Changliu and Ye Feisheng - Chapter 9

Late that night, my mistress leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and sighed softly.

Her lashes kept trembling.

I knew she was exhausted.

I approached and bent down. “Shall I carry you to your bath?”

She slowly opened her eyes and looked at me.

“Where did you run off to today?”

“Nowhere. I was only practicing in the courtyard.”

“Then why does your breath smell of almond cakes from Wang’s?”

My face reddened. I straightened hastily and covered my mouth.

“But I made a point of rinsing my mouth!”

She rocked with laughter.

“Silly. There are crumbs on your clothes!”

I looked down and found one tiny crumb on my collar.

She brushed it off for me.

“Wait. How could you be so certain such a tiny crumb came from an almond cake?”

She looked at me as though I were an adorable little puppy.

“I couldn’t actually identify it.”

“Then how…?”

“But you rinsed your mouth. I could smell the rinsing tea on your breath. Why would you go out of your way to do that? Then I saw the crumb and guessed you’d been secretly eating something nice. Something you like, with hard white crumbs, that would require a rinse afterward to keep me from noticing. That suggested Wang’s almond cakes.”

She hooked one finger into my collar. “A guess. I didn’t expect to be right.”

I sighed. “I really can’t hide anything from you.”

“Why hide eating an almond cake?”

“You were so busy, and I went off buying cakes. It felt…wrong. As if I didn’t care.”

She laughed again.

Her finger tugged gently, and I bent toward her.

She released my collar and put both arms around my neck.

“You’re at your most adorable when you haven’t a care in the world.”

I flushed to the tips of my ears.

“I’m tired. Carry me to the bath.”

“Yes, Young Mistress.”

She was so tired she fell asleep in the bathing pool.

Seeing her slip into the water like a fish, I jumped in and caught her.

The water had almost covered her mouth and nose.

Choking on water was awful, and she was so frail.

She opened her eyes a sliver. “Changliu, I can’t wash myself. I’m so sleepy…”

“I’ll help you.”

“Mm…”

She leaned into my arms and fell asleep.

I washed her carefully.

She bathed every day, so she was already very clean.

But bathing wasn’t only about cleanliness. More importantly, it relaxed her body and eased her fatigue.

As I washed, I couldn’t help looking at her body.

I had never bathed her before. This was the first time.

Usually, I only stood guard beside the pool. I didn’t stare at her; that would have been rude.

But she was…so pale.

Truly a person made of jade.

So beautiful that she made my heart flutter.

I stared at her sleeping profile for a long time before coming to myself and returning the cloth to her arm.

When I reached her hand, I suddenly noticed how lovely her fingertips were too.

A fair hand, its fingertips tinged with rosy pink. They made me want to kiss them.

That was what I thought.

So that was what I did.

I lifted her hand and gently kissed her fingertips.

Her lashes suddenly fluttered.

She slowly opened her eyes.

“…Changliu, what are you doing?”

Her fingertips were still against my lips.

I met her eyes without a trace of shame. “Your fingers are so pretty, I couldn’t help kissing them.”

She was silent for a moment.

“…Are they?”

“Yes.”

“That pretty?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to kiss them again?”

“Mm.”

Her fingers moved, gently stroking my lips.

“Go ahead,” she said.

I moved my lips and kissed her fingertips.

She smiled.

“Again.”

I kissed them again.

“Again.”

I kissed her fingers several times in succession.

“Do you like kissing them?”

“Yes.”

“What does it feel like?”

“…I can’t say. I just want to.”

“Anywhere else you want to kiss?”

“Am I allowed to kiss elsewhere?”

“Yes.”

My eyes immediately roamed over her.

She calmly let me look.

After a while, I sighed. “Nowhere else seems right.”

“…Really.”

“Mm.”

“Would you like to kiss my fingers again?”

“No. I’ve had enough.”

“All right.”

She closed her eyes again. “Finish washing me. I’m terribly sleepy.”

“Yes, Young Mistress.”