Ji Qingwu pouted, her expression identical to Jiu Jiu’s when throwing a tantrum.

She whined coquettishly, "Must Your Majesty keep me in suspense? What’s so secretive about it?"

Emperor Wu Su chuckled. "I am far more accommodating than Ah Wu. If you ask, I will answer."

"As for the first time we met..."

Hearing him finally broach the subject, Ji Qingwu’s eyes widened as she waited anxiously for his answer.

"Back then, I even held you."

"Huh?" Ji Qingwu was astonished.

Her memory wasn’t so poor that she would forget someone after an embrace. Besides, Emperor Wu Su’s handsome face alone was enough to leave a lasting impression.

Seeing her dark eyes darting about and her delicate brows furrowed as if tied in a knot, it was clear she was utterly perplexed.

His hand slid slowly from her waist up her spine. His other arm slipped under the crook of her knees, and with a slight effort, he once again lifted her into his arms.

Since she needed something from him, Ji Qingwu let him move her without protest.

Emperor Wu Su murmured, "I held you just like this." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Ji Qingwu understood at once. This was the classic way to hold a child.

She said, "When Your Majesty said you first saw me, could it have been when I was a child?"

No wonder she couldn’t remember, then.

"At the time, Ah Wu was just a little toddler who had just learned to walk."

Emperor Wu Su rarely reminisced about his childhood, but the sight of the woman’s face, as lovely as a peach blossom, instantly stirred a memory long sealed away in his heart.

Old Madam Ji had brought the family’s younger generation to visit the Marquis Yong’an Mansion, and somehow, Ji Qingwu had wandered into his courtyard.

He had gone to the Ice and Snow Forest for his morning martial arts practice. When he returned, he found a little girl in his courtyard, crouched before a large water basin.

In that basin grew several red lotuses, a gift from a recent trip to Hanshan Temple from Shen Wei, who had not yet become Master Liao Ran.

The little girl, her hair in two buns, stared quietly and intently at the flowers, not making a sound or a fuss.

When he approached, she turned her head, saw a cold-faced older boy beside her, and was so startled she fell right on her bottom.

He detested crying children most of all. His own Ming Hong was a rowdy sort who would wail endlessly over the slightest bump or scrape.

But this little girl, though young, had a first-rate ability to read people. Seeing his unfriendly expression, she pressed her lips together and held back her tears, her eyes shimmering with unshed moisture.

She scrambled to her feet, patted the dust off her bottom, and cautiously sidled up to him.

Noticing a dry leaf stuck in her hair, he frowned, feeling the urge to remove it for her.

The moment he reached out his hand, she must have thought he meant to pick her up. Her eyes lit up as she grabbed his arm and nimbly scrambled up to cling to him.

He’d never seen anyone so adept at seizing an opportunity; it was a sight to behold.

She had been far more forward as a child than she was now, her little mouth chattering away, her voice clear and crisp.

From her chatter, he learned that Zhao Minghong had tricked her into coming here.

After escorting the little girl to the front courtyard gate and handing her over to Ji Fangmin’s personal attendant, he returned to his courtyard. Only then did he notice the wet splotches on the ground by the basin and that one of the red lotuses was missing.

He assumed she had conspired with Zhao Minghong to steal from him.

The next day, Zhao Minghong became his punching bag during morning practice.

Strangely enough, after she left the Marquis Yong’an Mansion, the Ji Family’s Fifth Missy went missing at the end of that month.

Seeing his expression soften with a visible tenderness, Ji Qingwu felt a pang of jealousy.

’Because the "her" from his childhood wasn’t her.’

Ji Qingwu’s earlier excitement vanished. She concluded, "In that case, the first time Your Majesty saw me in the Northern Border was at Mingjing Lake."

Emperor Wu Su merely smiled without a word, the curve of his lips unreadable.

’So was it, or wasn’t it?’

She wanted to ask again, but Emperor Wu Su just smiled, kissed her cheek, and gave her bottom a light pat.

’Perhaps it was his way of offering some belated comfort for what happened in her childhood.’

But that comfort soon changed its nature, successfully rendering her speechless and robbing her of the ability to think.

After Ji Qingwu’s original appearance was restored, Emperor Wu Su hadn’t said much, but she could clearly feel that this time, the kisses he pressed to her face were especially frequent.

He was a gentleman who used both his hands and his mouth.

This sweet tenderness was almost too much to bear.

*

The sky was still dark when Emperor Wu Su left.

By the time Ji Qingwu awoke, the spot beside her in bed had long since grown cold.

Daylight streamed in. Lan Zhi entered from outside, stopping in the antechamber to call out softly, "Fifth Missy."

"Come in."

Hearing her voice, Lan Zhi hurried inside.

She asked nervously, "Fifth Missy, did you see me at all last night?"

Ji Qingwu was instantly wide awake. "What’s wrong?" she asked.

Lan Zhi looked pale. "I distinctly remember sleeping on the cot in the antechamber last night. I even spoke with you, Missy."

Ji Qingwu then realized that Lan Zhi had indeed come from outside her chambers. But even as her mistress, she had no idea when Lan Zhi had been moved so silently from the antechamber back to the servants’ quarters.

But she was certain she knew who had done it.

She said guiltily, "Perhaps you’ve just been too tired lately. It might have been sleep paralysis."

Lan Zhi rubbed her still-groggy head and could only accept that explanation.

She drew back the bed curtains and saw Ji Qingwu staring down at the powder-blue brocade quilt covering her.

When she saw her face clearly, Lan Zhi exclaimed in surprise, "Fifth Missy, why is your face so red? Did you catch a cold? Do you have a fever?"

Ji Qingwu looked up and cupped her face, feeling the heat in her own cheeks. "No," she said evasively, "I probably just got too warm in my sleep. It will pass."

Remembering the night’s intimacy in the bright light of day, she couldn’t stop her face from burning.

She had fallen asleep last night to a flurry of soft kisses.

After that, she knew nothing. She had no idea when the Emperor had left.

Lan Zhi doubtfully prepared the items for her morning wash. She also took a careful look at the bedding—it was the set Ji Qingwu normally used, that was certain.

It was just exceptionally rumpled today. ’I should get a thinner set for Fifth Missy,’ she thought.

Ji Qingwu had just stepped out of the washroom when voices sounded at the door.

Lan Zhi said, "Fifth Missy, Sister Chunhua from the First Madam’s courtyard is here with a delivery."

Chunhua entered, followed by four young maids holding trays laden with objects concealed by red silk cloth.

Ji Qingwu gave them a cursory glance and immediately guessed what they were.

She said, "Chunhua, go back and tell Mother I’ll be going out today, so she needn’t worry."

The young maids filled the table with the items. Lan Zhi asked, "Fifth Missy, what is all this?"

Ji Qingwu looked up at her. "Lan Zhi, it’s time for you to work your magic."

Lan Zhi was confused at first, but when she lifted the red silk and saw what was underneath, her eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly.