Happy expression

The interior of the room was, as expected, like the residence of an ancient imperial concubine.

The bed had curtains, the furniture was antique, and even the door lock was a wooden latch.

Lily felt as though she had traveled back in time and become a noble consort.

Soon she realized that if she really were a consort, then Letia would definitely be an Empress Wu Zetian — there would be no escape from her grasp.

Amy ran around the room, her big eyes full of curiosity.

Lily followed closely behind, afraid that Amy might fall.

After spinning in circles, Amy finally ran to the bookshelf and excitedly pointed at the books.

“Mommy! I want to read a book!”

“These books look a little too difficult, don’t they?”

Most of the books on the shelves were about history and philosophy, with only a few novels — and even those looked like classic literature, not easy reads.

By chance, Lily noticed a beautifully bound book.

She picked it up and flipped through it, discovering that it was a love story between a princess and a commoner girl.

The text had pronunciation marks above the characters, and the story seemed simple enough to understand.

It might actually be suitable for Amy to read.

But… was it really okay to let her daughter read a romance story so early?

Maybe it was fine.

After all, when she was little, she also read fairy tales like Snow White, and at that time, she didn’t think about love — she just thought the two people looked happy together!

Letting go of her worries, Lily crouched down and handed the book to Amy.

“Amy, do you like this one?”

“Wow, the cover is so pretty!”

The cover showed the silhouettes of two girls kissing.

Lily immediately regretted her choice.

But Amy didn’t blush — she probably didn’t even understand what kissing meant.

She must’ve just thought it showed two close friends.

As expected, adults really shouldn’t judge a child’s understanding with adult standards!

“If there’s a word you don’t understand, ask Mommy Letia, okay?” Lily said, patting Amy’s head. “I’m going to take a bath, so I can’t read with you now.”

“Mommy Lily, I want to take a bath too!”

“Take a bath? You want to bathe too?”

Now that she thought about it — Amy had never taken a real bath since she was born!

Letia often used cleaning magic on her, so Amy was always spotless.

Lily had accepted that, thinking Amy was still too small for regular baths.

But now she felt that experiencing a real bath might be better.

“Then how about we bathe together, Amy?”

“Yay!” Amy answered in her soft, childish voice.

The bathroom was about nine square meters.

Sunlight shone through the paper-covered window, the floor was wooden, and the walls were fitted with valves connected to water-element magic stones.

Below the valves were small wooden tubs, and in the corner stood a single-person bath.

Lily held a towel with one hand, covering her body shyly.

Amy, on the other hand, stood completely naked in the bathroom, flapping her arms in excitement.

“What a big tub! It’s bigger than me!”

“That’s because it’s adult-sized,” Lily smiled.

Amy tilted her head in confusion, then ran over, her chubby hands gripping the rim of the tub as she peeked inside.

“Mommy, there’s no water…”

Amy knew that bathing required water, but the tub was empty — she couldn’t understand why.

Lily followed and soon noticed the embedded magic stone.

She gently touched it, and hot water began to flow from the spout into the tub.

“Wow! Water’s coming out!” Amy cheered, trying to climb into the tub to play.

But Lily quickly picked her up and patiently explained.

“You have to wash first before you soak in the bath, okay?”

“Eh?” Amy pouted in protest.

“Be good and listen to Mommy, alright?”

“Okay, I know, Mommy Lily…”

Amy sat on the wooden stool, which was high enough that her little feet dangled and kicked in the air.

Lily found a pretty glass bottle filled with fragrant bath soap — even the bottles here were so delicately made, as expected from the Dragon God’s realm.

She lathered some soap on a towel and began to gently wash Amy’s back.

“Hahahaha! That tickles!”

“It tickles even here?” Lily teased, brushing Amy’s waist. “How about here?”

“Ahh! Mommy Lily, you’re so mean!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing you,” Lily said with a chuckle. “Is this pressure okay?”

“Mhm! That doesn’t tickle anymore!”

As expected, even though Amy looked like a small child, she was still a dragon’s daughter — normal strength felt like tickling to her.

Lily had to use full force just to scrub her properly.

It felt a bit like she was bullying her child, and that made Lily feel a little guilty.

But Amy seemed to be enjoying herself, so Lily decided to just go with it.

“All done — time to rinse off!”

“Okay!” Amy squeezed her eyes shut and hunched her shoulders.

Lily used a small bucket to pour warm water over Amy, rinsing away the soap bubbles.

Amy’s hair became wet and messy.

She shook her head hard, like a little puppy shaking off water.

Cold droplets splashed all over Lily, who burst out laughing.

Just as Lily was preparing to enjoy a pleasant bath with Amy, the bathroom door suddenly burst open.

Lily instinctively covered her chest and turned around trembling.

Of course — it was Letia!

She was completely naked, and Lily didn’t even know where to look.

She wanted to tell her to cover herself — but then again, they were in a bathroom, so being naked was normal, right?

Still… why did Letia come here?

Could she be thinking about bathing together?

But their daughter was right here!

That would be bad for Amy’s moral education!

While Lily was still flustered, Letia’s face turned slightly red — a rare sight.

“I… I want to bathe with our daughter too.”

Lily blinked at her in surprise — for some reason, Letia looked… adorable.

The usually proud and commanding woman turned soft and gentle when it came to her daughter.

If only she could show that side to Lily as well…

No! She wouldn’t fall for it!

Even if Letia apologized, Lily wouldn’t forgive her — she’d make sure to get payback for all the humiliation she suffered!

“Mommy Letia, come join us!” Amy cheered happily, jumping around.

“Be careful — the floor’s slippery, don’t fall,” Lily warned.

“Okay, Mommy Lily!”

“Perfect timing. Since Mommy Letia’s here, how about she helps you wash?”

“Yay!” Amy’s cheerful voice rang out.

Letia looked at Lily in surprise — she hadn’t expected her to step aside so easily.

Holding her towel tightly, Lily moved to the corner, and as they brushed past, she thought she heard Letia whisper, “Thank you.”

“She’s our daughter, so you should take responsibility too,” Lily said firmly.

“Our… daughter…”

Letia repeated the words softly.

Warmth welled up in her heart.

She glanced at Lily — who was now sitting in the corner, washing her hair carefully, eyes closed in concentration.

Letia instinctively reached out, wanting to help wash Lily’s hair — but quickly pulled her hand back and hardened her expression again.

“Mommy Letia! I want to wash my hair too!” Amy said eagerly.

Children love to imitate adults — seeing Lily wash her hair made her want to do it too.

“Alright, Mommy will help you!”

Letia smiled gently and sat behind Amy.

Amy grabbed the edge of the stool and closed her eyes, waiting for Letia’s gentle touch.

The shampoo gave off a faint scent of grapefruit — a familiar fragrance.

A happy expression appeared on Letia’s face, though she couldn’t explain why.

Perhaps happiness was simply being able to stay by her daughter’s side.