Mi Tian Zhen - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The old madam trembled all over and rushed to the couch in delighted disbelief.

“Du’er! You’re truly awake?!”

Song Wendu’s long lashes quivered. Though his face was pale, a hint of clarity had returned to his dark eyes.

With great effort, he turned his head and said hoarsely, “Your son has been unfilial, making Mother worry.”

Song Wendu caught his breath, then looked back at the old madam and said calmly, “However… I heard most of what Mother and this young lady said just now.”

“This marriage meant to ward off misfortune has wronged her from the start.”

“Since it was a blind arrangement, and since this young lady is concerned for her family, we naturally cannot force her against her will.”

He closed his eyes briefly, his voice weak. “Let her have her freedom. Return her indenture contract to her.”

This Oblivion Powder…

Was it really that effective?

He had no memory of me at all, nor of being drugged.

Even so, I still didn’t dare move. I was terrified that if I so much as lifted my head, my guilty conscience would show.

The old madam wiped the corners of her eyes in relief.

“Since both you and Miss Du feel this way, Mother has no reason to insist.”

“It’s only that the two of you have never truly been introduced. Come, Mother will do the honors. This is the young lady who has cared for you for the past two years, Miss Du, Du Lingdai.”

My scalp went numb. Stiffly, I turned around.

I dipped into a curtsy, my voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

“This… this wife greets her husband.”

“We have never met, nor are we husband and wife in truth. There is no need to call me husband. You may call me Lord Song-”

The moment our eyes met, the words Song Wendu had meant to correct me with lodged in his throat.

Just now, I had pinched myself so hard I forced out tears.

At this moment, my lashes were damp, my face porcelain-pale, the very picture of pitiful fragility.

Song Wendu’s long lashes trembled sharply. He froze for quite a while.

When he realized he had lost his composure, he turned his face aside and cleared his throat.

A flush crept up his neck, burning all the way to the tips of his ears.

The old madam saw it and smiled behind pursed lips.

“You child, she hasn’t even left the estate yet, and you’re already drawing such a clear line. At any rate, the marriage was properly acknowledged, and she has served you for two years. What is wrong with her calling you husband?”

Song Wendu tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“…Mother is right to admonish me.”

Seeing this, the old madam gave a few instructions with great satisfaction.

“In a bit, I will have someone bring your indenture contract over, then arrange capable servants to take your place as soon as possible.”

“But Du’er has only just awakened, and others may not know his habits.”

“For this period of time, I’ll have to trouble you a little longer.”

I softly agreed.

Then I respectfully saw the old madam out.

Once the old madam had gone, only the two of us were left in the room.

For a moment, the atmosphere turned somewhat stagnant.

Looking at the deepening night outside, I walked to the couch and, with practiced ease, reached out to undo his sash.

“W-What are you doing?!” Song Wendu went rigid all over. He raised a trembling hand to clutch his lapels, his face full of terror.

I wrung out the cloth.

“It’s time. I am here to wipe you down and change your inner clothes.”

“There is no need!”

Song Wendu’s ears went red enough to drip blood. Gripping the brocade quilt, he looked as if he wished he could wrap himself into a cocoon.

“Men and women must keep proper boundaries. I hope you will conduct yourself with dignity, miss!”

I sighed faintly.

“You have been bedridden for so long. If you are not wiped down regularly to promote circulation, you will develop bedsores.”

Song Wendu’s Adam’s apple bobbed, but he remained stubborn.

“Even so, it should be done by a pageboy. That is proper etiquette.”

“Where are Guishan and Zeng Jiu?” he asked.

“Not long after you became bedridden, the old madam assigned them to work as grooms.”

I briskly laid the damp cloth over his shoulder and spoke with perfect nonchalance.

“Besides, their hands and feet are rough. They might injure your lordship’s delicate skin.”

“What’s more, inside and out, top to bottom, there isn’t an inch of you that I haven’t wiped down or seen before!”

Song Wendu’s deep eyes filled with disbelief. Even his voice began to tremble.

“What… what did you say?!”

I paused and looked at him at my leisure.

“The fortune-teller said that since this was a marriage to ward off misfortune, and since we had not consummated it, I had to serve you with my own body. Only when my hands touched the illness clinging to your lordship’s body could your calamity be resolved. Only then would it count as effective.”

“Even on the two occasions when you had nightmares in the night and wet the bedding beneath you, I was the one who changed and cleaned everything with my own hands.”

Song Wendu’s pupils dilated. His face went red, then white, then green.

He was utterly mortified.

“Oh dear, please bear with it for now, my lord.”

I reached out.

Skillfully, I slipped my hand along the side of his neck and lightly eased off his inner robe.

Even after being bedridden for so long, his body was still extraordinarily well-made.

Once the inner robe was removed, a large expanse of porcelain-pale yet sharply defined chest was revealed, rising and falling faintly.

I pressed the warm cloth to his shoulder, my fingertips separated from him by the damp fabric as I gently wiped along the contours of his firm chest.

With every pass, the muscles beneath my hand drew tighter.

His chest, originally pale from illness, gradually took on a thin flush under my wiping.

The scent of medicine in the room mingled with the damp heat of the water, spreading through the bed curtains.

Within the dim canopy, the two of us were extremely close. Our gazes suddenly met.

His breathing slowly grew uneven. In his dark eyes were three parts shame and seven parts helpless panic.

I, however, remained perfectly calm. Pinching the cloth, I followed the clearly defined lines of his body and took the opportunity to feel him twice more, praising him sincerely.

“Though you are a civil official, I heard your martial arts used to be quite impressive.”

“After two years in bed, these muscles are still firm.”

“However, my lord, your blood circulation seems rather vigorous today. The more I wipe, the hotter you grow, and even the flesh of your abdomen keeps trembling. Could it be the temperature of this cloth-”

“Shut up!”

Song Wendu’s body instantly stiffened like a sheet of iron.

As my hand continued downward…

Just as I was about to remove his underpants as well, my gaze abruptly froze.

Beneath the loose silk trousers, something had suddenly…

risen to an astonishing height.