Explanation

Zhou Zhiruo happened to be a little thirsty, so she picked it up and drained it in one gulp. The two chatted idly for a few moments before the conversation fell flat again. Zhou Zhiruo had no choice but to say, "It's getting late. We should rest."

As she spoke, she walked over and sat on the bed, only to discover in astonishment that Song Qingshu had followed her. Her expression immediately darkened. "What are you coming over here for? Your bed is over there."

Song Qingshu wore an oddly sinister smile as he sat down beside her. "I want to sleep in this bed."

A flicker of anger rose in Zhou Zhiruo's heart, but considering how pitiful he already was, she stood up. "Then I'll sleep on the floor."

"No, no. I want to sleep with you." Song Qingshu's smile grew even wider.

"You!" Zhou Zhiruo wondered what had gone wrong with his mind. She raised her hand to slap him, but her vision suddenly went dark, and her entire body went limp as she collapsed onto the bed.

Song Qingshu smiled as he looked at Zhou Zhiruo on the bed, her eyes half-open and half-closed. "Wife, how did my Ten Fragrance Soft Muscle Powder taste?"

Zhou Zhiruo remembered the cup of tea he had handed her earlier and was startled. She rebuked him softly, "Song Qingshu, have you gone mad?"

"I've gone mad?" Song Qingshu laughed strangely. "I have indeed gone mad—watching you and Zhang Wuji make love right in front of me while I had to pretend I knew nothing."

"What do you mean, make love?" Zhou Zhiruo was horrified. Thinking he had learned of her agreement with Zhang Wuji, she said guiltily, "You know? That's impossible. Weren't you..."

"Wasn't I sealed at my acupoints?" Song Qingshu stroked her smooth cheek and replied unhurriedly, "Fortunately, Heaven watched over me. By sheer chance, I woke up. Afterward, once I was on guard, I vomited up all the Ten Fragrance Soft Muscle Powder you had prepared. Only then did I learn of the shameful acts of you two adulterers." Had the two of them not pretended to treat his injuries while secretly meeting each other, Song Qingshu would not have been so enraged, nor would he have decided to take revenge before leaving.

"Song Qingshu! What exactly do you want?" His touch on her face made Zhou Zhiruo's scalp tingle.

"On such a fine night, you and I are on the same bed, and we're husband and wife. What do you think I want?" Song Qingshu began unfastening the buttons at her collar, one after another. He deliberately undid them very, very slowly.

"Song Qingshu, don't you dare!" Seeing her clothes being undone bit by bit, Zhou Zhiruo flushed and snapped sharply.

"I'm your husband. What's wrong with asking you to fulfill a wife's duty?" Song Qingshu finally loosened the outer restraint and admired the pale pink undergarment beneath. "Oh, it even has mandarin ducks embroidered on it."

"Song Qingshu, I'll kill you!" A chill swept across her chest. Thinking of the nightmare about to come, Zhou Zhiruo trembled with rage.

"To die beneath the peonies is to die a romantic death. To share one night of pleasure with a beauty as renowned as you would make it all worthwhile." Song Qingshu wrapped an arm around her fragrant shoulder and helped her sit up. He loosened the hairpin holding her bun, letting her hair fall free. Her black locks spilled over the snow-white skin of her shoulders, and the sight caught Song Qingshu's breath.

"Qingshu, please let me go, all right? You used to treat me so well. Why are you doing this now?" Seeing that threats had no effect on Song Qingshu at all, Zhou Zhiruo grew more and more panicked and could not help pleading softly.

"When I think of you lying beneath Zhang Wuji, pretending to resist while welcoming him, the Song Qingshu I once was has already died." Song Qingshu spoke coldly. With a tug of his fingers, he undid the knot behind her neck, and the pink undergarment silently slid down to her waist.

"You misunderstood..." Zhou Zhiruo had assumed all along that Song Qingshu was enraged because he had heard her agree to reconcile with Zhang Wuji and renew their former bond. Only now did she realize that was not the reason at all.

"A misunderstanding?" Song Qingshu gave a cold laugh. "What misunderstanding could there be when I saw it with my own eyes? Stop talking. You'll only make me despise you more."

"There's nothing between him and me!" Knowing that all explanation was futile, Zhou Zhiruo closed her eyes in anguish. Tear after tear slid from the corners of her eyes.

"So fragrant!" Song Qingshu raised his head. Feeling that the time was right, he leaned over her.