Gu Jianli urgently said, “If we don’t return now, it will be too late. Father, I’ll visit you at the palace next time. Jixia, close the door.”
“Yes!” Jixia responded, closing the carriage door and sitting at the front with Changsheng.
“Hyah!” Changsheng cracked the whip, urging the horse to move.
Gu Jianli lifted the curtain by the carriage window, leaned out, and waved to her family. Her family looked reluctant to see her go, except for Gu Jingyuan, who still wore a stern expression. With his daughter present, there were things he hadn’t said. He decided to have a private conversation with Ji Wujing another day, away from Gu Jianli.
As the carriage turned a corner and her family was out of sight, Gu Jianli lowered the curtain, turned around, and sat properly. She glanced at Ji Wujing’s expression but couldn’t discern his mood. She spoke softly, “Father meant no harm, don’t be angry.”
“No harm? Do you honestly believe that?” Ji Wujing asked.
Gu Jianli was momentarily speechless, unsure of how to defend her father. After some thought, she decided not to make excuses for him and spoke frankly, “What my father said was wrong.”
Only then did Ji Wujing look at Gu Jianli. He reached out, lifted her chin, and rubbed it repeatedly with his thumb, asking coldly, “Have you found a suitable replacement?”
“Of course not!”
“When will you start looking? Will you wait until I die? Or when I’m bedridden and on my last breath?”
Gu Jianli said in a muffled voice, “I can’t control what my father does, but I’ve never thought about such things. The future is uncertain, but if you were to pass away first, I would observe the mourning rites earnestly.”
“Only observe mourning for me?” Ji Wujing grinned mischievously, “Won’t you accompany me in death?”
“I…” Gu Jianli was about to speak when she saw Ji Wujing’s expression turn cold in an instant, his dark eyes faintly tinged with red. The oppressive aura made it hard for her to breathe. Gu Jianli stared at him, forgetting to say anything.
For a moment, Gu Jianli thought Ji Wujing was serious, that he would truly strangle her to accompany him in death.
When Gu Jianli came to her senses, Ji Wujing had already let go, leaning lazily against the carriage wall, eating candies from a sandalwood box. His mischievous demeanor made her feel that the sinister him earlier was just her illusion.
They rode in silence to the Marquis of Guangping’s mansion. Ji Wujing got off the carriage first and walked away without looking at Gu Jianli.
Gu Jianli watched Ji Wujing’s back, knowing he was truly angry. She sat by the carriage door, her right foot on the stool, and slowly moved her left leg down with her hands, supported by Jixia. Thankfully, getting off the carriage was easier than getting on, so she wasn’t too inconvenienced.
Gu Jianli, leaning on a crutch and supported by Jixia, walked back slowly. She looked down at her left leg and said, “Fortunately, the boards can be removed in a few days.”
Jixia smiled along, “Yes, you’ll recover soon!”
Gu Jianli wanted to see Ji Xinglan immediately, but Ji Xinglan had just taken medicine and was napping. Not wanting to wake her, Gu Jianli returned to her room.
There were few servants in Ji Wujing’s courtyard, and neither he nor Gu Jianli had lived there for a month and a half, so it hadn’t been thoroughly cleaned in a while. Jixia and Changsheng quickly started cleaning. Jixia also remembered to boil hot water. After being jostled in the carriage for half a day, Gu Jianli would definitely want a bath. They first tidied up the room and prepared hot water. Changsheng went outside to sweep the yard, while Jixia went to the kitchen to prepare herbal soup for Gu Jianli.
Gu Jianli sat at the corner of the Luohan bed, looking at the sleeping Ji Wujing.
Ji Wujing lay lazily on the bed, one long leg propped up and the other dangling off the side. He held a rattle-drum between his hands, playing with it with interest as it made a continuous “dong dong dong” sound. The drum’s surface depicted a chubby baby wearing a dudou, with two small hammers hitting the baby’s face, making it smile foolishly.
Gu Jianli stood up, leaned on her crutch, and walked to the bedside, pursing her lips as she looked at Ji Wujing. After waiting for a while, Ji Wujing’s gaze remained fixed on the rattle-drum, ignoring her. She had to speak first, “I want to take a bath. Can you help me scrub my back?”
“Ask Jixia,” Ji Wujing said slowly.
“Jixia is busy brewing medicine. We missed a dose since we ate outside at noon.”
“Ask someone else,” Ji Wujing’s tone was still indifferent, but his hand’s motion with the rattle-drum slowed down.
Gu Jianli nodded and said seriously, “Okay, then I’ll ask Changsheng to help me.”
Ji Wujing’s hand paused, and he moved the rattle-drum in front of Gu Jianli. With a flick of his wrist, the small wooden hammer on the rattle-drum hit the back of the hand holding her crutch. Gu Jianli winced and quickly rubbed her hand with the other.
Ji Wujing tossed the rattle-drum aside and got out of bed with a dark face, heading to the next room. Gu Jianli slowly followed with her crutch, glaring at Ji Wujing’s back. When he turned around, she quickly hid her expression and looked down submissively.
Ji Wujing returned, impatiently helping Gu Jianli.
In the bathroom, the hot water in the tub had been sitting for a while, filling the small room with steam so thick you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.
“Sit down,” Ji Wujing pressed Gu Jianli into a chair. Then, he sat lazily on the floor in front of her, lifting her left foot onto his leg to unwrap the cloth strips.
“Can they come off now?” Gu Jianli asked in surprise.
Ji Wujing didn’t respond.
Gu Jianli muttered to herself, “That’s great. No more being strapped to those boards.”
Layer by layer, the cotton cloth strips came off, and the two wooden boards were removed. Ji Wujing’s hand brushed over Gu Jianli’s calf, pausing at the place where she had broken her bone.
Gu Jianli looked at his expression and exaggeratedly praised, “Wow, Fifth Master is amazing, he can even heal this…”
She hadn’t finished speaking when her smile froze, and she gripped the chair’s armrest tightly in pain.
Ji Wujing glanced at her expression and slightly reduced the pressure of his bone-setting. He placed Gu Jianli’s foot on the ground and finally spoke, “From today on, try to walk with effort.”
“Mm!” Gu Jianli nodded vigorously. She bent slightly, her gaze fixed on her leg.
“Do you still want to bathe?” Ji Wujing asked.
Gu Jianli hesitated for a moment before whispering, “Yes…”
She lowered her head to untie the knot sewn at her left waist.
Ji Wujing stood up, tested the water temperature in the tub, and poured some more hot water from a nearby kettle. After doing this, he turned back to see Gu Jianli still fumbling awkwardly with her clothes.
Ji Wujing sneered.
Trying to coax him this way, how foolish.
Gu Jianli glanced back at him, then took off her outer jacket, followed by her inner garment. She hesitated for a moment before removing her dudou as well. Next came her skirt and shoes, leaving only a pair of light pink underpants, which she was too embarrassed to take off.
She struggled to stand up by holding onto the armrest of the chair, facing Ji Wujing.
“Can you help me get in?” she asked, trying to sound casual, but her face was already flushed red.
Ji Wujing walked over, bent down, and picked her up. Just as he was about to lower her into the bathtub, he suddenly turned his head and pressed his ear against her chest.
Gu Jianli was so startled she almost screamed. She instinctively wanted to push Ji Wujing away, her hands pressed against his shoulders, but she restrained herself just before doing so.
Ji Wujing stayed in that position for a while, listening. Suddenly, he smiled and looked at Gu Jianli’s flushed face, saying, “Gu Jianli, your heart is beating fast. Are you sick?”
Suppressing her breathing to keep her chest from moving, Gu Jianli almost choked out each word, “It’s because you’re making me very embarrassed…”
Ji Wujing looked at her for another moment before placing her into the bathtub.
“Watch your leg,” he said.
Gu Jianli awkwardly lifted her left knee to avoid hitting her left calf. As the warm water enveloped her, a comforting warmth spread through her body, reaching every corner.
She let out a gentle sigh of relief.
Ji Wujing, with a blank expression, picked up a cloth and started scrubbing Gu Jianli’s back. She sat still, straightening her back as he helped her. After finishing, he casually tossed the cloth onto the edge of the tub. Gu Jianli turned her head to look at him and asked, “Are you still angry with my father?”
The water reflected her face but couldn’t capture the mesmerizing light in her eyes.
Ji Wujing looked away and coldly said, “I can’t be bothered to be angry with someone so boring.”
Gu Jianli rested her wet hand on the edge of the tub and looked at him again, asking, “You’re not angry with me anymore either, right?”
Ji Wujing looked at her face, was silent for a moment, then said, “I’m still angry.”
“Ah…” Gu Jianli’s features immediately scrunched up in a distressed expression. “It’s been a month, how can you still be angry?”
The corners of Ji Wujing’s fox-like eyes lifted slightly in a barely noticeable curve as he slowly said, “I won’t be angry if you let Uncle scrub your whole body.”
Gu Jianli was stunned for a moment, then carefully looked into Ji Wujing’s eyes. She let out a soft, coquettish hum, turned her head away, and spoke in a sweet voice, “Then you can just keep being angry!”
As she turned, Gu Jianli lightly curled her lips into a smile.
Ji Wujing placed his hands on the edge of the tub, leaned down, and called in her ear, “Gu Jianli.”
“Hmm?” Gu Jianli turned her head, her soft, moist lips brushing against Ji Wujing’s cheek. Startled, she quickly tried to pull back, but Ji Wujing’s hand held the back of her head, stopping her. He bit down on her enticing lips with force.
It hurt.
Ji Wujing let go of Gu Jianli, patted her head, and with a faint smile, stood up and walked out of the bathroom. Gu Jianli watched his back, then slowly touched her lips, finding her delicate fingers stained with blood.
When Gu Jianli finished her bath, Ji Wujing didn’t come in; instead, it was Jixia who attended to her.
“Has Xinglan woken up?” Gu Jianli asked.
“Nanny Lin said she just woke up.”
Gu Jianli nodded and headed towards the back courtyard. Just as she reached Ji Xinglan’s door, she saw Ye Yunyue sitting by the bed, feeding medicine to Ji Xinglan.
Jixia’s face changed dramatically, thinking to herself, “This is bad!” The master had ordered her to keep an eye on Ye Yunyue, but she had been away at the Gu residence taking care of Gu Jianli for over a month. She hadn’t expected that shameless Ye Yunyue to take the opportunity to win over the little mistress!
“Aunt Yunyue, you’re so good to me,” Ji Xinglan said sweetly, her voice tender and innocent.
“Lan’er is such a good girl!” Ye Yunyue responded with great gentleness. She had thought about winning over Ji Xingluo, but Ji Xingluo was not easy to please, so she spent a month charming Ji Xinglan. Winning over Ji Xinglan was also beneficial, as she was the future empress!
