Sure enough, A Mei woke up in the middle of the night needing to relieve herself.
The moment she moved, An Sheng opened his eyes.
"Do you need to use the chamber pot?"
A Mei gave a soft hum, her voice a bit hoarse. Having just woken up, her body felt sore and weak. She couldn't help but murmur a soft complaint to An Sheng, "Husband, A Mei cannot get up."
An Sheng sat up and drew back the bed curtains, letting the candlelight in.
Turning his head, he saw A Mei lying obediently on the bed. Because he had sat up, the quilt covering her had slipped down, revealing her smooth, round shoulders and the upper half of her small chest.
Her beautiful, pitch-black hair was scattered messily across the bed. From An Sheng's angle, his gaze fell right upon the tender curves of her chest, which were marked with bruised red and purple love bites...
At this moment, A Mei looked at him with a mix of shy timidity and charming reproach. Her watery eyes still held the innocent drowsiness of having just woken up. This striking image, so deeply erotic yet exuding a pure desire, made An Sheng's breathing falter for a second.
A Mei blinked and reached out her slender arms toward An Sheng, pouting her small lips in a silent urging.
An Sheng snapped back to his senses and quickly helped A Mei sit up.
His gaze was as tender as water, staring intently at A Mei with a faint smile on his lips. "You are completely bare, and it is cold in the room. Wait a moment, I will bring the chamber pot over so you can relieve yourself right by the bed."
Hearing this, A Mei's small face instantly flushed as red as blood. She shook her head.
"I do not want to. Husband, I will just throw on a piece of clothing and go behind the screen."
An Sheng stared at A Mei's deeply flushed face and raised an eyebrow. "What is there to be shy about in front of me? Is there any part of your body I have not seen? Be good."
Saying so, he stepped out of bed to fetch the chamber pot.
"Ah, Husband, wait." A Mei grabbed An Sheng's arm. Her watery eyes blinked as she looked at his face in embarrassment, then darted her gaze away. Looking awkward, she mumbled, "Please do not. I will not be able to go with my husband watching me."
"Alright then." An Sheng got out of bed, casually grabbed an inner garment, and draped it over A Mei. He helped her down from the bed, his voice low and gentle. "Go on, then."
A Mei, with a red face, pursed her lips and gave a soft hum.
Soon, A Mei returned with quick, small steps. As soon as she got into bed, An Sheng scooped her up into the warm quilt.
"Are you cold?"
A Mei nestled in An Sheng's embrace, her eyes narrowing in comfort. "Mhm, a little bit."
An Sheng pulled the body in his arms even tighter, his large hand rubbing up and down A Mei's smooth back.
Feeling comfortable, A Mei let out a soft moan. "It is still warmest in my husband's arms. When you were not back, I felt cold no matter how many layers I used."
An Sheng said with a mix of heartache and helplessness, "That is because you always kick the blankets off."
A Mei giggled and wriggled out of An Sheng's embrace. The two lay on their sides, heads facing each other, as her watery eyes stared intently at An Sheng's face.
A Mei was sleeping on the inner side of the bed. At this moment, An Sheng's back was to the light, with only a faint glimmer of candlelight from outside the curtains. From A Mei's angle, she could not actually see him clearly, but in this blurry interplay of light and shadow, she found herself staring in a daze.
She reached out to touch An Sheng's face, her fingers tracing down from his forehead to his eyebrows, bit by bit.
"Husband, A Mei still feels like she is dreaming."
"You," An Sheng sighed, his tone filled with doting affection. "I would not dare leave you behind in the future."
A Mei felt as sweet and happy as if she had eaten honey. She leaned in closer and gently kissed An Sheng's forehead, then the tip of his nose, and then his cheek.
Wet, gentle kisses.
Then her eyes curved into crescents, shining like the stars.
"Husband is the best. A Mei likes Husband the most."
An Sheng gazed at A Mei for a good while. Finally, he solemnly planted a soft kiss on her forehead, and then wrapped her entirely into his embrace.
"Good girl."
Suddenly, A Mei asked from within An Sheng's arms, "Husband, do you have to go to the morning court assembly tomorrow?"
An Sheng gave a hum of affirmation. "Yes, there is still a lot of official business to handle."
A Mei complained softly, "His Majesty is really something. You finally came back from so far away, and he will not even let you rest for a few days."
An Sheng played along with A Mei, saying, "Exactly, how could His Majesty ever understand the hardships of his officials?"
A Mei added, "Then when you wake up at the hour of Yin, you must wake A Mei up. A Mei will serve Husband by washing your face and changing your clothes."
An Sheng felt a warm rush in his heart, but how could he bear to do that? He said, "It is too early. I have told you before, you do not need to wake up early to serve me before morning court."
A Mei was not happy about this. "No, A Mei wants to get up. Husband, promise A Mei right now."
An Sheng had no choice but to agree. Then, as if thinking of something, he pondered for a moment and asked:
"And what if I do not wake you up?"
A Mei frowned slightly and pouted, thinking to herself how could he not wake her, but meeting An Sheng's half-smiling eyes, just as she was about to speak, her mind suddenly recalled the last time she was with her husband in Wenzhou. That time, he had to leave on urgent business for several days and wanted to let her know, but he could not wake her up...
A Mei pinched the soft flesh at An Sheng's waist and spoke in bashful anger, "Oh, I see! Husband is doing this on purpose."
An Sheng let out an ouch and twitched the corner of his mouth. "My dear wife, what am I doing on purpose?"
A Mei huffed. "Husband was just making fun of A Mei, right?"
An Sheng's expression turned serious, though his eyes were full of indulgent affection. "Absolutely not. How would I dare?"
A Mei acted spoiled: "You did!"
An Sheng: "I really did not."
A Mei: "You did, you did!"
An Sheng sighed helplessly: "Alright then, I did, I did."
A Mei became even more displeased, and she started pinching An Sheng's waist again: "So you really did! Hmph!"
An Sheng: ...
