Chapter 61 The curtains hung low over the riverbank, draped in light gauze, her heart burning with thirst…
That evening, Zeng Zhengqing booked a private room at Fuyuanju Restaurant, and the four of them celebrated together. Feeling dizzy from the meal and having barely slept the night before, Qingduo's head bobbed as she dozed off at the table. Seeing her like this, the others excused themselves from the banquet, and Zeng Zhengqing carried her into the carriage and took her home.
Qingduo was dreaming that Sailinfu was being unreasonable. She wanted to retort, but she had eaten too much that night and was so full that she kept burping. As soon as she opened her mouth, she burped. She was so angry that she kicked him. Before she could even see if he had fallen, a sharp pain shot through her toe.
"Hiss—" She gasped, instantly waking up, curling into a ball, and rolling around while hugging her legs.
Huh? Where am I? It's so spacious, I can even roll around in it?
She opened her eyes and looked around. Oh, she was at home. She had just kicked the bedpost.
ah?
Qingduo jumped up in fright. Oh no! How come she's home? She can't be home!
When she's outside, she has important business to attend to and is surrounded by other people. She's relatively comfortable with Qingqing, but later, it'll just be the two of them alone in the room, a man and a woman alone together—that's...!
She suddenly felt uneasy, as if she could hear the sound of water rippling in the reeds. What if, what if she couldn't help but rush over like that day?
Last time, she could at least say that alcohol had affected her and made her lose her senses. But if she does something like this again, there will be no excuses to cover it up, and it will truly prove that she is a frivolous and dissolute woman.
She should be alright, right? She was drinking that day, but she's perfectly sober today! She definitely won't repeat the same mistake!
But can you really do it?
Qingduo was making a chaotic mental calculation when Fangqing entered the room. Unexpectedly, she found a person sitting blankly on the bed. Startled, she trembled and patted her chest, saying, "Young Madam, why didn't you make a sound when you woke up? You scared me half to death."
She opened the cabinet: "Young Master will be out of his bath soon, let me get him a set of clothes."
The image of Zeng Zhengqing taking a bath suddenly flashed before Qingduo's eyes: his black hair was half-wet, water droplets slowly flowing down his neck, collarbone, and chest, disappearing into the tightly tied towel around his waist...
As she thought this, her cheeks suddenly flushed, as if they had been steamed by heat, as if the person taking the bath was not Zeng Zhengqing, but herself.
Such a person, enveloped in moisture and the scent of soap, will enter the bedchamber with her.
The curtains hung low, covered with light gauze, and her heart was in turmoil from hunger and thirst.
This is terrible.
Qingduo suddenly felt a sense of crisis. She hurriedly said to Fangqing, "Fangqing, Fangqing, don't worry about him for now. Do me a favor and get me the thickest quilt."
Fang Qing asked in surprise, "Don't we need a thick blanket in this kind of weather?"
"Just bring it to me," Qingduo said tragically. "Good Fangqing, whether I can save my reputation tonight depends on this bed!"
Fang Qing's mouth dropped open. She couldn't understand what the connection was between "quilt" and "reputation." But then she thought that the young mistress was always quick-witted and had unexpected ideas. She must have her reasons for saying that. As a mere maid, she only needed to do as she was told. So she agreed and turned to get the quilt.
After Zeng Zhengqing finished bathing and returned to his room, he remembered that when he left, Qingduo was lying sprawled out on the bed, spread out like a "big" character. He planned to move her a little further into the bed, but as soon as he reached out and lifted the bed curtains, he bent down and was stunned by the sight before him.
A rolled-up wall of blankets ran across the middle of the bed, clearly dividing the bed into two small compartments, where his wife was sleeping obediently.
"Huh?" He was utterly astonished.
Hearing the sound, Qingduo opened her eyes, glanced at him, and quickly closed them again. In that short time, Zeng Zhengqing noticed she was awake and pointed to the wall in the middle, asking, "What's this?"
Qingduo answered with her eyes closed: "The Chu-Han River boundary."
"Huh?" Zeng Zhengqing was even more confused.
If this is the "boundary between Chu and Han," and there are only the two of them in the room, then who is Xiang Yu? Who is Liu Bang?
*
Qingduo kept her eyes tightly shut, not daring to open them. Whew! That was close! The man, as smooth and lustrous as jade, was covered in a layer of moisture, which shone brightly in the candlelight. In particular, his collar was slightly open, revealing a patch of porcelain-white skin, making one want to reach out and touch it, or explore it further.
With just one glance, those crooked and evil ideas, like a tuft of grass, stirred her heart.
She felt a mixture of joy and sorrow. She was joyful because, although she wasn't drunk, she was still incredibly aroused, so it wasn't that she was desperately thirsty, but rather that he was simply too tempting. She was sorrowful because, even without any alcohol, she still had the irresistible urge to touch him. She had thought that being sober would be enough to resist, but now it seemed even more difficult.
Ah! With a husband like that standing there, who could resist?
The Heart-Cleansing Mantra, the Heart-Cleansing Mantra, I need the Heart-Cleansing Mantra to calm my restless heart.
...
But how do you recite the Heart-Cleansing Mantra?
Forget it, let's try a different scripture!
...
But how do we recite the other scriptures?
It's only when you need the scriptures that you realize how little you know; it's only when you're confused that you regret not studying them sooner. Her mind was a complete blank; she couldn't recall any scriptures, only a familiar phrase that she kept repeating silently over and over: "Namo Amitabha Buddha, Namo Amitabha Buddha, Namo Amitabha Buddha..."
"Why should we set up some kind of 'river boundary' between us?" Zeng Zhengqing pressed.
He had thought that once they overcame the initial awkwardness and consummated their marriage, they would be inseparable, deeply in love. But to his surprise, she left him the very next day, insisting on going to be with Lu Nong. He simply took it as loyalty and respected her decision. Today, he had finally been looking forward to her return, but upon lifting the curtain, he saw the abrupt "river boundary," and all his anticipation vanished instantly upon returning to the room.
He was very displeased. Before they had slept together, they could still share a bed. How could things have regressed after they had physical intimacy?
Seeing that Qingduo didn't answer, he reached out to pull the blanket. Qingduo opened her eyes, grabbed the blanket, and cried out, "No!"
"Why?" Zeng Zhengqing refused to let go.
Why?
He leaned down, and his collar slipped down, revealing more skin. Qingduo looked away and glared at him, thinking to herself, "Is this guy trying to seduce me on purpose?"
"I want to get a good night's sleep," Qingduo said. "I didn't sleep well yesterday, and I'm so sleepy!"
Zeng Zhengqing lifted one end of the blanket: "Okay, I'll hold you while we sleep."
Qingduo hurriedly got up and pressed half of her body onto the quilt: "No! I'll stay here as long as the quilt is on! If the quilt leaves, I'll leave!"
The two faced off for a while. Zeng Zhengqing stared into her eyes and said, "Madam, are you avoiding me?"
Qingduo turned her face away: "No."
"let go."
"don't want."
Their eyes met again, neither willing to look away, stubbornly gazing at each other. One was defending his "reputation," the other fighting for his right to be close.
In the end, Zeng Zhengqing was the first to let go. He sighed, "How could this happen? I thought we would become closer."
Qingduo succinctly stated: "Too much is as bad as too little."
Zeng Zhengqing sighed again: "Having sex only once every six months of marriage, what kind of 'passing' is that?"
"I thought that since you took the initiative that day, I wouldn't have to live like this anymore."
"Ha, it's not even as good as before." His voice sounded sour.
Why did he have to bring up something so sensitive? He even specifically pointed out that she was the one who initiated it! Qingduo's face flushed red, and she retorted, "Sleep, sleep, sleep! No, no, don't say it again!"
The candlelight went out, plunging the world into darkness. The two slept separately, on opposite sides of the river.
Qingduo tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She had just slept soundly, but now her whole body ached, making it impossible to fall asleep. She blamed Zeng Zhengqing, who had been sighing constantly since lying down. Qingduo said irritably, "Hey! Zeng Zhengqing, are you leaking air?"
Zeng Zhengqing sighed and turned to Qingduo earnestly, saying, "Madam, I have something to ask you. I hope you will tell me the truth."
Qingduo turned to look at him in the darkness: "What is it?"
“That day…that day…cough,” he coughed lightly and said in a low voice, “it was on the ship…did I…make you uncomfortable?”
He had heard that women who had experienced sexual relations with men not only did not resist subsequent intimacy, but even longed for the tenderness of physical and emotional union. Qingduo's behavior, however, was completely different; even sharing a bed required the presence of a wall. This couldn't help but make him suspicious, wondering if he hadn't given her a good experience initially, causing her resistance. But the circumstances at the time didn't seem to match. He couldn't find any other reason besides this, and after much thought, Zeng Zhengqing felt a pang of bitterness rising in his heart.
So, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep all night. Finally, mustering my courage, I asked the question.
Qingduo blushed when she heard the words "on the boat," and her face burned even more when she heard the question that followed.
How was she supposed to answer that? If she answered "comfortable" truthfully, he would immediately remove the blanket and press himself against her. At that point, it would be hard to say whether she could resist.
If he says he "doesn't feel well"... isn't that obviously lying? What worries her even more is, what if he believes him and never does that to her again? What would she do then?
She bit her lower lip, her head buzzing, her heart clenching, and she couldn't utter a single word.
Zeng Zhengqing thought he understood the silence, but his heart was like a bucket of water caught in an out-of-control well pulley, instantly plummeting to the bottom with a muffled thud, extinguishing the last remaining hope in his heart.
“I understand.” He slowly turned to the other side, his voice low.
"No!" Qingduo sensed his dejection and quickly said. Zeng Zhengqing abruptly turned over and looked at the hazy figure in the darkness. Feeling his burning gaze, Qingduo's courage gradually faded. She stammered, "No, it's not... I'm not feeling well..."
Her voice trailed off, "At first, you, you touched me... I didn't even know... that place... would, would..."
Zeng Zhengqing immediately understood. So his efforts hadn't been in vain. He whispered, "Last time you were afraid of the pain, so I specifically looked for some methods to relieve your discomfort." He felt his face burning. "Just then, I discovered this method… and…"
An awkward atmosphere filled the bed curtains. Seeing Qingduo remain silent, Zeng Zhengqing quietly crossed the "river boundary" in the center of the bed, slowly groping until he finally touched her hand. He cupped it in his palm, and she let him hold it without struggling. Zeng Zhengqing breathed a sigh of relief. After a moment of hesitation, he tentatively asked:
"Since you like it, I just washed my hands, would you like some...?"
Qingduo suddenly leaped up, covering his mouth with one hand, and as if that wasn't enough, she pulled out her other hand and covered it as well, shouting, "Stop talking! Stop talking!"
"Oh! My face—" Qingduo sobbed inwardly.
His muffled laughter escaped through his fingers. Qingduo said angrily, "Zeng Zhengqing! You've gone too far! Humph! If you laugh at me again, when we go back to our hometown in a few days, you'll be all alone! If people ask you, 'Why didn't your wife come back with you?' you'll answer, 'I'm very capable! I personally drove her away!'"
"Hmph! Let's see if you'll still be laughing then!"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Starting next week, the regular update time will be 7:00 AM on Thursdays and Sundays.
I usually accumulate a lot of articles, and if I have a lot, I'll publish them more often.
After finishing this book, I'll finish another book about Qingduo's childhood.
I was planning to write two books at the time, but then I injured my hand and it became difficult to even write one.
I'll try to save the complete manuscript of the book I'm pre-ordering before publishing it.
I really like how I feel right now [laughing]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com