Chapter 63 Cherry, Cherry 17K Original Release

asn't issued an edict" With a wave of his hand, Jiang Yuanzheng respectfully took out an imperial decree. The other palace maids prepared ink and brush for him as he said, "The emperor is about to iss...Chapter 63: Cherry, exclusive on 17K

Since she had crossed over until now... She had been here for more than a year... It would soon be two years... Back then it was the Phoenix's seventh year... Now calculating it should be the ninth year of the Phoenix era I wonder if the timeline matches up with my previous calculations If they do, there are only twenty-nine days left.

"Xīxī" Qí Lín called out casually.

Xīxī was tidying up the bed when Qí Lín suddenly called her. Her whole body shuddered. Since Xīxī started serving Qí Lín, she had never seen Qí Lín open her eyes to look at her, let alone calling out her name.

"Yes, Miss"

"You can still call me Ah Snow. It feels strange when you call me ‘Miss.’" Qí Lín adjusted her tone and got up to walk over to the window where she looked at the thick snow outside. She smiled slightly and said, "Those years we used to build snowmen and throw snowballs together."

Xīxī was taken aback as she also glanced out of the window with a sense of desolation in her heart. She said, “Why dwell on the past, Miss The Young Master treats you so well...”

"I want to go outside and build snowmen," Qí Lín turned around and said. "Since Bai Qianye might appear anytime soon anyway, I'll get him to play with me too. It's driving me mad staying inside all the time. Do you wish to watch me lose my mind Does your Young Master want to see me go crazy"

Xīxī hesitated for a moment before reluctantly nodding in agreement.

The moment Qí Lín stepped outside, she felt a cold breeze hit her face. A thick cloak was immediately draped over her shoulders. Xīxī helped tie the belt on the cloak and Qí Lín hopped into the snowy ground.

With each step, her boots crunched through the snow with a "gzig zig" sound. With eyes wide open in curiosity like a newborn child, she even jumped around a few times. Fortunately, she didn't do anything strange; Bai Qianye had freed her from being restrained because he noticed she was listless all day long. However, as a condition, someone must stay close to her at all times. Even when using the restroom, there should always be someone beside her.

With someone around, it would make going to the toilet difficult for her; therefore, Bai Qianye allowed no one else to follow in except that he required everyone outside to keep watch and they were all skilled martial artists. Escape was impossible.

"So cold!" She couldn't help but say as she touched the snow with her hand.

However, this frigidness is what would rouse her spirits again. She pressed her palm into the snow and then pulled it back up, leaving only a faint impression of her hand. Qí Lín suddenly thought to herself whether placing her face in the snow might leave an imprint of her facial features.

But she wouldn't be that foolish; she placed her hand down again and pressed harder this time to finally get it to sink into the ground. When she pulled her hand back up, a clearer impression was left behind and Qí Lín couldn't help but smile slightly.

After making dozens of impressions like this, Qí Lín started building snowmen by collecting snow from around and piling them together while continuously patting it down. Her hands were freezing red as she occasionally put her hands in the front of her cloak to warm them up before continuing with her work.

Finally, a small body about twenty centimeters tall was formed for the snowman. However, since it was made from snow off the ground, it inevitably got dirty; Qí Lín looked at the pristine snow on the branches and stood up to collect some of that instead.

But when she tried to stand up, she felt dizzy and her body started to sway in an unknown direction. Suddenly, someone caught her. Qi Lin made a great effort to open her eyes but could only see darkness.

"Qi Lin"

Awhile later, she gradually saw Bai Qianye's furrowed brows, which seemed as if they were about to drip water. Without thinking, she reached out and tried to smooth them.

"Are you okay How did you get out" Bai Qianye asked softly.

"Young Master," Zōu Xī hurried over and said, "It was me who let Miss Qi come out."

Qi Lin shook her head, realizing she had lost control of herself. She quickly sat up straight and said, "I... I just felt suffocated and wanted to play in the snow a bit."

"Didn’t you know that you shouldn't go out" Bai Qianye didn’t listen to Qi Lin's words and shouted at Zōu Xī angrily, "Go down and take your punishment!"

Zōu Xī hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Thank you, Young Master."

"Hey," Qi Lin was ignored by Bai Qianye, so she pushed him lightly. Then, she jumped in front of Zōu Xī and said to Bai Qianye, "What do you mean I can't come out Have the courage to stay inside for ten days and nights! I came out on my own will; it has nothing to do with Zōu Xī!"

Bai Qianye looked at Qi Lin. A hint of anger flashed in his eyes, but he then smiled and said, "I was worried about you. If I hadn't caught you just now...

"Do you understand anything" Qi Lin hit Bai Qianye on the head, causing everyone around them to gasp in shock. They all looked at Bai Qianye nervously as Qi Lin folded her arms and said, "When one has been sitting or squatting for a long time, of course they will feel dizzy when standing up. Do you think everyone is made of iron like you"

Qi Lin glared at Bai Qianye and suddenly noticed the snow pile that Bai Qianye had crushed underfoot. She pushed him aside abruptly and pointed to the snow pile, shouting, "I好不容易堆起來的，你看，都是你！"

No matter how long she spoke, no one gave her a response. Qi Lin looked up in puzzlement and saw that Bai Qianye was looking at her softly but with some suspicion, while Zōu Xī still knelt on the ground. Qi Lin felt exhausted just by seeing this.

She poked Bai Qianye and said, "If you don't like me playing here, I'll go back inside."

Bai Qianye was taken aback when he heard that Qi Lin had given in. However, upon seeing her worried look at Zōu Xī, he instantly understood.

"Get up and prepare some hot ginger soup and warm water," Bai Qianye coldly ordered before patting off the snowflakes from Qi Lin's hair and smiling, "Since you like it, then play for a while. It won't be a problem; I was just worried that you might catch a chill."

As soon as she heard this, Qi Lin jumped up excitedly, hugged Bai Qianye briefly, and turned to gather clean snow.

But after Qilin turned around, the smile on her face slowly froze, and the coldness in her eyes was as icy as the snow covering the ground. However, she still pretended to be lively and would occasionally look around for clean snow.

Ba Qianye gently placed his hand over his chest where it ached slightly; he almost coughed but managed to suppress it with inner strength. He then took a step forward towards Qilin and joined her in collecting clean snow.

The eunuchs had cleared a path through the snow in the courtyard, but Qilin intentionally stepped into the thick snow, jumping around like a child until her shoes got buried in the snow, disappearing. She then bent down to search for them, but at this moment Ba Qianye would always smile and carry her over before helping her retrieve her shoes by hand.

He first gently brushed off any snow inside her shoe and then helped her put it on again.

"I’ll tell you a story," said Qilin, playing with Ba Qianye’s hair as she leaned against his shoulder. "Once upon a time, there was a girl named Cinderella who lived with an evil stepmother and two stepsisters who were unkind to her."

Ba Qianye slowly helped Qilin put on the shoe, listening quietly to the story.

"Do you know At the end of the story, the glass slipper broke, leaving everyone disappointed. But then Cinderella calmly walked downstairs with another glass slipper in her hand," Qilin giggled and continued, "and she put on that shoe right there in front of everyone, and the prince recognized her as Cinderella. They lived happily ever after, ha-ha! I’ve always dreamed of someone putting a shoe on for me; how wonderful would that be But all the men back home care so much about appearances."

Qilin pouted as Ba Qianye finished tying her shoelace for her. She stomped her feet and said, "No man there ever lowered himself to put a shoe on for a woman; let alone go around with just one shoe looking for someone to fit it to! They would be laughed at."

Ba Qianye grabbed her hand; the chill from her fingertips seeped into him and he couldn’t help but tighten his grip, warming Qilin up with the warmth of his own body.

"From now on, I’ll put shoes on for you," he said softly, looking tenderly at Qilin, his sensual lips forming a promise.

Qilin quietly looked back at Ba Qianye; her eyes seemed to melt into him. Only when she felt the warmth in her palm did she realize what was happening, tugging awkwardly at the corners of her mouth before pulling her hand away and leaping back onto the snow to collect clean snow.

Silently cursing how narrowly she’d avoided falling for Ba Qianye’s charms, Qilin also scolded herself for forgetting her objective in getting involved with him. She started piling up a snowman after collecting enough snow and had Ba Qianye join her.

Before long, both their hands were red from the cold, but sweat was visibly beading on Qilin’s forehead; Ba Qianye would carefully wipe it away for her before they resumed making the snowman.

With no idea what kind of snowman to make, Ba Qianye simply helped Qilin press and smooth the snow into shape. Her focused gaze made him unable to look away as he began guessing at the type of snowman she was building.

Snowflakes were starting to fall from the sky now, silently settling on them both; in no time they had a thin layer of white covering their bodies like gossamer. But Qilin paid it no mind.

Palace ladies held up parasols for them, but Ba Qianye took them and asked them to stand by instead, afraid that their feet would dirty the clean snow.

It was unknown how long it had been, but a snowman came to life. Qilin picked some plum blossoms to decorate it and used fruits for its features. She then made the arms out of twigs, creating an energetic little girl snowman reaching out for a hug. Qilin kept crouching down, covering up any dirty spots with pristine white snow.

If her child were still alive, would it be a girl Would she also stretch out her hands and cry out "Mother! Hug me!"

Qilin reached out to touch the head of the snowman. Her vision blurred as tears fell down her face. She couldn’t hold back any longer and covered her mouth with one hand, letting big drops of tears fall.

If her child were still alive, she would hope it was a daughter, lively and adorable. She would watch stars together with her every day, cook delicious food for her, let her do what she wanted to do, comb her hair, and tell her all the strange things about this world. She’d also tell her which kind of men can fall in love.

She would take her child outside, letting her travel extensively, teaching her how to cherish, be brave, and learn many other things.

But now she could no longer do any of these things.

It was because she hadn’t protected her child well enough. She felt useless.

Bai Qianye quietly stayed by her side, knowing that the sight had triggered her memories of her unborn child. He couldn’t help but feel the same way; when he found out about Qilin’s pregnancy, he was delighted too. They were going to have a child! But then his heart sank.

He tried every means possible to protect their baby, but compared to the child, he wanted Qilin alive even more.

Because Qilin had once taken Beauty Red; women who took Beauty Red could not become pregnant. Qilin was an exception, although he wasn’t quite clear why she got pregnant in the first place, but this child couldn’t be kept.

If the child existed, Qilin would die. The imperial physician had told him that the baby wouldn’t survive for more than six months inside her body; even if it were to miraculously live until delivery, Qilin would bleed to death during labor.

Beauty Red had already damaged Qilin’s health.

Her body couldn't endure such a major strain, especially after sustaining severe injuries. The child could not survive either.

If it was inevitable for them both to die anyway and knowing that Qilin would blame herself, why not do it himself At least this way, Qilin had someone or something to hate rather than living in self-blame. He didn’t have the heart to see her like that.

Exhausted from crying, Qilin sat down on the snow and hugged the snowman as if she were hugging her own child.

"Snow兒, Snow兒, Mother is sorry!" Qilin kept crying out, tears slowly sliding down, melting some of the snow.

Snow兒 Bai Qianye’s eyes flashed with a tinge of sorrow. Was this the name of their childho knew what his intentions wereSuddenly, Qi Lin noticed an unfamiliar face outside the room peering in with suspicious eyes. After confirming something, the person turned and left. The others were to...