The scene before her eyes was actually one Jing Hengbo had imagined many times, even dreamed about repeatedly, then always woke up laughing from those dreams, only to stare blankly for a long while afterward, feeling lost and disappointed.

But when this scene appeared before her now, it was definitely not a pleasant surprise – it was a shock.

She stood at the doorway. A transparent gauze curtain hung in the hall, and behind it was the vague silhouette of Gong Yin, already changed into white clothes, in a half-kneeling posture with his back to her, facing another figure. One hand was slightly raised, the other holding a bouquet of sparkling flowers.

This pose… Jing Hengbo’s jaw nearly dropped – wasn’t this the standard proposal posture? How did Gong Yin know about it?

After this thought flashed by, a brighter lightning bolt struck her mind.

Gong Yin was proposing?

To whom?

There were no lights in the hall except for Gong Yin in white who was particularly conspicuous, so bright he seemed to glow. Everything else was immersed in darkness, making it impossible to see who was across from him.

Jing Hengbo stood stunned for a while as a chill rose from the depths of her heart – what was this about?

He had just been flirting and hinting with her, then turned around to propose to someone else?

Had Gong Yin been bewitched? Gone dizzy? Lost his mind?

Fury surged up from Jing Hengbo’s chest – even if Gong Yin was just rehearsing or experimenting, that wasn’t acceptable!

His knees could only kneel for her!

Inside the hall, Gong Yin was still kneeling, with some strange sounds vaguely audible. Jing Hengbo was burning with rage and without thinking further, whooshed inside.

The next moment she collided with a cold object. Even through her cloak she could feel the bone-chilling coldness. She reached out and pulled Gong Yin hard, saying: “Get up, get up! What are you doing!”

This pull felt wrong – hard and cold. Although Gong Yin practiced ice and snow true qi, his skin was normally just slightly cool, not like this.

She looked down and was dumbfounded.

The half-kneeling, proposing Gong Yin was completely transparent with ice-clear eyes – it was an ice sculpture dressed in white!

This ice sculpture was so lifelike that in the dimly lit hall, she hadn’t immediately distinguished it.

Looking up at what the ice sculpture Gong Yin faced, it was also just a thin ice shell with a red cloak draped over it.

Jing Hengbo was confused, not understanding what Gong Yin meant by this. Creating such a scene – was it for her to see?

If he wanted to propose, he should do it himself. Why make an ice sculpture?

Looking again at ice sculpture Gong Yin, in his slightly raised palm was a ring, also made of ice, even set with a “diamond.” The “diamond” was oversized, like a pigeon egg.

His other hand held a cluster of fresh flowers. Looking closer, they were roses encased in ice, the ice layer sparkling with crystalline light, making the roses even more delicate and translucent. But where would roses come from in this season? Jing Hengbo didn’t remember seeing roses in Dahuang either.

Looking more carefully, the roses were actually carved, with real red petals placed in corresponding positions inside, striving for consistency in color and shape. At first glance it looked like a cluster of roses.

This bouquet was made with great care. Jing Hengbo gazed at it for a long time, then looked down at Gong Yin’s half-kneeling pose and chuckled.

Could this guy not bring himself to kneel, so he used an ice figure to kneel in his place?

She walked to the ice shell across from Gong Yin, pushed it over, and stood in that position herself, gracefully extending her arms and closing her eyes.

Light suddenly appeared overhead.

The radiance bathed her forehead, warm and gentle.

She opened her eyes and widened them again.

In just an instant, the hall suddenly lit up with clusters of fires and glowing palace lanterns. Another curtain slowly opened, and under the brilliant flowing lights were even more brilliant flowing flowers.

A room full of flowers.

Azaleas, magnolias, apricot blossoms, pear blossoms, peach blossoms, begonias, daphne, redbuds, cherry plums, corn poppies, pansies… colors like a seven-colored rainbow, lustrous as silk and brocade. All the colors of heaven and earth seemed to cluster before her eyes in an instant, or perhaps the rainbow colors of sunrise had been splashed generously across this chamber with one brush stroke.

Under the lights, all these delicate petals sparkled with crystalline light, as if adorned with countless crystal diamonds, flowing with dazzling brilliance. Looking carefully, countless ice pearls had condensed on the petal tips, like stars fallen into the flower garden.

Jing Hengbo’s eyes felt dizzy. So many flowers filled the entire chamber, bustling and crowding her vision. She suddenly remembered the celebrity weddings she had envied in her modern world – princes and princesses settling their lifelong romance amid rooms full of fresh flowers.

The floral fragrance stopped her breath, and her eyes slowly moistened.

What did this scene mean? Was it hinting at a proposal, or reminding her that all this was just flowers in twilight, ice pearls among flowers, that would wither and melt in the blink of an eye?

This room of flowers, the half-kneeling suitor, the brilliant lights – it all matched her dreams too perfectly. But precisely because it matched too well and came too quickly, she felt uneasy and anxious instead, afraid this was also just ice melting and snow dissolving – just a dream.

She was originally an enthusiastic and happy woman who dared to boldly fantasize about everything in the world. But now, her stumbling transmigrated life had taught her to no longer expect good fortune, to worry about defeat before victory when faced with anything.

She took a deep breath and suddenly heard rustling sounds overhead. Looking up, she saw Feifei’s fluffy big tail flash by, pointing at something in the hall.

So this little creature had lit the lamps.

Jing Hengbo glanced at the ice sculpture and whooshed away again.

The next moment she was in an even darker chamber, the air cool and crisp, with the faint sound of flowing water.

Only then did she remember the strange sounds she’d heard earlier – it was the sound of water.

Her eyes immediately brightened.

He was bathing!

Oh my, perhaps she should wait outside for him to finish bathing before going in? Looking at all that arrangement outside, maybe it was meant to distract her attention and prevent her from whooshing right into his bathtub.

Jing Hengbo asked Feifei overhead hypocritically: “What’s he doing, sleeping?”

Feifei nodded cutely and foolishly.

“Oh dear, I made him some clothes that I need to deliver.” Jing Hengbo peered around. “Will you take them?”

Feifei immediately shook her head cutely and foolishly, patting her leg with her tail to indicate she was tired.

“Then, shall I deliver them?”

Feifei nodded.

Jing Hengbo beamed with joy. “I’ll let you play with Er Gouzi for a month later!”

The little monster was so sensible!

Holding the dragon underwear, she whooshed inside. “Gong Yin, Gong Yin, are you asleep? I’m here to deliver clothes!”

In the dark hall, water splashed with a crash, then there seemed to be a flash of white light. Her arm indeed touched the slippery bathtub wall. The dragon underwear in her palm was snatched away with a swoosh and tossed out. She looked up and vaguely saw the sea cucumber in the underwear’s crotch fluttering in the wind…

The next instant her lips were blocked by a pair of wet lips. Those lips carried the slickness of water and the fragrance of flowers, pressing against her teeth. His tongue, more skillful each time, lightly and cleverly slipped into her fragrant tunnel, lightly touching, wandering, sweeping, sucking… His body slowly emerged from the bathtub. With increasingly intense kisses, the water waves splashed and surged, wave after wave of hot water gushing out, splashing all over her. Her arms pressed against the wet bathtub wall, her face flushed like peach blossoms from the steaming heat and hot water. She felt confused about why the water was so hot, making her body even softer. She felt like a dough figure, softly pressed against the bathtub wall. Her body felt hardness while her lips and face felt softness. Perhaps due to the heat, his face was rarely warm, soft and tender with a silk-like texture. His breath wound around her hotly, some heat brushing past her ear, making her hot and itchy. That itch reached her heart, and she couldn’t help letting out soft moans.

The water sounds rippled gently, seemingly matching the frequency of friction and sucking between lips and teeth. Her neck arched back slightly in a graceful curve like a bending willow. She instinctively reached out wanting to embrace his waist, but only embraced the wet bathtub. She suddenly wanted to laugh at their current pose – what kind of scene was kissing while hugging a bathtub?

He seemed to notice too and chuckled quietly, reaching out to lift her up. Before she could cry out, he had already embraced her inside, seating her on the edge of the bathtub. Her lower half was immersed in hot water while her upper half’s cloak had long fallen away. The fire-red silk nightgown was also half-soaked, clinging to her body. Under the dim light from the chamber ceiling, the fire-red hem floated on the bathtub’s water surface, then gathered upward like a mermaid’s streamlined tail, then her rounded hips. Her body leaned back slightly, further accentuating her jade vase-like waistline. Above the waist her bone structure remained exquisite, not allowing for any increase or decrease. The low neckline faintly revealed a patch of snow-white skin, below which was a soft protrusion…

The bathtub edge was rather thin and uncomfortable to sit on. With a splash, he stood up and lifted her waist higher. Her skin was even more lustrous after being wet, and his fingers nearly slipped unable to maintain their grip. Sliding upward, they slipped to under her arms, inadvertently touching a handful of heart-stopping softness and fullness, slightly elastic with an indescribably wonderful sensation.

His fingers couldn’t help but pause, unable to resist lingering over such a feeling. But she felt ticklish and laughed melodiously while grabbing his shoulders and looking down – rarely was the great god gradually letting go, actually willing to take a mandarin duck bath with her. She had to seize the opportunity to see someone’s mermaid lines and eight-pack abs!

With this downward glance, she froze, then screamed in disbelief: “Ahhh Gong Yin, you’re actually wearing clothes while bathing! What madness possessed you to bathe in clothes!”

There was quiet laughter in the bathtub. He pressed the back of her head, giving her deep pressure until she closed her mouth, panted, her face flushed peach-red and could no longer chatter, before saying quietly: “Knowing you would barge in early, I hurried to bathe and arranged such an ‘accident,’ but it still couldn’t stop you. So bathing in clothes was still the wisest choice.”

“Wise… indeed wise.” Jing Hengbo’s eyes glanced downward, vaguely feeling that although he bathed in clothes with a stubborn abstinent manner, those clothes were thin and light, clinging tightly to his body. It wasn’t much different from not wearing anything, perhaps even more seductive than not wearing anything. Just imagining it made her want to have a nosebleed – they say an abstinent aura is the most lethal kind of seduction, and now she felt this was absolutely true.

She tried hard to see clearly, but unfortunately all the light sources were behind her, blocked by her, leaving the hall pitch black. Her fingers gently slid down, landing on the skin of his neck. Unlike usual, his body was warmed by the hot water today. Such warmth seemed able to transmit from fingertip to heart, making her shiver with excitement.

But Gong Yin thought she was cold and asked softly: “Cold? How about coming in for a soak?”

“Absolutely not.” Jing Hengbo blocked with her palm, chuckling: “I’m not bathing in your leftover water.”

Gong Yin grasped her palm, their five fingers intertwining: “I could bathe in your leftover water.”

Jing Hengbo laughed melodiously, thinking this guy was getting more and more skilled at saying sweet things. She pinched the back of his hand: “What was that about outside just now?”

“Did you like it?” he asked quietly in her ear, his warm breath making her itch. She leaned back, but he gently bit her earlobe, preventing her retreat. She could only vengefully pinch his waist. But his waist was slippery with a jade-like texture that couldn’t be pinched. She could only dejectedly poke his waist dimples, her finger being forcefully bounced away. The flexibility and strength of his young body made her heart flutter.

He tilted his head slightly, still waiting for an answer. Jing Hengbo vaguely saw his profile – his eyelashes wet with water, sparkling with fine crystalline light like diamonds. His nose line was straight while his lip line was soft, with clear and beautiful contours.

Her fingers traced over his body, sliding all the way up, following his profile to outline his contours while saying: “Don’t like it.”

He seemed somewhat surprised, turning to gaze at her.

“Don’t like anything illusory, don’t like empty promises, don’t like being given fantasies that can’t be realized, don’t like seeing the most beautiful things in the world only to ultimately not get them.” She said slowly: “Don’t like my most anticipated scene being realized not by a real person, but by an ice sculpture. That makes me feel cold, distant, heartless, and that it will quietly melt away before sunrise.”

He fell silent, their five fingers interlocked. She leaned on his shoulder, her voice seeming forced from her chest, muffled: “Gong Yin, tell me that all this beauty you carefully designed for me today will definitely be realized in the future.”

He gently stroked her smooth long hair, smoothing it strand by strand.

“My thinking differs from yours,” he said. “I only want to treat you as well as I possibly can, to do everything you would like in every moment I’m capable of doing so.”

He silently added a sentence – because he feared hesitation and delay might mean no opportunity next time.

Before the fake state preceptor and Ming Cheng made their move, he hadn’t even dared such expressions, feeling there was no hope. Why entangle her and not let go, truly making her spend a lifetime remembering him, passing her years in loneliness?

However, that day, going with the flow and tricking Ming Cheng into attacking him, the method Ming Cheng used finally gave him a glimmer of hope.

He had studied methods for removing the needle many times before, but unfortunately this secret technique of Snow Mountain was too mysterious, and no one had ever had a needle removed before, leaving him completely clueless. So when Ming Cheng was itching to act, he was happy to let it happen. Sure enough, Ming Cheng had connections with Snow Mountain people, and her attack provided him with a crucial clue.

That day in the secret chamber, naturally it was another fake state preceptor facing the fake state preceptor Ming Cheng, just as the person who met with Ming Cheng had said – if Ming Cheng and others could use Yi Country’s masks, why couldn’t Gong Yin?

Wearing that mask to his chest was his usual method.

Jing Ting had experienced countless assassinations over the years – how could they allow anyone to easily approach the center? The fake state preceptor’s previous free access was just Meng Hu arranging for people to put on a show for him, to relax his vigilance and make him underestimate Jing Ting.

That night, Meng Hu first gave the fake state preceptor an opportunity, drew out Ming Cheng, then feigned death under their combined attack. Afterward Gong Yin also feigned death. The palace guards that day withdrew when they should withdraw and appeared when they should appear – everything had been arranged seamlessly. Even when that mysterious person wanted to take away the corpse for examination, the body was burned.

How could the fake state preceptor know that the moment he walked out of Jing Ting, he walked into a trap? When he returned to Jing Ting in Meng Hu’s appearance, Yu Chun’s shoulder bump was actually the process of confirming his authenticity.

The fake Gong Yin was a death row prisoner from the jail, exchanging this destined death for care of his family. The needle in his lower abdomen was planted by Gong Yin through speculation, using methods similar to Snow Mountain’s.

The insect Ming Cheng used to remove the needle – though he had never seen it, he could confirm it was unique to Snow Mountain.

Perhaps it was time to make a trip to Snow Mountain…

Going to Snow Mountain had uncertain fortune, so he wanted to give her as much happiness as possible.

Perhaps women’s thinking was different – they needed more practical life.

“Actually, I did like it. You don’t know how I felt seeing that scene – like suddenly walking into a fairy tale, or being in a fairy tale myself. But precisely because it was too beautiful and I liked it too much, I suddenly became afraid,” Jing Hengbo said softly against his shoulder. “Afraid this scene was too beautiful to come true, afraid dreams would also melt into flowing water like that ice sculpture.”

“I believe where there’s heart, there’s hope. Heaven hears all wishes,” he said.

Perhaps he truly couldn’t perform actions like kneeling, but if she liked it, he was willing to let her see it.

She thought about it, smiled, and felt she had been too sentimental lately. That scene just now was so beautiful – he must have spent so much effort carving that ice sculpture like that. Why spoil his mood?

“By the way, I haven’t asked you yet – how did you know about this pose? I don’t remember telling you.”

“From a box that fell out of your trunk,” he said slowly. “It had such a scene on it. I didn’t look at what was inside the box, only remembered the box’s appearance.”

Jing Hengbo thought for a while before remembering that in her trunk, there really seemed to be such a small gift – something an online friend she’d chatted with for a while had sent her on Valentine’s Day. Inside the box seemed to be a pink ring-shaped aromatherapy candle. At the time she had laughed at the guy for being cheap – not sending roses and rings on Valentine’s Day but sending a candle – what was that about, blowing out lamps and pulling out wax? No wonder he’d be single forever.

She remembered the box did seem to have such a pattern printed on it, but the box was very small. When packing, she wanted to bring everything and stuffed things randomly into the trunk, not remembering what all was there. She vaguely remembered stuffing it in a corner and never taking it out again.

“Looking at that pattern, I somehow thought of proposing,” Gong Yin said indifferently. “Who gave you that gift?”

“Ah?” Jing Hengbo was still thinking about the box and casually said: “A friend.”

“Male?” His voice was very calm.

“Yes.”

“This isn’t something we could have here.” His voice was even calmer. “Where from? The place you used to stay? Your former… boyfriend?”

“The term boyfriend can’t be used casually,” she tapped his cheek with a smile. “Not all male friends can be called boyfriends.”

“Then was the person who gave you this thing one?” He had great perseverance in getting to the bottom of things.

“My, you seem to be interrogating me.” Jing Hengbo’s eyes rolled as she ruffled his hair. “May I ask, Master State Preceptor, in what capacity are you interrogating me?”

“In the capacity of the future we both anticipate.” Gong Yin’s answer was crafty.

“Don’t understand.” She played dumb, kicking the bathtub with her feet, splashing water noisily.

“Be quiet.” He pressed down her leg, but she moved excessively at this moment, leaning backward. He quickly pressed her knee, but the skirt was too slippery. His hand slid down along her slender smooth calves and grasped her delicate ankle. His fingers trembled slightly. Although he had touched her skin so many times before, each touch still made his heart tremble at such fragrant beauty, like silk and soft jade brushing against his body.

But she laughed melodiously, her laughter lively while her voice carried a slightly languid huskiness. Leaning back in the bathtub, breathing heavily: “Oh my, this is testing my back strength. Gong Yin, don’t pull me – see if I can get up by myself.”

Gong Yin smiled and gently flicked her sole. Jing Hengbo was ticklish and with an “Ouch!” really bounced up. At this moment Gong Yin came up to meet her, and the next moment her lips landed on his forehead.

His forehead was wet, reflecting moon-like gentle light. She reached out and hugged him tightly, her body sinking down to encircle his waist. This action was somewhat ambiguous, but if she stood at the bottom of the tub she couldn’t reach his face. She just wanted to kiss him properly. For so long, although they had been together on and off, there really weren’t many times when they could embrace with deep feelings in their true forms.

She also agreed with his words – to do what you want when you want to do it, fully enjoying the beauty that belongs to youth and love. After that moment passes, forget about whether you’ll have the opportunity again – first you won’t necessarily have the same wonderful mood.

First she kissed his forehead. Even such hot water couldn’t warm the skin of his face – it was cold jade, cold moon, bearing the vast expanse of this mortal world.

Then she kissed his eyelashes. His eyelashes weren’t very long, but they were thick and black, dense like fans. Her lips gently brushed past, feeling the trembling of his lashes. Those eyes had been deeply gazed at by her and had deeply gazed at her in return. Sometimes falling in love was such a simple thing – in one instant walking into each other’s gaze, imprinting their image on the iris, never to be erased again.

Then she kissed his nose – high, straight, like a towering snow mountain on the horizon. His nose tip was ice-cold, but his breath was scorching. Her lip line wandered along his nose bridge as their breaths merged together.

Finally his lips. He had taken the initiative so many times before – now it was her turn to invade his world. Sweetness and fragrance, exchange and invitation. His breath was always so cool, carrying the faint scent of snow lotus. She somewhat clumsily teased with her tongue tip, earning his gentle yet swift conquest in return.

At some point their bodies were pressed tightly together. This time she didn’t feel the coldness at her heart – his body had been warmed by the hot water, warmly enveloping her. Her breathing gradually quickened, her hands powerlessly sliding back and forth on his waist and back. A fire seemed to ignite within her body, transmitting from her lower abdomen to her fingertips. She couldn’t help touching and pinching him all over, yet felt all contact remained only on the surface while she wanted to reach his soul.

Outside, Feifei seemed to be playing with lanterns, hugging palace lamps while swinging. The light and shadows swayed back and forth, making the hall seem to have spotlights flashing on and off. Suddenly Feifei cried out, apparently losing her grip. A palace lamp flew directly over and got stuck on a roof beam.

Then they could see each other.

One tub of deep water, two wet people.

Jing Hengbo saw clearly with one glance – sure enough, Gong Yin was wearing a white lightweight silk shirt. Once wet with water, it was even more outrageous than the one she’d seen when she snuck into his bedchamber that time. Completely transparent, clinging tightly to his body. The collar had been opened during their entanglement, and masculine sensuality burst forth – a straight collarbone line glistening with water like two exquisite jade ruyi, with faintly visible refined muscles under the shirt, a tightly bound waistline, and two light cherry points…

Jing Hengbo suddenly felt her nose heating up. Before the nosebleed could spray out, she quickly covered her nose.

Across from her, Gong Yin also suddenly raised his hand and pressed his nose.

He felt like he was about to have a nosebleed too.

He knew Jing Hengbo would be very seductive dressed like this, but imagination couldn’t match her actual allure. The fire-red silk nightgown appeared an even more seductive rose-red color under the lights, echoing her lip color and making her skin appear even more fair and smooth, like the purest goat milk. The nightgown’s neckline was very low – low enough to see certain turbulence even without getting wet. A deep valley pressed together seemed to compress one’s heart. The smooth satin made her slender waist look like flowing water. The wet skirt below showed a deeper red color with a low, stunning beauty, like deep red wine in a crystal glass at midnight – needing no explanation, naturally representing temptation. The hem floated on the water surface like a delicate flower blooming. She herself was also a flower, or a crystal goblet filled with fine wine, beaded with crystalline water droplets from her stirring breath and misty heat.

Gong Yin covered his nose while thinking that Yu Chun really wasn’t stupid after all.

This garment looked truly beautiful on her.

Jing Hengbo’s breathing quickened slightly. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist, feeling his curves fit her arm span perfectly – just right for embracing.

Once she embraced him, she didn’t want to let go, rubbing against him. She truly loved his body – flexible and elastic, lean without being bony. His skin also seemed like ice and snow, gleaming with faint luminescence. The closer she got, the more she could sense a light fragrance. She sniffed around his skin like a puppy. The skin itself seemed to have no scent – that light fragrance actually seemed to generate from within his body.

This clean and cool man, after years of cultivating Prajna Snow, seemed to naturally generate the fragrance of prajna lotus flowers within.

She was busy sniffing, unaware that her warm breath and the occasional light contact of her lips presented quite a challenge to Gong Yin as well. He also began breathing slightly harder, suddenly embracing Jing Hengbo tightly. Jing Hengbo’s heart jumped, immediately sensing certain changes belonging to him. Her heart couldn’t help pounding. She felt… she wasn’t ready yet…

Her mind was in chaos, only feeling her heartbeat growing more intense, shaking her eardrums. She found it somewhat strange, then realized this heartbeat wasn’t her own at all – it was Gong Yin’s heartbeat, pounding urgently.

At this moment, the water temperature dropped rapidly. The originally very hot water was cooling at a speed the body could perceive.

Jing Hengbo felt this heartbeat and water temperature were both somewhat abnormal. Thinking of how today’s bath water was particularly hot, why would he soak in such hot water at this time?

She suddenly looked up, but Gong Yin turned his face away at this moment, saying: “The water’s cold. Don’t catch a chill. Put on clothes first.”

Speaking of clothes, Jing Hengbo suddenly remembered the dragon underwear that had been thrown aside earlier and hurriedly said: “I finished making your clothes!”

“Where?” Gong Yin’s eyes flashed, seemingly with pleasant surprise, then remembering she had only brought those two garments when she came in – he hadn’t seen any exquisite robes. Could it be…

He suddenly raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me that ball of stuff just now was the clothes you made me?”

“Yes!” Jing Hengbo said righteously. “The underwear I promised to make you – it’s finished!”

“I distinctly remember you promised me clothes.” Gong Yin raised his eyebrow.

“It was clearly underwear!” Jing Hengbo’s attitude was firm.

Gong Yin silently watched her for a while, then nodded. “Fine, undergarments. I should have realized earlier – with your cleverness, being able to sew something wearable is already good. I really shouldn’t demand too much more.”

“Who says! I spent half a month making these underwear, and even embroidered a dragon!” Jing Hengbo was very indignant, reaching out to summon the underwear Gong Yin had thrown to the corner of the hall earlier.

Gong Yin raised one eyebrow, tilting his head slightly. Though appearing nonchalant, he was actually somewhat expectant as he watched Jing Hengbo slowly unfold the dragon underwear.

Then his eyebrow kept rising higher and higher, looking like it might fly over his forehead and into the sky.

“Beautiful, right?” Jing Hengbo displayed the dragon underwear front and back, saying proudly: “I chose the most proper bright red damask, consulted many top tailors, and created a unique design…”

“May I ask, what design?” Gong Yin’s eyebrow hadn’t managed to fly back yet. He was carefully frowning as he studied these underwear that couldn’t even cut four corners evenly, trying to find the “uniqueness” in them.

“Asymmetrical design!” Jing Hengbo pointed to the four asymmetrical corners. “Breaking free from the monotonous rigid design of boxer briefs, choosing lively and individualistic asymmetrical cutting that can effectively hide thick leg flaws…”

“I don’t think my legs are thick.” Someone interjected somewhat ominously.

“Even better then! Look, this asymmetrical cutting has another benefit – it can create visual illusions, making originally insufficient buttocks appear fuller and sexier…”

“Are you implying my figure isn’t good?” The great god’s voice became even more ominous, and the water temperature was getting freezing.

“Not really, oh my, don’t interrupt! And this embroidery – this is the finishing touch.” Jing Hengbo pointed it out for him to see. “Look, does it look like it?”

“Like what?” Someone stared at that damned black mass in the vital location. Jing Hengbo thought she heard the sound of teeth grinding.

“What do you think it looks like?” She looked herself – though she knew it was a dragon, she really wasn’t confident whether Gong Yin could tell it was a dragon.

“From far away it looks like a sea cucumber, up close like an earthworm.” Gong Yin said through gritted teeth. “Jing Hengbo, what are you implying now?”

“This is clearly a dragon!” Jing Hengbo shouted in wounded tones, flipping the underwear over. “Look, there’s even a dragon tail on the back! I specially made a playful design, having the dragon swing its tail back to the buttocks position. Doesn’t it look unique…”

Gong Yin’s facial expression was quite unique too – anyway, Jing Hengbo had never seen it and couldn’t find adjectives to describe it.

Was it necessary to react like this? She felt wronged. Though her handiwork wasn’t great, this was her maiden work after all. She had put a lot of thought into the design too. If it wasn’t good enough now, it just meant she had great room for improvement. Didn’t Yong Xue say doing this well for a first time was quite good? Didn’t Er Gouzi even compose a poem for these underwear?

Picky guy!

Gong Yin looked at those great sea cucumber dragon tail chrysanthemum-protecting buttock-enhancing thin-leg multi-functional underwear, then at the expression on Jing Hengbo’s face. He seemed to grit his teeth, finally taking the underwear and saying: “Let me look more carefully. Actually, for your first time making this, it’s fairly…”

His hand suddenly paused. Turning the underwear inside out, the embroidered area was full of tangled thread ends.

He stared at Jing Hengbo. Jing Hengbo smiled somewhat sheepishly: “I don’t know how to finish thread ends, so I hid them all inside. That way… they can’t be seen from outside…”

They couldn’t be seen from outside, but would the inside have to keep tangling and rubbing?!

Gong Yin’s mood was becoming somewhat tragic and indignant – didn’t she know this kind of care would relate to her own lifelong happiness?!

The underwear in his hands was being slowly crumpled up somewhat uncontrollably. He suddenly looked up and saw the defeated expression on Jing Hengbo’s face. His hand loosened and he sighed: “Next time remember to remove the thread ends… Hmm? What’s this?”

He slowly pulled out his finger, drawing out a particularly messy thread end. At the end of the thread, something glinted. Looking carefully, a needle was hanging there.

Jing Hengbo: “…”

When she was holding those underwear earlier, how had she never noticed?

“I think,” Gong Yin held the sea cucumber underwear, gripping the thread end with the needle swaying at its tip, and said slowly: “When you made these undergarments, you must have been thinking about murdering your husband.”

“Is it that serious…” Jing Hengbo muttered, reaching for the dragon underwear. “Give it to me, I’ll redo it.”

Gong Yin moved away, quickly untangling the thread ends, pulling out the needle and putting it aside with his clothes. “If I let you redo it, will there be another needle? I’ll keep this. Just remember you still owe me a complete set of inner robe, outer robe, and trousers.”

“Don’t worry!” Jing Hengbo said with increasing determination after setbacks. “Next time I’ll definitely give you the most perfect version! But, um…” She said with a fawning expression: “Why don’t you try this one for size first? If it fits, I can make future ones according to this size.”

“Didn’t you get complete measurements from that Brocade-Clad person before?” Gong Yin didn’t fall for her trick, saying indifferently: “Just make them according to those. I’ll wait for you.”

“Stingy!” Jing Hengbo cursed secretly. Unable to withstand the increasingly cold bath water and reluctantly giving Gong Yin’s chest one last lingering stare, she slowly climbed out.

Gong Yin suddenly said behind her: “Since you gave me handmade undergarments, I have a return gift too.”

Jing Hengbo turned back, about to ask “What?” when suddenly Gong Yin leaped from the bathtub and pushed with his hand.

With a “crash,” the bathtub overturned and bath water poured out. He flicked his finger, and the bath water that had already lost its heat suddenly froze as it flowed across the ground.

A stream of ice, like a snow-white brocade carpet, whooshed open, spreading across the great hall toward the steps below.

Jing Hengbo tumbled from the bathtub, landing right on the ice stream. Just as she shivered from the cold, Gong Yin raised his finger and her cloak flew up to wrap around her.

Animal fur contained oils, so when the cloak contacted the ice surface, Jing Hengbo immediately slid along the ice stream toward the steps below.

There was no ice path below the steps – the bathtub’s water was limited. Just as Jing Hengbo was feeling confused, Gong Yin had somehow already wrapped himself in snow-white sable fur and swept out. His hands beckoned left and right with two bangs – the golden vats on both sides of the courtyard used for growing water lilies in summer overturned, water gushing everywhere.

At the moment water surged wildly, Gong Yin waved his sleeve. The spray condensed into misty snow fog. In the snow fog, two streams spread and gathered at the bottom of the steps, then were swept up into the sky by the fierce wind from under Gong Yin’s sleeves.

Looking up, Jing Hengbo saw the two streams connect with the ice flow at the bottom of the steps, also instantly becoming ice. The streams that had rushed into the air froze and solidified inch by inch in mid-air, forming an ice stairway flying straight into the clouds. At the top of the ice stairway, the water flow bloomed into a flower shape, also frozen and set at that moment. Under starlight and moonlight, that ice sculpture showed a faint blue color, translucent like a celestial stairway one could climb to pluck the moon.

Before she could marvel, Gong Yin suddenly pushed her again from behind.

Jing Hengbo immediately slid along the ice stairway formed by the golden vat water flows, sliding upward with Gong Yin’s pushing force. She felt the subtle creaking sounds from the suspended ice path beneath her, knowing this ice couldn’t bear her weight and was regretting the pity when she heard Gong Yin behind her say: “Draw breath and circulate qi – my heart is a bright moon!”

She instinctively obeyed. Qi flow surged within her body, true qi from deep in her dantian dispersed like faint moonlight, flowing through her entire body. Her skin simultaneously seemed to emit moonlight-like radiance.

With the heart method activated, her body became light as a feather. The ice cracking sounds beneath disappeared, and she smoothly slid all the way to the top.

Wind sounds cleansed her as she went straight up the ice. Above her head was blue sky – this felt like flying backwards into the firmament, where the next moment she could kick her feet and trample the sun, moon and stars. The midnight cool wind penetrated her chest, surrounded by crystalline translucence. The coolness belonging to ice became even more refreshing, as if to open her heart and embrace this universe and heaven and earth.

She couldn’t help laughing melodiously, spreading her arms toward the blue sky, giving it the most enthusiastic embrace.

He sends me to the blue sky, I embrace this celestial tenderness, waiting at the edge of blue space, hoping we’ll love each other for ten thousand years.

If looking down from the sky at this moment, one could see the ice pillar like a giant crystal flower spiraling toward heaven, with one person radiating faint light all over, like a fairy spinning upward, reaching out as if to pluck stars.

At this moment there were also people walking in the palace. Someone inadvertently looked up and saw this – under the vast sky, a giant crystal flower suddenly grew, with a woman dancing like a fairy on its calyx. All couldn’t help but stare in amazement.

In a palace chamber not far away, Yélu Qi had been slowly drinking tea when he suddenly looked up, just seeing the moment the ice flower condensed in the air.

Then he saw her.

Embracing the blue sky, smiling to her heart’s content at the edge of the world.

He had never sketched such happy brows and eyes.

His hand stopped beside the cup, his heart stopped in his chest, his gaze stopped on her face. The jade-green tea was clear and melodious, now faintly bitter and faintly fragrant.

In another palace chamber, Pei Shu walked past Meng Po Tian and suddenly opened the window, seeing the ice flower under the starry sky, and her on the ice flower.

He suddenly reached out as if to catch her, but only caught this midnight with its snow-flecked wind.

…

Jing Hengbo was now about to fall back down.

The ice flower pointed downward – she had slid up from below, and reaching the top she would immediately slide back down.

A figure drifted over like snow, one hand embracing her waist, lightly and skillfully turning to sit with her on top of the ice flower.

The ice pillar was thin and brittle, bearing the weight of two people. Both circulated their true qi, floating as they sat on this mid-air ice flower.

At this moment Jing Hengbo saw the towering palace city, the vermillion palace gates, the road networks like field paths, the entire capital of the Shang Kingdom.

Heaven and earth were all beneath their feet. Her heart also felt extraordinarily clear at this moment, no longer able to contain worldly troubles, only wishing for him – him who accompanied her at this moment watching stars, moon, and rivers.

Below the ice flower, at the end of the water path, was the ice sculpture he had carved with his own hands. She looked at that pose and smiled gently.

No need to be obsessed with whether this scene would come true – at least at this moment, he was real.

Gong Yin beside her reached out his hand, actually holding the bouquet of ice-frozen “roses” from before. Jing Hengbo received it with surprise and joy, feeling the great god was becoming more and more down-to-earth, even able to think of this.

Gong Yin opened her cloak and spread it over both of them, then opened his sable coat and draped it over her.

She extended her slightly cool feet into his embrace. He felt somewhat apologetic that his embrace wasn’t warm enough, so he rubbed his hands to warm them and gently covered her ankles.

She took the opportunity to embrace his neck, saying softly: “You’re becoming more and more romantic, more and more like a boyfriend. So good.”

“Mm.” He wasn’t modest. “After this, you won’t be so easily shallow-eyed anymore.”

“Mm?” Jing Hengbo heard but didn’t understand.

Gong Yin wouldn’t explain. He only needed to ensure the effect. They say women should be raised in luxury – once raised in luxury, they won’t be hooked away by others’ shabby clothes. He didn’t believe that in the future, any random cats and dogs could give her those unique dresses, precious jewelry, tonight’s lifelike ice sculptures, and this final experience of sliding up ice and sitting on an ice flower to watch the blue sky.

Every single thing he gave, he wanted her to never forget for life, never again looking favorably on others’ courtesies.

“Do you know,” Jing Hengbo burrowed into his embrace like a squirrel, her heart full of peace and joy, saying softly: “That box with the pattern you mentioned was a Valentine’s Day gift someone gave me before. Valentine’s Day is a festival from where I came from, a holiday belonging to lovers. On that day, many people propose… It’s a pity that in all those years, I never truly celebrated Valentine’s Day. In the future, will you spend Valentine’s Day with me every year? Oh my, Dahuang doesn’t have a solar calendar – what lunar month and day is it now? Maybe a recent day is actually Valentine’s Day…”

“It doesn’t matter which day is Valentine’s Day,” his cool voice now sounded full of tenderness. “When I’m with you, every day is Valentine’s Day.”

When I’m with you, every day is Valentine’s Day.

She silently repeated this phrase over and over, a shallow smile gradually appearing at the corners of her lips.

Yes, when truly in love, every day is the sweetest. Why be particular about which day?

…

In the palace chamber, Yélu Qi poured another cup of bitter tea.

In the palace chamber, Pei Shu stared in that direction for a long while, then suddenly slammed the window shut.

Under the blue sky, on the ice flower, Jing Hengbo nestled in Gong Yin’s embrace accidentally turned her gaze and suddenly noticed something unusual.