Chapter 318 – Create Branches and Scatter Leaves
She watched as Jing Rong wrapped himself in her quilt and wiggled like a caterpillar. Instead of feeling disgust, she found him cute.
She was helpless in front of his antics. That man deserved to be titled the most shameless person on Earth.
"Get out," she shouted at him.
He refused to comply, ignoring her plea.
"It's getting late. Either you go back to your estate or go to the guest room. This bed is too small to accommodate both of us," she insisted.
He did not respond.
"Jing Rong!" she gritted her teeth and yelled at him.
"Mm?" He finally deigned to respond. Slowly, he poked his head out from under the quilt. A pair of bright eyes narrowed. He tugged on the quilt again, revealing his face on which hung a sly smile. "It's cold outside. It's best to sleep together. Since the bed is small, I'll hold you while we sleep."
"Shameless." Although she was used to his roguish behavior, she was still exasperated by his teasing.
Forget it! Nevermind!
"If you want to sleep here, then sleep. I'll go to another room."
She planned to leave, but he grabbed her wrist and yanked her back. She spun and her slender body fell forward. In an instant, she found herself lying on a broad, solid chest. She struggled to get up, but her shoulders were pressed down. Her whole body was held in a hug. The strength was overwhelming and she was effectively immobilized. Jing Rong flipped over and pressed her under him, causing their distance to be paper thin.
It was quite a position too close for comfort. Ji Yunshu pushed on his chest, but no matter how much strength she used, he didn't budge a bit. Hence, she changed her strategy to grabbing the front of his clothes and glared at him with the fire of anger burning in her eyes.
"Stop joking around. Get up!" she said with an annoyed tone.
"It's already so late. What is there to do after getting out of bed at this hour? It's better to rest early," his tone was frivolous.
"I'll get angry if you continue."
"This Prince loves when you get angry."
"You-" She blushed, rendered speechless by his retorts.
This guy, he was as romantic as any man from royalty could be and a glibbed tongue that could sweet talk anyone.
Jing Rong looked at her reddened face. He squinted his peach blossom eyes and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He stared directly into her watery eyes and said, "Don't move."
Then, he leaned down. Their lips were about to touch, but Ji Yunshu moved in surprise, turning her head. As a result, his lips stamped on her ear. The warm breath could be felt tickling her ear. Her blushing spread to her neck and her body stiffened.
At that moment, Jing Rong chuckled. He continued to kiss her earlobe without restraint. "Yunshu, this Prince wants to stick to you for a lifetime."
Ji Yunshu was dumbfounded.
"This Prince is getting old. It's about time I settle down to create branches and scattered leaves.
"Who would want to create branches and scattered leaves with you?"
"You're the sapling that this Prince is responsible for watering. So of course, the task to sprout out new branches rests on you."
"Rubbish!" She glared at him with her mouth twitching.
That man's mouth when in bed seemed to be filled with honey. His sweet talk could kill people with diabetes.
Jing Rong noticed her expression. He used his finger to lift her chin up, then leaned in to kiss the corner of her eyes. "Yunshu, this Prince feels alive by your side," he stated with deep emotion.
Her heart fluttered at his words. She loosened her grip on his garb and her almond eyes curved crescent as she looked at his clear and handsome face. His countenance seemed as if it was sculpted from ice. There was a sternness looming in his traits giving him the charm of a mature man.
Jing Rong had the urge to touch her forehead. He slowly stretched his fingers with well-defined joints and caressed her. Then, his fingers rolled down, tracing her graceful eyebrows, the corners of her eyes and her lips. After that, he leaned down again and took her cherry lips, kissing her once again. This time, she didn't reject him, welcoming his touch. Their kisses started lightly, and gradually turned into a fervent storm of passion as hot as wildfire.
……….
The next morning, Ji Yunshu woke up in Jing Rong's arms. They were in each other’s arms just like the night before, not bothering to change their clothes before going to sleep, leaving them all wrinkled.
Ji Yunshu got out of bed quietly. Then, she tidied her clothes a bit. Afterward, she covered Jing Rong carefully before leaving the room.
To her surprise, as soon as she left her room, she met with the Capital Governor who came in a hurry. He had an ingratiating face which showed some anxiety. She suddenly felt how similar he looked to that silly Liu Qingping, the magistrate in Jinjiang. They were both chubby and were prone to bootlicking others.
When she looked at him, she knew he was up to no good. One does not visit a temple for no reason. Without searching far, she knew it had to be related to some urgent matter if not why would he have come to visit so early in the morning.
The Governor walked to her and clasped both hands in a greeting. "Teacher Ji."
"May I ask for what reason Milord has come so early in the morning?"
"Nothing much. Really." Then, he added with a troubled tone, "Did Teacher rest well last night?"
"Very well."
"The recent weather is quite fickle. You must pay attention to your health."
"Thank you very much for your concern."
After chatting about random gossip for a while, he licked his dry lips and swallowed his saliva. Finally, he took his courage and suppressed his embarrassment to ask, "Teacher Ji, this Official knows that you are currently busy with the Lin Capital case and might not have much time. Not to mention, the imperial duke case is quite urgent, but I don't know if…"
He stopped, not knowing how to organize the next words.
Ji Yunshu encouraged him, "Milord, there is no harm in telling me what burdens your mind. If it is something I can help with, I will do my best to support you."
"This matter is truly difficult."
Ji Yunshu observed him, trying to guess his thoughts. If it wasn't a thorny affair, Lord Liu would not have gone looking for her today.
Could he have wanted to matchmake her with some sisters? Or did some young lady take fancy of her and want him to introduce her?
After hesitating for a while, the Governor finally stated his business. "In fact, there is a murder case dating back to three years ago." His expression hardened as he continued to explain. "A few days ago, a married woman came to the Capital yamen and submitted a complaint to sue the Yufu county's magistrate for corruption and miscarriage of justice causing the tragic death of her daughter and letting the murderer free from the bounds of justice. The case had been closed for a few years already before the woman traveled all the way from Yufu to submit a request for a reinvestigation. However, since she had no background, she decided to come directly to the capital to submit her request which was not according to protocol. Hence, the Supreme Court denied her request and threw the ball to me. The woman had returned time and time again to submit her request and I can't do anything about it. I have to say she is quite a pitiful person, so I ended up accepting her appeal."
After the whole story was told, Ji Yunshu realized he had come to her for a case and not marriage.
Grenn’s Rants Corner
Lol, Jing Rong might never go beyond B base. XD
Chapter 319 – Do You Believe in the Heavens?
Ji Yunshu's expression darkened as she asked, "What's the matter with this case?"
The Capital Governor sighed, "That woman's daughter was a famous songstress in a brothel, but was tainted by a man one night. She died that same night in that room, but the man is a young master of one of the influential houses in Yufu County and he proclaimed that he didn't kill her. He even bribed the local yamen. When the coroner examined the body, he reported that she committed suicide by ingesting poison and this case was concluded as such. That woman has persistently insisted that her daughter would never take her own life, so she has traveled all the way to the Capital to submit this claim."
"Does she have any evidence or proof corroborating her claim?"
"She mentioned something – something about her daughter having a son. The day before she died, her daughter told her that she would remain in the brothel for only one more day before leaving Yufu County to raise her son somewhere else in peace, therefore she was certain that she would never commit suicide."
The Governor pulled out several crumpled pieces of paper from his sleeve and handed them to Ji Yunshu, continuing, "These are the claims she submitted. Please have a look, Teacher Ji."
Ji Yunshu stretched out a hand for the papers but was intercepted by another hand. She followed those fingers upwards only to meet Jing Rong's disgruntled gaze. He glared at the capital mayor, "Governor, did you not understand what this Prince meant earlier?"
The Governor’s face turned green – he, of course, understood his intentions, but – "Your Highness, if this case was not so tricky, this official would also not have-"
"Is there no-one in the entire capital yamen and Supreme Court who is capable of taking over this case? Is the court feeding a bunch of useless animals?" Jing Rong bellowed.
Lord Yi shook in his boots, but continued slowly, "Please calm down, Your Highness. This official knows that he shouldn't trouble Teacher Ji with such a matter, but this case happened three years ago and would be difficult to investigate. Everyone across the capital, even the entire Great Lin, knows of Teacher Ji's capabilities. As such, this official thought of Teacher Ji – if Teacher could solve this case, then this official along many others, could then submit our letters of recommendation for Teacher Ji to become the next Disciplinary–"
"Enough!" Jing Rong cut the Governor off before he could finish. This governor sure was testing his limits!
Ji Yunshu was likewise surprised; Jing Rong had already known of the Capital Governor's plans to request for her help in solving the case, but had rejected it on her behalf. Who could have expected that the Governor would be unfazed despite Jing Rong's warning and pay her a secret visit personally, only to meet Jing Rong straightaway? How interesting!
Jing Rong was furious as he sternly spoke, "Governor, this prince will repeat this only once more – this is a case that you and the Supreme Court should handle. Discuss how you would do this behind closed doors and leave Teacher Ji alone."
It was as if he had been slapped across the face as the Governor's cheeks began to flush. He gulped his saliva nervously and sighed, "Yes, this official understands. It was this official's mistake."
"Good," Jing Rong replied curtly and returned those claim papers he had intercepted previously.
Lord Yi received them with both hands as he paid his respects, "Then this official… will trouble and bother Your Highness and Teacher Ji no longer. This official will take his leave."
In the short span of their back-and-forth, Ji Yunshu caught a glimpse of the words "Ye'er" on those papers – where had she seen them before? Just as the capital mayor stored the papers away dejectedly, Ji Yunshu called out, "Lord Yi, please hold on."
He stopped immediately and turned around expectantly. As Ji Yunshu headed towards the Governor, she was pulled back by Jing Rong. He stated firmly, "This is a case you cannot investigate."
"I want to decide for myself." She pushed Jing Rong's hand away and extracted the papers from the Governor's hands. Those papers should have been unsoiled, the writing on it neat and meticulous, but instead, the papers were crumpled, wrinkled, faint water marks still visible. Some of the ink had been stained and washed away, the written words difficult to make out unless one looked really carefully.
Ji Yunshu conscientiously perused those claims, her face darkening as she finished. She held those papers tightly in her hands, only to carefully keep them after a while as she asked Lord Yi, "Can I meet this person?"
The Governor nodded enthusiastically, "Of course, Teacher."
"Hold on." Jing Rong stopped him and pulled Ji Yunshu aside, "This case has nothing to do with you. This Prince doesn't want to drag you into any more needless matters – all you have to do is to concentrate on the 'Lin Capital Case'."
Ji Yunshu had a sad expression on her face as she asked him softly, "Do you believe in the heavens?"
Hm? "Why do you ask so?"
"Perhaps this was all fate, perhaps it was fated for me to investigate this case, because I have met this woman before. There is one page missing from this claim, and that page is in my possession – since the heavens wish to give me this case, I have no reason to refuse."
"Yunshu…"
She remarked steadfastly, "When I first joined the yamen five years ago, I was indeed looking to feed myself, but I realised thereafter that there are too many wronged people, too many unfair cases in this world. I cannot just watch as these people die maligned without doing anything. Since the heavens have bestowed upon me the ability to solve cases and examine corpses, then this is my responsibility and not simply me being meddlesome. It's just like Your Highness having to bear your own responsibilities."
Jing Rong was both astonished and shaken by her words. He finally spoke, "It looks like this Prince must worry about you this entire lifetime." Yes, he agreed!
A smile blossomed across Ji Yunshu's face as she retorted, "You said that – remember, I'm a meddlesome troublemaker, you must look after me forever." Their eyes met, smiling.
Not long after, Ji Yunshu followed the Governor to the capital yamen to meet the woman she had bumped into that rainy day. She sat dazed on a bench outside, holding a frayed, yellow bag in her hands nervously. She clamored quickly before the Governor as she saw him approaching, dropping to her knees and rugging on his official robes, crying, "Milord, I'm begging you. You must bring my daughter justice, I beg you."
"Please get up first."
"My daughter was killed; she didn't commit suicide – there is no way she would. Milord, please help me, please help my daughter, I'm begging you, I'll kowtow before you, please." She began to bow as she pleaded, making Lord Yi flustered.
Ji Yunshu's heart twinged. She squatted down and helped the woman up from the ground. That woman's emaciated face was a deadly pale – one could only imagine how much she had been through in the last three years in her pursuit of justice. Ji Yunshu muttered softly, sorrily, "Madame, please, first get up."
That woman looked at her, trying to place where she had seen her before, "It's you?"
Grenn’s Rants Corner
JY and her inspirational speech.