The light in the room was a bit dim. Behind the bed screened by the folding screen, only the outlines of various objects were faintly visible. Zheng Yuanqing gritted his teeth as he stood aside. He waited until Jingzhe came to a halt in front of the folding screen before mustering the courage to cast his gaze at her.
Jingzhe took a final look around, then turned her eyes to him and said, "It seems that many people are watching you, but they don't seem to want to take action against you for now. But what about next time? If I see someone coming, should I kill them?"
When Jingzhe spoke, she always unconsciously stroked the sword at her waist. Zheng Yuanqing held his breath and said dejectedly, "No. If someone comes, just let me know."
"Okay." Jingzhe replied.
"Then, my Lady Jingzhe, would you like to sleep on the bed?"
Jingzhe gave him a strange look. Seeing the uneasiness in Zheng Yuanqing's eyes, she frowned and said, "No need. You sleep inside. I can just sit on a chair outside."
After saying that, the maid beside Zheng Yuanqing held out the clothes for a guard on her knees and presented them in front of Jingzhe, saying, "My Lady Jingzhe, these are your clothes. Please allow me to help you change."
"No need." Jingzhe said, then took the clothes by herself and looked at the maid. "Show me where to change."
Watching Jingzhe walk away, Zheng Yuanqing slumped onto the bed and let out a long breath. He collapsed onto the bed as if completely drained, covering his face with the quilt.
After his breathing steadied again, he said to his attendant through the quilt, "Set up a soft couch for Jingzhe outside."
"Wait!" After saying that, seeing the attendant about to leave upon receiving the order, he couldn't help but add, "Keep it far away from me."
After saying that, he covered his face with the quilt again, breathing in the air around his nose.
It had been raining continuously for days. Zheng Yuanqing should have stayed in a nice place prepared by the local officials. But after staying there for a few nights, he sensed something was wrong. Even the servants who poured water were from unknown origins, lurking around him to send messages back to the capital.
So Zheng Yuanqing moved out that very night. Since he couldn't find a good place to stay in a hurry, he had to make do here for a while.
The rain had lasted so long that the quilt couldn't be dried in the sun. It always carried a damp smell, which wasn't exactly unpleasant but still made one feel depressed.
It's okay. Zheng Yuanqing sighed and comforted himself.
The founding emperor was in a much more difficult situation than he was. At least he still had a quilt. Besides, as the saying goes, when Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it first makes their mind suffer and their body toil...
After thinking about it for a while, Zheng Yuanqing became inspired again. But when he came to his senses and lifted the quilt to see the gloomy room, his heart sank like the continuous drizzle outside.
When he got up and turned his head, he saw that Jingzhe was already sitting on the chair behind the folding screen. When she saw him, she nodded slightly.
Zheng Yuanqing was stunned for a moment.
Jingzhe had taken off her women's clothes. Her androgynous face, now set off by the guard's uniform, lost the softness it had when she was wearing the maid's clothes. She was more like a sharp sword out of its sheath.
Cold and sharp, it stabbed straight into Zheng Yuanqing's heart, making him instinctively cover his chest.
He had thought he would be restless, but when he saw Jingzhe standing there with her sword, he actually felt a long - lost sense of peace, just like when he used to hide in the cabinet in his mother - concubine's bedroom when he was a child.
As soon as this thought came to him, Zheng Yuanqing thought he must be crazy. His look at Jingzhe was filled with disbelief.
It seemed that he had really suffered a great deal recently, to the point that his mind was not clear. Zheng Yuanqing suppressed his impulse to go forward and said to Jingzhe, "Let's go have dinner first. Thank you, my Lady Jingzhe."
Jingzhe nodded slightly.
During the meal, the atmosphere between them was peaceful. Zheng Yuanqing firmly refused Jingzhe's offer to stand behind him and directly invited her to dine with him. The servants in attendance were shocked but still lowered their heads to hide their surprise.
After the meal, when they sat down at the table, Zheng Yuanqing felt that sense of uneasiness again.
It was completely dark. He sat at the table, with Jingzhe standing motionless behind him, holding her sword like a statue.
Zheng Yuanqing couldn't concentrate on the book in front of him at all. He gritted his teeth and sat there for a long time before finally turning around and looking at Jingzhe, saying, "My Lady Jingzhe, do you have anything you'd like to do?"
Facing Zheng Yuanqing's overture, Jingzhe's expression remained unchanged. Hearing his words, she just looked at him and said, "You can just call me Jingzhe."
"Is that okay?"
Before Jingzhe could finish her question, she heard Zheng Yuanqing say impatiently, "Of course it's okay."
Swallowing back the words on the tip of her tongue, Jingzhe gave Zheng Yuanqing a surprised look. She put down her sword, walked to her soft couch, took out a parcel from it, undid the not - very - tight knot that was due to the many things inside, and took out a familiar storybook.
After Jingzhe got up, Zheng Yuanqing's eyes fell on the sword she had left on the chair. The sword looked a bit old, with gray cloth wrapped around the handle. Maybe it had turned gray because it was too old, so it looked rather shabby.
He always thought that Jingzhe's face didn't quite match this shabby sword. But when he thought of the wound on his neck that this sword had left and that it still hadn't healed, Zheng Yuanqing couldn't help but touch his neck and looked away from the sword.
Jingzhe sat there with the storybook in her hand. Her hair was tied up high in a ponytail with a simple black cloth. She was as silent as her sword.
Zheng Yuanqing didn't know what was wrong with him. He had so many thoughts today. Every time he saw Jingzhe, he always thought she was just like that sword. The faintly painful neck that used to ache when he saw the sword no longer bothered him.
As he looked at the sword and Jingzhe sitting there reading, he felt an indescribable sense of peace in his heart.
"You..." As soon as Zheng Yuanqing opened his mouth, Jingzhe looked over. "Do assassins also learn to read?"
Jingzhe experienced the feeling of being at a loss for words for the first time. She gave Zheng Yuanqing an indescribable look and said, "Of course. If we can't read, how can we pass on messages?"
"Oh." After asking, Zheng Yuanqing thought his question was strange. He replied to Jingzhe with a dry word and then watched as her eyes shifted back to the book in her hand.
Was this book really that interesting?
As Zheng Yuanqing read the book in his hand, he always couldn't help but turn his head to look at Jingzhe. Every time he did, he saw her concentrating on the book.
Jingzhe noticed his gaze but was too lazy to ask. She divided her attention between the book in her hand and the surroundings.
After a long time, Zheng Yuanqing felt tired. Just as he was about to turn his head to ask Jingzhe something, he saw her suddenly look up at him and say very softly, "Someone's here."
Zheng Yuanqing was startled.