I have practiced a ton of martial arts with Noble Consort Xi for so long— even though I still can’t fly well, I can probably scale up the wall without much trouble.
Children were inherently light, so it was easier to practice Qinggong(2). Lin Feilu placed the ice box on the ground. Holding a popsicle in one hand, she stepped back a few meters as she stared at the courtyard wall in front of her solemnly. Taking a deep breath that filled her abdomen, she sprinted forward with her legs. Then, she slammed onto the wall with her whole body but managed to rise in the air as she made a leap across the other side of the wall.
(T/N: Originated from Chinese Martial Arts, typically Wushu, it’s a technique for jumping off vertical surfaces)
As a result of not being disciplined while learning, as soon as her feet touched the wall, her body laxed. Lin Feilu slipped on her feet and she was going to fall down. Fortunately, her eyes were quick and her hands were agile, allowing her to somehow sprawl her upper body on the surface of the wall whereas her lower body was hanging in mid-air.
Song Jinglan, who heard the commotion, saw the little girl lying on the wall of his courtyard in a weird posture as soon as he came out.
After lying on her stomach for a while, her strength was almost depleted and her body was sliding down a little bit. She could probably avoid the crisis if she threw away the ice popsicles in her hand, but she couldn’t bear to do so. Hence, she could only grit her teeth and hold on. Seeing Song Jinglan come out, she suddenly yelled, “Your Highness, I’m about to fall, help me…”
Before she finished speaking, she felt that the white shadow in front of the door moved like a gust of wind as it reached her side in the blink of an eye. He leaped easily onto the wall, leaned over and hugged her small body, embracing her lightly but firmly as they jumped down.
Lin Feilu’s elbow was sore to the point where she felt that it was about to break. Her hands were also trembling, but the popsicles in her hand were still held very tightly. When her eyes met his questionable gaze, she couldn’t help but feel complacent.
Song Jinglan stretched out his hand to take the two popsicles from her hand and asked with a smile, “You’re giving these to me?”
Lin Feilu nodded boredly.
He took a glance before asking, “What is this?”
Lin Feilu answered, “Rose milk popsicles,” She added muffledly, “It’s almost melting.”
Song Jinglan handed one of them to her before he took her little hand, walked to the doorstep and sat down, “Then hurry up and eat.”
Lin Feilu sat next to him, her two little feet slightly in a tiptoed position as her elbows were just enough to support her legs. First, she licked the melted outer layer and then, she proceeded to bite it.
Song Jinglan also took a bite. The sound of ice popsicle cracking was calm yet resounding as they were the only sounds heard in the quiet afternoon. She just felt that there was just a certain pleasurable feeling to hear those sounds that she couldn’t quite explain.
No one spoke. The eaves blocked the sunlight as the duo sat under the shadow of the roof. The summer breeze blew as they smelled the fragrance of bamboo and enjoyed some rose milk flavoured popsicles.
The heat seemed to dissipate when the popsicles were in their stomach.
Lin Feilu’s lips were flushed and red from the cold after eating the popsicle. She licked the ice slags that lingered on the corner of her mouth before she turned her head and asked, “Is it delicious?”