Chapter 23: Getting Closer

’If only I still had those Qi Nourishing Pills and other elixirs...’ Elder Jing thought to herself while doing her best to absorb Qi from the spirit stones.

In the several hours she had cultivated, only one-tenth of her Qi pool had been filled. That was the reason for her dissatisfaction at this moment.

’I’ll need to quickly make it reach three-fourths of my capacity to be able to activate the Divine Phoenix Orb again. Only then I’ll be able to trace her...our empress,’

A trace of urgency flashed in Elder Jing’s eyes when she finished this string of thoughts as she once again fully immersed herself in cultivation.

Time passed, and it was finally four in the evening.

Yi Chen and Feng Yu were waiting in the main hall as several servants walked in holding several crates in their hands.

Inside each crate were boxes containing jewels.

When everything was placed inside, the jeweller enthusiastically began introducing all the fine necklaces, earrings, bracelets and other ornaments he had in his possession to Feng Yu.

Feng Yu took her time with the selection and made sure to keep asking for Yi Chen’s opinions on pieces which she liked.

"Yes, this one suits you the best."

Yi Chen made sure to tell her his honest reviews, and thanks to this, Feng Yu was able to finish selecting her jewels in only an hour’s time.

Now it was time for them to choose their engagement ring.

Knowing that he would be wearing the ring on his finger for the rest of his life, Yi Chen wanted to choose a good ring. This feeling was shared by Feng Yu as well.

"Young Master, Young Miss...these are the finest collection of rings which I’ve brought with me. I hope they will be to your liking," the jeweller said with a flattering smile and started placing boxes containing rings one after the other on the table while introducing them.

"How’s this one?" A particular ring with a blue gemstone attracted Yi Chen’s attention, and he picked it up.

"Uhm...it’s good, but let’s look at more samples," Feng Yu said as a subtle furrow appeared on her face. It was clear that she didn’t really like the design.

Yi Chen didn’t think much of it and started looking for other good matches.

An hour and a half slowly passed on, and during this period, several of Yi Chen’s recommendations were rejected by Feng Yu and vice versa.

When they had begun, they didn’t think that their tastes were so different and were only realising it now.

Drained and exhausted, they still kept on looking at the new rings that were being introduced to them while asking for each other’s opinion.

By this point, even the jeweller had started losing hope as he collected the second last batch of rings before placing the last batch.

"Young Master, Young Miss...this is the last batch of rings that I’ve brought with me," he reminded as he placed the rings on the table one by one.

’Hmm,’ Yi Chen’s eyes furrowed seeing a particular ring as he thought, ’Well, that’s not bad,’

With that thought, he tried to pick up that ring only to have his hand bumped by Feng Yu’s.

It turns out they both were reaching for the same ring.

They both glanced at each other the next moment. Both surprise and relief were apparent in their eyes.

"It’s decided then, I suppose?" Yi Chen asked with a smirk.

"Yes, it indeed is," Feng Yu’s eyes curved with delight as she answered. The next moment, she passed the sample to the jeweller and said, "We’ve decided on this one."

"Fantastic choice!" The jeweller exclaimed with delight, and after taking their finger measurements, soon left the residence along with his goods.

When they were finally alone in the hall, Yi Chen reclined on the seat and stretched out his arms, "God, I never thought choosing a ring would be so difficult."

There was a hint of exhaustion in Feng Yu’s eyes as well, and she too leaned back to give rest to her stiff shoulders.

"At least we were able to come to a decision today itself," She muttered with a smile while staring towards the ceiling, "and the best part is that we both liked the design."

"That’s true..." Yi Chen smiled as he thought back to the feeling of joy and relief he felt when he and Feng Yu ended up choosing the same ring.

"On another note," Feng Yu said with an ambiguous smile, "I got to see a completely different side of you today. To think apart from being gentle, sincere, smart and humorous, you would also have an artistic side to yourself...Chen’er, you really amaze me."

Hearing her affectionate praise, Yi Chen couldn’t help but freeze and thought to himself, ’Uhm...are you sure that’s me and not somebody else?’

However, since it’s impolite not to accept compliments when they are given, Yi Chen humbly accepted them and said while scratching the back of his head.

"Thanks, Yu’er...but I’m not really as great as you think. I’m just a normal person who knows about his shortcomings and therefore tries his best in all areas. Especially now since I’m going to marry you and don’t want to disappoint you in the future,"

’Well... that sounded more impressive than my original intention,’ Yi Chen thought when he finished his words and couldn’t help but glance at Feng Yu.

Her eyes were almost glistening with tears, and a touching expression rested underneath her veil as she said, "Chen’er...There’s no way I’ll ever be disappointed by you. In fact...I fear that it’s I who will cause you disappointment in the future."

Seeing her like this, how could Yi Chen’s heart not twist now that he had already accepted spending his life with her?

Gently grabbing her hand that was resting beside him, Yi Chen said gently, "Yu’er, I too can never be disappointed by you..."

"But my appearanc-"

"Shush." Yu Chen hushed and cut her off in between, "You remember what I told you two days ago, right? I’ve never judged you based on your appearance, Yu’er. You were and still are the brightest person in my heart, and this brightness of yours will never fade. So never let your heart be muddled with such needless worry, you understand?"

Unlike last time, the words that left Yi Chen’s mouth were nothing but sincere and resonated with Yu’er to a much deeper level than any of his earlier sweet talks ever could.

The next moment, Feng Yu’s arms tightly wrapped around Yi Chen’s shoulders as she buried her head in his warm chest. It was a hug, a hug as delicate as a drop of water which could be disturbed by one wrong touch.

Earlier, when she had praised Yi Chen, it was not just because she was greatly impressed by him. It was also because a part of her had started to feel greatly inadequate because of the constant comparisons she was subconsciously making in her head.

Before Yi Chen could even react to the sudden hug, he felt wetness seep through his robes, and it was soon followed by sniffling sounds.

’She’s crying...’ Realising this, Yi Chen’s eyes widened in surprise, but before he could fully process it, his hand automatically reached for the back of her head and started gently caressing it.

"It’s alright Yu’er...it’s alright..."

Despite not knowing the exact reason behind her sudden outburst, words of comfort kept coming out of his mouth, and the only desire that remained in his heart was for her to feel better.