Chapter 11 "Sir, when do you plan to take a concubine...?"
“Young Marquis, your wife has really not changed her temperament over the years. She is just as arrogant and stern as you.”
A man in a black cross-collar robe standing nearby quipped, "Wearing Shu brocade, which is so rare in the capital, is even more prestigious than the empresses in the palace. No wonder you are the daughter of the Grand Secretary."
Seeing the person beside him with a somber expression and still unmoved, Yan Ling continued, "You don't know her. She has improved a lot now. Years ago, a young lady from a certain family was drugged and made to have an embarrassing moment in public just because she stepped on her shoe. Aren't you worried that your family will suffer the same fate today?"
Ji Jinghe slowly turned his gaze to him, quietly observing him and waiting for him to continue.
Yan Ling chuckled, then adopted a teasing expression. "Young Marquis, please don't misunderstand. I was just offering a friendly reminder. Otherwise, how about we make a bet?"
Two gazes met silently, then tacitly looked away as if nothing had happened.
Ji Jinghe stepped forward, picked up the teacup on the table, and sneered, "Minister Yan likes to gamble? This doesn't seem like the son of Grand Secretary Yan."
Yan Jun was known for his maturity and prudence, which is why he was able to sit steadily in the position of Second Assistant Minister for many years. Like father, like son, Yan Ling had learned his father's way of doing things. The two had been classmates for many years and studied under Xu Yun, so they knew each other's temperaments quite well.
After several years apart, a certain estrangement had grown between them, and even in ordinary conversations, smiles no longer reached their eyes.
Yan Ling laughed out loud, then picked up the half-finished cup of tea. "Jing He, don't you know my temperament? If you believe what I said today, it's because of our past friendship. If you don't believe it, just take it as me making things up."
“You know more about the cabinet than I do, and you know even better about Chu Xingjian’s plot to murder our teacher. There are more and more impeachment memorials in the court. Once Chu Xingjian is sent away from the capital in a few days, it will be a good time for good to prevail over evil.”
A gentle breeze blew by, leaving nothing but silence... Ji Jinghe remained noncommittal.
*
As Ji Jinghe went downstairs and headed towards the front hall, Qingque caught up with him and whispered in his ear...
After saying that, Ji Jinghe understood, but simply waved his hand casually and didn't say anything more.
When they arrived at the front hall, they saw Yu'an still entertaining the guests.
Yu An saw him approaching and called out to him calmly, without showing any of her previous emotions.
Ji Jinghe remained silent, merely glancing at her before casually joining her in entertaining the guests.
The banquet began at dusk, and after three rounds of drinks, it was getting dark. The pain in her feet became more and more obvious, but as a daughter-in-law, she couldn't rest. She could only grit her teeth and keep moving around the table, carefully attending to the female guests.
After finishing her work, Baozhu quickly went forward to help her and told her to try to make herself as comfortable as possible.
"alright?"
Baozhu nodded.
The girl had a good nature, but she wouldn't tolerate being bullied. She always had to teach people a lesson so they would remember. The medicine took effect half an hour after she took it, which was right when the banquet ended, making her feel much better.
"Miss, I think your foot is probably not good. I think you should tell Madam to go back and rest."
It's getting dark, and the banquet is nearing its end. Why bother doing everything yourself? There are always others to help out.
Yu An: "No need, just bear with it a little longer."
Aunt Lin was sitting at Shen Qiulan's table. If she went up and said that, who knows how much teasing and sarcasm would be brought up. It would be better to endure it for now.
Yu'an was not good at drinking, and after being offered small cups of wine, he was half drunk by the end. In addition, his feet hurt, so he had to rely on Baozhu to help him walk.
Baozhu advised her to drink less, but she felt comfortable drinking. At least the pain in her feet lessened, and the irritability in her heart temporarily dissipated like smoke, leaving her no time to think about it.
Just as he sat down to sober up, Qingque arrived.
"Young Madam, the master has given you permission to go back and rest for now."
Yu An looked up into the distance and saw that the man was talking with an elder of the clan. He was calm and gentle, and his manners were impeccable. He was also drinking, but he did not change his demeanor.
With Ji Jinghe's words, what could she pretend for? She didn't need to care about anyone's feelings; she could just leave.
Although the banquet was nearing its end, Ji Jinghe, as the head of the family, still couldn't leave early. When he took him back, Yu'an had already washed up and was letting Baozhu rub the redness and swelling on his ankle with medicated oil.
He glanced at it quietly without saying a word.
Yu'an was slightly more awake, but her mind was still foggy, and everything looked dizzy to her, making her feel unwell.
Seeing Ji Jinghe made her even more agitated, and she lost all interest in everything.
Their eyes met briefly before they looked away. She told Baozhu to leave, leaving only the two of them in the room.
She knew that Ji Jinghe had something to say to her.
The room was silent.
"What did Miss Lin do to offend you?" he asked bluntly.
Yu An remained fearless and completely composed: "She offended me."
"So you ordered the maid to poison her food, to embarrass her in public," Ji Jinghe said coldly, scrutinizing her intently, like a judge silently interrogating her.
Yu An did not respond, but still raised her face, her eyes hiding her grievances, revealing only her stubbornness and defiance.
"That means the old man already stopped it, doesn't he..."
This wasn't the first time she had drugged someone; the last time was the same, used to teach someone a lesson.
She was often bullied by older boys when she was young, so her grandfather came up with this solution for her. More than ten years later, she still remembers the prescription.
Half an hour after taking it, he experienced frequent flatulence; an hour later, he began to suffer from unbearable abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Compared to poison, this medicine was more suited to tormenting people, perfect for humiliating others and teaching Lin Qiaoyan a lesson.
She disdained to argue with others, but Lin Qiaoyan went too far. Even the most tolerant person can eventually develop some temper.
Judging from Ji Jinghe's temperament, since he knew this, he wouldn't sit idly by.
He will only side with his own family, not with her.
Ji Jinghe noticed the foot dangling under the bed. Her skin was fair, and any redness or swelling was particularly noticeable. Just as he was about to speak, she spoke first.
"Sir, when do you plan to take a concubine?"
After the words were spoken, only silence remained, so profound that one could almost hear a pin drop. Their gazes met briefly, but in the end, Yu'an gave in.
Ji Jinghe did not back down, and she guessed what he meant.
“I’ve reminded you from day one to fulfill your duties as a wife. You are not allowed to bring your bad habits from before you got married into the family. I’ve turned a blind eye to this until today, but if you continue to cause trouble, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
"Then may I ask, sir, in what way have I failed to fulfill my duty?" she pressed.
"Jealousy is a fault that breeds trouble."
He answered quickly and without the slightest hesitation, as if he had been holding these words in his heart for a long time.
After several exchanges, he felt displeased, as if anger was silently rising from his heart. However, due to his long-standing habit, he suppressed it with reason before he even realized it, and finally felt a tightness in his throat.
Even those who respect each other can part ways.
The more time they spent together, the more he abandoned his initial idea of spending his life together. As the saying goes, if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked too. What exactly was he hoping for?
Yu An looked at the person who was less than ten feet away from her, and then turned away without saying a word, having nothing more to say to her.
Immediately afterwards, Baozhu strolled in.
She hadn't dared to go far and had been guarding the door the whole time. Sure enough, she had anticipated Ji Jinghe's actions and, without asking any questions, gave him a scolding.
"How are you, young lady?"
Yu An shook her head and uttered only two words: "I'm exhausted."
She was at a loss about where she should go in this marriage; everything was unpredictable, every step was difficult, and she could hardly find a place to stay.
Baozhu retorted indignantly, "The young lady is right in this matter. I support her. Even if we tell the master, he will definitely side with her. The son-in-law is blind, and the entire Ji family is blind. We can't listen to them."
Yu An felt completely drained and slumped onto the bed. Xu Jingshu's image filled her mind, and in comparison, she felt a sense of inferiority for the first time.
She had lived for nineteen years and was inferior to others in every way. She had never felt this way before, but now, living in the Ji family mansion, she had to start thinking about whether it was really her own problem.
“Miss, the young master just sent me a message saying that the master will be sent on a mission abroad for a month,” Baozhu said. “Why don’t we use the excuse of taking care of the young master to go home for a few days and give ourselves a break?”
Running out of this house and not seeing anyone here naturally makes one feel better.
But that's easier said than done. There's no point in even thinking about it; Shen Qiulan would never agree. It wouldn't look good if word got out that a daughter-in-law was staying at her parents' home for too long.
"Baozhu, do you remember who we drugged for the first time?"
“Of course,” Baozhu said excitedly. “Miss Wang, of course. She made fun of the girl’s dark skin, stepped on the shoes that the madam had made for the girl, and even broke the hairpin that the madam had left behind.”
Baozhu was young at the time, and she didn't have the courage to do something "bad" for the first time. She secretly put the medicine into the soup when the servant wasn't paying attention, and her hands were trembling.
The past nine years felt like an eternity to Yu'an. Back then, Chu Xingjian was merely a vice minister.
Most of the sons of officials in the capital have high standards. As a woman who grew up in Jiangling, she inevitably picked up some of the common people's ways. Just the fact that she had a Jiangling accent alone made her the target of countless people's ridicule behind her back.
At the time, I felt like the sky was falling, but I got through it all.
Even with Chu Xingjian's meticulous care, he also had his own official duties and could not attend to every detail.
She relied on her own reading and calligraphy practice, and the female worker also gradually mastered the skills she learned from her mother when she was young... This has been the case for more than ten years, and it must be the same now.
"Never mind, let's focus on healing my foot first." Yu'an put her hand over her eyes to block out the light and let out a deep breath. "Since Mother left, haven't I suffered enough grievances in front of outsiders?"
Fortunately, even if she fell out with Ji Jinghe, she wasn't afraid of living a stifling life in the mansion.
Most of the people serving in the Half Acre Courtyard were her dowry maids. Now that there's a small kitchen, and with Ji Jinghe's advance notice, she can't bear any grievances.
This is the last time. Give yourself one last chance.
*
Ji Jinghe never returned. I heard from Wanfang Courtyard that he was too busy with cabinet affairs to go home.
With Chu Xingjian gone, official duties naturally kept her busy. Although the knot in her heart had lessened considerably, it still remained. With Ji Jinghe not home, she couldn't untie it.
Time flies, and two more days have passed. Yu'an greeted Shen Qiulan and prepared to go home for a day the next day.
Just as I was tidying up the odds and ends, Baozhu rushed over in a hurry.
"Miss, something has happened to the young master..."
A note from the author:
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My darlings, please don't let my income drop! [crying emoji] It's not that I don't want to update, it's just that I'm not on the rankings! Once I become a VIP reader, I'll update daily, even on weekends, okay? [crying emoji] Please add this streamer to your favorites so I can get on the rankings! [crying emoji]
I kneel down before you.
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