Once back in the tent, A Mei unfastened her cloak. She was wearing a lot, so the walk back had made her a bit warm. She then reached over to remove An Sheng’s fur coat and hung both garments on the folding screen.
When A Mei turned back, she noticed that An Sheng’s dark eyes were unusually deep.
Without thinking much of it, she asked aloud, “Husband, what’s wrong?”
Suddenly, An Sheng reached out and grabbed her wrist again, gently pulling her toward him. He opened his mouth and said, “Keep undressing.”
His voice was calm, carrying the familiar tenderness A Mei knew, but it was firm and left no room for refusal.
A Mei froze for a moment, then looked down at her figure, which seemed a bit bulky from the two layers of padded clothing she was wearing. Her lips immediately pursed into a pout, and she began muttering without lifting her head.
“Humph, who told you to make me wear so much, Husband? If you want it off, you’ll have to take it off yourself.”
The next moment, with a small gasp from A Mei, An Sheng pushed her onto the bed nearby.
Perhaps remembering that the bedding here wasn’t as soft as at home, An Sheng leaned over to hover above A Mei, a flicker of concern crossing his eyes.
“Did I hurt you when I pushed you just now?” His gaze was incredibly tender, even as his hands moved unhurriedly to undo her clothes.
A Mei shook her head, lying obediently on the bed. Her moist, sparkling eyes blinked once or twice, a hint of understanding dawning in them, followed by faint blush spreading across her cheeks. She suppressed a smile and shot him a playful glance, muttering softly:
“So this is what my husband had in mind… No wonder he was in such a hurry.”
As An Sheng’s hands moved with urgency, A Mei proactively lifted her arms and legs to make it easier for him to remove her garments. However, after peeling off two layers of underclothes and accidentally tying the sash into a stubborn knot, An Sheng’s face darkened.
A vein pulsed faintly on his forehead, and he couldn’t help blurting out, “Why are you wearing so many layers, and why are they so hard to undo?”
For the first time, A Mei felt a mix of exasperation and amusement. She couldn’t resist reaching out to poke his arm once, then twice, and said with utter disbelief, “Humph, you were the one who dressed me, Husband, and now you’re complaining.”
“Oh, husband, wait a moment!”
An Sheng raised an eyebrow.
A Mei pointed at the candle flames scattered around the tent, then tilted her chin toward the tent fabric, murmuring softly, “Can people outside see the shadows inside?”
Understanding her concern, An Sheng climbed off her and rose from the bed. One by one, he blew out the candles.
As the light faded, the space around A Mei went dark before her eyes.
Soon, she heard her husband’s heavy breathing drawing nearer, along with the clear, thumping sound of his heart pounding.
Shyly, A Mei closed her eyes. Of course, even if she kept them open, she wouldn’t have been able to see the intensity of An Sheng’s expression at that moment.
But A Mei was experienced. When that trembling hand touched her waist, she quickly reached out and firmly grasped that large hand, which was now covered with pulsing veins in the darkness.
With a soft, coaxing voice, she said, “Husband, don’t tear my clothes. I only brought these two outfits with me. If you tear them, I won’t have anything left to wear.”
An Sheng said nothing.
In the blackness, A Mei felt that his breathing seemed even heavier.
He began to move again. But this time, his actions became patient and tender—so much so that, for A Mei, it was an almost unbearable waiting. She didn’t know how long it passed. It could have been a very long time, or maybe just a brief moment.
Finally, An Sheng stripped off A Mei's clothes, revealing the girl's smooth, fair body. He then pulled the quilt over both of them, covering her soft, delicate form.
His large hands began to explore her gentle curves. The tent was pitch-black, with only a solitary candle burning beyond the screen at the entrance, illuminating barely a palm-sized area. In the darkness, An Sheng slowly traced over her, using his fingers to measure A Mei's body.
A Mei tingled and grew hot under his touch, unable to stop herself from letting out soft moans and breathy sighs.
The next moment, An Sheng’s broad hand clamped over her mouth.
A Mei’s expression showed clear surprise. In the dark, she blinked, then blinked again.
“Be good, don’t make a sound. This tent is anything but soundproof,” he said, his low voice carrying a slightly rising lilt, as if laced with indescribable excitement and amusement.
“Mmm… mmm…”
An Sheng released his hand, and A Mei complained in a small, coquettish whisper: “Ahh… but I can’t help it. What do I do?”
An Sheng’s eyes roiled with surging, silent undercurrents.
He first pressed a gentle kiss to A Mei’s small lips, then said:
“There is one way.”
A Mei asked curiously: “What way?”
His thumb, calloused with rough skin, began to trace over A Mei’s lips, as if casually teasing.
“Just like just now—cover your little mouth. Or you could bite the pillow?”
A Mei’s eyes flew wide open. She let out a coquettish huff, and her fingers, familiar with the darkness, found their way to An Sheng’s chest. She feigned resistance: “No, husband. Let’s not get intimate for now. Wait until we’re back home…”
“No.”
An Sheng’s tone remained domineering and forceful. Suddenly, he seized her two small hands from his chest, slowly pinning them above her head, holding them firmly in place.
His tone turned coaxing: “At a time like this, can my wife really hold back? Doesn’t my wife really want your husband to serve you?”
A Mei pressed her lips together and shook her head decisively. She had always been honest with her husband, so she could only answer in a small voice: “I do want it.”
But she still felt embarrassed, adding awkwardly: “But it’ll be heard.”
“Then endure it.”
In the darkness, A Mei pouted her little lips in grievance, thinking her husband meant they wouldn’t get intimate.
She twisted her hands, still pinned above her head, and said reluctantly: “Husband, don’t hold my hands…”
Before A Mei could finish, her lips were fiercely sealed by An Sheng’s.
For a moment, A Mei was dizzy and disoriented from his suffocating, passionate kiss.
Finally, their lips parted. For a time, the entire tent was filled only by the rapid, mingled breaths of the two, impossible to tell apart.
In the dark, An Sheng curled his lips. The maddened excitement and wild desire in his eyes had already burst forth. His other hand swept across A Mei’s sensitive spots, making the soft body beneath tremble uncontrollably. He said in a low, deliberate voice: “I told you to endure it, wife. If you can’t, so be it. What does it matter if others hear? You and I are husband and wife, true and genuine, with proper standing. It’s not some secret liaison or stolen pleasure. Why should we fear anyone?”
With that, he leaned down and led A Mei deeper into surrender…
But A Mei’s skin was thin after all. When passion ran deep and she could no longer bear it, she said in a delicate, breathless voice:
“Husband, mm… maybe… I should bite the pillow. I really can’t hold out anymore.”
A broad hand clamped firmly over A Mei’s small mouth.
“Mmm…”
“Mmm-mmm…”
“…………”
Be good, my lady. Your voice is so enchanting; how could I ever bear to let anyone else hear it?
