PFC Chapter 721 The Childhood Sweetheart Used as a Shield (31)
Chapter 721 The Childhood Sweetheart Used as a Shield (31)
A warm glow from a red candle quietly crept into the originally dimly lit bed curtains.
Using this light, Mu Zhou could see Su Youbai hovering above her.
A layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, slowly gathering together as he moved before dripping down.
It landed precisely on Mu Zhou's collarbone.
The scalding sweat made her tremble, and her shoulders involuntarily hunched over.
Su Youbai quickly pressed down on her shoulders, rendering her unable to move.
At this moment, he was far more domineering than usual.
He lowered his head, kissed away the bead of sweat, then kissed his way up her neck and captured her lips in his mouth.
Mu Zhou blushed completely.
His body was shaking even more violently.
A tingling, itchy sensation kept washing over her, and she couldn't help but want to twist her body, but Su Youbai held her waist down firmly.
Broken sobs spilled from his throat.
An overwhelming sense of shame brought tears to her eyes, and she forgot all manners and propriety.
“Su Youbai…”
Her voice was sweet and coquettish, a mixture of shyness and indignation as she called his name.
Su Youbai's Adam's apple bobbed, and his eyes burned with a burning intensity that no longer needed to be suppressed.
He lowered his head and bit her lip, his deep, husky voice seeming to scrape against Mu Zhou's eardrums:
"Why is Zhou'er calling me?"
There was even a hint of a smile in his tone.
He remained deliberate, slowly tearing away Mu Zhou's last line of rational defense.
Let her and him both fall into depravity.
He pinched her slender waist, slowly kneading and feeling its delicate fragility.
She seems to be soft all over.
At this moment, a charming blush appeared at the corners of Mu Zhou's eyes.
Her shy demeanor was both charming and alluring.
He likes her just the way she is.
Mu Zhou was bewildered only by him.
……
Mu Zhou woke up once in the middle of the night, and Su Youbai held her tightly in his arms.
In a daze, Su Youbai noticed that she had briefly regained consciousness and kissed her without hesitation.
"Zhou'er's physical strength is much better than I expected. I underestimated Zhou'er."
At this moment, Su Youbai forgot about the emperor and empress; all he knew was that the warm, soft woman in his arms was his wife.
His kisses became increasingly unrestrained.
Mu Zhou was then forced to regain consciousness again.
The next day, she didn't get up until the sun was high in the sky, only then did she rise with the help of palace maids.
Just as she sat down at the table to eat, she heard a sound from the outer room.
When Mu Zhou looked up, he saw that all the palace servants were kneeling on the ground.
"See the Emperor."
Su Youbai's arrival was quite timely.
He sat down directly next to Mu Zhou, and the palace maid immediately set out a new set of bowls and chopsticks.
Mu Zhou was starving and ignored him, starting to eat. Su Youbai didn't mind either. He glanced at her, noticing that she looked fairly energetic, and suddenly felt a little hungry himself.
Seeing that Mu Zhou had a particular fondness for the crab meat lion's head meatballs, he said:
"A new chef specializing in Huaiyang cuisine has joined the Imperial Kitchen. This crab meat lion's head is his specialty. If you think it's good, you can have him come to your small kitchen in the future."
The Empress's sleeping quarters were the Yu Chen Palace, which was next to the Qin Jian Hall, where the Emperor conducted his official business and reviewed memorials, but was quite far from the Emperor's sleeping quarters.
So Su Youbai simply moved in as well and lived with her.
That way, you can come directly after court.
Upon hearing his arrangement, Mu Zhou did not refuse.
It's more convenient to give orders from your own small kitchen.
She ate slowly and with proper dining etiquette, yet she ate quite a lot.
This is against the rules.
The old woman standing nearby was terrified.
Originally, it was one thing for the Empress not to rise and pay her respects to the Emperor, but she also didn't care about him when eating, and just ate by herself.
Especially since she ate so much, I wonder if the Emperor will be angry.
Apart from the military generals, the men and women of the Great Xia Dynasty ate very little.
Eat only half a bowl of rice and only two bites of each dish.
A poet once wrote a poem specifically praising this dining habit, saying that it involved drinking dew and not eating human food.
This has inspired many young men and women to imitate it.
But the Empress had already eaten a bowl and a half of rice. She liked the crab meat lion's head meatballs and ate almost half of them.
Her heart jumped into her throat with nervousness.
However, she secretly observed for a few moments and saw that the Emperor not only did not blame her at all, but instead looked at the Empress with a gentle smile.
The emperor even served food to the empress.
The huge weight in her heart was finally lifted a little.
Perhaps, the Emperor simply prefers the Empress just the way she is.
*
The curtains were drawn as soon as it got dark.
"Su Youbai! What kind of emperor goes back to his bedchamber so early? Didn't you say you would be diligent in governing and love your people?"
Mu Zhou pushed him away as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, unable to suppress her anger.
Su Youbai left a mark on her neck and said slowly:
"While diligence in governing and love for the people are important, harmony between husband and wife is equally important. I certainly cannot neglect one for the other."
His hoarse voice sounded muffled, and his hot breath sprayed onto Mu Zhou's skin, making Mu Zhou involuntarily shrink back.
Su Youbai noticed her trembling.
He picked her up and let her cling to his shoulders.
Su Youbai chuckled softly and whispered in her ear:
"Zhou'er is so light, I can pick you up with one hand."
The large hand ravaging her waist made Mu Zhou's cheeks flush red, but she felt unsafe being held like this, so she dared not let go and could only cling to him tightly.
But Su Youbai kept twisting the truth in her ear:
Why are you holding Zhou'er so tightly?
"So, Zhou'er likes it this way too."
Mu Zhou bit her lower lip tightly, not daring to make a sound, for fear of provoking him to become even more unrestrained.
Hearing him say that, I was so embarrassed I wanted to bite him.
She did bite.
Su Youbai tensed up instantly, let out a muffled groan, and then tightened his grip even more.
Mu Zhou's clothes were not completely removed, but this coy, half-concealed appearance only made people want to bully her even more.
Su Youbai stared intently at her with dark eyes, his breathing becoming increasingly rapid.
Her clothes were so disheveled that they were almost unrecognizable as they were originally, and her skin, which was faintly visible, was still stained with the red marks he had left behind.
That night, the noise lasted until the wee hours again.
*
On the tenth anniversary of Mu Zhou and Su Youbai's marriage, a certain Lord Hu, unwilling to give up, tried to force Su Youbai to hold a selection of concubines to expand his harem.
As a result, at Su Youbai's suggestion, the newly appointed top scholar proposed a new policy of "abolishing the chastity archway and promoting the remarriage of widows".
This policy immediately sparked controversy and protests.
In particular, the official Hu who forced Su Youbai to participate in the imperial concubine selection had his eldest son die on his wedding night, and his daughter-in-law had remained chaste for many years.
The daughter-in-law's family was also an official family. They felt sorry for their daughter who was widowed at such a young age and had thought about taking her back to remarry. However, Lord Hu said, "A remarried woman will bring shame to the family. She can only remain chaste or be buried alive with the deceased."
Under such pressure, the daughter-in-law's family had no choice but to give up.
Once this policy was introduced, in order to ensure its smooth implementation, all officials had to set an example. If any family had a chaste daughter, they had to either send her back to her parents' home or arrange a marriage for her.
At Su Youbai's instigation, the newly appointed top scholar continuously put pressure on Lord Hu.
Lord Hu was so angry that he suffered a headache and fell ill. He tried to cover it up, but his daughter-in-law was taken away by her family while he was recuperating.
Not long after, her family found her another husband.
The new policy also stipulated that if a woman remained chaste for more than three years, her husband's family would have to provide a dowry.
So, Lord Hu had no choice but to reluctantly pay the money.