Lu Zhuo accompanied Wei Rao to stroll in the rear garden without bringing any maidservants. At this moment, there were no servants on duty in the garden either. After confirming that Wei Rao was not injured, Lu Zhuo held her hand and did not rush to get up. Instead, he kissed her even more lingeringly.
The anger Wei Rao felt from her fall was gradually kissed away by him, bit by bit.
Beside the swing frame, the bride's vibrant skirt was firmly pressed down by the groom's crimson robe. A white butterfly flew past, and the bride's embroidered shoes suddenly kicked the ground twice, startling the butterfly and causing it to fly off in another direction.
Sensing Lu Zhuo's intentions, Wei Rao bit him mercilessly.
Lu Zhuo winced in pain and finally released her. He sat up beside her, reaching out one hand to pull Wei Rao up while using the other to touch his lip—it was bleeding.
"Serves you right," Wei Rao said angrily, having also noticed the blood on his lip. She blamed him for suddenly going mad—pushing her so high on the swing and then pressing her down on the ground to act recklessly.
Lu Zhuo knew he was at fault and accepted the punishment. Seeing her lower her head to brush the dust off her skirt, he crouched down and let her tend to the upper part while he helped straighten out the hem of her skirt.
Wei Rao was taken aback, watching Lu Zhuo crouch before her, his gaze focused as he gently brushed away the dust. For no apparent reason, her anger over his earlier recklessness faded.
There was more dust on Wei Rao's back, which she couldn't see. Lu Zhuo stood behind her and carefully patted her down from head to toe.
"Is my hair messy?" Wei Rao lowered her head for him to check.
Lu Zhuo straightened the hairpin that had been knocked askew and adjusted the flattened petals of the silk flower. After another look, aside from her flushed cheeks, everything else seemed normal.
"Were you scared when you flew so high just now?" Lu Zhuo asked apologetically.
Wei Rao glared at him and said, "If you had warned me beforehand, I wouldn't have been afraid. But suddenly doing something like that—who could handle it?"
Lu Zhuo looked into her eyes, which grew more captivating the angrier she became, and explained in a low voice, "I was upset thinking about how you refused to accompany me to my post outside the capital."
Mentioning this made Wei Rao feel guilty. She sat back down on the swing and gently swayed as she said, "Of course I don't want to go. I've heard the border regions are bitterly cold—not even comparable to the capital, let alone Jincheng. You're used to living at the frontier and think it's nothing, but even the journey to Jincheng feels exhausting to me. How could I possibly be happy about going to the border?"
Lu Zhuo continued to push the swing for her, watching her profile as he said, "If your mother were at the border, would you be willing to go?"
Wei Rao understood his meaning and remained silent.
Lu Zhuo smiled bitterly. "You see? In your heart, there's still no place for me."
Wei Rao thought for a moment and said, "My mother gave birth to me and raised me for ten years. Of course, she holds a place in my heart. But what has the Young Master ever done to move me deeply? Everything you did before our marriage was merely compensation."
Lu Zhuo asked, "Then why did you marry me?"
Wei Rao married him, of course, because his other qualities were excellent—because his face was exceptionally handsome, because marrying him would bring her great prestige, because his sincerity in pursuing her was undeniable, and because he was willing to accept all her unconventional behavior. Of course, Wei Rao did not deny that Lu Zhuo's fervent pursuit had also touched her heart—it just hadn't deepened enough to make her willing to follow him to the border.
Now that Lu Zhuo asked why she had married him, Wei Rao hummed lightly and said, "Why did I marry you? Doesn't the Young Master understand? What did you do in the poplar grove? Have you forgotten so quickly?"
Lu Zhuo hadn't forgotten. From the moment she rode her horse out of the poplar grove, he had begun to recall the delight of pressing her down and kissing her."Then if I treat you well, would you be willing to accompany me to the border?"
As the swing swept back, Lu Zhuo once again moved inside the ropes, blocking the swing with his body. Resting his hands on Wei Rao's shoulders, he looked down and asked.
Wei Rao swung back and collided tightly against his legs. What made her blush and fluster was that her face happened to be positioned right opposite Lu Zhuo's waist.
She tried to push herself backward using her toes, but as soon as Lu Zhuo tugged the ropes, she swung right back into him.
When Wei Rao attempted to stand up, Lu Zhuo pressed her back onto the swing.
"You're shameless!" Wei Rao turned her face away, eyes closed, and scolded him.
The beauty's face was flushed and enchanting, her voice soft and tender, making Lu Zhuo want to be even more shameless.
Restrained by the broad daylight, Lu Zhuo suppressed his wild thoughts. Holding the ropes, he half-knelt down and asked again while looking into Wei Rao's eyes: "If I treat you well, will you come with me to the border?"
Wei Rao glanced at him and, seeing how seriously he seemed to take this matter, nodded vaguely.
We'll see, she thought. If Lu Zhuo truly proved himself worthy, she would be willing to accompany him to his official post, wherever that might be.
Lu Zhuo smiled, leaned forward, and kissed her lips.
Wei Rao guiltily glanced around before kicking his leg with her shoe tip: "Go push the swing properly this time. No more mischief."
As the red sun dipped westward, the young couple returned to their room.
The kitchen was well-acquainted with both masters' preferences. Tonight's meal was a feast for all senses, accompanied by two additional bowls of tonic soup ordered by the Duchess of Yingguo - one for Wei Rao and one for Lu Zhuo, as men and women required different nourishment.
After dinner, darkness had fallen. Lu Zhuo told Wei Rao to rest first while he went to the front courtyard.
Wei Rao breathed a sigh of relief.
She somewhat feared the night - not in the ordinary sense, but because the nighttime Lu Zhuo was domineering and forceful. If he repeated last night's performance, she wouldn't be able to handle it.
Bitao and Liuya assisted her with bathing. Just as Wei Rao settled onto the bed, Lu Zhuo returned.
Having bathed in the front courtyard, he directly dismissed the maids.
"Put out the lamps," Wei Rao demanded from within the bed curtains, seeing Lu Zhuo approach the bed.
Lu Zhuo argued reasonably: "If we extinguish them now, the maids will think we've already retired."
The implication being he had no intention of obediently going to sleep just yet.
While Wei Rao had a fiery temper, her modesty couldn't match his thickness of skin. In this aspect, she had to concede defeat. Since Lu Zhuo wouldn't listen, she took advantage of him undressing to slip into her soft-soled embroidered shoes and extinguish the two lamps on the desk. As she moved toward the remaining two lamps, Lu Zhuo stepped in front of them first.
He didn't need to speak - his phoenix eyes burning into her were enough to make Wei Rao flee back to the bed in flustered anger.
Lu Zhuo hung his robe on the clothing rack and approached wearing only his underwear.
Wei Rao lay facing away from him on the inner side of the bed, pretending nonchalance despite her tension.
Suddenly, a green willow branch dangled before her face, adorned with a string of slender young leaves.
Wei Rao's eyes widened.
"Did you really tell Grandmother that I'm as thin and soft as this willow branch?" Lu Zhuo leaned over and whispered in her ear.
Only then did Wei Rao realize he had remembered her mocking retaliation from this morning. Now that he'd brought a willow branch, what did he intend to do?
"I said no such thing! Who would discuss this with Grandmother?" Wei Rao tightened the quilt around herself, her face burning as if roasted over fire.
Lu Zhuo chuckled: "You may not have said it, but that's what you thought, which is why you mocked me with the willow branch this morning."
Wei Rao directly covered her face and ears with the quilt, refusing to listen.She held the quilt tightly above, but the sides were loose, allowing Lu Zhuo to slip in from one side. Wei Rao noticed and hurriedly tried to block and push him away, but how could her strength match his? In an instant, he had her tightly embraced in his arms, his right hand gripping hers to measure the difference between him and a willow branch.
"Now, does Raorao admit her mistake?" She shrank in his embrace, so embarrassed she wished she could burrow into his heart. Lu Zhuo gazed at her with delight, his voice hoarse as he whispered in her ear.
Wei Rao’s mind was ablaze, pretending not to hear.
Lu Zhuo pressed the willow branch into her palm again, letting her feel the contrast more clearly.
Wei Rao, annoyed, bit his shoulder.
...
In the side room, only Bitao was on night duty today.
Having slept poorly the night before and busy all day, Bitao dozed off in her chair, hoping the Young Lord and the lady would retire early tonight and not keep her waiting until midnight.
The sounds from the inner chamber gradually grew louder. Even in her drowsy state, Bitao couldn’t bear to listen and hurried out to the courtyard, covering her ears as she sat on the steps, her eyes fixed on the main room’s windows. Tonight, no candles were lit inside, and it seemed fewer lamps were burning, casting a dim and ambiguous glow.
Keeping her ears covered tired her arms, so Bitao lowered them. Concentrating, she could hear the lady’s fragmented, intermittent moans as if they struck directly at her heart.
But Bitao dared not cover her ears again, afraid she might miss if her masters called for her.
By the second watch, Lu Zhuo finally released Wei Rao. Since they had to pay respects to the Imperial Consort in the morning, he needed to conserve her energy.
The quilt had been tossed aside in a corner, and the mattress needed changing. Lu Zhuo wrapped Wei Rao in the quilt, carried her to the daybed in the side room, and called for Bitao.
Bitao entered with her head bowed, seeing the Young Lord holding a teacup to the lady’s lips as she leaned against his chest. She quickly averted her gaze and hurried into the inner chamber.
There was little to tidy on the floor. Approaching the bed, Bitao noticed a dark, damp stain on the mattress, as if tea had been spilled. Instinctively, she knew it wasn’t tea—but if not, what could it be? Sweat or tears wouldn’t leave such a mark.
Baffled, Bitao replaced the mattress with a fresh one and took away the willow branch, now bare of leaves, wondering how it had ended up there.
A young maid waited outside with a brass basin. Bitao took it inside, and after a while, the Young Lord instructed her to remove it. With that, her duties for the night were finally over.
As soon as she lay down, Bitao fell fast asleep.
Wei Rao also drifted off, but in the middle of the night, Lu Zhuo entangled himself with her again.
"You..."
"Paying respects to Her Highness isn’t like serving tea; being a little late should be fine," Lu Zhuo clasped her small hand and said.
Wei Rao avoided his lips, frowning slightly. "I’m tired. Let’s wait until tomorrow night."
Though she complained, her long eyelashes remained tightly shut, and she fell back asleep after speaking, as if certain Lu Zhuo would comply.
Lu Zhuo hesitated a moment, then lowered his head again.
Wei Rao’s murmured protests soon took on a different tone.
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