Chapter 31: A Separation Between Two Hearts
Mentioning this matter inevitably ignited Shen Qiulan's anger again, but she calmed down in front of her son, sighing, "It's not that I'm heartless. Once this crisis passes, she can take over."
"But how long has it been since the Chu family incident? If you ask me, she'd better not even leave the house. Wasn't last time a lesson learned? Instead of advising her, you even sent her guards..."
At present, the court is in turmoil, and Shen Qiulan is afraid that his official career will be affected by these things.
The Ji family only has one successful person. If she suffers another blow, what will happen? Won't she ruin the entire Ji family in her hands?
"Luckily, she didn't yell at me this time, otherwise she would have made me angry again."
Shen Qiulan then recalled, "I don't know what's wrong with Shu'er lately. She keeps running to the Half Acre Courtyard for no reason, and she doesn't even visit me anymore."
She snapped out of her reverie, glanced around at Ji Jinghe who had remained silent for a long time, and said impatiently, "What are you thinking about?"
Ji Jinghe nodded slightly: "Mother, you must be tired from the journey. I'd like to have dinner soon."
Upon hearing this, the parents, not wanting to delay any longer, quickly ordered someone to prepare the meal.
Because of his injuries, Ji Jinghe didn't have a good appetite, but he forced himself to eat more. Since he still had to visit the old lady, he didn't stay long and left after finishing his meal.
A cold wind blew through the corridor, its howling sound incessant, inevitably sending a chill down one's spine.
"Qingque, have someone prepare a superior room, preferably close to the Banmu Courtyard."
Qingque: "Sir, are you going to bring the young master here?"
Ji Jinghe's forehead twitched. "You knew about this too?"
Qingque quickly explained, "I only heard it from Baozhu yesterday."
"Did they say anything else?"
If this question is asked, Qingque can answer it without any worries.
"Why didn't you say so sooner?"
His family affairs are not something he needs to ask others for help with; he will handle them himself.
Blue Sparrow: ...
The person who was walking towards Rongshou Hall suddenly turned around and walked in another direction. Qingque couldn't keep up and subconsciously called out "Grandpa". But she saw that the person in front of her was walking faster and faster, and there was no sign that he was seriously injured.
In the courtyard, Yu An was just about to have her meal when Ji Jinghe arrived.
This person is really strange. I went to look for him just now, but he refused to see me. What's going on now?
With a clear conscience, Yu An remained calm and composed, just like always.
"Have you eaten, sir?"
She asked casually, and aside from those words, she really had nothing else to say.
Unbeknownst to Ji Jinghe, a thought flashed through his mind in an instant, and he blurted out the word "not at all."
Baozhu added a pair of bowls and chopsticks, and the couple sat facing each other.
Logically speaking, Ji Jinghe should have gone to Wanfang Courtyard and Rongshou Hall upon his return, so why did he suddenly come to her place? It's really strange.
Yu-an ate absentmindedly; her already small appetite made it even harder for her to eat.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Ji Jinghe said first, "I have already sent people to prepare the house. After Zhuo'an comes over, he will live in the mansion."
Yu An's heart skipped a beat, and she finally understood why he had come here. It seemed that he had already been to Wanfang Courtyard.
She then heard Ji Jinghe say, "Tomorrow I will send someone to Jiangling, and you don't need to worry about the rest."
"No need."
He spoke seriously, and Yu'an was genuinely afraid that they would run into the Pei family's carriage in Jiangling.
Yu An: "I have already made arrangements, so there is no need for you to trouble yourself, sir. You also do not need to have someone clean the house. Even if you bring him here, I will not let him live in the Ji residence. Zhuo'er is different from me. I am already married, but he is still a descendant of the Chu family. If someone with ulterior motives finds out, it may cause trouble."
Since Shen Qiulan was unwilling, she didn't want to trouble anyone from the Ji family anyway. They wouldn't be treated well if they came, so it would be better to just settle them outside and let the siblings meet.
Seeing that he was about to speak, Yu'an interrupted, "That's fine then."
The smile on her face seemed to carry a hint of bitterness; she clearly cared, but didn't say it aloud.
Ji Jinghe didn't understand why she was acting so awkwardly.
Or perhaps she prefers to believe the Pei family rather than him.
What exactly is her relationship with the Pei family...?
The thought that popped into his mind easily disrupted his thoughts, without even lifting a finger. It was as if he became a different person every time he saw her; his calm and restraint in officialdom had completely disappeared.
Her act of escaping was a deliberate attempt to distance herself from the Ji family.
By not mentioning the Pei family in a single word, every word was a cover-up and a safeguard.
The more he thought about it, the more obsessive he became. "This is my idea. If Mother has any complaints, I will explain myself. Even if the Ji family is in dire straits, it is not right to be so harsh on our in-laws, making them stay outside during the New Year."
Yu An frowned slightly, looking at the food in her bowl with only helplessness, and immediately lost her appetite.
Only the clatter of bowls and chopsticks remained on the table; no one spoke, and before they knew it, the conversation had died down again.
Ji Jinghe was already full, so after taking a couple of bites, he stopped eating. Seeing Yu An get up to leave, he instinctively rushed forward and grabbed her.
There were only the two of them in the room, so what couldn't they say clearly?
"Don't you have anything to say?"
She slowly raised her head, meeting his gaze without blinking. Her eyes held a strangeness, a hint of mockery, and a touch of grievance. Her once bright eyes had lost their luster, yet she remained eloquent, expressing the most complex emotions.
"What does the old man want me to say?"
Ji Jinghe: "We are husband and wife. You can tell me anything. I know you have grievances because of the Chu family. If you have grievances, you should speak them out. Your previous resistance and your resolute insistence on divorce were all your fault. Why are you silent now?"
The hand on her wrist was clenched tightly, so she didn't have to struggle to feel the force clearly.
Ji Jinghe said he didn't understand, but how could she understand him? Her unpredictable care, sometimes warm and sometimes cold, and her distance that was sometimes close and sometimes distant, were truly what made her mood so fickle.
He portrayed himself as so innocent, yet he was her most ruthless executioner.
She initially thought Ji Jinghe simply wanted to seek justice for the Xu family and not side with her, but the truth was that he knew there was an injustice, yet he remained indifferent. So, his constant sending her gifts was also out of "guilt"?
Yu An feigned ignorance: "Grandpa, are you perhaps too busy to think straight?"
Ji Jinghe stared blankly at the person in front of him, seeing a smile on her lips that he couldn't detect a trace of pretense.
"Since the old man is willing to help me bring my family over, I am naturally grateful. What more can I say?"
The strength in his hand gradually diminished, and Yu An, seeing this, tried to shake him off, but unfortunately, he didn't control his strength well and was pulled hard by Ji Jinghe. He could vaguely hear a muffled groan from Ji Jinghe.
After glancing at her out of the corner of her eye, Yu'an called Baozhu over.
As darkness fell outside, Yu'an couldn't help but urge, "Master, you haven't gone to Rongshou Hall yet. Hurry up and go before it gets dark. The old lady must be missing you."
She spoke as usual, her eyes full of gentleness, just like when she first married him, when she spoke to him with a pair of bright, clear eyes, without any impurities.
Ji Jinghe turned and left, a dull ache running through his body, so much so that he couldn't tell where the pain was coming from. The pain masked the bitterness in his heart, making him completely unaware of it.
A door opened behind her, and Yu An breathed a sigh of relief. She sat down on the edge of the couch and picked up the embroidery board to look at it.
Baozhu had someone clear the table. After they finished, looking at Yu'an's expression, she hesitantly mentioned, "Miss, Qingque told me that Master was assassinated in Yuzhou. He was slashed hard in the shoulder..."
Yu An raised her head, but only looked at Bao Zhu without saying a word.
Perhaps because of Ji Jinghe's injury, he has rarely been on duty since returning from Yuzhou, spending almost all his time at home.
He deliberately concealed his injury so that no one in the manor would hear of it. Since that was the case, Yu'an also pretended not to know and told Baozhu to keep the matter firmly in her heart.
Privately, he simply asked the kitchen to prepare more nourishing and blood-tonifying dishes for the study.
Baozhu was cheerful and outgoing. After a while, she became familiar with Qingque and was able to easily get information out of him.
Qingque spoke up, but Ji Jinghe might not allow it.
Baozhu sighed: "You and your son-in-law are really strange. You don't care about each other at all, but you do things that show you do care..."
Yu'an was busy with her needlework and didn't take it to heart: "Why would I care? This is called doing one's job."
They're husband and wife in name only; they can't go on like this. Even Ji Jinghe, at least outwardly, shows concern for her.
Time flies, and the end of the year is fast approaching.
Just as Yu'an was about to tidy up the cabinet, the master and servant took a day to thoroughly clean the room. Only then did they remember that when Chu Xingjian had his accident, Ji Jing and his servants had gone to the Chu residence to retrieve a few pieces of clothing.
She was so anxious at the time that she didn't pay any attention to these things.
The few clothes her mother made for her before she passed away happened to be jackets, and the colors were simple and elegant, so it would be perfect for her to wear now.
Yu An spread the clothes out on the bed and carefully arranged them with her hands. When she touched the collar adorned with rabbit fur, she felt as if there was paper lining inside, which was hard and different from the rest of the clothes.
She turned it inside out and saw that it had been cut and sewn together.
“Baozhu, Baozhu…” Yu’an felt a sudden panic. “Bring me the scissors.”
Baozhu was still unaware of the situation and didn't ask why. She simply obeyed and took the small basket she used for needlework.
Seeing Yu'an about to cut, just as he was about to stop her, he saw her pull out a small piece of paper from her collar—
"If too much information is leaked, old cases may be exposed. This is a two-birds-with-one-stone approach, eliminating the threat permanently."
The character "夏" (summer) is also printed on it.
Yu An froze to the side, her blood instantly freezing. No wonder Chu Xingjian asked Ji Jinghe to send these old things to her... Unfortunately, she didn't notice, she didn't realize that Chu Xingjian had this intention.
It was Li Yan who hid the gold in the Chu family's house, and it goes without saying who the Xia family is.
So her father died unjustly, he was framed and killed!
The Xia family not only harmed the Xu family, but also framed the Chu family for the crime.
The idea was to kill two birds with one stone. If one plan failed, the second plan would be to push Li Yan out as a scapegoat and also to deceive others.
Even if people wanted to defend Chu Xingjian, they would only focus on Li Yan and would not have the energy to pay attention to the "follow-up moves".
This trapped her father, leaving him with no way out, no options, and only death as his fate.
If she had discovered it sooner, would there still have been any chance to turn things around?
Even through her blurred vision, the words on that note were still deeply etched into her eyes.
She is determined to make the real culprit pay for his crimes in blood.
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Author's Note: Baozhu and Qingque: [Helpless]
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