“Bang bang bang—”
Gu Chuan was banging on the door outside, shouting, “Sister! Sister! Are you inside? Sister—”
Changsheng stopped him, “You little rascal, don’t just barge in. Ouch… why are you biting me?”
Gu Jianli quickly walked over to open the door.
“Xiao Chuan, why are you here?”
Gu Chuan immediately let out a breath of relief, ran to Gu Jianli, and grabbed her hand, vigilantly scanning the room. He shot a vicious glare at Ji Wujing.
“Let’s go, we’re leaving!” Gu Chuan pulled on Gu Jianli.
Ji Wujing’s lips curled into a faint smile. He turned his head and began to cough intermittently. He moved a couple of steps to the side, one hand supporting the wall, the other forming a loose fist in front of his mouth. His face paled visibly.
Gu Jianli broke free from Gu Chuan’s grasp and quickly stepped over to Ji Wujing, her tone anxious, “Fifth Master, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell again?”
Ji Xinglou and Ji Xinglan, the two children, were also startled. They immediately dropped their spoons, jumped off their chairs, and ran to Ji Wujing’s side, standing close together and looking up at him with wide eyes.
Ji Wujing lowered his eyes and reached out towards Gu Jianli, but before he could touch her, she had already folded her handkerchief and handed it to him.
Ji Wujing glanced at the snow-white handkerchief and thought for a moment, feeling that it would look better with red plum blossoms. So, he coughed blood onto it.
Gu Jianli had Changsheng bring over a chair, carefully helping Ji Wujing sit down, murmuring softly, “It’s so far from the Guangping Marquis’s residence, and the weather’s been cold lately. You left early this morning, didn’t you? Don’t catch a chill…”
She turned to pour a cup of hot water, came back to Ji Wujing’s side, and asked, “Do you want to drink some?”
Ji Wujing continued to cough intermittently, looking down at the blood on the handkerchief in his hand.
Tsk, the plum blossoms are a bit crooked.
Ji Wujing didn’t speak, and Gu Jianli, assuming he was feeling uncomfortable, stood by holding the cup of water. Ji Wujing slightly raised his eyes, his gaze falling on Gu Jianli’s hand. The water in the cup was a bit hot, and she was switching fingers to hold it, the tips of her delicate fingers turning a little red.
The way her slender fingers turned red from the heat was quite beautiful, looking somewhat appetizing.
But also quite silly.
Ji Wujing chuckled softly, reached up to take the water from her hand, took a sip, and casually placed it aside.
The shopkeeper peeked in from the doorway.
Changsheng asked coldly, “What do you want?”
The shopkeeper bent over with a smiling face and said, “Dear guests, our little establishment is very busy today. Some new guests wish to use this private room. I noticed that you all have finished your meal, so could you please make room for them?”
“What are you talking about? There are still plenty of empty tables downstairs, and the room next door is also empty!” Changsheng retorted.
The shopkeeper hesitated, glancing at Ji Wujing with his small eyes, his face wrinkled with a forced smile. “All those have been reserved. Please, could you kindly make an exception? I’ll give you this meal at half price!”
Gu Jianli, seeing Ji Wujing’s current condition, thought it was not appropriate to send him home directly. After a moment’s hesitation, she helped Ji Wujing up and said, “My sister’s restaurant is just across the street. Let’s go there to rest before heading back to the manor.”
Gu Chuan’s face remained dark, displeased that his sister didn’t leave with him.
Gu Jianli instructed him to hold Ji Xinglan and Ji Xinglou’s hands. Although Gu Chuan was unwilling, he nodded obediently. He walked over to take Ji Xinglan’s hand, but Ji Xinglou suddenly pushed his hand away, grabbed his sister’s hand, and ran to the front.
“Why are you like this!” Gu Chuan fumed.
Ji Xinglou turned back, stuck out his tongue, and made a face.
Gu Jianli cautioned, “Xinglou, hold your sister’s hand and slow down.”
Ji Xinglou replied, “Mind your own business,” and ran out with his sister.
Gu Chuan stomped his feet in anger and ran out as well.
Gu Jianli found it amusing, but her smile vanished when she saw Ji Wujing’s pale face beside her. She supported Ji Wujing and walked slowly towards the exit. As they descended the stairs, she faintly heard the conversation between the shopkeeper and the waiter in the room they had just left.
“Shopkeeper, why half price?”
“Heh, that sickly person might die in our restaurant. What bad luck that would be during the New Year…”
Gu Jianli paused, doubting her ears. How could someone say something so awful! She suppressed her anger, hoping Ji Wujing hadn’t heard it, worried that it might upset him further. But when she looked at Ji Wujing, she saw a strange smile on his face, leaving her stunned.
“Oh, what a pretty little lady. Heh heh heh… she looks just like the fairy I dreamt of last night. It’s fate! Hic.” A drunkard, holding a wine gourd, staggered into the restaurant’s main door. His eyes were immediately drawn to Gu Jianli, who had just descended the stairs.
The servant following him hurriedly stepped forward to support him, saying, “Master, you are drunk. Let’s go back to the manor!”
“I, I won’t! I want the little lady! Heh heh heh!”
“Oh dear, master, that little lady is already married…”
The drunkard staggered over and, upon hearing the servant’s words, noticed Ji Wujing beside Gu Jianli for the first time. He smirked and said, “The little lady is beautiful, and the young man is also handsome. Heh heh, the beauty of Longyang is truly elegant. Brother will take both!”
Seeing that the drunkard was about to collide with them, Changsheng took two big steps forward, drawing his sword to block him. He twisted his wrist slightly, exposing a portion of the blade, which glinted coldly. However, he did not make any further moves, waiting for Ji Wujing’s command.
The drunkard hiccuped twice more, grinning, “Don’t scare people with that thing. Our Chen family is wealthy. You two can come with me, and I’ll ensure you live in luxury! Heh heh, you’ll even live in the same room. The three of us will have a great time together!”
Gu Jianli frowned at his vulgar words. The drunkard’s lecherous gaze roved over her, making her turn her face away in disgust, feeling dirty under his lewd stare.
Ji Wujing chuckled lightly, glanced at the drunkard, and lazily spoke in a calm, almost kind tone, “She doesn’t like you looking at her.”
The drunkard’s unfocused eyes slowly fixed on Ji Wujing’s face. He didn’t quite hear what Ji Wujing said, just found him increasingly pleasing to the eye. Grinning foolishly, he tried to lunge at Ji Wujing, shouting “Good-looking! Good-looking!” Changsheng’s sword blocked him, causing him to stumble back three or four steps.
Ji Wujing turned his gaze away, his tone indifferent, “Gouge out his eyes, stitch his mouth shut, use fishing line.”
Changsheng’s crisp “Yes” was followed by the sound of his sword being drawn.
As Gu Jianli followed Ji Wujing forward, she heard the drunkard behind her making a gurgling noise in his throat, unable to even scream. He didn’t scream, but the other guests in the hall did, their cries of terror mingling with the sounds of bowls breaking and chairs scraping.
Gu Jianli had just reached the threshold when the screams behind her almost caused her to stumble. She instinctively turned her head to see what had happened.
“Don’t look back.” Ji Wujing placed his hand on her slender waist, pulling her into his arms.
Gu Jianli belatedly realized that the scene behind her might be unpleasant. She dared not look back but couldn’t stop imagining it, her face turning pale with fear. She didn’t notice that Ji Wujing’s hand remained on her waist as they walked across the long street.
The three children were already standing at the restaurant’s entrance. Gu Chuan was talking to Gu Zaili, Ji Xinglou was kicking the snow on the road, and Ji Xinglan was stretching her neck to look at Ji Wujing and Gu Jianli, waving her little arms excitedly.
As they passed Gu Zaili, Gu Jianli felt inexplicably guilty. She whispered, “Sister, I’ll take him to a private room to rest for a while.”
She didn’t even dare to look into Gu Zaili’s eyes, keeping her head down as she went upstairs.
The guests in the downstairs hall were abuzz with conversation.
“Isn’t that Ji Zhao? How is he not dead yet?”
“I heard Gu Jingyuan took his little daughter back and said the marriage didn’t count. How did those two end up together again? I don’t understand…”
“Shh, we shouldn’t talk about any of them.”
Gu Zaili stood in place, watching her sister’s retreating figure thoughtfully. She turned around and looked towards the opposite restaurant, having seen what had just happened.
She recognized the drunkard—it was a relative of her ex-husband’s family.
Gu Jianli helped Ji Wujing into the private room, letting him sit down to rest. She fetched a thin blanket to cover him. Ji Wujing leaned back in the chair, closed his eyes, and soon fell asleep.
Gu Jianli didn’t dare to disturb him, and Ji Xinglan and Ji Xinglou were also very quiet. Watching Ji Xinglou lying on the table, Gu Jianli noticed that the usually rambunctious child behaved like a little lamb in front of Ji Wujing.
Ji Wujing slept until nightfall.
“What time is it?” Ji Wujing asked hoarsely, slowly opening his eyes.
Gu Jianli glanced outside. It was completely dark, and the restaurant was about to close.
She hesitated before speaking, “Fifth Master, should I ask Changsheng to call a carriage for you?”
Ji Wujing wrapped himself in the blanket and coldly said, “Far, cold, not going.”
“But you can’t stay here overnight.”
Ji Wujing lifted his eyelids and looked at Gu Jianli, asking, “How long did you stay in my house?”
Gu Jianli thought for a moment before answering, “Eleven days.”
Ji Wujing lazily and arrogantly replied, “I let you stay for eleven days, and now I can’t stay at your place for even one day?”
Ji Xinglou and Ji Xinglan, sitting side by side with their chins on the table, turned their little heads to look at whoever was speaking. At this moment, both were blinking their eyes at Gu Jianli.
Gu Jianli frowned. She knew Ji Wujing was being unreasonable again. But returning to the Guangping Marquis’s residence would take more than an hour. It was late, and it had snowed, considering Ji Wujing’s health…
So, Gu Jianli took Ji Wujing and the two children back home. Along the way, Gu Chuan snorted countless times, but Gu Zaili, surprisingly, did not oppose the idea.
Gu Jingyuan had guests and was still in the main hall discussing matters late into the night.
Gu Jianli took Ji Wujing and the children directly to her room, then stepped out to explain to her father.
Suddenly, Ji Xinglou rushed out from behind and handed Gu Jianli a box.
“What is this?” Gu Jianli asked.
Ji Xinglou’s expression was a bit unnatural. He lowered his voice and said, “Father bought this for me and said I must finish it. Help me eat it all, then return the box to me!”
With that, he ran off.
Gu Jianli, surprised, opened the box to find rows of snow-white lotus seed candies. She picked one up and put it in her mouth.
So sweet.
