C8. The Visitor's Arrival.

Chapter 8: The Visitor's Arrival

The servants in the mansion had received the news early and prepared accordingly. As the sky darkened, lanterns were lit throughout the residence.

Yun'er and the others waited by the main gate. Upon hearing the faint sound of hooves, they rushed forward and confirmed that it was Ji Li. They helped her alight from the carriage.

Walking along the secluded cobblestone path towards the inner courtyard, Xi Che followed closely behind her.

The night wind rustled, the sky resembled a suspended mirror, occasionally dotted with a few stars.

Moonlight poured down, lengthening the shadows of the group.

Ji Li looked up at him, "It's getting late. Yun Yi will show you to your room shortly."

Her tone was light, "You've traveled far and wide. Rest well first." She then instructed the people behind her.

In the quiet of the night, her voice was reassuring.

The young man stood there straight, nodding obediently.

Under the moonlight, he exuded an air of jade-like elegance.

It was a bit dark in the night, and Ji Li couldn't see him clearly.

She turned her gaze away and walked towards her room with Yun'er.

Making sure everyone was gone, Yun'er finally spoke, "Miss, his background is quite strange."

Ji Li acknowledged and paid some attention.

"Ordinarily, one's growth should be traceable, but there are very few records of his life before he was ten," Yun'er said. "It's as if he just appeared out of nowhere among the refugees."

"Indeed, there were frequent disasters in various regions seventeen years ago," she said calmly.

At the same time, people from Central China and other regions began to flood into the border areas.

The influx of immigrants led to a significant increase in the border population, and there was a temporary period of chaos in the origin of these people.

It was normal for many half-grown children to become orphans due to wars, wandering aimlessly, and their whereabouts unknown.

She collected her thoughts and said, "Does his experience at Rong Hua Temple from the age of ten to fifteen match up?"

Seeing Yun'er nod, Ji Li's expression faltered slightly, and she remained silent for a while.

After a while, she spoke softly, "Let's put that aside for now."

The previous confrontation between Xi Che and the new emperor had seemed quite strange.

Though there was respect, there was also a hint of casualness that was hard to ignore.

She had never seen such a relationship between a monarch and his subject, where the power dynamic seemed to be subtly reversed.

There must be something that her current information network was unable to uncover,

Something that she was still too weak to handle.

As she recalled their interactions over the past few days, Ji Li's heart was filled with a complex mix of emotions.

She was even somewhat swayed by the young man's compliant attitude, unable to make up her mind.

Yet, she also clearly understood that Xi Che's obedience and care for her was largely due to her help.

She was the savior who had pulled him out of the mire.

If one day he were to regain the power he had in his previous life, he would probably be grateful to her.

But...

That wasn't enough.

She paced over to a pearwood rack and gazed at the red tassel hanging from it.

Paired with the long spear, it was still as sharp as ever.

This was the weapon she used regularly for her martial arts training.

Right now, the enemy was in the dark, and she was in the light. He had deep roots in the court.

Although she had some memories from her past life that allowed her to strike first, rushing forward would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

Ji Li closed her eyes, and after a moment, as if she had come to a realization, she opened them again.

Her amber eyes were filled with calmness.

The Ji family could not repeat the same mistakes.

As she was thinking, she heard Yun'er push the door open and turned around.

Her handmaiden was holding several letters in her hands.

"What's this?" she asked, puzzled.

Under the candlelight, she took them and glanced at them.

There were no signatures.

"The post office said someone sent them to you."

After a few moments of thought, Ji Li still opened the letters.

The paper unfolded slowly, and bold, powerful characters leaped into view -

They were from Xie Yuncheng.

She skimmed over them and was about to throw them into the charcoal brazier when her eyes suddenly caught two lines of words.

This man had actually been granted a title and a fiefdom?

Ji Li was taken aback.

How could Emperor Chong An suddenly change his mind?

In her previous life, Xie Yuncheng had clearly waited until he had established a relationship with the General's Mansion and gained some leverage before receiving a fiefdom and numerous rewards.

How could this be possible now, when he had just reached adulthood?

But then she became a little uncertain: could it be that some things had deviated from the original course because of her rebirth?

She decided to read the letters carefully, her lips pursed, her expression serious.

Only after reading them all did she finally calm down a bit.

Yun'er stepped forward to cleanse her face and comforted her, saying, "Miss, don't worry."

She didn't know what was written in the letter, but she could see that it was from the Fourth Prince.

Thinking about Ji Li's sudden coldness towards this person in the past half month, she took two steps forward and helped her press her head, hoping to ease some of her discomfort.

"Looking at it for too long at night hurts your eyes, and besides, you just came back from outside today. You're tired of birds dying at noon and roosting in temples at night..." Her voice was soft, filled with concern.

Ji Li finished reading the letter and didn't dwell on it anymore. She responded with a sound.

The girl's raven hair fell smoothly down her back, rising and falling with her breath. After a while, she fell into a deep sleep.

...

Amidst the layers of flowing clouds, another heavy rain fell at night.

The next day, she didn't wake up until it was broad daylight.

The autumn wind always carried a hint of coolness.

The red window was half open, and the sky outside was a clear blue, as if a thick brushstroke of whale ink had been splashed on it.

It was a rare sunny day after many days.

Ji Li washed up in her usual routine and then heard Yun Yi say that Xi Che was already waiting for her in the courtyard.

She paused, "What time did he come?"

"As soon as it was light, he came to the courtyard to stand in horse stance according to your instructions."

Ji Li: "He was alone? Until now?"

Seeing Yun Yi's affirmation, sighing, she rubbed her temples, "What is this foolish boy doing? No one's instructing him, yet he's training so diligently?"

"This... this servant doesn't know."

Glancing at the sun high in the sky outside, she sighed deeply.

Stepping out into the courtyard, she sure enough saw Xi Che standing firm in the center of the courtyard.

The entire courtyard was filled with the chirping of insects.

Although it was a sunny day, there were still some damp spots on the path, and a few raindrops were hanging on the treetops, about to fall.

He practiced on and off, and was bitten by small insects in several places.

The morning breeze blew, and a drop of sweat slowly slid down the young man's handsome browbone and disappeared into the ground.

He saw Ji Li coming, his thin lips curled up slightly, and then he pressed them down again, taking big strides to greet her, "Greetings, Miss."

But the youthful joy and excitement unique to young men could not be hidden at all.

The more he suppressed it, the more it would come to the fore.

Ji Li: "How long have you been practicing here? Why didn't you send someone to call me?"

The servants in her own courtyard saw her increasingly obvious special treatment of Xi Che.

The two personal maids were even more aware of it and would never say anything more.

"It's nothing." He didn't care, his eyes seemed to have been washed by the rain, very different from when he was cowering in the temple, and smiled to explain to her, "I didn't quite understand what you told Yun'er sister to do last night, so I thought that diligence could make up for clumsiness, and it would be good to practice early."

"So I practiced for a while on my own." He added, "I didn't practice for too long either, you just woke up."

In the bright daylight, she looked at the man opposite her with a look of seeking praise, and didn't expose him.

"That's just right." She nodded along with the steps and called out to him, "You were doing the horse stance wrong just now."

"Keep your feet together and keep your body centered." She followed her words with actions and demonstrated for him, "Step out with your toes first, then bend your knees slightly, slightly wider than your shoulders."

She lifted her eyes to meet Xi Che's gaze and said, "When you squat down, this can become a vertical line, look."

The girl's gaze met his steadily, devoid of any impurities.

It was an undeniable air of authority and meticulousness.

As far as martial arts were concerned, Xi Che was willing to be an outsider at this moment.

He only felt that Ji Li was giving him her undivided attention at this moment, which was extremely good.

The bud in his heart was watered by the girl's cold and clear voice, and it would soon break through the soil.

Ji Li was very focused when doing things, "Concentrate all your strength on your hips." She took a few steps closer to Xi Che to see if his movements were standard.

As she approached, the faint fragrance of the girl's body wafted towards him.

A mixture of orange and floral scents, he found it incredibly pleasant.

He swallowed unconsciously.

With a tight face, he followed her instructions silently.

After practicing for half an hour, the sun was getting bigger.

Xi Che even felt strangely that the autumn sunlight was a bit hot.

He was bathed in this light, panting slightly.

He was clearly quite tired, but his eyes were bright and passionate like flames, staring at the person not far from him without blinking.

Quietly, carefully.

Like the soil that can be found everywhere in the land, he only peeked at that rose in his entire life.

He lowered his eyes and stood up straight at the girl's signal.

He ran to Ji Li's side in a few steps and stood still, once again becoming a familiar statue.

This made the person beside him glance at him and laugh, "Take a break when you're done practicing, what are you standing here for?"

"I'm not water, can I replenish and recover after drinking?"

Xicheng didn't answer, just looked at her with his puppy dog eyes.

Ji Li used to deal with the children in the military camp, or her father's students.

Either they were bold and generous or cautious and respectful.

She had no idea how to deal with a young man with this kind of personality.

"Don't look at me like that." She turned her head away, not looking at him.

Who knew that this person didn't seem to understand what she meant, "Ah?"

He raised his head and changed direction, sticking to her again, "What does Miss mean? I don't understand..."

Ji Li simply closed her mouth and became a wooden block.

The young man pursed his lips tightly, "I... Miss, why are you ignoring me?" He took a few steps back, "Did I do something wrong to make you angry?"

"I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean to upset you, I'll go somewhere else." He turned around and left, to rest elsewhere.

Ji Li: "..."

Ji Li: "I'm not, I didn't say that, don't slander people."

Xi Che's eyes lit up again when he heard this, but he didn't step forward again, as if he was being cautious.

"Don't hate me." There was a hint of grievance in his voice.

"I don't hate you."

"When did I say I hated you..."

The familiar tone reminded her inexplicably of the pitiful appearance of the young man sobbing uncontrollably before.

Afraid of being abandoned, his crying voice was so small.

He didn't look like a fifteen-year-old boy, but more like a crying cat.

Meeting Xi Che's staring eyes, she closed her eyes.

Forget it, just take a step back.

He was still different from those young guys in the military camp.

She simply broke the pot and said, "Then, just stay here and rest with me." The next moment, she had another strange feeling that she couldn't explain, so she made up for it with a few more sentences.

"But, let's get this straight first, we have to set some rules."