Chapter 467: So Perfunctory With Me, Fine, Forget It

Ji Qingwu could only find a waterproof oilcloth to wrap his ankle, then resignedly helped him into the bathing chamber.

The man’s body was heavy. Just by taking one of his arms, Ji Qingwu felt as if she’d suddenly become shorter.

But at this moment, that weight gave her an immense sense of security, and the tightness in Ji Qingwu’s chest eased considerably.

Once inside the bathing chamber, operating on the principle of being indebted to someone who has given you a gift—especially one as precious as the Heavenly Mountain Red Lotus—Ji Qingwu diligently helped Zhao Mingyan undress without complaint.

However, after removing his middle layer of robes, Ji Qingwu stopped.

She turned to move the rack by the tub closer, then neatly arranged the cotton towel and bath beans needed for the bath by the tub’s edge.

After busying herself for a while, Ji Qingwu noticed the Emperor was still standing stiffly beside the tub.

Ji Qingwu scooped some hot water from the tub with her hand. The temperature was just right. She asked with a puzzled expression, "Your Majesty, why don’t you get in?"

Zhao Mingyan said with a half-smile, "Does Ah Wu also bathe with her clothes on?"

Ji Qingwu glanced at the trousers that were all he had left on and said with a dry laugh, "Surely I don’t need to take those off for you."

Her earlier busyness, bustling about, was precisely to avoid this.

Zhao Mingyan looked at her and teased, "Didn’t Ah Wu once say she was going to rip my pants off? I’ve been saving this opportunity just for you."

’When was that?’

It was back when Li Chengxun became the top scholar. Ji Qingwu had accidentally learned of an old affair concerning Emperor Wu Su and had spoken rashly in the heat of the moment.

Ji Qingwu glanced at his waistband, then quickly looked away, her face flushing.

"I was just talking. I had no disrespectful intentions at the time."

The moment she finished speaking, the corners of Zhao Mingyan’s lips twitched up into a clear smile. In a bright, clear voice, he asked, "Is Ah Wu saying that you have disrespectful intentions *now*?"

Ji Qingwu’s expression was awkward. He’d hit the nail on the head.

She didn’t just have them; her mind was flooded with an endless stream of lewd thoughts, especially with him standing before her, naked from the waist up.

Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, well-defined ribs, and corded muscles—the sight left her dazed and made her cheeks burn.

When Ji Qingwu applied medicine to the shirtless soldiers in the camp, she was like a meditating old monk, seeing nothing but their wounds.

But with him standing before her, it was as if Ji Qingwu’s eyes had a mind of their own.

’I never thought of myself as being so into men before...’

Ji Qingwu bit her lip, trying to clear her head. ’He’s still injured, how can I be thinking about such inappropriate things?’

She began, "Your Majesty, can’t you just wear your pants..."

Zhao Mingyan didn’t know what she was thinking and assumed she was unwilling to help him bathe.

"The last time I attended to Ah Wu, I wasn’t nearly as half-hearted as you. I made sure to clean every inch of Ah Wu’s skin until it was spotless."

’He has a point,’ Ji Qingwu thought. They had already been so intimate before; what was she being so coy about?

But the moment she touched the sash of his pants, she still closed her eyes.

Fortunately, the Emperor was wearing loose-fitting Water Wave Silk Pants, which were wide in the crotch, allowing Ji Qingwu to avoid touching anything she shouldn’t.

For comfort and convenience on the march, the pant legs were very fitted. Ji Qingwu felt some resistance and had to bend down to help pull them off.

The Water Wave Silk Pants, with their Dark Dragon Pattern, finally came off. Ji Qingwu let out a small breath, her cheeks puffing out.

But the pair of legs before her didn’t move.

Zhao Mingyan’s heavy gaze rested on the top of her head. He watched for a moment, and his breathing grew heavier.

Ji Qingwu kept her eyes fixed on his knees, not daring to look up. She reminded him, "Your Majesty, the water will get cold soon."

Only then did Zhao Mingyan take a long stride into the tub.

Ji Qingwu rolled up her sleeves, soaked the cotton cloth in the hot water, and began to wash his back.

As the cloth passed over his shoulder blade, the pad of her finger suddenly brushed against a very faint, raised bump. Her hand paused.

Perhaps because the salves from the Imperial Palace were so effective, his scars weren’t noticeable unless one looked closely.

But they had still left faint marks. One of them was a long scar that ran almost vertically from his shoulder down to his lower back. The further down it went, the more pronounced the scar tissue became.

In other words, the wound on his waist had been the most severe.

Ji Qingwu’s fingers unconsciously slid down from his broad, solid shoulders, but unfortunately, his lower back was submerged.

Zhao Mingyan noticed her movement. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he asked, "What is Ah Wu doing?"

Ji Qingwu quickly scooped a ladle of hot water from behind his waist and poured it over him. Droplets trickled down the groove of his spine.

Steam filled the air. Ji Qingwu’s cotton cloth paused at the small of his back, scrubbing back and forth.

Suddenly, Zhao Mingyan reached back and grabbed her wrist, lifting it up. Water trickled down Ji Qingwu’s forearm and into her sleeve, making the damp fabric cling to her arm.

Ji Qingwu looked guiltily at the small of his back, which she had scrubbed red.

"Wh-what is it?"

Without turning to look at her, Zhao Mingyan said, "Ah Wu should probably find a new spot to scrub."

The steam rising from the tub made his voice hoarse. A drop of water from the tip of his hair fell onto the back of her hand.

Ji Qingwu said, "Oh, oh, right away."

His back was clean, so it was time for his chest. She moved around to the front of the tub, and her gaze met his.

His dark, intense gaze seemed like it could burn holes right through her clothes.

Ji Qingwu quickly lowered her head, but when her eyes landed on his waist and abdomen hidden beneath the water, she instantly looked back up.

Zhao Mingyan rested his arms on the edge of the tub. In a leisurely posture, he said, "The water is getting cold."

Ji Qingwu wet the cotton cloth and wiped him down from below his neck to above his waistline.

Beads of sweat formed on the tip of her nose, not from exertion, but from pure nervousness. This job of attending to someone was truly difficult.

When she had more or less finished, Ji Qingwu draped the cloth aside and said, "Done."

Zhao Mingyan stared at her and asked, "Done already?"

Ji Qingwu nodded, her eyes darting to the curtain of the bathing chamber. Before she could even calculate an escape route, his arm shot out and pulled her into the tub with him.

"It seems I’ll have to demonstrate for Ah Wu how one is properly bathed."

With an extra person in it, half the water in the tub sloshed out.

Ji Qingwu was soaked to the bone, her clothes clinging to her body. Zhao Mingyan said, "It’s easy to catch a cold in wet clothes. It would be better to take them off."

’I’m soaked, and whose fault is that?’

Ji Qingwu knew something was off about the look in his eyes.

Worried about bumping his left ankle, she gripped the edge of the tub, not daring to sit down fully.

Ji Qingwu politely refused, "I already washed this morning. There’s no need for another demonstration."

Zhao Mingyan lowered his gaze to her soaked collar and said in a dejected tone, "Ah Wu is only concerned with her own cleanliness, yet she’s so perfunctory with me."

He let out a barely audible sigh.

"Forget it. You can get out. I’ll do it myself."

The hand clamped around her waist loosened. A wave of joy washed over Ji Qingwu. She stood up in the tub and was just about to step out.

Then she saw him lower his head, his long brows furrowed, his eyes filled with the disappointment of unfulfilled expectations.

Ji Qingwu froze. Her foot landed back in the tub, and a pang of sympathy went through her heart.