"Ah." A low growl escaped his lips. His whole body tensed up. Gritting his teeth, he made a fierce final thrust, holding her body tightly as he completely released his scorching essence into her. Then he let out a long breath and gently laid her flat on the bed.
He rolled to one side, sliding off her body. Supporting his cheek with his right hand, he stared intently at this little woman. His fingers gently traced her eyebrows, her delicate nose, and her soft lips. Suddenly, the fire in his body was ignited again, and the primitive impulse welled up in him. But his little woman was already sound asleep, snoring softly. She would no longer respond to his passion. Helplessly, Du Gu Qing endured the burning in his lower abdomen and lay on his side next to Mei Qingxue, gently pulling her into his arms.
At this moment, he felt the wonderful feeling of loving someone, even though he knew she might not love him. How happy it would be if they could stay together like this for a lifetime! Du Gu Qing suddenly had such a wish. But considering his own frail body and the ill - fated prophecy, he knew he couldn't.
The gloom on his face was so thick that it seemed to drip. Frowning tightly, Du Gu Qing looked at Mei Qingxue's beautiful face and murmured softly, "I'm sorry, Qingxue. I really can't promise you a lifetime. I'm sorry."
He repeated these words in his mouth countless times. He had fallen in love with this woman uncontrollably. But now she was fast asleep, unable to hear his words or respond.
If Mei Qingxue had really heard his sorrowful words, would she have forgiven him?
He buried his face deeply in the crook of her neck, inhaling her body fragrance. He was completely intoxicated. She was the woman he most wanted to marry in his life and also the one he least wanted to hurt. He originally didn't want her to enter the royal family, but it seemed predestined. The power - balancing tactics of the royal family had brought her into his arms.
He wanted to be entangled with her for life, never to be separated. But unfortunately, things didn't go as he wished. Under the cover of night, he lowered his head to look at the vivid purple butterfly on her chest.
He still remembered the time when his cold poison flared up. He had deeply engraved this purple butterfly in his memory. He wanted her to flutter happily in his life forever. He wanted to promise her a lifetime. But could he do it? Infinite melancholy welled up in his heart.
Gradually, the sky began to brighten. Burdened with a thousand worries, Du Gu Qing lay awake all night, holding Mei Qingxue in his arms.
Suddenly, he saw the long eyelashes of the woman in his arms flutter slightly. This seemed to touch a chord in his heart.
Mei Qingxue woke up. She still had to pay respects with tea today and needed to get up early. She suddenly remembered what Du Gu Qing had said last night.
So, she struggled to get up, but her whole body ached terribly. She couldn't even sit up, let alone get out of bed.
Looking at the culprit beside her, Mei Qingxue was filled with hatred. She grabbed the pillow beside her and threw it at the man who was staring at her without blinking an eye. Du Gu Qing was quick - witted and snatched the "murder weapon" from Mei Qingxue's hand.
"Hey, we just had our wedding night last night, and today you're already trying to murder your husband?" Du Gu Qing let out a soft laugh. He was surprised that his sickly body could still be so nimble.
"Liar! You're not... impotent, are you? You..." Mei Qingxue's willow - like eyebrows shot up, and her almond eyes widened in anger.
Before she could finish her words, her mouth was blocked again by the man. He kissed her until she was dizzy before finally letting her go.
"My dear princess, you can't curse your husband. Although your husband is in poor health, if I couldn't do that, wouldn't you have to live like a widow?"
In poor health? Mei Qingxue rolled her eyes in disdain. Was this the so - called poor health after what he had done to her last night?
She didn't have time to think too much. She felt so weak that it was even difficult to lift her hands, let alone get dressed.
"Aren't we going to pay respects with tea?" She coldly threw out this sentence and gave Du Gu Qing a disdainful look.
"You only need to pay respects with tea to my imperial concubine mother. Your husband is in poor health and is not suitable for strenuous activities. Father has specially exempted you from paying respects to him." Du Gu Qing smiled like a cunning fox.
Mei Qingxue felt that she had forgotten something. Oh, right. She had really enjoyed the feeling last night. But now it seemed that she was the one suffering. The man who claimed to be in poor health was now sitting there full of energy, watching her make a fool of herself.
"..."
Mei Qingxue was completely speechless. She now realized that she had been completely taken advantage of by this bastard.
Seeing her helpless expression, Du Gu Qing laughed for a while. When he saw that she was getting angry, he finally stopped laughing and stepped forward to help her get dressed.
"We got up a bit late today. Let's take a bath after we come back from paying respects with tea. Your husband will help you." As Du Gu Qing helped Mei Qingxue put on one piece of clothing after another from the inside out, he also took the opportunity to steal a kiss.
The more time he spent with her, the more he craved her beauty. If it weren't for the need to pay respects with tea, he would have wanted to pin her down on the bed again right now.
"Aren't you in poor health?" Mei Qingxue chose a more euphemistic way of putting it.
"Yeah." Du Gu Qing responded faintly. That problem was like a heavy stone on his heart, haunting him like a ghost.
Hearing his voice, even the slow - witted Mei Qingxue could sense his disappointment.
"Don't worry. I'll find a way to cure you. Just relax." In ancient times, many diseases that could be life - threatening were actually not that serious. Although she wasn't a doctor, with the medical knowledge she had, there might really be a miracle.
Seeing Mei Qingxue's serious expression, Du Gu Qing couldn't help but tightly hold her soft, boneless hands.
"You've really suffered." Alas, it was a pity that he couldn't accompany her for a lifetime.
Mei Qingxue gently twisted her stiff waist. Thinking of last night's strenuous activities, on one hand, there was that wonderful feeling, and on the other hand, there were the after - effects of indulgence. She couldn't help but frown.
"You're right. It really is hard!" Although both of them mentioned "hard", their words were off - topic and meant different things.
Du Gu Qing didn't argue with her. After all, it was her first time. He had been too impatient last night, which had made it a bit hard for her.
If Mei Qingxue couldn't get up to pay respects with tea, she might be criticized today. He was still a terminally ill patient and couldn't give her any guarantees. He didn't want others to gossip about her.
A trace of gloom flashed across Du Gu Qing's eyebrows, a look that Mei Qingxue couldn't understand. She thought he was worried about his illness and took the initiative to reach out and hold his hand, gently saying, "I'll be with you."
She had endured nine lifetimes of bad luck. If it continued in this lifetime, she would turn the underworld upside down. Why should she have bad luck for ten lifetimes just because her name had "Mei" in it?
In this lifetime, she would also fight for herself.
The handsome man in front of her was her husband in this lifetime. Why did he have to be a sick man? Was it God's punishment for his almost perfect appearance?
Watching the changing expressions on the little woman's face in front of him, Du Gu Qing found it funny. On Mei Qingxue's face, there was pride one moment, annoyance the next, and then gritted - teeth anger. Her expressions were very strange.
"What are you doing? Why aren't you getting up?" Du Gu Qing was a bit surprised to see Mei Qingxue's changing expressions and that she seemed unaware that he had already dressed her.
"Oops." Hearing Du Gu Qing's question, Mei Qingxue finally came to her senses. She looked down at herself and saw that she was already fully dressed.
"Your husband is tired, Qingxue. You can call someone to comb your hair and wash your face by yourself." Du Gu Qing leaned lazily against the bedside. Watching Mei Qingxue struggling to get out of bed, he felt a pang of pity in his heart. Finally, he turned his head away, pretending not to see. He was a sick man. No matter how energetic he seemed, he was still a sick man.
Mei Qingxue opened the door and saw two maids standing on either side. They were both very pretty, standing with their hands at their sides, waiting for their master's orders.
"Princess." Seeing Mei Qingxue come out, the two maids quickly curtsied.
"Be excused. Hurry up and bring water for washing the face. The prince needs to wash his face, and I need to do my hair." Mei Qingxue softly gave her instructions.
Then, she slowly turned around and walked back into the room.
"Yes, princess!" The two maids replied, bowed deeply, and then retreated.
Not long after, they returned. One was holding a copper basin with both hands, and the other was holding a towel. There was also a new - faced maid following them.
"Princess, this servant is Xiao Yun. I'm here to serve you with your hair - dressing." The maid named Xiao Yun curtsied to Mei Qingxue.
"Okay. Don't make it too complicated. Keep it simple." Mei Qingxue nodded at her and sat down in front of the dressing mirror.
"Yes." Xiao Yun responded and then took out a comb to gently comb Mei Qingxue's hair.
"Prince, where are my people?" Mei Qingxue looked around but didn't see the familiar faces. Then she turned to look at Du Gu Qing, who was sitting with his eyes closed, being served by a maid.
"It's not necessary. So I didn't call them. I think they must be very tired. I specifically told them not to come and serve you today." Du Gu Qing's voice was a bit weak, just like the sickly groom at the wedding. Mei Qingxue didn't argue with him.
"Thank you, prince, for your consideration." She tried her best to look normal.
"When you see my imperial concubine mother later, she may ask you many questions. If you don't want to answer, just lower your head and smile." Du Gu Qing slightly opened his eyes and instructed Mei Qingxue.
What's going on? Would Concubine Qin ask questions that she couldn't answer? People in this era shouldn't be that open - minded, right? Mei Qingxue couldn't figure out why Du Gu Qing had specifically told her this, but she still nodded.
Du Gu Qing saw the nonchalant look on Mei Qingxue's face. He wondered what kind of expression his little woman would have if he told her that his mother had tried to eavesdrop on them last night but failed.
"Don't worry. I'll answer my imperial concubine mother's questions if I can. After all, she's your mother." Although she had given her a less - than - perfect husband, Mei Qingxue decided not to argue about it. The only thing she was concerned about now was whether Du Gu Qing could be cured.