Ye Yunyue, locked in the woodshed, felt both angry and anxious. She was angry that Gu Jianli had confined her here and anxious that she missed such a good opportunity to spend time with Wujing and to curry favor with Ji Xinglou, the future emperor.
She paced back and forth in the woodshed until she was exhausted, then sat down to rest and calm herself, carefully considering her next steps.
Ye Yunyue couldn’t help but think of Ji Xinglou.
Last night, the household servants burst in, tied her and Nanny Lin up, and threw them into sacks. In the rush, Nanny Lin managed to hide a hairpin in her sleeve. When the servants dumped them at the mass grave, it was Nanny Lin who first freed herself using the hairpin, then helped Ye Yunyue out of the sack and untied her hands.
The mass grave was filled with tombs, eerie winds blowing, and it was terrifyingly creepy. They should have fled immediately, but when the servants from the Guangping Marquis’ household dumped them, Nanny Lin’s leg hit a rock, making it impossible for her to walk. Ye Yunyue told Nanny Lin to wait while she went to find help.
At that moment, she indeed intended to call for help. But the surroundings were pitch black, and it seemed like she could hear the cries of crows and wolves. Ye Yunyue, frightened, cried and ran, accidentally tripping over something. When she looked closely, she found it was the unconscious Ji Xinglou.
In that instant, many thoughts ran through Ye Yunyue’s mind. She thought about the misfortunes since her rebirth, blaming her worries and fears. She believed that since heaven had given her this chance to be reborn, she must take back everything that originally belonged to her. She decided to take a gamble. So, she put the unconscious Ji Xinglou into a bamboo basket, carrying him through the mountains with trepidation, until she found a cave where she hid him. Then, she went back to report…
Now, four hours had passed.
Only now did a trace of worry arise in Ye Yunyue’s heart, concerned about Nanny Lin with her broken leg and Ji Xinglou hidden in the cave.
Gu Jianli, riding a horse with guards, had just arrived and met Ji Xuanke head-on.
Ji Xuanke was startled and, for a moment, forgot his concerns, spurring his horse forward anxiously, “Why are you here? It’s dangerous!”
“Third brother, have you found Xinglou?” Gu Jianli’s tone was also somewhat anxious.
Ji Xuanke shook his head, “I only found Sixth brother’s nurse. I asked her, but she doesn’t know where Sixth brother is either. The nurse is injured, and I had her taken down the mountain. As for Sixth brother… we searched the location the servants mentioned carefully, but he wasn’t there. He might have walked away on his own, or maybe…”
Ji Xuanke stopped speaking.
Everyone knew what Ji Xuanke meant to say next. This desolate mountain area had not just dogs, but also wolves. And Ji Xinglou was only a four-year-old child.
Gu Jianli’s heart sank, and her face turned pale. She suddenly felt very guilty. Yesterday morning, when she left, Ji Xinglou had a fever. Nanny Lin had gone to fetch a doctor. She should have waited for the doctor to arrive before leaving. She thought it was just a common cold, but unexpectedly…
It was her failure as a mother.
Gu Jianli’s heart ached, and her eyes instantly reddened.
Seeing Gu Jianli’s self-reproachful demeanor, Ji Xuanke felt a pang in his heart. He said again, “I’ll continue the search with my men. You wait at the foot of the mountain; it’s really dangerous up here.”
Gu Jianli mustered her spirit and said, “Third brother, don’t worry about me. I must find him.”
— Alive or dead, I must see him.
Gu Jianli turned her horse and began searching in another direction.
At this moment, Ji Xinglou was not on the mountain at all.
Last night, when Ji Xinglou woke up in the middle of the night, he was already in the cave. He opened his eyes and saw a pair of shiny beast eyes staring at him. He frowned in pain, his vision blurry. He looked and looked again, thinking it was a big dog in front of him. With his small hand, he grabbed a nearby stone, intending to throw it at the big dog. However, he had no strength at all.
The gray dog circled around him, sticking out its tongue to lick his face. The wet sensation on his face annoyed Ji Xinglou, who glared at the gray dog.
The gray dog bared its teeth, and Ji Xinglou, with his eyes wide open, bared his teeth back at it.
The gray dog arched its back, took two steps back, and its bright beast eyes watched Ji Xinglou warily.
Ji Xinglou was too tired and sleepy, his eyelids heavy, and he closed them again.
The gray dog circled him twice more, then licked his face again, waking Ji Xinglou up. For the second time, he opened his eyes and stared at the gray dog for a long while before struggling to raise his small hand to grab the long fur of the gray dog.
The gray dog howled and lay down, allowing Ji Xinglou to climb onto its back. It stood up and ran out of the cave, darting down the mountain path. Ji Xinglou clung tightly to its neck with his small hands, not letting go no matter how much it jostled. In a daze, he opened his eyes and, under the moonlight, realized that what was carrying him was probably not a dog…
The distance wasn’t short, but the gray wolf leaped forward, and soon it carried Ji Xinglou to a hollow creek among the distant mountains. It gently dropped Ji Xinglou by the creek. Ji Xinglou lay on the ground, too weak to open his eyes, and with all his effort, he opened his mouth to drink the creek water. He only took one sip before falling into a deep sleep.
The gray wolf howled at the sky, standing guard by the creek.
When Ji Xinglou woke up again, it was already mid-morning the next day. He felt much better compared to the previous night. He laboriously turned his head and saw the gray wolf still watching over him. Instinctively, he reached into the creek with his small hand and grabbed a sharp stone. The stone was so sharp that it cut his tender little hand.
The gray wolf leaped up, flying over Ji Xinglou.
Ji Xinglou gripped the sharp stone tightly, his small body tensed. The next moment, his little body was suddenly lifted off the ground. Startled, Ji Xinglou clenched the sharp stone and swung it backward with all his might. His small hand was caught by a large hand, and he struggled hard, looking up to see a pair of dark red eyes.
Ji Xinglou’s struggle stopped instantly.
He had lost his voice long ago, his chapped little mouth opened and closed, silently calling out, “Daddy…”
Ji Xinglou slowly curved his lips into a smile, and because his lips were chapped, this smile caused them to bleed. He closed his eyes again, resting peacefully in Wujing’s embrace. Being held by his father, he feared nothing; his father’s embrace was always the safest place in the world.
Wujing steadied his trembling hand before carefully wiping the blood from Ji Xinglou’s lips with his fingertips. Holding Ji Xinglou, he stepped through the creek. The gray wolf standing on a high rock in the creek jumped down and followed beside Wujing, wagging its tail from time to time.
Wujing looked down at the gray wolf and asked, “Does this child remind you of your former master?”
The gray wolf howled at the sky, its cry like a sob.
That year, Wujing and Jichong were both around four or five years old.
In the Eastern Depot, Wujing’s fourth brother, Wuzhuo, pushed Wujing away, shouting for him to run as far and as fast as he could. Wujing ran into Jichong’s Eastern Palace and escaped the disaster.
However, his fourth brother, who had grown up with him, died just like that, bleeding profusely, his body unrecognizable. Ji Wujing held his brother’s hand, feeling it go from warm to icy cold, cold to the bone.
Ji Chong appeared in his dark yellow brocade robe. Standing beside Ji Wujing, he said slowly and clearly, “You bear the surname Ji? Then you are of the royal clan, and I am your cousin. With your brother gone, I will be your brother from now on. If anyone dares to bully you in the future, I will avenge you, strip their skin, and remove their bones!”
Ji Wujing gently patted the Ji Xinglou in his arms, feeling the pain in his heart.
The greatest regret of his life was not being in the capital when Ji Chong met with disaster.
There was no need for Ji Wujing to seek revenge; he just had to raise Ji Xinglou, let him grow up safely, away from the power struggles of the royal court, to live as an ordinary person—that was Ji Chong’s dying wish. Before his death, Ji Chong’s only instruction was to have someone convey this message to the absent Ji Wujing.
If Ji Wujing couldn’t protect Ji Chong’s son, couldn’t fulfill Ji Chong’s last wish, how could he face him after death?
At that time, the Eastern Depot was searching rigorously, and time was tight. Ji Wujing had to drink a poison without an antidote to cover the chronic poison planted by the former head of the Eastern Depot.
Ji Wujing knew he was living on borrowed time, just waiting for Ji Xinglou to grow a little older. He also knew he was bound to die, so he couldn’t show too much affection for this child. He was aware that he had many enemies; if he loved this child too much, after his death, those enemies would seek revenge on Ji Xinglou.
He watched coldly as Ji Xinglou stumbled through life, causing trouble, wielding knives, intimidating people, and getting bullied, but always getting back up, becoming stronger and braver. As long as Ji Xinglou was alive, growing up quickly was not a bad thing.
It didn’t matter if Ji Xinglou became ruthless or ended up being hated by everyone like him. What was important was that he could protect himself; only then could Ji Wujing afford to die.
Ji Wujing, carrying Ji Xinglou, traversed the mountains and saw a large group of people ahead. Ji Xuanke and Gu Jianli were leading their men, searching.
Ji Wujing, expressionless, walked straight towards Gu Jianli.
“Xinglou!”
Gu Jianli saw Ji Wujing and Ji Xinglou, her heart filled with both anxiety and joy, and she hurried her horse towards them.
“Watch out!” Ji Xuanke shouted in alarm.
He drew his sword and flicked away the snake that had been eyeing Gu Jianli from the branches. At the same time, he grabbed Gu Jianli’s wrist and pulled her onto his horse.
Gu Jianli looked back at Ji Xuanke with lingering fear.
Ji Wujing watched Gu Jianli and Ji Xuanke together, his expression slowly darkening, a shadow creeping into his red eyes.
“Thank you, Third brother, for your help.”
Gu Jianli thanked Ji Xuanke, then immediately jumped off the horse.
“Nan Nan!” Ji Xuanke bent down, grabbing Gu Jianli’s wrist anxiously, “Don’t go over there, don’t touch that child!”
Gu Jianli hesitated for a moment. With her back to Ji Wujing and Ji Xinglou, she recalled the slow steps Ji Wujing took while carrying Ji Xinglou—something was off about his expression.
“Let go!” Gu Jianli broke free from Ji Xuanke’s hand and ran towards Ji Wujing without hesitation.
“Nan Nan…” Ji Xuanke’s hand fell empty, watching helplessly as Gu Jianli’s clothes slipped from his grasp. He slowly raised his eyes, looking at Gu Jianli’s back as she ran towards Ji Wujing, a bitter smile slowly appearing on his lips.
Before Gu Jianli could reach Ji Wujing, he lowered himself, kneeling on one knee, his head bowed, a mouthful of black blood spurting out. Yet, his grip on Ji Xinglou remained firm.
