Chapter 443: 124 Characters

Ji Qingwu lowered her gaze, looking at their intertwined fingers.

She deliberately drew out her words, her fingertip brushing almost imperceptibly against the calluses on his knuckles.

"What I meant was, the past is like a passing cloud of smoke. It’s long since dispersed."

Zhao Mingyan’s brow twitched. He slammed the military treatise shut on the sandalwood table with a SNAP, his eyes like they were submerged in a dark pool.

"And who is this for, Ah Wu?"

Zhao Mingyan already knew exactly who Ji Qingwu could have said such things to after he left, and who she might have interacted with in the army.

Instead of answering directly, Ji Qingwu hooked her finger around his and gave it a little swing.

Her limpid eyes curved, a smile playing on her lips. "Does Your Majesty think I’m right? Things in the past should be left behind. I’ve already forgotten all about them."

The color in Zhao Mingyan’s eyes deepened instantly. He said, "Everything Ah Wu says is gospel. How could any of it be wrong?"

Ji Qingwu’s smile grew even more brilliant. She tightened her grip on his finger and pressed her thumb firmly against his as if stamping a seal.

Zhao Mingyan finally broke. Starting from his jaw, the muscles in his face relaxed one by one. The smile lines at the corners of his mouth deepened as he captured her hand in his palm, squeezing it tightly.

The sullen anger pent up in his heart was swept away completely.

’So Ji Qingwu did know what he truly cared about. It wasn’t that she was clueless; she just refused to put her mind to figuring it out.’

Her relationship with Si Hai was purely that of master and servant, without the slightest transgression. They had only used that title for convenience on their secret journey.

But Wei Ting was different. Ji Qingwu had once chased after him, trying everything she could think of just to win a smile from him. And besides, Wei Ting had truly been her husband in name.

Now, to hear her say with her own lips that her past with Wei Ting was a passing cloud of smoke, that she had already moved on...

The thick fog hidden deep in Zhao Mingyan’s heart dissipated. He lifted his chin at Li Yuzong, who then withdrew from the tent to wait outside.

Ji Qingwu saw the little wolf flash past the entrance, still wagging its big, fluffy tail at her.

Zhao Mingyan gave up on the military treatise completely. He pushed everything on the table aside and stared intently at her face.

"What else did you say to him, Ah Wu?"

When Ji Qingwu recalled the things she’d said to Wei Ting about clouds and Wushan, her ears burned as red as crimson jade.

There was no way she could repeat those words in front of Emperor Wu Su.

He squeezed Ji Qingwu’s hand. Zhao Mingyan raised a long eyebrow, urging her to speak up.

She looked back at his face but chose to change the subject.

"Since that’s the case, can Your Majesty let go of the past, too? Please?"

Ji Qingwu’s fingers were still hooked around his. She said helplessly, "Pretending to be a couple with Si Hai... it was the only thing I could do."

’She truly had no better option. That method of self-preservation was the best she could come up with.’

Ji Qingwu traced the issue back to its source: it was all because she had broken her promise to the Emperor on the night he was to depart.

With a regretful expression, she said, "That day, I didn’t stand you up on purpose. My eldest sister was having a difficult childbirth."

Ji Qingwu didn’t elaborate on the family matters of Duke Zhongyong’s Mansion, summarizing it in just a few words.

"I promised Your Majesty that I would go to the Northern Border with you, and I always keep my promises."

At the time, when Ji Qingwu hadn’t appeared, Sanchuan had come to report that she was delayed because the Heir’s wife of Duke Zhongyong’s Mansion was in labor.

He had first let out a sigh of relief, then immediately made a decision: he assigned half of his Hidden Guards to watch over her and ensure her safety.

For Yuan Heng and Jiu Jiu, who remained in the palace, Prince Yong alone was not enough, so he also dispatched Duan Mingfeng.

But after setting off, it was as if a piece of his heart had gone missing, too.

A layer of hoarseness entered Zhao Mingyan’s voice as he asked, "Didn’t the Hidden Guards I left behind give you my verbal order?"

Ji Qingwu immediately pouted in grievance. The Hidden Guards had done more than just tell her; they had enforced the order to the letter, forbidding her from taking even half a step out of Lin’an.

Zhao Mingyan frowned. "You’re always so disobedient."

’During the surprise attack by Xijin, after I had narrowly escaped the Wolf King and returned to camp to find the granaries burned to the ground, my only thought had been how to make Xijin pay in blood.’

’But as I was about to ride off, my peripheral vision caught sight of a figure kneeling on the wet ground. My limbs moved before my mind could think, and I pulled the reins tight, turning my horse around.’

’When I saw her clearly—the woman kneeling behind the others, drenched to the bone, her clothes torn, her knuckles red and swollen—I sighed inwardly.’

’I ordered her to raise her head. Unsurprisingly, I was met with a face covered in grime.’

’Only her eyes remained as bright and spirited as ever, untainted by any impurity, gazing at me with a look of pure pitiableness.’

’At that moment, I felt that the missing piece in my heart had finally been put back in place.’

’But this treasure of my heart had put herself through such misery that, even after she was returned to me, my own heart ached in sympathy.’

Seeing the Emperor’s tightly furrowed brow, Ji Qingwu didn’t dare make a sound for a long moment.

Silence fell in the tent.

’He called me disobedient. Was I supposed to just obediently wait for him in Lin’an?’

Ji Qingwu’s fingers twitched a few times before she suddenly pulled her hand free from his.

Under Zhao Mingyan’s astonished gaze, Ji Qingwu stood up and walked toward the inner chamber. She went to a cabinet by the bed and began rummaging through her luggage.

Zhao Mingyan’s brows nearly tied themselves into a knot. He called out in a low voice, "Ah Wu."

Ji Qingwu turned a deaf ear and continued to search. Seeing that she wasn’t packing a bag to leave, Zhao Mingyan’s expression flickered, and his tone softened considerably.

"Ah Wu, what are you looking for?"

Ji Qingwu returned to the table, something in her hand. She threw it directly into the Emperor’s arms.

Perhaps because she was agitated, Ji Qingwu didn’t control her strength. The jade handle of the imperial edict grazed his tense jaw, leaving a small red mark.

Zhao Mingyan’s expression darkened at a speed visible to the naked eye.

’This imperial edict to make her Empress... he never imagined that after giving it to her, she would try to "return" it again and again.’

A sharp pain shot through Zhao Mingyan’s chest, and a vein bulged on his forehead.

"Ah Wu, don’t be willful!"

Ji Qingwu stood before him, her posture especially rigid, like a soldier standing guard at the gates of the barracks.

She stared at him intently, her lips pressing together several times until they were bloodless. Her hands were clenched into fists.

Zhao Mingyan struggled to suppress his anger, watching her reaction with a dark gaze.

’Is she about to rush over and punch me a few times?’

Zhao Mingyan narrowed his eyes. ’If Ji Qingwu were to storm off in a fit of anger again, I would inevitably be the one to yield first.’

He considered it carefully. ’It would be better to resolve this trouble right now.’

Zhao Mingyan sighed. "Ah Wu, I don’t mean to blame you."

But Ji Qingwu held up her hand in front of his face with a serious expression, signaling for him to stop talking.

The light in Zhao Mingyan’s eyes flickered, but in the end, he held his tongue.

In contrast to Ji Qingwu’s dramatic gesture, her voice was considerably weaker.

"One hundred and twenty-four characters."

Zhao Mingyan’s gaze froze, landing on her small, clenched fist.