The night was silent. In the study of Ji's house, Ji Yuan was holding an old jade hairpin in his hand, recalling some old memories, and couldn't help feeling sad.
"Madam, if you are still alive, please bless our daughter and save her from danger."
He was muttering to himself when the door was suddenly pushed open. It was his second daughter, Ji Ningxi, who came in carrying a bowl of soup. Ji Yuan calmly put away the jade hairpin, raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you doing here so late?"
"Father, seeing that you're still awake so late, I personally made a bowl of soothing soup for you." Ji Ningxi said flatteringly, "Drink it while it's hot."
"Leave it there," Ji Yuan replied absentmindedly, adding, "Since you've entered Prince Qi's mansion, you should stay there honestly. How can a concubine run back to her parents' house all day long?"
"His Highness said that he was planning to make my daughter a concubine. He also learned that my father had returned to Lin'an, so he specifically allowed my daughter to come back to visit."
Ji Ningxi put the soup on the table with a smile: "After all, my daughter is the only one that Dad can rely on now. If I don't come back to visit Dad, who else can I rely on?"
"What are you talking about?" Ji Yuan's face darkened. "Your two younger sisters are still at home, and your eldest sister will be back soon. How can I be left alone?"
"Father is still thinking about my elder sister." Ji Ningxi sneered disdainfully, "She is greedy for life and afraid of death. She accepted the imperial court's rewards but refused to share the worries of the court. She forced tens of thousands of innocent women to suffer for her. Now the whole of Lin'an City calls her a witch who brought disaster to the country and the people. What else can father expect from her?"
"Shut up." Ji Yuan clenched his fist and said sternly, "Get out."
Ji Ningxi immediately stopped smiling and said in a deep voice, "Father, why are you still being so tyrannical? In a few days, Queen Mother Gu will be crowned emperor. By then, I'm afraid your position as Prime Minister will have to change hands. If Father is more sensible, he should think more about himself at this time."
Hearing that his daughter had come back to test him on behalf of Prince Qi, Ji Yuan feigned ignorance: "The Gu family is extremely powerful. Even His Majesty has taken the initiative to abdicate. What can I do?"
"Father, are you really not planning anything?" Ji Ningxi refused to give up. "Then where is Tingfeng? Why haven't I seen him all these days since I returned home?"
"This is not your business." Ji Yuan said unhappily, "It's getting late. Go down and get some rest."
"Even if Dad didn't say it, I could have guessed it." Ji Ningxi curled her lips and said, "Dad is still thinking about welcoming Prince Yongning to Lin'an, right?"
"As a girl, why do you keep asking about these things?" Ji Yuan said angrily in an even colder voice.
Just at this moment, the door was suddenly kicked open. Ji Yuan looked up and saw Gu Tingchen leading a group of soldiers rushing in.
"Prince Daoan, you are so bold that you dare to trespass into my mansion?" Ji Yuan shouted sternly.
Gu Tingchen sneered disdainfully: "Ji Yuan, I respect you enough to call you father-in-law, but if you don't know how to behave, then you are just an ant in my eyes."
"I really don't deserve the title of father-in-law from Prince Daoan," Ji Yuan said angrily, "Prince Daoan led his armored troops straight into my residence in the middle of the night. I would like to ask Prince Daoan for advice. What is the reason for your visit?"
Gu Tingchen walked up to him slowly, looking him straight in the eye. "I'm only asking once. Did the old emperor give anything to the Prime Minister before he abdicated? Where did the imperial seal go?"
Ji Yuan calmly replied, "Your Majesty voluntarily abdicated for the sake of the greater good. How could Prince Daoan make such presumptuous assumptions? As for the imperial appointment, his mother passed away at home. Shouldn't he have reported this to Prince Daoan when he returned to attend the funeral?"
"At this critical moment, why is Dad still lying?" Ji Ningxi frowned and said, "Tingfeng's mother passed away a long time ago, why is he attending a funeral?"
"You evil creature." Ji Yuan was so angry that his face turned blue and he glared at Ji Ningxi angrily.
Ji Ningxi ignored him and faced Gu Tingchen directly: "Prince Daoan, my father must have sent Tingfeng to welcome Prince Yongning. You and the Queen Mother must be on guard."
"That's nonsense," Ji Yuan argued. "Prince Yongning has always been sensible. Why would he become an enemy of the Queen Mother at this moment and put the Great Ye Dynasty in danger?"
"Yeah?"
Ji Ningxi smiled coldly, "If he really had the upper hand, he should have taken the initiative to go to the northern border to defend it instead of holding his own troops and confronting the imperial court. Otherwise, I can only suspect that my father is colluding with Prince Yongning to usurp the throne."
Listening to the father and daughter bickering, Gu Tingchen picked up a book and flipped through it with interest. "Prime Minister Ji, the spies report that there have been frequent military movements in Yuezhou recently. Tell me, should I trust you or your daughter?"
Seeing Ji Yuan remained silent, Liu Zhang drew his half-broken sword and said sternly, "Prime Minister, please tell me honestly whether Tingfeng had given you the permission to go to Yuezhou to deliver the emperor's decree."
"Don't judge a gentleman by your own standards." Ji Yuan's eyes were firm. "Your Majesty understands the greater good. At this critical moment for the survival of our nation, Your Majesty will never incite civil unrest."
"It seems that the Prime Minister is still quite stubborn." Gu Tingchen had lost his patience and waved his hand coldly: "Then please go to the Imperial Prison."
Liu Zhang and his men were about to escort Ji Yuan when they suddenly heard a sharp rebuke from behind.
"stop."
When everyone heard the sound, they looked and saw Ting Feng walking in, looking exhausted.
Handing a sealed memorial to Ji Yuan, Tingfeng said respectfully, "Master, I have lived up to your trust and have persuaded Prince Yongning to send troops to the northern border to defend the enemy. This is Prince Yongning's memorial."
Upon hearing this, Gu Tingchen snatched the memorial with a look of astonishment, opened it and took a closer look, then shook his head and said, "Why would he choose to go to the northern border to guard it?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
