The chamber fell silent for a moment.
Ming Yi, hidden behind the screen, carefully observed the two men.
Ji Bozai looked perplexed, but his hand had subtly tightened, clearly ready for a fight. He was already tall, with an imposing presence.
Yan An, on the other hand, had plenty of anger but his martial skills seemed lacking, full of openings.
“Do you dare to look at my father’s memorial tablet?” he asked with hatred.
Ji Bozai laughed, “Why? Does your father’s tablet have erotic paintings on it?”
Ming Yi thought to herself, “… His mouth asks for trouble.”
A vein bulged on Yan An’s forehead. With an angry shout, he immediately rushed forward to attack. His powerful Yuan power formed an array, descending like a golden bell to envelop Ji Bozai.
For his age, this level of Yuan power was quite impressive. However, Ji Bozai was renowned for his strong Yuan power. With a wave of his hand, a streak of purple-gold light flew out, instantly shattering Yan An’s array into a shower of golden dust.
“Instead of going around making accusations, you’d be better off practicing your skills,” he said calmly. “That way, when you find the real culprit, you won’t become the third victim.”
To be fair, his composure as he sat unmoving in his chair, effortlessly winning, strong yet nonchalant, was truly captivating. The sunlight filtering through the window lattice of the money house’s side room fell just right on his shoulders, like the feathers of a deity.
Yan An’s eyes were red with anger as he glared at Ji Bozai, panting heavily like an enraged young bull.
Seeing that her patron couldn’t lose, Ming Yi tidied her hair and clothes, then returned to Ji Bozai’s side as if nothing had happened. “Gentlemen, please calm down. There must be some misunderstanding here.”
“What misunderstanding could there be? In that whole gathering, you, Ji Bozai, were the only one with a grudge against my father!” Yan An was too angry to back down, even when given the chance. He pointed at Ji Bozai accusingly. “Others might not know but don’t think I don’t. You’ve always believed it was my father’s misdiagnosis that harmed the entire Meng family. You’ve held that grudge for years, and now you’ve finally found the chance for revenge, haven’t you?”
Ji Bozai raised an eyebrow, amused. “Which Meng family are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb! I saw you in the Meng family’s back courtyard when I was a child!”
“Oh?” He stood up, arm around Ming Yi’s waist, and sauntered over to Yan An. Looking down at him steadily, he said, “I grew up in a slave camp. Which Meng family’s courtyard did you see me in?”
His aura was truly overwhelming. Standing beside him, Ming Yi saw the moment of confusion in Yan An’s eyes.
Could it be he had mistaken someone else for Ji Bozai?
She thought to herself, it made sense. At the banquet that day, she had been by his side the whole time. Between drinking and flirting with dancers, he had been too busy to kill anyone.
Shaking her head, Ming Yi gently advised, “The murder case is for the judicial officer to investigate. Young master, rashly attacking like this would be hard to explain to the judicial officer. Since we’ve met by chance today, why not sit down for a cup of tea?”
“Who wants to drink tea with him?” Yan An regained his angry expression, glaring at Ji Bozai. “This murder case must be related to you. Just wait, I’m going to find the judicial officer right now.”
Ji Bozai looked at him as if he were an idiot, not even bothering to stop him as he watched him storm out.
“My lord, this…” Ming Yi blinked uncertainly.
“Let him go,” he waved dismissively. “The judicial officer has been judging cases for years and isn’t a fool. He won’t listen to such nonsense.”
Then he looked down at her, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Why did you come back? Weren’t you running away quite quickly earlier?”
She covered her mouth, smiling guiltily. “What are you saying, my lord? I wasn’t running away. I was just checking if there was an escape route behind that screen. In case something happened, I could guide you to safety.”
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “And how was your inspection? Is there an escape route?”
She giggled and snuggled up to him. “I looked around and realized that you, my lord, are the most powerful escape route. As long as I’m by your side, I have nothing to fear.”
What a glib little thing.
He snorted lightly, pinching her soft cheek, then led her back to the carriage.
The gold bars were too heavy for Ming Yi to carry, so she just leaned on the box, happily examining it from all angles.
“My lord, are all these mines now?”
“Can I use them to buy jewelry? What about a courtyard?”
“You’re giving me so much at once, aren’t you afraid I’ll run away?”
She chirped away like a little sparrow.
Ji Bozai found it amusing, finally understanding why Matron Xun had said she was noisy. When this girl was happy, she talked incessantly, seemingly unable to stop.
“My lord doesn’t have an official position. If you give all the gold to me, what will you do?” she pondered with a worried frown.
He chuckled, playing along. “Then I’ll just take it all back from you.”
“No way,” she said seriously. “Gold doesn’t fill your stomach. Wait here, my lord. I’ll go buy you some flatbread to eat.”
The roadside flatbread was very cheap. She didn’t even need to open the box lid, just taking out two copper coins to make the purchase.
Ji Bozai rolled his eyes, lazily leaning back in the carriage to wait for her. He wanted to call her stingy, but her slender white hands looked so pretty even holding just two copper coins. She returned with a scallion oil flatbread, switching it from hand to hand as it was too hot, blowing on it and pinching her earlobe, sticking her tongue out at him from afar.
He couldn’t help but look at her a bit longer.
Her little pink tongue, her bright eye-catching dress – in the entire grey, dusty street, she was the most radiant and captivating sight.
Never mind, he thought. Let her be greedy for money. The Grand Secretariat was right; people should have more desires than none at all.
“My lord, this shop’s flatbread is the best,” she said happily, sitting back down beside him and sharing half the bread with him. “Try it.”
The freshly baked scallion oil flatbread smelled delicious and left a buttery taste on the lips. Ji Bozai took a couple of bites and nodded slightly.
“It’s good, isn’t it? When I used to be on this street, I craved this shop’s bread the most,” she said, taking a big bite herself and squinting with satisfaction. “Now I can eat as much as I want. It’s wonderful.”
He asked casually, “You used to live on this street?”
“I used to make a living on this street,” she said with a smile, gesturing with her hand. “I was only this tall back then, and skinny. Couldn’t get many copper coins, so every time I passed by, I could only smell the aroma.”
Ji Bozai paused in his chewing and glanced at her.
She seemed completely unbothered by her past experiences, not trying to gain sympathy by crying about it. She just mentioned it casually, like small talk. “When I can buy a house in the future, I’ll buy one nearby. Then I can buy a flatbread to eat every day when I leave home.”
Feeling a bit strange, Ji Bozai made a sound of acknowledgment and gently stroked the ends of her hair.
Men often have heroic aspirations. A woman who needs his rescue is far more attractive than one who is simply beautiful.
He suddenly became very curious about what she had experienced in her past.