Chapter 77 Sleeping in the Same Bed Fully Dressed
Zhao Liangxu rubbed her eyes and sat up.
Anhe instinctively flinched. He had been very careful when he lifted the blanket, afraid that Zhao Liangxu's clothes were too thin and that he might see something he shouldn't.
As Zhao Liangxu sat up, her clothes came into An He's view.
Fortunately, Zhao Liangxu was dressed in thicker clothes.
Zhao Liangxu originally intended to take a short rest, so she only took off her outermost clothes. Although the remaining clothes were thinner, at least they were not her inner garments worn on the outside.
"Good evening, Eunuch An." Zhao Liangxu's voice was still hoarse from just waking up. Her restless sleeping posture had left her hair disheveled and draped over her body, her hair bun almost completely shapeless.
Anhe's eyes were filled with the image of Zhao Liangxu, who was still half asleep, and the sight made him dizzy.
"What do you mean 'good evening'? Our house is in a terrible state right now! Who allowed you to come in? Who told you to sleep in our bed?" Anhe was truly panicked and at a loss.
How could she appear in her duty room, looking like she had just woken up?
Is she crazy, or am I crazy?
"You hurry down and go back to the Empress Dowager's palace. We don't need you here!" Anhe urged Zhao Liangxu to leave.
How could Zhao Liangxu easily listen to An He's words?
She lay down a little further into the bed, looking at Anhe from a reclining position. She patted the empty space Anhe had left with one hand and said, "I'm not leaving. Eunuch An, please come up here. The hot water bottle on the bed is still warm."
What are they doing now? What kind of mess is this?
Anhe's voice became even more erratic and impatient: "What are you thinking about all day? You came here to climb into our bed?" Anhe's voice was forced to become sharper.
"What do you mean by 'climbing into someone's bed'? Eunuch An's words are really rude," Zhao Liangxu said, glancing at An He with annoyance. "Since Eunuch An admits that we're a couple, why can't I sleep in your bed? Anyway, Eunuch An lets me into his study whenever I want, so why can't I go to the palace guardhouse?"
Zhao Liangxu paused for a moment and said, "Besides, does Eunuch An expect me to leave your duty room in the middle of the night, disheveled, and then wander around the palace at night? Although it's quieter here, there are still quite a few people patrolling at night. Is Eunuch An so angry that he wants to embarrass me just because I slept in your bed?"
Zhao Liangxu deliberately spoke with embarrassment, but her plan was very clear. She had originally intended to sleep with Anhe tonight, and Anhe would never chase her away no matter what.
An He turned pale after hearing Zhao Liangxu's words. How could he possibly think that way?
He spoke hastily and didn't think of these things for a moment. He couldn't let Zhao Liangxu be gossiped about by people in the palace.
Zhao Liangxu glanced sadly at An He, her usual gentle smile replaced by a look of helplessness. She said, "Since Eunuch An intends to treat me this way, I will leave."
Zhao Liangxu made a move to get out of bed and leave, but An He hurriedly pressed down on her shoulder.
“You know perfectly well that’s not what we meant,” An He said in a low voice to Zhao Liangxu, “but how could you come to the duty room and sleep on our bed without any caution?”
Hearing An He's voice soften again, Zhao Liangxu lowered her head and chuckled.
She took Anhe's arm and said, "Why can't I do this? I've never complained about Eunuch An. I really want to sleep with Eunuch An. I like Eunuch An. Isn't that a matter of course?"
An He looked at Zhao Liangxu with a complicated expression, unable to say anything for a moment.
She said those things she shouldn't have said again.
Haven't I given her enough? Why should I take this unnecessary step?
Anhe's expression changed several times before she finally sighed and said coldly, "Then you can sleep in bed. I'll rest here."
"You must leave during the day and are not allowed to stay in our house!"
Zhao Liangxu looked around hesitantly and said, "Besides the bed, where else in Eunuch An's duty room is there to rest? Does Eunuch An intend to sit at the table all night?"
That was indeed what he thought. Anhe couldn't possibly leave Zhao Liangxu alone in the duty room while he went to find a place to rest.
At worst, I can just sit by the table for a night; there's nothing I can't get used to.
Before An He could even walk a little further, Zhao Liangxu immediately understood An He's intention: he didn't plan to sleep in the bed!
How could Zhao Liangxu possibly let An He have his way?
She knelt up on the bed, scooted to the edge of the bed, grabbed Anhe's waist, hugged her tightly, and pulled her forcefully onto the bed.
"No, there's a bed in the room, why don't you sleep in it and instead sit upright in a chair all night?"
She moved quickly, and worried that Anhe would leave the bedside. Like a young maiden, she was concerned about her own innocence. Zhao Liangxu exerted too much force in her arms and lost her balance, directly pulling Anhe down onto the bed.
"Zhao Liangxu, you... Humph!" An He was caught off guard and was led to the bed by Zhao Liangxu's actions.
When they fell, Zhao Liangxu was below and An He was above.
Zhao Liangxu's nose slammed hard against An He's chest. The thin undergarment could hardly conceal the warmth of An He's body, and Zhao Liangxu felt as if her face was buried in a warm, sandalwood-scented bath.
An He also groaned from the impact. When he felt an unusual touch on his chest, he quickly straightened up, touched his chest, and looked at Zhao Liangxu in surprise.
Zhao Liangxu was still lying in bed, covering her nose with one hand to relieve the pain, while the other hand still held onto Anhe.
This is truly karma, what goes around comes around!
The moment Zhao Liangxu bumped her nose, she remembered how she had bumped into An He and made him bleed from the nose. At the time, she never imagined that she would become the unlucky one who got her nose bumped.
An He wanted to quickly create distance and suppress the turbulent emotions in his heart. He tried to move Zhao Liangxu's hand away from him, saying, "You, you're lawless!" But when he saw Zhao Liangxu covering her nose in pain, he couldn't help but soften.
He kept his voice cold and hard, but still asked with concern, "What's wrong? Does it hurt so much?"
After a while, once the dull pain in her nose subsided, Zhao Liangxu said to An He, "Eunuch An is too hard; it hurt so much!"
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
Anhe's ears turned red and hot as she listened to Zhao Liangxu's suggestive words. She was definitely doing it on purpose!
Zhao Liangxu didn't think there was anything wrong with what she said at first. She just said that An He's chest was too hard. It was all because An He was so thin that his body was hard and bony. He bumped her nose and made her hurt for a while.
However, Zhao Liangxu sensed the shame and anger in An He's tone, and was suddenly enlightened that what she said was too strange.
In the dim light, she couldn't see if Anhe's face was flushed, but she guessed that Anhe was embarrassed by those words.
Zhao Liangxu covered her nose, also concealing a smile.
She greeted Anhe, saying, "What nonsense am I talking about? It's because Eunuch An's chest is too hard that my nose hurts. Eunuch An, what are you thinking? Look, aren't you bleeding from bumping your head?"
Zhao Liangxu removed her hand, letting An He bend down and take a look at it for her.
Although An He scolded Zhao Liangxu, he still considered her nose and went along with her wishes, lowering his head to examine it.
Because the candlelight was too dim, Anhe had to lean closer to see clearly. His hand unconsciously pressed down on Zhao Liangxu's chin, using some force to bring Zhao Liangxu's face even closer to him.
An He didn't see the blood on Zhao Liangxu's nose, but was immediately captivated by Zhao Liangxu's exceptionally bright eyes in the dim light.
His hand was still on Zhao Liangxu's chin, and he could feel the slight throbbing of her face as she smiled faintly.
She laughed again.
Anhe's breathing became a little erratic.
He never imagined he would meet someone like Zhao Liangxu. She never disliked him, a eunuch, and would even deliberately use little tricks to get closer to him.
What merit or ability does he possess?
Zhao Liangxu's smile widened, which made An He feel uneasy.
She pressed Anhe onto the bed again. This time, both she and Anhe restrained themselves a bit. Zhao Liangxu didn't use too much force, and Anhe didn't struggle too much either.
Therefore, Zhao Liangxu successfully pinned half of Anhe's body onto the bed.
Zhao Liangxu lay prone, propping herself up on the bed with one elbow and resting her chin on her hand. She asked An He, "Why is Eunuch An hiding so much? I don't have any bad intentions. I just want Eunuch An to keep me company while I sleep."
"Doesn't Eunuch An value me highly? Then what's wrong with me this time? If Eunuch An feels uncomfortable, you can put on another layer of clothing and it will still be considered sleeping in your clothes. I am very proper and will not do anything to Eunuch An."
Zhao Liangxu's other arm was still loosely resting on An He's chest, just resting there.
Just as she said, it seemed very proper.
The area touched by her arm was a long, thin strip of fabric, like warm, damp silk, giving Anhe a soft, ticklish sensation. The slight pressure made Anhe feel as if she were being restrained.
An He remained silent for a long while, which made Zhao Liangxu lose confidence: "Eunuch An? Why aren't you saying anything?"
Anhe lay silently on the bed for a long time before saying, "Get up and let me get dressed."
"Does this mean a bed?" Zhao Liangxu asked.
Anhe gave only a perfunctory reply.
Zhao Liangxu did not push her luck. Although Anhe still chose to sleep fully clothed, it was already a great improvement.
Anhe got up and put on a casual robe. He was actually glad that there were two casual robes in the duty room that he rarely needed, since Anhe felt it was a bit awkward to sleep in a python robe.
The casual clothes were looser and softer than the stiff and thick python robe. An He tied the belt with his back to Zhao Liangxu, his movements slow and careful.
An He turned around and found that Zhao Liangxu had already covered herself with the quilt and was lying inside waiting for him.
Seeing this made him feel uneasy.
After hesitating for a moment, An He finally lay down in bed under Zhao Liangxu's gaze.
Anhe's duty room was always used by only him, and there was only one quilt on the bed, so the two of them lay together under the same quilt.
Zhao Liangxu said she was following the rules, but she lay flat on her back without making any movement with her hands, while An He leaned against the edge of the bed, looking very reserved.
Zhao Liangxu spoke first: "Eunuch An argued with me for a long time, and even the hot water bottle in the quilt got cold. The quilt wasn't as warm as it was just now."
Anhe remained almost motionless, like a stiff corpse, and replied, "The weather isn't too cold these days, and the blankets aren't too cold either."
He didn't look at Zhao Liangxu, but simply replied, "It's so late, you should go to sleep and not talk too much."
Zhao Liangxu was only polite for a short while. When she heard An He's words, she immediately turned over to face An He, the fabric of her clothes rubbing against the quilt making a rustling sound.
"But I slept for a long time this afternoon and just woke up now, so I can't fall back asleep."
Zhao Liangxu tugged at An He's sleeve from under the covers: "Why is Eunuch An so far away? I'm not going to eat you."
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Author's note: (Since we're sharing a bed, how can it not be considered a vegetarian meal replacement?)
Xu felt very reassured by taking the initiative.
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