Chapter 498: First Taste

“No matter what the excuse is, you still shouldn’t have looked. Making up so many excuses—disgusting…”

“And you even call yourself a scholar! Don’t you know the saying ‘do not look at what is improper’? All those books of the sages you’ve read, and in the end you turned into nothing but a big-tailed wolf…”

After returning to the cave, Li Shu kept puffing out her cheeks in indignation, launching a steady stream of cold sarcasm toward a certain someone. Her bright, dark eyes rolled into a perfect white-eyed glare again and again, each glance expressing deep contempt.

The night grew darker.

Gradually, the island fell silent.

Inside the cave, everything slowly settled into stillness as well, leaving only the quiet rhythm of breathing in the darkness.

Sometime in the middle of the night, Zhu Ping’an stirred awake in a daze.

He lay on the grass bedding, staring into the darkness.

No matter how he tried, he simply couldn’t fall back asleep.

His mind was filled with nothing but the image of Li Shu’s naked body earlier that night.

Even worse, his imagination had begun weaving together scenes inspired by all sorts of memories and vague fantasies he’d once encountered—creating countless provocative images in his mind.

The more he thought about it…

The less sleep came.

For some reason, he couldn’t understand why such impure thoughts had appeared in his mind about Li Shu.

After all, she was someone who could be manipulative, willful, spoiled, and a little sharp-tongued—a proud young lady who occasionally whipped servants and sometimes displayed a frighteningly cunning side.

When they were children, hadn’t she even thrown away a basket of rustic specialties that his mother had painstakingly prepared—food his family themselves could barely bear to eat?

She had tossed it casually into a ditch as if it were worthless.

She wasn’t his type at all.

The reason such improper thoughts had appeared must simply be because she was too beautiful.

After all, desire for food and beauty was human nature.

Even Confucius himself had acknowledged that much.

If the sage could not completely escape such instincts, how could an ordinary person like him?

Zhu Ping’an comforted himself with that reasoning.

Yet memories continued surfacing one after another.

“You tell me a story, and I’ll give you this to eat.”

A strange scene from childhood suddenly appeared before his eyes—during those impoverished days when food was scarce, a certain cunning little girl had once held out a lunchbox filled with braised pork, pestering him to tell stories in exchange for a bite.

Then another memory echoed faintly in his ears.

“Father, the older brothers don’t like reading anyway. The last time I checked the books, they were practically growing worms. If that toad wants to borrow them, just let him. At least he’ll help get rid of the bugs.”

Back then, whenever Zhu Ping’an tried to borrow books from the Li household and was repeatedly turned away at the door, that same mischievous girl had once said those words casually to the wealthy Master Li.

Over the years, the Li family’s library had continued to expand.

More and more books appeared—texts for the imperial examinations, from the scholar level all the way to the metropolitan and palace exams.

The study itself became more comfortable and refined.

And then other memories appeared—

Table after table of carefully prepared meals from the Li household’s chef, dishes fragrant and colorful.

Before the rooster even crowed, breakfast was ready.

When he studied late into the night, warm midnight snacks were brought out.

In truth, Li Shu herself had often been the one instructing the kitchen.

Then—

His thoughts drifted back again to the moment Li Shu emerged from the water earlier that night.

The image became even more alluring in his mind.

Skin like smooth jade.

Curves that seemed almost hypnotic.

She filled every corner of his thoughts.

When he closed his eyes—

It was Li Shu.

When he opened them—

It was still Li Shu.

Zhu Ping’an felt as though his brain had been infected like a computer that had watched too many questionable films.

No matter how many times he “restarted,” the same images appeared again.

And his body grew hotter and hotter.

The reaction within him grew stronger by the moment.

“What’s wrong with you, Zhu Ping’an?”

At that moment, a voice as clear as a lark’s song suddenly sounded beside his ear.

Zhu Ping’an turned his head.

To his surprise, Li Shu was crouching right beside him.

At some point she had quietly approached and now leaned over him, her slender jade-like hand resting on his forehead.

“Why are you so hot?”

Her mouth opened slightly in surprise.

Why was he so hot?

He couldn’t possibly tell the truth.

He certainly couldn’t admit that he had been lying there imagining all sorts of improper things about her.

Just before sleeping she had already looked at him with extreme disdain because he had accidentally seen her body earlier.

If she knew he had gone on to imagine even more…

He couldn’t begin to imagine her reaction.

“Ahem… I… I think I might be sick.”

Caught red-handed in the middle of impure thoughts, Zhu Ping’an felt his face burning with embarrassment.

“Sick?”

Li Shu pursed her lips slightly, blinking her large eyes as she looked at him sideways with a mischievous smile.

Her voice rose with a teasing lilt, the final note stretching out playfully.

For some reason—

Zhu Ping’an suddenly felt that Li Shu seemed very strange at this moment.

Almost as if a fox spirit had possessed her.

Her entire demeanor carried a playful, seductive charm.

Li Shu smiled mischievously, her gaze slowly drifting down from Zhu Ping’an’s face to his body.

Then—

The raised shape beneath his robe came clearly into her view.

Caught again.

When Zhu Ping’an noticed where her gaze had fallen, his face flushed red instantly.

He quickly shifted his posture, trying desperately to hide his embarrassment.

“Sick? Not feeling well?”

Li Shu leaned closer, her eyes half-smiling.

Her gaze flicked briefly toward that obvious spot before she lightly licked her lips and burst into playful laughter.

“I’d say your body just needs a little… squeezing.”

Zhu Ping’an nearly choked.

That sentence, filled with teasing implication, coming from the elegant and proud young lady before him was simply unbelievable.

Hearing something so suggestive from someone normally so aloof created an almost absurd contrast.

The effect was explosive.

It felt as if someone had suddenly dumped an entire basin of powerful medicine over his head.

In an instant, Zhu Ping’an’s entire body was seized by a surge of uncontrollable emotion.

Before he knew it—

He had pulled the giggling Li Shu into his arms.

The quiet residence lay deep in the night, spring approaching softly.

His thoughts fluttered like drifting silk until even his bones seemed to melt.

Petals brushed against their hidden stamens.

Willow branches swayed gently beneath the breeze.

After the dreamlike passion faded, Zhu Ping’an lay there basking in lingering warmth.

Beside him, Li Shu seemed flushed and glistening with perspiration.

Unable to resist, he drew her closer and pressed his lips gently against her rosy lips.

So this…

Was what kissing felt like?

But…

Why did it feel a little strange?

Why did it feel more like licking rough ground?

And why did his mouth taste like dirt?

“Giggle, giggle! Miss, look! Early in the morning and the young master is chewing dirt on the ground. Is he so hungry he can’t help himself?”

Suddenly, the chubby maid’s laughter rang out nearby.

What?

Zhu Ping’an’s eyes snapped open.

To his shock, he discovered that he had somehow rolled off the grass bedding and was lying face-down on the ground outside it.

His mouth was literally pressed against the dirt.

There was no flushed Li Shu beside him.

There was no quiet midnight scene.

Morning light had already begun filtering into the cave.

Everything that had happened earlier—

Had been a dream.

A spring dream.

And Li Shu had been the heroine.

“Eh? Did the young master wet himself? That’s so embarrassing!”

The chubby maid, after discovering him eating dirt, suddenly noticed something else and cried out in surprise before quickly covering her face and turning away shyly.

At that moment, hearing her shocked voice outside, Zhu Ping’an wished he could dig a hole and disappear forever.

His dignity as a scholar had completely collapsed.

“Disgusting… shameless…”

Li Shu stepped inside, glanced briefly at a certain damp spot, and her face instantly flushed red.

She turned away quickly, muttering reproachful curses under her breath.

Looking down at the damp patch on his trousers and feeling the sticky discomfort, Zhu Ping’an felt like dying.

Not only had he dreamed such a dream—

He had even had a nocturnal emission.

One lifetime of dignity…

Ruined by a single dream.

Zhu Ping’an didn’t even know how he managed to leave the cave under Li Shu’s contemptuous gaze.

Fortunately, clothing during the Ming Dynasty was layered and loose. With the long robe covering him, removing one pair of trousers wouldn’t be too noticeable.

Enduring Li Shu’s disdainful stare, he slipped outside and walked to the stream.

There he carefully washed the trousers several times in the flowing water, wringing them dry before returning to the cave.

Outside, near the beacon tower, he propped up a stick and hung the trousers to dry.

The beacon fire burned constantly, its warmth helping them dry faster.

“Your fish…”

Li Shu snorted coldly, shooting him a look full of disgust before setting several roasted fish heavily on the beacon tower.

“Thank you.”

Zhu Ping’an avoided looking at her directly.

Every time he saw her now, the memory of that dream came rushing back.

So he simply turned his gaze away and looked toward the distant sea.

The moment his eyes landed on the ocean—

His whole body suddenly trembled.

His eyes widened instantly.