Ji Wujing should have refused that sip of wine. However, when Gu Jianli’s captivating eyes looked at him and she offered her alluring red lips, he couldn’t resist opening his mouth, allowing the spicy liquor to flow down his throat.
Gu Jianli watched as Ji Wujing’s cheeks turned red, the blush spreading from the corners of his eyes down to the tips of his ears. Did she see it wrong? Gu Jianli was confused, not knowing whether she was drunk or sober. Unconsciously, she reached out to touch Ji Wujing’s face, but as soon as her fingers brushed against his skin, her wrist was caught by him.
Looking into Ji Wujing’s eyes, Gu Jianli slowly arched her eyebrows and coyly said, “Did I see it wrong, or did Uncle’s face turn red…?”
Ji Wujing closed his eyes briefly, feeling a bit uncomfortable. When he reopened them, he saw Gu Jianli slightly lifting her chin, her red lips slightly parted as she bit the edge of a white porcelain cup, tilting her head back to let the wine flow into her mouth. She was already half-drunk, her movements slow. Some wine trickled from the corner of her mouth, gliding down her smooth, porcelain-like neck and disappearing into her collar.
She held the wine in her mouth without swallowing it, her soft, rosy cheeks puffed up slightly, smiling at Ji Wujing.
“Uncle…” As soon as she opened her mouth, she choked on the wine, her features scrunching up as she coughed.
Ji Wujing placed his hand on the back of her head, leaned in, and kissed away the remaining wine from her mouth, licking the moisture off her lips.
The spiciness hit his throat, and Ji Wujing frowned uncomfortably.
In fact, Ji Wujing had never drunk alcohol before, not even a drop. Even when he was unconscious from a spell, he kept his awareness of the outside world. How could he allow himself to get drunk?
Gu Jianli tilted her head, looking dazedly at Ji Wujing’s face, watching the redness deepen. She bent down to pour more wine, but her hand shook, causing one of the cups to fall. The alcohol finally started to take effect. She grabbed another cup, managed to pour some wine, and looked at Ji Wujing, her voice soft and coquettish, “Uncle… do you want more wine?”
Ji Wujing slowly licked his teeth with the tip of his tongue and asked, “Why do you want Uncle to drink?”
Gu Jianli obediently pursed her lips and smiled, “Uncle looks very nice with a red face.”
“Nice?” This word seemed to touch a nerve in Ji Wujing. A trace of anger flashed in his eyes as he asked, “Didn’t you say Uncle wasn’t good-looking?”
“Hmm…” Gu Jianli tilted her head, thinking for a moment before shaking her head, “Yes, not good-looking… too enchanting…”
Too enchanting?
What kind of comment was that?
Ji Wujing grabbed Gu Jianli’s chin and asked directly, “Then who do you think looks the best?”
If she dared to say that person’s name, he wouldn’t just let her off. He’d tie her up and spank her until she was sore.
Gu Jianli just stared at him blankly and righteously said, “Me!”
Ji Wujing was taken aback, then asked again, “Only talking about men!”
“My father! My father is the best-looking in the world!” Gu Jianli answered without hesitation.
Ji Wujing was stunned. Gu Jingyuan, good-looking? That thick-browed, big-eyed, square-faced man with a broad chest and a habit of glaring and blowing his beard… good-looking? What kind of taste was that?
Gu Jianli leaned softly against Ji Wujing’s chest, yawning slowly as she spoke, “Uncle sometimes looks good, sometimes so ugly… so ugly I can’t bear to look, the kind of ugly that scares people!”
She covered her eyes and shook her head disdainfully.
“Gu Jianli—” Ji Wujing drew out his words, gritting his teeth, “When has Uncle ever been ugly?”
“When you don’t wear pants, it’s so ugly! Your legs are so hairy… and that big thing is especially ugly. No, no, it’s particularly ugly!” Gu Jianli whimpered, “Wuwuwu… Uncle is so mean and scary, last time he even tried to put that ugly thing in my mouth! It’s so big, it would break my mouth! Luckily, I was smart and escaped by pretending to cry…”
If she had been pretending to be drunk earlier, she was now genuinely more than half drunk. Gu Jianli smiled sweetly, looked up at Ji Wujing, and lazily touched his reddened ear tips with her fingertips, saying, “Why is Uncle angry? Hmm… you’re not my real uncle, Uncle wouldn’t get mad at me. Uncle is easy to coax… as long as I cry, he softens up…”
“So that’s how it is—you knew all along—” Ji Wujing spoke slowly, dragging out his words. His long drawl carried an unclear implication. Not only did his face turn red, but even the whites of his eyes were tinged with red.
Gu Jianli looked at the wine on the table, blinking slowly as she remembered she was trying to make Ji Wujing drink. She squinted her slightly tipsy eyes at him, speaking in a coquettish voice, “So does Uncle still want to drink?”
Ji Wujing wiped the wine from his lips with his thumb, staring at Gu Jianli with a complicated look for a moment. He let out a strange laugh and said slowly, with a tone of resignation, “If you feed Uncle, Uncle will drink.”
“Uncle is so nice…” Gu Jianli leaned in and kissed the corner of Ji Wujing’s mouth. Even the strong wine couldn’t mask her inherent sweetness.
Ji Wujing’s eyes darkened slightly, and he leaned in to kiss her, but she dodged him. Gu Jianli smiled charmingly, took a sip of wine, and then fed it to him. If she fed him, he would drink.
Even if it wasn’t wine but poison, he would drink it.
When Jixia came in with sobering tea, she saw Gu Jianli asleep on Ji Wujing’s lap, and Ji Wujing with his head bowed, his chin resting on her head, eyes closed.
Jixia treaded lightly, gently nudging Gu Jianli’s shoulder, “You’ve had too much to drink. Drink some sobering tea.”
Gu Jianli groggily opened her eyes and took the tea, but as soon as Ji Wujing opened his red-rimmed eyes, he glared at Jixia and rasped, “Get out.”
Startled, Jixia quickly retreated.
As soon as Jixia left, Ji Wujing lowered his head again.
Gu Jianli groggily took two sips of tea, her unsteady hand dropping the cup, spilling cool tea all over her. The beloved new dress was dirtied, and she frowned in displeasure. After a short nap and a couple of sips of tea, she regained some clarity, though still half-drunk and half-sober.
She curiously stared at Ji Wujing, realizing she had been right: Ji Wujing got drunk easily. She smiled, unabashedly observing his red face up close, even brushing his eyelashes with her fingertip. Ji Wujing frowned, and Gu Jianli hurriedly pulled her hand back.
“Gu Jianli…” Ji Wujing’s voice was low as he buried his face in her neck, nuzzling her.
“I’m here.” Gu Jianli softly responded.
“Gu Jianli…”
Gu Jianli furrowed her brow and mumbled, “I’m here, I’m here… right here in your arms.”
Ji Wujing sighed in relief, tightening his grip around her waist. Gu Jianli pushed against him, frowning, “It hurts, let’s go to bed.”
She stumbled off Ji Wujing’s lap, grasping his hand and trying to pull him up, but he didn’t budge. She said, “Uncle, let’s go to bed.”
Ji Wujing swayed before standing up, letting Gu Jianli pull him toward the bed. They both fell onto the pink bed. Somehow, one of them pulled down the pink bed curtain, which gently draped over them.
Gu Jianli’s chest heaved as she slowly opened her eyes, looking at Ji Wujing beside her. She lazily curved her lips into a smile and said, “Uncle, you can’t drink, now I know your weakness…”
Ji Wujing frowned, reaching out and groping for her waist, pulling her into his arms. He began to undress her, burying his face in her chest, and called her name in a muffled voice, “Gu Jianli—”
My weakness is Gu Jianli.
Gu Jianli felt ticklish, laughing as she pushed Ji Wujing, “It tickles!”
Ji Wujing, however, held her tightly, not letting go, his voice raspy as he asked, “Gu Jianli, what is the right way to treat you well?”
Gu Jianli, half-asleep, barely registered his words. She continued to push him, complaining, “It really tickles…”
Ji Wujing let out a small grunt, biting gently into her soft flesh, and said unhappily, “You only cry, and I don’t know how to be good to others, but you never taught me how to be good to you…”
Gu Jianli stared at the pink bed curtain in a daze, Ji Wujing’s words drifting into her ears like a breeze. She slowly blinked, gazing at him for a long time before slowly asking, “Why do you want to be good to me?”
Ji Wujing remained silent, just holding her tighter, unwilling to let go.
Gu Jianli said, “Oh… I know, I’m your wife…”
Ji Wujing let out a mocking laugh, full of sarcasm.
“Aren’t I?” Gu Jianli giggled, yawning lazily as she slowly closed her eyes, already very tired. She softly murmured, “I know Uncle really likes me…”
“Don’t like,” Ji Wujing frowned, refuting with a tone of irritation.
Gu Jianli smiled, not saying anything more. She gripped Ji Wujing’s clothes and gradually fell asleep.
Long after, Ji Wujing whispered something close to her ear. Gu Jianli’s ear felt ticklish, but she didn’t catch what he said.
Gu Jianli was awakened by Jixia’s nudging.
Still plagued by a headache from the alcohol, she opened her eyes to see Jixia’s anxious face. Jixia rarely showed such an expression, prompting Gu Jianli to frown and ask, “What’s wrong?”
“Something happened! Sixth brother is in trouble!” Jixia exclaimed.
Still asleep, Ji Wujing frowned in displeasure.
Gu Jianli quickly sobered up, her eyes flashing with anger as she asked, “Did someone at Guangping Marquis Manor bully him again?”
“Not at all! Sixth brother has contracted smallpox, and the people at Guangping Bo Manor were so afraid of getting infected that they threw him out into the wild in the middle of the night!” Jixia explained in one breath.
Gu Jianli instantly woke up completely.
Ji Wujing, who had been asleep, opened his eyes immediately, the whites of his eyes bloodshot with a strange redness. He got up and coldly asked, “Who? Xinglou or Xinglan?”
“Xinglou!”
Gu Jianli felt a gust of wind by her ear. When she turned her head to look, Ji Wujing was already gone from the room. She stood there, stunned. But there was no time to think; she quickly got up, lifted her skirt, and rushed out. She only managed to catch a glimpse of a red shadow flashing over the courtyard wall before Ji Wujing was completely out of sight.
Ye Yunyue, who had delivered the news, withdrew her gaze and looked at Gu Jianli. She suddenly spoke in a seemingly casual manner, “I didn’t expect Fifth Master to care so much about Sixth brother. It seems he has always held Sixth brother’s birth mother close to his heart.”
Gu Jianli gave her a glance and then turned to instruct Jixia to fetch a horse.
Watching Gu Jianli mount the horse, Ye Yunyue was a bit surprised—Gu Jianli, who seemed so delicate, actually knew how to ride a horse?
