A Goodnight Kiss

“您饿不饿?”, asked a concerned General Li.

(Are you hungry?)

“No”, replied Queen Zhang.

“Your stomach says the opposite... 😒”, noticed General Li, as Queen Zhang’s stomach rumbled and growled.

General Li and the queen were walking for about 2 hours. They had to regroup with General Li’s remaining army, who escaped the burning building before them. The pair arrived at a small town in North Country territory and they entered a clothing shop. It was named, “For Eternity 21”.

General Li’s military clothing and Queen Zhang’s dirty expensive clothes would draw too much attention.

“我想买这件衣服。她买那件旗袍。多少钱?”

(I would like to buy this outfit. She is buying that cheongsam [dress]. How much?)

“5,000 块”, answered the store owner.

“很贵了！请便宜一点，便宜一点”, bargained General Li.

(That is expensive af!... My guy... Can you please lower the price a little?)

“做个朋友。”

(Okay, let’s make a deal.)

“You give me your armor and her clothing, and I will give you free sets of clothes”, settled the store owner.

It almost appeared as if dollar signs appeared within the store owner’s pupils, as he smiled wide.

$$Cha-Ching!$$

It was the first time that Queen Zhang saw General Li without his armor; he now wore simple pants and a short sleeved shirt. He was above average in height, handsome and was moderately muscular. He had an disheveled beard, and his hair was unkempt, unlike her husband.

Both of them wore clothes that were made out of a high quality silk. The clothes were nice and clean and smelled like they were recently made.

Afterwards, at a jewelry store, General Li made the queen sell her expensive jewelry, except for her wedding ring, in order to have money for food. He also got a haircut to change his appearance.

“Ayy lmao!”, uncontrollably laughed Queen Zhang, when she saw the General’s suave new hairdo—a pompadour.

Meanwhile, the queen simply let her very straight and long black hair fall down.

Lastly, the two stopped at a food stand. Mr. Li bought some roast duck (烤鸭) for he and Queen Zhang to share.

“Wow, no ‘thank you’ for the meal?”, complained Mr. Li.

“Why should I thank the man holding me prisoner?”, questioned Queen Zhang, as she continued to eat the roast duck like a barbarian, talking with her mouth full.

“That is a fair argument, Queen. Anyhow, after this war is over, you will be freed. 5 more minutes to eat and then let’s keep moving”, replied the gentleman.

5 blocks away, there was a hotel. Mr. Li decided that he and Queen Zhang would rent a room for 1 day, so that he could plan his next moves.

“很抱歉。但是，我们只有一间房一张床。你还想不想租？”, explained the hotel manager.

(Sorry for the inconvenience. But, we only have 1 room with 1 bed. Do you still want to rent it?)

”噢。。。想”, reluctantly answered Li.

(Oh... uhh... yes.)

“I hope you are not planning anything to do anything vulgar, MR. Li”, said Queen Zhang, as she stated at him in a distrustful manner.

“Yeah I hope so too... Because if I find a cute lady out here in this town, you would have to sleep outside. Hahahaha!”, joked Mr. Li.

“Hmph!”, chided Queen Zhang. They both got into the one bed and peacefully slept, each facing opposite directions from each other.

THE NEXT MORNING

“Wow, you snore like a sailor... it’s no wonder your husband tried to kill you...”, teased Mr. Li.

Queen Zhang simply rolled her eyes.

Eventually, the two left the hotel. They were now on the road again. They were on their way to a city named Choushi (丑市). There were tall and short trees and bushes with leaves that surrounded them.

Eventually, Mr. Li noticed garbage and leftover food on the ground. Maybe it was group of people—maybe enemy soldiers! They could be nearby.

“Errr, let’s walk a little faster”, recommended Mr. Li.

“Ohh, hmmmm... Do you think someone has discovered you?”, sarcastically asked Queen Zhang,

“No... but, I think we might—“ Mr. Li stopped. He heard someone walking nearby. “Oh... it was just a deer... 🦌”, Mr. Li thought to himself, and he let out a sigh of relief.

Once again, the journey continued. It was now almost dark outside and it was silent. They only heard crickets and their footsteps in the dry brown dirt.

And once again, noises were heard, but this time, the noises were unnatural. Mr. Li looked ahead, and he could hear men on top of horses walking by. They were a dozen... and they were a part of King Zhang’s army!

Mr. Li took advantage of the night’s darkness. He grabbed Queen Zhang and almost forcefully pushed her up against a tree and pulled down her upper garment, so that her cleavage was exposed.

“What are you do—“

Mr. Li then kissed Queen Zhang, in order to silence her. The men on the horses assumed that they were just a random young couple who could not wait until they got home to ‘get their groove on’.

Queen Zhang could not resist. She felt powerless. Once again, she was overcome with that feeling of feeling truly alive. Her being dominated by someone else exhilarated her.

Shortly, Mr. Li stopped, after noticing that the men on horses had left.

“Well... you did not have to be so forceful... I know men like you cannot resist being near a beauty like me...”, stated Queen Zhang.

“很抱歉。我们在这里休息吧”, recommended Mr. Li.

(Sorry for that... Let’s rest here)

Mr. Li laid out a blanket for Queen Zhang to rest on and to lean against a tree.

“This is... so sudden... I did not know that you wanted me this badly... well, I guess it can’t be helpe—“, surrendered Queen Zhang, who misunderstood Mr. Li’s intentions.

“晚安”, bluntly said Mr. Li.

(Good Night)

“Dummy...”, scolded a blushing and annoyed Queen Zhang.