One day though, as she thought such days would continue, she ate something that made her passed out. Waking up, she found herself in the dark, her feet and hands bound to the bed. There was a smell lingering in the room, the intoxicating smell of incense that had certainly been soaked in aphrodisiac, for she was feeling hot and bothered all over. Her breathing was becoming heavier and quicker with each passing second.

She heard footsteps. There was someone in the room with her, and the person had apparently remarked that she woked up. He walked up to her side, stopping by her head. Mu Rong An couldn't see. Her eyes were bandaged.  

Wasn't he going to talk at all? The silence was deafening.

She understood, she thought. Ru Shan Yong was maybe not as cool, calm and collected that she thought him to be initially. He could be losing his equanimity. Nothing he did really had a satisfying impact on her, so he had come back to the basis, a tit for a tat, a tooth for a tooth. She had had her way with his body like she wanted, now he’d have his like he wants.

No, actually not, she contradicted herself again. That was the aphrodisiac thinking. That general wasn't like that. But no matter how hard she thought in this speck of time, her thinking always came back to that and when the silence prolonged, she said, in a voice that she herself doubted to be hers,

“There was really no need for all the trouble", she tried to pull the ropes, they didn't budge a bit, her breathing became even more labored by her efforts, "didn’t this wife already say that I didn’t mind? I am far more than willing to cooperate if you need me too. No need for the ropes.”

The person didn’t answer though.

As it prolonged, she actually grew scared of others, far more detestable possibilities. Ropes, aphrodisiac, unknown persons. Her breathing quickened and now it had nothing to do with the aphrodisiac. She was panicking. In her mind replayed how she was supposed to die and an unadulterated fear grew in her. Expanding the more she thought about it. What to do? Blindly and carelessly provoking him, did Ru general actually end up annoyed somehow and sold her to a brothel?

“Who are you?” 

But the person still wouldn’t talk. He walked a little farther and she heard muffled sounds. Sounds, she imagined his clothes making as they fell on the floor. She tugged more fiercely on the ropes, not even feeling the pain of her skin being so madly pulled. Her mind was feverish and scared.

The sounds stopped as she grew more agitated and the person came back to her side. Fingers, first, touched her cheek, after which the back of his hand, before it slowly became the palm, almost gently caressing her face, as though to soothe her. It was a callused hand, warmer than her cheek. 

She paused a bit, whispering the general's name, to which the person stilled. Just for a sec, before the hand left her face and sooner than she could ask herself where he had gone, her clothes were slowly being peeled open, layer by layer. The silence turned her almost hysterical,

“This isn’t proportional at all!” she shouted, “Ru Shan Yong! You lousy general, I didn’t bandage your eyes, neither did I gave you to another. Ru Shan Yong!”

She was trashing, her heart thumping taken in a panic mode, all reasoning having long flown out of her mind, the only thing left being a nightmare she had had some months ago which led her to where she was in the end. 

The person stilled again at her shouting. Her inner robe still being almost neatly closed on her.  There was a rumble. The person's hands were actually on her stomach, she clearly felt him shaking before he guffawed, laughing breathily.

This tone, in the end, it was just him? Ru Shan Yong?

He leaned on her, laughter in his voice still, his familiar voice brushed her ears, his breath warm on her cheek,

“You still know how to be scared!” 

She actually let out a long breath she didn't even realize she was holding, a long and deep sigh of relief. 

His hands behind her head unhook the bandages of her eyes. She blinked the moisture that was weighing her eyelashes but it still kept on flowing out anyway. It was still dark. The very room hadn't been lit with any light at all so she couldn’t make up his face. When taking off the small band, he touched the wetness of her face, and Mu Rong An felt the bed dipped in a little as he sat. His hands patiently brushed her overflowing tears away. After a moment, the terror left her eyes and the reflexive tears finally stopped.

He had an almost gentle tone as he reprimanded,

“What are you crying and shouting for? Isn’t it what I should have done from the start?" The warm palm left her hand to play with her hair, "drugging you, bounding you, intoxicating you… and playing with your body independently whether you were willing or not!”

There was in his voice a sort of melancholia Mu Rong An couldn’t understand. Her fears cleared her head enough for her to distinguish it. These methods were after all, not his style at all. Which was why he wedded her to start with!

“What happened?” she asked unconsciously, her voice was still trembling a little from the previous emotion. He stilled before actually lying by her side, burying his face in her neck, inhaling deeply. There was in his breath the lingering smell of wine and something else. Something she couldn't recognize. He shifted his head's position quite a time, searching for a better place to put it and My Rong An chuckled a bit, his nose was a little ticklish against her skin and by the feel of it, he had stubble he didn't shave.

She felt much better now, so persisted with her question for, after all, he was quite strange today,

“I… wondered", he finally said after a moment, shifting his head once again, his mouth on her neck, "now it’s my time to have my ways with you I suppose!”

As though to affirm that, he actually kissed her neck which brought an involuntary gasp from Mu Rong An. His lips were somewhat cold on her hot body.

As though reminded, the excess of adrenaline provoked by her scare started to lose effect, and the aphrodisiac was once again taking reign of her brain. This was a way stronger one than what she had used on him. She groaned at the differences, not really liking that her own idea was played against her. She still wanted to see him though,

“I didn’t let you in the dark, you could clearly see my face.”

He chuckled a bit, light, pleasing vibrations against her collar even though his fuzz was pricking her slightly. He was way more clear-headed than she had thought him to be, as he still had it in him to keep a sound reasoning,

“You broke the light pearl of your room this morning and only you know what you did with the candles. How can I possibly light the room for you?”

She had indeed broken that light pearl trying to polish it today, as for the candles, she just hid those away, wanting to get a reason to force him to either come back or have him send someone goes buy for more to which she could have added other things to be bought as well.

As his lips got lower, her clothes seemed to be on the way, and he started to take this one off as well. The cold hair made her shiver a little; his lips were back on her body again, and she felt something already poking at her.

“Free my hands,” she more ordered than begged and he lifted his head from her collarbone to come back to her face, so close than their hot breaths were mingling together.

“My hands weren’t freed,” he said prizing her stubborn mouth open with a thumb to kiss her hard and deep. Almost like a punishment.

He himself had a layer of clothing on him still, which he took off while kissing her, flinging it somewhere in the room where it landed. His long hair was unbound, she could feel a curtain of it on her arm. She quite wanted to touch it, to let her hand roamed in it and feel its coolness with her fingers. It was slightly damped as though he had just taken a bath. 

“Un…bound me,” she said between heavy breathing.

But his mouth was back on hers again, commanding silence.

In the dark, he couldn’t exactly see but he let his body do as it pleased. He‘s kissing collar, down to her breast, sucking, licking, seemingly easily remembering what she did to him and Mu Rong An wondered for the bit of sense left in her if he actually used to think about it a lot to be remembering it so easily. She couldn't help the startled gasp when he took the small mount in his mouth nor the way it merged into a moan as he bit and played with it. By the time he went to the other one, she was panting, making short, whimpering sounds. 

Was the aphrodisiac making her more sensitive than ever? She would put it on it. He couldn't be that good for his second time. She did have a book and him he has nothing at all yet was still better!

At one point he really did free her but her brain had yet to register the fact. She couldn't move even if she wanted to. His tongue, his fingers, his hands, they were everywhere at the same time.

As she cried she felt her lower self getting wetter. If he could see, no face had been redder than hers at this moment. Her breath left her in another hiss and he took in his mouth the remnant of her moan. Tongues dancing, trying to taste every bit of her.

That was it, she thought. The pleasure, oh, the marvelous pleasure and how good it was.

He wasn't any less affected. His groans were rougher, he made low, broken noises against her throat as he slid inside her. Full, firm, and hot. Thick and hard as steel and soft like velvet. Her high shriek of surprise turned into a sound that could only be described as indecent. 

He still had yet to move though. He was patient, letting her adapt to his size and it was she, who buckled her hips and induced the first move. She wanted, needed him to move. He groaned at the sharp thrust and was kissing her again, her teeth pulling her lower lip.

He started with slow rhythmless thrusts, a harmless tease that had her writhing into his unhurried pace. She was desperate for more, her body twisting as she attempted to rise. But he wouldn't let her. He pushed her back down, restricting her movements. Her eyes flickered shut, her head rolling backward as her voice rose. Then she was coming again, buckling into his member. His lips went back to her own, muffling the desperate sounds. She pushed him a little to catch her breath, but he was moving again. His thrusts this time wilder, quicker. She came again, and it wasn't long before she felt the equal build of his pleasure; she heard it in his voice, the tensing of his muscles, the thrumming of his member buried inside her. She felt his edge, a throated growl, his hips bucking forward, face buried in her chest, his climax pushing her over to another one of her own. 

And both of them were left panting. Her tongue darted out, and in the complete dark, it was almost like he could see, for he was kissing her again, equally as desperate as she.

It was completely different. Way better. For her at least. And if that was what he felt that time too, she had to wonder why he was angry to start with!

He got up. She made no motion to move. Too tired and too lazy for that. But she did miss his warmth.

‘It isn’t identical’ she thought, ‘I did it twice and slept by your side’. But he’s already gone and she just has her bedding to lay down with. Somehow, it was cold.

However, he came back sometime later though, and contrary to her who had cleaned him in the same room, he lifted her and went with her to the water room where there was hot water waiting. It was way more pleasant than the cold one she had bathed him with that night, and she suddenly felt extremely grateful for the differences!

She didn't mind and not the least bit interested in helping him, she pretended to be asleep, letting him deal with her body, not making it easier for him one bit.

Though she was pretty sure he knew she wasn't really asleep.

***

The next morning, she woke up sored, way more than she had been when she was the one in command. It never occurred to her though, that he would still be here when she’d be waking up. At one point, she really did fell asleep so Mu Rong An had no idea when exactly they came back to the bed.

The sky was still dark outside, slowly turning blue. Birds could already be heard chirping, what woke her though, was the annoying sound of the rooster. A rooster she didn't which presence wasn't there the previous day. 

She ruffled her hair and puffed a breath. They were messier than they had ever been with clot everywhere. She was feeling sorry for herself just at the thought of brushing them! Something she was forced to do herself because of a certain person.

She tilted her head to his side, wondering a little if she closed his nose and mouth, would he suffocate in his sleep? No, he wouldn't but she could still try to mess with his hair too, after all, she was pretty sure it was because of him that hers were in this state! She reached out both hands and halted as he shifted his position before deciding against it.

Trying to get up, the cover fell and she actually found herself completely naked. There were love bites all over her body. She couldn't help but flush at the reminder. Thinking back, Ru Shan Yong was really strange. She was sure that he too, was venting -in a sense- or had he eaten something? What? She didn’t know. Wanting to even the score with her yet not knowing how to battle with a woman and in the end, taking her own arms against herself? That wasn’t his ways at all!

But what had been done had been done! Was she supposed to be angry? This was something she herself had started, and even at this very moment, she couldn’t find it in her to say that she regretted what she did, if under the same circumstances she would surely do the same thing all over again.

However, those kinds of things not being his style meant that there was a reason that brought him to her bed. At this particular moment, she didn't really care what it was, her sole thinking was that she could find her way out of this stupid punishment he had designed for her. She could try and take back all the privileges she was born with, or if not, some of them.

Her gaze lingered a bit on his face. There were bags under his eyes. Quite dark. She didn’t know what was happening on the camps but he seemed awfully tired; He shifted and she was quite certain that he was awake now, so she said, with a voice slightly coarse,

“This time certainly, the scores are evened!... Then can we call for a truce?”

He slowly sat too, and she watched as the cover shift and fell on his thighs, revealing his upper body. She took her gaze back, only hearing him cracking his neck to better wake himself up. He looked briefly then at the room were still laid some clothes,

He said in a thick and voice was even huskier,

“…Fine”

… That… As simple as this? Was it really fine? Was it really okay?

Hmph, if he wanted to let it go as simply as that who was she to prevent him? If anything, she was going to try and find even more benefits for herself!

She tried to talk again but found herself with little voice, almost gone and she had to clear her throat, twice. A blush crept while she thought back about all her shoutings the night before. Even if his guards were not half as good as him, they must still have heard.

“I want my servants back!”

A moment of silence. 

“...You’ll have to wait for a month for them, … meanwhile, others will come to serve you.”

***

Once he talked he was actually someone fast to act. He had people fetch for them immediately and they came before the sun was high on the sky. Nine servants. It wasn’t really an adequate number for such a large manor, but she would make do with it for the time being. 

It was honestly good to not have to do things by herself again, and ordering people was something that she actually missed.

She had them cleaned the courtyard she resided in, inside out. For the other one, well, it wasn’t urgent. The master could jelly well sleep here for the time being!

She was actually in such a good mood that she chose to come and sit, watching him training with his sword while waiting for the tea she ordered to be brought. He had simple black clothes on and as she paid more attention, she remarked that his face had no stubble, he had, apparently shaved the night before. 

Her smile more genuine than ever, she was blabbering nonsensical nonsense to him, trying to see how far his patience with her would go or if he would end up snapping at her to shut up.

He really was someone who made her feel like playing with fire!

“…So, I don’t have to wash my own laundry anymore, nor cook... nor anything. If I knew it was this easy I would have suggested you take me way earlier… that is called marital rights! This wife wouldn’t dare refuse.”

His steps faltered and he turned to her. The tea set had long been deposed by her side and she was serving some for herself. 

His cold voice rang, completely different than the gentle one of the night before which was groaning and whispering nonsense in her ears softly.

“You want things bought, buy them yourself, a carriage will come to you to help you to the village's market!”

She didn’t mind. Why would she? There was no way he could let her go alone, so her smile grew wider as she openly mocked him. His lips twitched and one had to wonder if the Ru general wasn't as intimidating as he used to be.

Although Mu Rong An didn't mind going to the certainly bustling, noisy, maybe dirty and quite possibly crowded market of the village, she still had to make a thing clear as she thought about something,

“I won’t disguise myself,” she told him, thinking of his love interests who liked to dress as men. She was a woman and the only thing she needed was a veil, “And to whoever asks, I’d say I’m your wife!”

This was clearly saying that she was going to exceed whatever amount of money he was going to give and take out his name as a warrant for other purchases.

This woman... really... give her an inch and she would take a mile...

He had actually paused to listen to her, releasing, in the end, a sigh, the very first one Mu Rong An heard him released and far from being the last through their lives together,

“Whether you can convince them of this would be by your own abilities!”