Jing Rong could not help but smile as he looked at Ji Yunshu. She was so cute!
Ji Yunshu said, "We should return immediately. I'm worried about Fu Bo's injury."
"You've sent him to Mo Ruo. With him there, what are you still worried about?"
Jing Rong was right. She couldn't argue with his logic. Although Fu Bo was severely injured, with Mo Ruo's extraordinary expertise, he would be cured completely.
Jing Rong said, "You rarely return to Jinjiang. How can you stay in Wei Residence all day? I'll bring you somewhere. Let's go."
"Where to?" Ji Yunshu asked curiously.
"This Prince is hungry."
Then you should head home for a meal! But she had already been dragged off by Jing Rong before she could react.
After the heavy rain, the streets of Jinjiang were infused with the refreshing, clean scent of greenery. The entire Northern region had been grey and gloomy for days. Now that the rain had finally stopped, people left their houses in droves to take advantage of the good weather, strolling in the streets and restocking their groceries and other daily necessities. Suddenly, the main streets seemed to be bustling with activity!
Shortly later, Jing Rong led her to a noodle stall by the roadside. If she was not mistaken, she had been here with Jing Rong before. Then, that rascal ordered two bowls of noodles the minute he arrived and even tried to teach the owner how to cook. It was hilarious!
Jing Rong took out a pair of clean chopsticks from the container, then knocked the back of the chopsticks on the table. Tap tap.
"Do you still remember this place?"
Ji Yunshu nodded and replied lightly, "I do!"
"That's great," he said with a grin on his face. The usual cold and solemn expression on his face was gone.
Ji Yunshu gently frowned as she did not want to be bothered by him. She patted her empty belly. The scent of the noodles made her stomach growl and was overhead by Jing Rong, who was sitting opposite. He chuckled discreetly before he shouted, "Boss, we want two bowls of noodles, as quickly as possible!"
"Sure." The owner had only just opened the stall after the heavy rain stopped. His forehead was covered in sweat from cooking hot noodles. After a short while, two bowls of noodles were served.
Jing Rong handed one of the bowls to her while saying, "How nice is this?"
"Huh?"
"It's so nice to stay in a serene and quiet little county with you." His eyes beamed affection. Ji Yunshu, too, replied with a rare grin before she started eating.
However, Jing Rong's gaze was glued to her and he did not even bother to touch the noodles in front of him. The noodles were cooling and would soon be stuck together. The moment she lifted her head, she locked eyes with Jing Rong. "Is my face dirty?" She gently touched her face.
"Stay still."
Huh?
Before she could react, Jing Rong had extended his hand towards her and gently touched the corner of her lips. His thumb brushed across the corner of her lips as light as a piece of paper, very slowly and very intimately. As they locked eyes, it was as if fireworks were exploding and their surroundings had faded away....
Ji Yunshu's heart was thumping in her chest. She knew well his ways and thought she was already immune to the man's charisma, but her heart could not help but skip a beat. She felt indescribably fortunate, falling involuntarily and drowning in his fathomless eyes...
But in the end, she still shrank back a little. Jing Rong's outstretched hand paused in mid-air for a long moment before he retrieved it.
He spoke in a teasingly, "What are you afraid of? With our current relationship, what are you still so shy?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Ji Yunshu threw him a glare.
"Little vixen. You're always like this."
She lowered her gaze. "Hurry up and eat your food. Stop with your nonsense." She quickly stuffed her mouth with the noodles. Jing Rong was very happy to see this woman being so bashful.
Shortly after that…
A child in pigtails skipped past them. She was holding a windmill and blowing energetically at it as she ran. She was simply adorable!
Jing Rong glanced over and his gaze fell on the moving windmill and it many half-moon shapes rotating furiously.
He squinted his eyes as if he vaguely recalled something. "Yunshu."
Yunshu lifted her head. "What is it?" As she did not receive any reply, her eyes traced his gaze and fell on the child.
A kid?
Seeing his furrowed brows, Ji Yunshu asked curiously, "Why are you staring at that child?"
"I'm not staring at the child. I'm looking at the windmill in her hand."
"Windmill? What's so special about the windmill?"
Jing Rong looked at her with a solemn expression. "Do you remember the crescent pattern on Wei Yi's father's jade that I told you about? I said that I might have seen it somewhere before." Their conversation turned serious.
Ji Yunshu was stunned. She put down the chopsticks in her hand and nodded. "So?"
"As I saw the windmill in the kid's hand, it reminded me about seeing the pattern when I was young," he paused briefly. "I was at Eighth Imperial Uncle's residence. My Imperial Father was playing chess with the Imperial Duke and I accidentally spilled the tea beside me and dirtied the Imperial Duke's clothes and wet the jade that was hanging on his waist. At that time, he stood up to wipe his jade anxiously. I vaguely recalled the crescent pattern on that jade. Besides, on the other side of the jade had the same tiger head. It resembled Wei Yi's father's jade a lot," he felt uneasier as he spoke. He pondered, "If that jade belonged to the Imperial Duke, how did it end up with Wei Yi's father? That doesn't make any sense."
Exactly, that didn't make any sense!
The Imperial Duke was part of the royal family and had no relation with Wei Yi's father. They were not even acquaintances. How did the jade end up in his hands? That was the most puzzling thing to Ji Yunshu. She took the jade out and handed it to Jing Rong. "Take a better look at it. Was it the same as this?"
He took it and turned it over in his hands as he thought. He shook his head gently and frowned. "I was only three or four years old back then. Moreover, that incident happened so long ago. I do not dare to make a definite conclusion, but it is highly possible. The two jades look so alike!" Too alike! As he finished his words, he returned the jade to Ji Yunshu.
She fingered the uneven surface of the jade as she spoke, "Back then, Zhao Huai talked about this jade as well. Apparently, he was very concerned about the ownership of this jade. Furthermore, he has been following us. It's only right for me to suspect that this jade has a deeper story. With your statement, I've more reasons to believe that this jade carries a secret. It can be related to the Wei Family, Wei Yi, or even the Imperial Duke."
Her words were like an invisible bomb. It seemed to be nothing at all but was very powerful! Jing Rong looked at her thin and curved brows that were tightly knitted together. He somewhat agreed with her statement but before he could say anything, they were interrupted by a commotion.
They looked towards the origin of the commotion and found a silk shop where a woman could be heard scolding loudly. Shortly after that, a crowd assembled outside the shop, all discussing and pointing at something. Initially, they thought it was an unimportant matter and did not bother to intervene. But unexpectedly, they heard Ji Wanxin's soft and tender voice.