The First Jasmine - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: A Certain Unfortunate Soul

"A... A-Yao, what exactly did I just witness?"

A long while later, a stammering voice echoed once more through the gloomy woods. As three silhouettes emerged from the trees, Feng Zhiyao’s image as an elegant, refined gentleman shattered completely upon the ground yet again. He stared open-mouthed at the unconscious, unlucky bastard lying on the turf.

Mo Xiuyao looked upon everything before his eyes with an entirely flat expression, replying calmly, "Exactly what you just saw."

"This young master gave up his sleep in the dead of night to run out here with you, all because I was terrified that something might happen to the Third Miss of the Ye family! Looking at it now, the only one something happened to is anyone else, right?" If he hadn't desperately remembered to maintain his own image, Feng Zhiyao practically wanted to mimic a woman’s high-pitched shriek.

Look at what he had just seen! Upon receiving intelligence that someone intended to act against Ye Li, he had crawled out from a beauty’s warm blankets in the middle of the night and rushed over in a frantic hurry, only to witness Ye Li floor Mo Jingli using a technique so swift that even he couldn't see it clearly. Granted, Mo Jingli was a bit on the foolish side, but he was at least considered one of the top young talents of the capital, wasn't he?

Walking over to Mo Xiuyao’s side, Feng Zhiyao mirrored Ye Li’s earlier action by walking a full circle around him. Propping up his chin with an expression of utter boredom, he inquired, "What do we do now?"

"Dump him into the water pool over there," Mo Xiuyao commanded without even knitting his brows.

"That is a freezing-cold pool; he will die," Feng Zhiyao advised, though his tone carried absolutely no sincerity.

"Strip his clothes off as well," Mo Xiuyao added flatly.

"I'm afraid that won't work; your future Princess Consort's binding skills are exceptionally ingenious." Feng Zhiyao squatted on the ground, carefully studying the knots upon Mo Jingli’s body. "A-Yao, in the future, never provoke Third Miss Ye into anger. Women are far too terrifying."

After pondering for a long while, Feng Zhiyao still couldn't figure out how he would free himself without any external assistance if such a rope were tied around his own body. However, this binding technique is certainly worth learning from.

"A-Jin."

"Yes, Your Highness." The youth standing behind Mo Xiuyao pushing the wheelchair gave an acknowledging response. Stepping forward, he hoisted the man from the ground and headed deep into the woods. Before long, a loud splash drifted over.

Evidently, a certain someone had been tossed into the water. Feng Zhiyao could not help but stamp his feet in protest. "A-Yao, you are going to corrupt the child. What if Mo Jingli drowns? The death of a Prince within the capital—and the Emperor’s own biological younger brother at that—is no small matter."

Mo Xiuyao calmly examined his own hands resting upon the armrests, stating with absolute detachment, "A-Jin has always known his boundaries."

Boundaries? Does A-Jin even possess such a concept in his brain? Stamping his feet again, Feng Zhiyao dashed over to check for himself, and was instantly left entirely speechless.

Mo Jingli had been tossed into the pool face-up; everything from his chest upward was resting against the bank, exposed above the water's surface. Most importantly, the rope binding him had been left with a significantly long excess length, and the end of that excess length was currently tied securely to a tree growing beside the pool. This ensured that Mo Jingli would not be swept into the center of the deep pool by any unforeseen accident. He truly did know his boundaries well.

"A-Jin, I shall escort your Prince back. You stay here and keep watch. Once you see the sky is about to brighten, wake up the men he brought along. Don't actually let him soak to death."

A-Jin knit his sharp brows slightly, hesitating for a brief moment before ultimately nodding his head. Casting a slightly sympathetic glance over Mo Jingli, Feng Zhiyao finally fanned his folding fan in deep satisfaction, heading back toward the direction where Mo Xiuyao was waiting.

"A-Yao, I am truly beginning to feel immense curiosity toward that future Princess Consort of yours." Feng Zhiyao strolled back into the woods. Mo Xiuyao was still seated beneath the shade of the trees; under the dim night cover, his expression did not look particularly splendid, and it was impossible to tell what exactly he was thinking.

Mo Xiuyao raised his head, stating calmly, "It is time to head back."

Feng Zhiyao looked at Mo Xiuyao with absolute curiosity. "Letting him off just like this? Don't look at how Mo Xiuyao has cultivated his mind and character over these past years, appearing to possess a decent temper; Feng Zhiyao, who knows his fundamental nature deeply, is clear as day that Mo Xiuyao has never been a benevolent individual."

A wave of chilliness drifted through Mo Xiuyao's gentle eyes. "Tomorrow is Mo Jingli's grand wedding; if something unfortunate were to happen to the groom, it would inevitably be far too much of a damper on the festivities."

Feng Zhiyao wanted to let out a sigh. "I thought you didn't wish for Mo Jingli to have any involvement with the Ye family. Do not forget, if he marries Ye Ying, you and he will be... brothers-in-law? That is certainly a rather unpleasant relationship, is it not?"

Mo Xiuyao let out a soft snort. Exerting force with his hands, he turned the wheelchair around and headed toward the perimeter of the woods. Feng Zhiyao raised his handsome eyebrows, shrugged his shoulders, and followed closely behind. Who knows what kind of amusing events will transpire during tomorrow's wedding; it would be best to secure a prime viewing spot in advance to watch the spectacle unfold.

"What about that fellow who kidnapped Third Miss Ye?"

"Apprehend him. Deliver one of his hands and one of his legs to Mo Jingli as a wedding gift."

Although the city gates had long since been shut, Ye Li still managed to return to the Minister's Manor before dawn after expending a slight amount of effort.

The moment she flipped back into her own room, Qingshuang and Qingyu immediately stepped forward to welcome her. The anxiety that had been impossible to mask upon their faces transformed into a lightened, relaxed sense of relief.

With an entirely normal demeanor, Qingyu poured and brought a cup of tea over to Ye Li, as though her usually gentle, elegant, and dignified young lady executing a nimble flip through the window right in front of her didn't cause her even a shred of bewilderment.

Patting her own chest, Qingshuang let out a long breath and spoke, "Miss, you are finally back! Qingshuang was worried to death."

Ye Li offered a shallow smile, replying, "With someone watching over me, what is there to be worried about? Am I right, Qingluan?"

A silhouette floated down weightlessly from outside the window; it was none other than Qingluan, who had come from the Xu family along with Qingyu. Qingluan pursed her lips and laughed, "Miss is truly formidable. Qingluan followed you the entire way without a single soul noticing, yet who would have thought I couldn't conceal myself from Miss?"

Ye Li laughed, stating, "In truth, I didn't discover you either, but along the entire path, I seemed to detect a very faint, highly distinct, and incredibly familiar fragrance. The person who abducted me... carried quite a heavy fragrance on his own body, which is probably why he failed to notice it."

Qingluan drooped her head with a touch of dejection, secretly resolving to absolutely never use any form of scented incense ever again. In reality, the incense she used was already exceptionally faint and delicate; an ordinary person would fundamentally never perceive it. Yet who could help the fact that Ye Li’s senses were indeed a good deal sharper than the average person's?

"After I departed, did any amusing events transpire inside those woods?" Ye Li sat down, drinking the freshly brewed tea as she inquired.

Mimicking Ye Li's earlier action, Qingluan entered through the window, laughing, "That certain someone... was thrown into a deep water pool located in the depths of the forest."

"Prince Ding?"

"Miss is brilliant," Qingluan laughed in an exceptionally grand mood. Recalling the disheveled, pathetic state she had witnessed from her hiding place—where a certain individual was tethered to a tree with a rope and tossed into a pool—Qingluan felt that tonight's bout of anxiety had certainly not been spent in vain. "I believe the Eldest Young Master will also highly enjoy this piece of news. This maid also witnessed another individual accompanying Prince Ding, and they appeared to share an incredibly close relationship."

Ye Li raised an eyebrow as she looked at Qingluan, and Qingluan did not keep her in suspense either, stating, "It is the capital’s renowned Third Young Master of the Feng family."

Ye Li hadn't expected a connection between Feng Zhiyao and Mo Xiuyao; this, however, fully explained Feng Zhiyao's blatantly curious attitude toward her during the Hundred Flowers Grand Feast.

"So the Prince of Ding actually went to rescue Miss as well? Did Miss not see Prince Ding?" Qingshuang blinked her eyes, asking with immense curiosity.

Ye Li shook her head. She had known there were other people present inside the woods at the time, and she could vaguely deduce who they were, but she had possessed no intention of meeting them face-to-face, so she had simply ignored it. Since Mo Xiuyao hadn't directed anyone to intercept Qingluan, he must have also understood her meaning. Interacting with an intelligent person truly didn't require expending superfluous words; it was excellent.

Casually tossing a jade pendant over to Qingluan, she instructed, "Hand this over to Eldest Cousin; please ask him to see if he can unearth exactly who the owner of this jade pendant is."

Catching it in her hand, Qingluan gloated with a laugh, "Then this maid must be quick about it. Prince Ding has already reserved one of his hands and one of his legs as a wedding gift for Prince Li. If he hadn't fled rapidly, I fear he would have met with terrible luck tonight."

"His lightness kung fu is quite decent; if there is still time, find a way to make him stay. Perhaps he can assist us in handling some affairs." If it was too late, then there was nothing to be done about it; she certainly didn't consider an individual who would infiltrate a manor in the dead of night to abduct an innocent woman to be someone pure and kind.

However, that person had clearly known she was awake yet had still delivered her to Mo Jingli anyway, and furthermore, had possessed absolutely no intention of cautioning Mo Jingli. From this, it could be seen that he was still a rather interesting individual; of course, an even greater probability was that Mo Jingli had unintentionally offended him.

Standing to one side, Qingyu looked at one and then looked at the other, inquiring with a somewhat peculiar expression, "Can tomorrow's wedding still be held according to the scheduled timeframe?"

Qingluan waved her hand with absolute unconcern, stating, "It ought to be fine. I overheard Feng Zhiyao instructing Prince Ding's guard to let Prince Li's men go and rescue their master when dawn is about to break."

Qingyu nodded her head, advising, "Since it is so, Miss should take advantage of the early hour to rest quickly. If your expression looks poor tomorrow, it will certainly cause people to engage in malicious gossip."

Qingshuang also nodded repeatedly in agreement; she certainly didn't wish to let others seize an opportunity to damage her mistress's reputation further.

...

Has it occurred to absolutely no one that a wedding ceremony is also something that heavily exhausts one's mental energy and physical strength? What if the groom faints during the wedding tomorrow or something... Ye Li thought irresponsibly, allowing the several maids to change her attire and usher her onto the bed to sleep.