ADWMCES Chapter3

Ji Yujin loosened his grip and let him go, saying with a malicious tone, “What are you afraid of? I don’t have anything underneath. Look, I gave you the chance to be unbridled, but you didn’t want it.”

Chu Fengqing cleared his throat and was stimulated by the cold air, which made him feel itchy. He coughed a few times, but he didn’t dare to cough hard, fearing that he would develop asthma. He was born with asthma, and it couldn’t be cured, so he had to take medicine to treat it. But he didn’t have any medicine with him at the moment. He bit his lips hard, his eyes were watery, but his face was still as cold as an iceberg.

Ji Yujin raised his eyebrows and lazily said, “I feel bad for a beauty in tears. The ancients did not deceive me. If Zajia was not a rootless person, My Lady, you would have cried countless times already today.”

The bloody taste in his mouth made Chu Fengqing a little unbearable, and the itchiness in his throat was finally suppressed.

Chu Fengqing forced himself to calm down. “Lord Governor.”

Ji Yujin pursed his lips. His hair was still damp, probably because he had just finished a bath. He twisted a strand of Chu Fengqing’s black hair around his fingers and slowly played with it. The collar of his red robe was much neater than Chu Fengqing’s. He chuckled. “Does My Lady want to continue?”

“I’m not feeling well today.” Chu Fengqing’s eyes flickered, and he said, “Please have mercy on me, Lord Governor.”

Ji Yujin paused for a moment. “Alright, I’m not the kind of person who has no mercy on women either. I’ll wait until My Lady feels better. My Lady needs to take good care of yourself and get better as soon as possible. Zajia really—wants it.”

“Although I don’t have that thing, but there are many things that can replace it. If My Lady wants it, you can just ask as well.”

“Uh…” Chu Fengqing only felt his temples bulging. Everything today seemed like a dream, it was a nightmare.

He got up, touched his collar with his thin knuckles, and buttoned the wedding dress one by one to the top button, then returned to his calm expression and said in a clear voice, “Thank you, Lord Governor.”

Chu Fengqing looked around. He didn’t want to sleep on the same bed as Ji Yujin. He looked at the small couch beside the bed. The couch was very small and had no bedding. It didn’t look like it was suitable for sleeping. To be honest, he thought it was just a guest room at first. After all, it was too simple.

But before he could say anything, the red quilt was thrown over him and covered his face. Ji Yujin folded his arms and said, “Go to sleep.”

Chu Fengqing was stunned for a moment. Forget it, just let it be, he didn’t want to toss and turn anymore. The moment he lifted the quilt, his hands and feet were already cold, and now the quilt was also cold, and the little warmth he had accumulated with great difficulty was gone.

There was only one quilt for the two of them, and Ji Yujin was still sitting, which caused a gap in the quilt, allowing cold air to blow in. He turned his head to glance at Ji Yujin but accidentally caught his gaze. He was looking at him… Ji Yujin had been staring at him.

Ji Yujin was the first to complain: “Why did you peek at me?”

Chu Fengqing frowned. What should he say in this situation? For the sake of his life, he didn’t dare to confront Ji Yujin. He thought about what his sister said every time she peeked at him and was caught. He said in a cold voice, “Because you are good-looking.”

Ji Yujin: “……”

Is this person expressing her love again?

As the night deepened, with Chu Fengqing’s breathing becoming gradually even, the curve of Ji Yujin’s mouth slowly straightened, and he pursed his thin lips. His gaze fixed on Chu Fengqing grew more serious. What was the old emperor thinking? Why did he give Chu Zhengyin’s daughter to him? Whose intention was this?

The case of Chu Zhengyin’s corruption was so extensive, and such a hot potato was thrown into his house. It seemed that someone thought his life was too long.

Like him? Heh.

Tsk, what a hassle. Why not just kill her and be done with it?

Ji Yujin placed his large hand on Chu Fengqing’s neck. With such a delicate neck, even a small amount of pressure could snap it effortlessly.

He slowly tightened his grip, and just as he was about to take action, a cold voice from many years ago rang in his ears. “Are you alright?”

Ji Yujin frowned, then after a pause, released his grip, his gaze settling on Chu Fengqing’s face. The resemblance was striking, yet their voices were worlds apart, and… Lowering his eyes, he glanced at his own hand, then at the slender neck before him. “She” had no adam apple.

So much time had passed that his memory of that person was nothing more than a faint shadow. Forget it. He despised being indebted to others, so he would simply treat this as settling a debt of kindness.

After Ji Yujin withdrew his hand, he got out of bed and walked out the door not long after.

The dragon and phoenix candles swayed in the wind, and the dim light could not illuminate the entire room. In the darkness, Chu Fengqing slowly opened his eyes, his eyes were clear, not like someone who had just woken up. He coughed twice, took out a small jade bottle from his arms, and after opening the lid, a scent of medicine came out. He swallowed a small black pill, and there was not much medicine left in the bottle.

After doing all this, he lay down again and closed his eyes.

The next morning, Chu Fengqing woke up and found another voice beside him again. When did he come back?

Ji Yujin occupied most of the bed by himself. Chu Fengqing got up very slowly. His hands and feet were still cold after a night’s sleep. The two of them were not far apart, and he could even feel the heat coming from the other party, just like a stove.

After yesterday’s commotion, Chu Fengqing felt a slight headache, and his originally pale face was now slightly red. He checked his own pulse and found that he had caught a cold. Now he just hoped that the medicine he took last night would have some effect and that the cold would not trigger his asthma.

By now, his mother and sister should have reached the next town. Once they made it to Jiangnan, they would have their own people to rely on, safely distant from the imperial city. At the very least, they could live in peace for the time being, free from worry about food and clothing.

Next is his father. This autumn, a sudden flood occurred in West Fujian. Countless grain fields and houses were submerged, and there were starving people everywhere. However, the national treasury was in a tight spot, and the relief funds had to be scraped together from everywhere. At this critical juncture, the imperial envoy reported that the relief funds that actually reached the disaster area was less than one percent.

The emperor was furious and immediately sent the Dongchang¹Dongchang refers to the Eastern Depot, a Ming dynasty secret police agency. to investigate the situation. The first person to be punished was the Minister of Revenue, Chu Zhengyin.

Although his father was the Minister of Revenue, a position with the most benefits, but he was an honest official and would never accept bribes, let alone embezzle disaster relief funds. He was also a kind person and did not make enemies with anyone. The only possibility was that he was blocking someone else’s way.

He rushed here from Jiangnan just after the accident. He seldom stayed in the capital and didn’t understand many things in the capital. It took him some effort to see his father. However, his father might have been fed some medicine or suffered too much trauma, so his mind was confused and he couldn’t get any information out of him at all.

At this critical moment, his eldest brother, who was guarding the border, also encountered an accident, and his life and death was still unknown. Chu Fengqing tightly grasped the quilt. The Chu family was loyal, but in the end, they ended up like this…

Later, the emperor stripped the entire Chu family of their positions and decreed that none of their sons would ever be permitted to serve in office again. In a single night, the Chu family became a pariah, shunned by all.

He had a lot of thoughts in his mind, and at this moment, there was a knock on the door. Chu Fengqing withdrew his hand and looked at Ji Yujin. Ji Yujin still had his eyes closed, and he obviously heard the sound as well. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his face stinks terribly.

The knocking on the door outside did not ease because of his expression. Finally, he opened his eyes, full of hostility.

He shouted to the door, “What’s the matter?!”

Lao Mo’s slightly aged voice came, “Answer my lord, you and Madam have to go to the palace to express your gratitude today. It’s already late.”

Ji Yujin paused and glanced inside the bed, as if he had just remembered Chu Fengqing’s existence. He closed his eyes, pressed his temple, and said, “Come in.”

Lao Mo came in with a few maids to help them wash and change clothes.

When the maids and Lao Mo saw Chu Fengqing, their expressions changed slightly, and the younger maid’s face suddenly turned red.

There was no bronze mirror or dressing table in Ji Yujin’s room. Lao Mo had temporarily taken one from somewhere. Only when Chu Fengqing sat in front of the bronze mirror did he understand why Lao Mo and the others had such subtle expressions.

There were two fingerprints on his chin, which should have been pinched by Ji Yujin last night. After a night, it had turned a little purple and blue. His skin was originally fair, so the two fingerprints were particularly obvious.

Not only that, the collar of the wedding dress was also half-collared, and there was a bloody mark on the neck outside the collar, and whether or not someone had experienced it, they could tell what the mark was. There was also a cut at the corner of his lip that he had bitten himself, and it became a little swollen after a night.

No one would believe them even if they said nothing happened last night.

Chu Fengqing turned his head away and asked expressionlessly, “Can you cover it up?”

The maid stared at him, her eyes full of amazement, and her words became a little halting: “Answer Madam, I can only cover it up a little bit.”

It’s better to cover up a little than not cover up at all.

“Thank you for your help.”

When he tried to hide it, he realized that even the palest makeup wasn’t as fair as his skin, making the cover-up stand out more than leaving it bare.

The maid said, “Madam, this…”

Chu Fengqing closed his eyes and said, “It’s fine, just wipe it off.”

“Yes.”

When the maid was dressing him up, Chu Fengqing refused rouge and powder and just had his hair tied up, revealing an extremely delicate face.

The young maidservant gasped, but because Ji Yujin was present, she dared not say anything and just looked away silently.

When it was time to change clothes, a problem arose. Chu Fengqing didn’t know that he was going to the palace today, so he didn’t have any spare clothes to change into.

The maids were anxiously circling around. Ji Yujin looked him up and down and said in an unclear tone, “You are very tall.”

As he spoke, he walked over to compare himself to him. Chu Fengqing was only less than half a head shorter than him, which was considered very tall among women.

Chu Fengqing curled his fingers and said, “I was born tall.”

Ji Yujin raised his lip but didn’t say anything. Lao Mo was a little anxious. “Madam, you’re too tall, and the clothing stores don’t carry many sizes. It’s difficult to find something that fits right now.”

Ji Yujin glanced at him and said, “No need to bother. Lao Mo, bring me my red cloak.”

As he spoke, he plucked off the pearl flowers at his collar, picked up the dagger he had thrown away yesterday, and cut off the embroidery pattern on it amid the maid’s exclamations. All the silk and gold threads were pulled off, and the wedding dress instantly became much plainer.

Ji Yujin took the cloak from Lao Mo once more and draped it over him from behind. In doing so, his hand brushed against Chu Fengqing’s, which was icy cold. Ji Yujin hesitated briefly, then fastened the belt for him.

The cloak was red with a white fox fur collar. It was very long and big, and it should belong to a man. However, the collar was embroidered with white fox fur, which made it look feminine and not like Ji Yujin’s at all.

But no matter what, this cloak could cover his wedding dress and conceal the marks on his neck. The most important thing was that it was very warm. Chu Fengqing was very satisfied.

Chu Fengqing’s eyes softened a lot. The white fox fur made him look even more stunning. He thanked Ji Yujin.

Seeing his softened eyes, Ji Yujin was slightly stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, “I only gave a gift to the beauty, no thanks were necessary.”

Chu Fengqing glanced at him and said nothing.

The carriage was already waiting at the mansion gates. Snow was falling, and Lao Mo held an oil-paper umbrella over Chu Fengqing. Dressed in red, he moved through the white snow like a spray of plum blossoms blooming against the winter frost.

Ji Yujin even donned court attire, the bullfight robes, to display the emperor’s immense favor. He wore a solemn red court robe and a Liang Guan²A type of crown. on his head. He had an upright posture without a trace of a eunuch’s hunchback at all. Chu Fengqing thought that if he were not a eunuch, he would also be the target of admiration for the women in the boudoir.

But why did he become a eunuch?

When the two of them walked to the front of the carriage, Ji Yujin stretched out his hand to him. Chu Fengqing was lost in thought and did not react for a while.

Ji Yujin said with a smile, “Why are you staring at me so fascinated? Don’t worry, you can look as much as you like at night. I’ll let you see everything you wish, but it’s daytime now and we’re in public, my lady should show some restraint.”

The author has something to say:

Ji Yujin: “My lady, my lady, I have a big treasure to show you!”

Chu Fengqing: “……”

• 1
  Dongchang refers to the Eastern Depot, a Ming dynasty secret police agency.
• 2
  A type of crown.