Palace Intrigue?: I Make the Emperor Cry by Rewinding Time!-Chapter 39 - 38: What Is This? 8-Pack Abs!

Yun Jiao asked Xue Ya to bring her a handkerchief.

"Why is the handkerchief you use so rough?"

Xie Zhixing glanced at it and frowned: "Is the Imperial Household not being attentive to you?"

Not far away, Ying Lu who had turned her back, silently lamented on behalf of the Imperial Household.

Attendant Lady Xi was currently favored by the Emperor, how would the Imperial Household dare to shortchange her things?

"Your Majesty, you don’t understand, this rough handkerchief has its own marvels."

Yun Jiao asked him to sit in front of her.

The Emperor was always wary of exposing his back to others, but Xie Zhixing felt quite at ease with Yun Jiao—if she really wanted to assassinate him, she had countless opportunities to try. He half-closed his eyes, his senses became exceptionally sharp, her soft hand was placed on his shoulder, and each finger’s touch was as clear as pressing on his heart.

Was the little one going to give him a massage?

Xie Zhixing found her somewhat indescribably adorable.

And Yun Jiao, having moved behind him, her thoughts became more lively without his eyes watching, with a daring spirit itching to act. Unable to resist, she quickly kneaded the Emperor’s chest muscle and then withdrew, pretending nothing had happened.

Xie Zhixing was speechless.

The ability to turn back time shouldn’t be used for such frivolous acts!

He sighed inwardly; although she was too timid to be intimate with him, she showed no hesitation in relying on his charm in such a place.

"Today I heard them saying that Your Majesty’s martial arts are excellent, did you practice since childhood?"

"All Princes must practice, wanting praise from the late Emperor required exceptional skill."

"Oh~"

Yun Jiao couldn’t help but thank the late Emperor in her heart.

She thought she deserved to have a handsome man in her arms at this moment.

Yun Jiao said nothing else, fearing to anger the Emperor, but she didn’t know her bold actions had long been noticed by him, and that meaningful "oh~" was not particularly respectful. After all, with memories from a modern past life as a base, no matter how rule-abiding a person is, it’s hard to muster great fear of imperial power.

"... Hiss."

Xie Zhixing’s mind wandered, only to find her using a small hand, rubbing hard on his back through the handkerchief.

The handkerchief was much rougher than the usual perfumed handkerchiefs used by concubines, and with her vigorous rubbing, it actually hurt a bit.

"Does it hurt a lot, Your Majesty?"

"No, what are you doing?"

"Serving Your Majesty! This is quite comfortable."

What "this" referred to, the Emperor truly didn’t know.

But her matter-of-fact tone sparked some curiosity in him.

Yun Jiao continued with her hand movements, wringing the handkerchief and rubbing it from the back of his neck. This time he was prepared, no longer groaning, but she was surprisingly strong, rubbing while bragging: "During the day, I thought even if a man made of gold had been busy on the grassland all day, a bath at night should still scrub off some grime, this rubbing is really stress-relieving."

"What’s grime?"

Soon, the Emperor knew what it was.

It’s the normal metabolic process of the body, even the cleanest person can scrub off something after soaking in hot water for long. But Xie Zhixing, with his noble status, felt somewhat embarrassed: "Enough, stop rubbing, I don’t need your service."

"Your Majesty, don’t be embarrassed, it’s what I should do."

"Stop touching."

"Is Your Majesty shy?"

"I am an Emperor; there is nothing to be ashamed of."

Just like how Emperor Han Wen suffered from a sore, and Deng Tong sucked the pus to show loyalty, emperors have always considered it proper for loyal officials and servants to clear away their impurities—how could the impurities of the supreme ruler be ordinary? They are sacred and could even be placed in the ancestral temple. Xie Zhixing had never felt shame about this.

But in this moment, he didn’t want the fairy to see the mundane side of his noble body. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"In that case, let me rub for a while longer!"

Under the pretense of giving a bath, Yun Jiao brazenly teased the Emperor through the handkerchief.

What’s this? Right-angled shoulder! Let her rub.

What’s this? Eight-pack abs! Let her rub.

What’s this? V-line! Let her rub.

After rubbing her favorite parts, Yun Jiao’s hands grew sore. She pretended to sigh, happily concluding: "Well, since Your Majesty doesn’t like it, I won’t insist."

Xie Zhixing was left speechless, such a shameless woman truly amazed him.

Yun Jiao didn’t think so; she quite enjoyed the scrubbing, so she handed the handkerchief to him: "Your Majesty can also rub me."

"You’re bold."

After taking the handkerchief, Xie Zhixing took her hand.

As a veteran in the bathhouse world, Yun Jiao pointed and commanded: "Use some strength, did you not have a meal? Don’t fear exerting force when scrubbing, you must press hard to remove the grime, it’s very comfortable, you should scrub until the skin turns red."

He listened to her with an air of authority.

Through the handkerchief, Xie Zhixing rubbed her arm.

Yun Jiao:... QAQ!!!!!!!

She quickly pulled back her hand, eyes filled with tears, accusing: "Your Majesty is harming me, using cruel methods."

"Didn’t you tell me to use more force? Besides, I didn’t use much strength."

Yun Jiao didn’t believe it: "I must be injured."

With teary eyes, she passed her hand over, showing large red marks on her snow-white arm.

"Scrubbing until the skin turns red is the correct way."

The Emperor mercilessly repeated her words.

Yun Jiao didn’t care, the pain was severe, her tears flowed freely, splashing onto the water. Xie Zhixing had no choice, the bath was almost done, so he lifted her, took her to the tent to change clothes, and brought medicinal wine to rub her injuries.

When rubbing the injured area, she stopped crying, though tears still hung from her cheeks, pitiable yet adorable.

"Will you dare again in the future?"

Xie Zhixing thought she had brought it upon herself, acting fierce before, telling him to scrub with force, only to end up being delicate. Yun Jiao turned her rabbit eyes on him, feeling extremely wronged: "Your Majesty doesn’t know how to cherish flowers and jade."

"Jade doesn’t jump up to bite people, asking others if they haven’t eaten, and to use more strength."

Knowing she was in the wrong, Yun Jiao didn’t argue back.

Ying Lu entered, lightly lifting the curtain, and asked softly: "Your Majesty, over at Concubine Lan’s..."

Bringing Concubine Lan into the harem was a signal of a strong friendly relationship between Yan Chi and Kesha, indicating acceptance of the other’s submission. Emotionally and rationally, he was supposed to spend the night with Concubine Lan.

Xie Zhixing initially planned the same.

But seeing Yun Jiao’s tent filled with the aroma of roast meat, he wanted her to spend the night in his own tent.

Before the Emperor could make a decision, hearing this, Yun Jiao obediently said: "Your Majesty, you should go to Concubine Lan’s, I’m no longer in pain."

Her arm hurt so much from the scrubbing, if the Emperor’s dragon arm pressed against it at night, that wouldn’t be funny at all.

Sleeping alone was safer.

Xie Zhixing’s heart softened: "I’m not going, I’ll stay and accompany you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw her look of disbelief.

The next moment, time rewound.

"Your Majesty, over at Concubine Lan’s..."

Facing Ying Lu’s question again, Xie Zhixing clenched his molars and smiled silently: "I’m not going anywhere tonight, I will stay by Attendant Lady Xi’s side."

The tone was firm, implying that no matter how many times they started over, tonight he wouldn’t leave.