Reading and Learning from Books
Yuanbao wrapped himself in a robe and turned his head to see that Su Li had already fallen asleep leaning against the bath tub.
Yuanbao bent down to carefully look at her eyebrows and eyes, his fingers gently sliding over her beautiful brows.
Su Li was very beautiful, especially her eyebrows and eyes. Her eyes, when open, seemed lively and as if they could speak.
Yuanbao looked at her intently, as if mesmerized, never getting enough of looking at her.
His fingertips slid over her swollen, red lips, feeling a pang of heartache. He stood up carefully, wrapped her in a thick bath towel, and carried her to the bed.
Su Li’s hair was still wet. Yuanbao dried her off and placed her in the quilt, then took a clean cloth to gently dry her hair.
Su Li’s hair was black and thick, smooth and shiny like satin.
Yuanbao carefully dried her, then brought the charcoal brazier closer to warm her hair.
Su Li was exhausted and slept very soundly. Yuanbao watched her sleeping form, a smile unconsciously appearing in his eyes.
He wished to look at her like this for a lifetime, never getting enough.
After drying her hair, Yuanbao carefully moved Su Li deeper into the bed, then took a book from another hidden box and began flipping through it by the dim oil lamp light.
This book was specially requested by Yuanbao from Zhang Mu, different from the one Wu Caiwei gave to Su Li.
It was a book about how men should serve women. In this era, some women who were widowed and unwilling to remarry, especially those from wealthy and influential families, kept male companions. These companions, to please their mistresses, studied ways to make women happy and recorded them in books.
Ordinary men naturally looked down on such books. In bed matters, it was always women serving men; as long as men were comfortable, men rarely cared about women's feelings.
So no one would have dreamed that the mighty and cold-faced war god, Prince Qin Xiao Zetian, would be holed up in a farmer's courtyard studying such unmentionable secrets, and enjoying it.
Yuanbao flipped through the secret manual, occasionally showing an expression of sudden understanding, muttering softly, "So, this is how to make the lady happier..."
The woman beside him, still asleep, turned over and instinctively snuggled close to the warmth, wrapping her limbs around him like an octopus.
A gentle and indulgent smile curled at Yuanbao’s mouth. He brushed her hair aside, put the book back in the box, blew out the lamp, scooped Su Li into his arms, and closed his eyes to sleep.
The next morning, when Li Yanhao woke up, he found himself hanging all over Tudan.
Tudan had dark circles under his eyes and looked at him with a mournful expression.
"Oh my goodness!" Li Yanhao jumped out of bed like he had seen a ghost, first checking his clothes.
Feeling his clothes intact, Li Yanhao sighed in relief. But looking down, he realized he wasn’t wearing the clothes from last night. Could Tudan have taken advantage of him while he was asleep?
Li Yanhao’s mind buzzed. He thought: Could Tudan really be a "duanxiu" (a term for male same-sex preference)? But I am as straight as steel!
"You’re awake!" Xiao Yun’s angry, teeth-gritting voice interrupted Li Yanhao’s wild thoughts.
"Ah? Haha!" Li Yanhao awkwardly scratched his head and looked back. His clothes from last night were rolled up on a chair by the bed, with obvious dried vomit stains on top. He guessed that he must have vomited on his clothes last night after drinking too much, so Tudan took off his clothes and changed him into another set.