Chapter 47: Husband Looks Best Without Clothes

Liu Fuying nestled close to Pei Zhouwu, settling into his embrace.

Her smiling face seemed to carry a fragrant scent; when the breeze stirred, the fragrance grew richer, seeping into the heart and lungs, stirring a deep craving within.

Pei Zhouwu lowered his gaze, his eyes fixed intently on her face. She merely wore a faint smile, saying nothing.

Yet at this moment, her silence spoke louder than words.

Her smile was laced with seduction.

It beckoned him to quickly cup her face and offer his lips to entwine with hers in intimacy.

“A Ying,” his eyes flickered, a trace of uncontainable shyness surfacing in his expression.

The more innocent he appeared, the more amused Liu Fuying felt.

“Why do you still call me that? Shouldn’t you change how you address me, husband?”

She stared at him unblinkingly, adopting a stance that she would not relent until he said what she wanted to hear.

The cool moonlight could not conceal the redness spreading across the roots of his ears.

Slowly, he parted his lips and, under her expectant gaze, finally spoke as she wished.

“Madam, please sit properly.”

“No,” Liu Fuying clung even closer, wrapping her arms around his neck and coquettishly insisting, “I want to sit in your lap. Unless… you say one more thing…”

“Say what?”

“That you love me.” Liu Fuying brushed her fingertips against his neck, her gaze and demeanor dripping with ambiguity as she repeated, “I want to hear you say you love me.”

Heaven knew how long she had yearned to hear Pei Zhouwu whisper sweet nothings to her.

From the first time she saw him, his beauty—even the sound of his voice—had left her heart itching with desire for so long.

Now that they had reached this moment, she was determined to have her way.

“I don’t want to hear words like ‘admiration’ or ‘fondness.’ I want you to say you love me.”

Pei Zhouwu did not respond immediately. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to say it, but before this, he had never even spoken of love, let alone held a girl’s hand or dared to cast an improper glance. The current situation felt overwhelmingly intense for him.

Yet Liu Fuying’s next words quickly swayed his resolve.

“I want to know that you married me not because you felt responsible after seeing my body, but because you truly love me.”

Why was it so difficult to hear Pei Zhouwu say “I love you”?

Did she have to pierce his heart to make it happen?

“Of course it’s not just about responsibility,” Pei Zhouwu blurted out.

Her words had struck a painful chord in his heart.

If a woman married without her husband’s love, how much grievance and sorrow would she endure?

He did not want her to feel that marrying her was a reluctant act.

“Of course I love you, A Ying. I love you.”

Falling in love might happen in an instant. He didn’t know exactly when his affection for her had blossomed. He only realized he had unknowingly fallen for her on that day when he awoke from a dream after being injured and unconscious, terrified that the Glowworm Wooden Hairpin she had given him was lost. At that time, the hairpin was in Shen Xiunian’s hand, and he felt both angry and heartbroken, unwilling to let anyone else touch it for fear of tarnishing it.

“It’s just that the word ‘love’ carries such weight. I dared not utter it lightly.”

Indeed, as he spoke, his voice trembled when he said the word “love,” revealing the profound importance he placed on it.

“Love is the most precious and rare thing in this world. It should be cherished deeply in the heart, and speaking it too often feels almost like a desecration.”

He gently caressed Liu Fuying’s cheek, his fingertips carrying a tender warmth.

“But A Ying, if you wish to hear it, I can say it to you every day. I can reaffirm to you at any moment that my love for you is as unchanging as the sunset and moonrise.”

Listen, wasn’t that a beautifully spoken line of sweet talk?

Yet Liu Fuying guiltily buried herself in his embrace. Thinking of herself, then of him—he truly was a rare and noble gentleman, while she, in his presence, was undeniably a thoroughly wicked, scheming woman.

Enough.

After all this, the most important task of the night remained undone.

“Husband, tonight is our wedding night.”

“Yes.” Pei Zhouwu nodded along, not yet grasping the intent behind her words.

Liu Fuying nestled in his arms and looked up, offering a more explicit reminder: “The wedding night is also the consummation night.”

“…” Pei Zhouwu froze.

His gaze began to flicker with shyness once more. Of course he knew tonight was the night of the wedding chamber, but consummation inevitably carried the risk of pregnancy. Given their current circumstances, perhaps it wasn’t the right time for a child. They should wait a little longer…

His eyes suddenly widened in surprise.

Because the Liu Fuying in his arms had caught him off guard by pressing her lips to his.

Her bold advance left his mind blank for a moment.

Liu Fuying was unaware of his concerns. She only knew that the physician who had examined her earlier had implied, both overtly and subtly, that her health was sound and there were no obstacles to conception. In other words, as long as they performed the marital duties normally, she would surely become pregnant.

She could delay no longer.

She had vaguely overheard the guards from Shen Xiunian’s courtyard mention that Shen Xiunian would be departing on a military campaign next month.

If she only became pregnant slowly, long after he had left, then there would be no escaping the fact that the child in her womb would be considered illegitimate. Her second uncle’s family would not let her off easily.

Taking advantage of Pei Zhouwu’s unpreparedness, she pushed him down with force.

Without giving him time to react, she leaned in again and kissed him.

Her fervor made it impossible for Pei Zhouwu to resist, nor did he wish to. Instinctively, his arms wrapped tightly around her in return.

This matter was also unfamiliar to Liu Fuying.

So her actions were somewhat clumsy, yet it was precisely this clumsiness that could ignite the sparks.

Flames began to burn from Pei Zhouwu’s lips, then slowly spread outward, reaching his cheeks, earlobes, neck…

Liu Fuying carried the embers further, burning against his Adam’s apple.

A gentle bite caused Pei Zhouwu to swallow hard.

Perhaps the wildfire burned too fiercely, leaving both parched and thirsty, urgently in need of a cooling source of water.

“Husband.”

Liu Fuying gasped heavily, her exhaled breath only fanning the flames higher.

“I… I want you, husband.”

Pei Zhouwu suddenly flipped over, taking control of the wildfire into his own hands.

The flames had tousled his hair, yet it added a captivating, untamed wildness. The Glowworm Wooden Hairpin was askew in his locks, looking precarious, much like the fire between them that could no longer be restrained with calm composure.

Liu Fuying grinned, amused that Pei Zhouwu was pleasing to the eye no matter his state.

“Husband is truly handsome.”

“Is that so?” Pei Zhouwu slowly leaned down, his elbow on the ground, his palm gently stroking her hair. “Where is handsome?”

“Everywhere is handsome.”

Her hand on Pei Zhouwu’s belt gave a firm tug.

“But I think, husband would look best without any clothes on.”

“…”

The fireflies surrounding them suddenly scattered, as the bright red wedding robes were flung high into the air before drifting softly down.

The spectacle was such that even the fireflies, overcome with shyness, flew far away and hid among the reeds at the foot of the slope.

If they had hands, they would surely cover their ears tightly.

If they also had mouths that could speak, they would curse them for being shameless, carrying on so recklessly in broad daylight—things like “It hurts, be gentler”—daring to shout such things, they wouldn’t even dare to listen, and they weren’t afraid of being laughed at by the insects.

The Glowworm Wooden Hairpin in her hair was eventually shaken loose by the movement.