“Master, everything has been handled.”
Princess Consort acted without foresight, causing trouble that the Prince had to clean up. If the Prince hadn’t erased traces of the Princess Consort purchasing the long skirt and entering the inn with Lu Wan, their identities might have been exposed by now.
Now that the secret arrangements the Master had in the yamen were utilized, he wondered if Wang Sheng had become suspicious.
Ji Jinmo grunted faintly, his gaze fixed on the memorial in his hands. He casually tossed the memorial to Xuan Thirteen, instructing, “Go, deliver this memorial to the Xin Yuan Pavilion.”
Xuan Thirteen held the memorial and instinctively widened his mouth.
What? Does the Master now require the Princess Consort to review memorials too?
“Hmm?”
Ji Jinmo looked up at the unmoving Xuan Thirteen. His ‘hmm’ echoed with a long, lingering tone, striking Xuan Thirteen’s ears like a deafening thunderclap.
He trembled all over and quickly bowed to accept the order.
He fled the study as if escaping.
…
“A memorial?”
Nan Shiying glanced at the memorial in Xuan Thirteen’s hand and gestured for him to place it on the table. She seemed slightly surprised, but only a little. Her reaction was as calm as if Xuan Thirteen had handed her an orange.
What? Aren’t you going to ask anything?
Nan Shiying looked up at him and asked with slight displeasure, “Is there anything else?”
Xuan Thirteen twitched the corner of his mouth. In a daze, he suddenly saw a shadow of his own Master in Nan Shiying. He shivered violently and quickly shook his head, “No, no more.”
“Then, Princess Consort, this subordinate will take his leave.”
Xuan Thirteen bowed and retreated, fleeing Xin Yuan Pavilion as if escaping once more.
Nan Shiying peeled an orange, ate it, and then opened the memorial. It was a memorial submitted to the Emperor by the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue regarding disaster relief.
Nan Shiying read through it at a rapid pace.
Yuzhou was by the sea.
Heavy rains for several months had caused the sea levels to surge, flooding many houses. Half a month ago, the rising seawater breached the embankment, causing water to surge inland, a roaring water dragon, resulting in severe flood damage.
Thus, widespread suffering ensued.
The rain had not ceased these past few days. Hong Yi, not yet having reached Yuzhou, was stranded in Lin’an county town, not far from Yuzhou.
The memorial was submitted to request the Emperor to send troops for reinforcement.
Why was Ji Jinmo showing her this? Did he expect her to have some method for flood control?
However… Nan Shiying picked up a segment of orange. She had governed for decades, dealing with countless disasters, big and small. If it came to flood control, she truly had methods.
But Nan Shiying felt that Ji Jinmo’s intention in showing her this memorial was not for that purpose.
She made a tutting sound, somewhat reluctant to guess the man’s thoughts, not for any other reason than it was too tiring. If possible, she just wanted to lie flat.
She casually tossed the memorial aside and propped herself onto the table. Seeing Bai Zhi enter the room, she asked, “Bai Zhi, have you bought the mice?”
Bai Zhi placed the teapot on the table and turned to answer, “Replying to the Princess, they have been bought and are stored in the dismantled house in the backyard.”
Nan Shiying nodded in satisfaction.
…
At night, a figure appearing by the bedside in her hazy state of semi-sleep startled Nan Shiying, chasing away all sleepiness.
She feigned turning over and, under the cover of darkness, reached for the dagger hidden beneath her pillow.
“Heh~”
A sharp, clear laugh echoed in her ears, like a basin of cold water doused over her.
A faint scent of fallen cherry blossoms, carrying a chilling aura, descended from above.
Nan Shiying’s hand stiffened. The next moment, she suddenly sat up, her hoarse voice laced with anger, and gritted her teeth as she called out the name of a certain scoundrel: “Ji, Jin, Mo!”
Ji Jinmo responded with a sound from his throat. He flicked his sleeve, and the candlelight on both sides of the bed suddenly ignited. The flame dispelled the darkness and illuminated their figures.
Nan Shiying was only wearing an inner layer, a translucent garment that faintly revealed the red undergarment beneath. The ties of her clothing were somewhat loose, and her collar was parted, revealing a expanse of snow-white skin. The candlelight cast a hazy glow upon that fair skin, flickering to and fro like a soul-snatching enchantress.
Ji Jinmo’s phoenix eyes were as dark as a cold pool, the hidden lust within like clawing, dancing demons, reaching out with sharp talons from the darkness.
His breathing grew heavy, his throat bobbing.
The faint scent of fallen cherry blossoms gradually intensified, reaching Nan Shiying’s nostrils and causing her to pause slightly. She instantly lowered her head, looking at her near-naked state, and abruptly grabbed the quilt, wrapping herself within it.
“Ji Jinmo!”
She called his name fiercely.
This time, she even wished she could skin him alive.
She merely called his name, but in Ji Jinmo’s ears, those three words were as scorching as sparks, stirring and igniting the desire in his heart.
Damn it!
Ji Jinmo cursed inwardly.
This stirring and impulse was something he had never experienced with anyone else.
Only with her.
He felt a desire that bordered on madness.
He leaned closer, pinning Nan Shiying’s chin with one hand and bracing his other hand against the bed behind her. She was almost entirely embraced by him.
Nan Shiying clutched the quilt tightly, forced to lift her head. She looked at this shameless rascal who had suddenly appeared on her bed in the middle of the night.
Her wide, round eyes were filled with fury, but in Ji Jinmo’s eyes, she resembled a little wild cat gnashing its teeth.
“Don’t look at this King with that kind of gaze.”
His deep, husky voice was scorching and hot, suffused with overwhelming lust, brushing past Nan Shiying’s ear and entering her heart.
Nan Shiying swallowed hard, a flicker of panic and shame flashing in her eyes.
Damn it!
Ji Jinmo’s reason was beginning to break. He lowered his head and kissed her lips, which he had long yearned for.
“Mmmph~”
Nan Shiying’s eyes widened. The next moment, she angrily bit Ji Jinmo’s lip.
“Hiss~”
Ji Jinmo gasped in pain.
“Let go!”
He uttered a low command.
Nan Shiying refused. She continued to bite, tearing at him like a puppy. A hot current flowed down from her teeth; blood mixed with saliva, falling into Ji Jinmo’s mouth and down his throat.
Reason completely shattered.
Ji Jinmo grabbed Nan Shiying’s cheeks, forcing her mouth open. The moment their teeth separated, he thrust his tongue inside.
He kissed her ferociously, as if venting.
Their breaths became almost ragged, and the sound of low panting filled the room.
As the air in their lungs gradually thinned, just as Nan Shiying thought she would suffocate to death, Ji Jinmo finally lifted his head.
Their eyes met, and no words were spoken, only the faint scent of irises lingering.
Ji Jinmo suddenly retreated, his movements so flustered that all his usual composure and calmness vanished. He gave Nan Shiying a deep look, then turned and left.
Nan Shiying watched Ji Jinmo’s retreating back, her hands tightly gripping the corner of the quilt, a scarlet glint appearing in her eyes.