After leaving the palace, Jing Yi visited the Supreme Court. He did not want to alert anyone there, so he merely summoned the Supreme Court Chancellor to the room and made sure the door was shut.
“Why did Prince Yi visit in this rainy weather?” The Supreme Court Chancellor cupped his hands in greeting as he asked.
Jing Yi was straightforward, “Have any secret orders been sent from the palace?”
Although the Supreme Court Chancellor worked for Jing Yi, he hesitated. “Prince Yi, it’s a secret order from the Emperor. This humble official is afraid that…”
“Tell me.”
After a moment of indecision, the Chancellor said, “About a quarter of an hour ago, Eunuch Zhang, the Emperor’s aide, personally delivered the edict. The edict mentioned that Prince Rong was ambushed recently. The criminals have been captured and are being sent to the Capital now. Once they arrive at the Supreme Court, the interrogation is to be carried out immediately, without delay.”
Jing Yi’s narrowed his eyes and turned solemn.
The Supreme Court Chancellor was observing quietly at the side before he cautiously went up to Jing Yi and asked in a weak voice, “Regarding the attempted assassination of Prince Rong…” Before he could finish his sentence, Jing Yi threw him a ferocious stare that made him immediately swallow the rest of his sentence and stand aside mutely.
After a short while, Jing Yi stood up with his hands at his back and ordered, “Don’t let anyone know that this prince visited today.”
“Yes!” The Chancellor had no choice but to agree.
At this point in time, Jing Yi had left the room. On his way back to his residence, his face showed no trace of an emotion. His hands, which were resting on his knees, clenched into fists and remained in that position for a long time. Finally, he relaxed his fists but frowned and shouted, “Dou Quan!”
Dou Quan, who was out in the rain on his horse, heard and leaned his muscular upper body towards the sedan. While the curtain that covered the window of the sedan remained closed, an emotionless word penetrated through the curtain, “Kill!” The volume of the voice had possibly been filtered by the rainwater as it sounded very soft when it reached Dou Quan.
Dou Quan obediently answered, “Yes.”
Rainwater fell from the edge of his hat, drenching his shirt and his black boots. They were now slowly falling into Jing Rong’s trap…
The rain showed no sign of stopping. Raindrops, which resembled round and shiny pearls, were hitting the ground and the roof of the sedan and turned into a soothing melody.
…
The heavy June rains pelted the Capital. However, the rain in Anfu was not as heavy. The weather merely brought a stifling humidity to the air.
With her forehead supported by the table, Ji Yunshu was dozing before being awakened by thunder from the outside. She quickly took a glimpse at Wei Yi, who was still unconscious and guilt overwhelmed her once again.
At this point, Mo Ruo came in with a bowl of warming medicine and passed it to her. “Drink it. It’s easy to catch a cold in this weather.”
She drank it obediently before she asking, “It’s been two days. Why is he not conscious yet?”
“It’s not just any injury. How can he recover in such a short period of time? With the severity of his injury, it’s normal for him to rest more. You should quit worrying. Wei Yi is going to be fine.” She could only settle down after listening to Mo Ruo.
Out of nowhere, Tang Si chimed in, “I think this foolish boy is doing this on purpose. He must have thought the bed is too comfortable for him to wake up.”
“What nonsense is that?” Mo Ruo scolded.
“I’m just expressing my opinions.”
“Shut your mouth.”
“I’ll just keep quiet then.” She felt wronged.
Mo Ruo sized her up and asked, “Young Miss, do you not have anything else to do? Why are you sticking with us all day?”
Tang Si sat down and supported her chin with her hands, then stared at him with her big, tranquil eyes, “Didn’t I tell you? You owe me a life and I’ll have to get it back. How can I let you take advantage of me? You’re now indebted to me.” She did not forget to nudge Ji Yunshu when she spoke, then raised her eyebrows and asked, “Am I right, Ah Ji?”
Ah Ji? Mo Ruo got goosebumps all over him but Ji Yunshu seemed to have gotten used to this.
For the past two days, Tang Si could not stop calling her ‘Ah Ji’. Initially, Ji Yunshu couldn’t help but cringe, but she eventually got used to it. Moreover, she did not want to waste her time dwelling on this. She had more important things to think about!
Being an observant person, Mo Ruo noticed the difference in Ji Yunshu. He smirked and teased, “Miss Mu Jin has been coming to visit for the past two days. From visiting occasionally to visiting frequently. Every time I passed by Jing Rong’s residence, I could hear her reciting poems. I can almost imagine the picturesque scene.”
Ji Yunshu twitched her eyebrows but remained expressionless.
Out of nowhere, Tang Si the busybody interrupted again, “They did more than recite poems. I saw them having a pleasant conversation, chatting and laughing. They seem like a perfect match.”
“Perfect match? From what I see, they are a lovey-dovey couple!”
“You’re disgusting. What lovey-dovey? At Hou Liao, if a lady falls for a guy, she will be straightforward, unlike the Central Plains, who are always beating around the bush. I reckon Miss Mu Jin has the character of a Houliao lady. I wonder if any flower will blossom from that cold hard stone.”
What?
Mo Ruo looked at her in surprise, “How do you know that he’s a cold hard stone?”
“Haven’t you been talking about it for the past few days?”
“Oh, really?” Mo Ruo could not recall.
They carried on with their conversation while Ji Yunshu’s face gradually turned sour. She did not intend to speak!
Suddenly, Tang Si squinted, moved her body forward and spoke mockingly in a low voice, “You are still trying to hide the truth from me? I, Tang Si, am not a fool. It’s just that I never expected… Someone would attempt to assassinate a Prince of Great Lin.”
As she spoke, both Mo Ruo and Ji Yunshu stared at her in unison before they told her solemnly, “Miss Tang, some words are meant to be spoken, but some are not. This is not a matter that you can tell others.”
“Don’t worry. Houliao people are not nosy.” She slapped her chest.
At this moment, a maid brought in a bowl of medicine. “Teacher Ji, the medicine for Young Master Wei is done.”
She took the bowl and sat by the bedside. The maid helped to gently lift Wei Yi’s head and Ji Yunshu fed him the medicine, spoon by spoon. Ji Yunshu had to keep his mouth open and lift his chin with one hand to make sure the medicine entered his throat because he was still unconscious.
Mo Ruo asked the maid, “How about Jing Rong’s medicine? Is it done?”
“It’s almost done. I’ll send over shortly.”
“I’ll bring it over.”
Mo Ruo was about to leave for the medicine room before Ji Yunshu called him, “Let me do it.”
Mo Ruo was surprised! “You want to go? But you’ve been staying here for two days. Why now…”
“I’m just doing this out of convenience.” Mo Ruo kept quiet after Ji Yunshu shoved her explanation in his face. He shrugged and returned to his seat. After feeding Wei Yi, she followed the maid to the medicine room, took the medicine and left for Jing Rong’s residence.
There was no one in Jing Rong’s courtyard. She put the bowl down and screened the place before she noticed ‘The Miscellaneous Chronicles of the South’ that was left on the table. With her hands hung in the middle of the air, she was hesitant to pick up the book. Eventually, she gave in, took the book and flipped through it. She barely understood half of the poems in the book. These ancient people are so annoying. They like to play with fancy words and elaborate literature. Will it kill for them to speak like a layman?
As she was dwelling in her thoughts…
“Do you want it?” The voice came from the door. She turned around and found Jing Rong standing at the door. Under the faint sunlight, his face appeared mysterious. However, when the light beamed gently on his features, a well-defined silhouette was formed.
For a moment, Ji Yunshu could not figure out his expression. She tenderly stroked the cover of the book with the tip of her finger and shook her head. “I don’t want it. I don’t understand it.”
