Gu Jianli watched Ji Wujing’s tongue glide over his lips, her gaze blank for a long moment before she snapped back to reality and looked away. Supporting herself on the bed, she hastily said, “I’ll get some water for you to wash your hands.”
Without waiting for Ji Wujing’s response, Gu Jianli turned and hurried out. Her head felt heavy, and her steps were unsteady, as if she were walking on cotton.
Gu Jianli soon returned with a basin of warm water. Ji Wujing placed his hands into the water, and blood from his palms spread out in the basin. Watching the blood, Gu Jianli’s hands trembled as she held the copper basin. Ji Wujing glanced at her delicate fingers resting on the rim of the basin, then withdrew his gaze and meticulously washed his hands with fragrant soap.
As Ji Wujing finished washing his hands, Changsheng announced from outside the door that the doctor had arrived.
Ji Wujing glanced at Gu Jianli before nodding to let the doctor in.
The household had originally planned to summon the imperial physician, but Ji Wujing instructed Changsheng to stop them and instead called for Doctor Su, who often treated the family.
“First, prescribe a remedy for the lady’s cold,” Ji Wujing lazily ordered.
Gu Jianli looked up at him in surprise.
After prescribing a remedy for Gu Jianli, Doctor Su checked Ji Wujing’s pulse as usual. He frowned for a long time before speaking, “Fifth Master, the poison has already spread to your vital organs, but…”
But I don’t know why you wake up twice every three days!
Doctor Su bit his lip and forced himself to continue, “But as long as you take your medicine on time every day, there will be some effect.”
Ji Wujing seemed to smile faintly and said slowly, “Thank you for your efforts, Doctor Su.”
“It’s nothing…” Doctor Su left hastily without even prescribing a new formula for Ji Wujing, saying to continue using the previous one. In the dead of night, he had come all this way only to prescribe a remedy for Gu Jianli’s cold.
The noise had awakened the Fourth Sister, and Nanny Lin was busy looking after her. Changsheng escorted Doctor Su out, while Lizi squatted in the small kitchen, preparing Gu Jianli’s medicine. Once again, only Gu Jianli and Ji Wujing were left in the room. Gu Jianli had felt nervous and uneasy when Ji Wujing was unconscious, and even more so now that he was awake and sitting there.
Gu Jianli bit her lip, took a set of nightclothes, and went into the west room to change. Her clothes were stained with dried blood, stiff where the blood had hardened. The stains were hard to wash out, and these nightclothes were no longer wearable. Frowning at the discarded clothes, Gu Jianli remembered how hastily she had married into this household, bringing very few belongings with her. She only had two sets of nightclothes.
Gu Jianli returned to the bedroom to find Ji Wujing in the same lazy posture as before, seemingly unmoved. The clean clothes she had found for him were still in the same place, untouched. Suppressing her resistance, Gu Jianli steeled herself and walked over to Ji Wujing. She bent down in front of him to untie his nightclothes. Her dark hair fell, brushing against Ji Wujing’s knees.
“Can you manage?” Ji Wujing asked.
Gu Jianli paused, the scene from the west room that morning flashing in her mind. She bit her lip and said earnestly, “Yes, I can.”
Ji Wujing let out a soft chuckle, his gaze falling on Gu Jianli’s black hair draped over his knee. He playfully picked up a strand and absentmindedly twirled it around his finger, over and over.
Gu Jianli tried her best to ignore Ji Wujing’s actions as she undressed him. When only his right arm was still in the sleeve, she glanced at the hair wrapped around his finger and softly said, “Fifth Master, please let go…”
Ji Wujing gave a slight “oh,” reluctantly releasing his hold. The strand of hair unwound from his finger and slowly fell away.
Gu Jianli removed Ji Wujing’s clothes, tucking her long hair behind her ears, then picked up the clean nightclothes she had set aside and began to dress him.
Her gaze shifted to Ji Wujing’s pants, noticing the bloodstains in the crotch area from when she had grabbed him. Her face flushed, and she lowered her head as much as possible, clumsily untying his pants. She forced herself to focus as she changed his pants.
“Fifth Master, could you get up for a moment? The bedding is dirty and needs to be changed.” Gu Jianli’s heart was pounding, but she worked hard to keep her voice steady and not trembling.
Ji Wujing glanced at the bloodstains on the bedding and extended his hand towards her. Gu Jianli helped him up. With her eyes downcast, her vision was filled with the sight of Ji Wujing’s thin, pale ankles. The weight he pressed on her shoulder was very light. She looked away, guiding him to the side before turning to get clean bedding to make the bed again.
Kneeling on the bed to arrange the bedding, her loose nightclothes hung down, and as she moved, the fabric gently swayed. The thin material clung to her back, waist, and hips, outlining her graceful curves.
Ji Wujing leaned lazily against the bedhead, observing Gu Jianli.
Gu Jianli didn’t need to turn around; she could feel Ji Wujing’s gaze like a snake on her back. Her fingers trembled as she arranged the bedding, causing the blanket to slip from her hands.
She quietly exhaled, telling herself there was nothing to fear. She moved further onto the bed, arranging the bedding. As she moved, a small section of her calf, white like a lotus root, peeked out from beneath her loose pant leg. Her ankle, as delicate as a wrist, was partially hidden in her lotus-colored socks and shoes. Ji Wujing’s pallor was one of prolonged illness, while her whiteness was luminous, like moonlight spilling through the window lattice.
Ji Wujing watched, then reached out and grasped her ankle.
Gu Jianli was startled, quickly turning to look at Ji Wujing with frightened eyes that seemed to be drowning in a clear pool.
Ji Wujing slowly pulled down her pant leg, covering her calf, then looked up at her frightened eyes and asked, “Do you really know how to make a bed?”
Gu Jianli’s hand, supporting herself on the bed, quietly tightened on the blanket. Raised with all the love and care, she had never done such things before. Even though she had done some daily chores in the past three months, she was still clumsy at it. She controlled her panic and nodded, “Yes, I do. It will be ready soon.”
Carefully freeing her ankle from Ji Wujing’s grasp, she quickly finished making the bed and got down. She helped Ji Wujing onto the bed, and as soon as he sat on the edge, she let go of him and hurriedly took the soiled bedding and Ji Wujing’s nightclothes outside, to be disposed of by the servants the next day.
Before returning to the room, she stood at the door, taking a deep breath to muster her courage. As she stepped inside, she caught a glimpse of the bright red mandarin duck wedding quilt on the Luohan bed from the corner of her eye and frowned. Where was she supposed to sleep tonight?
She checked that the windows were securely closed, added more coal to the brazier, and busied herself, unwilling to approach the bed. She hoped that by delaying long enough, Ji Wujing would fall asleep first, allowing her to sleep on the Luohan bed. She couldn’t walk away while he was still awake.
Is he asleep yet?
Gu Jianli sneaked a glance at Ji Wujing, only to find him watching her with his head tilted and a faint, mocking smile on his lips. His smile always made her feel a chill.
Startled, Gu Jianli quickly lowered her head. She knew she couldn’t avoid this forever. Summoning her courage, she looked at Ji Wujing and said, “Fifth Master, it’s very late. If you don’t rest now, it will be morning soon.”
As she spoke, she walked over to the bed, knelt in front of Ji Wujing, and removed his shoes.
From outside, Lizi knocked on the door, “The medicine for the cold is ready!”
“Come in,” Ji Wujing said.
Lizi entered the room with her head down, her eyes darting nervously, afraid to look directly at Ji Wujing. She handed the bowl of medicine to Gu Jianli and quickly ran out.
Gu Jianli sat at the edge of the bed, glancing at the direction Lizi had run off to, then lowered her eyes to the thick, brown medicine in her hands. After a moment, she stirred the medicine with a spoon—it was quite hot. She had always hated the bitter taste of medicine. As a child, her father had to coax her to take it whenever she was sick. Times were different now; she had no room for such whims. She knew she was truly ill, her eyes felt sore and her mind foggy. She couldn’t afford to be sick.
She raised the bowl to her lips and drank the medicine in one go, her brow furrowing, eyes closed, and eyelashes trembling. The bitter taste overwhelmed her.
“You shouldn’t have called for Lizi,” Ji Wujing suddenly said.
Gu Jianli thought for a moment, realizing he was referring to when Zhao Fengxian had come earlier that night and she had called for Lizi for help. Her grip on the bowl tightened, her knuckles turning white.
“Lizi sleeps deeply at night; she wouldn’t hear even if the sky fell,” Ji Wujing added.
Gu Jianli was momentarily stunned. Her grip on the bowl relaxed slightly. So, Lizi hadn’t heard her after all?
Ji Wujing reached out and tapped her forehead, asking, “Did you hear me?”
Gu Jianli murmured, “Yes, I heard…”
After a pause, she muttered quietly, almost to herself, “If I didn’t call Lizi, who else could I call…”
Ji Wujing suddenly leaned close to her face, his voice rough, “Me.”
Gu Jianli looked up, meeting Ji Wujing’s gaze, and saw her own embarrassed and helpless reflection in his eyes.
“Call me good uncle, and even if I die and become a vengeful spirit, I will break through the gates of the underworld to come back and protect you,” Ji Wujing’s fox-like eyes narrowed slightly, the tear mole under his eye adding to his almost demonic charm.
It took Gu Jianli a moment to recognize the playful teasing in Ji Wujing’s eyes.
Being this close made it hard for Gu Jianli to breathe. She hurriedly raised her hand and pushed Ji Wujing away. His body swayed slightly before he was overtaken by a bout of suppressed coughing. He turned to the side, picked up a handkerchief from the bedside table, and pressed it to his lips. Tiny spots of blood appeared on the fabric.
Watching him, an inexplicable calm washed over Gu Jianli. Once Ji Wujing’s coughing subsided, she asked, “When the sun rises and you wake up, will you still be okay?”
Ji Wujing lazily lifted his eyelids to look at her and asked, “Hmm, do you want me awake or unconscious?”
“Awake,” Gu Jianli replied seriously.
Ji Wujing smiled indifferently and didn’t respond.
Gu Jianli carefully moved closer, gathering her courage. “Tomorrow, I’ll cook fish for you, okay?”
Ji Wujing chuckled lightly, his tongue flicking over his thin lips, and yawned lazily before lying down and closing his eyes to sleep, without answering her.
The candlelight flickered in the room, and the coals in the brazier glowed red.
Gu Jianli got up and blew out the candle. By the dim light of the coals, she walked back to the bed and sat at the bedside. She didn’t intend to sleep; she just wanted to stay by Ji Wujing’s bed, so she could attend to him if anything happened during the night. She thought she could hold out until morning, but the medicine she had taken contained a sleep-inducing ingredient. Before long, her soft body slumped over the bedside, and she fell asleep.