Recklessly Breaking a Delicate Branch - Chapter 70

She was but a young girl in the first throes of love, yearning only for the sweetness of the present. As for the future, she believed that as long as they remained in love, no obstacle would be insurmountable.

Zhou Yan’s ears burned at her words. Caught in a sudden surge of emotion, his lips moved from Jiang Wanshu’s chin to her pink lips—which had just been fluttering open and shut—crushing and grinding against them.

Jiang Wanshu was dazed by this abrupt explosion of desire. By the time she regained her senses, she was already powerless to resist the man’s advances.

She piteously begged the man before her to slow down, and only then did Zhou Yan grant her a moment to catch her breath. The night grew deep, and the two remained sleepless until the first light of dawn broke, at which point Jiang Wanshu finally called for water to bathe.

Watching the man leave her side in her early morning stupor, Jiang Wanshu couldn’t help but complain in her heart.

He certainly is in a grand mood—dragging me through an entire night, looking refreshed, and then playing the “hands-off boss” by leaving the moment he’s done!

Beside her exquisite soft pillow lay a red string. Flustered, Jiang Wanshu sat up and took it into her hand.

Just then, Yulu entered to attend to her. She glanced at the bedroom, where the windows had been flung wide to clear the air, and promptly ordered the servants behind her to carry the bathwater into the room.

To avoid suspicion from the palace staff, Yulu simply claimed that the Princess had suffered a nightmare last night and woke up feeling unwell and covered in sweat, requiring a bath to cleanse herself.

In truth, Yulu had served high-ranking concubines before; the moment she stepped behind the screen to see the Princess, how could she not realize what had transpired?

The Princess’s face was flushed like springtime, her eyes shimmering with a lingering, silken sensuality that made the night’s activities obvious at a glance. Once Yulu heard that the commotion outside the screen had settled, she commanded, “You all may withdraw. I shall attend to the Princess myself.”

As the most influential person in the Lanyue Pavilion aside from the Princess herself, her words sent the palace servants scurrying away immediately.

“Yulu, come help me for a moment.” The girl’s voice was soft and delicate, prompting Yulu to step forward instinctively.

She walked to the bedside to help Jiang Wanshu up, only to see her sitting up on her own. The Princess picked up the red string, looked at it, and set it back down on the pillow. The brocade quilt slid down with her movements, but Jiang Wanshu quickly pinned it under her arms to keep her bare body from being exposed.

Even so, Yulu saw her mistress’s fragrant shoulders covered in red marks, each one resembling a bright cherry.

At this sight, Yulu’s eyes involuntarily reddened with concern. “Princess, you are too indulgent with Guard Zhou. Why must you wrong yourself so?”

She was a Princess; here in the Central Plains, it should have been Guard Zhou serving her, yet now…

Thinking of this, Yulu felt a pang of regret for having encouraged the Princess to realize her own heart so soon.

Hearing this, Jiang Wanshu gave a shy smile. “It’s alright, Yulu. I won’t let myself be wronged. Yesterday, it was because I confessed my feelings to Zhou Yan; he was simply too impatient, which led to this.”

She couldn’t very well take her frustration with Zhou Yan out on Yulu, so she could only gently comfort the girl who cared so much for her.

Yulu dazed for a moment, then her eyes widened. “The Princess means… you confessed your heart to Guard Zhou last night?”

“Yes. So, he was a bit frantic last night. It’s understandable,” Jiang Wanshu nodded with a smile. Yulu was her confidante; she had no wish to hide the truth from her.

On the canopy bed, Jiang Wanshu pulled a clean inner robe from beneath the quilt and draped it over herself. It was the one Zhou Yan had stripped off last night when he found it bothersome. Aside from this piece, her other garments were soiled, and she couldn’t bear to wear them.

Jiang Wanshu rested her slender hand on Yulu’s arm. Noticing this, Yulu stepped back to support her as they walked toward the bath screen.

As Jiang Wanshu stood up from the bedsteps, she felt an intense discomfort in her lower body and let out a heavy sigh.

She cursed him in her heart: When I see Zhou Yan later, I’ll certainly give him a piece of my mind!

She had told him last night to show restraint! Restraint! But he had taken advantage of her waning consciousness and lack of self-control to push even further! She would make him realize the proper attitude one should have toward a Princess of the realm.

Though she was berating him internally, she remained calm in front of Yulu. Supported by the maid, she reached the bathtub, stepped up, and sank into the warm water, letting out a sigh of comfort.

Yulu took a ladle and began pouring the warm water, filled with floating rose petals, over the Princess’s shoulders.

The water flowed from Jiang Wanshu’s shoulders to her collarbone and back into the tub. Seeing the “cherries” on her skin again, Yulu couldn’t help but sigh. She poured another ladle of water over her. “Then, what does the Princess plan to do for the future?”

It wasn’t that she wanted to overstep her bounds, but the Princess was still so young. Yulu feared she might act on a whim of passion and try to force Guard Zhou into the presence of the Emperor and Empress prematurely.

Meanwhile, voices could be heard outside.

“What else can be done? Once Zhou Yan earns his official rank, he shall go to my Father and Mother to ask for my hand,” Jiang Wanshu replied, sharing her intentions.

Yulu nodded in relief. “It is good that the Princess thinks this way. It is best to keep this from Their Majesties for now.”

Jiang Wanshu nodded and was about to shift her position when she heard a sound by the window near the bed. Turning her head, she saw the man’s face exactly as expected, holding a small white porcelain bottle in his hand.

Since they had already shared such intimacy several times, she no longer felt the need to hide the fact that she was bathing. She spared a glance at the man who had leaped in through the window and shut it behind him, then turned her face away, feigning coldness.

Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, Yulu turned around, only to realize Zhou Yan had entered the room. Her face instantly turned bright red.

This man was truly an unmitigated flower thief! To enter and exit a Princess’s bedroom so boldly in broad daylight—did he have no sense of propriety left?

Yulu was just about to pluck up her courage to give Zhou Yan a piece of her mind on behalf of Jiang Wanshu, but in the next second, Jiang Wanshu dismissed her.

Yulu had no choice but to shut her mouth and withdraw. As she pushed the bedroom door shut, she commanded the servants outside, “There is no need to guard the door here anymore. Everyone, dismiss.”

She waited until the others had left, took one last glance at the door, and then walked away.

Inside the bedroom, Zhou Yan noticed that Jiang Wanshu was acting as if she were sulking and slowly walked toward her.

He knew she blamed him for his lack of restraint last night, which had left her exhausted. However, he had truly been so moved by what Jiang Wanshu said that he found himself unable to control his impulses.

Breaking the silence, he spoke first: “Wanwan, you’re up.”

“Didn’t you leave the room first thing this morning? Why come back now?” Jiang Wanshu didn’t ignore him, but her voice was laced with a huffy, petulant reproach.

Zhou Yan walked behind her. Seeing the fair skin of her body stained with the “red cherries” from his “thrashing” last night, his heart grew heavy. He restrained himself, set the porcelain bottle on the ground, rinsed his hands in a nearby basin, and began to knead Jiang Wanshu’s shoulders. “I went out to buy a jar of pain-relieving ointment to make amends to Wanwan.”

He had never given anyone a massage before and didn’t know his own strength. He pressed a bit too hard, causing Jiang Wanshu to cry out in pain, “Too heavy!”

Little did she know that after the events of last night, being naked beside him—even with the skin below her shoulders hidden by rose petals—was dangerous. To a man imagining her “ice-like skin and jade-like bones,” her cry of “too heavy” served only to stimulate his imagination.

He thought of the heavy wooden poles used during the New Year to pound steamed glutinous rice into ciba—the way the heavy wood must strike the soft, fragrant, unformed rice in the bowl.

At the thought, Zhou Yan couldn’t help but glance at the girl before him. He swallowed hard and obediently lightened his touch.

Last night, Jiang Wanshu had silently agreed to cancel that “bullsh*t” rule of meeting only once every ten days, but he couldn’t afford to be reckless. He knew this little delicate flower had a temper; if he provoked her, she might bar him from her bedroom entirely. He knew the difference between a single night and a lifetime of nights.

Jiang Wanshu didn’t notice Zhou Yan’s complex mental gymnastics. She enjoyed the now-comfortable massage and gave a small hum of approval.

Suddenly remembering how he had just leaped through the window, she asked, “When you jumped in just now, did you check if anyone was watching?”

“I saw that their attention was elsewhere and slipped in,” Zhou Yan said shamelessly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Despite his nonchalance, he still received a sharp side-eye from Jiang Wanshu.

She glanced at the porcelain jar on the floor. She didn’t know much about products used between husbands and wives and asked quite naturally, “Do you even know how to use that? It’s not like I’m uncomfortable on the outside. Will this ointment even work?”

The next second, Zhou Yan gave her an answer that turned her face bright red: “Wanwan, you said it yourself—the ointment is for the place that hurts. Since you are uncomfortable on the inside, naturally, it must be applied inside…”

At this answer, Jiang Wanshu suddenly flinched. Water splashed in the tub as she felt her entire body turn scalding hot from his words.

Noticing her reaction, Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow with a wicked smile. “Since you don’t know how to use it, how about I help you later?”

These words made it impossible for Jiang Wanshu to stay still. She wanted to get up, dress, and leave immediately. This man was a master of taking a mile when given an inch; if she really let him apply the medicine as he suggested, wouldn’t she be subjected to his “labors” all over again?

She didn’t have the energy to endure more. Zhou Yan was strong and robust, but she was not. She feared that if he fooled around again, she wouldn’t have the life left in her to even walk in front of him.

She moved to stand up, but the weight of two palms on her shoulders increased, firmly pressing her back into the water.

“I don’t want to!” Jiang Wanshu protested, but she was powerless against his strength. After sitting back down, she suddenly remembered she was in the bath.

She took a deep breath and clapped her hands over her chest.

Thank goodness. She had almost forgotten she was in the tub, wearing nothing at all. While she found being naked in front of Zhou Yan somewhat acceptable, her current state was a guaranteed way to ignite his passions. After what he did to her last night, she couldn’t handle a repeat performance today.

“You don’t know how to do it. If I don’t help you, who will? Yulu?” Zhou Yan argued. Since it was an intimate matter, he couldn’t let an outsider do it, leaving him as the only candidate.

Zhou Yan was determined. In his mind, he was already picturing the scene after her bath, helping her apply the medicine while rubbing shoulders and pressing close. Remembering the “soft meat” from last night, the lust in his eyes darkened significantly.

Jiang Wanshu was determined not to let him have his way. But knowing that Zhou Yan was someone who disregarded all rules, the only thing that could make him back down was…

“Zhou Yan, a person’s love can be exhausted,” she threatened.

These words instantly made Zhou Yan behave. He waved his hands and shook his head frantically. “No, no, no! Wanwan can do it herself. Do it yourself.”

He was not joking. He had worked so hard to earn a place in her heart; he wouldn’t let her cast him out over something like this.

Zhou Yan immediately became docile, much to Jiang Wanshu’s satisfaction. She leaned her back against the wall of the tub, peacefully enjoying his service.

She recalled the red string he had been holding last night, which she had seen on the bed this morning. She asked slowly, “What is that red string for?”

Otherwise, why would he have been holding it from morning until night?

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