Chapter 332: Side Story: Fierce Neighbor Chapter 51 (Supplement)

Side Story: Fierce Neighbor Chapter 51 (Supplement)

Yin Fengxuan was truly panicked; even if you gave him a hundred doses of courage, he still wouldn't dare speak to Jin Jingwen like that!

At that moment, Jin Jingwen, who had been about to leap over and deal with him, heard Yin Fengxuan's words, froze in surprise, then walked over and jabbed him with her hand.

"Yin Fengxuan, what did you say? What Tai Fu Temple? Speak clearly!"

"Huh? It's that Tai Fu Temple!"

Speaking, Yin Fengxuan stared at the bronze mirror for a while, then turned to glance at Jin Jingwen, plopped onto the chair beside him, and proceeded to recount the whole matter verbatim.

It turned out that ever since Nie Jinxuan and Yin Fengzhan said they would assign a task to Yin Fengxuan, Yin Fengzhan had actually been very reluctant.

There was no way—could his own brother Yin Fengzhan still not understand him? With his studies and all, he truly had nothing in common with him! But once his wife spoke up, Yin Fengzhan had to see the matter through. Yet he couldn't just toss him any position; he was uneasy, so at that time Yin Fengzhan was genuinely worried.

And just then, Junior Minister Di Bai of Tai Fu Temple fell gravely ill; a few days earlier a rainstorm left his newly recovered body chilled, and that night he passed away while praying to the Buddha in the Western Heaven.

As the Junior Minister of Tai Fu Temple, Di Bai died, leaving the post vacant and needing a replacement. After deliberation, Yin Fengzhan slotted Yin Fengxuan into the role! And today Yin Fengzhan summoned Yin Fengxuan precisely for this.

…

Tai Bu Temple, essentially the department in charge of the nation's carriages and horses, may not have a high rank, but in fact it is quite important.

At that moment, in front of Jin Jingwen, Yin Fengxuan left nothing hidden, babbling the whole story. But after finishing, recalling how his wife's grip had left his face bruised, he felt speechless and choked, unable even to cry!

After all, although Yin Fengxuan was often beaten by his own wife and would go out after the beating without feeling ashamed, this time was different. It was his fourth elder brother who personally arranged this position for him; though the rank was modest, Yin Fengxuan valued it highly. He had imagined a glorious appointment, yet now his face was scratched with line after line...

Yin Fengxuan felt deeply aggrieved. Meanwhile, having learned the whole backstory, Jin Jingwen couldn't help thinking she had been a bit harsh.

But in front of Yin Fengxuan, Jin Jingwen would never admit she was wrong! So after pursing her lips, she cleared her throat quietly, then said with a fierce expression

"Why didn't you say it earlier? If you said earlier, would I have forgotten the greeting on your face? Hmph, honestly, look at your spineless cowardice!"

Jin Jingwen deliberately spat out two insults at Yin Fengxuan, then gave him a sidelong glance, walked straight up to him, lowered her head and fixed her gaze on him, saying

"Enough, lift your head so I can see!"

"You... what are you doing?"

"Shut up, don't speak!"

She forcefully sealed Yin Fengxuan's mouth, then raised her hand, grabbed his head, twisted it left and right, examined his face closely... Upon close inspection, several wounds were indeed quite deep, already faintly bleeding!

Seeing this, a flash of guilt crossed Jin Jingwen's eyes, but instantly she reverted to her usual fierce look, arched an elegant brow, and said insincerely

"It's nothing, just a bit of skin torn! Look at you, squealing like a slaughtered pig, humph!"

With Jin Jingwen holding his head, Yin Fengxuan dared not move. Hearing her words, he merely gave a meek 'oh'. Meanwhile, Jin Jingwen turned to the dressing table, opened a box on it, rummaged for a moment, then took out a small silver box.

The silver box was tiny, about the size of a palm. Jin Jingwen held it, tidied the tabletop, then turned back to face Yin Fengxuan.

"Alright, now listen to me: lift your head and close your eyes!"

Jin Jingwen's words carried command; hearing them, Yin Fengxuan, who had kept his head down, startled, instantly raised his head and couldn't help shouting

"What are you doing?"

"Tsk, what 'what are you doing'? What do you think I can do? No idle talk, shut your mouth! Tsk, I'm talking to you, hurry up!"

Facing Yin Fengxuan, Jin Jingwen was far from patient. As soon as she finished speaking, seeing him still unresponsive, she immediately grabbed his head, opened the small silver box, dipped her finger in the ointment inside, and applied it directly to the scratches on his face.

Jin Jingwen's movements weren't gentle, but they were efficient. The ointment emitted a faint, enchanting fragrance, pleasantly aromatic. When her ointment‑coated fingertip touched Yin Fengxuan's face, he let out a soft hum, then felt an indescribable coolness spreading over his skin, soothing the previously burning wounds considerably.

It was only at this moment that Yin Fengxuan suddenly realized Jin Jingwen was applying medicine to him; his heart jolted, a sudden indescribable heat surged to his face.

The room fell silent.

Yin Fengxuan's face began to flush. As his eyes rose, he instantly saw the nearby small face: slightly narrowed, focused eyes, a delicate nose, a lightly pursed mouth... Unwittingly, he found himself staring dreamily.

Meanwhile, Jin Jingwen didn't notice Yin Fengxuan's reaction at all; she remained focused on applying ointment to the scratches on his face...

The room remained quiet, even the wind outside seemed to hold its breath at that moment, only the ever‑flickering candle occasionally crackling with a pop‑pop sound!

Yin Fengxuan kept watching Jin Jingwen, and perhaps his gaze grew increasingly heated, or perhaps Jin Jingwen unintentionally smeared ointment near his eyebrows, causing her to meet his fiery eyes!

At that instant, even the candle seemed to halt its dance; Jin Jingwen's hand froze, and her pretty face flushed intensely, a long‑suppressed * burst forth in an instant, enveloping both of them, making the air grow hotter along with her reddened visage.

Suddenly, Jin Jingwen felt uneasy and nervous, quickly averted her gaze, then her lips twitched slightly. Just as she was about to say something, Yin Fengxuan's body lunged forward and pressed his lips against hers, just inches away.

Yin Fengxuan kissed Jin Jingwen!

It was a reflexive act, without a hint of hesitation, nor any trace of lust *.

Just the lip contact, like early‑spring sunshine—simple and clean!

But in that instant, Jin Jingwen's mind went 'Boom', her eyes widened, yet she showed no reaction, frozen in shock on the spot!

Meanwhile, Yin Fengxuan kept his eyes open, staring straight at the impossibly close pair of eyes before him, the growing emotion and heat slowly flowing in his gaze...

Time seemed to stand still; no one moved, no one spoke, the silence so deep that even the sound of breathing was crystal clear!

Time passed, the surroundings remained quiet, but then, a candle nearby crackled sharply, snapping Jin Jingwen back to her senses!

She instantly stepped back a great distance and, without thinking, slapped Yin Fengxuan across the face!

"Y... you... you..."

Jin Jingwen trembled with anger, her face burning, she tried to press her lips hard but instantly recalled what had just happened and stopped, only able to point rigidly at the man before her, wanting to curse loudly yet unable to think of words!

Jin Jingwen rarely runs out of words!

And after being slapped hard by Jin Jingwen, Yin Fengxuan snapped out of his daze. His face suddenly flushed bright red without warning, and before Jin Jingwen could speak, he leapt up from the bench and, without a word, ran out!

Yin Fengxuan fled like a whirlwind. Seeing this, the still‑fuming Jin Jingwen was also stunned; when she recovered and turned, Yin Fengxuan had already vanished.

"…"

That brat, actually... after kissing me, ran away?!

Damn, %￥@#%*&...!

For a moment, Jin Jingwen suddenly realized that, compared to Yin Fengxuan's sudden surprise kiss, his sudden flight made her even angrier!

And she was really angry, extremely angry!

So, after staring wide‑eyed at the open door for a while, Jin Jingwen's eye twitched, she ripped off the feather‑plumed outer robe she was still wearing and tossed it onto the floor, then lifted her foot, ready to stomp hard!

But as she raised her foot, the dazzling beauty of the feathered robe caught her eye; she couldn't bring herself to crush it, so after a moment she angrily retrieved the outer garment, turned and glared fiercely at the bench beside her… without further hesitation, Jin Jingwen charged at it, delivering a flurry of fierce kicks and stomps.

At last, when Jin Jingwen grew weary, she suddenly looked up and shouted loudly.

"Come, throw this bench out, and then split it for me!"

…

In the middle of the night, a commotion at Ying Xiu Garden stirred everyone in the Wangfu.

No one knew what had provoked the usually calm and fierce Princess Consort, but since she ordered it, everyone could only obey. After another bout of turmoil for a while, only when the bench was split into pieces beyond repair did Jin Jingwen nod in satisfaction and finally let everyone go back to rest.

After such a ruckus, how could anyone sleep again? Yet Jin Jingwen was bright‑eyed and went straight to her room to sleep.

Jin Jingwen usually kept a good routine, but perhaps the late‑night turmoil made her get up a bit late. When she opened her eyes, the sun outside was already high; she was startled at first, then recalled the events of the previous night, feeling a slight gloom inside, though her face showed none. She sat up from the bed and called Dong'er in.

After washing and dressing, when everything was almost ready, Jin Jingwen casually asked where Yin Fengxuan had gone; Dong'er respectfully replied that Yin Fengxuan had left early this morning.

"... Left? Where to?"

Hearing that Yin Fengxuan had gone out early, Jin Jingwen was taken aback. After all, the usually lazy Yin Fengxuan always liked to sleep in, so why today…

Jin Jingwen was puzzled; hearing that, Dong'er also shook her head.

"I, the maid, don't know… shall I go inquire now?"

As she said so, Dong'er turned to leave, but at that moment Jin Jingwen's mind suddenly sparked, and she instantly realized.

Uh… actually I forgot, that brat said last night that starting today, he would take a post at the Grand Equerry Temple.

Jin Jingwen, unusually forgetful, had actually forgotten this matter. So, thinking of it, she pursed her lips and said to Dong'er

"Fine, he can go wherever he wants; what's there to ask about?"

"But speaking of that, I haven't been to the palace for a while… Dong'er, bring the palace outfit that the Grand Imperial Consort sent over recently, and we'll go to the palace together in a moment!"

"Eh! I'll fetch it right away!"

…

After breakfast, Jin Jingwen went straight into the palace.

As soon as she entered the palace, coincidentally Chen Yan'er, Shui Yun and others had also arrived. Seeing Jin Jingwen, the women chatted for a while, but Jin Jingwen noticed Qiu Pingting was absent and asked about her, then learned that two days earlier Qiu Pingting had gone with her mother, the Duchess of Qi, back to her hometown for ancestral rites.

As for her brother Qiu Tiezhen, he joined the army three years ago; thanks to his good performance, in just three years he rose from a lowly soldier to a sixth‑rank junior general. Though this rank pales compared to the prestige of the Duke of Qi's household, his promotion was swift. Moreover, because he held an official post, Qiu Tiezhen and the Duke of Qi, Qiu Mubai, did not go together.

Speaking of Qiu Pingting, it's rather lamentable. Three years ago she was exploited by Yin Fengxiang; although she was later rescued successfully, the fact that she had liked Yin Fengxiang was no secret, and being secretly detained for so long meant that, despite suppression by both the Duke of Qi's household and Yin Fengzhan, the gossip couldn't be silenced, and Qiu Pingting's reputation was ruined!

Fortunately, Qiu Pingting had drunk the Forget‑Worries potion for Nie Jinxuan back then, so she no longer remembered those events. Moreover, although outsiders gossip, they never do so in front of Qiu Pingting, so she still doesn't know about her past.

Thus, Qiu Pingting's marriage prospects are uncertain. Over the past three‑plus years, although some have coveted the Duke of Qi's prestige and turned a blind eye to her tarnished reputation, they never know why, and each time Qiu Pingting instinctively refuses. The Duke of Qi and his wife, feeling for their beloved daughter, dare not force the matter, so to this day Qiu Pingting remains in the bridal chamber awaiting marriage.

So upon hearing that Qiu Pingting had gone with the Duchess of Qi to her hometown for ancestral rites, Jin Jingwen instantly nodded in understanding. Perhaps the mention of Qiu Pingting evoked past events, and someone then brought up Mo Yujue.

…

Speaking of it, Mo Yujue is also a peculiar character.

He comes from a prestigious military family, yet Mo Yujue didn't follow the military path; instead he became a constable, which many people initially couldn't understand.

Regardless of whether people understood, Mo Yujue took the job and performed well over the years. However, three years ago, after his elder brother of the Mo family was killed, the great General's residence was left with only him and his father, the veteran General Mo Yuancheng. To prevent the Mo family from collapsing, Mo Yujue had to resign from his post in the Ministry of Punishments and enlist in the army.

And the happiest about this was not Mo Yujue's father, General Mo, but Yin Fengzhan, the Emperor himself!

It should be noted that, although Mo Yujue never stated it outright, even a fool could see his feelings for Nie Jinxuan were unusual. Though it seemed he treated Nie Jinxuan like a younger sister, Yin Fengzhan disagreed; when Mo Yujue voluntarily resigned to join the army, Yin Fengzhan said nothing outwardly but was thrilled inside and promptly approved without hesitation.

Now, three years later, Mo Yujue has fared well in the army. Thanks to his meritorious service guarding the frontier, his promotion speed even surpasses Qiu Tiezhen's, and he is now a fifth‑rank general.

…

Jin Jingwen spent a day in the palace, and only when night fell did she rise to leave the palace and return to the Wangfu.

Coincidentally it was dinner time, and the kitchen had prepared the meals, so Jin Jingwen didn't wait for Yin Fengxuan and had the food set out, but just as the dishes were being served, Yin Fengxuan suddenly rushed back.