Chapter 386 Envy
Princess Jinning seemed to see through Jiang Mi's dilemma. She liked Huo Ran and naturally wanted to marry him, but if Huo Ran married Jiang Mi, she wouldn't feel so bad.
Since she couldn't marry Huo Ran anyway, she might as well be with Jiang Mi rather than let someone else have her. Firstly, Jiang Mi was stunningly beautiful, and she and Huo Ran would make a perfect couple. Secondly, she liked Jiang Mi very much and felt comfortable with her. So, she wasn't jealous at all; in fact, she was quite happy.
The old lady continued to grumble, "If it weren't for marrying the Liu family's daughter, the Jiang family wouldn't be qualified to enter the palace. Even so, they're still so arrogant. But isn't Liu Zijun usually very proud? Why is she not saying a word now, and even seems a little afraid of Jiang Zhihai?"
Princess Jinning snorted coldly: "Evil people will be punished by evil people. Liu Zijun deserves it. She did so many bad things before, so she must be punished. Besides, she deserved to marry Jiang Zhihai."
Although the old lady felt quite relieved, in front of so many people, she pretended to scold her granddaughter: "Don't talk nonsense. There is no evidence for this matter. You are just repeating hearsay. Don't talk nonsense."
Princess Jinning pouted and gave a dissatisfied "oh." Anyway, everyone pretty much knew what was going on.
Jiang Mi and Huo Ran exchanged a glance and said to the old lady, "Grandma, there's no need to be angry with her. We all know what kind of person she is, so there's no need for us to be angry."
The old lady looked at Jiang Mi differently. She asked Huo Ran, "You've married a good wife. You must cherish her. Being well-matched in social status isn't that important. Besides, your wife's family background is very clean. That's enough. You don't need to pay attention to what others say. Just live your own lives well."
Huo Ran nodded, his expression softening considerably: "Thank you, Madam. If I cared about what people would say, I wouldn't have gone ahead with my own way."
Jiang Mi also spoke up for Huo Ran: "The young master has been very good to me. Thank you, Madam, for standing by my side."
The old lady smiled kindly and took Jiang Mi's hand as they walked into the palace: "I am also a woman, so naturally I will side with women, because no one understands the hardships and suffering of women better than us women. You are also a good child, so it's no wonder that Jin Ning likes you."
Jiang Mi glanced back at Princess Jinning and saw that she was smiling very kindly at her. Jiang Mi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Princess Jinning was not angry with her. Otherwise, it would be a pity to lose such a friend she had finally found.
The group headed towards the palace, led by a group of eunuchs. Princess Jinning quietly approached Jiang Mi and whispered in her ear, "I wonder what Consort Jing is up to. I have a feeling it's not a good thing. Why hold this banquet out of the blue? Does she think her niece isn't embarrassing enough already?"
Jiang Mi guessed, "I think Consort Jing probably wants to see everyone's attitude towards the Liu family. The Liu family's most precious daughter is Liu Zijun. Now the Liu family's scandals have spread throughout the capital. Consort Jing wants to give us a warning so that we are not allowed to underestimate the Liu family or Liu Zijun."
"Is that so?" Princess Jinning was a little surprised. She had never thought of this. There was such a deep level of understanding. It seemed that her vision was too narrow. In that case, Jiang Mi was really amazing.
Jiang Mi said in a low voice, "I'm just guessing. Otherwise, why would Consort Jing do this? As long as it doesn't affect our interests, let her do as she pleases. Liu Zijun is already hopeless, and with her stupid husband, she'll never be able to turn her life around."
At this point, Jiang Mi glanced tentatively at Princess Jinning and asked cautiously, "By the way, I remember you said before that you didn't want Huo Ran to marry Liu Zijun. Huo Ran and I... we've known each other for a while, so I can't really tell you about this, we..."
Seeing Jiang Mi stammering, Princess Jinning deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Hmph, I know what you're going to say. I told you to your face that I liked Huo Ran. I didn't expect that you, as my good sister, would actually get together with him behind my back and even get married. You never told me. It seems that I am nothing more than that in your heart."
Jiang Mi was a little anxious and quickly said, "No, it's not true. Actually, I've been wanting to tell you this for a while, but I didn't know how to bring it up. Besides, there's a huge difference in our statuses. I was afraid you'd be angry, so I didn't dare to see you. I'm sorry, Jin Ning, I didn't want to treat you like this. But Huo Ran loves me very much, and I do love him very much too. I don't want to show off in front of you. If you don't want to be with me anymore because of this, I'll accept it."
Jin Ning said unhappily, "Are you really going to stop being with me for a man? What a heartless woman. It's a waste that I liked you so much. Oh well, although I liked Huo Ran before, you're the one who married him, so I have no regrets."
Jiang Mi glanced at Princess Jinning in surprise. She hadn't expected Princess Jinning to say such a thing, and she was immediately moved.
"Really? Is that really what you think? Thank you, Jinning. It's so hard to choose between you two. I also have to think about my family. I can't get a divorce from him."
Princess Jinning chuckled, "Oh dear, I was just trying to scare you. Look, you really don't want to divorce your husband for me, do you? I'm not interested in women at all. People who don't know better might think there's something going on between us. As long as you and Huo Ran are doing well, I'll be happy too. If Huo Ran treats you badly, I'll still side with you. Don't worry."
Having such a good friend made Jiang Mi feel especially warm: "Great! With you, Princess, backing me up, I'm not afraid of anything!"
The two sisters walked in with smiles, and Huo Ran followed behind. Hearing their conversation, his brows furrowed tightly, and he was very unhappy. Jiang Mi could not divorce him for anyone else. The fact that she could say the word "divorce" so easily made him very uncomfortable. No matter what, Jiang Mi should not think about divorcing him. She could only be with him for the rest of her life.
The group first paid their respects to the Empress and the Empress Dowager before heading to Consort Jing's palace.
After seeing Jiang Mi, the Empress Dowager and the Empress couldn't help but ask a few more questions, such as whether Huo Ran was treating her well after their marriage. However, after seeing the sweetness between the two of them, they both smiled very lovingly.
Jiang Mi followed Princess Jinning all the way, and the two walked together. People around them looked at Jiang Mi with great envy. Although this woman came from a humble background, she was stunningly beautiful. Moreover, she married the man that all the women in the capital wanted to marry, and she had such a good relationship with Princess Jinning. It seemed that she had all the good things in the world.
Consort Jing wore palace attire in the palace, which was even more magnificent than when she was at the Prime Minister's residence. Everyone's eyes lit up when they saw Consort Jing, but after seeing Jiang Mi, they felt that Consort Jing was much less impressive.
When Consort Jing saw Jiang Mi, the smile on her face froze for a moment. She hadn't expected Jiang Mi to be so breathtakingly beautiful when dressed up. Even when she was at her most beautiful in her youth, she was far inferior to Jiang Mi.
However, given her status, she naturally couldn't afford to compete with a junior for affections.
When Liu Zijun saw Consort Jing, she immediately wanted to rush over, but Jiang Zhihai held her back tightly.
"What are you doing? You're not trying to report me, are you? Liu Zijun, this is the palace, that's true, but you're already a member of the Jiang family. If you don't know your place, don't blame me for being impolite."
Liu Zijun glared fiercely at Jiang Zhihai. She had never suffered such humiliation in her life, and she was determined to make Jiang Zhihai pay for his actions.
Consort Jing noticed Liu Zijun's direction. She glanced coldly at Jiang Zhihai, then extended her hand towards Liu Zijun.
"Zijun, come to your aunt's side." Consort Jing was simply trying to support Liu Zijun. With her there, she wouldn't allow anyone to bully Jiang Mi.
Liu Zijun forcefully shook off Jiang Zhihai's hand and stepped forward.
Consort Jing could see that Liu Zijun was not doing well, but they were already married, so it was too late for regrets.
"How have you been lately? I heard from your mother that you haven't returned to your parents' home since you got married. Have you been bullying them?"
Just as Liu Zijun was about to speak, Jiang Zhihai suddenly leaned closer.
"Auntie." Jiang Zhihai didn't stand on ceremony at all and called her auntie right away.
Consort Jing frowned in displeasure and stepped back slightly, so the eunuch next to her stepped back to block Jiang Zhihai.
"Young Master Jiang, are you still hungover? You must perform a grand ceremony when you see Consort Jing. Moreover, your abruptness shows a complete lack of manners."
Jiang Zhihai grinned and said, "These are all family. Ziju's aunt is my aunt too. We're all family, so there's no need for formalities. This is the first time your aunt has met me. She'll get to know me better in the future."
"How dare you speak to Her Majesty like that!"
The father-in-law scolded him and was about to order someone to throw Jiang Zhihai out when Consort Jing stopped him out of consideration for Liu Zijun.
"That's enough, Jiang Zhihai. Now that you've married Zijun, you must treat her well in the future, otherwise the Liu family and I will not let you off the hook."
Jiang Zhihai said with a smile, "I've always been good to myself, otherwise she wouldn't have been so reluctant to go back to her parents' home, right, my wife?"
Jiang Zhihai's triangular eyes gleamed with a sharp light.
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