Anger truly does make a person foolish. The moment Situ Jing’er heard Meng Duo’er’s words, she brightened immediately. “I’m not going back. I’ll write my mother-empress a letter.”
As she spoke, she narrowed her phoenix eyes at Jun Buli and Guxi, smiling slyly. “I’ll trouble this guard here to deliver my letter for me. Go quickly and come back quickly.”
This move was truly brilliant!
“Your mother-empress wants you to go back!” Jun Buli said through gritted teeth. In his eyes, Situ Jing’er was just an unformed little girl, yet somehow, even he didn’t know why, he found himself constantly butting heads with her, unable to get her to yield.
Soon enough, though, he found a reasonable justification: he decided that Situ Jing’er’s presence here was nothing but a nuisance, so she had to leave.
“Whether my mother-empress lets me go back or not is my own business. My mother-empress dotes on me the most—if I write a letter to let her know I’m safe, she’ll go along with what I want!” Situ Jing’er said cheerfully, all but humming a tune just to spite Jun Buli.
She despised this ruthless, heartless, inconsiderate, uncompromising older brother figure—her mother-empress often praised him, but in her view, someone like this was perfectly matched with a woman like Consort Li.
“Then don’t follow us around,” Jun Buli said coldly.
Situ Jing’er froze, then blurted out, “If I follow you all, what would I even do for fun?”
“You—!” Jun Buli was at a loss for words.
Situ Jing’er glared at him. “Miser!”
The two of them had, without realizing it, locked into a battle of wills. Everyone around them watched, dumbfounded—especially the four great poisonous beasts and the great foolish bear, who hadn’t seen their young master act this childish in a very, very long time.
Just then, Miss Xiao the Ninth interrupted them. “Can you tell me who I actually am? What did you kidnap me for?”
She should have been asking these questions in anger, yet she asked with perfect calm—everyone could tell there was something strange about this woman.
Only then did Jun Buli turn to give her a cold look, saying coldly, “None of that matters. Just stay put and behave.”
With that, he turned back to Situ Jing’er, pointing directly toward Xijing. “You. Go.”
He was deadly serious now—this wasn’t bickering, nor playful banter, but genuine earnestness.
Situ Jing’er, who was normally afraid of no one, actually found herself startled, staring at him wide-eyed, saying nothing more.
Seeing her glistening eyes, Jun Buli felt an inexplicable sensation, as though something were slipping out of his control. He hated this feeling too much—so she had to leave!
He remained serious. “I have important matters to attend to. I don’t have time to deal with your antics. Go back to Xijing. Nanzhao is chaotic and unsafe.”
Situ Jing’er kept staring at him, saying nothing.
At this point, even Meng Duo’er didn’t dare speak up, because she knew that once Jun Buli got serious, no one could stop him.
Just as Jun Buli was about to say more, Situ Jing’er suddenly snapped angrily, “Bear-Buli, I hate you!”
With that, she turned and walked away.
“Bear-Buli?”
That name—Jun Buli froze, and everyone around them froze too. Their young master had earned yet another nickname. The great foolish bear lifted its head to look at its young master, utterly bewildered.
Situ Jing’er still had her pride—having been driven off, she left without a backward glance, striding away with her head held high. Yet Jun Buli felt an inexplicable pang of loss, one that startled even him.
What am I feeling loss over?
Wasn’t getting rid of this unruly, foul-tempered girl exactly what I wanted?
Watching her figure gradually recede, Jun Buli, in an unprecedented move, opened his mouth and shouted, “Situ Jing’er!” At these words, everyone present was momentarily stunned!
“Goodness… is this still the young master? Did something happen?” Zizhu muttered under its breath.
Yet even more unexpectedly, Situ Jing’er didn’t respond at all, acting as if she hadn’t heard a thing.
“Well done, girl!” the Nine-Tailed White Fox praised quietly.
Everyone was astonished. Only Miss Xiao the Ninth watched Jun Buli silently, as though pondering something.
Jun Buli was undoubtedly embarrassed now, and with no one to help smooth things over, he had to find his own way out, continuing to shout, “Situ Jing’er, I’ll lend you the white jade flute to play with—go back to Xijing.”
Situ Jing’er kept walking, head down, her face darkening—who knew what she was thinking.
Still receiving no response, Jun Buli had no choice but to keep digging himself out. Everyone around him was suppressing laughter as he turned, with an entirely straight face, to Guxi, pulled out the white jade flute, and said coldly, “Give this to her. Escort her back—make sure you actually get her all the way to Xijing so Uncle Situ and the others see her with their own eyes, or this foul-tempered girl will surely try some trick. Since Uncle Situ entrusted my mother-empress with finding her, we have to give them an answer. Understand?”
Such a long sentence, with such detailed instructions and explanations, left Guxi genuinely unaccustomed to it.
All these years, whenever the young master gave an order, it was always just that—an order. He never explained himself, and never allowed anyone to ask questions.
Strange!
Truly strange!
Guxi took the white jade flute and set off to carry out the order, quickly catching up with Situ Jing’er, who wouldn’t even look at him, striding forward with her nose in the air.
“Princess Jing, the young master has instructed me to give you the white jade flute,” Guxi said, holding it out to her as well.
Behind them, Jun Buli was watching from a distance.
Faced with the white jade flute she’d long coveted, Situ Jing’er, with great pride, didn’t even glance at it, continuing to walk.
Guxi, undeterred, hurried in front of her, walking backward to face her.
“Princess Jing, the young master said the white jade flute is yours to keep and play with, and asked me to escort you back to Xijing. The master is worried about your safety, Princess Jing.”
At these words, Situ Jing’er finally stopped, glancing at the white jade flute.
Guxi was overjoyed inwardly. “Princess Jing, take a look—this white jade flute is entirely different from ordinary flutes. There’s quite a story behind how the young master obtained it. I’ll tell it to you as we travel.”
Compared to Jun Buli, Guxi was far more patient, and treated Situ Jing’er much more like a little girl, a little sister.
Situ Jing’er actually took the white jade flute—but before Guxi could even feel pleased about it, she suddenly spun around and hurled the flute violently back toward Jun Buli behind her, saying nothing, simply snorting coldly before turning to continue walking.
Guxi froze. The distance was too great for him to see Jun Buli’s expression—he only saw Jun Buli leap up and catch the flute.
An imperceptible flicker of amusement crossed his eyes as he went after Situ Jing’er.
Meanwhile, Jun Buli gripped the white jade flute tightly, his expression as sour as could be, yet he still managed to say with forced bravado, “Finally, some peace and quiet!”
Meng Duo’er coughed deliberately a few times, murmuring to herself, “What an interesting girl. Such a shame to see her go.”
Jun Buli ignored her, turning to look at Miss Xiao the Ninth instead. To his surprise, Miss Xiao the Ninth was also watching him with great seriousness, and said, “Young master, you like that little sister, don’t you.”
At these words, everyone was shocked—surely not, Situ Jing’er was still far too young, hadn’t even undergone her coming-of-age ceremony, and Jun Buli surely wasn’t fond of that type anyway.
Jun Buli’s handsome face darkened completely. “Shut your mouth. Don’t spout nonsense.”