Ji Yuezhen was placed on the ground by Ji Xuanke. She wobbled unsteadily and almost fell. When she looked up, she saw Ji Xuanke jumping into the water.
Sure enough, her brother left her to save Gu Jianli. With so many people around, how could they just watch Gu Jianli drown? Why did he have to lose his dignity and jump in? Did he forget to avoid suspicion again?
Disappointment filled Ji Yuezhen’s eyes.
She just wanted to test if her brother would really jump into the water without hesitation to save Gu Jianli.
If Gu Jianli were really her sister-in-law, she would accept it even if she felt sad because it would be normal, and she would gradually adapt. But Gu Jianli was already their Fifth Aunt! If her brother kept this unclear attitude, Gu Jianli would eventually ruin him! Ruin his whole life!
It would be better to reveal everything, let him make a mistake once, suffer a loss, and learn from it!
Even if she had to be the villain, she wanted to wake her brother up!
As for Gu Jianli, if she wanted to hate, blame, or seek revenge, Ji Yuezhen would accept it.
Gu Jianli choked on a large mouthful of water and kept coughing. Struggling to keep her head above water, the water stung her eyes, making her vision blurry. In the haze, she vaguely saw Ji Xuanke swimming towards her anxiously.
“Nan Nan, don’t be afraid!” Ji Xuanke firmly gripped Gu Jianli’s shoulders, “It’s okay, it’s okay, there are no water ghosts…”
When they were younger, one year during the Flower Festival, they played on a painting boat. Suddenly, the wind picked up, and the boat rocked. Gu Jianli almost fell overboard, her leg already in the water, but Ji Xuanke had caught her just in time. She was young then and held back her tears, silent even after being pulled up, but had nightmares for several days about man-eating water ghosts.
Lizi’s confused eyes flashed with a hint of brightness. She pointed at Ji Yuezhen and shouted loudly, “Pushed! Bad!”
She lifted a foot and kicked Ji Yuezhen into the water.
With a splash, Lizi clapped her hands and jumped, yelling, “Splash! Splash! The bad person who pushed fell into the water! Splash! Splash!”
“My Yuezhen!” The Second Madam turned pale with fright and quickly instructed the servants who could swim to rescue her again.
Ji Xuanke swam to the shore with Gu Jianli, seeing she was still a bit dazed, he called her twice, “Nan-nan, Nan Nan?”
Gu Jianli, drenched by the cold water, came back to her senses. She slowly lifted her eyes to look at Ji Xuanke, weakly calling, “Third brother.”
Ji Xuanke sighed in relief and said, “Let’s go up.”
Gu Jianli’s eyes flickered, and she suddenly reached out to push Ji Xuanke. Without the support of someone who couldn’t swim, she immediately fell back into the water.
Startled, Ji Xuanke quickly dove into the water again, grasping Gu Jianli’s shoulders together, and brought her back to the surface.
Gu Jianli coughed hard, reached out to grab the brickwork on the lakeshore, and said between breaths, “Third brother, please let go and stay away from me.”
Ji Xuanke felt a pang in his heart, his gaze toward Gu Jianli filled with sorrow.
He had already fallen out with his family and had nothing left, not even the right to be close to her.
Suppressing her reluctance, Gu Jianli looked Ji Xuanke in the eyes and said again, “Please go ashore first, Third brother.”
Ji Xuanke stared at Gu Jianli for a long moment, then, with a bitter smile, nodded and said, “Alright.”
Gu Jianli gripped the rough bricks by the lakeshore so tightly that her fingers ached.
Her veil had long disappeared, exposing the face she didn’t want anyone to see. In the summer, her clothes were thin, and now wet, they clung to her, leaving her scarcely covered. She couldn’t go out like this.
Knowing her dilemma, Ji Xuanke ordered a servant to fetch clothes for Gu Jianli from Jixia in the Fifth Master’s courtyard.
“Lizi,” Gu Jianli called.
Lizi finally ran over, squatted by the shore, and looked at Gu Jianli with a silly smile, “She pushed you, so I pushed her down!”
Gu Jianli suddenly found herself amused by her.
Ji Yuezhen was once again rescued by the water-savvy servant. The Second Madam held her, crying and scolding, “Your brother already doesn’t acknowledge me. You can’t get into any more trouble, my dear!”
Gu Jianli looked up unexpectedly and saw Ji Xuanke standing on the shore. He was drenched, and unlike the bustling scene nearby, he stood alone, looking a bit disheveled.
Sensing Gu Jianli’s gaze, Ji Xuanke looked down at her. Their eyes met, and countless words choked in his throat. Suddenly, Ji Xuanke wanted to speak out. He looked Gu Jianli in the eye and said frankly, “I have a clear conscience.”
Gu Jianli’s gaze flickered, and she didn’t want to hear more from Ji Xuanke.
Holding onto the wet bricks for too long, her slender fingers ached and lost their grip. A breeze created small ripples on the lake, and even the slight movement made her feel weak. Finally, unable to hold on any longer, Gu Jianli slipped back into the water. For someone who couldn’t swim, it was pure terror.
She saw Ji Xuanke jump back into the water. Panicking, she wanted to call for help, but her body was carried away by the current. As she was swept backward, she collided with a man’s solid chest.
Startled, her body stiffened. In the next moment, she smelled a faint, familiar scent of medicine, and her tense body instantly relaxed. A flash of red appeared before her eyes as Wujing wrapped his red robe around her. Gu Jianli turned, hooked her arms around Wujing’s neck, and nestled obediently in his arms, pressing her face against his chest.
When Ji Xuanke saw Wujing appear, he stopped moving forward. Standing in the water, he watched quietly as Wujing carried Gu Jianli out of the water.
Though it was summer, the lake water was icy cold, chilling him to the bone.
Wujing carried Gu Jianli out of the water, stepping lightly as if walking on solid ground. He looked down at Gu Jianli in his arms and asked, “Afraid of water?”
Gu Jianli clung tightly to Wujing’s neck, burying her face in the crook of his neck. She mumbled, “And afraid of embarrassment. I want to go home.”
Wujing walked on the water surface as if it were solid ground. Once he reached the shore and felt the solid ground underfoot, he began to walk back, saying, “Changsheng, fill this lake for me.”
“Got it!” Changsheng excitedly rubbed his hands together. Finally, there was something to do.
All the way, Gu Jianli nestled obediently in Wujing’s arms, her mind heavy with thoughts. It wasn’t just because she was embarrassed and didn’t want to stay there any longer; she also feared Wujing might suddenly get angry in public, making things even more awkward.
Gu Jianli knew Wujing disliked her having any contact with Ji Xuanke. She just wanted to return quickly, hoping that if he got angry, it would be directed only at her.
Gu Jianli couldn’t help but recall the times Wujing had lost his temper before and furrowed her brows. She had no idea how Wujing would treat her once they returned. Would he bind her wrists? Spank her? Bite her randomly? Exhausted, Gu Jianli closed her eyes.
Before they even reached the courtyard, they encountered Jixia hurrying over with clothes.
“Madam?” Jixia glanced at Wujing’s face and silently followed behind.
Once in the courtyard, Wujing carried Gu Jianli into the house. Jixia sensibly went to heat some water for her.
Wujing set Gu Jianli down on a stool and turned to fetch a cotton cloth. He lazily straddled Gu Jianli’s legs and slowly began to dry her hair, saying, “Jixia is heating water for you. You can wash later, but for now, let’s dry your hair to avoid catching a cold.”
Gu Jianli looked up, surprised, studying Wujing’s expression.
Wujing absorbed much of the water from her hair, then stood to find her some clean clothes. Glancing at her, he said, “Why are you just sitting there? Do I have to undress you too?”
Gu Jianli lowered her head and silently began to untie her clothes.
Impatient with her slow movements, Wujing ended up undressing her himself. Now, with most of the sores on Gu Jianli’s body having scabbed over, and only a few wounds still soft and damp, she couldn’t take a bath. She usually used a wet cloth to carefully clean around the wounds.
Having fallen into the lake, some of the newly formed scabs had softened and even broken.
Wujing frowned, draping a large cotton cloth over her and gently rubbing to dry her off. Despite the layer of cloth, Gu Jianli could clearly feel Wujing’s hands moving over her body.
Jixia brought in the hot water, and Wujing replaced the cloth with a new one soaked in hot water, carefully avoiding Gu Jianli’s wounds as he cleaned her. He then used another cloth dipped in medicinal liquid to gently dab each wound.
The pain made Gu Jianli’s face turn pale.
Wujing meticulously blew on her body to help the medicine soak into her sores, then dressed her in clean clothes.
“Go lie down on the luohan bed and rest against the armrest,” Wujing instructed.
Gu Jianli gave him a peculiar look, wondering what new trick he was planning. She suspected he might tie her up again, but she did as he said, lying down while bracing herself for whatever he might do next.
It wasn’t until Wujing started washing her hair in the basin that Gu Jianli realized what was happening.
After a long time, Gu Jianli tentatively asked in a small voice, “Fifth Master, why aren’t you angry?”
Wujing snorted and sighed helplessly, “Our father won’t let me yell at you.”
Gu Jianli was stunned.
Wujing continued, “I bought you twenty-four maidservants, twelve matrons, and eighteen servants.”
Gu Jianli sat up abruptly, staring at Wujing in shock.
Her sudden movement caused her long hair to splash out of the basin, drenching Wujing’s face with water.
Wujing wiped his face irritably and glared at her, “What are you doing? Lie down properly!”
Gu Jianli lay back down quietly, letting Wujing wash her hair. After a long while, she tentatively asked again, “Are you really not angry?”
“Of course I am. I’ll go kill someone later to vent. Human heads can still fetch a price,” Wujing replied, pausing.
Gu Jianli pursed her lips and, after a long moment, began to think about home. She murmured to herself, “It would be nice if we could move out.”
Wujing responded casually, “Then let’s move out.”
“Really?” Gu Jianli sat up abruptly again, her wet hair splashing water onto Wujing’s face once more.
Wujing wiped his face irritably, “Gu Jianli, aren’t you being a bit excessive?”
“I didn’t mean to… but are you serious about moving out?”
Wujing asked back, puzzled, “Is that such a big deal?”
Then he saw Gu Jianli’s radiant smile, a smile she hadn’t shown since her disfigurement, her eyes sparkling like stars.
“You’re so kind!” Gu Jianli threw herself into Wujing’s arms, planting a kiss on the corner of his lips.
Wujing was stunned and irritably asked, “Gu Jianli, are you crazy? If you wanted to move out, why didn’t you just say so?”
