[曦澄 | XiCheng]: The Fear Of Falling In Love [~PART 2~]

[185.] The maid.[I]

NOTE:

In case you wondered why I wasn't posting these last days:

My New Year's resolution is to TRY  to swear less. But Wattpad is making it hard. So hard. 

So so so hard.

Jiang Cheng is my fucking spirit animal. 
Happy FUCKING New Year, beautiful people!

**** 

- I wish you hadn't left me out of this.

Zewu-Jun was frowning, towering over his husband, next to the bed, arms crossed on his chest. He had watched from the window of his study how Lin Shou-Yi was being dragged out of the bedroom, too anxious to even move or breathe, too afraid how Jiang Wanyin had managed; and then  –  too quickly it seemed  –  the young commander was put into uniform and mounted on a horse, setting out for Yunmeng within the hour, never even looking back.

He was dumbfounded; he had truthfully expected Jiang Cheng to execute him publicly. It wasn't the bloodshed that he thirsted after, no. But he had some experience with cases like this; the open wound would fester, and the rot would spread, and  –  in time  –  things would become a lot worse than before.

But then... why the mercy? What did it mean?  For a very brief moment, his heart would be bursting with doubt   –  did Jiang Wanyin have perhaps some feelings towards the young man too? He bit his lip; for far too many years his husband had been humiliated and persuaded how horribly he looked, what an atrocity he was. And now  –  now, he had no less than two different people swearing their adoration for him, fervently, passionately so. It was only human to be tempted.

And then... then he remembered the soft gaze, the loving eyes, the open mouth, every small caress, their love at night, their love during the day. This last month they dared not be too physical with each other, so this meant a lot of petting, a lot of kissing, a storm of the sweetest words, murmurs in the darkness. 

He smiled and breathed more freely. He trusted him, implicitly.

- Can we perhaps talk about this  after   I get rid of the little monster inside me?   -   Jiang Cheng puffed, discontent.

Lan Xichen laughed briefly, sitting down next to him.

- Of course, my sweetest.  –  he leaned in for a kiss, and only got a very quick one  -  his own mood changed quickly, but Jiang Wanyin was sulking still.

He sighed. It had been hard. Uncomfortable. Painful. Restless. The bad mood was not something optional any more. Life was becoming too routine and horrible, and difficult for Jiang Wanyin. He loved his baby dearly, but he hated being pregnant with a passion.

Sandu Shengshou miserably missed riding and hunting, and training, and even sitting on a chair for more than 5 minutes without having to go pee. It was hard to sit, and it was hard to breathe; running was absolutely out of the question, and so was bathing alone, or getting dressed all by himself  –  so much so that Lan Huan decided to get him a maid, for all the times he could not be with him personally.

It was a small, nimble girl who had been strictly instructed not to let her Master out of her sight, not for the world. She was extremely scared and embarrassed at first, as  –  in the eyes of the servants   -  Sandu Shengshou was still quite unknown, and they lived on hearsay and rumors about him too much. Ever since the wedding, he had had very little give-and-take with the household; it was the housekeeper mostly who mediated tasks and implemented orders.

So, in her head, the Master was scary and formidable, despite being quite helpless currently, puffing and walking slowly like a fat duck. She had been there when the incident with Lin Shou-Yi had happened  –  she helped bathe Sandu Shengshou after everything settled. Seeing him naked and so angry brought out too many feelings in her  –  excitement, fear, embarrassment, shame.

But, in time, especially after Zewu-Jun insisted on her sleeping in one of the corners of the master bedroom during the last two weeks, fearing that someone would have to run for the doctor any minute now  –  she gradually settled. The way the Masters talked to each other was filled with tenderness, and she stopped seeing them as  gods  of a sort. Moreover, the work was easy  -  Sandu Shengshou didn't talk much; he mostly needed help with somebody bringing him food, helping him in and out of bed, small everyday tasks.

At first, she had been worried about this, ashamed to be so close to them, knowing too well the sounds that rocked the Cloud Recesses at night, but this seemed to be over now. Now the nights were quiet and tense, full of expectation, anticipation, and the Masters would only whisper to each other, hug and kiss. It was a routine too easy to get used to.