The Road to Luoyang - Nursing a Cuckold's Wife in Front of Her Husband
The sharp crack of a slap echoed through the air.
"You idiot! You useless piece of shit!!!"
While Zhao Yun and Dong Zhuo were lost in ecstasy by the valley stream, Li Su was on his knees, cheek burning, as his father Li Ru berated him.
"B-but Father! Did you see what that bitch was doing…!"
"Shut your mouth! Haven't I told you a thousand times? Dong Zhuo didn't choose you as her husband because she actually wanted you!"
Li Ru's hand flew again, striking his son's face with even greater fury. Only after venting his rage for a long while did he finally calm down. Taking a deep, ragged breath, he began to speak to his son in a gentler tone.
"What are you so upset about? I gave you Dong Zhuo—the woman every man in Xiliang drooled over—as your wife. How could you be so foolish as to create a rift like this?"
"But isn't this too humiliating?!"
Li Su, his face swollen from countless slaps, finally poured out his resentment.
"I've endured her treating me like garbage. After all, I didn't marry her because I loved her either. Even when our daughter was born and given the Dong surname? I accepted that too, just as you told me. I can always continue the family line with children from concubines."
Up until now, although Dong Zhuo had treated Li Su with contempt, she had at least never denied that he was her husband. He wasn't her type, but it had been at the earnest request of Li Ru, who had faithfully served her. She had even once saved their lives with a brilliant strategy against the horse bandits. For that reason, she couldn't be too stingy about something as trivial as marriage.
If the child born from her had taken the Li surname, she would have firmly refused no matter how much Li Ru begged… but that wasn't the case. As proof, her child, Baek, had not been given the Dong surname. Of course, in exchange, she had permitted Li Su to take concubines to continue his line, but that was irrelevant to her. Whether Li Su brought in concubines or not was none of her concern.
When Li Su had cautiously brought up the idea, she had agreed with surprising ease. In truth, it was better for Dong Zhuo as well. She had always found the sight of that pathetic man lusting after her body repulsive. Now that he had concubines, she could sleep alone. If that disgusting creature ever tried to crawl into her bed, she would finally have a legitimate reason to tell him to get lost. For Dong Zhuo, it was actually a benefit.
Thus, their creaking marriage had somehow managed to stumble along precariously… until today.
"Now she's gone so far as to flirt openly with another man right in front of her husband! Father, this is completely unacceptable!"
Li Su had finally exploded, unable to hold back any longer. And honestly, it was understandable. Previously, even when she slept with other men, she had at least done it out of his sight. But today, for some reason, she was brazenly entangled with another man, teasing and fondling each other without shame.
No matter how worthless a man might be, there were limits to the humiliation he could endure.
Yet instead of sympathizing with his son's outburst, Li Ru clicked his tongue and scolded him even more harshly.
"What's the problem with Lady Dong Zhuo playing with some insignificant man? Has she taken him as a concubine? And even if she did, so what? You're still her legal husband, so what are you so afraid of?"
"Father!!!"
"Besides, you have a whole harem of concubines yourself. Isn't it stranger that Lady Dong Zhuo doesn't have any? Tsk… how can a man be so narrow-minded?"
"Father! That's completely different! A woman taking concubines… isn't that something only an emperor would do?!"
Since Liu Bang, a mere peasant from the countryside, founded the Han Dynasty, women's authority had risen to equal that of men. Yet even in this society where it was not strange for children to take their mother's surname, it was still taboo for a married woman to openly sleep with another man.
Of course, if that woman were the Emperor, the story would be different.
Just as Li Su said, only an emperor could take concubines. Dong Zhuo, no matter how capable she was, was merely a prominent figure in Xiliang. She wasn't the emperor—so why would she take a concubine?
Li Su stared at his father in shock, wondering if the old man had finally lost his mind. But those eyes looked perfectly sane.
"Su, stop thinking of Dong Zhuo as your wife and start acting accordingly."
"…What do you mean by that?"
"Did you really think I begged for this marriage believing you two would live happily ever after?"
Li Ru snorted as if the very idea was ridiculous. Only then did Li Su realize his father had deeper intentions and fell silent, listening intently.
"That woman will never be satisfied with just Xiliang. If the opportunity arises, she will try to seize the entire Han Empire. Yes, I'm certain of it."
Was he saying Dong Zhuo would start a rebellion? As Li Su's eyes widened in horror, Li Ru shook his head.
"If she were that foolish, this old man would have taken our entire family and fled long ago. How frustrating… Can't you see it? The empire has fallen so far that it's forced to borrow the strength of those barbarians from the frontier it once despised. Who knows what will happen next?"
A dead, withered tree surrounded by countless torches. How could sparks not fly onto it? Of course they would. It would burst into flames in an instant.
"Chaos is coming. Or perhaps it has already arrived… And Lady Dong Zhuo smelled it long ago. Do you think the cowards in Luoyang can stand against her?"
Of course not. Li Ru chuckled darkly as he gazed into the distance.
"She will rise to heights where people like us won't even be worth a glance. Su, do you still think you're truly married to her?"
Ridiculous. You are merely a leech clinging to a dragon's scale with our family's lives at stake.
"Therefore, no matter what Lady Dong Zhuo does, simply accept it. She is someone who will take us to a place far beyond our station. She is not someone who will walk beside us."
Su, do you understand now?
Only then did Li Su finally grasp his father's true intentions. His jaw dropped in shock.
"F-Father! Why are you only telling me this now…!"
"Hehehehe… If you had known, would you have agreed to marry her?"
Now go apologize. At the very least, you must not be abandoned by the dragon before we reach Luoyang.
At those words, Li Su snapped back to his senses and hurriedly rushed off to find Dong Zhuo. Li Ru watched him go, chuckling softly to himself.
"Even a flea has a flea's life, and a leech has a leech's life. When the dragon that carries the leech on its tail ascends to heaven clutching the jewel, the leech ascends with it."
And the woman Li Ru had called a dragon was currently…
"Haaang♥?!"
"M-Madam? What is it?"
"Mmmh♥ It's nothing…. Just a fish brushing past and startling me♥"
She was having her breasts sucked by her secret lover.
***
When Li Su came looking for his wife's discarded clothes, Dong Zhuo had no choice but to reveal herself. Zhao Yun crouched hidden behind a rock while Dong Zhuo, showing only her back, spoke with Li Su.
"It's just… I think I spoke too harshly earlier in the heat of the moment, so I came to apologize. Madam! Please forgive this worthless fool."
"Hm? Ah, yes… It's fine. I wasn't really bothered by it."
"R-really?"
The two of them exchanged awkward conversation. Of course, Dong Zhuo had previously been dissatisfied with Li Su's pathetic performance in bed and had sought out other men. But she had always done it out of sight. She had never been so brazen as to do it right in front of him, so she felt a twinge of guilt.
The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Originally, she had planned to show Zhao Yun the refined charm of an older woman and make him suffer with desire… How had things turned out like this?
Refined charm? What refined charm? Hadn't she been the one begging for love both in the carriage and here in the valley? And in such a filthy, vulgar way that the usual Dong Zhuo would never have imagined!
The memory of her face covered in semen, desperately begging Zhao Yun to spend the rest of his life with her, made her cheeks burn crimson with embarrassment.
This wouldn't do. She needed to put some distance between them right now. Especially since the pitiful Li Su had come to apologize first. It would be too much to stay glued to Zhao Yun like this.
Dong Zhuo subtly shifted away from Zhao Yun, releasing his hand and gently pushing him back. Then she continued speaking to Li Su in a deliberately soft voice. Li Su's face brightened noticeably.
Zhao Yun, for some reason, felt his mood sour at the sight.
It was only natural for a wife to speak kindly with her husband… but hadn't she just proposed to him moments ago? What was she doing?
Of course, he had no intention of accepting. Still, this didn't look good at all. It felt like being rejected by a woman before he could even turn down her confession.
Irritated, Zhao Yun leaned his shoulder against her, fiddled with her hair, and touched her hand, but each time Dong Zhuo coldly brushed him away.
When she continued her affectionate conversation with Li Su without even glancing his way, Zhao Yun's irritation reached its peak. Suddenly, he shoved his head between her thighs and lay down on them.
"Eep!?"
"Hm? Darling?"
"N-nothing. It's nothing…."
Why is this guy acting like this all of a sudden?!
Startled by Zhao Yun's sudden tantrum, Dong Zhuo tried to push his head away, but he wouldn't budge. She whispered at him to move and even lightly tapped his head, but he simply rubbed his face against her thigh in refusal.
When she slightly lifted her chest to peek at his hidden face, she saw nothing but pure sulkiness.
Is he… jealous?
Feeling strangely pleased, Dong Zhuo gave up trying to move him and continued her conversation with Li Su. This only made Zhao Yun's mood even worse.
Oh, so now you're just going to ignore me completely?
After you were the one spraying milk all over me earlier!
"Haaang♥?!"
"M-Madam? What is it?"
"Mmmh♥ It's nothing…. Just a fish brushing past and startling me♥"
Startled by the sudden wave of pleasure from her nipple, Dong Zhuo looked down. There was Zhao Yun, sucking on her breast with a face full of spite.