As their lips intertwined, Qin Zheng realized that her previous kiss was merely a drop in the ocean.
She was panting heavily, her mind feeling like a mess of porridge.
The crisp scent of pine enveloped her, comforting yet enticing.
With one hand pressing against the nape of her neck and the other on her delicate waist, Chu Chengji’s warm palm moved slowly under the thin nightgown, heating up her body through the fabric.
Qin Zheng’s limbs felt weak, and she could barely support her own weight, allowing herself to collapse onto Chu Chengji.
She loved the scent on him, unconsciously burying her face into his neck, her small and moist nose nuzzling against his skin, rubbing gently, like a small animal expressing affection.
Chu Chengji’s breathing became heavier, and he rolled over, pressing her down.
He looked into her hazy eyes and couldn’t help but kiss her eyelids.
Although his face still maintained a cool and composed demeanor, his throat had already rolled several times.
The hot kiss trailed down the smooth jade of her cheek, reaching the corner of her mouth, and then slipped in, entwining with her tongue.
Any semblance of rationality that Qin Zheng had managed to gather fell apart in this kiss, and she let out a soft whimper, akin to that of a small animal.
Chu Chengji’s hand on her slender waist suddenly tightened, his forehead already damp with sweat, the blood in his veins boiling, almost burning through his flesh.
After the kiss ended, he pressed his forehead against Qin Zheng’s, his eyes deep and unreadable, his breath scorching.
“I’ve prepared a military unit for you.”
“What?”
His sudden mention of this caught Qin Zheng off guard.
He kissed her lips again, this time lightly. “It’s your reward.”
Qin Zheng’s mind exploded with this revelation, and her eyes cleared up a bit.
Was he saying that he had prepared a military unit exclusively for her?
Chu Chengji’s next words confirmed her suspicions.
He pulled open her collar slightly and kissed her collarbone and delicate shoulder, leaving a mark on the mole on her collarbone.
His voice was clear and crisp, “Whether now or in the future, this army unit will only obey your commands.”
Although Qin Zheng had authority in Qingzhou, most officials still respected her because of her status as the Crown Princess.
But with her own military unit, she would not only have political influence but also military power, making her and Chu Chengji more than just political allies but also military partners.
In simpler terms, Chu Chengji was essentially giving her shares in their “company.”
The CEO’s wife and the CEO’s wife with shares held different weights in the eyes of others.
“Why… Why are you suddenly giving me a military unit?” It took Qin Zheng a long time to come back to her senses.
Chu Chengji gently touched her small face with one hand, his eyes filled with tenderness. “Because you deserve it.”
Qin Zheng’s fingers tightened around the bedclothes beneath her.
If he were to give her a military unit abruptly, it would undoubtedly lead to criticism from his advisors and generals.
However, after the absurd incident with the ridiculous words before, her reputation among the officials was no less than his.
Everything was traceable with careful observation.
He had planned to give her a military unit long before, which was why he had been setting the stage for her and paving the way, allowing her to legitimately take control of Qingzhou’s political power.
Perhaps agreeing to appoint Lin Zhao as a general tonight, besides genuinely admiring Lin Zhao’s martial skills, was also a way to support her in the military in the future.
Tears welled up in Qin Zheng’s eyes as she looked straight into his eyes. “Chu Chengji, why are you so good to me?”
This was the first time she had addressed him directly by his name.
Chu Chengji couldn’t remember the last time someone had called him by his name.
In the early years when he first joined the military, she used to call him by this name.
Later, others referred to him as “General” or “Your Majesty.”
Thus, being called by his name after a lifetime of being addressed differently, Chu Chengji felt a moment of daze.
It seemed as though the past and present were linked by this name, and those memories he didn’t want to dwell on too much no longer felt so painful.
His fingers, roughened by martial arts practice, caressed Qin Zheng’s cheek.
There was a faint smile on his lips. “I’ve said that I’ll make up for anything you’ve missed out on, even better than before.”
Qin Zheng’s eyes filled with even more tears.
He had indeed said such words before, but she hadn’t taken them seriously.
Could it be that everything he promised her was something he truly cared about?
Seeing tears welling up in Qin Zheng’s eyes, Chu Chengji frowned slightly and reached out to wipe them away. “Why are you crying?”
Qin Zheng shook her head in distress, her eyes brimming with tears.
She called out to him again, “Chu Chengji.”
“I’m here,” he replied patiently. “Do you like calling me by this name? When there’s no one else around in the future, feel free to call me this way.”
Qin Zheng indeed called out his name again, “Chu Chengji.”
“Yeah,” he lifted his eyebrows slightly as he looked at her, his eyes full of indulgence.
The sash on his ink-black robe had long been discarded by Qin Zheng.
At this moment, he half sat up, his clothes spreading open on both sides, revealing his muscular chest and well-defined abdominal muscles in Qin Zheng’s sight.
The candle on the high candlestick had extinguished, and the morning light seeped through the window, illuminating the room.
Tiny specks of dust danced in the beam of light, and the subtle golden threads on Chu Chengji’s ink-black robe shimmered faintly.
“I love you.”
She reached out to touch the well-defined muscles, and in the heavy breathing of Chu Chengji, she raised her upper body to kiss his sexy Adam’s apple.
Tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks as she spoke, “But you don’t understand what these three words mean. But I really love you.”
The kisses on her neck were not only hot but also cooled by the tears.
Chu Chengji’s muscles tensed all over, his hand propped on the bed trembling, veins bulging.
He breathed slowly, one hand wrapped around her back, gently patting her shoulder, pouring out all the gentleness he had accumulated in his life.
“Silly girl, even if I don’t understand, when you say it, I’ll understand,” he kissed her temple softly. “I love you too.”
He gently supported the back of her neck, guiding her to lie down, planting tender kisses on her eyelids, soothing her sobbing.
Qin Zheng embraced him, trying to respond to him, the warmth in the air spreading.
As the morning sun dazzled, Chu Chengji pulled down the bed curtains hanging on the golden hooks, and layers of curtains fell down, enclosing the space around them.
He followed the curve of her neck downwards, leaving devout yet lingering kisses.
Qin Zheng, who had finally managed to stop crying, began to sob intermittently again.
Her hands twisted the beddings into a mess, and she was covered in a thin layer of sweat, looking as if she had been pulled out of the water.
Chu Chengji wiped away the glistening moisture on her lips with her robe, noticing her absent gaze.
Unable to resist, he kissed her again, taking one of her hands and guiding it towards him.
Qin Zheng regained some strength, turning her head to look at him.
She saw the large beads of sweat on his forehead, freeing her hand from his grasp.
Thinking that she didn’t want to, Chu Chengji leaned in to kiss her again. “Are you tired? Go to sleep.”
He got up to go to the bathroom, but his legs were stopped by her outstretched leg.
Facing Chu Chengji’s gaze, Qin Zheng’s sweaty hair stuck to her face.
She pursed her lips and blushed, saying, “I can do it.”
As she sat up, her graceful figure was even more visually striking than when she was lying down.
Chu Chengji was almost overwhelmed by her words, unable to look at her directly or think about her words further.
He simply pulled her into a tight embrace, trying to calm the surging thoughts in his heart. “Silly girl.”
Qin Zheng understood the meaning behind his words and asked, “Why… is it always like this?”
“The situation in Jianghuai is still uncertain. If you were to get pregnant now, I wouldn’t be able to be by your side, and there wouldn’t be a safe city for you to raise the child. I want you, I think about you every night lying beside you, but I’m more afraid of losing you.”
Qin Zheng hadn’t expected that the reason he had been avoiding intimacy with her all this time was because of this.
Unable to describe the feeling in her heart, it was just a sourness that made her chest ache.
She buried her head in his broad shoulder, trying to push back the tears in her eyes, and after a moment, she looked up at him. “What you do for me, I can do for you too.”
Seeing her swollen lips from the kisses, Chu Chengji’s mind almost exploded.
The tenderness and affection on his face were on the verge of collapsing.
He struggled to say, “No.”
“Why not?”
“Dirty.”
“Isn’t it the same for you…”
“It’s different.”
He rested his forehead against hers, once again holding her hand, his eyes carrying a hint of earnestness. “If Azheng truly cares for me, she’ll help me…”
His love and desire were evident in his eyes, drawing her in.
Qin Zheng bit her lip, suppressing her embarrassment. “Actually… there are other ways…”
…
After washing up and lying back on the bed, Qin Zheng’s legs still throbbed painfully, making it hard for her to sleep.
She sighed softly, thinking she might just have to use her hands from now on.
Beside her, the breathing was steady, but a hand was still firmly wrapped around her waist.
Chu Chengji had developed a habit at some point: whenever he slept in the same bed with Qin Zheng, she would always end up in his embrace.
When Qin Zheng tossed and turned at night, he would subconsciously pull her back if she rolled too far away.
At first, Qin Zheng wasn’t used to being held while sleeping, her waist and back ached for days.
But gradually, she got used to it, and it even corrected her sleeping posture, which had been unchanged for years.
Now, the long, gentle breaths beside her made her unable to resist turning her head to look.
Chu Chengji always slept peacefully, his silky black hair spread on the soft pillow.
His eyelashes, like crow feathers, seemed to be delicately drawn against his pale skin.
His lips were pale, strangely inviting her to kiss them.
His breath was clean, like bamboo growing in the mountains, yet also like snow-covered pines, cold and serene.
But half an hour ago, Qin Zheng had also seen his disheveled and wild expression.
Both were him, and she loved both.
Her fingertips lightly traced his contours, and when they reached his lips, she couldn’t help but lean forward and plant a kiss before nestling back into his embrace, falling asleep contentedly.
What she didn’t know was that after she closed her eyes, he opened his, and his fingertips curled slightly.