The candlelight flickered, illuminating the room at night.
Nan Shiying's words, "Are you really capable or not?" echoed in Ji Jinmo's ears. Xuan Yi's hand, hanging by his side, couldn't help but tremble. If he hadn't been afraid of being banished to the frontier by his master, he would have given this woman a thumbs-up.
You truly have no fear of death!
Ji Jinmo's hand, holding the teacup, paused. The moment he looked up, a sharp, cold light seemed to pour out.
For a moment, Ji Jinmo really wanted to slap her to death.
He put down the teacup. The teacup's impact on the table made a crisp sound. Xuan Yi's heart leaped, and he instinctively flinched. Then, he heard a cold, stern voice reverberate in his ears: "Nan Shiying, you are becoming more and more presumptuous!"
Even though it wasn't directed at him, Xuan Yi still shuddered. Nan Shiying, who was at the center of the storm, although showing a timid expression, didn't seem genuinely frightened. She pushed the pastries in front of Ji Jinmo and said softly, "This concubine is fearful and apologizes to my lord."
With these pastries?
Xuan Yi's eyes widened.
Could you be any more perfunctory?
Ji Jinmo picked up a pastry and put it in his mouth, frowning slightly.
"Is it too sweet?" Nan Shiying asked.
Ji Jinmo didn't answer. Instead, he tossed the pastry aside, took a sip of his tea, and then said, "Nan Chaoyin is indeed a favored minister of the emperor. This matter alone is not enough to have him demoted or dismissed."
Nan Shiying knew this, of course, but she felt that merely confining him was too light a punishment.
"I just feel he got off too easily," Nan Shiying said nothing more.
Ji Jinmo felt she was being insincere but didn't explain further. The imperial physician had just reported back regarding Qin Yurou; her injuries were quite severe. The scar on her face would not be noticeable if attended to carefully, but her hand, it seemed, was going to be crippled.
He put the lid back on the teacup and said to Nan Shiying, "You were too heavy-handed."
Nan Shiying pulled the pastries back towards herself and picked one up to eat. Although Ji Jinmo's words were abrupt, Nan Shiying understood. She said, "This concubine has already shown mercy."
As she spoke, she also sighed helplessly, "My lord, you have too many fools around you."
Xuan Yi: "..."
Why are you dancing on the edge of a knife?
Isn't it good to be alive?
Ji Jinmo glanced at Nan Shiying indifferently, lowered his gaze, and said, "Xuan Yi, pass down the order that while the Princess is confined, the small kitchen is not to be used."
Nan Shiying's face instantly stiffened. The pastries bulged her cheeks, making her look like a small squirrel that had suddenly been interrupted during a meal.
There was a peculiar contrast in her cuteness.
"My lord, this concubine was wrong."
She hurriedly tried to admit her mistake but was choked by the unchewed pastry in her mouth. She coughed violently, and the chewed, unrecognizable pastry, now covered in saliva, sprayed out.
Ji Jinmo's face immediately darkened.
He kicked the table, and his body retreated rapidly, his cloud-like sleeves billowing in the wind.
The table, kicked forward by Ji Jinmo, bumped directly into Nan Shiying. The force was so great that it knocked her and her stool to the ground.
Only when she fell to the ground did Nan Shiying cry out, "Ouch~"
Her chest really hurt!
Ji Jinmo sat upright several meters away, looking at Nan Shiying, who had fallen to the ground. A beautiful arc formed on the corner of his lips.
Xuan Yi blinked.
Was he seeing things? His master actually smiled?
Not a cold smile, not an angry smile, not a disdainful smile, but a genuine smile from the heart?
Was this normal?
This was too abnormal!
Comrades of the Xuan Unit, something is wrong, our master has broken!
If Ji Jinmo knew what Xuan Yi was thinking, he would surely throw him to the border to feed the cattle.
Nan Shiying, clutching her chest, struggled to sit up from the ground. Her hairpin had loosened, and a few strands of hair fell onto her cheeks, outlining her distinct jawline.
She righted the stool and sat back down, but her gaze towards Ji Jinmo vaguely revealed a hint of resentment and reproach.
Who knows what she was cursing in her heart!
Ji Jinmo coughed, suppressing the emotions that were spreading and dissipating within him. He sternly rebuked, "No manners!"
Nan Shiying wanted to glare, but remembering the small kitchen, she immediately lowered her head in a wronged manner, "This concubine knows she was wrong."
Ji Jinmo's lips curved upwards again, but he let out a cold "hmph" from his nose.
Xuan Yi: "..."
Master, if you have the ability, don't hold back!
Ji Jinmo suddenly tilted his head and glanced at Xuan Yi.
Xuan Yi immediately felt his entire body go numb, as if he had been touched on the head by the god of death.
My life is short!
Xuan Yi immediately lowered his head, wishing he could disappear on the spot.
Ji Jinmo withdrew his gaze, looking with some disdain at the table dirtied by the chewed food. From afar, he could see the渣渣 floating on the surface of the tea.
Nan Shiying followed Ji Jinmo's gaze to the table and her cheeks flushed with shame and indignation.
She couldn't help but want to glare at him again.
If he hadn't threatened to stop the small kitchen, would she have been choked by the pastries?
Ji Jinmo looked at Nan Shiying's trembling eyes and knew she was probably thinking something about him again. Ji Jinmo had lived for so long, and this was the first time he had seen such a bold and audacious woman.
Ji Jinmo retracted his sleeve, leaving behind a sentence, "The small kitchen will be shut down for three months!"
And then he left gracefully.
"Master~"
Leaving Nan Shiying heartbroken in her original spot.
If one didn't know, they might think these two were acting out some kind of epic love-hate drama!
Xuan Yi couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
Nan Shiying looked up at Xuan Yi. Xuan Yi's nerves immediately tensed, "Princess, this is an order from the Prince. Do not disobey it."
After speaking, he disappeared from the room in a flash.
Nan Shiying glanced at the last plate of pastries on the table, then at the chewed food on the pastries, and felt wronged to the point of tears.
"Ji Jinmo, you're a bastard!"
"Clang~"
There was a light sound from the eaves. Xuan Yi, losing his balance, almost fell from the roof.
I didn't hear anything, I didn't hear anything.
At this moment, he also wanted to cry.
He was crying from fear!