Chapter 92 [VIP]
In the past, Ji Nanke felt completely at ease whenever she stayed in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
However, for the past few days, she had been feeling a strange tightness in her chest, which made her feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
Since arriving in the capital, she has never even fallen ill, which is quite unusual.
"Girl. Girl."
The maid, Yixin, ran in excitedly and said, "There's an imperial decree!"
Ji Nanke didn't even flinch, treating it as an imperial edict addressed to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. These past few days, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion had received numerous imperial edicts, creating a noisy and tiresome atmosphere.
"It's an imperial edict for you." Yi Xin said with a joyful smile, "I've inquired, and it's an imperial edict bestowing a marriage upon you."
She was so excited she almost cried tears of joy: "Girl, you've finally made it through!"
A marriage arranged by imperial decree?
After being slapped at the baby's third-day celebration, she ignored Xie Jing's attempts to please her. Ji Nanke knew that if she did this, Xie Jing would definitely try to ask for a marriage decree.
I didn't expect it to be so fast.
Ji Nanke smiled faintly.
"From now on, you will be the Third Prince's Consort. Let's see who in this mansion will dare to disrespect you!"
Ever since the lady was demoted from wife to concubine, the girl has never had a good day. She is looked down upon everywhere, and even Yixin feels sorry for her.
The eldest daughter is nowhere near as intelligent and talented as my daughter! But because her surname is Gu, she always acts superior and aloof.
She smiled and urged, "You should go and receive the imperial decree. I'm afraid that if the eldest young lady has some wicked intentions, she might ruin your marriage."
Yes. Given Gu Zhizhuo's inability to tolerate others' success, he might indeed do that.
Ji Nanke immediately got up to do her hair and makeup.
The imperial edict was for Ji Nanke. The Gu family members did not need to receive the edict together, but they could not completely ignore it either. Therefore, Gu Zhizhuo arrived and ordered the maids to serve tea.
When Ji Nanke arrived, they had already drunk a cup of tea.
Xie Jing was in a state of turmoil as he waited. As soon as she arrived, he instinctively reached out to her, but after his bottom had already left the armchair, he awkwardly sat back down.
Interesting. Gu Zhizhuo put down her teacup. Xie Jing would always be delighted to see Ji Nanke, his pupils lighting up at her presence. But today, he felt a mix of reluctance and guilt, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Ji Nanke stepped into the main hall and saw Gu Zhizhuo there as well. She raised her eyebrows provocatively.
Gu Zhizhuo has fought for so long, but Xie Jing still treats her like dirt. Meanwhile, Gu Zhizhuo doesn't need to fight for anything; Xie Jing will proactively put the best things in front of her.
The eunuch who was delivering the imperial decree put down his cup, washed his hands, picked up the decree from the jade plate, and urged in a high-pitched voice, "Miss Ji, please receive the decree."
Ji Nanke gently stroked her skirt and knelt down gracefully.
As she listened to the imperial edict praising her, for some reason, her heartbeat grew heavier and heavier, and the unease that had been lingering in her heart since earlier intensified once again, her hands trembling slightly.
"...she was a concubine of Xie Jing, the third prince of the emperor."
When the words "concubine" were uttered, Ji Nanke's straight back froze instantly, and she finally realized where this inexplicable tremor came from.
It's unease!
It's an ominous sign!
These negative omens materialized, like thin ropes binding her tightly.
"I don't!"
Ji Nanke screamed hysterically and lost control of her emotions.
The eunuch delivering the decree's smile vanished, replaced by a cold expression as he asked, "Miss Ji, are you trying to defy the imperial decree?"
“I…” Ji Nanke bit her lower lip tightly, “Yes! I won’t answer…”
"no!!"
Xie Jing interrupted her. He was glad he had come too, otherwise if she had said anything against the imperial decree, his father would have been furious, and he wouldn't have been able to protect her.
He went to great lengths, and owed his eldest brother a favor, before finally persuading his father to grant him the marriage.
“Eunuch Liu, Ke’er… Miss Ji doesn’t mean to disobey the imperial decree.” Xie Jing quickly interjected, then winked at Ji Nanke, “Ke’er, quickly accept the decree.”
With a forced smile, Eunuch Liu said, "Miss Ji, please accept the imperial decree."
Ji Nanke remained motionless.
Her dignity was trampled underfoot and crushed, yet they still expect her to greet them with a smile?
No! Absolutely not!
Fearing she might say something inappropriate, Xie Jing accepted the imperial decree on her behalf and gave Eunuch Liu a fawning smile: "Please return, Eunuch. Miss Ji is grateful for the Emperor's grace."
Eunuch Liu smiled but remained silent. Xie Jing's personal attendant, Xiao Yunzi, quickly went over and said a few kind words, then slipped him a thick red envelope. Eunuch Liu was finally satisfied, and with a smile, he cupped his hands and said, "I'll go back and report now."
Xie Jing's mind was entirely on Ji Nanke. He held her hand and said in a flattering tone, "Not a concubine! Father said that he will soon bestow a title upon me. Once I am granted a title, you will be a secondary consort and will be eligible to be listed in the imperial register."
Princes did not have the option of having a concubine until they were granted a title.
"Ke'er, don't you understand my feelings for you? Father has already issued an imperial decree, so please stop making a fuss, okay?"
He said, looking extremely anxious.
He didn't want to either. When he learned that his father only wanted Ke'er to be a concubine, he begged for a long time, risking the emperor's wrath, even kowtowing until his head bled, but his father still wouldn't budge. He even threatened that if she didn't become a concubine, he would make Ke'er become a nun.
Ji Nanke shook him off: "I won't be a concubine. What's the use of saying nice things? You're still a concubine." Her raised sleeve slapped his face like a hard blow.
He had already humbled himself to this extent, so why was Ke'er still unhappy? Xie Jing pleaded, "It's only temporary. Please bear with it..."
"I will never trust you again."
Ji Nanke wanted to leave, but when she looked up, she saw Gu Zhizhuo smiling gleefully. Gu Zhizhuo was watching her with great interest, watching her disheveled state, watching her humiliation, watching her being forced to become a concubine because of imperial power.
"Are you satisfied now!" Ji Nanke gritted her teeth.
What do you think?
Gu Zhizhuo asked in return with a smile.
After returning from Ziji Pavilion on the first day of July, her master told her that Ji Nanke and the Gu family's fortunes had been completely severed. Without the nourishment of this flourishing merit and fortune, Ji Nanke's luck would be affected.
Gu Zhizhuo did not expect that the impact would come so quickly, and Ji Nanke was demoted from the Third Prince's wife to a concubine.
Fate changed!
Without her involvement, fate changed on its own.
Just thinking about it made her happy, and when she was happy, of course she had to laugh. This was her home; why should she have to put up with it?
Gu Zhizhuo rested her chin on her hand, and even with a veil, her sparkling eyes and curved eyebrows revealed her good mood, which was too dazzling.
"You're disgusting for kicking someone when they're down!"
"Miss Ji, you haven't paid back the debt you owe me yet, so don't yell at me like that."
Her voice gradually deepened, startling Xie Jing, who then shielded Ji Nanke behind him.
"I'll pay it back, I'll pay it back," Xie Jing said repeatedly. "I told you I'd pay it back for you."
Gu Zhizhuo reached out her hand, and Qingmei placed an account book in her hand.
"The total is 230,000 taels of silver. According to the interest rate of the silver shop, you need to repay me 318,120 taels. Considering that you poisoned me, I will round it down to 320,000 taels."
"Is it possible to keep the amount you round down?!" Xie Jing wanted to ask, but when he faced her, his tone inexplicably weakened: "I will pay it back."
"Write an IOU."
"Does it have to be now?"
"Of course." Gu Zhizhu smiled, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two of them. "Otherwise, if I were to have her carried away in a sedan chair in a few days, wouldn't I be at a huge loss?"
“Miss Ji, you said it yourself, you would rather the Gu family hadn’t raised you.”
"Let's not talk about feelings so as not to wrong you, let's only talk about money. You won't renege on your debt and refuse to pay, will you?"
Ji Nanke's face grew increasingly pale, almost on the verge of losing her temper. Xie Jing knew that he had broken her heart this time, and could only try his best to make amends.
"I'll write, I'll write."
Gu Zhizhuo had someone bring pen and ink and spread them on the coffee table. After watching him finish writing the IOU, he tapped it lightly a few times with his fingertips: "Write it down, when are you going to pay it back?"
"Ten...ten years?"
"Why don't you just wait to die..." Gu Zhizhuo paused for a moment, revealing a perfect fake smile, "Why don't you wait until you die of old age before repaying me?"
Don't think you can't understand what she originally meant. Just because you added a few honorifics doesn't mean you're respectful! Xie Jing gritted her teeth and said, "Five...three...a year should be enough, right? Half a year!"
Gu Zhizhuo just smiled and remained silent.
"I haven't established my own residence yet, where would I get so much silver? Alright, alright, it should be done by next month at the latest."
"Write it down."
Xie Jing obediently wrote down the repayment date and signed and affixed his fingerprint.
Gu Zhizhuo put it away. Xie Jing breathed a sigh of relief, and Ji Nanke said in a cold voice, "Can I leave now?"
“Miss Ji, there’s one more thing I’d like to ask.” Gu Zhizhuo’s lips curled into a faint smile. “Thirteen years ago, didn’t you fall off the artificial hill?”
Ji Nanke frowned, her expression aloof: "Why should I tell you?"
The deep sorrow in her eyes made Xie Jing feel extremely distressed. He just wanted to hold her tightly and let her pierce him with all her sharp thorns.
Gu Zhizhuo flicked the IOU in his hand, in a good mood, and said, "In consideration of this 320,000, there is something I need to tell His Highness the Third Prince, as a way of repaying your generosity."
Xie Jing was puzzled.
She said, "Thirteen years ago, Miss Ji fell off the artificial hill and hit her head. For the next few years, she was like a fool. Until eight years ago, she suddenly became exceptionally intelligent. The foolish child of the Ji family suddenly became enlightened and became famous at the Fanghua Banquet with the appearance of a child. This is a rare thing in Jiangnan."
"Six months after she woke up, a fire broke out in her house, and her parents and brothers were all killed."
Ji Nanke interrupted her sharply: "Are you ever going to stop?"
“Miss Ji,” Gu Zhizhuo reached out and tapped her forehead in mid-air, saying meaningfully, “Your body and soul are not one.”
Ji Nanke shouted hoarsely, "Gu Zhizhuo, are you crazy! You keep saying these nonsensical things all day long. I think you're mentally unstable."
What does it mean for the body and soul to be separate? Xie Jing didn't understand.
"Miss Ji, your uncle Ji Huacheng has arrived in the capital. I had him arrested."
Gu Zhizhu remained calm and composed, not missing the fleeting hint of guilt in her eyes.
Ji Huacheng was unlucky; he went to Yizhou to do business and was caught by the Duke's mansion.
Ji Huacheng knew too many secrets of the Ji family. He was afraid of death, so he clenched his teeth tightly. To avoid alerting the enemy, Gu Zhizhuo simply did not mention the Ji family. Instead, he asked about Ji Nanke. Sure enough, when Ji Nanke was mentioned, he lowered his guard and told her everything about her from childhood to adulthood, including how she fell and became mentally impaired at the age of two and a half, how she suddenly recovered at the age of eight, and how she displayed her talent at the Fanghua Banquet, becoming famous throughout Jiangnan.
Gu Zhizhuo let out a soft laugh: "Your Highness, is your destined woman truly a blessed woman?"
Without the warning rumble of thunder, and without the suffocating pain in his chest, Gu Zhizhuo could finally be certain that the constraints imposed upon him by Heaven had lessened. He was no longer being imprisoned at every turn.
Master said that Ji Nanke is still the best choice of Heaven and is the one destined by Heaven.
However, she was no longer the only option.
Therefore, I can also take his place.
Gu Zhizhuo slowly clenched her hand into a fist, as if trying to grasp destiny in his palm.
She gleefully sowed discord: "Your Highness, haven't you noticed that none of those close to her have had a good ending?"
Ji Nanke yelled, "Shut up!"
Her face was pale, and her usually cold eyes were now filled with intense hatred. She hated Gu Zhizhuo's ridicule and kicking her when she was down, but to Xie Jing, this emotional fluctuation seemed like she was angry and embarrassed. He stood there stunned for a long while, then pulled her aside and said, "Ke'er, don't be angry."
Ji Nanke's face was filled with anger. "I've had enough! I've had enough of your betrayal and your distrust."
"I didn't. I believe you."
"Don't come looking for me again."
Ji Nanke forcefully shook her off and walked away without looking back. The wind blew his hair across Xie Jing's face, and he exuded a gloomy aura.
He went to great lengths to get his father to agree to the marriage, so why does Ke'er not appreciate his efforts at all and so easily reject everything he has done?
He sat down dejectedly and asked Gu Zhizhuo, "Why?" His tone was weak and low.
Gu Zhizhuo lifted his eyelids and looked at the faintly visible dress under the locust tree in the main hall. Ji Nanke hadn't gone far after all. Even as a concubine, Xie Jing was still her best choice now. It was just like before, playing hard to get.
Gu Zhizhuo scoffed, "Does Your Majesty mean that the 'blessed woman' is just a rumor circulating in the streets, and we don't know if it's true or not? If she really is blessed by heaven, she can be made your wife in the future. If not, we can't let an orphan take your place as your principal wife." She clapped her hands, "Your Majesty truly has good intentions towards you."
Xie Jing nodded. That was indeed what his father had said. He had argued for it at the time, even though his father's decision was the best for him. He still argued for it because of his promise to Ke'er, and he almost angered the Emperor.
Why can't she compromise for her own sake?
Even if he cannot marry her as his principal wife, he will definitely marry a gentle and virtuous lady from a respectable family so that she will not suffer any grievances.
If he could become emperor in the future, he could simply make Ke'er his empress, just like his mother. However, Ke'er wouldn't even give him a chance to explain.
“Miss Gu, if we hadn’t broken off the engagement, you would have been able to accept Ke’er, wouldn’t you…”
"roll."
Gu Zhizhuo gave him a single word: "Serve tea and see the guest out."
Xie Jing came out dejectedly and suddenly saw Ji Nanke under the locust tree.
Hesitation, sorrow, inner conflict, helplessness—a variety of emotions clung to her face like a woven net, causing Xie Jing immense heartache.
Ji Nanke finally left, and this time she didn't linger.
She walked faster and faster.
Her sincere feelings for Xie Jing were shattered by the imperial decree that made her a concubine.
Just a few days ago, she said she wanted to stand above everyone else, but in the blink of an eye, she became a lowly concubine.
The royal family could easily control her fate, and this slap seemed to mock her overestimation of her own power.
“Miss Ji, your body and soul are not one.”
Gu Zhizhuo's voice was like a spell whispering in her ear.
Ji Nanke took a detour and went to the courtyard where the Ji family now lived.
There was no one guarding the courtyard. Compared to the magnificent and luxurious main courtyard, this small courtyard felt cramped and narrow. There were only two rough old women sweeping the courtyard. When she came in, they did not stop what they were doing, as if they could not see her at all.
"aunt."
Ji Shi, dressed in a blue cloth robe, sat under the grape trellis in the courtyard, holding an embroidery hoop in her hand.
"Ke'er, you've come."
Ji Nanke hasn't come here since she was imprisoned here, but she occasionally sends people to deliver things.
Ji knew that Ji Nanke was not having an easy time either, living under someone else's roof and having to be extremely cautious.
Ji Nanke felt sorry for her and could only watch over her.
In just over a month, she lost a lot of weight, her temples were covered with white frost, and she suddenly looked much older.
Lady Ji was exceptionally beautiful, with a radiant complexion and captivating charm. But now, much of that beauty had been lost. She was only in her early twenties, the prime of a woman's life, yet she seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. Her cheeks sagged, and her once bright eyes had lost their sparkle, becoming lifeless.
"Aunt, the things I sent to you, were they embezzled by the servants?"
Madam Ji shook her head, fiddling with her embroidery needle: "I've received them all, Ke'er. You can keep them for yourself from now on. Now, the dowry I prepared for you is probably gone. If you marry into the palace, I'm afraid your life won't be easy."
In her hands was a children's garment, and Madam Ji was embroidering floral patterns on the sleeves. The bright sky-blue color must have been for her cousin, Gu Yan.
“Aunt.” Ji Nanke lowered her eyes slightly and said, “Gu Zhizhuo has brought Seventh Uncle to the capital.”
Upon hearing this, the embroidery needle in Ji's hand pierced her fingertip, and a tiny drop of blood seeped out, spreading out like a flower on her sleeve.
"Aunt, you and my cousin..."
Ji Nanke knew about the Ji family's secret a long time ago.
Gu Yan's cousin's surname isn't Gu, it's Xie!
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