His vision blurred before he could grab onto anything to steady himself, when a steel knife handle wrapped in deerskin came out of nowhere and slammed squarely against the bridge of his nose with a loud "thud."
Amid the chaos, Xiao Jin Yu had just managed to grip the windowsill when he felt a large foot land squarely and heavily on the back of his hand.
Before he could make a single sound, a weight thirty percent heavier than his own body crashed down on him, pinning him firmly to the cold, hard floor.
Even though his head throbbed and spun from the impact with the window frame, Xiao Jin Yu clearly heard the groan of his bones protesting under the strain as they met the floor.
"Jing Yi!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Jing Yi scrambled to get up, leaving several distinct muddy shoeprints on Xiao Jin Yu's ivory-white robes—identical to the one stamped on the back of his hand.
According to practical statistics, the likelihood of such accidental injuries was slim, but under the right combination of timing, circumstances, and personal luck, it wasn't entirely unheard of.
So, after getting up, Jing Yi quickly closed the window and obediently crouched by the wall with his hands over his head, waiting for Xiao Jin Yu to rise from the floor and pass judgment on him.
After waiting with his head bowed for a long moment, he was met with two words from Xiao Jin Yu, dripping with resentment and helplessness.
"Come here!"
☆、2 Jujube Ginger Soup (Part 2)
Jing Yi looked up to see Xiao Jin Yu still lying in the same spot, though his posture had been adjusted and was noticeably more graceful than when he had first fallen.
Xiao Jin Yu had one hand pressed against his bleeding nose and the other gripping a cane. Clearly, he had tried his best to use the cane to lift himself off the floor.
Clearly, he had failed.
Before Xiao Jin Yu could repeat his command in the same tone, Jing Yi moved with lightning speed to complete the following series of actions:
Stand up from the wall.
Pull the wheelchair by the window over.
Help Xiao Jin Yu up.
Settle Xiao Jin Yu into the wheelchair.
Store the cane behind the wheelchair.
Take out his own handkerchief and hand it to Xiao Jin Yu.
Crouch back by the wall with his hands over his head.
He didn't even dare ask how badly Xiao Jin Yu was hurt.
Although he was the person in this world to whom Xiao Jin Yu granted the most exceptions, Jing Yi was, to some extent, afraid of him—more afraid than he was of his own father or even the Emperor.
It had nothing to do with Xiao Jin Yu's authority or status, only with his temper.
After waiting for what felt like the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he finally heard Xiao Jin Yu's cold, nasal voice tinged with a hint of anger.
"Why is Wu Jiang's knife with you?"
Jing Yi remained obediently crouched, eyes fixed on the floor as he answered meekly.
"We were drinking and betting at my place last night, and we hid it for fun. I drank too much and forgot where I put it. He was too drunk to find it. I remembered where it was when I woke up today, so I brought it over to return it."
"When did you wake up?"
"A little over two hours ago."
Xiao Jin Yu fell silent for a moment. Once he felt the bleeding had stopped, he casually tossed the handkerchief aside and spoke in the tone that always made Jing Yi's heart race, his voice light and detached. "You remember that we have a joint trial with the Ministry of Personnel at the hour of Si today for the corruption case of the Governor of Yan Province, don't you?"
Jing Yi leaped to his feet with a start, just in time to meet the rare glare Xiao Jin Yu shot his way. He quickly plastered on the smile that had charmed thousands of young maidens, married women, and elderly ladies in the capital and said weakly, "I didn't forget... I just remembered a little too late..."Xiao Jin Yu rubbed his throbbing forehead, his tone growing even flatter. "Mm. Just write down exactly what you said earlier, without changing a single word, and deliver it to Lord Liang of the Imperial Censorate."
"Don't, don't, don't!" Jing Yi immediately lost his composure upon hearing "Lord Liang of the Imperial Censorate." "Last time, my father egged that old man into submitting a memorial accusing me of absenteeism, which landed me three months digging canals with the Ministry of Works in some remote mountain valley. It's almost the end of the year now—have some mercy and accumulate some virtue, won't you?"
Jing Yi glanced at the stacks of case files covering the entire desk and piled high against the corner wall, putting on an ingratiating expression. "Can't I atone for my mistakes by doing good deeds? How about I help you organize these files?"
"When do you plan to bring over the September and October case files from the Dali Temple?"
Jing Yi felt a pang of guilt.
Why did he have to bring up case files of all things?!
"Soon, soon..."
Xiao Jin Yu didn’t press him further about the files, because arguing with this person over such matters was utterly pointless.
"Tomorrow, the Ministry of Justice is trying a major case. All officials of the fifth rank and above in the Ministry are tied up, so you’ll be assigned to oversee the coroner selection exam."
Mention of the coroner exam reminded Jing Yi of that silly girl searching all over the streets for the Six Doors. "Sure, leave it to me."
"What are you smiling about?"
Jing Yi had always been impatient with tasks that required sitting still for long periods. In the past, assigning him such duties would inevitably result in a pitiful, reluctant expression. But now, the man was actually smiling—a smile so suppressed it looked like he might injure himself internally.
Jing Yi toned down his grin, returning to the refined, good-natured young master demeanor he had displayed earlier on the street, and said earnestly, "Didn’t you ask me at the beginning of the year to keep an eye out for a coroner with a clean background, simple origins, and who’s bold and clever?"
Xiao Jin Yu, still rubbing his forehead as if it were about to swell, paused slightly. "You found one?"
"Among the candidates taking the exam tomorrow. This person is absolutely exceptional."
Xiao Jin Yu frowned lightly and nodded thoughtfully.
Jing Yi’s ability to judge people had never let him down.
In fact, one could say that Jing Yi’s entire career in public service relied on his talent for reading others.
While Xiao Jin Yu was lost in thought, Jing Yi noticed his slightly pale complexion. "Did you fall hard?"
"I’ll be overseeing the trial at the Ministry of Justice tomorrow. If I have time, I’ll go see this coroner you mentioned."
When spoken by Xiao Jin Yu, these words carried the same weight as a dismissal.
This was one of his countless quirks—he would never attend to his physical ailments in front of anyone.
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