Chapter 47 High Attack, Zero Defense
During the meal, Shang Yuji learned that Elder Xiang, one of the Four Elders of the Jianghu, had come to the mansion. He didn't know how Yi Sha had tricked him, but Elder Xiang had replaced Jiang Xi as the one teaching him swordsmanship.
As for the tuition fee of three more jars of wine, that's a small matter.
After finishing their meal, during a break, Shang Yuji pulled Jiang Xi aside to discuss the hair ornament with him.
She knew this seemingly obedient person all too well; if she had simply told him to wear the hair crown, he would have complied. But Shang Yuji didn't want to be so abrupt in directing him, so she said:
"I give you these gifts in the hope that they will be worn by you. I thought of you when I chose them, and I hope that you will think of me when you wear them."
Jiang Xi grasped the key point in her words and said, moved, "Yun Xiao, you missed me... I missed you too!"
Every moment, without ceasing.
That's not the point she was making at all!
Very well, Shang Yuji has decided to abandon the roundabout route.
She grabbed his dark hair that had fallen to his waist, and Jiang Xiqu bent down to cooperate. Shang Yuji lifted his eyes and looked straight at him. They were so close that Jiang Xiqu could see her own reflection in his crystal-clear eyes, which were like morning dew.
A blush crept up his ears, and with a shy expression, he whispered, "Yunxiao..."
"Jiang Haitian!" Shang Yuji called his name sternly, "I bought you this hair ornament, so wear it now, do you hear me!"
Jiang Xi quickly and loudly replied, "I heard it!"
Shang Yuji received a satisfactory reply, patted him on the shoulder, and told him to go and prepare for martial arts training.
Instead, he reached out and grasped her right wrist. He had noticed during the meal that she occasionally twisted and rubbed her wrist, a reaction to the fatigue from writing for a long time.
A gentle, moderate pressure came from my wrist, and my slightly cool fingertips gradually warmed up as they touched me.
"Don't get too tired while writing in the cloud," Jiang Xi muttered to herself.
Shang Yuji replied in a deep voice after a moment, "I know. The winter plum branches in the house are a bit wilted. When you come back from the backyard tonight, break off another branch and replace it with this one when you pass by the courtyard."
"Okay, the plum tree near the pavilion is blooming beautifully."
When their rest time ended, the two went their separate ways.
Shang Yuji continued to outwit and outmaneuver the disaster relief methods presented in the letters.
After racking her brains, she finally wrote down all the methods she could. By the time she put down her pen, it was already dark, so she lit a candle to light up the room.
She then neatly folded the letter paper, creating a thick stack—the largest stack she had ever written.
Her gaze gradually fell upon the ink and brush, sweeping over the results of a hard day's work. It was also about managing a disaster, which reminded her of the aftermath in Jingzhou.
While the imperial court was still arguing over who should be sent to provide disaster relief and how to use "legitimate" means to seek personal gain, news came from Jingzhou that, thanks to the efforts of all parties, Jingzhou had overcome the crisis and put an end to the idea of those who wanted to profit from the disaster.
The eldest princess and the Wanshang Alliance provided timely disaster relief and received a reward from the emperor.
Some people, seeing that they could not profit from the reward, were envious of the princess's reward and jumped out to ask her how she had so presciently transported the supplies to Jingzhou in advance.
Fortunately, the governor of Jingzhou, upon learning of the impending flood, submitted a memorial in advance. Although he did not mention the flood itself, he expressed his concerns about it at every turn. The princess remarked that she had gleaned some insight from his words, and thus sent someone to Jingzhou.
In the end, they were still lamenting the loss of benefits that did not belong to them.
As for the lives lost in the floods, they were merely stepping stones for profit-making.
Shang Yuji glanced at the letter in her hand. What about the drought, locust plague, and earthquake that would happen in the future?
Can they really protect the disaster victims from those who only care about power and money?
Or did the disaster become the foundation for their wealth accumulation?
She felt somewhat annoyed.
Some things cannot be achieved simply by hard work. When too many people and interests are involved, their nature changes.
Otherwise, we should try to replace the corrupt officials who are so eager to make a living.
Let the eldest princess just launch a coup.
The Xuanwu Gate Incident, the Chenqiao Mutiny, the Jingnan Rebellion... our predecessors have already laid out their experiences before us. Not learning from them would be disrespectful to their hard work.
Shang Yuji pressed her palm to relax her right hand, preparing to pick up her pen again.
Besides "Fantasy Chapter: The Master Calls to Me to Stay", Shang Xieshou has started another book, titled "Teach You How to Play the Coup Step by Step - Clever Ideas of a Predecessor's Coup".
Since she was unsure of the extent of the princess's "filial piety" towards the emperor, she had to test the waters first.
As she wrote, her vision blurred until someone knocked on the door. Before the person entered, there was the intoxicating fragrance of plum blossoms. The golden plum branches were gathered by the newcomer, and even the bright colors of the blossoms could not overshadow the person's beautiful face. With a gentle smile, the person was more beautiful than the flowers, drawing everyone's gaze to her face.
"Cloud sales! I've already picked up the flowers."
Her smile was radiant and dazzling, unlike the haggard look she had after a long day.
It's so fresh and vibrant.
Jiang Xi went to see her exhausted, sprawled on her desk. Her expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly ran to her side.
He casually placed the plum blossom branch in an empty space, then reached out and touched her cheek. Shang Yuji did not resist and let him do as he pleased.
When her palm touched his, she seemed to smell the fragrance of plum blossoms carrying the scent of snow, which must have been the fragrance of flowers he picked.
Even his fingertips were touched by the chill of the snow.
It startled her.
Seeing this, Jiang Xi realized that she had been outside for too long and the coldness of her hand was pricking A Ji, so she quickly withdrew her hand.
Perhaps it was the sudden cold that cleared Shang Yuji's confused mind. She grabbed the escaping hand, pulled it back, and pressed it against her, using the temporary coolness to lift her spirits.
Jiang Xi didn't dare to struggle, afraid that she would hurt her if she used too much force, and gently advised, "Aji, it's cold, let go quickly..."
Shang Yuji pressed his hand against her cheek, and seeing the troubled look on his face, an idea came to her.
She cupped his hands in her palms, rubbed them against his, and said in a soft, pitiful voice, "Xi Qu, I've been busy all day, I'm so tired, can you keep me company?"
As she spoke, she frowned, her eyes filled with sorrow but not sadness, and a hopeful gaze as she quietly looked at him.
His hand trembled on his cheek. Shang Yuji saw his beautiful face turn crimson in an instant, like a drowning person craving air. He gasped for breath, clutching his chest with his other hand. His slender body bent over, and gradually, the neck exposed outside his collar turned pink, making one wonder if the skin hidden under his clothes was also stained.
What's going on?
Isn't this just how he usually acts cute towards her?
Why did he react so strongly?
From his perspective, was her reaction really that dumbfounded?
Tick-tock.
A trickle of red flowed from his nose, quickly sliding down and dripping onto his outer garment.
!
Shang Yuji immediately got up and took out a handkerchief to wipe away the blood that kept flowing from his nose.
She's definitely not as clueless as him!
If Yi Sha were here, she would have to say something. Even she had a hard time hurting Jiang Xi, yet she drew blood after just a few words from him.
On Jiang Xiqu's birthday, Shang Yuji almost achieved a solo kill against him.
Jiang Xi leaned her head on Shang Yuji's shoulder and neck, whimpering and complaining. Shang Yuji had no choice but to accept it guiltily.
How could she have imagined that her imitation of his usual submissive behavior towards her would elicit such a strong reaction from him?
"Ah Ji... Ah Ji..." He nestled close to her, his warm breath and sticky calls, and his high nose brushed against her neck outside her collar.
Heavens can see that she hadn't even used one-tenth of his usual strength!
This guy has high attack but low defense!
Fortunately, she has a low attack and high defense, otherwise, life would be unbearable.
"I know you can't handle it, so I won't do it next time," Shang Yuji resignedly.
The person who had been fidgeting stopped moving. After a moment, he slowly stood up, looked up and met her gaze, and said softly, "Aji, you still have to act cute with me in the future."
"..." Shang Yuji didn't know what her expression was like, and was speechless for a moment. It took her a long time to find her voice, "You're bleeding."
He argued forcefully: "Brother Xiang Fei once said that if you get beaten a lot, you'll become tough and resilient."
"As long as Ah Ji also... also acts cute and affectionate towards me, I can handle it and won't bleed!"
"It was just too sudden, I couldn't handle it. I can do it next time."
Shang Yuji doubted his words, but for his health, she still refused, saying, "Don't forget you still have the Heart-Connecting Gu on you. Aren't you afraid of the Gu flaring up and causing you discomfort?"
Recalling the sudden stop and then rapid beating of her heart, the warmth that instantly spread throughout her body, her limbs going weak, her fingertips trembling, the palpitations that made it hard to breathe, and the tingling sensation that coursed through her spine, Jiang Xi leaned softly back onto her shoulder and murmured, "I like... Aji, I like her a lot."
He didn't know whether the pervasive, almost painful, pleasure was good or bad, but he knew he couldn't refuse any experience that Aji brought him.
He always accepts everything without question.
Shang Yuji took out the pastries she had bought from under the desk. The pastries were not big, just enough for the two of them to share. She asked Jiang Xi to get up and sit on a wooden chair on the side.
Make a wish.
Jiang Xi stared straight at her, his lips slightly parted, and Shang Yuji quickly told him to silently repeat it in his mind.
The feeling of him asking for a promise from her was so strong that, thankfully, she reacted quickly and stopped him.
After dividing the pastries, the two carried the plum blossom branches back inside, took out the old branches, and put the new ones into the vase.
Shang Yuji picked up the bright yellow petals that had fallen on the table and randomly placed them into the pages of a book, saving them as a surprise to be discovered when she opened the book next year.
After dinner, when it was late at night, two figures, looking like thieves, darted through the courtyard.
Old Chen remembered the girl's instructions not to pay attention to anything that happened at night, so he decided to turn a blind eye.
The two people groping their way forward in the mansion were Shang Yuji and Jiang Xiqu.
Since they thought they would celebrate their birthdays alone and not make a big fuss, they went to the kitchen while everyone was resting and planned to make a simple bowl of longevity noodles.
Shang Yuji took the lead in making the noodles, while Jiang Xi assisted. Soon, a bowl of hot longevity noodles was ready.
By the dim candlelight in the kitchen, Jiang Xi swallowed the noodles one after another.
Perhaps it was because of the flickering candlelight, but a few tears glistened and fell into the bowl.
Shang Yuji sat on a small stool to the side, the firelight illuminating one side of her face. She rested her chin on her hand, looked at him, and smiled:
"The soup is salty enough, so you don't need to add any more salt."
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