As the days grew warmer, Gu Jianli replaced the thick duck egg blue bed curtains with light lotus-colored ones, embroidered with large clusters of lotus flowers in light apricot threads. The bed curtains swayed and closed, the shadows of the lotus flowers overlapping.
Sleeping on the Luohan bed, so be it.
Gu Jianli pouted her cherry lips, hugged the quilt tightly, and turned towards the Luohan bed, carefully smoothing the sheets.
When she first got married, she slept on this Luohan bed and felt quite at ease. She was even grateful that the room had this Luohan bed. She had once been disheartened because, after Ji Wujing woke up, she could no longer sleep alone on the Luohan bed.
It would be better to sleep alone on the Luohan bed every night in the future, avoiding being used as a pillow and having to turn over cautiously.
After checking the clothes and jewelry she planned to wear the next day on the table, Gu Jianli extinguished the light and lay down.
In the stillness of the night, Gu Jianli stared at the city scene carved on the back of the Luohan bed, slightly lost in thought. The carved figures at the market seemed to come alive, transforming into a scene in the bathroom.
Gu Jianli abruptly snapped back to reality, forcing herself to stop daydreaming. Shifting her gaze, she inadvertently noticed her broken fingernail. She had no idea when the nail on her right ring finger had broken.
Her brows immediately knitted together.
Her thumbnails, index fingers, and middle fingers were trimmed short, leaving only the ring and little finger nails slightly longer.
Broken nails could grow back, but it was a pity about the beautiful color gradient on the nail. The broken piece had originally been painted pink.
Spreading her fingers, Gu Jianli felt unhappy.
She liked her nails to be symmetrically long, but now that the right ring finger’s nail was broken, she would have to trim the left ring finger’s nail short too.
She got up quietly, slipped off the Luohan bed, and fumbled in the dark to find the scissors in a drawer.
Lighting a candle, she took the scissors in her right hand and snipped off the left ring finger’s nail with a crisp sound before switching the scissors to her left hand.
She hesitated, feeling that holding the scissors in her left hand made them clumsy and unsure about cutting.
She glanced toward the door, considering calling Jixia to help but thinking that Jixia might already be in bed, and she didn’t want to trouble her.
Suddenly, the bed curtain was yanked open, and Ji Wujing sat up on the bed, looking at her with a cold expression. He asked in a frosty tone, “What’s that snipping sound in the middle of the night? A mouse?”
Gu Jianli blinked slowly at him, then looked down at the scissors in her hand and softly said, “Good that you’re awake. Can you help me?”
She stood up, quickly ran to the bedside, and handed the scissors and her right hand to Ji Wujing, smiling with bent eyes, “Help me, please.”
“Gu Jianli, do you really want me to strangle you to death?” Ji Wujing’s tone was sinister.
“Oh, cut my nail first, otherwise, it’ll hurt if it scratches me while I sleep.” Gu Jianli pried Ji Wujing’s hand open and shoved the scissors into his right hand.
Ji Wujing gritted his teeth, longing for the timid little girl whose eyes would get teary at the sight of him.
He snorted, pinched Gu Jianli’s finger, and placed the open scissors on her ring finger joint, lightly rubbing her delicate white finger with the thin blade, and asked slowly, “How about I cut off your finger with a snap?”
He lifted his eyelids and idly looked at Gu Jianli. Gu Jianli looked at him and said earnestly, “Stop fooling around. We need to sleep early to look good tomorrow.”
Ji Wujing silently stared at her face for a long time before he began trimming her nails without a word.
“All done!” Gu Jianli wanted to pull her hand back, but Ji Wujing didn’t let go.
With another “snip,” Ji Wujing cut off the nail on Gu Jianli’s little finger.
Gu Jianli was stunned and questioned, “What are you doing?”
Ji Wujing grabbed her left hand and with another “snip,” cut off the nail on her left little finger as well, saying, “Scraping eggs.”
“Scraping eggs?” Gu Jianli was puzzled, “What kind of egg is that? Is it tasty?”
Ji Wujing paused his action of putting down the scissors, looked into Gu Jianli’s clear eyes, and his gaze slowly moved down to her pink lips. He gently brushed her soft lips with his thumb and said, “Delicious. Next time, I’ll let you eat as much as you want.”
“Alright!” Gu Jianli lowered her eyes to look at her nails.
Ji Wujing looked at her with a strange expression and said, “Once isn’t enough; I’ll have to treat you every day.”
Gu Jianli didn’t really hear him. Her eyes, which had curved in a smile, soon drooped as she extended her hands back to Ji Wujing, saying, “They aren’t even!”
Indeed, the lengths of the nails on her ring fingers were different.
Ji Wujing asked irritably, “Do you want me to use a file to smooth them out for you?”
“I can file them myself.”
Ji Wujing licked his lips, a sentence stuck in his throat. Finally, he lowered his head and silently trimmed her nails again, this time carefully.
Watching Gu Jianli happily return to the Luohan bed, his feelings were mixed.
Gu Jianli soon fell asleep.
In the silent night, the lotus-colored bed curtain was lifted, and Ji Wujing quietly walked to the Luohan bed. He bent down, leaned close to Gu Jianli’s face. Her small mouth was slightly open as she slept soundly. Ji Wujing stared at her for a long time, and after a while, he reached out, wanting to touch her soft cheek and slightly curled eyelashes, but he stopped just before touching her, slowly withdrawing his hand.
Early the next morning, Gu Jianli woke up early, freshened up, and sat in front of the bronze mirror to apply her makeup, sticking a flower decoration between her eyebrows.
When Ji Wujing lifted the bed curtain, he saw Gu Jianli changing her clothes. She had taken off her nightclothes and was wearing only a tea-white bandeau embroidered with cloud patterns and gardenias. The thin bandeau couldn’t hide the little red buds.
“Gu Jianli!” Ji Wujing’s eyes were dark, “Can you change in the west room? What about your decency, your dignity?”
Gu Jianli was startled, her shoulders trembling slightly. She looked at Ji Wujing innocently, then turned her back to him and reluctantly put on a white cross-collar jacket. How did it seem like he wasn’t the one who always tried to undress her?
Gu Jianli lowered her head and quietly rubbed her chest.
Gu Jianli wore a light blue ru skirt, with a broad smoke-blue waistband embroidered with a Luo fan, tied at her chest. The white top and light blue bottom of the ru dress looked so elegant that it had a cold air. She added a light pink shawl, bringing a touch of delicate sweetness to her graceful appearance.
“Are you going to wear the Xuanjing attire?” Gu Jianli asked Ji Wujing.
“No.” Ji Wujing sat down at the dining table, more interested in the fish porridge in front of him.
Gu Jianli looked at the plain white clothes Ji Wujing was wearing and said, “Wear red, you look good in red!”
She turned to Ji Xinglan, who had just stepped through the threshold, and asked, “Lanlan, don’t you think so?”
Ji Xinglan smiled, showing her dimples. “Daddy looks good in anything, and so do you.”
“I like Lanlan the most.” Gu Jianli personally lifted her onto a chair. Then she asked Jixia, “Where is Xinglou?”
“He has a bit of a fever and refused to get up. I let him stay in bed a bit longer,” Jixia replied.
Ji Wujing, who was focused on his fish porridge, suddenly said, “Call a doctor for him later.”
Jixia quickly responded, “Nanny Lin has already gone.”
Ji Wujing said nothing more.
Gu Jianli, feeling gratified, deboned a piece of fish and placed the meat into Ji Wujing’s bowl.
There you go, rewarding you for finally caring about Xinglou, she thought to herself.
When they went out, Ji Wujing had indeed changed into red clothes as Gu Jianli had wished. Instead of the tight-fitting Xuanjing attire, he wore a loose red casual outfit.
The Hundred Flowers Banquet was more like a gathering organized by the Empress for the young men and women of the capital, with an unwritten rule that all attendees were under thirty.
Gu Jianli could have gone alone, but she always felt that Ji Wujing, being weak, would benefit from going out more, especially since in a few years, he might not be able to go even if he wanted to.
The Hundred Flowers Banquet was held at the Lancang Palace. The Lancang Palace was built by the founding emperor of Great Ji for his empress and later became a summer retreat for several generations of emperors and the annual venue for the Hundred Flowers Banquet.
When Gu Jianli and Ji Wujing arrived at the Lancang Palace, the place was already bustling with people.
“Jianli!” Long Yujun lifted her skirt and hurried over, affectionately linking arms with Gu Jianli. “I was just betting with someone that you would come today.”
Gu Jianli spoke the truth, “Now that things are better at home, I can naturally come out more.”
Knowing that Ji Wujing would not like listening to her chat idly with others, Gu Jianli spoke briefly with Long Yujun before finding a secluded, elegant pavilion for Ji Wujing to settle in. Then she climbed the stone steps to find Long Yujun.
Ji Wujing watched Gu Jianli’s retreating figure, feeling dispirited. So, she brought him here just to toss him aside in a corner? Ji Wujing sneered, making a mental note to hold a grudge. He crossed his arms and leaned back lazily, closing his eyes out of boredom.
Before long, he vaguely heard the voices of some men passing by the artificial mountain below.
“… Wenlian, ever since you got married six months ago, you haven’t come out to have fun. Have you forgotten about your old friends?”
“Wenlian, what’s with the box of lotus paste pastries you’re holding?”
“My wife likes them. I happened to see some and got them for her.” The scholar named Wenlian had a simple and honest face, which made the other men laugh.
“Wenlian, don’t spoil your wife too much! Women shouldn’t be pampered excessively!”
The scholar immediately became serious. “I am nine years older than my wife. She is still young, and I should indeed take good care of her.”
The men laughed and teased him further. One joked, “No wonder, an old cow eating young grass, nine years older! You should definitely spend more time doting on her.”
Ji Wujing frowned, displeased.
Does being nine years older make such a big difference? It’s only nine years.
“Lotus paste pastries…” Ji Wujing repeated to himself. He couldn’t help but wonder what Gu Jianli liked to eat. After thinking for a while, he only knew that she liked sweets.
Ji Wujing suddenly remembered the day Gu Jianli asked him, “Do you not know how to be good to someone, how to care for others?”
Would he not know how to be good to someone?
Hmph.
Ji Lan stood at the highest point of the pavilion, overlooking the scene below. His gaze was quickly drawn to a pale blue figure, and he suddenly recalled the great fire of that night, frowning.
Dou Hongyan, observing Ji Lan’s expression, thought he was angry with the Empress and quickly tried to placate him with a smile, “Your Majesty, the Empress is only fifteen, still very young.”
“Is fifteen very young?” Ji Lan asked, looking down.
“For a boy, fifteen is an age to join the military or sit for the imperial exams, but a fifteen-year-old girl is still childlike,” Dou Hongyan explained in a careful tone.
Ji Lan watched the blue figure disappear into a pleasure boat and responded enigmatically, “Not necessarily.”
Dou Hongyan didn’t understand his meaning and dared not reply further.
