Barging in in the middle of the night without actually harming anyone—instead, he himself looked gravely ill. After saying all that, he still gave her a month’s time?
A month to indulge in her harem? So that things would be fair between them, and they could start anew?
Mingyi was stunned. She had only been joking—how could Ji Bozhai take it seriously?
Zhou Zihong glanced at her face and pursed his lips slightly. “I don’t like him.”
“I don’t like him either, but it seems he has feelings for me.” Mingyi snorted and shrugged.
“If he truly had feelings for you, he wouldn’t have given you the chance to take in a harem.” Zhou Zihong calmly picked up a book.
Mingyi retorted, “Didn’t you see how he rushed over as soon as he heard I favored you? What does that tell you?”
“It tells me that the Minister Superior’s side is full of his spies.” Zhou Zihong sighed and shook his head. “The sooner we root them out, the better.”
Mingyi: “…”
She sobered up.
They say men understand men best. In the past, she had suffered because she didn’t listen to Yan Xiao’s advice. Now, she ought to heed Zhou Zihong’s words more. Who knew if this was just another one of Ji Bozhai’s schemes?
Sniffling, Mingyi yawned and lay back down.
Zhou Zihong turned sideways to shield her from the draft outside, eyeing her coldly. “Minister Superior should rest well. Next time I come, we’ll make up for the unfinished nuptial rites.”
Mingyi choked on a cough and looked up at him, amused. “I was just provoking him—you’re taking it seriously?”
“Does the Minister Superior truly intend to remain chaste for him?” Zhou Zihong lowered his eyes.
“Not exactly. I was raised as a boy, so I don’t place much importance on chastity. But such matters are still intimate and not to be taken lightly. My dear minister, we’ve only known each other for a few days—it’s too soon. In the future, if you meet a pure maiden you truly love, you’ll regret it.”
Zhou Zihong very much wanted to say that men had nothing to regret, but recalling her earlier words to Ji Bozhai, he held his tongue.
The Minister Superior’s upbringing was too unusual, leading to equally unusual thoughts. But Zhou Zihong felt her views wouldn’t hold up—this world was, after all, still a man’s world. Even if, centuries later, women truly stood as equals to men, the concept of chastity would still only bind women.
Still, he would remain devoted to her alone. He had no intention of ending up like Ji Bozhai.
Yan Xiao was deep in slumber when Granny Xun suddenly roused him, hurrying him to Ji Bozhai’s palace.
Muttering as he walked, he complained, “The last dose of medicine was so strong—as long as he eats and sleeps on time, he’ll recover. What’s the rush…”
Before he could finish, he spotted Ji Bozhai sitting on the roof of his palace from afar, a jar of wine in hand, pouring it down his throat.
Yan Xiao jolted awake in alarm and flew up to urgently grab his arm.
Great—the jar was already empty.
Furious, he smacked Ji Bozhai’s hand. “What are you doing? Drinking while you’re sick?”
Eyes bleary with drunkenness, Ji Bozhai stared at the dark sky without a word.
Yan Xiao tossed the jar aside and sat down next to him with a huff. “Where does it hurt?”
Ji Bozhai pointed to his chest. “Here.”
“I treat rare diseases, not heartaches.” Yan Xiao rolled his eyes.
“Rare diseases?” Ji Bozhai turned to look at him and suddenly asked, “Is there a medicine that can make me… clean?”
“Huh?”
“Before her, I’ve slept with… well, this many women.” He held up both hands to illustrate.Yan Xiao was stunned. "You're really being honest."
"She thinks I'm dirty." Ji Bozhai pouted, looking at him. "I want to wash myself clean."
"That kind of thing can't be washed away." Yan Xiao waved his hand. "Just settle down. It's all part of your past—what does 'dirty' even mean?"
"You don't understand." He shook his finger, the flush on his face growing more pronounced. "Before you meet the one you love, those things are just experiences. But once you do, they become stains."
He used to take pride in his romantic escapades—and it wasn't just him. All the men of the Azure Cloud Realm prided themselves on their charm, after all. Having so many women willing to follow him without titles or status was proof of his undeniable appeal.
But tonight, standing outside her door, he suddenly wished he hadn’t been so reckless in the past. He wished he were clean, untainted. Then he could righteously sweep her into his arms and righteously drive Zhou Zihong away—because the only thing he’d owe her was his heart, nothing else.
Yet, as things stood, not only Zhou Zihong—if she wanted to favor every single person in his rear courtyard one by one, he had no right to stop her.
No right to stop her, but an overwhelming desire to do so. And so, he had become a resentful, pitiable figure.
He didn’t want to be like this.
Eyes bloodshot, Ji Bozhai looked at Yan Xiao and asked, "Why didn’t I meet her sooner?"
Yan Xiao scoffed. "If you’d met her earlier, you wouldn’t have been such a rake?"
"Mm." He nodded.
Yan Xiao didn’t believe him. "That kind of nature is ingrained. A rogue never truly reforms—he just gets tired and takes a break. We’re both men. Who are you trying to fool?"
"If that’s how you see me, then why didn’t you warn Mingyi to stay away from me when you were spying on me for Ming An?"
A sudden night wind howled past their ears.
Yan Xiao stiffened, wondering if he’d misheard. But when he turned, he saw the glimmer of sobriety in Ji Bozhai’s gaze.
"You…" He swallowed. "Since when did you know?"
"The first time I came to Sunspire City, I had someone investigate the Yan clan." Half-drunk, half-lucid, Ji Bozhai studied him deeply. "Among Ming An’s wife’s relatives, there was someone named Yan Xiao too. What a coincidence, don’t you think?"
Ming An had once claimed he’d had people watching Ji Bozhai since childhood. In the chaos of the Slave Arena, that was understandable. But even after Ji Bozhai left the arena—even after he entered officialdom—Ming An still knew things he shouldn’t have. That was suspicious.
So he’d had Yan Xiao’s background checked. The man had no parents or relatives in Star Yearn City. Every year during the Six Cities Tournament, he would travel to Sunspire City with the Star Yearn delegation, but he always slipped away from the group for a day or two, claiming he needed to buy supplies.
Yet, upon returning, he never brought anything extra back.
These details were easy to uncover. Ji Bozhai had just never suspected him before.
Still, Yan Xiao had never truly harmed him—he wasn’t the one who’d poisoned him—and the two of them got along too well. So Ji Bozhai had never planned to confront him. It was only now, with Ming An about to be released from the Star Yearn Slave Arena, that he suddenly felt the need to mention it.
Yan Xiao dropped to his knees, his face pale.
Ji Bozhai hauled him up and sat him back down. "When I said Prince Ping died from forget-me-not poison, you didn’t expose me. Instead, you helped divert suspicion—even when it fell on Mingyi, you still stood by me."He thought about this and realized that the other truly regarded him as a friend, which was why he could sit together with him so naturally.
Yan Xiao was stunned for a long moment before sighing. "I've repaid what I owed Ming An, only to end up owing you now."
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