ADWMCES Chapter25

Zhao Lin struggled to get away but was pulled over by Lin Ying. The wound on his back rubbed against the bed. He hissed and gasped. He lost all strength in an instant and murmured, “Lin Ying, if you dare, I will kill you.”

 

Lin Ying lowered his head and laughed, “Master, didn’t you ask this servant to serve you? This servant really served you, why are you blaming this servant?”

 

He paused and said, “The girl from the Chu family didn’t take ‘Chunfeng Powder’. It was an aphrodisiac I got from somewhere else. Although the effect is similar, but it lacks one thing. It won’t make people lose their memory. But Chunfeng Powder is different. Once you take it, you will forget. Tomorrow you will forget this ridiculous night with this servant.”

 

“Why not fulfill this servant’s wish for all these years tonight?”

 

The more Zhao Lin listened, the wider his eyes grew. Clenching his fists, he suddenly realized a blind spot. “So you’ve already…”

 

He gritted his teeth and said, “Let me ask you, was it you who tipped off Ji Yujin so that he could find this place so quickly?”

 

Lin Ying paused. “This servant only asked someone to tell the Governor that something happened to that girl from the Chu family, but this servant didn’t betray Master.”

 

Zhao Lin felt a surge of anger in his heart, unable to utter a single word: “Lin Ying, I have treated you well, why do you treat me like this?”

 

Lin Ying’s eyes darkened, and after a while he softly said, “You commanded and used this servant like a cow or a horse, even worse than a pig or a dog. If Master thinks this isn’t mistreating a servant, then this servant has nothing more to say.”

 

“But as long as this servant can serve Master, this servant has no complaints.”

 

He paused mid-sentence, his tone softening as if speaking the most tender words: “This servant lives only for Master.”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, he trapped him.

 

Zhao Lin: “Someone come!”

 

Lin Ying: “Master, don’t shout anymore. The people serving outside the palace are all this servant’s trusted followers. Don’t damage your voice by shouting.”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, he no longer held back.

 

“Lin Ying, I’m going to kill you!” The next moment, Zhao Lin was engulfed by severe pain and could no longer utter a complete sentence.

 

Lin Ying kissed his hair lightly, and his not-so-remarkable face was now filled with an evil look: “This servant is happy with it.”

 

……

 

Soon after Ji Yujin left, Steward Mo sent someone to bring water. Chu Fengqing thought it was Ji Yujin’s order. After washing up, he went back to bed. Although he was exhausted that night, but he didn’t feel sleepy at all. As soon as he closed his eyes, he saw that pair of Ji Yujin’s fox-like eyes.

 

Helpless, he simply got up, found paper and brush, and wanted to practice calligraphy to calm his mind.

 

But after writing only a few lines, Ji Yujin’s eyes and eyebrows appeared under his brush.

 

Chu Fengqing: “……”

 

He crumpled up the paper and put down the brush. Never mind. He thought he might have encountered some evil spirit today.

 

On the second day, Chu Fengqing wrote a prescription and asked Steward Mo to help buy the medicine. This was the antidote for the muteness drug. After taking it for three consecutive days, he was finally able to speak, but his voice was very hoarse.

 

He had originally used silver needles to poke the acupuncture points in order to change his voice, and the damage was already huge. This time he was given a mute drug. If this happened again, he might never be able to speak again.

 

After that day, Ji Yujin seemed to become very busy, and he was not seen for several days until Steward Mo let the cat out of the bag¹Idiom: reveal a secret carelessly or by mistake..

 

Chu Fengqing wanted to find Ji Yujin to thank him for what happened last time, but he couldn’t find him. He had no choice but to go find Steward Mo.

 

Steward Mo: “The Master was flogged in the palace. It seems that he had to go to the Imperial Medical to change the ointment these days, so he came back very late.”

 

Chu Fengqing: “Flog?”

 

Steward Mo had a worried look on his face, as if he were in pain. “Yes, his whole back is covered in blood. His last injury hasn’t even healed yet, and it seems the stitches have also broken. It’s only been a short time, and he’s injured again. He really… not taking his life seriously.”

 

Chu Fengqing was stunned for a moment, but he soon figured out the reason. How could anyone get away with beating the prince? Even Ji Yujin would have no chance.

 

He pursed his lips and said, “Steward Mo, forgive me for bothering you again, I will write another prescription, please help me get the medicine.”

 

Steward Mo: “Madam, please give the orders. This old servant will be waiting.”

 

After Steward Mo brought the medicine back, Chu Fengqing boiled it for an entire afternoon before turning it into ointment. This was a recipe he had formulated himself, and it was very effective for treating external injuries. It was also well-known in Jiangnan at that time. He now wanted to give it to Ji Yujin to try, as it might be better than the one from Imperial Medical.

 

However, Ji Yujin’s return time was uncertain, and even Steward Mo couldn’t manage it. As night deepened and Ji Yujin still hadn’t come back, Chu Fengqing donned a cloak and stepped outside.

 

When Ji Yujin returned to the courtyard in the snow, he found a person standing at the door. He was wearing a green cloak and stood straight, as if nothing could break his back. He was holding a lantern in his hand, and the dim light of the lantern illuminated the corner, making it seem particularly warm on this snowy night.

 

Chu Fengqing turned around when he heard footsteps, “You’re back.”

 

Ji Yujin was stunned for a moment. It had been a long time since anyone had waited for him to come home. He let out an “en” and asked, “Why did you come here?”

 

After that night, Ji Yujin ran to the west courtyard. Steward Mo thought that the couple had a conflict and tried to mediate them. Only the two of them understood why.

 

Chu Fengqing: “Steward Mo said you were injured, I came to see you.”

 

Ji Yujin made a “tsk” sound and frowned, “Lao Mo has a big mouth.”

 

Chu Fengqing raised his eyes to look at him and found that his originally flamboyant eyes seemed a little droopy, and his bright red lips had turned much paler. He walked a little closer, and a faint smell of alcohol wafted from his nose.

 

“You’ve been drinking?”

 

Ji Yujin subconsciously said, “The poison has been resolved, I can drink now.”

 

After he finished replying, he suddenly frowned. Why should he explain to her?

 

He raised his hand and pressed his temple, accidentally pulling the wound. He hissed and took a breath.

 

Chu Fengqing’s eyes darkened. “Sorry, this is all because of me.”

 

Ji Yujin’s thin lips stretched into a straight line, and after a while he smiled, “What does it have to do with you? Zhao Lin didn’t even admit his mistake, so why should you admit yours?”

 

His words made Chu Fengqing slightly stunned. Ji Yujin said the same thing last time. It seemed that he had a fair scale in his heart, and he never took his anger out on others.

 

Chu Fengqing said in a cold voice, “I’m just sorry for your injury. As for Zhao Lin, I will get back on him if I have the chance.”

 

Ji Yujin raised his eyebrows and looked at him, as if to say, “That’s more like it.”

 

Chu Fengqing took out a porcelain bottle from his arms. In the bottle was the ointment he had prepared today. “I want to see your injury.”

 

Ji Yujin: “What’s so good about that? It’s blood-piercing, I’ve already seen the imperial physician, you can go back.”

 

He glanced at Chu Fengqing’s face, which was pale with a hint of blue. Even with a cloak on, he still seemed very cold. He knew he was afraid of the cold, but he didn’t expect him to be so afraid of it. Seeing him like this, he suddenly felt angry for no reason.

 

“Tsk, at least you were carried into the mansion in a sedan chair with my eight men. So is this West Courtyard no longer part of the Ji Mansion? You don’t even dare to enter the house?”

 

Chu Fengqing blinked and said, as a matter of course, “It’s private land, how can you trespass without the owner’s permission?”

 

Ji Yujin blurted out, “Nerd.”

 

Chu Fengqing: “……”

 

After “little sickly seedling” and “little dirty ghost”, he got another nickname, “nerd”.

 

His temples twitched. This person was so… annoying. Why was he so keen on giving people nicknames?

 

Ji Yujin rarely saw him being humiliated, so he just wanted to press on and said, “You even have to ask me before entering a room, then why didn’t you ask me before you kissed me…”

 

Chu Fengqing: “……”

 

The two looked at each other. Ji Yujin turned his head away first, with a look of annoyance on his face. He was really talking about something that was not related to the topic.

 

Chu Fengqing was relatively calm now. After all, so much time had passed. He handed the ointment to Ji Yujin and said, “I don’t need to check your injury, but you can try this ointment.”

 

When Ji Yujin took the ointment bottle, he accidentally touched his fingers, which were cold as expected.

 

“Let me take your pulse.” Chu Fengqing was still a little worried, and regardless of Ji Yujin’s attitude, he just put his fingers on his pulse.

 

The hand gripping his wrist was colder than iron. Ji Yujin flicked his upper lip with the tip of his tongue, then seized Chu Fengqing’s hand and pulled him along, kicking the door open. “Go in. This lord agrees to let you in. If you want to take the pulse, you should also go in first.”

 

Chu Fengqing then stepped into the door, and Ji Yujin softly said, “I didn’t expect that you are such an antique at such a young age.”

 

Chu Fengqing, whose expression was cold: “……”

 

En, he is here to see a patient today. He can’t argue with him. Be patient!

 

The ointment was indeed effective. The wounds on Ji Yujin’s back scabbed over within a few days after he used it. However, the two of them seldom saw each other. Although the way they got along was almost the same, but he didn’t know what had changed. He always felt that there was a gap between them.

 

One day, when Ji Yujin had just arrived at Xichang, Li Yu came to greet him and said, “Zhao Li will be back tomorrow, he has finished his work.”

 

Ji Yujin: “En.”

 

He just finished speaking when he remembered something, paused, and asked, “Has Zhao Li met Chu Yinyin?”

 

Li Yu hesitated for a moment, “He has seen her. The Chu family case was such a big deal. Didn’t you arrange for him to go to the Chu family to get information? He seems to have sneaked in a few times.”

 

He curiously asked, “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with Chu Yinyin? Do you need me to check it out?”

 

He was rubbing his hands in anticipation. He didn’t know what was going on in the capital recently. It suddenly became peaceful. He is a Qianhu, and he stayed in his room writing articles every day. Was this reasonable? It was too unreasonable! His bones were tight, and he couldn’t move anymore.

 

Ji Yujin’s eyes flickered slightly. “It’s nothing, no need to check.”

 

He thought for a moment, tapped the table with his fingers, and then closed his eyes. After a long while, he said, “Tell Zhao Li not to come back yet and go directly to the south to take over other cases.”

 

Li Yu: “What?! You devil, Xiao Zhao has been out that long already, and you won’t even let him come back!”

 

He blinked, and his thoughts began to run wild. “Why do you ask if Xiao Zhao knew Saozi or not? Ah! Could it be that there is some story between Xiao Zhao and Saozi?”

 

“I was wondering why you and Saozi have been growing apart these days. I even thought there were some little goblins between you two. It turns out that this little goblin is right next to us.”

 

Ji Yujin glanced at him coldly, “Qing Xuan, take him away and castrate him, he is such a noisemaker.”

 

Qing Xuan appeared in the room like a ghost and dragged Li Yu out.

 

Li Yu leaned on the door sill and cried, “Big Brother! I was wrong! Qing Xuan, that stubborn guy, will take it seriously! My father still wants to have a grandson!”

 

Ji Yujin pressed his temple and waved his hand. The next moment, Li Yu’s mouth was also covered, and the room became quiet instantly.

 

He pressed his lips tightly together; even he felt he was inexplicable. Yet he didn’t want to dig into ‘Chu Yinyin’s’ background, preferring to keep up a calm façade. Somehow, he had a premonition that if ‘Chu Yinyin’ were exposed, it would mark the end of their fate.

 

After the heavy snowfall, Chu Fengqing leveraged his connections to enter the prison. His father’s mind was still clouded; feeling his pulse, he found it irregular, as if poisoned. He wanted to check it more carefully, but the jailer couldn’t wait and kept urging him.

 

The jailer who accepted his bribe said, “Madam, you can’t delay any longer. If the higher-ups find out, we will be sentenced to death.”

 

Chu Fengqing had no choice but to use a silver needle to take some blood samples.

 

When the jailer escorted him out, he said, “Madam, there is no need to go through so much trouble. You only need to bring the Governor’s token, and you can pass through the prison without any hindrance, you don’t have to take such a big risk.”

 

Chu Fengqing nodded at him but did not reply.

 

He didn’t want to really use Ji Yujin, and he couldn’t involve him in this matter.

 

After coming out of the prison, Chu Fengqing did not return home. Today, Ji Yujin’s maternal grandfather’s family was hosting a banquet for guests. Ji Yujin never attended such banquets, but this time he accepted the invitation for the first time.

 

Moreover, Ji Yujin took the surname Ji, which was his mother’s surname, not the surname Xie of King Chennan.

 

They invited the two guests, and Ji Yujin had initially said he didn’t need to attend. But when he spoke, Lao Mo looked displeased, so Chu Fengqing decided to go and take a look.

 

When they arrived at the Ji Mansion, the servants outside immediately came to greet them when they saw that it was the carriage from the Governor Mansion.

 

Chu Fengqing walked down from the carriage in gorgeous clothes, attracting the attention of everyone present.

 

He looked up, but no one looked familiar. Well, he didn’t grow up in the capital, so naturally he didn’t have anyone he knew.

 

It seems Ji Yujin has some urgent errands to run, so he will be a little late.

 

When he entered the mansion, he saw someone, Ji Yulan.

 

Ji Yulan saw him from afar and just glanced at him with a hint of contempt in her eyes. It was completely different from when she was in the Governor Mansion. Here she seemed high and mighty, as if he were something that should not be seen in public.

 

Although Chu Fengqing had doubts, but he would not actually ask.

 

“She is Ji Yujin’s partner?”

 

“She’s good-looking. That eunuch is so lucky ah.”

 

“Heh, he’s just a eunuch, he can watch but not eat, hahaha.”

 

“Hush.”

 

“Hush, what hush? It’s fine. This is the Ji Mansion. He doesn’t dare to act rashly.”

 

Chu Fengqing heard some discussions right next to his ears, and it was happening right in front of him.

 

Ji Yulan was also among them, it’s just that she didn’t say anything nor did she stop them.

 

After a while, the group of people came up to him.

 

A young man walked over, looked at him, and there was a strange look in his eyes.

 

“Your brother is so lucky.”

 

Ji Yulan sneered, “He’s just someone with a thing that has been cut off from its roots.”

 

The people around her immediately agreed.

 

“Isn’t that right? Old Master Ji is one of the three dukes, but he has such a despicable grandson. It’s really a disgrace to the family.”

 

“I heard that he is also lustful and has several male paramours. He is a pervert.” The man glanced at Chu Fengqing and said without hesitation, “Madam, is what the outside world says true?”

 

Chu Fengqing frowned. “If you want to accuse someone of something, you can always find a pretext. You are just echoing the view of others.”

 

“Hahaha, look at her, she’s even covering up for that eunuch.”

 

“He is just a rootless thing, what governor? Bah! If my father hadn’t stopped me, I would have laughed at him in front of him.”

 

“Yulan, it’s a good thing you didn’t marry him.”

 

They totally ignored Chu Fengqing’s words. They just kept talking to themselves, and their words became more and more unpleasant. All kinds of rumors became true in their mouths. It would be useless to argue with them at this time because they would neither listen nor believe them.

 

At this moment, he began to understand why Ji Yujin’s reputation was so bad.

 

As soon as Ji Yujin stepped onto the stairs, he heard a group of people talking, and the subject of the discussion was him.

 

He leaned against the outer wall with a smile on his lips. He had already heard these words long ago. They were just a bunch of clowns who only dared to dance behind his back. If they really stood in front of him, they would probably be scared to death.

 

At this moment, someone suddenly asked Chu Fengqing, “Big beauty, why would you marry him? If I were you, I would have to run away at night.”

 

“That’s right, that’s right, it’s better to go with me than with him. At least I can still be used, hahaha.”

 

Ji Yujin’s face turned cold, and the next moment he heard a cold voice.

 

“You can’t compare to him.”

 

“He doesn’t have to be very good, it’s fine as long as I like him.”

---

T/N: Sorry if I sometimes use “she” and other times “he” for Chu Fengqing. Since Ji Yujin doesn’t know his real identity yet, he thinks of him as “her,” so when I translate his thoughts I use “her,” but I occasionally mix it up😭

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  Idiom: reveal a secret carelessly or by mistake.