When we arrived at the back of the mourning hall, my mother went in first. She spoke with Consort Ji for a while before coming out to invite us in.
The room inside wasn't large, and as soon as I entered, I saw Consort Ji's haggard face.
"Ying'er?" Her previously dim eyes began to brighten.
"yes."
"It's so good that you're not dead."
She held my hand and cried, just like her mother when she cried.
I helped her sit down and waited until she had finished crying before I spoke. My mother also comforted her from the side.
"Why are you dressed like this? Did he force you?"
Consort Ji looked at the clothes I was wearing, her eyes filled with both heartache and anger, and Xie Yuancheng took the blame again.
The mother explained from the side, "Your Majesty, Ying'er has always been a girl. She only kept it a secret for the sake of the Ji family."
"What?" Ji Fei's eyes widened, and she touched my body. "Impossible! Yang Ge said I was going to give birth to a son. How did it turn into a daughter!"
"The news had already been spread, and if the household were to go back on its word, it would be tantamount to deceiving the emperor. Since there is no eldest son in the household, the master's position is awkward, so he has no choice but to continue with the lie."
Consort Ji took a step back and then fainted.
Thankfully, Xie Yuancheng came along, and he carried Consort Ji back to her old room. I was also very upset; this was something an adult would do, and I was even saddened.
When I was little, I always felt different from the boys. Later, I heard that getting married would make me more cheerful, so I even planned to raise a child bride. My mother whipped me with a willow branch, and the thought of it still hurts to this day.
We stayed inside the house. Consort Ji woke up at midnight and started crying as soon as she woke up.
In the past, when I met Consort Ji, she always seemed so confident and poised. She could handle even the Empress with ease, and even Xie Yuancheng had to show her some respect.
"Your Highness, this is my and Master's fault, it has nothing to do with Ying'er."
"You guys go out first, I want to be alone for a while."
Mother took us out first; Father will be here soon, so it's better to let him explain in person later.
Xie Yuancheng was unusually quiet tonight. I massaged his shoulders and said, "You've had a hard night."
"Ying'er is becoming more and more caring, which is a wonderful thing."
"You're still in the mood to joke around? I was almost scared when she fainted just now."
"Don't worry, Consort Ji is no ordinary person, she'll understand soon."
"I have no choice now. I'll wait for Dad to come and let him explain it to me personally."
As soon as I looked up, I saw someone following behind my mother. When we got to a brighter spot and could see his face clearly, it was indeed my father.
"father."
"father in law."
Father took off his hat: "It's good that you're still alive. When Brother Cui sent me the message, I was wondering if he was just trying to comfort me."
His father's voice was also very excited. His mother told him what had just happened before he went into the house.
"Mother, aren't you going in with Father?" Mother has worked so hard for this family, and now she's encountered such a terrible thing.
"They haven't had a proper conversation in a long time; they need to be given a room to be alone."
With my mother sitting beside me, everything could be resolved effortlessly.
I sat down next to him, and Xie Yuancheng poured tea for us, looking like a meek and submissive wife. He used this act to get his parents to back him up.
I propped myself up on my hands and looked up at the sky. Summer was almost over, so it wasn't very hot and humid.
I don't know how long I waited, but I felt like I could fall asleep with my arms propped up on my shoulders. Just as I leaned on Xie Yuancheng's shoulder, my father came out from inside.
"Ying'er, come inside with me."
I rubbed my eyes, and Xie Yuancheng raised his hand and slapped my hand: "Do you want to turn into a rabbit? You keep rubbing your eyes for no reason."
"Stingy." Afraid that Xie Yuancheng would nag again, I quickly stood up and went inside with my father.
As soon as I entered, I saw that many things around me were smashed. I wondered if they had just had a fight. But Consort Ji really showed mercy; my father's face was actually unharmed.
"Ying'er, come here." Consort Ji sat on the edge of the bed. She looked younger than usual when she wasn't wearing makeup.
I comforted myself, thinking that at worst I'd get slapped. Just as I walked over to her, Consort Ji pulled me down to sit.
"I scared you just now."
No, no.
Her current appearance is truly frightening. Could it be that she's suffered too much trauma and is starting to lose her mind?
"Brother Yang said you and Marquis Anle had a son?"
"Yes, you reported it last time. His name is Yu'er, and he's almost seven months old."
"It's so nice. The day I held him, I felt a special connection between his eyes and brows. He really is my grandson."
"After the incident, secretly send Yu'er to Linyang, otherwise you might still be able to see her."
"It's good that he's in Linyang. The capital will soon be in chaos. I'm at ease knowing that my grandson is in Linyang."
Having spent so much time with my mother, I always felt that all mothers in the world should be like her—gentle, virtuous, and understanding. So I didn't know how to face Consort Ji, even though she was my own mother.
"Ying'er, you and Yuancheng can stay in the manor for now. I will definitely get justice for you when I return."
Of course I also want to stay in the manor, but I'm worried about implicating the Ji family.
"father."
“I heard from Brother Cui that you are staying in Yuan Cheng’s small villa. Although it is small, it is not safe. The Crown Prince may already know. It is safer in the mansion. We are all family. The Crown Prince does not have the ability to touch the Ji family right now.”
I should have refused, but since my father said so, I had no choice but to agree.
"It's good to stay at the Ji residence. I won't go back until tomorrow morning. Ying'er can talk to her mother tonight."
I wanted to refuse, but I said, "Okay."
Consort Ji finally smiled, and Father stroked his beard beside her. Just thinking about Xie Yuancheng's expression made me close my eyes; I'd rather Father do the talking.
In 2020, tap water was everywhere, but now we're suddenly not used to it; it's all because of the environment.
Consort Ji personally wiped my face, then took out a set of moon-colored clothes from the cabinet and gave them to me, saying that she had made them before. Originally, they were intended for her future daughter-in-law, but now, she was giving them to me to wear.
After I changed into the clothes, she laughed beside me. The embroidery on them was exquisite, and even the piping was beautifully done.
"Mother, did you embroider this yourself?"
"Yes, I stopped working on it after that because there were too many other things to do. I finished making it when you were sixteen, and I didn't expect it to fit so well."
As I looked in the mirror, I saw that Consort Ji had added another jade pendant, engraved with the character "盈" (Ying).
"I'm such a bad mother, I don't even know if you're a boy or a girl."
"It's because of the special circumstances, Mother, don't overthink it."
"if."
While lying down and talking, Consort Ji told her about her past. She never imagined that her father had such a bad temper when he was young. He looked like a scholar, but he was actually fiercer than anyone else.
She always asks me about my past with Xie Yuancheng. I make sure to say the nice things, and I'm so moved that I almost cry. I'm determined to get back at Xie Yuancheng someday.
However, what she liked to hear most was about Yu'er. She smiled especially beautifully when she heard that he could roll over. Back when Yu'er was in the manor, she held him once and always said that she hadn't looked closely at him then.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
