Chapter 92 Chapter 92 is the only genuine version...
In the past, Ji Nan Ke felt comfortable as long as she stayed in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
However, for the past few days, she always felt an indescribable suffocation in her heart, which made her feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
Since coming to the capital, she has never been sick, which is very unusual.
"Girl. Girl."
The maid Yixin ran in happily and said, "There is an imperial decree!"
Ji Nanke didn't even blink, treating it as an imperial edict sent to the Zhenguogong Mansion. The Zhenguogong Mansion had received quite a few imperial edicts in recent days, and the noise was so annoying.
"It's an imperial decree for you." Yi Xin said with a joyful smile, "I inquired about it and it's an imperial decree granting marriage."
She was so excited that she almost cried with joy: "Girl, you finally made it through."
Granted marriage?
After she was slapped at the third-day bath banquet, she ignored Xie Jing's attempts to please her. Ji Nan Ke knew that if she continued like this, Xie Jing would definitely try to ask for a marriage.
I didn't expect it to be so fast.
Ji Nan Ke smiled faintly.
"You will be the Third Prince's consort from now on. Let's see who in this palace dares to disrespect you!"
Ever since the lady was demoted to a concubine, the girl has not had a good day. She is looked down upon everywhere, and even Yixin feels sorry for her.
How could the older girl compare to my own daughter's virtuous and talented character? However, because her last name was Gu, she always acted superior and looked down on others.
She smiled and urged, "Go and receive the decree quickly. I'm afraid the young lady might have some ill intentions and ruin your marriage."
Yes. Given Gu Zhizhuo's inability to tolerate others' misfortunes, he might indeed do so.
Ji Nan Ke immediately got up and put on her makeup.
The imperial edict was addressed to Ji Nan Ke. Everyone in the Gu family did not need to receive it together, but they could not completely ignore it. So, Gu Zhizhuo came and ordered the maids to serve tea.
When Ji Nan Ke arrived, they had already had a cup of tea.
Xie Jing was so anxious waiting that when she came, he subconsciously wanted to go over. His butt had already left the armchair, but he sat back stiffly.
Interesting. Gu Zhizhuo put down the teacup. Xie Jing's eyes would always light up with joy whenever he saw Ji Nanke, and his pupils would light up because of her presence. But today, he felt a little embarrassed and guilty, wanting to say something but not being able to.
Ji Nanke stepped into the main hall and saw Gu Zhizhuo there, and raised her eyebrows provocatively.
Gu Zhizhuo had been fighting for so long, but Xie Jing still treated her like a piece of trash. She didn't need to fight for it, as Xie Jing would take the initiative to put the best in front of her.
The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict put down his cup and washed his hands. Then he picked up the imperial edict from the jade tray and urged in a shrill voice, "Miss Ji, please accept the edict."
Ji Nanke stroked the hem of her skirt and knelt down gracefully.
She listened to the imperial edict praising her, and for some reason, her heartbeat became heavier and heavier. The uneasiness that had been lingering in her heart since just now was intensified again, and her hands trembled slightly because of trembling.
"...I am the concubine of the third prince Xie Jing."
When the word "concubine" sounded, Ji Nanke's straight back suddenly froze there, and she finally realized where this inexplicable trembling came from.
It's uneasy!
It's ominous!
These negative omens became reality, like thin ropes, strangling her tightly.
"I don't!"
Ji Nanke screamed hysterically and lost control of her emotions.
The eunuch delivering the imperial edict suppressed his smile and asked coldly, "Miss Ji, do you want to disobey the imperial edict?"
"I..." Ji Nanke bit her lower lip tightly, "Yes! I won't answer..."
"no!!"
Xie Jing interrupted her. He was glad that he was there, otherwise if she really said something to disobey the emperor's order, his father would definitely be furious, and he would not be able to protect her.
He tried his best and owed his eldest brother a favor, and finally persuaded his father to agree to the marriage.
"Eunuch Liu, Ke'er... Miss Ji doesn't want to disobey the imperial order." Xie Jing quickly interrupted and winked at Ji Nanke, "Ke'er, quickly accept the order."
Eunuch Liu said with a forced smile, "Miss Ji, please accept the order."
Ji Nanke didn't move.
Her dignity was trampled underfoot and crushed mercilessly, and yet someone still expected her to greet them with a smile?
No! Never!
Xie Jing was afraid that she would say something she shouldn't, so he simply accepted the imperial edict on her behalf and gave Eunuch Liu a flattering smile: "Eunuch, please go back. Miss Ji is grateful for the emperor's grace."
Eunuch Liu smiled but said nothing. Xie Jing's personal eunuch, Xiao Yunzi, hurried over to offer his compliments and then slipped a thick red envelope inside. Finally satisfied, Eunuch Liu smiled and bowed, saying, "I'll return and report right away."
Xie Jing's heart was entirely on Ji Nanke. He held her hand and said flatteringly, "Not a concubine! Father said that I will be given a title soon. Once I am given a title, you will be a concubine and can be included in the imperial register."
There is no quota for concubines for princes, but they can have one after being conferred a title.
"Ke'er, don't you understand my feelings for you? Father has already issued an imperial decree, so please stop making trouble, okay?"
He said anxiously.
He didn't want to do that either. When he knew that his father only wanted Ke'er to be his concubine, he begged for a long time, risking his father's wrath, and even knocked his head and broke it, but his father just wouldn't give in. He even threatened that if she didn't become his concubine, he would make Ke'er a nun.
Ji Nan Ke pushed him away: "I won't be a concubine. No matter how nice you talk, you're still a concubine." She raised her sleeve and hit him in the face, like a hard slap.
He had already humbled himself to this extent, so why was Ke'er still unhappy? Xie Jing pleaded with her face, "It's only temporary. Just bear with it for a while..."
"I won't trust you anymore."
Ji Nanke wanted to leave, but when she looked up, she saw Gu Zhizhuo smiling happily. She was watching her with great interest, watching her embarrassment, watching her being humiliated, watching her being forced to become a concubine because of the imperial power.
"Are you satisfied?" Ji Nanke gritted his teeth.
"What do you think?"
Gu Zhizhuo asked back with a smile.
After returning from Ziji Pavilion on the first day of July, her master told her that Ji Nanke's luck with the Gu family had been completely severed. Without this flourishing merit and nourishment of luck, Ji Nanke's fortune would be affected.
What Gu Zhizhuo didn't expect was that the impact would come so quickly, and Ji Nan Ke was reduced from the third prince's wife to a concubine.
Destiny has changed!
Without her intervention, destiny changed on its own.
Just thinking about it made her happy, and when she was happy, of course she had to smile. This was her home, why should she endure it?
Gu Zhizhuo held her chin with one hand. Even with the veil on, her sparkling eyes and curved eyebrows showed her good mood, which was really too dazzling.
"You're really disgusting, kicking someone when they're down!"
"Miss Ji, you still haven't paid back the debt you owe me, so don't yell in front of me."
Her voice gradually became deeper. Xie Jing was startled and protected Ji Nan Ke behind him.
"I'll pay it back, I'll pay it back." Xie Jing said repeatedly, "I said I'll pay it back for her."
Gu Zhizhuo stretched out her hand and Qingmei placed an account book in her hand.
"The total is 230,000 taels of silver. Based on the interest charged by the silver shop, you need to pay me 318,120 taels. Since you poisoned me, I'll give you a small amount, so 320,000 taels will be enough."
Does rounding off the difference make it more worthwhile?! Xie Jing wanted to ask, but when he faced her, his voice inexplicably weakened: "I will pay it back."
"Write an IOU."
"Does it have to be now?"
"Of course." Gu Zhizhuo smiled, his eyes moving back and forth between the two of them. "Otherwise, if she's carried away in a sedan chair in a few days, I'll be at a huge loss."
"Miss Ji, you said it yourself. You would rather the Gu family didn't raise you."
"We won't talk about feelings, lest we wrong you. We'll just talk about money. You won't refuse to pay, will you?"
Ji Nanke's face became worse and worse, almost on the edge of endurance. Xie Jing knew that he had broken her heart this time, and he could only try his best to make amends.
"I write, I write."
Gu Zhizhuo had someone bring pen and ink and spread them on the coffee table. He watched him finish writing the IOU and tapped it a few times with his fingertips: "Write it down. When will you pay it back?"
"T-ten years?"
"Why don't you wait until you die..." Gu Zhizhuo paused, revealing a perfect fake smile, "Why don't you wait until you die before returning it?"
Don't think you didn't understand what she meant initially. Just adding a few honorifics is respectful, right? Xie Jing gritted his teeth and said, "Five... three... a year is enough, right? Half a year!"
Gu Zhizhuo just smiled and said nothing.
"I don't have a government office, so how can I get so much money? Okay, okay, it will be done by next month at the latest."
"Write it down."
Xie Jing honestly wrote down the repayment date and signed his name.
Gu Zhizhuo put it away. Xie Jing breathed a sigh of relief. Ji Nanke said in a cold voice, "Can I go now?"
"Miss Ji, there's one more thing I want to ask you." Gu Zhizhuo had a faint smile on his face. "Did you fall off the rockery thirteen years ago?"
Ji Nanke frowned, his expression cold and aloof: "Why should I tell you?"
The deep sorrow in her eyes made Xie Jing feel very uncomfortable. He just wanted to hug her tightly and let her pierce him with all the sharp thorns on her body.
Gu Zhizhuo shook the IOU in his hand and said in a good mood, "In consideration of these 320,000 yuan, there is one thing I want to tell His Royal Highness the Third Prince. Consider it as a token of my gratitude for your generosity."
Xie Jing didn't understand.
She said, "Miss Ji fell from the rockery thirteen years ago and hit her head. For the next few years, she was like a fool. Until eight years ago, she suddenly became extremely intelligent. The Ji family's foolish child suddenly became intelligent. With her childish appearance, she became famous at the Flower Banquet. This was a rare event in Jiangnan."
"Six months after she woke up, a fire broke out in her home. Her parents and brothers were all killed."
Ji Nanke interrupted her harshly: "Are you done yet?"
"Miss Ji," Gu Zhizhuo stretched out his hand, tapped her forehead in mid-air, and said meaningfully, "Your body and soul are not one."
Ji Nanke shouted at the top of her lungs, "Gu Zhizhuo, are you crazy? You keep saying these weird things all day long. I think you're mentally ill."
What does it mean that the body and soul are not one? Xie Jing didn't understand.
"Miss Ji, your uncle Ji Huacheng has arrived in the capital. I had him captured."
Gu Zhizhuo remained calm and didn't miss the flash of guilt in her eyes.
Ji Huacheng was unlucky. He went to Yizhou to do business and was caught by people from the Duke's Mansion.
Ji Huacheng knew too many of Ji Shi's secrets, and fearing death, he gritted his teeth. To avoid alerting the enemy, Gu Zhizhuo simply didn't mention Ji Shi, but instead asked about Ji Nanke. Sure enough, when he mentioned Ji Nanke, he let his guard down and told her everything from childhood to adulthood, including how she became a fool when she fell at the age of two and a half, how she suddenly recovered at the age of eight, and how she displayed her talents at the Fanghua Banquet, becoming famous throughout Jiangnan.
Gu Zhizhuo let out a soft laugh: "Your Highness, Third Prince, is this destined lucky girl of yours truly a lucky girl?"
There was no warning thunder, no suffocating pain in his chest. Gu Zhizhuo, at this moment, was finally certain that the Heavenly Dao's constraints on him had loosened. He was no longer being held captive.
The master said that Ji Nan Ke is still the best choice of heaven and is destined by heaven.
But she is no longer the only choice.
So, I can also replace it.
Gu Zhizhuo pointed at her palm and slowly clenched it into a fist, wanting to hold destiny in his palm.
She happily sowed discord: "Your Highness, Third Prince, haven't you noticed that no one who gets close to her has a good ending?"
Ji Nanke yelled, "Shut up!"
Her face was pale, and her cold eyes were filled with an intense hatred. She hated Gu Zhizhuo's ridicule and taking advantage of her misfortune, but in Xie Jing's eyes, such emotional fluctuations seemed like anger. He was stunned for a long time, then pulled her aside and said, "Ke'er, don't be angry."
Ji Nanke's face was filled with anger. "I've had enough! I've had enough of your betrayal and distrust."
"I didn't. I believed you."
"Don't come to see me again."
Ji Nanke shook her off forcefully and walked away without looking back. The wind blew her hair across Xie Jing's face, and he exuded a gloomy aura.
He had put in so much effort to get his father to agree to the marriage, but why did Ke'er not take his efforts into consideration at all and easily rejected everything he had done?
He sat down dejectedly and asked Gu Zhizhuo, "Why?" His tone was weak and low.
Gu Zhizhuo raised his eyelids and looked at the faint trace of the dress under the locust tree in the main hall. Ji Nanke had indeed not gone far. Even if she was a concubine, Xie Jing was her best choice now. It was just that he was playing hard to get as before.
Gu Zhizhuo scoffed, "Your Majesty, did you say that the 'blessed girl' is just a rumor? I don't know if it's true or not. If she is truly blessed by heaven, she can be made your wife in the future. If not, you can't let an orphan take your place as your wife." She clapped her hands, "Your Majesty truly has good intentions for you."
Xie Jing nodded. His father had indeed said so. He had argued for it at the time. Clearly, his father's decision was best for him, but he still argued for it to keep his promise to Ke'er, even nearly angering the Emperor.
Why wouldn't she be willing to make some sacrifices for herself?
Even if he couldn't marry her as his principal wife, he would definitely marry a lady from a noble family with a gentle temperament and would not let her suffer any grievances.
As long as he could ascend to the throne and become emperor in the future, he could make Ke'er his empress, just like his mother. However, Ke'er refused to give him a chance to explain.
"Miss Gu, if you and I hadn't broken off the engagement, you would have been able to tolerate Ke'er, right?"
"roll."
Gu Zhizhuo threw him a word and served him tea and saw him off.
Xie Jing came out dejectedly and suddenly saw Ji Nan Ke under the locust tree.
Hesitation, sadness, entanglement, helplessness, all kinds of emotions appeared on her face like a woven web, which made Xie Jing feel distressed.
Ji Nan Ke finally left, and this time she didn't stay.
She walked faster and faster.
Her true love for Xie Jing was torn to pieces by the imperial decree to make her his concubine.
Just a few days ago, she said that she wanted to stand above everyone else, but in the blink of an eye she became a lowly concubine.
The royal family could easily control her fate, and this slap seemed to be mocking her arrogance.
“Miss Ji, your body and soul are not one.”
Gu Zhizhuo's voice whispered in her ears like a spell.
Ji Nan Ke turned and went to the courtyard where Ji lived now.
There was no one guarding the yard. Compared with the main courtyard that was once splendid and prosperous, full of gold and jade, this small yard was stuffy and narrow. There were only two servants cleaning the yard. When they saw her come in, they did not stop, as if they did not see her at all.
"aunt."
Ji, dressed in green cloth, sat under the grape trellis in the yard, holding an embroidery frame in her hand.
"Ke'er, you're here."
Ji Nan Ke hasn't been here since she was imprisoned here, but she would send people to deliver some things from time to time.
Ji knew that Ji Nan Ke was not having an easy time now, living under someone else's roof and having to be extremely cautious.
Ji Nan Ke felt distressed to be able to look at her.
In just over a month, she had lost a lot of weight, with some white frost on her temples, and she looked much older.
Ji Shi was born exceptionally beautiful, as gorgeous as a peach or plum, and full of allure and charm. But now, much of this beauty had been shattered. She was only in her twenties, at the peak of a woman's beauty, but she seemed to have suddenly aged ten years. Her cheeks had sagged, and her once bright eyes had lost their brilliance, becoming lifeless.
"Aunt, I asked someone to bring something to you. Was it withheld by the servants?"
Ji shook her head and twirled her embroidery needle. "I've received them all, Ke'er. You can keep them for yourself in the future. Now, I'm afraid the dowry I prepared for you is gone. If you marry into the palace, I'm afraid your life will be difficult."
In her hands was a child's dress, and Ji was embroidering a floral pattern on the sleeves. This bright azure blue must have been embroidered for her cousin Gu Yan.
"Aunt." Ji Nanke lowered her eyes slightly and said, "Gu Zhizhuo has brought my seventh uncle to the capital."
As soon as these words were spoken, the embroidery needle in Ji's hand pierced into her fingertips, and a small drop of blood oozed out, blooming like a flower on her sleeve.
"Aunt, you and my cousin..."
Ji Nan Ke knew Ji's secret a long time ago.
Gu Yan’s cousin’s surname is not Gu, but Xie!
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