Chapter 121: The Drunkenness of Heavenly Heart
On the day the household of the General's Manor returned from the banquet, Ji Huaili paid a visit to the secluded retreat of Old Master Ji Yuntian. No one knew what was discussed, though rumors circulated that it concerned the Third Young Miss.
The Eldest Young Master and the Second Young Miss returned with somber expressions. The former appeared deeply despondent, while the latter seemed consumed by rage; upon reaching her courtyard, she proceeded to smash a series of objects, the cacophony of shattering porcelain echoing throughout the night.
The commotion soon subsided into silence. The household was accustomed to such outbursts from the Second Young Miss’s courtyard. The steward merely craned his neck to glance in that direction before instructing the servants to keep a close watch and ensure she did not wander toward the Southern Courtyard. As a steward, beyond his administrative duties, he was burdened with the thankless task of preventing the masters of the house from courting disaster—a heavy responsibility indeed. He reached up to stroke his beard, only to encounter mere stubble, sighed at the Second Young Miss’s residence, and turned away.
Night fell.
Atop the roof of the Southern Courtyard, a slender figure in white sat perched high above. She lay back languidly, gazing at the heavens, her small face flushed a faint, rosy hue. Her drowsy eyes were veiled in a hazy, drunken mist. She lifted a small, jade-white wine flask to her lips, tilting it back to drain the last drops, but the vessel was empty, save for a few stray droplets that fell into her mouth as she swayed.
Ji Tianxin stirred, shifting from her recumbent posture to a sitting one. With a light tap of her toes, she soared out of the General's Manor. The night watchmen caught only a flash of white light, and by the time they turned to look, it had vanished.
"Was that a shooting star?"
"It must have been lightning."
"Lightning your head! There's no lightning in the middle of the night—get back to your rounds!"
By the third watch in Jin'an City, the metropolis was largely submerged in slumber, with only a few scattered lights remaining. In the stillness, a small figure landed gracefully upon a rooftop, though her frame swayed precariously, as if she might tumble off at any moment—a sight that would have made any onlooker’s heart leap into their throat.
Ji Tianxin was intoxicated, her consciousness hovering in a semi-lucid state. She had no idea where she had drifted; the heat of the wine had made her restless, and she had simply wanted to fly about to cool down. Her body felt uncooperative, her movements light and stumbling. She had only meant to catch a breeze... but where was she? Where was this place?
Dazed, Ji Tianxin’s small face remained flushed a delicate pink, yet even in her inebriation, her eyes shone with a dazzling, brilliant light. Her petite form teetered like a child struggling to maintain balance on a rooftop, appearing ready to fall at any second, only to steady herself with a drunken sway.
Fortunately, it was the dead of night; had anyone witnessed this, they might well have died of fright. However, a solitary drunkard, staggering home, happened to look up. Catching sight of the white figure swaying across the roof, he rubbed his eyes, convinced he had seen a female ghost. With a terrified shriek of "Ghost!", he fled in a panic, scrambling away so desperately that he dropped his own wine jar, which shattered upon the ground.