Chapter 1041: The Transaction

Cheng Yaojia’s face turned red as she silently began to remove her clothes. Her two snow-white arms were exposed under the moonlight, appearing even more translucent and jade-like. Perhaps it was the biting cold of the late night, or maybe it was her overwhelming nervousness, but the skin exposed to the air gradually developed a layer of delicate goosebumps.

Song Qingshu was momentarily stunned, unable to react. His first thought was whether the buttons of her cl0thes had been shaken loose by the gust of wind in the garden earlier. After all, with Cheng Yaojia’s noble upbringing, she would never voluntarily undre$s in front of a m@n who was not her husband.

When Cheng Yaojia reached for the second piece of cl0thing to remove, Song Qingshu finally snapped back to reality and hurriedly grabbed her hand. “Madam, what are you doing?”

Cheng Yaojia lowered her head, making it impossible to see her expression, but he could only catch a glimpse of her flushed earlobes. In a barely audible voice, she said, “You have no ties with Husband and the others; asking you to help them is truly too much to ask…”

Song Qingshu couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. “Madam, you misunderstand me. I brought you back not to coerce you, but rather…”

“I know you are a good person,” Cheng Yaojia said, raising her head to look at him with her big, watery eyes. “You have saved me several times. I am not the kind of person who takes advantage of others; I won’t pretend to be ignorant just to make you help me for nothing.”

Song Qingshu quickly replied, “I’m thinking of ways to save them; please don’t misunderstand…”

Cheng Yaojia smiled and shook her head. “You are kind to me and willing to help because of me, and I am very grateful. But you are, after all, a high-ranking official of the Jin Dynasty. The Jin and Southern Song have always been at odds. Seeing the Southern Song envoy in distress, it would be more than enough for you not to kick them while they’re down. How could I, then, feel at ease to trouble you time and again?”

“But you hold a high position and possess great martial skills. I truly can’t think of anything that would interest you as a reward. After thinking it over, perhaps my body might interest you,” Cheng Yaojia said, her face turning red as she continued, “I hope you won’t mind that I have been married before.”

“How could I possibly mind that you’ve been married?” Song Qingshu instinctively replied. After saying this, he realized it was inappropriate and awkwardly smiled, “That’s not what I meant. I’m not asking you to repay me in that way.”

Song Qingshu asked himself; he was indeed quite interested in this shy and demure young woman, but acquiring her in such a manner felt lacking in something. He had already moved beyond base desires.

A gust of cold wind blew outside, causing Cheng Yaojia to shiver. She instinctively wrapped her arms around herself and said with a hint of melancholy, “Are you going to make me stand here at the door like this?”

“How could I forget!” Song Qingshu slapped his forehead, mainly because her earlier actions had caught him completely off guard.

Hearing the sound of guards patrolling outside, Song Qingshu hurriedly ran over to close the door. Even though Cheng Yaojia was someone else’s wife, he didn’t want her body to be seen by other men.

After closing the door, Song Qingshu quickly took off his coat.

Cheng Yaojia’s face turned an even deeper shade of red, and she stood there shivering, like a delicate and beautiful orchid.

With his level of cultivation, Song Qingshu could easily sense her heart racing several beats faster. He quickly explained, “Madam, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not taking off my cl0thes to…”

He opened his mouth, unsure of how to explain it better, so he decided to let his actions speak for him. He stepped forward and draped his coat over her shoulders, softly saying, “Madam, you don’t need to be like this. I am sincere in my friendship with you and am certainly not the kind of despicable person who takes advantage of others’ misfortunes.”

Cheng Yaojia swayed slightly, tears streaming down her face. “You are the Grand Marshal of the Jin Dynasty; what kind of stunning beauties haven’t you seen? How could you possibly regard me, a woman who has been married, with any importance? It’s my fault for lacking self-awareness, thinking I could use this as a condition to ask you to save Husband and the others…”

Seeing the woman in front of him begin to cry softly, Song Qingshu was momentarily dumbfounded. Despite having been through countless romantic encounters, he still sometimes struggled to understand a woman’s thoughts. At this moment, he was being a gentleman; shouldn’t she be happy instead of crying?

“Madam, please don’t misunderstand. You are as beautiful as a flower, dignified and virtuous, possessing a deadly charm for any man,” Song Qingshu hurriedly explained.

Cheng Yaojia’s sobs gradually subsided: “Is it because I have been married before?”

Song Qingshu was at a loss for words. What kind of logic was this? He instinctively replied, “Being married before is a good thing. A woman who has been married knows how to serve a man better, uh…”

Halfway through his sentence, Song Qingshu suddenly realized something was off.

Cheng Yaojia indeed showed a shy expression, turning away: “You… you are so bad.”

The beautiful woman lightly scolded him, her voice soft and enchanting.

Song Qingshu felt a rush of warmth and stepped forward to embrace her from behind: “How does Madam know that I am bad?”

The two of them were now tightly pressed together, with Cheng Yaojia’s soft and curvy backside resting against Song Qingshu’s abd0men.

Feeling the man’s firm presence behind her, Cheng Yaojia’s voice trembled slightly: “You… aren’t you being… bad to me right now?”

“Am I?” Song Qingshu held her soft b0dy tightly, his abd0men beginning to slowly rub against her.

Cheng Yaojia’s face turned even redder. The woman’s modesty made her instinctively want to escape, but then she remembered the purpose of her visit and had to bite her lip, suppressing the shame that surged within her.

Song Qingshu’s fingers gently glided over her cheek, finally resting in her hair at her temple, softly praising, “Madam, how do you usually take care of your hair? It’s so smooth and shiny.”

If any man had dared to t0uch her cheek like this on a normal day, she would have slapped him in embarrassment. But now, the man behind her was doing much more than just t0uching her cheek. Yet, she could only endure the shame and tremble as she answered his question: “These matters of women, even if I told you men, you wouldn’t understand.”

“That may be true,” Song Qingshu nodded in agreement, casually undoing her hairpin. “Madam looks even better with her hair down.”

The man’s breath was audible, and she could feel the prickly sensation of his stubble against her neck. Cheng Yaojia trembled even more: “For Han women… after getting married… we must… wear our hair in a bun.”

“There is beauty in letting your hair down, and there is beauty in wearing a bun,” Song Qingshu whispered in her ear.

Feeling his hand gently caressing her smooth hair, Cheng Yaojia experienced an illusion, as if her skin was being want0nly str0ked by him.