A Willing Mistake, My Lady – Chapter 97
by Little PandaDeparture for the Capital
Night After Night, Twin Lights Shine Together
Shen Hetang felt the pressure on her palm and slowly drew her gaze back. No matter what, she trusted Jiang Chenyu—there had to be something more to this.
“Really? I have a child?” Her voice was somewhat ethereal—to outsiders, it would sound like the dullness of someone overwhelmed with joy.
“Mm, it’s a girl. I gave her the childhood name Anhe.” Jiang Chenyu’s autumn-water eyes darted toward her a couple of times, a little guilty.
“Madam, to think I let you bear all of this alone. It’s all my fault. Next time, I will definitely be by your side.” Shen Hetang spoke with apparent sincerity, yet Jiang Chenyu could hear the gritted-teeth undertone beneath the words.
No matter how many question marks raced through Shen Hetang’s mind, she had to play her part in front of outsiders.
Hearing the words “next time,” Jiang Chenyu’s gaze froze for an instant. Then she managed a forced smile and lowered her head, somewhat embarrassed.
“Ooh, am I an uncle now? There’s a little mistress!” Zhao Chenlan and Jiang Ning were flushed from drinking, and he announced gleefully with unguarded enthusiasm.
“That’s right. Don’t forget to prepare a meeting gift later.” Seeing him even more excited than she was, Shen Hetang felt a surge of irritation.
“Easy, easy. Am I the type to be stingy?” Zhao Chenlan had clearly had a bit too much.
Shen Hetang couldn’t eat another bite. She poured a few more cups for the two across from her and called it a night.
On the carved wooden bed in the bedchamber, Jiang Chenyu wore only a silken nightgown. True-red satin wrapped her up snugly, though the wide cuffs and hem lent a loose, languid beauty.
Her smooth black hair fell naturally on both sides. Between the ink-dark locks and the red garment, glimpses of tender white skin showed through—white as milk, drawing the eye, tempting one to look further.
Holding a pillow, she leaned against the wall with a pitiful expression, the red skirt spreading beneath her like a shy corn poppy.
“I didn’t keep it from you on purpose! I was just so happy to see you that I forgot!” Watching Ah Tang undo her buttons, Jiang Chenyu couldn’t help feeling a sense of impending danger.
“Forgetting is fine. I got a fright either way, so you can just make it up to me.” Shen Hetang undressed on her own. The charcoal braziers kept the room warm—after Jiang Chenyu arrived, worried she couldn’t handle the weather here, Shen Hetang had even added an extra brazier.
She had just learned that Jiang Chenyu had adopted the Princess’s child—that had startled her. Then hearing it was her sister, her mood swung like a rollercoaster1. And this child existed because of saving her life, so she ought to treat the baby like a little ancestor to be waited on hand and foot.
All in all, she now knew they had a child and that the child was Jiang Chenyu’s sister. A feeling of the storm passing swept over her, yet the shocks had come wave after wave.
She needed to calm down, no matter what.
After washing up, she changed into a white nightgown and climbed into bed.
New Year’s Eve was supposed to be spent staying up on New Year’s Eve2, but she and Ah Yu hadn’t seen each other in nearly a year. Now that she’d finally gotten rid of those two third wheels, who cared about anything else? She just wanted to hold her sweet wife and sleep. The previous two days, her waist injury had made her afraid to embrace freely.
“Why are you wrapped up so tightly? Is it because we’ve been apart too long and you’re not used to it anymore?” Her eyes drifted to those pale, tender toes, seized by an urge to go pinch them.
“I don’t know about being used to it, but we really have been apart too long!” The satin fabric was slippery as water, wrapping her already striking figure to perfection—every elegant curve on full display. Though she was covered completely, it was more alluring than bare skin.
Despite having been here for three days, her skin was still tender enough to wring water from. The heat had flushed her cheeks, making her look as soft and bewitching as if she were drunk. Those innocent, pitiful eyes blinked at her—a somewhat deliberate seduction.
“That’s fine. You’ll get used to it in no time.” Shen Hetang’s gaze was fixed on those lovely legs beneath the skirt and couldn’t tear away. The jade-white calves brushed lightly against the deep-red fabric, the stark color contrast gripping her eyes so tightly that she reached out to touch them before she knew it.
Her fresh, tender body was smooth and firm beneath those long, elegant fingers as they traced upward, inch by inch.
“Haha, it tickles…!” The slightly rough palm sent an electric thrill through her, disrupting Jiang Chenyu’s attempt to flirt. She giggled and dodged to the side.
Shen Hetang sat up and drew the bed curtains. The white gauze, lit by the bright candles outside, turned a faint yellow, casting a hazy golden glow over the space within.
Remembering how her heart had lurched and stuttered during dinner, she pulled the restless beauty toward her, knelt behind her, and clamped her slender waist between her knees, trapping her.
Her fingers gathered the seaweed-like tresses, methodically winding them into a loose bun that hung to one side.
“You… you’re pressing on me!” Jiang Chenyu’s voice wavered with uncertainty. Waiting for the unknown was often more nerve-racking than the unknown itself.
Looking at the delicate beauty who showed half a profile, Shen Hetang’s eyes darkened. She hooked a finger along the girl’s cheek, leaned down, and kissed her.
Jiang Chenyu tilted her head, her dark brows slightly knit, her expression a blend of endurance and daze. Her fingers clutched the embroidered pillow; the weight on her body and the half-forced kiss made her heart race.
The candles burned freely, their wicks showing slightly long. The flickering light cast trembling shadows through the dim glow.
Inside the curtains, Jiang Chenyu, limp and numb all over, pouted with a whine in her voice: “Ah Tang, hurry up… I… I feel so uncomfortable!”
She felt an aching, hollow tingling, yet Ah Tang kept attending to everything but.
Her disheveled nightgown hung across her slender waist. On the snow-white of her back, scattered traces of passion looked intimately alluring—enough to make anyone want to tear it all away.
“But… why do I feel it’s still not enough?” Her voice carried a drunken daze, along with the trouble of a deliberate provoke/tease.
She thought the delicate, soft, exquisite little beauty—shy yet lost in passion—was a sight she could watch a while longer.
“Wu wu wu… no!” Ah Tang kept tracing circles and toying with her, and Jiang Chenyu’s waist trembled as she tried to resist.
Yet she unexpectedly gave Jiang Chenyu what she wanted. The obstructive nightgown was yanked off and tossed aside—a stretch of red, very fitting for the occasion.
Jiang Chenyu couldn’t quite bear the sudden assault. Her long lashes fluttered like butterfly wings.
Wave after wave of electric current sent her floating in the clouds. Even the embroidered flowering branch on the pillow seemed to form a world of its own.
The buds on the branch burst into large, vivid blossoms, trembling in the wind, as if fireworks fell upon them—specks of light flickering bright and dark…!
By the time she came back to her senses, coy/panting, she saw that the edge of the pillow she’d bitten was soaked with a wet bloom, and the half-open buds on it had deepened a shade.
She buried her face in the pillow in shame, spring color brimming from brow to eye. Then she thought indignantly—when would she ever get revenge for this grievance of being at someone’s mercy…?!
New Year at Xixing Pass was different from other places. Just having a couple of peaceful days during the holiday was enough to be content.
Due to the provisions needed for the return journey, of the more than 10,000 soldiers who had come, only the several thousand cart drivers were returning to the capital.
The commoners who had come with Jiang Chenyu were also going back together.
At the General’s Mansion, Jiang Chenyu hung from Ah Tang, her legs clamped tightly around her waist.
Helpless, Shen Hetang could only support her with one hand and let her throw a tantrum.
“I’m not leaving. I’m just not leaving.” She shook her head like a rattle drum, rubbing back and forth against Shen Hetang’s shoulder until her face was red from the friction.
“Be good. Traveling with the soldiers is much safer. It’s not peaceful here. If you stay too long, people will notice you. And if you get captured, how am I supposed to fight this war?” Shen Hetang set her down on a stool and stroked her smooth hair, explaining patiently.
Jiang Chenyu looked like a pitiful abandoned puppy, gazing up with teary eyes at that handsome face—which, honestly, wasn’t that dark anymore.
“But when we came, there were so many soldiers too, and it wasn’t particularly safe.” Thinking back to being waylaid, she still had lingering fear.
“Coming here, we had food supplies—easy to be targeted. Going back, the carts are all empty, so it’ll be much safer. Also, I’ll escort you out of the Border’s territory. That way I can spend a few more days with you!” She wanted to keep her too, but she wasn’t often at the General’s Mansion and couldn’t guarantee her safety.
After the new year, the weather would warm day by day. A couple of days ago, they’d caught two Liao State spies. She had a feeling they were getting restless—she needed to send Jiang Chenyu away while she still had the chance.
“I’ve only been here half a month and you’re already chasing me away.” Jiang Chenyu pouted her cherry-blossom-pink lips, her eyes full of accusation.
“I’ll make it up to you later, all right?” Looking at her excessively adorable expression, Shen Hetang leaned down and planted two kisses on those petal-soft lips.
Jiang Chenyu studied Shen Hetang carefully. Over a black padded jacket with dark gold patterns hung a crimson cloak, still carrying the cold of someone just back from outside.
Her features had grown more striking than back in Qingyuan County, and her once gentle bearing had turned sharp and profound. Now Jiang Chenyu understood Madam Shen’s helplessness. No wonder her mother-in-law had been driven mad—she wanted to go mad too.
The capital and the border were separated by mountains and rivers, a vast distance. She didn’t know when they’d see each other again. A year? Two years? Three?
And she’d have to worry every day about her safety—whether she was alive and well, whether she’d been hurt!
“All right, then. Escort me a little longer.” Complaints aside, she still had to be sensible.
“Mm, definitely!” She held her tightly, thinking that a few more days together on the road would at least give her emotions a buffer.
The next day, Jiang Chenyu and her party departed Xixing Pass along with the soldiers returning to the capital. Ye Huaiqing also needed to go back to observe the court’s political landscape. The border was on edge, and so was the court.
Shen Hetang did indeed leave things in Zhao Chenlan’s hands and personally accompanied Jiang Chenyu, traveling by carriage for two or three days.
Just as the two were secretly enjoying sweet moments in the carriage, Zhao Chenlan sent someone to summon Shen Hetang back.
The message: a large enemy force had been discovered setting up camp fifty or sixty li3 from the city gate. She was to return at once.
This time, Jiang Chenyu didn’t make a fuss. She saw Shen Hetang off with admirable grace, watching her mount her horse and ride away. It was a long time before she returned to the carriage.
Rolling pines and cypresses stood tall among the mountains, steadfast and unyielding. The winding mountain road rose and fell, rugged and long. That figure’s crimson cloak billowed in the wind like red clouds at the horizon—fierce and magnificent. She vanished beyond the other side of the mountain, yet remained fixed in Jiang Chenyu’s heart…!
Footnotes
- Anachronistic modern term used by transmigrated SHT to describe volatile emotional swings, likening them to a rollercoaster ride.
- Shousui: the traditional custom of staying awake through New Year's Eve to welcome the new year.
- A li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, approximately 500 meters or 0.3 miles.
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