The Librarian and the Fox Princess: a Donghua Dijun and Bai Fengjiu story, V.I

Chapter half a century - A Charmed Existence

from the previous chapter:

She felt him run his fingers through her hair, arranging it in a specific way down her back and then began slowly combing it out. "Xiao Bai, let me ask you something."

"Ask," she replied.

"Do you remember at court when Hao De mentioned that your grandfather had received many marriage proposals for you already?"

"Yes, thankfully he declined them all," she said quickly.

"Yes, ... thankfully. Do you ever think of, ...  getting married, ... in the future?"

She sat silent for several moments as he slowly and carefully combed her hair.

---

"Getting married? Why do you ask, Dijun?"

"I'm just curious, little fox. It's just something that you'll have to deal more with as time goes by, that's all. Zhong Lin left me a memorandum a few hours ago. It's ... a marriage proposal."

"What?!" She was about to whip her head around but Dong Hua had his hand along her neck and gently but firmly kept her in place.

"Ah, careful, I'm still working on your hair."

"Why did it get sent to you?" she asked, truly perplexed.

"I wondered that, too, Xiao Bai. Since people now know that the Fox Emperor isn't entertaining any marriage proposals for you, they figured they might have a chance to send it to me since I'm your guardian while you're in the Nine Heavens," he explained.

He smirked at the misguided logic. He wanted to tell all of those little Celestial toddlers who thought they had a chance with her to keep sending the proposals. He'd take his little fox back to the Fang Xu Realm where they'd camp out beneath their Celestial tree. He'd roast sweet potatoes for her on Cang He. The marriage proposals would make good fuel for the fire as it roasted her favorite treat.

"Guardian," she whispered under her breath and smiled.

She then thought about the question Dong Hua had initially asked her. The smile then quickly lost its curved stretch.

"Oh, getting married? I ... I don't want to," she replied quietly.

Dong Hua had begun unravelling a braid thinking that it would be uncomfortable as she slept. He softly raked his long slender fingers through her hair.

"Oh? I guess that makes sense. You're still very young, little fox. You have plenty of time to think of that later."

She waited for a few moments before adding "I ... don't want to get married ... ever."

His hands froze in midair over her head when she said that.

"Ever," he echoed.

He could see the back of her head bounce softly as she nodded and repeated, "ever."

He softly placed his hands over her hair and stroked his fingers through her tresses down the whole length of her back. He softly ran his fingers up and wrote why?

She suddenly felt ticklish and squirmed slightly at the surprise of his touch on her back.

"It just feels ... like a very complicated thing. I watched what my Gugu had to go through with Second Prince Sang Ji and then some of what she went through with Uncle Ye Hua."

"But what if it doesn't have to be complicated for you, Xiao Bai?" he asked. He immediately regretted saying that. Of course it would be complicated for her. She was to be a queen.