Ji Feiyu didn't answer. Instead, when the carriage arrived, she took Lin Zhiran and left. Suddenly, Yong Yaxuan called out to her from behind, "My dear consort!"
Ji Feiyu turned around. Seeing his sorrowful look, she said softly, "Our grudges are not yet settled. I will come back for you."
He looked at Ji Feiyu, his expression hard to read.
Ji Feiyu didn't hesitate any longer and turned to leave. But her heart ached. I'm sorry, Yong Yaxuan. I'll come back as soon as I send him out of the palace safely. You can punish me however you like then.
"I'll wait for you," he said softly behind her. But in his heart, he thought, I hope you never come back.
Ji Feiyu closed her eyes briefly and quickly walked towards the carriage. Then she helped Lin Zhiran into the carriage and sat in the front to drive it away.
The palace. She had been in and out of it so many times, but it seemed that none of those times was the last.
...
Thanks to the emperor's promise, they had no trouble getting out of the palace. Ji Feiyu, dressed in black, drove the carriage in the night, feeling a bit lost. Her mind was in a mess at the moment. She tried to talk to Lin Zhiran but got no response. When she turned back and lifted the curtain, she found that he had fainted on the carriage's carpet. It must be due to excessive blood loss.
Originally, she just wanted to send him home after getting out of the palace. But now his father was in a secret war with Yong Yaxuan. He might not accept her good - will. So Ji Feiyu decided to stop the carriage directly in front of the Lin Mansion's gate, knock on the door, and then leave immediately.
She drove the carriage towards the Lin Mansion. But as soon as she turned onto the street where the mansion was located, she saw all kinds of carriages gathered outside. So she had to act as if she saw nothing and drove straight on.
She never thought that the Lin Mansion would be so busy now. She really underestimated Lin Chujie.
Since the city gate was already closed, Ji Feiyu couldn't leave the city. And if she took Lin Zhiran to an inn, his clothes would surely cause unnecessary trouble. So she found a relatively secluded alley, stopped the carriage, and then got into the carriage to apply medicine to Lin Zhiran.
She dared to take off his upper - body clothes to apply medicine, but she had no idea what to do with his lower body, so she left it alone.
After applying the medicine, she sat in the carriage with her legs hugged, silently guarding him. For a moment, the whole world was filled with silence.
She never thought that one day they would be in a carriage like this. As the night deepened and the dew grew heavier, Ji Feiyu gradually felt sleepy. She found a comfortable position and fell asleep.
When she woke up, she heard Lin Zhiran softly calling, "Water... water..." It was still not dawn.
Ji Feiyu quickly checked on him. After making sure it was him speaking, she got up to look for the water bag in the carriage. Then she moved to his side, wet his lips with water first, and then handed the water bag to his mouth. As soon as he touched the water, he immediately took the water bag with his hand and drank greedily. Ji Feiyu couldn't help shouting, "Slow down!" Then she wiped the water from the corner of his mouth.
Lin Zhiran opened his eyes. When he saw it was Ji Feiyu, the corner of his mouth curved into a faint smile. He said weakly, "It's really you... I'm not dreaming."
Ji Feiyu said softly, "It's me."
Lin Zhiran smiled and fell into a drowsy sleep again. His hand slowly dropped. Ji Feiyu quickly took the water bag and covered it. She accidentally touched his hand. His hand was extremely cold. Ji Feiyu worriedly touched his forehead. Fortunately, he didn't have a fever.
After being woken up by him, she couldn't fall asleep again. So she just sat there quietly with him until dawn.
...
As the sky gradually brightened, Lin Zhiran finally woke up with a start. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Ji Feiyu sitting beside him. He was startled and asked, "Why are you here?"
Seeing that he was awake, Ji Feiyu asked, "Are you okay?"
Lin Zhiran was now fully awake. Seeing Ji Feiyu in the same carriage with him, he blushed. He looked around the environment and then weakly asked, "Where are we?"
"Outside the palace," Ji Feiyu answered softly.
He looked at her in disbelief. "You really brought me out?"
"Yeah," Ji Feiyu nodded.
"Don't you blame me anymore?" he asked nervously.
Ji Feiyu couldn't help smiling faintly. "I know you were drugged."
"But I..."
"What about you?"
He glanced at Ji Feiyu and blushed again.
"Can you tell me what happened on the Star - Picking Terrace that day?" Ji Feiyu looked at him calmly, hoping to get some truth from his mouth.
Hearing this, he opened his mouth but finally shifted his gaze away from her and said, "I can't remember clearly."
"Is there something you can't talk about?" Ji Feiyu saw that he seemed to know something but was unwilling to answer. She didn't press him anymore and said, "If it's inconvenient, don't say it."
Lin Zhiran looked at her, his eyes full of guilt. He said, "You should know now that it's not worth falling out with the emperor for me. I did something wrong and should be punished."
Ji Feiyu had calmed down. She smiled at him. "Actually, this is my business with him. It has nothing to do with you. I'll send you back to the Lin Mansion later, but don't tell them that I saved you."
"Your Highness..." Suddenly, he didn't know what to say to her.
Ji Feiyu lifted the curtain and looked at the sky. She said, "It's almost time. If we go now, there should be no one outside the Lin Mansion."
After saying that, Ji Feiyu got out of the carriage to drive the horse. But Lin Zhiran suddenly called out to her, "Your Highness, the wound on your neck..."
Ji Feiyu couldn't help touching the small scab on her neck and smiled again. "This has nothing to do with you either."
Hearing this, Lin Zhiran boldly said, "Stay with me. Don't go back."
"Huh?" Ji Feiyu was stunned.
Seeing her turn around, a blush appeared on his face again. He didn't dare to look at her anymore and just shifted his gaze and said, "I mean, the palace is too dangerous."
Ji Feiyu was a bit surprised. How did he know she was going back? But after the surprise, she immediately smiled. "I must go back because I haven't settled my score with him yet."
"What about the score between us?" he asked anxiously.
Ji Feiyu smiled. "The score between us is negative. You owe me."
"Then let me repay you with my life."
After he said this, both of them were stunned. Ji Feiyu didn't dare to look directly into his suddenly bright eyes. She just joked, "Okay. You can be my pageboy and copy books for me in the future."
Hearing this, his eyes gradually dimmed. After a while, he imitated her joking tone and said, "That's fine too."
Ji Feiyu quickly got out of the carriage and went to drive the horse. But she didn't know how she felt at the moment. She and he had missed their chance. No matter how they tried to make up for it, they couldn't turn back time.
...
In the early - morning imperial capital, the sky was dyed with colorful light. A ray of light illuminated the sky, making the sky seem high and vast.
Ji Feiyu drove the carriage, turning left and right on the sparsely - populated road. Finally, she arrived at the side gate of the Lin Mansion.
She jumped off the carriage, knocked on the door, and then quickly hid.
The originally quiet Lin Mansion became noisy because of Lin Zhiran's return. Ji Feiyu hid in the corner of the deep alley. She let out a sigh of relief only after seeing him being helped in.
"What are you looking at here, miss?" A sudden male voice startled her. When she turned around, she saw a peerlessly handsome face.