Chapter 17 A man who is utterly useless except for his face...
The Tiger Guards had taken over most of the work, and Pei Yu was unusually able to return to the manor at dusk today. Chi Yan and Fang Mu followed behind him, bickering and talking non-stop the whole way.
He found the two men too noisy, so he left them behind and strode away. As he approached Shuofeng Hall, he saw two figures waiting at the entrance.
Huiyin wore a light blue wide-sleeved straight-hemmed robe, her hair hung down her back, and a wooden comb was pinned behind her hair bun; she wore no other decorations.
She looked distressed and kept talking to Yan Niang in front of her, wrinkling her nose from time to time and gesturing with her hands.
Her eyes and brows were lively and expressive, quite different from her usual composure.
Pei Yu watched her quietly for a while and found her appearance rather cute.
He slowed his pace and strolled over, listening to their conversation.
Huiyin was completely unaware. "I never said he was incapable from beginning to end."
"Who can't?"
Huiyin turned her head and saw Pei Yu standing behind her, looking at her with a leisurely air.
She awkwardly turned her head away, saying, "It's nothing."
Pei Yu walked past the two men into Shuofeng Hall and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Huiyin followed, and said hesitantly, "I have something to tell General Pei."
Pei Yu glanced back at her and saw that she had returned to her docile appearance, with a perfectly timed smile on her lips, like a mannequin.
He looked away, refusing to see her unsightly appearance, and said, "Come in."
This was Huiyin's first time entering Pei Yu's courtyard. Shuofeng Hall was not large, divided into front and back courtyards. In the middle of the front courtyard was a small sand field, surrounded by weapon racks. Huiyin could not name many of the weapons.
Further in was the main house, composed of three rooms joined together in a mountain-shaped configuration, with an ancient and simple style. Huiyin looked around and saw only male servants in the courtyard, not any maids. Looking at Pei Yu's figure ahead, she couldn't help but wonder if he really had a hidden illness.
And she accidentally stumbled upon it. Will he fly into a rage and kill her to silence her?
Thinking of this, Huiyin stopped him, "General Pei, it's nothing serious, it's just..."
Pei Yu stopped and turned around to look at her with a puzzled expression.
Huiyin spoke only after the last male servant had left: "Today, Madam summoned me to inquire whether we...consummated our marriage last night."
Pei Yu raised an eyebrow. "And then?"
Huiyin took a deep breath and spoke very quickly: "I told you the truth, Madam, that it seems you had a misunderstanding and went to the palace to discuss your illness with the Empress. I couldn't stop you."
Pei Yu didn't hear clearly, "What?"
Huiyin took a step back and quietly lifted her skirt to make it easier to run away. "I have a hidden ailment, it's in that area."
After she finished speaking, she cast a subtle glance at Pei Yu's lower body.
Pei Yu: "..."
After a long pause, his voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth, "Song Huiyin, you're tired of living!"
Huiyin shook her head vigorously, "I really didn't know things would turn out this way. When Madam asked me, I had no choice but to tell the truth."
Pei Yu stepped forward to grab her, but Huiyin, fearing he would attack, hurriedly scurried back, shouting, "I really didn't mean to!"
She mustered all her strength and was about to step over the gate when someone grabbed her collar, and she crashed into Pei Yu's arms, his chest hard as a rock.
Huiyin raised her hand and grabbed the door frame, looking at him with a pained expression, and said, "I really didn't mean to."
Pei Yu stared at her innocent expression and gritted his teeth, "Can't you lie? Do I have to teach you?"
"How can I put it? My yard is full of spies."
"Knock knock—"
There was a commotion outside the courtyard. Su Feng looked at the figures entwined together in the courtyard and said with a forced smile, "Young General, Lady Song, Her Majesty the Empress has sent a eunuch."
Pei Yu's forehead veins throbbed. He released his grip, and Song Huiyin slipped out from under his arm, hiding behind a pillar. She stared at him with lingering fear, her eyes wide open.
He inappropriately wondered what Song Huiyin would look like when she was angry, whether she would jump up and down in anger.
Pei Yu straightened his clothes, regaining his composure, and said, "Let them in."
The eunuch was from Empress Pei's palace. He had a smile on his face and was followed by several junior eunuchs, their hands full of gifts.
The eunuch said, "General Pei, the Empress heard that you are not feeling well. These are tonics bestowed by Her Majesty the Empress. Her Majesty also said that you should not hide your illness from the doctor."
Pei Yu glared at the cowardly Huiyin and said to the eunuch, "Go and tell Her Majesty that everything tonight was a misunderstanding, and I am perfectly fine. I don't need these tonics, so take them all back."
"But Her Majesty said..."
Pei Yu interrupted impatiently, "Get lost."
The eunuch dared not delay any longer and took those things back in the same way he had brought them.
Huiyin quietly followed behind them, trying to slip away. Suddenly, an arm reached out and blocked her path. Pei Yu asked with a half-smile, "Where do you think you're going?"
Huiyin's hair, which had been draped behind her head, was now all over her shoulders. She looked at Pei Yu timidly, like a cowering squirrel. She lifted her skirt and smiled ingratiatingly, "It's getting late, I must go back."
"Why go back? You've caused such a mess, shouldn't you be trying to find a solution?"
"How do we solve this?"
Pei Yu straightened up, crossed his arms, and looked down at her with disdain. "Of course, I will lead by example and clear up the misunderstanding."
"Haven't you been thinking about this for a long time? Today I'll grant your wish."
Huiyin took two steps back, feeling uneasy as she looked at Pei Yu's smiling face. "You...can you do it?"
Pei Yu's laughter suddenly stopped. He twitched the corners of his mouth, grabbed the person under his arm, and walked into the house.
Huiyin struggled and gasped for breath, saying, "I was just asking. The madam said that you dismissed all the maids she had arranged for you over the past few years."
Pei Yu laughed in anger, looked down at the oblivious Song Huiyin, restrained her hands, hoisted her onto his shoulder and walked towards the inner room, gritting his teeth and saying, "Whether I can do it or not, you'll find out soon enough."
Huiyin hung upside down on his shoulder, her head throbbing with dizziness. She pounded on Pei Yu's back, "I'm dizzy, put me down."
Pei Yu kicked open the door, walked straight to the bed, and threw Huiyin onto the couch. He stared at Huiyin's figure and began to undress with one hand.
Huiyin saw his movements and froze. She was about to get up, but she silently lay back down. Once she and Pei Yu consummated their marriage, he would probably let down his guard against her.
She lay on her back on the bed, the fragrance of soap swirl around her nose. Huiyin thought hazily that he didn't seem to like fragrances. The young men of Chang'an always wore sachets or perfumed clothes when they went out.
Pei Yu was different; she had never smelled any other scent on him, only the dry scent of soapberry.
She looked up and saw that Pei Yu had already taken off all but his undergarments. With his movements, Huiyin could vaguely see his chest.
She looked away, forcing herself to shift her attention and examine the room.
The curtains were the color of a military tent, a mix of dark blue and crimson. On the wall directly opposite hung a map of Chang'an, with a low table made of poplar wood on top of it. Behind it, a snow-white wolf-skin rug was spread on the ground.
Beside the wooden cabinet near the bed lay an unsheathed ring-pommel sword, its shape suggesting it was forged about ten years ago. Even after ten years, the blade remained gleaming, a testament to its owner's meticulous care.
What are you spacing out for?
Pei Yu gazed at the person on the bed, lost in thought. Her hair, which had been tied up, was now disheveled from the struggle and lay flat on his bed. The dark luster of her hair contrasted sharply with her pale face.
She was no longer that fake, smiling woman; she was beautiful, but soulless. Now, her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were like water, and her emerald skirt, like blooming green plum blossoms, filled his entire field of vision.
Pei Yu's heart skipped a beat. He stared at her without blinking, and for the first time, he agreed with his friend's words: she was beautiful.
Huiyin blinked. Pei Yu had already taken off all but his shorts, his upper body bare in front of her. For the first time, she could see his chest clearly without anything in between.
There was a knife scar on his chest muscle from years ago, and below that were his well-defined abdominal muscles. Perhaps it was the result of years of horseback riding and martial arts training, his waist and abdomen were firm, with clear and smooth lines, without a trace of excess fat.
"How much longer are you going to watch?"
Hearing his teasing voice, Huiyin's face flushed, and she turned her head away in embarrassment. This was the first time she had seen a man's body.
Pei Yu snorted softly, turned around and rummaged through the wardrobe, found a clean, plain white undergarment to put on, walked towards the low table made of poplar wood, and lazily lay back on the wolf skin.
He tapped the low table idly, flipping through the scattered bamboo slips.
Huiyin was full of doubt. She had already taken off her clothes, so why wasn't she going to do it?
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Pei Yu got up. He didn't come towards the side of the bed, but instead went to open the door wearing his loose-fitting undergarments.
Huiyin heard him instruct Sufeng to prepare water, saying that he wanted to take a bath.
She heard Su Feng's happy reply and heard his footsteps make a sound as he left.
Even if Huiyin was slow-witted, she would eventually understand: he had no romantic intentions whatsoever; he was just putting on an act. Since it was an act, why didn't he tell her directly, letting her misunderstand, just to make her laugh?
Despite her repeated warnings not to anger Pei Yu, her face flushed red. She angrily got out of bed, glared at Pei Yu who was staring at her with a sly look, and left without looking back.
The man behind him chuckled, "Why are you leaving? Can't you lie down a little longer?"
Huiyin hastily gathered her disheveled hair behind her head, lifted her skirt, and went out of the house. She turned back angrily and cursed, "Shameless!"
Pei Yu laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight, as if he had heard a joke, displaying a rare, almost childlike, unrestrained joy.
"Who is shameless, Song Huiyin? Who is waiting for me in bed?"
Huiyin was truly furious this time. She ignored him and turned to leave, just in time to run into Sufeng, who was carrying water into the courtyard.
Seeing her disheveled hair and wrinkled clothes, Su Feng quickly lowered his head, not daring to look at her anymore.
Huiyin also noticed that his expression was off. If she went back with her hair all disheveled today, the whole mansion would probably be filled with rumors that she had been kicked out by Pei Yu.
She gritted her teeth for a moment, then turned and went back into the house. She couldn't leave tonight no matter what.
Huiyin ignored his annoying face. She lay on the bed with her head up, arms outstretched, completely taking up space on the bed.
Pei Yu leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, gazing in Huiyin's direction with great interest. "You misunderstood, and now you're blaming me?"
Huiyin gritted her teeth, facing away from him, ignoring him. She had never seen such a shameless person as Pei Yu—distorting the truth, wantonly toying with him, vindictive, and utterly shameless…
A man who is good for nothing except his face.
Pei Yu stopped mocking her. He lowered his head and sniffed. After a busy day, he did have a bit of a smell on him. He then went to the bathroom to wash up.
After hearing him leave, Huiyin buried her head in the blankets in regret and wailed. How could she have been so stupid, so foolishly fooled, losing all face and dignity?
Pei Yu probably secretly mocked her for being a bastard.
Huiyin rolled around on the bed, her nose filled with the pleasant scent of soapberry.
She lay there for a while, feeling sleepy. In her hazy state, she thought that even though she had taken off her clothes, he was still unmoved, so he must really be sick.
Never mind, he's sick, I won't argue with him...
When Pei Yu finished washing up and returned to the room, Huiyin was already fast asleep. He sat down by the bed and looked at her peaceful sleeping face, recalling her angry expression earlier, and a smile appeared on his lips.
He reached out and pinched Huiyin's full cheeks; they were so soft to the touch that he couldn't bear to let them go.
Huiyin was woken up by him, her eyes still drowsy. "What's wrong?"
Pei Yu pushed her arm, "Move over a bit."
Huiyin rubbed her eyes, turned over, and made room for him.
Pei Yu lay down, placing his hands behind his head. It was still early, and he wasn't sleepy yet. He propped one leg up, staring intently at Huiyin, who was fast asleep beside him.
After a while, she seemed to feel cold, and her body unconsciously curled up, her hands groping haphazardly on the bed.
Pei Yu pulled the blankets from the corner of the bed and covered her with them. Huiyin rubbed her head against the soft blankets and fell into a deep sleep.
Huiyin is a good sleeper; after we gave her blankets, she obediently curled up there and didn't move at all.
This was Pei Yu's first time sharing a bed with a woman, and the experience wasn't too bad.
The scent of magnolia wafted over from her, exactly the same as that night at the waterside pavilion, disturbing Pei Yu's sleep and making his heart and lungs restless.
Pei Yu leaned closer, his gaze tracing from her forehead down to her lips. He stared at her intently for a long time before forcing himself to turn his back to her.
After a long while, listening to the soft breathing beside him, he gradually became sleepy.
The moonlight, like water, silently seeped through the carved window lattice, casting a hazy, clear glow on the two figures on the couch.
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