Chapter 92 "I was the one who threw away the food..."

With Ji Jinghe away, all the funeral arrangements fell on Shen Qiulan's shoulders. When Yu An went to see her, Shen Qiulan had already lost a lot of weight.

The entire Ji residence was draped in white, clearly indicating that it was early summer and a time of vibrant life, yet everything was shrouded in a deathly atmosphere.

She couldn't accept that a perfectly healthy person could just leave like that.

Ji Shu said that the night before she passed away, she was still laughing and joking with her, and seemed to be in great spirits.

The next morning, someone let slip the news of Ji Jinghe's imprisonment to Ji's mother, and that afternoon she died.

The more details she learned about the situation, the more guilty Yu-An felt.

If she hadn't gone to all this trouble and dragged Ji Jinghe into it, things wouldn't have escalated to this point.

With no one to help the Ji family, at Ji Shu's request, Yu An stayed to manage the household affairs.

Funeral arrangements are numerous, and having someone to help Shen Qiulan make things much easier.

After assigning tasks, Yu'an headed towards the mourning hall and ran into Yan Rongxue.

She didn't want to pay attention to it, but the other person stopped and called out to her.

"You're here too?" Yan Rongxue looked at the person dressed in white and couldn't help but laugh.

The culprit still has the nerve to come over, help others, and ask them to be grateful for her kindness; it's truly laughable.

Yan Rongxue raised the corners of her mouth and scoffed, "I thought you were too ashamed to come here."

Yu An didn't reply. "If Miss Yan is just visiting, please go back. After all, no matter who did it, the Yan family is involved."

Yan Rongxue didn't mind, and walked away with a smile on her face.

After kneeling all day, taking advantage of the fact that there weren't many people around, Yu'an advised Ji Shu to get up and stand up to rest for a while. Ji Shu just stared at her without saying a word.

Yu'an raised her hand and wiped away the tears on her face with a handkerchief. She was not only sad, but also felt sorry for her. "Get up and rest for a while. No one will say anything to you."

Does my brother know?

"What?" Yu An didn't hear clearly.

Ji Shu's expression dimmed slightly. "That day you sent me a message, asking him to go to Songshan Temple, right?"

She has made up her mind.

Yu An froze, opened her mouth but couldn't speak.

She didn't know what to say.

With red eyes and a trembling voice, Ji Shu said, "Do you have a reason? As long as you tell me, I will believe you."

Yu An took a deep breath; her legs had already gone numb.

"Who told you that?"

"Yan Rongxue".

"What did she tell you?" Yu'an pressed.

"Don't ask that, I just want to know, is it really true?"

Yu An tried to help her up, "Ji Shu, now is not the time to talk about this. I'll explain it to you tonight, okay?"

"But I want to know now," Ji Shu said sharply.

Yu An glanced around and said helplessly, "Xu Jingshu sent me the message, and I confirmed it was probably true, so I sent it to your brother. But I didn't expect it to be fake..."

Ji Shu: "Can you honestly say with your hand on your heart that you didn't have any ulterior motives when you sent that letter to my brother? If it wasn't for your own sake, why would you pass on such important information to my brother? You said that you and my brother would never see each other again."

Yu An was speechless, unable to figure out whether she had any selfish motives.

After hesitating for a moment, Ji Shu gave her no chance to explain.

With tears streaming down her face, Ji Shu shook her head repeatedly: "I should have realized it before. You blamed my brother for your father's death and refused to forgive him. I should have realized it before..."

"But you clearly said you wouldn't hold a grudge, so why did you still try to harm him?"

Overwhelmed by a multitude of emotions, she could only cry and couldn't hear a word of Yu An's explanation.

“My brother has never pressured you, and he has never said a bad word about you in front of me. Apart from my mother, even if you don’t care about my brother’s relationship, you should at least think about my grandmother’s relationship. When you first came into the family, my grandmother took such good care of you. You should at least remember some of her kindness…”

All she cared about was revenge; she didn't care about human relationships at all.

Before she died, Ji's mother kept talking about her. How could she do this...?

Ji Shu sniffed, took a deep breath, and forced herself to calm down.

“My brother never forced you. If you didn’t want to, you could have just said so. There’s no need to resort to such despicable means. If my brother hadn’t been trying to find medicine for you, he wouldn’t have sown the seeds of collusion with foreign generals. Now, he has only himself to blame.”

“That day Baozhu said that my brother deliberately threw away the food you made. Actually, I did it on purpose. Even if my brother hates someone, he is still well-mannered and wouldn’t do something so humiliating. Now, you’re even. From now on, our Ji family will not force you anymore. You can leave.”

The man lowered his head and refused to look at her again.

Yu An called her several times, but she didn't waver in the slightest.

That time she poured out the food really touched her heart, but after a while, she stopped caring.

Ji Shu had no reason to lie; she said she did it, and she believed her.

But what she needed wasn't an explanation; all she cared about now was her relationship with Ji Shu. She only cared about Ji Shu.

She's not a heartless, ruthless person; she can tell who is genuinely good to her.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't know before this. If I had known, I definitely wouldn't have told anyone. I never imagined that this would lead to my grandmother's passing. I'm so sorry..."

Ji Shu turned her back and wiped away her tears. "I don't want to hear you say these things. You can leave. The Ji family doesn't need your help anymore. We'll handle our own family matters."

A gentle breeze blew through the mourning hall, causing the flames on the candlesticks to flicker. After a long while, there was no movement behind her, and Ji Shu was certain that she was gone.

She slumped down, gazing at the empty, white courtyard, feeling utterly empty inside.

With Ji Jinghe imprisoned, the tide had turned, and very few people came to pay their respects. Everyone avoided suspicion, and the flattering faces of the past had all disappeared, leaving only the coldness of human relationships and the indifference of the world.

Go, go as far away as possible... so that they won't drag her down with them.

"Miss." Caiqi came up to help her.

"Do you think I'm being unreasonable...?"

Caiqi: ...

"This wretched family can't be a burden anymore. It's good that my sister-in-law is gone..."

As Yu An stepped out of the Ji residence, her heart felt an emptiness she had never experienced before, as if someone had reached out and ripped out her heart, squeezing it hard before doing so, causing her excruciating pain.

Once seated in the carriage, tears welled up and streamed down her face.

There was no sobbing, no choking, just tears streaming down her face.

“Miss…” Baozhu called out to her urgently, feeling bad herself.

When they first learned of Ji's mother's passing, none of them cried; they all left their tears for this moment.

“The old lady never harmed me, she loved me very much… I know, it’s because of Ji Jinghe, it’s because of me…”

Baozhu corrected, "The old lady was already ill, and this has no direct connection to knowing that the old man was in prison. Don't overthink it, young lady."

Yu An held her breath and tried to take a few deep breaths, forcing herself to suppress the emotions surging in her chest.

"I need to go to the Xu residence and get to the bottom of this."

His moist eyes regained their sharpness, concealing a certain determination.

He drove to the Xu residence and sent people to urge them several times, but Xu's mother still did not appear.

Yu An didn't want to beg, so she turned and left.

Yunxiu learned that Lu Yunshu had been busy lately and didn't get home until very late, so Yu'an asked him to sneak into the Lu residence once.

About two hours later, the person returned.

"Miss Xu is not in good condition. She has been effectively imprisoned in the mansion by Lu Yunshu. She went on a hunger strike for several days and is now bedridden."

Yu An frowned: "Could you explain the situation outside to her?"

Yunxiu nodded, "Miss Xu asked me to pass this on to my wife, saying that she would understand after reading it."

It was that sandalwood bead.

Is her condition very bad?

Yunxiu: "My lady, don't worry. Miss Xu said that she will live until the day someone comes to take her away."

A talented woman who has studied the classics since childhood should surely understand the principle of leaving things for the future.

Yu An clutched the sandalwood bead tightly and immediately boarded a carriage to Jiuwan Mountain without delay.

Cui Hu, who rarely left his home, paid little attention to outside affairs after learning of Ji Jinghe's return. When Yu An explained the whole story to him in detail, the usually composed man became slightly nervous.

Especially after she mentioned Xu Jingshu's situation and took out the sandalwood bead in front of him.

“You should know that because of what happened before, our relationship is not good. You also know her character. The fact that she would rather hand things over to me shows how bad her situation is now.”

Yu An said, "Even if it's not for her, I beg you, for Ji Jinghe's sake, please help me."

Cui Hu leaned back on the couch, his former otherworldly demeanor completely gone, his coldness in his eyes sending chills down one's spine.

He looked at the sandalwood bead on the table, closed his eyes, and asked, "What else did she say?"

"She didn't say anything, only that she would live and wait for you to come and save her."

Cui Hu straightened up, took the sandalwood pearl in his hand, and said, "Of course I will save her, of course I will do it for her..."

As long as the grudges are not settled, Yu'an can put her mind at ease for now and asks Cui Hu for help. She urgently needs to meet with Ji Jinghe.

No matter which prison you're in, as long as you have enough money, you can get in, even if it's right under the nose of the capital.

Yu An had no money on hand, so he borrowed some from Cui Hu and went there early the next morning.

When she arrived, Ji Jinghe was sitting upright at the table, as if he hadn't slept all night and was merely dozing with his eyes closed.

A mix of heartache and surprise mingled with the feeling. After not seeing him for a while, he looked even more haggard. His face was as white as jade, devoid of any color, and he appeared so weak that it seemed as if he could no longer even breathe.

Before coming, she brought a lot of useful things and stuffed them all through the prison bars.

The soft noise woke Ji Jinghe. He opened his eyes and saw that it was her. He immediately stood up and walked towards her.

The jailer wouldn't open the door for her, so she could only stand outside the bars and talk to him.

How is Grandma?

He spoke in a low voice, and seeing Yu An's slightly stunned expression, he added, "How did the funeral go? Are Mother and Shu'er managing?"

He spoke so casually, as if he were asking, "What did Grandma eat yesterday?"

Yu An was shocked that he could know about this while in prison. He thought that it was probably someone with ulterior motives who deliberately spread the information, and his hatred deepened.

She nodded. "Mother and Shuer are both doing well. Grandmother's funeral went very smoothly. Shuer said that Grandmother passed away peacefully."

I originally intended to keep it a secret, but I didn't expect him to ask directly, so I decided not to pretend I didn't know.

Ji Jinghe lowered his eyes, then looked at her again, forced a weak smile, and said, "That's good."

Yu An frowned and cut to the chase: "You've been here for a few days, have you figured out what to do next?"