Chapter 93: Tempting Him
"This matter… are you in a hurry?"
Only the two of them remained in the corridor. The sky was rapidly darkening into full night, half-shrouding Yu Yeqing's tall, slender figure in somber gloom, the expression on his face turning even more distant and indifferent.
"Beloved wife?"
These two words slowly left his lips once more, laced with deeper mockery and threat.
"Lord Shao need not speak so absolutely. A marriage bond fraying to its end is no great calamity. Lord Shao has elders above and children below; surely you would not wish to risk yourself. Though the Song family matter has been closed, this case was handled by my hand. Once I return to the capital, the law requires that someone will re-examine it. Whether the outcome might change is not certain either."
Yu Yeqing stood before him, looking down at him with a condescending glare. "Do not, for a moment's pride, do something whose consequences you cannot bear. Even more so—now that the tree from your own courtyard has been transplanted elsewhere, why bother whether it has been moved to some desolate place no one cares about, or to another's courtyard where it is carefully tended? That has nothing to do with you any longer. Lord Shao, don't you agree?"
Shao Wen'ang's face alternated between pale and flushed. He forced an awkward smile. "My Lord speaks rightly."
Yu Yeqing withdrew his gaze, clasped his hands behind his back, and continued walking forward, casting a cold remark over his shoulder: "Lord Shao, please stay. No need to see me farther."
Shao Wen'ang cupped his hands in a bow, not daring to disobey. As he watched the figure gradually recede into the distance, the raging possessiveness that boiled in his blood was forcibly suppressed.
He stood rooted to the spot for a long while, not moving. No one knew how long he stood there in silence, but in the end, he turned and walked in the opposite direction.
He left the residence and had not returned even by late at night. Only when the outer gate was about to be locked did a servant come with word that he would not return tonight.
The gatekeeper reported this to Song Hemei according to procedure. She paid it no mind; she was already so drowsy she could barely keep her eyes open. She dismissed the servant and went back to sleep.
But the next day, there was still no news of his return. By the time evening fell and the sky darkened, she instead saw Chunhui leading Yu Yeqing into her courtyard.
She had been idly amusing Shao Lianzhu when she caught sight of him standing at the door. For a moment, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.
Shao Lianzhu naturally noticed him too and opened his mouth to spout some nonsense again. She quickly clamped her hand over his lips. "Don't call out nonsense."
Shao Lianzhu whimpered twice. Song Hemei lowered her voice and said to the person outside, "Why have you come?"
Yu Yeqing paused for a moment, but still, without waiting for her permission, he stepped into the room and strode slowly toward her. "Don't worry. He won't be back for several days."
Song Hemei's eyelids twitched. She knew who Yu Yeqing was referring to.
But Shao Lianzhu was still in the room. Children mimic everything—who knew if one day he would blurt out something unpredictable?
She lowered her head and looked at the child in her arms, whose round eyes were still full of innocence. She coaxed him, "Be good. Go to bed early."
Half threatening, half cajoling, she finally managed to shoo the boy out.
Her affairs were already known to Chunhui, but Suhui still had no idea. The maid stared wide-eyed, her gaze flickering between the two of them, making Song Hemei extremely uncomfortable. Fortunately, Chunhui finally gave her a push and quickly ushered her out of the room.
Once the door closed, Song Hemei glanced at the person crouching before her and couldn't help but complain, "It's over. Now that they've gone out, they're definitely going to talk about us."
Yu Yeqing reached out and took her hand. "They are your close attendants. They were bound to find out sooner or later."
Song Hemei still felt very uneasy, but looking at him, she gradually recalled what he had said earlier. "Did you find some way to get rid of Shao Wen'ang? What made you say he won't return to the residence for several days?"
Yu Yeqing's gaze shifted from her face, slowly dropping to her hand. His long fingers casually intertwined with hers, easily locking them together in a ten-finger clasp.
"I am merely an inspector; I have no authority to order him away. However, it seems he has taken the hint and left the residence to avoid disturbing us."
Song Hemei parted her lips in surprise. "What do you mean? Making room for us? What did you say to him?"
Yu Yeqing didn't raise his head. Under her questioning, he cleared his throat lightly. "I just saw that he was heading down a dead end and offered him a word of advice. Don't worry, he wouldn't dare to spread news of our affair lightly."
With their palms pressed together, Song Hemei finally came back to her senses. She tugged gently at him. "Didn't I tell you to be careful? Don't cause more trouble in these few days… but it's fine. If you say I can trust you, then I do."
Her voice was very soft, like a warm current spreading through every limb and bone, seeping into the tip of her heart. She felt both satisfied and hollow—savoring his trust yet finding it insufficient. She wanted more, something else, enough to fill that emptiness.
A faint smile lingered at the corner of his lips. He stared at her fingertips for a long moment without speaking, making the hand she felt he was staring at seem to grow warm. She shook it gently, drawing his gaze back to her face.
"Did you come all this way just to tell me that?"
"Yes and no." Yu Yeqing met her bright eyes. "I wanted to see you. Now that we no longer need to worry about others, I wanted to come find you as quickly as possible."
His stare made her heart pound. She felt his words were too direct, yet they truly made her ears burn with heat.
Her gaze roamed randomly, landing on the official documents in his other hand. She was both drawn to them and eager to ease her embarrassment. "What are you holding?"
Yu Yeqing held it up before her. "There are some things I still need to review, but I was in a hurry to see you, so I had to bring them here."
Song Hemei felt a little helpless.
So clingy…
She gently let go of his hand, smiled, and gave him a push. "Then go and look at them quickly. Finish it up so that—"
She stopped mid-sentence, caught by his straightforward, sincere gaze. The rest of her words felt too shy to say. So she simply repeated, "Go on. I'll lend you my desk."
Song Hemei pulled him to his feet. He obeyed without resistance, following her lead, walking wherever she guided him until she finally pressed him down into the armchair by the desk.
She stared at the documents in his hand. "Can I look?"
Yu Yeqing didn't hide anything. He spread them out directly in front of her. "It's just a map of Pingzhou. Nothing secret."
Song Hemei nodded and casually pulled a round stool over to sit beside him.
Outside, there was still a faint remnant of daylight, but inside the room, candles had already been lit—originally to protect Shao Lianzhu's eyes. Now, however, they illuminated the map on the desk clearly.
Song Hemei had grown up in Changzhou and had visited Pingzhou once in her youth. Because it bordered Northern Wei, there were many Tuoba merchants selling cattle and sheep, but beyond that, she knew little.
She sat beside Yu Yeqing, partly because she found him clingy and wanted to be close to him herself, and partly because she recalled what her mother had said about "adding fragrance to the red sleeves."
Her mother had influenced her a great deal. Most of her fantasies about married life came from her mother's words: a husband reading by candlelight late into the night, his wife standing in attendance—nothing could be more intimate.
When she was young and alone under the lamplight, she had once imagined her future husband to be Shao Wen'ang. At the tender age of first love, everything could be linked to romance. Now that she truly had this opportunity, she couldn't help but recall those old memories.
But standing attendance? She didn't want that. Still, seeing the already-dried inkstone, she reached out for the inkstick, thinking she could at least grind ink for him herself.
But as soon as her hand stretched out, Yu Yeqing noticed and caught her wrist. "No need. I'll do it myself."
He pulled her hand over and held it in his other hand, then picked up the inkstick, added water, and began grinding.
His gaze was earnest, with no hint of seeking praise for not letting her do the work. Song Hemei watched his handsome profile and felt her heart beat even faster.
She swallowed and leaned lightly against his shoulder. She could clearly feel his body stiffen.
"What? Am I that heavy?"
"…No." Yu Yeqing's voice was slightly husky.
As the words left his mouth, he seemed to realize something and cleared his throat twice to steady it. "If you're tired, go rest. You don't have to sit here with me."
Song Hemei pursed her lips, finding him terribly unromantic. "No need. You do your reading. Don't mind me."
Yu Yeqing paused, glanced at her again, and seeing that she wasn't angry, returned his attention to the desk.
He read and took notes. Song Hemei glanced at it a couple of times but didn't look closely. The flickering candlelight gradually drew her full attention to the person beside her.
Her gaze slid from his high, straight nose bridge down to his Adam's apple, then to his chest, his lean, powerful waist, and further down… to his long legs hidden beneath his robes.
She had never thoroughly studied every part of his body, and at this moment, she felt a pang of regret. That day when she bathed, she had been too busy feeling shame to take a good look. In her mind, there were only a few fleeting images she had caught inadvertently.
Now, overlapping with the body before her, there was a sense of being half-covered, half-revealed, making her even more eager to explore.
Whether her gaze was too obvious or not, Yu Yeqing eventually noticed. He turned his head to look at her. "What's wrong?"
His expression was too serious—so serious that she felt her earlier thoughts were terribly lewd.
Song Hemei swallowed, also put on a straight face, and looked at him with exaggerated seriousness. "This matter of yours… is it urgent?"
Yu Yeqing thought for a moment. "Not really. I'll be done in about half a quarter-hour."
Song Hemei nodded solemnly. "Then finish it up. You can stay here and look at it alone."
For a moment, Yu Yeqing didn't understand her meaning. He stared at her blankly.
Song Hemei leaned closer to him, her long lashes fluttering, her voice dropping low and soft. "Since you came looking for me, and you've entered my room, surely you didn't come just to see me and then leave, did you?"
Yu Yeqing's breath caught. The hand she placed on his chest could feel the taut tension of his body.
She decided to hesitate no longer. She reached out and pushed the items on the desk aside, then sat up on the desk itself, looking down at him from above.
Beside them, the candle flame danced in the depths of his eyes. Her reflection shimmered in his dark, ink-black pupils.
Truly enticing… She did not hesitate any further. Leaning down, she pressed her lips directly to his.
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