Chapter 97: Suppressed (2)

‘…I’m truly an indecent woman. How can I have such thoughts about Shen Yu? I’m already a married woman. But… have I really been happy all these years? I’ve kept a widow’s chastity for so long. I should live for myself for once!’

‘Besides, Shen Yu said my feelings for her aren’t romantic love, but familial love and friendship. So it’s not too much for me to show a bit more familial love and friendship toward Shen Yu, right? This isn’t crossing the line, nor is it any impropriety… It’s just a way for an older sister to care for her younger sister. Moreover, we’re both women. What’s wrong with being close to each other? Even my own little sister Yun Wei sometimes sleeps in the same room as me.’

Although the way the two sisters slept—one at one end of the room and the other at the other—was different from the way Yun Xiang wanted to sleep curled up with Shen Yu in negative distance…

But… wasn’t it more or less the same?

Right!

…Yun Xiang made excuses for herself in her heart.

Now that she had thought it through, her eyes looked at Shen Yu differently.

“Oh dear, I don’t know what’s wrong. My waist feels a bit uncomfortable. Maybe I pulled it while washing clothes earlier. Sister is getting old too—no longer young. Could you take a look for me?”

“How could that be? Sister is still young. In my eyes, you’re the most beautiful. You’re not as old or past your prime as you say. You’re still young and beautiful! Since that’s the case, let me take a look. A waist injury is no small matter. Don’t let it leave a chronic problem.”

Hearing Shen Yu say this, Yun Xiang felt her heart flutter.

She seemed to return to her youth, to the age of her most innocent longing, meeting the person she most wanted to spend her life with.

‘It’s been a while…’

Yun Xiang felt as if she had become over twenty years younger, once again a maiden awaiting marriage in her boudoir.

At this moment, Yun Xiang was overwhelmed with happiness.

She no longer cared about any face, etiquette, or refined lady behavior.

She went into the inner room and began to undress.

“Wait, Sister… what are you doing?”

By then, Yun Xiang was already left with only a bellyband on her upper body.

Shen Yu was amazed at how fast she was—even faster than Xiao Biao.

When she had vaccinated Xiao Biao before, although Xiao Biao was eager to take off her dress, she wasn’t as fast as Sister Yunxiang.

Of course, Shen Yu couldn’t understand how severe an old virgin’s pent-up desires were.

All her attention was captured by Yun Xiang.

Usually, Yun Xiang’s dress was loose and didn’t show her figure.

But when she took off her garment, Shen Yu realized just how good Yun Xiang’s figure was.

It was simply motherly!

A little more would be too fat, a little less would be too thin.

It was warm, full, and shapely.

The last one Shen Yu had praised as having a motherly figure was the Empress…

But the Empress was of true imperial blood.

The imperial bloodline had been selected over centuries—every consort was stunningly beautiful, naturally with outstanding looks and figures.

But she never expected that outside the imperial family, Yun Xiang could rival even the Empress’s motherly figure.

Sister was truly hiding her talent.

“What’s wrong? Is Sister’s body too fat and not nice to look at?”

Yun Xiang noticed Shen Yu staring at her and immediately felt a bit shy.

Although she had mentally prepared herself outside, thinking and doing were two different things.

Now that she was actually in front of Shen Yu, she started to feel embarrassed instead.

Moreover, Yun Xiang had always been very self-conscious about her figure.

Of course, she didn’t realize the destructive power of a motherly figure like hers.

She only knew that a woman being slim or even slightly thin was best.

Someone like her, so plump that she had to custom-order her dress sizes, would feel embarrassed just walking down the street.

If she wore any slightly tight dress, her figure curves would be immediately obvious.

It was too eye-catching.

“No, no, Sister looks great. Your figure is perfect. I mean, there’s no need for this. If your waist is uncomfortable, I’ll just massage it for you and prescribe a couple of remedies to nurse it back.”

Although Shen Yu said this, as the biggest lover of beautiful women in Qingfeng Village, a little pervert who had taken advantage of her young age to snuggle into big sisters’ arms since childhood, she couldn’t bear to tear her eyes away for even a moment.

“It’s fine. This is more convenient.”

Yun Xiang had only taken off her dress halfway, just stopping at her waist.

Her snow-white skin was accentuated by the slender straps of her bellyband, looking exceptionally pleasing to the eye.

The hem of her dress was just caught on her plump, round buttocks, and the obvious curve at her lower back was even more suggestive.

“Take a look for me. What’s the matter?”

Yun Xiang said, simply picking up Shen Yu’s hand and gently placing it on her own waist.

Although she was very shy, and even let out an involuntary gasp when Shen Yu’s hand touched her.

After all, no one other than herself had ever touched her body.

Shen Yu was the first.

But she still held on, biting her lip tightly to keep herself from making even the slightest inappropriate sound.

“From a look, there doesn’t seem to be a problem. Let me do a more thorough check.”

Shen Yu’s expression was serious.

For her, she had now entered chief-of-chiefs mode.

In her eyes, there was only the patient, and her goal was only to cure the patient.

In this state of full professionalism, not to mention Sister Yunxiang’s beautiful back, even if Yun Wei and Yun Xiang together lay horizontally in front of her, Shen Yu wouldn’t show even the slightest unusual expression.

“Does this hurt?”

“N-no…”

Yun Xiang’s breathing started to quicken.

“What about this?”

“I… don’t feel much either.”

Yun Xiang began to softly hum.

“Oh, I see. So it’s not serious. What about this one?”

“Like this… it feels… feels quite nice.”

“Mm, I think I understand.”

This way, Shen Yu examined Yun Xiang for half an hour.

Yun Xiang secretly enjoyed it for half an hour as well.

This examination made Yun Xiang’s pretty face blush from her forehead all the way down to her neck.

It made her radiant and refreshed.

All these years, Yun Xiang, who had maintained a widow’s chastity since her youth, had always felt something was missing in her life.

But under this feudal era, women like Yun Xiang could never find…

or even if they did, didn’t dare to admit what it was they were lacking.

But today, Shen Yu just massaged her waist, and Yun Xiang felt as if she had been liberated.

Her body and mind felt several times lighter.

It was just the hem of her skirt and her pants that were a bit of a mess.

When Shen Yu stood behind her, massaging her waist, and when Shen Yu’s soft little hand gently grasped her waist, Yun Xiang felt her mind go blank, and her body trembled slightly.

“Sister’s problem isn’t serious. Get plenty of rest, and I’ll prescribe a remedy to tone your body. You’ll be fine.”

After checking Yun Xiang, Shen Yu noticed that she was acting a bit strange—legs crossed, bent over, as if she couldn’t straighten up.

“Okay, okay, but Sister doesn’t really like taking medicine. Your technique, Yuer, really works for me. Can just your massage cure my back pain?”

Yun Xiang leaned against the wall and barely managed to move her shaky legs to sit on a chair.

She rested one hand on her thigh and could clearly feel the soft flesh trembling continuously.

“That’s possible too, but it’ll be slower.”

“Slower is fine.”

“That works too. Come see me again in a few days, and I’ll try something new with you.”

Shen Yu remembered she had gotten a massage and manipulation manual from her mother Su Lianyue before.

She hadn’t studied it deeply and felt she had only scratched the surface.

This was a good opportunity to study it and master this subject.

The reason Shen Yu hadn’t continued to improve was that she thought she had no talent in massage.

She studied her mother’s book for a long time.

When she eagerly tried it on her mother the first time, a whole round of waist massage left Su Lianyue in agony, screaming the whole time.

Afterward, Su Lianyue blushed, leaned against the wall, and trembled on her legs, saying to Shen Yu: “Your massage is good, but please never massage your mother again! We’re mother and daughter!”

Shen Yu thought she hadn’t learned well and accidentally hurt Su Lianyue, so she studied harder.

Later, Shen Yu also massaged the three courtesans at the brothel several times.

Their reactions were similar to Su Lianyue’s, even more extreme.

Also red-faced, refreshed, legs trembling, unable to stand even leaning against the wall.

But unlike Su Lianyue, they didn’t refuse her.

Instead, they said Shen Yu had paid silver to enjoy herself, but she ended up letting them enjoy it instead.

Shen Yu was very puzzled.

Was there a problem with the massage manual Su Lianyue gave her?

It was just a back massage.

Why was everyone’s reaction so intense?

What about her hand strength?

S-something new?

Hearing Shen Yu mention something new, Yun Xiang felt she couldn’t stand anymore.

“Well… Sister is resting now. Could I try the new thing right now?”

“Really?”

Shen Yu was a bit surprised.

That Sister was pretty impressive.

She remembered that back in Qingfeng Village, whether it was Su Lianyue or the three courtesans, after being massaged once by Shen Yu, they all shouted, “No more, no more! Another time and I’ll die!”

Only Yun Xiang recovered after just this short rest.

That was great.

Shen Yu was just worried she didn’t have a practice dummy.

“Imperial Physician Shen! Is Imperial Physician Shen at home?”

Just as Shen Yu was about to give it her all and massage Yun Xiang again, the door of Mu’en Hall was knocked.

Eunuch Li’s very recognizable voice sounded.

Shen Yu and Yun Xiang instinctively stopped.

Especially Yun Xiang, who was hurriedly putting on her clothes with a look of shock on her face, looking very flustered.

“Eunuch Li! Please come in. My sister is seeing a patient.”

It was Yin Qiu who opened the door.

While Shen Yu was treating Yun Xiang, this girl had been in the outer kitchen dealing with all the pork, planning to turn it all into sausages and bacon for preservation.

“I see. Imperial Physician Shen is busy with important matters, so I won’t disturb you. I just came to inform you that in three days, the convoy escorting the disgraced female familials will arrive at the Capital. At that time, let Imperial Physician Shen go to the South City Tower to select people.”

“Oh, Imperial Physician Shen, you’re busy! I pay my respects to you.”

Seeing Shen Yu coming out of the main room, Eunuch Li immediately put on a fawning expression.

“Eunuch Li, please come in. Have some hot tea inside.”

“No need. I’ve just returned from handling business outside on His Majesty’s orders. I passed by Mu’en Hall specifically to inform you.”

Eunuch Li waved his hand, not intending to enter.

“I still have to return to report to His Majesty, so I won’t stay long. His Majesty left a verbal decree for you. Over the next two days, craftsmen will be found to open up the four small courtyards in front and behind Mu’en Hall and incorporate them into your domain for your use.”

“Those disgraced female familials have been screened. They all meet your conditions. But there are indeed too many people. His Majesty understands that your energy is limited and it’s difficult for you to manage so many disgraced women. Therefore, when the time comes, those women will be brought to the South City Tower. You can select the ones you find pleasing and obedient.”

“The rest will basically be sent to the Music Bureau.”

Having said that, Eunuch Li took his leave and brought a few Fenglin Guards.

Shen Yu saw him off to the alley and noticed that besides the Fenglin Guards, there seemed to be a few officials from the Coastal Prefecture Government Office.

The Empress had summoned local officials to the Capital, all from coastal prefectures.

Could it be… opening maritime trade?

Shen Yu knew that the empire had abundant marine resources around it, but due to technological development and fear of the ocean, only the shallow seas near the land were utilized.

For the Imperial Court, they considered the vast ocean the same as steep mountains—a natural barrier.

After all, ordinary small boats had a high risk of capsizing even a few kilometers out to sea, and maintaining coastal defense consumed massive resources.

Under the traditional “land-focused, sea-light” strategy, the court preferred to seal off the coast to reduce management risks.

But Shen Yu had casually told Xiao Biao a lot about the ocean’s importance, especially about utilizing marine resources and the high probability of more abundant resources on the other side of the sea.

Those abundant resources—whether high-yield crops like potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, or natural resources like mineral veins—could greatly alleviate the empire’s current predicament.

If the empire annexed enough resources, perhaps the long-standing internal contradictions could be solved.

When internal contradictions were diverted to external ones, when civil officials and military generals fighting tooth and nail in the Imperial Court for positions turned their gazes to the foreign tribes outside, when the noble families squeezing the people’s fat and marrow extended their greedy hands across the seas, Shen Yu couldn’t imagine how crazy it would be.

But opening maritime trade was not something that could be decided in a short time.

The other side of the sea might also have nothing.

The danger of sea voyages was too high, and the variables too great.

It was indeed a very risky venture.

But in Shen Yu’s view, at least the Empress was actively trying to find a way to break the deadlock.

She could do that; she was a far more successful Emperor than many.

The reason Shen Yu thought there might be nothing on the other side of the sea… was mainly because this world was not the same as the one she knew.

Moreover, in the ancient times of her previous life, there were often pirates harassing the coast.

But the current empire had existed for nearly a thousand years.

Apart from a few maritime conflicts caused by the former Emperor supporting merchants to open coastal shipping, there had been no reports of pirates invading the coastal prefectures of the court.

“Shen Yu!”

Just as Shen Yu was holding an umbrella and standing in the autumn rain, watching Eunuch Li’s carriage gradually disappear, she heard a familiar voice calling her.

“Miss Xiaoyue? What brings you here?”

“I came to see you. I heard you were hurt. Are you okay? Here, I brought back freshly baked pastries from Jufu Tower in the Capital. They’re delicious. Also, the spices I promised you. The tomato sauce noodles last time were so good. Can you make them for me again?”

“Of course. It’s cold outside. Let’s talk inside.”

Shen Yu’s eyes lit up when she saw the spices Xiao Biao brought.

She had also brought some good stuff from Qingfeng Village before, and these spices could come in handy.