After Becoming the Hero's Ex-fiancée

Heart Cleansing Arts (1)

“Oh?”
“…Oh.”

Cui Wang edged backwards.

As Zheng Wan was now sitting on him, she moved along with him.
Her brows knitted slightly, “Where are you going?”

Cui Wang pursed his lips and did not answer.

Zheng Wan was annoyed.
This person was really a piece of wood. She had already been trying hard for so long, but he wasn’t being cooperative at all.

She was annoyed, but she couldn’t take her anger out on him. She found the dagger under her even more and more annoying, digging into her in such a way that her delicate skin felt really uncomfortable.
She reached out reflexively to push it aside, but unexpectedly, this action caused the both of them to freeze.

Cui Wang’s breathing suddenly became rough.

He pushed her hand away, got up and wanted to leave, but Zheng Wan stood up and once and jumped on top of him, giggling as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She had finally realised what it was.

“Cui Wang, Cui Wang...” she called out laughingly.

Each word was delicate and sweet, as if stained with the peaches and pears outside, and juice could be squeezed out from them.

Cui Wang turned his head angrily.

From her point of view, she could see that his icy and jade-like face was actually covered with a thin veil of pink, but his expression was still stubborn. Under the crow-black lashes, his eyes were staring straight at the picture of the Hanshi Festival1 on the wall—
Resolutely not looking at her.

Zheng Wan reached out, grabbed his head, and made him face her.

In the dark pupils, a fire was reflected, and in the crimson outer flame, there was a tender white core.

She knew that right now, she was beautiful.

Perhaps it was due to her cultivation, but her skin that was good to begin with was becoming increasingly flawless. In the past, Father hardly ever allowed her to wear red, saying that it was too loud and was not dignified enough—
But Mother had told her in private to not become a stickler for what the books taught and be overly pedantic. The most important thing was to live comfortably.

In the books, the main lady of the house should always be dignified, demure, and virtuous, and it was best if she could manage a nest of concubines for her husband— but Mother had said that one had to live for oneself, and only you would know of your own distress. How much was pride worth?

What really mattered was what’s inside.

Of course, it was necessary to be dignified outside, so as not to give cause for talk. But in private with your partner, there was no need to put on a face. Who wants willing to face a clay Buddha all day?
Being gentle, caring, stubborn, and capricious— it was important to have a bit of everything. That would make others want to dote on you even more.

“The child who cries will get milk to drink.”
Zheng Wang had put this phrase into practice very thoroughly since childhood.

She had always admired her mother. In all these years, her mother was the sole mistress of the highest-ranking official in the country. Her father did not even have a single concubine. Even though she was not in good health, and couldn’t give birth to a son, she had never experienced the troubles others did. Instead, her father doted her mother to the core even more.

This proved that there was truth in her mother’s words.

Therefore, Zheng Wan did not shy away from wearing… clothes that would seem deviant in the eyes of the stodgy conservatives.

“Cui Wang, look. Am I pretty?”
She cupped Cui Wang’s cheeks with both hands and pouted, not allowing him to move away.

Cui Wang’s eyes fell on her slightly swollen lips, but when he moved away, his gaze accidentally landed on the delicate, slender waist, then upwards…

He turned his head; his Adam’s apple bobbed, and seemingly disdainful and also impatient, he spat out in a low and hoarse voice, “No.”

Zheng Wan harumphed. “Really?”

“Really.”

The other party’s indifferent voice made her determined, and she took his hand and cupped it over the place even her mother had praised.

Daughters of noble families grew up applying aromatic creams and fragrances since childhood. The more particular ones even hired nannies to help with bone setting and massage. As a result, there were very few who were fat. Most of them developed delicate and fine figures, and Zheng Wan was outstanding in every regard.

Her legs were long and straight, her shoulders slim and narrow, and her waist was slight and slender. Yet, that area was not thin at all, and seemed even fuller because of the contrast with her slender waist.

Cui Wang pulled back, but unexpectedly, his hand sunk even further into that warm loveliness, heavy and fragrant.

She tilted her head, seeming both innocent and arrogant.
“Am I really not pretty?”

Cui Wang froze. His voice was angry, “Zheng Wan.”

Zheng Wan smiled at him, then pounced forward to bit his lip, nibbling on it like a cat holding food with its mouth. “No dodging.”

“Each time you dodge, I’ll find another person to try this with.”

Sure enough, Cui Wang stiffened and stopped dodging.

......

Night gradually fell. On the long settee, the coverlet was all crumpled. White and red clothes were in a jumble, scattered everywhere, and a crimson dudou2 lay half on the settee and half on the floor.

The Hongxin fruit had scattered all over the ground from the table, and the jug filled with pear blossom wine had fallen over. Wine had gurgled down and stained the floor. The wet stains travelled all the way inwards, extending to the back of the chamber where a hot spring that was emitting a dense white vapour was.

The water in this heated pool also seemed to be boiling. Necks intertwined, intimate and lingering.

Ah Wan pushed open the door gently and peeked inside, only to see clothes scattered all over the floor. It lowered its head and picked up the white robe. The clueless wooden puppet patted it and found that it could not be patted clean. It was wet, and even the carpet and the brocade on the settee were wet and crumpled.

It picked up the clothes and was about to pick up the small red cloth on the settee. This little piece of cloth was very strange; there were two red strings, and it had a beautiful flower embroidered on it—
Just then, a person walked out from the inner room. He was wearing a plain white robe, and there was still some water vapour on him. He was barefoot, and it seemed as if he had just gotten out of the hot spring.

Footnotes:

1 Hanshi Festival: Literally translated as “Cold Food Festival”, it is the day before the Qingming Festival (also named Tomb Sweeping Festival). On this day, no fire or smoke is allowed, and people have to eat cold food for the whole day

2 dudou: a traditional Chinese form of the bodice, worn by females as an undershirt. The typical design of a dudou consists of a single rectangular, rhomboidal, diamond-shaped piece of fabric which covers the breasts and belly, tied to the neck and waist with attached strings (like a backless halter top).