Chapter 23 Chapter 23 "Commander... I didn't... carry...
The next morning, a servant hurried in with a report: "Ji Qiu wants to confess his guilt and tell us everything that happened."
Ji Xu waved his hand calmly, saying in a low voice: "I don't want to listen."
He spoke calmly, yet with unwavering conviction, "In this matter, the governor mistakenly trusted others and misunderstood the Second Madam. He should personally resolve the rift between them."
He paused briefly, then added, "Let's lock her up for now. Make sure to keep a close eye on her meals, so we don't let another case of her being left with no evidence."
After a while, Ji Xu changed into his outer robe and took people to the clinic to visit Jiang Ci.
At this time, Jiang Ci's complexion had improved, but he still felt a little stuffy in his chest occasionally.
As soon as he saw her sit up, he said, "Zisu is on his way home. If you continue to stay here, you'll inevitably become a source of gossip. I want to send you back to the prison at the Governor's Office. When he returns, he will personally clear your name."
Jiang Ci nodded calmly, "I understand, big brother. He's the one who makes the decisions in Dongyang. My current status is unclear. If I continue to be protected by you, it will only cause more trouble between you brothers."
Ji Xu looked at the clarity in her eyes, feeling a little melancholy.
On the carriage back to the prison, Ji Xu slowly told Jiang Ci what he had learned from the past few days' investigation. His tone was gentle, "Ji Qiu has confessed part of the truth, but it's not enough to prove it. Don't worry, when Zi Su returns, everything will come to light."
He paused again and said, "Zisui has a cold personality, but he's very clear-headed. It's just that when his temper flares up, he tends to act impulsively—but he's not a fool, nor a bad person, and certainly not a heartless and ungrateful person."
After listening to this, Jiang Ci only whispered, "I know. Thank you, big brother."
The carriage stopped steadily in front of the Governor's Office.
Ji Xu got off the car and personally instructed the guards: "This time, we must guard tightly. No one is allowed to enter without the permission of the governor himself."
The guards hurriedly clasped their fists and agreed. Jiang Ci had almost died in prison before, so they naturally didn't dare to be negligent again.
Jiang Ci walked into the cold prison door again. Wanniang and Yinshuang pounced on her almost the moment she stepped in.
Yin Shuang hugged her tightly, choking with sobs: "Miss... you are finally back... I thought I would never see you again..."
As she spoke, she knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly to Ji Xu, crying uncontrollably: "Thank you, young master, for saving our girl. You saved her life..."
Ji Xu frowned, leaned over slightly and helped her up, his tone gentle but unquestionable: "Hurry up. The matter has not been fully investigated yet, and I can't let her suffer in vain. As long as I am here, I will not let her get into trouble."
The lights in the cell were dim and the air was still thick with humidity. Jiang Ci whispered, "I will wait. Wait for him to come back, and also for my own innocence."
On the way back, Ji Xu stood in front of the Governor's Office and did not leave immediately.
He stared quietly at the heavy prison door, his gaze seemingly peering through it into the depths. The wind blew the hem of his clothes, the sunlight shone on his thin face, but between his brows and eyes was an indescribable loneliness.
Bai Yang stood behind him and asked in a low voice, "Young Master, if you clearly care about me, why are you still trying to help the Second Madam and the Governor get together and reconcile them?"
Ji Xu was stunned by the question, as if his secrets had been suddenly seen through. After a moment of silence, he whispered, "In this world, liking someone doesn't necessarily mean you have to be together. I care about Zi Su, and I care about her too. If they can resolve their misunderstandings and one day find their true love, living in peace and happiness, then for me... that would be enough."
The tone was calm, but it concealed an unspeakable bitterness.
Bai Yang's heart tightened, and he couldn't help but say, "But Madam Ji clearly asked you and the governor who would marry the daughter of the Jiang family... If you hadn't backed down, she would be in this situation now—"
Ji Xu raised his hand to interrupt him. His tone was as gentle as ever, but with a certain calmness that brooked no argument. "Alright, don't mention this again. If it gets out, it'll just become a topic of discussion, and that won't benefit anyone."
Bai Yang shut up and followed him silently.
Ji Xu listened to Bai Yang's words and smiled helplessly in his heart: Even if I hadn't backed off at that time, I would have wasted the girl's time with my physique.
Ji Xu had been walking slowly along the road, not taking a carriage. Since his illness, he had rarely left the house, and even less often, on foot. But at this moment, he felt a little heavy, yet he still didn't want to leave in a carriage.
He looked up at the street. The sun was shining, willows swayed in the wind, and people were coming and going. It was the height of summer, and the hustle and bustle and vitality of Fengdu City was overwhelming.
He sighed softly, as if talking to himself: "So, outside the four directions of heaven and earth, it is so lively."
The words fell to the ground like wind blowing across a garment, so light that they were almost inaudible, yet so heavy that it made people feel sad.
The sunlight in the mansion is bright and the cicadas are chirping.
Shen Ru'an was dressed simply today, carrying a few sweets, and took the initiative to walk into the courtyard where Ji Xu lived. Ji Yunfan was sitting on the steps, carefully kneading a clay figurine with his small hands. When he saw her coming, he immediately raised his head and called out sweetly, "Cousin!"
She walked over, squatted down, and said with a smile, "Ah Fan is playing alone?"
Ji Yunfan held up the clay figurine in his hand and showed it to her, then casually asked, "Aunt, when will Sister Jiang be back?"
Shen Ru'an's fingertips paused, and the smile on her lips froze slightly for a moment. She quickly bent down, stretched out her hand and pinched his cheek, and said in a tone of feigned grievance: "Can't I play with you? Do you only like your sister Jiang?"
Ji Yunfan blinked and said seriously, "I like the smell of Sister Jiang."
Shen Ru'an stood up straight, turned around, and didn't let him see his instantly cold expression. He responded in a light tone: "Yes, who can not like Sister Jiang."
She lowered her eyes to hide her emotions, and her palms tightened slightly.
Ji Yunfan behind him was still complaining: "Daddy never takes me out of the house, but he is always running out. I don't know when I will grow up and be able to leave the house by myself..."
Shen Ru'an's eyes suddenly lit up, he slowly turned around and squatted down, and asked gently: "Afan, do you want to leave the house?"
Ji Yunfan nodded heavily: "Yes! I have never been out before!"
Shen Ru'an's lips curled slightly, and he whispered, "Wait until you grow up a little, wait until you grow this tall." After Shen Ru'an finished speaking, he pointed to a height with his hand, "Then you can leave the house."
"But when will I grow up to this point?" Ji Yunfan looked a little lost. Shen Ru'an touched his head and looked at his eyebrows and eyes which were somewhat similar to Ji Xu's. A hint of indifference flashed in his eyes.
Shen Ru'an finally decided to let him go, then leaned over with a smile and whispered a few words in his ear.
Ji Yunfan's eyes opened brighter and brighter, he jumped up excitedly, holding up the clay figurine in his hand and shouted happily: "Thank you, cousin!" Then he ran away in small steps.
Shen Ru'an watched his back disappear, but the smile on his face gradually faded.
She called over her maid, her voice slow but with a hint of urgency: "Go to Yunhe Hall and tell Qingyu that I have something to discuss with him. We will meet at the back alley of Dongyang Marquis Mansion at three o'clock tonight. Don't be late."
The maid took the order and left. Shen Ru'an turned and walked into the shade of flowers in the courtyard. Her fingertips fell on the newly opened rose and she slowly pulled off a petal.
Rumor has spread in Fengdu City that Ji Yang, the Grand Commander of Dongyang, will return home tomorrow.
The news spread like wildfire, even within the prison. The jailer, serving food, chatted, "The governor will be back tomorrow. Tsk, tsk, I wonder if the second lady in this prison will be alive or dead by then."
Jiang Ci sat in the corner of the cell, the bowl of watery porridge in front of him had already gone cold.
She didn't move, her knees folded against her chest, her eyes as still as an icy pond. The firelight flickered in from outside the prison door, casting mottled shadows on her face.
"Girl," Wanniang called her softly, pushing the bowl of rice a few inches closer. "It's already dry, and you've lost a lot of weight. If you don't eat, how will your body hold up?"
Yin Shuang also whispered beside her, "Miss, if you fall ill, who will clear your name?"
Jiang Ci's eyes suddenly turned colder. She looked at the locked cell door, her tone as cold as a knife:
"Ji Yang is not stupid."
"If I really wrote that letter, he would be able to spot the clues if he examined it carefully. He would go back and look at the handwriting and then read my notes, and he would know it wasn't written by me."
Her voice was soft, but every word was as sharp as a nail. "But that night, he burned the things I brought from Liangzhou, destroyed the medical books I asked my father to find, and had me imprisoned in this dark dungeon without even giving me a chance to explain myself."
There was a chill in her eyes, as if there was a raging fire under the ice: "I almost died here, it was his own hand that caused it."
"What I want is the guilt in his heart."
"I bet he's not heartless."
"I want him to give back everything he took with his own hands. Double it."
She paused, a hint of determination flashing in her eyes. "For this, I'm going to starve myself for a day. When he comes back, I'll let him see me like this with his own eyes."
Wanniang's eyes were red. Holding the white flour bun that had already hardened, she took another step forward and said, "Miss, you really don't want to eat a little? Just one bite can help you breathe more easily."
Jiang Ci raised his hand and gently pushed the steamed bun away. His tone was gentle, but there was no sign of concession.
She looked up at the only small window on the wall.
Outside the iron fence, the sky was pale blue. There was no wind or sound outside the window, yet the distant sounds of the wind, horse hooves, the morning bell, and the distant mountains of Zichuan seemed to come to me.
She thought of her father, the figure always bent over his desk under the lamp; she thought of her sister, the child who always pestered her for candy; she also thought of Xie Guijing.
The young man who often rode a white horse to bring her plum blossom cakes in Zichuan, with gentle features and a calm demeanor, was always the first to stand up and protect her when she was wronged as a child. She thought that was love.
They were childhood sweethearts. He was a gentle and kind man in the eyes of the world, and she had imagined marrying him over and over in her dreams.
She thought, she must have liked Xie Guijing in the past, back when they were in Zichuan. That love had been like spring water, quietly born, but after she arrived in Fengdu, it slowly faded away with the passage of time.
Looking back now, she no longer feels moved or regretful.
She only hoped that—
He can marry someone he likes, live a stable life, and live the life he wants.
That was the blessing she really wanted to give him.
Thousands of thoughts emerged one by one and fell away bit by bit in this silent cell.
She withdrew her gaze, her eyes narrowing inch by inch, leaving only the deepest silence.
The sun was setting, the heat had not yet subsided, and the clouds hanging low over Fengdu City seemed to be weighing down the entire city, making the air heavy and lingering.
Ji Yang, dressed in black robes and armor, rode back through the dust. He didn't enter the palace, nor did he remove his armor. He simply ran straight to the governor's office without a word. When his cavalry stopped abruptly, dust rose up and the horses neighed loudly.
"The governor is back!" The guards were surprised and saluted in unison.
Yue Bai hurried forward and whispered in his ear, "My Lord, the lady was poisoned in prison a few days ago and almost died..."
Before he finished speaking, a sharp look suddenly flashed across Ji Yang's eyes, and his brows knitted into a cold line. He swung the whip at Yue Bai and shouted in a deep voice, "Lead the way."
He walked in very quickly, almost running.
The dungeon was built in the deepest part of the Governor's Office. The terrain was low and damp, the bricks and stones were stained with water, and the walls were covered with moss. Iron doors opened one after another, and heavy sounds echoed in this dark prison.
Finally, at the deepest part, behind a rusty cell door, a thin figure was curled up quietly.
Jiang Ci was sitting in that corner, her clothes were loose, the shriveled cloth wrapped around her almost shapeless body, her exposed arms were pale, like dead branches in the snow. She hugged her knees with her hands, resting her head in her arms, and only when she heard the noise outside the door did she slowly look up.
Her eyes were hazy, as if she had just woken up from a dream, and she couldn't recognize the person in front of her for a moment.
Until I saw clearly that black armor and those cold and steady eyes——
Her eyelashes trembled slightly, her eyes turned red instantly, and the tip of her nose felt sore.
But she didn't cry, nor did she even call out to him. She just looked at him quietly, as if she was looking at a piece of driftwood.
At that glance, Ji Yang's chest suddenly tightened, as if an invisible knife was pressed against his heart.
The hands hanging by his side were clenched into fists, the knuckles turned white, and the nails faintly pierced into the palms.
"Open the door!" he shouted angrily, his voice like a sudden thunder, frightening the jailer so much that he staggered and responded, trying to open the door with trembling hands.
When Jiang Ci heard this familiar and cold voice, he tried to stand up, but because he had not eaten for a long time, his knees weakened and his vision went dark.
Her body staggered and fell forward. Ji Yang was quick-witted and stepped forward to hold her up.
She almost fell against his chest.
He lowered his head and saw that her eyes were tightly closed, there was a trace of dried blood at the corner of her lips, and her face was pale.
"Jiang Ci..." His Adam's apple rolled and his voice became hoarse.
At this moment, she suddenly opened her eyes with great effort, a thin layer of mist in them, and looked at him weakly, as if she had used a great deal of strength to squeeze out those words from her lips:
"Commander...I didn't...betray you."
Her voice was extremely low, like her last breath. As soon as she finished speaking, her eyelashes trembled and she fainted.
Ji Yang was stunned.
She said she didn't betray him. He wanted to say "I believe you", but the words were stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter them.
At this moment, it felt like something in Ji Yang's heart collapsed.
He looked down at the unconscious Jiang Ci in his arms, picked her up sideways, and ordered in a low but cold voice: "Quick, call a doctor!"
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