Chapter 12. She will never love him again.
Even though he sensed something was wrong, he didn't say anything or show any signs of it.
Because he didn't know if it was her scheme, if he said something nice to her, she might take advantage of his kindness; he had seen it before.
Ignoring her completely and showing utter disregard was his consistent attitude towards her.
No one knew that Wen Qiyan's gaze lingered on the person next to him for a moment.
Wen's father noticed that Ji Wanyuan hadn't eaten much and asked her if she was feeling unwell. He noticed that her complexion wasn't good.
Everyone's eyes immediately fell on her, and he naturally raised his eyelids to look over as well.
"..."
Madam Wen's expression shifted slightly, wondering if this eldest daughter of the Ji family would take the opportunity to complain. After all, she was known for being vindictive, and her obedience throughout the day was already quite unusual.
Thinking of Ji Wanyuan's perfectly flawless replies that afternoon.
This almost made Madam Wen unconsciously change her opinion of her.
Even though she disliked Ji Wanyuan, she had to admit that when Ji Wanyuan wasn't being arrogant and spoiled, her words and actions still had the demeanor of a prime minister's legitimate daughter and a noble bearing.
But Madam Wen also understood that Ji Wanyuan was good at pretending.
If she really wanted to put on an act, she could be quite formidable at intimidating people.
After all, it was their first meeting, and she had already witnessed firsthand how formidable this eldest daughter of the Ji family was.
To talk about this, we have to go back a long time.
At that time, Ji Wanyuan was still relentlessly pursuing Wen Qiyan, often sending people to inquire about his whereabouts, blocking his way back, talking to him, giving him gifts, and even deliberately tripping in front of him and falling into his arms.
If she couldn't see him, she would write him love poems, but Wen Qiyan would naturally not accept them.
That's alright. She had it compiled into a book and distributed widely. She also had storytellers in the capital pass it down by word of mouth. With more people telling it and more people reading it, it would naturally reach Wen Qiyan's hands and ears indirectly. As long as he was still in the capital, he couldn't avoid it.
She expressed her love for Wen Qiyan passionately and pursued him relentlessly.
She even used her father, Prime Minister Ji's, power to repeatedly chase after him to the Censorate's office. After several such incidents, the matter became widely known and caused quite a stir in the city.
Everyone said she was shameless, her behavior and mannerisms were nothing like those of a noble lady, but rather like those of a dissolute "young master".
Some officials even took the opportunity to impeach the Ji family, but Prime Minister Ji was powerful and doted on his daughter. He stood by Ji Wanyuan and spoke up for her without any reason, leaving those people speechless and defeated one after another.
The main reason is that His Majesty also sides with the Ji family, believing that this is not a big deal. After all, it concerns love between men and women, and a gentleman is attracted to a beautiful and virtuous woman. The same applies to the other way around.
When Prime Minister Ji gained power in the court, he even privately retaliated against officials who impeached him. Those who were punished suffered terribly, and the effect of making an example of them was quite good. As a result, no one dared to openly impeach Ji Wanyuan anymore.
But the matter was not over yet.
Wen Qiyan sternly instructed the officials not to neglect their duties and to allow her to enter again, otherwise he would surely report her to the Emperor, and His Majesty would deal with her seriously.
The Wen family were not people to be trifled with; they held their own before His Majesty, so the man had no choice but to obey.
When Ji Wanyuan came again, the guards at the government office refused to let her in unless she stepped over their corpses.
It wouldn't be good if someone died, so Ji Wanyuan gave up on the idea.
Wen Qiyan went to great lengths to avoid her.
Unexpectedly, Ji Wanyuan went to great lengths to sneak into the Wen residence, even though she couldn't see him during the day!
She was thinking of her parents' wishes and the matchmaker's words.
If we can't win over Wen Qiyan, we'll take down his parents first! Then it'll be a piece of cake for him!
She bribed the old woman in charge of purchasing maids with a large sum of money, disguised herself, and went directly to serve Madam Wen.
Because of her exceptional beauty, Madam Wen noticed her instantly.
Throughout the day, it became clear that she was not only beautiful, but also efficient and perceptive, knowing exactly what her master wanted to do and getting it done before he even had to ask.
Madam Wen was very pleased with her. Before dinner that day, she asked her how old she was, what her name was, where she was from, and how many people were in her family...
She answered them all obediently.
It was a very well-crafted story, and the speaker even spoke in a soft, gentle voice.
Since she had a clean background, Madam Wen immediately had an idea and wanted to select her to serve in Wen Qiyan's room. If she was lucky, she could become a sensible maidservant.
Madam Wen did not say it directly, but said that she had too much work to do here. Seeing that she had fair skin and was literate and could read a few words, she suggested that she go to the eldest son's room to serve him in his study.
She nodded obediently and said okay, she would follow the madam's arrangements.
We just finished making arrangements here.
Looking up, she saw Wen Qiyan, who had returned home sometime earlier, standing behind her and sneered, "Miss Ji, you really have some skills."
It was only then that Madam Wen realized, "So this is Ji Wanyuan?"
Before he could even ask what was going on, Wen Qiyan swiftly and decisively ordered his men to expel Ji Wanyuan and severely punish the maids and servants who had been bribed by Ji Wanyuan.
The next day, when Mr. Wen returned home, Mrs. Wen thought about Ji Wanyuan's words and actions during the day and said that she didn't seem like the person being rumored, and that the rumors were probably wrong.
They also said that Wen Qiyan had reached the age where he should get married, and suggested that he should make some connections with the Ji family.
It was around that time that Wen's father told Wen's wife that His Majesty was most wary of meritorious officials becoming powerful, and that the Ji family's position was too high. If Wen Qiyan married her, they might be targeted.
In addition, Mr. Wen also said that this Miss Ji was indeed not very well-behaved, and her behavior was arrogant and domineering. Sometimes she was even arrogant and domineering. What outsiders said was not entirely unjust.
He also told Madam Wen about several outrageous things that he had witnessed Ji Wanyuan doing, such as associating with Fang Chao and others, frequenting brothels, and even having her maids beat people in the street. The other person's face was swollen from the beating, and he couldn't even speak. He begged for mercy repeatedly, but she still wouldn't let him go.
Madam Wen doubted what outsiders said, but naturally believed what her husband said.
Unexpectedly, Ji Wanyuan was so shrewish. Considering how she could act and pretend during the day, Madam Wen's goodwill towards her plummeted instantly, and she even felt a chill.
"..."
Lost in thought, back at the dinner table, before Ji Wanyuan could reply to Mr. Wen, Madam Wen spoke first.
"I was happy today, and I wanted to get closer to my wife and strengthen our mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship, so I had her keep me company and chat. It's my fault for not letting her go back and rest, and I made her tired."
Madam Wen wanted to see whether Ji Wanyuan would climb up the "pole" to file a complaint or take the "step" down.
Father Wen frowned and took the initiative to stand on Ji Wanyuan's side, "Your daughter-in-law is not even three months pregnant yet. The imperial physician has advised her to rest more and not to overexert herself. As her mother-in-law, you should take good care of her. How can you let her exert herself to talk to you?"
After he finished speaking, he said to Ji Wanyuan, "This is all your mother-in-law's fault. Your father-in-law will help you scold her."
After saying that, she secretly gave Wen Qiyan a look, urging him to take the opportunity to "get closer" to Ji Wanyuan, serve her food as a way of comforting her, and to strengthen their relationship so that he could easily get information about the Ji family from her later.
Today in the Ministry of Justice prison, not a single one of those arrested was willing to divulge a single word. Towards the end of the interrogation, they were truly unable to pry open their mouths, and one even bit off his tongue and committed suicide.
The Ji family is truly formidable.
Indeed, if the Ji family hadn't been so powerful, His Majesty wouldn't have taken such an unconventional approach as to arrange a marriage between the two families.
At her father's last-minute instruction, Wen Qiyan finally raised her eyelids, expressionlessly picked up some food for her, placed it on her jade porcelain plate, and said nothing.
Wen's father smiled and told her to eat more, saying it would be good for her health.
Even when Ji Wanyuan was tired, she remained vigilant, fully aware of the intricacies involved.
What's more, that heartless man Wen Qiyan even served her eggplant, which she hates the most!
She had disliked this taste since childhood, finding it strange.
He did it on purpose, didn't he? Even if he didn't do it on purpose, it's enough to show that he doesn't care about her at all.
Thinking about her past fervor in pursuing him, how she memorized his likes, dislikes, and even his birth date and time over and over again, she wanted to curse herself for wasting her energy on such an unworthy person!
How outrageous! What a waste of time, energy, ink, and money!
In the end, she would never love him again, never give him a second thought, and never entrust him with any affection.
She was already furious inside, but her face remained smiling.
She said to Madam Wen and Lord Wen, "If a mother-in-law is willing to speak with her daughter-in-law, that is to teach her the rules of speaking and acting. How is that wrong? Father-in-law and mother-in-law don't need to treat me like their own daughter and pamper me so much. They also need to scold and discipline me from time to time."
She sighed again and said, "It's my fault for being so weak. She's really not well. It's all because she's been lazy at home. She can't even finish a few words with her mother-in-law and aunt. It's my fault. You shouldn't have made excuses for her."
"From today onwards, daughter-in-law should go to bed early and get up early, drink soup frequently and eat more meals to strengthen her spirit and physical strength, so as to ensure a stable pregnancy and a smooth delivery in the future."
After saying that, she clenched her hand holding the silver chopsticks, her expression serious, showing everyone her determination.
Mr. and Mrs. Wen, along with Aunt Jiang who had been watching the scene without saying a word, all exclaimed, "?"
Was this eldest daughter of the Ji family switched?
Otherwise, how could she be so thoughtful and considerate in her words and actions? She even said things that they hadn't thought of but should have said.
The way Ji Wanyuan made her decision later was incredibly solemn and serious; it wasn't an act at all.
Little did anyone know that she wasn't pretending; she was actually encouraging herself to eat the rotten eggplant, and also calming her panicked mind, which stemmed from the storybook she had read about the possibility of a difficult childbirth and postpartum hemorrhage leading to death.
The moment she lowered her head, Ji Wanyuan's expression relaxed and collapsed.
The three elders opposite her did not notice the change in her expression.
But the man sitting next to her had already noticed something in the corner of his eye from her constant biting of her lips, her trembling eyelashes, her brow twitching, and her gripping of her silver chopsticks.
It was just a small piece of eggplant, but she ate it for a long time.
They may appear incredibly refined and dignified on the surface, but in reality, they are probably as bland and tasteless as chewing wax.
It turns out she doesn't like eggplant.
The man's gaze unconsciously shifted to the eggplant with minced meat in front of him, "..."
With a slight movement of his silver chopsticks, he placed a piece of steamed sea bass in the bowl of the person next to him.
At the same time, he unconsciously stared intently at her reaction.
A note from the author:
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Here they are! [rainbow fart]
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