Chapter 39

TN: NSFW - This chapter contains scenes of scenes of se*ual nature. Reader discretion advised.

Speechless, I stared at the women, feeling like someone had poured cold water on my head.

"Furen?" The Steward looked at me for guidance.

I asked, "Where were the mansion's newcomers settled in the past?"

He replied, "When the Lord was in Luoyang, Madam Wu was in charge. She placed the new unassigned maids in the northern courtyard wing, and the concubines in another vacant courtyard."

Oh? Since they were sent here, and with no instructions from Wei Tan, I would naturally treat them as maids. Yet, these women were all finely dressed, not meant to be servants. The Steward hadn't dared to offend them by assigning them the North courtyard. And he feared offending me by treating them as concubines.

Though unhappy at first, my mood changed.

"Settle them in a large vacant courtyard," I instructed the Steward, smiling virtuously.

He agreed and escorted the women away.

When A'Yuan pushed open the door, a faint odor of alcohol greeted me.

"Fetch the sobering soup," I told her.

She responded and walked away. I entered, closing the door behind me.

On the bed in the inner room, Wei Tan laid sprawled on his back, motionless, still wearing his outer robe.

I had no place to vent my anger; the man slept like a dead pig. Was he doing this on purpose? Was he retaliating against me by making me unable to scold him? Or was he testing my virtue?

I inhaled a deep breath, trying to calm my mood.

Of course, I modeled virtue. I wasn't angry, and I wouldn't fight because of a few women. Not only would I not fuss, but I'll feed them well too. Flatter Wei Tan every day by asking, "Where is Fujun staying tonight? Concubine Cui in the West courtyard seems pitiful and unique. To be fortunate......"

As I imagined, a sudden fighting spirit filled me.

That's it. I breathed deeply again, clenching my fist.

When I turned around, I froze in fear, my heart skipping a beat.

I didn't realize Wei Tan had opened his eyes and was staring at me from the bed.

"You make a thousand different expressions when you are alone, Furen," he smiled, his gaze sober and amused.

When A'Yuan brought in the sobering soup, she froze at seeing Wei Tan sitting on the bed drinking tea.

I said, "Put it on the table."

She agreed, brought the soup forward, and withdrew, closing the door behind her.

"Fujun, have this sobering soup." Although he had pretended to be drunk, I guessed he had drunk a lot from the smell of wine on him.

"No need," he replied, holding the teacup. "Furen's tea is enough."

His words sounded flattering, but I wasn't that easy to please.

I smiled: "Was the wine at Governor Zhou's not to your liking?"

He raised his eyebrows and looked at me: "Governor Zhou was very generous, and kept serving an endless stream of wine, one cup after another. If I hadn't pretended to be drunk, I couldn't have gotten away so early."

I added more tea to his cup: "Since Governor Zhou had good intentions, why didn't you stay and drink more?"

He smiled: "Furen instructed me to come back earlier. How dare I disobey?"

I stared at him, tongue-tied.

I had to admit that this military man had smooth talking skills; he used my own words to block me. I returned his smile: "Oh? Since Fujun only pretended to be drunk, you should have settled the beauties gifted by Governor Zhou when you returned home."

He calmly replied, "Those people are for Furen. You can decide where to settle them."

Shocked, I asked, "For me?"

"Since you are short of maids, you can use them instead."

Of course, he'd declare that it was for my good.

"Thank you for your care, Fujun," I replied warmly.

He sipped the tea and continued, "I will assign all the servants and maids under my name to you. If you don't want them, you can pass them to others."

I smiled, "In that case, I understand." But in my heart, I wondered, 'How dare I? Of course, it was easy to pass those women to others. As their mistress, even finding a reason and beating those maidservants to death would be within my prerogative. But then, wouldn't that earn me a jealous reputation among my in-laws, and especially Wei Tan? What would happen in the future?'

He peered at me, trying to probe into my thoughts.

After a while, he asked, "Happy?"

I had learned not to change my expression. "Happy about what?"

"I remember Furen wasn't happy at Governor Fan's Residence."

I became alarmed. Fan Yue? Did I act obvious then?

"I was never unhappy, Fujun must have remembered wrong, right?" I showed a surprised expression.

"Huh?" Wei Tan frowned, showing a look of serious recollection. "But who left the banquet drunk? Even closing the door and going to bed alone, not waiting for my return?"

My face heated, and I argued, "It's not that I was unhappy......"

"I remember someone's wronged face when I returned." He continued, stroking his chin, "Saying something about being a married couple again."

Becoming more and more embarrassed, I glared at him, "Who looked wronged!"

He didn't answer, but laughed at me, louder and louder, his shoulders shaking.

Annoyed, I snapped, "Don't laugh!" I sprang up from the bed.

Yet, before I stood straight, he reached out and pulled me down towards him. The sky spun as he pinned me to the bed.

"Let go of me!" I strained to push him away.

"No." He rested his forehead against mine, his eyes revealing a strange, bright light.

The breath of wine heated my neck as he spoke. His body was heavy, and his strength flustered me. Both shy and embarrassed, I struggled a little, but didn't move him a bit.

"You...... you're crushing me to death!" His weight pressed into my chest, squeezing out my breath.

Without moving, he asked: "Are you still going to hide?"

I hurriedly shook my head.

Only then did he move his body away.

The weight on my chest vanished. I rolled over to my side and gulped in a huge breath. Yet, he still didn't release me, hugging me, his chest against my back.

I stopped struggling. This military man, I couldn't beat him, anyway.

In the quiet, I heard the faint song of the nightingale in the courtyard.

Just then, Wei Tan whispered: "I was about to leave when Governor Zhou stuffed those women. I was pretending to be drunk, so I couldn't refuse them to his face."

I didn't expect him to bring this up again. After a moment, I replied, "Hmm."

His arm tightened slightly. The heat of his breath burned the back of my ear, causing my skin to tingle: "Don't you believe me?"

"Fujun's words, how can I not believe......" I didn't finish my words, sensing something amiss. His hand had reached into my lapel, wandering restlessly.

"A'Jin." His voice was deep, not with the earlier teasing or tricks, but thirsting with a smoldering heat. "Why don't we continue what we stopped that night?"

My heart skipped a beat.

Wei Tan didn't wait for my answer. He kissed and nipped the back of my neck, pulling my belt loose. My heart galloped wildly, and just as he was about to roll over and press me down again, I grabbed his hands that were reaching into my underwear. I broke free from his embrace and straightened.

He looked at me in amazement, the remnants of passion still shining in his dark eyes.

"Fujun......" I almost didn't dare look at him. Embarrassment filled my face and my throat choked, "Fujun hasn't taken a bath after returning to the residence tonight."

He stared at me. His outer robe's collar had loosened at some point, and his Adam's apple rolled slightly.

With a laugh, he asked, "Can we continue after I bathe?"

I bit my lip. His gaze blazed with fire, burning my face to the point of being cooked.

"Yeah."

He got up without saying another word. Before I looked up, he disappeared outside the door like the wind.

Alone in the room, I sat dazed on the bed, patting my chest as my heart thumped like a drum.

Bathing? Recalling the reason I had just given, I cursed my ridiculousness.

I admitted that this was lame. Back in Yong Capital, I had done everything to seduce him, but just then, I chickened out.

Not ready? Perhaps I was still holding my anger from when I entered the door.

A voice at the bottom of my heart whispered, 'You are a married couple; even if you aren't willing, five wonderful women in the other courtyard will agree.'

That's right!

I stood up, took a deep breath and walked into the bedroom. When I saw the enormous bed big enough for 3 or 4 people, the courage I had just mustered wilted.

I heard it would hurt a lot.

I covered my face. Was it too late to escape to my Third Aunt or Aunt Ding-shi's house......

Calming down by the time Wei Tan returned, I had taken off my coat, loosened my hair, and sat on the bed wearing a silk dress with a thin lining.

He stared at me, a surprised smile appearing on his face.

I blushed at his stare and made to rise from the bed.

"Don't move," he pressed my shoulder. He stood in front of me, his tall body blocking the candlelight.

With his gaze fixed on my face, he reached out and brushed the hair away from my cheeks, tucking it behind my ears.

"You looked at me this same way the night we married," he whispered, his voice deep and slow. As he recalled, a smile curved his lips.

I had long forgotten the events of my wedding night. I said nothing, drowning in the surrounding silence. Only the sound of my heartbeat was clear; boom, boom, boom......

Wei Tan tugged my hand, holding my fingertips in his thick, warm palm.

"So cold." He raised his eyebrows, "Scared?"

Who's scared. I opened my mouth to retort, but when I met his eyes, I said nothing. That feeling had returned; that sense of danger like a prey being watched by a wild animal. Except, I didn't want to escape at all. I watched him lean towards me and hug me.

"Don't be afraid," he whispered.

His skin's scent after a bath was unfamiliar but clean.

He kissed me, from my earlobe, to my cheek, to my lips.

I wished to close my eyes, but I couldn't.

In the past, Pei Qian and I had done many intimate things. When no one was around, he hugged and kissed me. Because we sneaked around the house, scared someone would appear, both of us were shy. His kisses were light and slow, almost savoring. At moments of passion, he would be more eager, biting my lips, hands reaching into my clothes, and I would feel his reaction...... Those things ended with us two red-faced and calling each other horny.

Later, the husband Han Guang's kisses were innocent, noisy pecks completely unlike **.

Wei Tan's kisses differed from both of them. He was domineering, and I sensed his intense desire as he tangled his lips with mine.

He placed me on the bed and undid the ties at my skirt waist, loosening my lapels. Exposed to the candlelight, my skin tingled slightly from the sudden night chill.

He stripped off his clothes and propped his hands on either side of my face and shoulders, staring at me from above. The candle's shadows swayed a magnificent red light, and his eyes burned with lust.

Subconsciously gulping, I remembered what I had seen in Ruo Chan's other house. I reached out my hand and rested it on Wei Tan's chest, sliding it lower.

I had to admit, his skin was great to touch, firm yet, smooth. Below his strong waist and abdomen, the lines of muscles hid in the shadows of our two bodies pressed together.

"Is it nice?" The corners of Wei Tan's lips curved as his hands ran through my hair. His Adam's apple and chest rose and fell with his breathing, unexpectedly seductive.

Not as thick-skinned as him, and unable to stand his unrestrained gaze, I blushed, "Fujun...... put out the lights."

"Why?" He looked puzzled.

I glared at him.

He laughed low, got up and blew out the lamp beside him with one breath.

Under the night cover, he once again embraced me, pressing me to the bed. His kiss was even more intense than before, gliding from my lips, to my neck, and then to my chest.

Though I couldn't see well, the darkness heightened my senses. His hands were hot, and his thickly callused palm probed between my legs. That hard thing pressed against my cr*tch uncomfortably, confusion churning my heart.

When his lips and tongue lingered on a sensitive spot, a strange tingling flooded my body. I clutched his arm, unable to bear. After a while, I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Mmm...... don't, you don't bite there......" I twisted away, while still pushing his face with my hand, "...... you...... hehe...... hahaha haha!"

Stirred by me, Wei Tan finally raised his head.

"No laughing." His legs pressed against me, his voice tinged with exasperation.

I shut my mouth, but I couldn't control it. I stifled my laughs, puffing out my cheeks.

He inhaled a deep breath, somewhat helplessly: "Don't like me like this?"

I hedged, "No...... well, it tickles......"

Silent for a moment, he muttered: "Then I'll go down."

I froze, wondering what "down" meant, but he had already lifted one of my legs.

In an instant, like a blunt tool had pushed straight in, pain swept over me in a tidal wave.

"Ah!" My body tensed up, and I cried out.

Wei Tan stopped, his voice tinged with confusion: "Hurts?"

Uncomfortable to death, embarrassed and anxious, I pushed him: "You...... Fujun go out......"

But he laughed low: "I'll be slower, huh?"

"I don't want to go slower either!" The words rushed out as I struggled to get up. But he was so strong that he caught my arm and pressed it next to my head.

"Ah......" The pain returned, and I yelled again. But halfway through, "Woo woowoo......," his lips stifled my voice.

The dull pain throbbed, apparently grinding my body to pieces.

The only thing stuck in my mind were curse words: military man, pervert, bastard!

TN: Almost one-third into the novel, they finally did it! I added a ? to "steamy" in last chapter's notes because more than sexy, I found this chapter funny . Fu Jin's inner monologues seriously crack me up lol! ^_^

PS: Thank you for all your wishes, means a lot! Though I had an intense first week of training, I'm glad I was able to get this chapter out on time. Here's to hoping that I can maintain this pace. :p