The vast Jiang Mansion suddenly fell silent, with only sporadic groans from the guards and Xiaorou.
Jiang Yaoji stared at the direction where Ji Yunxi and Feng Xingzhi had left with a scowl on her face.
She felt that all her efforts over the past few days had been in vain because of Ji Yunxi. Jealousy welled up inside her. Others might not know that the black - cloaked man was Feng Xingzhi, but she knew it only too well.
He had carried that woman away so readily, showing no respect for her at all. Usually in the mansion, no matter how close she got to him, he always remained as calm as an old monk in meditation.
She couldn't even begin to describe how jealous she was when she saw Feng Xingzhi put his arm around Ji Yunxi's waist.
The maid beside her trembled and stepped forward. "My lady, should we send someone to chase them?"
"Chase them?!" After saying that, she glanced at the people on the ground. "Get them out of here. They're such an embarrassment."
Turning around, Jiang Yaoji secretly swore to herself that since she had failed to stop Ji Yunxi from meeting Feng Xingzhi this time, she had to come up with another plan.
Passing by the main hall, Jiang Yaoji suddenly thought of Qingxuan. She found it strange. She had been so careful to lock the person in the underground secret chamber. How could Feng Xingzhi have found him?
At this thought, her eyes gradually changed. Could there be a traitor?
Jiang Yaoji's suspicion and worry didn't affect Ji Yunxi at all. She was still fuming.
She had planned to have a good fight with the arrogant Jiang Yaoji, but unexpectedly, Feng Xingzhi had just scooped her up in his arms and carried her out of the city all the way until they reached a dense forest on the outskirts.
He still held Ji Yunxi tightly in his arms. His eyes were full of affection and a bit of apology.
"Let go." Ji Yunxi said coldly.
Feng Xingzhi's heart skipped a beat. Then he slowly landed on the ground and let go of his hands. It was a far cry from how he had thrown Qingxuan down.
"Xixi..."
"Don't call me that!"
As soon as Ji Yunxi landed, she stomped away, eager to put as much distance as possible between herself and Feng Xingzhi.
She was full of grievances. She remembered being knocked out by him during their previous meeting, being framed by his friend after waking up, and having her face slapped in the yamen.
Each and every one of these incidents made her blood boil.
Feng Xingzhi chased after her, constantly apologizing.
"Xixi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you."
"You can pay attention to whoever you like. It's none of my business."
Feng Xingzhi quickly said, "Xixi, my business is your business. No, I..."
He was already babbling incoherently.
Ji Yunxi was full of grievances. Her eyes were slightly misted as she stared at Feng Xingzhi without saying a word.
He felt guilty under her gaze. Finally, he lowered his head, stepped forward, and took Ji Yunxi's hand.
"Xixi, I really know I was wrong. Don't be angry."
"You don't know. You don't know how sad your spirit beast was because of your sudden departure. You don't know how hard we worked to travel all the way to Xirong. You don't know how worried I was after being knocked out by you. And you don't know how humiliated I felt when someone slapped my face in the yamen."
Feng Xingzhi's face gradually turned ugly. He couldn't refute her. He had acted on his own, but it was his relatives, friends, and the woman he loved most who had to bear the consequences.
"Xixi, I didn't mean it." Feng Xingzhi felt that anything he said at this moment seemed so powerless. "I know you're angry about being framed. Even if Lu Shu hadn't brought people, I would have come to rescue you soon. I just couldn't reveal my identity for the time being."
Ji Yunxi's anger gradually subsided with his repeated explanations and apologies. "Then why did you leave without a word?"
"It's a long story. I found out that the people from Wangyue Pavilion had been attacking you because of me. So I didn't want to drag you into this..."
"Drag me into this? Why would you think so?"
Feng Xingzhi lowered his head helplessly. "The people from Wangyue Pavilion have been making things difficult for you because you're my fiancée. As for the reason, I don't know yet."
Ji Yunxi felt a strange sensation in her heart. The first time the people from Wangyue Pavilion appeared was after their engagement, and the second time was in the Ji Mansion after she had retrieved Nianyun.
During this period, the only significant change was that she had rejected Su Ningyuan and agreed to Feng Xingzhi's request to become his fiancée.
She fell silent for a long time before answering, "Azhi, I never think you're dragging me down."
"We're engaged to be married. In the future, we'll be together through thick and thin. You thought you were doing it for my own good by keeping it from me, but you forgot that we're like one entity. We should watch over and help each other."
Feng Xingzhi didn't look into Ji Yunxi's eyes. Guilt made him keep his head down. He actually seemed more aggrieved than Ji Yunxi.
Knowing that he must have realized his mistake, Ji Yunxi reached out her hand to push aside the stray hair in front of his eyes.
"Forget it. Look at you. Your hair is all messed up."
Feng Xingzhi was a bit stunned. He had thought Xixi would be angry for a long time, but he didn't expect her to forgive him so quickly.
"You should quickly reconnect with Lu Shu. As soon as you left, he thought you had abandoned him. He was so anxious and angry."
"I've already re - established contact." Feng Xingzhi looked up, carefully holding Ji Yunxi's hand to his chest. "Xixi, have you forgiven me?"
Ji Yunxi wanted to tease him. "Forgive you? Of course, I won't forgive you so soon."
He panicked and quickly hugged her tightly in his arms. "Xixi!"
Ji Yunxi didn't expect him to be so anxious. He hugged her so tightly that her forehead hit his chin. The slight touch of her lips made her blush instantly.
"You, let go of me!"
"Xixi, I was stupid. I thought wrong. When you said you didn't want to forgive me, I was really, really desperate."
There was a sob in his voice. Ji Yunxi knew she had teased him too much, so she reached out and hugged him back.
"Are you stupid? I was just teasing you."
Feng Xingzhi didn't say a word. He just hugged her tightly.
Ji Yunxi calmed down now. "Azhi, how did you know that the people from Wangyue Pavilion wanted my life because of you?"
"This is inside information from Wangyue Pavilion. It must be true. I just haven't investigated it deeply."
Ji Yunxi immediately understood. This meant that Feng Xingzhi had someone inside Wangyue Pavilion. Everyone had their own secrets, so she decided not to ask any more questions.
However, there was another thing that puzzled her.
"Azhi, if you're looking for information about Wangyue Pavilion, why did you come to the Jiang Mansion in Xirong?"
He slightly loosened his hold on Ji Yunxi. "Because of the elder of the Jiang family who just returned from his travels. It's rumored that this person likes to study difficult and complicated diseases and can cure ailments that others can't. I wanted to ask him to take a look at your headache."
Ji Yunxi didn't expect this to be the reason. For a moment, her heart was filled with sweetness.
"At first, when you ignored me, I thought you..."
"I what? Fell in love with someone else?"