Chapter 366 Ah Chu, I'm so glad you're a woman

Pei Yuan's gaze lingered on Shen Chu's face, unwilling to look away for even a moment.

Her eyebrows were like distant mountains, her eyes like pools of water, her nose was delicate, her lips were cherry-like, and her skin was like solidified cream.

His heart started pounding.

Despite having deduced it countless times in my mind, I have become increasingly convinced of the facts I have deduced.

But the moment he was truly certain that Achu was a woman, he was so excited that his scalp tingled.

Overwhelmed with joy, he was instantly engulfed.

Therefore, he has always loved only one woman.

He was not the homosexual he despised at all.

All that self-loathing, self-doubt, and retreat was unnecessary.

After the initial joy, a trace of anger inevitably rose in my heart.

Ah Chu, you kept this from me for so long.

Why didn't you tell me the truth sooner?

Another thought popped into her mind: she disguised herself as a man to enter the court in order to seek justice for the Shen family.

The political landscape in the imperial court is treacherous; the more people who know her true identity, the greater the danger she faces.

The fact that she could portray a man so convincingly shows that she trained herself from a young age, cultivating a habit ingrained in her very being.

She must have walked a very dangerous path, as if treading on thin ice, in order to seek justice for her family.

When Pei Yuan thought of these things, his heart felt as if it were being squeezed, and a slight pain rose within him.

Ah Chu has gone through so much, so naturally she can't risk revealing her identity to others.

But am I someone else?

Pei Yuan pursed his lips, looking somewhat aggrieved.

These emotions were fleeting, and just as he was about to step out, he saw Chen Chu unbuttoning the buttons on her clothes.

Below her delicate collarbones was fair and radiant skin, and further down were two round...

boom.

Pei Yuan instantly felt his blood surge, and all the mixed emotions he had felt earlier—joy, anger, heartache, and grievance—vanished in an instant.

His breath hitched for a moment, and he subconsciously clenched his fist, forgetting that Yuanbao was still in his arms.

With that squeeze, he almost snatched a tuft of hair from Yuanbao.

"Hiss~"

Just because Yuanbao isn't showing its power doesn't mean I'm a pushover.

Yuanbao roared and scratched Pei Yuan's other hand with its claw.

Pei Yuan winced in pain and instinctively released his grip, causing the ingot to fall lightly to the ground.

Chen Chu, who was changing her clothes, was startled and instinctively clutched her lake-blue bodice tightly.

"who?"

Yuanbao ran over, looked up at her with a wronged expression, gently rubbed his snow-white face against the hem of her skirt, and blinked his emerald-like eyes.

Meow~ Meow~

Shen Chu's heart was instantly melted by its cuteness, especially after dealing with the corpses for most of the night.

Last night, she and Ling Ce took the fake Jueming's body back and found a place to put it, and then re-examined the body.

After a busy night, her clothes were dirty, so she and Ling Ce came back to change and prepare to go to the post station to see if last night's plan had gone smoothly.

She tied her hands behind her back, one side fastening her bodice, and asked:

"Yuanbao, did Hongxiu bully you? Weren't you at the post station? Why did you come back?"

Yuanbao nibbled at her skirt, "Meow~"

He tilted his head to the right at her.

Shen Chu paused in her movements, looking at it with a puzzled expression.

"Yuanbao, what do you want to tell me?"

"Meow~"

Yuanbao tilted his head to the right again.

Shen Chu turned her head to look to the right, and her gaze met Pei Yuan, who was turning around from behind the curtain.

Their eyes met.

Caught off guard.

Shen Chu's hand trembled in surprise, and the rope of the bib, which had not yet been tied, came loose.

The undergarment floated lightly to the ground.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Pei Yuan's pupils contracted slightly, and he quickly turned around.

"I...I didn't mean to look."

Chen Chu was stunned for a moment before she realized what was happening. She hurriedly covered her chest, feeling flustered and embarrassed, and quickly picked up her undergarment.

Her blood rushed to her head, her face felt hot, her hands trembled uncontrollably as she tied her bodice, and her heart pounded wildly.

Why did Pei Yuan suddenly appear here?

When did he arrive? Look... what did he see?

The more she thought about it, the more nervous she became. She finally managed to tie her bellyband, and then quickly grabbed her new clothes and put them on.

She glanced at Pei Yuan's broad and strong back and cleared her throat.

"Hmm...you can turn around now."

"oh."

Pei Yuan slowly turned around, glanced at Chen Chu, and then quickly lowered his eyes again.

I lowered my eyes and couldn't see Achu anymore; I was reluctant to let her go.

He looked up again, somewhat annoyed, and explained, "I came here after Yuanbao. Ah Chu, your cat is so fierce, it scratched me."

Pei Yuan stretched out his hands in front of Shen Chu with a pitiful expression. There were five bright red scratch marks on each hand, which was shocking to see.

Shen Chu immediately forgot her embarrassment and anger, grabbed his hand, and carefully examined the depth of the wound.

"Luckily the wound isn't deep, otherwise it would have been dangerous. Strange, Yuanbao is usually so docile, why would he scratch you?"

Pei Yuan looked completely innocent. "I don't know either. Maybe I did something wrong and offended it?"

“Meow meow (that’s right).” Yuanbao agreed wholeheartedly.

This strange man insisted on feeding it shredded potatoes.

It's a cat, and cats don't eat shredded potatoes.

Shen Chu lowered his head and scolded Yuanbao, who was lying at his feet.

"Why are you being so naughty today? Why are you scratching people? If you scratch again, I'm going to beat you up."

"Meow~ Meow~"

Yuanbao glared at Pei Yuan, then rubbed against Shen Chu's feet with a pitiful expression.

Hmph, the villain is the one who complains first; Yuanbao is so wronged.

Yuanbao jumped into Chen Chu's arms, his soft little head pressed against her palm, his emerald-like eyes blinking at her.

Chen Chuxin immediately softened.

She looked up and ruffled Yuanbao's hair, saying, "You can't be so naughty anymore."

Meow~

Yuanbao settled comfortably in Shen Chu's arms, squinted, raised his chin slightly, and gave Pei Yuan a defiant look.

Pei Yuan's gaze darkened slightly, and he let out a soft hiss.

Shen Chu quickly looked over, "Does it hurt a lot? Wait a moment, I'll put some medicine on it for you."

She put down the gold ingot and turned to find the ointment that Han Feng had prepared.

Naturally, he didn't see Pei Yuan's victorious gaze directed at Yuan Bao, nor Yuan Bao's grimacing reply.

Ever since she adopted Yuanbao, Han Feng has specially prepared some medicine for cat and dog scratches.

She took Pei Yuan's hand and gently applied the medicine to him.

Pei Yuan stared intently at her, his eyes gleaming.

Shen Chu noticed his burning gaze, and felt the heat that had just subsided on her face rise again.

Even his hands trembled slightly.

She pursed her lips, but finally couldn't help asking first, "Don't you have anything to ask me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Yuan chuckled softly.

"What else do you need to ask? I saw it all, didn't I?"

Shen Chu's heart trembled slightly, and she looked up at him blankly.

Pei Yuan took the medicine from her hand and, with a slight pull, drew her into his arms.

He held her tightly, with such force that it seemed he wanted to crush her and melt her into his very bones.

God knows how much strength he used to hold back until now to hug her.

If he hadn't been afraid of scaring her, he would have wanted to hug her the moment they met.

He pulled her close and whispered in her ear, word by word:

"I made up my mind long ago. You are a man. Whether in the imperial court or in the martial world, I will protect you for the rest of my life."

You are a woman, so I will marry you and take you home. Whether it's romantic moments under the moon or the mundane details of daily life, I will stay with you for the rest of my life.

Because I love you. Yes, I've loved you for a long time, Chu.

Chen Chu's heart was pounding, and a blush crept onto her face.

Pei Yuan chuckled softly, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"But I have to admit that I am a worldly person with worldly desires and expectations."

So, Ah Chu, I'm so happy you're a girl, I'm almost going crazy with happiness.