I want to share a quilt with you.

Chapter Title: 089 I Want to Share a Quilt with You

On the twenty-ninth day of the fourth lunar month, with the connections in the Salt Road of Pingcheng successfully secured, Fang Rulai and her companions could finally set out on their journey back to Shengjing.

Zhou Dashan, who had just secured his first year as the leader, brought with him the heads of various sections along the Salt Road, each bearing lavish gifts for the county magistrate’s yamen, hoping to express their gratitude. But Mu Zhijin turned them away at the door. Left with no choice, they left the gifts and a message before departing.

The message was: Should there be any need in Shengjing, the name “Fang Rulai” would serve as a key to summon the Salt Road’s network for assistance.

Fang Rulai, without the slightest ceremony, accepted both the gifts and the message. After all, these were the rewards she deserved for risking her life and expending immense mental effort. Yet, even if she carried the “key” of her name, she still had to know where to find the corresponding “lock.” When she pressed for more details, Zhou Dashan refused to elaborate, only saying that, in time, someone would reach out to her.

Thus, carrying her doubts, Fang Rulai embarked on the road back to Shengjing in the dead of night.

Yes, in the dead of night.

When Fang Rulai was deep in slumber.

She opened her bleary eyes to find Guan Shiyin, dressed for travel, standing by her bed. Though she was so drowsy she could barely open her eyes, her mind was still alert. “Don’t tell me we’re leaving now.”

She wrapped herself tighter in her brocade quilt, rolled over, and closed her eyes again. “We agreed to set out in the morning, and in the morning it shall be. Until then, even if the room catches fire, I’m going to finish my sleep first.”

Since the third of March, she hadn’t had a proper night’s rest. With the matters in Pingcheng finally settled and no imminent threat of reprisal from the crown prince’s faction, she’d been making up for all the sleep she’d lost over the past month.

Seeing her bundled up like a cocoon, Guan Shiyin, who had planned to simply scoop her up and leave, couldn’t help but laugh. “All right, all right, sleep as much as you like. I’ve had the carriage made even more comfortable than your bedroom. Sleep the whole way if you wish! By the time you wake, we’ll be in Shengjing—how wonderful is that?”

As he spoke, he reached to pull away her quilt.

Without opening her eyes, Fang Rulai instinctively tightened her grip on the quilt, rolled deeper into the bed to evade his hand. “Please, who are you trying to fool? No matter how luxurious, a carriage is still just a fancy sleeper. More comfortable than a bedroom? Ridiculous! No, we leave in the morning and that’s final. I don’t care what you say, I’m not setting out now.”

Guan Shiyin’s hand paused in midair. “What’s a fancy sleeper?” Apparently, Jie Rou hadn’t taught him this term.

“It’s just a top-grade, more comfortable carriage,” Fang Rulai answered automatically, then realized she was wasting her time. “Ugh, I’m exhausted. Can’t your questions wait until daylight? Out! I don’t have the energy to chat with you in the middle of the night.”

As she spoke, she stuck a foot out from under the quilt to nudge him away. “Go, go! Disturb my rendezvous with the God of Dreams again and I’ll really get angry.”

But Guan Shiyin, quick as lightning, caught her foot. When he spoke again, there was a trace of anger in his voice. “God of Dreams? Who’s that? How dare he try to steal my woman! He must have a death wish!”

Fang Rulai, undeterred, sent her other foot flying. “He dares to steal women from all men and men from all women, yet remains the dream lover of everyone’s heart.”

“What? Who is he? Where is he now? Bring him here!” Guan Shiyin snatched her other foot as well.

Pain shot through her ankles. Frowning, Fang Rulai became a little more alert. “Are you done yet? The God of Dreams isn’t real—he’s a fictional deity! If you’re going to have a fit, at least pick your timing. Out! If you keep disturbing my sleep, I’ll really lose my temper.”

“Oh? He’s not real?” Relieved, Guan Shiyin loosened his grip.

Fang Rulai quickly reclaimed her feet, only to lash out again with a swift kick. “Now that you get it, get out!”

Caught off guard, Guan Shiyin was struck squarely. Reflexively, he grabbed both her feet, but this time, the silky sensation in his hands distracted him. The previous two times she’d kicked him, he’d been too angry about this so-called God of Dreams to notice; this time, calmer, he became acutely aware of the softness and smoothness in his grasp—like the finest silk, like last night’s melt-in-the-mouth braised pork.

His throat tightened, and suddenly he felt a peculiar hunger. Unable to help himself, he cradled her pale feet in his palms and brought them to his lips.

Her skin was always fair and unblemished, not deathly pale but with a healthy flush beneath—a glow born of frequent exercise. Only now did Guan Shiyin truly understand what “rosy fairness” meant.

Rosy and tender as a flower.

And so, the marks his earlier grip had left appeared like bruises on delicate petals—glaringly sinful.

A surge of guilt hit him.

He bent down and gently kissed her ankle.

From that point, a pink flush spread rapidly, blooming across the entire foot and ankle, creeping up the calf beneath the quilt.

No sign of pajama pants.

Or… was she not wearing anything at all?

Guan Shiyin’s eyes glinted predator-green; his palms burned with a heat like molten lava.

Fang Rulai jerked in shock, instinctively trying to pull her feet away, but no matter how she struggled, she couldn’t budge them.

“You…” he began.

“Attendant, bring me clothes!” Fang Rulai was quicker, shouting toward the door. His gaze was so hungry it startled her wide awake. Middle of the night, just the two of them in a room—and she wasn’t even dressed!

Her internal alarm flashed red.

She could feel the burning heat at her ankles seeping into her heart. Panicked, she clutched the quilt tighter and shouted again, “Attendant, bring me—mmph!”

Her voice was abruptly silenced—by his lips.

This man had never learned restraint. Taking advantage of her open mouth, his tongue invaded, unstoppable as a cavalry charge.

“Miss, is something wrong?” An attendant, hearing the commotion, knocked on the door.

At that moment, Guan Shiyin was feasting, and Fang Rulai’s lips were sealed.

No answer came.

One was busy; the other, voiceless.

The attendant, a simple soul, assumed her mistress hadn’t heard and knocked again. “Miss?”

Just then, the door swung open, a gust of wind swept through, and the attendant tumbled backward. As she blinked, a gold ingot landed on her chest.

Eyes lighting up, the attendant pocketed the ingot, shut the door, and left. Her deftness rivaled that of Banxia—she wasn’t foolish enough to invite trouble.

You greedy wretch!

Hearing the receding footsteps, Fang Rulai cursed inwardly, but her mouth was too full for anything but muffled protests.

Guan Shiyin, triumphant, took advantage of her distraction to slip his hand beneath the quilt she’d desperately clutched.

Fang Rulai’s eyes flew open in shock, a gasp escaping her lips at the sensation on her chest. When had his hand gotten under the blanket? What were his fingers doing? How dare he…

She gasped over and over, while Guan Shiyin, lips barely parted from hers, savored every breath. “You’ve… gotten bigger? Or just grown?” He recalled the feel of her body at Qitian Daoist Temple—yes, at least three times larger now. Back then there’d been a quilt in the way, so discounting that, maybe just once… Ah, but she’d bound herself with cloth then too—so yes, three times bigger!

He squeezed gently, grinning. “Good, growing up suits you.”

The pinch made Fang Rulai wince. Even though her true identity as a woman was now exposed, she still wore monk’s robes by day, binding her chest tightly for safety’s sake. At night, seeking relief from the day’s discomfort, she wore as little as possible.

His squeeze landed right on her tender, compressed flesh—a sharp, needle-like pain shot through her, making her whole body shudder.

Guan Shiyin, however, mistook her reaction for pleasure.

“Is it really that good?” he teased, capturing her lips again before she could voice her pain.

With a kiss on her lips and his hands roaming, Guan Shiyin felt himself floating in the clouds—neither heaven nor earth within reach, utterly unmoored. The unfamiliar uncertainty should have frightened him, yet he was inexplicably excited.

Those clouds enveloped him—soft, warm, fragrant, sweet. He closed his eyes, willing to lose himself in this bliss forever.

He failed to notice the cold sweat now beading Fang Rulai’s brow.

Until Zhu Xishi’s voice cut in.

“Hey, are we leaving tonight or not?”

Zhu Xishi tapped the doorframe with the hilt of her butcher’s knife. Since the people inside were too preoccupied to notice her arrival, perhaps she should just go back to bed.

Guan Shiyin, without breaking rhythm, snatched up a pillow and hurled it at the door—a silent command: Get lost!

The pillow never reached Zhu Xishi; Mu Zhijin, appearing behind her, chopped it from the air with a single palm.

Feathers burst forth, falling like a curtain, separating the two pairs of would-be lovers.

Inside the door, one appeared to be a single figure, but everyone knew there were two. At the threshold, one stood with arms folded, gaze averted; the other looked down, eyes fixed on the shadow at her feet.

Mu Zhijin spoke. “It’s time to depart.”

Guan Shiyin’s brow twitched in irritation. “Can’t you wait a moment?”

“A moment? Can you finish?”

“You!” Guan Shiyin whirled around, bristling at the insinuation. “Then wait an hour.”

“An hour? Will the little monk survive that?”

“You!” Guan Shiyin rolled his eyes, about to retort, but Mu Zhijin cut him off.

“If you want to leave the city before dawn, you must go now. Otherwise, those you’re trying to avoid will surely catch up.”

Suppressing his annoyance, Guan Shiyin said, “Let the convoy go ahead—I’ll catch up.”

“So you’d choose pleasure over duty?”

“My aim is to have both!” Guan Shiyin threw another pillow. “Out! You coward who can’t even act on your desires!”

Mu Zhijin’s expression froze, then quickly returned to normal. Dodging the pillow, he glanced at Fang Rulai beneath Guan Shiyin. “Ah, is it already at the point of no return?”

Given her flushed face and sweat, it certainly looked that way.

Guan Shiyin nearly leapt up in outrage. What nonsense was that? His own body was still outside the quilt—how could it be so critical? He wasn’t some animal in heat! He couldn’t let Fang Rulai think so either; that would ruin his suave image.

He was about to explain himself when he caught sight of Fang Rulai’s appearance and was stunned. Her face, flushed and damp with sweat—what was happening?

All three sets of eyes turned to her. Mortified and furious, Fang Rulai wished she could kick Guan Shiyin under the bed. But with nothing on beneath the quilt, that was out of the question.

The sharp, needle-like pain in her chest persisted. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Let’s talk on the carriage.”

“You…” Guan Shiyin thought her expression was one of pain or hatred—after all he’d just kissed and caressed her… Could it be his technique was lacking?

He felt deeply wounded, momentarily dazed.

Beneath the quilt, Fang Rulai clenched her fists, her voice icy. “On. The. Carriage. Now!” If he dared expose her any further, she’d never ride with him again.

Fortunately, Guan Shiyin wasn’t completely oblivious. He immediately recalled her undressed state beneath the quilt.

“Fine, fine, let’s go!” With that, he scooped her up, quilt and all, and leapt out the window.

It took only three bounds from bedroom to the back gate of the yamen. Spotting the carriage, Guan Shiyin shouted, “Banxia, lift the curtain!”

He was ready to fly straight in—of course, no one else was allowed to see what was his.

But, just as the curtain lifted, a petite figure darted inside even faster.

Then, turning to him with a smile: “I want to sleep with you!”

Thanks to dear Stinky Egg Haha for the flower reward, mua~

PS: Coming up with a name for Volume Two is killing me…

PPS: The original chapter title was “I Want to Sleep with You,” but it got censored… so now it has this bizarre name…

First published in this book.