Chapter 4: Home-style Tofu (IV)
The study wasn't far from their bedroom - just a left turn out the door, through a moon gate, around a large locust tree, and a few more steps would bring them there.
When they were still three to five steps away from the study entrance, Leng Yue suddenly halted. Jing Yi, following closely behind, nearly collided with her back.
"What's wrong?"
Leng Yue frowned and spoke in a low voice, "There's someone in the study."
Indeed, from the study came the muffled groans of someone trying to shout but unable to make a sound with their mouth tightly covered. A man's voice, very low, almost imperceptible beneath the sound of morning wind rustling leaves in the courtyard.
Just as Jing Yi began to discern the faint noise, a series of clear, loud sounds came from inside - "thump," "crash," "clatter."
That sounded like...
Before Leng Yue could step forward, a gust of wind swept past her, and a window not far from the door creaked open inward.
Leng Yue froze momentarily, glancing sideways only to discover Jing Yi had already disappeared.
That just now...
Jing Yi?
She had long known Jing Yi possessed exceptionally refined lightness skills - so extraordinary that even the imperial guards found them troublesome, but...
Jing Yi had never demonstrated them in front of her, not even once.
In the moment Leng Yue stood stunned, Uncle Qi's heart-wrenching wail came from the study.
"My lord!"
Such wails never boded well. Leng Yue's heart tightened. Without further thought, she leaped through the wide-open window. Before her feet had even landed steadily, she saw Jing Yi standing rigidly in the room. Beside his feet lay a fallen flower stand, all three flowerpots shattered into fragments, soil scattered everywhere. Uncle Qi, covered in dirt, was clinging to Jing Yi's chest, weeping bitterly while pounding Jing Yi's shoulders with both fists.
"You truly are my dear lord!"
Leng Yue's legs trembled, nearly causing her to collapse to the ground.
Jing Yi was equally bewildered. The moment he leaped into the room, he saw Uncle Qi covering his own mouth while collapsing to the ground along with the flower stand. Before he could bend down to help him up, Uncle Qi scrambled to his feet and came crying and shouting as he threw himself at him...
"Uncle Qi... what, what's going on?"
Stunned by Jing Yi's question, Uncle Qi finally realized how improper his behavior was and quickly stopped pounding Jing Yi's shoulders. But he clearly couldn't stop crying immediately, temporarily unable to speak through his sobs.
Leng Yue instinctively looked toward the box containing the charred corpse. Before her gaze could settle on the box, she saw a person dressed in servant's clothing lying in front of it.
Leng Yue hurried over, crouched down to check the person's breathing, then felt their wrist before sighing slightly in relief. "It's alright, they've just fainted..."
Before she finished speaking, Uncle Qi sniffled and continued tearfully, "I knocked him out with an inkstone..."
Leng Yue froze, looking up to exchange a silent glance with Jing Yi.
What had happened here seemed somewhat more complicated than they had imagined...Before the two could figure things out, Uncle Qi had already turned a tear-streaked face toward Jing Yi, speaking with profound anguish, "My young master... Three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged living people are everywhere on the streets! Why must you... of all the people you could have fancied..." He gritted his teeth, raising a trembling hand to point in Leng Yue's direction, "...why must you bring this kind of person home!"
Jing Yi froze in shock.
What did he mean by "of all the people you could have fancied," and "this kind of person"?
The one he had always loved was precisely this person, and Uncle Qi knew it. Although ever since Leng Yue joined the Ministry of Justice as a woman two years ago, all sorts of gossip had been circulating in the capital without end, Uncle Qi had always indignantly declared that those spreading such rumors would rot their tongues. Just yesterday, Uncle Qi hadn't said anything—why this sudden change?
But in official households, shifting allegiances were as common as changing weather.
In the brief moment of Jing Yi's stunned silence, Uncle Qi added another remark.
"Young master, haven't you heard? Keeping this kind of person at home for too long will bring misfortune and shorten your lifespan..."
"Uncle Qi," Jing Yi's expression darkened as he firmly but gently pressed down Uncle Qi's outstretched hand, speaking slowly and calmly, "You've worked hard these past couple of days. Please go back and rest now."
Having served as the Jing family's steward for half his life and watched Jing Yi grow up, Uncle Qi immediately understood what these words meant when delivered with such an expression.
Jing Yi was furious—politely asking him to get out.
But...
Uncle Qi paused, following the direction he had just pointed, and saw Leng Yue half-kneeling beside a servant, her red lips pressed together and her face slightly stiff as she stared at him. Suddenly realizing the misunderstanding, he frantically waved his hands, "No, no, no... I wasn't referring to the madam... I meant the one behind her, that chest! The one inside the chest!"
The one inside the chest?!
Leng Yue's relieved breath caught in her throat, turning into a sharp inhale.
The chest was fitted with a hidden lock—with the lid closed, it was impossible to tell whether it was locked or unlocked just by looking. But since Uncle Qi had said so, the chest must have been opened.
She had just subtly asked Uncle Qi about it yesterday. Because the calligraphy and paintings originally stored in that chest were Jing Yi's cherished possessions, only Jing Yi held one key, with a spare kept by Uncle Qi for emergencies. Unless under special circumstances, no one but Jing Yi would dare touch that chest.
So what special circumstance had occurred this early in the morning?Seeing Leng Yue and Jing Yi both frown in unison, Uncle Qi hurriedly pointed at the servant collapsed before the chest and stammered, "This... this foolish boy was cleaning the study this morning when his hand slipped and spilled water all over the chest. After wiping the outside dry, he worried some might have seeped inside and damaged your treasures, so... so he came to me for the key to open it... But as soon as the chest was opened... he looked utterly terrified, eyes wide and vacant, not making a sound. He slowly closed the lid again, then turned to bolt outside. Afraid something was wrong, I grabbed an inkstone and struck him... I didn't use much force, but he collapsed right there. I was so startled I nearly cried out... I covered my mouth and backed away, only to bump into the flower stand..."
Leng Yue lowered her head to examine the servant lying on the ground more closely. She remembered him—his name was Laba, fourteen years old. Yesterday, while she was roasting lamb legs in the kitchen, he had hidden at the very back, head bowed low, hands constantly fidgeting in front of him, sweat beading on his forehead. When asked what was wrong, he hemmed and hawed before finally blurting out with a bright red face that he needed to relieve himself, causing everyone in the room to burst into laughter.
After she permitted him to leave, he never returned to the kitchen.
Before she could seek him out, he had delivered himself to her.
After finishing his account, Uncle Qi sniffled a few times, sounding rather aggrieved. Jing Yi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He reached out to steady Uncle Qi's still-trembling shoulder, holding it for a long moment without knowing what to say.
Should he explain that the item was sent by his cousin early on the morning of his wedding?
Or that his wife had quietly moved it from under the wedding bed to this chest on their wedding night?
In the end, it was Leng Yue who calmly stated, "Don't worry, Uncle Qi. I'll handle this. Such things won't appear in this house again."
"Actually..." Uncle Qi wiped his tears, swallowed hard, and glanced uneasily at Jing Yi's complicated expression. "If you truly enjoy... fiddling with such things, it's not a big deal... I'll just burn more incense at the temple... I promise not to breathe a word of it to anyone. Please don't punish him, Madam..."
Jing Yi's face darkened as the corner of his mouth twitched.
Should he thank Uncle Qi, or should he thank Uncle Qi...
"Don't worry, Uncle Qi. I understand."
After watching Uncle Qi help the unconscious Laba away, Leng Yue returned, closed the doors and windows, and walked up to Jing Yi, whose face still showed traces of gloom. Pressing her lips together, she said expressionlessly, "I'd like to know—if Uncle Qi and I both fell into the water someday, what would you do?"
Jing Yi was taken aback.
He had heard this question since he was old enough to remember. His grandmother had asked his grandfather, his mother had asked his father, his sister-in-law had asked his elder brother, and he himself had once half-jokingly asked Leng Yue the same.
Only...
When his grandmother asked his grandfather, the ones falling into the water were her and the cat his grandparents kept, because back then his grandfather called the cat "darling" and called his grandmother "old woman."
When his mother asked his father, the ones falling into the water were her and the current emperor, because the emperor was obsessed with chess at the time and would summon the Old Master—renowned for his superb skills—to the palace at all hours.When his sister-in-law asked his elder brother, the ones who fell into the water together were his sister-in-law and a scholar who had passed away centuries ago. At that time, the Hanlin Academy was compiling texts, and his elder brother had been murmuring that scholar’s name in his sleep for several nights in a row.
When he asked Leng Yue, the ones who fell into the water together were him and Prince An. Back then, Leng Yue was still a guard at Prince An’s residence, and she would do anything at a single word from the prince.
Leng Yue’s response to him was a full, exasperated eye-roll, accompanied by a cold, detached remark:
“From now on, stay far away from any place with water.”
He had once imagined that someday Leng Yue might ask him the same question, but he never expected it to be under such circumstances, nor did he anticipate that the one who fell into the water with her would be Uncle Qi…
How could she have fallen into the water with Uncle Qi?
With Uncle Qi…
Uncle Qi…
While Jing Yi’s mind was still filled with thoughts of Uncle Qi, Leng Yue had already pressed him against the wall with one hand, pinched his nose with the other, stood slightly on her tiptoes, and without a word, kissed him.
Startled, Jing Yi instinctively struggled, but Leng Yue immediately pressed her entire body against him, pinning him firmly against the wall so he couldn’t move an inch.
Her kiss was deep and urgent, leaving Jing Yi no room to catch his breath. She didn’t relent until his face flushed crimson and he was on the verge of suffocating and passing out. Only then did she release his lips and let go of his nose. Calmly, she watched Jing Yi leaning against the wall, gasping for air like a fish freshly tossed onto the shore, and let out a soft sigh.
“Forget it. If you can only hold your breath for this long, your swimming skills can’t be that great. You’d better stay on the shore and wait for me to rescue Uncle Qi.”
“...”
Leng Yue turned away nonchalantly and walked toward the chest. Hearing Jing Yi’s still-rapid panting behind her, she pursed her lips slightly.
Strange—the feeling of tea-scented breath and wine-scented breath was actually different.
She’d have to remember to try another fragrance next time.
And remember to come up with a different excuse.
After carefully examining the chest from all sides and waiting for Jing Yi’s breathing to steady, Leng Yue tapped lightly on the lid twice and said without looking up, “Come here.”
Even if she hadn’t told him to go over, he would have gone anyway.
He needed to have a serious talk with her. Even if she were to suffocate him to death with a kiss this time, he had to get all the words bottled up inside him out in one breath.
This charred corpse really couldn’t stay in the house any longer…
Just as Jing Yi stepped in front of Leng Yue, before he could even open his mouth, she said coolly, “Take a few more deep breaths and get ready.”
Jing Yi was taken aback. The words on the tip of his tongue retreated, and he asked instead, “Ready for what?”
Leng Yue’s answer made him instantly regret pulling back his words.
“Get ready to help me examine the corpse.”
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