Xue Xingyue suddenly made a move, her sword pointing directly at Ji Wuran’s chest. Seeing Ji Wuran make no attempt to dodge, she asked coldly, "Why don't you evade?"
Ji Wuran raised his eyes to look at her, his gaze distant. "Your Highness the Princess would not kill this subject."
"If my sword moves forward a little more, you will lose your life," Xue Xingyue said coldly.
"This subject trusts that Your Highness will not kill me," Ji Wuran replied.
Xue Xingyue flicked her wrist, retracting her sword, and said coldly, "You are quite confident. I am not as confident as you are."
Ji Wuran smiled faintly. "It is not that this subject is confident, but that this subject understands Your Highness."
"What do you understand about me?" Xue Xingyue looked up and asked Ji Wuran.
His eyes were too bright, like the light at the moment day and night alternate, dazzlingly brilliant. He chuckled softly, his voice deep and pleasant. "Your Highness is not one to kill the innocent."
"But you are not innocent," Xue Xingyue's eyes suddenly turned cold, and she spoke each word with icy frost.
Ji Wuran curled his lips into a smile, a beautiful curve gracing his jade-like handsome face, breathtakingly stunning. Xue Xingyue knew he was beautiful, and knew he would look good when he smiled, but his smile at this moment was like the scenery of all things melting into the world, stirring the soul.
He picked up the osmanthus wine from the table, poured two cups, raised one, and said, "Your Highness, please."
His long, fair fingers held the wine cup. Before Xue Xingyue could speak, he drank it down in one gulp.
Xue Xingyue's gaze paused slightly. With a gentle wave of her hand, the filled wine cup flew into her hand. Even before drinking, she could smell its fragrance.
Upon tasting it, she found it endlessly memorable. "Good wine," Xue Xingyue could not help but praise.
Since returning to the capital, she seemed to have not drunk such delicious wine. For a moment, she felt a pang of nostalgia.
Hearing this, Ji Wuran's bright eyes seemed to sparkle even more. He stepped forward, picked up the wine jug, poured a cup for Xue Xingyue, and said, "If Your Highness likes it, I can send you a few more jars."
Xue Xingyue looked up. Having only drunk one cup of wine, she felt somewhat intoxicated. Ji Wuran in front of her seemed to be in double vision. "This wine is quite potent..."
Before she could finish, she felt a wave of dizziness, and then lost consciousness.
Ji Wuran looked at the person who had collapsed into his arms, and felt a mix of amusement and helplessness. How could the famed, never-drunk female general be brought down by just one cup of wine?
"Your Highness, wake up, wake up," Ji Wuran called out.
Xue Xingyue, who had closed her eyes, suddenly opened them. Ji Wuran's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. "Your Highness, you are awake?"
He asked tentatively.
Xue Xingyue stared at him for a long moment, then suddenly giggled. "You... you look so much like the one I... I forced myself on!"
Ji Wuran trembled, his eyes flickering. The person in his arms suddenly became restless, her hands moving all over him, one hand even slipping beneath his outer robe. Through the thin inner garment, he could feel her soft, lingering slender hand.
His body stiffened. "Your Highness, please conduct yourself with decorum!"
"Decorum? What decorum? I took you, you are mine... mine..."
"Your Highness..." Just then, a voice sounded.
Ji Wuran turned his head and saw Feng Wu looking at him with shock. As he was about to speak, Feng Wu lunged forward, sword in hand, stabbing towards him. "Scoundrel, let go of Your Highness..."
Ji Wuran tried to push Xue Xingyue away, but found she clung to him too tightly to be easily dislodged. The hand in his clothing became even more presumptuous. "Beau... beautiful..."
The sword, which had already reached Ji Wuran, suddenly stopped. Feng Wu's eyes widened, watching his own Princess behaving indecently towards Ji Wuran, even blushing slightly.
Seeing this, Ji Wuran said with much helplessness, "I have not disrespected Your Highness, it is Your Highness who..."
Before Ji Wuran could finish, Feng Wu stepped forward and pulled Xue Xingyue towards him. To his surprise, his Princess pushed him away and said, "Don't snatch the beauty from me..."
Feng Wu felt a bit exasperated and tried to persuade her, "Your Highness, open your eyes and look properly. This is not a beauty, this is Young Marquis Ji..."
"What Young Marquis Ji? If you've slept in my bed, you're my person..."
Before Xue Xingyue could finish speaking, Ji Wuran suddenly made a move, pressing a point on her chest. "Your Highness, forgive me."
The person in his arms finally went limp. Feng Wu quickly caught Xue Xingyue and helped her onto the bed.
After covering his Princess with a quilt, Feng Wu came out and bowed apologetically to Ji Wuran. "I beg Young Marquis Ji's pardon for any offense caused earlier!"
"No need, what happened today..."
Feng Wu paused, then looked up. His sharp eyes noticed the blush on Ji Wuran's earlobes. He quickly said, "What happened today, this subordinate will absolutely not speak of. Please rest assured, Young Marquis Ji."
Ji Wuran nodded and turned to leave.
Leaving the palace, Ji Wuran saw the carriage parked near the palace gates and boarded it.
"Wuran, what's wrong with you?" Zhao Yanluo, inside the carriage, couldn't help but ask, looking at Ji Wuran's dark expression.
Ji Wuran raised his eyes and looked at him coldly, his gaze as clear and frosty as ice.
Zhao Yanluo immediately felt a sense of foreboding and asked, "What is wrong?"
"What wine was that?" Ji Wuran asked coldly.
Zhao Yanluo looked bewildered. "What wine?"
"The osmanthus wine I took from your establishment today," Ji Wuran said coldly.
Zhao Yanluo seemed to realize something. "Was it the smallest jar?"
Ji Wuran nodded. "Yes."
Zhao Yanluo said, "That wine is a good vintage I've treasured for over ten years. You... you didn't drink it, did you?"
Ji Wuran sneered. "How old are you? Were you knowledgeable about wine over ten years ago?"
Zhao Yanluo smiled and said, "It was left by my father. It's said to be called 'One Cup Drunk'."
Ji Wuran said indifferently, "One cup and already drunk?"
Zhao Yanluo shrugged. "I don't know. I've never tasted it. Wuran, why are you asking me this? Have you drunk it? How was it?"
How was it? Ji Wuran's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. Thinking of Princess Mingzhu's flirtatious behavior towards him instantly soured his mood.
"Very good," Ji Wuran said through gritted teeth, word by word.
Hearing this, Zhao Yanluo's eyes lit up, and he pressed, "How good? Very..."
Before he could finish, he was kicked out with a burst of force. He quickly flew up, landing outside the carriage. He exclaimed, "Ji Wuran, you're too ruthless! Are you trying to kill me?"
Ji Wuran said coldly, "If I were trying to kill you, how would you still be here talking to me?"
Zhao Yanluo knew in his heart that Ji Wuran had not tried to kill him; otherwise, he would indeed not be standing here.
But why was Ji Wuran so angry?