The blood all over her hands clearly showed that Luan’er was both panicked and aware of her mistake!

When Ji Yunshu went out today, she should have tried her utmost to stop her. Her young miss had clearly been injured, so no matter what, she should have blocked her from leaving.

Seeing that her young miss’s back was soaked with blood, she felt both anxious and extremely frightened.

Ji Yunshu supported herself against the doorframe with one hand, lifting her pale face.

“Help me inside.”

Luan’er was so flustered that she momentarily froze. Hearing Ji Yunshu’s voice, her hands trembled as she quickly helped her into the room.

She hurriedly fetched a basin of hot water and removed Ji Yunshu’s blood-stained clothes, revealing her back clad only in a bellyband.

It was better not to look—this one glance truly frightened Luan’er terribly.

The several wounds on her back that had been gradually healing had split open and were seeping blood.

“Miss, I’ll go find a physician.” Luan’er wiped away her tears.

Just as she was about to leave, Ji Yunshu stopped her.

“Don’t go. There’s medicine in the cabinet. Just help me apply it.”

“But…”

“Hurry.”

Unable to persuade her otherwise, Luan’er dried her tears and ran to fetch the medicine along with a roll of bandages.

She carefully cleaned the wounds with warm water, applied the medicine, and wrapped them with bandages.

Then she changed her young miss’s clothes—the whole process taking quite a while with much rustling about.

Ji Yunshu lay on the bed. The pain in her back seemed to have lessened somewhat thanks to the medicine.

Luan’er was carrying the basin of bloody water out when she happened to run into someone.

“Second Miss?”

Ji Wanxin stood at the door. Seeing the basin of bloody water in Luan’er’s hands, she too was startled.

“What happened?” she asked Luan’er.

Luan’er’s gaze flickered toward the room, full of heartache.

Ji Wanxin hurried into the room and saw Ji Yunshu lying on the bed.

She rushed over. “Yunshu, what happened to you?” As she spoke, she gently lifted the blanket and saw her bandaged back, more or less understanding the situation.

“The wounds must have split open? Why didn’t you call for a physician?” With that, Ji Wanxin was about to instruct her own maid to fetch a physician.

“Elder Sister, there’s no need. It’s just a minor injury. I’ve already applied medicine—no need to trouble anyone.” Ji Yunshu said.

“How can you call this troublesome? Back wounds can be serious or minor. If it leaves lasting damage…” At this point, Ji Wanxin sighed, holding Ji Yunshu’s hand that lay outside the blanket with great sympathy.

It was ice cold!

Ji Wanxin gave her maid a look, signaling her to leave.

After the maid went out…

“You’re truly stubborn. If you’d just apologized to Father, wouldn’t everything have been fine? How could you endure those lashes? Do you still remember—last time you were whipped, you were unconscious for many days. If you hadn’t clung to that last breath, you might have…” died already!

Ji Wanxin felt great affection for this younger sister of hers. Those beautiful almond-shaped eyes filled with tears!

These sympathetic words were met with a pale, weak laugh from Ji Yunshu.

“Lingzhi injured her hand, so Third Brother came to my courtyard to smash things. Grandmother dotes on her so much—how could she let it go? I’m afraid even Lingzhi herself will come to make trouble for me every day, seeking to cause me problems. You know I’m most afraid of children. If I hadn’t taken those lashes, how could I have any peace?” Her tone was light, but more than that, weak.

“There’s no one else here. Why don’t you tell me the truth?”

“Little sister doesn’t understand what Elder Sister means.”

“You’re still waiting for Ji Pei, aren’t you?”

Ji Wanxin furrowed her brow.

Ji Pei—these two characters, Ji Yunshu hadn’t mentioned once in two years.

Hearing it from Ji Wanxin’s mouth today, her heart felt itchy, yet she couldn’t scratch it no matter how hard she tried.

Pressing her face against the pillow, she turned her head to the side, somewhat evasively.

But Ji Wanxin seemed to see right through her completely, speaking with a persuasive tone: “Ji Pei left two years ago. Why do you still bitterly wait for him? Perhaps he won’t come back at all. The promise between you—he’s probably long since forgotten it. Yunshu, why do you make yourself suffer so?”

“Second Sister, please don’t say anymore.”

“I just can’t bear to see you like this, clinging to a verbal promise, guarding this empty courtyard. Is it worth it?” As if not having said enough, she continued: “You clearly don’t want to marry into the Wei household, yet you still endure it. If I were you, I absolutely wouldn’t wait for Ji Pei anymore. I’d leave the Ji family, leave Jinjiang.”

Righteous indignation!

Where this emotion came from, Ji Yunshu couldn’t fathom!

In the end, Ji Wanxin didn’t understand Ji Yunshu.

She wasn’t someone who lived like thin soup and bland water, wasn’t someone who cared about nothing, and wasn’t making things difficult for herself.

Rather, she had promised to wait, so she must wait.

“Leaving the Ji family is easy, leaving Jinjiang is easy too, but… if I leave, when Ji Pei returns, how will he find me?” That voice sounded as if it came from a deep, remote valley.

“But enduring like this, in the end, the one who gets hurt is you.”

“I’m aware.”

Her tone was certain!

Yes, this Ji Yunshu was too stubborn!

Stubborn to the point of obsession!

She had promised to wait, so she would definitely wait. The two-year agreement hadn’t expired yet!

Shaking her head, Ji Wanxin didn’t know how to continue. A thousand words of persuasion ultimately became just a sigh.

She tucked in the corner of the blanket for her.

“Rest well. I’ll have Dong’er send over some medicinal herbs and tonics later. Take care of your health. As for other matters, set them aside for now.”

Ji Yunshu agreed to all her instructions.

Before Ji Wanxin left, the sympathy in her eyes was plain to see.

That night, Ji Yunshu was in such pain she couldn’t sleep, gritting her teeth. That kind of pain didn’t come entirely from the whip wounds on her back.

There was also the name Ji Pei.

Regarding Ji Pei, Ji Yunshu never spoke of him to anyone.

And this person was even more of a taboo subject among all the Ji family members!

Cannot mention, cannot speak of.

Even the eight-year-old Ji Lingzhi never dared bring him up!

It was as if such a person only existed in an illusory world.

But Ji Yunshu understood very clearly that Ji Pei truly existed, and between them, there truly had existed a beautiful and unforgettable memory!

That winter, the plum blossoms bloomed brilliantly.

Ji Pei beneath the plum blossom tree—handsome features, refined face, elegant bearing—it seemed all beautiful words could be applied to him.

He broke off a plum blossom branch and placed it in Ji Yunshu’s hand.

Incomparably tender!

“Shu’er, promise me you’ll wait for me. In two years, I’ll definitely return in armor and marry you as my wife!”

That Ji Pei, radiating scholarly refinement, was truly wonderful.

Those eyes were like the starry sky on July or August nights, sparkling with points of starlight, as if igniting one’s heart, warm and comforting.

It was such a youth, such a promise, that Ji Yunshu had kept for nearly two years.

…

Night eventually passed. The unbearable pain tormented Ji Yunshu all night long.

Probably near dawn, she gradually fell asleep for a while. When she woke, the pillow beneath her was soaked through a large area.

She couldn’t tell whether it was tears or sweat!