The King's New-Found Romance

Chapter 21

Chen Xue's POV

"The King came earlier on to see you, but I asked him to rest in one of the guest rooms instead because you dozed off," Zhi Ruo commented, trying her best to make it nonchalant, but her eyes darting my way so many times gave her away. My heart warmed at the thought that he came, but why isn't he here now. I nodded at Zhi Ruo, and asked if he was still here. She nodded and I asked her to call him in. Why was I nervous?

The door opened, and I saw him. He lost weight. Why was he losing weight? Wasn't I the one starving and losing sleep? He cleared his throat, and the first word that left his mouth puzzled me. "I'm sorry," were his first words.

Like, why're you sorry? His next words caused my jaws to drop. "I didn't know that my father had killed yours. I knew that he killed Liu Wei's best friend, but I did not know that he was your father. I'd like to apologize to you for that. Uhm, I also wanted to tell you that I have feelings for you, so if those feelings are returned, I will make up for you by ensuring that you are the luckiest woman alive. I will try my best to give you happiness, and anything else that you wish for, but if they are not returned, I will not force you. I will wish you all the best in whatever you choose to do, and I will support you in any way possible," he said before looking away.

"This year has been the worst year ever. In my 35 years of life, nothing has inflicted so much fear and anxiety in me. I dreamt of the same nightmare every night, where someone comes up to me, and they tell me that you have died in the war, and I did not get to tell you about my feelings, with regret filling me up. I see your lifeless eyes each night, and I wake up in the middle of the night, unable to fall asleep for the rest of the time. Your disappearance has shown me how important you are to me, and how much I need you in my life," he continued before looking back at me. Blood rushed into my cheeks, and I couldn't help but giggle. Someone just confessed to me. To make it better, I liked him too.

"Do you wanna know something? I had the same feeling throughout the year. These thoughts resulted in that," I told him while I pointed at my calves. The wound was now wrapped up in some cloth and there was medicine underneath, but I had no idea what they were. His eyes trailed down, and stayed there, looking at my wounds. Squirming under his watch, he averted his eyes, and asked me what happened. I told him all about the arrow, and how I lost focus for a second, and how I would've been dead had it not been for some of the soldiers. He looked at me and his hand picked up mine. Caressing my knuckles with his thumb, he seemed way too interested in my callouses. I pulled my palm away, knowing that my hands weren't soft like other ladies. "What about the lady I saw you talking to when I just reached the Palace? Isn't she your secret lover?" I asked him as it came to my mind suddenly. His eyes went distant for a while, as if he was trying to recall when it was. "Oh, that's Concubine Yin. I try to spend time with her each week seeing as she stays home most of the time with her children. I prefer her presence more compared to the other concubines, but recently there's been one that's quite interesting," he commented as if it wasn't a big deal. Was I hallucinating earlier on, or did he actually just tell me that he had feelings for me? Yea, I wasn't hallucinating. "Well since there's so many ladies in the Palace you enjoy, what are you doing here?" I said before I could control myself.

"Are you jealous?" he teased before bursting out in laughter. "There are several ladies in the Palace that have caught my eye, but none that took my heart away like you did," he said before meeting my eyes, telling me that it was sincere and not just flattery. I was about to comment something in return, but something occurred to me. What are we now? He had to go back to the Palace somehow, and I did not want to be confined in the Palace. Trying to think of a solution, my train of thoughts were interrupted when the door burst open. "You need to drink this now, while it's hot. I'll change your dressings later after I deal with the rest. If you drink it when it has cooled down, there's going to be no effect," she said before looking up. Her eyes darted to our joint hands and her brows raised to her hairline. "OOO, something's going on here. Why do I smell something? Is it love I smell?" she teased before placing the bowl of disgusting fillings on the table. "Make sure she drinks it, " she says with seriousness while looking at the King which is returned with a curt nod. She leaves the room, and embarrassment fills me. He chuckles at my reaction before standing up to bring the soup over. Eew, it smells terrible already.

Holding the spoon to my mouth, I told him I could feel myself as my arms weren't injured, my legs were. He shook his head, insisting that he should do it to honour his promise of taking care of me. Cringe. But I liked it.

Trying my luck, I tried whining and rejecting the medicine, but he was more persistent than Zhi Ruo was. Finally finishing the torturous black liquid, his lips met mine, and it happened so quickly I didn't even realise it happened until a second passed. My hands met my mouth, and I felt the spot where our lips met tingle. Was this how a peck felt? It felt so weird. The King was currently cleaning the bowl and the spoon and that was when I realized how godlike his features were. He had a high nose bridge, and extremely prominent jawlines and cheekbones. HIs lips were the right shape, it wasn't too big, or too small and everything matched each other. He was gifted with double eyelids, which were extremely rare in China, but what could I say. He also had nice skin, making him look younger than he looked. Maybe that was why I felt less uncomfortable with him alone as he looked like my age (unlike all the other men his age that looked like they could be my father) but had a matured mentality. He was probably God's favourite child. He had a nice body from what was accessible to me. He had broad shoulders, and his arms seemed defined under the layers of clothes. I wonder what he'd look like without clothes. Oh no, what has happened to you Chen Xue? I asked myself before laughing. I really wanted to see him without clothes on.

"What's going on in that mind of yours? You make me anxious when you're quiet," he said and I looked up at him, acting as if those sinful thoughts didn't just cross my mind. "Nothing, just grateful that we are all safe after a war," I said, covering myself up. "I do have something in mind though. What happens to us now? I do not want to be confined in the Palace," I said and he nodded. Miraculously, he had plans, which was that I would come back to the base whenever I wanted, and I could stay in the Palace whenever I wanted as well. When I was in the Palace, I could train in the training grounds, or help those that needed help physically. So in other words, I had two homes now, instead of one. I nodded, seeing no faults in this. I could also help more people at the same time. Seems nice.