After The Soft And Cute Beauty Marries The Wolf King - Chapter 78

Xie Zhiqing rubbed his palm with his index finger, feeling the simple but heavy stroke of the character that General Lang had written in his hand earlier.

 

Lang Sa still held his hand in his embrace, and the warmth of his body seemed to seep through the thin fabric of the clothing, extending into Xie Zhiqing’s heart.

 

Lang Sa shifted his position, pulling Xie Zhiqing fully into his arms. The hour was late, and Lang Sa’s voice carried a drowsy slur.

 

“Go to sleep, Xiao Qing’er.”

 

Strangely, though he had heard this three-character nickname from many people, hearing it from Lang Sa made Xie Zhiqing feel somewhat embarrassed.

 

He blinked, hesitated for a while, and finally extended his left hand to tentatively wrap around Lang Sa’s waist.

 

Unsure if Lang Sa was asleep, he whispered, “Well… good night, Lang Sa.”

 

Lang Sa responded with a mumble that was hard to tell if it was a conscious reply to Xie Zhiqing or just an unconscious murmur in his sleep. He kept his eyes closed and tightened his hold around Xie Zhiqing’s arm.

 

Their bodies were pressed closely together due to this small action. Xie Zhiqing looked at the person in front of him, his cheek almost resting on Lang Sa’s chest.

 

Lang Sa’s embrace felt like a huge shelter from the wind, securely wrapping Xie Zhiqing and protecting him from the storm.

 

Xie Zhiqing’s nose felt sour, and he snuggled closer into Lang Sa’s embrace.

 

The unspoken sadness and grievances that he could not express to anyone else reached their peak on this quiet night. Although he had not been mistreated due to his strange body, he could not honestly deceive himself into believing that his father’s and brothers’ occasional sighs and sadness had no effect on him.

 

Tears swirled in Xie Zhiqing’s eyes, and a few drops silently fell after he blinked.

 

He wiped his tears and pressed his forehead tightly against Lang Sa’s chest.

 

Lang Sa seemed to sigh. He pressed Xie Zhiqing’s head into his embrace, and his dry lips lightly brushed against Xie Zhiqing’s forehead.

 

This also soothed Xie Zhiqing’s anxious heart.

 

Nestled in Lang Sa’s arms, Xie Zhiqing felt his broad chest enveloping him like a cocoon. He closed his eyes, and all the deeply buried complex feelings disappeared. All that remained was the faint sound of Lang Sa’s breathing.

 

He rubbed Lang Sa’s shoulder and tightly closed his eyes in that embrace.

 

When he woke up again, it was already bright outside.

 

Xie Zhiqing rubbed his eyes, still feeling a bit sore. He lifted the quilt and sat up, suddenly realizing that the person beside him had not gotten up!

 

Xie Zhiqing was startled and quickly asked, “General Lang, oh Lang Sa, didn’t you go to the morning court?”

 

Lang Sa glanced at him and said resignedly, “Look outside, the morning court is probably over.”

 

Xie Zhiqing: “…”

 

How inappropriate; on the first day sharing a bed, they had overslept and even missed the morning court.

 

Lang Sa rubbed his face and sat up as well, feeling quite embarrassed and not wanting to say anything.

 

The two fell into a silence, and an awkward atmosphere settled between them.

 

“Um…” Xie Zhiqing scratched his face and asked, “What happens if you miss the morning court?”

 

“…” Lang Sa sighed and said, “They’ll deduct my salary.”

 

Why did they oversleep? Lang Sa wondered.

 

He concluded it was due to his pride last night—he couldn’t sleep soundly knowing how sad Xie Zhiqing had been.

 

He nudged Xie Zhiqing’s hair and joked, “Hey, Xiao Qing’er, you should go to your father and plead for him not to deduct my salary.”

 

“…” Xie Zhiqing pursed his lips, looking at him awkwardly, “… Is that really possible?”

 

He took it seriously.

 

Lang Sa looked at him speechlessly and flicked his forehead—much more forcefully than the previous evening.

 

“Why are you acting like a little fool?” Lang Sa laughed.

 

Xie Zhiqing realized that Lang Sa was teasing him again, and though he pouted, he said, “… You’re really annoying.”

 

Lang Sa lazily lay back down, propping his head with his hands. He looked at Xie Zhiqing and said, “You didn’t say that last night.”

 

Xie Zhiqing was immediately flustered and said angrily, “You!”

 

Lang Sa stopped teasing him.

 

He freed one hand to stop Xie Zhiqing’s futile attempts and pulled him closer, letting Xie Zhiqing rest his head on his shoulder to comfort him.

 

Xie Zhiqing was still quite disgruntled, saying, “You’re really something!”

 

Lang Sa laughed heartily.

 

After a while, Lang Sa pinched Xie Zhiqing’s cheeks and cleared his throat, “About what you said last night…”

 

Xie Zhiqing’s body immediately stiffened.

 

Lang Sa sighed inwardly and said, “I didn’t want to say anything more—I already said what I needed to say last night. But…”

 

Lang Sa paused, looking uncomfortable. He didn’t look at Xie Zhiqing, his face showing rare signs of uncertainty.

 

“What I want to say is…” Lang Sa didn’t stay silent for long, but when he spoke again, he cleared his throat, “No matter what the issue is, no matter the reason, if it doesn’t affect you, then you… don’t need to worry about what others think.”

 

He still didn’t look directly at Xie Zhiqing, only slightly lowering his head to kiss the top of Xie Zhiqing’s head and continued, “At least, I… really like you.”

 

Xie Zhiqing’s ears turned red. His face buried in Lang Sa’s shoulder, he was too embarrassed to look up and meet Lang Sa’s gaze.

 

His emotions fluctuated; one moment he was anxiously fearful, the next he was lifted by Lang Sa’s words.

 

“Lang Sa…” After a moment, Xie Zhiqing finally mustered the courage to ask, “Why did you marry me…”

 

Lang Sa twirled Xie Zhiqing’s long hair around his fingers. The soft strands wound around his fingers, soft with a bit of an itch.

 

He tightened his arms, pulling Xie Zhiqing closer, and whispered, “I married you because… I love you.”

 

General Lang was not good at saying sweet words. There were many ways to express love, but he could only manage the simplest ones.

 

Yet, the simplest words had the greatest impact.

 

Xie Zhiqing sat up, his eyes red, looking at Lang Sa with a mix of grievance and hope.

 

He blinked, tears clearly visible in his eyes.

 

He didn’t doubt the truth of Lang Sa’s words; he just honestly expressed the bit of bitterness from his misunderstanding, “I thought you were marrying me to gain more power, to reach a higher position… I was mistaken.”

 

Lang Sa rubbed his earlobes and said in a deep voice, “You’ve got it wrong. It’s because of the current position that I had the confidence to marry you.”

 

He shook his head and smiled, “Didn’t I say yesterday? It was because I won that battle that I dared to tell the emperor I wanted to marry you.”

 

He tapped Xie Zhiqing’s nose and said seriously, “You really are a little fool.”

 

Xie Zhiqing smiled shyly.

 

Tears fell silently, but he was no longer sad or anxious.

 

Xie Zhiqing wiped his tears and asked with determination, “Lang Sa, do you really not find it strange? Do you not feel disgusted or uneasy, or…”

 

“Stop with all these strange questions,” Lang Sa interrupted rudely, “Where did you learn these words? They’re not elegant and don’t fit your status. Don’t say them.”

 

Xie Zhiqing chuckled—though he seemed to have been scolded, he felt sweet inside because of Lang Sa’s words.

 

He dried his tears, hugged Lang Sa, and happily said, “General, let’s go to the palace! I’ll ask Father to forgive you for missing the morning court and not deduct your salary!”

 

Lang Sa snorted, “You should go anyway.”

 

Xie Zhiqing bumped his forehead against Lang Sa’s and playfully rubbed his face.

 

In the afternoon, they indeed went to the palace.

 

As a prince, even after marriage, Xie Zhiqing’s etiquette was not as complex as that of a princess. For a palace visit, it was sufficient to follow the custom of visiting every ten days.

 

It was also the first time after his marriage that he went to the palace with Lang Sa.

 

…It was only today that he learned Lang Sa was just as blunt in front of the emperor.

 

When asked why he had missed the morning court, Lang Sa answered nonchalantly, “Because I overslept. I woke up, and the morning court was already over.”

 

The emperor: “…”

 

Lang Sa was so casual that it was somewhat infuriating.

 

The emperor was a bit displeased, but considering that Lang Sa was Xie Zhiqing’s husband and a key official, he had to be appeased. He said, “Lang Aiqing, you should prioritize court matters in the future.”

 

Lang Sa interrupted, “We’ll see. It’s not always the case.”

 

“…” Xie Zhiqing closed his eyes and mentally shouted, “Oh no!” He quickly told the emperor, “Father, I insisted on playing chess with General Lang last night, and we lost track of time, causing us to miss the morning court.”

 

Lang Sa glanced at Xie Zhiqing and mentally revised his impression of the little prince.

 

He was slender but could be quite painful when he grabbed someone.

Quiet and gentle, but could easily come up with excuses.

Seemed obedient and lovable but could also be very mischievous.

 

Lang Sa’s thoughts drifted as he found Xie Zhiqing extremely endearing.

 

His distraction was so obvious that the emperor noticed.

 

“Lang Aiqing, did you hear that?” the emperor said displeased.

 

Lang Sa snapped back to attention and said, “I heard. It’s indeed because I was comforting Xiao Qing’er that I overslept.”

 

Xie Zhiqing: “…”

 

He wore a distressed expression and quickly tugged at Lang Sa’s sleeve, whispering, “The matter is already settled! Father just said that because you’ve been punctual before, he won’t deduct your salary this time! But there can’t be a next time! What were you thinking just now?”

 

“…” Lang Sa said, “Oh, I see, I wasn’t paying attention.”

 

Xie Zhiqing was truly exasperated. He didn’t even dare to look at his father’s face, feeling as if the emperor’s gaze could slice Lang Sa into pieces.

 

He hurriedly bid farewell to the emperor, “Father, Father, I’m a bit tired and need to rest. We’ll take our leave now!”

 

He quickly dragged Lang Sa out.

 

As they left the palace, Lang Sa continued to tease, “Just don’t deduct my salary. My salary is essentially Xiao Qing’er’s money. Emperor, if you deduct my salary, it’s like deducting his money!”

 

“Stop saying that!” Xie Zhiqing snapped.

 

Lang Sa finally fell silent.

 

He looked down, trying to suppress his smile, but couldn’t hide the grin at the corners of his mouth.

 

He embraced the frustrated Xie Zhiqing and, once outside the palace, eagerly kissed him on the face.