Chapter 48: Garlic White Meat (Part 23)
Jing Yi lay on the bed with his eyes closed for about half an hour. During this time, he kept trying to convince himself of one thing.
There must be no blood on this bed, no blood, no blood...
The more he thought this way, the more distinct and heavy the faint, almost imperceptible scent of blood in the room became, so heavy it was almost suffocating.
A gust of wind passed, and Jing Yi completely lost his breath.
Because someone had thrown themselves into his arms, kissing him with the force of a ravenous hunger, and this person's strength was beyond ordinary.
Leng Yue kissed his lips until she was satisfied, then kissed his smooth, bald head. After finishing, she wiped her mouth.
"Not bad texture."
"..."
"Breathe more quietly. Prince An is in the courtyard."
"...!?"
Leng Yue reached out and vigorously wiped his smooth scalp a couple of times, removing the evidence left by the frantic kisses. She then pulled a handkerchief from her bosom and wrapped it around the bleeding wound on Jing Yi's leg. A twinge of pain made Jing Yi suddenly realize where the increasingly strong, fresh scent of blood was coming from.
But...
Jing Yi tilted his head with effort and mustered the courage to glance under the bed.
On the ground beneath the bed were indeed patches of reddish-brown stains of varying shades, as if washed repeatedly in many ways. The surface layer had been wiped away, leaving only what had seeped deep into the earth, mixed with yellow soil, the color thick and muted.
Jing Yi felt a lingering fear.
Although he had made thorough preparations to escape—even when Bi Xiao stripped off his clothes, he had already planned how to put them back on if his limbs failed him, waiting only for Bi Xiao to swiftly grant him a fatal strike...
"Is this place..." Jing Yi straightened his head and scanned the dilapidated roof and mold-stained walls, "...really where Bi Xiao committed the murders?"
Leng Yue finished bandaging his wound, picked up the official robe that Bi Xiao had stripped off and discarded, and cast him a chilly glance. "What, do you need her to slice open your belly before you believe it?"
"..."
Leng Yue narrowed her eyes slightly and snapped open the official robe that Bi Xiao had crumpled into a ball, sending a cloud of dust flying. "I promised her I'd take you to see her in prison when we have time. If you're in a hurry, we can go now."
"...No hurry!"
Jing Yi had a few more questions he wanted to ask, but he swallowed them all in one breath. He forced a flawless smile, lay back quietly, and obediently waited for Leng Yue to wrap him up from head to toe in the official robe like a stuffed bun and carry him out.
From the look in Leng Yue's eyes, she likely had neither the patience nor the interest to dress him piece by piece. So, he didn't dare hope for anything else—only that his wife wouldn't present him to Prince An like a peeled, bare white winter melon...
Jing Yi's worries were not unfounded.
On ordinary days, if another woman so much as glanced at him, Leng Yue would wish she could arrest her and sentence her to life imprisonment. This time, he had lain there unresisting, letting a former courtesan strip him completely bare. Bi Xiao had five lives on her hands—she was doomed either way. But what about him?
He'd rather Leng Yue just finish him off.
The more Leng Yue acted as if nothing had happened, the more Jing Yi's heart pounded with anxiety.When Leng Yue frowned at the official robe in her hand, lightly dusted, and solemnly said, "I'm asking you," Jing Yi immediately responded, "I'll confess everything!"
Leng Yue's hand holding the robe stiffened slightly, though her expression involuntarily softened a little.
Jing Yi had always been pleasant-looking, but when he smiled with such innocent sincerity, he became even more endearing. This charming appearance paired with his gleaming shaved head...
Though Leng Yue didn't believe in ghosts or deities, she always maintained respect toward monastic practitioners.
"I'm asking you..." Her tone grew more impatient, "Do you remember how you left the residence?"
Jing Yi felt unnerved by Leng Yue's sudden amiability and quickly shook his head.
"Bi Xiao said she found you on the street near Sparrow Nest Brothel, about an hour after I left the residence. Do you have any memory of that?"
Jing Yi froze.
He truly had no recollection of this. His last memory was of Leng Yue picking him up, and when he opened his eyes again, he was already lying here.
That meant someone had dressed him in official robes while he was unconscious, taken him out of the residence, and abandoned him near Sparrow Nest Brothel...
If Bi Xiao hadn't found him first and brought him here, the consequences...
He could almost immediately name those who stood to benefit, yet none of them could have quietly removed him from the residence.
Jing Yi remained dazed a moment too long, and Leng Yue's patience ran out.
"Hurry up! Prince An is waiting outside!"
Jing Yi hastily shook his head.
No memory—that was the truth.
Leng Yue rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Wasting time... Turn your head."
Jing Yi blinked. "Turn my head?"
"Turn your head to the side and expose your neck."
"...Which side?"
"Whichever feels more natural."
Jing Yi tilted his head left, revealing the graceful curve of his neck.
"Further. Put some effort into it."
Jing Yi turned until his left cheek pressed against the bed board. Just as he was about to ask if this was sufficient, he felt a sharp strike on his overstretched right neck. Darkness swallowed his vision, and he lost consciousness before he could make a sound.
Leng Yue exhaled slowly.
She really wasn't accustomed to dressing a conscious man...
Especially when the man's physique was already flawless. Now lying perfectly still and spotless, with that innate red birthmark over his heart, he resembled nothing so much as a delectable snowskin mooncake.
If not for Prince An and several guards waiting outside...
Leng Yue dressed Jing Yi layer by layer. Jing Yi's official robe was red, and by the time she finished dressing him, her face had turned equally crimson.
When she carried the unconscious Jing Yi out the door, Prince An Xiao Jin Yu sat upright nearby, watching several An Manor guards laboriously digging under a jujube tree in the courtyard.
According to Bi Xiao, she had buried all the filthy things extracted from the victim's stomach beneath this very tree, symbolizing "ashes to ashes, dust to dust"—a fresh start for all.
Leng Yue suspected Bi Xiao wasn't entirely fabricating this story, but Xiao Jin Yu was someone who demanded concrete evidence. Unless he saw it with his own eyes, no flowery explanation would suffice.Therefore, even though Leng Yue had already described Jing Yi's current state to him, when Leng Yue actually carried Jing Yi out and Xiao Jin Yu saw that golden-glowing head in the slanting sunlight, he still froze for a moment.
This was probably the most glorious moment of Jing Yi's life.
"He," Xiao Jin Yu stared intently at Jing Yi's head for a moment before slightly frowning and speaking softly, "hasn't woken up yet?"
Jing Yi's limbs hung loosely, his head naturally tilted back, eyes lightly closed, lips slightly parted—clearly still unconscious. So Leng Yue answered steadily, "No."
Xiao Jin Yu's frown deepened, "Then who was panting heavily inside just now?"
Leng Yue choked, lowering her head and forcing herself to say, "Me..."
"Oh..." Xiao Jin Yu nodded thoughtfully, "You've worked hard."
"Thank you, Your Highness..."
"When he wakes up, both of you come to the manor."
"Yes."
When Jing Yi woke up again, he was still completely naked. The difference was that he was now lying in his own bedroom, and the person standing by the bed wiping his body with a warm towel wasn't Bi Xiao, but his own wife.
For some reason, Jing Yi felt that Leng Yue's hand applying pressure while wiping him was even lighter than Bi Xiao's, so gentle and comfortable that he wanted to fall asleep again.
Night had fallen, with only a dim lamp lighting the room. Jing Yi felt that except for his head still feeling chilly and light, everything else felt as beautiful as a dream.
When he drank that bowl of honey water mixed with Drunken World that Leng Yue handed him last night, he hadn't dared to hope he would still be alive to see tonight's candlelight.
Now not only could he see the candlelight, but he could also see his wife's lightly furrowed brows and heartbroken expression under its glow. Even Turtle Grandson's "scratch scratch" sounds against the basin seemed as pleasant as heavenly music.
Noticing the change in Jing Yi's breathing, Leng Yue turned to look at him and smiled, "Awake?"
"Mmm..."
Jing Yi thought that in such an atmosphere, if he shamelessly asked Leng Yue for a kiss, she would probably agree.
As it turned out, Jing Yi was overthinking again.
Before he could speak, Leng Yue had already shed all visible traces of heartache, adopting a businesslike tone, "Good that you're awake. There's one more thing I need to ask you about this case."
Jing Yi sighed silently and responded weakly.
Why did I even wake up...
Though Leng Yue's tone was businesslike, her hands remained gentle as she carefully wiped Jing Yi's well-proportioned arms, "Let me ask you—did you just make up that story about Prince Jing marrying the Jing Zhaoyin's daughter by imperial decree?"
Jing Yi shook his head.
"Then why doesn't His Highness know about it?"
"Because the imperial decree hasn't been issued yet."
Leng Yue's face darkened, her hand paused, nearly dislocating Jing Yi's arm.
Jing Yi let out a miserable cry and spilled everything in one breath, "It's just that Jing Zhaoyin asked the Crown Prince to matchmake for his daughter so the Crown Prince approached Prince Jing Prince Jing agreed the Emperor agreed too but the decree hasn't been issued yet it hurts!"
"Understood, stop howling..."
As Leng Yue gently rubbed his sore arm, Jing Yi caught his breath, slightly furrowed his brows, and asked quietly, "Is Prince Jing really dead?"
"Otherwise?" Leng Yue glared at him irritably, "Did you think everyone could bounce around alive and carefree like you?"
Jing Yi strained to puff out his chest, looking at Leng Yue with sincere expression, "My heart, liver, lungs, and stomach are all inside. If you don't believe me, feel them..."Leng Yue tried to hold back but couldn't resist, slapping Jing Yi's chest that he had painstakingly puffed out back down.
"Anyone with a heart and lungs would never be nice to that... that kind of woman like Bi Xiao!"
"It's not..." Jing Yi's face showed a mix of laughter and tears, but he finally felt reassured inside, speaking with full confidence, "I just helped her push her cart once."
Leng Yue was taken aback, "Push what cart?"
"Once when I was out handling business and returned late, I happened to see her pushing a night soil cart back alone. Seeing she was struggling, I helped her for a stretch. It was a long time ago—if you hadn't mentioned Bi Xiao's name, I wouldn't even have remembered who she was..."
Jing Yi had always been kind to people, and not just people—he was extremely gentle even with cats, dogs, flowers, and plants.
This was something Leng Yue understood better than anyone.
Seeing Leng Yue's expression soften slightly, Jing Yi quickly steered the conversation elsewhere, "Did she use that same night soil cart to dump the body?"
Leng Yue reluctantly hummed in agreement, still wiping Jing Yi's slender, pale but powerless fingers as she answered, "She placed the person on the cart, covered by the manure buckets. No one saw in the middle of the night."
"How could a weak woman like her lift a man onto the cart and then off again?"
"She wasn't that strong before, but if she frequently carried manure buckets, she would have built up the strength..." Leng Yue gently set down Jing Yi's hand, her voice carrying a barely noticeable hint of sourness, "My strength also started from carrying water buckets."
"Then... how many buckets can you carry now?"
"Now you should ask how many vats I can carry."
"..."
Jing Yi suddenly felt that in Leng Yue's life, he seemed to have already missed many things.
Leng Yue dipped the towel into the basin, rinsed it a couple of times, wrung it out, and lifted Jing Yi's other arm.
"That's the story with Bi Xiao. What about Feng Si'er?"
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