Recklessly Breaking a Delicate Branch - Chapter 6

Jiang Wanshu had always been delicate, a pampered noblewoman with little experience of hardship. Before Zhou Yan could even think about when she would reveal the dagger she was hiding behind her back, she unexpectedly drew it out instantly, a fierce look in her eyes.

“I’m warning you, I am the most honored Princess of the Great Yin Dynasty, and I will absolutely never submit to a savage like you!”

“Hmph, you certainly have a high opinion of yourself.” Zhou Yan walked slowly toward Jiang Wanshu. Startled, like a frightened kitten, the woman wildly brandished the dagger. The man’s arm was strong and long; he snatched the dagger from her hand in an instant, treating Jiang Wanshu like he was grabbing a chick.

Zhou Yan casually tucked the dagger into his sash. His narrow eyes lowered, and his voice was cold, “Enough. I won’t touch you, so stop being afraid.”

Having been stripped of her weapon, Jiang Wanshu was uneasy. Hearing the man’s heavy, serious tone, she raised her head in surprise.

She clenched her fists at her waist and looked up at him.

Her eyes were slightly swollen from crying, and the outer corners of her beautiful almond-shaped eyes were stained red. Zhou Yan couldn’t help but recall the pitiable sight of Jiang Wanshu crying just moments ago, and he vigorously shook his head, trying to force the image out of his mind.

Jiang Wanshu naturally wasn’t in the mood to notice his strangeness; all her attention was on what Zhou Yan had just said.

She knew she was now powerless to resist; this was her last chance for survival.

Suspicion was written all over her face. She paused, “Is that true?”

With that, Jiang Wanshu excitedly stood up from the bed.

Seeing the girl before him finally seem to come alive, Zhou Yan’s heart inexplicably sped up. Unable to suppress the racing in his chest, he quickly glanced at Jiang Wanshu and walked out, leaving her alone in her silent delight.

However, not long after, she saw Zhou Yan return carrying a bucket of warm water. Under her shocked gaze, he poured the water into the wooden tub.

The water filled the tub, raising a hazy, unreal mist in the air. Jiang Wanshu tilted her head and secretly peeked at Zhou Yan’s actions.

She instantly regretted looking, as she was startled by the man’s equally intense gaze.

She immediately pulled her head back, retracting like an ostrich.

Zhou Yan let out a light chuckle, breaking the silence in the room and an unspoken emotion, “Take a bath first. Conditions are poor here; it won’t be like this when we get back to the grasslands.”

Jiang Wanshu stared blankly at the man before her, dumbfounded.

A bath?

But he was standing right there! How could she, a noble Princess, undress and bathe in front of an outsider?

She made no move.

Zhou Yan looked at her helplessly and urged, “Hurry up. I specially let this water cool outside for almost the time it takes to burn half an incense stick after boiling it. The temperature is just right now. If you delay getting in, you’ll probably only get a cold bath.”

Jiang Wanshu remained motionless, frowning as she watched the warm water release its steam.

Her detached, indifferent manner irritated Zhou Yan. He was currently at a crossroads; the girl before him was tender, and he was struggling with his own arousal.

To quickly resolve his mounting desire, Zhou Yan suppressed the surge of heat in his body, took a big stride, and approached Jiang Wanshu.

The woman’s exquisite body instinctively tried to dodge, but he accurately seized her.

The lingering fragrance on Jiang Wanshu was captivating. He lowered his head and could easily see the gentle curves of the body wrapped beneath her undergarments.

The warmth he was holding was disrupted as Jiang Wanshu wriggled like a slippery little loach, attempting to escape his grasp.

Unfortunately, he most loved to conquer things that were hard to attain. With Jiang Wanshu’s face turning pale, he pulled her into his chest.

When her smooth, long hair fell against the man’s iron-hard chest, Jiang Wanshu suddenly felt something and immediately sat bolt upright.

Zhou Yan no longer restrained her. He was composed and teased, “Did you feel that? Don’t your Central Plains girls prize cleanliness the most? If you don’t wash now, I might just have to wash you myself.”

Jiang Wanshu was instantly scalded and confused by the heat from Zhou Yan’s lower body, making her unable to speak properly.

“You… you can’t watch me from the side!”

Finally, she gave in out of fear, though she had one condition.

She turned her attention to herself, realizing and admitting with disdain.

Indeed, she used to bathe once a day in the Central Plains. Now that he had abducted her to some wretched, godforsaken place, she had been so frightened that she’d even forgotten about bathing.

Zhou Yan listened quietly, secretly cursing the loss of a potential benefit.

But then, recalling Jiang Wanshu’s pitiful appearance earlier, his heart softened, “Fine. I’ll go out, is that good enough?”

Jiang Wanshu’s eyes widened, and she sat back on the bed, “Really?”

Hearing her repeat the same question, Zhou Yan couldn’t help but feel a surge of impatience and anger, “Why are you so wishy-washy, little woman? I said I won’t watch you, and I won’t!”

Jiang Wanshu pondered carefully, watching Zhou Yan helplessly clench his fist. Under her scrutiny, he stood up and walked toward the door.

With a “creak,” the wooden door opened, and Zhou Yan left the room.

Only then did Jiang Wanshu finally let out a sigh of relief, and her slender, white ankles touched the floor.

She raised her head, looking around at the furnishings, only to realize that the place she was now staying was utterly dilapidated compared to her own palace.

She looked at the empty room and the door, which had no real barrier and could easily be blown open by a slight breeze, and felt distressed.

She didn’t want the man to suddenly burst in later. He had almost forced himself on her earlier, and even though he had personally given his assurance just now, it had left a shadow of fear in her heart.

Thankfully, heaven had eyes, allowing her to spot a long, thin wooden bar high up on the cupboard, which completely eased her anxiety.

She quickly walked to the cupboard, reaching out to take the wooden bar. Unfortunately, the dimensions of the items in the room seemed to have been sized for Zhou Yan. Even though Jiang Wanshu was considered tall among Central Plains noblewomen, even stretching her hand and standing on her toes, she could barely reach the top of the cupboard.

Jiang Wanshu looked to the left, moved a stool over, stood on it, took the wooden bar, and walked to the flimsy door. She placed the bar horizontally through the door rings, and only then did she return to the tub.

Jiang Wanshu looked down at the still steaming water, clenched her fists, and after a struggle, quickly took off her clothes and submerged her entire body in the water.

The warmth of the water brought her chilled body back to temperature. She took a cloth and meticulously, though unfamiliar with the task—as she was almost always served by maids before—wiped her body. After about half an hour, the water in the tub was almost cold, and Jiang Wanshu stood up.

Since she had anticipated not having clothes to wear after the bath, she had carefully placed the clothes she took off onto a wooden table before bathing.

Her exquisite body slowly walked to the wooden table. After dressing, Jiang Wanshu sat on the bed, her legs bent in front of her, her back against the wall, staring at the closed door, pondering whether she should remove the wooden bar from the door rings.

If she removed it, Zhou Yan could enter and leave the room freely, and given his unpredictable temper, the incident that just occurred might repeat itself.

But if she didn’t remove it, Zhou Yan definitely wouldn’t be able to get into the room tonight. However, he had saved her life, and she was grateful. She felt it was improper to make him sleep outside tonight.

As she deliberated, another half hour passed. Jiang Wanshu looked up to see the night outside the window growing darker and sighed inwardly.

At the same moment, in the pitch-black outhouse to the side of the room, unlit by candlelight, the man, unable to shake off the memory of their entanglement that he had stopped earlier, quickened his movements.

The woman’s fair skin, beautiful face, and the tender, irresistible desire she evoked made him move even faster.

A crow flew overhead, its call ringing out. Instantly, the man in the outhouse trembled, a flash of light exploded in his mind, and he stopped his movements.

Although he was currently in the outhouse, it wasn’t dirty due to his penchant for cleanliness. The room was filled with the scent of sweet osmanthus. After tidying his clothes, Zhou Yan resignedly began cleaning the outhouse again.

Meanwhile, Jiang Wanshu, worn out from the earlier ordeal, finally succumbed to drowsiness. Even before making up her mind, she fell asleep in the posture she was contemplating—head bowed, hands resting on her knees.

By the time Zhou Yan returned to the room, and Jiang Wanshu woke up, it was already bright daylight.

Light scattered from outside the window onto the bed not far from the window. The girl on the bed was curled up like a lazy cat. A burning heat came from behind her, making Jiang Wanshu, who was in a deep sleep, seem to dream of something, her curling eyelashes faintly fluttering.

The man holding her, though outwardly rough in other matters, had the heightened senses of a martial arts practitioner. Furthermore, Zhou Yan had grown up in the territory of the plainsmen, where every man was skilled, so how could he not sense the movements of the woman in his arms?

He immediately opened his eyes and lowered his deep brown pupils to look at the woman beneath him.

The girl’s dark hair was soft; though her face wasn’t visible, he could feel the warmth radiating from her.

A hand moved beneath his own; the girl’s body shifted. Zhou Yan realized the person in his arms seemed to be having a nightmare. It was just dawn, and Zhou Yan didn’t want to get up yet, so he simply held her tighter, suppressing her struggle.

Jiang Wanshu was indeed having a nightmare. The scenes in her sleep were chaotic; in a blink, she was transported back to the day she entered the Western Rong border.

Blood was spilled all over the ground, and those beside her were brutally killed. It was a bleak autumn day. She was dirty and surrounded by a group of captors. She shivered and broke out in a cold sweat, desperately crying out for help.

In reality, her delicate, slender feet on the bed kicked out as Jiang Wanshu struggled in her dream, where a villain had grabbed her ankle.

The girl in the dream was startled and terrified. She used great force to shake off that hateful hand, and her strong thigh immediately kicked the man’s soft inner thigh. Zhou Yan was a plainsman, much sturdier than an average Central Plains man, with overly developed, hard muscles in his limbs. He didn’t feel any adverse effect from Jiang Wanshu’s kick; he only felt that the person in his arms was restless and disturbing his breathing.

He truly couldn’t stand the fire the woman was provoking. He flipped her from her back-to-him position so she was facing him.

He carefully observed the girl before him. She was still asleep, but her eyebrows were deeply furrowed.

Zhou Yan felt an irritation rise in his heart. His rough, large hand stroked Jiang Wanshu’s brow, wanting to soothe her emotion. Unexpectedly, the girl’s soft little hand suddenly grasped his hot, scorching palm.

The extreme contrast of hot and cold instantly made Zhou Yan’s eyes widen.

The person in front of him still hadn’t opened her eyes. Perhaps because there was nothing else constraining her, Jiang Wanshu’s other hand tightly gripped a corner of her thin clothes.

Under Zhou Yan’s gaze, Jiang Wanshu’s face gradually turned pale. This was because, in her dream, just as she was about to be defiled by the villains, a warrior appeared before her.

His tall figure sat atop a horse. His exotic yet handsome face had a sharp look she had never seen before. He descended like a god, specifically to rescue a desperate soul like her.

Just when she thought she was saved, her eyes reddened in her sleep, her voice became hoarse, and she was about to burst into tears. Then, another dizzying moment occurred, and the scene in her dream flipped again.

Her back was to a cliff, her thin back pressed against a rock. She was dressed in the same exotic clothing style as the man before her, her body shivering. In the environment where the cold wind was whistling into her ears, the man’s hands were icy cold, and his face held a smile. He half-squatted beside her, his long hand touching and gently caressing her carotid artery, like a long snake flicking its tongue, its tail tightly wrapped around her, making her immobile.

The man’s handsome face drew closer and closer to her. His body pressed her down like a mountain, making her unable to breathe. His high nose bridge was about to touch her upturned eyelashes…

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