Yan Xiu raised an eyebrow. "Is my beloved concubine planning to have me bathe with my clothes on?"
Li Yuyu: ...
! She forgot...
Li Yuyu stared at the bright yellow night robe that was the only thing left on Yan Xiu. Just a light lift, and all those chest muscles, abs, every kind of muscle she’d touched last time would clearly appear before her eyes.
But...
When Li Yuyu’s hand touched the inner garment on Yan Xiu’s body, for some reason her cheeks grew hot.
The heat spread especially fast; both her ears felt like they were about to catch fire.
"This concubine will go call Shen Quan in to serve the Emperor’s bath." Li Yuyu swiftly drew back her hand and hurried out of the inner room.
Out in the corridor, even the night wind felt stiflingly hot. Not only did Li Yuyu not feel any relief or cooling, she actually felt her body temperature rising even more.
This damn blazing yellow-weather heat!
Feeling unbearably hot and restless, Li Yuyu started to miss the chill coming off the ice blocks in the inner room.
"Lady Xiu, why did you come out?"
Hua Yin looked oddly at Li Yuyu, who was standing in the corridor, tipping her head back to gaze at the bright moon and muttering who-knows-what.
It took Li Yuyu a moment to realize that Lady Xiu was calling her.
She was now at the rank of concubine and could be addressed as "lady."
It was... pretty hard to get used to.
"Nothing, it’s too hot inside, I came out to get some air." As soon as Li Yuyu finished speaking, she saw several folding fans in Hua Yin’s hand, snatched one from her, opened it, and started fanning furiously.
"My lady, you..." Hua Yin pointed at the fan in Li Yuyu’s hand.
"Oh, it’s not really any cooler out here. I’d better go back in." Li Yuyu’s gaze flickered; she avoided Hua Yin’s eyes and went back inside, still fanning herself.
Hua Yin: ???
Lady Xiu is so strange. Is she too excited because she’s just been promoted, or too keyed up because she’s serving in bed tonight?
Li Yuyu paced back and forth a few steps at the doorway, hesitating about whether to go in.
Inside the inner room, behind the screen by the pool, Shen Quan was just about to help Yan Xiu wipe his back.
"Leave."
Shen Quan said considerately, "Does the Emperor wish for this servant to summon Lady Xiu?"
"No need."
Shen Quan: ?
"She’s here." As soon as Yan Xiu spoke, a faint sound came from beyond the door.
Shen Quan smiled, bowed, and withdrew, opening the door just before Li Yuyu could.
"Eh? Lady Xiu, you’re back. This servant was just about to go look for you." Shen Quan’s face was all smiles. "This servant has something urgent to attend to and must leave at once. I’ll leave His Majesty in your care, my lady."
He finished speaking and, without waiting for Li Yuyu to reply, bowed out of the room and even thoughtfully made a "please" gesture.
Li Yuyu: !
Shen Quan was gone.
Li Yuyu pressed her lips together, entered the room, and closed the door herself.
"So slow. Come and wipe my back." In the pool, Yan Xiu’s deep voice held a faint note of displeasure.
Li Yuyu: ...
W-wipe his back?
A lone man and a lone woman in the middle of the night—fine, a bath is a bath. But he even invited her to wipe his back. Is he not afraid she won’t be able to resist doing things beyond just wiping?
Yan Xiu sat in the pool. When he didn’t hear Li Yuyu approaching for a long time, he chuckled and said, "Why hasn’t my beloved concubine come over yet?"
"Could it be that you’re shy?"
Shy?
Her?
Impossible!
Li Yuyu walked over quickly. She tried to control where she looked, but from the moment her gaze swept over Yan Xiu, her eyes uncontrollably started roaming over his body.
Mm.
Why is the tub so deep? And there are flower petals scattered in it? Ha! What’s the point of scattering so many—can’t see a thing now.
Li Yuyu walked behind Yan Xiu, picked up a yellow silk towel by the Imperial Pool, dipped it in the hot water, and just as she was about to wipe down Yan Xiu’s back, her hand suddenly froze.