Gu Jianli didn’t believe Ji Wujing at all, thinking he was just joking again. She covered her face with both hands, feeling the sores on her face, reminding her of her current ugliness. She cried, and the tears running over the sores made them hurt even more, making her cry harder. She pulled the quilt from her lap, bit by bit, covering herself completely, even her head, like a little turtle afraid to be seen.
Ji Wujing stood by the bed, watching her for a while. He lifted the other end of the quilt covering her feet, bent down, and crawled under the quilt from the other side, the quilt covering his head and back.
“What are you doing?” Gu Jianli asked.
Inside the quilt was pitch black, and she couldn’t see anything. Gu Jianli lifted her face, no longer covering it with her hands.
“Open your mouth,” Ji Wujing said.
Gu Jianli looked blankly at Ji Wujing’s outline. It was too dark; she couldn’t see anything.
“Open your mouth,” Ji Wujing repeated.
Gu Jianli obediently opened her mouth slowly.
She thought Ji Wujing was going to feed her something, but to her surprise, he kissed her directly. It wasn’t a gentle kiss but a sudden and intense one. The unexpected kiss was hot and forceful, catching Gu Jianli off guard. Her body stiffened, her spine tensed. The brief sensory void made her instinctively submit. Not only did she let Ji Wujing have his way, but her hand, resting on her lap, involuntarily clutched his soft white robe, gripping it tighter and tighter.
It felt like countless years had passed, memories flashing by, filling the blank space in Gu Jianli’s mind. Her tense body slowly relaxed, compliant yet not just compliant.
When Ji Wujing pulled away from her lips, Gu Jianli’s eyelashes trembled, and she lowered her eyes, a layer of sadness in them. She slowly released her grip on his robe and turned her face to the side. Even in the darkness under the quilt, she didn’t want to face Ji Wujing directly.
“What are you thinking about now?” Ji Wujing asked.
“Because I can’t see…” Gu Jianli whispered a nonsensical response.
She thought Ji Wujing wouldn’t understand her, but she heard him chuckle softly. Ji Wujing reached out and pinched her earlobe, laughing lazily, “Gu Jianli, whether you have pockmarks or not, you’re not as good-looking as me.”
Gu Jianli pressed her lips together, not finding it funny at all.
In the next instant, the quilt covering her was suddenly thrown off by Ji Wujing. The sudden brightness made Gu Jianli cry out in surprise. She closed her eyes tightly, covering her face with her hands, feeling like she was being stripped naked in public.
Ji Wujing pulled her hands away from her face, and before she could struggle, his kiss fell again. Gu Jianli clenched her teeth, tense and completely losing the compliance she had under the quilt. Ji Wujing wasn’t in a hurry, gently teasing her soft, tender lips. He said, “Didn’t I tell you? I have excellent night vision.”
Gu Jianli didn’t want to listen, didn’t want to think, and even more so, didn’t want to respond. She wanted to find her shell, crawl inside, and hide. The more beautiful a person is, the harder it is to accept the blow of disfigurement.
Before her hand could reach the quilt, Ji Wujing grabbed her wrist.
Ji Wujing lightly bit her lip, teasingly, and said, “Open your eyes.”
Gu Jianli kept her eyes tightly shut, furrowing her brows and shaking her head desperately.
Ji Wujing pulled out her tongue and bit down hard, saying again, “Gu Jianli, don’t be such a coward. I’m not ugly. Open your eyes and look at Uncle.”
Gu Jianli’s eyelashes trembled as she prepared herself mentally. She barely managed to open her eyes to a sliver. The first thing she saw was Ji Wujing’s slightly upturned eyes. His beautiful fox-like eyes were smiling, and her disheveled, ugly appearance was reflected in the dimples of his smile.
Flustered, Gu Jianli hurriedly reached out to cover Ji Wujing’s eyes, not wanting him to see her.
Ji Wujing easily caught her hands, crossing them above her head and pinning them to the wall.
“Don’t look…” Gu Jianli began to say, but Ji Wujing took advantage of her open mouth. When she closed her eyes, he spanked her, forcing her to meet his gaze.
Ji Wujing’s sudden stop left Gu Jianli confused, her mouth still slightly open. She slowly lifted her head, following Ji Wujing’s gaze until she met his eyes.
“Gu Jianli,” Ji Wujing said seriously, “For people as beautiful as us, beauty is not just skin-deep; it is in our very bones.”
“Gu Jianli! Gu Jianli!” Ji Xinglou shouted as he ran in. He burst into the room and saw his father pinning Gu Jianli’s hands to the wall, standing so close to her…
“Father, if she’s not listening, just coax her. Don’t hit her!” Ji Xinglou blurted out.
Embarrassed and panicked, Gu Jianli hurriedly tried to push Ji Wujing away, and he let go. She turned and lay down, curling up to face the inside of the bed.
Ji Wujing gave Ji Xinglou a cold look, got off the bed, grabbed him, and carried him next door.
Even after Ji Wujing had been gone for a while, Gu Jianli remained motionless. After a long time, she finally placed a hand on her chest.
Thump, thump, thump.
Her heart was still pounding violently, not yet calmed down.
“Jianli. You can like someone’s character, talent, family background, or ability. You can even like them because you share interests or because they are funny and make you happy. But never give your heart to someone just because they are nice to you! Listen to your father, never trust a man’s kindness to you. ‘Being nice to you’ is too intangible and unreliable!” — Gu Jianli silently recited the words her father had once told her.
Ji Lan decreed that within three days, all those infected with smallpox who had not recovered would be burned, even if they were still alive. The newly developed vaccine was immediately used in the palace, then in the homes of the nobility, and finally among the common people.
Those spreading rumors were quietly eliminated by the Eastern Depot, and Ji Lan preemptively sent people to spread the word from the capital outward, claiming that there had been a chickenpox outbreak. Anyone daring to spread different rumors would be executed without mercy.
Only then did Ye Yunyue understand why, in her previous life living in Jiangnan, she had believed that Ji Xinglou only had chickenpox. She left the prince’s residence, walking along the newly bustling streets, her brow furrowed, unsure of where to go next.
Had she given up?
She had struggled for so long, but it had all been in vain.
How could she be willing to accept that?
Ye Yunyue was lost in thought. When she looked up again, she found herself at the west gate of the Marquis of Guangping’s residence. She hesitated, unsure if she should go in.
Maybe… she should just give up? Ye Yunyue felt utterly deflated.
But just as she was about to leave, she encountered two maidservants coming out of the west gate.
“The fifth lady is so pitiful. Such a beautiful face, now disfigured,” one of the young maidservants said sympathetically.
Another maid nodded in agreement, “Yes, it’s really unfortunate. How did she get infected with smallpox from her stepson? Such a beautiful face, now full of pockmarks. It’s both sad and pitiable…”
Ye Yunyue was stunned.
Gu Jianli caught smallpox?
Gu Jianli had kept her smallpox infection a secret to avoid worrying her father and sister. Additionally, the Marquis of Guangping’s residence was tightly guarded, making it difficult for news to spread. Therefore, her condition had not been known outside the residence.
“Gu Jianli is disfigured…” Ye Yunyue muttered to herself.
Could it be that another opportunity was presenting itself to her? One was a beautiful ex-fiancée and white moonlight, the other a disfigured wife… Ye Yunyue felt she might have gained an advantage.
“No, that’s not right!” Ye Yunyue frowned. “In my past life, Gu Jianli didn’t get disfigured…”
What was going on?
Thinking about how she had believed the rumors about chickenpox during such a dangerous smallpox epidemic in her past life made Ye Yunyue uncomfortable. How had she been so ignorant about so many things? If she could go back to her past life, she would make sure to live it properly and gather more accurate information…
Determined, Ye Yunyue thickened her skin and returned to the Marquis of Guangping’s residence.
One more try, just one more try—Ye Yunyue told herself.
“Sixth brother! You’ve recovered! That’s wonderful! I’ve been praying for your recovery every day for the past half month!” Ye Yunyue ran up to Ji Xinglou, who was playing in the backyard, immediately expressing her loyalty.
Ji Xinglou looked up, his face just scabbed over.
Ye Yunyue was momentarily disgusted to the point of nearly vomiting. Fortunately, she controlled her emotions in time and didn’t show it on her face.
Ji Xinglou rolled his eyes and went back to catching ants.
But Ye Yunyue soon became happy again. Could it be that Gu Jianli’s face now looked as disgusting as Ji Xinglou’s?
Ye Yunyue’s eyes couldn’t hide her joy.
“Sixth brother, where is Madam? Is she resting? I’ve been away for so long, not only worried about you but also about her. I must go pay my respects,” Ye Yunyue said eagerly, wanting to confirm if Gu Jianli’s face was really as ugly as Ji Xinglou’s.
Ji Xinglou glared at her in annoyance and suddenly threw a bamboo tube full of ants at her face. Dozens of ants fell out, covering Ye Yunyue’s face.
Ye Yunyue screamed in terror, slapping her face frantically to get the ants off. By the time she had gotten rid of the ants, her face was swollen from her own slapping.
Not long after, Ye Yunyue saw Gu Jianli returning from a walk. Recently, due to the hot weather, the daughters of the capital were wearing lower necklines, but Gu Jianli was dressed in thick, high-collared clothing. Most strangely, she was wearing a mask.
Ye Yunyue breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Gu Jianli’s disfigurement was real. She smirked with schadenfreude.
To show her sincerity, Ye Yunyue decided to cook a big meal herself that night. Before heading to the kitchen, she ran out to a pharmacy to buy some medicine.
When Ye Yunyue walked into the kitchen, Jixia was squatting by the stove, brewing medicine.
Jixia frowned and said sarcastically, “Why are you back again?”
Ye Yunyue lowered her head and responded obediently, “Madam and Sixth brother narrowly escaped death. I’m happy for them and decided to cook a meal for them before packing up and moving out.”
Jixia slapped the pork head on the chopping board with the cleaver and sneered, “Such thick skin you have.”
Suppressing her anger, Ye Yunyue ignored her and focused on preparing the meal. In her past life, she had honed her cooking skills to please her ex-husband.
When the last dish was ready, Ye Yunyue secretly sprinkled an aphrodisiac powder into the fish porridge.
She decided to go for broke.
With a disfigured Gu Jianli and a beautiful herself, the outcome was obvious, wasn’t it? Ye Yunyue smiled.
