“Then be gentle… It hurts, it hurts so much…” Yu Youyao’s face turned pale. Bean-sized sweat kept rolling down her forehead, and she let out a painful whimper.
It was too painful.
Hearing her hoarse voice, which was trembling in pain, and her turbid cries, Yin Huaixi subconsciously held his breath and slowed down. “It’ll hurt a little more at first, but it’ll ease a lot later. Bear with it a little longer, and I’ll be fine soon.”
In fact, the massage had to be done for half an hour to achieve the best effect.
“It hurts too much. No, no, no.” Yu Youyao fell onto the cloak, her body trembling and cowering uncontrollably. She couldn’t help but cry bitterly. Her broken voice had a mellow trembling sound, and a sobbing sound came from her throat. “No, it hurts. I don’t want you to massage me. Let go quickly, sob…”
As soon as she cried, Yin Huaixi panicked and quickly comforted her. “It’s better to deal with painful things quickly. It won’t hurt so much next time. Otherwise, you’ll still have to suffer.”
“It’s none of your business. Go away. It hurts…” Perhaps it was because it was too painful, but Yu Youyao couldn’t help but exert strength, wanting to retract her foot. However, Yin Huaixi wouldn’t let her. She was furious and pushed her leg forward, but she accidentally kicked his face.
It was very sudden!
The air immediately froze, and the room fell into a dead silence.
Yu Youyao was shocked and felt a little guilty. She trembled as she lay on the cloak. There were tears in her eyes, and her eyelashes were stained with tears. Her eyes were red, and she looked aggrieved, as if she had been bullied.
Yin Huaixi licked his face, which had been kicked, with his tongue. It wasn’t very painful, but he suddenly felt an indescribable emotion.
It was quite complicated.
When he rubbed her foot, it was so painful that she wished she could die on the spot. However, now that Yin Huaixi had let go, Yu Youyao really felt that her foot did not hurt so much anymore.
She felt that she didn’t know what was good for her, so she quickly sat up straight. With the intention of covering it up and trying to salvage the situation, she took the initiative to hand her foot to Yin Huaixi. “Here, continue rubbing. It’s better to deal with painful things quickly. This time, I’ll definitely endure it and not move. I definitely won’t kick you again.”
She had never thought about whether it was polite or not.
Once etiquette was broken, it became insignificant.
Her injury was more serious than a sprain and needed a doctor to treat it. In the wilderness, a doctor couldn’t come over immediately. If she waited a little longer, the pain would increase.
Yin Huaixi wasn’t that kind of person who knew that she had sprained her ankle, yet kept talking about the rules and etiquette, ignoring her pain.
Yin Huaixi looked at the tender little feet in front of him. Although they were not as fair as before and were swollen, but…
The smooth touch seemed to still be in his palm. His fingers trembled, and details that he hadn’t noticed before immediately rushed into his mind.
He suddenly thought of something. “The emperor is desolate and has been exhausted for a long time. Every time he held the imperial consort’s foot, he would explode with desire!”
Seeing that his gaze was deep and he did not make a move, Yu Youyao felt even more guilty. “Are… Are you angry?”
“No.” Yin Huaixi quickly dispelled the dirty thoughts in his mind. He held her feet and looked at them carefully for a while. He had originally wanted to see if her feet had stopped swelling after rubbing them.
The Nine Flowers Jade Dew Cream reduced swelling and pain. Its effect on blood circulation was not bad. After massaging her for about half an hour, the swelling had already subsided a little.
Yu Youyao’s feet were thin, and the back of her feet were naturally curved. The soles of her feet were like a crescent moon. Even though they were still swollen, they still looked very petite. Her ten toes were very round and slightly curled. The toenails were a little green from the blood, but they were still very beautiful.
He could almost imagine that her feet were originally weak and boneless like a bamboo shoot. They were thin and sharp, and elegant.
He couldn’t think about it anymore.
However, Yin Huaixi frowned and blurted out the doubts in his heart, “Why are your feet so small?”
The air immediately froze.
These words were frivolous and rash. Yu Youyao’s face immediately turned red, and she looked embarrassed and angry. She kicked her legs hard, trying to retract them, but he held them tightly. “You, let go of me.”
Yin Huaixi wished he could slap her on the spot. “Uh, that’s not what I meant. It’s just that foot binding isn’t allowed in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Your feet are so small. Is it…”
Women’s slender feet were naturally enchanting. They were decorated with gold and were called “lotus feet” as a form of praise. The men knew their mysteries well and were even more interesting. They exaggerated it wantonly and advocated the beauty of feet.
To this day, there were still women who bound their feet.
Only then did Yu Youyao understand that he was worried about this. She quickly lowered her head. “No, we can’t bind our feet in the residence, but women’s feet are not beautiful if they’re too big. When we were young, the nanny who raised us asked us to wear shoes that are half an inch (one centimeter) smaller than our feet.”
Yin Huaixi did not look too good. “Even now?”
Yu Youyao nodded and said, “We only wear such shoes at home. When we go out, we will wear suitable shoes. We only wear soft shoes in our rooms. The goal of doing so is to curl the toes slightly and not squeeze them. Usually, we don’t walk around much at home. We also have a medicinal bath every day. Nanny will even massage our feet.”
When the toes were slightly curled, they revealed a sharp and thin aesthetic. The technique of pinching the feet could modify the feet without hurting them. It could even have the effect of nourishing the feet. It was just a method of molding the feet.
It was just like how Nanny Xu had molded her bones for her. Not only could it improve her bones and body, but it could also improve her muscles and bones. It was also beneficial to her body.
Women had to be well-mannered, elegant, and polite. The aristocratic families also valued women very much and viewed foot binding with disdain. They had their own confidence and arrogance, and they valued the upbringing of women more. They did not want their daughters in the family to become tools to please others, but true talented women.
Yin Huaixi understood when he heard this, and his expression softened a little. “If it’s uncomfortable to wear shoes like this, change to suitable shoes in the future. You don’t have to suffer.”
Yu Youyao’s embarrassment did not dissipate. She nodded slightly and asked in a small voice, “Are you done?”
Previously, she had been in too much pain, so she did not think much of it. She only hoped that Yin Huaixi could really help her relieve the pain.
At this moment, the pain had eased a little. Seeing that her feet were in Yin Huaixi’s hand, Yu Youyao couldn’t help but feel shy and embarrassed. She began to worry about rules and etiquette again.
“It’s not as swollen as before, but it’s still bruised and bleeding. I have to massage it for a while more.” Yin Huaixi pulled away from the abrupt thought in his mind and applied a layer of ointment on her feet. With the smoothness of the ointment, he repeated his previous actions.
However, his heart was no longer as calm as before.
The slender foot in his hand was smooth and beautiful, like a ball of soft jade. That smooth and delicate touch seemed to melt in his palm.