VBNWDW - Chapter 118
Chapter 118
As the morning sun spilled into the room, the other side of the gray wall was bustling and noisy. The Daoist priests, having finished their morning lessons, were heading to the dining hall in unison.
But inside the gray walls, even the windows were shut tight. The only sound in the room was a slow, long breath. The wine on the low table was still unfinished, the remaining half giving off a faint fragrance, while the pastries beside it had grown hard and dry.
After a short while, a sound finally came from behind the bed curtains. First, a low hum, which then stopped abruptly.
Zhong Jueyu's eyes snapped open. The haze had not yet cleared from them, but a sliver of clarity had already emerged. She looked down to see the person in her arms still sleeping soundly.
She paused for a moment as the memories of last night flooded her mind.
If she weren't certain of her own high tolerance for alcohol, she would have thought everything that had happened was a drunken fantasy.
However, other things soon reminded her that it had all been very real—for instance, her slightly swollen, aching lips, and the little Daoist's hand, which had once again found its way inside her robes.
She didn't know what kind of obsession this person had. No matter how many times she pulled the hand out during the night, it would find its way back, accompanied by unconscious whimpers, as if someone had wronged her.
Zhong Jueyu felt helpless. Too lazy to pull the hand out again, she resigned herself and closed her eyes.
The summer night was stuffy, and with two people pressed together, the quilt had been pushed down to their waists. A thin layer of sweat formed where their skin touched, making it sticky and uncomfortable.
Zhong Jueyu shifted back slightly, trying to create a small gap.
But the person in her arms was a rogue, seeming to subconsciously fear she would run away. Every inch Zhong Jueyu moved, she would follow, and the hand inside her robes tightened its grip.
Zhong Jueyu drew in a soft breath. If she wasn't sure the person was still asleep, she would have suspected Luo Yueqing was doing it on purpose.
She thought for a moment and decided to do as she had before: first, pull out the restless paw, then slowly move away.
So she raised her hand and grasped the other's wrist. Her grip was extremely light, her movements incredibly slow. Not even when she had practiced slicing tofu pudding to improve her swordsmanship had she been so careful and meticulous.
The person in her arms was the worst. A single, unconscious syllable could make Zhong Jueyu pause for a long time, yet she herself slept on sweetly.
The palm that usually seemed fair now felt unusually rough. The complex, messy lines of her palm slid across delicate skin, creating a strange itch.
Zhong Jueyu could only endure it, pulling the hand out bit by bit. Since it wasn't the first time, she was quite practiced. Just as she was halfway done and about to breathe a sigh of relief, she saw the other's eyelids flutter.
Zhong Jueyu's body stiffened.
Luo Yueqing reached out, hugged her tightly, and then rubbed against her chest with extreme naturalness, murmuring drowsily, "Jinyan, you're awake?"
Her voice was hazy and indistinct, making it hard to catch the words. She was clearly half-asleep, completely unaware of what had happened, acting purely on instinct.
Being held by the waist was better than being groped in certain places.
Zhong Jueyu quietly sighed in relief and hugged her back, responding in a low voice, "I'm awake."
She gently patted the other's back, her hand sliding softly downward, as if coaxing a child.
This person was grumpy when she woke up and wouldn't be fully alert for a while. She simply lazed in the Grand Princess's arms, brazenly enjoying her care.
The sunlight filtering through the window cast a long shadow on the floor, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air.
Even with the curtains drawn, the bright light couldn't be completely blocked out. The small space was cast in a half-lit, half-dark ambiance that made drowsiness linger.
Luo Yueqing took a while to recover before hugging the other person tighter and repeating her question, "You're awake?"
When the other finally answered, Luo Yueqing lifted a long leg and draped it over Zhong Jueyu's body, clinging to her even tighter like a koala. "Why are you up so early?" she asked.
If anyone else in Xuanmiao Temple heard her, they would surely curse her for being lazy. Everyone else was nearly done with breakfast, yet these two were still lazing in bed.
But Zhong Jueyu replied gently, "It's not early."
"Sleepy," Luo Yueqing complained clingily.
"Want to sleep a little longer?" Zhong Jueyu asked.
She had already informed the temple master that neither of them needed to attend morning lessons during this time. Their so-called instruction was just a formality, so sleeping in a little longer wouldn't matter.
Luo Yueqing's reply was slow. After a long moment, she shook her head and mumbled, "Time to get up."
But despite her words, she made no move to do so.
Zhong Jueyu was helpless. She decided to lie with her a bit longer, but the little Daoist was not one to behave. Her hand slipped under the hem of Zhong Jueyu's clothes and came to rest on her flat stomach, pressing against the well-defined lines.
This wasn't something too difficult to accept, so the Grand Princess didn't stop her. But the other person didn't know when to quit, treating her abdominal muscles like the strings of a zither, plucking at them again and again.
"Don't mess around…" Zhong Jueyu finally said, her voice raspy with lingering sleepiness.
"I'm not," the other replied shamelessly, able to say such a thing with a straight face.
Her mischievous fingers didn't stop, their slightly rough pads tracing down the V-line until they met the barrier of fabric. But she was not one to retreat and even tried to continue…
Zhong Jueyu grabbed her wrist, pulled it up with a bit of force, and pinned it against the pillow.
The positions were suddenly reversed. The troublemaking little Daoist was pressed into the bed as Zhong Jueyu rose up, blocking her view.
"Don't mess around," Zhong Jueyu said again. The earlobes beneath her hair were faintly red, and the ripples in her eyes were so tender they made her seem impossibly gentle.
The little Daoist pinned beneath her was unrepentant, even showing a trace of childish pride. "Jinyan," she called out again.
"Hm?"
The person beneath her tilted her head up and gently bit her trembling throat.
Her slightly sharp canine teeth slid over the curved skin. Zhong Jueyu seemed to swallow, a movement Luo Yueqing couldn't possibly miss.
Who knew where she had learned such tricks? Master Qingyue was not as elegant and well-behaved as she appeared on the surface.
Zhong Jueyu could only lower her head and press her lips against the other's unruly ones as a form of punishment.
As the Daoists dispersed, the midday break arrived quietly, and the surroundings grew peaceful again. The soft rustling of a broom sweeping the ground could be heard in the distance.
People are always clingy at the beginning of a relationship. Even as reason warned her again and again, she couldn't help but sink into this vexing, tender trap, falling deeper and deeper.
Her grip on the other's hand loosened, and the other person easily escaped. Her arm then hooked around Zhong Jueyu's neck, pulling her back down into the bed.
The overburdened wooden bed let out a creak, a feeble protest.
Zhong Jueyu was on top, seemingly in a dominant position, but in reality, she could only let the other do as she pleased, their lips grinding together, from the corners inward, over and over again.
It wasn't until the afternoon, when the sun was beginning to set, that the long-waiting Li Shigui and Ruan He finally saw Zhong Jueyu arrive.
The two of them, sitting in a small rented courtyard, immediately stood up and called out, "Your Highness!"
Li Shigui had dark circles under her eyes, a clear sign of a sleepless night. She took a step forward and said, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince left in such a hurry yesterday…"
She trailed off, her face full of worry.
The two of them had only been following from a distance and couldn't show themselves when the Crown Prince appeared, lest he complain to His Majesty again that they were guarding against him. So when the Crown Prince came up the mountain yesterday, they could only hide in the small courtyard, not daring to approach.
"We had a bit of an argument. It's nothing," Zhong Jueyu reassured them. Her usually clear voice was a little hoarse, and she adjusted her collar.
But the two, caught up in their complex emotions, didn't notice. Li Shigui quickly brought over a stool for Zhong Jueyu to sit on.
She continued, "After the Crown Prince stormed down the mountain yesterday, he went straight to the palace. I don't know what he discussed with His Majesty, but first, the head of the Luo Family was summoned. Then, late at night, an imperial edict was suddenly issued, demoting Xu Kai, A'Ran, and the others. The Liang brothers were sent to guard the city gates because some fault was found with their families."
Xu Kai, A'Ran, and the others had all returned from Yuzhou with her and were considered her trusted subordinates.
Ruan He, standing beside her, added, "Everyone is extremely dissatisfied with this decision. His Majesty dragged his feet on issuing rewards, and when he finally did, it was overt praise but a covert demotion. By night, he wasn't even pretending anymore."
She looked at Zhong Jueyu and said, "Xu Kai and the others are raising a huge fuss, feeling that His Majesty's actions are outrageous. There's also great discontent in the army… in the army. Aside from the group that follows the Crown Prince, almost everyone has received this kind of treatment."
The more Zhong Jueyu listened, the deeper her frown became. She knew this was all to keep her in check.
She fell silent for a moment, then asked, "What were you two rewarded with?"
"Junior fifth-rank, General of Guerrilla Cavalry," Ruan He replied.
She and Li Shigui had repeatedly performed great deeds, especially in the battle for Yuzhou. Ruan He's surprise tactics had cut the campaign time by more than half, and Li Shigui had risked her life to be the first to charge into the city and behead its lord.
These achievements alone were enough to warrant a fourth-rank title. In the army, they were second only to Zhong Jueyu, with duties equivalent to a senior third-rank general. Yet upon returning to the capital, they were given a measly junior fifth-rank position.
If this was their treatment, one could only imagine how the others had fared.
Zhong Jueyu thought of the two brothers sent to guard the city gates, and her expression darkened further.
Neither in the previous dynasty nor the current one was there any precedent for sending meritorious officials to guard the city gates. When others saw this, who knew how disheartened they would be? And yet, His Majesty didn't seem to care at all.
As the red sun sank, the distant sky was painted with rich, dazzling sunset clouds. Smoke rose from cooking fires at the foot of the mountain, and the shadows on the ground stretched longer and longer.
Ruan He and Li Shigui stood to the side. Since their last attempt at persuasion had failed, this time they could only stand there, their eyes filled with indignation.
After a long while, Zhong Jueyu finally spoke. "It is His Majesty and the Crown Prince who refuse to trust me. I have implicated you all for nothing."
Li Shigui was blunt and immediately blurted out, "How is this Your Highness's fault? If anyone's to blame, it's them!"
Ruan He, however, seemed to realize something. She tugged on Li Shigui's sleeve and looked at Zhong Jueyu.
Zhong Jueyu seemed to smile, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, tinged with the coolness of the changing light. "Yesterday, the Crown Prince sought me out," she said. "He berated me for being a mere woman, saying that no matter how much I do, I will never measure up to him."
Hearing this, Ruan He and Li Shigui grew even more furious. Everyone had seen how incompetent the Crown Prince was. In private, they had lamented countless times that if Her Highness had been a man, the position of Crown Prince would never have been his.
And yet, not only was he not ashamed, he was proud of it?
Before Ruan He and Li Shigui could speak, Zhong Jueyu changed the subject. "How long have you two been with me?"
It had been so long, and they had been so young at the time, that the memories were hazy.
Ruan He thought for a moment before giving a vague answer, "It should be seventeen years."
They were selected to enter the palace by the Empress at the age of five and were now twenty-two.
Zhong Jueyu seemed moved. "Seventeen years," she sighed.
Her eyes held a complex mix of emotions as she reminisced, "Back then, we were only so tall. I even promised you that I would build you grand mansions and make you high-ranking officials in the future."
The words of childhood were naive yet sincere, and they had not faded with the passage of time. They still echoed in their ears today.
Thinking back to that time, Li Shigui couldn't help but smile. "Your Highness, you were only four then, even younger than us. You were wearing ceremonial robes and looked more mature than we did. Ruan He and I were completely stunned by what you said."
Ruan He also laughed. "She couldn't sleep that night. She kept tossing and turning, trying to decide which plot of land in the capital to build her house on."
"Is that so?" Zhong Jueyu tilted her head, looking at Li Shigui. "Which plot did you choose?"
The orange light of dusk fell upon the three of them, softening their outlines and adding a touch of warmth.
Li Shigui scratched her head and said, "It was claimed by the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor long ago. He moved his whole family in a few years back."
The smile on Zhong Jueyu's lips froze. "I have been useless," she said. "You have been wronged."
"What does this have to do with Your Highness! It was just a childish fantasy," Li Shigui quickly said, shaking her head.
"Then let's pick a new one," Zhong Jueyu said, looking at her with great solemnity. "This time, I promise you will get your wish."
As her words fell, the two across from her were first stunned, then overjoyed.
"Your Highness, you've finally seen the light!" Li Shigui looked like she wanted to jump for joy.
Ruan He was all smiles, clenching her fists in excitement.
Zhong Jueyu hadn't expected them to be so happy. She paused for a moment, then, as if a great weight had been lifted, her straight shoulders relaxed slightly. Her features softened as she said, "Then let's fight for it."
Let's see who was more fit to sit on that dragon throne—her or the Crown Prince.
All her tolerance, all her supposed filial piety, had only made the Crown Prince more and more audacious, repeatedly coveting what was hers and making those around her suffer.
Zhong Jueyu rubbed her face, her voice almost too low to hear. "Elder Brother… this time, you've gone too far."
The red sun set behind the mountains. As night fell, Ruan He and Li Shigui hurried down the mountain, carrying Zhong Jueyu's instructions as they rode swiftly toward the capital.
That night, lights burned late in scattered residences all over the capital. Those who received the news found it hard to sleep. Some were eager for action, some hesitated, and some were both shocked and delighted. But everyone knew that the skies of Great Liang were about to change.
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