Chapter 5: Being Greedy for Money Is an Honest Matter

Young Master Ji was a decent man. He would never do anything as crude as forcibly seizing a beauty. What he wanted was for a woman to come to him willingly, her eyes full of him and her heart pledged to him. Only then would things behind his bed curtains be truly joyful.

So the moment he had free time, he first ordered seven or eight sets of fine clothes for Ming Yi.

Standing in the room and looking at all these things, Ming Yi’s eyes went perfectly round: “These are all for me?”

“Try them on and see if they fit.”

She let out a cheer and pounced on them like an oriole. She picked up the jade-colored embroidered jacket and skirt, touched it carefully, and looked at him with bright eyes: “I have never worn such fine fabric.”

“Now you may wear whatever you like,” he said, not caring much.

“My lord is so good!” She pounced on him again, her skirt flaring, and planted a loud smack of a kiss on his cheek.

So Ji Bozai learned that this little creature was very greedy, and all of this was only enough to earn a single kiss.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and led her to the dressing table, where he opened two newly bought boxes.

A gold cicada-filigree double-clasp bracelet, an eight-treasure beaded hairpin, a three-winged sparrow-feather swaying hairpin… Jadeite and agate, gold and jade, filling the boxes to the brim.

Ming Yi blinked and nestled coquettishly against him: “Are these for me alone, my lord, or will the sisters in the back courtyard all get some too?”

She lightly bit her lip, three parts coy and five parts petulant, looking utterly adorable.

Ji Bozai smiled and stroked the side of her face: “They are yours alone. What sisters in the back courtyard?”

Satisfied, she curved her eyes and melted into his arms: “You said it yourself, my lord, so you are not allowed to lie to me.”

“Mm.” He lowered his head and gently kissed her earlobe.

Ming Yi found it ticklish, but he had given her so many things that she felt too embarrassed to dodge. She only whimpered a couple of times, her toes pressing restlessly against the floor, exposing a stretch of snow-white neck.

Ji Bozai bit down on it without thinking.

His teeth pressed against her delicate skin, which was fragrant, soft, and warm. He could not help adding a little force, and she gasped softly, the sound barely reaching her throat before she pressed it back down. It sounded rather like a cat’s purr.

He smiled, softened his movements, and rubbed his thumb behind her ear.

The person in his arms slowly relaxed, and in the midst of their closeness she even stuck out the tip of her tongue a little.

Good. He picked exactly the moment she was lost in it and let her go decisively.

Ming Yi was dazed for an instant, then realized she lost her composure. She buried her head low and awkwardly grabbed his collar: “Outside, outside the spring scenery is lovely. Does my lord not want to take a stroll?”

He looked at her sideways in excellent spirits, and only after a long while answered: “Fine.”

The atmosphere was ambiguous and tender, and with such a stunning face, it would be very easy to think she had met the man of her dreams.

But Ming Yi quickly came to her senses.

She smiled, broke free of his embrace, went to the dressing table to pick up her brow pencil and carefully retouched her makeup, then changed into a long pleated peach-blossom skirt veiled in mist, draped a snow-mist shawl over her arms, and fussed for half an hour before following him out the door.

She was a competent ornament. She would never allow even a hint of disarray on herself. Even her strands of hair lay perfectly flat, her jewelry was ornate but not chaotic, and her dress was vivid but not garish. The moment she stepped out of the room, the maidservants and old women far and near could not help sneaking looks at her.

Ming Yi held her poise very well. Her shoulders and back were straight, her head slightly bowed, half of an embroidered fan covering her face. She walked slowly a few inches behind him, not overstepping yet clearly following, which pleased him greatly.

Ji Bozai chuckled and hooked his hand to pull her into the crook of his arm.

“My lord.” She gasped softly and pushed him lightly in reproach. “This is improper.”

Being someone’s plaything came with rules a plaything should keep. Walking side by side with an arm around the shoulder was how a proper married couple behaved.

Yet he said: “You and I need not care about other people’s opinions.”

Ming Yi sneered inwardly. He was truly formidable, picking only the pleasant things to say. Anyone with a muddled head who heard that would really put herself in the wrong place.

On the surface she smiled with shy bashfulness: “My lord’s kindness is great. It is this servant’s good fortune.”

The two left the gate leaning against each other. Ji Bozai deliberately picked a half-open beast-drawn carriage and helped her up to sit with him.

Ming Yi knew what he was thinking. She leaned shyly against him and lowered her embroidered fan to show her lovely face. Her eyes did not look at the streets on either side. She gazed at him alone, dazed with devotion.

All along the way, envious murmurs and whistles from the roadside rose one after another.

Ji Bozai enjoyed it very much, and he playfully rubbed her hand: “What else do you lack? I will take you to buy it all at once.”

Ming Yi was not polite either: “This servant’s heart flutters easily when sleeping. If there were a few gold bars to press down the bed, nothing would be better.”

Ji Bozai: ?

Ming Yi: (Smiles)

Other girls were thin-skinned. They would usually ask for gold and silver jewelry and then sell it for money. Ming Yi would not. She knew how crooked pawnshops were. A hundred taels’ worth of goods would fetch only fifty once pawned. Why should she let outsiders earn that difference?

After a moment of silence, he burst out laughing: “How bad is the fluttering? Can ten gold bars hold it down?”

Ming Yi’s eyes lit up: “That would certainly be enough.”

“Good.” He was generous about it, and took her straight to a money house.

Ming Yi could not help marveling inwardly. He truly was rich. Each gold bar was ten taels, and with one wave of his hand he spent a hundred taels of gold, enough for a person to live in comfort for more than half a lifetime.

Many officials never saved up this much. He had only just risen to power, yet already had such a fortune. No wonder the girls of Muxing City flocked to him like ducks to water.

Smacking her lips, Ming Yi followed him wagging her tail to collect the gold bars. They were too heavy to carry, so he had the whole box loaded onto the beast-drawn carriage outside.

Ming Yi smiled and nodded: “Thank you, my lord!”

Looking at her, Ji Bozai knew that this price was enough for her.

But still, how to put it, other girls would submit just from looking at his face, yet to her, he seemed like nothing more than a free bonus that came with a box of gold bars.

He could not quite feel happy about it.

He clicked his tongue softly and was about to speak again when a whistling sound suddenly tore through the air behind him.

He dodged to the side on instinct, hooked an arm around Ming Yi’s waist, and pulled her aside. Then he frowned and turned back to see someone walking in with a cold face and pulling out the wooden hairpin nailed into the wall: “Sorry. My hand slipped.”

Ming Yi, her shock only just settling, twitched the corner of her mouth.

How badly would a hand have to slip to fling a piece of wood with such deadly force?

She raised her eyes to the newcomer. He was dressed all in plain white mourning, with a handsome, clear-cut face. He appeared to be about twenty, but there was a heavy ferocity between his brows.

Ji Bozai let go of her and smiled: “Young Master Yan, are you here to divide the inheritance?”

Yan An’s fingers tightened slightly. He pushed the wooden hairpin back into his topknot bit by bit and looked at him with icy eyes: “Thank you for your concern, Lord Ji. My father was honest and incorruptible all his life. There are not many taels of silver to divide.”

So he was here to pick a fight.

Ji Bozai wanted Ming Yi to step back a little. His hand barely lifted before he saw that she was already holding up her skirt and darting behind a screen at top speed.

Her legs were quite nimble.

He glanced at her with amusement, then casually poured Yan An a cup of tea: “I have been busy lately and could not spare time to burn incense for your honored mother. Since it is rare to run into you here, why not let me hand over the condolence gift now and save myself another trip?”

Yan An glared at him fiercely, his fists gripped white, forcing out each word between his teeth: “Does a murderer deserve to give a condolence gift?”