“Are your words true?” she asked.

“Those are absolutely true.”

“What if one day, you have to turn your back on the whole world because of me, forming endless rivers filled with blood, and with enough corpses to overtower even the mountains? Are you still willing?”

“I am willing!”

Ji Yunshu’s tears overflowed from her eyes. Jing Rong wiped them and hugged her lovingly, his two hands tightening their hold on her.

“Yunshu, I assure you that I will never be like Ji Pei. You don’t have to be worried about that.”

He will not be the next Ji Pei – leaving her for two years without giving her any sign of life. She peacefully leaned onto his chest, greedy for affection. After a good while, she raised her head and stared at his well-defined jaw. Then she lightly pushed him away and turned him around. Next, she crossed her arms on her chest.

“It’s already late. You should return.”

“I am staying here today,” he opened her arms and said, “Rest assured. You sleep in your room; I’ll sleep in mine since you’re too tired from today. Rest well, so that tomorrow…”

“Tomorrow won’t also do!” she immediately blocked him.

Jing Rong smirked. He curled his fingers and lightly flicked her forehead. “Little thing, what were you thinking? Tomorrow is a busy day, so I won’t be able to come over in the evening. Remember to eat properly; you are too thin.”

Rubbish! Was her mind too dirty? Ji Yunshu became embarrassed. She moved to the side with her head lowered, and her ears were all red. She really wanted to bite off her tongue.

Seeing her act so shy made Jing Rong very pleased. He reached for her and embraced her from behind, his lips stuck to her earlobe. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure our wedding night will be a long and meaningful one, so this Prince is in no hurry,” he whispered.

“Bastard!” She ferociously elbowed him below.

The pain made him frown. “You dare to murder your husband?”

“Who told you to be such a scoundrel?!”

“Then, do you want to try?”

“So what if I want to try?” She raised her hand and was about to hit Jing Rong, but she caught sight of a newcomer standing behind Jing Rong. She paused and let down her hand.

“Second Sister?”

Jing Rong gawked. ‘Who the heck is your second sister?! I am a man, and your husband!’

His confusion lasted a moment before he finally reacted and turned around. His gaze fell on the person behind him – Ji Wanxin. He had no idea how long she had been standing there.

Ji Wanxin saw something she shouldn’t have seen, so she showed an embarrassed expression. Her eyebrows were lowered. Even so, she walked to Jing Rong and greeted him.

“Paying respects to Your Highness.”

The impromptu interruption soured his mood, but this woman was Ji Yunshu’s big sister. In the future, they will be family. Thus, he spoke with politeness. “This is not the imperial court, so there is no need to be polite.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Ji Wanxin’s complexion was pale. She raised her eyes and looked at Jing Rong, but his sight made her feel flustered. She quickly deviated her gaze toward Ji Yunshu.

Sensing that Ji Wanxin must have something to tell her if she came to see her this late, Ji Yunshu tugged on Jing Rong’s clothes. “Is it possible for your Highness to leave?”

“What?”

‘Does your ears have a problem?’ She explained herself. “This is regarding matters between women. Don’t you think that it would be problematic for you to be present when such things are discussed?”

“Why would it be problematic?” He teased her.

Ji Yunshu glared at him, but he showed her a mischievous smile in return. Next, he closed in the distance between them and softly said, “Then… I’ll come to find you later.”

‘Get lost!’

And so, Jing Rong finally rolled away.

Ji Wanxin observed the red lanterns around them. A smile appeared on her face. “Were you the one who arranged the lanterns?”

“It’s not me!” She bluntly replied.

“Then, was it Prince Rong’s idea? I didn’t expect that he is such a romantic. I thought all the princes are as cold as ice.” Her soft tone could make people feel pity for her.

Ji Yunshu revealed an awkward smile before pulling Ji Wanxin to sit down, and poured a cup of hot tea for the latter. “It’s already so late. Why did you come?”

“There were so many things which happened today, and we didn’t have time to talk with each other. Hence, I want to come and see you.” She hurriedly added, “That’s right! Is there something going on between you and Prince Rong?”

“Nothing.” Ji Yunshu answered.

Ji Wanxin stared at her with keen eyes. “There is no outsider here. There is no harm telling me.”

Ji Yunshu was tight-lipped.

“Then… Do you still plan to wait for Ji Pei?”

It appeared that Ji Li didn’t mention anything about Su Ziluo to the rest of the Ji family.

At the mention of Ji Pei, Ji Yunshu became gloomy and a pained smile loomed on her face. “It is all in the past. When some things come to pass, it could no longer be returned to what it was once.”

“You finally realized it. This is good. When his Highness was in Jinjiang, he treated you quite well. If you both get together, this would be a wonderful tale.”

A wonderful tale? It might end up as a tale of suffering instead – the road ahead is filled with endless thorns and thistles!

“Forget it. Let’s not talk about my matters anymore.” Ji Yunshu shifted the subject. “Do Eldest Brother and Eldest Sister know that you came to find me?”

The other party shook her head. “I secretly left.”

“You better quickly go back, lest you get punished because of me.”

“I just want to see you. We haven’t seen each other for a long time.” She let out a sigh after saying the last sentence. Then, she tugged on Ji Yunshu’s arm and continued, “Yunshu, you have suffered. In the first place, you did nothing wrong, but how did all the blame fall onto you? You must have been very saddened.”

Sad?

Ji Yunshu laughed. “That matter is already in the past. I don’t care about it anymore.”

“Regardless, you are still my little sister, and no one can change that fact.”

‘So serious!’ Ji Yunshu lightly smiled in response, but she said nothing.

Shortly after, Ji Wanxin’s sight fell on Ji Yunshu’s face. She spoke cheerfully, “I see the scar on your face is already healed. Heaven is fair, and good people had good endings.”

“Perhaps.”

“In fact, I came for another reason. I’m sure you already know how Eldest Sister’s temper is like. She was very lucky to get out of today’s matter unscathed. Otherwise, this might spell trouble.” Ji Wanxin showed an exasperated appearance.

Indeed, Ji Muqing’s luck was quite good – born in the Ji family with two powerful big brothers. Otherwise, her head would have already parted from her neck by Minister Liang’s sword.

“Don’t mention it. Second Sister, you better hurry back. It’s getting quite late, not to mention your health is poor. You must not catch a cold.”

“Then, I will come back to visit you when I have time. I recently heard you are living here in order to investigate a case. Our mansion is not far from here. Since Eldest Sister is busy preparing for the Crown Princess’s selection, so I’m sure she doesn’t even have time to care about me. Hence, I might come see you often.”

“Hm!”

“You don’t need to send me out. The carriage is just outside.”

As she got up, she carelessly hit the cup of tea. The cup overturned on the table, spilling its hot contents on her hand.

Ah- So hot! Her hand turned red in an instant.

Ji Yunshu hurriedly reached for her hand and asked in a concerned tone. “Isn’t it painful? I’ll go fetch some ointment.”

“No need. It’s not too painful. I’ll go back and treat it.”

“But…”

“It’s fine, really!”

She pulled back her hand. However, Ji Yunshu coincidentally saw a small red cut on the tip of Ji Wanxin’s finger.