Chapter 19 Awkwardness "If you don't come out, I'll tickle you."...

Daibetsuki and his wife have divorced.

The news spread throughout the entire Chaha tribe that very day.

Women who divorce on the grasslands are extremely rare, but this is Dabieji. Besides, Chasu is crippled, and the Great Khan would never allow Bieji to return.

Thinking about it this way, everyone seems to think it's quite normal.

But the atmosphere in Dahadun's tent had been somber for two days.

These past two days, Una has been extremely careful when bowing to her mother-in-law, fearing that she might make the slightest mistake.

This morning, a palace maid knocked over a candlestick, and everyone inside the tent knelt down.

Saren looked at them, her expression serene: "Is it really that scary?"

"Great Hadun...this servant was wrong, please, Hadun, spare my life..."

Although Una was also startled, she still scolded, "Hatunrenshan, what are you doing? Get out!"

"yes……"

Una stepped forward: "Mother-in-law, please calm down..."

Haddon smiled and said, "Look at you all, you all know I'm angry, you all know I'm unhappy, but tell me, why am I unhappy?"

Una pursed her lips, not daring to speak.

She had heard about the things between her parents' generation from Da Mu, but as a daughter-in-law, how could she dare to speak recklessly?

“More than ten years, more than ten years have passed, the Great Khan has hidden himself so well... He even fooled me, he even fooled me!” After saying this, Saren suddenly smashed the teacup in his hand, and Una was startled.

Hadun was dignified in the eyes of others, but she was also kind. She had been married to Damu for four years and had never seen her mother-in-law so angry. This showed how deep a thorn this was in her mother-in-law's heart.

Una, being straightforward, couldn't hold back any longer: "Mother-in-law, don't be angry. Father may not have deep feelings for you anymore; it's just a passing fancy. If I may be so disrespectful, men always crave what they can't have."

Saren turned around and stared at her: "Is that so?"

“That Chasu is truly a scoundrel, and a useless man. Dabieji’s return would be an insult to Father Khan’s reputation. Perhaps it’s not as you guessed; Father Khan also has his pride…”

"What about Zulu Festival!"

Una: "It's just a small Zulu Festival, not a big day. We'll give it to him. After all, Chaolu just subdued the wild horse, and Dabieji was wronged. It's only right that Father Khan takes care of him. We shouldn't be too biased. Besides... Chaolu was just put in solitary confinement."

Saren fell silent. Una stepped forward and combed her hair, saying, "My daughter-in-law is young and doesn't have the same foresight as her mother-in-law, but I think the White Festival is the most important time."

Saren suddenly smiled: "You're quite open-minded. Ruan Yu stole your thunder, aren't you resentful?"

Una pursed her lips: "Zhamuyan is coming soon. Daughter-in-law will bring honor to mother-in-law. As for the Zulu Festival... I don't believe that a weak woman from Chang'an can really endure a whole day."

Saren gave her a meaningful look, patted her hand, and said, "Help me with my makeup."

...

As dusk fell.

Chaolu was out all day and only returned in the evening.

But Ruan Yu acted out of character today, not waiting for him to have a meal together.

It's not her fault; it all happened because of lunch.

Previously, the Central Plains chef that Chaolu had given her was named Kong Dali, who had always worked as a handyman in the main kitchen. Heaven knows how happy he was to come to Si Ke Dun's place, finally able to show off his skills!

Within a few days, he had figured out the Khatun's preferences—

Northerners prefer spicy food, so he specially made grilled lamb skewers today.

It was juicy and sprinkled with Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers.

How could those barbarians on the grasslands possibly have as many ways of cooking meat as the people of the Central Plains?! This roasted mutton skewers, the Khatun certainly won't be able to resist!

Ruan Yu really liked it, and couldn't resist eating quite a bit at lunchtime.

Unexpectedly, blisters appeared on my lips in the afternoon...

Lamb is warming and nourishing, and she hadn't eaten it in a long time, so it was understandable.

She regretted indulging in her momentary craving; the sore was burning with pain and looked rather unsightly. She wondered how Chaolu would laugh at her if he saw it!

So I simply made up an excuse and went to bed early.

When Chaolu returned, he found the inner tent dark, which was indeed strange. Xuanniang was waiting outside early and whispered, "Your Highness, the Khatun is not feeling well and has gone to rest early. He said he would like to ask for your forgiveness."

Chao Lu was taken aback: "Still not recovered?"

Xuan Niang: "It's not yesterday's injury... I'm just a little tired."

Chao Lu couldn't help but feel that she was a bit spoiled, but he still nodded: "I understand, you may leave."

Xuan Niang breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew.

The dishes were the same as before, and they even prepared some snacks for him, but for some reason, Chaolu didn't enjoy them.

After eating some, he found it tasteless and couldn't eat anymore. He got up and went to the inner tent to check on what was wrong with the person.

Ruan Yu was certainly not asleep; it was only a short time.

Hearing Chao Lu's footsteps, she was startled and quickly shrank back, hiding her nose and everything below the blanket.

It's so annoying. My ear is still injured, otherwise I could turn my back to him and hide.

Before going to bed, she applied some not-so-useful makeup, and now she's pretending to sleep with her eyes closed. The lights in the room are off, so hopefully she won't give herself away.

Chaolu walked to the bedside and sat down. He had seen it as soon as he came in, but it was still peeking out like a turtle hiding in its shell.

He thought Ruan Yu was really asleep, so he didn't wake her up, but that didn't stop him from leaning over to look at her ears.

Ruan Yu could clearly feel Chao Lu's breath on her face. She was a little nervous, and her eyelashes trembled.

After checking him over and finding nothing wrong, Chao Lu straightened his head. Ruan Yu was hoping he would leave quickly, but suddenly, the man's head seemed to stop above her.

Ruan Yu nervously tugged at her hands under the covers. Had she been found out?

With her eyes closed, she was unaware of the situation, but in fact, Chaolu certainly didn't notice anything unusual about her.

He was just thinking, "My ears have been checked..."

Should we check that area again?

The man hesitated for a moment, but in the end, a corner of the blanket was lifted.

One gaze was fixed on her lower body, below her collarbone; the other, instinctively thinking he'd noticed her lips, was about to pull back the covers…

Even with her strong willpower, Ruan Yu couldn't keep up the act any longer and suddenly opened her eyes: "Who told you that?!"

She suddenly spoke, and Chao Lu was clearly startled, sitting up abruptly and staring wide-eyed at the person in front of him.

After sitting up, Ruan Yu still covered her face with her sleeve, but her angry eyes glared at him, showing no sign of sleepiness.

Chao Lu belatedly realized: "You weren't asleep?"

"You're asking a question you already know the answer to!" He was clearly just teasing her by deliberately pulling off the covers!

Chao Lu was completely bewildered. How could he have known?

"Then why are you pretending to be asleep?"

Chao Lu pursed his lips. Was she really that wary of him? He just wanted to see her injury! After all, she got hurt because of her sister! This was concern!

Does he really think he cares about the two ounces of flesh on her chest?!

Chao Lu pretended to be nonchalant as he got up, but his ears were suspiciously red.

He got up to light the candles, but when he turned around, he saw that Ruan Yu was still covering her face with her sleeve.

Why are you covering your face?

When he asked that question, Ruan Yu was stunned.

He didn't know?

Where was he looking just now...?

Ruan Yu was very clever; she reacted in a few moments. She was both angry and anxious, and glanced at the other person in disbelief. But once she came to her senses, she quickly burrowed under the covers, not even bothering to show her eyes.

Chao Lu also sensed something was wrong and gave chase.

"I'm asking you, why are you covering your face!"

He tried to pull the blanket off, but Ruan Yu didn't want him to see anything at the moment, covering herself tightly. Chao Lu could use brute force, but he was afraid she would aggravate her wound.

But he was so curious that his tone became somewhat urgent: "You hurt your face? Who dared to hurt you?! I'll get revenge for you!"

"No!" came a muffled voice from under the covers.

Is your face injured?

Even Chao Lu couldn't figure out what that was.

"If you don't come out, I'll tickle you." He pursed his lips and suddenly said.

The figure in the blankets suddenly froze, and Chao Lu noticed immediately.

He pressed his advantage: "I won't pull your blanket off, but I can tickle the soles of your feet. You know, if I grab your ankle, you have no chance of escaping."

Chao Lu made a gesture, his hand already reaching down.

Ruan Yu was extremely ticklish, especially on the soles of her feet. She remembered how her mother used to tease her when she was little, and she didn't want to be writhing on the bed, laughing and begging for mercy...

Ruan Yu calmed down and suddenly realized that it wasn't a big deal. It was just a blister.

Who hasn't had that awkward moment?

Then she slowly revealed her eyes, and Chao Lu was staring at her.

"Then it's a deal, Your Highness, you mustn't laugh at me."

Why would I laugh at you?

Chao Lu looked serious.

Ruan Yu finally sat up slowly, revealing her face. Before his gaze fell upon her, she tightly closed her eyes.

"The mutton at noon was a bit spicy... and this is what I ate..."

The man fell silent.

There was a long silence.

So long that Ruan Yu slowly opened her eyes out of curiosity...

The moment she opened her eyes, she met the man's pair of smiling, dark eyes—

Then, Chaolu burst out laughing.

Ruan Yu: "..."

"You promised you wouldn't laugh!"

Chao Lu stared at the person: "Did I laugh? I was just scoffing."

Ruan Yu: "...Even ridicule is not allowed."

Chaolu did not ridicule her idea; he laughed because of her childish behavior.

So this woman was acting all awkward tonight just because of a blister on her lip?

He couldn't understand it.

Ruan Yu couldn't stand his gaze, and more importantly, she couldn't stand herself like this. She covered her face with her sleeve again: "Anyway, it will be fine tomorrow, Your Highness, just pretend you didn't see anything!"

"Too late, I saw it." After saying that, Chao Lu pulled her away and moved closer.

Look at it very carefully.

Ruan Yu blushed involuntarily.

"Women in Chang'an are really strange, so obsessed with beauty... You even wore makeup?"

"Um……"

"It needs to be treated with ointment to get better, how stupid of you."

Ruan Yu: "...What ointment?"

Chao Lu clicked his tongue: "Wait."

Then he got up.

Seeing that he didn't seem to be mocking her, Ruan Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Had she really made a big fuss over nothing? Chao Lu quickly returned with a bottle and a wet cloth.

"Wash your face, applying that makeup will only make it worse."

Ruan Yu was startled and quickly and obediently wiped off all the makeup.

After Ruan Yu finished wiping, Chao Lu had already opened the bottle.

He was about to hand her the ointment when he saw the woman sitting on the bed, naturally bringing her face closer.

Chao Lu: "..."

He resignedly scooped up a little bit of the glossy ointment with a spoon, paused for a moment, and then stretched out his hand: "Look up."

Ruan Yu was very obedient, her dark eyes not finding anything amiss, but Chao Lu clearly felt that he was serving her.

A note from the author:

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Because I always like to write about my daily life, I'm going to exceed the word limit again! [shrug][shrug][shrug]