Sharing watermelons symbolizes the accumulation of love.

indeed?

Was it something he said casually, but it turned out to be true?

He was suspicious and looked at him carefully.

He had already put aside the bamboo scroll, bent down and wrapped his arms around her waist, his gaze shifting to the storybook pressed against her chest. "A fox spirit woman transformed into human form and had a night of passion with a human general?" After reading each word, he raised his eyes and met her clear gaze.

"Is the key point the 'one night of passion' part?" Any sentence, once it came out of his mouth, would become strange and bizarre.

Banban felt inexplicably embarrassed by his tone and quickly flipped through the pages to cover the contents at the front.

"In your opinion, what is the key point?"

She ignored him and started talking about other interesting stories. "When it comes to fox spirits, the most famous one is naturally Daji. Legend has it that the downfall of the Shang Dynasty was due to King Zhou's excessive favoritism towards her, which led to the fox spirit wreaking havoc on the court and unjustly killing loyal ministers. The Zhou royal family overthrew King Zhou's rule and established the Zhou Dynasty, and only then did the people have a good life."

Ying Zheng scoffed, "History is written by the victors. That period of history, wouldn't it be something they can distort however they want?" He didn't stop there; he tightened his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace. "I've never heard of such a story before. Is it just from a folk tale?"

Banban suddenly realized that what she knew seemed to be mythological stories, not real history books. It wouldn't be wrong to think of them as folk tales, but at this time these mythological stories probably hadn't appeared yet.

"What were the real reasons for the downfall of the Shang Dynasty?" she couldn't help but wonder.

Ying Zheng paused slightly before saying, "There was internal division and external losses. He attempted to ease relations with the Zhou people through marriage, but failed. Many of his measures seemed like achievements in the short term, but in reality, they accelerated the collapse of the dynasty. He also overused military force at a critical moment, so it was bound to collapse."

Banban whispered to him, "Did King Zhou really have a concubine named Su Daji?"

Ying Zheng sighed, pinched the soft flesh around her waist, making her ticklish and snuggle into his arms. She seemed to have discovered something very new and interesting, "You didn't know either?"

To prevent her from getting cocky later, he still spoke up: "King Zhou frequently waged wars. There was a tribe called Su who offered a woman in exchange for peace. There is not much record of her in the history books. She was just a tribute. Whether she received King Zhou's long-term favor is unknown."

"The Book of Documents mentions that King Zhou listened to the words of his wife, but it did not specify who this woman was. Later, Xunzi clarified that the woman was Su Daji. However, there was an eight-hundred-year gap between Xunzi and Su Daji. He also knew about her from the history and oral legends that had been passed down, so it cannot be considered true."

The historical records that are vaguely known, such as the Records of the Grand Historian, or other historical books, are historical facts gleaned from the former.

They were all recorders, not witnesses.

Having figured this out, Banban felt somewhat discouraged. "Sigh, I should have known that most of the stories people pass down are false. If that's the case, the root cause of the dynasty's downfall lies with King Zhou himself, but in later generations it was attributed to Daji. She probably never enjoyed any happiness at all, how pitiful."

"Should have known? What other story is there?" Ying Zheng's words carried a hint of knowing smile.

She hesitated, then poked his chest lightly with her finger, thinking to herself, "Didn't you say you didn't like to hear this? Every time I tried to say something, he always had this stubborn attitude of 'I will conquer nature,' and he wouldn't listen to my so-called 'prophecy.'"

"I don't know." She deliberately turned her head away, refusing to speak.

Her hand was still held in his palm, and the warm touch followed, landing on her fingertips and then spreading to the sides of her fingers.

She turned her head, and the sensation was indeed his lips.

As he kissed her, his face lingered on the inside of her wrist. He closed his eyes slightly, his long, thick eyelashes casting a shadow over her face, and his soft touch caressed her wrist.

Banban rested her cheek on her hand, a sweet smile spreading across her face. "Why does my cousin like to kiss my wrist so much?" She wanted to imitate him, so she also pulled his wrist close to her and examined it carefully.

I haven't noticed anything else yet, but I'm captivated by his well-defined fingers. I clumsily lower my head and kiss his fingers, then peck at his wrist as well.

Her relative is always quick to speak; even before their face is far away, their lips are already pouting.

The same gesture was used when I kissed his wrist.

He chuckled, lifted her drooping head, and leaned closer.

Their lips met, and she slowly lay down, her hands tracing up his chest and neck, before hanging around his neck.

After kissing for a while, she became a little breathless and pushed him playfully, saying, "You haven't answered me yet."

He leaned down and kissed the crook of her neck, his lips and tongue sensing the pulsating veins and pulse in her. His half-closed eyelids held a deep fascination and infatuation that no one else could see. "...It beats."

This proves that she is alive and well, living every minute of every day by his side, like a gear firmly embedded in his life, and cannot and will not be removed by anyone.

"What?" Banban didn't understand what he was saying, and kept acting coquettishly, "I haven't taken a bath yet, don't kiss me like that, you'll eat all the dirty stuff in my mouth."

He kissed her tenderly for a few moments, "How can something so sweet and dirty be?"

Then, he picked her up in his arms and said, "I will serve the Queen."

She gasped and hurriedly wrapped her arms around his neck, accusing him of having ill intentions, yet she was also genuinely delighted. Her giggles carried far, and from behind, one could see her frolicking legs dangling in the crook of his arm.

The two had a good tussle in the bath, then returned to the bed for another tender and intimate encounter.

In her daze, she turned her head and was kissed. As she came into view, her wrist, which was resting against her ear, gradually became clear. She had just kissed his other hand, which was adorned with a black bracelet.

The taut bones of his hands complemented each other perfectly, adding a touch of asceticism to his appearance. The blue veins that stretched from the back of his hands to his forearms made her mouth go dry.

She also had this bracelet; she had someone insert a pill into the bell and wore it on her ankle. It still jingled with every movement, but the sound had become more muffled, like love that had settled and matured over the years.

Just like when they were young they only knew how to take, now their love is filled with much more consideration.

Married for many years, they never tire of each other's bodies, and their obsession only grows stronger.

Her body was in its prime, no longer the immaturity of a young girl, and was better able to meet his demands.

Lately, she has almost stopped needing to massage him to relieve his discomfort, as she is now fully immersed in the massage.

A light drizzle began to fall outside the window.

The peach blossoms, soaked in the rain, receive the baptism of the rain, and the edges of the petals ooze a transparent color. If you squeeze them slightly, they will exude fresh juice.

After being battered by the rain, the beautiful peach blossoms trembled and stretched out their branches and leaves, appearing particularly disheveled. The more intense the rain, the more rapid the sounds they made.

The soft stamens are pierced by raindrops, which lock them inside, absorbing and transforming them into their own nourishment.

In her final moments, Banban drifted off to sleep, only remembering that her cousin's face was resting on her shoulder. She was exhausted and vaguely sensed him kissing her forehead.

After a rain, the watermelons were fully ripe.

When Ying Zheng returned from Chengzhang Palace, his wife was with their two children, tapping watermelons and betting on which one was the sweetest and tastiest.

My daughter has trouble speaking, only managing to utter a few words at a time. She poked a bright green melon with her little hand and said, "This one."

The son pointed to another melon with a slightly green rind, "Xingshu, that one looks like it could grow a bit bigger. This one is so tight, it'll probably crack if you tap it lightly. This one is definitely delicious. Listen to your brother."

The wife smiled sweetly and adorably, as if she were their older sister rather than their mother, saying, "Then you should eat what you choose yourself, okay? If you're wrong, you can't go back on your word, and you can't ask others for anything."

She was holding the one she had chosen herself.

"Father?" Little Star Pivot asked.

"Father loves to eat what Mother leaves behind," Ying Zhao coaxed her. "Come on, let's go cut a watermelon!"

The two, one big and one small, held hands and returned to the palace. Xing Shu couldn't carry the watermelons, so Ying Zhao carried two in each hand.

I scoffed to myself, thinking to myself, "You guys are still young, what do you know about picking watermelons!"

Just as she was thinking this, she turned her head and saw her cousin standing at the palace gate. He was leaning against the dark gold door, looking at her with great interest.

"I chose the biggest and best one—"

Before he could finish speaking, Banban covered Ying Zheng's mouth tightly. "Shh—" she warned him anxiously, "I'm doing this all for my cousin."

"Is that so?" Ying Zheng glanced at the watermelon she was holding in her arms. "Are you really not being possessive of your food, afraid that others will share it with you?"

Banban felt she was right; it was reasonable for the babies to eat the older ones and for the mother to eat the even bigger ones!

"How could you say that to me, cousin? I've been taking good care of your watermelon. I even put a cover on it a few days ago, look."

As she spoke, she pulled him into the melon vines, parted the broad leaves with her delicate hand, and revealed a watermelon the size of her palm. "Even though you're very busy every day, I still remembered to pick one for you, otherwise you'd be out of place."

Ying Zheng was moved for less than a second. Weren't there only four watermelons on this vine?

Do we even need to choose?

After the mother and her two children had chosen, there was one left over for him.

He feigned kindness and gentleness, saying, "No need. Zhao'er is right. I'll just eat what my cousin leaves behind."

Banban: "..."

After having dinner that night, the family of four couldn't wait for the eunuch to cut the watermelon open one by one.

The first thing to be cut was the bright green watermelon that Xing Shu had chosen. With a crisp sound, the pinkish-white flesh of the watermelon was revealed.

Everyone: "Ah..."

Xing Shu, with his short and stocky build, leaned over the table, his eyes fixed on the table.

Banban sat across the table; from this angle, she could only see her daughter's head and a pair of expectant eyes.

After seeing the inside of the melon clearly, she was dejected and turned to stare at Ying Zhao.

When Ying Zhao cut open the melon, it was fresh and juicy, crisp and tender, and a sweet aroma immediately filled the air. He was overjoyed.

Xing Shu nudged him and pointed towards his father and mother.

Ying Zhao turned his head to look, and when he turned back, half of the melon was gone.

He: "?? Nexus!"

Banban tried her best to suppress her laughter, and secretly exchanged a glance with Ying Zheng. The two silently cut their melons, and she lowered her voice, "Cousin, I won't let you eat the leftovers. Let's both eat the fresh ones."

I scooped out the sweetest part of the melon core with a spoon, glanced at him, and promptly put it in my mouth. Then I scooped out another piece and fed it to him.

We can't give up the first bite; that's the bottom line.

Just like when she was a child, she would give him snacks, but she would also like to take a bite herself first.

When Ying Zheng took a break from his studies, he noticed that each of the pastries on the plate had a crescent-shaped notch.

He said she was greedy, but she wouldn't admit it, insisting that it was bitten by a mouse.

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Author's note: There will be an extra chapter at 11 PM!