Chapter 92 is another life-or-death question: Big Idiot and Little Idiot.
Jin Suiqing gritted her teeth, knowing where he had hidden the marriage certificate, and reached for it at his left chest.
Jin Shiyu grabbed her hand. "If I don't make it to Ziwei City, what will you do with the marriage certificate?"
As expected, Huangfu Li would not let him go.
Having worked together for nearly twenty years, the two had a keen understanding of each other's character. For Huangfu Li, whether he was Ji Saiyu or not was no longer important; once Jin Suiqing was gone, there was no need to let anyone enter the capital alive. Huangfu Li wanted to sever all ties with her before she entered the Eastern Palace.
His deep affection made her realize this.
Or perhaps he was deliberately acting this way, leading her to think more deeply: the marriage invitation was with Jin Shiyu, and Sheng could come and marry her...
What about death?
Jin Suiqing paused for a moment, then asked instead of answering, "What if you have the marriage invitation but can't get to Ziwei City?"
Jin Shiyu looked down at her, as if trying to memorize her face. He had styled her hair today. He picked up a few stray hairs from Jin Suiqing's ear, twirled them between his fingers, and tucked them behind her ear. He said calmly, "Then there will be no wedding invitation."
She wasn't her brother; the wedding invitation was gone, she was no longer there, and the two had no further connection. Even when a tombstone was erected for Kim Shi-ok, her name couldn't be included.
Jin Suiqing finally felt that palpitation of walking on the edge.
After a long silence, she resolutely said, "Give me the wedding invitation."
"Jin Suiqing," Jin Shiyu still wore a female mask, only her eyes still shimmered with a honeyed sweetness. In a daze, Jin Suiqing saw Jin Shiyu again, who had not hesitated to tilt her head back and drink the aphrodisiac. He always seduced her in this way, using a semi-coercive method, before and now. He smiled lightly, "Have you thought it through? This is your last chance to go to freedom."
Jin Suiqing swayed for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Jin Shiyu, you expected this, which is why you came with me, right?"
Jin Shiyu did not deny it, and calmly looked at her.
He did it on purpose.
Even without a marriage certificate, Jin Suiqing, with Lord Wang's confession attire and the Crown Prince's involvement in arson, could easily refuse.
She has a way out, but what about him?
Jin Shiyu slowly took out the wedding invitation that he had kept close to his heart and held it in front of her.
He forced Jin Suiqing to become the judge who would decide his life or death; whether she lived or died, and how she lived, was entirely up to her choice.
Jin Shiyu's honey-colored pupils trembled, faster and faster, and his long-suppressed madness overflowed again. "If you take it and present it to the Emperor in front of the whole world, I will risk my life to go to Ziwei City; if you don't take it, I will no longer risk my life, and I will consider your brother dead, and the marriage invitation will not count."
"Jin Shiyu, you're sick, and seriously so." Jin Suiqing glared at him fiercely, snatched the wedding invitation without hesitation, stuffed it into her bosom, and said ruthlessly, "If you don't come back to see me alive, I'll be your widow for life, and I'll bring wild men to your grave day and night to have fun, so you won't have peace even in death."
Seeing Jin Shiyu's expression turn cold and fierce, Jin Suiqing was still not satisfied. "I will burn the marriage certificate and bury you eight hundred miles away after I die. I will find a Taoist priest to perform a ritual so that even if you become a ghost, you will never find me in your next life, or the life after that!"
"You dare?" Though her words were harsh, Kim Shi-ok's cheeks flushed, and she looked as if she were indulging in pleasure.
Jin Suiqing gritted her teeth and said with tears in her eyes, "If you don't come, I dare to."
After saying that, Jin Suiqing was about to push the door open to leave when Jin Shiyu suddenly grabbed her, pulled her close, and carefully wiped away her tears. "Don't let the wind blow on your cheeks, or you'll get frostbite and it will hurt."
Now you feel sorry for her?
Jin Suiqing was so angry she wanted to bite his collarbone through. He had always loved to bully others in various ways, and now he had become even more wicked, taking advantage of her concern for him to crush her in the palm of his hand.
She was furious, but her actions betrayed her true feelings. She grabbed Jin Shiyu's hand and blurted out, "Take me with you." They intertwined their fingers and walked to the courtyard.
Huangfu Li only prepared one rhinoceros-horn carriage. He stood beside the carriage, showing no trace of the majesty of the current crown prince, and quietly looked at Jin Suiqing.
Upon seeing the two holding hands, Huangfu Li's pupils suddenly contracted, his hands clenched at his sides, he closed his eyes briefly, and then reached out to Jin Suiqing, smiling, "Sister Suiqing, come, let me help you into the carriage."
The fact that the Crown Prince was able to help with the carriage was quite a grand display, but Jin Suiqing didn't take it seriously and coldly asked, "Where is Sister Ji's carriage?"
Huangfu Li said, "It's already on its way and will be here shortly."
Jin Suiqing nodded and stepped over Huangfu Li to get into the carriage. Huangfu Li took a deep breath and raised his hand to support her wrist.
A crisp "snap" sound.
Huangfu Li's hand turned red instantly, and was knocked to the side by the force of the person who did it, who slammed his hand against the car beam.
Huangfu Li stared wide-eyed at Jin Shiyu, "You!"
Jin Shiyu said in a low, hoarse voice, "If Miss Jin is unwilling, Your Highness, please do not force her."
Despite appearing respectful, Jin Shiyu's shoulders were tense, maintaining a posture of raising his eyes and staring intently at Huangfu Li.
Huangfu Li moved his neck, chuckled, called him a mad dog, and then climbed onto the rhinoceros-horn carriage. Soon, the carriage started and gradually drove out of Jin Shiyu's sight.
A short while later, another rhinoceros-drawn carriage arrived.
Unlike the previous one, this one had a driver dressed in black, wearing a straw hat that completely covered his face. The driver came to a steady stop in front of Jin Shiyu. He grabbed a black wooden stick about the length of his forearm, tapped on the carriage, and asked in a hoarse voice, like sand swirling in from the desert, "Miss, where are you going?"
Jin Shiyu remained calm, lifted her skirt, and got into the car. "The capital, southeast of the city, is Saiyu Jewelry Shop."
The driver pressed down on his straw hat with his hand. His hand had thick, large fingers and swollen knuckles, covered with raised, red and white scars that looked like fleshy worms.
Once the carriage curtain fell and everyone was settled, the driver tapped the rhinoceros's back with a stick, and the carriage headed deeper into the dark forest.
*
Inside the rhinoceros-horn carriage heading to Ziwei City, Huangfu Li took out a hand warmer from his bosom and handed it to Jin Suiqing. She glanced at it and then looked away, bored.
Huangfu Li frowned and made a move to grab her hand and force the hand warmer onto her, but unexpectedly she said, "Don't force me, I don't want it."
With his hand holding the hand warmer suspended in the air, Huangfu Li finally withdrew it, tossing it back and forth between his fingers, and sneered, "Still thinking about him, huh?"
Jin Suiqing didn't respond. He turned slightly to the side, rolled down the small window of the rhinoceros carriage, and lifted the curtain to look outside.
During the Lantern Festival, the streets are decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the crowds are surging and the noise is deafening.
Every year at this time, by the grace of the Empress, the Meridian Gate of Ziwei City is opened wide, and a ladder of sky lanterns, resembling a skyscraper or a giant tree reaching for the sky, is set up for the people to admire. If it is close to midnight, one can even throw money to choose a lantern, have it taken down by a machine, and release it by hand to pray for blessings.
As a result, the entire capital city crowded onto the road and followed the rhinoceros chariot.
Jin Suiqing recalled attending banquets in the palace before. She found it interesting, but she would just rest her chin on her hand and watch, thinking that she would make one for Huihong, Big Dog, Little Sheep, and Boss Ji when she got back, and release them together in the courtyard to make wishes.
She was so engrossed in watching that Jin Shiyu thought she wanted it, so he stopped the rhinoceros beast, got out of the car and squeezed into the crowd. He was tall and stood out from the crowd like a crane among chickens. He chatted with Ji Que for a while and then came back with a lamp in his arms.
Jin Suiqing found it strange, "Did my brother give it to me?"
Jin Shiyu's smile froze for a moment. He turned his head to the side, and the light shone on his profile, casting a shadow on his high nose. He silently let go of the light and let it fly away.
He coldly replied, "No."
At that time, she wasn't really invested. Since he said no, then no, why bother caring so much?
When the two released the lanterns again, it was already the Red Thread Festival. She was full of scheming and deliberately said things to please him.
In matters of the heart, she is not clever, slow-witted, and prone to escapism.
Thinking about it this way, one can understand why he is so stubborn in his actions.
Because the older brother is also a big dummy who can't speak, and the big dummy is afraid that the little dummy will run away, so he 'speaks' in a way that the little dummy can understand.
That's enough.
She doesn't have a mouth, so she doesn't have a mouth. She doesn't ask for much; as long as the person can do the work, that's enough.
The chariot entered the Meridian Gate at a slightly faster pace. Huangfu Li saw that she was staring straight at the Heavenly Lantern Ladder and assumed that she liked it. He flattered her, saying, "If Sister Suiqing likes it, I will spend some money to buy them all. After the banquet, you can set them off as many as you want."
Jin Suiqing glanced at him, "I'm going to release it now."
Huangfu Li refused without hesitation, "There are too many people now, and the banquet is about to start. I'll personally take you there after it's over."
Jin Suiqing glared at Huangfu Li, thinking to himself, "That dog is a dog, he's not likable at all."
The big idiot is cuter.
Jin Suiqing lowered the curtain, not wanting to say a word to him, and lazily nestled in the corner of the carriage, closing her eyes.
Having been ignored the whole way, Huangfu Li's displeasure had reached its peak. Unable to contain his anger, he grabbed the gold-embroidered blue cloak, forcefully ripped off the ties, and said fiercely, "Don't wait for him anymore, he's not coming tonight!"
Jin Suiqing was extremely annoyed. With her eyes still closed, she slapped his hand away and said impatiently, "Stop messing around, Your Highness. We need to get through Qian Yuan Gate and walk to the Wanxiang Divine Palace. He finally combed my hair, and you've ruined it. It won't look good in front of the Empress."
Huangfu Li was even more furious. He wished he could take Jin Suiqing's hair apart and recomb it. He also hated that he was now completely helpless. In his anger, he threw the hand warmer he had been playing with all the way into a corner, panting heavily, and stopped talking.
After a short while, the rhinoceros chariot arrived at Qian Yuan Gate.
Huangfu Li got out of the carriage first, lifted the curtain and jumped down. Jin Suiqing waited for a while before lifting the curtain and stepping off the carriage. Unexpectedly, Huangfu Li, who was standing to the side, grabbed her ankle and pulled her down forcefully.
Jin Suiqing lost her balance and fell forward, about to fall off the carriage. Huangfu Li caught her with both hands and pulled her into his arms, laughing, "How come my little sister Suiqing can't even walk without me?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the scions of prominent families who got off the train with him all looked at him in disbelief.
I've heard that the Crown Prince has a disreputable reputation and no woman wants to get close to him. How come he has a woman in his arms today and is calling her "sister" all the time?
Some onlookers stared intently at the woman in his arms and exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't that Jin Suiqing, who escaped from the Jin family three years ago?"
The words spread instantly, and discussions arose immediately.
He achieved his goal. He thought Jin Suiqing in his arms would be furious and beat him in public, so Huangfu Li took the opportunity to kiss her, pretending to be flirting.
But when he looked down, Jin Suiqing's eyes were like ice, coldly staring at him, and she said indifferently, "Well, is Your Highness satisfied? Can you release me now?"
Huangfu Li's expression changed, and after hesitating for a long time, he finally released Jin Suiqing.
Jin Suiqing patted his cloak, as if nothing had happened. "Let's go, Your Highness. We set off late and were delayed on the way. If we don't enter the palace soon, we'll be late."
"Don't wait for him anymore," Huangfu Li clenched his fist tightly, "Jin Suiqing, he will never come!"
Jin Suiqing, who was walking forward, stopped and slowly turned around to look at Huangfu Li. She covered her mouth and chuckled softly, which was the only smile she showed him today.
“Your Highness, this matter is not up to you,” Jin Suiqing said with a smile. “I advise you not to act like a child. Hurry up and go, or His Majesty will scold you if you stay any longer.”
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