Song Ruotang's humble apology, and even the familiar posture of supplication, stabbed at Pei Zhiyan's heart.
His Adam's apple bobbed. The anger that had been lingering in his heart because he couldn't understand why Song Ruotang had done that gradually faded. He wanted to say something comforting, but he opened his mouth and didn't know what to say.
Song Ruotang had asked him to help her escape from the Song family, and Song Zhen and the others had treated her badly. But she still remembered their words, not knowing that those words had actually harmed her.
Pei Zhiyan had investigated the reason why Song Ruotang wanted to escape from the Song family. Her parents didn't like her. They had given birth to her only because someone had once said that Song Wanying was in poor health and needed a sister with the same bloodline to ward off disasters.
But on the night Song Ruotang was born, a warlock passed by and asked for water. He asserted that she was an ill - fated star and should not be kept. So the Song family had justifiably thrown the baby in swaddling clothes into a manor on the outskirts of the capital.
Whenever Song Wanying fell ill, the Song family would send someone to abuse Song Ruotang. Then Song Wanying would recover. If she didn't get better, they would beat Song Ruotang nearly to death.
Song Ruotang had almost died several times, but she had survived tenaciously like a blade of grass in the snow.
Song Ruotang was disliked by everyone in the Song family, so she was extremely cautious.
Perhaps her mother had never liked this daughter. She had said such misleading words, which had led to Song Ruotang fainting by the hot spring pool today.
Pei Zhiyan's eyes darkened slightly, and his fingers hidden in his sleeves tightened. Song Ruotang was not wrong, but they had treated her so badly. They were simply venomous.
Song Ruotang didn't hear Pei Zhiyan say anything for a long time, and his face darkened. She bowed her head deeply and kowtowed again. Her voice was full of panic. "My lord, your concubine knows her mistake. Your concubine will never do it again. Please, my lord, don't drive your concubine away... Please, my lord..."
As she spoke, her voice became smaller and choked. Her wet body was still trembling, but she didn't care about anything else. She just kept begging.
Pei Zhiyan felt a bit uncomfortable seeing her like this. He quickened his steps and walked in front of Song Ruotang. He helped her up and softened his tone, trying not to scare her. "I won't drive you away. You're not wrong."
He gently patted Song Ruotang's back to comfort her. Song Ruotang looked up. There were still tears in her beautiful eyes. Her eyes were full of surprise and fear, with a hint of expectation. "Really?"
"Yeah." Pei Zhiyan nodded. Song Ruotang grabbed his arm and asked again, "Then my lord, you're not angry with your concubine?"
"No." Pei Zhiyan reached out his hand to push aside the wet hair on her cheek. His thumb rubbed against her delicate skin and wiped away her tears. "Don't cry. You don't look good like this."
Hearing this, Song Ruotang bit her lower lip again and lowered her head to hide her expression. Pei Zhiyan lifted her chin and saw her pouting slightly, with an innocent look on her face. She blinked at him. "My lord just likes it when your concubine looks beautiful, right?"
Pei Zhiyan was stunned for a moment. Hearing Song Ruotang's slightly coquettish tone, he smiled helplessly and tapped the tip of her nose. "What do you think about all day long?"
"About my lord." Song Ruotang leaned into Pei Zhiyan's arms. Their clothes were thin, and they could feel each other's body temperature. The wet clothes clung to their bodies, as if their skins were touching.
Hearing Song Ruotang's straightforward words, Pei Zhiyan's heart skipped a beat. He felt a bit embarrassed. He turned his face away and just gently blamed her. "A young girl should be more bashful..."
"But my lord is my husband. It's natural for your concubine to think about her husband. What's wrong with that?" Song Ruotang said innocently. Pei Zhiyan had nothing to refute. He just smiled. "You're really eloquent. It seems that the hot spring was useful. Your illness is gone?"
Hearing this, Song Ruotang shrank further into his arms. She raised her hand to rub her temples and closed her eyes, pretending to be weak. "Oh, my head still feels dizzy. My lord, carry your concubine back..."
Pei Zhiyan knew that she was pretending to be dizzy, but he indulged her little temper. He picked her up in his arms. When passing by the screen, he saw the long rabbit - fur robe he had put aside earlier. He picked it up and draped it over Song Ruotang. "Don't catch a cold."
Pei Zhiyan carried Song Ruotang towards their courtyard. Although they had put on clothes, it was obvious to everyone that their clothes were completely wet. And since Pei Zhiyan had been inside for such a long time, everyone showed a knowing look.
Xiaoxi followed Pei Zhiyan into the room. Pei Zhiyan told her to find clean clothes, and he put Song Ruotang on the couch and covered her with a quilt.
Song Ruotang saw that Pei Zhiyan was completely wet. The tips of his hanging hair were still dripping water. A look of worry immediately rose in her eyes. "My lord, don't worry about your concubine. Go and change your wet clothes quickly."
Just then, Xiaoxi came in with the clothes. It was not convenient for Pei Zhiyan to stay here, so he nodded and went outside.
But he just stood outside. The candlelight flickered, and his slender shadow was reflected on the screen, looking like a painting.
Xiaoxi served Song Ruotang to put on the clothes, then turned around and went out to invite Pei Zhiyan. Pei Zhiyan came in and saw that Song Ruotang had already changed into the flannelette undergarment. He nodded in satisfaction and sent Xiaoxi out. Then he walked towards the wardrobe.
He casually found an undergarment, took off his wet clothes, revealing his strong and well - built upper body.
Pei Zhiyan was twenty - six years old, but his figure was no worse than that of younger men. His body had well - defined lines, and the water stains on it were still visible under the candlelight. It was really attractive.
Song Ruotang shyly averted her gaze. She felt as if there was a fire burning on her face. Although she had given up her dignity and tried hard to seduce Pei Zhiyan, the two of them had never been so candid with each other like today.
Moreover, the first time she had met Pei Zhiyan and asked him to take responsibility, there had been a suspicion of being a bit of a rascal. Pei Zhiyan had been a bit far away at that time, and the sight in the room had been dim. It was still a question whether he had seen her clearly or not. But today, it was a real skin - to - skin contact.
In the past sixteen years, it was the first time she had seen a man's body so blatantly. She was really shy.
Song Ruotang blushed, shrinking in the quilt. Pei Zhiyan knew she was shy and slightly curled his lips. This girl had been so bold before, but now she was shy just because he was changing his clothes.
But that was okay.
Pei Zhiyan quickly changed his clothes, walked to the couch and sat down. He gently pulled aside the quilt beside Song Ruotang and lay down. Song Ruotang stiffened. The image of Pei Zhiyan's upper body was still in her mind, and she didn't dare to move.
"Come here." Pei Zhiyan said softly, but Song Ruotang didn't respond. The tips of her ears were red, and she was like a statue, shrinking in the quilt.
Pei Zhiyan raised his eyebrows. Song Ruotang had always thrown herself into his arms every night before. But today, when he took the initiative, she was shy.
Pei Zhiyan took the initiative to lean over, reached out his hand and pulled Song Ruotang into his arms. He rested his chin on her shoulder. "What? Don't want me to hold you today?"
Song Ruotang's body trembled. When she turned her head, there were even glistening tears in her eyes, looking as if she had been bullied by Pei Zhiyan.
Her face was extremely red, and her expression was both aggrieved and shy. Pei Zhiyan didn't know what to do.