Chapter 51: Excuse

Returning to the Territory, the food is not like in Luo Ping Hai where there is only Lulu Meat and a small amount of fish, with no cooking utensils, so one could only grill it there. Now it is time for Xiaoxiao to stretch out her hand; in one go she prepared eighteen dishes, soup and vegetables together. In the front Great Hall, Li Bucai called everyone in and they shared breakfast.

After breakfast, under Yan Qiu's leadership, the girls continued to be busy building the camp. Wu Zhuoyue led his subordinates to guard the camp wall.

"Lord." Wan'er lightly knocked on Li Bucai's door.

At that moment Li Bucai was sitting alone in the study, looking at the empty bookshelves that covered the wall, very satisfied with everything Yan Qiu had designed for him. He heard the knock, recognized Wan'er's voice, and said, "Wan'er? Come in."

Wan'er gently opened the door, floated in, approached the desk and bowed, saying, "I have come to check the Lord's condition. I went to the sleeping chamber but could not find the Lord, and discovered you were here. The Lord's body has not fully recovered; he should rest properly."

Li Bucai laughed, "Just a minor issue, not enough to be bedridden." In truth he felt weak all over; after just finishing breakfast he was a little drowsy, but as the Lord he could not let a few girls be busy there while he hid in the bedroom and slept with his head covered. He wanted to sit here for a moment, and after feeling a bit more spirited, go outside for a walk, even if he does nothing, just standing there would be fine.

Xiu'er said that the Lord had shed a great deal of blood for Ran sister; if it were us, we would have been dead long ago. Even though the Lord's constitution is exceptional, only half a life remains, so he must be properly nourished. Yet the Lord, ever since Luo Ping Hai, hasn't even needed us to help him, and went alone to the training ground. You don't think of yourself; you should also consider us. Wan'er said, placing her hand on his wrist.

"How about just saying it's fine."

He wore a relaxed expression, but his pulse was very weak. Wan'er sighed lightly and said, "Blood is insufficient, the pulse remains weak; without good medicine, even someone like the Lord will find it hard to recover in a short time. Ah, how wonderful it would be to have someone who knows herbal medicine. For now, let Wan'er help the Lord return to rest."

It seemed that if she didn't put on a show, Wan'er, who had kept watch for a night without closing her eyes, would not go rest; now a few signs of fatigue showed on her face, and she had to get up.

Rushi and Xiaoxiao were arranging the Lord's sleeping chamber. When Wan'er helped Li Bucai inside, the setup had just been completed. In the spacious sleeping chamber, a large bed stood in the center, surrounded by eight screens. Each screen bore a different illustration of a young woman in a spring slumber, evoking Tang Bohu's famous painting "Begonia Spring Sleep". The room was arranged warmly yet with style.

Li Bucai apologized, "Since last night you haven't rested properly, and have been busy all morning; all of you should go back and rest well."

Wan'er added, "Indeed, you aren't like us rough ones who have never known hardship; these past days must have been exhausting. Let Wan'er serve the Lord here; you all go down and rest first."

"Lord, also rest early." The two bowed, thanked Wan'er, and left the sleeping chamber.

Li Bucai said to Wan'er, "You have also been tired for several days; go back and rest early as well."

Wan'er shook her head and said, "If the Lord does not sleep, Wan'er will not sleep either." Gently she helped him remove his outer garment, guided him onto the bed, then leaned on the bedside rail, supporting his pretty face with both hands, quietly watching his face, and only left after he fell asleep.

Li Bucai closed his eyes, fearing he would fall asleep soon; after a while he opened them again.

Wan'er still sat there, quietly watching him; seeing him open his eyes, she whispered, "Is something uncomfortable?"

Li Bucai gave a wry smile, "No, I'm just not sleepy. I can lie here alone for a while; you go back early."

"The Lord's body is weak; it's strange that he's not sleepy. Wan'er knows the Lord feels guilty about those people outside. You must remember, you are our Lord; we follow you to serve you. While the Lord rests here, let them do everything the Lord wishes; that's perfectly normal, everyone does that, and with Yan Qiu present, you can rest here with peace."

"No, it's just that I can't fall asleep at the moment." Though he said so, Li Bucai still felt reluctant to let a group of delicate girls be busy outside.

Wan'er covered her mouth and giggled, "Having trouble sleeping? If the Lord doesn't blame me for being impertinent, how about I coax the Lord to sleep? When we were at home, Wan'er used to do this to coax my younger brothers and sisters to sleep."

"Uh... coax?"

"Mm!" Wan'er nodded vigorously, without waiting for his consent, then giggled, sitting sideways at the head of the bed, placing her hand on his chest, patting lightly while humming softly, "Good, my Lord, you must sleep well; that's what makes you a good Lord..."

Her hand was exceedingly gentle, and her voice was like a lullaby, causing Li Bucai to involuntarily relax, almost falling asleep, shifting his focus to a few major matters, becoming much more alert, yet he kept his eyes closed, appearing as if asleep.

Wan'er's hand continued to caress his chest, quietly watching his face, assuming he had fallen asleep. She couldn't resist using her other hand, taking the chance to twirl a strand of hair from his forehead, gently stroking his cheek, and touching his warm lips with her fingertip. Suddenly she noticed his closed eyes flicker, startled, and quickly withdrew her hand. After a moment, seeing he hadn't awakened, and hearing his soft sleeping sounds again, her courage grew. She stopped patting his chest, instead propped herself on the bedside with both hands, half‑closed her eyes, leaned forward, slowly pressed her crimson lips to his, savoring the sweet breath from his mouth, and inadvertently collapsed onto his body.

Wan'er thought this time she would definitely wake him, quickly pulled her face away, tried to get up, but saw he was still soundly asleep, unwilling to leave. So she simply stayed draped over his body, clasped his neck with both hands, gently pressed her lips again, greedily sucking the honey‑like fluid from his mouth…

"Ah?"

Wan'er was immersed in the strange sensation when a sudden gasp came from behind. She scrambled up, turned around, and saw Yan Qiu holding a teapot, standing by the screen, her face instantly flushed as if on fire.

"I... I... I was giving the Lord Artificial Respiration... please don't misunderstand..."

Yan Qiu's complexion turned even redder; trying to step away was too late, so she stayed where she was, swallowing, "Lord... the Lord... what's wrong with him..."

"Huh? The Lord?... It's fine! Fortunately I mastered that Artificial Respiration technique, and after my effort, he's now asleep. You... you came to bring tea to the Lord?"

Yan Qiu nodded, bowed her head and said, "Since he's already asleep... then... I'll wait until the Lord wakes up before coming back..." After speaking, she forgot to set down the teapot, hurriedly extricated herself from the awkward scene, and rushed away.

Wan'er patted her chest as if a heart were about to leap out, let out a long sigh, turned back, pulled a blanket from the bed to cover Li Bucai properly, closed the door, and slunk down the stairs.

After a long while, by now Wan'er had already fallen asleep; Li Bucai opened his eyes and got down from the bed...