Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C125 pt1

"Your Majesty?"

"Serve this Emperor in the bath."

Wushuang still stood there, stunned, as Emperor Qianwu rose and entered the bathing hall.

She dawdled for a while before following. When she entered the bathing hall, the palace servants had all withdrawn, leaving only him sitting with his back to her in the hot spring pool.

The hall was filled with swirling mist. The entire pool was constructed of white jade, shaped like a 回 (hui) character. At one corner was a gilded dragon head, its mouth gurgling and spouting hot water that steamed with white vapor.

In the pool, he leaned back against the edge, his black hair unbound and cascading down his back, partially obscuring his shoulders and back. One could vaguely discern the smooth yet robust lines of his muscles, the rich black a stark contrast to the extreme white, a breathtaking sight.

Wushuang stood there, wringing her hands, unsure of what to do.

"Come here."

Her steps faltered slightly, and she hurried over, kneeling at the edge of the pool, diagonally behind him.

"Your Majesty?"

The heat had brought a slight flush to his cheeks, and a few beads of sweat gathered on his jade-white forehead, trembling slightly. In her trembling gaze, they trembled again and again, finally slipping and winding down…

"Have you never served someone during a bath?"

"No," she answered honestly.

"Then you must have been served by others."

She had been served during her baths, but always by women, so there were naturally no inhibitions. But him…

Wushuang had a flash of inspiration and said, "How about this concubine serves Your Majesty by washing your hair?"

He raised his eyes and glanced at her askance, not refusing.

She breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to prepare.

Wushuang had been served while having her hair washed here, so she naturally knew what to do. First, she found a copper basin, filled it with hot water, and then moistened his hair, applying a thick paste specially made in the palace for washing hair.

In addition to soap beans, this paste also contained many herbs. Wushuang didn't know exactly what was added, only that hair washed with this paste would not be dry at all, but smooth and shiny, and would also have a faint fragrance.

She carefully worked the hair-washing paste into a lather, moistening all the strands of hair, and then slowly rubbed it in, trying to wash every strand, and finally the scalp, gently rubbing and kneading it slowly.

Recently, Wushuang had also mastered the meridians and acupoints on the head. Once these were understood, learning the art of massage became universally accessible. The only difference lay in the familiarity of the techniques.

Unconsciously, she applied the techniques to his head, gently kneading along the meridians, bit by bit.

Emperor Qianwu sighed silently, relaxing his body. The agitation within him, stirred by the bowl of the Supreme Tonic Soup, seemed less pronounced under the extreme comfort.

As he relaxed, a peculiar, exotic fragrance reached his nose.

He half-lifted his eyelids to look at her.

From his angle, he could only see the lower half of her face.

Beneath her full, rosy lips was a delicate chin. The sultry heat had flushed her entirely in pink, and beads of sweat trickled down her slender, white neck, disappearing into her collar, flowing towards unnamed, unseen places.

Emperor Qianwu felt a parchedness in his throat and said in a hoarse voice, "Aren't you hot?"

Wushuang wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, indeed feeling rather warm.

"Your clothes are wet."

Wushuang looked at herself.

Since entering the palace, she naturally couldn't dress as she usually did. He had expressed his dissatisfaction with her usual attire more than once. The clothes and jewelry were always brought by palace maids to serve her, and even if she didn't recognize all the fabrics, she knew they were fine things rarely seen outside the palace.

At this moment, due to her efforts, her shoes, socks, and skirt were all wet, and her collar was also dampened by her sweat. Only a small portion remained untouched.

It wasn't just the clothes that were ruined, but also the discomfort of the damp clothes clinging to her body.

"Take off your outer garments. How can someone serving a bath be dressed so thickly?"

Wushuang, however, overthought things, feeling that the clothes were valuable and wondering if he was annoyed by her incompetence. She cleaned her hands, went to the side, and removed her outer robe and skirt. She took off the hairpins and jewelry from her bun before returning to her original spot.

The hair washing had reached its final step: rinsing after lathering.

Usually, the palace maids would scoop water with a wooden ladle, place the long hair into a basin, and pour water while rinsing. The water used to clean the hair was then poured into a large bucket in the corner.

Wushuang then tried to do the same.

But what seemed simple was actually quite difficult. Not only did she have to kneel by the pool and bend over to scoop water, but she also had to scoop it up without spilling. In any case, Wushuang was in a flurry of activity, the more flustered she became, the more chaotic it got, and the more chaotic it got, the more flustered she became. The smooth ground became slippery with the bathwater, and then she didn't know how, but she fell into the water.

The moment she fell into the water, Wushuang panicked, but she was pulled out in an instant.

"Are you in such a hurry to come in and serve this Emperor by toweling him down?"

Her hands rested on his shoulders, and opening her eyes, she saw a face so handsome it was dazzling. For a moment, she was at a loss for words, and a blush spread from the roots of her ears upwards.

"The water isn't deep here, steady yourself."

Wushuang, of course, knew it wasn't deep. There were steps in the pool, and she usually found a depth that suited her when she bathed. Even if his location was deeper than where she usually stood, it wouldn't be enough for her feet to not touch the bottom.

But somehow, her feet groped around in the water several times without finding the ground.

It wasn't until someone used their leg to steady her legs that her feet finally found solid ground, but she was also deeply ashamed by this awkward posture.

Simply put, he was using his leg to steady her, and she was now standing in his arms, the distance between them so close that it was unbearable to look at directly.

She moved slightly and couldn't help but tremble from the heat.

"Your Majesty..."

He withdrew his hand and coughed lightly, saying, "Quickly help this Emperor towel down; staying in the water for too long isn't good."

She didn't have time to panic, and leaning to the side, she picked up the cloth from the water and used it to wipe his shoulders.

First his shoulders, and when there was really nowhere else to wash, she went to wipe his neck.

A man's neck was completely different from a woman's. Even through a layer of cloth, she could feel the strong and powerful muscles beneath, unlike her own, which was so slender that it might break with a pinch.

After wiping his neck, there was nowhere else to wipe, so she could only bite the bullet and ask him to lift his arm so she could wash his arm.

During this time, Wushuang could feel his gaze fixed on her, as if he wanted to devour her.

She didn't know what was so beautiful about her, but little did she know that a beauty emerging from the bath was a beautiful sight in anyone's eyes. Especially a beauty who was timid and weak, delicate and shy; her thin clothes, after being soaked in water, were already semi-transparent, and the beautiful scenery beneath was faintly visible, making one's blood boil.

His arms were already itching to move, like water snakes hidden beneath the surface, ready to strike, having already aimed at the angle of attack. But the beauty was still unaware, not knowing that she had become a sweet and delicious prey in the hunter's eyes.

Until a strong arm wrapped around her waist, and she was caught off guard, pressed tightly against the man's solid body.

"Your Ma..."

His hand was frighteningly hot, raising tiny goosebumps on her waist, and a feeling of trembling climbed all the way up along her fine hairs.

Amidst the churning water, a chill ran down her spine as her back pressed against the edge of the pool.

She still clutched the handkerchief in her hand, seemingly finding it cumbersome. He picked it up and tossed it aside.

Her two slender wrists were caught in a large palm, and she involuntarily raised her head and puffed out her chest. He lowered his head to kiss her delicate, fragile neck, but just then—

"Wushuang?"

"Hmm?"

Tears already clung to her eyelashes, a mixture of fright and helplessness, her voice thick with a nasal tone.

"Wushuang, you smell so fragrant, so wonderful."

He inhaled lightly, as he had done so many times before, sending shivers through her, but without the palpitations.

[You actually took advantage of me being asleep to secretly smell Wushuang. So, you also know she smells wonderful?]

Emperor Qianwu was caught off guard, having been switched back. He was still immersed in shock.

It wasn't just anger, but also the unfamiliarity of such an experience. Only long ago, when he was still at the border, could 'he' consciously seize his body.

"Your Majesty."

"Why are you crying? Don't you want me to smell you?"

Wushuang hurriedly shook her head, "No, it's not that."

She was both embarrassed and flustered. Embarrassed that she would overthink, and flustered that she would overthink. He simply wanted to smell her, nothing like what she imagined.

But was that truly the case?

Her flickering gaze seemed to penetrate the water's surface, seeing the ferocious beast hidden beneath. She shifted her gaze in a fluster and said, "Your Majesty, are you finished bathing? Perhaps, should we get up?"

"Why are you bathing with your clothes on? Then let's get up."

Wasn't it you who asked me to assist you in bathing! She didn't dare say these words, and said softly, "Your Majesty, please rise first." After a pause, she pleaded, "After you rise, could you have a palace maid bring me a change of clothes?"

Ji Yang readily agreed. He rose and stepped out of the pool, and as he was about to call for someone to attend to him, he glanced down at his body. Strangely, he chose not to summon anyone, but instead went to the chamber on the side of the bath hall, dried himself, and changed into nightclothes before emerging from the bath hall and then calling for someone to attend to Wushuang.

Before long, Wushuang emerged, changed into dry nightclothes. Her damp hair had also been partially dried.

The two went to the couch. The Chamberlain silently lowered the bed curtains and quietly withdrew.

***

The lamplight was a hazy yellow, the curtains hung low.

Ji Yang held her in his arms as he always did, touching and pinching here and there, until he found the most comfortable position, and then he stilled.

A thin layer of sweat appeared on Wushuang's forehead, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But clearly, she had relaxed too soon today, because before long, he began to stir again.

Still without any rhythm or reason, he seemed only to be searching for a comfortable sleeping position, but he couldn't find it.

Before long, Wushuang's face was flushed red, her cheeks burning, her eyes seeming as if they could drip water, yet she stubbornly held back her words.

Truly alarmed in her heart, she couldn't help but cover her mouth with the back of her hand.

She thought that as long as she endured, it would be fine once he found a comfortable sleeping position, but then she realized she had been too optimistic.

Tonight, it seemed especially different from usual.