Chapter 360: You Did It on Purpose, Who Is in the Imperial Prison?
His grip was so tight her waist ached, and the hard throne pressed uncomfortably against her tailbone.
Zhao Mingyan’s expression turned cold. "Stop thinking about Wei Ting."
The heat of the moment had yet to fade, so Ji Qingwu wasn’t intimidated by his cold expression or his attempt to act aloof.
In fact, she grew bolder, reaching out to tug at the corners of his downturned lips.
"Don’t be upset."
She gave his head a gentle shake. "I wasn’t thinking about him, I swear. Can we sit down and talk, please?"
Zhao Mingyan’s expression remained grim, but he did as she asked.
He carried her over to the Dragon Chair and sat down. Their positions changed from standing to sitting, but otherwise, nothing was different. He still had her straddling his lap.
Behind the gilded, dragon-carved throne was a seven-paneled screen, also lacquered in gold and intricately carved with nine dragons amidst swirling clouds.
All of them seemed to be staring right at Ji Qingwu.
The tips of her ears grew hot. She squirmed and said, "Let’s be serious now."
Zhao Mingyan loosened his hold slightly, but his left arm remained securely around her waist. He reached over and picked up the Imperial Brush from the desk.
Ji Qingwu watched him, confused by his actions.
The ink on the wolf-hair tip was still wet, a rich, dark black. He touched the wooden handle of the brush to her chin and slowly traced a line downward.
He flipped the brush around and, using the ink-laden tip, dabbed a plum blossom onto her chest.
The black ink on her pink robes was a stark contrast, like an ink-wash plum blossom blooming on a pink branch.
"Are we being serious enough now?" he asked.
Ji Qingwu pressed her lips together, her eyes darting away.
’This is even less serious than before.’
But seeing the corners of his lips curve upward, he seemed a little happier and had stopped mentioning Wei Ting. Ji Qingwu decided to just go along with it.
Zhao Mingyan added a few more strokes to her dress, his brush tracing the exquisite curves of her body.
Since she was wearing a maid’s uniform, the fabric was absorbent and dried quickly. The brush tip soon ran out of ink, leaving no more marks.
He then brushed the tip along the edge of her collar, sweeping it toward her collarbone.
Ji Qingwu hadn’t forgotten her reason for coming. She endured the tickling sensation.
She spoke up, "I heard Prince Yong was sent to the Imperial Prison."
"Mm."
He gave a faint reply, and it was hard to tell if he’d even been listening.
Zhao Mingyan seemed to have discovered something more interesting. Holding the brush between his long fingers, he gently glided it across the pale, delicate skin of her neck.
Every movement elicited an honest reaction from Ji Qingwu.
A slight furrow of her brow, an unhappy pout of her red lips, or a flicker of light in her eyes.
Ji Qingwu tilted her head, trying to evade the teasing brush tip. "What exactly did Prince Yong do to deserve such a severe punishment? Princess Yong is terribly worried about him."
Zhao Mingyan said, "Given his crime, being locked up for a few days is hardly an injustice. Mrs. Tao should have already gone in to see him."
Ji Qingwu asked in surprise, "Your Majesty allowed the Princess Consort to go in?"
As soon as the words were out, the implications dawned on her.
"You knew all along why I came. Why didn’t you say anything?"
’He not only knew why I was looking for Duan Mingfeng, but he’d also already granted Princess Yong permission to see Prince Yong.’
’Then, when I said I wanted something "common," he agreed so readily, and then he started... painting on me...’
’No matter how I think about it, it all feels like a series of interlocking traps, just waiting for me to fall into them.’
Ji Qingwu shot him a reproachful look and grabbed the tip of the brush.
"You did this on purpose."
Zhao Mingyan replied with a look that said ’of course.’ "If I hadn’t, how else would I have heard Ah Wu’s true feelings?"
As he said the words "true feelings," he mimicked her earlier gesture, tapping his finger over her heart on the left side of her chest.
His finger replaced the brush, tracing the outline of a plum blossom over her chest.
Ji Qingwu slapped his hand away. "The ’true feelings’ portion of our conversation is over. I have something important to discuss with you."
She tried to get off his lap but couldn’t move. She twisted her hips.
She whined playfully, "My thighs are getting sore."
"Sore already?" Zhao Mingyan chuckled.
Ji Qingwu glared at him. "You try sitting with your legs spread for this long."
Zhao Mingyan raised an eyebrow. "I can give them a massage for you. They won’t be sore then."
Ji Qingwu thought he was only joking, but his hand actually left her waist and started moving toward the top of her thigh.
She nimbly dodged, sliding to the side. The wolf-hair brush rolled onto the floor.
"That won’t be necessary."
Ji Qingwu declined his ’offer’ and grabbed his hand to stop him from any further mischief.
She settled back onto the Dragon Chair, no longer feeling as nervous as before. ’After all,’ she thought, ’I’ve already sat on the Emperor’s lap.’
’What’s a mere Dragon Chair in comparison?’
Not knowing what was going through Ji Qingwu’s mind, Zhao Mingyan watched as her eyes twinkled and she gave him a jubilant look.
Her delight was infectious, and Zhao Mingyan asked, "What is it you want to say?"
Ji Qingwu sat up straight, her expression turning serious. "Right. I brought Si Hai into the palace with me."
Zhao Mingyan replied, "Si Hai is your Hidden Guard now. He answers to you, so you don’t need to report his movements to me."
"Si Hai is in disguise," Ji Qingwu explained. "He should be accompanying Princess Yong in the Imperial Prison right now."
"Did something happen?" Zhao Mingyan asked.
"Last night," Ji Qingwu said, "someone used a Spider Gu from Xijin to control Chang Lu, one of Prince Yong’s men. He came to the Wei Family estate to try and abduct me."
She voiced her suspicion. "I believe the person behind it is Yu Wen Tianqing."
Zhao Mingyan’s lips curved into a smile. "Ah Wu, you’re so clever. You figured out who’s pulling the strings with so few clues."
Ji Qingwu touched her ear, feeling a swell of pride at the Emperor’s approval and praise.
But the memory of the assassination attempt on Emperor Wu Su still frightened her. "Should we conduct a thorough search of the entire city?" she asked.
"He’s right here in the palace," Zhao Mingyan said.
Ji Qingwu was shocked that Yu Wen Tianqing would be so audacious as to venture into the Imperial Palace of Beili.
She shot to her feet. "Where is he? We should take some men and capture him now! We can’t let him escape again."
Zhao Mingyan pulled her back down, positioning her between his legs. He decided not to hide anything more from her.
"He’s in the Imperial Prison," he said directly.
Ji Qingwu was confused for a moment, but when she met his self-assured gaze, she understood.
"You planned this, too?"
’Emperor Wu Su intentionally let Yu Wen Tianqing escape, all so he would eventually break into the Imperial Palace and contact Su Fengyue.’
’And capturing a member of the Xijin Royal Family while their two nations are at war...’
A shadow passed over Ji Qingwu’s eyes. Then she heard his cool voice.
"There is no better evidence than the Fourth Prince of Xijin himself attempting a prison break."
A thought suddenly struck Ji Qingwu.
’For so many years, the conflict between Xijin and Beili has been endless, yet Emperor Wu Su tolerated Xijin’s provocations time and again.’
’Knowing his temperament, it wasn’t that he wouldn’t strike back. It was that the right time hadn’t come.’
’And perhaps, that time was almost here.’
The thought of Yu Wen Tianqing being in the Imperial Prison made Ji Qingwu deeply uneasy. Prince Yong and the pregnant Princess Consort were in there, too...
She leaned forward, asking with a mixture of hope and anxiety, "Your Majesty, shall we go to the Imperial Prison and see for ourselves?"
Zhao Mingyan reached up and stroked her cheek.
"If you want to go, we’ll go."