Chapter 41 Chapter 41 "This cup is a belated congratulations...
Ji Yang's expression suddenly darkened, his eyes sharp as a knife. He suddenly took a step forward and said in a low but heavy voice:
"Is this your reward to my wife?"
He turned to the people and spoke word by word, "She risked contracting the disease, standing guard here for you day and night, and you actually suspect she's trying to poison you?"
Everyone had complicated expressions. Some lowered their heads in shame, while others were still skeptical and didn't dare to look him in the eye.
Ji Yang glanced around silently and said in a deep voice, "I will investigate this matter thoroughly. If anyone has mixed in the poisonous weeds, I will explain it to you. But before that—"
His gaze fell back on Jiang Ci, and his tone softened slightly: "She is innocent."
These words were like a mountain falling to the ground, suppressing everyone's unspoken resentment.
Lou Qi sheathed his sword with a calm expression. He glanced at Jiang Ci, then at Ji Yang, with a half-smile on his face.
Jiang Ci looked at Ji Yang in disbelief, as if he couldn't recover from the turmoil just now.
He stood in front of her, still dusty and full of hostility, but he was her most reliable barrier at the moment.
She reached out and gently pulled at his sleeve.
Fingertips tremble.
Ji Yang looked down at her, his voice as low as ever, yet filled with a rare certainty and gentleness: "I believe that someone who values the lives of the people more than his own would not do such a thing as poisoning them."
He paused for a moment, his gaze fixed on her slightly pale face, and continued, "If this was truly your doing, then I can only say that you acted so well that you even fooled me."
"But I don't believe you will lie to me."
"I will thoroughly investigate this matter. I won't let you bear the blame for nothing, and I won't let the person who did this in the dark go."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Ci felt a pang of pain in his nose and his eyes were already red.
She lowered her head, not wanting him to see the moisture in her eyes, but she couldn't control it, and a tear fell silently into the dust.
Ji Yang saw this, and his originally cold expression suddenly became a little helpless.
He frowned, his tone unconsciously filled with a bit of annoyance: "I already said I would find out everything, why are you crying?"
As he spoke, he subconsciously reached out and roughly wiped her face with his sleeve.
Jiang Ci was stunned.
The touch was not gentle, even a little rough, and it hurt her a little.
But she suddenly smiled.
My tears haven't dried yet, but I can't help laughing.
"Governor..." She called him softly, smiled and shook her head, her voice revealing a hint of helplessness and emotion.
He really doesn't know how to get along with women at all.
Ji Yang was stunned for a moment, and turned away his eyes with a slightly unnatural look on his face. He coughed lightly and withdrew his hand: "Your brother-in-law is here. Go back to the mansion to pack up and go meet him. I will let my people investigate this place."
"Brother-in-law? You mean Mr. Meng? I didn't expect him to marry my sister so soon."
Ji Yang withdrew his gaze and turned to face the anxious people gathered around him. His voice was steady and clear:
"As for some people saying that the Dongyang Army has no food to distribute, they are deliberately trying to create chaos."
He paused, his eyes gleaming like torches, and said word by word:
"It's pure rumor."
"I, Ji Yang, hereby promise that the food will be distributed on time at noon tomorrow. As long as I am in Ningling, I will not let any of you go hungry."
As soon as these words were spoken, the originally restless crowd seemed to be suddenly poured with a bucket of cold water and gradually quieted down.
Finally, there was a hint of hesitation and calmness in those angry, anxious and frightened eyes.
"If the real culprit is found out, I will not let him off easily. No one here is allowed to leave until the truth is thoroughly investigated." Ji Yang added in a cold tone.
The people looked at each other in bewilderment, and some murmured in agreement, "Since the governor has spoken, then... perhaps this is all a misunderstanding."
"The food will be distributed at noon..."
"We can't wrongly accuse Doctor Jiang who saved us..."
The crowd's emotions gradually calmed down and their anger dissipated like the wind.
Lou Qi stood aside. He raised his eyes, swept across the crowded place, and stopped at a corner.
Distribute food? Where can Ji Yang get food to distribute?
Su Yu stood at the edge of the crowd, frowning slightly and looking at him.
Their eyes met.
Su Yu shook her head slightly, the corners of her lips moved, and a silent message came out——
"I don't know what's going on."
A barely perceptible hint of deep emotion flashed across Lou Qi's eyes, but he said nothing and simply turned his gaze away.
Ji Yang escorted Jiang Ci all the way out of the epidemic area, and before leaving, he instructed: "You and Yin Shuang go back and wash up and change into clean clothes. I will bring Meng Xiao to the County Magistrate's Mansion later and ask Wan Niang to prepare a table of food to entertain Envoy Meng."
Jiang Ci nodded: "Okay."
Ji Yang finished his instructions and was about to turn and leave when he suddenly stopped, as if remembering something. He turned around, looked at her back, and called out, "Jiang Ci."
Jiang Ci turned around: "Hmm?"
Ji Yang paused, then finally spoke in a low voice: "Liangzhou's food and medicinal materials will all arrive today. Thank you. I... owe you a favor."
After he finished speaking, he said no more, turned around and walked away quickly, his back straight and steady, disappearing around the corner.
Jiang Ci looked at his departing figure and couldn't help but smile softly, muttering to himself, "Who needs this favor from you? I'm not doing this just for you. You're really... being sentimental."
After saying that, she lifted her skirt and returned to the county magistrate's mansion with Yin Shuang.
She hadn't returned for a few days, and the people in the mansion had been waiting anxiously for her. When Wanniang heard she had returned, she trotted over to meet her. As soon as she saw Jiang Ci, she immediately grabbed her hand, looked her up and down, and her eyes were red:
"Girl, you've become thinner and more haggard."
Yin Shuang interrupted angrily, "That's right. The people of Ningling are truly unreasonable. The young lady was kind enough to save them, but they repeatedly embarrass her. They blindly follow the crowd, unable to distinguish right from wrong. It's really... infuriating."
Jiang Ci softly advised, "Alright, stop talking. Most of them come from humble backgrounds, have never been to school, and can't read. Once their emotions are aroused, they're easily instigated. Why bother arguing with them?"
Yin Shuang curled her lips and snorted reluctantly.
They walked into the house, and just as Jiang Ci was about to sit down, Wanniang took the clothes from Yin Shuang's hands and said softly, "You've been working hard these days. Go and take a rest. I'll take care of the girl and ask the kitchen to prepare some hot water."
Yin Shuang nodded and left muttering.
Hot water was soon brought into the room. Jiang Ci took off her outer clothes and immersed herself in the tub, the warm water enveloping her whole body.
She leaned against the wall of the tub, closed her eyes, but her mind was rarely still.
The events of the past few days flashed before my eyes: the chaos in the epidemic area, the accusations of the people, the herbal poisoning, Lou Qi's sword-drawing to protect him...
She always felt something was wrong.
Suddenly, she thought of someone - Su Yu.
Jiang Ci opened her eyes. When she first arrived in the epidemic area, she helped with pulse diagnosis and division. She had never met Su Yu before, but then she suddenly appeared on the day she was about to go collect herbs, saying she was there to help.
Moreover, she is Yan Du's sister.
"Yandu..." Jiang Ci murmured the name in a low voice, frowning slightly.
He always appeared at the most critical moments: on the night of the assassination in the inn, he was the first to rush forward; when the epidemic area was in turmoil, he was also the one who stood in front of him.
This is such a coincidence.
The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. Suddenly, she raised her hand, picked up a wet handkerchief, gently covered her face with it, and closed her eyes.
"Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore." She sighed in her heart.
Jiang Ci finished washing up and took a good nap. When Wanniang quietly pushed the door open and came in, it was almost dusk outside the window. She was still a little sleepy when she was woken up, and she opened her eyes blankly and looked out the window at the golden and red twilight.
Wanniang walked to the bedside, uncovering the quilt while smiling and saying, "Today, when they distributed food and medicine, the people praised the governor like crazy. But it was clearly you who wrote to ask for the food and medicine, and he took all the credit." There was a hint of resentment in her tone as she muttered softly, "If he really cared, he should have been more considerate of you."
Jiang Ci lowered his head and slowly sat up, put on his clothes and got out of bed, and replied calmly: "Wan Niang, don't worry about it. He is the governor of the entire Dongyang, and it doesn't matter if the credit belongs to him. I...actually, I don't want to be too close to him. It's good like this now. We don't have to greet each other every day. We can live our own lives. It's good."
When Wanniang heard her say this, she was stunned, but she said no more and just helped her comb her hair and dress herself silently.
When she was combing her hair, Wanniang picked up the small flower made of white paper and silk on the dressing table. After hesitating for a moment, she asked softly, "Miss, you are going to see your eldest brother-in-law today. Do you still want to wear this?"
Jiang Ci took the white flower, twisting its soft edge with her fingertips, her eyes fixed for a moment. She was silent for a moment, her nose suddenly sore, and the corners of her mouth drooped.
"He's obviously... such a good person," she murmured, the graceful figure of Ji Xu emerging in her mind, "Why did God choose him..."
"Young lady!" Wanniang interrupted her hurriedly, "Don't say that. The eldest young master is indeed a very good person, but life and death are determined by fate, and wealth and honor are determined by heaven... If his spirit still exists, seeing young lady's thoughts and prayers, he will surely enjoy the blessings in the next life."
Jiang Ci nodded, suppressed his emotions, put the white flower back into his hair, and combed his temples in front of the bronze mirror.
"I want to... mourn for my elder brother."
Wanniang was startled, her heart ached, and she only replied softly, "Yes."
Soon, Jiang Ci and Wanniang arrived at the guest hall in the east wing of the County Magistrate's Mansion. The lights were on and the food was served. Meng Xiao and Ji Yang were already seated, talking in low voices.
When he saw Jiang Ci coming in, Meng Xiao stood up and greeted him with a smile: "Ah Ci, I'm glad you're here. I was telling the governor that you might not be able to get up from your rest."
Ji Yang also stood up and stood for a moment, his eyes swept over the white flower in her hair, and he frowned slightly, but said nothing.
Jiang Ci changed into clean clothes, and though she had washed away the dust, she still looked tired. She bowed gracefully, her voice gentle but a little hoarse: "Brother-in-law, Commander-in-Chief, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
She sat down next to Ji Yang, being as respectful and measured as ever.
Meng Xiao had long noticed that Jiang Ci and Ji Yang didn't share the same closeness as an ordinary married couple. Halfway through the meal, he smiled, raised his glass, and said tentatively, "Commander, Ah Ci said in her letter that she and her husband are in perfect harmony. It's clear that you've taken excellent care of Ah Ci."
As the words fell, Ji Yang's hand holding the chopsticks paused, and his expression froze slightly. He raised his eyes to glance at Jiang Ci, only to see her with her head lowered, her fingertips tightly clasped around the rim of the cup, and she didn't respond.
Ji Yang's eyes flickered slightly, as if the word "husband" had touched upon his inner thoughts.
He coughed dryly and said, "Brother-in-law, you're joking. This is how a couple should be." After saying that, he lowered his head and his voice contained a hint of unconscious guilt.
Seeing this, Meng Xiao understood a little, but he didn't point it out. He already knew this was a marriage for a foreign alliance, and although it seemed a little distant now, it wasn't a big deal. He felt at ease with Ah Lan's explanation.
He smiled and drank the wine in the glass. Seeing this, Ji Yang took the initiative to fill it for him and said, "Add another glass. Thank you, brother-in-law, for coming all the way to help me with my urgent need."
Jiang Ci suddenly looked up, his eyes calm but serious, and he said softly, "Brother-in-law, you and my sister got married, but you didn't send a letter to Tingzhou. I was the last one to know. If I had known earlier, I would have prepared a small gift. Now that I think about it, I feel guilty."
After that, she raised her glass, her tone gentle and sincere: "This is a belated congratulatory drink, I wish you a long life together."
Ji Yang was biting a piece of beef with his head down when Jiang Ci gently kicked him under the table. He looked up in surprise, then understood. He quickly put down his chopsticks, raised his glass and echoed, "I wish my sister and brother-in-law a happy marriage and a son soon."
The three of them raised their glasses and drank together, and the atmosphere gradually became harmonious.
Meng Xiao put down his wine glass, his smile widening. "Thank you for your good wishes. Speaking of which, my Ah Lan diagnosed my pregnancy before I left." His tone was filled with uncontrollable joy, and he added, "I will return this 'May you have a son soon' intact to you and your wife."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Ci was slightly stunned and couldn't help but look up at Ji Yang.
Coincidentally, Ji Yang also looked up at her, and their eyes met in mid-air. Suddenly, the absurd memories of that night emerged in their minds at the same time: the drug in the wine, the intertwining of lips and teeth, and the intimacy of skin.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment, and the feet under the table retracted at the same time.
Ji Yang's ears turned red little by little, and Jiang Ci quickly looked away, lowered his head to drink tea to cover it up, but his lips were slightly pursed.
Meng Xiao picked up a piece of food and looked at them thoughtfully, thinking to himself: Maybe this marriage can be reversed.
At this moment, Jiang Ci suddenly covered his chest, frowned, retched lightly, and leaned forward slightly, causing the porcelain cup on the table to tremble.
The two grown men's eyes met, and they both looked at Jiang Ci.
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