Song Jia patted her masterpiece, finally finished on installing the last spy camera she had.
"Finally, it's done~"
Contrary to Song Jia's look of satisfaction, Ruolan and Minglan who were staring up at her with their mouths open both had twin expressions of terror.
"Wang fei, please come down..." Ruolan was near to tears as she begged her.
Song Jia's legs were wrapped around the topmost branch of the tallest tree in the courtyard, her daxiushan [1] robe blending in with the peach blossoms around her. Her left hand was extended forward as she tried to test the security of the spy camera.
Because of her position, it couldn't be helped that she would naturally expose an inch of skin here and there. Looking at the snowy-white calf that was peeking out of her light pink skirt, Minglan clutched her forehead as she felt faint with anxiety.
Originally, the two of them only felt a slight curiosity when Song Jia dragged them here and there, going around the perimeter of the wangfu. They didn't know what she was doing, sneakily inserting her hand on several nooks and crannies like a thief while assuming an air of mystery.
But when they had relaxed their guards out of boredom, she had disappeared in front of their eyes. When they finally found her, Song Jia was already climbing like a monkey on the highest tree and had reached a height that the two of them couldn't reach.
"Wang fei, if anyone sees you like this..." Minglan tried to persuade her with reason.
A respectable noble lady climbing a tree, how could they save their faces if anyone finds out! Wuwu, wang fei, please don't scare us like this...not to mention wang ye, if a mere slave-servant dares to gossip about this, where will the dignity and reputation of the Prime Minister's household go...and wuwu, wang fei, you're also currently out of favor! Aren't you afraid that wang ye will divorce you completely?
Unfortunately, Song Jia was no longer listening to them. She had been so, so bored! She was waiting for that wolf-like yatou to bare her fangs and raise her claws so that she could watch a good play, but who knew that she would hide herself so deeply and lie low for a while.
How could Song Jia accept this setback? In the modern era, there were always endless entertainment for Song Jia to indulge herself in. Virtual reality, complex games, and funny videos...even when she was lying down on the bed, she could still transport herself into another place or enjoy a stimulating round of backgammon. Being stuck in this parallel world that was an echo of ancient China, Song Jia felt deeply aggrieved.
So she took out her spy cameras from her storage space ring and distributed them in various places around the wangfu. Although there were only a few of them, it was enough for Song Jia to keep watch of everything that was happening around her. They say that the walls have ears? Well, they have also grown eyes too!
"Wang fei ~"
Hearing the distressed call of Ruolan below her, Song Jia stopped dawdling. She mustn't forget her job to be a virtuous wife. Ready to find a way down, Song Jia leaned forward and braced her palm against the protruding bark. The branch creaked and swayed, sending a flutter of peach blossoms to the ground.
Just as she was about to rise to her feet, she saw that Ruolan and Minglan were joined by two men. One was familiar, while one was not. Song Jia was so stunned that her foot slipped, her body nearly tumbling down.
"Jia'er!"
Zhao Cheng's expression was distorted from anger, and he felt that there was something stuck in his chest. Seeing her almost fall down, in that moment, he even had the urge to strangle her.
How could she be so foolish!
When he looked up and saw her nestled among the delicate pinks and whites of peach blossoms, at first, his breath had been stolen away. The sunshine had brought roses to her cheeks and gleam on her inky-black hair, making it seem as if she was an immortal fairy that had descended from the heavens. But when he saw the precarious situation that she was in, Zhao Cheng let go of any fanciful thoughts and quickly darted forward to climb after her.
Song Jia was not a damsel in distress. Seeing that the boss had come and he wasn't wearing a good expression, she wanted to go down quickly so that he won't vomit blood out of anger. His lips were even twitching. Song Jia studied his face carefully for signs of stroke, such as an uneven smile or any abrupt drooping on one side of his lips. She patted her chest as she mentally prepared herself to do an emergency CPR.
She wiggled back and forth before grabbing a branch overhead to secure her footing as she lowered her right leg. Another sprinkle of blossoms cascaded down below, falling onto the shoulders of Wen Heng Zhi. He absently brushed them away, his gaze fixed towards the person standing on the peach tree.
Zhao Cheng was getting more and more afraid as Song Jia put on a contemplative look. He knew that she was planning to go down herself and stopped his movements of following after her. He took a deep breath, and opened his arms.
"Jump down, I'll catch you!" he shouted.
Song Jia paused and inched forward, squinting at him.
"Are you sure you can catch me?" she asked doubtfully.
It was not that she doubted his sincerity. Being a kind monarch, he certainly won't let his own people die. But the height of this peach tree is not a laughing matter, if he didn't catch her as he promised, at best, she could lose a perfectly good pair of legs. At worst, she could lose her life.
"Yes!" Zhao Cheng was not worried. He was very good at martial arts.
"Alright." Not hesitating any further, she let go of the branch that she was holding onto and let gravity take her down.
Her robes fluttered like wings, making Zhao Cheng's heart feel a bit itchy. Her soft body fell against him, and wrapping his arms around her waist, he locked her in place and didn't let go.
[1] A large-sleeved robe. Looks like this: