Chapter 59 - 18+

Yimei walked into the kitchen with a heavy sigh, her mind still spinning from Grandmaster Zhang’s uncomfortable question. She used a cloth to lift the hot pot, pouring the dark, bitter medicine into a wooden bowl. Picking up the tray, she walked down the hall to Zhengyu’s room.

When she pulled the curtain back, Zhengyu was sitting up on the bamboo bed, leaning against the wall. He was reading a worn book he had borrowed from A-Cheng to pass the time.

The moment Yimei walked in, Zhengyu glanced at her for a split second before his face instantly twisted into a scowl. He raised the book higher to block his view of her, flipping the page with a loud snap and acting like she didn’t exist.

Yimei almost laughed at how childish he was being. His bright red face from last night was completely gone, replaced by his usual cold, arrogant mask.

She walked over and set the tray down on the stool with a loud thud, making the medicine splash.

"Don’t hurt your eyes, Young Master," Yimei said, sitting down beside him. "Reading in dim light won’t fix your legs, and ignoring me won’t make this medicine go away."

Zhengyu didn’t drop the book. "I’m busy," he said, his voice flat and cold. "Leave the bowl and get out."

"I would love to," Yimei replied, leaning closer with a mischievous spark in her eyes. "But the doctor ordered me to watch you drink every drop. Plus... he and I just had a very interesting talk outside."

Zhengyu didn’t move, but his shoulders stiffened. "I don’t care what you and the doctor talked about."

"Oh, you will care about this," Yimei whispered, her voice full of sweet mock-affection. "Because, my dear husband... the Grandmaster asked me a very personal question about your body. And I didn’t know what to tell him."

Zhengyu finally lowered the book, his eyes narrowing into a sharp glare. "What are you talking about?"

Zhengyu stared at her, his brow furrowed in utter confusion. "Functioning well? My legs are still numb, as you can clearly see."

Yimei let out a small, dramatic sigh and leaned in closer, dropping her voice to a low whisper. "I am not talking about your legs, husband." She casually tilted her head, her gaze shifting down toward his lap before flicking right back up to his face. "The Grandmaster wants to know if everything down there still works."

It took a solid three seconds for the realization to hit him. When it did, Zhengyu’s entire face exploded into a violent, fiery red.

"You—!" He slammed his book down onto the bed, his dark eyes bulging with shock as he lashed out. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"Keep your voice down!" Yimei hissed sharply, leaning forward and clapping her hand firmly over his mouth to shut him up.

Zhengyu’s eyes flashed with pure fury. He grabbed her wrist, roughly yanking her hand away from his face. "Have you lost every last shred of decency?!" he rasped through gritted teeth, his neck turning as red as his ears. "Why would he ask you that?!"

"Because he is a doctor trying to figure out how severe your nerve damage is!" Yimei snapped back, keeping her tone low but fiercely sharp. "He knows we are a married couple, he assumes we’ve been... intimate! So stop screaming like an offended maiden and just answer the question!"

"I am not answering that!" Zhengyu growled, turning his red face violently toward the wall. "Tell him it’s none of his business!"

"If I say that, he will think your lower body is completely dead, and he might use the wrong acupuncture points on you," Yimei argued, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at her. "Now tell me the truth. Is it working or not?"

Zhengyu glared at her, his jaw gritted so tight his teeth ached. He opened his mouth to snap at her again, but seeing her dead-serious glare, he hesitated. He looked away, shifting uncomfortably on the bamboo bed.

"...I don’t know," he muttered quietly, his voice barely audible.

Yimei blinked, staring at him in total disbelief. "What do you mean, you don’t know? How the hell wouldn’t you know? You are over twenty years old! Don’t tell me you haven’t had an erection at all!"

Zhengyu’s jaw dropped in absolute outrage at her blunt, shameless words. He pulled his dry robe tighter over his lap, his face burning hot enough to melt the snow outside.

"No!" Zhengyu yelled, his voice cracking slightly in pure embarrassment as he glared at her. "I am not a pervert like you!"

Zhengyu pulled his robe tight around his waist, his face a dark shade of red as he tried to hide inside the fabric.

"I have been fighting for my life, hiding from my family , and dealing with broken legs!" Zhengyu snarled, keeping his voice down to a harsh rasp. "I haven’t had the time to sit around thinking about that!"

"Well, Grandmaster Zhang needs a real answer so he doesn’t ruin your treatment," Yimei said, her playful smirk vanishing into sheer determination. "Since you don’t even know your own body, I’ll check for myself."

Before he could process her words, Yimei leaned forward and reached her hand straight toward his lap.

"Are you insane?!" Zhengyu gasped, his voice cracking in total panic. He slapped at her wrists, trying frantically to block her as he scrambled backward against the headboard, but his dead legs gave him nowhere to run.

"Stop shouting!" Yimei hissed, leaning her weight over him to trap his arms. "If I lie to the doctor and he puts a needle in the wrong nerve, you might actually stay paralyzed down there forever. Hold still!"

"Get off me, Yimei!" Zhengyu rasped through gritted teeth, his chest heaving as he fought her hold, his neck and ears burning with heat. "Don’t you dare touch me!"

"I am checking the nerve reaction, nothing more," she snapped back, her eyes dead serious as she forced his hands down. "Do you want to walk again or not?"

Zhengyu froze, his jaw clamped shut. Trapped under her grip, he let out a harsh, defeated growl and turned his face violently to the side, closing his eyes tight.

"Fine," he spat, his voice trembling with furious embarrassment. "Just do it and get out."

Yimei didn’t hesitate. She reached beneath his heavy cotton robe, her fingers brushing against his warm skin. She gasped softly as her hand measured his solid, surprising length through his thin inner garments. He was remarkably well-endowed down there, and despite herself, a sudden blush crept up Yimei’s own cheeks, her cool composure wavering for a brief second.

Determined to finish the test, Yimei wrapped her soft fingers around him and began to stroke him gently, moving up and down to check the blood flow and nerve response.

Zhengyu went rigid as a board, a sharp, ragged breath catching in his throat. As her warm palm continued its slow, rhythmic strokes, the deep heat in his lower body awakened. Zhengyu bit his lower lip hard to swallow a soft whimper, a low, helpless moan escaping his throat despite his best efforts to stay silent.

Underneath her gentle, steady touch, she felt him react instantly, growing thicker, harder, and throbbing with full life right in her hand.