Chapter 81: Tattoo

There was no charcoal fire in the room, and the air was icy, but the large hand lightly pinching the waist was warm and powerful.

Yu Lingxi’s hair was all pulled to one side of her shoulder, and the cool rat whisker brush wandered on her waist. The unfinished line of characters continued to trend downward.

“…Tickles.” She squeezed the edge of the desk, and involuntarily shivered.

The hand on her waist tightened and pinched again. The fair and delicate skin of Yu Lingxi was so smooth that it hardly absorbed the ink. The black characters contrasted with the fair skin, almost enchanting.

Ning Yin leisurely put away the pen, his voice slightly hoarse, “What is your body made of, so soft and smooth.”

He lowered his head and sniffed, coming to a conclusion, “Still fragrant.”

Yu Lingxi, who had just felt cold, now felt hot.

In the Wang Mansion, she could tolerate Ning Yin’s preferences. However, now they were in her own mansion, the thought that her siblings might follow, or someone might pass by the room, made her uneasy.

“Nonsense.” Yu Lingxi subconsciously wanted to cover herself with clothes.

“What’s the hurry?”

Ning Yin held onto her outer garment, “It hasn’t been sealed yet.”

When Yu Lingxi saw the familiar ink jade seal, she suddenly choked…

He actually carried this thing with him!

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have given you that jade stone in the first place.”

Yu Lingxi muttered with annoyance, her cheeks showing a bit more lively charm.

“Without the warm white jade by my side, I can only use the cold ink jade to alleviate the pain of missing you.”

Ning Yin said solemnly, pulling down her skirt with his fingertips.

Without ink, he subtly furrowed his brows.

Seeing that the person behind her had not moved for a long time, Yu Lingxi’s remaining sense of shame was about to collapse. She couldn’t help but bury her face in Ning Yin’s arms and said, blushing, “How much longer do I have to freeze? Hurry up.”

There was a permissive chuckle from behind.

Not knowing what Ning Yin did, in a short while, the warm ink jade seal lightly pressed on the position below her waist.

Ning Yin picked up his sleeve and wiped his fingers, then leaned down. The straight bridge of his nose followed her waistline down, and his thin lips pressed against the ink mark on her waist.

A quiet and devout kiss. Yu Lingxi felt a warm stream flowing up along her waist, spreading throughout her body.

It was really overwhelming.

Blushing, she couldn’t help but shiver, and sneezed.

The person behind her loosened his cloak, enveloping her within. The man’s warm body temperature dispelled the late winter chill.

Yu Lingxi cherished this warmth and thickness, unconsciously softening her body and leaning against him. After a while, she had a thought, “This is unfair.”

“Hmm?” Ning Yin gently pinched her chin.

Yu Lingxi looked up at him and snorted, “I also want to carve a seal, leave a unique mark on you.”

“So, it’s for this matter.”

Ning Yin lightly brushed her lip corner with his thumb, “I’ll carve it for you when we get back.”

“Really?” Yu Lingxi was surprised by his compliance.

Ning Yin’s lacquer eyes showed a hint of excitement. He played with her hair leisurely and said, “When I gather the suitable pigments, I’ll carve it for you, Sui Sui.”

Pigments? Do you need pigments for carving a seal? Yu Lingxi didn’t understand the craft, but her doubts were quickly dispelled by the anticipation.

Ning Yin, with broad shoulders, long legs, and a narrow waist, had an extremely agile body. His skin was even paler than usual, so if a fresh red seal were to be imprinted…

The scene, she wouldn’t dare to imagine in her previous life.

Certainly influenced by Ning Yin, her mind had also become less serious.

Yu Lingxi decided to bring up a serious topic and whispered, “Ning Yin, do you want to be the Emperor?”

Ning Yin’s voice was calm and faint, hitting the nail on the head, “General Yu, or is it the intention of Minister Yu Huanchen?”

“It’s my own question,” Yu Lingxi said.

She had no doubt about Ning Yin’s intentions. The passion of the little lunatic’s love was always intense and obsessive. Another aspect of his obsession was an unusual dedication.

She was just unsure if she could bear the responsibility of being the mother of the world.

“Do you want to be the Empress?” Ning Yin asked with an unchanged expression.

Yu Lingxi didn’t notice the peculiar wording of his question for a moment and subconsciously shook her head, “Not really…”

Then she shook her head again, sighed softly, “I don’t know.”

If Ning Yin wanted to seize the throne, wanted to rise higher, then she shouldn’t become a constraint for Ning Yin.

“What about you? What do you think?” Yu Lingxi asked.

“I want to talk about love,” Ning Yin blinked, making it clearer, “Let’s discuss it on the bed.”

Yu Lingxi quickly pressed down his moving hand, stepping back a bit, “I’m at home, you can’t…”

“Wanted to celebrate the New Year,” Ning Yin pinched her waist.

Yu Lingxi immediately softened, hurriedly broke free from his embrace, and hastily straightened out her disheveled clothes. Ning Yin chuckled, lifted his hand to smell the lingering fragrance on his fingertips, and planted a kiss on them.

In her own mansion, Yu Lingxi didn’t dare to indulge too much. After some persuasion, she sent Ning Yin out of the mansion before it got dark.

Seated in the carriage, Ning Yin remained expressionless, his eyes swallowing everything in their deep gaze. For someone with his temperament, today was already a great concession.

“Tomorrow, I’ll come to pick you up,” Ning Yin dropped these words and didn’t care about the expression of Yu Yuan beside him. He let the attendants drive the carriage away.

Yu Lingxi turned around, cautiously glanced at Yu Yuan, and smiled, “Father, does your daughter have a good eye for choosing a husband?”

While the daughter laughed brightly, Yu Yuan’s heart sank like the sea. After a while, he sighed, patted his daughter’s shoulder, said nothing, and walked away.

Back in her room, the first thing Yu Lingxi did was to close the doors and windows, take off her clothes, and stand with her back to the full-length bronze mirror for changing. She turned her head to look at the poem on her lower back.

But that angle was too tricky. She had to pick up the hand mirror for makeup and adjust the angle, one front and one back.

Her slender waist, like snow, revealed the faint black characters.

Yu Lingxi initially thought that Ning Yin must have written some playful words like “Happy New Year.” However, after staring at the mirrors for a long time, all she saw were eight distinct characters:

【Age after age, Lingxi forever joyful】

The imprint beside the characters was not the usual bright red of ink but a subtle dark crimson.

Yu Lingxi slowly put down the hand mirror, her clothes half-removed. She stood in front of the mirror for a long time.

What should she do? She covered her cheeks with her hands.

It seemed like she couldn’t wait until tomorrow.

…

Jing Wang Mansion, hot spring pool.

Steam lingered as a handsome man stood in the center of the large pool, his upper body exposed, sculpted and slender. His ink-black hair hung down to his waist, and fine water droplets ran along the collarbone, over the white scars on his chest, through the grooves of his waist and abdomen, finally falling into the water.

“Your Highness, the evidence has been arranged as requested,” a tall and sturdy figure cast a shadow on the door, dutifully reporting, “However, the medical records from the Royal Hospital back then are difficult to recover.”

Ning Yin closed his eyes and said with a sneer, “Send someone to the Royal Hospital, check if the Empress gave birth to any child. A simple examination will reveal the truth.”

“Understood.”

The figure of the messenger, holding a tray, stood in front of Ning Yin, “Your Highness, the scent of the red blood you asked someone to find has also been located.”

Seeing Ning Yin’s approval, the messenger finally opened the door and said, holding the tray.

“Need any assistance?” the messenger asked.

“No need,” Ning Yin raised his finger.

The messenger then placed the tray on the table by the pool and respectfully retreated.

Ning Yin opened his ink-dark eyes, stepped onto the stone steps through the mist, and casually picked up a towel to wipe his body. On the table, there was a white jade box in the tray. Through the translucent jade, one could vaguely see the red dye inside.

Ning Yin threw the half-wet towel aside and picked up a silver needle from the tray. Indifferently, he lit it on the flame of the candlestick.

After examining himself in the full-length bronze mirror for a long time, Ning Yin placed the silver needle with red dye on his chest.

One by one, he pierced fresh red characters onto the scar on his chest. The crimson liquid condensed into droplets, making it hard to distinguish whether it was dye or blood.

After an hour, the vivid characters “Lingxi” faintly appeared on his pale and solid chest.

She was his benevolent thought on the tip of his heart, the name engraved on the scar. A white heart-shaped garment was laid on the soft bed. Ning Yin picked it up, wiping away the blood droplets that oozed from his chest.

This way, their traces would forever merge.

The candle flame flickered, and Ning Yin, still naked, found a chair, crossed his legs, and looked at his naked self in the mirror. 

At first, when he had just come out of the hot spring, the tattoo’s color was a vibrant red. But after a while, as the temperature dropped, the “Lingxi” characters gradually faded in color, eventually blending with his skin tone.

Ning Yin satisfactorily placed the silver needle back in the tray, got up, and grabbed a robe to wear. When they meet tomorrow, he hoped Yu Yuan would have come to terms with it; otherwise…

Ning Yin’s lips twitched slightly, and he raised his hand to touch his chest.

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