“What can you…what?” Gu Jianli looked at him blankly.
Ji Wujing lowered his head slightly, his tongue slowly licking his teeth. His gaze gradually moved up to meet Gu Jianli’s eyes, lingering in the shimmering light within her eyes. After a while, he stopped smiling and his expression became serious.
Gu Jianli’s mood was influenced by his and also turned a bit serious. However, her eyes still held confusion.
“Gu Jianli—” Ji Wujing finally spoke, dragging out his words.
“Yes?” Gu Jianli inexplicably felt nervous again.
“Kiss your uncle.”
Gu Jianli thought he was going to say something important, but it turned out to be more of his teasing. She frowned, unwillingly shaking her head as she asked, “Is Ye Yunyue really dead?”
“Uncle wants you to kiss him.”
Gu Jianli turned her head, glancing towards the door, looking somewhat distracted, and asked again, “Did you really strangle her?”
“Gu Jianli—” He dragged out his words again, but this time with a different tone.
Gu Jianli finally turned to look at Ji Wujing, leaned over, and gave his lips a perfunctory kiss. Just as a smile was about to appear on Ji Wujing’s lips, Gu Jianli asked again, “Is Ye Yunyue really dead?”
Ji Wujing scoffed angrily and asked back, “Are you doubting my ability to kill?”
“Um…” Gu Jianli seemed a bit disappointed.
Ji Wujing asked, “Do you hope she’s still alive? Do you want her to keep causing trouble? Do you want her to continue coveting your handsome uncle?”
As he spoke, Ji Wujing’s expression grew darker.
“But she didn’t really accomplish anything. Can she be saved?”
Ji Wujing remained silent.
“I want to know if what she said is true,” Gu Jianli tugged at Ji Wujing’s sleeve.
Recalling Ye Yunyue’s nonsensical talk, a shadow crossed Ji Wujing’s eyes, and he said, “Don’t believe her nonsense.”
“I don’t believe all of it, but I want to know if she really was reborn. If she was, she would start off much better than ordinary people. How could she still be so stupid?” Gu Jianli frowned, “But I do think she knew a lot of things. Even if she wasn’t reborn, she might have found a reclusive expert to tell her fortune. I want to ask her what else she knows. I’m very curious about the future.”
—I want to know if you can really live for at least another ten years. I want to know if I’ll be with you during those ten years. I want to know how my face was healed.
“What’s believable about the nonsense she spouts?” Ji Wujing’s expression darkened as he recalled Ye Yunyue’s earlier rambling.
Gu Jianli said earnestly, “Interrogate her! Xuanjing Sect should be good at that!”
Gu Jianli grasped Ji Wujing’s sleeve, her little finger hooking around his thumb, swaying it as she asked with a smile in her eyes, “Can she be brought back to life?”
“She’s completely dead.”
Ji Wujing pried her hand off and turned to walk out.
Gu Jianli propped her hands on the table and jumped down. She accidentally pulled at the wound on her leg, bending over in pain for a moment before straightening up and walking out. As she stepped over the threshold, she saw Ji Wujing holding a small red porcelain bottle, pouring its contents over Ye Yunyue’s corpse.
Ji Wujing glanced at Gu Jianli, then expressionlessly looked away.
Curiously, Gu Jianli followed Ji Wujing’s actions, looking at Ye Yunyue’s corpse. Soon, a sizzling sound was heard, like the sound of oil being refined in the kitchen during the New Year.
Gu Jianli’s eyes widened in shock as she watched Ye Yunyue’s corpse turn into a pool of blood. The blood slowly evaporated, finally turning into a wisp of red smoke that vanished without a trace, leaving no mark on the ground.
Poor Ye Yunyue, her second life was even shorter than her first.
“If the Zhao family asks about Ye Yunyue…”
Ji Wujing lounged lazily in a chair, speaking casually, “Ye Yunyue? Who? Never heard of her.”
There was a knock on the door. Jixia stood outside.
Gu Jianli let her in. Jixia was holding a box, and after cautiously glancing at Ji Wujing, she said to Gu Jianli, “Third brother sent this medicine, saying it’s very effective for treating various scars.”
Gu Jianli was momentarily stunned and involuntarily raised her hand to touch her face. Due to the matter with Ye Yunyue, she had momentarily forgotten about her own face. A flash of sadness passed through her eyes, and she said, “Send it back.”
Jixia opened her mouth to speak, glanced at Ji Wujing again, and then, understandingly, lowered her head and withdrew.
However, she returned shortly, still holding the box.
Gu Jianli gave her a look and quietly shook her head.
Jixia, however, looked at Ji Wujing and said, “Fifth Master, Third brother said this medicine is for you. It might be useful for treating the marks on Sixth brother’s face.”
Gu Jianli lowered her gaze and said nothing.
After a moment, Ji Wujing finally responded with an “Oh.” Jixia, quick-witted, took the box and started to leave. Just as she was about to exit, she paused in confusion and asked, “Where’s Ye Yunyue?”
Gu Jianli’s expression remained unchanged as she said, “I don’t know where she went. And don’t mention her again.”
In the distance, the faint sounds of a funeral procession drifted in from the estate, making Gu Jianli uncomfortable. She retreated into the inner room. This outbreak of smallpox had afflicted many in the Guangping Marquis Manor, and many of those who fell ill had died. The old lady hadn’t initially contracted smallpox, but ever since Ji Wujing made a grand spectacle of bringing back Ji Xinglou, the old lady had been constantly worried that her stepson would seek revenge with a knife at any moment. Living in such fear, she made herself sick. When she heard that her only daughter had died of smallpox, she didn’t even wait for Ji Wujing to trouble her; she closed her eyes and passed away.
Ye Yunyue had mysteriously disappeared. The Zhao family had come looking twice, but no one dared to search in the Fifth Master’s courtyard. They could only try to inquire discreetly when they encountered Jixia or Nanny Lin outside the courtyard.
Jixia, mimicking Gu Jianli’s expression, remained unperturbed: “I don’t know, I don’t remember.”
Nanny Lin was even less inclined to engage. She had initially saved Ye Yunyue out of kindness at the cemetery, but Ye Yunyue had abandoned her and fled. Nanny Lin was still furious about that! How could she possibly care about Ye Yunyue’s fate?
Gu Jianli began actively collecting various medicines for treating scars, gradually filling a box. However, the scabs had not yet fallen off, and she had to wait until they did to use the treatments.
When the smallpox outbreak ended, the guards stationed at Guangping Marquis Manor were withdrawn. Concerned about his sister, Gu Zaili rushed over to visit Gu Jianli and learned she had contracted smallpox, which broke her heart. She told Gu Jingyuan about it when he returned home.
The next day, Gu Jingyuan swaggered into Guangping Marquis Manor.
Gu Jianli had anticipated this day and forced a smile to greet her father.
Gu Jingyuan looked displeased, letting out a heavy, cold snort, “Stop smiling, don’t strain the wounds on your face!”
“Father, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry. I’m fine now. I’ve always had good luck, so there’s no need to worry.” Gu Jianli tugged at Gu Jingyuan’s sleeve, gently shaking it, her tone carrying a hint of coquettishness.
“Gu Jianli—” Ji Wujing’s lazy voice came from the inner room; he had just woken up.
Gu Jingyuan glanced at the high sun outside and shook his head in disapproval.
Ji Wujing emerged in a loosely draped robe, the summer heat leaving even the collar undone. He walked out disheveled and lazily sat beside Gu Jianli, pouring himself a cup of cold tea. After taking a sip to relieve his throat, he lifted his eyelids to look at Gu Jingyuan and said slowly, “I thought a big tiger had come into the house, making all this noise.”
Gu Jingyuan had intended to scold him harshly, but recalling how Jixia had just told him that Ji Wujing had been taking care of Gu Jianli during this time, he frowned at his daughter and stifled his anger with a grunt.
The atmosphere in the room grew inexplicably awkward as none of the three spoke.
Jixia quietly brought in a plate of fruit, placing it on the table.
Gu Jingyuan’s frown deepened, and he asked, “Jianli, why haven’t I seen any other maidservants here?”
“There’s another maidservant who isn’t very capable. Most of the time, she takes care of Liu Lang and Fourth Miss,” Gu Jianli explained softly to her father.
“Who else serves in this house?” Gu Jingyuan asked.
Gu Jianli braced herself and listed them one by one.
Gu Jingyuan exploded with rage.
He slapped the table and stood up, pointing at Ji Wujing, fuming, “Ji Zhao, you treat my daughter like this! My daughter has been pampered since childhood! She was always surrounded by maids and nannies, six maids and four nannies, not counting the footboys! After marrying you, she doesn’t even have enough servants to take care of her! She relies entirely on a single dowry maid!”
Gu Jingyuan, enraged, spun around in place twice, his anger growing even more intense: “My precious daughter, at just fifteen, came here to be a stepmother to your illegitimate son and daughter, and she almost lost her life to smallpox contracted from your wild son! And you don’t even provide her with a single maidservant!”
Gu Jingyuan couldn’t bear to imagine how difficult Gu Jianli’s life must have been during her illness and earlier when she broke her leg!
“Dear father-in-law, why are you yelling? If you get sick from anger, don’t blame your son-in-law,” Ji Wujing, irritated by the noise, also looked displeased.
Gu Jianli hurriedly grabbed her father’s arm, gently persuading him, “Fifth Master just prefers peace and quiet…”
“Because he likes peace and quiet, you have to suffer?” Gu Jingyuan demanded.
When Gu Jingyuan noticed that Gu Jianli wasn’t wearing any jewelry today, his heart ached even more. What kind of life was his precious daughter living here?
“Dressed in plain clothes like a pauper! Not a single hairpin or bracelet!” Gu Jingyuan trembled with anger.
Gu Jianli hastily explained, “There’s a funeral at home…”
Changsheng ran in, glancing at the tense atmosphere in the room. With Ji Wujing’s approval, he came in to report, “Fifth Master, Miss Luo was injured while collecting herbs to make an antidote for you!”
Gu Jianli quickly asked with concern, “How is Miss Luo?”
“She encountered a wolf and almost lost an arm!”
Gu Jingyuan turned to Jixia, who stood beside him, and asked, “Who is this Miss Luo?”
Jixia quietly explained, “She is the daughter of Fifth Master’s master, and his junior sister.”
Gu Jingyuan’s temple throbbed with anger. He turned to Ji Wujing, asking, “Junior sister?”
Ji Wujing raised his eyelids to look at him, countering, “So what?”
“Ji Zhao, you scoundrel!” Gu Jingyuan lifted a chair and hurled it at Ji Wujing. “One illegitimate son, one illegitimate daughter! One former fiancée, one junior sister! How dare you mistreat my Jianli like this!”
