After Ji Feng Li left, Hua Zhu Yu laid in bed for a long time but sleep never came. Traces of his light scent remained on the blanket, pestering her nose.

She got up and decided to change the bedding. But suddenly she could hear the sound of the flute, melodious and sentimental, coming from outside.

Ji Feng Li hadn't left!

On such a cold, rainy night, he was playing the flute outside her door.

Hua Zhu Yu ignored the bedding and headed for the door. But just as she was about to open it, she suddenly stopped. It was best not to act on impulse she thought as she turned around and went back to bed, pulling the blanket up to cover her head.

However, she could still hear the flute and its mystical resonance, stirring her heart.

She could still remember that day when Ji Feng Li had played this song for the very first time in the Kang Residence.

That night, the skies were dark as ink. Beneath the beautiful lanterns, near the lakeside, the sound of the flute and him intertwined as one.

He stood there calmly, playing in front of the begonia flowers. The rising melody was soft and ethereal like a pa.s.sing breeze, at times clear, at times lingering, like a dream in the night.

She never thought that the person she hated would one day become the person she loved.

Her heart rose and fell with the cadence of the melody outside.

Unknowingly, the sound of the flute suddenly came to a stop. In the still night, only the pitter-pattering of the rain remained.

Hua Zhu Yu got up and went to the door.

As she opened it, the sound of the rain got louder and the cold chill came pouring in. The candle inside the room served as the only source of light to illuminate the darkness of night.

She peered outside and spotted him leaning against a tree trunk. He was curled up and slightly shaking. The umbrella she had handed him was blown by the wind, rolling on the ground beside him.

She quickly picked up her skirt and rushed to his side.

translations at peachblossomgrove . com

“Ji Feng Li, what’s the matter with you?” She asked as she bent down to wipe the cold rain off his face with her sleeve.

“Bao'er, I’m so cold!” Ji Feng Li said as he held his shoulders, s.h.i.+vering.

Seeing him like this, Hua Zhu Yu's heart ached. She helped him up and supported him, leading him back inside. After putting him on the bed, she turned back to close the door to the dreary scene outside.

In the house, Hua Zhu Yu lit up a few more candles. With a clearer view of his face, she noticed his pale complexion, even his lips had turned dark purple.

"It's the middle of the night, why didn't you go back? Why are you outside in the rain?" She asked as she held his hands which were trembling and cold to the touch.

However, Hua Zhu Yu felt that something was off. He had been standing in the rain for only a brief moment, how could he be rendered to such a state? She felt his forehead and it wasn't burning either. But his whole body was s.h.i.+vering as if he was in great distress.

“Did your illness relapse?” she asked. When she first entered the palace, Ji Feng Li's eight meridians were damaged and he had fallen into a coma. At that time his body was also s.h.i.+vering in pain just like now. When he was ill last time, it was her that had taken care of him. Seeing him like this, she let down her defences and went to get a towel to dry his hair. Then she took off his wet outer robes and left it on the ground.

Ji Feng Li seemed to be out of it. His eyes were shut and he was still s.h.i.+vering from head to toe. She went to her dresser and took out a set of male robes which she had bought when she went out of the palace last time. She glanced back at him lying on the bed and wondered for a moment what she should do.

"Cold… so cold…" Ji Feng Li mumbled as his brows tightly knitted together.

Hua Zhu Yu closed her eyes and decided to employ her internal force to pull his inner robes apart. The robes tore and scattered around him while she quickly draped the new robes over him. But in that moment, his hands reached out and pulled her close to him in a tight embrace.

“Feng Li! Feng Li, what's wrong? Are you alright?” Hua Zhu Yu worriedly asked but he refused to let her go. It was like he was holding desperately to a brazier.

His icy lips suddenly pressed down on hers as if in search of warmth. She could feel the coldness of his lips but there was seemingly a fervent fire deep within.

She gave him a push and his arms loosened around her as he fell to the bed, s.h.i.+vering desperately. Concerned, she reached out to hold him and through the layer of clothes she could feel his cold body.

Her heart grew worried and she got up, wanting to go call the Imperial Physician. But in that moment, Ji Feng Li called out, "Wine…. Wine…."

She suddenly recalled that last time the Imperial Physician had let him drink some wine to warm up his body. She went to get a jug of wine and poured it into the bowl. Then, supporting his chin, she poured the wine into his mouth. But Ji Feng Li began coughing and the wine sputtered all on the ground.

Looking at the state he was in, Hua Zhu Yu decided to take a mouthful of wine and leaned over to press her lips against his. Last time in Xuan Zhou she fed him medicine, this time it was wine.

It’s just that this time, Ji Feng Li was not as obedient as before, kissing her back at every chance. In the end, she was uncertain whether he had consumed the wine or her. In short, she grew slightly intoxicated.

“Are you still cold?” She placed the wine down and went over to the bed. She tried to warm him up as she held him in her arms.

But suddenly, Ji Feng Li twisted his body and she was instantly pressed beneath him. His breath quickened as he narrowed his eyes to look down at Hua Zhu Yu. A mix of conflicting emotions flashed within his eyes, like an animal trapped in a cage, crying out in agony.

"Bao'er, will you marry me?" he whispered.

"Yes," she replied without hesitation. It wasn't the wine talking but that she truly was willing to marry him.

“Bao'er, you really mean it?" He asked in surprise. "You're not allowed to change your mind. I will take your word for it!” As soon as the words fell from his lips, he leaned down and seized her lips in a pa.s.sionate kiss, deepening by the second, engulfing her whole…..

The soft fragrance of flowers and wine intermingled within the room as the mood s.h.i.+fted unexpectedly.

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Sooo you probably know where this is heading so if you don’t feel comfortable about it or if you just don’t like HZY with JFL you can skip the next chapter. One of the reasons why it took me so long to update was because of this next chapter. HZY is like that friend you really care about but who makes horrible relations.h.i.+p choices. I was just annoyed at times translating the next chapter so it took so long. HZY and JFL really needs to work on their communication skills to clear up these misunderstandings. I feel like HZY doesn’t want to talk about “that night” with him because it was obviously a horrible experience for her and he doesn’t want to talk about the child because he’s afraid of losing her in the process so he’s just keeping quiet. But these misunderstandings need to be cleared up before any snu snu should happen, just in my opinion but of course the author loves to drag out these misunderstandings.