Yunxi had a fright. He’s actually awake!
“What did you say?” Long Feiye asked again.
“N…nothing,” All right, even if Han Yunxi had the guts to make her vow, she didn’t have the courage to get rid of her scaredy-cat ways. She rejoiced over the fact that she hadn’t done anything outrageous just then. Otherwise…she would have died from embarrassment!
As to whether Long Feiye had heard her just then, only he himself would know. Even the Heavens weren’t clear. He ended up dropping the matter to ask, “Aren’t you sleepy?”
“Not at all. You go on and sleep.” How could Han Yunxi be sleepy now?
At this, Long Feiye moved into the bed and patted the space beside him. “Lie down, then.”
He actually…
Han Yunxi’s heartbeat suddenly quickened, pitter-pattering in her chest.
What does he want to do?
“Lie down a bed, I’ll chat with you,” Long Feiye said mildly.
Cough, cough. A certain red-faced woman suddenly realized that she’d been overthinking things. Even so, she was still very nervous when she went to lie down by his side. He’d left her a large chunk of space, but she only lay down gingerly, her back to the bed like his as her entire body turned taut. The space between them was big enough to fill an entire bowl of water!
As soon as she lay down, he opened his mouth. “Have you used poison on Baili Mingxiang yet?”
“Yes. If there’s nothing amiss, she’ll be able to cultivate Beauty’s Blood by the end of this year,” Han Yunxi replied honestly.
“What does ‘nothing amiss’ mean?”
“Baili Mingxiang’s personal safety,” Han Yunxi had always been careful and precise.
“Don’t worry. General Baili’s estate has security measures even stricter than here. She’s not the type to make trouble, either,” Long Feiye replied.
Han Yunxi finally understood why a young and admirable woman could be so low-key and quiet. She wasn’t planning to tell Long Feiye her idea of saving Baili Mingxiang’s life, either.
“Your Highness, where did your eye poison come from?” Han Yunxi asked curiously.
“A careless mistake during a battle,” Long Feiye tossed out, before changing the topic. “Has that man from the Shadow Clan dropped by?”
“If he did, I would’ve told you long ago.” Han Yunxi had been waiting for the white-robed man this entire time. He said himself that he would come, and that he’d answer her questions then, too. Even though Mute Granny’s status was still unknown, Han Yunxi was 70 to 80 percent sure that her father was part of the Poison Sect. She was more curious to know why the Shadow Clan man was protecting her. Between her father and Lady Tianxin, just which one had connections to the West Qin imperial clan?
And just what was the connection between the West Qin imperial clan and the Poison Sect?
“Han Yunxi, if you’re really the descendent of the West Qin imperial clan, you…” Long Feiye broke off.
Han Yunxi didn’t notice his abnormality, but teased, “Then wouldn’t you profit by wedding me?”1
Long Feiye slowly opened his eyes, which were filled with worry. Thanks to the poison, there were still traces of blood on his pupils, making his worry all the more obvious. It looked like he was carrying the burden of the entire world on his shoulders.
Long Feiye, so you have times when you’re worried, too!
Despite this, Long Feiye simply laughed and replied, “Han Yunxi, you were the one who married me.”2
He married, she was wed. It should mean more or less the same thing, but with them it held double meanings. It was true that Han Yunxi was the one who proactively ‘married’ herself. She kicked her own sedan chair door and stepped into the gates. If Long Feiye hadn’t laughed when he spoken, Han Yunxi might have sensed the other things he was implying. Because of his joking tone, Han Yunxi simply assumed he was fooling around.
“Then you’ve profited even more!” she said in amusement, her nervousness finally dissipating.
“Perhaps.” As Long Feiye spoke, he wrapped one arm around her neck while the other pulled her into his embrace. After settling the covers over them both, he said, “Sleep, now. Your lordship is tired.”
His domineering air had suddenly swept in to envelope her, making it impossible for Han Yunxi to escape. This wasn’t the first time they’d been so close, but it was the first time they’d ever slept together! For a second, Han Yunxi felt like their separate worlds had finally merged. They were so, so close.
So this is what it feels like to share a bed with him.
His scent overpowered her, leaving her happy beyond words! Han Yunxi’s eyes were wide. Her relaxed nerves had suddenly turned tense again, her body stiffening on its own.
Long Feiye seemed to be truly exhausted, because his soft voice simply whispered wearily against her ear, “Be good now, relax. Your lordship just wants to hold you for awhile.”
His gentle voice seemed to have its own sort of magic, because Han Yunxi really did slowly relax. She dropped her guard and settled contentedly into his embrace, feeling like a strong and towering mountain had found its way into her world.
She loved feeling safe like this.
But Long Feiye, what’s with you today? You’ve never gotten tired before, so what happened?
By the time Long Feiye had fallen asleep, Han Yunxi was still energetic and awake. She didn’t even dare to move, afraid that she’d wake him up. She had given him an extra two hours until sunrise just so he could sleep a little longer.
Unfortunately, as soon as day broke, Su Xiaoyu’s voice entered the room.
“Esteemed wangfei, time to get up!”
1. wedding (娶) – qu, used when a woman marries a man. “Wed” in this case is the passive party, the wife who “is wed” by her husband. ↩
2. marry (嫁) – jia, used when a man marries a woman. “Marry” in this case is the active party, the husband who “marries” his wife. As a followup to footnote 1, it is always the man who “marries” (jia) and the woman who “is wed” (qu). Long Feiye and Han Yunxi are playing with the variants of the verb here.
