It would be dark by the time she returned home. If Gu Jianli had to cook herself again, who knows when the two children would get to eat. The little ones couldn’t go hungry, and Ji Wujing might throw a tantrum if he got sick again. Gu Jianli thought it over and decided to buy a few hearty dishes from Baixiang Restaurant before heading home. She also had Changsheng run to Shijin Pavilion to buy some sweets. This way, when she got home, she only needed to make two or three dishes herself.
Yes, just three dishes. Two dishes that Ji Xinglou and Ji Xinglan loved, plus a fish stew.
When she got home, Ji Lan was already there.
As soon as Gu Jianli rounded the screen wall facing the main gate, she saw Ji Lan squatting in front of Ji Xinglou, talking to him.
Gu Jianli was startled, worried that Ji Xinglou might anger the emperor due to his naivety. She hurried over, bowed respectfully, and said, “Your Majesty, the child is ignorant. If he has been disrespectful, I apologize on his behalf.”
Ji Lan had only just arrived as well.
“No matter, today I’m visiting the temple incognito, so formalities can be dispensed with,” Ji Lan said with a gentle smile. He always appeared refined and gentle, not like someone deeply embroiled in power struggles.
“I saw this child bowing towards the east from a distance and was curious to ask.”
Only then did Gu Jianli notice the nearly burnt paper money in front of Ji Xinglou. She looked questioningly at Nanny Lin.
Nanny Lin bowed and replied, “Your Majesty, today is the birthday of the two children, and also the death anniversary of their birth mother. So every year on this day, our Fifth Master has the children burn some paper money and pay their respects.”
A flicker of a strange emotion passed through Ji Lan’s eyes as he casually asked, “Today is their birthday?”
“Yes.”
Ji Lan nodded. If they were born of the legitimate wife, he could praise the children, but since they weren’t, he said nothing. Although his expression showed indifference, he felt a slight pause in his heart.
Today was the seventh day of the ninth month.
The day Ji Chong was killed was the twenty-fourth of the eighth month, and that child was also born on the same day.
So the birthdates didn’t match.
Ji Lan’s scrutinizing gaze swept over Ji Xinglou and Ji Xinglan, noting their dissimilar features, and finally rested on Ji Xinglou’s face, feeling a bit heavy-hearted. During the day at the temple, he thought the child resembled his elder brother, and now looking closely, the contours of his lips and nose indeed resembled Ji Zhao’s.
The relationship between Ji Zhao and the former crown prince was well known. Before coming here, Ji Lan was convinced Ji Xinglou was the son of the former crown prince, but now realizing his mistake, he felt a sense of loss.
Gu Jianli was staring at the burnt paper money on the ground, somewhat lost in thought. But she quickly regained her composure and said warmly, “I didn’t expect Your Majesty to come in person. Forgive us for not welcoming you properly. Please, come inside.”
“I happened to have some free time today and was concerned about Ji Zhao’s health, so I came to check on him and brought some medicine from the palace,” Ji Lan said softly.
A small eunuch hurried over and whispered urgently in Ji Lan’s ear, “Your Majesty, the Chief Eunuch has discovered the whereabouts of the traitor Ji Yan!”
Ji Lan’s gentle eyes instantly turned cold. He left the medicine and hurriedly departed without entering the residence.
“He is the emperor? Wow — the biggest person in the world?” Ji Xinglan asked curiously, hugging Gu Jianli’s leg.
Gu Jianli nodded.
Ji Xinglou sneered and muttered, “What’s so great about him?”
Gu Jianli glanced again at the remnants of the burnt paper money on the ground but said nothing, leading the two children back inside.
Just after dinner, with the leftovers still on the table, Ji Jingyi and Luo Muge arrived. Ji Jingyi brought a medicine developed by Doctor Luo to treat pockmarks, while Luo Muge carried medicinal supplements for Ji Wujing.
Seeing the medicine Ji Jingyi handed over, Gu Jianli was a bit puzzled. The black ointment had an indescribable, pleasant fragrance.
“Wasn’t it just a day? How did he develop it so quickly?” Gu Jianli was very surprised.
Ji Jingyi was equally astonished, exclaiming, “Everyone knows that Doctor Luo’s poison skills are extraordinary, but who would have thought his medical skills are equally impressive? It’s truly amazing!”
Gu Jianli looked at the heavy ointment in her hand, unable to believe it. Could the pockmarks on her face really disappear? This… couldn’t be true, right?
Suppressing her joy, Gu Jianli glanced stealthily at Ji Wujing. He looked listless, as if he hadn’t heard their conversation. Gu Jianli asked, “Mr. Ji, Doctor Luo has a peculiar temperament. He doesn’t like to answer my questions. Do you know when the antidote Fifth Master took will cure him? And is there anything else to be mindful of?”
Luo Muge, who was taking out the medicinal supplements from the food box, glanced at Gu Jianli with deep resentment. Her hand holding the medicine bowl trembled with anger.
Ji Jingyi looked at Ji Wujing’s complexion and smiled, “Madam, don’t worry. Fifth Master has had his internal organs damaged after being bedridden for many years. Even though he has taken the antidote, he cannot recover his former health immediately. It will take time to recuperate, probably three to four months. I brought a prescription for supplements today. A bowl every night will suffice.”
Gu Jianli felt somewhat reassured and smiled, “Mr. Ji has worked hard these days. After buying the medicinal herbs today, you must be tired, and yet you still came here.”
“Buying medicinal herbs?” Ji Jingyi was momentarily puzzled.
“Wasn’t it you, Mr. Ji?” Gu Jianli recalled, “I didn’t see clearly, but it looked like you, so I thought you were out buying herbs again.”
Ji Jingyi’s expression remained natural as he smiled, “Madam must have seen me. I wasn’t buying herbs but treating a stubborn illness for a young master.”
Gu Jianli mentioned it casually and didn’t pursue the matter further. Ji Jingyi said he needed to return and gather the herbs he had dried during the day and took his leave. As he turned, Gu Jianli noticed Ji Wujing seemed to have a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth.
Gu Jianli was stunned for a moment. When she looked again, Ji Wujing’s face was expressionless and listless as before.
Could she have seen it wrong?
She looked down, feeling the weight of the ointment in her hand, and asked, “Fifth Master, did you ask Doctor Luo to develop the medicine a long time ago? How could it be made in just one day? I don’t believe it.”
Ji Wujing lazily yawned, glanced at her, and reached out to pull down the veil on her face, saying slowly, “I don’t like you wearing this.”
The hook of the veil caught on her hair behind her ear, and Ji Wujing’s casual tug messed up her hair. She turned her head to straighten it, and when she looked up again, Ji Wujing had already stood up and picked up Ji Xinglou, heading outside.
Ji Xinglou, who was playing cat’s cradle with Ji Xinglan, was startled when he was suddenly lifted into the air. Clinging to Ji Wujing, he asked, “Where are we going?”
“To apply medicine for you.”
Ji Wujing carried Ji Xinglou outside. The night breeze was a bit chilly, so he pressed Ji Xinglou’s face into his chest. His listless expression now had a touch of ferocity.
In the blink of an eye, six years had passed.
He glanced at the still-undeveloped Ji Xinglou in his arms, feeling increasingly irritable.
Ji Chong’s dying wish had confined him to bedridden for six years. Six years had worn away much of his carefree indulgence.
As he passed through the Baohulu Gate leading to the backyard, he casually swiped his hand, and the stone table behind him cracked inch by inch.
Ji Xinglou, frightened, shrank his shoulders and whispered, “What’s wrong, Daddy?”
Ji Wujing irritably replied, “A certain person’s dying wish is too disgusting, so disgusting that I want to go to the underworld, catch him, and beat him up.”
— Do not seek revenge. Personally raise Ji Xinglou and keep him away from power struggles, so he can grow up safely as an ordinary person.
Ji Xinglou snorted coldly and said disdainfully, “He’s dead. Even if you don’t follow his wish, he wouldn’t know. Just deceive him before he dies.”
Ji Wujing looked at Ji Xinglou’s pockmarked face and sinisterly said, “Shut up.”
Ji Xinglou tightly pressed his lips together, not daring to make a sound.
Ji Wujing changed his mind, handing Ji Xinglou to Nanny Lin to apply the medicine, then turned irritably and walked towards the front yard. He stopped in front of the shattered stone table, oddly pulling up one corner of his mouth in a smile.
Do not seek revenge. Personally raise Ji Xinglou and keep him away from power struggles, so he can grow up safely as an ordinary person.
— Let others seek revenge and fight for power. As for growing up safely as an ordinary person… well, he has two eyes and a mouth, and he’s not deformed.
When Ji Wujing returned to his room, Gu Jianli was not there. She had gone to the side room to bathe and apply the ointment. Ji Wujing didn’t wait for her and irritably went to bed.
Gu Jianli returned to the room very late, carrying a faint exotic fragrance. She had thought the black ointment would look terrible on her skin, but to her surprise, it wasn’t black at all once applied, leaving only a hint of fragrance.
She had something to ask Ji Wujing, but seeing him asleep, she whispered, “Fifth Master, are you asleep?”
“Asleep.”
Gu Jianli sat down by the bed, leaned over carefully, and removed the earring from Ji Wujing’s left ear, replacing it with a small earring she had bought that day.
Ji Wujing didn’t open his eyes throughout, his breathing shallow.
Gu Jianli didn’t immediately get up but instead stared closely at Ji Wujing’s facial features.
At first, she thought of accompanying him through the last days of his life.
Later, her father had asked her what she would do if Ji Wujing lived not just for three or five years, but for ten, or even if he detoxified and lived a long life. She still remembered her panic, confusion, and indecision at that time.
Now, at this point, she found she felt no panic or hesitation at all. All her emotions were only joy at his being alive.
Finally, Ji Wujing lazily opened his eyes and said, “Gu Jianli, you again…”
“Once again attracted by your uncle’s beauty,” Gu Jianli finished his unfinished sentence, a smile playing on her lips.
Her face was covered with ointment, making it look as if it was coated with a layer of water. Ji Wujing looked at her face, then extended his finger to poke her cheek. Seeing his fingertip wet, he grimaced in disgust, grabbed Gu Jianli’s hand, and wiped the ointment onto her palm before turning over to sleep.
Three months passed, from autumn to winter, with heavy snow falling. Last winter had been the harshest in years, but this year was even colder. Since winter began, one snowfall followed another, and by the twelfth month, the cold was so severe that water turned to ice, and even glue and fingers could break.
Gu Jianli sat at her dressing table, gazing into the copper mirror. Her slender, fair fingers gently touched her delicate, smooth cheeks. The day-to-day changes had been subtle, but today she was astonished by the transformation.
In three months, the ointment in the jar had been used up, and she had shed a layer of skin.
Now her skin was like creamy jade, even more tender than before, as if reborn.
Ji Wujing stood behind her, watching her through the copper mirror. After a moment, he impatiently turned her chair around to face him directly. He squinted at her, lifting her face and repeatedly stroking her delicate chin with his fingertip.