“Madam, take this.” Changsheng lifted the lid of the pot, placing the fish porridge and medicinal soup on a tray, and handed it to Gu Jianli with both hands.
Gu Jianli carried the fish porridge and medicinal soup to Ji Wujing’s room. She held the tray with both hands, pushed the door open with her back, and then turned around to enter.
Ji Wujing was leaning against the headboard, his head lowered.
Gu Jianli glanced at him, placed the tray on the small table by the bed, and walked towards the door to close it while saying, “Changsheng said the medicinal soup should be taken on an empty stomach. Drink the medicine first, then eat after a while.”
She closed the door and turned around to see that Ji Wujing had already downed the medicinal soup in one gulp, casually placing the empty bowl on the small table.
Gu Jianli thought to herself that her words were indeed redundant; Ji Wujing surely knew how to take his medicine. She gracefully walked to the bedside, sat down, and gently placed her hand on Ji Wujing’s forehead.
“You had a bit of a fever an hour ago, but now it’s gone just as Changsheng said.” She slowly smiled.
Ji Wujing glanced at her and then looked away.
Gu Jianli moved closer to Ji Wujing, adjusted his loose clothing, placed a pillow behind him, and pulled the blanket up over his legs. As she did all this, she said, “I heard from Changsheng that you need to recuperate properly before you can start detoxifying. You can’t keep using your internal strength. We could have easily left…”
The scene of headless corpses and blood suddenly flashed before her eyes, causing Gu Jianli’s hand holding the blanket to tremble involuntarily.
She was still somewhat scared.
Quickly dismissing the bloody scene from her mind, she continued, “Your health is paramount. Killing them only to injure yourself—why cause mutual destruction?”
Ji Wujing sneered and casually said, “Dead is dead.”
Gu Jianli looked up at him in surprise. Ji Wujing wasn’t looking at her; he wasn’t looking at anything. His eyes seemed empty, as if he was speaking to Gu Jianli, or perhaps just to himself: “Living or dying, it doesn’t matter.”
It seemed there was more he wanted to say, but he didn’t.
Gu Jianli slowly blinked, vaguely understanding that Ji Wujing didn’t care about life or death. Whoever made him unhappy, he would kill, even if it meant losing his own life. He never considered his own survival when killing.
Gu Jianli felt a bit stifled, wanting to persuade him otherwise, but not knowing where to start. As she was lost in thought, Ji Wujing suddenly grabbed her chin, lifting her face to meet his, and coldly sneered, “Who allowed you to eavesdrop?”
“I wasn’t eavesdropping. I was just bringing the medicinal soup to you. When I heard Miss Ye speaking with you, I turned and left to avoid interrupting!” Gu Jianli hurriedly explained.
“What did you hear?” Ji Wujing asked slowly.
Gu Jianli hesitated for a moment, abandoning the first two heartfelt confessions she overheard, and repeated the last sentence she heard: “I know, it was my fault for breaking off the engagement. I don’t ask for your forgiveness, only for a chance to serve you as a servant or maid.”
Ji Wujing uttered an “Oh,” staring into Gu Jianli’s eyes, a slight smile tugging at his lips, and asked, “So, what do you think, my little wife?”
Gu Jianli was somewhat surprised. Was Ji Wujing asking for her opinion on taking a concubine?
After a moment of thought, she replied earnestly, “If Fifth Master wants to take a concubine, having another person to help me take care of you would indeed be good. However, I think Miss Ye is not very reliable. Even if you want to take a concubine, she isn’t a suitable candidate.”
Ji Wujing stared into Gu Jianli’s eyes for a while, suddenly wanting to ask if she would be just as happy if his nephew, Ji Xuanhe, took a concubine after marrying her.
Forget it.
There was nothing worth asking, no point.
Ji Wujing, looking dispirited, let go of her hand and lay back down.
“The fish porridge…”
“Not eating.”
Not even fish? Gu Jianli gave him a puzzled look. With dawn approaching, she glanced at the candle in the room, got up to blow it out, and felt her way back to the bed in the dark. She climbed onto the bed from the foot, lying down on the inside. After working so late, she was indeed tired and soon fell asleep.
But she had a nightmare, dreaming of countless headless ghosts chasing her.
Ji Wujing was awakened by Gu Jianli’s murmuring. Annoyed, he opened his eyes, looking at her in the dim light, hearing her sob and plead, “Don’t kill me, don’t kill me…”
Ji Wujing sneered, patting her face and threatening, “Make any more noise, and I’ll kill you!”
In her sleep, Gu Jianli’s body trembled and miraculously quieted down.
Ji Wujing, with a dark expression, resisted the urge to kick her out of bed and closed his eyes to sleep. Just as he did, Gu Jianli turned over, facing him, and mumbled softly, “You can’t kill me, my husband is very powerful…”
Ji Wujing opened his eyes in surprise, looking down at Gu Jianli’s face. In the faint light, her soft, pale cheeks appeared even whiter. He curled his index finger, gently brushing her soft cheek, lowering his voice, “How powerful?”
Gu Jianli frowned, her beautiful features contorting, but she didn’t answer.
“Speak!” Ji Wujing patted her face again.
Gu Jianli woke up, groggily opening her eyes and looking at Ji Wujing in a daze. After a while, she murmured sleepily, “Why is Fifth Master awake? Are you feeling unwell?”
She rubbed her eyes and tried to sit up.
Ji Wujing grabbed her wrist, pulling her into his arms, holding her small body close, and said coldly beside her head, “Sleep.”
Half-asleep, Gu Jianli nodded, leaning against Ji Wujing and falling asleep again. She was truly exhausted.
•
The next day, they set off for home. The escort agency hired by Ye Yunyue had naturally left the day before. Changsheng hired a carriage, and Ye Yunyue sat at the front with Changsheng.
Gu Jianli felt vaguely uneasy but didn’t think much of it. After all, Ye Yunyue was now staying at the Marquis of Guangping’s residence, so returning together seemed normal.
However, when they returned to Fifth Master’s courtyard, Ye Yunyue followed them inside.
Could it be that Ji Wujing had indeed taken her in? Gu Jianli couldn’t help but frown.
Jixia approached with Ji Xinglou and Ji Xinglan. Jixia happily said, “You’re finally back! I was so scared I couldn’t sleep all night. I even sent the household staff to look for you, but they couldn’t find you…”
It wasn’t entirely true that they didn’t find anything; they had found a blood-soaked scene filled with headless corpses.
Ji Xinglan stood in front of Ji Wujing, tugging at his pants with her small hand, saying in a childish voice, “Father, you’re home! Lanlan was worried about you.”
Ji Xinglou didn’t say anything, but like his sister, he looked up at Ji Wujing with his small head, his eyes unable to hide his concern.
Ji Wujing looked down at the two children and reluctantly responded with an “Hmm.”
This casual response from their father made both children smile.
Gu Jianli squatted down and said to the two children, “Xinglan and Xinglou, go play in the backyard for now. Your father needs to rest for a while.”
“Okay!” Ji Xinglan sweetly agreed and obediently went to the backyard. Even Ji Xinglou didn’t object.
Just as Gu Jianli stood up, she saw Ji Wujing turning to leave the courtyard.
“Where are you going?” Gu Jianli took two steps to catch up with him and asked.
“Going out for some business,” Ji Wujing said casually.
Gu Jianli glanced at Ye Yunyue and, with some difficulty, asked, “Fifth Master, where should Miss Ye be settled?”
Although she didn’t like Ye Yunyue entering the courtyard, since it was Ji Wujing’s decision, she didn’t want to oppose it, nor did she think she could stop Ji Wujing’s decision.
Ji Wujing looked at Ye Yunyue as if noticing her for the first time, frowned, and lazily said, “She said she wants to serve as a maid, so I agreed. From today on, she is your maid. Arrange her as you see fit. If she doesn’t understand the rules, let Jixia teach her. If there’s no place for her to stay, have the household staff set up a straw shed at the gate.”
“What?” Gu Jianli looked up sharply, her eyes wide with disbelief at Ji Wujing.
This was absurd!
Ji Wujing didn’t bother to discuss the matter any further and continued walking out of the courtyard. Gu Jianli stood there in a daze, watching his figure disappear from the courtyard gate before she came to her senses. She lifted her skirt and chased after him, standing at the gate and calling out to his retreating figure, “Fifth Master, come back early! Don’t miss your medication time!”
Ji Wujing didn’t turn back, and he even seemed a bit impatient.
Gu Jianli watched Changsheng follow Ji Wujing and felt slightly relieved before turning back to the courtyard. As soon as she returned and saw Ye Yunyue, her troubles resurfaced.
She still thought this situation was utterly absurd!
Ye Yunyue was born into an official’s family and had almost married Ji Wujing. Now she was a maid?
Gu Jianli finally understood why Ye Yunyue had such a dreadful appearance when she came out of Ji Wujing’s room yesterday. Ji Wujing’s ridiculous decision must have frightened her.
Ye Yunyue forced a smile and said to Gu Jianli, “Madam, don’t trouble yourself. Just treat me as an ordinary maid in the future. I can stay in the same room with your other maids.”
Jixia, who had been shocked for quite a while, finally understood the situation. Upon hearing Ye Yunyue’s words, she sneered and said, “Since you’re a maid now, you should stop referring to yourself as ‘I’ and switch to ‘this servant.'”
Ye Yunyue looked at Jixia.
Jixia immediately curved her eyes into a smile and softened her voice, “Sister Yunyue, don’t mind me. It’s Fifth Master who asked me to teach you the rules. If I don’t correct you properly, Fifth Master will punish me!”
Ye Yunyue gritted her teeth, feeling a strong urge to tear this insolent maid apart, but she held back and kept smiling, “I’ll be counting on you in the future.”
“You’re welcome,” Jixia replied with a fake smile.
Jixia sneered internally. Back when she was in the royal mansion, she knew she was destined to be the second young lady’s dowry maid. The older maids in the mansion had drilled into her how to deal with the little troublemakers around the young master. Years of training had finally paid off!
Gu Jianli tacitly approved of Jixia’s harshness and instructed her, “Keep an eye on Ye Yunyue. Her behavior is strange.”
“This servant understands! I will keep a close watch on her and make sure she doesn’t cause any trouble!” Jixia promised, patting her chest.
Gu Jianli smiled and said no more. However, she still felt uneasy about this arrangement and worried that it might lead to gossip. She hesitated about whether to persuade Ji Wujing to change his mind, but she had a feeling that Ji Wujing didn’t care about others’ opinions.
For now, Gu Jianli decided not to dwell on Ye Yunyue’s situation. Instead, she worried about Ji Wujing confronting the acting sect leader of the Xuanjing Sect. She didn’t know how skilled the acting leader was, but anyone capable of leading the Xuanjing Sect temporarily must be quite formidable.
“Madam, Doctor Ji is here,” reported Nanny Lin.
Gu Jianli instructed her to invite the doctor to the side hall and entertain him for now.
As the sun set, Ji Wujing still hadn’t returned. Gu Jianli’s worry grew.
