There were many servants wandering the compound. All she needed to do was hail down one and ask about where the cleaning supplies were kept. The maidservant she spoke to offered to clean Wu Jian’s room herself, but Wu Meiying adamantly refused.

This was both her task and her desire.

She wouldn’t let anyone else do it for her.

She returned with a bucket and some cleaning supplies, entering the room to find Hou Jingshu sitting on the bed beside Wu Jian. Wu Meiying paused for a moment to watch as the other girl tenderly stroked Wu Jian’s sleeping face. The look in her friend’s eyes was the same look she often wore whenever she watched Wu Jian. It was just proof that the other girl had fallen for him even if she wasn’t willing to admit it.

Perhaps she doesn’t even realize it herself. I feel like I should say something to her, but the realization wouldn’t be as meaningful if she didn’t discover it on her own.

Some things held more meaning when they discovered naturally, and Hou Jingshu’s love for Wu Jian was one of those things. Wu Meiying was certain her love would become that much more powerful once she realized it for herself.

“I’m back,” she announced, walking further into the room.

“Ah?!” Hou Jingshu released a furious cry of surprise as she leapt to her feet. She placed her hands behind her back and tried to pretend she hadn’t been caught doing something as embarrassing as staring into a boy’s sleeping face as she stroked his cheeks. “W-welcome back. Did you… er… get the cleaning supplies?”

“Of course.” Wu Meiying lifted the bucket. “Now let’s get to cleaning.”

The first step to cleaning was making sure she could actually move. The sleeves of her hanfu were long and voluminous. They would definitely get in the way, so she rolled them up and used a simple rope to tie them in place. With that out of the way, she grabbed a broom and got ready to begin sweeping.

It only took maybe an hour to clean the room. They swept and polished the floor, dusted the window, cleaned the walls, and even removed some of the stains from where Wu Jian had sweat during his workouts.

Cleaning took a lot more work than she first assumed, but she enjoyed the task. Wu Meiying enjoyed taking care of Wu Jian, especially these days, since he tried so hard to be reliable to her instead. Rare were the moments when she could now take care of him.

When they were done, Wu Meiying wiped the imaginary sweat from her forehead and grinned.

“Whew. I think we did a good job, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yeah. It does look nice and clean.”

“I wonder what we should do now? Maybe we should make something for Wu Jian? I’m told congee made with medicinal herbs can help with a person’s fever.”

“Do you know how to cook?”

“… Maybe we should ask one of the cooks to prepare something.”

While they were trying to decide what kind of food they should get the servants to make, a low groan stole their attention. They looked toward the bed. Wu Jian stirred and shifted, eventually opening his eyes and blinking several times. His eyes looked much duller than normal.

“Oh. You’re awake. How are you feeling? We didn’t wake you, did we?” asked Wu Meiying. They had been making quite a bit of noise while cleaning.

“No. You’re fine. I think I woke up because I feel kind of gross,” Wu Jian admitted.

“It sounds like you need someone to wipe the sweat from your body.” Wu Meiying wasn’t hyperventilating at the thought of wiping Wu Jian’s body. Certainly not. She wasn’t excited. She just wanted to make sure he was comfortable. The suspicious moisture she wiped from her lips was most definitely not drool. “Hold on a second while I get some soap and water. Jingshu, you keep Jian company, okay?”

“Ah? W-wait!” Hou Jingshu called out, but Wu Meiying was already out the door.

She hummed a happy tune as she filled the bucket with water from a nearby well. Hou Jingshu had told her that buildings in the Imperial Capital had their own irrigation systems, but there was nothing like that out here in the sticks. All water came from wells and streams. The only irrigation channel was the one for the fountain in the north market.

Wu Meiying came back to find Wu Jian sitting up and trying to take his shirt off while an embarrassed Hou Jingshu tried to keep his shirt on.

“D-don’t strip like that!”

“But it’s sticky and feels gross…”

“Th-that may be so, but you shouldn’t just s-s-s-strip in front of a lady! It’s improper!”

“… It is?”

“Of course it is!”

Watching how flustered Hou Jingshu got over matters like this always amused Wu Meiying. She was just so easy to embarrass.

“I’m back. Jian, let me help you take off your shirt.”

“Thank you, Mei.”

“Meiying!”

“What? You didn’t think it would be possible to wipe the sweat off his body when he’s wearing clothes, did you?” Wu Meiying didn’t look at Hou Jingshu as she sat on the bed and undid the sash tying Wu Jian’s robes together, peeling them back, revealing hardened muscles covered in sweat.

Wu Meiying took a moment to admire Wu Jian’s body, refined from years of harsh training. He was neither big nor small. His muscles were what she would call the perfect size. What made them impressive was the lack of fat on his body. Because he had almost no fat, his muscles were clearly defined.

I could stare at those muscles all day…

“O-of course not, but… isn’t it inappropriate?” asked Hou Jingshu, her face red all the way to her ears.

“You’re so proper, Jingshu.”

Wu Meiying grinned at her before she grabbed a rag, dipped it into the soapy water, then rang it out until it was just damp. She moved until she was sitting behind Wu Jian. His broad back looked powerful and strong even while sick. Pressing the damp rag against his back, she enjoyed the way his muscles twitched under her palm.

“Let me know if you feel any discomfort, okay?” she asked.

“Mmm. Will do,” Wu Jian said and his body seemed to slouch. She assumed that meant he was enjoying her ministrations.

Wu Meying did her best to wipe down Wu Jian’s back, cleaning every inch of his skin. He had been sweating a lot. The masculine scent actually made it a bit difficult for her to concentration. There was something nostalgic about the smell.

As she cleaned his body, a vision appeared within her mind, of a young man who looked like an older Wu Jian. He was naked and having sex with someone. She couldn’t see who, not because their face was invisible or anything, but because she had taken on the role of the person he was sleeping with.

Is this a vision of the future? Aaaah. It would be so nice if it was. Wouldn’t that mean Jian and I remain madly in love with each other even after we grow older? I wonder how old we are in this vision? He doesn’t look much older than twenty, but I somehow have the feeling that he and I are much older in this vision. I guess that means we become powerful cultivators.

As she continued wiping his body, Hou Jingshu came up to them both. The other girl gulped several times as she stared at them. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was heavy as she eyed Wu Jian’s muscles. Wu Meiying tried hard not to smile at the blatant desire in the eyes of the Shang Kingdom’s princess.

“Jingshu, do you want to try wiping off Jian’s body?” asked Wu Meiying.

She offered the girl the rag. Hou Jingshu took it as if out of instinct. Getting up from the bed, Wu Meiying grabbed Hou Jingshu by the shoulders and directed her to sit in front of Wu Jian.

“Since I already cleaned his back, you can wipe down his front. You should consider this an honor. I really wanted to clean his chest,” Wu Meiying told the girl in a teasing voice.

“R-really? Is that so? Oh. I see. Yes. Um. Okay…”

It really was amusing to watch Hou Jingshu as she tried to control her heavy breathing and embarrassment. Wu Meiying was certain her friend was every bit as interested in the male body as her. They were at an age where boys were becoming objects of attraction and desire, and in her honest opinion, there was no boy more desirable than Wu Jian.

“Haaah. Haaah. I’m only doing this because he’s sick. I need to wipe to sweat from his body so he doesn’t get even more sick. Everything is okay. W-we’re gonna get married anyway, so there’s nothing wrong with looking after him,” Hou Jingshu murmured, her face burning like a bonfire in the night, hands trembling.

She’s way too obvious. It’s like she’s not even trying to hide her desires anymore.

Several seconds later, the girl shoved the rag in Wu Meiying’s hands, face planted on the ground, and buried her face between her arms. The way she stuck her butt in the air and wiggled it was humorous.

“I-I’m so sorry! I don’t think I can do this, so you’re going to have to clean him off! Please don’t mind me! In fact, don’t even look at me! Pretend I’m just a bug and ignore my very existence!”

“So pure,” Wu Meiying murmured with a smile.

Since her friend couldn’t do it, Wu Meiying sat in front of Wu Jian and began wiping his arms and chest of sweat. The way he sat in front of her with his legs crossed, hands pressed on his knees, invoked a sense of power despite how his skin was still paler than normal and the dark bags that hung under his eyes. Even so, he had enough cognizance to express worry for Hou Jingshu.

“Is she gonna be okay?” he asked in a whisper.

“Don’t mind her. She is just embarrassed. Unlike me, Jingshu is very innocent and pure,” she whispered back.

“I always thought you were innocent and pure too,” he pointed out.

Wu Meiying giggled at him. “Maybe in some ways, but certainly not in others.”

While she finished wiping him down, she had the still embarrassed Hou Jingshu grab some spare sheets and blankets, which they used to replace the current ones on Wu Jian’s bed. His bed was damp from sweat. If they let him sleep like that, it would have negated all the hard work she put into cleaning him off.

Aunty Àiliàn arrived several minutes after they finished changing the bedsheets with a bowl of congee. She paused in the doorway and smiled.

“I see you girls have been doing a great job of caring for my son. Thank you.”

“Of course! It’s our duty as his wives to take care of Jian when he’s sick.” Wu Meiying puffed out her chest with pride.

Hou Jingshu gave her an exhausted look. “I don’t know how you can say that so easily.”

“Because unlike you, I don’t have any shame.”

“Don’t say that with such pride!”

Aunty Àiliàn giggled at them as she sat on the bed, scooped a spoonful of congee, and fed it to Wu Jian. The young man ate without complaint.

“Ah,” Wu Meiying released a sound when she saw this.

“Oh?” Grinning, Aunty Àiliàn asked, “did you want to feed my little Jian yourself?”

“I do. It’s a wife’s duty to feed her husband!” Wu Meiying thrust her hand into the air.

Hou Jingshu pressed a palm to her face. “I give up. This girl really doesn’t have an ounce of shame.”

“Ah ha ha ha. Normally, I would be more than happy to let you feed him, but you’ve been taking care of him all day. Meanwhile, I haven’t been able to do anything. You two will have your entire lives to spend with him, so let me have some time with my son.”

“Mrrrrr. I suppose I can accept that,” Wu Meiying said with a sigh.

Even though she said she would give Aunty Àiliàn time with her son, Wu Meiying refused to leave the room and ended up jealously watching as the older woman fed Wu Jian.

***

Several days passed. Wu Jian’s fever broke two days after getting sick, and he was completely better after one more day of rest.

He thanked Wu Meiying and Hou Jingshu for looking after him. They had stayed by his side for the entire three days it took for him to recover. Father had even let them stay in his room.

He had woken up once or twice during the middle of the night to discover them resting with their heads on his bed. He worried they might wake up with a crick in their neck, but neither of them seemed bothered when they woke up the next morning, and he had been too sick to express much worry.

While Wu Meiying had demanded a kiss in recompense for her help, Hou Jingshu had merely blushed and stuttered that she only helped because they were engaged. She hadn’t even been able to look him in the face when she said that.

He didn’t think she was being honest with herself. For the sake of not embarrassing the girl, however, he accepted her words at face value.

The day after he got better, Father called him, Wu Meiying, and Hou Jingshu into the reception hall. All three of them knelt before the throne-like chair and waited for the man to speak. Behind him were his two wives.

“I am glad to see you have recovered. Zhou Lihua’s birthday is coming up in a few days, and you will need to be at your best if you wish to attend. I expect you to comport yourselves with the dignity one expects from a clan heir.”

Wu Jian almost let a bitter smile slip onto his face, though he kept it hidden. Of course, Father was primarily concerned with the upcoming birthday and how his sickness might have affected it. While Wu Jian understood that Father loved him in his own way, he was also aware that his father was a man who thought more about the clan than he did his own immediate family.

Everything he did was for the clan.

He looked at Wu Meiying out of the corner of his eye and saw the girl shaking in rage. She was seconds from speaking out. He could see that, so he reached out and grabbed her hand to keep the girl calm. Wu Meiying glanced at his hand, then at him, and then she sighed and remained silent.

She’s gotten better at controlling herself. She would have spoken out years ago even if I tried to stop her, or maybe I’ve just got a better handle on her now.

“We will be going into town tomorrow,” Father continued as if he couldn’t see the byplay. “Since this is the sixteenth birthday of the Zhou Clan’s heiress, you three will need to have outfits for the occasion. Nothing you currently have will do, so we will be getting you new outfits.”

“We understand, Father,” Wu Jian said.

“Hmm. Then… Wu Meiying, Hou Jingshu, you two are dismissed. I would like to speak with my son alone.”

While Wu Meiying looked like she wanted to protest, one look at Wu Jian made her keep her silence. She and Hou Jingshu both bowed and left the room. Now it was just him and his father.

Even Mother and Wu Taohua did not remain with them. Mother kissed Father on the cheek and hurried out the door. Wu Taohua did no such thing but instead placed a hand on Father’s shoulder before, with grace and elegance, followed the other womah outside.

He didn’t know where they were heading off to, but his mother, at least, would be following Wu Meiying and Hou Jingshu.

She probably wants to tease them.

The thought amused him. He could even picture it in his mind.

“What did you wish to speak with me about, Father?” asked Wu Jian after a moment’s silence.

“I—that is, um, your illness… are you—er—truly feeling better?”

Wu Jian couldn’t help but stare curiously at his father, tilting his head to one side as the man stumbled over his words. Under his inquisitive gaze, his father’s cheeks turned slightly red, and he looked away as if unable to withstand his own son’s gaze any longer.

Is he… embarrassed?

As he thought about that, Wu Jian remembered a conversation he had with his mother, about how Father had trouble expressing his feelings because he always had to think about the clan. It was rare for him to allow his true thoughts to emerge, which meant it was hard for him to say what he really felt. Remembering that conversation made him feel better. It wasn’t that his father only thought about how his sickness could hurt the clan’s reputation. His father really did care for and worry about him, but he didn’t know how to express it properly.

“I am all better now, Father. Thank you for worrying about me,” Wu Jian said with a smile.

“Mmm. I’m glad to hear it,” said Father, still unable to maintain his gaze.

The sound of cicadas chirping just outside the door stood in marked contrast to the silence pervading the reception hall.

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