Ji Bozai once thought there were countless beauties in the world, each with its charm. But now he suddenly felt that others merely had eyes and noses, while every aspect of Mingyi was perfect. No matter how he looked at her, she was beautiful in a way no one else could match. He once had the privilege of being intimate with her, exclusively enjoying this beauty, but he failed to cherish it.
With a dull ache in his chest, he lay down for a while before getting up and walking to Mingyi’s side to grind ink for her.
Mingyi was reviewing matters concerning the establishment of the Divine Weapon Commerce Department in Chaoyang City. Although the floating island now had farmland, relying solely on crops made it difficult to revive the city. The female divine weapon forgers Mingyi had trained were already making great strides. They could produce enough divine weapons for Chaoyang City’s use and even have a surplus to sell to other cities.
As such, after relocating the city, Zhou Zihong planned to focus on agriculture and divine weapon forging. He had written a memorial to inform her of this.
Although they couldn’t meet in person, he couldn’t help but write at the end of the memorial, “How fares the Divine Weapon Supervisor?”
Mingyi smiled when she saw these words.
On the day of her grand wedding with Zhou Zihong, the ceremony wasn’t completed. As soon as the bridal carriage passed through the inner courtyard gates, he alighted and bowed to her, saying, “This official does not wish to force the Divine Weapon Supervisor. If it’s just that this official won’t marry, perhaps the Supervisor could reconsider.”
To the outside world, they pretended the ceremony was completed, but internally, they remained as they were before.
However, Mingyi had no intention of telling Ji Bozai this. She even wanted to say that Zhou Zihong had good stamina, just to feel satisfied. If Ji Bozai minded, then their relationship was over.
Seeing her smile, Ji Bozai was puzzled. He tilted his head to glance at the memorial and happened to see those last few words.
So it was Zhou Zihong’s memorial.
Mingyi heard a snap and looked up to see that the ink stick in Ji Bozai’s hand had broken in two.
She frowned. “You’re wasting things.”
He came to his senses and loosened his grip, slightly embarrassed. “I’ll have Buxiu bring another one.”
“No need, just leave it,” she waved her hand, then frowned again. “Why are you up? Go lie down.”
Ji Bozai lowered his eyes and suddenly asked, “Do you miss him very much?”
It wasn’t that she missed him terribly; Zhou Zihong merely wanted to say goodbye. But seeing Ji Bozai’s conflicted and pained expression, she tilted her head and mischievously smiled, “Yes, I miss him very much.”
His lips paled further. Ji Bozai wanted to open his mouth and agree, to let her go see Zhou Zihong, but after an intense internal struggle, he couldn’t bring himself to say those words.
Mingyi blinked. “They say loving someone means being willing to give up everything, including letting them go.”
“Giving up everything is possible, but those willing to let their loved ones go don’t love deeply enough,” he said, pressing his lips together. “If one truly loves to the point of no return, how could they bear to let that person leave? Even if it means being in a wretched state, they would want to keep that person by their side.”
Having said this, he straightened his back as if he had made up his mind. “No matter how much you miss him, I won’t let you go see him.”
She would have to step over his dead body to do so.
Mingyi pretended to sigh in sorrow, the sound long and trailing.
Ji Bozai became flustered again.
That night, when they retired, Mingyi didn’t make him guard outside the door. Instead, she let him sleep on the bed while she slept on a small couch beside it.
Even so, Ji Bozai couldn’t sleep.
He stared at Mingyi’s sleeping face, deeply troubled.
Yan Xiao had said that matters of the heart were the hardest to cure. If she continued like this, would she develop a heart condition? What if she fell ill?
Perhaps he should let Zhou Zihong come for a visit?
So when Mingyi woke up the next day, she saw a haggard face looking at her.
Startled, she clutched her chest and sat up, frowning at him. “Your Majesty, where is even a trace of your former glory?”
Ji Bozai was taken aback. Seeing her get up, he went to look at himself in the bronze mirror.
He looked too haggard, indeed not very handsome.
Mingyi liked handsome men; he couldn’t be like this.
Hurriedly bathing and changing clothes, then eating red dates and ginseng to restore his vitality, Ji Bozai watched her stroll in the courtyard and return to revise memorials. Suddenly, he said, “Zheng Tiao is going to marry Xiu Yun. I thought you might want to go see, so I’ve prepared a flying beast carriage.”
Mingyi became interested. “He’s marrying Xiu Yun?”
Ji Bozai originally didn’t want to see any more weddings, but if it would make her happy, a trip wouldn’t hurt.
“Xiu Yun sent an invitation. I put it on your desk.”
Mingyi hurried over to open it, finding a letter inside as well.
In the letter, Xiu Yun said she missed her very much and that she had managed the money Mingyi left behind well. Not only had it not diminished, but it had doubled, allowing them to live in their original residence when they returned.
Mingyi closed the letter and looked at Ji Bozai hesitantly. “Can I go?”
“I’ll accompany you,” he said softly. “The affairs of the Six Cities are being overseen by our master.”
“Alright.” Mingyi finally smiled, happily packing her bags.
Ji Bozai watched her curved eyebrows, his heart finally easing a bit.
He used to think pleasing women was a simple matter, but now he felt oddly at a loss. Mingyi often had a calm expression, neither happy nor sad, so he could only try to guess what she liked.
So when Mingyi smiled at the rolling clouds, the flying beast carriage circled three more times in the sky. When she glanced a bit longer at the roadside flower vendors in Flying Flower City, the next moment, Buxiu was pushing an entire flower cart behind them.
She seemed to sense something and raised an eyebrow mischievously, smiling at the nearby gold jewelry shop.
Ji Bozai didn’t even hesitate. He had Buxiu bring out all the jewelry from the shop and pile it on top of the flower cart.
Buxiu and the other attendants made quite a commotion moving the jewelry in and out, gradually drawing a crowd of onlookers. At first, people thought it was a robbery, but they soon realized someone had bought out the entire shop.
A shop full of jewelry was worth at least several thousand taels of gold, yet the young man standing beside it didn’t even blink. The young woman next to him, however, was blushing more and more.
“It’s too conspicuous,” she said softly. “Who walks around the street pushing so much gold?”
“I’ll protect you,” he said with a smile. “If anyone can touch even a bit, I’ll admit defeat.”
Mingyi: “…”
To be fair, he was quite reliable. At first, some people in the crowd seemed tempted, but once the dark-colored Yuan Power barrier fell, not only did they withdraw their hands, but they also stepped back five paces.
“In our Qing Yun, how many people possess dark-colored Yuan Power?”
“Just one, I think…”
“Then isn’t this…?”
The crowd dared not say more, only looking at Ji Bozai with shock and awe.
A man who unified six cities at just over twenty years old was a legendary existence.
However, this legend didn’t seem so lofty. He even appeared somewhat cautious towards the woman beside him: “There’s a pastry vendor over there. Wait for me a moment.”
Mingyi stood still, arms full of flowers, a newly bought golden hairpin in her hair, watching him stride purposefully toward the humble little stall.