Chapter 24 After a bath, let my husband hug me.
Bai Lian's gaze lingered silently on Jia Luolin's eyebrows, eyes, nose, and lips, as if trying to peer through the handsome face before her to find that blurry yet persistent shadow deep in her memory.
She was mesmerized. The man before her was both her husband, with whom she spent every day, and an old friend, shrouded in mist, with whom she shared an unresolved connection...
Am I that good-looking?
Galorin's laughing voice suddenly startled her awake. She then realized that his hand had been waving in front of her eyes several times.
"Your...Your Highness, what is it?" she asked hurriedly, lowering her eyes and speaking in a low voice. Perhaps because her thoughts had been seen through, she appeared unusually reserved.
Galorin stood there with his arms crossed, silently scrutinizing her for a moment. Then he leaned closer and examined her carefully from head to toe, muttering to himself, "That's right... no one else can fake this look."
Bai Lian sighed inwardly. Indeed, she rarely addressed him with such a formal title as "Your Highness," and now it seemed distant and deliberate. Just as she was about to say something to make amends, she was suddenly swept up in Jia Luolin's arms!
In a dizzying moment, I heard his smiling voice brush past my ear: "You've probably caught a cold. Let me take you to warm you up."
Bai Lian subconsciously clenched the fabric of his shirt, her mind blank.
Although she was already a wife, after regaining her memories, she found it difficult to fully adapt to such intimacy.
With each step he took, her cheeks burned hotter. Not wanting the palace servants to see her embarrassment, she could only keep shrinking into his arms.
Just when she had nowhere left to shrink, she heard a deep laugh coming from his chest.
Without her noticing, even the corners of her own lips subtly curved into a smile that she herself didn't realize.
When Jialuolin stopped, Bailian looked up and was stunned—before her was a room filled with warm mist, the air filled with a faint floral fragrance, and warm water gently rippled in the white marble bath, with petals floating on the surface. The palace maids on both sides stood quietly with their heads bowed and smiles, as if they had been waiting for a long time.
He... actually brought her to the bathhouse.
"Let's take a bath together," he said casually, as if he were just saying how nice the weather was.
"…………"
Before she could react, Jialuolin placed her directly on a jade stool to the side, gently pressed her shoulder with one hand, and casually waved her other hand, causing the palace maids to retreat silently.
Seeing this, Bai Lian truly began to tense up. What exactly did he mean by "together"?
"I'll help you." He spoke as if giving a command, and before the words were even finished, he had already started.
Bai Lian hurriedly clutched her collar, but he had already grasped her ankles, gently yet firmly removing her shoes and socks. Soon, a pair of jade-like feet were exposed, their brilliance contrasting against the white marble stool beneath them. He cupped her feet in his palms and bent down to examine them closely.
Bai Lian stared blankly at his lowered eyelashes, straight nose, and thin lips that opened and closed, and heard him whisper, "Beautiful."
Then, he lifted her feet as if handling a fragile treasure.
The warm, soft touch suddenly landed on the instep, like a warm current instantly spreading throughout her body, blushing her cheeks and ear tips.
She was so nervous that she couldn't move for a moment, but Galo Lin took the opportunity to pull her in front of him and prepare to undress her.
"I...I can do it myself," she whispered.
“Then take it off.” He readily agreed.
“You… turn around.”
"..."
"I'll just close my eyes."
"Stand over there in the corner, turn your back! I'll turn back after I enter the water."
"You are my wife who has caught a cold and needs my good care."
"I haven't caught a cold!"
In the end, Galorin readily turned away. Bailian then quickly removed her outer and inner garments, wrapped herself in a towel, and hastily slipped into the pool to conceal herself.
The warm water, carrying the fragrance of flowers, embraced her instantly. She couldn't help but sigh softly in comfort, deciding to make the most of this moment of tranquility. Leaning against the pool wall, she closed her eyes slightly and, just as she relaxed, heard the sound of someone entering the water not far away.
In the misty haze, the tall and strong figure of a man gradually became clear, slowly approaching her.
His soaked black hair clung to his shoulders, water droplets rolling down his taut muscles. He casually brushed the wet hair from his forehead, looked up at her, a lazy smile playing on his lips, his posture like that of a water deity.
A familiar, warm scent drew closer, catching her off guard.
"Have you seen enough now?" He looked at her with a smile, his eyes showing a focus and tenderness she rarely saw.
As Bai Lian gazed at him, she couldn't help but smile. A voice inside her said: no matter what happened in the past, at this moment, she only wanted to live like this with him forever.
Perhaps, this is happiness.
As Galorin approached, he naturally enclosed her in a secluded corner by the pool. His handsome face slowly magnified before her eyes…
Just as their noses were about to touch, Bai Lian subconsciously turned her face away, her cheeks flushed.
"I...I'll help you scrub your back?" she hurriedly tried to make up an excuse, attempting to hide her embarrassment.
Galorin readily turned around, revealing his broad back to her.
However, the next moment, Bai Lian's breath hitched—near his back, there were five very faint red marks. They were almost blending into his skin, yet because of their special location, they resembled some kind of ancient mark, silently etched on his flesh.
Her heart clenched suddenly, a sharp, inexplicable pain shooting through her. She didn't know where the mark came from, but she could almost see blood gushing out... An indescribable heartache gripped her instantly.
"Does it still hurt?" Her hand had involuntarily moved to his back, her fingertips trembling almost imperceptibly as she gently traced each blemish.
She didn't know why she was so sad; she only felt that the mark was tugging at the deepest corner of her heart, making her feel extremely bitter.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Galorin turned around with a smile, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "This is a mark I was born with. Luckily, it's light in color. Does it look scary?"
Seeing that she was still staring at him blankly, her eyes filled with a worry he couldn't understand, his heart softened, and his tone became even gentler: "Did I scare you?"
She seemed to be worried about him—this realization inexplicably brightened his mood.
"Come here, let your husband hug you." He opened his arms, his voice warm as lukewarm water.
“Lin…” she suddenly whispered, a name buried deep in her heart slipping out.
"Hmm?" he responded, without giving it much thought.
"sorry……"
Why should I say sorry?
"It's nothing." She shook her head gently, finally turning her unfinished words into a sigh, and nestled into his warm embrace.
-
In the warm, misty hot spring, Bai Lian leaned against Jia Luolin's chest, her ears filled with his steady, powerful heartbeat. Each beat seemed to strike the deepest echo chamber of her memory, creating hazy yet surging ripples.
She closed her eyes, trying to capture those fleeting fragments in the chaotic sea of her consciousness.
The icy deep sea, the endless fall, and... a face in my memory that is extremely similar to the person in front of me, yet with a completely different expression.
In truth, Bai Lian didn't know where this feeling originated. Was it the attraction she felt upon first seeing him, or a connection that had existed between their souls for a long time, only to be separated in the mortal world? Or was it an almost instinctive, intense urge to make amends...?
Why is it that I feel such a heart-wrenching familiarity with him? It seems to have already transcended the feelings between ordinary husband and wife.
Bai Lian only knows that now, he is her husband, and he will also be the answer she has been searching for in her reincarnations.
-
After carrying the soundly sleeping Bai Lian to the bed, Jia Luolin lingered for a moment. He tucked her in, brushed the hair from her face, gently kissed her, and then silently returned to his study.
The candlelight flickered in the study, casting Galo Lin's long shadow on the wall, like a lurking beast.
He had just seen off yet another "guest" who had arrived late at night, and the unique sealing wax mark from the secret letter still lingered on his fingertips.
The night outside the window was dark, just like the unfathomable depths of his heart.
During the day, he was a gentle and refined crown prince who devoted himself to assisting his father, and his words and actions were impeccable.
Only in the dead of night, when no one can see him, will that perfect, gentle mask quietly peel away, revealing his cold essence.
He unfolded a detailed map of the territory, his gaze sweeping across the mountains, rivers, and border towns like a hawk's, each mark clearly imprinted in his mind.
His father, the emperor who sat high on the dragon throne, had become increasingly obsessed with the art of checks and balances in recent years, and his control over the court was showing signs of fatigue. The turmoil in the northern frontier, the corruption in the court, and even the unsavory and immoral affairs in the harem... weren't all of these caused by his father's indulgence or negligence?
Resentment, like an underground river, had flowed silently in his heart for more than ten years.
He resented his father's indifference to his mother's early death, and even more so, he resented that his father, while firmly holding supreme power, had lost the sharpness and clarity to govern this country.
What this world needs is a great ruler who can cleanse the deep-seated problems and expand the territory!
"Your Highness." A trusted guard appeared silently, presenting a list. "The transfers you previously ordered have been carried out as planned, and they are all reliable people."
Galo Lin took the document, his gaze quickly sweeping over the names. He lightly tapped one of his fingers and said, "Keep this person under control. His rapid promotion will easily arouse the Emperor's suspicion. Right now, stability is paramount."
"yes."
"Those old ministers you asked me to keep a close eye on have been moving around frequently these past few days, as if they are secretly conspiring..." the guard added in a low voice.
“They’re just clowns, no need to pay them any mind,” Galorin said indifferently. “We already have their weaknesses in our hands, don’t we? We’ll shut them up when necessary. For now, let them jump around for a few more days, it’ll just draw some attention to us.”
He strolled to the window, put his hands behind his back, and looked out at the silent palace in the distance. It was his father's residence, and also the place where he had been taught to be loyal and reverent since childhood.
But now, those magnificent palaces are nothing more than a beautiful chessboard in his eyes.
All the preparations had already been quietly initiated... He was like the most patient hunter, laying a net that stretched to the heavens and earth, waiting only for the best opportunity to snatch the king.
What he has always wanted is the supreme throne, to control the world and completely reshape this chaotic court and this vast land according to his will.
Only in this way can he truly protect the people he wants to protect.
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