Chapter 18 018 Boudoir Secrets

Chapter 18: Boudoir Secrets

The tall, crisp figure sat upright, taking a sip of the bitter tea. As the bitter liquid lingered in his mouth, a soft, pained whimper came from beside him.

Qin Yan frowned slightly, turning his head to glance over. He saw a scrunched-up little face, slightly reddened eyes, and moist lips parted, sticking out a tiny, pink tongue—delicate and petite. This sight got his mind wandering.

The man’s breath suddenly hitched, his gaze darkening. He quickly averted his eyes and replied in a low voice, "It's bleeding."

She didn't listen, and now she's bleeding.

Upon hearing it was bleeding, the young girl grew anxious, frantically patting herself down as she muttered, "Where did my handkerchief go?"

She must not have brought it out, right?

Qiao Wanyue was about to step outside when a hand reached over from beside her—a broad hand with well-defined knuckles, a beautiful hand. She looked at him, surprised Qin Yan was actually nice enough to hand her his handkerchief.

Wasn't he supposed to mock her? "See, that's what you get for not listening, right?"

After a few seconds of stunned silence, she came to her senses and thanked him in a slurred voice, "Thank you, Marquis."

No sooner had she pressed the handkerchief to her lips than she regretted it. The cloth carried his scent; wiping her mouth with it left her mouth full of Qin Yan's scent, as if it wasn't the handkerchief wiping her lips, but him.

A strange, subtle feeling—her heart raced, as if something had bumped into it, uncontrollably racing.

Her face flushed, and she hastily lowered her hand, placing the handkerchief on the table. She took a sip of the cold tea, tasting nothing, just wanting to rinse away the smell from the handkerchief.

"Here, take it back," she said awkwardly, pushing the handkerchief toward him without even looking at him.

"You've used it."

Qin Yan didn't look at her either, his back ramrod straight, eyes fixed straight ahead—stiff and horribly unnatural.

Qiao Wanyue didn't notice, glancing at the handkerchief and thinking, *Is Qin Yan disgusted with me?*

She tested him, "Then should I wash it and give it back?"

After a moment of silence, Qin Yan replied, "Forget it, just throw it away."

Throw it away, then. The marquis's household wasn't hurting for a handkerchief.

She immediately murmured "mm-hmm" in agreement, waited a bit, and seeing he said nothing more, figured it was fine and stood up. "Marquis, since there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave."

She wanted to go hang out with Su Su.

"Wait. The men's clothes you wore last time are on my carriage. I’ll have Chang Sheng bring them to you later."

"Oh, just throw it away."

She mimicked his tone, which was a bit strange, but Qiao Wanyue was pleased, especially saying it right in front of him.

"You—"

Qin Yan stood up in anger, but faced with her provocation, he was helpless. He could only wave her off and say, "Just go."

Qiao Wanyue was young but hot-tempered and loved to have fun. In the past, he had thought her calm and composed. How could he have thought that? Must have been blind.

The girl left without looking back, leaving Qin Yan alone in the hall. He sat for a moment, thinking about his earlier loss of control and agitation, and found it absurd.

Perhaps it was the approaching height of summer, or his age catching up with him, stirring up his temper. That’s how Qin Yan explained it. But how could he explain the handkerchief left behind on the table? He wanted to take it back, not throw it away.

The white handkerchief bore a tiny spot of blood, with a ring of moisture not yet dry—an ambiguous sight.

The man’s fingers twitched slightly, and in the end, he pocketed the handkerchief. The hall fell silent, and the bitter tea was cleared away by a maid soon after, leaving no trace.

-

Qiao Yingxin’s betrothal banquet was quite lively, not dispersing until dusk, when the Qiao residence returned to stillness.

Qiao Wanyue was already tired. Before the banquet ended, she had returned to her own courtyard, accompanied by Lin Susu, who was staying overnight at the Qiao residence. After bathing, the two lay in bed chatting and playing, long awake.

When they ran out of topics, Lin Susu nudged her arm and whispered, "Yueyue, I brought the book. Let’s read it together."

The night was hot and stifling. Qiao Wanyue kicked off the brocade coverlet, revealing a pair of bare legs. Her thin nightgown clung to her body, outlining her graceful figure.

She rolled up her pant leg and shook her head. "No need. What’s so interesting about it?"

Thinking of Qin Yan’s staid demeanor, Qiao Wanyue had no interest in such matters. Presumably, Qin Yan himself wasn’t keen on it either. Forget it—she wouldn’t read. Boring.

Lin Susu wouldn’t let her off. The book she’d brought was one she hadn’t read yet, and she’d saved it specially to share with Qiao Wanyue. She was curious, so they had to read it tonight.

Hugging Qiao Wanyue’s arm, Lin Susu clung to her, smiling ingratiatingly. "Yueyue, Yueyue, darling, let’s read it, pretty please!"

"You can read it yourself." Qiao Wanyue lay on her back, swinging her legs lazily.

Lin Susu shamelessly replied, "Reading alone is no fun. Together, we can even discuss it."

That last part was Lin Susu’s real goal—she wanted someone to talk about it.

Qiao Wanyue turned on her side and teased her, "Lin Susu, you’re a girl. Aren’t you ashamed?"

"Girls are human too."

That made sense, and Qiao Wanyue completely agreed. After a moment’s thought, she nodded. "Alright. Go get it."

"Coming right up!"

Lin Susu jumped off the bed excitedly, not even putting on her shoes, and ran to her bundle. She pulled out a book, then leaped back onto the bed, lying down beside her.

They lay on their stomachs to read, exchanged a glance, and their eyes sparkled with anticipation.

"You turn the pages."

Lin Susu nodded. "Okay."

Lin Susu bit her lip and slowly turned to the first page. The moment they looked, both blushed, averting their eyes before slowly looking back. At first, they were too shy to stare, but after a few pages, they got used to it, even marveling, *So that’s how it is.*

Lin Susu, such a chatterbox, actually started discussing it with her.

"Yueyue, do you think it’s the same down there for all men?"

The flush on Qiao Wanyue’s face faded, and she now spoke without embarrassment. "They’re all men, so it must be the same."

"That’s true."

It was already midnight. The moon had hidden behind the clouds. Yet the two were still engrossed, determined to finish the book tonight.

They turned another page, and both let out a *wow*, their mouths falling open in shock at the illustration. They stared for a long time without looking away.

Lin Susu closed her mouth and said, deeply impressed, "So you can do it like that."

Looking down at her own chest, then leaning over to peek at Qiao Wanyue’s, she asked, "Wouldn’t the chest hurt?"

"It definitely hurts."

They continued flipping to the next page, another "wow," then the next page, again the same. In the quiet dead of night, cries of "wow" floated through the crack in the door, filled with astonishment and novelty.

At the break of dawn, they finally fell asleep and didn't wake up until noon.

Looking at each other, they found their eyes a bit swollen. Laughing, they flopped back down and went back to sleep. They had been too excited reading last night; they hadn't expected their eyes to get so swollen. Now they had learned their lesson and decided to stop reading at night.

Lin Susu stayed at the Qiao residence for one night and then went home. Before getting on the carriage, she said to her, "You should come stay at my place for a night too. I still have some good books."

She whispered this into Qiao Wanyue's ear, so that no one else could hear.

Qiao Wanyue looked around, then pinched her arm. "Your eyes are already swollen, and you still want to read, huh?"

"They're already swollen anyway, it's no big deal."

"Alright, alright, hurry home."

After seeing Lin Susu off, Qiao Wanyue went to find Wang Shi and bluntly said she wanted to stay at Su Su's for a night, afraid she wouldn't have the chance after marriage; she wanted to have a good chat with her close friend.

Wang Shi hesitated, then said to wait a few days until after Qiao Yingxin's wedding, as the household was busy now and it wouldn't be appropriate to go at this time.

She thought about it and realized that made sense. Her elder sister was about to get married, and if she didn't stay to accompany her but went to play at someone else's house, wouldn't that give people something to talk about?

Qiao Wanyue decided then and there to wait until after her sister's wedding to go visit the Lin residence.

-

On the twenty-eighth of June, the day of Qiao Yingxin's wedding, the entire Qiao residence was decorated with lanterns and colorful banners, filled with joyous atmosphere.

Qiao Wanyue had nothing to do, so she wandered among the crowd. With an inadvertent glance, she caught Qin Yan's eyes. He was here again. She immediately turned her face away and didn't say a word to him.

After her elder sister got married, it would be her turn. Her days at the Qiao residence were numbered, and she would have even less time with her mother and brother. These days she hadn't gone out, wanting only to spend more time with her mother.

Thinking that in the future she wouldn't be able to stay by her family's side, even on this happy occasion she felt a bit sad. She sighed.

Qiao Yingxin's wedding went smoothly, and Qiao Zhuofan had one less worry, feeling much lighter. However, Qiao Wanyue felt that after her sister married, the residence became much quieter, not as lively as before.

The residence was too quiet, so Qiao Wanyue told Wang Shi she wanted to go hang out at Su Su's, stay overnight and come back tomorrow. Wang Shi had previously agreed, so she didn't refuse and nodded to let her go.

Qiao Wanyue went out happily, bringing only a nightgown and heading straight to the Lin residence. Lin Susu was naturally delighted, but unfortunately, Lord Lin wasn't feeling well and hadn't taken his medicine that evening. She needed to go to Lord Lin's room first and then come back to accompany her.

"Let me go visit Uncle."

"No need, my brother-in-law is with him."

If she went too, it would be a bit awkward.

Qiao Wanyue nodded and waited for her in the corridor. After waiting for a while without seeing Lin Susu return, she saw Qin Yan approaching instead.

He slowed slightly when he saw her, then walked toward her. Running into him at the Lin residence, she didn't think to avoid him and stood up to greet him.

"Marquis, are you heading home?"

Qin Yan nodded at her and walked past her. Qiao Wanyue caught a faint smell of medicine, likely picked up from Lord Lin's room.

He was leaving, so Qiao Wanyue said nothing and simply waited for him to go. But unexpectedly, Qin Yan took two steps, then turned back and asked her, "It's getting late, why aren't you going home? Didn't you take a carriage?"

If that were the case, he could escort her home.

"No," Qiao Wanyue shook her head and said honestly, "I'm not going home tonight. I'm staying at Su Su's."

After she said this, Qin Yan's expression changed. He stared at her intently. Staying out all night? She had some nerve.

"Not going home at night, do Lord Qiao and Lady Qiao know?"

His tone was harsh, and his expression was unpleasant. Qin Yan was questioning her harshly.

Qiao Wanyue frowned, disliking his tone as though she had done something terribly wrong.

So she replied indifferently, "They know."

Qin Yan choked for a moment, then said with a straight face, "Go home and stay tonight."

"Why? Su Su and I have already agreed to stay together tonight. I can't break my promise."

The young lady looked him up and down, retorting defiantly, "You sure meddle a lot."

Before, she pretended to be respectful; now she doesn't even bother to pretend.

Qin Yan had no way to deal with her. Impulsively, he grabbed her hand. "A young lady staying out all night is improper. Go back to the residence."

"Hey, hey, let go, let me go! Men and women shouldn't be touching."

Qin Yan looked down at their clasped hands and awkwardly let go. "I got anxious for a moment. Sorry."

"My hand is all red."

Her slender wrist was encircled with red, quite conspicuous.

Qin Yan rubbed his fingertips, thinking to himself that he hadn't used much force, so why was it red? She's too delicate.