The man in white on the other side seemed not to care about his words and simply asked with a smile, "Are you soaking in the ice spring alone at midnight because your village girl won’t let you in bed?"
Jin Zijin raised an eyebrow and said, "So... you’ve come to laugh at me?"
The man in white opposite him was taken aback by these words, especially by the mocking smile on Jin Zijin’s face.
He paused in surprise, folding his fan, but there was a slight worry in his tone as he said, "I know you married that village girl out of necessity, but judging by your behavior... could it be that you have really taken a liking to her?"
Jin Zijin abruptly stopped smiling, his dark eyes narrowed as if he too realized his behavior was somewhat odd.
Gazing at the night scenery of lake and mountains for a moment, he suddenly stood up, picked up a piece of clothing from a stone not far away, rummaged through it haphazardly, and pulled out a piece of coarse cloth, tossing it to the man in white.
The man in white caught the throwing object with surprise, and under the moonlight, he strained to read the words on it, then slowly and intermittently, he started reading aloud.
"A resignation letter." The man in white was startled, he looked at Jin Zijin, his voice rising in disbelief as he repeated, "A resignation letter?"
Jin Zijin nodded slightly, then gestured for him to continue reading.
The moon was bright, but not as bright as during the day. If it were not for the man in white’s good eyesight, and the fact that Gu Youyou wrote in large characters, he wouldn’t have been able to read it clearly.
"Today, the daughter of the Gu family from Lotus Village, who had been severely ill... married into the Jin Family of hunters in the same village while sick. Grateful... that her husband did not abandon her, and took great care of her until her recovery. However, Gu Youyou... was always anxious... Fearing that because she had been bedridden for years, she would... she would never bear children?"
At this point, the man in white looked at Jin Zijin with surprise, a hint of intrigue in his smile as he continued reading, "It is said, among unfilial acts, not producing an offspring is the greatest. Gu Youyou does not wish to be a burden to her husband’s family... and thus with tears, she resigns. Now... I cease my brush here, hoping my husband lives long and in good health and finds another mate!"
"If you’re going to look, then look, why read it out loud?" Jin Zijin’s face had already turned sour from being mocked.
After reading just a few sentences, the man in white was laughing so hard he couldn’t catch his breath, and his celestial demeanor was completely gone.
"You... hahaha, I have finished reading." Seeing Jin Zijin looking frustrated, his mood grew even better.
"This village girl of yours... I mean, how can you bear it, why else would you be soaking in an ice spring in the middle of the night instead of sleeping, is it that you really can’t have children, or did she find an excuse not to want you?"
Jin Zijin, with a dark face, watched as the man leaning on a nearby tree trunk struggled to breathe from laughing too much.
"Haha... you, you’ve had your day too, to be disdained by a village girl... no, I must keep this resignation letter for you, take it back and show it to them all..." he said, reaching to stuff it into his own chest.
"Hmph... you dare!" Jin Zijin frowned and let out a cold snort, then said, "Enough, I’m not showing you this so you can make fun of me. Look carefully, don’t you see anything inappropriate?"
Seeing Jin Zijin’s expression turn serious, the man in white also stopped laughing, his demeanor becoming solemn.
He spread out the coarse white cloth again, and as he read the entire passage, his expression became increasingly grave.
There was not a single thing appropriate about it.
After a while, he spoke with astonishment, "Did that village girl of yours really write this?"
Jin Zijin nodded faintly, causing the man in white to change color even more dramatically.