The White-Haired Imperial Concubine

Fu Chou gestured for all of the servants to retreat, leaving only the two of them in the big house. Man Yao stood in front of the window, a little nervous. In the end, she still could not escape this part. As a wife, this was a responsibility she had to fulfill, originally it was not such a big deal but she…aye! She lightly exhaled and raised her head to gaze at the horizon. A crescent moon hung in the empty night sky, its silver rays shining down, dimly lighting up the night, but she did not have the heart to appreciate it.

Fu Chou sat at the bedside, watching the woman as her white robes were bathed in the moonlight. She looked like a fairy that descended from the heavens, even the moonlight became her accompaniment, making people tempted to touch her to make sure she was real. The curves of her slender book looked straight from the paintings, her beauty emitted a calm yet heartstopping aura, enticing him to subconsciously move closer. He couldn’t help but imagine what her current expression was, her lips were probably closed as the corners slightly curled up with a trace of indifference and coldness; her eyebrows, gently furrowed, concealing the sadness within; her eyes, as foggy as the sky yet as clear as spring water, at this moment they are probably looking at the distant horizon with hesitation and struggle…

Hearing the sound of footsteps behind her, Man Yao snapped out of her reverie, the peaceful night disturbed. As the footsteps drew close, her body tensed up. When a hand held her shoulder, her body shook and the indifferent smile that hung at the corners of her mouth froze.

Fu Chou’s hands held her shoulders, her body was even slimmer than he imagined, so skinny that he could not help but feel sad. He sensed her body tensing up and his hands froze. He lowered his head by her ears and spoke in a gentle voice, “Rong Le.”

Before his words finished falling, Man Yao suddenly turned around and retreated two steps, her body hitting the windowsill. Countless thoughts swirled in her mind but she could not find a suitable excuse.

“General, I…” Before she could finish, his finger landed on her lips. Fu Chou tilted his head and drew close, his smile extremely kind as he stared closely into her eyes, “Rong Le, don’t try to find an excuse…don’t say that your body is unwell. It has already been a year, how much longer do you want me to wait before you’re ready?”

Man Yao froze, he saw right through her. She bit her lip and pushed away his hand, stepping off to the side, she lightly coughed, “I’m going to wash up.” She could only leave for now.

Fu Chou was surprised for a moment before smiling, “Didn’t you already take a bath after eating dinner?”

A light flashed through Man Yao’s eyes but her face was as calm as ever. She forced a faint smile, “The day is too hot, I sweated again when we were at Qing You garden. I…cannot sleep if I have sweat on my body, General…you should rest first.” She didn’t wait for him to reply before turning around and walking out of the room with big steps.

Fu Chou watched as she left in a hurry and the smile on his face deepened as he murmured, “Rong Le, even someone as calm as you has times when you’re nervous? Bath? Alright, then I will wait for you here.” He looked relaxed as he sat by the table, but there was a sense of joy and elation in his heart that even he did not understand. He called out to the people outside, “Someone come, bring a pot of tea.”

The servants outside assented and brewed a pot of tea, bringing it in front of him along with a cup before retreating off to the side. Fu Chou took a sip, a clean and refreshing feeling filling his mouth, this was high-grade Xihu Longjing tea! He couldn’t help but frown, if he didn’t remember wrongly, this was the type of tea that that person liked the most. His gaze dimmed, he continued to drink as he quietly waited for her. However, who could have thought that this wait would turn into two hours, it was already the fourth time this teapot had been emptied, but she…still did not return.

He looked down and frowned, setting down the purple sand teapot in his hands, he spoke to the maidservant serving at the side, “Go to the bathhouse, why has furen not returned after so long?”

“Yes, General.” The maidservant was about to walk outside before she was stopped by him, “Never mind, I will go myself.”

In the foggy mists inside the bathhouse, there was a faint fragrance that permeated the air. In the center, the blue water in the large bath was covered with delicate flower petals, rendering the woman within to look even more white.

Man Yao’s brows were furrowed and her eyes were closed as she leaned against the side of the bath. The water was turning cold again, she could not remember how many times she had added more water already. She loved taking flower baths, whenever she bathed, her spirits would lift up but at this time, her emotions were a mess. She did not know how to face Fu Chou. She was his wife, if he wanted to rest in her chambers, it was the natural order, and moreover, he did not have any concubines. To continue on like this was not proper. She sighed, the knot in her heart could not be untangled. Ever since she tactfully rejected him once a year ago, he never burdened her. Why did he suddenly want to stay tonight? Was it to prove to others that he didn’t detest her body? Or was there another reason?

She lifted a handful of water, splashing it onto her face. Her hands held her face as she felt exhausted. Why were the people around her so complicated? None of them allowed her to live in peace. A wave of tiredness took over and she wanted to fall asleep just like this, maybe if she slept, would she drown in this bath? Setting down her hands, she called out to the maidservant outside, “Add some more hot water.”

No one responded to her, she could only hear the sound of footsteps getting closer and then the sound of water entering the bath. She continued to have her eyes closed, too tired to open them.

The warm water entered the bath, separating the flower petals in front of her and exposed a sliver of smooth and tender skin of her chest, revealing an extremely tempting luster, not allowing people’s eyes to look away. Her long black hair was damp and draped over her shoulders. The thin shoulders that peeked out above the water were as smooth as jade, beautiful beyond compare. The person behind her picked up the bath towel that was next to her and dipping it in water, gently wiped her slender neck, the movements extremely delicate, like the actions of a lover. She couldn’t help but frown, “I don’t need anyone to serve me, retreat.”

The person behind her didn’t leave but instead came even closer, their breathing becoming heavier. She could feel the breaths of the person behind her getting hotter. That person set down the bath towel and used their hands to rub the curves of her shoulders, startling her. The feeling of calloused palms on her shoulders cleared her mind and she opened her eyes, the feelings of exhaustion immediately disappearing and she quickly hid to the side, “General…why are you here?”

Fu Chou seemed to have predicted that she would react this way and grabbed hold of her shoulder, cutting off her escape, “I saw that you didn’t return after such a long time and was afraid that something might’ve happened so you, so I came to take a look. What’s wrong, is it because it’s too hot and you don’t want to leave the bath? If you fall asleep like this, you’ll catch a cold.”

Man Yao lowered her head, sinking her body into the water until it covered her shoulders before speaking, “General still has to attend morning court session tomorrow, so you should head back and rest first. I, I still want to bathe a little longer before returning.”

Fu Chou brushed away the damp strands of hair on her neck and spoke tenderly in a slightly hoarse voice, “No matter. Since Rong Le likes to bathe, then I will accompany you.” Finished, he stood up and prepared to take off his belt, his eyes sparkling with laughter.

Man Yao froze for a moment before she hurried to stop him, “No need, General. Even though I want to bathe a little longer, but today…I’ve already spent enough time. I will get up, may General please…wait outside first.”

The moment she finished speaking, a low rumble of laughter resounded by her ear and she immediately realized that she got played! She felt frustrated for a moment and turned around, his hot breaths landing by her ear lobe, causing it to itch. She couldn’t help but get startled and shrank her neck, about to turn back around, but he grabbed her jaw all of a sudden. The kiss swept over her like a storm, carrying urgency and hints of dominance with it, different from his usual kindness.