"Zhao Luoning!" Ji Shisu's voice rose, clearly irritated.
Zhao Luoning sounded aggrieved.
"If you won't let me sell my jewelry, I have to sell my clothes. Then I'll have nothing to wear..."
Ji Shisu's mind was instantly filled with the alluring image of Zhao Luoning half - naked.
This was a sight only he could behold.
Ji Shisu relented.
"Forget about the rest, but you can't sell the hairpin."
"Why?"
Zhao Luoning asked for the reason, but Ji Shisu seemed preoccupied and refused to say anything.
Zhao Luoning was smart enough not to press further.
If Ji Shisu didn't want to say, then so be it.
There would be plenty of time to find out later.
Zhao Luoning held a cup in one hand and wrapped her other arm around Ji Shisu's waist.
This moment was truly blissful.
Warmth filled Zhao Luoning's heart.
But there was also a faint sense of guilt.
Someone would never be able to experience such happiness again.
Zhao Luoning thought of Liu Qingyun.
She also thought of Ji Shihan.
Right, Shihan.
Just thinking of Shihan's death made Zhao Luoning's heart ache.
She dropped the cup into the fire.
Thankfully, they were on sandy ground, so the cup remained intact.
She closed her eyes and stared blankly at the nearly empty cup of tea for a while. Gradually, the pain in her eyes faded.
She reached out to pick up the cup that had rolled to the side and emptied its contents.
But a large hand moved faster, pulling her delicate hand back.
Ji Shisu picked up a dry stick, fished the cup out of the embers, and tossed it aside.
"Don't worry about it. You're tired. Let's rest early."
"Right, did Lord Ye say anything about Shihan's case when he came to see you?"
Zhao Luoning remembered that Lord Ye had surrounded the Ji Mansion on the pretext that there was something fishy about Shihan's death.
Although this reason now seemed like an excuse to trap Sima Yi,
Lord Ye's actions made Zhao Luoning truly suspicious of Ji Shihan's cause of death.
She was indeed in poor health, but her sudden death was definitely strange.
Seeing her absent - minded look, Ji Shisu didn't want her to know the truth.
"Ning'er, let's talk about this later."
But Zhao Luoning wasn't that easy to brush off.
Ji Shisu's hesitant attitude told Zhao Luoning that this matter was not simple.
The determination in her eyes told him that she had to know.
"Did Lord Ye tell you something about Shihan related to her death?"
Well, he should have known she wouldn't let him off so easily.
Ji Shisu had to confess.
"Shihan didn't die of illness."
Not of illness?
Could it be that someone had really killed her!
"What happened then?"
She swore that if she knew who had hurt Shihan, she would make that person pay a thousand - fold or ten - thousand - fold price.
"Shihan committed suicide by swallowing gold. Lord Ye learned this from Hongshao. The coroner examined Shihan's body and confirmed Hongshao's words."
Suicide by swallowing gold?
That silly girl, why did she do such a stupid thing?
Didn't she know that there were so many people around her who cared about her, loved her, and took good care of her whole - heartedly?
Why did she choose this path of no return?
She was truly the cruelest person in the world.
By dying, she could get rid of all her troubles, but she left the pain to those around her.
This was the most selfish thing Ji Shihan had ever done since Zhao Luoning had known her.
"Why? Why was Shihan so stupid?"
These days, she seemed to have become much weaker. Maybe it was because Ji Shisu doted on her too much.
Tears welled up in her eyes when she heard that Shihan had committed suicide by swallowing gold.
When she opened her mouth, the tears flowed out, leaving dark streaks on her cyan veil.
This was the result Ji Shisu had expected. His shoulder was there for her.
Ji Shisu stepped forward, hugged her, and gently kissed the tears from the corner of her eye. The bitter and salty taste invaded his taste buds. This was sharing weal and woe, wasn't it?
"She must have had her own difficulties."
But even Ji Shisu thought such words were too weak to console himself.
Who would have thought that the usually weak and innocent Ji Shihan would commit suicide by swallowing gold?
This result was hard for not only Zhao Luoning but also Ji Shisu to accept.
Ji Shisu wasn't indifferent to his sister Ji Shihan.
The Ji family had always had few female members.
He regarded this half - sister as his own.
He had thought that with Luoning's company, Shihan's condition would gradually improve, but he didn't expect such an ending.
"Alright, it's all in the past."
His big hand rose and gently, carefully stroked his precious treasure.
The wind outside the tent was still howling. After learning that Ji Shijian was out of danger, many people in the camps were secretly celebrating.
The laughter drifted into Ji Shisu's tent.
But it had nothing to do with the two people embracing inside.
That joy couldn't overcome the current sadness and darkness.
The only thing Zhao Luoning was glad about was that he was still by her side.
Zhao Luoning couldn't remember how long it had been since she had let someone share her sadness.
The feeling of having someone by her side was so reassuring, so warm.
The pain in her heart seemed to be gradually fading.
She knew it was his doing. All her strength came from him.
But Shihan's matter didn't end there.
There were many people in this world who cared about Shihan.
Shu Danqing, who had only met Shihan a few times, was one of them.
After hearing that the former county magistrate, now the imperial inspector Lord Ye Hua, had arrived in Huangcheng,
Shu Danqing asked General Lian for leave and rode back alone overnight.
He returned in the early morning. After hearing from the soldiers that Shijian had woken up, he went to visit Shijian in his tent first.
By the time he came out of Shijian's tent again, it was already broad daylight.
Fortunately, Lord Ye had stayed in the military camp for the night because he had come to the camp to check on Ji Shijian's condition late at night and didn't go back to the guesthouse.
This saved Shu Danqing an extra trip.
If it weren't for his military duties, he would have wanted to find out the truth from Lord Ye earlier.
He would never forget the first time he saw Ji Shihan.
She was as elegant as a lotus flower, and her clear eyes had left an indelible mark on his heart.
He had fallen in love with Ji Shihan when he was just beginning to understand love.
The master who had given Shihan the life - saving pill was begged by Shu Danqing with ten kneels and nine kowtows.
The reason Shu Danyao went to Huangcheng to accompany Ji Shihan every year was that Shu Danqing had promised his sister many benefits.
But because of his official duties and knowing that he was destined to fight a war in this life, he was afraid that he couldn't give Ji Shihan a stable future.
He was even more afraid that after confessing his feelings to Ji Shihan, she would worry about him.
That delicate woman, like a porcelain doll, couldn't bear any storms.
So he had always delayed proposing to the Ji family.
But unexpectedly, this delay had become a lifelong regret.