Chapter 36 Recovering Memory Chiu Chiu, If Later the Purge of the Prince’s Mansion Has No Difficulty…

Those beautiful phoenix eyes were filled with nervousness, a faint blush coloring the brows. “Wife-master.”

He called out cautiously, yet the girl before him remained unmoved.

Meng Jun lowered his eyebrows in disappointment: Li Ruantang was really petty, not even willing to blow once. When she was injured before, he didn’t mind the effort, carefully blowing on every spot.

Li Ruantang looked at that lowered head with amusement, “Silly Chiu Chiu, I didn’t say I wouldn’t help you blow.”

As soon as she spoke, the young man who had just been feeling sad and wronged immediately perked up his ears, those bright eyes secretly peeking at Li Ruantang who was searching for a handkerchief in her bosom.

He knew it!

Quietly tossing his small bundle further away, the young man seized the opportunity to tug at her sleeve, “Wife-master, I, I’m ready.”

He knelt very properly in front of Li Ruantang, eyes tightly closed, head slightly tilted back. Like a blooming flower, just needing a gentle pluck, and no one else would be able to take even a bit.

Li Ruantang’s eyes darkened, her outstretched fingers unconsciously resting on his neck, gently brushing over Chiu Chiu’s Adam’s apple.

She stared fixedly at that smooth inch under her fingertips. Through the slightly open collar of his inner garment, one could faintly see that section of collarbone like a zen-like withered branch.

The young man’s outer robe, washed and still drying, was hung on a nearby tree branch.

Li Ruantang took a deep breath. He was completely defenseless towards her, the tie of the cloak covering him was right under her hand, just one pull…

She was also a woman, and he was her husband.

In an instant, Li Ruantang felt her carefully suppressed heart flutter away without a trace, only her rapid breathing indicating she was still alive.

“Chiu Chiu.”

The gentle tone carried a different emotion, making the young man waiting with closed eyes blush even more.

He opened his eyes slightly, but just as he was about to clearly see her eyelashes, he quickly closed them again, his long fingers on his knees unconsciously gripping the cloak tightly.

As if afraid of startling the carefully approaching girl, Meng Jun’s breathing became even softer.

Pala–

The burning wood in the fire pit lightly crackled. The sweet, delicious thin lips were within reach, but the string in Li Ruantang’s mind suddenly tightened, intense pain washing away all the romance.

She suddenly clutched her head with her hands, beads of sweat on her forehead and nose tip like raindrops, emerging one after another in a rush, then falling in a light shower.

Li Ruantang bit her lip without making a sound.

The young man waited for a while, but didn’t feel her touch. Curiosity immediately filled his heart, but they should be very close right now, if he rashly opened his eyes and met her gaze, wouldn’t that be too embarrassing?

He knew Li Ruantang had always been a restrained person. The young man pondered for a moment, fighting the burning in his cheeks, and leaned forward a bit more.

Huh? Where is she?

The cool mountain breeze swirled through Meng Jun’s hair, and even he, slow as he was, realized something was amiss.

The young man suddenly opened his eyes, and was immediately met with Li Ruantang’s pained expression. Her face was pale with pain, yet she was still enduring it, her back remaining straight and upright even when facing others.

“Wife-master!” Meng Jun’s heart jolted in alarm, but before he could ask, Li Ruantang shook her head at him, then pointed to the two bonfires behind and to the side.

In that instant, the young man understood her concern, and also realized she hadn’t told Wei Dan and the others about her memory loss, most likely to avoid causing more trouble after returning to the capital.

She was in pain, and Meng Jun’s heart ached as well. His gaze fell on her stiff shoulders, and after a moment’s hesitation, the young man slowly opened his arms and embraced the silently suffering Li Ruantang.

“Wife-master.” His clear voice was slightly louder than when he had been whispering earlier. Meng Jun gently held her, “Chiu Chiu is scared, will you hug me, please?”

At this moment, the man’s face and shyness all became insignificant.

The young man didn’t care if people said he was shameless, he just wanted Li Ruantang to be able to relax a bit when she was in pain.

He was willing to be her shield.

The firelight was warm, but not as warm as her embrace.

Li Ruantang’s heart almost stopped. These days, she had noticed the changes in her body. Whenever she became aroused, it felt as if something was tightly gripping her mind.

At first it was just fatigue, but now it had become an unbearable headache. But Chiu Chiu was innocent. Li Ruantang took a deep breath and managed to smile at him.

“Wife-master.” The young man’s eyes reddened again and again. He cautiously looked around, making sure the others had tactfully turned away to avoid embarrassment. Only then did he gently wipe away her sweat with his sleeve and said in a low voice, “I’ll blow for you, don’t be afraid, it won’t hurt soon.”

His voice was choked with sadness, his cheeks puffed out as he carefully blew on her temples and forehead, not neglecting a single spot.

Li Ruantang couldn’t bear to see him sad, and quickly pointed at his lips with her pale face, teasing, “Silly Chiu Chiu, doesn’t it hurt here?”

“Eh?” The young man was stunned, honestly shaking his head, “It doesn’t hurt, I can blow some more to stop Wife-master’s pain.”

“……” Li Ruantang was silent for a moment, then reached out to embrace her silly little husband.

The moonlight cast a mottled pattern on the ground. All around was quiet, except for Wei Dan who was on night watch, and the occasional snoring that rose and fell.

“Wife-master.” Meng Jun was still worried, raising his head from her embrace to ask cautiously, “Does it still hurt?”

“It’s much better.” Li Ruantang held him tighter, and the young man in her arms blushed, feeling as if he was nestled in a cloud, soft and warm.

He gazed at her lips, lost in thought. Was Li Ruantang’s sudden headache due to that strange poison or because of her memory loss?

But regardless, tonight might be his last chance.

The young man pondered for a while, his fingers just climbing up to her shoulders, but before he could timidly ask.

Their eyes met, and a warmth quickly brushed across his thin lips, light and ticklish.

Li Ruantang’s ear tips were still red, her mind not yet clear. But following her instincts, before Chiu Chiu could react, she lowered her eyes and pressed against him again.

By the time that string tightened again, Li Ruantang was certain she must have fallen for some underhanded trick. A hint of coldness gradually surfaced in those almond eyes. The young man nestled in her arms was still dazed, and seeing her expression change, he hesitantly asked in a whisper, “Wife-master, are you still uncomfortable?”

Li Ruantang nodded, not hiding it from him.

This wasn’t right, the young man frowned. They had kissed several times, logically Li Ruantang’s poison should have lessened.

Could it be that his method of detoxification was incorrect?

He became lost in thought, his handsome face like an immortal from the moon, the soft moonlight making him seem even more otherworldly.

Li Ruantang lowered her eyes and looked at him for a long while, her heart feeling a bit dazed, only vaguely coming up with three words: soul-captivating man.

In the past, when she was in the army, some of the married commanders would tell some bawdy jokes during their leisure time, and these three words were mentioned the most.

A man so beautiful that just his smile or a wave of his hand could bewitch someone, making them lose all sense of direction, hence the name soul-captivating man.

Before, Li Ruantang didn’t take it seriously, thinking they just lacked self-control. But now she understood a bit of how that uncontrollable feeling was truly hard to resist.

The night was deep, and the person nestled in her arms was clearly quite tired, drowsily about to fall asleep.

Li Ruantang paused, her voice very soft, falling by the young man’s ear, “Chiu Chiu, if in the future the Prince’s mansion is free from trouble, would you be willing to—”

The next few words, she said extremely quietly, like feathers brushing across Meng Jun’s ear tips, bringing a slight tickle.

When the young man reacted, his ears immediately burned hot. Li Ruantang, she, she was shameless!

The fingers hidden in his sleeves secretly clenched, Meng Jun’s face seemed to be covered with a layer of light pink. He pursed his lips, saying nothing.

But in the night breeze, the young man’s tied-up hair was gently rising and slowly falling, like a silent nod, softly agreeing to that embarrassing whisper.

He hugged the soft cloud quite dependently.

The night’s insect sounds somehow turned into the sound of cart wheels rolling over bluestone slab roads. One after another, very steady.

Vaguely, there were also sounds of small vendors hawking their wares, one shout competing with another, lively in a way that didn’t seem like the mountains.

Well, indeed not like the mountains. Just the soft cushion beneath was thicker than the bedding at the Hu family.

The young man thought hazily like this, and suddenly his back tingled. He hesitantly rubbed his eyes and looked at Li Ruantang who was resting against the carriage wall.

Wait, when did they leave Changshan Valley?!

Meng Jun hurriedly sat up, looked down, and found that he had already changed into his outer robe. His small bundle was placed next to the soft pillow. The young man guiltily glanced at Li Ruantang who showed no movement, secretly pulled over the small bundle and checked it several times.

His little red flower was still there, and so was Li Ruantang’s handkerchief. Only the flower wreath had completely lost its shape, with just the willow circle remaining, the flowers on top having crumbled into pieces.

Meng Jun frowned slightly, this was the first flower wreath he had received.

“Wife-master.”

The young man moved closer to Li Ruantang’s side, originally wanting to ask her to make him another flower wreath.

But upon getting closer, he found that Li Ruantang seemed to be in deep sleep. Meng Jun’s lips curled into a smile, and he carefully supported her shoulders to rest on his lap. After her breathing steadied, he gently poked her cheek and touched the corner of her lips.

He didn’t know when it started, but whenever he saw Li Ruantang, the young man always wanted to get close, to touch or feel her, which would make those beautiful phoenix eyes quite happy.

Especially since they had slept embracing each other last night, although it was for warmth, Meng Jun still secretly blushed.

“Young Miss.” Outside the carriage window, Wei Dan’s voice came in a low report, “We’ll reach the capital city gates in half a quarter hour, do you want to—”

The unfinished words were startled back into her belly by the suddenly appearing head. The displeased young man shook his head at her and made a gesture for silence, “She’s not awake yet. Just proceed slowly.”

“…Yes.” Wei Dan lowered her eyes, raised her hand slightly, and the entire carriage train visibly slowed down.

Meng Jun nodded and lowered the curtain. Only then did he carefully look at Li Ruantang who was still in dreamland. Strange, usually she woke up early. Don’t know what happened today, sleeping so soundly.

The young man who was playing with her fingers suddenly froze, and in the next moment remembered the few times in Hu Village when she had been difficult to wake.

The panic in his heart sank like a huge stone. Meng Jun hurriedly picked up the nearby water bottle and gulped down several mouthfuls, clearing away the turbid qi.

He bent down with eyes full of worry, anxiously leaning towards Li Ruantang’s lips, “Wife-master, don’t be afraid, Chiu Chiu will help you completely detoxify right away!”

The young man came on strong, but before he could get close, his soft lips touched her palm first.

“Eh?”

Before those beautiful phoenix eyes could light up with joy, Li Ruantang, who was lying on his lap, smoothly pushed Meng Jun away and sat up very nimbly.

The young man was stunned, his brow furrowing.

He stared blankly at Li Ruantang. She still looked the same, but her expression was cold and distant. She merely raised her eyes slightly, growing more aloof, “I must ask Young Master Meng to restrain himself!”