In a manor east of Yizhou Prefecture, Su Xiaoqi was held down on the bed by Shen Yun, whimpering and begging for mercy:
"Ah, gently, gently! I was wrong, it hurts."
Shen Yun's face was full of heartache, but his hand was unceremonious.
Dipping his finger into the ointment, he began to rub it onto Su Xiaoqi's bare arm without explanation, constantly saying:
"The Duke of Yu's manor has been honored for generations. Miss Du the Second hails from the Duke of Yu's manor and grew up on the border.
What was so bad that you had to compare yourself to her in a fight? Are you tired of your bones being too hard, or your skin too rough?"
"Ah, I understand, I understand. I won't dare again." Su Xiaoqi was in too much pain to argue.
When sparring with Du Yiyi, she had only felt exhilaration.
She had vented all the suppressed emotions she had accumulated since arriving here.
As a result, she forgot that due to the original owner's past begging, her body's foundation had never been good.
Even after half a year of nourishment, it hadn't fully recovered.
Thus, the aftereffects arrived after the fight.
Not long after returning, she felt pain all over her body.
At the time, she hadn't taken it seriously, thinking it was due to over-stretching her muscles.
She assumed a hot bath would fix it.
But it didn't.
It wasn't until dinner that evening, when Shen Yun discovered her hands and feet were unresponsive, that he immediately pushed her onto the bed and insisted on an examination.
Lifting her clothes, he saw large patches of bruising on her hands and feet, as if she had been beaten.
Well, she had indeed been beaten.
Du Yiyi's blows were quite heavy, and Su Xiaoqi sometimes couldn't dodge and would take one.
But at the time, due to the atmosphere, Su Xiaoqi only felt a thrill.
After all, Du Yiyi hadn't held back on her punches either.
Seeing that she showed no remorse, Shen Yun, who had been gently applying the medicine, intensified his actions, intending to teach her a lesson.
Only then could Su Xiaoqi no longer bear it and began to beg.
"Didn't you also agree to fight her again next time?"
Su Xiaoqi's heart skipped a beat. She had almost forgotten that Shen Yun had been standing behind them, listening to the entire conversation when she had challenged Du Yiyi for another match.
She knitted her delicate brows and said guiltily, "Next time, next time we won't use fists and feet, we'll use… use spears. Just a touch, ah… it hurts."
Before Su Xiaoqi could finish speaking, Shen Yun lightly pinched the soft flesh of her waist, causing her to flinch in pain and lose her ability to speak.
After a while, she weakly said, "Husband, you… you're too busy. Why don't you go rest first, and have Aunt Chen come in to help me with the medicine."
Shen Yun was simply going too far. He could have been gentle, but he insisted on increasing the force of his hands.
Her bruises were already painful enough, and with his slight exertion, it felt like she was dying from the pain.
Shen Yun felt rejected and was tempted to apply more force to her arm.
But then he thought that her cries of pain would only make him feel more distressed, so he decided against it.
He could never be too harsh with her.
However, he still said resentfully, "You're thinking too much. Aunt Chen was left at Chen Jin Ji in Erbing Hutong."
As Shen Yun spoke, his hands suddenly became gentle.
Like feathers lightly brushing against her skin, "Mmm, umm…" Su Xiaoqi's sensitive body involuntarily emitted a sound that easily stirred desire.
Her fair, jade-like skin and healthy, graceful curves were already enough to captivate the heart.
Add to that this three-hundred-and-sixty-degree, surround-sound performance, and instantly Shen Yun's blood rushed to his head. His slender fingers trembled slightly, and he clenched his fist to restrain himself.
No matter how strong the urge in his heart, he knew it was not the time.
Regardless, he would not lay a hand on her.
Su Xiaoqi propped her chin on her hands, enjoying Shen Yun's extremely gentle application of medicine.
To keep Shen Yun in such a good state, she would occasionally say a few words of praise to affirm his actions:
"Mmm, husband, you're so gentle, your medicine is applied so well."
Shen Yun snorted softly. He heard the flattery in her words, clearly not genuine.
But strangely, even though he understood it clearly, his heart couldn't help but be stirred by her words.
He liked hearing her speak words of praise in her soft, sweet voice.
He was afraid he was completely captivated by her in this life.
"Wife, if I pass the imperial examinations, I will have to go to the capital in the spring. You…"
Shen Yun wanted to directly ask Su Xiaoqi to accompany him to the capital, but he suddenly felt hesitant.
He was afraid of hearing her refusal.
Su Xiaoqi, however, naturally picked up his thought:
"You want to go to the capital for the metropolitan examinations, right? You want me to go with you?"
Shen Yun nodded. After nodding, he remembered that Su Xiaoqi was lying on her stomach and couldn't see his movements, so he softly said, "Mm."
"Alright. Then I'll need to make some arrangements here.
But I'll tell you, I can't enter the capital. I can only wait for you outside the city."
Su Xiaoqi didn't want to go to the place where the original owner had died and her soul had vanished in the novel, and the person who seemed to have been reborn was also there.
But she knew in her heart that Shen Yun's recurring fainting spells might suddenly resurface at any time.
If she didn't accompany him, what if Shen Yun fainted on the way and missed the metropolitan examinations?
She was determined to help Shen Yun pass the imperial examinations safely.
Su Xiaoqi worried that if Shen Yun failed to pass the metropolitan examinations this time, and if he became disheartened and turned black-hearted, he might blame her. Wouldn't all her previous efforts be in vain?
And she had her own selfish motives.
She hadn't traveled far in this era. Her impression of the various regions of the Great Liang Dynasty came entirely from "The Records of Great Liang" and various cartography maps.
She wanted to go out and see.
So that if they parted ways with Shen Yun in the future, she would have a place to go.
Furthermore, she still needed to find a way to obtain a travel permit.
This way, she wouldn't be stopped wherever she went.
Su Xiaoqi was secretly making plans in her heart.
Unbeknownst to her, Shen Yun, who could discern her thoughts, already knew everything.
Thinking of his little wife, who appeared gentle and considerate on the surface, but secretly longed to escape his side at all times.
A nameless anger flared up within Shen Yun.
But he couldn't vent it in front of Su Xiaoqi.
If he did, with her intelligence, she would surely see through his tactics, and it would be difficult to probe anything from her in the future.
However, since he had already learned of her intentions beforehand, he would guard against them carefully.
Of course, he had to treat her even better, pampering her until she could no longer leave him.
To the point where she felt life was meaningless without him.
After the medicine was applied, the young couple lay on the bed.
Shen Yun lightly placed a hand on Su Xiaoqi's waist.
Su Xiaoqi's body stiffened for a moment, then quickly relaxed.
Because Shen Yun was merely resting his hand there and doing nothing else.
She knew he wouldn't touch her, so she relaxed, turned over, and fell asleep with her back to Shen Yun.
Shen Yun listened to her steady, even breathing, knowing she was asleep. Like every other night, he gently hooked his arm around her and drew her into his embrace.
Su Xiaoqi whimpered softly, shifting in Shen Yun's arms, and soon found the most comfortable position to continue sleeping.
Shen Yun lowered his head and lightly kissed her forehead. His deep phoenix eyes narrowed, and sighs escaped his lips.