nor my heart or my spear // zhao yun x reader [COMPLETE]

chapter eight

God, words cannot describe how embarrassed and self-conscious I feel, about to walk the Shu castle in this tight and revealing dress. Not to mention cold, I'm freezing to death in this thing.
"So where are we going?" I inquire.
"We aren't going anywhere! Are you ready for pointless meandering?" Bao Sanniang prompts excitedly. I sigh, too tired to give a proper response. I give a final tug on my dress, not surprised when the length does not change, before reluctantly joining Xing Cai and Lady Sanniang briskly walking down the hallway.
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"Ooh," Sanniang whispers to me as another officer approaches.
"Master Ma Dai...you and him would be cute together." I nod, not really caring for Ma Chao's artistic cousin. Attractive, intelligent, creative and charismatic, but not Zhao Yun. Ma Chao soon appears with him and begins talking in a loud voice. Ma Dai's eyes meet mine, and when we are within close range of each other, he swiftly removes his hat and takes one of my hands in his.
"My lady," he greets, eyes briefly skimming my bare legs before his lips press a delicate kiss to the back of my hand. He plops his hat back on his head before grinning goofily at his cousin.
"Doesn't she look absolutely stunning, young master?" Ma Chao's eyes skim my body as well and I can feel my face heat up.
"Ah yes. Your unusual choice of attire is very becoming of you, my lady," Master Ma Chao declares.
"She has given me inspiration for my next painting," Ma Dai beams. "Farewell my lady," he says before winking and walking away with his cousin. When they leave, I shudder involuntarily.
"Oh come on you wimp," Xing Cai complains. "It wasn't that bad." I frown at her.
"Sorry, I'm just not used to this kind of attention."
Bao Sanniang taps her foot impatiently.
"There are more men in this kingdom than those two. Come on we don't have all day!"
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After a couple more moments of purposeless wandering, we stumble upon Guan Yu's second oldest, Guan Xing, who I found extremely attractive, and Xing Cai's brother Zhang Bao. They appeared to be having a heated debate from afar. Upon getting closer, they were arguing about the best filling for a meatbun.
"Hey Bao," Xing Cai greets her brother.
"Hey sis," he responds. "Good afternoon to you too Lady Sanniang and-" he pauses in the middle of his sentence to gaze at me up and down, mouth agape.
"Wow," he breathes before performing a low, sultry whistle and leaning against Guan Xing. "You look gorgeous, my lady," he compliments before admiring my figure again. I shift uncomfortably under his gaze.
"Zhang Bao," Cai scolds. He holds up his hands defensively. "Sorry sis," he apologizes. Guan Xing face turns crimson as he tucks a strand of long hair behind his ear.
"I must agree with Zhang Bao. Although gorgeous is an understatement."
"Y-you really are too kind. I do not deserve such flattery," I quickly respond, trying to avoid stuttering. The two boys continue to drink me in before Xing Cai drags me away.

"Not to be rude, Cai, but now do you see why this kind of attention makes me so uncomfortable?"
"Of course I do. But don't think that just because my brother was practically undressing you with his eyes means we're done."
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Soon Bao Sanniang drags me out to the Shu palace courtyard where the trees and flowers are in full bloom. Sometimes the bright pink blossoms of the peach trees are too much to bear.
"My lady, Master Zhuge Liang wishes to know-" Jiang Wei approaches me, bundles of scrolls in hand, no doubt preparing for the next battle with Chancellor. After looking at me, he nearly fumbles all of his scrolls. His breath hitches in his throat, and his face flushes the color of wine before he opens his mouth again.
"Ah, such true beauty, my lady...I-well..." The young strategist struggles to form a complete sentence. He gnaws on his bottom lip nervously. There is an awkward silence, minus Bao Sanniang munching on a peach in the branches of a tree above us.
"You're just...very pretty..." Jiang Wei mumbles before scampering off. Guess Zhuge Liang's question wasn't all that important then. I turn to Bao Sanniang who currently was sucking peach juice off of her fingers.
"Are these positive responses I'm getting? I can't tell." She nimbly hops down from the tree branch.
"Duh! Of course! They're all so starstruck by your beauty they can't speak!" Bao Sanniang exclaims. I kick at the dirt, uneasily.

"This makes me uncomfortable, my lady. I think I'm going to go take all of this off." She stares in shock at me before shaking her head, making the multicolored beads in her hair rattle.
"Why would you want to do that? You look great! Don't you enjoy all this attention you're getting?" I grimace.
"Not really," I admit as I remove the rose-resembling earrings.
"But thank you," I tell her before leaving for the castle.
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I have to refrain from kicking myself. How dumb was it to forget to ask where her room was? My clothes are in there! My only clean clothes! If I go to my room, the higher the chance more men will see me, and there's the fact that I'll have to wear this until my clothes are washed and dried. I give an audible groan before angrily kicking the marble floor of a castle corridor. I guess I'll just have to look for her room then, or at least Master Guan Suo.
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Several twists and turns later, I still haven't found her room and I'm getting more and more frustrated by the second. As a round another corner, I see Zhao Yun at the other end. Alarms sound in my head. How hard can it be to just avoid eye contact and walk by him? Shouldn't be too hard. Staring straight ahead, I begin walking down the hallway.

Before I can right myself, one foot trips over the other, and I'm throwing out my hands to catch myself before I hit the ground.
"I have you!" In the blink of an eye, Zhao Yun has me in his arms, raising me to my feet.
"Are you o-" Zhao Yun pauses. Damn it, not again. Zhao Yun too involuntarily steps back to look at my attire, before his gaze travels down my naked legs, and back up to my makeup covered face. His shade of face is similar to that of Guan Xing or Jiang Wei. Zhao Yun inhales before speaking.
"Never have I seen you look this, ah, beautiful isn't strong enough a word..." I flush, embarrassed by his kind words. His demeanor seems to have completely changed since this morning. I mutter some thanks, and lean down to adjust the laces on my boots.
Riiiiip!
I hastily stand back up and reach an arm behind me to feel my back. My hand makes contact with skin and I realize by the looseness of the dress, that it has ripped all the way up to the collar. My face could provide enough warmth for a whole family through an entire Wei winter.

"M-master Zhao Yun?" I ask hesitantly. "This is a bit embarrassing to ask of you, but this is a borrowed dress, my casual robes are in Bao Sanniang's room, and my other robes have yet to be cleansed. I was wondering if you could-" Before I could finish, he holds up a hand.
"No matter. While you do your laundry, you can wear one of mine."
I was just going to ask if he could direct me towards her room...
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AN: Hurray, decent length chapter. Don't forget to comment, and vote if you enjoyed! Stay tuned for more updates!