Chapter Seventy-Two: Dog Paddle

“Lord, the hot water for the two ladies is ready,” Ma Lihong announced as she entered.

“Let’s go, Pearl.” Quan Meiyu stood up, cradling Huahua in her arms. The little one was already swaying drowsily, her tiny head nodding, on the verge of sleep.

Quan Pearl’s eyes were misty; she had no desire to leave the warmth of her brother’s embrace.

Quan Meiyu felt the same, though she said they should go, her body remained steadfast, unwilling to move even a step.

“Lihong, Xiaoying, Pearl and Meiyu spent the afternoon hunting, so I’ll trouble you both to help them bathe, give them a massage, knead their heads and rub their feet. Help them relax a bit, would you?” Lu Hu spoke in a gentle, persuasive tone.

Lingering like this was no way to go on; without resolution, the night would never find rest.

“Trouble again!” The reply was not as quick and cheerful as usual, but reluctant and unwilling.

“Brother is even more tired. I want to learn massage, too, so I can help him relax.” Quan Pearl suddenly perked up and scrambled out of Lu Hu’s arms.

“My lady, massaging is servant’s work. We wouldn’t dare let you do it,” Zhu Xiaoying protested, fearing Pearl would snatch her duties.

“I don’t care. I want to massage brother.” Pearl ignored Xiaoying, pouting and twisting her slender waist, both threatening and coaxing Lu Hu.

“All right, all right, if you like it, you may massage.” Lu Hu surrendered, giving in.

“I want to learn, too. Then I can massage Father and Mother,” Quan Meiyu murmured shyly, her cheeks flushed, her voice as soft as a whisper.

She was too embarrassed to mimic her sister’s boldness, so she invoked her mother as a shield for her own intentions.

Four beauties attending together—such a lavish treatment, Lu Hu mused to himself, loosening his outer garments, uncertain if he could truly afford such luxury.

“Lingding Five!” he called out in Tiger tongue while removing his stun baton.

Lingding Five came bounding over, carefully taking the baton Lu Hu handed him, and ran off to the back door.

Lu Hu genuinely feared Pearl would get playful, waving the baton carelessly and accidentally cause some trouble, so only then did he feel at ease stripping down—leaving only his underwear as the last line of defense.

Pearl and Meiyu’s eyes sparkled, admiring Lu Hu’s muscular physique.

These two girls were of noble birth, raised and educated differently from Yana Li, who truly knew nothing of anatomy and would marvel at Lu Hu’s chest muscles.

Their mother had taught them the secrets of the boudoir, so they naturally understood the differences between men and women.

It was simply the allure of masculinity that drew them in.

In such circumstances, no one dared entertain improper thoughts. Lu Hu slipped into the basin, closed his handsome eyes, and soaked comfortably, letting four delicate hands roam freely, kneading and massaging him.

He behaved himself, and the four beauties each watched the others, showing off their ladylike manners, ignoring sensitive areas as if they didn’t exist.

Little Bai and Huahua were placed beside the bath in a wicker basket.

The two little ones played and tussled in the basket for a while. Huahua grew annoyed at Bai’s roughness, ignored him, and poked her head out to watch Lu Hu bathe.

Bai, being smaller, stood on his hind legs, placing his paws on the basket’s edge, poking out his little head to observe the scene.

Seeing the lord soaking in warm water, content and relaxed, Bai suddenly felt itchy all over, longing for a refreshing bath himself. His paws scratched at the basket’s rim, baring tiny tiger teeth and howling ceaselessly.

Lu Hu, mindful of Bai’s potential odor, bathed him twice daily, and the habit had become ingrained—perhaps even a bit spoiled.

Huahua, too, had grown fond of bathing, but being gentle, she could still endure.

Bai, however, was impatient. If someone relieved himself nearby, Bai would itch to do the same; with the bathwater so close, his heart burned with urgency, wishing he could jump right in.

He mewed and scratched, wriggling all over, his little tiger tail wagging like a dog’s.

Seeing no one respond, he flopped in the basket, rolling and kicking his paws, acting like a mischievous rascal.

He howled long and loud, stopping only when breathless, then howled again.

“All right, that’s enough bathing for today.” Lu Hu sat up in the bath, reached out with wet hands, and lifted Bai.

Bai stopped meowing, deliberately letting his paws hang limp, motionless, eyes closed feigning death.

“Oh no, what’s wrong with Bai?” Pearl dried her hands with a towel and took Bai.

Bai’s belly bulged with anger, eyes squeezed shut, refusing to acknowledge Pearl, playing dead.

“Brother, is he sick?” Pearl was nearly in tears, her eyes glistening.

“Don’t mind him. He’s just spoiled. Put him in the water and he’ll be fine,” Lu Hu said, toweling himself dry as he stepped out of the bath, his strong legs striding forward.

Pearl gently lowered Bai into the bath, leaving only his nose and mouth exposed.

“Roar!” Bai stopped pretending, flipped over in the water, and splashed about joyfully.

The little one, without instruction, had mastered the dog paddle.

“Pearl, Meiyu, you two go back and bathe. The water will cool soon,” Lu Hu urged them.

The sisters cast one last longing glance at Lu Hu before gracefully returning to their room.

Soon, laughter and splashing could be heard…

“Don’t just look after me; please take care of the sisters as well,” Lu Hu said as he dressed, addressing Ma Lihong and Zhu Xiaoying, who were bathing Bai and Huahua.

“Trouble again!” The two maids, busy with their tasks, discussed how to divide the chores.

After drying Bai and Huahua, they handed them to Lu Hu, then played rock-paper-scissors.

After a few rounds, Ma Lihong’s fist beat Zhu Xiaoying’s scissors.

Zhu Xiaoying lost. She took a ladle and scooped water from the big basin into a wooden bucket, then carried it out to dump the bathwater.

Ma Lihong went to attend to the Quan sisters.

They had agreed earlier that whoever lost would carry out the water.

In the biting cold, dumping water was hard labor; it froze instantly upon contact with the ground, so it couldn’t be poured nearby.

It had to be dumped into a large pit dozens of steps from the tent.

Even so, Zhu Xiaoying didn’t suffer much hardship.

The Changli guards patrolling outside saw the delicate beauty struggling with the bucket and rushed to help.

All Zhu Xiaoying had to do was scoop the bathwater and hand it out at the tent’s back door.

A dozen Changli guards lined up, competing to help her.

Men, after all, are like that—especially around beautiful women, they vie to show off and win favor, changing their ways to charm.

If they could spread their tails like a peacock, they would, strutting and showing off.

But there were exceptions; the lord himself had no need to flaunt anything.