Gu Jianli didn’t have time to silence Changsheng. She didn’t even have time to speak before Ji Xinglou stormed out of the house like a gust of wind, stood in front of Gu Jianli, pointed at her fiercely, and accused angrily, “You eavesdropped!”
Gu Jianli quietly met Ji Xinglou’s gaze for a moment and said, “When your father scolds people, he does it with a smile and never yells.”
Ji Xinglou was momentarily stunned.
Seeing his dazed expression, Gu Jianli knew her guess was correct.
Ji Xinglan followed behind him but tripped over the threshold as she reached the door. She awkwardly got up and ran over.
Gu Jianli smiled gently, pulled her to her side, brushed the dust off her buttocks, and said softly, “Lanlan, be careful when you run next time.”
She then touched Ji Xinglan’s forehead, asked Jixia to fetch Ji Xinglan’s little cotton-padded jacket, and personally helped her put it on. She said, “Lanlan, you’ve been feeling unwell these past few days, so it’s best to stay indoors. Remember?”
“Mm-hmm! I remember. Lanlan will be good and listen!” Ji Xinglan hugged Gu Jianli’s hand with a smile.
Nanny Lin found some medicine to reduce swelling and relieve pain and hurried over. Seeing Gu Jianli there, she quickly spoke on Ji Xinglou’s behalf again, “Madam, Liulang didn’t mean to be rude to you. Please don’t take it to heart. He likes you. He missed you when you weren’t home.”
“Why are you saying so much!” Ji Xinglou ran over and pushed Nanny Lin.
Ji Xinglan tugged at her brother, saying in her childish voice, “Brother, brother! Don’t push Nanny, don’t upset Mother!”
She clung tightly to Ji Xinglou’s waist from behind, her little head pressed against his back.
Gu Jianli looked at Ji Xinglan in surprise. This was the first time the little girl had seriously called her “Mother,” even though it wasn’t directly to her.
Gu Jianli said to Ji Xinglou, “Xinglou, your sister hasn’t recovered from her cold yet. It’s still very cold this early in the morning. If she stays outside any longer, her illness will worsen. Why don’t you quickly take her inside?”
Ji Xinglou hesitated, muttered “troublesome,” turned around, took Ji Xinglan’s little hand, and led her into the house. He walked with large strides, causing Ji Xinglan to stumble as she was pulled along.
Gu Jianli had Jixia support her as they followed inside. The floor was covered with a white rabbit fur rug, strewn with colorful children’s toys. Ji Xinglou climbed onto the bed and hid under the quilt. Ji Xinglan stood bewildered at the foot of the bed.
“Nanny Lin, give me the medicine,” Gu Jianli said.
Nanny Lin looked at Gu Jianli in surprise before handing over the pain-relieving and anti-swelling medicine. Gu Jianli sat by the bed, patted Ji Xinglou’s back, and said, “It’s cold now. If you don’t apply some medicine to reduce the swelling, you’ll get frostbite.”
Ji Xinglou, his head covered by the quilt, snorted disdainfully, “You lie to kids! This isn’t my first time being beaten in winter. I’ve been beaten in even colder weather, and I’ve always healed just fine!”
Gu Jianli’s lips parted slightly, and she suddenly felt a pang in her heart.
How old was Ji Xinglou? Just four years old, yet he had already been beaten many times. Yes, this child had a bad temper, spoke harshly, and was so mischievous it gave people headaches. But the fault wasn’t his; it lay with those who should have taught him and didn’t.
Gu Jianli understood that if Ji Xinglan were Ji Wujing’s legitimate son, no one in the household would dare treat him this way. It was Ji Wujing’s indifference, or rather his indulgence, that made everyone look down on, despise, and bully him. This child had to use his clumsy ways to resist, to gain others’ attention.
Being an illegitimate child is an awkward status.
Gu Jianli turned to look at Ji Xinglan, who was standing aside.
Seeing Gu Jianli looking at her, Ji Xinglan immediately put on a bright smile and said sweetly, “Don’t be angry, don’t be mad at brother, okay?”
Gu Jianli felt even more heartbroken. Ji Xinglan was still young and ignorant. As she grew older, she would come to understand how much embarrassment her status as an illegitimate child would bring her.
Gu Jianli suddenly thought of something she had always overlooked. When Ji Wujing was no longer around, she would naturally have to leave the Marquis of Guangping’s residence. What would happen to these two children then? She had no right to take them with her.
She couldn’t help but blame Ji Wujing for being an incompetent father. In fact, illegitimate children shouldn’t exist at all. If Ji Wujing truly liked the mother of these two children, bringing her into the household and making the children concubines’ offspring would be much better than their current status. Gu Jianli didn’t know the details of Ji Wujing’s relationship with the children’s mother, nor did she dare to speculate. For now, she wouldn’t think about it. Ji Wujing shouldn’t neglect these two children.
“Why are you crying?” Ji Xinglan looked at Gu Jianli, frightened. She quickly waved her little fists and pounded twice on the quilt covering Ji Xinglou, anxiously blaming, “You made Mother cry!”
Ji Xinglou stiffened under the quilt, then pulled back a corner of it to peek at Gu Jianli. Seeing her red eyes, he pursed his lips and muttered, “Women are all crybabies!”
“No, I’m not crying.” Gu Jianli leaned down and hugged the soft and fragrant Ji Xinglan.
She turned to Changsheng at the door and asked, “What does the Fifth Master want with me?”
“I don’t know. The Fifth Master just asked me to find you!”
Gu Jianli thought for a moment and said, “Go tell the Fifth Master that I’m with Xinglou and Xinglan, and ask him to come here. Xinglan can’t be exposed to the wind, so we won’t go to the front courtyard today. Serve breakfast here.”
As soon as Changsheng left, Ji Xinglou stared at Gu Jianli warily and snorted, “You want to scare me with Father again!”
Gu Jianli shook the small medicine bottle in her hand and asked, “What will you do if you can’t sit down properly because of the pain when we eat with your father?”
“That doesn’t need your…” Ji Xinglou mumbled.
Gu Jianli didn’t insist and handed the medicine bottle back to Nanny Lin, “You take care of it.”
She then touched Ji Xinglan’s soft little face and said, “Keep an eye on your brother.”
“Mm!” Ji Xinglan nodded vigorously.
Supported by Jixia, Gu Jianli sat down at the table, waiting for the breakfast to be served. She bent down and picked up a colorful handball from the floor, shaking it slightly. A few years ago, she enjoyed playing with these and liked making them herself, with many displayed in her boudoir.
When Ji Wujing arrived, Ji Xinglou had just finished applying the swelling and pain-relief medicine and was putting on his pants.
Ji Wujing glanced at him, then walked over to sit across from Gu Jianli. His face didn’t look good as he asked her, “Where did you run off to so early in the morning?”
“Xinglou caused some trouble, so I went to bring him back.”
Ji Wujing replied casually, “Even if you didn’t fetch him, he could find his way back.”
Gu Jianli didn’t like Ji Wujing’s indifferent attitude toward his own child. Just as she was about to speak, Jixia came in with the breakfast. Gu Jianli held back her words and decided to eat first before saying anything.
Gu Jianli watched as Ji Xinglou carefully climbed onto the stool. His buttocks flinched as soon as they touched the seat, clearly in pain, yet he pretended not to be hurt at all. On the other side, Ji Xinglan began to cough. Gu Jianli quickly turned around and gently patted Ji Xinglan’s back.
Ji Wujing slowly ate his fish porridge, giving Gu Jianli a peculiar look. When Gu Jianli looked up at him, Ji Wujing had already lowered his head and continued eating.
As she ate, Gu Jianli’s movements slowed, reminded of the rumors she had heard about Xinglou and Xinglan. Most of the rumors claimed these two children were Ji Wujing’s illegitimate offspring, but some even suggested they were children of an affair.
Her hand shook, causing her spoon to fall into the bowl with a crisp sound. She hurriedly tried to retrieve the spoon from the soup, burning her fingers in the process.
Ji Wujing leaned over, took her wrist, wiped the soup from her hand with a cloth, and handed her a spare spoon from the table. Without a word, he resumed eating his fish porridge.
Gu Jianli looked up again at Ji Wujing’s leisurely manner of eating, watching him for a long time. Her resolve to dismiss the rumors grew stronger.
Impossible.
Ji Xinglou and Ji Xinglan could not possibly be children of an affair. Ji Wujing, a man so proud, would never do such a thing.
Ji Xinglan suddenly giggled, propping her cheek with her small hand and tilting her little head as she looked at Gu Jianli, laughing happily, “Wow, you really like Father!”
“What?” Gu Jianli was stunned, looking at the little girl in surprise.
Ji Xinglan smiled with her eyes bent, “You were looking at Father for a long time!”
“Don’t… don’t say such things.” Gu Jianli was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure how to respond to a child’s innocent remark. She quickly glanced at Ji Wujing and then looked away.
Ji Wujing’s lips curved slightly. He lifted Ji Xinglan from her chair and placed her on his lap, lazily asking, “What does Xinglan want to eat?”
Ji Wujing rarely showed affection towards children, so being held by him made Ji Xinglan exceedingly happy. She replied in a soft voice, “Lanlan can eat by herself!”
Ji Wujing nodded and brought her small bowl and plate to her, letting her sit on his lap to eat.
Gu Jianli glanced at the neglected Ji Xinglou. He sat with his head lowered, expressionless.
After breakfast, Gu Jianli wanted to help the father and son bond, so she suggested that Ji Xinglou recite poetry to Ji Wujing. She sat on the soft rabbit fur rug, holding Ji Xinglan and playing with a handball.
The morning soup was a bit greasy, and Gu Jianli wanted something sweet.
She tossed the handball high and caught it again, then asked Ji Xinglan, “Lanlan, do you want some candy?”
“Mm-hmm!”
Ji Xinglan nodded as Gu Jianli had hoped. Gu Jianli immediately instructed Jixia to bring out several boxes of candy from the house and place them on the rabbit fur rug.
When Gu Jianli finally popped a candy into her mouth, she noticed Ji Wujing smiling enigmatically, or so she thought.
“Stop reciting. I’ve forgotten everything and can’t tell if you’re right or wrong. Go play with your sister,” Ji Wujing said.
A flash of disappointment crossed Ji Xinglou’s eyes, but he obediently went to sit beside Ji Xinglan and eat candy with her.
“Brother, eat!” Ji Xinglan said as she pushed a piece of candy into Ji Xinglou’s mouth.
Ji Wujing sat cross-legged lazily, curiously flipping through the boxes of candy.
“The kind you have in your hand is the best,” Gu Jianli said.
It was the last piece of black bean candy, the one Gu Jianli wanted, but Ji Wujing got to it first.
Ji Wujing glanced at her and then, in a natural motion, popped the candy into her mouth.
Ye Yunyue arrived just in time to see this scene. She couldn’t help but recall that in a previous life, Ji Wujing had bought all the candy shops in Anjing and the craftsmen who made candy. He created a candy street, having the craftsmen make candy every day and sending Gu Jianli a different kind each day.
Since then, no one in the capital had any candy to eat.
