The Prime Minister kept saying that Heaven had eyes and that we had survived. Then I learned that the Imperial Son-in-Law had been rumored to have perished, so Li Zhaole suddenly became a widow.
Because the prince consort had an accident outside the city, in order to comfort General Ji, all of the prince consort's belongings were placed in a coffin. Now the Ji family is holding a funeral for 'me'.
She died young right after returning home. Although it was a fake funeral, it still felt unsettling. My name, Ji Ying, is on the tombstone!
Xie Yuancheng, that damned guy, actually changed my name to Xie Yingying, which doesn't sound good at all.
Ji Ying is so much better, I only want Ji Ying!
“Ying’er, Uncle Cui has already agreed to this name. He even sent the letter to your father-in-law yesterday, so don’t struggle anymore.”
"Father will definitely not agree." I am the only daughter of the Ji family.
The Prime Minister reassured them, "Don't worry, Brother Ji won't hold it against you. The court is in chaos right now, it's good that you're alive."
"Yes, Ying'er's name hasn't changed, and neither have we. Yu'er is still waiting for you to return to Linyang."
"You always act on your own." Just wait until tonight, I'll teach you a lesson.
"Don't go back to Linyang for now. Just say that Marquis Anle is missing and his consort died young. The Crown Prince won't let this go so easily." The Prime Minister was so worried that his hair had turned gray.
"Uncle Cui, don't worry, Ying'er and I will stay in the small courtyard for the time being. Please rest assured, I will be careful."
"The Prime Minister's residence is safe now. I have already given the order, and they will not say anything."
“But we still have some things to do, and it’s probably not safe to stay in the Prime Minister’s residence. Especially since the Empress’s relatives have started to make moves, Uncle Cui needs me to go out and investigate.”
The Prime Minister sighed: "It's all caused by the power struggles within the imperial court. You must be careful when you go out and do things."
"yes."
Xie Yuancheng led me out from the other side. Luckily, I had with me the rouge and face powder he had mixed for me, so I was willing to go with him.
As the sun sets, he and I return to the small courtyard where we stayed last year during the Lantern Festival.
"How can it be so clean?" This place should be covered in dust. Could it be that Xie Yuancheng came to clean it?
"Xiao Ling came to help with the cleaning. She sends someone to clean up every now and then."
Xiao Ling, the older sister who pretended to be the madam of Yingxian Tower, Xie Yuancheng really wasted her youth.
"Is Sister Xiao married?"
Xie Yuancheng poured me tea, but seeing my gossipy look, he took the teacup away, saying, "Ying'er is so curious."
“I’m afraid you’ll hold her back. She’s beautiful and capable. How can she get married if she always pretends to be a madam?”
"Haha, you actually care about them."
Xie Yuancheng drank the tea directly, and I went up to him and he poured me another cup.
"A heartless man only cares about himself."
"They all have someone they like, and they're all together now. Is this a satisfactory promise, Ying'er?"
I placed the empty cup in his hand: "You've got some conscience after all. I really don't know how they could willingly be your subordinates."
"Ying'er also willingly became my wife."
“That’s different. We’re family. They’re the ones who are helping you.”
“It’s all the same.” Xie Yuancheng came over and sat down next to me. “We are all the same kind of people, with the same beliefs and the same experiences, which is why we were attracted to each other, got to know each other, and eventually they helped me with my things.”
"They talk like they're a family, it's making me jealous."
"I can't be jealous, I belong to Ying'er alone."
Xie Yuancheng, this sweet-talking little man, never blushes or skips a beat; only I can tolerate him.
A few days later, I kept wanting to visit the Ji residence, but Xie Yuancheng initially refused. Later, he actually took me back on his own initiative, which made me almost think he'd lost his mind, so I went to check on him.
We arrived at the Ji residence at night, and it was all white inside. Xie Yuancheng tiptoed with me to the backyard, and we followed the path to my mother's room.
"mother!"
When I saw my mother, I immediately burst into tears. I used to say that when she cried, it was like a tap that couldn't be turned off, but now I cried even harder than her.
"Ying'er, I'm so glad you're alright."
My mother looked me up and down, and seeing that I was truly unharmed and without any disabilities, she finally stopped smiling.
Xie Yuancheng was quiet this time, sitting quietly beside us listening to my mother and me talk.
“Your father will arrive in the middle of the night. Don’t leave tonight. See him one last time, and then leave before dawn.”
"Dad's back too?"
"If he had come sooner, you wouldn't have all fallen off the cliff."
I can't tell my mother about our life after falling off a cliff, but it was actually pretty good, after all, we stole two years of our lives.
"Mother, it's a good thing. Look, I'm completely out of danger now. It's like I've survived a great calamity and will surely have good fortune in the future."
Mother wiped her face with a handkerchief: "That's true, but this method is too shocking and worldly. If I could, I would never let such a thing happen."
"I knew Mother was the best."
I leaned against my mother's chest, and suddenly I thought of Consort Ji, wondering how she was doing now.
"Consort Ji is still in the room behind the mourning hall. She has been here for two days."
Mother could actually hear what I was thinking: "She can leave the palace?"
"It was under the pretext of appeasing the Ji family. The master and she haven't seen each other for a long time, so they can meet this time."
"mother."
"Alright, Mother will take you to see her and tell her the whole story so she can feel at ease." Mother thought of the sad things and tears welled up in her eyes again: "She was so good to you, she even fainted several times."
If I went to see her dressed as a woman, she'd probably faint from shock.
Xie Yuancheng spoke up from the side, "I'll go with you."
"That's good. Letting her know that the Ji family has an heir will put her at ease."
My mother always puts others first and always makes herself suffer.
Father was truly confused back then, but without him and Consort Ji being together, I wouldn't have been born, I wouldn't have met Xie Yuancheng, and I wouldn't have known what happened afterward.
My mother felt around on the wall a few times, then led us to the room next door.
"Mother, how come your room is connected to this place?"
I've never been in this room before. It looks like a room for a young daughter, but it's definitely not mine.
"This was the room she lived in back then. I only found out later. It was all a coincidence."
What a coincidence! I dare not think about it too much; the more I think about it, the more panicked I become.
My mother opened another door and led me through the back. I had lived in the Ji family mansion for over ten years and had never known there was such a secret passage.
Xie Yuancheng said behind her back, "Ying'er, with your current intelligence, it's safer for you to stay by my side."
"You talk too much, you won't be able to sleep tonight."
"My father-in-law is coming home tonight, and we're waiting for him, so of course we won't be sleeping."
The mother walked ahead and said, "Ying'er, don't always bully Yuan Cheng. He has really put in a lot of effort for you."
"Mother, I know."
I gripped Xie Yuancheng's arm; it was all because of his talkativeness that I got scolded again.
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