Chapter 272 - 268: Crazy Couple 32

Chapter 272: Chapter 268: Crazy Couple 32

Wu Chufeng gently took Ji Xiaosong’s hand, his gaze tender and profound, as if he wanted to wrap her entirely in his world.

One look was all it took for Ji Xiaosong to understand.

He leaned in slightly, close to her ear, his voice low and laced with a hint of anticipation. "Song Song, we’ve been married for some time now. Though our days are busy, I can’t help but feel that something is missing."

Ji Xiaosong lifted her gaze, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "What’s missing?" she asked softly.

"Our children."

"Chu Feng, are you saying..."

"Song Song, I want to have several children with you. Only through them can I truly feel that I have someone in this world who shares my bloodline. They would be our legacy, the tightest bond tying our family together."

As Wu Chufeng spoke, his tone took on a barely perceptible softness.

"Power is important, of course, but without blood relatives, what meaning does any of it have? I don’t want to one day stand alone at the top, with no one by my side. Song Song, would you be willing?"

Ji Xiaosong leaned in and took the initiative to kiss him.

Her lips gently brushed against Wu Chufeng’s. It began as a touch as light as a dragonfly on water, but it instantly ignited the ardor between them.

’Why not answer with actions?’

The candle flame suddenly flared, making the pearl pendants on Ji Xiaosong’s earlobes flicker in the light.

Her fingers clutched the dark-patterned lapels on Wu Chufeng’s chest. Through the brocade, her pale nails created faint creases over his heart, like ripples spreading across a lake from the first drops of a spring rain.

Wu Chufeng felt her warm breath on his neck, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.

He raised a hand to cup the nape of her neck. The pad of his thumb traced the shell of her feverish ear, and his voice was a gravelly rasp.

"Is this your answer?"

Ji Xiaosong didn’t answer. Instead, she caught his loosened sash between her teeth.

The qilin embroidered in golden thread slid down with the fabric, revealing the upper curve of his collarbone.

The tip of her nose brushed against the hollow of his throat, and she caught the scent of Agarwood mixed with ink.

Wu Chufeng let out a low groan. The hanging bed curtains billowed up from the movement before settling down again, rippling like waves at their side.

"Shh..."

Her fingertip gently pressed against his lips, the rouge at the corners of her eyes as brilliant as sunset clouds.

Outside the window, the weeping crabapple blossoms seemed to curl their petals in the night wind, as if in shyness.

"My husband, you keep talking about bloodlines..."

Before she could finish, her words dissolved into a soft sound, like the gentle tremble of a wind chime under the eaves.

As she turned, her plain white outer robe slipped halfway from her shoulders.

Wu Chufeng caught her slender wrist as she tried to pull away. The tassels on the bed canopy trembled as if in a sudden storm.

Her ink-black hair spread across the pillow. As he lowered his head, a delicate fragrance wafted up—the jasmine flowers he had pinned in her hair that morning, still there.

Ji Xiaosong gazed at the swaying jade chain-links of the bed canopy. She felt the jade hairpin being gently removed from her hair, and amidst the soft clinking of jewels, a silk handkerchief patterned with twin lotuses floated from her sleeve.

"Song Song..."

His low voice mingled with the soft crackle of the candlewick, and the warmth of his palm sent a tremor through the light silk of her garment.

Outside, swaying bamboo cast their two shadows onto the flower-and-bird screen, making them look like intertwined vines in a winter painting.

As the watchman’s clapper struck the third watch, Ji Xiaosong was toying with the gilded ornamental belt at his waist.

Wu Chufeng suddenly caught her wandering fingertips. In the candlelight, her red-lacquered nails shone against his green jade ring. He chuckled. "The storehouse just received some new Cloud Water Silk. How about I have a few capes made for you?"

She leaned against a bolster, her toes tapping lightly on the patterned silk carpet. "They must be trimmed with snow sable fur."

Moonlight crept across the desk, bathing the pair of Mutton Fat Jade Pendants, which lay side-by-side, in a silvery glow.

Peach petals rustled against the glazed window, startling the cat on night watch into leaping up onto the curved eaves.

「At dawn.」 The morning light pierced through the latticed window.

When Wu Chufeng opened his eyes, the woman beside him was still lost in a deep slumber. The jasmine flowers scattered near her temples were dewy, trembling gently with each breath in the morning light.

His heart instantly filled with tenderness. He rose as quietly as he could, careful not to disturb her.

He walked to the window, pushed it open gently, and let the fresh air flood the room.

As he turned, his gaze fell on the outer robe Ji Xiaosong had casually tossed aside.

The robe was embroidered with an exquisite peony pattern, but after the previous night, the threads were in slight disarray.

Wu Chufeng gazed at the peony-embroidered robe, still fragrant with jasmine, then suddenly turned and walked to the sandalwood desk.

He picked up a Wolf Hair brush and, with a few strokes on a sheet of gold-dusted paper, sketched out a design for a Moon-white Ruqun.

The wide sleeves were to be adorned with flowing cloud patterns in silver thread embroidery. The hem would have the character "Song" subtly woven in golden thread in seal script, and the sash would be inlaid with twelve South Sea Pearls.

"Have the sewing room make this with haste using Ice Silk."

He handed the sketch to a maid waiting outside, his fingertips tapping a light rhythm on the doorframe. "Also, take the Purple Agate that His Majesty bestowed upon us the other day and have the Treasure Pavilion fashion it into a Beaded Phoenix Hairpin."

When Ji Xiaosong awoke, she found a glazed cup filled with rose dew by her pillow.

On closer inspection, she saw the cup was covered in micro-carvings of her own likeness—holding a scroll, brewing tea, drawing a bow to shoot a wild goose. Its many facets caught the morning light, making it shimmer brilliantly.

As she was admiring it, engrossed, she suddenly heard the clear, melodious notes of a zither from outside the window.

Following the music through the covered walkway, she saw Wu Chufeng seated in the octagonal pavilion.

Beside the Seven-stringed Zither before him sat a Green Jade Incense Burner. The curling wisps of smoke carried a blend of white plum and Agarwood—her favorite fragrance.

To the right of the zither, there was even a plate of crystal shrimp dumplings, their wrappers so thin the pink filling was visible. They had clearly been delivered by a swift horse from the old, famous restaurant in the south of the city.

"Try one."

His left hand still rested on the zither strings as he picked up a dumpling with a pair of silver chopsticks in his right. "I had the chef alter the recipe. He added the mushrooms you love."

As he spoke, the music transitioned into the melody of "Phoenix Seeking Phoenix," startling a pair of thrushes under the eaves. They flew past her, wings fluttering.

「In the afternoon」 While handling his official duties, Wu Chufeng made a point of having his documents brought to Lishui Pavilion.

In between reviewing documents, he would occasionally use his vermillion pen to sketch Ji Xiaosong’s profile on a scrap of paper as she did her embroidery.

As dusk settled, he abruptly put down his pen and smiled. "Song Song, do you remember saying you wanted to go stargazing last month?"

"Oh? And you can show them to me right now?"

Wu Chufeng didn’t speak. He simply smiled and clapped his hands three times. A dozen young servants entered, carrying a gilded telescope with fresh vines wrapped around its barrel.

「As night fell.」 He produced a pair of Nightlight Jade Bracelets from his sleeve as if by magic. "I found this meteorite iron in the Gobi Desert last month while inspecting the camps. I had a craftsman spend a month polishing it."

In the darkness, the bracelets emitted a faint blue glow. Inscribed on the inside were tiny, neat characters:

"Feng and Song, Everlasting Peace."

"Do you like them?"

"They’re a gift from you. Of course I love them."

Later, as the night grew deep and dewy, Wu Chufeng suddenly embraced Ji Xiaosong as she was removing her hairpins. "How about I request a leave of absence tomorrow and accompany you to the hot spring villa? The pools are fed by a natural spring, and the bottoms are lined with your favorite river pebbles."

As he spoke, he brought a cup of warm goat’s milk to her lips. A freshly picked mint leaf clung to its rim.

"Will His Majesty approve?"

’Ji Xiaosong knew how busy Wu Chufeng always was; it was unlike him to even think of taking a day off.’

"Ever since I entered the imperial court, I’ve only taken a few days off once—for our wedding. And now that I’ve bought this hot spring villa, I’d like to take you to see it."