"Ji Chenyuan! Do you think this is fair to me? Is it fair to Yan'er and Feng'er?" Zhou Haiping asked, her eyes red.

From being a concubine to becoming the official wife, she endured countless gossips! In other people's eyes, she was always the one who rose from concubine to the position.

"What can I do? Feng Lan and that powerful figure are probably from those reclusive families. Do you think we can afford to offend them?"

Ji Chenyuan pulled Zhou Haiping to sit down and comforted her, "From beginning to end, I, Ji Chenyuan, have only ever had you as my wife. Why care what others say? Look how outstanding our Feng'er and Yan'er are. Others are too busy envying you to even think about it!"

Hearing this, Zhou Haiping felt a little better; her children were naturally the most outstanding.

However, Ji Chenyuan chose to remain silent about some details.

Ji Chenyuan added, "The reason I'm talking to you about this today is because of Jiu'er."

"Madam must know better than I do about Jiu'er's recent changes. It's one thing for her to talk back to us normally, but today she even dared to talk back to the royal family. If this continues, our Ji family will be ruined by her."

"So, General, you... drove her out of the Ji family?" Zhou Haiping was overjoyed. That damned Ji Jiuying dared to treat her daughter like that and occupy Yan'er's position for so long. She would kill her after she left the Ji family! Only then could she vent her hatred.

As expected, mother and daughter are of one mind; Ji Fengyan outside the door thought so too!

"Now that the engagement has been dissolved, it would be best to find a way to let her leave the Ji family on her own. Even if that powerful person comes back, we will have something to say."

"General, I have a plan. My sister-in-law has a nephew..." Zhou Haiping said, lowering her voice.

“Alright, as you wish, Madam!” Ji Chenyuan said solemnly.

The deep night sky, like thick, unyielding ink, pressed heavily on the rooftops, while low-lying clouds drifted beneath the gloomy night, obscuring the crescent moon and starlight.

Ji Jiuying was sitting on the rooftop admiring the moon when she suddenly noticed two dark figures quickly emerging from the direction of Ji Chenyuan's study not far away.

Ji Jiuying narrowed her phoenix eyes slightly. The two dark figures looked somewhat familiar. Interesting. Her sudden appearance today probably meant that these people were plotting something again.

Two figures appeared under a tree in the Ji residence.

"Big brother, so that bitch was a bastard! Everything she owned actually belonged to me, Ji Fengyan."

Today, I enjoy the fruits of victory, only to find in the end that everything I've painstakingly gained is truly mine!

Ji Fengyan didn't know whether to be happy or angry.

"Yan'er, this matter must be kept secret and not publicized," Ji Rufeng said seriously. He had not forgotten his father's mention of the reclusive family, which was an existence that could not be offended.

Furthermore, if this matter were to get out, it would be an utter disgrace to my father.

"I understand, big brother, I know what I'm doing." Although she really wanted to loudly proclaim that she, Ji Jiuying, was a bastard, reason brought her back to reality.

"By the way, did you hear what Mom said about Aunt and Nephew's last words?"

"No! But I guess Mother means to marry my eldest sister... no, Ji Jiuying, to my aunt's nephew."

Ji Fengyan frowned in disgust at the thought of her aunt's nephew.

My aunt's nephew is a notorious playboy from outside the capital city. He bullies the common people, abducts women... and is bisexual!

When I stayed at my uncle's house for a while, my aunt's nephew, Yang Wei, happened to be there too. He was staring at her with a lecherous look, which made me feel uncomfortable. What's worse, he actually dared to dream of marrying her! How dare he? Doesn't he even know what kind of person he is?!

However, the thought of marrying Ji Jiuying, who was going to marry such a person, made her grin from ear to ear.

"Hehehe~ I'm sure Ji Jiuying will like it very much!" Ji Fengyan revealed a gloating expression.

Meanwhile, Ji Jiuying, hidden in the shadows, listened to their entire conversation without uttering a single word.

Ji Jiuying was stunned for a moment, her face showing little expression, after all, the Ji family was dispensable to her.

It turns out her previous guesses were all correct.

Ji Jiuying looked towards the study and pondered for a moment.

Presumably, Ji Rufeng and Ji Fengyan overheard the news that she had already broken off her engagement with the Third Prince.

Unlike the original owner, she was not easy to manipulate. Her counterattack made Ji Chenyuan feel that he would implicate the Ji family.

So they wanted her to leave the Ji family, but they couldn't let others know that she wasn't a member of the Ji family. After all, Ji Chenyuan was very concerned about his reputation, so how could he let others talk about him raising someone else's child?

From what Ji Rufeng and Ji Fengyan said, Zhou Haiping wanted her to marry her sister-in-law's nephew.

Haha! That depends on whether she's willing or not!

However, Feng Lan is Ji Chenyuan's wife, but she is not Ji Chenyuan's child. So who is her father? Is her mother still alive?

Or is the claim that Feng Lan is Ji Chenyuan's wife just a smokescreen? Is there something else going on?

It seems we need to investigate this matter thoroughly.

Who's there?

A voice interrupted Ji Jiuying's thoughts.

She raised an eyebrow; had she been caught again?

Ji Fengyan was also startled by Ji Rufeng's exclamation, and then she came to the spot where Ji Jiuying was standing.

Ji Rufeng squinted and looked around. He had clearly sensed that there were people here just now, so how could they have disappeared so quickly?

"Big brother, have you noticed anything?" Ji Fengyan had no idea that anyone was nearby.

"That person ran too fast, leaving no trace at all, as if they disappeared into thin air!" Ji Rufeng said in confusion.

It felt the same as last time in the Warcraft Forest.

"Go back. You must keep what you heard tonight to yourself," Ji Rufeng said sternly.

"Okay, okay!"

······

With two days left until the Genius Competition, Ji Jiuying spent all her free time cultivating in her spatial dimension.

Early that morning.

Just as Ji Jiuying put down her chopsticks, a righteous and mellow voice came from the doorway.

"Young Miss, the General requests your presence."

As soon as Ji Jiuying opened the door, she saw a guard in armor standing straight outside the gate of Lihe Courtyard, looking radiant and with a cold gaze. He must be a guard by Ji Chenyuan's side.

Let's go!

Ji Jiuying stepped forward and said in a nonchalant tone.

She wanted to see what kind of trouble they would cause her this time!

The guards were surprised that Ji Jiuying was so easy to talk to. After a moment of hesitation, they walked ahead and led the way.

Soon, Ji Jiuying followed the guards to the entrance of the front hall. Seeing everyone sitting upright and ready for battle, Ji Jiuying calmly walked forward, casually found an empty seat, and sat down with ease.

Ji Chenyuan scrutinized Ji Jiuying, his gaze lingering on her increasingly beautiful face, and couldn't help but think of the woman who evoked such mixed feelings of love and hate within him…

He came to his senses and realized that everyone was looking at him, waiting for him to speak.

Ji Chenyuan coughed lightly and said, "Jiu'er, your engagement with the Third Prince is now null and void, and you are fourteen years old. The main reason I called you here today is to talk about your marriage."

"Oh? My marriage?" Ji Jiuying picked up the tea on the table, put it to her lips, and took a small sip.