Chapter 98 Farewell at the City Gate

Yunxi looked at Gu Nanxiao, who was already bristling with anger, and burst out laughing. She naturally reached out, wrapped her arms around the man's neck, and gave him a sweet kiss.

He said calmly, "Why should I be the one meeting with him? Shouldn't it be us? Besides, have you forgotten about Feng Xun, the martial arts champion? Our strength has increased considerably; shouldn't we celebrate?"

Gu Nanxiao carefully examined Yunxi's expression, trying to find something amiss, but after a long time, he was completely certain that Yunxi truly had no feelings for Qi Jinxiu whatsoever.

Gu Nanxiao exhaled a short breath, still looking displeased, and led Yunxi away from the private room. They rode back to the Yong Prince's Mansion.

As soon as the two entered the Songzhu Courtyard, Gu Nanxiao picked him up and carried him straight to the bedroom.

Facing the lustful man who pounced on her, Yunxi pushed him away, scolding him with a stern face, "Don't be silly, we still have to go out to meet people tonight."

This time, Gu Nanxiao did not comply with her wishes. He simply put Yunxi's hands together and placed them on top of her head. With his other hand, he set fire to various parts of her body.

Before long, Yunxi could not withstand Gu Nanxiao's offensive and let him do whatever he wanted.

An hour later, Yunxi sat limply in the bathtub, her body weak, and glared at the culprit across from her with a smug look.

She looked down at the marks on her fair skin, which were several times more numerous than usual, and had reason to suspect that the scoundrel had done it on purpose.

That evening, in a private room at Ruyi Tower, Feng Xun and Qi Jinxiu were already waiting. Three incense sticks had passed since their agreed-upon dinner time. Gu Nanxiao finally appeared, carrying Yunxi in his arms.

Yunxi was downstairs when her legs suddenly went weak, and Gu Nanxiao insisted on carrying her up. She hadn't felt anything particularly wrong with it until now.

When faced with the gazes of the two men, even she, who was usually quite relaxed, became embarrassed.

Yunxi coughed lightly, signaling Gu Nanxiao to put her down and let her walk on her own. Gu Nanxiao, however, acted as if he hadn't heard her, and while exchanging a smug look with Qi Jinxiu, he picked her up and sat her on his lap.

Whether in modern or ancient times, such hospitality is extremely impolite. At this moment, Yunxi could finally conclude that Gu Nanxiao was deliberately provoking her. But at the same time, she also felt that his behavior was quite childish.

Yunxi didn't let him fool around anymore. She forcefully broke free from his embrace and sat down in the seat next to him.

Qi Jinqiu had known about their relationship for a long time, but at this moment, seeing Yunxi's swollen lips and the mottled, ambiguous marks on her neck and arms, she still couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in her heart.

He should have stopped deceiving himself into believing that Yunxi only submitted to Gu Nanxiao for revenge. Given Yunxi's personality, no one could treat her like this if she didn't want to.

Qi Jinxiu secretly gripped the jade pendant in his hand; it was a token of his Tianyu Pavilion, which he had managed for several years. He had intended to give it to Yunxi as a betrothal gift on the day of her passing the imperial examination, and to fully express his feelings to her.

But right now, he couldn't express his feelings. Otherwise, given Yunxi's love for Gu Nanxiao, she might never see him again to avoid suspicion. That outcome was something he couldn't bear at all.

So the four of them enjoyed the meal happily, seemingly just to celebrate the birth of the two new top scholars. Afterwards, they discussed many future plans before returning to their respective residences.

The next morning court session

Feng Xun was personally selected by General Shen Yixing to serve as his deputy. The Emperor had always intended to befriend General Shen, so how could a mere martial arts champion offend the great general? He immediately agreed.

With this matter settled, the top scholar Qi Jinxiu submitted a memorial detailing the harm caused to the Great Yan Kingdom by the perennial drought in the Northwest. He proposed the construction of water conservancy projects to permanently improve this problem.

Initially, the emperor did not want to pay attention to this suggestion that would burden the people and waste resources, but after he explained his idea, Qi Jinxiu said, "This water conservancy project will surely benefit all people for generations to come."

Upon hearing that the blessings would benefit all people, the Emperor immediately recalled Master Qingfeng's words. After taking Master Qingfeng's elixirs for the past few days, Your Majesty no longer doubts his abilities.

Naturally, he felt that in order to prolong his life, he should follow Master Qingfeng's advice and accumulate more good karma. If building water conservancy projects could benefit the people, it would certainly extend his lifespan.

Therefore, the emperor, who had just been disapproving, immediately changed his attitude and granted the request in court, entrusting Qi Jinxiu with the responsibility of overseeing the water conservancy project. He also ordered the Ministry of Revenue to fully cooperate.

Seven days later

General Shen once again requested to guard the frontier, and also to take Feng Xun with him.

On the same day, Qi Jinxiu also decided to take the imperial edict and go to the Northwest to carry out water conservancy projects.

Since the two were embarking on a long journey together, Yunxi naturally wanted to see them off. Upon learning of this, Gu Nanxiao even put aside his official duties and insisted on going with Yunxi to see them off.

The reason was perfectly clear to all four of them. Yunxi naturally didn't care; let Gu Nanxiao follow if he wanted, as long as he didn't cause her any more trouble.

Seeing Yunxi's open and honest expression, Gu Nanxiao couldn't help but feel a little happy.

Feng Xun, however, observed Qi Jinxiu discreetly, feeling a sense of disappointment for him.

On the contrary, Qi Jinxiu seemed completely unconcerned when faced with Gu Nanxiao's discerning gaze today. He remained humble and polite, as if he wasn't the one who had been at loggerheads with Gu Nanxiao that day.

Since that day when they dined together at Ruyi Restaurant, he had come to understand many things. Qi Jinxiu felt that loving someone didn't necessarily mean possessing them.

As long as he sees Yunxi happy and content, he can step back and silently continue to protect her. And if she ever turns around, he will be within her reach.

After exchanging a few brief pleasantries with the two, Qi Jinxiu and Feng Xun mounted their horses together, bowed slightly, and then whipped their horses to catch up with the main force.

For some reason, Yunxi felt that Qi Jinxiu seemed unusually aloof today. There was even less eye contact, but she didn't pay much attention to it, after all, that was just his personality.

She was thinking that this business trip had been quite tough on the two of them. The journey was fraught with danger and the mountains were high, so she was a little worried about them.

As Yunxi watched the two figures disappear into the distance, she couldn't help but shiver in the autumn wind. At that moment, the man behind her immediately pulled up his cloak and enveloped Yunxi in it.

Just then, Qi Jinxiu finally couldn't help but turn around and glance back. What he saw was Yunxi looking up, smiling as she looked back at the man behind her. Gu Nanxiao, too, was gently holding Yunxi in his arms.

This scene solidified his decision once again. Taking advantage of the fact that neither of them was paying attention to him, Qi Jinxiu turned his head back, pretending nothing had happened.

Qi Jinxiu was indeed deliberately keeping his distance from Yunxi. Since he wanted her to be happy, he couldn't do anything that would cause misunderstandings, so as not to bring trouble to Yunxi.

He was unwilling to let go of Yunxi, but the one he had to let go of was not him, but Yunxi, who had never chosen him from the beginning.