In the dead of night, Ji Bozai broke through the door without hurting anyone, though he appeared gravely ill. After all that was said, he still gave her a month? A month to favor the rear courtyard? Was this meant to make things fair between them, to start anew?
Ming Yi felt shocked. She had been joking, but Ji Bozai seemed to have taken her seriously.
Zhou Zihong glanced at her face, his lips tightening slightly. “I don’t like him.”
“I don’t like him either, but he seems to care for me,” Ming Yi snorted with a shrug.
“If he truly cared for you, he wouldn’t give you the chance to entertain the rear courtyard,” Zhou Zihong said calmly, picking up a book scroll.
Ming Yi retorted, “Look how he rushed over as soon as he heard I was favoring you. What does that tell you?”
“It tells me that the Si Shang is surrounded by his spies,” Zhou Zihong shook his head with a sigh. “Better to remove them sooner rather than later.”
Ming Yi fell silent, calming down.
They say men understand men best. She had suffered before for not listening to Yan Xiao’s words. Now she should pay more attention to Zhou Zihong’s advice. Who knew if this wasn’t another of Ji Bozai’s new tactics?
Sniffling, Ming Yi yawned and lay back down.
Zhou Zihong turned to shield her from the outside wind, looking at her coldly. “Si Shang, rest well. Next time you come, we shall make up for the unfinished Duke of Zhou’s ceremony.”
Ming Yi choked and coughed, looking up at him with amusement. “I was just trying to anger him. Did you take me seriously?”
“Does Si Shang truly intend to remain faithful to him?” Zhou Zihong lowered his gaze.
“Not really. I was raised as a boy from childhood, so I don’t place much importance on chastity. However, it’s still an intimate matter, not to be taken lightly. My dear minister, we’ve only known each other for a few days. It’s too soon. Later, if you meet a pure girl you love, you might regret it.”
Zhou Zihong wanted to say that men had nothing to regret, but remembering her words to Ji Bozai earlier, he kept quiet.
Si Shang’s unique upbringing had led to her peculiar way of thinking. Zhou Zihong felt her views couldn’t prevail. This world was still a man’s world. Even if women could truly stand equal with men thousands of years later, the concept of chastity would still only apply to women.
Nevertheless, he would be devoted to her alone. He didn’t want to end up like Ji Bozai.
Yan Xiao was sleeping soundly when Xun Nainai suddenly woke him, urgently summoning him to Ji Bozai’s palace.
As he walked, he grumbled, “The medicine was so strong last time. As long as he eats and sleeps regularly, he should recover. Why the rush…”
Before he could finish, he saw Ji Bozai sitting on the roof of his palace, holding a jar of wine and pouring it into his mouth.
Startled awake, Yan Xiao flew up and quickly stopped his hand.
To his dismay, the wine jar was already empty.
Angrily, he slapped Ji Bozai’s hand. “What are you doing? Drinking while sick?”
With bleary eyes, Ji Bozai stared at the pitch-black sky without a word.
Yan Xiao tossed the wine jar away and sat down beside him irritably. “Where are you feeling unwell?”
He pointed to his chest. “Here.”
“I treat difficult and unusual illnesses, not matters of the heart,” Yan Xiao rolled his eyes.
“Difficult and unusual illnesses?” Ji Bozai turned to look at him, suddenly asking, “Is there a medicine that can make me clean?”
“Hm?”
“Before her, I’ve slept with… this many women.” He gestured with both hands.
Yan Xiao stared in disbelief. “You’re being quite honest.”
“She thinks I’m dirty.” Ji Bozai pouted, looking at him. “I want to be clean.”
“That’s not something you can wash away,” Yan Xiao waved his hand. “Calm down. It’s all experience, nothing dirty about it.”
“You don’t understand.” He shook his finger, his face growing redder. “Before you meet the one you love, those things are called experience. Once you meet her, it becomes dirty.”
He used to pride himself on his romantic conquests—not just him, but all the men of the Qing Yun realm took pride in their ability to attract women. After all, having so many women willing to be with him without status proved his charm.
But tonight, standing outside her room, he suddenly wished he hadn’t been so reckless before. If only he were pure and clean, then he could righteously embrace her and drive Zhou Zihong away. After all, he would only owe her his feelings, nothing else.
However, forget Zhou Zihong—even if she wanted to favor everyone in the rear courtyard now, he had no right to stop her.
Having no right to stop her, yet desperately wanting to, he had become an annoying, jealous figure.
He didn’t want to be like this either.
His eyes bloodshot, Ji Bozai looked at Yan Xiao and asked, “Why didn’t I meet her earlier?”
Yan Xiao smirked, “Would you have stopped being a playboy if you had met her earlier?”
“Yes.” He nodded.
Yan Xiao didn’t believe him. “Being a playboy is ingrained in your bones. Rakes never truly reform; they just get tired and want a short rest. We’re both men. Who are you trying to fool?”
“If that’s how you see me, then why didn’t you warn Ming Yi to stay away from me when you were spying for Ming An?”
The night wind suddenly rose, whistling in their ears.
Yan Xiao froze for a moment, thinking he had misheard. But when he turned his head, he saw Ji Bozai’s somewhat sober gaze.
“You…” He swallowed. “When did you find out?”
“The first time I came to Chaoyang City, I had someone investigate the Yan clan,” Ji Bozai looked at him deeply, half-drunk and half-awake. “There’s a person among Ming An’s wife’s relatives also named Yan Xiao. What a coincidence, don’t you think?”
Ming An had said that he had people watching him since childhood. In the crowded slave market, Ji Bozai could understand that. But Ming An also knew about some things after he left the slave market, even after he entered official service. That didn’t add up.
He had someone investigate Yan Xiao’s background. This man had no parents or relatives in Muxing City, but he would go to Chaoyang City every year during the Six Cities’ Grand Meeting with the people from Muxing City. He would always leave the group for a day or two, saying he was buying things.
Yet, he never brought back much on the return journey.
These things were easy to investigate, but Ji Bozai had never suspected him of anything.
However, Yan Xiao had never truly harmed him, and he wasn’t the one who poisoned him. Given their genuine friendship, Ji Bozai hadn’t intended to pursue the matter. It was only now, with Ming An about to be released from the Muxing City slave market, that he suddenly thought to mention it.
Yan Xiao lifted his robe and knelt before him, his face pale.
Ji Bozai pulled him up and sat him by his side. “When I said King Ping died from the Forget-worry Grass, you didn’t expose me. Instead, you helped me divert suspicion, even when it fell on Ming Yi.”
He remembered this, knowing that Yan Xiao truly considered him a friend. That’s why he could sit here so calmly with him.
Yan Xiao was stunned for a long while, then sighed. “I’ve repaid my debt to Ming An, only to owe you now.”