6 Protect Him
◎A bastard born to a low-class singer◎
"He's indeed a little bastard born to a brothel girl. Look at his devilish face."
"Come, crawl through here, and I'll let you go." Ji Tianbao spread his hips, and there was a pool of unknown yellow liquid on the ground. He looked at Ji Shijing mockingly with a wicked smile.
Ji Shijing was forced to his knees on the ground by two servants. He looked up and stared at Ji Tianbao, his pupils cold and something flashed in them, so fast that it was impossible to catch.
Ji Tianbao couldn't help but shudder when he saw his eyes. He squatted down and patted Ji Shijing's pale face with his hand: "It's been a few years since we last met, and you still look like you're dying."
"When I came to the mansion today, the servants said that you would not survive this winter. It's a pity that my second uncle has so much property. It will all fall on my head. Aren't you angry?" Ji Tianbao smiled with gloating pleasure.
But no matter how Ji Tianbao laughed at him, he didn't react at all, as if no words could stimulate him or influence his emotions. He was like an emotionless puppet.
Ji Tianbao looked calm, but a nameless anger rose in his heart, as if he was punching cotton, which was very unpleasant.
Ji Shijing had always been the target of his wanton bullying, because in this huge mansion, no one would truly protect this sickly person.
In the winter twelve years ago, Ji Dayong and his family came to the Ji Mansion to celebrate the New Year. It was the dead of winter, with a cold wind and heavy snow for several days.
Ji Tianbao heard that his second uncle had another son a few years ago, and he was very curious. Later, he saw the down-and-out and dirty Ji Shijing for the first time in the dog hole. The five-year-old Ji Shijing's clothes were tattered, his hair was messy, and he had his back to him, as if he was gnawing on something.
Next to him was a dying dog with a big gash on its neck and blood gushing out.
He thought Ji Shijing was a servant's child, so he called out to him. However, when the child turned around, he saw an extremely terrifying face with bloodshot eyes and lips covered with dog hair and dark red blood.
Ji Tianbao was so frightened that he screamed. After returning home, he developed a fever. His dreams were full of the child covered in blood but with eyes like a devil.
He told his second uncle about the fright he had suffered that day. Unexpectedly, his second uncle went straight to the north yard with a stick in his hand after hearing it, and he also hurried over.
I only saw the stick in my second uncle's hand hitting the ragged child again and again. His thin body fell down weakly, and the wooden stick made a horrifying sound when it hit his body, but he didn't make a sound.
Ji Tianbao shouted viciously beside him: "Beat him to death, second uncle, beat him to death." It was his fault for scaring himself.
Upon hearing this, Master Ji beat him even harder, gritting his teeth and saying, "You little bastard, who told you to scare Tianbao?"
"He even bit the black dog that was guarding the house to death. He's really capable."
After Master Ji was tired of beating Ji Shijing, he hung him under the old locust tree. The thin and small figure hung on the tree for a whole day and night. It was snowing heavily at the time, and he floated in the cold wind.
Some kind-hearted women in the mansion sympathized with the five-year-old child, but no one was willing to save him, leaving him to be swallowed by the snow.
When everyone thought he was dead, the old Chinese doctor felt his pulse and was shocked to find that he was still breathing.
But Master Ji refused to allow anyone to treat him, and the illness he contracted during that cold winter damaged his body. It was not easy for him to grow up to the age of seventeen.
Snatching food from the mouths of vicious dogs and living in the gutter since childhood, Ji Shijing was born with a lowly fate. It was also from this day that Ji Tianbao understood his status in this big house and bullied him at every turn.
Now, Ji Tianbao looked at Ji Shijing's increasingly handsome face. He didn't look like a member of their Ji family at all. Instead, he looked like his lowly singing mother.
"Do you know why your second uncle doesn't like you?" Ji Tianbao patted Ji Shijing's face and moved closer with his yellow teeth.
Ji Shijing frowned slightly.
Seeing his reaction, Ji Tianbao thought he had touched a sore spot, so he continued, "It's all because of your mother. How could your mother, a lowly singer, enter the Ji Mansion and become a concubine for your second uncle? She must have used some shameful and dirty tricks."
"Second uncle fell for your mother's trick and had you. You and your mother are a disgrace to the Ji family."
"Bah, you deserve to be disliked."
"Oh right," Ji Tianbao seemed to remember something and looked down at him. "I heard there's a new brothel in the capital. The people who go there for fun are all eunuchs. They use all sorts of strange torture methods. Tell me, if you went there in this body, could you survive more than two days?"
"If the news of the dignified Second Young Master of the Ji family being reduced to a eunuch's plaything for amusement gets out, it's really hilarious, hahahahaha."
The two servants who were escorting Ji Shijing also laughed maliciously.
Ji Shijing raised his head and glanced at the three people in front of him. A cold light flashed in his narrow eyes, but his face remained calm.
Ji Tianbao couldn't bear to see his indifferent look. He spat on the ground and said to the two servants, "Beat him until he begs for mercy."
Just then.
"Bang—" The door of the north courtyard was kicked from the outside, and the wooden door creaked and swayed continuously.
"Stop." Shu Yao put down the tray in her hand, rolled up her sleeves and walked forward aggressively.
The people in the yard didn't react for a moment.
Shu Yao quickly pushed away the two servants who were holding Ji Shijing. The two servants stared at each other, then looked at Ji Tianbao, as if waiting for his orders.
Ji Tianbao was stunned for a moment, but when he saw that it was Shu Yao, he came closer in a frivolous manner: "So it's Miss Shu."
Shu Yao turned a deaf ear to Ji Tianbao's words. She brushed off the dirty snow on Ji Shijing's clothes and wiped the mud off his face with her sleeves. She asked with concern, "Are you okay?"
Ji Shijing looked at her and gently pursed his dry lips.
Seeing that he was being ignored, Ji Tianbao raised his voice: "Miss Shu, let me tell you, Ji Shijing is an unlucky person. Whoever is with him will be unlucky." As he said this, he wanted to pull her.
But as soon as his hand touched Shu Yao's sleeve, Shu Yao glared at him and said, "My dear cousin, please respect yourself."
Ji Tianbao rubbed his hands, a little annoyed: "Who do you think you are? Don't think you are a big shot just because I treat you well."
Shu Yao wasn't afraid of him. She took a step forward and protected Ji Shijing behind her. "My dear cousin, I heard everything you said just now outside the door. Insulting your own brother, do you still have the demeanor of a brother?"
Ji Tianbao sneered: "You are still lecturing me. To tell you the truth, even if I kill him today, grandma will only praise me for doing a good job."
Shu Yao calmed her breath and continued, "The Ji family is large and powerful. If the second young master suddenly died, do you think the government would investigate?" After a pause, she continued, "I'm afraid that by then, even the old lady won't be able to protect you."
Today, when she was alone in the mourning hall, the system had already explained to her the social relations of the Ji family. The Ji family was a wealthy family rooted at the foot of the imperial city. They had close relations with the local government, and tens of thousands of silver were sent to the government every year. Therefore, the officials protected the Ji family and made everything go smoothly.
If the Ji family collapsed at this time and the property fell into the hands of the in-laws, the officials would naturally not agree.
After hearing this, Ji Tianbao didn't care anymore, because he couldn't understand the twists and turns here.
"Your grandfather Tianbao wasn't raised to be frightened. I don't believe the officials would personally come to investigate the death of an insignificant ant. What you said can only fool a three-year-old child."
Shu Yao felt helpless. What a stupid person.
At this time, Ji Tianbao noticed a plate of squirrel fish at the door. He kicked it and the whole fish fell from the air to the ground and broke into several pieces. The air was still filled with the fragrance of the fish.
Shu Yao felt sorry when she saw the food she had worked so hard to get kicked over. Well, now she has no meat to eat again.
She picked up the broom in the corner and slammed it at Ji Tianbao: "Get out of here."
Ji Tianbao was hit several times. He grabbed the broom and pulled it. Shu Yao was caught off guard and was pulled into his arms. He smelled her hair intoxicatedly, with a look of enjoyment on his face: "Beauty is fragrant."
Shu Yao was furious: "You bastard, let me go."
Ji Tianbao laughed lewdly in her ear and whispered, "The man died on the night of your wedding. Miss Shu, are you lonely? Hey, how about I take your place and satisfy you, Miss Shu? I promise you will never forget it."
After saying that, he carried her into the house regardless of her struggle.
"Put me down."
"Beast."
Shu Yao struggled with all her might, but she was tired and hungry and was no match for Ji Tianbao.
Ji Tianbao gave the two servants a look, and the servants immediately understood and went over to hold Ji Shijing on both sides to prevent him from causing trouble.
Shu Yao turned her head and looked outside the house, only to see Ji Shijing with his eyes lowered, not looking at her.
Shu Yao: ...Ungrateful guy, he didn't even come to save her.
The door was open, and the scene inside the house was in full view.
The two servants smiled obscenely and stared at the two people on the bed without blinking.
Ji Shijing turned his eyes away. For some reason, he felt a little bit reluctant and his heart was filled with discomfort.
It's strange, I haven't felt this way in years.
…
Kangshou Pavilion.
There were a total of twenty-seven dishes on the long marble table, including white fungus and blood bird's nest, pearl lion's head, crystal palace shrimp dumplings... every dish was made by the chef of Yushanlou.
It was because Ji Dayong and his family came today that the old lady invited the chef from the building. She would not have gone to such great lengths at any other time. The chef from Yushan Building would charge ten taels of silver for a dish, and she had come from a poor background, so she would naturally not be willing to spend that kind of money on a normal day.
After counting off the twenty-seven dishes, the old lady frowned. Why hadn't her favorite squirrel fish been served? Her teeth were not good, so she could only eat fish on weekdays.
She asked the maid to go to the kitchen to see if she had left the squirrel fish there.
Ji Dayong sat next to the old lady. When he saw so much food in front of him, he couldn't help swallowing.
Although he also had a large mansion in Xuyang County, it was far inferior to the one in the capital.
Originally, their Ji family had been farming for generations and lived in a deserted village, but the studious and ambitious second brother suddenly made a fortune in the city, his business grew bigger and bigger, and finally he bought a mansion in the capital.
He often helped them on weekdays. The house he had in Xuyang County was bought by his second brother, and he had become a rich and idle man.
But then again, in the past few years, he was really jealous of his second brother's business growing bigger and bigger, but fortunately, his second brother passed away suddenly and his nephew was in poor health, so the huge family business would sooner or later fall into his hands.
Thinking of this, Ji Dayong drank a glass of wine happily and felt very happy.
Guo Cuiping had changed into a bright red and green dress at some point, and wore a golden hairpin in her bun. She wanted to pick up her chopsticks several times, but the old lady hadn't moved yet, so she didn't dare to eat first.
Ji Zhao couldn't help but complain: "Why haven't you eaten yet? I'm starving."
The old lady glared at her and said, "Eat, eat, eat. You only know how to eat. No wonder you are so fat, like a pig. Tianbao hasn't come back yet. When he comes back, we will eat together."
After hearing this, Ji Zhao sat in her seat sulking. The old lady looked as wrinkled as a dead branch, and she actually said that she looked like a pig. How hateful.
Only Ji Lai sat quietly in his seat, glancing towards the door from time to time.
Ji Dayong took a bite of a pig's trotter and ate it voraciously.
The old lady looked at him dotingly: "Dayong, eat slowly, no one will snatch it from you."
Ji Zhao, who was standing by, saw his father eating with his mouth full of oil and thought he looked more like a pig.
After waiting for about half a quarter of an hour, there was still no sign of Ji Tianbao. The old lady was just about to ask someone to check on him when she saw a servant hurriedly running in from the door.
There were two scratches on the boy's face. He looked anxious and couldn't speak clearly.
"Madam, my cousin...he..."
The old lady stood up from her seat and asked anxiously, "Speak properly, what happened to Tianbao?"
Not only the old lady was worried, Ji Dayong and Guo Cuiping were also worried.
The servant seemed to be unable to speak: "He...he."
The old lady slammed her cane down on the ground. "Where is Tianbao now?"
"North Courtyard."
"North Courtyard." The old lady was shocked. Could it be that sickly fellow from the North Courtyard had bullied Tianbao? This was unacceptable, truly outrageous. She immediately brought dozens of burly servants with her and headed straight for the North Courtyard with ferocious expressions.
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