A red plum blossom fell on Wujing’s shoulder.
Gu Jianli looked at the red plum blossom and whispered, “I didn’t…”
Her voice trailed off. As she gazed at Wujing, scenes she shouldn’t be imagining began to appear in her mind. It was as if Wujing, neatly dressed in front of her, was not wearing anything at all. Her eyes fell on his chest, as if she could see through his clothes, noticing the small red mole under his left breast, similar to the tear mole under his left eye, small and red.
Her face suddenly turned as red as the plum blossom on Wujing’s shoulder.
In a daze, Gu Jianli’s confused gaze refocused, only to see the dirty lapel of Wujing’s robe—the one she had just kicked. Embarrassed, she raised her hand to brush off the dirt and straighten his lapel, then murmured, “I just wanted to help clean you up…”
Wujing looked down at her and asked, “Why didn’t you wait until I woke up?”
Although Gu Jianli had stopped crying, her eyes were still red from tears. She looked at Wujing with a confused, pitiful expression. Carefully, she removed the plum blossom from his shoulder, only for it to fall again, fluttering to the ground.
Wujing turned his face to watch the blossom fall, his gaze following her fingertips as it slowly descended.
“I asked you before, and you said it depended on your mood. I never know when you’re in a good or bad mood…” Gu Jianli said softly.
She had asked before.
——”Fifth Master, I’ve heard some people sell their wives. If someone offered a high price, would you sell me? I’m just saying it casually. Don’t take it seriously.”
——”Depends on my mood.”
Wujing withdrew his gaze and looked at Gu Jianli’s lips. Earlier, she had bitten her lip, and now the wind had caused it to bleed again. Blood trickled, gathering into a bead that was growing larger and about to drip. Gu Jianli, with her eyes lowered, didn’t notice.
Wujing bent down and licked the blood bead off her lip, then, under her shocked gaze, he captured her lips, sucking away the remaining metallic taste.
Wujing lifted his eyes to meet hers. He didn’t pull away, still holding her lips gently, and said slowly, “As long as you don’t make Uncle angry, Uncle will always be in a good mood.”
As he spoke, his lips moved, lightly brushing against hers. The tingling sensation spread from her soft lips, making Gu Jianli suddenly feel flustered. Being held horizontally with her feet not touching the ground only made her more uneasy.
“Don’t…” she began to say, but the slight movement of her lips brushed against his. She dared not move again or speak, staring at him in a daze.
At some point, the sky had darkened. A full moon rose in the sky, accompanied by scattered stars. The world was silent, save for the intense beating of their hearts.
Suddenly, Wujing straightened up and stepped back. The coolness on her lips made Gu Jianli blink slowly. She looked at Wujing, then turned her head to follow his gaze.
The sky was too dark for her to see clearly. After waiting for a while, she finally saw a figure gradually approaching from afar.
As the figure drew nearer, Gu Jianli recognized it was Chen He.
With one hand behind his back, Chen He leisurely walked to the tree, looked up at Wujing in the tree, and smiled, “The palace is in chaos. As the master of Xuanjing Sect, don’t you plan to seize some credit?”
Wujing’s face didn’t look too good, and he didn’t respond.
Gu Jianli thought for a moment and guessed that Chen He had informed Wujing about what happened in the palace last night.
Chen He wasn’t too surprised that Wujing didn’t respond. After all, Wujing was known for his unpredictable nature. Chen He hadn’t come looking for Wujing anyway; he shifted his gaze to Gu Jianli.
Feeling awkward being held in Wujing’s arms under Chen He’s gaze, Gu Jianli knew she couldn’t ask Wujing to put her down since she couldn’t walk.
“I’m here with an imperial decree,” Chen He said.
Gu Jianli, putting aside her awkwardness, immediately looked at Chen He with a bit of nervousness.
“The grievances of Prince Wu have been cleared. Next time we meet, I should address you as Princess,” Chen He announced.
Gu Jianli felt a wave of relief wash over her.
Chen He continued, “We’ve already sent someone to change Consort Li into a maid’s attire, and she will be quietly escorted out of the palace later. Senior Brother’s movements are too conspicuous, so she will leave separately from you.”
Grateful, Gu Jianli smiled at Chen He and said, “Thank you for your help, Supervisor.”
“You’ve got it wrong, Madam. Chen He knows nothing and hasn’t helped you in any way,” Chen He replied with a light-hearted smile.
Understanding his meaning, Gu Jianli smiled without saying more.
Wujing, holding Gu Jianli, leapt down from the plum tree, landing silently with the tree remaining perfectly still. He carried Gu Jianli and walked forward briskly, not even glancing at Chen He as he passed by.
Chen He was momentarily stunned. He turned around, watching Wujing’s retreating figure, and called out, “Senior Brother.”
“Don’t. I can’t bear it. I don’t have such a cowardly junior brother like you.”
Chen He watched Wujing walk away, laughing in exasperation.
Can’t protect his own wife and blames it on me? Absolutely unreasonable.
A white shadow leaped from the treetop, landing steadily in Chen He’s arms. Chen He gently stroked the soft fur of his snowball-like pet, his gaze softening as he looked down at it. He said, “In this world, my Xuetuan is still the best.”
The cat squinted its eyes, stretched lazily in Chen He’s arms, licked his slender fingers, and then nestled comfortably in his embrace, closing its eyes to sleep.
Chen He gently tapped its forehead with his fingertip and said, “I’ve been too busy today to pay attention to you, little one. From now on, I won’t leave you…”
Wujing had not walked far with Gu Jianli in his arms when they came across a scene of guards engaged in combat. It was unclear whether the loyalists of the deceased Fourth Prince were avenging their master, or if Ji Lan was purging dissenters.
Wujing couldn’t be bothered with these matters, continuing to walk leisurely with Gu Jianli in his arms. At first, Gu Jianli was frightened by the scene, but seeing Wujing’s composed demeanor, her fear lessened considerably. Remembering the day when Wujing faced an assassination attempt, leaving headless corpses everywhere, Gu Jianli suddenly felt she had also seen her share of gruesome events. There was nothing to be afraid of anymore.
She suddenly asked, “Fifth Master, are we going home?”
Wujing replied with a question, “Do you want to live in the palace?”
“No!” Gu Jianli quickly retorted, then added, “Let’s not go home yet. Can we visit my father first? I know Supervisor Chen must have sent a message, and the news reaching His Majesty will be good. But what happened from last night until today, no one knows better than I do. I want to tell my father personally.”
Wujing remained silent.
Gu Jianli waited and waited, then gently tugged on his lapel. Only then did Wujing look down at her, impatiently saying, “You talk too much.”
Gu Jianli carefully observed Wujing’s expression and had a vague feeling that he agreed. She closed her mouth and stayed quiet, letting him carry her out of the palace step by step.
From a high vantage point, Ji Lan watched the fighting below and happened to see Wujing carrying Gu Jianli away. His gaze lingered on Wujing for a moment, and he frowned.
“What a pity…” he murmured to himself, with a hint of regret in his eyes. Such intelligence and courage in a woman, and she was the daughter of Gu Jingyuan. Unfortunately, she was already married.
The supervisor of the Eastern Depot, Dou Hongyan, stood nearby, interpreting the emperor’s mood. Although the person on the throne had changed, the courtiers remained the same, at least until the great purge. Unlike the officials, eunuchs were more concerned with currying favor with whoever was emperor, and Dou Hongyan was no exception.
Just as Wujing reached the palace gate with Gu Jianli, they met Gu Jingyuan, who was arriving on horseback.
“Jianli!” Gu Jingyuan jumped off his horse and rushed over.
Wujing raised his eyes and glanced at him disdainfully, saying, “Can you not shout like thunder, old man?”
“You!” Gu Jingyuan was about to scold him when he noticed Gu Jianli asleep in Wujing’s arms and immediately fell silent.
Wujing looked at the horse behind Gu Jingyuan and said, “I say, Brother Jingyuan, you came on a horse to pick someone up, without even a carriage?”
Gu Jingyuan looked at Gu Jianli’s legs and felt a pang of heartache. He was already regretting not bringing a carriage, and now Wujing had pointed it out directly. Annoyed, he snorted heavily and retorted, “You unfilial son, call me father! You think you’re so smart? You’re so smart you didn’t even bring a horse, just two legs!”
Just as Gu Jianli had fallen asleep, she furrowed her brows and let out a low moan.
Gu Jingyuan reached out, wanting to take his daughter from Wujing’s arms. However, Wujing sidestepped him and, with a slight tilt of his chin, pointed ahead, saying, “Good father, your other daughter has fallen.”
Gu Jingyuan turned around to look, but the path ahead was pitch black, not a person in sight. As a gust of wind brushed past his ear, Gu Jingyuan turned back only to see Wujing, with Gu Jianli in his arms, leap into the air, stepping on the horse’s back before disappearing into the night.
“Jing dog!” Gu Jingyuan pointed at Wujing’s receding figure, so angry that his finger trembled.
Not only did Wujing use his lightness skill to leave first with Gu Jianli, but he also deliberately stepped on the horse, causing it to panic and run off into the night. This was taking advantage of Gu Jingyuan’s old injury, which prevented him from using his own lightness skill.
By the time Gu Jingyuan made it home, Madam Tao hurried to greet him, telling him that Wujing had already brought Gu Jianli back.
Gu Jingyuan looked towards his youngest daughter’s room, feeling a complex mix of emotions about Wujing.
If they were going the same way, why run ahead? Seriously?
“Would you like to check on her?” Madam Tao asked.
“Jianli is asleep. We’ll talk tomorrow!” Gu Jingyuan replied grumpily, turning to head back to his room.
Madam Tao, however, didn’t rest immediately. She waited by the courtyard gate until the people sent to the Marquis of Guangping’s residence brought Jixia. Only then did she feel at ease and go to bed.
Gu Jianli’s leg pain was intense, making her sleep fitful and fragmented. Gu in Jianli brewed some pain-relief and sleep-aid medicine for her to drink. As the medication took effect, she became very sleepy, but the pain kept her awake, making it even more torturous. Her clothes were soaked with sweat once again.
She closed her eyes, telling herself that once she fell asleep, the pain would go away, and silently counted sheep in her mind.
One sheep, two sheep, three sheep…
Her consciousness gradually faded, and in a daze, Gu Jianli felt a cool sensation on her collarbone. She slowly opened her eyes to see Wujing sitting beside the bed, unbuttoning her clothes.
Gu Jianli stared at him blankly for a moment before reacting, and asked in astonishment, “What are you doing?”
Today’s purple outfit of Gu Jianli had a special design: a semi-transparent, loose, wide-sleeved short jacket over a tightly bound inner garment, with laces crisscrossing down the front. Wujing was calmly untying the laces, saying, “I’m going to wipe you down. You’ll sleep better after cleaning off the sweat.”
Tit for tat 😆