As night fell, Ji Xuanke rode a carriage home.
The coachman yelled to drive away the beggar blocking their way, “Move! Get out of the way if you can’t see!”
Ji Xuanke lifted the curtain by the window and looked outside.
The beggar saw Ji Xuanke, quickly ran to the window, and grabbed the edge, crying out, “I haven’t eaten for days, please have mercy…”
“You old thing!” The coachman jumped off the carriage, trying to drag the beggar away.
“Hold on,” Ji Xuanke scrutinized the beggar for a moment, then took out some silver pieces and handed them to him.
“Thank you! Thank you, benefactor!” The beggar took the silver with both hands and quietly slipped a rolled-up piece of paper to Ji Xuanke.
As the carriage continued on, Ji Xuanke unrolled the paper, glanced at it, and then used a fire starter to burn it. Holding the paper between his fingers, he shook it lightly until the words were reduced to ashes, which he then casually threw out the window.
The carriage stopped in front of the mansion. As Ji Xuanke rounded the screen wall, he saw a group of servants sneaking around with a burlap sack, from which the sound of a little girl’s crying emerged.
“What’s going on? Who’s in the bag?”
“Third Young Master!” Steward Qin was startled and quickly explained the situation to Ji Xuanke.
“…We’ve already sent Sixth Young Master, the wet nurse, and a cousin from the Zhao family out of the mansion. The servants were terrified by the smallpox and in their panic, forgot about Fourth Young Miss. We just came back to take her out too.”
Ji Xuanke frowned.
Like the rest of the family in the Guangping Marquis Residence, Ji Xuanke believed that Ji Wujing wouldn’t care about the fate of these two children. After all, Ji Wujing hadn’t bothered with them for years.
Yet, Ji Xuanke recalled the scene of Gu Jianli flying kites with the two children on the back hill, and remembered Gu Jianli standing up for Ji Xinglou. Many in the household thought Gu Jianli was just using the children as an excuse to suppress others in the family or to earn a good stepmother’s reputation.
But Ji Xuanke knew that Gu Jianli was not one to resort to such tactics. Her kindness to the children must stem from her genuine affection for them.
“Are the Fifth Master and Fifth Mistress not in the mansion?” Ji Xuanke asked.
“No! The Old Madam sent someone to the palace to look for them early this morning but couldn’t find them. Later, we heard that they left early, but no one knows where they went…”
Ji Xuanke looked at the sack, pondering. If that silly girl came home and found the children had been thrown out of the mansion, she would be heartbroken, right?
He stepped forward and bent down to untie the sack.
“Third Young Master, you can’t!” Steward Qin tried to stop him, but Ji Xuanke’s stern look made him fall silent.
The sack was opened, revealing the tear-stained face of Ji Xinglan. Her hair, which had been tied up, was now loose and messy. She looked up at Ji Xuanke with tearful eyes, trembling and calling out pitifully, “Third Brother…”
Seeing Ji Xinglan in such a state, Ji Xuanke’s heart softened, and he said angrily, “Even if there’s smallpox, just quarantine the courtyard. Why throw her out? Besides, Fourth Young Miss hasn’t even been infected yet!”
Steward Qin and the other servants didn’t dare to make a sound.
Ji Xuanke reached out to hold Ji Xinglan, but she shrank back, tears streaming down her face as she cried pitifully, “I might be sick, Third Brother, don’t touch me…”
Ji Xuanke’s hand hovered in mid-air. After a moment, he softened his tone and asked, “Lanlan, can you walk back to the courtyard by yourself?”
Ji Xinglan nodded vigorously, got up, and twisted her small body to walk back. It was very dark, and she stumbled as she walked. She cried as she went, the darkness ahead frightening her greatly. Her brother had been taken away by bad people, her mother was missing, everyone was gone. She started crying again, her small shoulders trembling with each sob.
Ji Xuanke followed behind her, taking a lantern from a servant to light her way. He escorted Ji Xinglan all the way to the entrance of Ji Wujing’s courtyard. Ji Xinglan turned around, looking up at Ji Xuanke with tearful eyes, and said clearly, despite trying to hold back her sobs, “Thank you, Third Brother!”
Ji Xuanke felt a pang of heartache. He frowned, composed himself, and said, “Lanlan, don’t be afraid. I’ll have someone bring you something to eat soon. Eat well and sleep tight. When you wake up, your mother will be back.”
“And what about brother?” Ji Xinglan asked.
Ji Xuanke remained silent.
Ji Xinglan sniffled, tears rolling down her face again. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and said, “Lanlan will be good, Lanlan will be obedient…”
Ji Xuanke strode out, demanding from Steward Qin, “Where was Sixth Young Master sent?”
The old Marquis and the old Madam, having heard the news, hurried over.
The old Marquis exclaimed angrily, “You don’t intend to bring Sixth Young Master back, do you? Nonsense! The servants had to tie him up to put him in the basket. Now, even if we find him, no one will dare touch him! Besides, he might already have been eaten by wild wolves in the mountains. He’s not a proper master, your Fifth Uncle won’t care if he lives or dies. Even if your Fifth Uncle were here, he would have done the same. This is smallpox we’re talking about!”
“You know it’s smallpox!” Ji Xuanke retorted sternly. “If you throw them out of the mansion so carelessly, what if some ignorant commoners come into contact with them? It could turn into an epidemic that spreads throughout the capital! If the palace finds out that the epidemic started from the Guangping Marquis Residence, do you think any of us will be spared? The whole place would be burned down!”
“This…” The old Marquis was stunned. He hadn’t considered any of that. Could he have made a mistake?
“What… what should we do?” The old Madam stammered. “If we’d known, we should have burned that child right away…”
Ji Xuanke ignored them, inquiring about the general location where Ji Xinglou had been abandoned. He ordered a servant to bring a horse, mounted it, and left the mansion in the night to search.
The old Marquis quickly ordered all the servants to go out and search as well. Even the male masters of the house, holding torches, ran out to look. They agreed to say, if asked, that Ji Xinglou had wandered off while playing.
Unaware of all this, Gu Jianli had been tricked by Ji Wujing into drinking three cups of wine. Her face was flushed, her eyes half-closed, showing a slightly tipsy demeanor. Her head felt heavy and uncomfortable. Looking at the fourth cup of wine Ji Wujing offered, she didn’t take it but looked up at him, her usually clear eyes now hazy with a seductive gleam.
“It tastes terrible,” Gu Jianli said, frowning and shaking her head.
If she was drunk, her mind was still clear; if she was sober, her movements were slow.
Ji Wujing gently swirled the wine in his cup, continuing to coax her, “People who can’t drink find it unpleasant at first. But after a few more cups, you’ll taste its true flavor. Understanding the richness of wine is more enchanting than sugar.”
Sugar?
Thinking of sugar, Gu Jianli licked her lips, feeling a bit of sweetness on her tongue.
Ji Wujing pressed the wine cup against her soft, moist lips, lowering his voice to coax her gently, “Good girl, try it again.”
Gu Jianli slowly opened her mouth, allowing Ji Wujing to feed her the wine. She looked at him blankly, her mind, though slow, was still clear. She realized that Ji Wujing was trying to get her drunk.
Hmm, if she pretended to be drunk, would she not have to drink this awful wine?
Gu Jianli squinted her eyes, pointed at Ji Wujing, and giggled coquettishly, “How come… there are two Fifth Masters in front of me…”
Ji Wujing’s lips barely curved into a smile as he tested her, “You’re mistaken, there are three.”
“Uh…” Gu Jianli tilted her head, scrutinizing Ji Wujing, and said in a childish, coquettish voice, “Oh yes, three Fifth Masters! Hehehe…”
“How old is Jianli this year?” Ji Wujing leaned forward, looking at her with interest.
Gu Jianli looked at him with drunken eyes. She counted on her fingers, one, two, three, four, five, and then hummed softly. She grabbed Ji Wujing’s hand, pulling it close to her face, and murmured, “I don’t remember, Uncle, tell me.”
She suddenly moved closer, and Ji Wujing, staring into her slightly intoxicated eyes, felt a momentary pause in his heart. He steadied himself, gently stroked her head, and said in a deep voice, “Uncle’s little Li hasn’t grown up yet.”
Gu Jianli giggled sweetly.
Ji Wujing asked again, “Has little Li married yet?”
What would it be like to be drunk? Gu Jianli continued to play dumb. She shook her head lazily, looking at Ji Wujing in confusion, then suddenly smiled brightly, pointing at him, “I don’t know, ask Uncle!”
When she smiled, Ji Wujing’s throat moved slightly. He held her delicate finger tightly in his hand and asked again, “What kind of man does little Li find handsome?”
Gu Jianli mumbled softly, “With clear eyebrows and bright eyes.”
Clear eyebrows and bright eyes—Ji Wujing pictured Lin Shaotang’s face.
Gu Jianli tapped Ji Wujing’s thigh with her finger and added, “Elegant and warm!”
Elegant and warm—Ji Wujing pictured Ji Lan’s face.
“What else?” Ji Wujing asked again.
What other words could she use to praise a man? Gu Jianli thought for a moment, pulled her hand out of Ji Wujing’s grasp, and counted on her fingers, “As beautiful as jade, clean and handsome, graceful and poised!”
Ji Wujing’s expression instantly turned cold.
As beautiful as jade, clean and handsome, graceful and poised—these were the praises the ladies of the capital used to describe Ji Xuanke when he topped the imperial examinations.
Oblivious to Ji Wujing’s mood, the slow-reacting Gu Jianli lazily looked at the wine on the table. She blinked slowly, realizing that Ji Wujing had been coaxing her to drink, but hadn’t had a single sip himself. Gu Jianli poured a cup of wine and handed it to Ji Wujing, saying sweetly, “Uncle should drink too.”
“I won’t.” Ji Wujing blurted out.
Gu Jianli tilted her head, staring blankly at Ji Wujing for a while, still holding out the wine cup, and pouted, “Drink it!”
“No!”
Gu Jianli blinked. She thought she saw a flicker of hesitation in Ji Wujing’s eyes. Suddenly, a bold idea formed in her mind.
She stood up shakily, and Ji Wujing reached out to support her waist to prevent her from falling.
“Uncle…” Gu Jianli said softly, acting coquettishly.
Ji Wujing’s hand trembled slightly against her back before he withdrew it.
Gu Jianli grabbed Ji Wujing’s lapel and sat in his lap, half-closing her eyes as she looked at him. She used the same words he had just used to coax her, “The wine is tasty, very sweet…”
Ji Wujing had a bad feeling about this.
Gu Jianli parted her lips slightly, taking a sip of the sweet wine. Her lips, moistened by the wine, were no longer their usual soft pink but a tempting, vivid red, glistening and luscious. She was unaware of how alluring she looked with her flushed cheeks and sultry eyes.
She leaned closer and fed the sweet wine to Ji Wujing.
Ji Wujing stiffened. Just one sip, and his cheeks turned red.
