Ke Cha nodded while receiving his child. Suddenly, he took an object from his waistband and gave it to Ji Yunshu. It was a fine, small jade tile with golden ridges, and a silver thread coiled around it. A lifelike peacock was carved on one side of the jade and in place of its eyes, the highest quality of sapphires were inlaid. On the other side, the character “南”1 was carved on it.
“Right now, I have nothing else to show my gratitude. Please accept this tile instead. If you ever go to Huyi someday, this might prove useful in finding me. At that time, I will properly give my thanks.”
“This…”
“Please accept it. It would let my heart be at ease a little.” After that, he shoved the jade tile into Ji Yunshu’s palm.
The small jade tile’s texture was quite impressive. It was cool to the touch and very comfortable to hold. Ji Yunshu didn’t decline the gift. ‘I might as well take it,’ thought Ji Yunshu. It was unlikely that she would go to Huyi one day, but if she was to decline, she might need to spend more effort talking. “Since it’s like this, I’ll accept it.”
Ke Cha felt somewhat at ease hearing her words. He carried Amo back inside the temple.
She was about to follow Ke Cha but knowing that Jing Rong would grab her arms again, she quickly crossed them on her chest and directly went inside. Jing Rong ended up grabbing onto air. ‘This woman is still so difficult to deal with.’ After entering, Ji Yunshu sat down and so did Jing Rong in a grumpy manner. However, his gaze focused on her, as if he wanted to eat her alive!
Ji Yunshu took her veil and dried it by the fire. After drying it, she used it to cover her face. Wei Yi blinked as he observed her, then pouted. This little action was caught by Ji Yunshu, prompting her to ask him, “What’s wrong? You’re not happy?”
“It’s not that.” Wei Yi shook his head.
“Then, what it is?”
Wei Yi hesitated before speaking in a low voice, “Shu’er, Are you afraid that other people will laugh at you?”
“Huh?”
Wei Yi pursed his lips, then sat closer to her and started whispering into her ear. “Shu’er, don’t be afraid. The truth is, you’re not ugly at all. For me, you are good as you are.” His warm breath gradually spread on her ear. She had to admit that his words were like a balm to her heart. It tickled her ear and made her feel extremely comfortable. The corners of her mouth curled to form a radiant smile on her face. She stared at him and said, “Wei Yi, thank you.”
“Both father and mother have passed away, so I only have you now. Shu’er, I promise you that I will become a strong man. In the future, I will protect you and will absolutely not let anyone bully you. If someone dares to bully you, I’ll take revenge for you.” His tone was very resolute.
Ji Yunshu smiled. “Good! Then, I’ll wait for a day when you can protect me.”
“Hum…” He strongly nodded.
They both conversed without paying any attention to Jing Rong, who was sitting opposite them and sporting a sour expression on his face. Jing Rong was extremely unresigned to be treated unfairly. He couldn’t help himself from spouting some remarks. “Wei Yi, protecting her is my task. Since she has the tendency to attract troubles, I’m the only one who has the capacity to bear that burden.”
‘Pft! You’re the one who’s inviting trouble!’ Ji Yunshu fiercely glared at Jing Rong.
Wei Yi scratched his head and spoke as his mouth deflated. “You’re the one who’s inviting trouble.”
“You…”
“Shu’er said that you’re a bully that cannot be shaken by thunder, always pouring cold water around, and that you have a sinister face like a piece of charcoal. Not only that… Hmmph!”
Ji Yunshu promptly covered Wei Yi’s mouth. During their travels, Ji Yunshu would often reply to Wei Yi’s random questions and end up ranting to herself most of the time. She never expected that this damn guy would remember every single word she had said and blurted it all out now. It’s alright to talk about it, but why on earth did he have to do so in front of the subject of her complaints?! Even as he spoke, he even made it in great fanfare! This time, she really wanted to dig a hole and bury herself inside. While covering Wei Yi’s disastrous mouth, she looked at Jing Rong, whose face had been overcast with his ice-cold eyes flickering with anger under the flames’ reflection. He was the incarnation of ferocity.
Jing Rong strongly enunciated her name as he gritted his teeth. “Ji-Yun-Shu!”
Ji Yunshi never knew her name could sound so unpleasant. Under the veil, her mouth constantly twisted as she tried to explain herself, “I… was just talking without thinking.”
“Talking without thinking? Indeed…”
“I only…”
“Enough!” Jing Rong snapped. He got up and went to sit with his guards at another fire. His back faced Ji Yunshu, thus showing how angry he was.
At this moment, Ji Yunshu loosened her hand and stopped covering Wei Yi’s mouth.
Wei Yi took in a big mouthful of air as if he was choking. “Shu’er, you… why… why didn’t you let me talk?”
“Every time you talk, you always bring trouble to me!”
“Why? Did I… did I say something wrong?”
“……” At this instant, she felt a surging headache.
If that guy was going to sulk until they reached the capital, she might as well be suffering hardships throughout the entire journey!
Who would have known that Lang Po, who was sitting across them, would lower his head and chuckle at this time too? This did not escape Ji Yunshu’s attention. “Why are you laughing?”
Lang Po looked at his master’s back under the dancing light of the fire. Then, he turned to Ji Yunshu and replied, “Miss Ji, if someone else had said the same things as you did, I fear that said person would have been thrown out at this moment. It seemed like my prince treats you very well.”
‘Oi, oi, oi! What are you trying to get on?’
Ji Yunshu lowered her eyebrows. Her beautiful eyes locked on Jing Rong. ‘Forget it. Let him cool his head overnight.”
During the night, Wei Yi fell asleep while holding onto the two paintings. He lied his head on Lang Po’s shoulder. Jing Rong leaned against the wall a distance away from everyone, although his back was still facing everyone. As for Ji Yunshu, sleep didn’t come to her. Her eyes were wide open as she watched the fire burning in all its glory, slowly weakening until it was extinguished to a mere spark.
The next morning.
Outside the temple, the two groups of carriage set off. Before they parted ways, Ke Cha expressed his gratitude numerous times and hoped that he would be able to meet her one day in Huyi. Then, they went on their journey in opposite directions. Ji Yunshu and Wei Yi sat together in the carriage while Jing Rong continued to ride on his horse.
After six hours or so on the road, they finally left the mountain trails and got onto the main road. There were no mountain trails that weren’t bumpy. At last, Ji Yunshu sat more comfortably in the horse carriage. Then, she saw Wei Yi, who was being fascinated by what he saw outside. “What are you looking at?”
Wei Yi replied without turning around. “It’s so beautiful outside.”
‘Beautiful?’ Ji Yunshu moved closer and looked outside. Although they just left the mountain trail, their surroundings still consisted of mountains and trees. She didn’t feel it was particularly beautiful. It must be because Wei Yi had never left Jinjiang city, so everything he saw was a novelty to him.
“Heigh!” The carriage suddenly came to a halt following the neighing of the horses, as if they ran into something. After Ji Yunshu steadied herself, she lifted the curtain and exposed her pretty eyes, looking at the commotion up front. In front of them, there were a group of people riding on horseback. When she clearly saw the faces of the two riders, Ji Yunshu hurriedly let down the curtain and shrank back.
“Shu’er, what’s going on?” inquired Wei Yi.
She shook her head.
Curious as he was, Wei Yi was about to go out but she pulled him back. “Don’t go!” He was scared by her nervous tone. He didn’t speak and obediently sat down instead.
1. 南 meant south usually, but it could also be the surname “Nan”. Since I have too little information about the meaning of it, I’ll keep the Chinese character for now.