Chapter 94 After Half a Year Apart, Three Rules for the Agreement

Huangfu Li stood there, stunned.

After a long while, he lowered his head and chuckled softly, his shoulders trembling as he looked at Jin Suiqing and Jin Shiyu standing side by side, his smile becoming increasingly unsightly.

It turned out that the three of them had been waiting for him there all along.

Jin Suiqing used this to lure out Huangfu Li's people in the government office; Jin Shiyu handed the account books to Huangfu Feng; Huangfu Feng then used this opportunity to raid the Duke of Ying's mansion, and together with the witnesses, extracted evidence of his crimes...

Because his attention had been focused on Jin Suiqing for the past two days, he not only missed the opportunity to retaliate, but also lost face in front of the officials and noble families, and was even considered inferior to Huangfu Feng in the eyes of the emperor.

He also became the assistant who officiated at his and his sister's wedding to the world.

"Hehehehehe," Huangfu Li's back could no longer straighten, and he bent more and more with laughter, becoming a crescent moon. Just as an arrow is released from a bowstring, he suddenly straightened up. He swallowed the blood that was about to rush into his throat, and knelt down in front of Huangfu Ying with a thud. He gritted his teeth and said, "It was my stupidity that I failed to understand Jin Suiqing's intentions and forced him by relying on his power. I was wrong, and I am willing to accept the punishment."

Huangfu Ying stared at him coldly for a long time, then suddenly turned her gaze away and waved her hand, saying, "It's good that you know you're wrong. Take thirty lashes and go down."

Huangfu Li shivered violently, stood up, and walked straight out. When he passed Jin Suiqing, he stopped, his phoenix eyes lowered, and he stared at her intently.

Jin Suiqing held the marriage certificate, her eyes fixed straight ahead, just as she had in the past few days. No matter how he behaved, she was unwilling to show him any concern.

Huangfu Li smiled, raised his hand to wipe away the blood that had spilled from the corner of his mouth, and with his hand still wet with blood, reached down to the top of Jin Suiqing's hair.

Jin Shiyu and Huangfu Feng's expressions turned cold. They acted simultaneously, grabbing his wrists from the left and right, preventing him from getting any closer.

Huangfu Li was unable to move, but he still gently touched Jin Suiqing with his fingertips. When she looked up at him, Huangfu Li grinned, his smile extremely ugly, "Sister Suiqing, are you satisfied?"

Having said that, he broke free from Jin Shiyu and Huangfu Feng, and strode out of the Myriad Manifestations Divine Palace.

Huangfu Ying looked like she had a headache, rubbed her brow with her hand, looked at Jin Shiyu and Jin Suiqing kneeling on the ground, asked Shang Tingzhi to bring the marriage certificate, and glanced at it.

As Jin Suiqing said, there were no errors or omissions.

She then looked at Jin Guizhong, who was sitting at the table: "As the head of the family, are you aware of this matter?"

Jin Guizhong's face was pale, and he kept wiping away sweat, inwardly crying out: How could he possibly know! But when his eyes caught sight of Huangfu Feng beside Huangfu Ying, fear gripped him, and he quickly lowered his head, "I do know about Shi Yu... and Sui Qing's marriage, the six... six betrothal rites have been completed..."

His pathetic appearance almost made Huangfu Ying burst out laughing. Now that things had come to this, she stood up, raised her wine cup to the assembled officials and noble families, and said with a smile, "This is a joyous occasion, and everyone should raise a glass in celebration."

Outside the temple, as the sky lanterns slowly rose, officials and noble families raised their wine cups in unison amidst laughter, their blessings echoing throughout the temple.

Jin Suiqing secretly hooked her little finger with Jin Shiyu's, gently shaking it as they always did when they made a pinky promise. She whispered happily, "Brother, are you satisfied with the marriage ceremony witnessed by the world?"

He didn't say anything, but hooked his little finger around Jin Suiqing's and shook it.

They had a promise, which he made to her outside the Law and Mechanics Hall of the National Academy, by pressing down on her little finger and making her promise.

Jin Suiqing did not lie to him.

She kept her promise.

From then on, the brother would never abandon his sister, and the sister would never leave her brother.

*

After the Lantern Festival banquet ended, Jin Suiqing took Jin Shiyu to Qianyuan Gate and rode in a rhinoceros-horn carriage back to the Jin residence. Before they even got in the carriage, someone called out to them, and Jin Suiqing turned around.

It was Gong Xiaoyang!

Compared to three years ago, he had grown considerably taller. The boy who was once the same height as Jin Suiqing was now a head taller than her. He was tall and slender, wearing the winter maroon official robe of the Magic Machinery Sect. He was handsome and elegant, and no one could tell that he had once been a disheveled boy running around with Gong Dagou.

Jin Suiqing was somewhat unrecognizable. Gong Xiaoyang was eager and tried to take her hand as he used to, but Jin Shiyu pushed it away.

Gong Xiaoyang realized what was happening and apologized with a smile, which allowed Jin Suiqing to see some of the young man's past appearance.

Gong Xiaoyang covered her hands awkwardly, looking around anxiously, "Jin Suiqing, where's Sister Huihong?"

Jin Suiqing hesitated and said, "Sister Huihong...she hasn't come back."

Gong Xiaoyang's smile froze on his face. He nervously licked his lips and asked, "Is it because you have to go back to Jiangnan Road that you didn't bring her back? Or is there something in Jiangnan Road that needs Sister Huihong to take care of, and you'll have to wait until later..."

Jin Suiqing interrupted his rambling: "Gong Xiaoyang."

Gong Xiaoyang looked at her with wet, puppy-dog eyes. Jin Suiqing couldn't bear it, paused, and then said, "It's Sister Huihong who wants to stay in Jiangnan Road."

"Yes...but is it because she has someone she likes?"

Jin Suiqing shook his head.

Gong Xiaoyang asked, puzzled, "What is that?"

Jin Suiqing suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

Women are always more perceptive than men. Huihong has already chosen to pursue her own life, while Gong Xiaoyang seems to still believe that it is best for women to stay with men.

After a long silence, Jin Suiqing said, "Sister Huihong is doing very well. She has learned how to build greenhouses and grow vegetables in winter. She has also reached agreements with many restaurants in Jiangnan Road to supply fresh vegetables in winter. She is also working hard to learn magic weapons and can already repair them to make money."

Gong Xiaoyang's lips trembled. He stared blankly for a moment, then scratched his head, looking down as if lost in thought. Suddenly, he rushed to Jin Suiqing and asked, "Can I go find her?"

Jin Suiqing's eyes widened: "You're abandoning the Magic Machinery Sect?"

“No…it’s not that I don’t care,” Gong Xiaoyang said, “I just want to…I want to…”

What does he want to do?

Will you bring Huihong back?

What if Ruo Huihong doesn't want to come back? What should he do? Tie her up, or force her?

That's not right. Gong Xiaoyang shook his head, banishing those filthy thoughts from his mind. The thoughts were gone, but tears welled up involuntarily. He couldn't stop the tears and sobbed, "Then... will Sister Huihong come back?"

Jin Suiqing remained silent, but Gong Xiaoyang understood.

After standing there for a moment, Gong Xiaoyang wiped away her tears, forced a smile, and congratulated her before stumbling away.

Jin Suiqing recalled that when she left, Huihong held her hand and said firmly, "Suiqing, I'm not leaving. I want to stay in Xucun. I want to make money, have my own career, and live freely wherever I go, just like you, without having to rely on others."

Jin Suiqing hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not ask the question, "What should we do about Gong Xiaoyang?"

It's best for the two of them to handle their own affairs.

Jin Suiqing sighed and pulled Jin Shiyu into the rhinoceros carriage.

Once inside the car, she could no longer restrain herself and switched on all the sulfur lamps, instantly illuminating the scene as if it were daytime. Jin Suiqing buried her head in checking his body, asking as she did so, "Are you injured?"

Jin Shiyu wanted to shake his head, but Jin Suiqing narrowed his big eyes and stared straight at him.

He conceded defeat, raised his wrist, and said, "I left bruises when I strangled someone with my belt."

Jin Suiqing pulled his wrist over to examine it closely. Several mottled marks remained on his porcelain-white wrist, grotesque and ugly, looking painful. She quickly rubbed it tenderly, then looked up at his face, "And what about the blood on your face? What happened to that?"

Kim Shi-ok avoided her gaze, "It's splattered with someone else's blood."

Jin Suiqing was absolutely certain that this person was talking nonsense again, so she decided to talk rather than act, and instead rubbed Jin Shiyu's body up and down.

However, Jin Shiyu was extremely tolerant of pain. Jin Suiqing touched every place that Jin Shiyu should and shouldn't have touched, but Jin Shiyu's expression didn't change in the slightest.

Jin Suiqing asked hesitantly, "Are you really not injured?"

"Really?" Kim Shi-ok kissed her forehead.

Jin Suiqing pushed him away, snorted coldly, and thought to herself that when she got back she would strip him naked and check him inside and out to see if he was talking nonsense.

Unexpectedly, when the rhinoceros horn carriage arrived at the Meridian Gate, it was stopped again. Jin Suiqing was still angry and lifted the curtain, about to say who it was that was blocking the road so late.

Once she saw who it was, she swallowed her words.

Ye Zhufeng stood in front of the car with his arms crossed.

Jin Suiqing sneered, intending to get out of the car, but Ye Zhufeng strode over and got in directly.

As Ye Zhufeng boarded the bus, he glared at Jin Shiyu and then decisively squeezed between the two.

Jin Suiqing hesitated: "Ye Zi... no, Jun..."

Huangfu Feng coldly said, "Call him Ah Feng."

Jin Suiqing replied obediently, "Okay, Ah Feng."

Jin Shiyu was not very happy. He nodded and said, "Your Highness, the help we received outside Ziwei City was a great help. Thank you for your assistance."

"Hmph," Ye Zhufeng disliked him no matter what, and only helped him out of respect for Jin Suiqing. Thinking back to when he had to call him brother and sister-in-law at the Myriad Manifestations Divine Palace, he felt even more disgusted. He glared at him and pulled Jin Suiqing, saying, "Suiqing, you can't go back to the Jin residence."

Jin Suiqing was puzzled, but before she could speak, Jin Shiyu became anxious. His eyes darkened, and he coldly asked, "Why?"

The question is "why," but the tone is "on what grounds?"

Ye Zhufeng: "I'll give you two three rules: you can't meet before the wedding."

Jin Suiqing was shocked: "Why!"

There are still six months until the wedding. Is it possible to not even see each other for such a long time?

Jin, Sui, Shi, and Yu all said in unison, "No."

Ye Zhufeng raised an eyebrow. These two were truly destined to sleep in the same bed; their questions and answers were exactly the same. She chuckled, pretending that Jin Shiyu didn't exist, and looked at Jin Suiqing.

Ye Zhufeng warned with his eyes: "What if we live together before marriage and things escalate?"

Jin Suiqing's eyes widened: "He can't!"

Ye Zhufeng raised an eyebrow: "I don't know if he will, but you definitely will."

The golden shards withered instantly.

Ye Zi understands her best.

Jin Suiqing looked dejected and said, "Fine, let's break up then. Ah Feng, where will I stay?"

"Stay at the Princess's residence," Ye Zhufeng said. "I've already prepared the courtyard for you. The tools, materials, and experimental equipment you need have all been airlifted from Jiangnan Road and are all in place. If you need any more materials, just tell me. Don't worry about the price, I'll prepare them."

Mentioning the experiment, Jin Suiqing's eyes lit up, and the sadness of parting with Jin Shiyu was instantly forgotten. She hugged Ye Zhufeng's arm and said coquettishly, "Fengfeng is so good, Fengfeng is the best in the world!"

Jin Suiqing smiled indulgently, bent his finger, and gently tapped her forehead.

Jin Shiyu's eyes were sinister as he glared coldly at Huangfu Feng. Huangfu Feng returned the gaze defiantly: "Why are you glaring at me? Suiqing has already agreed, and you disagree? Can't you even wait half a year?"

Ye Zhufeng coldly replied, "I make no promises."

Jin Shiyu's eyes grew even colder, and Jin Suiqing quickly pressed down on his restless hand, comforting him, "It's only half a year, just bear with it, it's only half a year."

“Since Suiqing has no family, I will take care of them. In the next six months, all matters concerning the wedding, including where to hold it and its scale, will be discussed with me.” Ye Zhufeng admonished him, “The Jin family is large and powerful, and given the chaos you two caused at the Divine Palace today, the entire capital is watching your marriage. We cannot allow Suiqing to marry into the family so easily, only to be criticized and wronged for no reason. It is only natural that you will be separated for six months.”

When Jin Suiqing heard that Ye Zhufeng was thinking of her, she was overjoyed and snuggled back to Ye Zhufeng's side, chuckling foolishly in her arms.

Seeing Jin Suiqing happy, and knowing that Ye Zhufeng's words made sense, Jin Shiyu was thoroughly sobered up after being tortured.

He lowered his eyes and asked, "Just six months?"

Ye Zhufeng: "Absolutely no fabrication."

Just then, the carriage that had changed course halfway arrived at the Princess's residence and stopped. Ye Zhufeng led Jin Suiqing out of the carriage.

Before entering the princess's residence, Jin Suiqing, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, turned back for another glance.

Jin Shiyu stood in front of the rhinoceros chariot, gazing at her expectantly.

He was wearing a black robe that had been taken from the Death Guard. It was already thin, and the moonlight, like frost, shone on his shoulders. Combined with his resentful face, he looked even more indifferent and desolate.

They look so pitiful.

Jin Suiqing had a sudden thought and grabbed Ye Zhufeng.

"Ye Zi, I want to talk to him some more." Jin Suiqing held up three fingers to the sky and said earnestly, "I promise I'll be back in a little while."