Fu Xuan: Be Gentle

The courtyard of the Divination Commission's office was located halfway up the mountain, a 15-minute walk from the Seat of Divine Foresight.

The stone steps looked old, with shallow grooves worn into the middle of each step, some of which still contained bits of moss. As Jingxing climbed the steps, he could clearly hear the shouts coming from the dock below, keeping time with his footsteps.

When Jingxing entered the Divination Commission, the Divination Commission were just leaving their duties.

These fortune tellers, who had been idle for a year, were unusually "inspired" to work after seeing the Lord Diviner's triumphant return. However, when it was time to leave, everyone still ran off. Although some fortune tellers wanted to work overtime with the Lord Diviner, they were all taken away by other colleagues who knew a little about the inside story.

So when Jingxing arrived at Fu Xuan's courtyard, he saw several young girls dressed as diviners hiding outside, seemingly eagerly awaiting his arrival.

Jingxing withdrew his gaze and strode inside, the whispers of the fortune-telling girls echoing behind him.

"This must be the Lord Diviner's husband, right? With him around, could the old Diviner please stop making us work overtime?"

"What if she's another workaholic? Then there will be two people checking attendance."

"Hiss... That's really bad."

"But I heard he won't be staying in Luofu for long, so there's no need to worry about that, right?"

"Wouldn't that be even worse? Once the Lord Diviner is alone in her room, her mood will definitely be terrible, and then it will be even harder for you to go out and catch fish, Qingque."

"That's a dilemma..."

Fu Xuanquan the whispers among the diviners, and Jingxing, who had just entered the courtyard, immediately noticed that her ears were turning red at a visible speed.

Fu Xuan simply put the booklet in his hand on the table and looked towards the door. "Considering that today is the day of my return, I told you all to leave on time, but you are all so reluctant to leave the Imperial Divination Commission. Then each of you will copy three volumes of the 'Essentials of the Profound Signs' and hand them in to me tomorrow. It will be a good opportunity to see how much you have neglected this year."

There was a brief silence, then the mischievous fortune-telling girls scattered and fled, "Run!"

The fortune teller named Qingque was the first to react, grabbing his stack of papers and rushing out. The others followed suit, scattering in all directions. Their footsteps clattered on the stone steps; someone knocked over a bamboo stool, someone dropped their name tag, and another left a pen in the corridor.

With Fu Xuan's intimidation, only the two of them remained in the courtyard. Jingxing felt much more at ease.

He first went outside, picked up the bamboo stool, and put it back in its original place. Then he leisurely sat down next to Fu Xuan and pulled the once dignified Lord Diviner into his arms.

Fu Xuan adjusted himself slightly, finding a more comfortable position, leaning against his lover's chest. He casually pulled out the bottom scroll of literature from the table, glanced at it, circled a line of small characters, and began to annotate.

"While there aren't any major problems, there are still some minor issues," she complained. "It's not that I'm slacking off, it's just that I'm too careless."

"As expected of the Lord Diviner." Jingxing's hand obediently rested on Fu Xuan's shoulder. "He can spot even the smallest oversights in his subordinates' work at a glance. He's amazing."

"They're just not careful enough," Fu Xuan said, pursing his lips. "They really need to be punished so they'll be more attentive at work in the future."

Then, she closed the booklet, as if she had finally sorted out everything from the past year.

Jingxing simply stood up and picked up the petite Lord Diviner: "That's all for today's work. It's time to go home."

"I'm not finished packing yet." Fu Xuan struggled in his arms, trying to stand up.

"We can pack it tomorrow." Jingxing didn't give her a chance to argue and simply carried her out the door.

Seeing that he couldn't resist, Fu Xuan simply curled up in his lover's arms like a cat. "Remember to put me down before we leave the Divination Commission."

"Okay." Jingxing agreed, but at the same time tightened his embrace, enjoying the warmth from Fu Xuan's body.

Fu Xuan's residence in Luofu was not far from the Divination Commission). The two walked hand in hand down a narrow alley, and suddenly the view opened up before them. Pushing open a gate, they saw a courtyard that was slightly larger than her office.

It not only has a small garden, but also a babbling brook that runs through the yard, and a lotus pond.

Although the owner of the courtyard hadn't returned for a year, the Divination Commission family took turns caring for it, so it didn't look dilapidated at all; on the contrary, it was full of life.

"Since everyone helped Xuan'er clean so diligently, how about we let them off the hook tomorrow?" Jingxing asked.

"Let's keep things separate," Fu Xuan insisted. "As for their tokens of appreciation, I'll return them later."

"I really can't get used to living in that General's Residence house, Senior Sister." Entering the room, Fu Xuan waved his hand, and the lights came on. "I used to live here alone, so—"

"We'll be staying together again tonight," Jingxing continued.

"Hmm." Although she had mentally prepared herself, Fu Xuan still felt a little shy hearing his reaction. She turned and left, saying, "I'll go wash up first."

With nothing to do in the courtyard, Jingxing simply took out paper and pen and began to do some simple sketching.

I haven't had time to practice in a while, so I was a little rusty at first, but after focusing a bit, the feeling came right back. However, tonight's "thing" was definitely a first for me, even though I secretly learned a little bit on my phone...

However, as he continued drawing, he put that doubt behind him.

After finishing his sketch of the courtyard, Jingxing proudly placed it on the table, a work he hadn't done in a long time. It complemented the calligraphy by Jingtian Diviner: "May we be of one heart forever, and never doubt each other."

After they both washed up, Fu Xuan checked the gate again and scanned the surrounding walls with her Path Energy. Only after confirming that there were no unwanted figures around did she return to her room.

Jingxing was draping his coat over the back of the chair, next to Fu Xuan's clothes.

While Fu Xuan was lost in thought, he had already walked up to her, reached out and took the hairpin from Fu Xuan temple, placing it casually on the table. The small flower on the hairpin's tip gleamed for a moment under the lamplight.

The next second, with a gasp from the Lord Diviner, Jingxing bent down and swept her into his arms in a princess carry.

Once freed from her restraints, the Lord Diviner's long, flowing pink hair cascaded down, covering her delicate shoulders and blurring the solemnity she usually maintained.

"We should rest now, shouldn't we?" Jingxing's tone carried a hint of allure.

Fu Xuan closed his eyes.

"You... be gentle." Her voice lowered, trembling slightly, the soft ending sinking into the surrounding air, "My body isn't as resilient as Matrix of Prescience's..."

After that, only a few things from the night in Luofu are clearly remembered.

Perhaps too preoccupied to notice, Fu Xuan's divine eye dimmed, reflecting the flickering red candlelight deep within the room.

After a while, a wisp of night breeze finally slipped in.

Even the wind was suppressed by the humid, oppressive air inside, unable to dispel the stuffiness, and could only sullenly blow on the few pieces of jewelry that Fu Xuan usually wore, making a crisp sound.

Along with it swayed, the hem of the smoky purple robe that hung to the ground. It intertwined and tangled with another wide robe, and finally, with a very soft sound, whether it was a sigh or a suppressed groan, it completely slipped down, piling up layer upon layer into the carpet, no longer distinguishable from the other.

The overlapping shadows silently blended into the deep night. The courtyard creaked and groaned for a long time before slowly returning to stillness.