Ji Jinmo walked to Nan Shiying’s side and sat down, handing her a box.
Nan Shiying took it and opened it, her eyes widening slightly at the contents: “Fotilota?”
“Why give this to me?” Nan Shiying closed the box and tossed it onto the table. Ji Jinmo didn’t answer her question, instead launching into an explanation of how to take Fotilota. “Fotilota must be taken with Xue Liuli. Grind Fotilota into powder, mix it with Xue Liuli juice, stir it into a paste, and then…”
Nan Shiying sat up, reached for the book she had carelessly tossed aside earlier, and interrupted Ji Jinmo, “Don’t disturb me while I’m reading!”
Ji Jinmo pursed his lips, smiled, and turned to beckon the maidservant waiting by the door.
Lan’er pushed the door open and bowed to them, “Master, Empress.”
Ji Jinmo picked up the box and handed it to her. “Go to the storeroom and retrieve Xue Liuli. Then, grind the contents of this box into powder, mix it with Xue Liuli juice, stir it well, and take it to the small kitchen. Have the cooks put it into osmanthus cakes.”
“Yes!”
Lan’er reached out to take it, but Nan Shiying snatched the box back, tossing it onto the table again. She looked up at Lan’er and said, “You may go now!”
Lan’er glanced at Ji Jinmo. Though she looked hesitant, she obeyed Nan Shiying and withdrew.
After all, Master had said before that they were Empress’s maidservants and only needed to obey her.
Ji Jinmo shook his head somewhat helplessly, coaxing her, “As far as I know, the mixture of Fotilota and Xue Liuli has no strange taste, only a faint fragrance of wild herbs. Mixing it into pastries won’t ruin the flavor. If you don’t like osmanthus cakes, it’s also excellent in chestnut cakes!”
Nan Shiying said nothing, staring at him with wide eyes.
Ji Jinmo found her eyes, shimmering with a gentle light, incredibly beautiful. As her long, curled eyelashes fluttered, it was as if a clear spring flowed within her pupils.
He couldn’t resist raising his hand, intending to touch her.
Nan Shiying slapped his hand away fiercely and continued to glare at him.
Ji Jinmo seemed oblivious to why Nan Shiying was glaring at him, his cool, handsome face showing a hint of bewilderment. If Nan Shiying hadn’t known Ji Jinmo’s usual character, she might have actually believed him.
Nan Shiying grabbed the box and shoved it into Ji Jinmo’s embrace. “You use it yourself.”
Fotilota had the effect of enhancing spiritual power. When Ji Jinmo led the Demon Hunting Army to capture the imperial city, he had taken Fotilota from the national treasury precisely to boost his spiritual power. Nan Shiying hadn’t expected that he wouldn’t have taken it for such a long time, nor that he would give it to her.
Nan Shiying had been practicing the mental power training method she had obtained from Ji Jinmo, and now her vision seemed to have cleared up a bit. Given time, her abilities would surely advance further. Why then did she need to take Fotilota?
Ji Jinmo placed the box aside and said, “Fotilota has minimal effect on me; it’s better for you to take it to maximize its efficacy.”
Nan Shiying frowned, “Are you saying… my abilities are still weak?”
Ji Jinmo’s lips twitched. He found Nan Shiying’s way of thinking perplexing. “That’s certainly not what I mean.”
“If not, then take it away!” Nan Shiying’s attitude was atrocious.
Ji Jinmo, however, didn’t seem to mind. He took the box into his hands and continued, “Then I shall have to order the servants to mix this into your food.”
Nan Shiying: “……”
She suddenly felt that this Ji Jinmo fellow was rather shameless.
His thin lips curved upwards, revealing his pearly white teeth. The cool, detached, and aloof demeanor that kept others at a distance, in front of Nan Shiying, transformed into a kind of roguish cunning.
Looking at him, Nan Shiying felt an urge to tear off his mask and see how many faces he truly had.
She reached out and snatched the box back.
“Half for each of us,” Nan Shiying conceded.
Just as Ji Jinmo was about to speak, Nan Shiying shot him a glare and preempted him, “Say another word and I’ll throw it out for the dogs.”
Ji Jinmo felt that this remark seemed to insult both of them, but he didn’t say anything further. Half for each, although the medicinal effect would also be halved, still… this outcome was quite good.
Seeing that Ji Jinmo was no longer insisting she take it all, Nan Shiying called towards the door, “Lan’er, go get Xue Liuli!”
Lan’er answered from outside the door and turned towards the storeroom.
Xue Liuli was a white, egg-shaped object. It was named Xue Liuli because it resembled winter frost.
Calling it a food was somewhat inaccurate, though it did resemble fruit. Its outer skin was tough, and peeling it revealed a flesh of pinkish hue inside. It couldn’t be eaten; only its juice could be squeezed out to neutralize the medicinal properties.
Xue Liuli wasn’t particularly precious, but it wasn’t an ordinary item either. It grew on the peaks of snow-capped mountains, hanging from sheer cliffs. Its growing location was near the borderlands, and it was an item of tribute, unobtainable by anyone outside the imperial palace and royalty.
Nan Shiying ground the Fotilota into powder and poured it into the Xue Liuli juice, mixing it into a paste. Because the Fotilota powder was dark, the resulting color was somewhat nauseating.
However, as Ji Jinmo had said, it had a refreshing grassy scent.
Previously, Ji Jinmo’s talk of mixing it into food was all nonsense. Who knew how much of the medicinal effect would remain after this stuff was heated in a pot?
Nan Shiying poured the paste into two teacups separately and handed one to Ji Jinmo.
“Bottoms up~”
She declared with great gusto, with the same imposing spirit as Wu Song drinking to slay the tiger.
Ji Jinmo obligingly picked up his teacup to clink against hers. He tilted his head back to drink, his Adam’s apple clearly visible as it bobbed, and swallowed the viscous paste.
Nan Shiying downed hers in one gulp, nearly getting choked by the thick substance. She grabbed the teapot and poured water into her mouth.
After gulping down half a pot, she finally managed to swallow it.
She was so choked that her eyes turned red.
Ji Jinmo blinked, then deliberately averted his gaze. After the mixture of Fotilota and Xue Liuli entered his mouth, his body began to feel warm. The next moment, he experienced a sense of hazy disorientation, akin to drinking alcohol. With his blood boiling, Nan Shiying felt a wave of heat rush through her body. She loosened her collar, exposing the skin from her neck to her chest.
Ji Jinmo still kept his head down, his gaze not falling upon her.
“Ji Jinmo!”
Nan Shiying called him.
Ji Jinmo subconsciously looked up. In that instant, something within his already churning body seemed to be breaking free from the restraints of reason, surging outwards.
“Get out!”
Nan Shiying, her face flushed, ordered him to leave.
Ji Jinmo’s throat bobbed. He suddenly stood up, leaning his upper body down, his distinctly jointed fingers cupping Nan Shiying’s cheeks. His thumb rested on her chin, and with a slight pressure, he lifted her face.
A wave of heat, mixed with the scent of fallen cherry blossoms and fresh grass, washed over Nan Shiying, enveloping her.
Nan Shiying glared at him.
But she didn’t realize how alluring she looked with her flushed cheeks and flowing eyes.
“You…”
As she was about to curse him, her lips were sealed by a pair of thin lips.