Blindfold
Chu Chanyin held her hand to his lips, tears streaming down his face like broken pearls, each drop landing on the back of her hand.
Seeing him like this, Zhao Youyi couldn't help but laugh and reached out her other hand to wipe away his tears: "I'm perfectly fine, why are you crying?"
"Your sudden attack of the poison scared me to death," Chu Chanyin said, choking back tears.
Zhao Youyi nestled into his arms, feeling his breath and warmth. Chu Chanyin held her hand tightly, unwilling to let go.
"My lord, you're finally awake!" Zhou Yaqing ran in excitedly upon hearing the noise, followed by Liu Zhiming. Upon entering the tent and seeing the two embracing, he instinctively turned his head away.
Liu Zhiming and Zhou Yaqing looked at each other awkwardly.
Zhao Youyi quickly released his grip on Chu Chanyin's arms and cleared his throat a few times, saying, "Thank you for your hard work these past few days."
Feeling the sudden loss of softness in his arms, Chu Chanyin belatedly felt a little lonely, his affectionate peach blossom eyes looking at her with unspoken words.
Zhao Youyi noticed his gaze out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help but chuckle to herself. He looked like a pitiful little dog; it was quite amusing.
With the arrival of the two people, their sweet moments were disrupted, and both Zhao Youyi and Chu Chanyin felt somewhat uncomfortable.
"A-Wan, are you hungry? I had someone make some millet and pumpkin porridge, have some." Chu Chanyin brushed away her sweaty hair with his hand.
Zhao Youyi felt incredibly sticky all over and couldn't help but whisper, "I want to take a bath."
Upon hearing this, Chu Chanyin's ears turned red. "Alright, I'll have someone fetch water right away."
Watching his hurried departure, Zhao Youyi couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Liu Zhiming and Zhou Yaqing came over, and Zhou Yaqing said excitedly, "My lord, His Highness the Prince of Chu cares about you a lot."
Liu Zhiming patted her shoulder: "Isn't that obvious? My lord and His Highness the Prince of Chu are husband and wife. If His Highness the Prince of Chu doesn't care about my lord, who else would he care about?"
Zhou Yaqing glared at her and moved away from her unhappily: "That's hard to say. You're quite nice to that little princess, aren't you? Do you have some kind of shady relationship with her?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhiming laughed out of anger: "General Zhou, don't talk nonsense, okay?"
“Military Advisor Liu, why don’t you rein in your benevolence?” Zhou Yaqing retorted without any politeness.
"Alright, stop arguing." Zhao Youyi rubbed her temples, her head aching from waking up to find these two lovable idiots bickering. "During the days I was unconscious, did anything important happen in the army?"
When it came to serious matters, both of them dropped their joking demeanor.
Liu Zhiming replied, "There's nothing important in the army, but I heard that the dog emperor is conscripting soldiers in the capital."
Zhou Yaqing added from the side, "Yes, I heard that all the vassal kings are to return to the capital this year. I'm afraid they want to wipe them all out in one fell swoop."
Liu Zhiming crossed his arms and looked at her, feigning surprise, "So General Zhou isn't completely clueless after all. I thought he was only concerned with my messy affair with that little princess."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yaqing turned around in anger, intending to hit her, but Zhao Youyi quickly stopped her, saying, "Weren't you two fine just a few days ago? Why are you arguing again now?"
Zhou Yaqing snorted angrily, "My lord, you have to be the judge! Our Grand Strategist Liu is feeding and treating that precious little princess so well. Anyone who doesn't know better would think she has some ulterior motives."
"What do you mean by that?" Liu Zhiming grabbed her collar angrily, and Zhao Youyi quickly got off the bed and pulled the two apart.
"Our lord has just recovered from a serious illness, what are you all arguing about?" Hearing the noise, Zhou Huaiyuan walked in and grabbed his sister's ear: "Zhou Yaqing! Are you asking for a beating? How dare you argue with the strategist in front of our lord."
Zhou Yaqing immediately cried out in pain and begged for mercy, "Brother, brother, I was wrong."
Zhou Huaiyuan pulled Zhou Yaqing out of the tent, and Zhao Youyi's gaze fell on Liu Zhiming. "Is what Yaqing said true? Princess Fu'an, she..."
Liu Zhiming hurriedly knelt down to beg for forgiveness: "My lord, I know I was wrong. I admit that I had my own selfish reasons for keeping Princess Fu'an, but my loyalty has always been to you, my lord."
Zhao Youyi waved her hand with a slight headache upon hearing this, indicating that she didn't care: "Whatever your reason for keeping her here, as long as it doesn't ruin our plans, it's fine."
Liu Zhimo quickly agreed.
Several female soldiers carried in hot water. Zhao Youyi pulled up the screen and prepared to take a bath. After sleeping for so many days, she was covered in sweat and felt really uncomfortable.
"A-Wan." Chu Chanyin, carrying the meal, lifted the curtain and saw indistinct figures on the screen. Chu Chanyin subconsciously turned around. "Cousin, I'm sorry for the offense. I... I didn't know they brought the water in so quickly."
Zhao Youyi's heart skipped a beat, and she felt it was time to add fuel to the fire. "Brother Huai Cong, come here."
Her voice was soft and gentle, with a hint of seductive allure.
Upon hearing this, Chu Chanyin blushed, her embarrassment rising from her neck to the tips of her ears. "This...this is simply unreasonable!"
Zhao Youyi continued to whine, "Brother Huai Cong, come and rub my back, I can't reach it."
"Should I call in a female soldier? Or perhaps have your maid come over?" Chu Chanyin's voice trembled with nervousness.
Behind the screen, Zhao Youyi couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh, continuing to tease him: "Oh dear, hurry up and come in, or the water will get cold."
Seeing that she said that, Chu Chanyin could no longer refuse. He silently repeated to himself that she was his cousin, no different from his own sister. He had even helped her bathe when they were little.
Chu Chanyin turned around and couldn't help but feel nervous when he saw the indistinct figures on the screen. He grabbed a white silk ribbon and tied it around his eyes. He had an excellent sense of direction and relied on his familiarity with the place to find his way behind the screen.
Zhao Youyi stared at Chu Chanyin, whose eyes were covered by a white silk ribbon, and remained silent for a moment, speechless.
It's really interesting. She's given him such a blatant hint, but he still doesn't get it!
"A-Wan, don't worry, I won't look," Chu Chanyin said.
Zhao Youyi waved her hand in front of his eyes to make sure he really couldn't see, and sighed in disappointment. Chu Chanyin quickly asked her what was wrong.
"Nothing much." Zhao Youyi handed him the handkerchief. "How can you scrub my back if you've blindfolded me?"
Chu Chanyin was so nervous that his tongue almost tied itself in knots: "But men and women should not touch each other, this is really against reason! Do not look at what is improper, do not look at what is improper!"
Zhao Youyi felt annoyed by his rambling, so she reached out and pinched his cheek: "Can you please stop using that pretty mouth of yours to say such unpleasant things?"
Chu Chanyin was taken aback when he sensed her movement, then obediently nodded.
Since a certain gentleman insisted on being blindfolded, Zhao Youyi had no choice but to put his hands on her back and let him do as he pleased.
Chu Chanyin felt the soft warmth under her hand, so hot, so close. Her skin was still as tender as when she was a child, and she was afraid that if she used too much force, she would scratch her skin.
Chu Chanyin could only carefully wipe her clean, the sounds of her movements in the water filling his ears.
The ripples that spread out seemed to be her stirring his heart.
“Brother Huai Cong,” Zhao Youyi suddenly turned around and stood very close to him, “Do you want to see what I look like now?”
Chu Chanyin was startled by these words and instinctively slapped the handkerchief onto her face.
Zhao Youyi: ...
The handkerchief fell into the water. Zhao Youyi wiped her face and glared at him angrily. Seeing that he remained expressionless, Zhao Youyi decisively tore off the white silk covering his eyes.
Chu Chanyin subconsciously opened his eyes, and what he saw was snow-white skin. He then closed his eyes tightly and subconsciously straightened up and walked out. Due to his nervousness, he bumped into a pillar.
"Hiss." Chu Chanyin covered his forehead and couldn't help but cry out in pain.
Zhao Youyi reached out and pulled on his sleeve. Because she didn't control her strength well and Chu Chanyin was not very stable when he stood up, she pulled him into the bathtub with a force.
Instantly, water splashed everywhere, and their skin clung tightly to each other through the soaked fabric.
Chu Chanyin frantically tried to get up, but his movements in the water brought them even closer together. Zhao Youyi placed her wet hand on his chest and said, "Don't move."
Upon hearing this, Chu Chanyin was so frightened that he dared not move and could only silently calm his breathing. Zhao Youyi stood up, pulled off the inner garment hanging on the screen, casually wiped the water off his body a few times, and put it on.
Zhao Youyi stepped out of the bathtub, reached out and pulled him up. Seeing that he was soaking wet, with his hair sticking to his cheeks, she said, "Why don't you take a bath too?"
Chu Chanyin, understanding the implication in Zhao Youyi's words, assumed he wanted to use her water to bathe. His face flushed crimson, like the clouds at the edge of the sky, and he closed his eyes, not daring to look at her: "No! No need! I'll... I'll go back first!"
Zhao Youyi quickly reached out and grabbed him, "You're going back? Where are you going back to?"
Chu Chanyin, flustered and incoherent, blurted out, "Back to the military camp! I'm going back to Fuzhou!"
Zhao Youyi pulled him back with a bit of force, "Chu Huaicong, calm down. It's just that we fell into a bathtub. We were soaking in the same bath before, and I didn't mind. Why are you bothered?"
Seeing that he still had his eyes closed, Zhao Youyi couldn't help but say, "I'm all dressed now, you can open your eyes now. I promise I won't do anything indecent this time!"
Chu Chanyin tentatively opened his eyes a crack, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was indeed dressed neatly: "Awan, you really must not do this again next time. If it were another man, your reputation would be ruined."
Zhao Youyi grabbed his arm and shook it: "Oh dear, how could there be any other man? It's only you, Brother Huai Cong."
Chu Chanyin blushed at her words and lowered his head, not daring to look at her. "Even I can't do it, after all... after all, I am also a man."
Zhao Youyi tiptoed closer to him, trying to observe the expression on his face. "Why not? Brother Huai Cong, didn't you often help me bathe when we were little?"
“Childhood is childhood, and now is now,” Chu Chanyin said seriously. “Cousin, there is a difference between men and women, and besides… besides, we are now husband and wife, which will cause misunderstandings.”
"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?" Zhao Youyi continued to move closer to him, asking relentlessly.
"Misunderstanding... misunderstand that we are..." Chu Chanyin was too embarrassed to say it, and even more embarrassed to look at her.
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