Free Web NovelChapter 105: Chapter 105: Unfastening His Armor and Outer Robe
The hot juice scalded the tip of her tongue, forcing her to swallow the meat whole without tasting any of its flavor.
Ji Qingwu’s cheeks puffed out like a little pufferfish, her rosy lips forming a small "o" as she blew out short breaths of air.
Emperor Wu Su said in a low voice, "Give it to me."
Ji Qingwu grumbled to herself, ’Didn’t he say it was for me? Why did he change his mind in the blink of an eye?’
She reluctantly handed over the still-scalding roasted meat. He took it and placed it on the left side of his large desk.
Then, he went back to intently reading the military treatise in his hands.
Ji Qingwu’s heart was practically bleeding. ’If it sits there any longer, it’ll get cold, and the taste will be ruined.’
Kneeling beside him, she scooted a little closer.
Emperor Wu Su glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw her lips, shiny and moist, still glistening with grease.
Had it been anyone else, sidling up to the Emperor with such a greasy mouth would have been met with a glare and a swift dismissal.
But the heart has its favorites.
Emperor Wu Su set down his military treatise. Frowning, he picked up a clean handkerchief and began to wipe her lips.
It was likely His Majesty the Emperor’s first time performing such a service. He wiped her mouth as if he were polishing an inanimate vase, devoid of any tenderness.
The corners of Ji Qingwu’s mouth began to ache from his rough rubbing. She tilted her head back to avoid his hand.
Emperor Wu Su grabbed the nape of her neck. "What are you dodging for? If it’s dirty, it needs to be wiped clean."
"But it hurts a little..."
Emperor Wu Su said, "It didn’t hurt when you were eating, but now a little touch hurts?"
Beneath the handkerchief, Ji Qingwu’s large, watery eyes looked up at him resentfully. "Isn’t it your fault... It’s still swollen."
’If her lips and tongue hadn’t been ravaged earlier, they wouldn’t have become so sensitive and fragile, and she wouldn’t have been so easily burned by the roasted meat.’
Hearing her say this, Emperor Wu Su’s expression did not change.
But his touch grew noticeably gentler. Ji Qingwu stopped dodging, though she still offered an occasional pointer, telling him to be a little lighter.
「Outside the tent.」
Having finished his task and on his way to report, Wei Chi Lianping heard a sweet, feminine voice speaking from inside.
He stopped in his tracks. ’A woman in the Emperor’s tent?’
As he listened closely to the conversation, his expression turned peculiar.
’Something about eating... getting messy and needing a wipe...’
’It hurts with just a touch?’
’Still swollen?’
Then he heard a "Be gentler" that sounded like the mewing of a kitten.
Wei Chi Lianping shuddered and hastily took a huge step back.
He smacked his own head. ’What awful timing! I almost ruined His Majesty’s fun. Good thing I’m quick on my feet.’
’If I interrupt Emperor Wu Su now, I’ll be in for a world of hurt. I’ll be packed off to the Northern Border Army immediately. Then how could I shamelessly hang around Princess Hua Chang?’
’Still, this Miss Ji’s stamina is something else.’
Earlier, the supervising guards had tallied the game from the hunt. Ji Qingwu had an impressive haul; on an individual basis, she would have been the top-ranked woman. However, Princess Consort Wei’s group had a higher total count, so they were temporarily in the lead.
After the hunt, Ji Qingwu had saved Princess Qingyun, then gone through that ordeal by the cliff. Any ordinary woman would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago, but here she was, right back to "drilling."
From his perspective as a soldier, Wei Chi Lianping had to admire Miss Ji’s endurance.
Duan Mingfeng, standing guard nearby, saw Wei Chi Lianping standing motionless at the entrance of the main tent, his expression flickering—one moment looking grim and troubled, the next showing a hint of glee.
Duan Mingfeng walked up and said, "The Emperor has returned to the tent. He’s inside. He just asked if the Great General was back."
Wei Chi Lianping hastily pulled him back. Not understanding, Duan Mingfeng mistook the action for a warning about an assassin. He immediately drew the Soft Sword from his waist and scanned his surroundings warily.
"General Wei Chi, have you discovered something amiss?"
"Shh!"
Wei Chi Lianping put a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.
Then, he said mysteriously, "If anyone else comes to disturb the Emperor tonight, Lord Xiao Duan, you must stop them."
Duan Mingfeng asked, confused, "Why?"
"No reason. Just know that I wouldn’t lead you astray, Lord Xiao Duan."
Wei Chi Lianping’s words were vague. Duan Mingfeng frowned; he smelled the scent of blood on the wind.
His gaze swept over Wei Chi Lianping as he asked in a low voice, "Great General, are you injured?"
"A minor injury, it’s nothing." Wei Chi Lianping nonchalantly lifted his right leg.
If Duan Mingfeng wasn’t mistaken, there were several scratch marks on the man’s upper thigh. The deepest one was haphazardly wrapped with a torn strip of cloth to stop the bleeding.
One look at the wound made it clear it had been caused by the sharp claws of a wild beast.
Duan Mingfeng asked speculatively, "Was this from a beast in the forest?"
Wei Chi Lianping nodded. "Guess what the grand prize from the Imperial Household for this hunt is?"
"A wolf? Or maybe a leopard?"
"Nope. A black bear." Wei Chi Lianping continued, "Somehow it wandered over here from the men’s hunting grounds. The little beast dared to act tough with me, so I gave it a few good punches, knocked it out cold, and dragged it back."
So that thing the guards were carrying under a black cloth was actually a black bear.
’In this world,’ Duan Mingfeng thought, ’only General Wei Chi could talk about fighting a black bear as casually as if he were hunting rabbits and pheasants.’
Wei Chi Lianping raised his eyebrows. "The black bear is in that iron cage. Lord Xiao Duan, want to go take a look?"
"No, thank you." Duan Mingfeng tried to return to his post.
Wei Chi Lianping glanced back at the tent, then grabbed Lord Xiao Duan’s arm and forcibly dragged him away, insisting he see the black bear he had hunted.
「Inside the tent.」
By the time he finished wiping her mouth, the roasted meat was no longer scalding hot.
Emperor Wu Su pushed the plate back in front of Ji Qingwu.
"Eat."
Ji Qingwu didn’t hold back. She picked up a large piece and popped it into her mouth. The temperature was perfect.
But as she ate, she realized something was off. The Emperor had just wiped her mouth clean, only to have her immediately start eating again... freewebnσvel.cѳm
’Didn’t that mean he wiped it for nothing? Is he going to have to do it all over again in a moment?’
But eating was more important for now. Once Ji Qingwu had eaten to her heart’s content, she looked up and was startled to find Li Yuzong had appeared before her as if from thin air. On the tray he held was a set of long, slate-blue robes with an Xiu Bamboo pattern and a wide, dark-green border.
Emperor Wu Su set down the military treatise he was halfway through, stood up, and walked closer.
Li Yuzong’s eyes were fixed on Ji Qingwu.
She looked back, confused.
Seeing that she didn’t understand his hint, Li Yuzong said, "Miss Ji, the Emperor usually has Palace Attendants to help him change. Since there are no attendants present now, I must ask you to help this old servant with a favor."
’That’s normal,’ she thought. ’Even noble families have servants to help them dress, to say nothing of the Emperor.’
Full and well-rested, Ji Qingwu didn’t waste words. She walked right up to him, unfastened his thin white armor, and draped it over a screen.
Then, she unfastened his deep black, collarless outer robe with its horseshoe cuffs.
