The Slender Waist-Chapter 74 - 60: A Fragrant Question in the Night

This time, Wei Zheng brought with him attendants and Imperial Guards, totaling around a hundred and ten people, determined to escort everyone from Changmen Village back to the Central Capital to face punishment. He never would have imagined that they would end up as farmers in the fields.

The people stayed, and with that, their food and lodging became a problem.

Pei Jue was resolute, directly ordering that they be dealt with according to the organizational system of the Northern Yong army.

A barren, parched land, right? Set up camp on the spot, light fires and cook on the spot, without mixing with the people of Huaxi Village.

With Pei Jue taking charge and the Imperial Guards tilling the land, Feng Yun was more than happy to relax.

But once night fell, she grew nervous.

She had thought that after dealing with Wei Zheng, Pei Jue wouldn’t come over at night anymore.

Unexpectedly, not only did he come, but he arrived even earlier than usual, practically as soon as it got dark, and while people in the estate had not yet gone to bed, he was already there.

"Miss!" Xiaoman saw Pei Jue heading towards the main house and scurried into the room, gleefully calling out to Feng Yun, "...the General, the General has come again."

Feng Yun had not slept well for several nights and had grown thinner. Coupled with the drain on her health from the poisoning, she had lately looked quite haggard. She had only just been force-fed a bowl of soup by Granny Han at dinner, to the point where her stomach felt like it was about to burst, when she heard this and let out a "burp."

Xiaoman hurriedly helped her to ease her burp, "Miss, don’t you like the General coming?"

Feng Yun lowered her eyes, "All of you, go down."

Xiaoman replied, and just as she and two maidservants were about to leave, Pei Jue walked in with his usual expression.

"Is there any food left?"

Normally when he came, he would just sleep on the floor and didn’t ask for anything. This sudden request for food was unexpected for Feng Yun.

She hesitated for a moment before giving Xiaoman a look.

"We have some leftover lotus root stewed with pork bone."

Pei Jue didn’t speak, simply sat down quietly to wait.

The dishes were all kept warm on the stove; in fact, they weren’t leftovers but had been purposely saved by Feng Yun.

She had planned to send it to Doctor Yao’s house in gratitude for his help, but when Daman went to deliver it earlier, the entire Yao family had gone into town and had not yet returned, so it was kept warm there.

Xiaoman covered the dishes onto the table, her head down, "General, please enjoy your meal at your leisure."

Pei Jue sat upright with dignity; as the soup lid was lifted, a rich fragrance wafted through the room.

Feng Yun watched him, his face expressionless and his soup-drinking so graceful, and felt a little uneasy.

The families of nobility in Nanqi very much esteemed gentle, scholarly men. In Andu City, many young lords also considered paleness and delicacy to be the height of beauty, but Pei Jue was not such a person.

A General who was used to the rigors of military life, how could he be so refined?

If he always ate like this, the enemy could breach the gates before he finished his meal...

But the Pei Jue sitting before her was indeed polite and refined...

As if he was performing just for her.

The small white porcelain bowl in his large palm should have been drained in one gulp, yet he was eating spoon by spoon very slowly. Didn’t it bother him?

Feng Yun’s eyes hurt watching, "General, do you have no appetite?"

Pei Jue glanced at her.

Feng Yun pursed her lips, "It’s getting late, you can eat more quickly."

She couldn’t stand to watch his slow dining, it felt like watching a tiger or lion eating with chopsticks, a torturous sight, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it.

He wouldn’t misinterpret it as her wanting him to hurry up and come to bed, would he?

No, that’s not right! They each slept on their own, so what did it matter?

Feng Yun’s heart was pounding as if it were drumming. The General Pei Jue before her still had an unexpressive face, eating the lotus root at a speed that made Feng Yun’s teeth ache, without making a single sound.

The room was so silent... Feng Yun could hear her own heartbeat.

The wait was excruciatingly long...

It finally came to an end when he finished eating. Feng Yun yawned and made a casual comment.

"General, are you full? Would you like some more?"

Pei Jue looked at her, "Alright."

Feng Yun was taken aback, her expression one of indescribable frustration.

How could you take someone’s casual remark seriously?

"Enough," Pei Jue put down his chopsticks and bowl, "let’s clean this up."

Feng Yun, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, called for Xiaoman and Daman to come in.

As the two sisters were clearing the table, Pei Jue stepped out.

After a while, he returned with damp hair, apparently having washed up. His already handsome face looked even more spirited, and his wet skin brought a fierce yet captivating light to his eyes and brows, captivating to the soul...

Daman could hardly avert her gaze.

As she closed the door behind her, she couldn’t resist greedily stealing another look.

In the next instant, she was dragged out by Xiaoman.

Feng Yun saw everything, "Daman."

The two maidservants stopped and looked at their mistress.

Feng Yun said, "Daman, stay behind to help the General change."

She was eager to make arrangements for the General,

"Leave," Pei Jue’s voice was light and weary, showing no emotion.

But those familiar with him knew if one didn’t obey there would be trouble.

Feng Yun gestured with her hand for the maidservants to leave, "Go on."

The door gently closed,

With no breeze in the room, Feng Yun felt suffocated, growing hot with panic. Even though she had bathed not long ago, her back felt as though it was dripping with sweat, her body inexplicably sticky.

Had Pei Jue helped her so much only to ask for compensation now?

Feng Yun tried to guess his thoughts, her heart beating a little faster.

"For this matter, I am entirely dependent on the General’s thorough care. The General saved both my elder brother’s life and mine, for which I am profoundly grateful. I only wonder, how would the General like me to repay him?"

She sat in front of the couch.

Clad in a thin, soft nightgown, she barely concealed her exquisite form. Her creamy and tender skin gleamed like fat jade exuding the fragrance of plums. Her long black hair was loosely coiled into a bun, with a few disobedient strands falling down, accentuating her sensual laziness. She seemed like a delicate ice lotus unworthy of picking, lying provocatively before a man...

Pei Jue was silent for a long time.

Once again, her voice, carrying a faint huskiness, seemed touched by the night breeze.

"No need. We each take what we need."

Feng Yun couldn’t ignore the intensity in his eyes, and she remembered the expression on Pei Jue’s face when he had said, "I want you." Lightly touching her temples, she smiled and asked, "So, what is it that the General needs?"

Pei Jue watched her for a moment before drawing the curtains. "Sleep."

Feng Yun’s breath hitched.

Listening to him lay out the rush mat on the floor, her cheeks burning hot, she wished she could slap herself.

She thought others were beasts, not realizing the beast was herself.

Without a word, Feng Yun quietly lay down, looking at the tent ceiling, and suddenly noticed something was amiss.

Tonight, he hadn’t turned off the light...

What was he doing?

Feng Yun turned to look.

The shadow of Pei Jue reading a book was cast on the curtain...

So, he was reading a book?

Stiffly waiting to fall asleep was torturous. Perhaps it was too familiar to her, but though Pei Jue didn’t make a sound, she felt as if she could hear the man’s breathing...

And also, the scent of "plum blossom makeup on snow."

Feng Yun listened to the sound of her own heartbeat, unable to restrain herself in the end.

"General."

Pei Jue hummed in response.

The scent of plum blossom makeup on snow stirred Feng Yun’s emotions, making her very uncomfortable.

"Have you been sleeping well these past few nights, General?"

Pei Jue: "It’s been adequate."

"I don’t sleep very well with the General by my side."

She was essentially issuing an eviction order.

Feng Yun didn’t want to be too harsh with her words, but the elusive fragrance was truly annoying; it had already kept her awake for several nights. Recalling the proud manner in which Li Sangruo had said, "Only you and I in the whole world can wear ’plum blossom makeup on snow’," she felt even more uncomfortable.

"The battle at the front is intense, and the General has been traveling back and forth; it must be really exhausting..."

Pei Jue was silent once again.

After a long while, he put down the book.

"My brother-in-law is staying over at the estate, so I came here."

Was he playing a full role, worried that if he didn’t come tonight, Ao Zheng might have suspicions?

Is that what he meant?

Feng Yun listened to his serious tone but didn’t believe a word in her heart.

As if Ao Zheng could control him.

Feng Yun turned onto her side, propping her cheek with her hand. "Are you tired, General?"

Pei Jue: "Not tired."

"Then can we chat for a bit, is that alright?"

After a pause, Feng Yun voiced the question that had long been in her heart, "Do you really like using incense, General?"

These were words that shouldn’t have been said, that didn’t need to be said.

Yet, she couldn’t stop her own stubbornness. Knowing it was wrong, she still asked.

"I don’t like it," Pei Jue said indifferently.

If he didn’t like it, then what was he wearing, did she look foolish?

Feng Yun made a sound of acknowledgment, feeling the conversation couldn’t continue, and decided to restrain herself. "Then, General, you should rest early."

She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

She didn’t know how much time passed before Pei Jue’s voice came from the other side of the curtain again, "A man of the army pays little heed to such things. But you, you are someone who loves cleanliness."

Feng Yun’s breath stopped short.

Was Pei Jue trying to say that he was worried his own scent would carry the stench of sweat from the camp men, which she would dislike, and that’s why he used the incense to mask it?

If she hadn’t known the origin of the scent, if she hadn’t known it was called "plum blossom makeup on snow," Feng Yun might have believed him and might even have been moved by it.

After all, it was rare for Pei Jue to offer an explanation.

But could she truly believe it?

She had named her residence and the estate "Changmen," intending to remind herself to always be cautious and never forget the humiliation of being abandoned by a man time and again in her past life.

If she believed the words of a man after having died once, then she truly deserved to die.

Feng Yun smiled subtly, "Thank you for your consideration, General."

Pei Jue didn’t respond anymore.

Unbearable silence passed between them...

Feng Yun feigned sleep, but she couldn’t fall asleep at all.

Perhaps her tossing and turning had disturbed him; the figure on the other side of the curtain stilled, and the light was extinguished.

The room sank into darkness. Although Feng Yun was truly tired, though she had been tense all day and her body was exhausted and should have easily fallen asleep, her mind became clearer and clearer.

She felt a suffocating pressure in her chest. The thin blanket on her was made of silk, her favorite one. But now it felt as if it weighed a ton.

She wanted to throw it off, to toss and turn freely and comfortably on the bed, but there was a stranger present, and even with a curtain between them, she couldn’t bring herself to sleep comfortably without covering herself with a blanket...

The night grew dense, and she lay in her own torment.

Pei Jue made no sound, as if he had fallen asleep.

At dawn, Feng Yun was groggily awakened by someone calling for her and saw Xiaoman’s jubilant face.

"Miss, Miss, Ao Zheng is leaving Andu."

This young lady was happy as long as she was well-fed, her little face blossoming with smiles, exceedingly joyous.

Feng Yun yawned as she got up to wash, and when she went out, she saw Pei Jue and Ao Zheng sitting opposite each other, drinking tea in the hall.

She paused for a second. So, Pei Jue hadn’t gone to the camp?