Ji Xinhe lowered his voice and said with a faint smile, "What I mean is... I hold Li Junyan’s life in my hands."
With a bang, Lady Sun tremblingly dropped the low-quality tea cup. She suddenly stood up, staring at Ji Xinhe, "What did you just say?!"
Ji Xinhe calmly said, "If you cooperate with me, Li Junyan will have a chance to live. If you refuse, I’ll make you a true wandering spirit, and let your beloved daughter die before your eyes. It can be considered as retribution for my father’s death."
Ji Xinhe said this word by word, his tone filled with a chill.
Lady Sun’s chest heaved violently as she shook her head, "Impossible, it’s impossible. How could Yan still be alive? She’s already dead... she was killed by Duan Lan. She’s been dead for a while now!"
Ji Xinhe sneered, "Do you think Duan Lan, a clever man, would choose to kill Li Junyan so openly? Do you honestly think the truth uncovered by the Emperor about Duan Lan’s scandal was the whole truth?"
Lady Sun looked up at Ji Xinhe in shock, "It was you...?"
"Yes, it was me." Ji Xinhe looked at her. "Without this move, how could I easily dethrone Duan Lan? How could I make the foolish Emperor voluntarily imprison Duan Lan, who still hasn’t escaped his fate? But in fact, I have to thank Li Junyan for persistently seeking me out in Yu State to provoke me, otherwise I wouldn’t have thought of this easy strategy to deal with Duan Lan. Li Junyan’s death in Duan Lan’s mansion was also part of our plan, so the truth is... I control the fate of Li Junyan. I’ll tell you frankly, she’s in my hands now. Her fate depends entirely on you, Lady Hou."
This was an explicit threat.
But the fact was, only this kind of tactic would work on Lady Sun.
Lady Sun staggered, and her eyes reddened instantly, "Yan, my Yan is still alive... my Yan..."
——
When Xinhe came out of the meditation room, Xiaoyu said, "Madam, we should not stay here for long. The guards are about to return, you should leave as soon as possible."
Because the Emperor still had some misgivings about Lady Sun, he stationed guards to watch her. But the military power of Da Qian had already become so decayed that even the Emperor didn’t know, Ji Xinhe could easily divert them.
Ji Xinhe nodded, "Let’s go."
"Yes."
Ji Xinhe left with Xiaoyu and Shulan, they hurried down the original path off the mountain.
They thought their departure would be smooth. But just a few steps, they saw a crowd gathering in front of them.
Ji Xinhe instantly stopped, because she seemed to hear the voice of a eunuch. In Qingyuan Temple, the only person who would have a eunuch with her would be her.
Perhaps the temple is too quiet or a twist of fate, as Ji Xinhe turned around, she heard a familiar and absent arrogant voice behind her, "Who’s sneaking around!"
Xiaoyu frowned slightly, muttering under her breath. If Princess Chaoyang exposes madam’s whereabouts now, things might take a turn for the worse.
Ji Xinhe, however, fearlessly turned around and lowered her head and bowed, "The woman I am lacks manners and haven’t seen many nobles. I didn’t mean to disturb you. I beg your forgiveness."
She wore a veil and lowered her eyes, deliberately changed the tone of her voice, and even hid her sharpness. So, at first glance, one couldn’t truly recognize her.
Xiaoyu and Shulan also quickly stepped back, not daring to attract attention. Even though the princess wouldn’t remember two common servants, they didn’t want to accidentally expose their madam.
Princess Chaoyang contemplated the ordinary dressed woman before her, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity, especially the familiar, comforting eyes.
"There is no need for the princess to lower herself to the level of this uncultured civilian woman. It’s beneath you," a court lady sycophantically laughed.
Upon hearing this, Chaoyang snorted, "Looking at her figure, she must be a beauty. Why would she wear a veil to hide her face?"
Xinhe replied softly, "My family rules are strict. I don’t reveal my face easily when I’m outside. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain to my husband’s family. I don’t dare to offend the princess in public, please forgive me."
Ji Xinhe’s humble attitude eased Chaoyang’s suspense somehow. It was somewhat ridiculous to her, to even consider that the woman in front of her could be Ji Xinhe. That mean woman had always been arrogant and cunning, she couldn’t stand the sight of her!
Chaoyang was not in the mood to bother with Ji Xinhe right now. She directly raised her hand and slapped a woman in the face.
A flicker of surprise showed in Ji Xinhe’s eyes, as she lifted her eyes to see that Chaoyang had another woman kneeling before her.
The slap Chaoyang had just delivered was on that woman’s face.
That woman’s face was red and swollen, her clothes torn and shabby, and you could even see the purplish bruises on her wrist. She must have suffered much at the hands of Chaoyang.
"Did you hear that? The least a woman can do is to know her place, not to be a seductress, tempting men everywhere." Chaoyang stood in front of the woman, looking down and sneering.
Ji Xinhe watched with some confusion, wondering who the woman was.
Xiaoyu took a few steps closer to Xinhe and whispered, "From what I’ve gathered, The consort recently favored a servant girl, but soon after, the consort died. I’m afraid this woman is..."
That woman.
This certainly seems to be something Chaoyang could do.
At the moment, Ji Xinhe wanted to leave, but Chaoyang did not permit her to do so. She didn’t dare to act recklessly, so she just continued to stand in the corner, watching the spectacle.
Suddenly, the woman, who had been beaten miserably, struggled to push away Chaoyang’s hand and rushed at Chaoyang with all her might, cursing loudly, "You evil woman, because of a momentary jealousy, you killed De Zhuang. You married him reluctantly, but since you didn’t like him, why did you involve him unnecessarily? He silently endured your oppression for so many years, never escaping. The one time he defied you was when he favored me once when he was drunk. Yet, you directly killed him! You’re such a ruthless and scheming woman, you deserve to lose the man you love!"
"You mean woman, you mean woman!" Chaoyang’s eyes turned red with anger, she wanted to tear the woman’s mouth off.
The servant girl, as if she had given up already, cursed loudly, "Now that things have come to this, what is there for me to fear to say? The reason Mu Xiang rejected you at that time was because he knew of your venomous heart!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
