"Chu Chu..."
"Wang Ye," Chu Chu hurried over and cradled Xiao Jin Yu's ice-cold, stiff hands against her chest to warm them, carefully studying his pale complexion. "The guards said we must leave immediately."
Xiao Jin Yu nodded faintly.
"Wang Ye, that murderer... who exactly is he?"
"I will investigate thoroughly..." Xiao Jin Yu drew Chu Chu closer against him. The tightly wound tension within him gradually eased under her concerned gaze, and warmth began returning to his nearly frozen body. "When this case is solved, you will have contributed the most... I will petition the Emperor to reward you upon our return."
"Not at all! If I had conducted the first corpse examination more carefully, you would have solved the case much earlier, and perhaps Xue Qin wouldn't have died..." Chu Chu bit her lip. "Though he was a traitor who betrayed his country, he was still your master's son..."
"A case is just a case, the deceased is just the deceased, and the murderer is just the murderer..." Xiao Jin Yu gently stroked Chu Chu's brows. "If one day I become the deceased, you would still dissect and examine me, leaving no detail unchecked... right?"
Chu Chu tightly wrapped her arms around Xiao Jin Yu's neck. "Wrong!"
Xiao Jin Yu gave a faint, bitter smile and patted her back. "You are a coroner..."
"I am your wife!"
"Alright, alright..."
"Wang Ye..." Chu Chu buried her face against the side of his neck. "Don't scare me like that, I'm frightened..."
"My apologies... I won't mention it again."
Chu Chu suddenly lifted her head, blinking her sparkling eyes at him. "Do you think saying sorry is enough?"
Xiao Jin Yu looked torn between laughter and tears. "Chu Chu..."
Chu Chu pouted. "Hmm..."
"Let's get in the carriage first... alright?"
"Then... double portions!"
"Fine..."
"Promise me! Double portions of roasted lamb legs this time - no backing out!"
"...Alright..."
☆、85 Lord Jing's Little Wife
When Jing Yi slipped into the tent, Leng Yue was stuffing folded clothes into a bundle spread open on the bed. The small bundle was so full it nearly burst, while half a wardrobe's worth of clothes still remained in the cabinet.
Noticing the sudden shadow falling over her from behind, Leng Yue didn't bother looking up. "That pile on the table was sent by Wang Ye. Make sure you finish going through it before tomorrow's court session... The pot of strong tea on the table is for you - half tea leaves, half water. Should keep you alert until tomorrow evening."
Jing Yi glanced at the mountain-high stack of official documents and case files on the table, then weakly wrapped his arms around Leng Yue's slender waist from behind. Resting his chin against her fair neck, he pitifully murmured, "What if I can't finish?"
"No need to worry. When the time comes, Wang Ye will surely show you the consequences through action."
Jing Yi's hands began wandering restlessly around Leng Yue's waist, his cheek nuzzling against her delicate neck until she felt a growing warmth spreading through her body. Irritated, she elbowed him away and turned to glare. "Aren't you going to work?"
Rubbing his sore stomach, Jing Yi gazed at her with pleading eyes. "Since I'm doomed tomorrow anyway... couldn't you let me die early beneath your pomegranate skirt?"
Leng Yue tossed a long pomegranate-red skirt backward without looking. "Go die then."
After a long silence, Leng Yue turned to find Jing Yi standing properly behind her with the large skirt draped over his head, looking like a new bride waiting for her husband to lift the veil in the Nuptial Chamber.Leng Yue was both annoyed and amused as she stepped forward and tore it off him. She was met with his pitiful, almost tearful expression and couldn't help but chuckle, giving Jing Yi a light punch in the chest. "You've only grown older, not any more capable!"
Jing Yi clutched his sore chest with a mournful look. "What's the use of being capable? It won't get me a wife..."
Leng Yue rolled her eyes and glanced at the official documents on the table. "It's not your first time doing this job. You've handled ten cases in one night before—why are you complaining about just one now?"
"Sorting files won't kill anyone... but your father might bury me alive."
Leng Yue paused in surprise. "Does my father know you're in the camp?"
"Wang Ye wants me to record the public trial for him tomorrow..."
"Heh, heh..." Leng Yue sympathetically patted Jing Yi's head. "I have to run an errand for Wang Ye tomorrow morning and probably won't be back until evening. What material and style of coffin would you like? I can pick one up for you on my way."
Seizing the moment as Leng Yue raised her hand to pat his head, Jing Yi swiftly wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her full figure against him. He traced light patterns over her sensitive lower back and leaned close to her ear, breathing warm puffs of air.
He'd discovered long ago that Leng Yue's ears were sensitive—even the most ordinary words whispered near them could make her blush. As they grew older, it became even more pronounced. No matter how furious she was, a few soft breaths by her ear would leave her flushed and speechless, her entire body melting into his embrace.
Now, caught off guard by his dual assault, Leng Yue felt waves of tingling heat rush through her. Before she could push him away, her legs grew weak, and she slumped against his chest, her breathing slightly ragged.
"Bastard... mmm... you..."
Jing Yi held her soft, trembling form with one arm while his other hand grew bolder in its caresses. He watched her through half-lidded, fox-like eyes as she struggled between reason and primal desire.
He remembered their wedding night—she had been the same way. The moment he lifted her veil, her phoenix eyes glared at him, stubbornly refusing to let him touch her. Yet Jing Yi, reckless as ever, seized the chance to pull her into his arms. With strategic focus, he swiftly resolved the long-anticipated challenge of their nuptial chamber. Though he spent the entire next day kneeling on a washboard, Leng Yue hadn't been able to leave the bed either.
It had been four years since their marriage at eighteen. With cases pulling them apart and reuniting them across regions, each time he saw her, her body astonished him more than the last—and grew ever more sensitive. The only constant was that from their wedding night onward, in moments like these, she always switched from using his full name to yelling "bastard."
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