Chapter 4: Wash It for Me to See.
Coincidentally, just as the sterility decoction was brought in, Little Cat also returned.
Zhao Rongzhang was quite curious. She sniffed the medicine from Ming Luo’s hand—this dark, murky liquid actually had a cloyingly sweet fragrance. Ming Luo said the formula was a folk remedy; the effects of one bowl lasted at most three days. To be safe, it was best to administer it every time.
Zhao Rongzhang thought about how she was now under house arrest—even getting a piece of meat was difficult, let alone gathering so many medicinal herbs. Silently, she decided not to waste a single day within these three days; she would thoroughly purge this month’s heat toxin all at once.
Behind the screen, steam rose from the bathtub, scattered with several kinds of flower petals, leaving the already sparse courtyard even more bare.
When Little Cat was summoned, Zhao Rongzhang frowned. She caught a strong scent of blood on him.
Zhao Rongzhang approached him, circling him for a look. It turned out his shoulder had been pierced. The bleeding had already stopped, and a large patch of fabric on his left chest was stained and damp—it seemed he had washed it himself.
“Who injured you? Was your face seen?”
“Master. No.”
“Master?” Zhao Rongzhang paused for a moment, then scoffed. “You have no master. You only have me.”
Little Cat blinked thoughtfully, then gestured again, clawing at his cheeks with both hands to indicate the man with the long beard.
Ren Ping.
“Is the Xie boy dead?”
“Dead.”
Zhao Rongzhang nodded and sat down on a nearby bench.
“You didn’t expose your tracks, did you? Ren Ping’s Tracking Powder is notorious in the martial world. Since he managed to injure you, he couldn’t have failed to sprinkle that powder on the weapon.”
Little Cat shook his head, spreading the arrowhead that had pierced his shoulder on his palm, then touching the bloody hole in his left shoulder. “The flesh that touched the powder was all cut away. I took a Trace-Revealing Pill and didn’t smell any scent on me.”
Zhao Rongzhang relaxed her brow, swinging her legs leisurely as she picked up a pastry to eat.
The fact that the cat could obtain a Trace-Revealing Pill showed he was both clever and capable. Stealing such a thing from Ren Ping was akin to venturing into a tiger’s den to steal its cub. Never mind—the one who deserved to die was dead, and she hadn’t lost her little weapon. She had achieved a complete victory this time. From now on, she wouldn’t let Little Cat out again; neither Ren Ping nor Zhao Jue could do anything to her. It would be best to drive Zhao Jue mad, forcing him to make some irrational decisions—that could change her current completely passive situation.
Thinking of Zhao Jue’s furious declaration that if Guan Xuan wasn’t captured, Ren Ping would be severely punished, Zhao Rongzhang felt immensely pleased. Punish him, punish him, punish him harshly. After punishing him, who else could he use? Who could compare to Ren Ping? And Ren Ping was nothing special either.
“Take off your clothes.”
Guan Xuan’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. The Princess was indeed looking at him; the words were directed at him. Guan Xuan placed the arrowhead into a clasp inside his wrist guard, then removed the guard. Each of the two wrist guards concealed twelve Secretly Forged Ultimate Weapons, each unique and sharp—once drawn from the sleeve, someone would surely die. Since he had received these wrist guards, he had hardly ever taken them off. Now, suddenly removing them, he felt a strange unease. Guan Xuan thought for a moment, then bent down and placed them carefully by his feet.
He continued undressing, removing each piece of clothing and folding it neatly by his feet. He had no strange attachment to his clothes; usually, he would destroy one set and burn another. Once his upper body was bare, Guan Xuan stood with his eyes lowered.
The cat’s skin was dazzlingly pale. Zhao Rongzhang sipped her tea. “Continue.”
Little Cat hesitated for a moment, then slowly continued. First came the soap-stained boots, followed by the hidden sheath strapped to his leg. The hem of his garment slipped down, and soon only plain white undergarments remained.
Zhao Rongzhang approached again to observe. Narrow waist, full chest, thick arms, and long, straight legs. What was precious was his skin, cold and pale as snow, yet the areas that should have been flushed were tenderly pink as if brushed with rouge.
What lay hidden beneath the plain white fabric—what color would it be? Watching the cat’s fingers subtly twisting the fabric, he actually seemed to possess a sense of shame. Zhao Rongzhang remarked playfully, “Remove the mask. Take everything off.”
The cat’s gem-like beautiful eyes remained calm and downcast. He obediently removed the mask, placing it atop the folded clothes, then removed his undergarments.
The Princess stared at the cat’s body, her gaze shifting several times in the candlelight.
“Wash for me.”
The Princess had the cat enter the water.
Many vibrant, beautiful, and fragrant flower petals. The waterline rose over the dry flesh, and the cat’s attention was drawn to these petals. He curiously and carefully gathered them in his palm, squeezing them gently. The Princess rested her chin on the edge of the tub, also watching him with curiosity.
The bathtub was too small for him; his legs had to be bent at the knees, leaving both knees exposed above the water. Sensing the Princess’s gaze upon him, the cat quickly withdrew his attention. He splashed water on his face, and his fair complexion was instantly flushed red from the rubbing.
He then washed his neck, shoulders, and chest. Wherever he washed, it turned red. The wound was still seeping blood, and he dug into it, washing it again. Then came his waist, abdomen, and legs. Every part was washed clean and meticulously.
He thought it would end here, but when he lifted his gaze, he saw the Princess still watching, her interest growing even stronger. If she wanted to see, he could not avoid it.
He looked at the flower petals and quietly began, his hand moving beneath the water to scrub. He had only just started when a copper ladle suddenly parted the petals. The cat looked up at the Princess holding the ladle. His expression was one of surprise and sorrow—the first time the Princess had seen such a significant shift in his demeanor.
The Princess found him particularly intriguing at this moment, akin to hearing that some household’s beast actually possessed emotions. She looked at his eyes, then at what lay beneath. The cat’s expression returned to its gentle calm.
His movements were methodical; even in handling himself, he was meticulous and strict, leaving no small crease unattended. The Princess watched with fascination, her gaze lingering longer and longer, occasionally stirring the ladle to push aside the gathered petals. The cat’s eyelashes fluttered more and more frequently. She witnessed his transformation firsthand and remarked, “You’re rising.”
The cat’s brows furrowed slightly. He suddenly felt pain, finding it difficult to continue washing, yet he had no choice. The cat had seen many animals, insects, and birds roaming the mountains and fields, driven by their bodies into heat and mating, just as he was now. He was not like this, but ultimately, he had become this way.
It was done. The cat told the Princess.
The Princess pointed to the medicinal brew nearby.
The cat held the cold, bitter medicine, looking at his reflection in the bowl as he drank it sip by sip. Zhao Rongzhang stood behind him, looking down at the cat’s obedient demeanor, finding it somewhat endearing. Her fingertips played ambiguously with his hair.
After stepping out of the bathtub, the cat followed the Princess’s instructions, kneeling to spread out the velvet rug. Just as it was laid out, the barefoot maiden stepped onto it, slowly walking to stand before him and crouching down.
Guan Xuan recalled that summer when the air was fresh and raindrops stung his eyelids. Through the thick curtain of rain, he looked up and saw the Princess sitting beneath the corridor, watching him.
The young girl reached out and grabbed his chest. The cat’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. She seemed to enjoy the sensation, giving it a squeeze, then kneading it vigorously. The cat was pushed down, his body subjected to her childish torment.
Before him was the coffered ceiling formed by crisscrossing wooden beams, adorned with colorful paintings, gold leaf, cloud patterns, Western lotus motifs, and eight auspicious symbols… Azure, green, vermilion, and gold intertwined into magnificent and splendid scenes. The candlelight couldn’t reach the far end, so he couldn’t see clearly, but he thought it must be beautiful.
Pink and fragile, pinched between her fingers and rubbed, the cat’s breath hitched as his neck was grasped.
Zhao Rongzhang never imagined he would look so captivating from this angle. His chest was tender, pale, and soft, his collarbones straight as if meticulously carved, and the line of his neck, when slightly tensed, resembled the elegant curve of a crane’s neck. She was dazzled, unable to take it all in—admiring one part, then another, wanting to knead his chest muscles while also toying with his neck.
Especially since this cat usually wore an expressionless, dull, and clumsy look, as bland as a pond with barely a ripple and as uninteresting as a stiff piece of wood. But when she played with him, the rise and fall of his chest changed, the Adam’s apple rolled beneath her palm, and his face took on richer expressions. What could be more entertaining than this?
Zhao Rongzhang stroked his face, smiling brightly. “Undress for me.”
The cat withdrew his gaze from the dazzling yet blurring paintings and obediently looked toward the Princess’s soft abdomen. He raised his arm, his fingers settling on the small of her back, trying to recall where the inner sash of her robe was. Last night, when he had attended to her undressing, he had performed poorly—unable to untie the knot properly or tie it back. The Princess had fallen asleep as he fumbled with the knot and forgotten about it upon waking, or else she wouldn’t have been so pleased with him.
He struggled for a while without success, and the Princess frowned. Guan Xuan blinked, quickening his movements, only to have his hand suddenly seized by the Princess.
Guan Xuan lifted his dark, moist, wide eyes to meet the Princess’s gaze. The Princess said with a smile, “With such clever hands, can you really fail to manage a simple sash after several attempts?”
Yet when wielding weapons or killing, he was skilled and precise, never displaying such clumsiness or awkwardness. She guided his hand, loosened the double knot, slipped into the gauzy nightgown, and pulled out the soft silk.
With the silk removed, Guan Xuan’s abdomen pressed directly against a warm, damp softness. His hand still rested cautiously at her waist, but the Princess released his fingers and instead cupped his face.
Guan Xuan met her gaze even more uncertainly. Both of the Princess’s palms were soft and gentle, much like her gaze. Guan Xuan suddenly realized how unusually intimate they were at this moment. He had assumed this coupling would begin quickly and end just as swiftly, during which he only needed to maintain sufficient arousal. Now, these extra moments of eye contact and touch left him surprised and bewildered.
The Princess traced his eyebrows, eyes, lips, and nose. Unexpectedly, compared to those fragile areas, he seemed even less able to endure being touched here, unable to resist lowering his eyes and turning away. As he turned, a delicate, blushing ear was revealed.
Zhao Rongzhang’s heart grew increasingly restless. She caught the pretty ear and toyed with it.
“Cat ears,” she murmured, delighted by his reactions, finding him more adorable the more she looked. “Lick them thoroughly for me.”
The princess lifted her knee and moved closer, her hand sliding upward to cradle his head with its thick black hair. That soft warmth paused briefly at his throat before settling over his mouth and nose. His straight nose pressed into it, his cool lips meeting the seam behind, as hot, moist breaths surged in one after another, irregular and frantic, replaced by an even more unusual dampness.
This pressure made it hard for Little Cat to breathe properly. Veins bulged at his temples, the skin on either side of his bridge of his nose flushed pink from suffocation, and his eyes were half-lidded, slightly dazed. Even so, he remained obedient, neither struggling nor resisting, only gasping desperately for air, looking up at her with utmost submission.
Zhao Rongzhang loved this feeling too much, a lightness rising throughout her body. She loved him even more like this, tenderly stroking his head again and again.