The Feast

Translated by Gumihou

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"I am not at all content, ah." Duan Tingxuan said sorrowfully. "Appet.i.te and l.u.s.t are the most basic of desires. Even the sages said that l.u.s.t and appet.i.te are similarly important. You're my wife, but you won't let me near your *cough, cough* body no matter how well I treated you. So, I asked myself, was there something undesirable about me that you absolutely could not tolerate? No matter what kind of person you might have been, surely you couldn't have objected to a man of high status and talent, good family background and intelligence? Moreover, I do believe we got along quite well, except, no matter how good the chemistry became, you've always slipped away like a fish at crucial moments. No, not like a fish, more like a tigress. Every time we got too close, you would kick this lord away like an unwanted cub."

The more the little marquis spoke, the more miserable he sounded. Su Nuan Nuan frantically flapped her hand to stop him. "Stop it, stop it now. Let me ask you, you have you your suspicion all this while, why chose today to confront me?"

Duan Tingxuan's exaggerated miserable face slowly disappeared, leaving a serious look behind. As Su Nuan Nuan watched that handsome face, she could detect a trace of fear within those peach blossom eyes and thought she understood the man a little.

As if to prove her right, Duan Tingxuan said solemnly, "Why today, you asked. Because today I almost lost you. When I heard that Pushan Temple had been attacked by bandits, I nearly collapsed. Why do you think the crown prince let me leave at this crucial time. It's because I'm very nearly useless at the East Palace. I grabbed their fastest horse and made it here in less than two hours, but it was the longest, most painful hours of my life. I dared not think about what might happened to you, but my brain just… I kept seeing you lying in a pool of blood. Nuan Nuan, I nearly went crazy.

That was when I realized that what I want is not a mere physical relationship. As long as you're beside me, I'm happy. The most important thing for me is for you to be alive. So, what if you're injured or scarred, if your face was destroyed or if you lost your mind, it's all fine as long as you're alive. That way, I could still be there to treat you well, and that's enough for me."

"Wait, wait, wait, enough with the scarring, and injuring and me going crazy. Can you please not think up so many unlucky things about me, ah?"

Su Nuan Nuan was so angry that she shook her little fist at him. Her eyes bright with life as she glared at him: How hateful, this Duan Tingxuan is just too cunning. To think that he could actually spout such dog blood sentiments without batting an eye, humph! He sure knows how to shake a woman's heart. Su Nuan Nuan, you better not be taken in by such sweet talk. Stay strong, you should have some immunity against such sweet talking after all those dog blood dramas you watched.

"Of course, I never thought you'd be so tough. To think that you could actually hold of nearly a hundred over bandits with just a dozen over martial monks on your side until the cavalry appears." Duan Tingxuan had always known that his wife has a strong character. If she actually broke down and cried at his touching words, he knew that she would definitely take it out of his hide later when they got back. For some reason, that thought made him even more emotional, so much so that he nearly teared up. Better change the subject now.

"These bandits are way too inferior to you, tsk, tsk tsk. You've basically just blown them all away the moment you arrived." Su Nuan Nuan pursed her lips as she glanced around at miserable state of the Slaughter Dogs. They were in too much in pain to comment.

"What are you joking about? This lord nearly lost all reasoning trying to get here in time. It was only the sight of your magnificent presence that this lord managed to recover in time to not kill every single one of these bandits. Even then, it was relief at seeing you well that the fire in this lord's belly dissipated enough to just incapacitate them. Now that you know your lord has always yielded to you, you must know how much this lord favours and indulges you."

"En." Su Nuan Nuan narrowed her eyes in an approximation of a cat's smile. While her husband tried to hide his elation, she broke his bubble of happiness by saying, "You're right, these bandits are much too inferior to me. If it weren't for my pity towards them, they would not have gotten this far. If they are anything like you, all I have to do is get the maids, servants and monks to help me cook up something good to appease them."

"You really do think I'm an incurable foodie who would do anything for food." Duan Tingxuan sneered, trying to show that he was a man who could stay calm in the face of temptation. If he were to drool at the sight of pickled vegetables, fish and meat hotpot, that was his own business. He must never let Su Nuan Nuan see this side of him.

Author White Pear Blossom: En, isn't it an incredibly moving love confession? To be honest, I'm not too comfortable about writing such touching scenes.

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Translated by Gumihou from kitchennovel dot com.

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