"Kidnap him?"
’That really is just like the willful Princess.’
Ji Qingwu considered the scene but found she couldn’t imagine anyone daring to kidnap that man.
Princess Qingyun changed her tune. "I can et him for you first. I’ll vet him for you."
Ji Qingwu’s refusal was blunt. "That won’t be necessary. I can’t say I agree with your taste."
The mont she finished speaking, Princess Qingyun suddenly turned and pressed herself against the wall, hiding her face.
Not sensing any danger, Ji Qingwu’s lips curved into a smile. "You don’t have to be that ashad."
The sound of footsteps grew clearer from behind her.
When Ji Qingwu turned her head and saw who was approaching from down the corridor, silhouetted against the light, the smile on her lips froze.
Her eyes widened slightly. The Emperor, who was supposed to be in the palace, had just appeared before her out of thin air.
Just a mont ago, Qingyun had been pestering her, trying to find out who her sweetheart was.
Now, suddenly seeing the gentle yet majestic Emperor Wu Su, she couldn’t quite na the feeling in her heart.
After the initial shock faded, an irrepressible flutter of joy seed to well up inside her.
At first, Ji Qingwu had only been trying to placate the little princess, wanting to stop her from linking her with Li Chengxun again. The talk of a "sweetheart" had simply slipped out.
But when Emperor Wu Su suddenly appeared before her and walked in her direction, her heart seed to clench for a mont.
His steady, long strides fell upon the white jade flagstones, but it felt as if they were stepping on her heart.
It was as if soone was truly standing on the very tip of her heart.
So heavy, it made her heart flutter anxiously as it sank.
Seeing her dazed expression, Emperor Wu Su looked her over from head to toe before finally speaking. "What are you two doing here?"
His voice was cold and deep.
Princess Qingyun secretly tugged on Ji Qingwu’s sleeve, tilting her head and mouthing words to her.
"Cousin, save ."
’If I recall correctly,’ Ji Qingwu thought, ’just before Emperor Wu Su arrived, the Princess was repeatedly promising to protect . And now, in the blink of an eye, she’s seeking my protection.’
Ji Qingwu saw that the Emperor was in plain clothes and, thinking that Liangxiang Pavilion was crowded with all sorts of people and his identity must not be revealed, she simply perford a curtsy.
But she did not answer, only pursing her lips and lowering her head.
Emperor Wu Su looked at her lowered lashes and her obedient, docile appearance, and his tone softened slightly.
"I asked a question. Which of you is going to answer?"
Ji Qingwu’s sleeve twitched again. She glanced sideways to see Princess Qingyun beside her, clutching at her clothes with a pained expression, looking at her pitifully.
She lifted her thick lashes, and her gaze fell directly on the collar of the man opposite her.
Emperor Wu Su was wearing a brocade robe with a lapel collar, patterned with winged beasts and pearl roundels. It was less formal than court attire, with a few bright threads at the collar.
She looked up. The warm light of Liangxiang Pavilion made his handso face seem less severe and more gentle.
The constricting feeling in Ji Qingwu’s heart returned. Her eyes shining, she said, "I was just passing by."
Princess Qingyun also followed up in a small voice, "I... I was also just passing by."
Toward Qingyun, Emperor Wu Su’s expression turned cold.
"You were just passing by, and Liangxiang Pavilion gets sealed? Do you know what kind of place this is? Is a brothel a place a princess like you should set foot in? What exactly are you doing here?"
He didn’t speak harshly, but his voice held an authority that required no anger, sending a chill down both their spines.
Princess Qingyun had calculated a thousand possibilities but never expected to be caught by her Imperial Brother. She was still shaken from her last punishnt, so she instinctively tried to hide behind Ji Qingwu.
Sensing her intention, Ji Qingwu quickly took a step to the side, unwilling to shield her. She could barely save herself as it was.
Noticing her movent, Emperor Wu Su impassively stepped in front of her, casting the shadow of his tall fra over her.
Ji Qingwu felt imnse pressure and explained in a small voice, "I really was just passing by coincidentally. This has nothing to do with ."
Emperor Wu Su’s eyes must have caught sothing. He raised an eyebrow and feigned anger at the person beside Ji Qingwu. "Go back to your Princess Mansion and reflect on your actions! You are not to leave without my summons!"
Despite being confined, Princess Qingyun looked as if she’d been granted a royal pardon. She lowered her head and quickly scurried away.
’How could he let Qingyun, the troublemaking culprit, run off first?’
Ji Qingwu peeked at the Emperor’s expression, feeling terribly wronged. She was truly just an innocent passerby who had wandered in.
Emperor Wu Su saw her little face scrunched up, a hint of grievance in her clear, beautiful features. She had none of the calm composure she’d shown when Qingyun was present.
He asked in a low voice, "Why were you with Qingyun?"
"I originally ca with Mr. Duan to retrieve a Business Contract."
Ji Qingwu paused, then said, "Mr. Duan saw that Liangxiang Pavilion was guarded and that sothing was unusual, so I ca in with him. We ended up accidentally running into the Princess."
She didn’t continue with the rest of the story.
Emperor Wu Su wasn’t concerned with what Qingyun had done. Instead, he asked, "Where is Duan Mingfeng? He just left you here alone?"
Ji Qingwu turned and pointed to the closed door behind her.
She explained softly, "That Female Historian just lost her child and is very ill. Mr. Duan is helping her take her dicine, as they are from the sa hotown."
Emperor Wu Su frowned slightly.
Ji Qingwu asked, "Your Ma... Master, are you looking for Mr. Duan for so reason?"
She rembered that when they were out, Duan Mingfeng always called him ’Master,’ so Ji Qingwu followed suit.
This form of address made Emperor Wu Su pause for a mont, then a smile spilled into his eyes.
He shook his head and said, "This master is looking for *you*."
That word, coming from his lips, seed to take on an unusual aning.
"Looking for for what?"
Ji Qingwu gently lifted her gaze and t his cool, clear eyes, which shimred with a light more brilliant than any lantern.
’I’m done for...’
There was no overly intimate contact, just their gazes eting.
His shadow enveloped her, but her heart was lit up by that strange, brilliant light.
This contrast of dark and light was too much for Ji Qingwu to handle. She unconsciously fiddled with her cuff, her expression a little lost.
Emperor Wu Su’s gaze gradually grew searing. Her eyes darted away, but she couldn’t resist raising her bright, fluttering eyes to steal another glance at him.
After this happened a few tis, he stared at the red tips of her ears and smiled. "If you want to look, then look your fill. This master isn’t afraid of being looked at."
Seeing him staring straight at her chest, Ji Qingwu’s cheeks instantly turned crimson. She quickly took a step back and said in a low voice, "I’m afraid to look. Don’t look at ."
The smile on Emperor Wu Su’s face deepened as he teased, "What did you think this master was looking at?"
He leaned closer, his deep voice warming her ear. "You’ve been wearing this jade ring the whole ti."
The green jade ring was originally hidden in a secret pocket in her robes. But after the rush of treating Mo Lingling, a flash of jade had beco visible at the edge of her lapel.
Ji Qingwu took it out and nodded, the words tumbling out before she could think.
"Yes, I was planning to use it to buy the restaurant from Mr. Duan."
The expression of the man in front of her changed in an instant.
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