Ji Wujing’s teeth lightly nipped her soft, rosy lips and quickly retreated. Ji Wujing frowned and slowly licked his teeth. There was still a lingering softness and fragrance from the accidental contact with her lips.
Very soft, and a bit sweet. Not bad at all.
With a gentle bite, Gu Jianli’s already moist lips quickly flushed a seductive red, becoming even more alluring and inviting. Ji Wujing’s gaze lingered on her tender red lips for a moment before he leaned in again, biting them once more. His teeth gently nibbled her lips, slowly teasing them.
Startled, Gu Jianli’s eyes widened. She placed her hands on his chest, intending to push him away. However, she hesitated for a moment, and the hands that were meant to push Ji Wujing away merely rested on his chest, ultimately failing to push him off.
She shouldn’t push him away; they were husband and wife.
Gu Jianli stood motionless, her body gradually tensing as Ji Wujing continued to bite and tease her lips. Her senses were heightened, every slight touch feeling alarmingly intense. She felt Ji Wujing’s light bites and the cold wetness of his lips. His lips, like him, were cold. Then, she felt the soft, wet tip of his tongue slowly licking her lips.
Suddenly, she shivered with a chill, her body trembling slightly.
Ji Wujing let go of her, pinching her chin and lifting her face to look coldly into her eyes as he spoke mockingly, “Disgusted?”
His eyes were cold, as cold as when they first met. His fox-like eyes carried a hint of a smile, but the teardrop mole under his eye reminded her that his smile was dangerous.
“Not at all!” Gu Jianli immediately denied.
Ji Wujing continued to smile, but the coldness in his fox-like eyes indicated his disbelief.
Gu Jianli’s hand at her side clenched and unclenched. Finally, she mustered the courage to meet Ji Wujing’s gaze and said very seriously, “I am resistant, but not because I dislike you. It’s just that I’m not used to it. If I had married someone else, it would be the same.”
Ji Wujing laughed and asked nonchalantly, “Would it be the same with my nephew?”
Gu Jianli was stunned, her eyes filled with panic. Tears quickly welled up in her eyes. She held back her grievance and, with a hint of annoyance, said, “What you said makes no sense at all. If your family hadn’t done what they did, perhaps after marrying your nephew, I could answer you! But now, I can’t!”
Ji Wujing squinted slightly. So, this soft little kitten could get angry too. He released his grip, only to realize he had pinched her cheeks red. So delicate?
He didn’t say anything more and turned to leave, but Gu Jianli grabbed his wrist. He stopped and looked back at her. Gu Jianli just lowered her head, neither looking at him nor speaking.
After a moment of silence, Ji Wujing chuckled and ruffled Gu Jianli’s hair. He spoke casually, “I was just teasing you. Are you going home?”
“Going home…” Gu Jianli’s voice was small as she nodded.
Ji Wujing flipped his wrist, holding Gu Jianli’s hand in his palm, and led her out.
Just before leaving, Gu Jianli quickly wiped away the moisture from the corner of her eye, lifted her head, and regained her composed and graceful demeanor, as if nothing had happened.
No matter what happened, she always disliked showing an unseemly appearance in front of others. Watching Ji Wujing’s back, she thought that maintaining her composure in front of him was nearly impossible. She no longer wanted to expend effort pretending to be dignified in front of Ji Wujing. Perhaps it was because she had embarrassed herself in front of him several times that she had already given up trying to maintain her composure.
Chen He was still in the courtyard, standing like a pine in the wind with one hand behind his back. The cat, however, was nowhere to be seen.
“You’re still here,” Ji Wujing glanced at Chen He impatiently.
Chen He asked softly, “Is there really no room for discussion?”
“I can’t find a reason to kill him,” Ji Wujing replied with a strange smile. “An old skin lantern made of human skin wouldn’t look good.”
Chen He looked at Ji Wujing with some concern. Given Ji Wujing’s temperament, it was easy for him to offend people. He didn’t like others, and others didn’t like him. Yet, the emperor was quite kind to Ji Wujing, excusing him from certain formalities, and even bestowing upon him the title from the Xuanjing Sect when Ji Wujing reached adulthood. After Ji Wujing was poisoned, the emperor showed even more care, frequently sending palace physicians to treat him and rewarding him with rare medicinal supplements.
Chen He sighed quietly. Indeed, asking Ji Wujing to kill the emperor made no sense; there was no need to trouble him further.
Suddenly, a signal smoke rose into the sky.
A young eunuch came running over, shouting urgently, “Something terrible has happened!”
When Ji Wujing, Gu Jianli, and Chen He arrived at the imperial garden, layers of guards surrounded the area, impenetrable. The imperial garden was not far from where they were, so they arrived shortly after the incident occurred. Today was the Lantern Festival banquet, when ministers brought their families into the palace. It was the only day of the year when ministers and their families could freely walk around the palace and enjoy the scenery. Just moments ago, several ministers’ wives and daughters were strolling in the imperial garden when they stumbled upon this scene.
—The Second Prince, Ji Yan, was caught engaging in indecent acts with the Third Prince Ji Lan’s fiancée in the plum grove. Their clothes were disheveled, and the ground was covered with red plum petals.
Chen He patted the shoulder of a guard in front, asking him to make way.
The guard, speaking gruffly, said, “Move along, don’t crowd…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he turned and saw Ji Wujing and Chen He standing there with cold expressions. Terrified, he hurriedly stepped aside, trembling.
The guards in front quickly made way.
As they reached the inside, Gu Jianli saw Emperor Chang slap the Second Prince, Ji Yan, across the face. Ji Yan staggered and fell to the ground, his pants still not properly worn, in a state of utter disarray. Emperor Chang continued to berate him, his disappointment palpable.
Ji Wujing leaned close to Gu Jianli and blew gently on her face, whispering, “Children shouldn’t look at such things.”
Gu Jianli was exasperated by Ji Wujing always treating her like a child, though she had to admit that the Second Prince’s current state was indeed highly inappropriate. Even without Ji Wujing’s reminder, Gu Jianli had already averted her gaze upon noticing the Second Prince’s disheveled appearance, adhering to the principle of not looking at indecent sights.
The Third Prince Ji Lan’s fiancée was huddled into a ball, crying with her face covered. A palace maid brought a cloak and wrapped it around her. Her sobbing was pitiful and heart-wrenching. Although the guests had been dispersed by the guards, today’s incident would undoubtedly spread, and it was uncertain how this future Third Princess would cope in the days to come.
Ji Lan hurried over and saluted Emperor Chang. He seemed to want to plead for leniency, but after glancing at his fiancée not far away, his brow furrowed, and he ultimately refrained from speaking on behalf of his second brother.
Gu Jianli noticed that when the guard reported Ji Lan’s arrival, his crying fiancée visibly trembled.
“Defiling your brother’s wife, you’ve brought disgrace upon the royal family! What do you have to say for yourself, huh?” Emperor Chang was furious.
Ji Yan, disheveled, scrambled to arrange his clothes and knelt at Emperor Chang’s feet, his voice trembling, “Father, I am being framed, I am innocent!”
Emperor Chang kicked Ji Yan’s shoulder in rage, shouting, “Who stripped your pants? How can you claim innocence after defiling a young lady? Bring the whip!”
Emperor Chang was genuinely enraged. The more he had favored Ji Yan, the angrier he was now. He had high hopes for the former Crown Prince, but before he was even dead, the former Crown Prince attempted a coup! Recently, feeling his health decline, Emperor Chang was considering naming Ji Yan as Crown Prince, but now this had happened. He knew Ji Yan had a weakness for women, with countless concubines and performers in the palace. A man’s fondness for women wasn’t a big deal, but he never expected Ji Yan to target his brother’s fiancée! Not even Crown Prince yet, and he already had designs on her—if made Crown Prince, he might be just like the former Crown Prince, wishing for his early death! How could Emperor Chang not be furious?
He took the whip handed to him by a guard and lashed it onto Ji Yan’s body, one strike after another.
Ji Yan, unable to dodge, cried out in pain and pleaded his innocence, tears streaming down his face.
Ji Lan approached his fiancée, ordering a nearby palace maid, “Take Miss Sun back to rest.”
Sun Yinlan removed her hands from her tear-streaked face, looking at Ji Lan with tearful eyes, unable to stop crying. She seemed to have a thousand things to say but couldn’t utter a word. In a little over four months, she was supposed to marry him. But after today’s incident, she knew she couldn’t marry him anymore.
After the palace maid helped Sun Yinlan away, Ji Lan walked up to Emperor Chang to plead, “Father, Second Brother has always been respectful; there might be…”
In an instant, the situation changed. Ji Yan, kneeling, suddenly stood up, grabbed Emperor Chang by the throat, and forced him to retreat until his back was against a tree.
“You… you…” Emperor Chang could utter no more, staring in horror at Ji Yan’s sinister eyes.
The guards, alarmed, shouted “Protect the Emperor” and rushed forward.
Ji Wujing flicked his wrist, sending a coin flying, hitting an acupuncture point on the back of Ji Yan’s neck with precision. Ji Yan’s body stiffened, his pupils dilated, and he released his grip, collapsing backward heavily.
The guards immediately rushed to support Emperor Chang and restrained Ji Yan. Ji Lan and the other two princes hurried over to help Emperor Chang, their faces full of concern.
Emperor Chang, gasping for breath and still shaken, waved his hand and ordered the guards to imprison Ji Yan.
However, he was only imprisoned, not thrown into the dungeon. Ji Lan and the other princes silently considered this. Whether Ji Yan’s actions were due to drunkenness or a setup, his inability to inherit the throne would be beneficial for the other princes.
In this situation, Chen He could not stand idly by and had to step in. Before leaving, he gave Ji Wujing a helpless look and whispered, “Saving people is the guards’ job. If the guards can’t do it, there’s always the Eastern and Western Depot. Xuanjing Sect is for killing, why are you stealing their thunder?”
Ji Wujing smiled, “Because I want to.”
Chen He almost suspected that Ji Wujing had intervened to save Emperor Chang just to oppose him. Although, even if Ji Wujing hadn’t acted, the Second Prince wouldn’t have been able to harm Emperor Chang. Chen He secretly hoped for some conflict to arise between Ji Wujing and Emperor Chang.
Gu Jianli looked towards Emperor Chang from a distance, her expression darkening. She bit her lip and tugged on Ji Wujing’s sleeve, saying, “Let’s go home.”
“Alright, let’s go home and settle accounts,” Ji Wujing replied, turning around. After half a day of commotion, his body was indeed feeling the strain.
Once they got home, not only did Ji Wujing intend to collect some money, but he also awaited the Emperor’s reward.
Just as they reached the palace gates, a guard came running after them with an imperial decree summoning the couple.
Gu Jianli remembered her aunt’s words, her heart sinking. But since Emperor Chang had summoned them, she couldn’t find an excuse to avoid it.
