When Zhi Yu saw her, he couldn’t help but daze, then he quickly regained his senses and kneeled in front of her.

"Young Miss, will you marry me?"

Zhi Yu presented a pure white peony flower. The peony was so beautiful, it’s pure whiteness making it somehow unworldly as if it has grown without being tainted by this foul world. In the residence, peonies only grew on Zhi Yu's courtyard. A big courtyard that was a bit secluded from the rest of the great general residence that the late emperor especially gave to him to make home to.

Hu Bai felt like her heart and breath stopped. She no longer trembled and just fixedly stared at the Peony in Zhi Yu's hand.

Seeing that the young lady was not moving, Zhi Yu said. "Young Miss Hu Bai, I am but a low servant, I don't have riches on me to buy you countless treasures and can only present this peony that I had taken care of myself, to you." He said while glancing at the mountain of gifts the second prince left in the corner. "But, I have a good temper and am experienced at taking care of a household. Please, will you accept this from me?"

Only then did Hu Bai steady her breathing. Hu Bai took the peony from his hand and hugged him. She smiled with happy tears in her eyes. Zhi Yu gave a start to the pleasant surprise, he gave a helpless sigh. Then he also smiled while hugging her back.

"Ahem..." Hu Quan Li and Lady Hua were married for years, but when they saw their own daughter like this, they couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Zhi Yu and Hu Bai finally realized that they have been hugging each other for far too long. Hu Bai took a step back, blushing, while Zhi Yu got up from his kneeling position.

-----

“It seems that everything went well, Falcon.”

“Yeah… wow, the Eldest Young Miss looks so beautiful in that dress.”

“Haha, yeah I know right. I am very jealous of the Chief. Yet, I am happy too.”

Falcon and Fa Sui watched the scene from a nearby roof. They were in a sitting position, crossing their legs as they looked at the joyful event that happened. They looked inside through the big door of the Rose hall. Their martial arts made their eyes more keen than most people. When he heard Fa Sui say that, Falcon looked over and casted a glance at his best friend. Looking at Fa Sui flawless and beautiful face. “Hmm…”

Fa Sui realized that Falcon had been looking at him and looked back. “Is there something wrong, Falcon?”

“You know, Sui. If it is beauty, I don’t think you are far off from the Eldest Young Miss. I mean, you can actually rival her.” Falcon said bluntly in a monotonous voice. Fa Sui’s eyes widened. “You are kind of... beautiful.”

“What, what do you mean by that?!” Fa Sui blushed and jumped from his sitting position. He looked angry and… bashful? At the same time. He stomped his feet at the solid and strong looking roof made of tiles, indicating that he was not happy about Falcon’s word. “Don’t tell something like that to a man!”

“Huh?” Falcon looked up and thought that it was weird for Fa Sui to be so stirred about his words. He raised an eyebrow at his friends’ over reaction and thought that it was pretty amusing to see him like this, it made him feel like bullying his beautiful-looking friend. Falcon jokedly poked fun at him. “You know Sui, you are smart and good-looking. Although you are very immature and naughty sometimes, I think you are quite a catch. If you were a woman I might actually go ahead and fall for yo-”

Before Falcon could end his sentence, Fa Sui was already kicking him. Falcon was sitting at the very edge of the roof and the kick from Fa Sui made him unsteady, eventually, he fell. “Aah!”

Falcon fell to the thick bushes and felt sore all over. He thought that Fa Sui’s kick was unusually strong. “Damn it! What was that for?!”

“Hmph!” Fa Sui replied to his cries. “That is what you get for spouting nonsense over me.”

Fa Sui still had that faint blush on his face as he jumped from roof to roof. Trying to find a place to hide before Falcon got up and chased after him, seeking revenge.

Damn, that Falcon almost got me a heart attack!

Fa Sui cursed. He looked at his chest and sighed. He did not realize, did he?

Fa Sui knew that Falcon was a lot faster than him, so playing chase with Falcon was not the right option for the petite and weak looking young man. Fa Sui managed to find a suitable hiding place. Fa Sui hid in an empty box made of wood and covered himself with the wooden cover. Falcon passed by and Fa Sui saw him from the holes in that wooden box. Falcon was standing on a nearby wall roof, looking left and right for Fa Sui.

Fa Sui was looking at him at an angle where he could see the sun perfectly shining on Falcon’s mask and front body. His tall figure with great body posture made him look surreal in Fa Sui’s eyes. His strong and manly figure also reminded Fa Sui of how small and weak he was compared to Falcon.

Both he and Falcon were trained to be loyal guards of the Hu family from the time they were very young.

But, unlike Falcon and the rest of his comrade, Fa Sui was very weak, talentless, and was more or less useless in combat. Meaning, he could not protect the Hu family and became guards like he planned to. Luckily, his uncle, Fa Rong, made him take turns on his education and managed to knock some knowledge about medicine to his rock solid brain and now he was not utterly useless to the Hu family. He ended up being a doctor while Falcon became one of the captains of the guards.

Looking at Falcon looking left and right searching for him made Fa Sui remember something crucial. Falcon’s mask... Even though Fa Sui grew up together with Falcon, he never saw Falcon remove his mask. He recalled Falcon said that he was cursed or something so his face looked like a monster’s. Falcon said that he did not want to startle everyone he met so he got himself a mask.

“Hmm… a curse, huh?”