Chapter 77: Chapter 77: On the Verge of Drowning, Two Imperial Edicts
Ji Qingwu felt all the strength drain from her body.
’Even though I didn’t choose to jump into a river and drown,’ she thought in a daze, ’the end result is the same.’
Being kissed breathless by this man, she now fully understood what it felt like to be on the verge of drowning.
The base of her tongue was numb. Forget testing her sense of taste—she wouldn’t even be able to taste a bitter melon right now.
The man on top of her, however, was just the opposite.
His breaths grew deep and heavy, his handsome face pressing against her neck, brushing faintly against her earlobe.
His entire body was burning up, his temperature even hotter than hers had been when she was drugged with "One-Life Bliss."
Though she could guess the reason, she had never truly experienced it herself.
Ji Qingwu reached out, carefully lifting a hand to his forehead. It felt normal, ruling out the almost impossible cause of a sudden fever.
Sensing her movement, a dark undercurrent flickered in Emperor Wu Su’s eyes.
The arms that had been supporting him relaxed, and he let his body press down on her completely.
Ji Qingwu instantly went still. Her hands stopped moving, her eyes froze, and she stared blankly at the bed canopy.
’So heavy, so hot, so...’
She tightened her stomach, trying to minimize contact with him.
The woman beneath him was a magnificent sight, like a languid rose drooping on a branch at dawn.
’What other reason could there be for his body’s reaction?’ Emperor Wu Su’s desire was raging, but this was not a suitable place.
If this continued, Ji Qingwu didn’t know if she would die of shame or be crushed to death first. She pushed against him with both palms. He didn’t make things difficult for her, using her momentum to roll onto his side.
There was something Ji Qingwu had been curious about but hadn’t asked. Now seemed like the perfect time to bring up a serious topic to diffuse the overly heated atmosphere.
"Your Majesty, why did you appear here?"
Emperor Wu Su indolently lifted a lock of her hair, twirling it around his finger without answering directly.
"What do you think?"
Ji Qingwu recalled what the servant boy had said when he knocked. "Did something major happen? I heard Li—I heard something happened at Prince Yong’s Yucui Building."
Li Chengxun’s name was on the tip of her tongue, but she cleverly swallowed it. She still remembered the lesson learned from last time all too well.
Emperor Wu Su picked up the pearl hairpin that had rolled to the side and toyed with it in his palm.
He asked, "When I arrived, were you planning to fight to the bitter end?"
The thought of what could have happened made Emperor Wu Su’s expression turn cold again.
Ji Qingwu said with feigned innocence, "I didn’t know it was Your Majesty. Otherwise, I certainly wouldn’t have done that."
Emperor Wu Su lifted his gaze to look at her and asked, "So if you knew it was me, you would have given up, let yourself be captured, and allowed me to do as I please?"
"Well, no, not that either."
As they spoke, the atmosphere between them began to feel charged again.
Ji Qingwu avoided his gaze, keeping her thoughts clear as she asked again, "Your Majesty still hasn’t said why you came. What exactly happened at Yucui Building?"
’It must have been something very serious to drag away the lust-crazed Prince Yong. Could Ji Changyan’s crime be related to this?’
She desperately wanted to know the reason behind it all.
Emperor Wu Su turned her chin toward him. "Ah Wu, you want to know that badly? Information must always be exchanged for something of equal value."
Ji Qingwu glanced at the object in his hand. "If Your Majesty likes this pearl hairpin, can we trade?"
Emperor Wu Su shook his head. "Not enough."
"Can I make it up to you next time?"
He remained noncommittal.
Perhaps it was the warmth in Emperor Wu Su’s gaze, but on a sudden impulse, Ji Qingwu reached out and tugged his sleeve.
’She felt a little nervous. After all, he had shaken her off without exception the last two times.’
Emperor Wu Su looked at her slender, jade-like fingers against the dark blue fabric of his robe. He, too, remembered those two times.
The first time she had pulled his sleeve was in Zhaoyang Hall, regarding her engagement to Li Chengxun. The second time was by the Lotus Pond, because she was in a hurry to see her brother, Ji Changlin.
Both times, she had come to him for the sake of other men.
Ji Qingwu watched his expression closely. Seeing the tight set of his jaw, she braced herself to be shaken off again.
Emperor Wu Su moved. He turned his hand over, enclosing her fingers in his grasp.
Then, he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it again and again, not missing a single knuckle.
The touch of his soft, warm lips on her fingertips gave her a feeling of being cherished like never before.
Ji Qingwu felt her heart skip a few beats. ’The saying that your fingers are connected to your heart must be true,’ she thought. Her heartbeat seemed to follow the rhythm of his delicate kisses.
Emperor Wu Su tossed the pearl hairpin aside, having clearly found a more pleasing plaything. He clutched her fingers in his palm, squeezing and kneading them.
Ji Qingwu couldn’t resist lightly scratching his palm with her fingertips.
He gave her fingers one last peck before speaking. "Former imperial censor Yan Zongrang was assassinated. The case is of great importance, with deep and wide-reaching implications. I assigned Li Chengxun to investigate. Seeing that he was having difficulties, and since I happened to have a clue, I passed it on to him."
"My reason for coming here..." He said with a remarkably righteous expression, "...was to oversee the investigation of this case."
The corners of Ji Qingwu’s lips curled up uncontrollably.
"So, Your Majesty just happened to pass him the information tonight, just happened to be overseeing the case on this dragon boat, and just happened to walk into the room Prince Yong always stays in."
Her eyes sparkled with brilliant light.
She smiled and said, "For Your Majesty to have so many coincidences... it must mean that my luck is truly good. I should go to Hanshan Temple tomorrow to offer thanks to the Buddha."
Hearing her playful words, Emperor Wu Su’s lips curved into a smile as well. He pressed her hand against his chest.
"Why go to Hanshan Temple to offer thanks when there’s a perfectly good object of worship right here?" He added, "When you return home, stay in your own courtyard. Don’t go out, no matter who comes to ask for you."
At the time, Ji Qingwu didn’t understand what he meant.
「The next morning, when the sun was bright.」
Two imperial decrees arrived at the Ji Mansion.
The first decreed that Ji Changyan of the Ji Family’s second branch was to be imprisoned in the Imperial Prison, under the jurisdiction of the Imperial City Department, for his involvement in the assassination of the former imperial censor.
The second decreed that Fifth Missy of the Ji Family, Ji Qingwu, having offended the Emperor yesterday, was to be placed under house arrest. She was forbidden from leaving her courtyard without an imperial edict, and no outsiders were permitted to enter.
Old Madam Ji had no time to worry about the second decree.
Upon hearing that Ji Changyan had been sent to the Imperial Prison, she nearly collapsed. The matron beside her had to support her to keep her from falling.
’So that’s why His Majesty offered the Ji Family no rewards the other day. It was because Ji Changyan had caused such a huge disaster.’
Old Madam Ji quickly recovered and immediately said to the matron beside her, "Go and submit my visiting tablet to the Empress Dowager. I must go to the palace."
When the imperial decrees arrived, Ji Qingwu was still fast asleep, so she had no idea that two more people were now standing at her door.
Sanchuan had been switched from a Hidden Guard to an open one. Emperor Wu Su had also assigned another, and the two guards now stood like a pair of door gods at the entrance to Wutong Garden.
Even passing birds were met with their fierce glares, forcing them to flap their wings and flee for their lives.
Si Hai jutted out his chin. "Brother Chuan, how are your injuries?"
Sanchuan shot him a sideways glance and said wearily, "Still alive."
Yesterday, because something had happened to the Ji Family’s Fifth Missy, Sanchuan was punished when he went to report the news. It was the unique whip punishment of the Hidden Guard division.
It didn’t break the skin, but the muscles and fascia underneath would be torn. It would take at least a month of pain before it started to heal.
Si Hai looked at Sanchuan’s pale lips and asked in a low voice, "Who exactly is the one inside?"
