It wasn’t until lunchtime that Gu Jianli vaguely realized why she always felt like something was missing. It turned out that she hadn’t seen Ji Wujing since she woke up.
She sat by the bed, watching Jixia sewing by the window. She wanted to ask, but inexplicably, she didn’t say anything.
Gu Zaili pushed the door open and entered. Gu Jianli glanced behind her sister and asked, “Why didn’t Auntie come with you?”
“She wanted to come visit you, but I saw how tired she was and told her to sleep for a while. She didn’t want to, so I had to lie and say you were still asleep,” Gu Zaili said as she sat down next to her sister.
Gu Jianli nodded, picked up a snack from the food box, and took small bites. “Auntie must have been really scared. She needs to rest more.”
“How are you? Does it still hurt a lot?” Gu Zaili looked at her sister’s injured leg.
Gu Jianli shook her head. “It doesn’t hurt at all, Sister. Don’t worry about it. It’s just a bit inconvenient to move around…”
She wrapped her arm around her sister’s and acted coquettishly. “Sister, Sister, can you get me a crutch?”
Gu Zaili knew her sister never complained about her hardships. How could it not hurt with such an injury? She didn’t expose her sister’s lie, only saying, “I’ve already asked the shopkeeper to buy one for you. It will be here soon.”
“Sister, you’re the best!”
Gu Jianli then asked, “When can we move back to the Prince Mansion?”
Gu Jianli’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. Although she couldn’t move back permanently, staying for a few days was always possible. She always missed the Prince Mansion, where she grew up.
“Of course, it needs some repairs first. Who knows what state it’s in now.”
“Big Sister!” Gu Chuan shouted from the window, “Someone from the restaurant is here with the account books for you!”
“I’m coming,” Gu Zaili replied. She didn’t say anything more to Gu Jianli and left, taking Gu Chuan with her and reminding him to study well.
Gu Jianli ate another piece of pastry and thought of Madam Tao’s expression that morning. She asked Jixia to help her go to Madam Tao’s place.
Madam Tao was sitting on a small stool, holding a seal and stamping paper money one by one. There were two tall stacks of paper money on the table, one already stamped. According to the traditions of Great Ji, every piece of paper money burned on the anniversary of a loved one’s death had to be stamped with seals of blessings to show sincerity.
“Mother,” Gu Jianli called from the doorway.
Madam Tao paused and immediately greeted her with a smile. “Your leg must be hurting. Why did you come over?”
“It’s no big deal.”
Gu Jianli was helped to sit at the table. She touched the paper money on the table, feeling suddenly uncomfortable and blaming herself for being unfilial. She had forgotten that her mother’s death anniversary was approaching. She said apologetically, “You’re already preparing so early. I’m really thoughtless, I haven’t prepared anything yet.”
Madam Tao smiled and said, “There’s no rush. We still have half a month. I’m just doing this because I have nothing else to do, preparing for your mother in advance.”
Looking at Madam Tao in front of her, Gu Jianli frowned and hesitated for a moment. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Ji Wujing stride into the courtyard through the open window.
Gu Jianli’s gaze fell on the wheelchair in Ji Wujing’s hand.
Madam Tao followed Gu Jianli’s line of sight and smiled knowingly. She patted Gu Jianli’s hand and said with some emotion, “Our Jianli is really quite fortunate.”
“What?” Gu Jianli didn’t understand.
Ji Wujing had already walked in, and Madam Tao didn’t say anything further.
Ji Wujing walked up to Gu Jianli without saying a word, picked her up directly, and turned to leave. Gu Jianli quickly greeted Madam Tao, then her fist, which she had formed in protest, lightly knocked against Ji Wujing’s chest.
Ji Wujing looked down at her openly, which made Gu Jianli feel she had no ground to stand on. She muttered, “I don’t need you to carry me. I can walk on my own.”
“The wheelchair can’t be brought in,” Ji Wujing said as he placed Gu Jianli in the wheelchair and pushed her away.
“Are we going back to the Guangping Marquis Manor?”
Gu Jianli was startled. She quickly turned her head to look up at Ji Wujing and, in a flash of inspiration, said, “I’m tired and want to sleep, right now! I can’t wait!”
Ji Wujing sneered, looked at Gu Jianli with some disdain, and said, “Gu Jianli, stop your little schemes. I have no intention of taking you back to the Guangping Marquis Manor.”
Gu Jianli immediately felt happy, her eyes curved into a smile, and she blurted out, “Uncle is so good!”
Ji Wujing stared at her face and didn’t continue to scold her for pretending to be clever.
Madam Tao stood at the door watching Ji Wujing push Gu Jianli away until they were out of sight. Only then did she return to the room and finish stamping the remaining paper money with the fortune and longevity seals. It took her nearly an hour to complete the task. She got up and went to the inner room, where she replaced the incense burning in front of Li Yunyan’s memorial tablet and respectfully performed the concubine’s rites.
She gazed at Li Yunyan’s memorial tablet, lost in thought.
She always felt that her own lowly birth made her unworthy of Gu Jingyuan. She also felt that she lacked the knowledge and intelligence, and her looks were not outstanding, not even comparable to a strand of Li Yunyan’s hair. She always knew that the noblewomen in the capital secretly said she was unpresentable.
She didn’t know about Li Yunwan’s twenty-year-old secret love for Gu Jingyuan, but she sensitively felt that no matter whether Gu Jingyuan and Li Yunwan were willing or not, such an event had occurred, and Li Yunwan was still Li Yunyan’s sister, so she would probably stay.
If Li Yunwan stayed, Madam Tao naturally wouldn’t dare to say a word against it. But in her heart, she felt uncomfortable. She even thought she should voluntarily step back to the position of a concubine.
She looked at Li Yunyan’s memorial tablet and forced a smile, telling herself to just let things be and to be content with what she had. Being able to stay by Gu Jingyuan’s side and take care of him was enough.
Gu Jingyuan came back in the middle of the night. Madam Tao had been waiting for him, helping him wash up and then lying down together. Gu Jingyuan, exhausted from the day, quickly fell asleep, but Madam Tao tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
“What’s wrong?” Gu Jingyuan asked, his voice laced with sleepiness.
Madam Tao hurriedly said, “Did I wake you? It’s nothing, I’m fine…”
She turned over, not daring to make another sound, yet she remained awake all night.
Gu Jianli also couldn’t sleep. Because of the injury on her leg, she refrained from turning over, staring at the ceiling. It was hard to endure.
Ji Wujing opened his eyes and turned to look at her.
Gu Jianli felt Ji Wujing’s gaze and turned her head to look at him. In the quiet night, their eyes met at close range, and neither of them spoke. After a long while, Gu Jianli couldn’t bear it anymore. She carefully lifted her hand, tugged at Ji Wujing’s sleeve, and whispered, “Can you call Jixia for me?”
Ji Wujing asked, “Is there anything in this world that a maid can do that I cannot?”
Gu Jianli’s clear eyes rolled around in their sockets, and she immediately smiled sweetly, “Uncle…”
“Calling me uncle won’t help, and kissing won’t either.”
Gu Jianli frowned.
“Tell me, what’s the matter now?”
Gu Jianli’s left leg couldn’t move, and her right leg was slightly bent, pressed against the other leg tightly.
Noticing her subtle movement, Ji Wujing glanced down at the quilt covering Gu Jianli. Because of her leg injury, they hadn’t been sharing a quilt recently; each had their own.
Gu Jianli mumbled something softly, thinking Ji Wujing wouldn’t hear. But Ji Wujing, trained in martial arts since childhood, had an extraordinary sense of hearing.
“Is such a small matter troubling you in the middle of the night?” Ji Wujing poked Gu Jianli’s forehead.
Gu Jianli rubbed her forehead and murmured, “Will you call Jixia for me or not?”
“No.”
“I’ll call her myself!” Gu Jianli huffed and shouted, “Ji—”
But she had barely made a sound when Ji Wujing covered her mouth. She looked at Ji Wujing’s amused eyes, feeling frustrated enough to want to knock his head or pinch him.
But she didn’t dare…
Ji Wujing let go and got out of bed. He took Gu Jianli’s outer garment from the huanghuali wood clothes rack and draped it over her, then picked her up and carried her out of the room to the bathroom. To be precise, he carried her to the lavatory inside the bathroom.
At the door of the lavatory, Ji Wujing set Gu Jianli down and, looking at her lowered head, asked with a smile, “Do you need me to take off your pants for you?”
“Of course not.” Gu Jianli turned, hopping on one leg to push open the door to the lavatory.
Ji Wujing found Gu Jianli’s awkward manner amusing. It was just a trip to the lavatory; what was there to be embarrassed about?
From inside came Gu Jianli’s voice: “Wait for me outside!”
“No.”
“Fifth Master…” Gu Jianli softened her tone.
“If you keep dawdling, I’ll come in and wait.”
Gu Jianli took off her pants and sat down with difficulty, grumbling softly, “Shameless…”
“Gu Jianli, I can hear you.”
Startled, Gu Jianli instinctively placed her left foot on the ground, causing a sharp pain to shoot through her, and her eyes immediately filled with tears.
“Gu Jianli?”
“I’m fine! Don’t come in!”
Gu Jianli couldn’t hold it any longer, trying her best to ignore Ji Wujing standing outside. Hearing the sound of water, she was mortified thinking that Ji Wujing could hear it too.
After finishing, Gu Jianli struggled to stand up by holding onto the wall, tidied her clothes, and hopped out on one leg. As Ji Wujing reached out to pick her up, she turned away, not looking at him, and muttered, “I don’t need you to carry me. I’ll walk back by myself. Consider it exercise.”
In the quiet night, Gu Jianli hopped back to the room on one leg.
Ji Wujing followed behind her, watching her thin figure hop and jump, and slowly said, “Little white rabbit hops and jumps, one two one, one two one.”
Gu Jianli paused, her body swaying from the loss of balance. She let out a cry and fell backward. The expected pain didn’t come; instead, she found herself resting securely against Ji Wujing’s chest.
Gu Jianli opened her eyes and looked up at Ji Wujing.
Behind Ji Wujing, the starry sky was brilliantly lit.
Ji Wujing lazily flicked Gu Jianli’s eyelashes with his thumb and said, “Little white rabbit hops and jumps, one two one, one two one, oh, it fell down.”
All the stars seemed to extinguish in an instant.
Gu Jianli straightened up again, avoiding his gaze, and went back to sleep.
The next morning, Gu Jianli sat in the wheelchair as Ji Wujing pushed her to the main hall to have breakfast with everyone. Gu Jingyuan was the last to arrive. When he saw Li Yunwan, he paused for a moment. He barely perceptibly frowned and picked up his bowl to eat.
Madam Tao habitually picked up a small dish and put a few of Gu Jingyuan’s favorite foods on it. But as she was about to place it in front of him, she suddenly hesitated.
“What are you daydreaming about?” Gu Jingyuan glanced at her.
Madam Tao snapped back to reality and silently placed the small dish in front of Gu Jingyuan.
Aside from that one remark from Gu Jingyuan, no one else spoke. Each was preoccupied with their own thoughts. Only Ji Wujing seemed carefree, eating his fish without concern for anyone else’s mood. He even secretly drank two sips of Gu Jianli’s bone soup.
Li Yunwan barely ate anything before putting down her chopsticks.
