Four Seasons Brocade – CH 140

Chapter 140 ☆、

Ah Wu’s face was so red it could drip cherry blossoms. She bit her pink lips and said, “No, you did not kick me anywhere.” Then she quickly added, seemingly trying to cover it up, “Your Highness kicked the blanket.”

Chu Mao did not speak, and Ah Wu, like a turtle, assumed he believed her. Then she quickly scurried into her own blanket, curled up in a ball facing inward, pretending nothing had happened. But then she heard a sound behind her—Chu Mao getting out of bed.

Ah Wu turned around and saw Chu Mao walking towards the table, pouring himself a cup of cold tea from the teapot, and drinking it all in one gulp.

“Your Highness, please do not drink cold tea. There’s warm tea in the tea barrel. Just call Yong-Mei and Yi-Mei, who are on night watch outside, to come in and serve you,” Ah Wu said with concern.

Chu Mao’s back stiffened slightly. He did not turn to look at her but said in a slightly curt tone, “Go to sleep first; do not worry about me.”

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If Ah Wu had even the slightest understanding of men’s affairs, she would have complied and continued pretending to be asleep. But she had never considered Chu Mao in that direction.

In fact, this was not Ah Wu’s fault. Chu Mao possessed a deceptively beautiful face; to put it nicely, he was refined and otherworldly, even possessing an air of otherworldly grace. No one would associate him with eating, drinking, defecating, or “doing” sex.

Even if His Highness Prince Qi had a full and perhaps even impressive physique, in Ah Wu’s eyes, he was just like a eunuch, utterly devoid of any romantic or lustful thoughts. And in the future, during Emperor Zheng Yuan’s ascetic reign, the occasional acts of “procreation” would be something Ah Wu would be too ashamed to even glance at.

However, Ah Wu observed that Emperor Zhengyuan usually returned from the west wing, where he favored his concubines, within a quarter of an hour, so she simply assumed he had gone for some fresh air. She did not think of it as anything lewd. Moreover, after the birth of the Crown Prince, Chu Mao never again visited any concubines in his remaining life, so Ah Wu was even less inclined to believe he would have any needs.

In fact, Ah Wu was not entirely ignorant about childbirth and men’s needs. She knew that childbirth involved intercourse with a man, and she knew the specific actions and locations involved. The location had already been mentioned, so she would not repeat it. As for the actions, Lady Cui said shyly that Ah Wu only needed to lie down. Lady Cui glossed over these details, but there was one point she emphasized:

That was, one must never indulge a man. “You are still young; you need to take care of your health. You are newly married, so he might be a bit more capable. Do not just give in to his every whim. If you keep things ambiguous, he might get even more excited. But you cannot control him too much either, otherwise he will turn around and find someone else, and you will have no one to complain to. In short, you need to find the right balance yourself.” These were Lady Cui’s exact words.

Ah Wu considered herself a person of good judgment and ability to maintain boundaries, so she was not worried. Regarding Chu Mao’s needs, Ah Wu might have had some initial doubts, but after these past few months, she completely trusted Chu Mao’s integrity.

Therefore, she only felt that Lady Cui’s words were hesitant and untruthful. Of course, Ah Wu did not suspect that Lady Cui would harm her, but she could not help but think that Lady Cui was simple-minded, not well-educated, and did not think things through. So, she could only take Lady Cui’s experience-based conclusions with a grain of salt and not take them too seriously.

After all that rambling, let’s get back to the point. Ah Wu never believed Chu Mao would have any male needs. Or rather, subconsciously, she thought Chu Mao was pure and upright, untainted by worldly concerns. As for the likes of Master Rong and Rong Yin, they were just vulgar men, not worth mentioning.

When Chu Mao got out of bed to pour himself some tea, Ah Wu felt she genuinely cared for him, worried that drinking cold tea in the dead of winter would upset his stomach. And Chu Mao’s refusal to have anyone serve him was probably because his clothes were disheveled.

Today, Ah Wu had dutifully cooked noodles and, unusually, received praise from Chu Mao. For a moment, she was captivated by this “dutifulness” and quickly threw off the covers and got out of bed, not even bothering to put on her shoes. Fortunately, the floor was covered with a dark-colored, gold-embroidered, auspicious-shaped rug, so it was not too cold.

Ah Wu quickly walked over, took some hot tea from the nearby tea container, poured a cup, and handed it to Chu Mao. “Your Highness, it’s better to drink hot tea.”

Chu Mao did not move, only glancing sideways at Ah Wu, his gaze sweeping over her chest, before taking the teacup and drinking it all in one gulp.

Ah Wu was truly clever at this moment. If it were anyone else feeling guilty, they might have slumped over, wishing their breasts could recede. But Ah Wu did not. She feigned composure, even deliberately puffing out her chest.

The unique fragrance of a young girl easily wafted to Chu Mao’s nose at such close range. Although nothing was revealed beneath the soft, high-necked undergarment, it was enough to inspire fantasies of those pair of jade-like breasts.

And Ah Wu unconsciously puffed out her chest. This innocent yet alluring gesture made even the heavens plead for Prince Qi.

“Go to sleep first; I cannot sleep yet,” Chu Mao said, then turned and went to the south window, took a book from the small table, held it on his lap, and looked at the motionless Ah Wu.

Ah Wu noticed that Chu Mao’s ears were slightly red and his voice was a little hoarse, wondering if he had also caught a chill. However, judging from Chu Mao’s tone, he seemed restless, and she did not know why. But today had been too eventful: the Longqing Emperor’s indifference, the anniversary of his birth mother’s death, and his own birthday—all enough to unsettle him.

Such things could not be persuaded by others; she could only let him be alone for a while and think things through. Therefore, Ah Wu did not follow him. She simply stood there, head slightly bowed, somewhat timidly.

This was a very clever tactic. Taking herself as an example, if she was upset and disliked noisy concern and tried to shoo someone away, but they turned and left without hesitation, she would feel resentful. Humans were strange like that. Therefore, she had to stay put and agonize for a while, letting Chu Mao feel her sincerity before she could move on.

The chill finally reached her feet. Ah Wu unconsciously covered her left instep with her right foot, her peach-petal-like toes curling slightly.

“Did you not catch a cold? Go to sleep quickly. I do not need any servants here,” Chu Mao said, raising his voice.

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Ah Wu increasingly sensed his impatience and could only curtsy on the spot, “Your Highness, please take care of your health.” With that, she went to bed. Although there was a heated floor, it was still the dead of winter, and standing in just an undergarment was still a bit chilly.

In the lamplight, Chu Mao did not know why he did not simply sit in the side room or perhaps in Bingxue Forest or the Shuangjian Tower; instead, he chose to sit on the couch in the inner room. The quiet room was filled with the scent of his mistress.

A moment later, Chu Mao blew out the lamp and went back to bed.

In the darkness, Ah Wu heard Chu Mao say, “Consort Xiang is right; I should have a child.”

Ah Wu’s back stiffened. If Chu Mao had not said this to her but instead impregnated another woman, Ah Wu would have been overjoyed. But in today’s atmosphere, Ah Wu could only pretend to be asleep, her breathing tightening, her limbs stiff.

Although Ah Wu rationally felt that Chu Mao’s words were the greatest reward for her many days of painstaking efforts, she still felt a chill run down her spine and dared not even think in that direction.

Although Lady Cui also hoped that Ah Wu could give birth to a legitimate son for Chu Mao, her own daughter was ultimately more important. So, during her last visit to her parents’ home, Lady Cui specifically pulled Ah Wu aside to speak, telling her that she was too young and should not have children too early; otherwise, the process of childbirth would be extremely dangerous. When she gave birth to Rong Jie, she had narrowly escaped death.

Ah Wu nodded in agreement. Firstly, she valued her own life, and secondly, she had never truly considered consummating her marriage.

But tonight, Chu Mao’s words truly shocked Ah Wu. She had initially guessed that Chu Mao was delaying having a child because he feared that failure would implicate innocent children and therefore wanted to wait until things were settled before continuing the bloodline. However, now it seemed that was not the case.

Ah Wu could not help but wonder if she had performed too well, to the point that Chu Mao felt compelled to “reward” her in this way.

After much deliberation, Ah Wu realized that if Chu Mao insisted on involving her, she could not refuse. Otherwise, her future plans would be ruined, let alone her pleading for the Imperial Princess and her two elder brothers.

Ah Wu took a deep breath and slowly turned to Chu Mao, timidly whispering, “I am still young. The nanny said that getting pregnant too early, even with a smooth delivery, will harm my body.” And if she could not give birth smoothly, that would be even worse. Ah Wu did not know what kind of impression this “truth” would leave on Chu Mao, and she anxiously looked at him.

In the darkness, Chu Mao’s eyes shone like black gemstones, so bright they sent a chill down one’s spine. He simply said, “That’s true. I did not think things through.”

Ah Wu kicked the blanket at her feet in frustration. The situation she had finally managed to get going had been ruined by her own actions. But she really had to blame Chu Mao for bringing up the topic of having children in the first place. Aside from sexual intercourse and the subsequent childbirth, she would be willing to go through fire and water for Chu Mao.

Unfortunately, Chu Mao did not give her a chance to prove herself.

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Ah Wu stretched her snow-white neck, displaying a kind of heroic bravado as if she were awaiting her fate. “If Your Highness needs a legitimate son, I am willing.” Tears silently streamed down Ah Wu’s face.

“I will not gamble with your life.”

Chu Mao’s words instantly relieved Ah Wu’s worries. She could tell there was no perfunctoriness or anger in his tone; his simple words alone possessed a power that made Ah Wu believe in him.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Ah Wu sincerely whispered her thanks; a huge weight lifted from her heart. She felt that with Chu Mao’s words, her innocence would be preserved. Relaxed, Ah Wu could not help but sneeze.

“Sleep now.” Chu Mao tucked the blanket around Ah Wu.