Prince Zhanying had left her in the middle of the extravagant courtyard as he went off to seek an audience with the former Emperor Yunyin. Jingrui wandered, bored, around the courtyard and slumped down at a floor table amidst the clearing.

She cupped her chin in her hands as she closed her eyes to drift off to sleep when abruptly, the sky roared. She jumped as she looked up towards the angry sky.

Was the Rain Immortal mad? Heaven was not meant to be affected by seasons or day and night, but since the former Emperor's reign, in order to have more colours in Heaven, Immortals were put in posts to control the sky.

But this was not the colour anyone desired.

The cold rain dripped against her pale skin, and as she was about to run for shelter, an enraged snarling pitched through the rain.

"Goddamn that bastard Yihuai!" The woman screamed as she stormed into the Cold Paradise Palace with trails of beautiful maidens holding umbrellas following her.

She shrieked as she stomped on the puddles of water. "I'm going to tell your father of your harassment today and see what will happen! Curse you Rain Immortal and curse you shameless, rotten asshole—" She paused when her gaze met Jingrui's.

Jingrui gulped, finally recognising who the beautiful woman was. It was none other than the radiant Goddess of Beauty, Yuetong, whom she had met during the Winter Banquet.

Jingrui suddenly felt suffocated, and she dropped on her knees. Her hanfu was soaked wet from the puddle and rain as she bowed. "Greetings, Goddess of Beauty."

Yuetong's red lips pursed as she narrowed her eyes. "Why the hell are you here?"

Jingrui swallowed. "The God of War had asked me to accompany him here—"

Yuetong rolled her eyes and snorted. "Well, well. What a familiar face." She stepped forward and peered down at her.

The other beautiful maidens followed her to shield her from the rain.

"Look at her. Her clothes are all soaking wet. Perhaps that is her way of seducing, Zhanying, what a slut!" Yuetong scrunched her nose in disgust.

The other maidens laughed and held their handkerchiefs to their red lips, muttering in agreement. Jingrui bit the seam of her lips as she looked down towards the ground, unable to utter a word. The bitter rain gnawed against her skin, making her shiver from both cold and fear.

The maidens were all so beautiful, and Jingrui could have never thought that they would hold such ugly hearts.

Yuetong laughed after seeing her tremble against the ground. "Don't even try to act pitiful, little wretch. Zhanying would never like someone like you. He may be caught in temporary lust, but the truth is, he is just playing you."

Jingrui's heart submerged into the coldest abyss, and she gulped down her tears. It wasn't until the Goddess of Beauty trampled her large heel against her hand that tears sprung from her eyes. She winced as Yuetong twisted and twirled her heel, grinding her bones.

"Someone like you should just return to the mortal world and sell yourself to men in brothels." She laughed as she peered down with eyes widened like a demon from the underworld. "Don't you ever dare have wrongful thoughts, little maid. He is the Prince of the Nine Heavens and the God of War. You are a mere lowly maid, so know your place."

Her large heel dug into her flesh, scraping her skin until blood seeped from her knuckles. She whimpered as she tried to jerk her hands away. "I have never had wrongful thoughts towards His Highness," Jingrui remarked, wincing at the excruciating pain. "I love and respect him as the God and as a servant would to her master."

Yuetong sneered, rolling her eyes. "Pathetic. Do you think I'd believe? It's all too obvious. You've even seduced him all the way to the deserted mountain with the rich worth of your virginity. I should teach you a lesson then, so you'd know what happens when someone takes what's mine." She waved a hand, and her fellow maidens ran to surround Jingrui like beasts. Without warning, their hands shot down towards her, gripping onto her hanfu.

Jingrui took a sharp breath when she felt them tug against her cloth, tearing the fabric until her bare flesh was exposed to the biting rain. Flashes of the terrible men leapt into her mind, and a cry scraped against her throat. She hissed at the Goddesses, and with all her strength, she pushed them away and scrambled from their grasps.

Yuetong sneered. "Someone like you is worth nothing, wretch. If you know your place, keep your filthy hands off my Zhanying! He will never care for you, like you, and least of all love you!"

Tears burnt in Jingrui's eyes as she put her arm over her face and took off in a run. The cold bit against her skin as she whooshed like the wind, and by the time she arrived back at the Floating Abyss Palace, her whole body was ragged.

She slumped towards the back veranda of the inner courtyard where it was always isolated of souls. Her knuckles clenched, and her nails scratched against her palms. Fire sizzled in her heart, playing tug of war against the bitter cold of the rain that gnawed her bones. She plopped down against the wall and hugged her body to cover her flimsy clothes.

The Goddesses were right. She was a maid, a wild flower at the side road not worthy of his sight. She clenched her fists and wiped her tears. She should know her place. She should not have wrongful thoughts. She had always loved him like a family, and respected him like a servant would to their master, nothing more.

Nothing more at all.

As she sat there, trying to reason with herself, footsteps thudded against the wooden veranda, making their way towards her.

She peered up, her eyes meeting the Prince who stood with an umbrella in one hand and a towel in the other.

She wiped her tears and sniffled. "Why are you here?"

"Do you not wish me to be here?" He asked as he scanned over her frayed state. "You ran off on me again."

Her lips trembled as she turned her face away from him. "It's all your fault."

"Oh?" He tilted his head to the side and crouched in front of her. Seeing as she had no intention in conversing with him, he sighed. "Look at me."

Jingrui crossed her arms and buried her face in her knees. "I want to be alone," she grumbled. "Leave me alone. You will only make me more confused."

He sighed again before wrapping the towel around her soaked body, enshrouding her with warmth. He ignored her words and grabbed her hand as his thumb gently caressed over her red and bruising wound. "Who hurt you?" he asked, his voice was soft.

Jingrui glanced at her sore hand. "It doesn't hurt," her voice came out like a naïve whisper.

"Then why are you crying?" he gently patched her wound with his magic. "I hate it when you cry."

"The hand doesn't hurt," she mumbled. The heart did.

There were tears in Jingrui's eyes as she looked at his large hand which was wrapped around hers. And she wished he would never let go.

He will never care for you, like you, least of all love you!

Yuetong's words suddenly rang in her ears, and she bit her trembling lips before snatching her hand away from his warm grip. "The Goddess of Beauty told me to keep my filthy hands off you." She sniffled and turned her head away from him. "Leave me alone. Stop making me more confused than I already am."

"How am I making you confused?" he asked, his voice deprived of the usual harshness.

"You are always cold with your words and you are always so adamant and dignified. Yet, there are times you made me convinced that you are warm. You made me convinced you do have a heart. But the hot and cold attitude of yours is making me confused," she muttered, almost inaudibly, and once the words that carved the deepest pit of her heart had left her, a fire was set alight. She looked up into his eyes before leaning closer. Daring every inch of her, she reached towards him, letting her thumb graze the arch of his brows. "Tell me. . ." she breathed, inhaling the scent of Nag Champa and rain that diffused from him. When he didn't move away at their close proximity, she leaned forward until their lips almost touched. "Do you love me?"

Prince Zhanying clenched his jaw, his hands wrapped tightly around the umbrella as if to stop his hand from moving. There was a spark of desire in his eyes, but he remained stoic. "You are . . . you are soaking wet and you'll catch a cold. I'll take you inside." He pushed himself to stand.

Jingrui knitted her brows together, and quickly gripped his hanfu, pulling him back towards her. Her hands roamed into his hair, all her cognizant flowed out of her, and without a second thought, she bent towards him until their lips touched. Her eyes squinted shut and her hands weaved into his dark hair. The rain seemed to stop, and all sounds ceased into silence.

It wasn't until she heard a loud thump from the umbrella in his hand hitting against the ground, that she realised what she had just done. Her eyes flew open, and her gaze stared straight into his. Prince Zhanying was shocked into a stunned state and Jingrui's eyes popped wide. With all her strength, she pushed his chest, and scrambled away from him.

Her hands trembled as she placed it over her warm lips. Her heart raced so fast that she could hear her own heartbeat pounding against her ears. Her face was blanched white, but then it was flushed red.

Her head grew dizzy as she pushed herself to stand and took off in a run. Before she could get far, his hand clamped against her wrist and pulled her down. She yelped, dropping into his arms.

His gaze was dangerous, scorching fire. "You've gotten quite bold, Bao Bao," he said, and before she got time to reply, he plunged her down against the veranda. "You are the only one who has made me feel this way." His hands caressed her face, his dark eyes observing her. Then he bent down, his lips grazing warmth against hers.

Her mind became clouded, and she squeezed her eyes shut when his lips enveloped over hers. A strange sensation; soft, moist and hot flooded her and stirred her stomach with butterflies. His lips started to move, caressing, demanding, and drowning her under the soft velvety touch.

The movement was unyielding, and even though she was confused at what was happening, she gripped his hanfu tightly to pull him closer. He smiled at her actions, and with the tip of his tongue, he pried her lips apart and softly slid inside. Like a velvet silk, he began rubbing his tongue against hers, tasting every inch of her as if to make her his.

He pulled her so close to him that she could feel his hard muscles flexing against her body. Her grip tightened on his hanfu, struggling to breathe. Her tongue was clumsy against his hot and rough one.

It was not right. It felt so surreal that it was just not right. Prince Zhanying was kissing her, and she was kissing him back. And she was liking it so much that she couldn't stop.

And at that moment, she realised that perhaps Yuetong was not wrong. She really did have wrongful thoughts. She really loved him not as a master, but as someone she would be willing to spend her whole life with.

Her eyes flew open when her senses flooded back into her. With all her strength, she pushed his chest hard, breaking the kiss, and leaving her gasping for breath. Her knees turned to jelly, and her face was flushed warm. "W-What is Your Highness doing?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Didn't you initiate it?"

"B-But it's not right." She pushed them both to sit up. Her breathing was rugged and her heart pounded so violently against her chest that it might burst open. "I am a maid, and you are a prince!"

"So what?" he rasped as he caressed his hand over her face.

Jingrui couldn't breathe properly as she sat in between his legs in daze at what had just happened. And because she couldn't breathe properly, she felt as if she were going to faint.

He ran his thumb across the crease of her brows, his eyes held a warmth that was never prominent within him. He pulled her towards his chest, his hands wrapping around her body as he rested his chin atop her head. "I care about you, Bao Bao. I care about you a lot."

Her breathing was unstable, and her sight began to fill up with black dots. "You do?" her voice was barely a whisper.

The fire in his eyes turned soft. "I will protect you. No one will ever hurt you again. That is a promise."

Her strength and consciousness began to leave her, and she slumped down against his chest. "Why?"

"Because you are my Bao Bao," he murmured, and his voice sounded like a soft wind in her ears as she closed her eyes. "Because I have, and will always love you."