Chapter 68 How could he not love Ji Wanyuan?
Once again, Ji Wanyuan heard the seriousness in the man's deep voice and stared into his eyes for a moment.
"Really?" After a long pause, she finally asked.
He hummed softly.
"But the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. Won't it be impossible to defend against them all?"
It's not that she doesn't trust Wen Qiyan; well, she just can't completely trust him.
The events in her dream were far too tragic. After her death, the entire Ji family was executed, and nine generations of her relatives were exterminated.
Even though she was certain that Wen Qiyan loved her, and... she clearly understood that his love for her was genuine and not just about her beautiful appearance, but that he was truly and completely devoted to her as a person, she still couldn't entrust herself to him.
Love is such an elusive thing, just like her love for Wen Qiyan, which vanished just as easily.
It would be terrifying if one day Wen Qiyan had a dream like hers and suddenly woke up.
He saw her lost in thought, her expression becoming evasive, and he understood what she meant.
"Well... has anything happened in the capital since I left?"
He always knew what she wanted to ask. "Your father and mother are both well. His Majesty will not take action against the Ji family before we arrive in Youzhou."
However, the situation was less certain for some aristocratic families. As the year drew to a close, the emperor, under the pretext of illness, accepted "tribute" from many of these families and ordered the Censorate to investigate cases. All of this was a disguised way of taking money from the various aristocratic clans to fill the deficit in the national treasury.
But with such a huge deficit in the national treasury, and with the emperor building jade terraces, constructing tall buildings, taking in beauties, and indulging in lavish spending over the years, how could it be easily replenished?
Even if he didn't say it, his father in the Censorate could already understand the absurdity of the emperor's actions.
After all, these were all cases he had personally handled as the Censor-in-Chief. Now that he, the Vice Censor-in-Chief, had left the capital, everything had fallen on his father's shoulders, enough to keep him overwhelmed and leaving him no time to deal with this or that.
But what about the Lin family...?
After a moment of silence, Ji Wanyuan looked at the pastry in her hand and said, "In my dream, I was born in the Wen family and the accident happened there."
"Was I not there for you during childbirth?"
He asked the right question again, which really startled her.
Ji Wanyuan was taken aback. "Will you stay with me?" In the storybooks, Wen Qiyan wasn't even in the capital. What was there to stay with?
Sure enough, Ji Wanyuan's dream had many gaps that she was hiding from him.
She already trusts him to some extent, but not much. If he asks too many questions, he's afraid it will offend her. After thinking it over, Wen Qiyan decided to continue to guide her gently and patiently, just like before.
"Of course I will stay with you. I am your husband. You have borne my children. How can I not stay with you?"
This is also his honest opinion.
Hearing him say that, she got angry instead, crossed her arms, and turned her face away in a huff, "...You make it sound so nice."
"What did I do?" His thoughts drifted away from the book in his hands.
"What did I do in your dream?" he asked, in more detail.
Ji Wanyuan pursed her lips. Now that things had come to this, there was no point in hiding it. She had already told him most of it anyway, and besides, this matter was also related to the Lin family's plot to harm her, so it would be better to tell them.
“You weren’t there for me during childbirth, and even…” she hesitated for a moment, “even when I was in difficult labor, you sent someone to tell me to save the baby, not the mother.”
"Nonsense!" he immediately shut her up.
"How am I talking nonsense? And you're yelling at me..." She huffed and puffed, her chin held high in her anger.
Because she had been lying down and sitting, and because she had complained of pain, he did not bind her chest too much.
At this moment, the collar of her clothes was slightly moved open, revealing a patch of snow-white skin.
Meanwhile, someone remained oblivious, continuing to assertively question, "That's exactly how it is!"
“In my dream, I was having a difficult childbirth. The doctor said it was difficult to save both of us, so he told the Wen family to make a decision as soon as possible to avoid the death of both mother and child. He sent someone to find you, and your attendant came to tell the little maid that you should save the baby, not the mother. Then I died.”
She was not only having a difficult childbirth, but also partly angry.
"Who was it that relayed the message to the little maid in your dream?" he asked, pinpointing the key point of confusion.
"At that time, I was in so much pain during childbirth that I couldn't hear or see who was telling the little maid what to do."
It seems to be Qinghe, the one beside him?
But to be honest, she really didn't hear clearly, she only heard something about saving the small one over the big one, and that Emerald next to her started arguing with the little maid.
Later, in her dream, the story continued, and everything unfolded in the same way she had dreamt of before. She then realized that it was someone close to Wen's father who had sent the message, and that Wen Qiyan was completely unaware of it. In fact, he wasn't even in the capital.
"Since we can't trace the source, it means that someone is taking advantage of the situation."
"Are you really that confident in yourself?" She put it more clearly, "Even if you don't love me, you'll still be there for me during childbirth. After weighing the options between me and the child, will you only choose me?"
"Since you already know, I won't hide it from you. I saw in my dream that I'm carrying a boy."
The eldest grandson that Madam Wen desired.
Without the slightest hesitation, he said, "Even if I don't love you, in my heart, my child can't surpass you." But did the "he" in Ji Wanyuan's dream really not love Ji Wanyuan?
Thinking of this, Wen Qiyan couldn't help but frown.
If there is some kind of dream-transmitting technique that allows Ji Wanyuan to foresee the future, then why is he so heartless towards her in her dream? Could it be that he has been cursed?
How could he not love Ji Wanyuan?
"Don't you think I'm a troublemaker? It's better if I die."
"Ji Wanyuan, you're getting more and more absurd!" He actually scolded her in a low voice like her father.
She was momentarily shocked and stunned, "..."
Even if you don't like hearing about her being dead or alive, why be so vicious?
She couldn't help but retort, "According to your rosy words, if I really did go this time—"
Before she could finish speaking, the man gave her a cold look, and she immediately swallowed back the ominous words that were about to spill from her mouth.
"..."
As the man's fierceness gradually dissipated, she heard him say, "It's not that I'm very confident in myself, but rather that you..."
"What?" Her voice was weak, like a mumble coming from her throat. She was very dissatisfied with him, but had no choice but to respond.
Even though her voice had changed, he could still clearly recognize Ji Wanyuan's unique voice, just like her personality—soft yet resilient, and very clingy.
"You should have some faith in me, and in yourself."
Um……?
When he said that, was he referring to his feelings for her? He probably was; that's the meaning she got from his words.
"Oh." Ji Wanyuan glanced at him and said casually.
He sneered at her words and flicked her forehead with his finger. Even through the thick mask, she felt the pain.
She glared at the man and reprimanded him for his bad behavior, saying, "What if you ruin my face?"
He bullies her because she doesn't dare to speak loudly.
"If it breaks, I'll make you another mask."
"Are they exactly the same?" she asked curiously.
"Of course." He answered her nonsense seriously.
"That would be best. If things don't go well and someone sees through the flaws and reports it to the imperial court, your Wen family won't be able to get away with it."
Upon hearing the words "your Wen family," he chuckled but didn't correct her.
A moment later, Wen Qiyan asked her about the details of childbirth.
When he heard Ji Wanyuan say that she hadn't left the Wen family for the first few months after giving birth, and had been resting in the back courtyard, rarely even leaving the house, he fell silent.
"In my dream, when I was about to give birth, something happened at home. To protect me, my parents rarely contacted me, and my mother-in-law forbade anyone to let me hear the news, for fear that I would have a miscarriage. So, I didn't really know much about what was happening outside."
"Now I don't understand how the Lin family attacked me."
She only learned that everything was just a dream after she died and became a wandering "vengeful spirit."
Ji Wanyuan's dream... was so mysterious that it seemed to foresee everything.
Since there was no way to investigate what her dream was all about for the time being, Wen Qiyan went through her thoughts and ideas.
If Ji Wanyuan hadn't dreamt about it in the first place, and hadn't known the inside story of the marriage between the two families, then her feelings for him shouldn't have faded.
Since she still harbored feelings for him, it was highly likely that she would not be able to hold onto the Youzhou matter from the very beginning. Given the progress of time, coupled with the fact that the Wen family forbade her to leave the house, by the time she gave birth, the Ji family had indeed been almost completely wiped out by the court.
During that time, he did reduce his meetings with her, but even so, according to her, since he had no feelings for her, when she went into labor, she was giving birth to his child, and he would never not be there for her, let alone convey any absurd message about protecting the mother and not reporting the baby.
But when I spoke with her just now, Ji Wanyuan's words were so sincere and intense that they didn't seem like she was acting.
It was as if she only told half the story, while concealing the other half...
According to her account, since this happened, it must be something supernatural.
There are only two possibilities: either he was held up by something and couldn't leave, or someone intercepted the news of her childbirth and didn't let him know.
In the Wen family, this is something that can be done...
Father.
Only her father dared to pass on his words about protecting the young over the old. He disliked Ji Wanyuan as his daughter-in-law and knew that the Ji family was doomed, so her death was the best outcome.
As for her mother, even if she disliked Ji Wanyuan, she wouldn't dare to harm her. Moreover, if the news reached her mother's ears, she wouldn't dare to make a decision on her own; she would definitely consult with her father beforehand.
Therefore, he is his father.
Returning to the first possibility, what could possibly prevent him from leaving? What could possibly hold him back in the capital, unless someone were to assassinate him, but that's highly unlikely.
During that period, the emperor wanted to eliminate the Ji family. When it came to confiscating the Ji family's properties in the capital, the emperor only needed to send people from the Dali Temple and the Censorate. The most troublesome place was Youzhou.
He had been handling the affairs of Youzhou.
He must not have been in the capital when she gave birth, so he couldn't make it back in time.
If he really went to handle matters in Youzhou, his father would never send him a message, because his father knew that if he learned that Ji Wanyuan had given birth, he would definitely come back.
After clarifying the situation, Wen Qiyan looked at her and spoke directly.
"If I wasn't there when you were having a difficult childbirth, then someone must have blocked the news from me so I wouldn't know you were giving birth."
"And that absurd statement about saving the small over the big must be someone impersonating me. If I'm not mistaken, it's my father, isn't it?"
Before Ji Wanyuan could reply, he already understood from her astonished and bewildered eyes that this was indeed the case.
"You..." Ji Wanyuan stammered, "You guessed all of this?"
He was right every time he guessed, and even Wen's father knew?
Does Wen Qiyan really know nothing?
Ji Wanyuan was inwardly panicked, but she tried her best to maintain a calm and composed demeanor.
When he was making the mask for her, he was afraid that her anger and joy would be too obvious and that people would see through her disguise. So he put a lot of effort into it. Now the mask covers her face and can indeed hide her expression and movements very well, but the changes in her eyes cannot lie.
He guessed correctly about the parts she didn't mention.
"Yeah, I guessed."
"How did you guess?" Ji Wanyuan was shocked and couldn't help but sigh, wondering if there could be such a big difference in the agility of people's minds.
If she were as smart as Wen Qiyan, why would she need to rack her brains over and over again?
"Or... are you trying to trick me?"
She snapped out of her reverie and suddenly realized that her two sentences had already given Wen Qiyan a clear answer.
How can we prove that what he said is true?
"I wasn't trying to trick you, but your reaction did confirm that my guess was correct."
The man's unspoken meaning was that she herself had not been able to hide her feelings.
Ji Wanyuan, “…”
What's the difference between these two?
Ji Wanyuan's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. As if to coax her, he handed her another piece of pastry, "May I ask, Miss Ji, is this so?"
Ji Wanyuan looked at the pastries the man handed her, then forcefully snatched them away. "You've already guessed and confirmed it, so why are you asking me?"
How annoying!
"I can only feel at ease when I hear it from you in person."
She didn't know what he was up to, but she was very unhappy at the moment.
Ji Wanyuan puffed out her cheeks and took a bite of the pastry he handed her.
She already had one piece in her hand, and now she had one in each hand, taking a bite from the left and a bite from the right, spoiling herself and venting her anger in front of him.
The man's gaze lingered on her, his eyes unconsciously revealing a doting smile, perhaps without even realizing it himself.
Ji Wanyuan noticed that he was laughing, glared at him, and scolded him in a sweet voice for not being allowed to look.
She looks so ugly right now, why is Wen Qiyan looking at her?
The man raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze back to her, just as she wished.
There was a moment of silence until Ji Wanyuan finished eating the pastries.
He waited for her to calm down, and thoughtfully placed the tea on the small table next to her.
After Ji Wanyuan finished eating, he handed her a handkerchief and asked softly, "Do you want me to wipe you?"
There were crumbs of pastry on her palms and at the corners of her mouth.
"I don't want you." She refused.
Even though he refused, he seemed to be provoked by her words. Ignoring her, he took her hand and helped her wipe it.
As she got closer, she saw the man's delicate and handsome features.
Although she didn't like his domineering attitude, she had to admit that Wen Qiyan's temper and patience had improved a lot compared to before, though she didn't know if he was just faking it.
She looked down and saw the man's long, slender, jade-like hands holding a handkerchief to wipe her hands.
His hands were not only beautiful, but also very large; one hand could completely envelop both of her hands.
For some reason, she became a little distracted, and several images flashed through her mind.
He was... rubbing her.
Although Wen Qiyan's fingers were large, they couldn't fully grasp her breasts, and it was always quite "difficult" for him.
He is not omnipotent.
He noticed her distraction, wiped her face without reminding her, and simply looked into her eyes.
Ji Wanyuan snapped out of her daze and met the man's deep, dark eyes, which startled her so much that she coughed lightly.
Afraid that he would find out and expose her, she quickly changed the subject and went back to, "It's...it's just like you said."
"I only found out in a dream later that it was my father-in-law who had someone impersonate you and kill me. You weren't in the capital at the time, and the news was blocked."
"Am I in Youzhou?" he asked.
This man is a monster.
"Okay." She nodded reluctantly. "You've gone to deal with the private mines."
After a pause, he asked again, "In the later dreams? How many times have you had this dream? Or did you dream it during that nightmare that night?"
Does he have mind-reading abilities?
Ji Wanyuan was constantly being probed by him, and her guesses left her somewhat bewildered.
"It was...it was the dream I had that night."
"So you only dreamt of servants delivering messages, without knowing the reason?"
After being questioned to this extent, she really had no other options.
Ji Wanyuan nodded reluctantly in response.
"Ji Wanyuan, I want to know more about what happened later in your dream."
"And then?" she asked, puzzled.
"What was the reason for your dream?" He wanted to hear that.
"The reason is what I just told you."
How did I later learn that you died in childbirth?
At this point, Ji Wanyuan sighed and said, "It was my uncle who sent you a message, and you came back. I only found out that you had a big argument with my father-in-law in the South Study."
"You dreamed about these scenes?" This is really bizarre.
"yes."
“My father-in-law said that he did it for the Wen family and for the imperial court, and that eliminating me would be the best outcome.”
Wait a minute, did Wen's father help the Lin family in their plot to murder her?
Besides, mentioning this dream inevitably brings to mind Wen Qiyan's loss of composure in the dream. At that time, he confronted Wen's father, and not only was Wen's father frightened by his appearance, but even she, who was floating around nearby, was stunned.
She never expected that Wen Qiyan would be so upset by her death, as if losing her would cause him unbearable pain and make him want to commit suicide with her.
He actually got into a huge fight with his father, leaving Mr. Wen stunned and speechless.
She still remembers when her father questioned her, saying that as a member of the Ji family, and with the Ji family already being punished, could she protect them?
Wen Qiyan said he could at the time.
Did Wen Qiyan in the storybook ever fall in love with her?
Yes or no? She thought... no, probably not.
I can't figure it out.
Thinking of this, I can't help but recall the scene in her dream where Wen Qiyan stared blankly at the courtyard outside for a long time.
"Wen Qiyan, do you love me?"
Unable to figure it out, she simply asked him.
She looked into his eyes and noticed his rare moment of astonishment.
He probably didn't expect her to ask so directly, right? It's rare for him to be at a loss for words.
"You've always avoided the feelings I've expressed for you, so what, have you finally realized it now?"
Ji Wanyuan, “…”
"Did I?" she argued with him righteously and openly.
"No?" he asked, going along with her question.
"Didn't you say before that you would never love me, no matter who you fell in love with, and that I should stop being delusional?"
She brought up the old story again, and fearing he might not remember, she even helped him recall it, saying it happened in the Wen family's flower hall.
Of course, knowing how jealous someone could be, she never mentioned Wen Yunqin, lest he seize on her weakness and keep bothering her.
"Did I say that?"
Unexpectedly, even after she explained everything in such detail, Wen Qiyan still denied it.
He actually denied it!
Ji Wanyuan would hardly have believed it if she hadn't heard it with her own ears.
"Are you denying what you yourself said?"
"There's always one piece of evidence, whether it's witness testimony or physical evidence." The man looked at her and smiled. "Do you have one, my wife?"
Witnesses...
With Jade not around, would Wen Yunqin dare to go looking for it?
Ji Wanyuan was speechless.
"Wen Qiyan, I've actually discovered that you're quite shameless," she said with genuine resentment.
"Really? Then we're a match made in heaven."
“I’m not like you, I have a sense of shame.” She rolled her eyes.
She didn't care much about saving face when she was pursuing him, but now she cherishes it!
The man laughed.
After going around in circles, Ji Wanyuan said irritably that the Lin family's matter hadn't been resolved yet.
"Will I really be safe once I leave the capital?"
She told Wen Qiyan, "In my past life, my food was always taken care of by my close friends. Those people were either my mother's confidants or had been with me since I was a child. They would never harm me."
"I rarely see the Lin family, but I heard from the servants that Lin Nianxi often visits the Wen family, and my mother-in-law is very happy to receive her."
"You suspect that the Lin family plotted to harm you through my mother."
She did think so, "I, I do have that guess."
"Because you were often too busy with official duties to go home, the person I saw most often was my mother-in-law, and my mother-in-law was the person I had the most contact with in the Lin family."
There was also her sister-in-law, Wen Qingling, but she rarely saw Wen Qingling. In the storybooks, this person was always at odds with her and she couldn't please her at all. After being turned down a few times, she didn't want to deal with her anymore.
Will your mother send you all kinds of food, silk, and rouge?
"Yes." In the storybook, Madam Wen was afraid that she would cause trouble, so she took good care of her and often sent people to deliver things to her.
"But those things have been checked by the people around me, and there's nothing wrong with them."
This left her completely baffled.
"Besides that, have you had someone check all the potted plants and trees in the courtyard?"
“I saw it.” Ji Wanyuan said that after she became pregnant, her mother’s people carefully checked her inside and out. “Every day, someone was specifically watching over the things that were sent to the yard.”
"You suspect someone close to me?"
Wen Qiyan frowned, but he already had a general direction and answer in his mind. However, he was not clear about it yet, so he did not tell her.
He reassured her, "...No."
Ji Wanyuan was about to ask more questions, but Wen Qiyan said that the carriage would take a long time to reach the next city, and told her to rest so that she wouldn't be too tired to deal with the guests.
"Don't worry, I'm already handling the Lin family's affairs. Now all you need to do is focus on your pregnancy and wait for delivery. If you experience any discomfort, please let me know immediately."
Even though I could keep an eye on her all the time and be absolutely certain, I was still terrified by her talking about whether she was dead or alive.
Ji Wanyuan couldn't completely relax, but since Wen Qiyan didn't ask any more questions or continue talking, she could only give up and simply said "oh".
It is late autumn, and the capital has been experiencing torrential rain for several days, with a chill in the air.
Lately, Lin Nianxi's people have been running into walls everywhere. The Lin family and the Ji family were not close to begin with, and Madam Ji didn't like her mother, so she had even less of an excuse to visit the Ji family alone.
Therefore, ever since Ji Wanyuan returned to the Ji family to rest and prepare for childbirth, she has not seen Ji Wanyuan's face.
Despite having invited the imperial physician, Madam Wen's illness was still progressing very slowly.
Madam Wen was ill, and Ji Wanyuan did not come back to visit her. As a member of the Wen family's maternal family, she could not directly interfere in the Wen family's affairs, so she could only resort to unconventional methods.
Originally, Lin Nianxi wanted to subtly persuade Wen Qingling, her sister-in-law, to visit the Ji family under the guise of a visit. However, to Lin Nianxi's surprise, Wen Qingling said that Wen Qiyan had warned her not to go to the Ji family to disturb Ji Wanyuan's pregnancy before leaving the capital.
If she gets involved in his affairs with Ji Wanyuan again, he will not only send her away from the capital, but he will also disown her as his sister and will not help her if she ever needs anything in the future.
She had been in the capital for so long not only to visit the sick, but also because she had a falling out with her husband. Going back would only bring her more mistreatment, so she decided to stay at her parents' home.
She knew her brother's temperament well; he meant what he said, so she didn't dare to provoke him. The Wen family would be ruled by her brother in the future, and what would happen if he disowned her as his sister?
Even the closest of sisters couldn't help when their own interests were at stake, so she politely declined Lin Nianxi's offer, saying that her sister-in-law and Ji Wanyuan didn't get along anyway, and it would be awkward for her to visit the Ji family. She suggested that she shouldn't go, and instead sent someone to deliver some things to the Ji family.
After leaving the Wen family and getting into the carriage, the smile that had been on Lin Nianxi's face for so long vanished instantly.
She was still wondering what to do.
How can I do anything if I can't even see Ji Wanyuan?
The Ji family's tight security prevented anyone from taking advantage of the situation.
They asked her personal maid, and it turned out that not only Ji Wanyuan, but even the people around her couldn't get in touch with her.
She hadn't thought of a good solution yet, and as soon as she got home, her father called her over.
Lin Nianxi thought her father knew what she had been doing lately and wanted to stop her, but unexpectedly, he was asking about her progress.
"Didn't Father say that we shouldn't bring this up for the time being?"
Seeing the resentment in her tone, Lin's father quickly comforted her, saying that Wen Qiyan was in the capital at the time, so they had to avoid mentioning it, but it was just a matter of not mentioning it at all.
Lin Nianxi was barely coaxed into doing anything and told her father that nothing she had been able to do these past few days had worked.
“Ji Wanyuan is protected too well in the Ji family. Our two families are not close. If Mother were to send a visiting card, Madam Ji probably wouldn’t accept it.”
If someone suddenly shows up when there has been no prior contact, the other party will inevitably feel that they have ill intentions and will be afraid of alerting the enemy.
"There's not even a small opening left?" Lin's father asked, puzzled.
How come we can't even get in touch with the people around Ji Wanyuan? This sounds so strange.
Seeing her father's grave expression, Lin Nianxi asked, "Has the Ji family already figured out what we're up to?"
Lin's father did not answer.
Given Ji Zhao's vigilance and suspicious nature, it is indeed very likely that he noticed something, otherwise he would not have brought Ji Wanyuan back from the Wen family during such a turbulent time.
The Ji family may seem peaceful, but it's far more dangerous than the Wen family; countless eyes are watching them.
But that's also strange. So many people are watching the Ji family, and her daughter has tried to get close to Ji Wanyuan many times, but she still hasn't been able to get anywhere with her.
Could it be... that Ji Wanyuan is no longer with the Ji family?
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Author's Note: Here it comes! [Rainbow fart] This chapter will still randomly drop 50 lucky red envelopes.
The story is entering its final stages, thank you everyone for your continued support! [rainbow emoji]
Goodnight, little ones, see you tomorrow.
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