Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Night Intrusion into the Boudoir: The Emperor Appears
Duan Mingfeng crossed his arms, a Soft Sword still wrapped around his waist, and retreated to a spot about ten feet away from them.
With an expert like him around, Ji Qingwu felt much more at ease.
She spoke, "Your Highness, Jiu Jiu and Lan Zhi have already returned to the Ji Mansion. It’s getting late now, so I’ll be heading back."
Prince Yong frowned, wanting to stop her. "I will escort you back."
Ji Qingwu was prepared. The moment he reached out, she ducked under his arm, as nimble as a rabbit.
"No, no, I couldn’t possibly trouble Your Highness. My home isn’t far from here. I can get back on my own." She spoke while quickly backing away.
By the time she finished speaking, she was already about thirty feet away.
Prince Yong shot several glares at Duan Mingfeng. If he hadn’t been in the way, how could Ji Qingwu have escaped so easily?
On the way home, Ji Qingwu kept feeling like someone was watching her from the shadows.
She could only quicken her pace and walk straight ahead without looking back. When she finally reached the brightly lit entrance of the Ji Mansion, she glanced over her shoulder but saw no one.
’Perhaps I was just scared and imagining things.’
A mansion guard said, "Fifth Missy, the First Mistress is still waiting for you."
Ji Qingwu first went to Mrs. Qiao’s room to report that she was back safely.
The lights in Anju Garden had been on all this time. Mrs. Qiao hadn’t gone to bed; she was waiting for her.
Returning home so late, Ji Qingwu expected a few words of reprimand.
Seeing her enter, Mrs. Qiao sighed. "Xiao Wu, you’re a mother now, yet you’re still so playful. No matter how beautiful the river lanterns are, you can’t stay out watching them until the middle of the night."
Because Ji Qingwu had rushed back, her face was flushed, which Mrs. Qiao mistook for excitement from her outing.
She asked doubtfully, "Watching river lanterns?"
Mrs. Qiao had a servant lower the bed curtains and said, "Mr. Duan from the Imperial City Department had his subordinate bring Jiu Jiu and the others back first. He sent a message saying you were mesmerized by the river lanterns and that we shouldn’t worry, as he would personally escort you home."
Ji Qingwu nodded.
’So that’s how it is... The person following me on the road was Duan Mingfeng.’
Mrs. Qiao, holding the calming soup she drank every night before bed, asked curiously, "Xiao Wu, this Mr. Duan... could he be... interested in you?"
Duan Mingfeng was indeed a rare young talent in Lin’an. He had become a Vice Envoy at a young age, though his personality was a bit gloomy.
After the whole affair with Li Chengxun, Mrs. Qiao was exceptionally cautious about Xiao Wu’s marriage prospects.
Ji Qingwu took the empty bowl and explained helplessly, "It’s really not like that, Mother. Please don’t overthink it. I’ll explain everything in detail tomorrow morning. You should get some sleep."
「Back at Wutong Garden.」
Jiu Jiu was already fast asleep in bed. She gently tapped Lan Zhi and told her to go out and rest.
She sat on a round stool, gazing at the little girl’s sleeping face.
Before, with so much on her mind, she hadn’t had time to notice her fatigue. Now, however, she felt weary all over, her legs especially sore.
Ji Qingwu went to the bathing chamber for a soak. After she came out, her head began to ache again. She went to the bed and lay down, but she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
Restless and annoyed, she couldn’t help but throw on a robe, get up, and walk over to the daybed in the side room, where she lit a single, faint candle.
She took out the Koi Carp Jade Pendant and examined it closely in the candlelight.
They say jade nurtures a person, but in truth, a person also nurtures jade. This piece had clearly been well-protected; it didn’t even have a scratch. Its color was even purer and more radiant than the one Jiu Jiu wore.
What was hard to ignore was the broken five-color thread tied to it.
As Ji Qingwu stared at it, as if guided by some impulse, she took out the leftover five-color silk thread from the drawer of the kang table.
She bent her neck and twisted the thread lightly between her fingers. In no time, she had reconnected the silk thread, but the break was marked by a knot. No matter what, it couldn’t be restored to its original state.
Ji Qingwu furrowed her brow and thought for a moment. Then, her fingertips began to move nimbly once more.
The candle made a CRACKLING sound as the flame flickered.
Ji Qingwu rubbed the back of her neck, sore from looking down for so long. Gazing at the masterpiece in her palm, a satisfied smile spread across her lips.
A glance out of the corner of her eye caught something on the floor—an extra shadow had appeared.
The tall, long shadow of a man.
Ji Qingwu’s heart suddenly began to race. She looked up.
Their eyes met. His were filled with a cold, indifferent light.
"Still not asleep this late?" His voice was just as cold.
She stared, dumbfounded, at the man leaning against the doorway of her room.
’He breaks into my room at night, and he has the nerve to ask me why I’m still awake?’
Ji Qingwu carefully observed his expression. With her right hand, she quickly stuffed the jade pendant under her bottom. Blinking her eyes, she said, "Your Majesty isn’t asleep yet, either."
Emperor Wu Su scoffed. ’As if he could sleep.’
That mouth of hers was sharp enough to anger a dead man into digging his way out of his own grave.
’Is Your Majesty the Emperor so furious he can’t sleep? Did he chase me all the way to my home in the middle of the night just to take my life?’
The soreness in her neck vanished, replaced by a chill. She watched him nervously as he walked closer and closer.
Emperor Wu Su smoothed out a wrinkle on his robe and asked in a flat tone, "What were you just doing?"
Ji Qingwu didn’t know when he had arrived. Her gaze drifted as she replied, "I was trying to sleep, but I couldn’t, so I got up to sit for a while."
Emperor Wu Su stood right in front of her, blocking most of the candlelight. His shadow fell over her face.
He raised a hand toward her waist, but Ji Qingwu quickly grabbed it.
She said urgently, "Your Majesty, breaking into a lady’s private chambers at night and then acting like such a lecher... isn’t that a bit inappropriate?"
Emperor Wu Su looked down at her smooth face and said calmly, "All land under heaven belongs to the sovereign. Can I not take a stroll through a subject’s home?"
He said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Ji Qingwu pressed her lips together and pushed his hand harder, but what little strength she had was no match for him.
Emperor Wu Su’s hand continued downward, sliding from her slender waist to below her bottom, then reaching further under the cushion she was sitting on.
Ji Qingwu shifted slightly in a panic.
She was trying to completely cover the jade pendant, not wanting him to discover the clever modification she had made to the five-color thread.
Emperor Wu Su’s brow twitched. His hand was met with a handful of soft, supple flesh, and she was sitting on it so firmly.
Feeling guilty, Ji Qingwu tugged at his arm, trying to get him to pull his hand back. She coaxed, "Your Majesty, please, have a seat. I’ll go get you some... tea. Tea... water."
Her lips trembled, her words becoming jumbled.
A light flared in her eyes, a mixture of embarrassment and anger.
’He... he... he squeezed my butt!’
Emperor Wu Su glanced at her expression and said slowly, "I am merely here to retrieve my own property."
Ji Qingwu’s face was filled with shock. His hand was still roaming, having now reached the top of her thigh.
She gritted her teeth. "Is Your Majesty certain that what you want to retrieve is located here?"
"Of course."
As soon as he spoke, Emperor Wu Su pulled out the jade pendant.
"Found it."
His long fingers hooked the five-color thread, and the Koi Carp Pendant dangled right before Ji Qingwu’s eyes.
She tried to grab it, but Emperor Wu Su twisted his wrist, causing her to lunge at empty air.
She argued anxiously, "This is clearly..."
Emperor Wu Su stared into her glistening eyes. "Clearly what? Whose is it?"
As soon as he asked a question related to it, the rims of Ji Qingwu’s eyes visibly began to redden again.
Emperor Wu Su sighed internally.
But the sigh was for himself.
