Chapter 55 "After this, whenever I go out, I will definitely..."
unnecessary……
The emperor made it very clear that he was not allowed to interfere.
Ji Jinghe took a deep breath, looked up at the emperor, who had already lowered his head and picked up a pen.
Having nothing more to say, Ji Jinghe could only bow and turn to leave.
Instead of going elsewhere, he went to the Ministry of Justice.
When the officials of the Ministry of Justice saw that it was Ji Jinghe, they immediately greeted him politely.
"Please, sir, make an exception and let me see my wife."
The Ministry of Justice stammered, about to cite the Emperor's edict, when the other party spoke first.
"I just came from the Qianqing Palace. His Majesty's intention is... a joint trial by three courts. I would be grateful if you could be lenient, and I will repay your kindness in the future."
He was somewhat incoherent, his speech lacked logic, and he said whatever came to mind.
They were all colleagues who had established themselves in the imperial court and spent their days together. It was rare to see Ji Jinghe ask for a favor. What was impossible for him?
They then let Ji Jinghe in. "Lord Ji, you flatter us. If you wish to see Madam in the future, please feel free to come. We have received His Majesty's instructions to take good care of Madam, and we will not neglect her."
Ji Jinghe nodded slightly: "Thank you."
Yu An never expected that she would meet Ji Jinghe that very afternoon, only one day after she arrived.
He strode over, still wearing the cloak he only wore when traveling at night. How could he endure such heat?
Yu An sat on a haystack in the corner and watched as Ji Jinghe, led by an official, had his door unlocked by yamen runners and stood upright in front of her.
Those eyes stared straight at her, their eyelids slightly drooping. Some kind of emotion was buried in those dark, deep eyes, making it hard to tell what it was, but when it fell on her, she felt a burning sensation.
She looked away, glancing down at her knees. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in Jingzhou?"
"I didn't come for you."
He suddenly blurted out a sentence.
Yu An was taken aback, then frowned and said, "Sir, you are being presumptuous. I have never thought of it that way."
Ji Jinghe opened his mouth, but his chest tightened unexpectedly.
"Why didn't you wait for me to come back, or even just to discuss it..." He knew the answer, but he asked again.
The answer, as expected, was suffocating.
"I don't need to discuss this with you. This is my own business, and I've said it before. Not everything needs to be discussed with you."
Yu An turned her head away, refusing to look at the person in front of her. "As long as you sign the divorce papers, I will have no connection with the Ji family. Even if something happens, I will not implicate anyone."
"I've said it before, I wouldn't... Now that things have come to this, do you still think I'm the kind of person who would abandon my wife for my own sake?"
The emotions that had been building up for so long finally found an outlet, and he silently released them as he spoke.
His tone changed at the end of his sentence, and Yu An could tell that he was suppressing his anger.
Yu An was stunned, then looked up and met his eyes: "I've said it before, the Chu family's affairs have nothing to do with you, and whether you abandon them or not is insignificant to me. I just don't want to involve innocent people because of myself."
"If you don't want to sign, fine, I don't care."
Ji Jinghe is capable of playing games and wants to play along, so why should she bother herself with unnecessary trouble?
If that day really comes, then no one will have a good life.
Ji Jinghe was helpless and angry, turning around as if to argue, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything.
"You're oversimplifying things, Yu'an... If those letters alone could bring down the Xia family, why didn't I do anything after I got the things?"
His urge to bring down the Xia family was no less than hers.
"Some of the things the Pei family brought up in their impeachment were handed over by you, weren't they... You wanted to take advantage of the Emperor's suspicion of the Xia family to turn the Chu family's reputation around, but have you considered that very few of the matters investigated in the court are related to the Chu family?"
"If no concrete evidence is found before convicting the Xia family, this is a false accusation."
And he might be unable to help at all, just like last time.
Yu listened to him quietly, her face showing no change in expression.
She knew everything he said, of course.
“Ji Jinghe, not everyone is like you. I have my own principles. You know why I didn’t listen to my father and stayed in the capital.”
"Even if I lose this gamble and risk my life, I will accept it."
She did everything she could.
She was not a man, and before her marriage she was naive and knew very little about politics.
If it weren't for the secret letter Chu Xingjian left her back then, she probably wouldn't even have a clue how to proceed.
A single piece of evidence is insufficient, but for her, it was already the best chance of winning.
For Ji Jinghe, not everything had to be said, and not all of her secrets had to be revealed to him.
She made the worst-case scenario plan, and was determined to burn her bridges.
But she didn't understand why Ji Jinghe would come to the Ministry of Justice to question her about something that had nothing to do with him.
If he was afraid of being implicated, then she would have already left the divorce papers, but he refused to sign them...
"Ji Jinghe, everyone has their own destiny. What we should do is not interfere with other people's destinies."
The tall, imposing figure stood before her, and Yu An no longer had the energy to guess the expression hidden beneath it.
Whether he keeps a straight face or something else, it's all up to Ji Jing and himself.
She might die with the title of the young mistress of the Ji family, or she might succeed and return to her identity as a daughter of the Chu family, living independently in the world.
I'm going to leave him anyway.
Ji Jinghe slowly turned around, but couldn't say what he wanted to say.
Every cruel word reached his ears, each syllable loudly proclaiming the fact that she would leave no matter what.
She fears nothing except perhaps failing to overturn the verdict.
He took a breath. "What about Chu Zhuo'an? What will happen to him if you die?"
"He is a boy after all, and he still has a lot to learn and grow, especially with his maternal grandparents taking care of him."
Ji Jinghe stood there, seemingly still having something to say.
Yu-an suffers from this torment in people's hearts, a relationship that cannot be cleanly and clearly sorted out.
She thought it was time to make things clear.
"Ji Jinghe, I don't love you anymore."
"I admit, I was once, very, very..."
"You saved me before. When I accidentally discovered that the person who saved me was the most enviable prodigy in the capital, I fell in love with you uncontrollably. There was admiration, respect, and appreciation in your love... I think you are the best person in the world, without equal."
"But that was then... After we got married, I realized that we were really not suitable for each other."
"So even if I don't sign the divorce papers now, I will definitely end our relationship as soon as I leave."
Moreover, there will be no room for maneuver.
She watched as those eyes, after a moment of shock, dimmed.
Such a strong person seemed to suddenly wilted.
They looked at each other in silence, with nothing more to say. Yu An felt relieved and lowered her head to look elsewhere.
The gaze from above lingered on her for an unknown amount of time before disappearing.
Ji Jinghe did not go to the government office, but went straight back to the Ji residence and called Baozhu to his side.
"Before she left, you'd better tell us the truth about what she said or did."
Baozhu shook her head: "After writing the letter of divorce last night, Miss didn't leave any words. I tried to persuade her, but she said that she couldn't easily give up this opportunity."
"Has she met anyone?"
"The master knows who the young lady can meet... This servant knows the situation is complicated and will not lie."
Baozhu was also afraid that something might happen to Yu'an. After everyone pressed her for answers today, she was already feeling apprehensive.
Seeing Ji Jinghe's appearance, Baozhu blurted out in a panic, "Master, if it comes to the last moment, you can try to beg the Empress Dowager."
"The Empress Dowager and Princess Mingjia have always said that the girl looks very much like the late Princess. The Empress Dowager feels sorry for the girl and in a moment of desperation, she might be able to save the girl's life."
Ji Jinghe narrowed his eyes, "The Eldest Princess?"
“The girl’s mother and the Empress Dowager were old acquaintances. Otherwise, the girl would not have won the Empress Dowager’s favor so much with just a few embroidery pieces. There must be one or two reasons for this.”
Baozhu told him everything she knew, and after Ji Jinghe had a general understanding, he went to the palace the next day.
The Empress Dowager wasn't stupid; seeing the things he brought, she knew he had come to plead for mercy.
Ji Jinghe bowed respectfully, showing no sign of pleading.
"My wife made some things for the Empress Dowager some time ago. Before going to Jingzhou, she wanted to send them to the palace, but unfortunately, it was delayed."
“She is currently preoccupied with urgent matters, so I have no choice but to trouble you to apologize on her behalf. My wife did everything on her own; my family knew nothing about it. We haven’t seen her for half a day, and we had no idea that she had committed such a terrible crime.”
The Empress Dowager glanced at the handkerchief and forehead ribbon beside her, and her brows gradually furrowed.
"What do you mean by that? Could it be that you're afraid of being implicated, so you've come to beg me for help?"
She looked up at Ji Jinghe's deeply bowed posture and sneered, "Ji Jinghe, you really are heartless. Your wife is only seeking justice for her father, and there's still no result yet, so why are you so eager to sever ties?"
Ji Jinghe knelt on the ground, lifting his robe, and said in a panic, "Your Majesty does not know, by chance, a Taoist priest once cast a divination for my family. My wife was born in September, which clashes with my family's fortune. I have been reading the books of sages since I was a child and did not believe it before, but now that so many things have happened, I have no choice but to believe it."
"I still have elders to support me, truly..."
“She was born in September? But I remember her birthday was on New Year’s Eve in the twelfth lunar month.”
Ji Jinghe: "Your Majesty, you may not know this, but my wife's birthday was originally in September. At that time, it clashed with the year of her birth, and she was sick every day. That's why we listened to the fortune teller and changed her birthday to December."
Before she could speak, Ji Jinghe spoke first: "Considering my wife's unwavering loyalty to the Empress Dowager, I beg the Empress Dowager to spare her life."
"So you're here to plead for her?"
Ji Jinghe prostrated himself on the ground, saying, "She is my wife, my first wife. Even if she has committed the greatest mistakes, she is still the wife I married, witnessed by heaven and earth. I cannot abandon her, nor should I..."
"Because if you abandon him, you will be despised by everyone." The Empress Dowager bluntly pointed out, leaving him no face whatsoever.
"Ji Jinghe, the fact that you came to me for help means that the Emperor intends to remain in power. You should be aware of this."
"I don't care what your purpose is in coming to Shou Kang Palace today, but you only need to understand one thing: I will not interfere."
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