Chapter 368 Reaping the Bitter Fruit
Jiang Mi vaguely remembered that when she was in Qingyun Village, she didn't know Huo Ran yet. She was just a fat and ugly child. No one liked her and no one played with her.
At that time, Jiang Mi could only follow Yang Liuer around. No one else would pay attention to her, and only Yang Liuer would reluctantly play with her.
After dying once, she finally saw the true faces of the people around her. For so long, she has been grateful that she was given a second chance at life, otherwise she and Huo Ran would never have had any contact or outcome.
"Honey, what do you think I should prepare for your family when I give betrothal gifts? I know the customs in the capital, but I don't know if there are any customs in your Shushan County. I'd like to know so I can be more aware of them."
Jiang Mi didn't understand these things either. She said in a low voice, "I don't know either. I'm not married. When my brothers got married, I was still young. I didn't care about these things and didn't understand them."
Huo Ran was somewhat disappointed: "Okay, it's alright, I'll ask around later."
Huo Ran's actions showed that he valued Jiang Mi highly, which made Jiang Mi very happy. Now that she had a lot of money, she didn't care so much about money anymore, as long as Huo Ran put his heart into it.
But, is it really time for me to get married?
She always felt like a child, but she never imagined that she would be getting married in the blink of an eye. She would be living with Huo Ran and leaving her little house. Oh well, she would leave the house to her parents and eldest brother and sister-in-law. Her second and third brothers would have their own mansions.
The two talked for a while, and when they saw that there was no one around, they quietly went out. After all, they were not yet married, and it would not be good for a man and a woman to be discovered together.
Jiang Mi walked back to Liang Lan and Su Yindi's side. Su Yindi was looking around for Jiang Mi. When she saw her, she asked curiously, "Honey, where have you been? My sister-in-law and I couldn't see you. Why did you run around without saying a word? My sister-in-law and I thought Liu Zijun had done something to you."
Jiang Mi quickly shushed her, telling her to keep her voice down: "Third sister-in-law, please keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear. I didn't do anything, I just went to admire the flowers. Don't shout, it's not good if everyone hears."
Su Yindi had no choice but to shut up. Consort Jing was returning to the palace. After all, she was a palace person and couldn't stay outside for too long. The fact that she had come out for such a short time was already giving Liu Zijun enough face. So everyone respectfully saw Consort Jing off back to the palace. Even Prime Minister Liu and his wife came out.
This was the first time Jiang Mi had seen Liu Zijun's parents. Judging from their faces, they seemed rather mean and unapproachable. Especially with Liu Zijun standing beside them, swaggering around, it made people feel that no one in the Liu family was any good.
Liu Zijun whispered a few words in Madam Liu's ear, and Madam Liu looked over at Jiang Mi, then revealed a look of surprise and jealousy. The mother and daughter whispered to each other, and Jiang Mi always felt that they were up to no good.
After a while, when everyone returned to their seats, Madam Liu personally offered them flower tea and spoke to them warmly.
Zhao Zhilan said with a fawning expression, "I didn't expect Madam Liu to be so kind. I've always heard Sister Zijun talk about how wonderful Madam Liu is, but now that I've actually met her, I realize that what Sister Zijun said wasn't enough. Madam Liu is clearly even better than Sister Zijun described."
Madam Liu chuckled: "You have a sweet tongue. No wonder Ziju is willing to play with you. Ziju also spoke highly of you in the capital. You are good sisters and should look after each other more."
When Madam Liu said this, Liu Zijun looked disdainful. She didn't think Zhao Zhilan was her good friend at all; Zhao Zhilan was not worthy of her at all.
Madam Liu then looked at Jiang Mi and said with a smile, "I rarely see this girl. She's really beautiful. Was she the one your aunt was praising earlier?"
Liu Zijun kept a straight face. Without Consort Jing, she didn't even want to pretend anymore, especially after Huo Ran had mocked her in front of Jiang Mi just now. She hated Jiang Mi to death.
"Yes, it's her."
Madam Liu nodded and gestured to Jiang Mi, "Please try the rose tea I made myself. Ziju loves it. Rose tea not only smells sweet, but it's also good for women, especially for delicate flowers like you. It's the perfect time to take good care of yourselves."
Upon hearing this, everyone lowered their heads to taste it, and then showered Madam Liu with praise. Madam Liu simply smiled and nodded, peering through the gap in the cup to see if she had drunk the ginger honey.
Since Madam Liu had spoken personally, Jiang Mi naturally had to give her face and casually took a sip. Liang Lan, who was next to her, said, "This rose tea tastes better than the one Liu Zijun made. Mothers are always more impressive than daughters."
Su Yindi also took a sip, mimicking the manners of those well-bred young ladies, savoring the taste in small sips, always mindful that her status was different from before.
After a while, Jiang Mi felt dizzy, as if she had been drinking alcohol, but she didn't feel this way even after drinking peach blossom wine. She turned to look at others and found that no one else seemed to be feeling unwell. Could it be that she was feeling unwell?
Just then, she noticed a gaze falling on her. She pretended not to notice and looked over, only to meet Madam Liu's eyes. Madam Liu smiled, raised her cup, and toasted her.
Jiang Mi's heart skipped a beat. It seemed that there was something wrong with this cup of tea, and it was only hers that was the problem. Everyone else was fine, even Liang Lan and Su Yindi were perfectly normal.
It was Liang Lan who first noticed that something was wrong with Jiang Mi: "Honey, what's wrong with you?"
Jiang Mi felt dizzy. She covered her head and said, "I don't know. I just feel dizzy and have no strength."
"How about I take you to the back room to rest for a bit? It's probably the wind today; even though it's almost summer, the wind is still a bit chilly."
"Alright." Jiang Mi had a feeling that the Liu mother and daughter didn't have good intentions, and she wanted to see what they were up to.
After going to the back room, Liang Lan patted Jiang Mi's head and said, "I'll go get you some water."
Watching Liang Lan leave, Jiang Mi suddenly sat up. She showed no signs of anything amiss and looked completely different from before.
Just before she drank the tea, the system informed her that there was something wrong with the water. So she had only pretended to take a sip to fool Madam Liu, and her purpose was simply to see what Madam Liu was up to.
After waiting for a while, she heard several footsteps and someone whispering, "Is this the place? Let's go in quickly."
Jiang Mi quickly lay back down. Just then, the door was pushed open from the outside, and a man walked in. He looked at Jiang Mi lying on the bed and exclaimed, "She's so beautiful! How is she any different from a celestial maiden? To meet a woman like her in this life, I would have no regrets even if I died."
As he spoke, the man lunged at Jiang Mi, but Jiang Mi was prepared and dodged sharply, causing the man to miss his target.
Just then, Huo Ran suddenly burst in through the window, shielding Jiang Mi behind him, and then kicked the man who was lunging at him hard.
He was furious, more furious than ever before. In his eyes, Jiang Mi was the most important person in his life, and no one could hurt her. If this man dared to have designs on his woman, then he had to die!
"Did he touch you?" Huo Ran's voice was like falling into an ice cellar, as if it could freeze people to death. Jiang Mi had no doubt that as long as she said "yes," Huo Ran would definitely tear this man to pieces.
"No, I sensed something was wrong a long time ago, and I was on guard."
Huo Ran breathed a slight sigh of relief. As long as Jiang Mi was alright, then this man could still live.
Just then, two more footsteps came from outside, and Liu Zijun's voice rang out: "Is this the place? Why is there no sound at all?"
The man inside had been subdued by Huo Ran and was now unconscious on the bed, unable to make a sound.
"I'll go in and take a look," Liu Zijun said, about to enter, but was stopped by the maid.
"Miss, don't go in. Madam said that she will bring everyone here to visit later. That way, Jiang Mi's reputation will be completely ruined, and she will never be able to hold her head up in front of Young Master Huo again. That way, Young Master Huo will not want her."
Jiang Mi was utterly heartbroken. She never expected that the Liu mother and daughter had such a plan. They were utterly despicable!
Huo Ran felt the same way; he wished he could kill the mother and daughter.
Liu Zijun ignored the maid's advice: "It's alright, I'll go in and check the situation first, then I'll give you a signal. When I break the cup, you can bring my mother and everyone else over."
The maid had no choice but to nod.
Liu Zijun had just entered and closed the door when Huo Ran knocked her unconscious.
Huo Ran coldly said, "I'll kill her."
Jiang Mi quickly stopped him: "No, this is the Liu residence after all. If Liu Zijun dies, Prime Minister Liu will not let it go. We should give him a taste of his own medicine."
Huo Ran was stunned for a moment, and then saw Jiang Mi use all her strength to put Liu Zijun and the man from before on the same bed, and then take off their clothes and hug them together.
"Alright, this mother and daughter tried to scheme against me, but in the end they can only scheme against themselves. Let them suffer the consequences."
After Jiang Mi finished doing all this, he suddenly smashed the cup, then took Jiang Mi and left gracefully, hiding behind the artificial hill to wait and watch the show later.
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