Chu Fengqing’s words really made Ji Yujin freeze in place. He opened his mouth and found that he couldn’t make a sound.
Chu Fengqing: “Is it alright?”
“Uh…” Ji Yujin hurriedly moved aside like a naive boy. When he raised his eyes, he saw Chu Fengqing’s pale lips, frowned, and finally reacted, “Is it too cold in the carriage so you can’t sleep?”
Chu Fengqing paused for a moment before letting out a soft “En.”
Ji Yujin held the person in his arms and wrapped him tightly with a quilt. He was completely opposite to Chu Fengqing. No matter how cold the weather was, he was like a charcoal stove. He touched Chu Fengqing’s hand. “Why is it so cold? I didn’t think it through. The charcoal stove on the carriage was too small and useless.”
Chu Fengqing also “En”. He originally had his back to Ji Yujin, but now he turned around and faced Ji Yujin, burying his head in the crook of his neck.
Ji Yujin was stunned for a moment. Chu Fengqing’s slightly hot breath hit his skin.
Chu Fengqing felt warm after leaning in his arms for a while. As his body warmed up, he began to feel drowsy. Ji Yujin lowered his voice, “Go to sleep. We have to travel another day tomorrow. If you don’t sleep well tonight, I’m afraid you won’t be able to bear it tomorrow.”
Chu Fengqing blinked but still closed his eyes as he said.
Chu Fengqing could fall asleep here, but Ji Yujin was miserable. His sweetheart was in his arms, and they were both young men full of vigor and vitality. How could he not have other thoughts? It was like a fire burning in his heart, burning his lips and tongue dry. He sighed softly.
As soon as he lowered his head in the firelight, he saw Chu Fengqing’s lips, which were dyed by the temperature. They were not very red, but just slightly white with a hint of blood color. His eyebrows were thinner than those of ordinary men, but the shapes were very beautiful. Chu Fengqing was really handsome, fragile, but not feminine.
Ji Yujin seemed to be possessed. He lowered his head slightly and placed a kiss on his lips. It was very light, and the kiss left immediately, like a dragonfly touching the water.
He didn’t know if it was his illusion or not, but when their lips touched, Chu Fengqing’s breath seemed to be heavier, which scared Ji Yujin so much that he held his breath and dared not move for fear of waking him up.
Fortunately, he waited for a while, and Chu Fengqing didn’t move at all but just buried his head deeper. Maybe he was wrong.
In the silent night, Ji Yujin was very noisy. His eyes became darker and darker as he stared at the person in his arms, like a strong wind sweeping past, and his eyes were instantly filled with overwhelming love and desire.
It’s bad.
Ji Yujin closed his eyes but did not dare to let go of the person in front of him. He could only endure it.
Early the next morning, the fire that had been burning all night was finally extinguished. A few “crackling” sounds were heard, and white smoke climbed endlessly along the sky.
When Chu Fengqing opened his eyes, Ji Yujin was not by his side. He sat up and looked towards the stream with a hint of doubt in his eyes.
After a while, Ji Yujin came back, all damp. Chu Fengqing had already packed up his things and even took out some dry food and heated it up on the charcoal fire, which was still warm.
Chu Fengqing: “You are back, would you like some water?”
Ji Yujin’s adam apple rolled, and he was too embarrassed to say what he had been doing. He sat next to Chu Fengqing and asked, “Are you cold?”
Chu Fengqing: “En, the fire is out. I tried to light it, but it didn’t light up.”
He had never been exposed to these things before. He had asthma, and the kitchen was a smoky and hot place, so his mother never allowed him to go near there. Not to mention, he had almost no experience in the wild.
Ji Yujin laughed, “I thought you were proficient in all eighteen martial arts, but it turns out there are still some you don’t know.”
Chu Fengqing was stunned for a moment. There were so many things he didn’t know, but he felt that Ji Yujin seemed to know a little bit about everything, so he said, “It doesn’t matter. As long as you know it, it will be fine.”
This time it was Ji Yujin’s turn to be stunned. These words could easily be misunderstood. If one dig deeper, they sounded like words expressing one’s true feelings. However, he also knew that Chu Fengqing said these words without any intention, so he smiled and said, “That’s true.”
The fire that was extremely disobedient in front of Chu Fengqing became very obedient in Ji Yujin’s hands. Chu Fengqing seemed unintentional, but in fact he memorized all his steps of lighting the fire in his mind one by one. The steps were obviously the same, so why couldn’t he light it?
No one knew where Qing Niao had gone early in the morning. When he came back, he was holding a bunch of wild fruits in his hands. He handed the fruits to the two of them. Chu Fengqing ate one and it was sour, and sweet and very appetizing.
After the fire was extinguished, Chu Fengqing entered the carriage first, while Ji Yujin and Qing Niao sat outside.
The carriage moved forward slowly and shakily. Qing Niao looked ahead and reported softly, “Someone is following us.”
“Do we have to take action?”
Ji Yujin was playing with a horsewhip in his hand and was not surprised to hear this. He had already discovered it, but he didn’t know who these people were yet. The fact that they hadn’t taken action along the way meant that they would not act rashly, at least not before reaching Jiangnan.
“No, let them follow.” Ji Yujin pressed his brows. He didn’t sleep well last night, and the shaking of the carriage made him feel sleepy. “There must be more than one group of people. Let’s talk about it when we get to Jiangnan.”
He yawned as he spoke, “Qing Niao, steady the carriage. This carriage is shaking and giving me a headache.”
Qing Niao glanced at the whip in Ji Yujin’s hand and expressionlessly said, “Yes.”
He’s just speechless.
On the second night, Chu Fengqing fell asleep again. Ji Yujin was in pain but happy. Late at night, Ji Yujin opened his eyes helplessly. No, he couldn’t sleep. He was not Liu Xiahui1Liu Xiahui was a man of high moral character in ancient China who was not easily tempted by temptations (such as beauty and money). and could not be that gentleman.
The person in front of him was lying defenselessly in his arms, how could he bear it? He lowered his head slightly and pressed his lips on the person’s lips, different from last night when he kissed him quickly, this time he kissed him gently and carefully.
But he always had an illusion that Chu Fengqing’s breathing had changed.
……
The days passed like this, and they didn’t encounter any danger along the way. However, the road was really long, and Chu Fengqing suffered a lot, which made Ji Yujin feel very distressed.
Moreover, Chu Fengqing’s spirit was getting worse and worse, perhaps because he was homesick. When he came here, he had to face the things he had been avoiding these days. When he closed his eyes at night, what appeared in front of him was his eldest brother’s face, or the grand scene of the whole family gathered together. The little things that seemed sparse and ordinary in the past now seemed so vivid.
So out of reach.
Ji Yujin noticed it all. There wasn’t much he could do. The dead cannot be resurrected, but words like “I’m sorry” wouldn’t comfort him at all, so he never said anything and just stayed by his side quietly.
However, apart from what happened to his eldest brother, which cannot be reversed, he can protect the rest of his family, and there will always be a day when they will be reunited.
Just like that, they finally arrived in Jiangnan.
Chu Fengqing went to the escort agency and smoothly got the things. Ji Yujin accompanied him. After they came out, Chu Fengqing didn’t see Qing Niao, so he asked a question.
Ji Yujin: “Qing Niao is busy with other things, but this is the so-called evidence?”
Chu Fengqing nodded. There were two account books, but he didn’t have time to read what was recorded in them yet.
The two returned to Chu Fengqing’s old residence. There was only one servant left guarding the door. When the old servant saw Chu Fengqing, he thought he was dazzled. “Second Young Master, is it really you?”
Chu Fengqing curled his lips slightly. “Uncle Li, thank you for your hard work.”
After confirming that it was really Chu Fengqing, he burst into tears. “Second Young Master, you are finally back. I thought I would never see you all again in this life.”
The old man, with gray hair and a hunched body, cried and laughed at the same time. His hand holding the key trembled several times before he inserted it. “It’s good that you’re back, it’s good that you’re back.”
He glanced behind Chu Fengqing and didn’t see the eldest young master, master, as well as the madam, or young lady. A good family was broken up like this. His mouth flattened, wrinkles piled up, and tears welled up in his turbid eyes again. Afraid of evoking Chu Fengqing’s sadness, he lowered his head and wiped them with his dusty sleeves.
Chu Fengqing felt very uncomfortable, as if his heart were pricked by a needle.
With a creaky sound, the door was pushed open. The inside was clean, but it had an ancient feel. The old house would soon change without people living in it.
Uncle Li: “I come to clean up every day, but I don’t know why, overnight, the fallen leaves and spider webs are everywhere. The lotus leaves in the lotus pond are growing well, but the old servant was helpless with the pond and the rockery. It was not like this before.”
“It’s alright, thank you, Uncle Li.”
Chu Fengqing looked up and saw that the house was still the same house, but it suddenly seemed incredibly large, which he had not felt before.
There were still white sails hanging in the main hall, which had not yet been removed. He walked forward, but his steps were very slow.
Since his elder brother had no remains, only a cenotaph was built. His spirit tablet should have been placed in the ancestral hall, but there were too many things to do at that time, so he didn’t have time to go there, so the spirit tablet is still placed in the lobby.
Chu Fengqing stepped over the threshold, took a stick of incense from the side, lit it, and inserted it into the incense burner. He then looked at the spirit tablet for a long time before whispering, “Brother, I’m back.”
He still feels a little dazed about his elder brother’s death. His eldest brother is often not at home, so sometimes he wonders if his elder brother is still alive and well somewhere.
It happened very suddenly at that time.
As soon as he came back from his medical consultation that day, he heard crying all over the house. A horse was tied outside the house. He suppressed the uncertainty in his heart and walked to the main hall. His mother and sister were already crying. In the middle of the main hall, a soldier in soldier clothes was kneeling on one knee, holding a white flag in his hand, which was used to announce the death.
There was no trace of his elder brother’s body. He was dizzy but could only force himself to find out the whole story. He didn’t know he could be so calm. He sent funeral invitations to relatives and friends and held a funeral. But before the funeral was over, his father, who was rushing back, also encountered another accident.
Then came his sister’s arranged marriage to an eunuch who was murderous and had a perverse temper. One thing after another left him no chance to breathe.
He couldn’t bear to watch his sister die, so he put on the wedding dress to replace her. His sister and mother were reluctant at first, but he was tough for once. He went there with the intention of dying, as long as he could save his father, he didn’t have long to live anyway, so it was still a win after all.
But Ji Yujin is the variable.
Ji Yujin pursed his lips and lit a stick of incense, imitating Chu Fengqing’s actions. Chu Fengqing turned to look at him with a rare burning gaze.
If there is only one lucky thing in this, it is that he met Ji Yujin; otherwise, he doesn’t know what the situation would be like now. Without Ji Yujin’s protection, he and his father would not have survived. At least now the road ahead is much brighter.
So—
Ji Yujin was the only blessing in disguise among all his misfortunes.
