Yang Guo: I'm invincible in the opening battle against Aunt Guo!

"Where is it good?" Yang Guo put his arm around her shoulder and asked in a low voice.

"Everything about you is good..." Guo Fu looked up at him, her eyes misty in the moonlight. "You're skilled in martial arts, good-looking, can grill meat, and can tell jokes... Most importantly, you treat me well."

Yang Guo's heart stirred, and he lowered his head to gently kiss her lips: "Then, Sister Fu, would you be willing to stay with me forever?"

"I'm willing..." Guo Fu nodded without hesitation, but then suddenly remembered something, and her eyes dimmed. "But... but you have so many women around you..."

"But you will always be in my heart." Yang Guo cupped her face, gazed into her eyes, and said, "Fu-mei, in my heart, you are the most special one."

This was partly true and partly false—in his heart, every woman was special.

But at this moment, he had to convince Guo Fu that she was unique.

Sure enough, Guo Fu's eyes lit up again: "Really?"

"Really," Yang Guo said solemnly, "Fu-mei, you have to believe me."

Guo Fu looked at him for a long time, then suddenly smiled. Her smile was breathtakingly beautiful in the moonlight: "I believe you."

She leaned forward and kissed his lips.

This time, there was no shyness, no hesitation.

The alcohol emboldened her and made her body much more relaxed.

Yang Guo responded to her kiss, his hand slowly slipping inside her clothes.

Guo Fu trembled slightly, but did not resist; instead, she hugged him even tighter.

The alcohol and the stirring of emotions made her melt like spring water, and she nestled softly in his arms.

"Fu-mei," Yang Guo whispered in her ear, his voice hoarse, "Let's... go back to our room, okay?"

Guo Fu nodded and buried her face in his neck: "Brother Yang... hold me..."

Yang Guo picked her up horizontally and flashed away.

After returning to Guo Fu's room.

Yang Guo gently placed the slightly tipsy girl in his arms on the embroidered stool, then turned and opened the door to call the maid on night duty outside.

The maid, who was only thirteen or fourteen years old, came in sleepily. She was taken aback when she saw her young mistress leaning against the table with flushed cheeks late at night, while Young Master Yang calmly ordered a bath to be prepared.

If the lady hadn't given prior instructions, she probably would have yelled "hooligan!"

"I need two large buckets of hot water, and I want to sprinkle plenty of flower petals on top." Yang Guo took out a silver ingot from his pocket and handed it over. "Also, go to the kitchen and warm up a pot of hangover soup."

The maidservant snapped out of her daze, took the silver, and quickly withdrew.

Before long, two maids carried in a steaming hot bath tub, and someone else brought hot water to fill it.

The water in the bucket rippled slightly, with a layer of freshly picked osmanthus and jasmine petals floating on the surface. The sweet fragrance mixed with the steam spread, making the entire room warm and cozy.

Once everything was ready, the maids slowly left.

The door closed again, leaving only the two people inside.

Yang Guo walked back to Guo Fu's side, squatted down to be at her eye level, and said, "Sister Fu, how about taking a bath to sober up?"

Guo Fu looked at him with hazy, drunken eyes, then suddenly reached out and touched his cheek, giggling, "Brother Yang...you're so handsome..."

Before she could finish speaking, her body went limp and she was about to slide off the embroidered stool.

Yang Guo quickly put his arm around her, shaking his head and laughing.

She doesn't have a high alcohol tolerance, so she didn't drink much, yet she ended up like this.

He took a large towel that had been prepared nearby, wrapped it around her, picked her up horizontally, and steadily walked towards the bathtub.

The water ripples gently.

As Guo Fu submerged herself in the warm water, she let out a comfortable sigh. The effects of the alcohol seemed to dissipate somewhat with the heat. She opened her eyes and saw Yang Guo squatting by the tub, rolling up his sleeves to test the water temperature.

The candlelight danced on his profile, his long eyelashes casting small shadows beneath his eyes, and his focused expression warmed her heart.

"Brother Yang..." she called softly.

"Hmm?" Yang Guo looked up and saw that she had woken up a little. He smiled slightly, took the soap pod, rubbed it in his palm to make fine foam, and said, "Close your eyes."

Guo Fu obediently closed her eyes.

Warm palms, covered in slippery foam, slowly moved down from her forehead.

His movements while washing her hair were extremely gentle, his fingertips massaging her scalp, so comfortable that she almost fell asleep again.

Then came the neck, shoulders, and back; every inch of skin was treated with meticulous care, as if polishing the finest white jade.

When she washed her front, Guo Fu's body stiffened slightly.

Yang Guo noticed this, paused in mid-air, and then picked up the cloth: "Will you do it yourself up front?"

Guo Fu bit her lip, gently shook her head, turned her face to one side, and her ears turned bright red.

Yang understood and continued his actions.

After she had washed herself clean, Yang Guo brought another bucket of water to rinse her off.

The water pattered softly, and the petals clung to the smooth, creamy skin before being washed away by the current, swirling and sinking to the bottom of the tub.

"Alright." Yang Guo lifted her out of the water, wrapped her in a dry cloth, and gently wiped her clean.

Water droplets slid down her calves, accumulating into a small puddle at her feet.

Guo Fu leaned against him, smelling the faint scent of grass and trees on his clothes, mixed with the lingering floral fragrance on her own body, and felt incredibly at ease.

Once she was dry, Yang Guo carried her to the bed.

Guo Fu's bed was made very thickly, with three layers of brocade mattresses covered with soft silk.

The pillow is Suzhou embroidery, embroidered with twin lotus flowers, and the quilt cover is a bright red design of a hundred sons and a thousand grandsons.

Yang Guo put her in the quilt and then turned around and went behind the screen.

Soon after, the sound of water could be heard; it was the sound of him rinsing himself.

Guo Fu, wrapped in the brocade quilt, had mostly sobered up, but her heart was beating faster and faster.

She looked around her boudoir—on the dressing table was her favorite hibiscus powder box, and on the zither table by the window was the Jiao Wei Qin, which had not been played for a long time.

Every place felt familiar, yet tonight, the person taking a bath evoked a sense of strangeness and longing.

The footsteps drew closer.

Yang Guo walked around the screen, wearing only his undergarments, his long hair unbound and draped wetly over his shoulders.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, reached out to check the temperature under the covers, and nodded in satisfaction: "Warm up now?"

Guo Fu nodded and moved to the inside to make room for him.

Yang Guo lifted the covers and lay down, but did not touch her immediately. He simply turned to look at her.

The two were about half a foot apart, and you could hear each other breathing.

The fragrance inside the tent was even stronger—it was the scent of her usual peach blossom perfume, mixed with the unique body fragrance of a young girl, sweet but not cloying, gently wafting into one's nose.

"Fu Mei's bed smells so good," he whispered.

Guo Fu blushed again and whispered, "My mother says I've always loved sleeping with incense since I was little, and I can't change it."

"It smells wonderful." Yang Guo reached out and gently stroked her hair, which was scattered on the pillow. "It smells like a peach grove in spring."