Bai Lingxi looked at the Chinese medicine placed on the table; it looked limp and listless, and her little face became wrinkled.
Anyone who didn't know better would think she had drunk some kind of poison. Zhou Jin felt a pang of heartache seeing this: "How about—"
"Hmm?" Bai Lingxi looked at the other person with expectant eyes when she heard the voice, hoping that he would say it was okay and that he would not force her to drink the medicine.
Zhou Jin was speechless. He had no experience in coaxing people, and now this little girl had caught him off guard. But fortunately, he was used to being an emperor and knew how to reward.
So Zhou Jin personally promised: "If you obediently drink the medicine and your cold gets better, I will take you down the mountain for a stroll and give you some money so you can have a good time."
Bai Lingxi's eyes lit up with excitement. Go down the mountain? She knew from storybooks that there were many bustling markets in the countryside, full of all sorts of strange and wonderful things.
Seeing Bai Lingxi frown and finish the medicine in the bowl in one gulp, Zhou Jin quickly handed her the candied fruit in his hand. The practiced action showed that she had done this many times before.
"Let's see if you dare to get sick again, especially in winter when the wind is very cold. If you're not careful, you'll—" Zhou Jin was interrupted by Bai Lingxi, who had just recovered from her shock, before she could finish speaking.
"Ugh, so long-winded!" Bai Lingxi didn't like hearing these words anymore, because someone else had said the same thing to her. Thinking of Zhou Changling and An'er who was still in the palace, Bai Lingxi's eyes dimmed.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Jin was always paying attention to Bai Lingxi, so she naturally noticed her low spirits and assumed that she was upset because of what she had said.
"Um, could you take me home? I miss An'er." Bai Lingxi didn't dare say that she also missed her husband, afraid of upsetting him. At the same time, she felt a little guilty, though she didn't know why she felt guilty.
Bai Lingxi always felt that Zhou Jin could see through her, so she didn't dare to look him in the eye and her gaze wandered.
Zhou Jinxin's heart sank lower and lower, and her gaze toward Bai Lingxi unconsciously became scrutinizing, her entire demeanor changing.
"Tell me, what were you thinking just now?" Zhou Jin's question was like the calm before a storm. Although he was trying to restrain himself, the emperor's pressure still made Bai Lingxi feel a little scared.
"It's nothing." People who lack a sense of security don't talk. Bai Lingxi only replied with one sentence and then stopped talking, trying to hug herself tighter and curl up as small as possible.
Seeing this, Zhou Jin clenched his hands at his sides. He tried to control his violent heart and kept questioning himself: why, why is Xi'er still unwilling to open her heart to him after so long?
They were clearly husband and wife, and Bai Lingxi was his concubine, who should belong to him for life. So why? Why did Xi'er have to think about that rebellious son?
"Xi'er, forget them. You are only allowed to look at me and fall in love with me."
Zhou Jin's voice was deep and resonant, each word powerful and clear, as if he were speaking to himself. This had become a kind of spell, or rather, an obsession belonging to Zhou Jin.
After saying that, he got up and left. He knew that there were countless chasms between them, and they could never go back.
Having gone through such an ordeal, Bai Lingxi had no interest in appreciating the snow. Having just taken her medicine, she was also feeling down and went to bed early.
She thought she would fall asleep quickly, but she felt empty inside, and her eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.
Tears streamed down her face in large drops. Bai Lingxi felt more and more aggrieved as she thought about it, and she burst into tears. In the quiet night, her cries were heartbreaking.
"Don't cry, be good." The man finally couldn't help but speak up. He stood outside the window and didn't go into the house. However, martial arts practitioners have excellent hearing, and he heard a sobbing sound as soon as he got close.
"!"
The crying stopped. It was obvious that the person inside was frightened; they had been sobbing and screaming just moments before, but now there was no sound at all.
"Sigh!" A man sighed from outside the door, followed by a "creak" as the door was pushed open from the outside.
Zhou Jin walked with leisurely steps, unhurried and light, yet it seemed as if she stepped into Bai Lingxi's heart...
Moonlight spilled onto the windowpane, casting a cool, white glow. At that moment, Zhou Jin felt that the moon was exceptionally beautiful, just like his and Xi'er's hearts, forever as pure and bright as the moon.
"Stop crying?" Zhou Jin sat down by Bai Lingxi's bedside, as if they had rehearsed it hundreds of times, as if they had done it a million times.
However, Bai Lingxi wished she could hide herself away, feeling ashamed if someone saw her crying.
She wrapped herself tightly in her little blanket, covering even her head, like she was making a dumpling; she was incredibly cute.
For some reason, Zhou Jin thought of the round, white-bellied dumplings and felt that the description was particularly apt, so she burst out laughing.
A clear laugh filled the room, reaching Bai Lingxi's ears through the cracks, making her feel even more embarrassed.
"Get out—" came from the stuffy blanket. Bai Lingxi was furious and embarrassed. She didn't want to see Zhou Jin at all and even hid in the corner of the bed.
"Xi'er started crying as soon as I left. If I leave again, won't she cry even harder?"
Zhou Jin's voice was gentle and indulgent, as if he were coaxing a child, comforting the woman who always angered him.
Realizing that Bai Lingxi was crying because of him, his heart felt like it was soaking in water, both sour and swollen, while at the same time, a secret sweetness welled up inside.
"No way!" Bai Lingxi's muffled voice came from under the covers, clearly tinged with sullenness.
"Alright, why are you crying, Xi'er? Did my angry expression scare you?"
Zhou Jin was afraid that Bai Lingxi would suffocate if she kept brooding, so he reached out and scooped Bai Lingxi up from the bed, blanket and all.
Looking at Bai Lingxi, who was wrapped up like a silkworm, Zhou Jin was about to laugh.
However, when he dug Bai Lingxi's little head out from under the covers and saw her eyes, which were swollen from crying, all he felt was heartache.
"Don't cry, it hurts my heart to see you cry." Zhou Jin gently wiped away her tears, but Bai Lingxi's tears fell like pearls from a broken string, one after another, no matter how much Zhou Jin wiped them away.
Seeing the tears flowing more and more as Zhou Jin wiped them away, he impulsively kissed Bai Lingxi's eyes.
The moment Zhou Jin's passionate kiss landed on Bai Lingxi's eyes, the whole world seemed to freeze, and the two of them stood there, stunned.
Bai Lingxi's eyes widened in shock. She stopped crying, because shock outweighed sadness; all that remained was panic: "You! How could you! I..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com