CMWKSD -Chapter 153 The Ji Family Finally Arrives

The two of them quietly returned to the room. Jiu Yue hugged Ji Yiqing’s waist and looked up at him with a bright smile. “I missed you!”

To be honest, Jiu Yue never found these words embarrassing or hard to say. She always spoke what was on her mind.

For people in ancient times, who were usually more reserved, seeing the words written in a letter was one thing—but hearing them spoken aloud was a completely different experience.

Ji Yiqing’s face immediately flushed red, and in the end, he could only look at Jiu Yue with a deep blush. This made Jiu Yue giggle uncontrollably.

Ji Yiqing murmured for a long while. His lips hesitated before he softly breathed out a single “Mm,” then almost in a whisper added, “I missed you too.”

It was as if he feared someone else might overhear them. There were only the two of them in the room, yet it felt like they were sneaking a secret affair. Exciting!

Jiu Yue thought Ji Yiqing was hilarious at this moment. A tall, broad-shouldered man, and yet now he looked like he wished he could crawl into a hole. It was too funny.

Jiu Yue mischievously pushed Ji Yiqing onto the bed. With a little force, he toppled onto the mattress, and Jiu Yue raised an eyebrow and leaned over him.

Her fingers gently lifted Ji Yiqing’s chin, lightly scratching him as she asked with a teasing eyebrow, “Just how much did you miss me?”

Hearing this, Ji Yiqing felt as if his entire body was about to explode from heat. It was already a hot day, and now, pressed together like this, it was even warmer.

Yet Ji Yiqing didn’t want to let go. He let Jiu Yue press onto him, holding her waist, afraid she might slip.

But how could he express this in words? He couldn’t bring himself to speak. Looking into Jiu Yue’s clear eyes, he saw a tiny version of himself reflected back. He thought: A day apart feels like three seasons. So long without seeing each other… it feels like decades.

After saying this, Ji Yiqing could no longer withstand Jiu Yue’s gaze. His whole body seemed to melt. Fearing he might make a fool of himself, he hastily pressed Jiu Yue’s head against his chest and gently patted her back, softly murmuring, “Spare me, please…”

Jiu Yue lay on him, laughing so hard her whole body shook. She already knew teasing Ji Yiqing was fun—but she hadn’t expected each time to discover a new, even more entertaining way to play.

Still, Jiu Yue knew when to stop, gradually increasing Ji Yiqing’s tolerance. Otherwise, if she overdid it, there’d be nothing left to play with next time.

Ji Yiqing’s large hands roamed over Jiu Yue’s back, frowning slightly, feeling deeply concerned. “You’ve lost so much weight…”

He wasn’t exaggerating. Jiu Yue had become so thin that it seemed like there was only a layer of skin over bone.

Pouting, Jiu Yue answered pitifully, “Well, you wouldn’t know. I haven’t really slept much lately, always busy with work.”

Ji Yiqing’s heart softened. Ignoring the heat, he leaned down and nuzzled her hair. “You’ve worked hard.”

Jiu Yue thought of the five large carts and the small box of silver notes, shaking her head vigorously. “It wasn’t hard at all! You don’t even know how much I brought back this time. Many are rewards from His Majesty, and we can trade them for money. If we ever had to run away, we’d have plenty of silver notes.”

Ji Yiqing: …

Run away?

Jiu Yue seemed to always have some unpredictable plan. But Ji Yiqing couldn’t help but appreciate her foresight. Still…

“Imperially bestowed items cannot be sold at will.”

Jiu Yue blinked. “What?!”

She suddenly sat up. “You mean I can’t sell what the emperor gave me?”

Ji Yiqing nodded. “Yes. Items given by the emperor cannot be sold. There’s an official bureau in the palace managing these gifts. Whoever receives them is registered. If such items appear on the market, tracing them back is easy.”

Jiu Yue frowned unhappily. “They’re already given to me! Isn’t that mine? Why can’t I do what I want with them?”

To her, all those fancy accessories—headpieces, jewelry—felt like wearing a death sentence. She had intended to take them and sell them. Why let them gather dust when they could be exchanged for silver?

Now she was told she couldn’t sell them! The emperor was such a cunning merchant!

Jiu Yue glared fiercely. Next time, she vowed, all gifts must be converted into silver notes.

“What about these items now?”

Ji Yiqing hesitated. Jiu Yue genuinely disliked wearing them. Her tall ponytail was adorned only with a jade crown and hairpin. No earrings. Her bracelets were old gifts from him—now looking plain—but she wore them with joy.

Ji Yiqing placed his hand on her bracelet, feeling warmth in his heart. She had kept his gift safe.

“We’ll just keep them for now,” he said.

Jiu Yue sighed. A month’s hard work had earned them tens of thousands of taels of silver. Not bad business.

She didn’t need to worry about storing them; Shao Qing would handle it quickly.

Now that they had moved into the mansion, they initially planned to hire more servants. But Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian decided not to. After all, Hu Chunhua and Shen Mei had arrived. No need to give them busywork or let them be distracted by the temptations of the capital.

Who knew what might happen? If they had Jiu Yue’s skills, they could get into trouble and escape unscathed—but they didn’t. The capital was full of influential people; better to let them stay home. If a banquet or event found them, they’d deal with it then.

Meanwhile, Jiu Yue was in high spirits and went to the city gate to fetch the newcomers. Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian had to report to the office.

Jiu Yue strolled to the gate. Passing a teahouse, she suddenly turned her head.

She had just sensed a hostile gaze. Looking up, she saw a young lady in an ornate embroidered outfit. Her bejeweled headpiece revealed high status.

When she noticed Jiu Yue looking, the window slammed shut.

Jiu Yue withdrew her gaze, feeling a bit disinterested. Who had just shot that endless hostility at her?

Shao Qing noticed Jiu Yue pausing and stepped forward. “Mistress, what’s wrong? Is something amiss?”

Jiu Yue shook her head. Nothing serious—just a slightly unfriendly noble girl. She could take down three of them with a single punch.

Standing at the city gate, Jiu Yue saw the escort agency’s banners from afar. She lifted her chin. “They’re here.”

Shao Qing nodded to the men behind him—the secret agents from the study and the network of people across the capital. Today, they came specifically to meet Jiu Yue and identify the Ji family members.

Just as with the Ji brothers before, anyone from the Ji family leaving their home had to be fully accounted for—who they met, what they did—all under observation.

The carriages arrived. The escort agents handed over tokens and split from the Ji family’s carriage.

Jiu Yue cheerfully lifted the curtain and immediately locked eyes with Hu Chunhua, who looked horrified.

“You weren’t reluctant to come, were you?”