kvmb Chapter 150 Bathing Together
Chapter 150 Bathing Together
The walls are painted with brightly colored fire-avoidance pictures, depicting figures in various poses, their expressions tender and poignant, all rendered with remarkable vividness.
The paint was rather dark, not like it had been freshly painted.
Shen Qingtan blushed and her heart pounded. Startled, she took a few steps back and bumped into someone.
She was startled and turned around abruptly. After recognizing Zhao Yi, she instinctively pushed him away from the bathroom.
When Zhao Yi saw Shen Qingtan, who was in a panic, her face was like a ripe peach, and her eyes were filled with tears, as if she was extremely ashamed.
He glanced at the bathroom behind her, recalling the fire-avoidance diagram that had flashed by earlier, and said with a deep look in his eyes, "No one has used the bathroom yet. Let Liuyue and Tingxue go in and clean it up first."
Shen Qingtan nodded haphazardly: "There's only a bathtub inside, no tub." She lowered her head, staring at the tips of her shoes: "I'll ask Liuyue to fetch water."
That ambiguous atmosphere returned, and Zhao Yi's Adam's apple bobbed slightly before he silently stepped back and sat on the daybed.
Shen Qingtan breathed a slight sigh of relief and called out to Liuyue.
Liu Yue entered the inner room and saw that her cheeks were flushed, her gaze was wandering, and she was frowning and pursing her lips, looking very distressed.
She asked, "Second Grandma, what's wrong?"
Shen Qingtan was thinking about the painting on the bathroom wall, so she could shower with her back to the wall.
What about Zhao Yi?
If he uses the bathroom, he will definitely see it.
She was torn between arranging for someone to block the wall or having Zhao Yi take a bath in a different room.
But I'm also afraid that even if I move to a different place, these strange things will still be there.
"The bathhouse is dry. Go and fetch some water."
Shen Qingtan decided to have Liuyue and Tingxue bring over a screen to block the mural.
"Second Madam, I've found out that the bathhouse in Xishan is divided into two rooms, front and back. The back room has an iron pot, and holes are drilled in the wall to bring water into the bath, so there's no need to fetch water."
At this point, Liu Yue paused for a moment and vaguely reminded him, "The manager of Xishan said that the bathhouse is quite large, which consumes both water and firewood, so only one boiler of water is boiled each day."
Shen Qingtan was stunned: "Isn't a whole boiler of water only enough for one person?"
Liu Yue stammered, "I asked the same question to the steward. He said that if you come to Xishan for fun, it's enough if you come alone. If you are a couple, you can bathe together. Otherwise, you can each stay in a room, which will solve the water problem."
Shen Qingtan: "..."
They have been married for a long time, but have not yet consummated their marriage.
It's really embarrassing to suddenly jump to bathing together.
Her gaze drifted to the man sitting on the daybed, just as he looked up from his book, and their eyes met.
A subtle and indescribable feeling quietly grew in my heart.
"Go take a bath." Zhao Yi's eyes were deep and his voice was low. "I'll send Jiang Mu to find a bathtub later, and I'll also tell the steward to bring firewood to boil another pot of water."
"Hmm." Shen Qingtan responded, turned and went into the bathroom, her back to the wall.
Liu Yue followed them in, and when she saw the painting on the wall, her eyes widened in surprise, and her little face turned bright red.
"Second...Second Madam, this..." Liu Yue said in disbelief, "I heard someone say before that each courtyard in Xishan has a unique style, and each guest can choose a courtyard according to their preferences."
Shen Qingtan's eyelids twitched, the implication being that this was the Forget-Worry Pavilion that her fourth uncle and aunt had specially chosen.
How could the couple possibly dislike each other?
They were clearly inseparable, deeply in love.
As expected, rumors shouldn't be taken at face value.
-
The bathroom was built with white stone, and the pool was filled with jasmine petals prepared by Xishan. The hot water steamed the room, creating a fragrant atmosphere.
Shen Qingtan sat in the pool, the hot water reaching her chest, and all the pores on her body opened up.
As her mind gradually calmed down, she realized that once Zhao Yi realized the "extraordinary" nature of this house, she would definitely set about changing it to a smaller courtyard.
But he didn't move; he still lived in the same house.
She hadn't considered that he intended to consummate the marriage; given his physical condition, doing so would likely cause him further harm.
I suspect they have other plans.
After soaking for half an hour, Shen Qingtan finally got up and changed into an apricot-colored undershirt.
She instructed Liuyue, "When you clean up the bath later, remember to cover up the murals."
Liu Yue nodded.
Shen Qingtan stepped out of the bathroom and saw the man holding a letter.
She asked, "Do you have official business to attend to?"
"No." Zhao Yi finished reading the letter, placed it in the small bronze stove beside him, and lit it with a tinderbox from the small table. He glanced at Shen Qingtan and saw that her skin was flushed and rosy from the heat, and she looked completely refreshed: "Grandmother wrote a letter. She is worried about my health and has arranged for the family physician to come to Xishan."
Before Shen Qingtan married Zhao Yi, she had heard that if he went on a long trip, the family physician would accompany him.
She sat on the stool and took off the towel that had been wrapped around her wet hair: "Shall we sleep separately for the next few days?"
Zhao Yi washed her hands and said without even lifting her eyelids, "There's no need to sleep separately."
Shen Qingtan frowned: "Prince Yu probably knows the news. It will be very dangerous for you to be with me."
"Before coming to Xishan, do you remember what you promised me?" Zhao Yi took a clean towel, came behind her, and gathered her wet hair: "Tan'er, I have no other requests of you, I only wish that you treat me with the same sincerity in your words and deeds."
Shen Qingtan understood his words, and he hoped she would keep her word.
Before coming to Xishan, she promised him that she would listen to him in everything and would not act rashly.
When Zhao Yi saw that she stopped talking and obediently let him dry her hair, he knew that she tacitly agreed that the two of them should not sleep separately.
In the evening, after the couple finished their dinner, they took a walk around the bamboo grove behind their courtyard before returning to their room to rest.
There was only one quilt on the bed, and Zhao Yi, contrary to her usual practice, insisted on sleeping on the outer side.
Shen Qingtan couldn't refuse him, so she lay down on the inside. After a while, the man lay down beside her, his cool fragrance enveloping her, making her too nervous to move.
The next moment, the man turned and pulled her into his arms, one arm going under her neck and the other around her waist.
In an instant, her heart pounded like a drum, and she didn't know what to do with her hands and feet.
Normally, at home, the two of them would each have their own quilt, and they had never been so intimate before.
They were so intimate that his breath fell on her forehead, and it seemed that if she looked up, she could touch his thin lips.
As Shen Qingtan's mind raced, the man pressed her waist, pinning her against his hard chest.
She unexpectedly thought of the fire-avoidance diagram in the bathroom. Zhao Yi's intimacy made her subconsciously reach out and press her hand against his chest: "Second Master, don't..."
Zhao Yi looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Shen Qingtan blurted out, "You're not good enough."
The words had barely left her mouth when she snapped back to reality, nearly biting her tongue. What utterly nonsensical things had she just said?
She explained, annoyed, "I mean, you're not in good health..."
At this point, her words abruptly stopped.
The more you explain, the worse it gets.
In short, it all sounds like they're saying he's no good.
Zhao Yi realized that she had misunderstood her intentions, and her thoughts became complicated.
That male dignity, which he had never cared about before, suddenly surfaced.