Chapter 61 I think my brother-in-law's feelings for his wife don't seem to be...
She actually heard Wen Qiyan say that with her own ears.
"You...you've sided with the Ji family? You...you are..."
She hesitated and stumbled, but he still pressed her palm against his heart.
The man raised an eyebrow slightly, revealing a rare, gentle smile that, in the dim candlelight, exuded an eerie tenderness.
Ji Wanyuan stared at him intently, while Wen Qiyan looked down at her.
"..."
After a long while, the man pulled her into his arms and asked her softly why she didn't continue.
Ji Wanyuan was still trying to calm herself down. She thought she had quietly withdrawn her hand, but little did she know that Wen Qiyan had let go of her.
Because what she learned in her dream had a significant impact on her, Wen Qiyan gave her another "surprise" after she woke up.
It was a pleasant surprise, a mix of shock and joy.
After turning her face away, she continued, "Did you really...do that?"
"Hmm." The man said softly, then pinched her cheek again, but not as hard as before.
"No wonder my father asked you to go to the study." It turned out that Wen Qiyan had switched sides at the last minute.
He raised an eyebrow again, "I heard from the Ji family that my wife can also come and go from my father-in-law's study at any time, right?"
She answered irrelevantly, "Why did you choose to seek refuge with the Ji family?"
Could it be Wen Qiyan's paralysis technique? Was it just to get closer to her?
The concessions he made were indeed substantial, but Ji Wanyuan also understood a principle: you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub.
“There are many reasons,” he said.
"How much is 'many'?"
"Want to hear?" he asked.
Ji Wanyuan retorted irritably, echoing his earlier statement, "What do you think?"
Wen Qiyan chuckled softly, "..."
"I haven't bathed yet, and my wife was also covered in sweat just now. Would you like to bathe with me?"
Ji Wanyuan resisted, "I don't want to go with you."
Wen Qiyan's desire didn't seem to have subsided. If she bathed with him, she might end up being devoured whole.
"Alright then." The man's tone seemed slightly regretful.
Ji Wanyuan glanced at him.
"..."
After about half an hour, I took a bath and lay back down in the prepared bedding.
Ji Wanyuan was a little sleepy, but she couldn't settle down to sleep because she was thinking about what she had just discussed with Wen Qiyan.
After taking a bath, Wen Qiyan stopped speaking.
She pursed her lips and turned towards him, asking, "What exactly did you mean by what you just said?"
"What did you say?" The man seemed to have forgotten.
Ji Wanyuan opened her eyes wide. She subconsciously tried to sit up, but her protruding belly made it inconvenient, and she instantly came to her senses. This was not something to be proud of.
"It's about... it's about you coming to join our Ji family."
She never mentioned the second half of the man's statement, or whose person he was.
"What else could it mean? It's just what it means in words."
The man beside her spoke in a calm and indifferent tone.
Ji Wanyuan wanted to ask more questions, but she hadn't figured out how to ask them, especially the second half of Wen Qiyan's sentence...
She still needed to go back and ask her father for confirmation before she would believe it.
After thinking it over, she decided to drop the subject and change the subject directly, saying, "I want to go back to my parents' home tomorrow, but my mother-in-law has grounded me."
"I'll take you back tomorrow."
Judging from his tone, you should be able to guess what she's going back to do, right?
"Have you forgotten?" she asked.
The man beside him scoffed, "Do you think that's possible?"
Ji Wanyuan couldn't help but purse her lips. She was worried that if she slept in the next day, Wen Qiyan would be nowhere to be found when she woke up. Who would she look for then?
"Then you must wake me up when you wake up tomorrow," she said to him.
"Hmm." The man uttered a faint sound, reverting to his usual aloofness, his tone devoid of any discernible fluctuation.
But perhaps because of that one sentence, Ji Wanyuan felt that he was easier to talk to than usual, even though she was still wary of him.
"By the way, does your father-in-law know that you've come to rely on the Ji family?"
The rain outside is relentless, and it's still falling right now. The candle that was left lit has been blown out, and it's pitch black inside the curtained room.
She could barely make out Wen Qiyan's features, but the man was powerful and tall, and she could sense his presence, which trapped her within the bed.
Wen Qiyan remained silent for a long time. Ji Wanyuan grew impatient and reached out to tug at his undergarment. Her voice was soft and muffled, with a slight nasal tone.
"Wen Qiyan, why aren't you saying anything?"
"Isn't Miss Ji sleepy?" he asked, adding that she was pregnant but kept moving around.
"Who exactly caused all this trouble?"
"Me, torment you?" he replied calmly.
For some reason, Ji Wanyuan felt that the word "fuss" sounded slightly off after she said it.
She puffed out her cheeks and gently nudged him, "Don't change the subject, I don't want to talk nonsense with you."
Upon hearing this, the man seemed to laugh in exasperation.
After a long while, the rain outside seemed to have lessened a bit, and Wen Qiyan asked her, "What exactly did you dream about?"
He came back around.
"Didn't I tell you? I died in childbirth. The person who harmed me in my dream was from the Lin family, and their goal was to get you."
"So, the details of our two families' marriage alliance, were also something you dreamed about?"
Ji Wanyuan was slightly startled. Should she say that Wen Qiyan's intuition was too sharp, and that he was especially good at drawing inferences from one instance to another?
"Why don't you speak?" This time it was his turn to ask her.
Ji Wanyuan didn't want to answer. After a long while, she said no, "I found out from somewhere else."
"Where?" he pressed for an answer.
She wanted to talk to her father, but since Wen Qiyan had already discussed it with him, this approach was likely not feasible.
Ji Wanyuan's eyes darted around. "I heard it from my brother."
Anyway, since his brother hasn't returned to the capital yet, Wen Qiyan wouldn't be able to find anyone even if he wanted to ask. Besides, Wen Qiyan and his brother don't get along, so the two of them won't sit down and talk calmly.
Ji Lingyue...
His eyelashes fluttered. "You seem to have a very close relationship with your brother-in-law."
“That’s my brother, of course I’m close to him.” Ji Wanyuan didn’t understand the man’s implied meaning.
"How close are they?"
Just as Ji Wanyuan was about to answer, a thought flashed through her mind, and the man next to her turned around quietly.
Why aren't you answering?
Is he jealous again? His voice didn't sound particularly dramatic, but something felt off.
"It's just... the kind of close relationship you have with normal siblings."
"Really?" Wen Qiyan's gaze lingered on her small face.
As he reached out, he moved his hand a little closer.
Before Ji Wanyuan could react, she was already in his arms.
"Are we that close?"
“You’ve gone crazy again,” she glared at him.
"Whose siblings are so close, like husband and wife!"
She couldn't help but spit at the man, cursing him for his filthy thoughts.
"I can tell that my brother-in-law has deep feelings for his wife."
"Who do you think has little affection for me?" She felt that Wen Qiyan really needed to see the imperial physician.
She really couldn't stand him anymore! He was jealous at any moment, and she would complain about any man who appeared near her or got even slightly close to her.
First it was his younger brother, and then it was her older brother.
The man who was scolded didn't get angry but laughed instead, "I hope my brother-in-law's feelings for his wife are pure, otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?"
He didn't speak, only smiled, his long, jade-like fingertips caressing her waist, eventually landing on her protruding belly.
"How are you going to handle the Lin family's affairs?" Ji Wanyuan asked again.
"What do you want me to do?" he actually threw the question back at him.
"How would I know? After all, the other party is your sister Nianxi."
"What did you say?" He clearly heard him, but he still asked, his tone calm, yet carrying an inexplicable chilling threat.
It was as if he would punish her if she dared to nod in agreement.
Ji Wanyuan quickly changed her tune, "Aren't you on good terms with Lin Nianxi's older brother, Lin Sinian? Are you willing to go against the Lin family?"
That so-called dream was just a dream.
"Are there any other details about your nightmare?"
He actually accepted her dream and didn't think it was a joke.
Wen Qiyan was actually the first person to believe that the details of her dream were real.
Ji Wanyuan paused for a moment, and the man held her even tighter. She felt hot and struggled.
But then he told her not to move.
"Don't do anything reckless." That was what she was worried about.
"If you don't do anything rash, I won't do anything rash." Wen Qiyan easily subdued her with just one sentence.
Ji Wanyuan mumbled that she was hot.
Wen Qiyan didn't let go; he just tugged at the brocade quilt.
Ji Wanyuan looked up at him, and after a long while, she said, "There are no detailed details. I just dreamed that I died in childbirth, and then you married Lin Nianxi the following year. I floated to the place where you two were on your wedding night and heard her say it herself."
Wen Qiyan frowned, trying his best to correct her about the wedding night, but he held back and only asked her, "What did you say?"
"explain……"
She hesitated again.
"Ji Wanyuan, do you distrust me that much?" He was referring to the things she had repeatedly tried to say but then stopped herself from speaking.
"I don't."
"Then why don't you continue? Why do you have to choose every word you say to me so carefully?"
"I only overheard Lin Nianxi telling her maid that the Lin couple had given too little medicine, and that it was a real pity that they didn't kill the child and me together."
"Then Lin Nianxi added that a swaddled baby is nothing to fear."
Wanting to see Wen Qiyan's expression, she struggled and turned away from him in his arms.
But it was so dark inside the curtains that she couldn't see his face clearly, only feeling his breath, the same breath that had enveloped her just now.
"..."
"Don't you believe what I'm saying?" she asked, a little uneasy.
"If I didn't believe you, why would I ask you?" He cut her off with a rhetorical question.
Ji Wanyuan muttered, "You don't seem to believe me."
It wasn't that he didn't believe it, but rather that he found it strange.
Is Ji Wanyuan's dream so powerful? Can she predict the future? Judging from her words, the details of the previous marriage between the two families were very likely something she dreamed about.
What triggered her dream?
Wen Qiyan frowned. This was truly perplexing, yet undeniably true.
He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't witnessed Ji Wanyuan's nightmare and heard those words from her.
Besides, how could he possibly have guessed that everything she knew was because of her dream?
This is absolutely absurd.
Ji Wanyuan was still waiting for Wen Qiyan to speak, but she never expected that this man would act unpredictably again.
He actually asked her, "In your dream, our child was a boy?"
Was it not just the child, but also her change of heart towards him, because of her dream?
Ji Wanyuan must be hiding something from him, but she's unwilling to talk about it. Asking too much might offend her.
For now, we can only proceed gradually.
Ji Wanyuan, “…?”
Is this the key point?
“…Hmm.” After a long while, she responded to the man’s words.
"I understand." He said this and didn't let her continue.
"It's getting late, you should rest. I'll take you back to the Ji family tomorrow." He touched her hair in the darkness.
Ji Wanyuan had said everything that needed to be said and could be said, and then she simply said "oh".
She tried to struggle away from his embrace, and just when she was about to succeed, the man caught her again.
Ji Wanyuan glared at him, but it was no use.
After struggling twice, she drifted off to sleep in a daze.
The next day, when she woke up, it was already bright daylight. When she asked Emerald, she found out that it was already lunchtime.
"Why didn't you call me?" Ji Wanyuan frowned.
“Miss is quite far along in her pregnancy, so rest is essential.” Emerald also recounted what Wen Qiyan had told her not to disturb her.
Ji Wanyuan had not forgotten what happened yesterday and was about to ask where the jadeite Wen Qiyan was.
Before she could even speak, she heard the man's footsteps approaching. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw him standing tall and elegant behind the beaded curtain, looking at her.
Meeting the man's deep gaze, Ji Wanyuan's lips parted slightly.
She thought of what Wen Qiyan had said last night.
For a moment, I didn't know what to say to him. "..."
After a long pause, she didn't even know why she blurted out, "Didn't you go to the palace today?"
"If I go, won't you blame me for breaking my promise again?"
Ji Wanyuan pouted, not wanting to respond to him, and simply ignored him.
Jade subtly sensed the change in atmosphere between its masters and did not utter a sound to disturb them.
After lunch, Wen Qiyan took her out.
The people sent by Madam Wen were still there, and they tried to stop Ji Wanyuan the moment they saw her come out.
But when Wen Qiyan gave them a single, indifferent glance, no one dared to speak. They looked at each other, hesitant to speak, and no one dared to step forward.
Ji Wanyuan was quite triumphant. She gave a haughty snort and followed the man away with a triumphant air.
After the person left, the old women immediately went to deliver a message to Madam Wen.
However, Madam Wen had already taken her medicine and was taking a nap. The old woman who was close to her thought that Ji Wanyuan had been taken out by Wen Qiyan and that nothing should go wrong, so she did not immediately wake Madam Wen to tell him.
The two walked together to the covered walkway.
Ji Wanyuan was caught off guard by Wen Qiyan's sudden stop. Thinking he had something to say, she was about to ask when she heard him say...
"Qin Di is recuperating at home. Would you like to go and see him?"
This guy is definitely up to no good.
Ji Wanyuan said irritably, "If I go, won't you start arguing with me again?"
"I'm not that petty." His tone was indifferent, and his expression was very cold during the day, showing no emotion whatsoever.
"Yeah?"
She retorted, "Aren't you stingy?"
"Do you want to go?" The man ignored her question and asked again.
Ji Wanyuan said there was no need.
If anyone goes with him, what if the two of them start fighting again? Not only will Madam Wen confine her, but Lord Wen might also hold her accountable.
He asked her if she had thought it through, "If I call you now and you don't go, don't let me find out you're going secretly."
Ji Wanyuan, “…”
She was so angry that she forced a smile at him, then rolled her eyes at him.
After getting into the carriage, neither of them said a word.
Wen Qiyan looked very busy; what he held in his hand was not a book, but a case file from the Censorate.
Ji Wanyuan said "thoughtfully," "Actually, you're so busy, you don't have to come back to my parents' home with me."
She hadn't finished explaining that she could manage on her own.
The man didn't even look up, and retorted, "What? Miss Ji, are you going to use me and then dump me?"
She was speechless, choked by his words.
How come she never noticed before that Wen Qiyan was so good at being sarcastic and sarcastic?
"What have I taken advantage of you? I was just being considerate of you!" She turned her face away and snorted at him, saying that his good intentions were completely wasted.
Upon hearing this, the man looked up and glanced at her puffed-up profile.
Five months have passed, and Ji Wanyuan has basically stopped using cosmetics, only applying simple lip rouge to her lips. She is naturally pretty, and without makeup, she only appears pure and innocent.
After looking at her for a while, Wen Qiyan raised his hand and reached out to her.
Ji Wanyuan glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. When she saw him reach out, she was startled. She instinctively tried to dodge, but the man still cupped her cheek.
His thumb rubbed against her lips, wiping away her lipstick.
Ji Wanyuan thought he was acting like a beast again, but to her surprise, he glanced at her with a deep look in his eyes and then released her.
"Is it really out of consideration?" he replied.
"Isn't it because after I left the manor, you think I'm a nuisance and are eager to get rid of me?"
He's really amazing; he can guess what she's thinking.
"You are judging me by the standards of a petty person."
He glanced at her lower abdomen.
Ji Wanyuan asked him what he was looking at, then pulled his cloak over his head, saying, "You're not allowed to look."
Where the woman couldn't see, the man gently curled his lips, "Ji Wanyuan."
"Your act of kicking me when I'm down makes me wonder if you'll just kick me aside once the Ji family succeeds in their scheme."
Before Ji Wanyuan could reply, he pressed, "You know how?"
Ji Wanyuan loved to contradict him, and with a cold snort, she was about to retort.
But fearing that Wen Qiyan would go crazy, she swallowed her words before they came out, ignoring him and pretending not to hear.
Unexpectedly, she actually swallowed her anger, and Wen Qiyan glanced at her again.
Fortunately, Prime Minister Ji was at home, and Ji Wanyuan breathed a sigh of relief.
Madam Ji was overjoyed to see her daughter return home. However, upon hearing that Ji Wanyuan had come to see her father again, she pretended to be displeased and pinched the tip of her nose.
"You're becoming increasingly ungrateful for your mother!"
She immediately snuggled into Madam Ji's arms and said sweetly that no, because in her heart Madam Ji would always be number one.
Upon hearing this, the man's eyes flickered.
Prime Minister Ji was discussing matters in his study, and Ji Wanyuan had to wait for him.
About half an incense stick's time later, someone came to deliver a message.
Ji Wanyuan quickly slipped away, glancing back at Wen Qiyan before leaving. She was relieved to see that he didn't get up.
Madam Ji had just received her instructions to keep Wen Qiyan in the main hall and not let the men move around. Even though she didn't understand her daughter's intentions, she still doted on her and went along with her wishes.
Prime Minister Ji was not surprised by Ji Wanyuan's purpose in coming.
After hearing her question, he first asked if her pregnancy was okay, and then nodded in agreement.
“Wen Qiyan is a complete wolf in sheep’s clothing. How can you work with him, Father?”
Ji Wanyuan felt it was very dangerous; it was tantamount to asking a tiger for its skin.
Who knows if his defection was feigned?
"I have my own plans for this matter," Prime Minister Ji told her to rest assured and focus on her pregnancy.
"Father, how exactly did you get in touch with Wen Qiyan? Weren't you always so wary of him? How come you suddenly trust him?"
Knowing that Ji Wanyuan liked to get to the bottom of things, Prime Minister Ji simply told her about Wen Qiyan's pretense of using her to pass on a message to the Ji family.
To everyone's surprise, Ji Wanyuan's face suddenly turned pale and then red after hearing this.
"What's wrong?"
Prime Minister Ji had no idea how she had gotten those words out of her, so he naturally couldn't understand why her expression had suddenly turned so ugly.
"N-nothing..."
So Wen Qiyan wasn't lustful at all; he deliberately let her know those things to achieve his goals through her?
He can even control his desires? Thinking of this, she found Wen Qiyan even more terrifying.
"Father! Your daughter still doesn't think he's trustworthy. Please don't hire him; you might end up doing all the work for someone else!"
"Yuan'er, fortune favors the bold; you can't catch a tiger cub without venturing into the tiger's den," Prime Minister Ji said with a smile, pleased with her caution.
Ji Wanyuan was extremely anxious when she saw that her father was refusing to listen to reason.
Judging from her father's appearance, it was unlikely that anything she said would change his mind.
Therefore, we can only discuss this later.
In addition, she subtly mentioned the Lin family's situation to Prime Minister Ji.
She said that Lin Nianxi always went to the Wen family's house, and in private, she liked to stare at her stomach with a scary look from the shadows.
"My daughter is afraid that the Lin family will harm me..."
Prime Minister Ji frowned, and after a long while said, "Don't worry, your father will keep an eye on you and secretly send people to protect you."
"Hmm." Ji Wanyuan was somewhat unhappy.
As she left Prime Minister Ji's study, she bumped into He Xun. He must have seen the Wen family's carriage at the gate of the mansion, and he didn't seem surprised by her appearance.
The two nodded to each other in greeting and then parted ways.
As Ji Wanyuan's figure disappeared around the corner, He Xun turned back and glanced at her.
After He Xun entered the study, Prime Minister Ji, while looking through the things He Xun handed over, instructed, "Now that you've started working at the Dali Temple, you should have some contact with the Lin family."
Prime Minister Ji refers to Lin Sinian, the eldest son of the Lin family.
"Keep a close eye on the Lin family's actions and see if they try to interfere with the Wen family."
The Lin and Wen families have always had dealings, and Prime Minister Ji has always been very careful to guard against them. This time, he must be saying this for Ji Wanyuan's sake.
He Xun understood and said he would take care of things.
"Your Excellency, a few days ago a scout reported that the eldest son secretly met with the Wuhuan people."
"Oh?" Prime Minister Ji slowed down his reading of the letter and looked up at He Xun with a frown.
"..."
Ji Wanyuan wanted to stay at the Ji family home for a few more days, and Wen Qiyan agreed.
After having a simple snack, he told Madam Ji that he wanted to take Ji Wanyuan out for a walk to relax. Ji Wanyuan didn't want to go, but Madam Ji said that a guest was coming to visit later, and if she were at home, she would probably have to see him.
Upon hearing this, Ji Wanyuan reluctantly followed Wen Qiyan out the door.
But to her surprise, Wen Qiyan also introduced her to people, and they were from the Lin family.
Although she had heard about the gentle and refined eldest son of the Lin family from her cousin Qingru many times, this was probably the first time she had formally met Lin Nianxi's brother, Lin Sinian.
The other party seemed quite surprised to see her arrive.
Although her expression flashed quickly, Ji Wanyuan still caught it in an instant.
The two exchanged pleasantries, sat down, and drank a cup of tea.
Ji Wanyuan then overheard Wen Qiyan talking to Lin Sinian,
“Si Nian, your younger sister is not young anymore. As her elder brother, shouldn’t you take care of things that Lord Lin can’t look after?”
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Author's note: Just going through the plot a bit [rainbow fart].
This chapter also features a random giveaway of 50 lucky red envelopes!
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