Chapter Two, The Half-Cleared Moon (II)

"What kind of screen should I set up?" Leng Yue took out paper and pen, chose a position by the tea table directly facing the bathtub, and sat down. "You can wash like this, I will write the autopsy report here. If there is anything you can't remember, just stand up and let me have a look."

The Linglong Porcelain Kiln opened by Xiao Yunde is located in a secluded area on the outskirts of Beijing. Many people are aware of the Linglong Porcelain Kiln, but few know the exact location of the kiln. By the time Lengyue inquired and made her way there, it was already close to noon.

Jing Yi may not be very accomplished, but he is still a gentleman in every sense. Even when it comes to his legally wedded wife, such matters can only be carried out with mutual consent.

Jing Yi's third brother, Jing Ji, the Minister of Rites.

Show her ... ...

In the span of about half an hour, Leng Yue had called him out of the bathtub a total of eighteen times, looked at him eight times, and touched him ten times. She had seen everything that should and should not be seen, and touched everything that should and should not be touched. By the time Leng Yue contentedly folded and put away what she had written, Jing Yi's body was already hotter than the bathwater.

After you left... the train of thought I had carefully organized was suddenly interrupted. Jing Yi thought for a moment and then said, "I sat by his bed waiting for him to wake up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he shouted for water. I handed him a cup of tea, and he immediately splashed it all over my face. Then he jumped out of bed, picked up the basin, and drenched me completely. I saw that he wanted to grab the kettle of boiling water sitting on the stove, so I told him there was water outside. Then he pulled me and ran outside, and then... then..."

Seven years ago, his family arranged for him to marry a servant girl as a concubine. Later, his wife was humiliated and lost her virtue, and the villagers burned her to death. Subsequently, when the village suffered a disaster, he was the only one in his family who survived.

The cold moon indeed prepared a bowl of medicine for him, and when the medicine was served, Jing Yi's exquisitely handsome face was still flushed.

Did he also look at your chest

A taciturn orphan, merely fourteen years of age, is suddenly awakened by a painful memory related to a charred corpse. Under such provocation, anything could happen, which is indeed worrisome. However, at this moment, Leng Yue is more curious to know what extraordinary matter he has recalled, what justifies him dousing her husband with water, what gives him the right to drag her husband around the courtyard, and what compels him to leap into the fish pond with her husband in his arms.

He had the thought of pulling her into the bathtub, he thought about it this way, but in the end, he just sincerely nodded his head

Jing Yi blinked innocently yet helplessly, "If I don't show it to him, he won't believe that I am not his wife. He insists on swearing to take care of me and protect me for a lifetime, wanting to kiss me and have a whole bunch of children with me... I resorted to this desperate measure for my own protection."

Wait a moment

She is not a gentleman, and her cousin is even less so

Seven years ago, he married a wife; later, his wife passed away, and subsequently, his entire family perished

Jing Yi, in a state of despair, managed to pull himself out of the bathtub, carelessly dried his body, and wrapped himself in a blanket while curling up on the bed. In the process, he swore to the wall that he would never again allow anyone other than Leng Yue to touch him with a single finger in this lifetime

"Why did it catch fire so quickly?" Leng Yue touched Jing Yi's forehead, her phoenix eyes slightly squinting as they swept over his flushed cheeks, ears, neck, chest, and everything below the chest that was also reddened and submerged in water. "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

This book has been the hottest topic in teahouses over the past six months. Leng Yue has heard a few excerpts, and in the book, the fox spirit with red spots on its heart has the ability to bring the dead back to life. It is no wonder that during the Laba Festival, when his mind was unclear, he saw this spot on Jing Yi's heart.

Originally it was ... ... Later I clarified things with him, and he also clarified things with me, as you heard, he even asked me to save his wife, didn't he

He knows that she has always had a grudge against all the women in the world who look at him, but since when did men also become part of that?

You said

Yet Lengyue still harbored doubts; it would be one thing for an ordinary criminal, but how could one expect clarity from someone who could not even distinguish between men and women

Leng Yue had never seen Xiao Yunde before, but she recognized the person standing beside Xiao Yunde, who was interrupted mid-sentence by the sound of her horse's hooves.

According to Prince An, Jing Yi has quite a knack for interrogating suspects. While other officials struggle to extract confessions even after several rounds of severe punishment, Jing Yi is able to elicit clear and thorough admissions from the criminals in a calm and friendly manner

In addition to serving the koi, Jing Yi has another hobby, which is listening to audiobooks

At that moment, several servants came in to deliver the bathwater. After tidying up, they respectfully asked Jing Yi whether he required their assistance.

Jing Yi nodded, shaking off a few droplets of water from her loose strands of hair

Moreover, from the perspective of the principle that a gentleman speaks but does not act with violence, his wife has never been a gentleman since childhood

Leng Yue could not imagine, nor dared to imagine, what more foolish things they could have done in this brief hour than two men huddling together squatting in the fish pond

Drink it while it's hot, and after you finish, take a rest. I will visit your cousin's house for a bit

As soon as she heard that he was going to start from seven years ago, Leng Yue felt a headache coming on. "Wait a moment... you should start from after I left."

Lengyue felt that after waking up on the Laba Festival, he would do something foolish, because according to Uncle Qi's description, Laba's reaction at that time was somewhat strange. His reaction did not seem like one of being startled, but rather more like he had been reminded of something, and then recalled a certain matter.

The expression on Leng Yue's face was as dark as if she were watching her own cabbage being uprooted by a pig

Why

Whether it flies in the sky, runs on the ground, or swims in the water, he can elaborate extensively on whatever he catches

Leng Yue noticed the Laba Festival because of his abnormal reaction in the kitchen, which was not the kind of abnormality stemming from nervousness or fear, but rather from a painful struggle to endure.

The cold moon cast a glance at his tightly wrapped figure, her eyebrows slightly raised and the corners of her mouth gently curved, "Do you want to go with me?"

Jing Yi thought this way, but before he could speak, Leng Yue had already driven all the servants out.

Leng Yue's complexion was not very good, so Jing Yi consciously changed the subject after three sentences

Jing Yi gently licked her slightly cool lips, hesitated for a moment, and looked at Leng Yue with difficulty, "This matter must start from seven years ago"

If he splashes you, you just stand there and take it; if he pulls you, you just run along with him; if he hugs you..." Leng Yue gritted her teeth and shot him a glance, "Are you saving your lightness skill to wait for him to give you a whole nest of little ones, is that it?

She is indeed his daughter-in-law

The slightly warm porcelain cup was firmly grasped in her hand, yet there was still a flutter in Leng Yue's heart

The cold moon gently stroked Jing Yi's head like petting a cat, softly and dreamily saying, "Why are you still huddled in the water? Come out and lie down on the bed..."

Did he tell you?

Thinking this way, Lengyue felt that the skin all over her body was tightening

What are you

... ...

Jing Yi, a native young master, found himself in a peculiar state after soaking in the fish pond. At this moment, he not only desired someone to attend to him, but also wished for the two skilled servants to massage his shoulders and legs, preferably with a warm pot of osmanthus wine.

Duties differ; Leng Yue has never seen him in person, but since Prince An has said so, it should not be false

Not only does he love to listen, but he also enjoys composing stories. Nowadays, the most popular tales being told in several major teahouses in the capital are those he wrote before he took up an official position at the Dali Temple

It is estimated that adding a bit of oil and salt will make the chopsticks move

... ...

Jing Yi sighed helplessly, wrapped in a quilt, got out of bed, and walked barefoot to the steaming bath tub. After hesitating for a moment, he turned to look at the unflinchingly cold Yue and asked, "Could you help me pull up the screen?"

The water splashed on the body is not a big deal, but if the boiling water from the pot on the stove in the Laba room were to be poured onto Jingyi's skin, which is as tender as fresh tofu...

I will go prepare some medicine for you to reduce fever and dispel heat; drink it while it's hot and cover yourself to sweat it out, and then you will be fine

Then you can rest at home; once you have rested enough, finish copying "The Biographies of Exemplary Women." You still have more than six copies left to complete out of the seven.

Jing Yi rubbed his slightly sore nose with his free hand and reluctantly finished the remaining words, "And then... when we passed by the fish pond, he just jumped down with me in his arms."

Jing Yi innocently shrank into the quilt, newly married, yet he had to hold a delirious man and a group of silly, plump fish, soaking together in the chilly pool water. He did not want this either, "I just want to know why he splashed me"

Leng Yue's expression not only did not improve, but instead became even more unpleasant. "He splashed water on you and jumped into the fish pond while holding you; does he take you for his wife?"

She leaned forward, speaking close to his face, her skin as smooth as fine jade, her breath fragrant like orchids. How could he possibly endure such a situation

This small deep red mark was something Jing Yi was born with, and when he was writing the story, he made a thousand-year-old fox spirit in the tale have the same mark in the same place.

Jing Yi shook his head helplessly; he did not understand how Leng Yue could know his body so well. In any case, she had just taken ruthless measures on every sensitive spot on him. At this rate, he would still be unable to go out and meet anyone within the next half an hour.

The cold moon set off without hesitation, humming a little tune, walking with a light and graceful step

Jing Yi's hand trembled, nearly throwing the medicine bowl that had just been brought to his lips out of his grasp

The cold moon raised her eyebrows; she indeed heard the cries for help, but what she heard was not just the pleas for rescue. "I listened to him as if he were delirious; how did you two manage to clarify things?"

Jing Yi did not mind showing it to her, but...

Jing Yi sniffed, speaking with a slightly nasal tone, "He pours water on me and I do not dodge, wherever he pulls me, I go, when he holds me to jump into the fish pond, I accompany him down, even if he has lost his senses, he should know that I would not harm him... Moreover, he believes that I am a thousand-year-old fox spirit."

The cold moon placed the cup in her hand down on the table, "Three sentences were spoken."

She is merely not very gentlemanly towards him, but her cousin, who has cultivated his way to the flower boat, is quite uncertain

Xiao Yunde stood at the entrance of the porcelain kiln courtyard with his hands behind his back, watching coldly as Leng Yue prepared the mallet in front of him, a smile so rich on his face, which bore a slight resemblance to Jing Yi, that it seemed almost ready to drip with juice.

Jing Yi took another sip of hot water, sniffed slightly, and began to speak slowly with a faint nasal tone, "The story begins seven years ago..."

... ...

Are you going alone?

The gaze of Leng Yue was somewhat cold, and Jing Yi wrapped the blanket around himself again

Jing Yi let out a sigh of relief, having just rid himself of distractions such as self-control, when he heard Leng Yue thoughtfully add a remark.

The situation is as follows, "Jing Yi cleared his throat and spoke in a deep voice, 'It was an autumn seven years ago, also when the osmanthus flowers were in full bloom..."

Jing Yi could not help but sneeze again, and Leng Yue promptly snatched the cup from his hand, skillfully controlling it without spilling a single drop

"The Thousand-Year Fox Fairy." Jing Yi pulled down the quilt tightly wrapped around him, revealing the left half of his upper body and a deep red spot on his chest, "He has heard the 'Tale of the Nine Immortals' that I composed."