Ji Wujing found Gu Jianli’s smiling face fascinating; it was the first time he had seen her so happy. She had been sitting by the window for a long time, repeatedly reading a letter from her younger brother.
Her maid had returned with another letter from her brother, and that made her this happy?
The flickering candlelight reflected on her profile, casting her outline on the window. Her eyelashes elongated and fluttered like butterfly wings as she smiled.
Ji Wujing’s gaze shifted from her shadow on the window to her face.
Gu Jianli’s mother was known as the most beautiful woman in the Li clan, and although Ji Wujing had never met her, he thought Gu Jianli must be even more beautiful.
The moment Gu Jianli saw the words “Sister” on the letter, she smiled. Gu Chuan, who had hated reading and writing as a child, had written these characters so neatly, as if he had copied them countless times.
Gu Chuan’s letter to Gu Jianli contained only one sentence: “Sister, please wait for me a little longer.”
Despite the simplicity of the message, Gu Jianli read it over and over again.
Jixia walked out from the west side, saying, “Madam, the hot water is ready.”
Gu Jianli nodded, carefully put away Gu Chuan’s letter, and turned to go inside.
As she passed the bed, Jixia kept her head down, not daring to look around. Gu Jianli had already instructed her that Ji Wujing disliked servants entering the room, so she should avoid going inside unless necessary and move quietly if she did, to avoid disturbing Ji Wujing.
After her bath, just as Gu Jianli stepped out of the tub, she sneezed.
“What’s wrong? I noticed your voice sounded off today. You’ve caught a cold,” Jixia quickly wrapped her in a large cotton towel and began to dry her.
“It’s been a few days; it’s almost better,” Gu Jianli said, picking up the pink sleeping robe from the table. Seeing the robe made her smile. Madam Tao had recently made it for her, and it was pink. She had loved pink since she was a child but had stopped wearing it after her sister said it was tacky.
Jixia called in Lizi to help tidy up the west side. Before leaving, Jixia looked at Gu Jianli with a gaze full of pity, feeling sorry for her pampered young mistress who now had to endure under someone else’s roof.
Inside the bed with the canopy, Ji Wujing was already asleep.
Gu Jianli tiptoed to the foot of the bed, carefully stepping over Ji Wujing’s feet to the inner side. The bed creaked, startling her into stillness as she watched Ji Wujing’s expression. Once the bed was silent again, she gingerly lay down, facing inward and curling up, pulling the quilt around herself. She stayed far from Ji Wujing, with each of them using their own quilt.
During the night, Gu Jianli’s throat felt like it was on fire, painfully scratchy. She pressed her hands to her throat, trying to suppress the urge to cough, afraid the noise would wake Ji Wujing. She held back so hard that her whole face turned red.
“Why are you shivering?” Ji Wujing’s hoarse and deep voice came from behind.
Gu Jianli trembled, and as soon as she uttered the word “I,” she was overcome by a violent coughing fit. She quickly covered her mouth with her hands, her chest heaving as she tried to calm herself.
She could hear Ji Wujing turn over behind her, and then his large hand touched her face, pressing against her forehead. She couldn’t tell if she was too hot or his hand was too cold. The clash of heat and cold made Gu Jianli shudder.
Supporting himself with his forearm, Ji Wujing called for someone to fetch a doctor.
Gu Jianli also sat up quickly and whispered, “It’s already the middle of the night, don’t trouble anyone.”
Ji Wujing glanced at her and said, “Do you want to develop tuberculosis and cough yourself to death over the next ten years?”
Gu Jianli shrank her neck and didn’t dare to make a sound.
Only then did Ji Wujing notice she was wearing pink, huddled in the corner like a small flower bud.
Doctor Su arrived quickly and prescribed a new formula for Gu Jianli, increasing the dosage, and instructed Jixia to brew the medicine.
Gu Jianli, leaning against the side of the bed, felt her head splitting with pain and closed her eyes in discomfort. Jixia soon brought the freshly brewed medicine. Fortunately, it was a cold night, so the medicine had cooled to a drinkable temperature after being left out for a short while.
Jixia bent down and coaxed her in a childlike tone, “You can’t be stubborn anymore. Be good and drink your medicine. It’s too late tonight, but tomorrow I’ll buy you some sweets from the Shixiang Pavilion.”
Ji Wujing, hearing this, was surprised. Hadn’t Gu Jianli been obediently drinking her medicine these past days? Apparently, she used to throw tantrums.
Because Ji Wujing was there, Jixia didn’t dare to say more. Gu Jianli forced herself to drink the medicine, and after Jixia cleaned up and left, she and Ji Wujing lay down again.
However, after half an hour, Gu Jianli started coughing again. Not only did her head, eyes, and throat hurt, but her stomach also began to feel uncomfortable. She tossed and turned, finally turning over carefully, only to meet Ji Wujing’s eyes in the darkness, which startled her.
Choking on her coughs, she sat up weakly and said, “I’ll go sleep in the side room, cough, cough…”
Ji Wujing raised his hand and touched her forehead, feeling the sweat on his palm.
Unable to bear the discomfort in her chest and stomach, Gu Jianli lifted the quilt and got out of bed.
“Stay in bed and don’t move around,” Ji Wujing said, pulling her back by her wrist. The petite Gu Jianli was easily pulled back, falling against his chest.
“I…” Gu Jianli barely got out a word before her stomach twisted in pain, and she vomited, expelling the medicine she had just drunk all over Ji Wujing.
Seeing the mess on Ji Wujing’s snowy white nightclothes, Gu Jianli forgot to cough, her face turning pale with fright.
Ji Wujing’s expression changed slightly. He grabbed Gu Jianli’s face and, through gritted teeth, said, “Just you wait!”
Hearing his words, Gu Jianli became even more frightened. Who in the world didn’t know that Lord Ji was the most vengeful? The discomfort in her body, combined with her fear, made Gu Jianli burst into tears. Her tears fell like pearls, landing on the back of Ji Wujing’s hand as he withdrew it.
Ji Wujing paused, glanced at her, and then brushed his thumb across the corner of her lips, collecting a bit of the medicine she had just vomited. He brought his thumb to his mouth and licked it, leaving Gu Jianli staring at him in shock, her eyes still filled with unshed tears, looking pitiful.
“Disgusting,” Ji Wujing said with disdain as he got out of bed.
Gu Jianli lowered her head, thinking to herself that Ji Wujing must be sick, mentally sick.
Ji Wujing instructed Changsheng to summon Ji Jingyi.
First, it was Doctor Su, then Ji Jingyi. The news quickly spread throughout the household. The various chambers assumed that Ji Wujing was unwell again. In the middle of the night, they crawled out of their warm beds, some of them still not having left their rooms, some already halfway there, when they heard that the patient was Gu Jianli. They cursed a few times and went back to bed.
Wrapped in a quilt, with only one hand extending out, Gu Jianli had her pulse checked by Ji Jingyi through a brocade handkerchief.
Jixia, anxious, asked, “Doctor, why is her cold so severe? Our mistress was frail as a child and had to take tonic medicine daily. She only got better later. Could that be affecting her now?”
Ji Wujing, having changed his clothes, came out from the west side, listening to Jixia’s words. He glanced at Gu Jianli, who was wrapped in the quilt, and asked, “Is it just a cold?”
Gu Jianli’s eyes flickered before she finally raised her head. She knew that the people in the Guangping Marquis’ household were wishing for her death. Could someone have harmed her?
Ji Jingyi understood Ji Wujing’s concern and quickly said, “Master, you worry too much. The lady likely caught a cold within the past six months. Although it appeared to have healed on the surface, it left a root cause. Coupled with several months of emotional distress, this chill has brought out the underlying danger. She needs proper care to recover fully. Was she born prematurely?”
Gu Jianli was startled before she nodded.
“I’ll prescribe a medicine and a dietary regimen for nourishment. Then I’ll use acupuncture to expel the cold from her body.”
“Ah?” Gu Jianli retracted her hand and instinctively moved backward.
Knowing Gu Jianli’s fear of pain, Jixia quickly asked on her behalf, “Is acupuncture absolutely necessary?”
Ji Jingyi nodded with a smile and said, “Acupuncture is essential to fundamentally improve her frail condition. However, the lady need not worry. There are many acupuncture points, and it would be inconvenient for me. The master can perform the acupuncture on the lady himself.”
Ji Wujing?
Gu Jianli suddenly looked at Ji Wujing. This was a joke, right? She was even more terrified.
Gu Jianli couldn’t help but recall Ji Wujing’s gritted-teeth warning, “Just you wait.” Was his chance for revenge coming this quickly?
“N-no, that won’t be necessary…” Gu Jianli protested.
Ji Wujing glanced at Gu Jianli with a half-smile, walked to the table, and rummaged through Ji Jingyi’s medicine chest for the needle pack. His pale face scrutinizing the silver needles under the candlelight made Gu Jianli’s hair stand on end.
Could these hands, which had taken countless lives, really be used to heal?
Gu Jianli did not believe it for a second!
After Ji Jingyi left and Jixia also stepped out, Ji Wujing walked to the bed, bent down in front of Gu Jianli, and whispered in her ear with a happy tone, “Gu Jianli, are you afraid I’ll take this opportunity to get revenge?”
Gu Jianli bit her lip, “I’m not…”
“You guessed right.” Ji Wujing laughed heartily.
“Ji Wujing!” Gu Jianli finally lost her temper, glaring at him with reddened eyes, “Can’t you stop bullying a sick person!”
Ji Wujing feigned surprise, “Oh? I’m sicker than you.”
Enraged, Gu Jianli pushed Ji Wujing, who stumbled and fell to the ground. She was stunned, panicking and explaining hurriedly, “I-I didn’t mean to…”
She immediately got up to help him, but Ji Wujing smirked and deliberately tripped her, causing her to fall into his arms, making him hold her tightly.
Ji Wujing sniffed, detecting no floral scent, only a faint hint of beauty’s fragrance.
“If you’re afraid of the pain, I could knock you out before using the needle,” Ji Wujing suggested.
Gu Jianli, horrified, quickly retorted, “No!”
Ji Wujing chuckled, “Then, are you embarrassed?”
“Not that either…” Gu Jianli’s voice lowered.
Ji Wujing began to untie the sash at the waist of her sleeping robe, and Gu Jianli, flustered, crossed her hands over her chest, her eyes filled with unease.
Ji Wujing raised an eyebrow at her, “Why are you so nervous? I’m not going to needle your chest.”
Her chest started to ache even before the needles touched her.
Ji Wujing sighed in exasperation, “Really, it’s not your chest, just your back.”
It’s not shyness, just fear of pain… As Ji Wujing reached for the needle, Gu Jianli hurriedly grabbed his wrist, her voice trembling, “Uncle…”
Ji Wujing’s actions halted.