"Footprints on the frosty plank bridge"
The Ji family's ancestors earned their wealth and status at sea; their riches and honors were real. However, despite their large size and wealth, the Ji family had a small population.
By the time it came to Ji Shuangqiao's generation, the collateral branches had either died or scattered, leaving only her and her younger brother to guard the vast family business. The sudden shipwreck seemed to be the Ji family repaying all the good fortune they had borrowed from the sea god in one go.
With her parents gone, rivals eyeing her covetously, and distant relatives and neighbors bullying her because she was still an unmarried girl, everyone wanted a piece of the pie from her.
Who was Ji Shuangqiao? Surrounded by wolves and unable to find peace day after day, she simply gave away all her wealth and retired to the mountains with her younger brother.
Going from extravagance to frugality is incredibly difficult. Living a simple life is still good, but what's worse is that her younger brother has been in poor health since childhood, suffering from tuberculosis, and needs medicine to keep him alive.
The Ji family and the Shangguan family are related, but they are not close by. The chain reaction caused by her parents' death kept her busy for many days.
The Shangguan family only learned of Ji Shuangqiao's parents' deaths half a month later.
Her younger brother needed money for medical treatment, and making a living also required a considerable amount of money. The teenage girl dismissed her wet nurse, who had always been with her, and sat with her younger brother in the dilapidated thatched hut, experiencing despair for the first time.
Should we go and seek refuge with the Shangguan family?
The Shangguan family could provide protection for a time, but living under someone else's roof inevitably evokes sighs of pity.
Moreover, Shangguan Lin had kept a portion of the land deed for herself in order to treat her brother's illness, and her eyes had never left the Ji family. If she rashly sought help before clearing up these internal filth, she would only be causing trouble for the Shangguan family.
When she had nowhere to go and was filled with sorrow, the Yang family of Huaizhou sent someone to visit her and propose marriage.
Ji Shuangqiao was initially taken aback. It was true that the Yang and Ji families had a marriage agreement, but the Ji family was no longer what it used to be.
She knew she was not good enough for the prefect's only son; with his status and position, there were plenty of men in Huaizhou willing to marry their daughters into his household.
Why was it Ji Shuangqiao in particular?
She couldn't understand it, but right now she needed the Yang family's support. The money to save her brother's life could be considered part of her dowry and sent to the Yang family, so those outsiders wouldn't even think of taking a share.
As for the Yang family, any respectable family would be ridiculed for coveting the bride's dowry.
After weighing the options, Ji Shuangqiao simply got married.
She and Yang Li had feelings for each other. Ji Shuangqiao had always been aloof and arrogant, and she would never compromise herself when choosing a husband.
She liked Yang Li; she liked her from the first time she saw her.
Was this marriage a promise kept by the Yang family, or was it something Yang Li himself insisted on?
unknown.
"...Yang Li".
Ji Shuangqiao collapsed to the ground, watching her lover rush into the sea of fire without looking back. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe, as if she herself had also walked through the gates of hell.
She desperately scratched at the imperial guards who were blocking her way, choking and unable to make a sound for a long time. She could only use her hands and feet to grip the ashes-covered floor tiles, trying to get closer to that person.
When Xiao Diting rushed to the front and saw her like this, he felt a dull pain in his heart and reached out to pry her mouth open.
Ji Shuangqiao felt suffocated. In her panic, she bit Xiao Diting's outstretched hand and tasted the rust before regaining a sliver of clarity.
"Breathe, don't get too excited, breathe!"
It turns out that when people are overwhelmed with grief, they truly forget to breathe.
Ji Shuangqiao's chest heaved continuously. After taking a few breaths, air rushed into her chest, and she seemed to regain her senses, letting out her first hoarse sound.
"Yang Li—"
Xiao Diting grasped her hand, which was hovering in mid-air, unsure of what to do, and stared intently at Ji Shuangqiao. She was so clever that she quickly realized what had happened.
Yang Li is dead.
She had mixed feelings.
When a person dies, many things become much easier to control, and everyone would be happy to see it end in this way, as it is a form of "suicide out of guilt."
But seeing Ji Shuangqiao's distraught appearance still made her feel very sad.
When Ji Shuangqiao chose to expose Yang Li, she was prepared to die together with him. She was not afraid of death and always looked forward to the day when Yang Li would be beheaded and brought to justice.
Yang Li was destined to die. As for how and when she would die, with hatred pushing Ji Shuangqiao forward, she didn't think too much about it.
But if Yang Li were to end her life in this way, it would be a crystal-clear mirror for Ji Shuangqiao. She would only need to step forward to see her own complete and sincere heart.
It turns out that her extreme hatred stemmed entirely from her twisted love.
As for Yang Li, how much sincerity did he still have for her? Was she truly unaware of this?
Pain swept over her entire body, Ji Shuangqiao felt dizzy, and her body went limp as if all her tendons and bones had been removed. She collapsed straight into the snow.
Xiao Diting reacted swiftly, supporting the back of her neck, his palm touching something scorching hot. Snowflakes clung to her sweat-dampened temples, instantly melting into icy water that trickled down her pale cheeks, looking even more burning than sparks from a fire.
"Summon the physician!" Xiao Diting shouted sharply, pulling Ji Shuangqiao into her arms to shield her from the wind.
While the Imperial Guards were still clearing the embers from the fire, they immediately dispatched two men to the nearest clinic upon hearing the commotion.
She crouched down and carefully lifted Ji Shuangqiao into her arms, her movements so gentle it was as if she were handling something fragile. Ji Shuangqiao was so light she was practically just bones, with almost no weight.
Pei Wenjin had been standing behind him without him noticing. Seeing that Xiao Diting was carrying the person rather clumsily, he stepped forward and whispered, "Your Highness, let me do it."
Xiao Diting turned his head to look at him and saw that his eyes were full of exhaustion.
That's right. Pei Wenjin returned from Danzhou and came looking for her without resting. He hadn't had a proper rest at all. She could carry him, so there was no need to trouble others any further.
"I'll do it myself." She walked straight past Pei Wenjin and beckoned everyone to leave.
Seeing that their superior and the princess were heading to the inn, the remaining Imperial Guards sped up their efforts to clear out the Yang residence.
When Yang Li's mother was found, she was huddled in a corner of the woodshed, trembling and repeatedly muttering "what a sin." When she was brought out by the Imperial Guards, she caught a glimpse of the broken walls and ruins in the direction of the ancestral hall, and collapsed to the ground, unable to catch her breath.
Xiao Diting had her taken to a side room in the inn as well, and ordered people to inventory the Yang family's property, register it, and seal it away—this would be evidence in the Huaizhou grain draft, and nothing could be touched.
At the inn, Ji Shuangqiao was placed in the innermost superior room. When the physician arrived, she was lying on the bed convulsing, and the cold cloth on her forehead was quickly warmed up.
The physician frowned as he took her pulse, feeling her pulse repeatedly: "This woman has suffered from chronic heart stagnation for years, and has also been choked by thick smoke. In addition, she has caught a cold. I'm afraid she will have a fever for several days."
Xiao Diting stood aside, listening to the soft groans coming from Ji Shuangqiao's throat, his fingertips unconsciously clenching his sleeves: "Do your best to treat him, the rest is negotiable."
Pei Wenjin stood guard outside the room, listening to the physician's instructions and Xiao Diting's occasional responses. He remained there without moving.
Inside the room, Xiao Diting watched as the physician wrote out the prescription and then instructed the innkeeper to fetch and prepare the medicine before sitting down by the bedside.
Ji Shuangqiao's face was still deathly pale. He slept restlessly, muttering "Yang Li" intermittently, tears streaming down his face and soaking his pillow.
Xiao Diting reached out to wipe away her tears. The skin her fingertips touched was burning hot. She suddenly remembered how she looked when she lost her mother when she was young. She also huddled in the quilt and cried like this, but no one wiped away her tears.
“If he were truly heartless towards you, he wouldn’t have pushed you out of the fire,” Xiao Diting said softly, as if speaking to Ji Shuangqiao, yet also as if speaking to himself. “You don’t need to degrade yourself like this.”
Ji Shuangqiao seemed to hear her words. Her brows furrowed, her sobs gradually subsided, and her breathing became a little more even.
When the decocted medicine was served, the steaming liquid had an unpleasant smell.
Xiao Diting took the medicine bowl, scooped up a little with a small spoon, blew on it to cool it, and then offered it to Ji Shuangqiao's lips. Ji Shuangqiao, however, seemed to sense something, turned her head away, clenched her teeth, and refused to drink the medicine.
Xiao Diting patiently tried several more times, but still couldn't get the food in.
“Your Highness, you won’t be able to drink it if you feed it dry like this.” Pei Wenjin walked in at some point. Xiao Diting tucked the blanket around Ji Shuangqiao before beckoning Pei Wenjin to come over.
"In your opinion, what should be done?"
"Elevate the person appropriately, use a chopstick to press down the back of the tongue, and create some space before feeding."
Following Pei Wenjin's suggestion, Xiao Diting had the innkeeper bring a soft pillow to place under Ji Shuangqiao's neck, while he leaned over to steady her shoulders and back.
Pei Wenjin handed over a clean bamboo chopstick. She held the chopstick and gently probed it between Ji Shuangqiao's teeth. Once the tightly clenched jaw loosened slightly, she immediately used a small spoon to scoop up some medicine and slowly fed it in.
As soon as the medicine touched the tip of his tongue, Ji Shuangqiao flinched and uttered a few muffled syllables. Fortunately, Ji Shuangqiao was in poor health and had been taking medicine for many years, so he managed to drink it down little by little.
Xiao Diting patiently held her neck with one hand and gently blew on the spoonful of medicine with the other, waiting for the temperature to drop slightly before slowly feeding it to her.
It took almost half a cup of tea to finish feeding him the half bowl of medicine.
During this time, Pei Wenjin sat quietly to the side, presumably to have something to ask her.
She wiped the medicine stains from Ji Shuangqiao's mouth, tucked her in, and made sure her breathing was steady before calling Pei Wenjin to walk outside together.
The two tiptoed out and stood under the eaves. The gatekeeper handed them a hand warmer, which Pei Wenjin took and placed in Xiao Diting's hand.
“The remaining members of the Yang family have all been apprehended. Yang’s mother is still unconscious in the side room. The physician said she needs half a day to wake up.” Pei Wenjin spoke first, his voice very low so as not to disturb the people inside. “The Yang family has a basement with stored grain that can be used as evidence. This matter should end here.”
Xiao Diting held the hot water bottle to warm his hands, his gaze falling on the thin layer of snow accumulated in the courtyard, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the porcelain surface: "I understand... Yang Li is quite a man."
She paused, turned to look at Pei Wenjin, her eyes turning colder: "There's no need to interrogate Yang's mother anymore. She's just a woman from a secluded family. If we push her too far after the Yang family falls, things will only go wrong."
"Give her some money and let her go."
"What about this side of Ji Shuang Bridge?" Pei Wenjin asked.
He knew that Ji Shuangqiao was a key witness in the grain bill case, but now he was so ill that he was delirious and could not even speak clearly, so the subsequent investigation would have to be postponed.
Xiao Diting looked up at the snow falling heavily through the crooked corridor, pondered for a moment, and then made a decision: "Let them go. They're just scapegoats; as long as it's acceptable on the surface—"
"Furthermore, with so many people involved, some people should be getting anxious."
The lanterns under the eaves swayed gently in the wind, casting long shadows on the two figures. In the distance, the footsteps of the Imperial Guards on patrol echoed, their crunching on the snow adding a touch of noise to the quiet night.
Xiao Diting exhaled a breath of stale air, the splashing snowflakes wetting her robes. It took her a while before she moved closer to Pei Wenjin.
"This is a messy account that can't be calculated... Young Master Pei, I should have listened to you a long time ago."
“But I don’t regret it.” Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
