“So it’s Supervisor Dou. What brings you here at this late hour?” Changsheng asked warily.
Dou Hongyan replied, “It’s not me who wants to see the Princess, but my master who wishes to meet Princess Shengyi. My master’s carriage is just over there. Please, Princess, step out and meet him.”
Dou Hongyan’s master?
Gu Jianli furrowed her brow and gently pushed open one of the carriage doors, letting the night breeze sweep in.
Upon seeing her, Dou Hongyan immediately made a gesture of invitation.
Jixia hurriedly said, “Supervisor Dou, isn’t it improper to meet at such a late hour? Our lady is on her way home. Why not accompany us back to the mansion? We can prepare a warm cup of tea to ward off the cold for His Majesty and Supervisor. If the palace is too far, we can turn back to Prince Wuxian’s residence; the Prince hasn’t retired for the night yet!”
Dou Hongyan glanced at Jixia, his smile not reaching his eyes, and said, “The Princess’s attendants are considerate. However, my master, the emperor, is busy with state affairs. This is just a brief conversation. We need to return to the palace soon. Whether it’s the Ji mansion or Prince Wuxian’s residence, it will delay us. Missing the morning court would be disastrous.”
Jixia, unsure of what to do, looked back at Gu Jianli, waiting for her decision.
Gu Jianli was very suspicious. Why would the cautious Ji Lan leave the palace at this hour? Was he just passing by and happened to see her carriage, or was he seeking her at Prince Wuxian’s residence?
She narrowed her eyes, looking towards the distant carriage surrounded by guards. There weren’t many guards, suggesting Ji Lan’s trip was meant to be discreet.
Gu Jianli couldn’t fathom why Ji Lan wanted to see her.
Could it be to coerce her into helping him? But if that were the case, why would he meet her in person?
The rumors spread by Ji Yan had indeed affected Ji Lan’s credibility, and as a witness to Ji Lan’s ascension, did he want to silence her or use her as a scapegoat? That didn’t make sense either. If he wanted to eliminate her, he could have done so already. There was no need for him to meet her personally.
With this thought, Gu Jianli suddenly felt less worried.
“Princess, please.” Dou Hongyan bent over, urging her again.
Gu Jianli collected her thoughts, handed her hand to Jixia, and got out of the carriage. Naturally, Jixia followed closely behind her, and even Changsheng jumped off the carriage, moving close to Gu Jianli and whispered, “If there’s any danger, I have the skill to take you away alone.”
Changsheng couldn’t help but be nervous. If anything happened to Gu Jianli, even ten lives wouldn’t be enough to make up for it.
Walking through a patch of dry grass, Gu Jianli approached Ji Lan’s carriage and bowed respectfully.
The carriage door was pushed open from inside, revealing Ji Lan’s slightly haggard face. His usually gentle and smiling eyes were now full of fatigue. Seeing Gu Jianli brought a slight spark of life back into his eyes. He got off the carriage and said, “I have a few words to say to you alone. Everyone else, step back.”
Dou Hongyan led the guards to quietly retreat to a certain distance.
Jixia and Changsheng didn’t move.
Ji Lan, not in a hurry, chuckled lightly and said, “It’s just a conversation. I’m not inviting the Princess onto the carriage. There’s no need to avoid suspicion.”
Gu Jianli signaled Jixia and Changsheng to step back a bit.
The road was wide, and the grass on both sides had turned into large patches of dry land in winter, offering an expansive view. Like the guards brought by Ji Lan, Jixia and Changsheng retreated to a distance where they could see but not hear the conversation between the two.
“What does His Majesty want to say in private?” Gu Jianli asked.
Ji Lan opened his mouth but suddenly didn’t know where to start. He looked at Gu Jianli standing opposite him and felt a surge of confusion. The brave and clever girl from that night had grown up, her features now highlighting the allure of a woman, yet she was still herself, unmatched by any other woman in the world.
Since the morning when Batur showed up with Gu Jianli’s portrait, Ji Lan had been angry and restless all day, unable to remain calm, which was unlike his usual composed self. By midnight, he impulsively decided to leave the palace and head to Prince Wu Xian’s residence to see her.
Now, seeing the real Gu Jianli standing before him, not the one in his dreams from a year before the great fire, Ji Lan felt a sudden sense of peace.
Ji Lan felt a strange sense of regret. He often reminded himself that the empire was more important and not to be swayed by a woman’s charms, let alone disrupt the grand scheme of things for a woman. Yet, suppressed emotions welled up like a sudden rain, growing rapidly.
Ji Lan remained silent for a long time, and Gu Jianli did not speak either. She quietly lowered her eyes, waiting. At this moment, she no longer speculated on Ji Lan’s reasons for seeking her but thought about the current political situation.
After another quarter of an hour, Gu Jianli looked up at Ji Lan and spoke gently, “Your Majesty is diligent in governance and should take care of your health. It’s late now; you should return to the palace to rest.”
“Diligent in governance?” Ji Lan laughed self-deprecatingly, “What good is diligence?”
Gu Jianli was slightly surprised.
She believed that in terms of personal ability, Ji Lan was indeed superior to Ji Yan. Ji Lan’s reign in the past year had shown him to be a wise ruler, with policies like tax reduction and road repair benefiting the people. But the power struggle within the royal family was not about personal ability. The forces behind Ji Yan were indeed not something Ji Lan could rival.
Gu Jianli fell silent.
“Never mind. It’s late and cold, you should go back,” Ji Lan said.
Gu Jianli was even more surprised. However, she didn’t ask further, curtsied, and turned to leave, but just as she took two steps, Ji Lan called out to her.
“Gu Jianli.”
She stopped, feeling a strange sensation. Ji Lan’s way of addressing her seemed somewhat off. Keeping her expression unchanged, she turned and asked, pretending to be clueless, “What orders does Your Majesty have?”
Ji Lan smiled slightly, “I pride myself on being deep-thinking and cold-blooded, living selfishly for power and status, having spent every day since childhood in schemes and plots. Yet, I couldn’t escape the matter of feelings. Feelings arise in a moment, light as floating duckweed, heavy as mountains.”
Gu Jianli was shocked, fear flashing through her eyes before she quickly suppressed it. Her heartbeat quickened with nervousness, but she forced herself to remain calm, continuing to pretend not to understand.
Ji Lan slowly walked toward her.
One step, two steps…
When he took the third step, Gu Jianli took a step back.
Ji Lan’s lips curled into a faint smile, and he stopped, no longer advancing, and asked desolately, “What do you think I should do?”
How should she answer that?
Gu Jianli’s lowered lashes hid the anxiety and fear in her eyes.
“Are you afraid? What are you afraid of? Afraid that I might harm you?” Ji Lan laughed lightly, with a hint of sarcasm, “I disdain such actions. Since childhood, I’ve known how to vie for favor within the deep palace, and later, to fight for power, profit, and status. Greedily, I even fought for the empire. But I’ve never fought over a woman. I always thought men who are infatuated with women are worthless and vowed never to indulge in such beauty…”
Ji Lan’s voice was gentle, as if casually chatting with an old friend, but Gu Jianli grew increasingly uneasy as she listened. Finally, she spoke softly, “Your Majesty, it’s late. You should return to the palace.”
Ji Lan looked up at the star-filled night sky, and said desolately, “If one day I had to choose between the empire and a beauty, I would choose the empire. But if peace prevails and all rebels are eliminated, and I offer the imperial seal to her, I wonder if she would accept.”
Gu Jianli was shocked, unsure how to respond. Or rather, she didn’t dare to answer carelessly.
Ji Lan had no intention of harming Gu Jianli, but she didn’t believe him. Gu Jianli was naturally cautious and calm, having witnessed Ji Lan’s ruthless side beneath his gentle smile, making her ever vigilant.
Suddenly, the sound of urgent horse hooves came from a distance. Gu Jianli, on edge, turned her head towards the sound. In the darkness, she could barely make out the silhouette of the rider. With just one look, she recognized Ji Wujing.
In that moment, her eyes slightly reddened.
Ji Lan followed her gaze, squinting to see Ji Wujing as he approached.
“Whoa—”
Ji Wujing pulled on the reins, bringing the horse to a halt with its front hooves raised high. He jumped off the horse and walked briskly towards Gu Jianli. Naturally, he took her hand and scolded, “Why are you lagging so far behind? What took you so long? Don’t you know I was waiting for you ahead? Running off to secretly meet someone behind my back, huh?”
Ji Lan’s eyes fell on their clasped hands.
“I didn’t! It’s His Majesty!”
Ji Wujing looked at Ji Lan in surprise, but before he could speak, Ji Lan said, “Don’t misunderstand, my loyal subject. With so many eyes around, it’s hardly a secret meeting. I was just passing by and happened to see the Princess. I only asked her some questions about her father.”
After a brief pause, he ordered loudly, “Return to the palace!”
With that, he turned and boarded his carriage.
The guards waiting in the distance immediately surrounded the carriage. Dou Hongyan cast a wary glance at Ji Wujing before looking away.
“Safe journey, Your Majesty,” Ji Wujing drawled lazily.
He led Gu Jianli away, asking, “Do you want to ride back with me or go by yourself in the carriage?”
“I’ll ride with you.”
Ji Wujing grasped her waist and lifted her onto the horse, then mounted behind her, his arms encircling her waist as he held the reins and spurred the horse into motion.
Gu Jianli turned to look at him and asked, “Why did you come back?”
The horse galloped swiftly, blowing her hair into a messy tangle.
Ji Wujing took off his loose outer robe and draped it directly over Gu Jianli’s head, impatiently saying, “Of course, I guessed you’d rush back overnight and was worried about you. Why ask such a stupid question?”
“But…” Gu Jianli couldn’t see anything and tried to pull the robe off her head.
“Shut up and stop bothering me.” Ji Wujing slapped her hand away, preventing her from removing the robe. He felt irritated, eager to rush back. The appearance of Xinglou’s biological mother at this time was too risky and exposed.
Gu Jianli stopped trying to remove the robe. She relaxed her body, leaning lightly against Ji Wujing’s chest, belatedly realizing that her back was covered in cold sweat.
In the darkness, Gu Jianli lightly curled her lips into a smile. She reached forward and felt for Ji Wujing’s hand holding the reins. Her slender fingers curled around his thumb.
Ji Wujing glanced down at her, then turned his hand to hold her cold hand in his palm, and said casually by her ear, “It’s okay.”