Chapter 69 Anhe was somewhat resistant to the soft couch.
Anhe glared at her, but her hand wouldn't leave Zhao Liangxu's.
"Judging from this, it means he likes her. Eunuch An's hands are a bit bigger than mine; they can almost wrap around my waist." Zhao Liangxu was completely unaware of how outrageous and explicit her words were.
Every word she said was perfectly normal; she genuinely felt there was nothing wrong with saying it.
Anhe's injured hand rested on her waist, loosely, while his uninjured hand rested more firmly, allowing Zhao Liangxu to feel the warmth of Anhe's palm.
“You are not reserved at all in front of me.” Anhe listened to Zhao Liangxu’s matter-of-fact words and felt that she was talking nonsense all day long.
Listen to that, holding her waist, something just doesn't feel right.
However, Anhe is hard to fault; his simple words have such a suggestive effect.
“I’m very reserved,” Zhao Liangxu said, helping An He up with his injured hand. “It looks like the bleeding has stopped. Eunuch An should take good care of his injury. I’ll come to check on your injury more often in the future, so please don’t take it lightly.”
The wound was clearly painful, but when Anhe was angry, she would ignore it and let the wound bleed and hurt.
"Isn't Eunuch An afraid of pain at all?"
Zhao Liangxu estimated that, given An He's unpredictable temper, someone must have angered him during his recovery period. If he were to use his injured hand to exert force in a fit of rage, the wound would likely reopen.
Anhe was naturally afraid of pain, and having been pampered for some time, the stinging pain of the injury made him even more aware of its presence.
"Our family isn't that delicate." But he certainly wouldn't say that to his true feelings.
Zhao Liangxu sat at the desk, where her view was more open than before. She looked around and happened to notice the inner room hidden behind the screen.
Ordinary people may prefer a simple and elegant study, but there are also people like Anhe who use a large space as their study. Apart from the Luohan couch where Anhe often lies, you can see a small inner room separated by a water-ink screen if you look inside Anhe's study.
Zhao Liangxu naturally knew that An He often stayed in the study. The Luohan couch with soft mattresses was indeed comfortable, but it wasn't very private.
Anhe then arranged an inner room, where he would rest on the soft couch if he stayed in the study for too long at night.
From Zhao Liangxu's angle, one could barely glimpse a corner of the inner room, but it was clear at a glance that Anhe had carefully arranged it, determined to make the inner room resemble a bedroom.
Curious, she pointed to that spot and asked Anhe, "Eunuch An, may I go in and take a look?"
In the time it took to enter the study, Zhao Liangxu had already asked Anhe countless "can it or not?" What else could Anhe do?
Could it be that if he said no, he would dampen Zhao Liangxu's curiosity?
Therefore, a Luohan couch can be used, and a desk can also be used for sitting.
As long as Zhao Liangxu is willing, there's nothing he can't agree to. In fact, he might even be secretly pleased by Zhao Liangxu's uncompromising attitude.
But behind the screen... that's far too private.
He also changed his clothes in the inner room quite often, and would even take off his outer robe and rest on the soft couch for a night.
The inner room also contained some simple clothes, making it a small bedroom.
But Zhao Liangxu said... she was just going in to take a look.
Anhe hesitated for a moment, but still agreed: "Alright, it won't bother our family if you take a look. If you want to, go ahead and take a look."
However, he was still a little uneasy. He was really worried that Zhao Liangxu was also lying on the soft couch in the inner room, which was the couch where he slept at night. It always made him feel uneasy.
Although he enjoyed incense and changed his clothes and groomed himself very frequently, it was because he was a eunuch.
Wearing the glamorous and prestigious python robe on the outside, he looked no different from an ordinary person, but he knew perfectly well what lay beneath the clothes.
He always harbored unspoken fears, worrying about those unspeakable things that might happen.
Therefore, he led Zhao Liangxu there and kept a close eye on her plans.
Zhao Liangxu entered the inner room, and An He didn't have much to say. One glance was enough to tell what the small wardrobe and soft couch were for.
Although there weren't many items, they were all made of the finest Phoebe zhennan wood; the renowned Emperor Jiuqian would never have treated himself poorly.
Just as An He had worried, Zhao Liangxu asked again, "Eunuch An, may I sit... on the soft couch?"
An He's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately interrupted Zhao Liangxu, who was about to say something: "No."
He knew it.
Does Zhao Liangxu intend to explore every corner of the study thoroughly? Why does she need to experience everything herself?
"Eunuch An, I haven't finished speaking yet, why are you telling me it's not okay?"
Zhao Liangxu was a little confused. Hadn't he readily agreed to her request before? And she could even sit on a Luohan couch, so why couldn't she experience a soft couch?
Anhe's tone was somewhat stiff: "You've seen it, that's enough. You don't need it here anyway. Aren't the daybeds outside enough for you to rest on?"
“Who says I don’t need it? If I get tired while keeping Eunuch An company at night, can’t I lie down here? This soft couch is the only place I can really sleep. It’s bigger and more comfortable than the couch outside.”
Anhe felt a tightness in her chest as she listened. What did he mean by "staying with me at night"?
"Nonsense! Why would our family need you here at night... Our family wouldn't be so heartless." Anhe felt that Zhao Liangxu's words were vague, so he could only assume that Zhao Liangxu thought that while he was busy with some things in the study, Zhao Liangxu had to endure her sleepiness to keep him company.
How could he dare to think about those other possibilities?
Zhao Liangxu knew from the beginning that he was a eunuch, and that he could not and would not do anything to her.
Zhao Liangxu argued vehemently, even retorting to An He: "Eunuch An, could it be that you actually dislike me? Not to mention at night, but even during the day, if I'm tired, I can only lie on the couch outside, why can't I sleep on the real couch inside? Is this how you treat me, Eunuch An?"
Anhe frowned helplessly, then softened her voice and said, "What nonsense are you thinking? How could our family dislike you? The daybed is a place where our family often rests. It's covered with soft mattresses and it's not uncomfortable. It's enough for a short nap."
Zhao Liangxu said, "But what if I want to stay in the study at night? What if I read or spend too much time with Eunuch An and lose track of time, and then Eunuch An sleeps on the soft couch in the inner room, and I have to keep watch for him on the daybed outside?" She deliberately exaggerated a bit.
"Your thinking is getting more and more outrageous. If it gets late and you're afraid of the frost and dew, we'll have someone take you back. Isn't your own bedroom more comfortable than ours?"
Anhe felt he hadn't spoken to someone so patiently in a long time, but with Zhao Liangxu, this was the only way he could gently persuade her.
"Why? Can't I stay here with Eunuch An? I think the soft couch is actually quite large; it's more than enough for two people to sleep on."
An He was so shocked that he wanted to cover Zhao Liangxu's mouth. His low voice even revealed a hint of bitterness that was hard to detect: "Nonsense!"
She's talking nonsense. When did I ever force her to sleep with me?
Zhao Liangxu casually uttered something he wouldn't even dare to think about.
She explained her feelings to him, and he had long understood his own feelings. She insisted that he accept her, and he had already acknowledged that Zhao Liangxu was now his.
But why should she be the one to warm the bed and sleep with him?
He was just a powerless eunuch, and he was already lucky enough to have someone like Zhao Liangxu who genuinely liked him.
If she desires anything—rare animals, jewelry, clothing, or status—she will give it to Anhe.
If she's happy, and talks to him and laughs with him a little more, Anhe feels that everything is going smoothly enough.
There is no need for Zhao Liangxu to go any further.
It's unlikely that a normal person would want to take things any further. Perhaps she does like him, but when it comes to anything more intimate, anyone would instinctively want to back away or feel disgusted.
Why make the two of them unhappy?
But Zhao Liangxu didn't think that way. She didn't know what An He was thinking, but judging from his reluctant appearance, she could guess that he was hesitating because of his own identity.
Taking advantage of An He's inattention, Zhao Liangxu took a few more steps and then pounced onto the soft couch.
"Zhao Liangxu!"
Anhe was somewhat panicked; how could she be so resourceful!
But now he could only console himself a little. The quilt on the soft couch was often changed, and the sandalwood scent was strong, which might be able to cover up the odor that did not yet exist.
Zhao Liangxu rolled over on the soft couch and sat down, smiling at An He. "Eunuch An called me so loudly, I thought I had done something wrong. But this soft couch is so comfortable and clean. Why don't you want me to sit here?"
Anhe stepped forward and said with a hint of pleading, "You can get up now. We can just get you another soft couch. If you really don't want to go back to your own bedroom, you can sleep on your own couch. Is that alright?"
Zhao Liangxu tugged at him, but he didn't intend to sit down. Zhao Liangxu had no choice but to get up again and stare at him.
“Eunuch An, actually, from the moment we first met, I slept in your bedroom. The room and the blankets smelled wonderful, and it's the same here. What are you afraid of, Eunuch An?”
Zhao Liangxu moved closer to An He and said, "Eunuch An, I don't need a separate couch. I want to sleep on your couch. Actually, I'd also like to go to your bedroom..."
Anhe held Zhao Liangxu down, saying with some indignation but helplessness, "Zhao Liangxu, you don't need to sacrifice anything for our family. You are one of our family members. Even if you do nothing, our family will not mistreat you. Don't force yourself to worry like this."
Zhao Liangxu is so kind; there was still no disgust in her eyes when she said those words.
Ke Anhe began to doubt again: Was she really willing to do this? No one would be willing.
He believed that Zhao Liangxu liked him, so he shouldn't do anything to hurt or insult her... Even if Zhao Liangxu truly did it voluntarily, she wouldn't be completely without any reservations about sleeping together.
"Pick a few books you like to read and then go home. You must be tired after so many things to do today. Go home and get some rest."
Seeing that An He seemed to be trying to get rid of them, Zhao Liangxu sighed inwardly.
She hadn't planned to discuss such a close topic with Anhe so soon, but to her surprise, Anhe wouldn't even let her touch the soft couch; the Luohan couch, a place for resting fully clothed, was already the limit.
But he doesn't resist my hugs and closeness.
Although sitting on the soft couch didn't imply anything explicit, it still caused the two of them to lose their rhythm in their back-and-forth.
After a moment's hesitation, Zhao Liangxu decided that since she already knew Anhe's concerns, it would be best to take it slow.
However, she was unwilling to limit herself to simple physical contact.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Liangxu currently holds the initiative, while Eunuch An is anxious. (Actually, our Eunuch An, well, he's just really wicked. Sometimes I'm even afraid that my portrayal of him will discourage you all, so I'm carefully considering how to write him more subtly.)
Thank you all for your generous votes and nutrient solutions yesterday! There will be a short chapter tomorrow, around 6000 words!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com