Chapter 94 Chapter 94 If she doesn’t fight, doesn’t fight, how can she…

Although Manxi was young and not very good at speaking, she could understand a lot of things. When she heard her mother ask this, she felt aggrieved.

Jasmine asked, "Don't be afraid. Tell me, was it the Second Prince who bullied you first? Did you get so angry that you beat him up?"

The Duke couldn't help but frown. He warned, "Stubborn, the Second Prince is always well-behaved. How could he bully others so easily?"

Both mother and daughter glared at him.

The Duke was so helpless.

Jasmine gently said to Manxi, "Don't be afraid, Man'er. Mother will protect you. Just tell me the truth. If the Second Prince really bullies you first, I will beat the drum to report it to you, but I won't let our Man'er suffer any injustice."

Manxi's eyes lit up. She hugged her mother's face and kissed her again. She couldn't help but glance at her father again before she spoke through her small teeth: "Manxi is playing with Youji."

Jasmine understood. Seeing that her daughter hadn't suffered any harm, Jasmine finally felt relieved.

"What did you play with... the Second Prince?"

"Big kite..."

"Oh, a kite. It must look beautiful hanging in the sky."

"drive!"

"Man'er is riding a horse!" Jasmine was shocked. "Why are you riding a horse when you're so young?"

Yan Ke explained: "It's riding on the neck of a palace maid."

Jasmine felt relieved again.

"Fish, big fish!"

"Hey, Man'er went fishing too! Our Man'er is really becoming more and more skilled..."

It wasn't until dinner was distributed in the prison cell that Jasmine and Manxi divided their meals before she said to her grandfather, "Grandpa, take Man'er back home."

Yan Ke looked at her seriously and said, "I'll come and accompany you after I send Man'er back."

Jasmine also wanted him to accompany her, so she nodded: "Then remember to bring a blanket. It will be dawn, and you can't sit there all night."

"good."

Manxi wasn't stupid; she understood everything! Her parents wanted to send her home alone!

Manxi clung to the iron bars, refusing to let go. His cries were probably heard throughout Jingzhao Prison.

Jasmine couldn't coax her, so she had to tickle her: "Be good, Man'er. Mom will be back to accompany you in a few days."

Yan Ke picked up her daughter and left.

Jasmine opened her eyes and looked until she could no longer hear the footsteps. Then she heard the door outside clang twice, and then she squatted down reluctantly.

She squatted in the same position for who knows how long. When footsteps sounded again, Jasmine looked up and saw her grandfather carrying a pile of quilts.

As I got closer, I discovered the little man on the back.

Jasmine exclaimed, "Manxi?"

"mother!"

The little girl waved at her proudly. As soon as Yan Ke put her down, she skillfully crawled over the iron bars and threw herself into Jasmine's arms.

Without waiting for Jasmine to ask, Yan Ke helplessly explained: "She insisted on coming, I had no choice."

The Duke had to admit that he was not only helpless against the mother, but he was also helpless against his own daughter.

But what can we do?

That's it anyway.

Yan Ke finished speaking and spread out the quilt and pillow on the floor. He brought two, one for the bed and one for the pillow.

Jasmine looked at the father and daughter and found that they had taken a shower before coming here.

The prisoners looked at the family of three and could hardly believe their eyes. After several days, they finally got used to it.

...

Jasmine asked her grandfather, "I've been here for three months. Where's Xu Fangshi?"

Yan Ke lay on the iron bars with her face up, and said solemnly, "Death penalty. Because of the fire she started, more than a dozen people died. She deserves death."

Jasmine had already guessed this result. She said "Oh" and didn't say anything more.

If she hadn't been involved today, she would definitely have ridiculed him, but right now, Jasmine was too lazy to say anything.

But she would never blame herself for this. It was Xu Fang who provoked her first, and she had merely acted as a matchmaker to bring the handsome man and her two daughters together. Besides, she was in jail.

And Xu Fang was so mad that she wanted to set fire to everyone. That was her own fault.

Jasmine stayed in jail for three months, not a day less.

The Duke and Manxi come almost every day. To be precise, the Duke has to attend court and can only come in the evening or later.

Manxi didn't want to be separated from her mother, so the mother and daughter stayed in prison. Manxi and her mother got bored, so they ran out to explore around.

She was still chatting with the prisoners, and when she saw the jailers drinking and eating, she insisted on climbing onto the table as well.

Everyone here knows that Manxi is the Duke's only daughter. The prisoners dare not provoke her, and the jailers of course do their best to serve her.

Manxi ate the large chicken drumstick for herself and even thought of bringing one for her mother. Therefore, although Jasmine was not treated specially in prison, she lived a very good life.

So much so that she was reluctant to leave on the day she left.

The prisoners were also reluctant to let Manxi go. A little sun broke into the dark prison, but it disappeared again after a short while.

Manxi played well with everyone. A seven-year-old girl who was implicated in the incident tugged at Manxi's chubby arm, asking her not to leave. Manxi said she would come to visit her and would miss her.

The person holding Manxi's other hand was a corrupt official grandfather. To be precise, Manxi stretched out his hand, the corrupt official shook it, but Manxi held it tightly and did not let go.

After Manxi finished talking to the little sister, he turned his head to look at his grandfather and mumbled a lot of words. The corrupt official only heard two words: "Be good."

The corrupt official smiled and nodded at her. His smiles had always revolved around power and profit. After twenty years in prison, only now did his smiles appear genuine.

Yan Ke came to hold Manxi, looked at the corrupt official, and said with a bow, "Sir Xu, we'll meet again later."

The corrupt official nodded, but the smile disappeared from his face when he looked at the Duke.

Jasmine followed her master out of the cell before asking, "Master, do you call him sir? Is he an official?"

"Twenty years ago, he served as the Jingzhao Yin, corrupt and perverting justice at the feet of the emperor. He distorted the truth in several cases and even formed a clique for personal gain. This was a capital crime. Because he had money, he bought his life from the late emperor."

Jasmine was puzzled. "He's already a criminal, how could he buy his own life?" Then she suddenly realized, "I see. Could it be that he knew he was doomed and hid the treasure? If only the late emperor would spare his life, he would tell the emperor where the treasure is, right?"

Yan Ke nodded.

He found his wife to be quite clever, but it was precisely because of her cleverness that he became even more worried.

Yan Ke stopped, turned around and looked at her seriously, saying, "You must follow the rules in the future. If you do the same thing as today again, I will never forgive you."

Considering that he had been with her for three months, Jasmine nodded obediently: "I understand."

Yan Ke patted Manxi's butt again: "You too, you can understand what Daddy says now. I won't bother you about the past, but if you make mistakes in the future, Daddy will still punish you. Speak up if you hear me."

Manxi looked at her mother and saw that she was in a difficult situation. She immediately nodded and answered loudly: "Oh!"

Jasmine saw that the carriage was heading towards the main gate and wanted the driver to go around to the back door.

Yan Ke refused: "You must remember the loss of face you suffered today, so that you can repent in the future."

Jasmine was furious.

When the carriage stopped in front of the Duke's Mansion, Jasmine got off and quickened her pace to sneak into the mansion.

Manxi stood on the shaft of the cart, stretched out his hands and shouted, "Mom, hold me," but unfortunately his mother didn't even turn her head.

Yan Ke picked up his daughter, and the father and daughter entered the mansion.

"This is unheard of in the world. How could an official's wife be imprisoned twice?" The old lady complained, but when she heard someone coming back, she quickly asked someone to light the brazier.

Jasmine was stopped in front of a brazier and told to step over it to get rid of bad luck. This was for her own good, so she did as she was told.

After Aunt Qian finished mumbling a lot of nonsense, Jasmine successfully stepped over.

Surprisingly, the old lady didn't scold her this time. She didn't even ask her to restrain herself.

Jasmine took advantage of the time when her grandfather was away to talk to the old lady.

"Mother must have known that Xu Fang was executed, right?"

The old lady looked at her suspiciously and said, "Just say what you want to say."

Jasmine lowered her voice and continued, "I'm afraid Xuzhou will find a chance to retaliate."

Old Lady: "That's also revenge on you."

Jasmine: "My daughter-in-law and mother are in the same boat. I'm afraid Xu has set her sights on the Duke's Mansion."

The old lady thought her words made sense: "Don't worry, Xu Lao Er has written a letter asking for peace."

Jasmine: "Could it be fake?"

"No," the old lady said without hesitation, "The Xu family's managers don't support him, and now the elders are also quite critical of him. He has no one to rely on, so why would he provoke us for the Xu Fang family?"

Jasmine sighed, "After all, we're husband and wife, how can you be so cold-blooded?"

Seeing the old lady's frightened face, she quickly added: "I am worried that Xu Fang's sons and daughters might want to avenge their mother."

The old lady hadn't expected this. She looked at her with a half-smile: "When did the Duke's wife become so timid?"

"My wife has always been timid."

The old lady had a look on her face that said, "I don't believe your nonsense!"

Despite saying this, the old lady still sent people to keep a close eye on Xuzhou, especially Xu Fang's two sons.

Jasmine was right. When Xu Fang's two sons learned that their sisters were bullied and their mother had died tragically, they immediately bribed a group of bandits and tried to sneak into Kyoto City with them to burn down the Duke's Mansion.

However, the old lady had heard about it earlier and informed Mr. Xu. His two legitimate sons were stopped by their own father and tied up before they even entered the gate of Kyoto City.

As for those bandits, the old lady informed the prefect of Jingzhao in advance and caught them all in one fell swoop.

Jasmine thought the old lady was a bit foolish. If they let the two brothers into the city, wouldn't it be better to set fire to it and catch them red-handed?

Jasmine couldn't help herself and went to show off her brains in front of the old lady. "...Mother, aren't you afraid that the brothers will make a comeback?"

The old lady said: "If his two legitimate sons are gone, Xu Er might really fight us to the death. It's better to buy him one. I think he will look after them in the future. Let's be merciful when we can."

Jasmine discovered that the old lady was not cowardly or afraid, but she was really soft-hearted.

It turns out that soft-hearted people can also live long and wealthy lives.

In the past, Jasmine had always believed that only those who were careful enough, courageous enough, and ruthless enough could live a long and good life. But now, she was beginning to doubt it again.

After coming out of Yayuan and returning to the main courtyard, Jasmine hugged Manxi's soft body and suddenly understood.

The old lady had good conditions since childhood and was extremely lucky. When she was young, she had the support of the Marquis's Mansion. After she got married, she relied on the old Duke. Now she relies on her grandfather.

Of course, the old lady only needs to radiate her kindness and let people remember her good deeds.

Unlike her Jasmine.

If she hadn't fought and struggled, she would have been taken back to Santian Village or wandered alone. How could she have seen the beautiful scenery now, and how could she have felt so happy?

"Mom, find Erpang."

Manxi pronounced the two words "Erpang" particularly clearly, even as clearly as "Dad and Mom".

Jasmine rubbed Manxi's chubby face and asked, "Erpang, who is Erpang?"