Ji Wujing belatedly noticed that in the past two days, Gu Jianli seemed to be avoiding him a bit. If he were to describe it in detail, he couldn’t really pinpoint anything specific. She still instructed the kitchen to prepare fish in various ways—steamed, grilled, stewed, and fried—and would still pick out the bones for him. At night, when he teased her, she didn’t refuse.
But there was a sense that something wasn’t quite right.
Ji Wujing pushed open the door and stepped out of the bedroom, calling for Lizi. Lizi was nowhere to be found, but a maid named Luchai, who was by Gu Jianli’s side, hurried over to ask if there were any orders.
Ji Wujing glanced at her, feeling a bit irritated.
After all, she was one of the maids Gu Jianli had chosen from many. Ji Wujing suppressed his urge to drive her away in anger and asked, “Where is Madam?”
“Madam is in the back courtyard with Lan’er,” the little maid replied respectfully, her head bowed. She didn’t dare say a word more.
Ji Wujing headed straight to the back courtyard.
The sunlight was perfect, accompanied by a gentle breeze. Gu Jianli was sitting with Ji Xinglan under the eaves in the back courtyard. Ji Xinglan held a jewelry box in her small arms. Her freshly washed, soft hair had just dried, gently draping over her back. Gu Jianli was behind her, combing her hair with a wooden comb and braiding it.
Ji Wujing walked over, blocking the sunlight.
Ji Xinglan sweetly called out “Daddy,” her eyes curving into pretty little crescents as she smiled.
Gu Jianli’s delicate fingers were threading through Ji Xinglan’s hair, seriously braiding it. She didn’t look up at Ji Wujing. Since childhood, she had always been served by a group of people, and she wasn’t very skilled at braiding hair, having never done it before. Moreover, a child’s hair is soft and short, so she was being extra careful.
Ji Wujing stared at Gu Jianli, slowly frowning.
After a long while, Gu Jianli turned her face slightly to look at Ji Wujing and said, “There is a stool here. Don’t stand there blocking the light.”
Ji Wujing’s expression darkened. He sat expressionlessly on the stool beside Gu Jianli, silently watching her braid Ji Xinglan’s hair.
As he watched, Ji Wujing didn’t get up. His long legs moved, sliding the stool to sit behind Gu Jianli, and he raised his hand to undo the cloud bun she had pinned up.
“What are you doing?” Gu Jianli turned her head back.
“Don’t move.” Ji Wujing tapped Gu Jianli’s head lightly with his knuckles.
Gu Jianli rubbed her head and obediently stopped moving, letting Ji Wujing do as he pleased. She turned back to continue braiding Ji Xinglan’s hair.
Soon, Gu Jianli realized what Ji Wujing was doing.
—He was mimicking her, braiding Gu Jianli’s hair just as she was braiding Ji Xinglan’s.
Gu Jianli’s movements paused as she tied the ribbon in Ji Xinglan’s hair.
Ji Wujing’s long fingers moved deftly, quickly catching up to Gu Jianli’s progress. Seeing her pause, he impatiently urged, “Keep going.”
Gu Jianli gazed at the back of Ji Xinglan’s head with a complicated expression.
She braided four small, fine braids for Ji Xinglan and then gathered the remaining hair, intending to make two little buns on top of her head. She had just finished gathering one bun and was about to tie it with a red ribbon, while the hair on the other side still lay soft and flat against her head.
…Was Ji Wujing also going to give Gu Jianli two little buns on top of her head?
“Hurry up. Do the other side like this too?” Ji Wujing urged again.
Gu Jianli let go of the hair she was holding in her palm, picked up the wooden comb, and started combing Ji Xinglan’s hair again. Sure enough, Ji Wujing also let go, holding the wooden comb and running it from the top of Gu Jianli’s head to the tips of her hair. Unlike Ji Xinglan’s soft and short hair, Gu Jianli’s hair reached her waist, black and soft.
Gu Jianli didn’t undo the four small braids she had made for Ji Xinglan. Instead, she gathered them with the rest of the hair, loosely braiding it down to the end, then taking a bright red ribbon and wrapping it tightly several times before tying a bow.
“Mother, is it done?” Ji Xinglan turned her head.
Gu Jianli used her pinky finger to pull out a lock of hair on each side of Ji Xinglan’s face and said, “It’s done.”
Ji Wujing patted Gu Jianli’s shoulder. She turned her head, and Ji Wujing glanced at the locks of hair hanging beside Ji Xinglan’s little face, then pulled out similar locks from the sides of Gu Jianli’s face.
He scrutinized and compared Gu Jianli and Ji Xinglan, finally smiling with satisfaction.
Gu Jianli skeptically picked up a mirror and was surprised to find that it looked quite good. The loose cloud bun added a lazy charm to her appearance.
“Wow—” Ji Xinglan’s eyes curved as she smiled, “Daddy is amazing!”
Gu Jianli leaned in to kiss her soft little face and said deliberately, “Oh my, I braided Lanlan’s hair, and Lanlan doesn’t praise me but praises Daddy, who didn’t help you at all. That’s unfair.”
Ji Xinglan blinked, a bit flustered. But she quickly pursed her lips and smiled sweetly, “Daddy learned from Mother. Mother can braid beautiful hair for Lanlan and also teach Daddy!”
Gu Jianli was amused by her cleverness and, finding her snow-white, jade-like appearance adorable, couldn’t help but bend down and hug her soft little body.
Ji Wujing tugged at the end of Gu Jianli’s braid, his tone sarcastic, “Clearly, I braid better than you do.”
Ji Wujing leaned to one side, picking a few small, unnamed blue wildflowers and tucking them into Gu Jianli’s loose hair.
“Yes, you braid better,” Gu Jianli said in the soft, coaxing tone she usually used with Ji Xinglan and Ji Xinglou.
Ji Xinglan tilted her little body, carefully examining Gu Jianli’s loose braid. She touched her own braid with her small hand and said in a childish voice, “They’re braided equally well! Because Mother is beautiful, so her braid looks beautiful!”
Gu Jianli was taken aback by Ji Xinglan’s words and couldn’t help but laugh and cry. She happily kissed Ji Xinglan’s little face. Having an older sister and a mischievous younger brother, Gu Jianli had never known how adorable a little girl could be, melting her heart completely.
Ji Wujing watched Gu Jianli’s smiling eyes, then looked at Ji Xinglan. Their braids were the same, and their eyes curved in the same way when they smiled. Unfortunately, they didn’t look alike at all. How wonderful it would be if Ji Xinglan looked more like Gu Jianli, or even better, if Ji Xinglan were his biological daughter.
“Sigh.” Ji Wujing sighed.
Gu Jianli turned her head, looking at him questioningly.
Ji Wujing listlessly pinched her cheek. He couldn’t help but recall how, when Gu Jianli was four years old, she would lie in his arms and softly call him uncle.
Yanzhi came running over, hesitating for a moment when she saw Ji Wujing there.
Gu Jianli avoided Ji Wujing’s hand, turned around, and asked Yanzhi, “I sent you to find the young master. Where is he?”
“Your servant couldn’t find the young master in the forest. I thought to report back first and then look for him elsewhere!” Yanzhi quickly said.
“Go ahead.” Gu Jianli nodded.
Gu Jianli wasn’t worried about Ji Xinglou getting lost or harmed. The mansion was excessively large, and it wasn’t the first or second time Ji Xinglou had disappeared somewhere to play. Now, this was no longer the Guangping Marquis’s residence; none of the servants in the house dared to harm him. As for outsiders? They’d have to get past Xuanjing Sect first to even enter the mansion.
In other words, Gu Jianli felt that the place they now lived in had a bit of the secluded tranquility of a paradise.
As Yanzhi left, Jixia came running over with a strange expression on her face. Clearly bursting to tell something, she swallowed her words when she saw Ji Wujing was there, and looked questioningly at Gu Jianli.
Gu Jianli held Ji Xinglan on her lap, letting her curiously play with her hand. Gu Jianli said, “Whatever you have to say, go ahead.”
“Young Master Jiang passed away yesterday morning,” Jixia said softly.
Gu Jianli was taken aback, then nodded.
Jixia continued, “And… last night, Miss Ji also passed away.”
“Who?” Gu Jianli didn’t react immediately. “Ji Yueming? How did she…?”
Jixia’s expression was strange and awkward. “She… she probably committed suicide for love…”
Gu Jianli was stunned.
Just a couple of days ago, Ji Yueming had come to see her, alive and well, and now, just two days later, she was gone?
Seeing Gu Jianli’s stunned expression, Jixia explained in detail, “Young Master Jiang had been weak since childhood, and his illness worsened this spring. Miss Ji had visited him secretly several times. Later, she was caught by Madam, who scolded her harshly and used it to force Miss Ji to agree to marry into another family. Though Miss Ji agreed on the surface, she kept thinking of Jiang Lang and visited him a few more times secretly, especially in the past month. Yesterday, she received news that Jiang Lang might not make it, so she rushed out, but was stopped by Madam. She couldn’t see him one last time. In the end, Miss Ji wore mourning clothes and took her own life…”
“How do you know all this so clearly?” Gu Jianli asked.
“It’s all over the place! Right now, the Guangping Marquis’s residence is carrying Miss Ji’s body to the Jiang family, making a scene!”
Gu Jianli nodded slowly, falling into thought. After a long while, she shook her head in disapproval and murmured, “How foolish… There’s nothing more stupid and selfish in this world than committing suicide for love…”
Ji Wujing had long lost interest in such chaotic affairs. He lazily got up and returned to the room. Listening to Jixia’s stories was less appealing than taking another nap.
“Mother? Why are you unhappy?” Ji Xinglan asked, looking up with her little face.
“Nothing.” Gu Jianli shook her head. She put Ji Xinglan down, letting her play by herself, and sat alone under the eaves, lost in thought.
Another half hour passed before Luo Muge personally brought Ji Xinglou back.
Gu Jianli stood up in surprise to greet him and asked, “Where did Xinglou go? Did he run off to Xuanjing Sect?”
Luo Muge nodded and said, “The terrain at Xuanjing Sect is unique in some areas. It’s easy for first-time visitors to get lost. I was afraid he might get lost, so I brought him back personally.”
“Bah!” Ji Xinglou rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t get lost.”
Gu Jianli noticed that Ji Xinglou’s clothes were wrinkled. She squatted in front of him to tidy them up and said, “You’ve worked up a sweat. Go take a hot bath and then change into clean clothes.”
Ji Xinglou looked annoyed but didn’t argue and went to do as Gu Jianli said.
“They both like you very much.” Luo Muge said.
“They are both very kind and obedient children.” Gu Jianli replied with a gentle smile, her eyes following Ji Xinglou’s departing figure.
Luo Muge gave Gu Jianli a deep look and asked, “Doesn’t it bother you?”
“About what?”
“Their birth mother. Your senior brother’s former woman.”
Gu Jianli thought for a moment and then smiled, asking, “What is there to be bothered about?”
Luo Muge was silent for a moment before saying, “I once saw that woman, though it was only her back. I watched as my senior brother held an umbrella for her, and even from her silhouette, I could tell her beauty and grace.”
