"Are you sure?" He Yu asked.
Lingxi nodded.
He smiled in thought and decided to test the waters first.
"Okay, let me test you, then. I want..." he leaned closer to her, ".....a kiss"
Lingxi sat still for a minute. He Yu watched her expression for a moment. She did not look like she was going to agree.
"Lingxi....." he called as she had not moved for some time.
Thinking she was hesitant about kissing him, he immediately spoke, "I didn't mean that. I was just teasing you", he said but Lingxi pulled him closer and kissed him.
The first time he kissed her without warning, she was startled. Now it was his turn. He didn't believe she actually kissed him.
He touched his lips and looked at her. Was he dreaming? He could not still believe it.
Lingxi smiled at him, "Satisfied?"
He smiled back and answered, "I'm not"
He shifted closer and kissed her again. This time it was a long kiss and they were both getting lost in it.
He Yu's hand moved to Lingxi's shoulder and made to open Lingxi's collar. Lingxi immediately held his hand.
The kiss stopped as He Yu looked at her hand which was holding his.
His innocent looking expression questioned Lingxi's action.
"Don't push your luck", Lingxi said lightly dropping his hand from her shoulder and arranging her collar properly.
He Yu looked wronged.
Xin Xie walked in at that moment. She curtsied, "I've brought the medicine"
"Bring it to me", Lingxi said.
Xin Xie brought it to her and Lingxi took the bowl from the tray.
She served the medicine with the spoon and blew on it to lower the temperature.
She held it in front of He Yu's lips, "open up"
He didn't. He was still sulking because Lingxi stopped him.
She sighed, "Don't be difficult"
Only then did he let Lingxi feed him the medicine.
When he was done, Lingxi handed the bowl back to Xin Xie who accepted it and left them alone.
"Go to sleep", Lingxi said looking at him.
"I want to bathe and change first", He Yu replied.
"Do you need me to help you?" Lingxi asked.
He Yu smiled and leaned closer to her, "are you sure about that?"
Lingxi changed her mind. "I'll just wait here for you", she said and went on to lie down.
He Yu smiled and left.
****
He Yu soon returned and found Lingxi facing the wall as usual.
Whether she was sleeping or not, he didn't know. She had taken care of him all day and was probably tired.
Thinking she was asleep, he lay down next to her quietly instead of checking if she was awake as he always did.
Lingxi noticed and turned to him, "are you still upset?"
She was wondering if he was still upset because she had stopped him from going further during the kiss earlier.
He Yu shifted closer to her, "do you think I'm upset?"
"Although you act wronged all the time, I think this is the first time you've been difficult"
She was calling his reluctance to be fed 'being difficult' which was quite true as he would have been quite happy if she fed him in the past.
He Yu found her worry cute. "I'm not upset", he assured her.
He helped brush some strands of her behind her ear.
Lingxi looked lost in thought for a long time.
"What are you thinking about?" He Yu asked her on noticing her silence.
Lingxi looked at him and without thinking asked, "do you want to have a child?"
He Yu was taken aback by the question. When it came to matters of having a child, Lingxi was the least person he expected to ask about it.
"Why do you suddenly ask?" He Yu asked.
"During the New Year celebration, you were quite happy when you saw those children. You also asked me if I liked children", Lingxi answered.
"Do you like children?" He Yu asked with a smile.
Lingxi thought for a while before answering.
"I like them", she answered.
He Yu became happier, "do you want to have one?"
Lingxi looked at him, "to be honest, when I married you, having a child was not part of my plan. But now..."
"Now what?" He Yu asked.
"Now, I don't think it's a bad idea.Most importantly, you barely have five years left. If we have a child this year, you could get to see your child. Will that make you happy?" Lingxi asked.
"Are you planning to have a child just to keep me happy?" He Yu asked.
Lingxi smiled and touched his face, "when you're happy, I'm happy too"
He Yu smiled as he touched her hand holding his face, "Then, do you want to try having a baby tonight", he asked eagerly but calmly.
However, Lingxi's response put him off.
She immediately withdrew her and turned away, "No"
She began arranging invisible strands of her. He Yu noticed and smiled to himself. She was embarrassed. He watched her.
Meanwhile, Lingxi realized she had made very bold statements and sighed.
She let her emotions lead for a moment and now she was already talking about having a child. She now understood the dangers of letting her emotions lead her. She made a mental note not to let it happen again.
She shut her eyes tightly. Just thinking of what she said made her feel embarrassed all over.
He Yu noticed she was fighting with herself and decided to say something.
"There is nothing wrong with having a child. We are husband and wife. Isn't it normal?" He Yu asked in a tone that sounded comforting and was supposed to douse her embarrassment but unfortunately, it was doing the opposite.
Lingxi became even more embarrassed. She wondered if He Yu felt his words were supposed to help because if anything, it increased her embarrassment.
But what if He Yu was doing it on purpose? Was he trying to tease her again? That was it.
Now that he is back to his normal health, his childish nature had also returned.
She closed her eyes deciding to sleep. When she woke up, she hoped to forget their conversation.
She adjusted her sleeping position to a much more comfortable one to sleep.
He Yu tapped her shoulder. She ignored him. He tapped it again.
She sighed and turned to him, "what do you want this time?"
He Yu did not answer and Lingxi a suspicion entered her head as she looked at his hand on her shoulder.
"Not tonight", she said.
He Yu was confused for a moment and later realized what she was thinking.
"I'm not talking about that", he corrected her thoughts.
"Then what do you want to do?" Lingxi asked.
"I'm not feeling sleepy. How about we go out?" He Yu suggested.
"You want to go out?" Lingxi asked.
He Yu nodded.
"All right, let's go", Lingxi agreed.
She was actually a bit hungry as she had not eaten anything all day.
*******
Lingxi walked around holding candied hawthorns in hand.
She was starving so she ate as they walked.
"You seem to have not eaten all day", He Yu observed.
"I didn't have an appetite", Lingxi replied.
How could she have an appetite when He Yu was unconscious all day long?
He Yu stopped walking and held her shoulder, "no matter what, you shouldn't starve yourself" Lingxi nodded.
"I haven't given you a New Year's gift yet, right?" He Yu asked.
"No", Lingxi answered.
He Yu held her hand, "come with me", he said pulling her along.
Chi Yun had also followed them so as to protect them in case of assassins.
[Tianyan Pavilion]
Lingxi and He Yu were standing at the top of Tianyan Pavilion.
From where they stood, they could see the vastness of the empire.
"The view here is beautiful", Lingxi commented.
"What's the surprise?" she asked.
"It's coming soon", He Yu replied.
Lingxi removed a grey sachet that had a flower hairpin embroidered on it from beneath her sleeves and tied it on He Yu's waist.
He touched it, "This is....?"
"My New Year's gift to you", Lingxi answered, "I can barely hear your footsteps when you approach so I created a fragrance especially for you. With this, I can detect your scent when you're near" He Yu smiled at her little trick.
They were smiling at each other when Lingxi suddenly noticed something bright in the sky.
Lanterns filled the air from every direction. The sky was beautifully lit with them.
"So beautiful", Lingxi was truly mesmerized.
"This is my New Year's gift to you. Do you like it?" He Yu asked.
Lingxi nodded, "I like it very much"
"Does it look familiar to you?" He Yu asked.
Lingxi looked at the lanterns, "It does"
And they went down on a memory lane.