Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 20
Zi Jin turned her gaze to Jun Chi, who had been quietly eating his snacks, and placed the next mouthful of soup near Jun Chi's lips.
Jun Chi was slightly taken aback and looked at Zi Jin, puzzled.
happy Bao said, "The master said that we should share happiness and hardship. Since Your Highness just ate her dessert, we should drink this soup together."
As soon as happy Bao finished speaking, Yu Luo gave her a murderous glare. happy Bao shrank back and uneasily took a step back.
Jun Chi looked up at Zi Jin's pleading eyes, unconsciously opened his mouth slowly, obediently swallowed the soup, frowned slightly, but did not complain at all.
The soup was finished in a few sips from Zi Jin and a large mouthful from Jun Chi.
Yu Luo looked helplessly at Zi Jin's smug expression, sighed silently, and then said, "This place is not like the General's Mansion, so why do you have to provoke the Crown Prince?"
Zi Jin shook her head, thinking to herself: Being alive in this life is a gift from heaven, and I will never suppress my thoughts. The deep palace is so lonely, with little fun to offer, and provoking those in power is one of her wicked pleasures. Emperor Xuanlong is, after all, the emperor, and I don't want to die young, but the crown prince has no power to kill me. Why should I put up with his arrogant face?
“If we were outside, I would never let you suffer. But now that we are in the inner palace, I… I no longer wish to watch you suffer. I only ask that you be patient for a few more days and wait for the general to return.” Yu Luo’s eyes were already red when she finished speaking.
Zi Jin looked at Yu Luo in a panic. Strangely, Yu Luo never referred to herself as a servant in front of her, nor had she ever shed tears in front of her. What was wrong with her?
"Brother Jin, I will definitely protect you..." Jun Chi stood up hurriedly, looked at Yu Luo anxiously, and words of comfort slipped out of his mouth.
Zi Jin looked at Jun Chi in surprise, thinking to herself: So your stuttering is just an act, just like my muteness?
"I...I...I got anxious...I got anxious and...I blurted it out. I...I don't know...how...how could this happen." Jun Chi looked at Zi Jin with embarrassment.
Zi Jin sighed in disappointment; it turned out that she could only speak in complete sentences when she got excited.
A glint of light flashed in Yu Luo's eyes as she glanced meaningfully at Jun Chi before standing quietly to the side.
Following the successive victories in the war against the Moon Kingdom, Zi Jin also welcomed the second heavy snowfall of the winter in the Moon Kingdom. The weather after the snow was exceptionally clear and exceptionally cold, but the royal palace racecourse was bustling with activity.
Zi Jin's mood today is as bright and cheerful as the weather.
In her past life, she had wanted to run a few laps on the horse track countless times, but her busy work and fast-paced lifestyle made her keep putting it off until this life when she finally had the chance to do so.
Zi Jin gazed at the dashing steeds in the palace stables, her eyes shining, secretly fantasizing about the handsome horses countless times.
Jun Lin is utterly shameless.
When the Master was distributing horses, everyone else chose their horses from the palace stables, but Zi Jin was different; His Highness the Crown Prince personally bestowed upon her a horse.
Amidst the gloating gazes of the crowd and the sympathetic looks of the teacher, Zi Jin led an old horse, nearly bald and toothless, to the teacher's side. Her eyes were bloodshot as she glared at the smiling, pig-headed prince, countless vicious revenge schemes swirling in her mind.
At the master's command, everyone mounted their horses, and Zi Jin reluctantly got on.
The horses galloped away, but Zi Jin's old horse walked with trembling steps.
Jun Chi looked uneasily at Zi Jin's extremely foul face. He had originally wanted to switch horses with Zi Jin, but Jun Lin stopped him. Now he could only silently follow Zi Jin.
Jun Lin, riding the tall and majestic Xuechi, followed leisurely to Zi Jin's left: "Dumb girl! Are you satisfied with the precious steed I bestowed upon you?" His voice was loud and full of pride.
Zi Jin glanced at Jun Lin with a forced smile: "I'll definitely doubly reward you in the future! Thank you, Your Highness, you pig-headed Crown Prince, for the gift of the horse!"
Jun Lin, without changing her expression, pulled out her hairpin and laughed, "This horse must be lazy and unwilling to move. Watch me teach it a lesson!" With that, she poked the old horse's rump with the hairpin.
This horse was already at the age where it was well-fed and ready to die, and it hadn't received such treatment in a long time. Originally, it had already reached its physical limit carrying the rider, but now, this hairpin had completely unleashed the horse's potential that had been buried for many years. With a long neigh, it leaped out with great force.
Zi Jin was extremely flustered and could only rely on the techniques of the new teachings of Confucius to hug Old Ma's neck tightly, while still thinking about inviting the pig-headed prince's ancestors from their graves to greet them one by one.
Jun Chi hurriedly spurred his horse to catch up: "Stirrups! Put your feet in the stirrups!"
Seeing Zi Jin's pale face and helpless, panicked eyes, Jun Chi gritted his teeth and lunged at her.
Zi Jin and Jun Chi both fell off their horses. Jun Chi held Zi Jin tightly in his arms, and the two rolled down the slope together.
"Did you fall?!"
Jun Chi's arms, covered in scars, and his concerned eyes caused the terrified Zi Jin to burst into tears.
"So, that mute can not only laugh but also cry." Crown Prince Jun Lin dismounted with a smug smile and strolled over.
Zi Jin raised her face, staring at Jun Lin with eyes full of hatred: If you're so ruthless, don't blame me for being merciful. You little brat, I'll watch you cry with a smile as you die!
Back at Taiping Pavilion, Yu Luo silently applied medicine to Zi Jin and Jun Chi. The low pressure in the air silenced even the usually talkative Xi Bao.
After applying the medicine, Zi Jin hugged Jun Chi and stared blankly. Yu Luo, the only one in Taiping Pavilion who knew Zi Jin's true identity as a girl, had repeatedly tried to dissuade her from such inappropriate behavior, but to no avail, and finally gave up trying to say more.
Jun Chi craved the warmth of Zi Jin's embrace, going from a slight unease at first to an insatiable longing later on.
"Brother Jin...brother...we're not...we're not hurt, are we? So...please don't...please don't be angry."
Zi Jin rolled her eyes at Jun Chi, thinking to herself: You brat! What do you know? This is about dignity! How could I, a transmigrated woman of the new era, be bullied so utterly by a fourteen-year-old kid from ancient times!
Zi Jin suddenly turned her gaze to the bottles and jars she had developed, and a plan came to her mind: You may have your clever schemes, but I have my countermeasures. Don't blame me for being ruthless this time. I will make you hate yourself for offending me.
Zi Jin's eerie smile sent a chill down Jun Chi's spine as he was held in her arms.
Since its founding, the Yue Kingdom has built a family temple for the Nalan Nan family of the previous dynasty, ten miles outside the imperial city. This temple is built symmetrically with the imperial city, facing each other from afar.
On the day Emperor Xuanlong ascended the throne, he established a rule that the future successor of the Yue Kingdom must personally visit the Nalan Nan clan's ancestral temple on the thirteenth day of the twelfth lunar month to pray for the prosperity of the country and good fortune in the coming year.
When this rule was first established, it was met with skepticism and opposition from many officials.
The ministers all said: "The Nalan Southern Clan's incense offerings have been exhausted, the dynasty has been torn apart, and the Yue Kingdom is now the Jun Dynasty. Why should we still worship that nation that wiped out our clan?!"
Unexpectedly, these words enraged Emperor Xuanlong, who ordered all the ministers who participated in the discussion to be executed by being cut in half at the waist. From then on, the ministers had no further objections.
Attentive people will notice that the thirteenth day of the twelfth lunar month is the birthday of the former Empress Yanzai.