"You shameless and brazen woman!"
Si Xirui was completely infuriated by me. She had never seen a woman like me who took advantage and then acted innocent. She reached out to tug at my collar. Caught off guard, I had the frog buttons on my collar undone by her.
She was momentarily stunned, while Si Jiangchen frowned even more tightly.
"Stop the car!" he commanded coldly.
The car screeched to a halt.
"Get out."
The smile on Si Jiangchen's face disappeared completely. The temperature inside the car seemed to drop.
"I'm not leaving!"
After her momentary daze, Si Xirui still wanted to be stubborn. The driver had already gotten out of the car and opened the door on her side, gesturing for her to get out.
"Xirui, get out of the car," Li Mingyue in the front seat had also gotten out. Being a few years older than Si Xirui, she knew that when Si Jiangchen was standing up for me, no matter how much they made a fuss, they wouldn't be able to stir up any big waves. So she took the initiative to back off to avoid further embarrassment later.
Finally, Si Xirui got out of the car.
As I fastened the undone buttons on my collar, I looked back and watched the two pitiful young girls get into another car of the Si family that was following behind. Then I turned to look at Si Jiangchen, frowned and sighed, "Oh no!"
"What's wrong?"
With Si Jiangchen's voice, the air inside the car, which had been so cold it seemed to freeze, finally loosened up. He leaned back slightly against the seat and looked at me.
"I've offended your sister and your cousin even before I marry into your family. Won't I have a hard time in the future?"
Actually, I didn't really take marrying into the Si family as a big deal. My intuition was always very accurate, and I felt that I couldn't possibly marry him.
"It doesn't matter," Si Jiangchen showed a faint smile on his face. "Whether you want to see them or not is up to you."
"You're so heartless. They're your own sister and cousin, and your cousin is so infatuated with you and wants to marry you whole - heartedly."
I looked at him in feigned surprise.
Si Jiangchen reached out and pulled me into his arms again. His palm gently caressed my waist. "I remember you've opened your celestial eye..."
Granny Bai had opened my celestial eye when she first saw me, allowing me to see the ghosts wandering in the world.
"Yeah."
I was tickled by his touch and pushed his hand trying to break free from his grasp. Unexpectedly, Si Jiangchen suddenly grabbed my fingers and trapped me in his arms.
"Do you still dare to talk about me like that?"
He grabbed the back of my head and kissed my lips hard. After a long, lingering kiss, he finally let go of me, gasping for breath. He said, "If you say such things again, see how I'll punish you!"
I was blushing furiously from his kiss and could only rest my forehead on Si Jiangchen's chest, gasping for breath.
Actually, the first time I saw Li Mingyue, I had seen two hideous little ghosts lying on her back. As her hostility towards me grew, they bared their tiny, jagged teeth at me.
"She already has a man," Si Jiangchen squinted his eyes and looked at me. "Just like you. Once you have a man, don't even think about running away..."
...
The Si family's residence was located in Liantangli on the west bank of the Qinhuai River in Jinling City. There were two five - courtyard quadrangles on both sides of the street. The walls were built with hollow, carved blue bricks, and the main gates of the courtyards were more than two meters wide.
The car slowly stopped in front of the east courtyard gate. "Young master, do you want to go to the master's place first?"
"No. I'll take Du Xinghe there later," Si Jiangchen said as he opened the car door and dragged me out.
I turned to look behind our car. The Si family's cars drove in one after another and parked on the side of the street. Si Xirui and Li Mingyue were sitting in the car, looking at me with resentment in their eyes. The two little ghosts were perched on Li Mingyue's shoulders, their bodies hidden in her carefully styled long curly hair, playing with each other.
"This is my courtyard," Si Jiangchen took my hand. A servant had already come out to greet us at the door and happily welcomed us into the courtyard. "Young master, you're back. The room is ready. Madam can go and rest at any time."
"Okay."
Si Jiangchen reached out and touched my forehead. After sitting in the car for so long and being blown by the wind, the feeling of heatstroke when the car stopped had already disappeared.
However, the long journey had exhausted me. Since Si Jiangchen had already prepared a room for me, I didn't need to be polite to him.
It was already afternoon. The shade cast by the verandas in the quadrangle made me feel drowsy.
Si Jiangchen simply picked me up and walked through three courtyards and a grove of silk trees in full pink bloom before arriving at a small pent - roofed building.
"You can sleep here for now," Si Jiangchen placed me on the shelf bed against the wall and then said to me, "Granny Bai and A Wen will come later. Let Granny Bai apply some more medicine on you. There will probably be a family banquet tonight. It'll be a long one."
"Okay."
I naturally knew there would be a grand banquet tonight.
Since Si Jiangchen was the future head of the Si family and an important figure in command of heavy troops, his investiture banquet would surely be a carnival for the powerful and wealthy in Jinling City. There would be those who wanted to curry favor with the powerful, those looking for a backer, and those hoping to marry into a high - ranking family... Just thinking about it gave me a headache!
Si Jiangchen gently ruffled my hair, then took off the curtain hook and let down the light - green curtain.
He was a very busy man. While others could be lazy and rest, he had to deal with all kinds of things non - stop.
However, I didn't feel sorry for him.
Who asked him to climb so high? High position and great power could also make a person as tired as a beast...
Thinking vaguely, the wounds on my chest and shoulders started to burn with pain again. I watched the curtain fluttering in the breeze and gradually fell asleep.
In my dream, I returned to the terrifying abyss again. This time, Zhu Youjian didn't cold - heartedly send me back. Instead, he was sitting on the edge of the abyss. His white long robe was being tugged by the pitch - black ghost hands. He stared blankly at the glowing path...
Now, I already knew that the path was the Yellow Spring Road. Both Zhu Youjian and I were destined not to cross this abyss!
"Do you regret it?" I stood behind Zhu Youjian and asked.
"What's there to regret?" Zhu Youjian reached out and touched the little girl on his shoulder who was tugging at his hair to braid it. "When the rebel army entered the city, my wife and children would surely be humiliated and killed. It's better for me to kill them with my own hands so that they can remain chaste and pure."
He gave a bitter smile. "The shame of the 'Sheep - Leading Ceremony', my Zhu family will never endure."
The "Sheep - Leading Ceremony" that Zhu Youjian mentioned was exactly the shame of the Jingkang Incident in the Northern Song Dynasty, when the Jin Kingdom humiliated Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong with the "Sheep - Leading Ceremony".
However, Li Zicheng's rebel army was not the emperor of the Jin Kingdom. If Zhu Youjian's wives and daughters fell into their hands, their fates would probably be a hundred times more terrifying than the "Sheep - Leading Ceremony".
"Who's asking you about this!" I pursed my lips and pointed at the Yellow Spring Road that was just within reach. "Do you plan to be wandering ghosts with your daughter for all eternity?"