“Where did you hide during that time?” Jing Rong’s voice was suddenly heard.
Ji Yunshu snapped out of her thoughts to find that he had already entered her courtyard and was taking a seat on a painted pear wood tree as if he was sitting on the dragon throne. He gave off an imposing bearing with a frown on his expression, which seemed to say “what are you?” For the finishing touch, a small lantern in the vicinity shone on him, outlining the contour of his face, sharpening his cold and stern demeanor.
Ji Yunshu walked until she faced him. She lowered her eyebrows. “I went to Yuhua Pavilion.”
“Was there something you needed from Mo Ruo?”
“We only talked about some interesting stories and enjoyed some leisure time. He drank a few cups of wine, so I left when he got too drunk.”
“Hmm!” He nodded. His fingers lightly tapped the armrest and he looked behind Ji Yunshu. “And where did Wei Yi go? Are you drunk as well, since you just left him at the Yuhua Pavilion all by himself?”
“He will stay there for the time being.”
“Why?”
“Young Master Mo is a lonely man. Fortunately, Wei Yi likes him, so I left him there to accompany Young Master Mo.”
“You were willing to?” Jing Rong asked.
She smiled. “What’s there to be unwilling about?”
Jing Rong then pushed himself up using the armrest. His tall figure overshadowed her small figure in an instant.
She stepped back twice, her beautiful eyes looking at him with vigilance. Seeing her act this way, he spoke out. “Something is bothering you.”
“No!”
“Others can’t see it, but I can. What’s worrying you?”
“I said there’s nothing.” She stressed.
Jing Rong lightly sighed. He stretched his hand, wanting to touch her, but as soon as he raised his hand, he slowly let it down. His mouth stretched and he no longer questioned her further. Instead, he looked at the beam above the entrance and snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, they heard a rustling sound, and a shadow jumped down from the roof, landing about two meters behind Ji Yunshu.
She turned around and saw a girl standing there, unmoving. Her expression was solemn, devoid of a smile and stern. Her eyes were severe, filled with killing intent. She was dressed in red clothes and held a long sword that had a beautiful and lifelike carving on its hilt. She tightly held the sword without a moment of relaxation. Because she was hidden in a dark corner, her figure was like a wisp of black, hazy and indistinct.
“She’s called Zijin. From today onwards, she will be protecting you.” Jing Rong earnestly stated.
Ji Yunshu wasn’t surprised by his announcement, it was quite in concordance with his working style. “She followed me since she was young. She had outstanding skills, and with her by your side, I will be less worried.”
‘This man!’
‘In the future, Zijin will keep an eye on you in my stead and keep you away from too many peach blossoms.’
Unfortunately, his hidden thoughts had been seen through by Ji Yunshu.
“Since your Highness is so considerate, I will accept it.”
“Hmm! I won’t disturb you two any longer. Have a good talk.” When Jing Rong passed by Zijin, his face abruptly turned cold. “This Prince has entrusted you to the task of protecting Teacher Ji. From now on, even if you were to die, you have to protect him at all costs!”
Zijin lowered her head without a word. She appeared extremely grim.
After Jing Rong left, Ji Yunshu walked to Zijin and observed her carefully. “You are Zijin?”
She remained expressionless and only nodded.
“Have you been following Prince Rong since you were young?”
She nodded.
“You take orders from him?”
Zijin nodded again with a respectful and serious face. No one could see through her indifferent attitude, though it did little to conceal her bloodthirsty and ruthless aura.
“What’s your surname?” Ji Yunshu asked again.
After a long while, she still didn’t receive any response. ‘Could it be that she’s a mute?’ Just when Ji Yunshu thought about it, Zijin finally spoke.
“Shi!” The single word pierced the air like a piece of ice.
‘So she can actually speak.’
“How old are you?”
“15.”
‘15?’ Ji Yunshu was shocked and couldn’t believe her ears. What did she go through to become such an ice-cold person that kept people from approaching her?! Most of the people like her were trained to become as such and were kept for only two reasons – to protect their master or to kill for their master!
Before Ji Yunshu could inquire further, Shi Zijin had already jumped to the beam of the roof. Not even her shadow could be seen. Ji Yunshu felt cold shivers running through her back as she had the impression of being watched from somewhere. She was aware that she was being monitored, but unable to do anything about it.
Two consecutive days have passed, but Ji Yunshu didn’t see Shi Zijin again. Jing Rong continued to make a trip to the palace each day. As for her, she frequently visited Yuhua Pavilion.
She heard many things every time she came; Due to Wei Yi’s charm, Yuhua Pavilion became even more bustling the past two days. Supposedly, he threw all the medicinal ingredients into a pot, causing all the apprentices to be busy all night, forgoing sleep to salvage everything. Then, there was a story that he helped the apprentices with a prescription, but he mistook croton seeds, a strong laxative, with qilin beans, causing a patient to have diarrhea. This almost destroyed Mo Ruo’s reputation as a God Doctor. There was also the matter about how he thoroughly made Mo Ruo sick of him after forcing the latter to listen to all of his wondrous life experiences since childhood in the hope of jolting his brain and curing him. And he had barely finished talking about the first ten years of his life. If this continued, he might end up making someone go crazy.
“If you don’t let him shut his mouth, I’ll use poison to make him mute!” Mo Ruo said with a face red from anger.
As if his fingertips were on fire, he fiercely pointed at Wei Yi who was helping a patient with their medicine in a far corner. He was as busy as the other apprentices, sweating from the work – reassuring patients and distracting a child by pulling a face. He appeared very happy.
Ji Yunshu couldn’t help using her sleeve to hide her smile. After watching for a while, she said with a smile, “Although Wei Yi talks a lot, he is also a hard worker. Look at how much he helped you with your business. Besides, for the past two days, he was the one who warmed your wine before giving it to you. He is very attentive, so you shouldn’t just look at his faults.”
“I just can’t understand what is so good about him that made you seek my help in curing him?”
Mo Ruo simply found Wei Yi a pain in the ass. Ji Yunshu watched Wei Yi doing tasks amongst the crowd. A twinge of guilt flashed through her expression. “Young Master Mo, I won’t hide the fact that if it weren’t for me, his parents would be still alive. He also wouldn’t need to accompany me to the capital as well. He would have remained in Jinjiang, living his life peacefully.”
Mo Ruo was bewildered. “You’re saying that his parents died because of you?”
“Right!”
“How did it happen?”
Ji Yunshu hesitated for a moment before she finally narrated her story. After hearing the tragic story, the dislike in his eyes lessened somewhat. He didn’t speak, only drinking a mouthful of wine.
Ji Yunshu’s eyes remained on Wei Yi. “I hope that he will remain oblivious all this life. He saved me, but I am the cause of his parents’ deaths, even if the circumstances surrounding their deaths were a combination of various freak accidents.”
