After kissing enough, Yun Jia pulled away, panting heavily, but still seemed unsatisfied and started nibbling at Ye Jiu's face.
Ye Jiu teased him, "It would be better to do this kind of thing tonight."
Yun Jia's heart skipped a beat. Yes, he was too hasty. How was he any different from the men in those brothels?
He rested his head against Ye Jiu's chest, "I was too hasty, Xiao Jiu, please don't... hate me because of this."
"What?" He spoke so softly at the end that Ye Jiu didn't hear him.
"It's nothing... I'm glad you're back."
Ye Jiu tapped the wooden box on the table with her finger. "Quickly open it and see what's inside."
Yun Jia sat down and opened the exquisite wooden box, inside which lay three hairpins.
"Do you like it? If you don't, I'll buy you another one." Ye Jiu hugged him from behind, tilted her head and asked him, "If you like it, I'll buy you another one too. Senior brother didn't have enough hairpins before, and I wanted to buy you one when I saw it on the way."
Yun Jia was speechless for a moment, looking at the hairpin in the box, not knowing what to do.
"I……"
"Give it a try!"
Yun Jia didn't move, and whispered, "Xiao Jiu, can you do my hair?"
"sure."
Ye Jiu removed the wooden hairpin from Yun Jia's head, letting her long black hair fall loose. Ye Jiu smoothed her hair with her hand, saying, "Yun Jia, your hair is so beautiful."
She put her hair up, picked up a white jade hairpin, and said as she inserted the hairpin, "We really look like a married couple who have been married for many years."
After tying his hair up, Ye Jiu casually placed a kiss on his head, saying, "It's beautiful, and it suits you very well."
"Really?" Yun Jia turned around so she could take a closer look.
"Yes, when have I ever lied to anyone?"
Yun Jia shook her head. "No, you're good at lying. That's what you said when you secretly took me out to play back then."
Ye Jiu recalled some embarrassing moments from the past, chuckled, and changed the subject, "I'll find you a bronze mirror so you can take a closer look."
——
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye. At dawn, Ye Jiu changed into a black brocade dress and stood in front of the First Princess's residence, holding the sword Yao Yishui had given her in her arms and a foxtail grass she had picked up from somewhere in her mouth. Her brows were full of arrogance.
Countless men along the way were captivated by her and couldn't move.
The servant pushed open the door and beckoned Ye Jiu to come in first. Ye Jiu followed the servant inside, and Ji Huali's maid handed her a maid's outfit that matched her own. "To avoid attracting attention, Miss Ye, we'll have to trouble you."
Ye Jiu forced a smile. If only she had said so earlier, she would have wasted half a day picking out clothes.
Ji Huali packed her things and prepared to leave. Ye Jiu also changed her clothes and followed her out. She kept her head down and was dressed as a maid, so Ji Huali didn't notice her for a moment.
"Ye Jiu didn't come?" she asked the maid.
"Your Highness, that's her in the maid's uniform."
Ye Jiu looked up and smiled, revealing a set of bright white teeth. Ji Huali suddenly realized what was going on and gave her an approving look. "Well done, just like that, blending in with the entourage."
Ye Jiu and her maid followed Ji Huali into the carriage; clearly, the maid was also one of Ji Huali's confidantes.
After spending half a month together, Ye Jiu discovered that Ji Huali was a very contradictory person, and her mood was unpredictable. For example, when she was in a good mood, she could put aside her pride and treat people as equals.
Ji Huali took the initiative to introduce her, "This is Liuli, my confidante."
Ye Jiu greeted politely, "Hello, hello, I am Ye Jiu, and I am responsible for His Highness's safety with the secret guards."
Then silence fell over the car, and Ji Huali leaned against the car wall and closed her eyes to rest.
Ye Jiu pricked up his ears, ready to act at any moment. On the way to Lianyin Temple, they would pass through a grove of trees, which was probably the best place to make a move. Ye Jiu was afraid of missing the slightest sound.
Even with reduced spending due to flooding, the entire procession was still quite large, with officials of the fifth rank and above accompanying the Empress to pray for blessings.
Lianyin Temple is located in Cheng'an County, near the capital, on the mountainside of Jining Mountain. It covers a very large area and has been a temple for emperors to pray for blessings since ancient times, so it was built quite luxuriously.
We set off at dawn and arrived at Lianyin Temple at sunset. The abbot had made preparations early and settled everyone in. That's all for today. We'll start praying again early tomorrow morning. We'll pray for five days in a row and return to the capital on the sixth day.
After Liuli tidied up Ji Huali's room, Ye Jiu stood at the door looking at the sky, missing Yun Jia a little and wondering how he was doing.
The round trip plus the prayer takes seven days. In the past, at least we could see each other at night, but now it's a real seven days and six nights without seeing each other.
As night fell, Ji Huali blew out the candles and went to bed. Ye Jiu and Liuli took turns resting at night, and could not let their guard down.
Ye Jiu was in charge of the first half of the night, and Liu Li was in charge of the second half.
To avoid being noticed, Ye Jiu stood on a tree keeping watch. After a long day of running around, she couldn't help but yawn. She was exhausted after a long day, and she figured no one would sneak up on her.
Ye Jiu stretched and adjusted her posture, preparing to switch shifts with Liuli.
However, as soon as she stood still, she noticed a sneaky figure. Ye Jiu squinted and looked closely. Speak of the devil, and he appears.
She carefully poked a hole in the paper on the window and inserted a round tube.
Alright, no need to look anymore, he's definitely not a good person.
Ye Jiu jumped down from the tree and delivered a flying kick with a "thud," sending the person crashing to the ground. The force of the kick was so great that the person coughed up blood.
The man fainted before he could even glance at Ye Jiu.
They are easily defeated.
Ye Jiu was at a loss as to what to do when she saw Liu Li walk over and witness the scene.
"Are they here to assassinate you?"
Ye Jiu raised her chin to indicate that she should look at the hole in the window. "She did it, probably."
"You go and rest first, I'll take care of her."
Ye Jiu asked curiously, "Are you going to kill her?"
"Yes, the body cannot be left either."
Liuli took out a bottle of poison from her bosom and stuffed it into the man's mouth. After a long while, the man stopped breathing.
"Where do you plan to dispose of the body?" Ye Jiu was curious about where nearby could dispose of a corpse.
"Throw it to the bottom of the lake."
"Which lake? The lake in front of the temple is always busy with people, the stench of the corpse would be too obvious."
"The back mountain."
Liuli remained unfazed when questioned, saying, "Below the cliff on the back mountain is a deep pool of water, a place rarely visited by people, making it the perfect spot."
Liuli hoisted the corpse onto her shoulder. "Thank you for keeping watch a little longer. I'll be right back after I throw it away."
"Alright."
At first, Ye Jiu was also afraid of killing and dared not do it. But this is not modern times, where the powerful can do whatever they want. Moreover, she has now joined the First Princess's camp, and there are many people who want her dead. She just wants to live.
After Liuli left, Ye Jiu covered the bloodstains with soil, and everything was calm in front of the eldest princess's gate, as if nothing had happened.
Liuli returned after an incense stick had burned. Her clothes were not stained with blood, and there were hardly any wrinkles.
Ye Jiu turned and left as soon as she saw her coming. Hmm, it's too late. I can finally go to sleep.
The person sent today is clearly just testing the waters; who knows how tough the next few days will be? She'd better be on her guard.
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