Chapter 6

The fire in the Half Moon Hall was burning vigorously.

Although it was now spring, there was still a hint of lingering cold in the air.

As Gu Qi approached her like this, Yu Yunji inexplicably felt that the charcoal fire in the Half Moon Hall might be burning too intensely.

“Are you… running a fever?” Yu Yunji asked in a gentle voice.

The distance between them was now dangerously close. In ancient times, there was great emphasis on maintaining proper distance between men and women. As Gu Qi leaned in, his warm, faint fragrance enveloped her, prompting her to remind him.

Gu Qi’s complexion worsened, and he gritted out harshly, “Yu Yunji!” He didn’t pull away, but because of Yu Yunji’s words, he clearly felt the body heat of the woman before him.

Women naturally ran hotter. If Yu Yunji hadn’t spoken up, he wouldn’t have noticed this point.

But now that she had brought it up, Gu Qi’s attention unconsciously shifted to his forearm, feeling her excessively warm embrace.

All at once, heat also rose to his cheeks, as if the fire in the Half Moon Hall was indeed burning too intensely.

He had originally intended to threaten Yu Yunji harshly, forcing her to agree to this matter. He didn’t expect to be humiliated by her instead.

This person was like a tough piece of meat – no matter what he did, Yu Yunji always managed to find the right moment to humiliate him.

Having been called out by name, Yu Yunji suggested, “Perhaps we should summon an imperial physician.” After all, he was the biggest villain in the entire story, and nominally her husband. How could she stand by and watch him fall ill?

She started to rise, calling towards the outside, “Go and for the Prince Consort… mmph?” Before she could finish speaking, Gu Qi suddenly reached out and covered her mouth, muffling any further sound.

Yu Yunji didn’t struggle, just quietly looked at Gu Qi, meeting his gaze. Peach blossom eyes were supposed to be amorous, but that pair of peach blossom eyes was too gentle. As Gu Qi met her deep gaze, he was momentarily stunned.

The gentle, deep eyes were like a profound cliff. Even knowing there might be danger within, one still wanted to immerse oneself in the tender land she created.

She didn’t get angry, didn’t struggle, just quietly looked at him.

In that instant, many thoughts flashed through Gu Qi’s mind. A voice in his heart clamored, saying to kill Yu Yunji – that way he wouldn’t have to suffer anymore, wouldn’t have to be separated by status, and could be with His Highness the Respectful Prince.

But Yu Yunji’s eyes seemed to have the ability to calm one’s heart.

As he gazed deeply into them, the clamoring thoughts in his heart disappeared, replaced by a slightly quickened heartbeat.

His palm felt her warm breath, and a faint, subtle sweetness lingered. His throat felt slightly dry.

“You… are not allowed to act on your own,” Gu Qi warned.

The sensation on her lips vanished. Yu Yunji blinked and asked, “I want to know, if I don’t help you, how do you plan to persuade this second son of the Yun family to withdraw?”

Gu Qi’s eyes darkened, and the corner of his mouth curved into a faint smile. “Since Your Highness is unwilling to lend a hand, I’m afraid I’ll have to resort to some unsavory methods, which might bring shame to Your Highness.”

Women of Youzhou cared about face. By saying this, Gu Qi was trying to force her to act.

She remembered that in the book, the relationship between Gu Qi and the original host wasn’t this good. He hated her to the bone, wishing to eat her flesh and drink her blood. The original host, finding him too unyielding, kept him imprisoned here day after day.

And for the sake of marrying the Respectful Prince, Gu Qi had a private meeting with Yun Zhuye, the second son of the Yun family. The book didn’t go into detail about what exactly happened, only mentioning that Yun Zhuye returned pale-faced and fell ill for many days. The Yun family then risked execution to withdraw from the marriage agreement.

“I kindly remind the Prince Consort, if you still wish to marry into the Respectful Prince’s household with dignity, you’d better not take the lead rashly,” Yu Yunji said, propping her chin. “The Imperial Elder Sister likes gentle, astute, and sensible men. It’s best for you to keep a low profile.” Such as the female lead’s primary husband Gu Shanlai, her confidant Yun Mengze, and the Grand Preceptor with whom she had a brief affair.

Every one of them had the personality she just described.

She knew Gu Qi wasn’t easy to deal with, but this statement was designed to lead to the Respectful Prince. She believed Gu Qi would carefully consider these words.

“What are your conditions?” Gu Qi looked at her warily, as if he had seen through something.

Yu Yunji spoke solemnly: “As long as you and I are nominally husband and wife, you are not allowed to carry weapons, not allowed to do anything dangerous to yourself or others, not allowed to be reckless, and you must come to inform me first if there’s any problem.” She spoke word by word, and Gu Qi’s gaze on her grew increasingly strange.

“If there are no objections, I will help you arrange a meeting,” Yu Yunji cast out the bait.

“Hmph, what does Her Highness Princess Han mean by these words?” There wasn’t a hint of a smile in Gu Qi’s eyes.

He was a madman, everyone feared him, this was normal.

It wasn’t hard to understand Yu Yunji using this to propose conditions, but these conditions mostly had nothing to do with her personally.

Gu Qi couldn’t understand. He didn’t know what this person was up to.

Yu Yunji didn’t explain, until Gu Qi suppressed a faint smile and agreed: “I promise you, if I can resolve it, I won’t trouble Princess Han.”

With that, he picked up the thin porcelain cup and took small sips of the cold tea.

“You got the form of address wrong again,” Yu Yunji raised her hand, and the straight brocade box on the jade-inlaid table was opened.

This was sent by Zhou Zijing, saying it was a belated wedding gift.

Although Zhou Zijing was an unorthodox person, in the original book she was considered truly sincere to the original host. This wedding gift should be opened by both of them together.

The brocade box was particularly weighty. She thought there might be quite a bit of gold, silver, and jade inside.

Thinking this, Yu Yunji naturally opened it under Gu Qi’s gaze.

However, she hadn’t anticipated that she was too naive. The contents of the brocade box were enough to make her want to gouge out her own eyes.

The brocade box was filled with jade implements for bedroom activities and various tools for intimate matters. Not only that, there were also various erotic books with bold and eye-searing covers.

The box contained quite a few items, and what was visible on the surface was already more than this. It seemed to include but was not limited to these items.

“This…” Yu Yunji withdrew her hand as if scalded.

Without her support, the lid closed with a “thud” on its own.

It was as if a rush of blood suddenly surged up, and Yu Yunji’s cheeks instantly heated up.

The air in the inner chamber seemed to freeze in an instant. Yu Yunji felt as if time had stopped at this moment, the entire room becoming unnaturally quiet, truly making her at a loss.

She turned her head to look at Gu Qi, seeing cold contempt in his eyes, as if he had expected this.

Yu Yunji said dryly, “It’s not what you think, these…”

She wanted to say she didn’t know about them, but Gu Qi interrupted her: “So this is where Princess Han’s conditions lie. I wondered how Princess Han could be so selfless.”

He emphasized the word “selfless,” but when applied to her, Princess Han, it immediately became full of sarcasm.

With a crisp sound, Gu Qi slammed the thin porcelain cup onto the table. The collision of jade and thin porcelain made one’s heart tremble.

“That’s not what I meant. You know Zhou Zijing, she…” Yu Yunji hesitated, then said, “What I said earlier was entirely true. How could I possibly deceive you?”

How could this be explained? Everyone knew what kind of person the original host was. Now that she had finally gained Gu Qi’s trust, it seemed it would all be ruined.

However, the more she spoke, the more it seemed like a cover-up.

Gu Qi coldly glanced at her and slapped the dagger from his sleeve onto the table.

“If Princess Han is a woman with any sense of honor, then swear here today that there will be no crossing of lines between us. If anyone harbors other thoughts, may heaven strike them down with lightning.” He calmly let the words fall.

As if to confirm his words, a muffled rumble of thunder came from outside the window, like the low growl of a giant beast.

Yu Yunji coughed lightly, trying to dispel some of the heat from her face, and picked up the thin porcelain cup from the table to take a sip.

As the cold tea went down, she suddenly realized something. Her hand holding the teacup froze slightly as she looked up to meet Gu Qi’s gloomy face.

This was the cup Gu Qi had just drunk from.

Such an act was considered extremely intimate in ancient times, already amounting to provocation and humiliation. The atmosphere in the Half Moon Hall became awkward for a moment.

Gu Qi, as if disgusted, shifted his gaze away from the teacup.

“For those who break their word, may the Flying General Niangniang curse them with her dagger, condemning them to a miserable end.” He produced a handful of powder from somewhere, sprinkled it finely on the dagger, then slowly raised his eyes to look at Yu Yunji.

Yu Yunji’s palms became slightly damp.

Although Youzhou was a dynasty that never existed in history, like many ancient dynasties, it believed in deities.

She remembered that the original book mentioned Gu Qi’s faith. If the person opposite agreed to his words, once violated, they would suffer great harm.

Someone from the protagonist’s group had negotiated with him and made a contract, ultimately dying tragically by accident.

The Flying General Niangniang Gu Qi mentioned was a female general who hated evil and was quite efficacious as a deity.

Perhaps she was a goddess. If it were an evil cult, surely not so many people would follow Gu Qi in worshipping her in the future.

However, when it came to religion, holding the belief that it’s better to believe it exists than not, Yu Yunji didn’t agree verbally, only meeting Gu Qi’s cold gaze.

“What’s the matter? Afraid?” Gu Qi sneered, tapping his long fingers on the jade table. “If you have nothing to hide, why is Your Highness afraid to agree?”

“Yu Yunji, you’re scared.”