Ji Chongwang prided himself on his integrity. For the sake of this good reputation, he had served as an official for twenty years without ever getting embroiled in financial scandals.
Because of this caution, even the Jinyiwei had no leverage over him.
However, due to his frugality, the Ji family lived a truly modest life. A quarter of their already small residence was dedicated to Ji Chongwang’s waterside pavilion.
Pavilions, lotus flowers, and koi fish—he was, after all, a scholar who pretended to be elegant.
On regular days, no one dared to enter without permission. But as Ji Chongwang pushed open the door, Ji Yuluo was already inside, sitting not on any random low stool, but on the broad pearwood chair in front of his desk!
She leaned on one hand, her posture relaxed, using his expensive wolf-hair brush and the white deer paper bestowed by the emperor. Ji Chongwang’s face stiffened, and his usually stern and serious eyebrows twitched, nearly causing him to faint.
Seeing him, Ji Yuluo didn’t rise. She looked up and smiled, saying, “Greetings, father.”
Ji Chongwang flung his sleeves and turned his back, his old and somber brows slightly furrowing. He said, “You are increasingly unruly. Married to Huo Xian for half a year, have you forgotten all the family rules of the Ji family? Ridiculous!”
“Family rules of the Ji family?” Ji Yuluo set down the brush, tilted her head in confusion, and asked, “Did you ever teach me?”
Ji Chongwang didn’t catch the hidden meaning in her words. Reflecting honestly, he had never cared for Ji Yuyao either. Angrily, he said, “You are insolent! The Ji family gave you life and raised you, yet you bring disgrace to our household and show no remorse. Now you even dare to act recklessly with your husband’s power. I see you’ve forgotten not only the family rules but also the family laws of the Ji family!”
Ji Yuluo leaned back in the chair. “Of course I remember.”
The fleeting smile in her eyes faded, replaced by a cold gleam. She merely stared at him quietly, yet it pricked Ji Chongwang with a momentary sense of uneasy alarm.
But it was only for a moment.
Until Ji Yuluo said, “When Lin Chan sent me out of the capital back then, it was truly a perilous journey, unforgettable for a lifetime.”
If the previous unease was fleeting, Ji Yuluo’s current words made his hair stand on end, shattering the calm facade on his face.
Ji Chongwang staggered, reaching out to support himself on a nearby bookcase. A porcelain vase was knocked over, shattering with a crash, and a piece of shard cut a shallow wound on the back of his hand.
Breathing heavily, he asked, “Since when did you start impersonating Yuyao?”
See, this is Ji Chongwang. Cold and selfish, he cared only about his own reputation and future. He didn’t care about Ji Yuyao’s life or death, not even asking where she was.
She bore his blood, yet it didn’t matter.
She was as insignificant as an ant.
Suddenly, Ji Yuluo felt she might resemble Ji Chongwang more.
You Daiyue was a person full of infatuation. She loved passionately, so in the end, she went madly insane.
She hated Ji Chongwang to death, so she used Ji Yuluo as a tool for revenge. She knew Ji Chongwang’s Achilles’ heel very well—his reputation. Reputation was Ji Chongwang’s weakness.
Therefore, she wanted Ji Yuluo to inherit her mantle. She wanted to cultivate Ji Yuluo into the kind of person Ji Chongwang would despise the most. Unfortunately, she died too early and couldn’t fulfill her wish. But even on her deathbed, she used her last breath to tell Ji Yuluo the truth, asking her to return to the Ji family, to return to Ji Chongwang’s side.
Her love and hatred were like violent waves, whereas Ji Chongwang was like a stagnant pool of water, cold, selfish, with evil and malice hidden deep within him.
And he passed all of this to Ji Yuluo.
Along with his blood, it grew within her.
At this moment, Ji Yuluo thought of many things. She suddenly murmured, “So when she said I resembled you during her madness, it wasn’t entirely nonsense. No wonder she found me such an eyesore.”
So full of hatred.
Ji Chongwang looked at her warily, already on the verge of panic. “What… what are you saying?”
“Nothing.” Ji Yuluo snapped back to reality and answered his question, “Can’t you guess when it all started?”
Ji Chongwang’s mind almost cleared in an instant. No wonder, no wonder Gu Rou hadn’t succeeded. It turned out she had succeeded!
Ji Yuyao was already gone!
And during that time, the Ji family faced one disaster after another. Ji Xianyu was almost killed in an assassination attempt, Lin Chan was furious, Gu Rou died, the old madam fell ill, and Ji Yunkou’s personality changed drastically…
It was all because of her, it was… her.
Ji Chongwang gritted his teeth, pressing his palm hard against the bookshelf.
Ji Yuluo said blandly, “Why are you trembling? I don’t want your life.”
These words only made Ji Chongwang tremble even more, but he was a smart man and quickly regained his composure. He cautiously asked, “What do you want?”
Ji Yuluo looked at him and said gently, “I just want you to do something for me.”
She pushed aside the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone in front of her on the table, raised her chin, and pointed to a low stool nearby, “Why are you hiding so far away?”
Ji Chongwang cautiously approached. He no longer appeared terrified on the surface, as he was excellent at hiding his emotions. However, his tense expression still revealed his unease.
After hearing Ji Yuluo’s words, his unease was enveloped by an even greater sense of panic. He stood up abruptly, “You want me to incite—guide the students of the Imperial Academy to force the cabinet to establish the eldest grandson? No, no way. Besides, the matter of Crown Prince Huaijin back then doesn’t hold water. Even if it’s the Imperial Academy, you, your affair with Huo Xian, do you think my words still carry weight there?”
Ji Yuluo raised her eyebrows and said, “Human hearts are the least valuable thing. If they can be easily estranged, they can be easily won back. You don’t need to worry about that. Besides, the matter of Crown Prince Huaijin doesn’t hold water, but you, Lord Sacrificial Wine, have such literary talent, and your students are even more eloquent. You can turn the dead into the living. Is this not a matter of moving a pen or a mouth?”
–
Ji Xianyu lay in the courtyard across the waterside pavilion, which was Lin Chan’s Autumn Bath Garden. She was craning her neck to look across.
Lin Chan also stepped forward, frowning as she craned her neck. “What could she be talking about with the master for so long?”
Ji Xianyu shook her head. “I don’t know, but Sister must have important matters.”
Lin Chan tugged at her lips. “You, you’re so unpromising, always talking about your sister. Did she come to your coming-of-age ceremony the other day?”
Ji Xianyu climbed down from the windowsill and retorted, “Sister had her reasons for not coming. The palace is in chaos, the Jinyiwei are too busy to leave, and the Huo family certainly has no free time. How could she have the leisure to attend a banquet? Besides, was that even a banquet? It was just a family meal.”
With the emperor on the brink of life and death, who dared to hold a banquet?
Even if you dared to hold one, no one would dare to attend.
Thus, Ji Xianyu’s coming-of-age ceremony passed in a hasty manner.
Lin Chan was left speechless, poking Ji Xianyu’s forehead. “You only know how to argue with me. It’s as if Ji Yuyao gave birth to and raised you, not me!”
Ji Xianyu muttered softly, “I don’t think Sister is your biological daughter either. Who’s so biased?”
Lin Chan choked, becoming even more exasperated.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself, then shooed Ji Xianyu away.
It was a long time before Ji Chongwang returned to the small courtyard from the waterside pavilion.
His face was a terrible color, pale with a tinge of green. As soon as he entered the room, he staggered and nearly lost his balance.
Lin Chan asked him questions, but he didn’t respond, downing cup after cup of tea. When Lin Chan continued to press him, Ji Chongwang hurled the cup to the ground and coldly said, “This is your doing!”
Lin Chan was stunned, slamming the table as she stood up, both aggrieved and angry. “Ji Chongwang! What did I do?”
–
The news of Xiao Cheng’s triumphant return to the capital had already spread. Huo Xian had just left the palace, having been subtly warned by Zhao Yong not to act impulsively anymore.
In other words, he was not to use the Duke of Zhenguo’s matter for political maneuvering.
Huo Xian took the reins of a horse from Liyang. “Did you send the documents to Marquis Xuanping?”
Liyang replied, “Yes, as per your instructions, the files were secretly placed in the study of the Marquis’ residence. The Jinyiwei have been keeping watch near the residence for several days. The Assistant Minister of Justice and the Chief Minister of the Dali Temple have both visited a few times and have started verifying the information.”
The reason these “Zhao faction” officials were dependent on the Jinyiwei was that they were being blackmailed. The evidence against them ranged from losing their official positions to losing their heads. While the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple found it hard to obtain evidence, it was much easier for Huo Xian.
However, Marquis Xuanping would not easily believe a stack of documents from an unknown source. He would certainly collaborate with the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple to verify and investigate before taking action. In the process, they would discover issues with the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion and be forewarned of Xiao Cheng’s possible rebellion.
At that point, a major battle would be imminent, and the cabinet would be even more desperate for a new emperor to stabilize the military and civilian morale.
Huo Xian realized that even if he was reluctant to ally with Xie Subai, the situation had developed to the point where he had unwittingly paved the way for him.
In this matter, Xie Subai had the advantage of timing, geography, and human support.
He grunted, mounted his horse, and said, “Have the Jinyiwei take it easy these days. Keep a low profile. Times are changing, and it’s not our time to act recklessly.”
Liyang quickly replied, “Yes, sir. What about now?”
Huo Xian tugged on the reins. “Everyone go home. We’re leaving.”
Ji Yuluo’s departure from the Ji residence was not so smooth. Ji Xianyu kept calling her “Sister, Sister,” pulling her and saying many things. By the time she returned, the sun was high, and she was very sleepy. When Huo Xian returned home, he saw her napping on a stone table under the parasol tree.
He loosened his sleeves and sat down at the table. “Why are you sleeping here?”
Ji Yuluo had woken up long ago upon hearing the maids calling the master. Now, she propped open her eyes and shook off her drowsiness. “Waiting for you.”
Huo Xian looked at her unguarded tone and expression as she looked up at him, and he was momentarily stunned. He then turned his face away, picked a plum from the fruit plate, and asked, “What are you waiting for me for?”
“I went to the Ji residence today.” Ji Yuluo sat up straight. “Ji Chongwang has a weakness in my hands. I can use the students of the Imperial Academy to create momentum, but there’s one thing I need your cooperation for.”
Huo Xian bit into the fruit, realizing something he had finally come to understand these days.
He had always thought he was indifferent to carnal desires and that whenever he was tempted by her, it was because Ji Yuluo intentionally seduced him with her frosty eyes melting like snow. But later, he realized she often did it unintentionally.
She was always serious, and it was he who had ulterior thoughts.
Huo Xian’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “What is it?”
Ji Yuluo’s gaze lingered on it for a moment before she began to explain her plan. “Ji Chongwang is now in an awkward position. Because of you and me, he is suspected of colluding with the Jinyiwei and has less influence in the Imperial Academy.”
Huo Xian immediately understood. “You want me to cooperate with you in acting out a play?”
He thought for a moment and said, “That’s easy. Those students are quick to believe rumors. I’ll have people spread the news and alienate Ji Chongwang. It won’t be long before someone pities him.”
“No, that’s too fake. It would look like an act.” Ji Yuluo said, “You should continue to appear close to him openly, while suppressing him secretly. Then, let the news leak out quietly. People will speculate that everything before was just your deception, including the affection between you, me, and the eldest daughter of the Ji family. Someone will surely come to inquire.”
After she finished speaking, she looked up earnestly. “You should stay in the west courtyard for a few days. I’ve already had it tidied up. Just like before, drink some wine, listen to some music, and don’t rest in the main courtyard for now.”
“……”
Huo Xian threw the fruit pit under the tree. He had to admit, Ji Yuluo’s plan was so well thought out that it was impossible to find any flaws to refute.
But she was a bit too calm. Huo Xian stared at her eyes and brows, trying to find a hint of any other emotion.
Ji Yuluo, full of plans, pondered for a moment and said, “You should go today—why are you looking at me like that?”
