Volume Five: River's Breath, Ancient Life - Chapter 152

At night, Jinli leaned against the window lattice, gazing into the distance at the bright moon hanging in the firmament. After an unknown passage of time, a voice sounded once more, tinged with a trace of impatience and disgust, "Close the window."

Jinli turned her head to look. The person looked identical to Nanmo, yet the emotions in his eyes were worlds apart; this person's gaze was ice-cold. She remembered the chilling soul needles from that night.

Nanshuang.

Nanshuang stared at her with cold eyes.

Jinli smiled gently, "Open the window a bit, I want to get some fresh air."

Yet Nanshuang showed no intention of humoring her, instead waving her hand and ruthlessly shutting the window. With a sharp bang, Jinli's fingers were caught in the gap, and blood instantly welled up from her middle finger. She furrowed her brows slightly.

Nanshuang's temper remained exactly as it had been before.

However, considering the hour, why hadn't Gengyuan returned yet? Was he even going to sleep here tonight? If he was, she could not remain here.

"Where is your Monarch?"

Nanshuang placed the food and medicine down with a frosty expression, then said with utter impatience, "The Monarch has myriad affairs of state to attend to." The subtext was that he would not be coming. She stood up and cast an assessing glance at Jinli from head to toe. "In the future, do not bother the Monarch over every little thing. The Monarch has no time to play games with you."

With that, she closed the door and left, muttering a curse under her breath just before departing, "Such a troublesome creature."

Though the voice was quiet, Jinli heard it crystal clear.

It was already so late; she wondered if he had eaten.

It was not as though she hadn't noticed the exhaustion dwelling between Gengyuan's brows day after day, yet she had no idea what he was perpetually busy with.

Should she go and check on him? And he had consumed so much alcohol, too.

After weighing her options, Jinli eventually draped a cloak over her shoulders, gathered the side dishes and pastries that Nanshuang had brought, and set out to find Gengyuan.

She had not stepped foot out of the North Courtyard for quite some time. Arriving at the entrance, she half-expected to find guards stationed there, only to discover that there was not a soul in sight.

If he were dealing with official matters, he ought to be in either the Scripture Pavilion or the study.

"Jiang Ji."

She intercepted Jiang Ji as he walked toward her. Upon seeing her, Jiang Ji was momentarily startled, and just as he was about to tell Jinli to return, Jinli spoke up first, "Jiang Ji, where is your Monarch? I brought some pastries for him."

Jiang Ji glanced at the food box in Jinli's hands and then said, "The Monarch is in the South Pavilion, and has given orders that no outsiders are to disturb him."

"How long has he been there?"

"Ever since he left the North Courtyard today, he has remained in the South Pavilion."

Jinli caught the worry etched between Jiang Ji's brows.

In truth, Jiang Ji was well aware that his Monarch was merely at odds with Goddess Changli; the knot in the Monarch's heart could only be undone by the Goddess herself.

Yet seeing the Goddess looking so frail and sickly, he felt a measure of anxiety. The Monarch had specifically issued an order forbidding the Goddess from stepping even half a step outside the North Courtyard. At the time, he hadn't understood why, but now, seeing Jinli's appearance, everything became crystal clear.

Jinli offered a faint smile, "Very well, I shall go and take a look now."

Jiang Ji made to follow, but Jinli turned her head and said, "There is no need to follow me."

Perhaps tonight would be her final opportunity. With only the last step remaining, once she had resolved every single matter, she would make everything clear to him.

Jinli stood outside the South Pavilion, her gaze gradually drifting down to the food box in her hands.

Inside, the young man was hunched over his desk, gazing at a portrait spread across it, his pitch-black eyes filled with profound affection.

The person in the painting possessed an ethereal grace, peerless and transcendent.

The corners of her lips curved into a faint smile, her peach-blossom eyes brimming with mirth, draped in a moon-white dress, as holy and immaculate as a deity.

The edges of the scroll were slightly yellowed, yet it had been meticulously and tenderly preserved.

Anyone could tell that the owner of this scroll cherished it deeply.

*Tap, tap, tap*

"Who is it?"

"Nanshuang begs an audience with the Monarch on an urgent matter."

The young man raised his hand and hurriedly rolled up the portrait, the deep affection in his dark eyes instantly morphing into gloom. "Enter."

Nanshuang stepped inside and offered a bow, "Monarch, this subordinate noticed that Goddess Changli meddled with the food box."

"That food box..." Before she could finish her sentence, the sound of footsteps reached them, accompanied by a young woman's gentle voice calling out the young man's name in a tender tone.

The young man's heart tightened instantly.

He cast a sideways glance at Nanshuang.

He had intended to dismiss her, but right at that moment, Jinli had already stepped inside.

Upon entering, Jinli saw that the place where the young man was formerly so fond of lingering now found him leaning back against his chair, one hand lightly resting against his temple. When he looked up at her, the gloomy gaze in his eyes lifted.

It made her heart skip a beat.

"You are discussing matters? I shall return later, then."

Just as she turned to leave, the young man had already caught sight of the food box in her hands, and the fingers holding it—red, swollen, and laced with traces of blood.

She was injured?

Deep within his heart, a wave of panic surged. He lowered his hand and stood up. "There is no need. Whatever business you have, speak of it here."

Jinli looked at Nanshuang, then back at Gengyuan. After all, Gengyuan was a young man full of hot blood, and Nanshuang bore a striking resemblance to Nanmo. Aside from their differing temperaments, there should be no other distinctions. Perhaps Gengyuan was projecting his longing for Nanmo onto Nanshuang.

It was only natural.

"That wouldn't be proper." In case she ruined his good time and her request to step outside for half a day was rejected, wouldn't that mean the loss outweighed the gain?

The moment she finished speaking, a fit of coughing seized her.

She covered her lips with her sleeve.

The young man's brows knitted together tightly.

He strode directly down, took the food box from her hands, and after glancing inside, instantly felt that his actions were somewhat unbefitting. He abruptly set it down on the table with a show of great impatience and commanded Nanshuang, "You may withdraw."

Jinli watched as Nanshuang left, her expression filled with biting coldness and resentment.

Once Nanshuang had departed, Jinli saw the young man's silhouette frozen in place, his back turned to her.

Jinli did her utmost to banish the frailty from between her brows, forcing out a smile, "You must be hungry. I noticed you haven't been eating much, so I brought some food for you."

The young man stared at the pastries inside the food box, his eyes extraordinarily complex.

He slowly raised his gaze, looking at her with absolute calm, "Do you wish for me to eat this?"

Jinli was somewhat perplexed, "...Of course."

The corners of the young man's lips curled into a smile, yet Jinli saw that his pitch-black pupils, illuminated by the candlelight, were coated with a thin layer of mist, and beneath that mist lay profound sorrow.

Yet why would he ask such a thing?

Jinli sat down beside him. The young man's slender, well-formed fingers picked up a piece of jasmine pastry, his gaze gradually turning playful.

So this was what Nanshuang had meant when she spoke of a poisoned food box and poisoned pastries.

Did she desire his death that much?

With reddened eyes, the young man gazed at the young woman before him, hatred and love intertwined inextricably within him.

He demanded, "Why did you do this?"

Jinli was startled. Could it be that he already knew she wanted to use a few pastries to bribe him into letting her out for half a day?

She hesitated for a brief moment, masking her reaction with a smile, "...It's nothing. I just saw how exhausting these past few days have been for you. Hurry up and eat."

Jinli turned around to pour him a cup of tea.

"I want you to feed me."

What? Eating a pastry required someone else to feed him now?

Seeing the stubbornness lingering in the depths of the young man's eyes, Jinli was left between laughter and tears.

She reached out to do as he asked, but the young man suddenly dodged, fixing her with a direct, unblinking stare. "Feed me with your mouth."

The young man certainly knew how to play games.

Even more so than Huaigui.

Jinli took a deep breath, "Very well."

A flicker crossed the young man's eyes: even in death, she belonged to him.

Jinli bit down on a piece of pastry, holding it between her lips. Before she had time to react, the young man reached out with a large hand to steady the back of her head, while his other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her forcefully into his embrace. As a kiss descended, the pastry between her lips was stolen away, replaced by the soft, warm sensation of the young man's lips.

A blush crept across her cheeks.

Her body instantly turned weak and pliable.

This continued until the young man swallowed the pastry down.

The faint fragrance of jasmine lingered gently around them both.

The young man rasped in a hoarse voice, "Goddess Changli, do you truly believe that this Monarch wouldn't dare to kill you?"

What?

The young man abruptly gripped her hand tighter, and with a sweep of his other hand, the pastries and the food box on the table crashed down onto the floor.

The fury and hatred in his eyes were profound.

Jinli was utterly bewildered, "What is wrong with you?"

"I have eaten the pastries. You may leave now." The young man no longer wished to offer her any further explanations. The anger raging in his heart had gradually disrupted his train of thought, and whether it was due to the poison beginning to take effect or not, he was now plagued with turmoil, his singular desire being to rid his sight of her.

Jinli looked at the young man's increasingly erratic demeanor, "What is wrong with you? Are you in pain somewhere?"

The moment she touched the young man's hand, he violently swatted her away.

Shocked, her gaze instantly fell upon the shattered pieces of pastry scattered across the floor.

There was something wrong with these pastries.

Panic began to taint her expression, "No, it's not like that, it's not like that! These pastries aren't me..."

"Not you? Goddess Changli, since you've already done it, there is no need to put on such a hypocritical act. This Monarch has no desire to play along with your charade."

Jinli immediately went to support the young man, helping him sit down before instantly checking his pulse. However, this was not the pulse of someone poisoned, but rather...

She raised her gaze to find the young man's face flushed crimson, his eyes hazy and adrift, listening to his increasingly ragged breathing...

This was... an aphrodisiac meant for immortal companions.