*Phew*, it’s been a long time since I’ve had such a good workout.
Bai Li fluttered her wings and flew back to the Imperial Palace.
As she stretched her body to catch her breath, a lingering smile played on her lips, and even the tips of her wings twitched slightly with excitement.
“Bai Li can finally fly on her own now. I won’t have to carry you around every single day anymore,” Bai Ning said with a beaming smile.
“Alright, after working hard for half the day, it’s time for us to soak in the springs and rest together.”
“O-One… together?!”
Bai Li’s wings froze mid-air, and her eyes widened in shock.
“Yeah, what’s wrong with together? Don’t tell me our little Bai Li is shy?”
Bai Ning leaned in, her tone teasing as she playfully arched an eyebrow.
“T-This is highly inappropriate! Men and women should not… I mean, we should soak separately!”
Bai Li scurried backward in a panic, her wings stiffening into straight lines.
“No way. Soaking separately would be such a waste of this warm spring water. It’s not efficient at all. Besides, didn’t you use to bathe me every day when I was little? Moreover, we’re both girls now, so what is there to be afraid of?”
Bai Ning waved her hand dismissively, her reasoning sounding perfectly logical.
“That was when you were a child! If I had known you kept your memories, I never would have bathed you…”
“Bai Li, are you acting spoiled after getting the better end of the deal?! To think the grand Vampire Queen was actually dragged into the bathroom to be scrubbed and washed by a human…!”
Recalling the past, Bai Ning huffed and placed her hands on her hips, looking as if she had remembered some deeply embarrassing secret.
“Uh… putting it that way, it does seem like I was in the wrong. But wasn’t that because you were pretending to be a baby…?”
Bai Li scratched her head, her tone softening instantly as she looked guilty.
“Exactly. What goes around comes around, and now it’s finally my turn.”
Bai Ning gave a mischievous grin.
Without another word, she reached out and scooped Bai Li up, tossing the girl over her shoulder.
She began striding toward the bathroom with decisive movements, leaving no room for negotiation.
“No! Bai Ning! Put me down! We have to soak separately!”
Bai Li flailed her arms and legs on Bai Ning’s shoulder, her short legs kicking back and forth, her face turning red with urgency.
‘Bathing with my grown daughter… what kind of person does that? This is clearly the behavior of a depraved father! I refuse to do something so ridiculous!’
“That’s not up to you, my dear daughter.”
On a sudden whim, Bai Ning raised her hand and delivered a quick smack to Bai Li’s bottom.
*Slap!*
A crisp sound echoed.
“Ah!”
Caught off guard by the sneak attack, Bai Li’s body stiffened.
She let out a subconscious, soft moan, and the flush on her face instantly spread to the tips of her ears.
“Behave! When your mother tells you to bathe, you bathe. Don’t throw a tantrum,” Bai Ning said, patting her back with a tone of unquestionable dote.
“Ugh… you damned rebellious daughter… how dare you hit your father’s… butt…”
Bai Li huddled on her shoulder, her eyes reddening slightly.
Her voice was muffled and full of indignation, looking incredibly aggrieved.
“Ah!”
The moment she finished speaking, she received another slap on the rear.
This time, the sound was even louder and crisper, delivered with a bit more force.
“Mmph…”
Having suffered a loss, Bai Li immediately went silent.
She didn’t dare say another word, simply burying her head and whimpering piteously on Bai Ning’s shoulder, her small frame trembling slightly.
The sight of Bai Ning carrying her forward was exceptionally comical—she looked exactly like a hunter who had caught a prized piece of prey and was returning home in a triumphant parade.
Pushing open the carved wooden doors of the bathroom, Bai Ning finally set Bai Li down and rubbed her head.
“Strip.”
“S-Strip… my clothes?”
Bai Li clutched the hem of her princess dress, her eyes darting around nervously.
“What else would you strip? Hurry up. If you keep dawdling, the spring water is going to get cold.”
Bai Ning leaned against a nearby stone pillar, crossing her arms as she rushed her, a mocking smile playing on her lips.
“Bai Ning… can you turn around for just a second? Just a little bit…”
Bai Li gripped her skirt and pleaded in a low voice.
“No way. I need to see if our clumsy daughter even knows how to undo this complicated Imperial Family princess dress. If you don’t have maids to serve you in the future, are you going to let yourself be tied up by your own clothes because you can’t take care of yourself?”
Bai Ning spoke with such gravity that there was no room for argument.
‘Dammit! You rebellious daughter…’
Bai Li grumbled inwardly, but she was helpless.
Resigning to her fate, she turned around and began clumsily fumbling with her dress, constantly reassuring herself in her mind.
‘It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s just taking off some clothes. It’s no big deal.’
But after struggling for a long time, she realized…
She actually didn’t know how to take off this stupid princess dress!
The winding ribbons and layers upon layers of buttons made her head spin.
The more she tried to undo them, the messier they became, until she looked like a little puppet tangled in its own strings.
This was truly embarrassing.
She wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
“Hmm? What’s wrong? My dear daughter, didn’t I tell you that you wouldn’t be able to handle it?”
As if she had expected this, Bai Ning strolled over slowly.
Looking at Bai Li’s frantic state, she laughed mockingly.
“Ugh… stop laughing! Hurry up and help! Faster!”
Tied up by her own clothes and unable to move her limbs properly, Bai Li stamped her feet in frustration.
She could only blush and call for help, her voice laced with embarrassed annoyance.
“Alright, alright. I’m coming. I’ll stop laughing at you.”
Bai Ning sighed with a smile, her tone full of affection.
She stepped forward, gently brushing aside Bai Li’s frantic small hands, and began to unbutton the dress.
Her movements were incredibly gentle as her fingers brushed against Bai Li’s skin.
While undoing the buttons at the collar and the intertwined laces on the back, she whispered instructions.
“Look, you have to undo this dress slowly from top to bottom. You can’t rush it, or you’ll definitely get yourself tangled and never get it off.”
“It’s enough of a hassle to put it on, but I didn’t think taking it off would be this much effort…”
Bai Li hung her head and muttered in a small voice, looking utterly drained of life.
With Bai Ning’s help, the complex princess dress was removed in just a moment.
Bai Li felt an instant lightness, but she also froze.
The sudden contact of the cool air against her skin, combined with her daughter’s blatant, unshielded gaze falling directly upon her, sent a wave of shame washing over her.
She desperately wanted to find a cloth to wrap herself in.
What made her even more uncomfortable was that while the clothes were gone, her accessories hadn’t been removed.
The cold metal pressed against her warm skin, and the strange sensation was magnified, making her feel restless all over.
“The accessories… there’s no need to take those off! It won’t hurt these things to be in the spring water.”
Bai Li tried to act composed.
She pointed toward the hot spring pool steaming nearby, wanting nothing more than to dive in and escape that awkward gaze.
“Get in then. Don’t dawdle, or Mother will have to pick you up and toss you in herself.”
“I know already!”
Bai Li’s ears turned bright red with shame.
She clamped her right hand over her chest and protected her lower half with her left, scurrying toward the hot spring pool in a panic.
She moved too fast, and as she reached the edge, her foot slipped—
*Splash!*
A loud sound erupted as she executed a perfect cannonball.
*BOOM!*
Water splashed in every direction, soaking the floor.
Even Bai Ning, standing by the edge, was sprayed with water droplets.
“My, my. It seems our Bai Li still hides the heart of a playful child,” Bai Ning said, wiping the water from her face as she spoke.
“Cough, cough! I-I do not! I just accidentally slipped! It wasn’t because I was being playful!”
Bai Li popped her head out of the water, droplets hanging from her lips.
She coughed violently while her face turned a deep shade of crimson as she defended herself.
“Alright, alright. I’m done teasing you.”
Bai Ning stopped laughing and straightened her skirt.
She looked down at Bai Li in the pool, her tone becoming a bit more serious.
“Bai Li, look at me carefully now. I’m going to demonstrate how to undo this Vampire Queen dress. Watch closely. Although it’s similar to your princess dress, the details involve several more complicated steps. You must remember this.”
Hearing this, Bai Li froze in the pool, forgetting even to wipe the water from her face.
‘No way?! Bai Ning, you brat, are you really going to undress right in front of your father, who was once a man?! You have no sense of shame…’