Chapter 288.1: Fire Ablaze
Getting interrupted by Gong mama, Jing Wan was actually quite happy, smilingly looking to Li Hong Yuan. Seeing his complexion somewhat gloomy, she cupped his face and kissed him on his lips, “Ah Yuan not going to change clothes? This outfit of yours probably isn’t anymore comfortable than that previous outfit of mine.” She reached out and tugged his wide and stiff shoulders.
“How long does Wan Wan think I need to change clothes? Think all the same as you, dillydallying for half a day yet still not done?” Li Hong Yuan pinched the tip of her nose, putting quite a bit of pressure.
Jing Wan slapped the back of his hand, “What do you mean the same as me? There are plenty of people slower than me.” Although she’d put on makeup today, but after was.h.i.+ng off, she didn’t need to reapply. How many women, for the sake of forever preserving that most perfect image in front of their husband, spend a great deal of effort.
“How other people are, this husband doesn’t know. This husband only knows about Wan Wan.” Li Hong Yuan teased. Seeing Jing Wan grinding her teeth, seemingly wanting to bite him, he finally got up, “Let’s go, a little earlier than predicted, but this way is also good. Perhaps in the latter half of the night can still have a good night rest.” Pulling along her hand, he headed outward.
And waiting outside the door weren’t just the people serving her, but also Eunuch Mu holding a set of clothes. Afterwards, a certain someone just performed a clothes changing act in front of her.
The clothes that on normal days appeared complicated, not easy to put on and not easy to take off, under his hand, practically was just like performing a magic trick. Moreover, that movement was also like moving clouds and flowing water, not appearing the least bit frenetic. After putting on the brisk agile clothes[1], did it take more than half a minute? Say, as a prince that has been waited on since childhood, your abilities being this valiant, is it really okay?
Towards her own increasingly regressing ability to take care of herself, Jing Wan observed a moment of silence. Truthfully speaking, in this aspect, she was more or less already half-handicapped.
Leaving just like that, needing to avoid the ‘eyes’ that were everywhere in the surrounding, Jing Wan didn’t know how it was achieved, but along the way, they indeed didn’t arouse any movements.
Because no one held a lantern, the early fifth month sky, that moonlight……….The entire way was pitch black. But Li Hong Yuan had Jing Wan half embraced in his arms, so without needing for her to use her eyes, she was still able to walk very smoothly, not stumbling under her feet. Regardless whether it was the people leading the way ahead, or the people following behind, all extremely quiet.
Jing Wan originally thought there was perhaps a horse carriage or whatnot at the gates, but this wasn’t the case. After walking on foot for a period of time, they entered a separate gate. This place actually had a few not too bright lanterns lit. “This is……….the neighboring residence? The place we need to go is here?” This was very different from what she’d antic.i.p.ated.
Li Hong Yuan lightly chuckled, “Else, what did Wan Wan think? Leave the city at this time? There’s night curfew, the city gates are shut. Could it be to climb out over the wall?”
Jing Wan’s face couldn’t help but darken. This was purely being misled by the line ‘leaving the city through the night’, and thus would make such a common sense error. “Then dare to ask w.a.n.gye, how are we going to leave the city?” She said through clenched teeth.
“Didn’t I already say, the city gates are shut? Of course it’s waiting until someone opens the city gates.” Li Hong Yuan bluntly stated, that gaze like as if saying, ‘Wan Wan, how come you’ve become stupid’.
Jing Wan choked on a breath stuck in her throat, unable to let out and unable to swallow back down.
This behavior of his sometimes really was very annoying. Towards Jing Wan, that was also just occasionally teasing for fun, considered a kind of amus.e.m.e.nt, but that was already able to make one angry, so one can imagine, for others, especially when getting deliberately targeted by him, that feeling of grief and indignation………..
Clearly knowing what she was asking, yet purposefully going along the literal meaning, Jing Wan was too lazy to continue bothering with him.
When one’s wife was angry, didn’t one precisely need to quickly coax, “It’s this husband’s fault, Wan Wan don’t get angry. The matters afterwards have already been arranged. Originally we might have needed to think of a way to open the city gates ourselves, but now, naturally there will be someone that will open the gates for us, so just wait for now.”
Jing Wan expressed, it’s not like she was a small cat or dog that can just be teased and coaxed.
So what followed was just our Jin Qinw.a.n.g’s wife coaxing time, directly making the people nearby all want to strategically retreat and thoroughly disappear. Their teeth were practically all about to fall out from the sourness.
w.a.n.gye, w.a.n.gfei, we know you two are loving, but can you slightly hold back a little. Even if one’s own people, still asking to not injure like this.
Eunuch Mu expressed, even he wanted to look for a servant girl to make a pair. His eyes swept a glance over Jing Wan’s servant girls, and very quickly averted his gaze, dispersing this thought. Never mind the first rank servant girls by w.a.n.gfei’s side, even those little servant girls in the qinw.a.n.g manor, if he dares to casually extend his hand, afraid w.a.n.gfei would all want to chop him up. Rather, it’s not that no one is willing to follow him, but that kind of person definitely has ulterior motives. If not eyeing his ‘position’, then it was just wanting to find out about his master’s matters through him. That’s why, he could only think about it.
Eunuch Mu was very self-aware. He was very clear, because he knew too many of his master’s matters, in this lifetime of his, it’s best if he doesn’t get too intimately involved with irrelevant people. By knowing his place, he perhaps can enjoy a lifetime of glory and wealth, else if he produces certain thoughts, he never believed that his master will be benevolent and lenient towards him.
“w.a.n.gye, w.a.n.gfei, that side has started.”
What has started? Jing Wan was completely confused, but it should be the arranged matters or the predicted matters happening.
Li Hong Yuan grasped Jing Wan’s hand, “Wan Wan come with me.”
She really wasn’t that angry to begin with, so this while, Jing Wan naturally just followed Li Hong Yuan.
In this residence, there was a three-story pavilion building. Standing at three stories high, that courtyard that belonged to the Governor-General, for the most part, can be entirely taken in.
This while, they were unable to see anything at all, but Jing Wan strangely sensed a tense atmosphere.
Li Hong Yuan lightly stroked Jing Wan’s back as if pacifying, yet remained silent, not saying a word. Because no light was lit, Jing Wan couldn’t see his expression, but she kept feeling that at this moment he was completely expressionless. Cold and heartless, as if a deity standing on the Ninth Heaven, not pitying, but rather looking down from high above, and those that have offended him will need to have the resolve to suffer his wrath.
However, very quickly Jing Wan just learned what happened, because several places inside and outside of the villa simultaneously burst into flames, and moreover, the intensity of the fire was quite violent. It can be seen, something had been added.
Jing Wan’s pupils violently shrunk. These people, aren’t their guts a bit too big? To actually dare to commit arson, this was determined to kill all of them? However, the question came, “This openly and brazenly setting fire, really treating everyone in the villa as dead? If there was no movement previously, then should’ve just realized that there’s already no one left, so why still set fire? Wait, there’s still another possibility, and that is knowing that the people in the villa are all ‘dead asleep’. But, the people in the villa’s back kitchen are the ones we brought along from the qinw.a.n.g manor, so are they the problem, or did they get controlled by someone?”
“Does Wan Wan think it’s the former or the latter?” Li Hong Yuan nonchalantly asked.
“This isn’t what I think it is will just be what it is.” However, Jing Wan’s mind actually already had an answer, because the guards in the villa, Jing Wan believed, absolutely didn’t have any problems. With them present, it wouldn’t make sense for outsiders to still be able to have an opportunity to exploit, entering the villa and threatening the chefs to slip a drug.
[1] 劲装 – ‘jin zhuang’, refers to close fitting agile clothes, often appearing in wuxia settings. I added a picture example of one below since these are a specific type of clothing. The sleeves on the outer coat being short and the inner sleeves being close-fitting are common features, as normal and formal attires generally have loose and wide sleeves. This is like what I would call ancient sportswear.