NOVEL WEB Chapter 131 - Forget Enmity
Chapter 131: Forget Enmity
People thought that Zhao Wenshuan would be executed after fall. However, two days later, Zhao Wenshuan was taken to the execution ground and was beheaded.
Zhao Wenshuan was a convicted murderer, and he was going to be executed sooner or later. There were only a widowed mother and a younger sister left in his family. They couldn’t be of any help to reduce his sentence.
Zhao Liu’er paid several visits to the Second Mistress but failed to see her. However, her visits had roused the Second Mistress’s anger and she wanted to get rid of Zhao Liu’er.
Now that her brother had been beheaded, Zhao Liu’er no longer went to the Ji Manor to look for the Second Mistress. She accompanied her mother, who cried incessantly at home.
Chang Huan told Su Jiu that Zhu Hecheng likely had bribed Magistrate Lin to shift Zhao Wenshuan’s execution to an earlier date. Zhao Wenshuan’s head was taken by Zhu Hecheng and used as a sacrificial offering for Zhu Zhi’s funeral.
Su Jiu nodded. Zhu Hecheng only had one son. As a middle-aged father, his sense of bereavement changed from sadness to hatred towards Zhao Wenshuan.
And even if Zhao Wenshuan was dead, his hatred had not been extinguished. Otherwise, Zhu Hecheng wouldn’t do a human sacrifice by taking a human head.
If Ji Yuxian was right about Zhu Hecheng, Zhu Hecheng did transfer his anger to the Ji Manor. No one knew what kind of crazy revenge he would take on the Ji Family in the future.
Chang Huan added, “I saw a few guys outside Zhao Liu’er’s house these two days. I guess those fellows are up to no good.”
“Keep a close eye on Zhao Liu’er and make sure she’s safe. The Second Mistress must be brewing up a wicked plot against Zhao Liu’er,” Su Jiu said.
“Zhao Liu’er and her mother are sad because of Zhao Wenshuan’s death, so they rarely go out. It won’t be easy for the Second Mistress to do anything to her. I will send people to protect her.”
Su Jiu nodded. Her eyes flashed, thinking about something.
Nanny Jin had stayed for two days in the Ji Manor and took care of Jin Mi. Jin Mi’s leg injury gradually healed. Her wound formed a scab and no longer deteriorated.
By the end of July, it was getting cold. A wind blew through the night, and faded flowers were everywhere in the morning.
Just after people in the Ji Manor had breakfast in the morning, Housekeeper Song entered the Jinglan Pavillion, gave a letter to Yuan’er, and flatteringly said, “It was from the Zhu Manor to the Second Mistress.”
“Thank you for taking care of this, Housekeeper Song,” Yuan’er said.
With a sweet smile, Yuan’er took the letter and gave a piece of the silver ingot to Housekeeper Song, before returning to the pavilion and handing the letter to the Second Mistress.
The Second Mistress heard that it was a letter from the Zhu Manor, and she opened it in a hurry. Taking the letter paper out of the envelope, she saw that there was only one word ‘quick’ written on it.
That one word of black ink in the middle of the white paper looked striking.
The Second Mistress knew that Zhu Hecheng became impatient, so he sent a letter to urge her to get rid of Ji Yuxian as soon as possible. She was also filled with longing to make Ji Yuxian disappear in this world, but she had to find a good opportunity to do it.
Clenching the letter in her hand, the Second Mistress’s eyes seethed with vicious coldness.
Yuan’er came forward and said to the Second Mistress, “Nanny Jin delivered a packet of astragalus yesterday. She said that she had dried it in the sun in the garden, and it’s perfect as a soup ingredient as it supplements nutrition.”
The Second Mistress pondered for a moment and smiled. “I haven’t been to the main courtyard since Nanny Jin came. How’s Jin Mi doing these days? Take some herbal tonics. Let’s go to the main courtyard.”
Yuan’er bowed and answered, “Yes.”
Seeing that the sun was rising high, the Second Mistress and Yuan’er strolled to the main courtyard together.
When Old Yu knew this, he went to receive them and paid his respects to the Second Mistress. “Second Mistress.”
The Second Mistress smiled gently. “I stopped by to see Jin Mi and Yuxian’s nanny. Yuxian must be busy right now, so I don’t want to bother him with my visit.”
“Yes, please follow me!” Old Yu said.
Old Yu led the Second Mistress to Jin Mi’s room. He stopped a few meters away from the room, bowed to the Second Mistress, and left.
Yuan’er knocked on the door. Nanny Jin came over and saw that it was the Second Mistress. She immediately opened the door and greeted her respectfully, “Second Mistress.”
The Second Mistress nodded with a smile and said, “I haven’t seen Nanny Jin since you entered the Ji Manor, so I’m dropping by to pay a visit to you and Jin Mi today.”
Nanny Jin lowered her head and followed the Second Mistress into the room. “Thank you, Second Mistress. Jin Mi is getting much better.”
After hearing the voice, Jin Mi sat up on the bed. “Second Mistress, welcome to my humble room!”
“Sit tight, let’s drop the formalities!” The Second Mistress grinned and peered at Nanny Jin standing opposite her. “She seems fully recovered from her injury.”
Nanny Jin’s heart missed a beat and immediately lowered her head. “Yes.”
Jin Mi immediately followed, “I’ve been in bed for some days. My wounds are no longer painful, and I can start to work in the next two days.”
“No problem. It’s okay to concentrate on your rehabilitation for a few more days. A woman should take good care of her body, especially if the injury is on her leg. What if it leaves a scar?” Smiling, the Second Mistress stroked Jin Mi’s hand lovingly. She looked at Nanny Jin and said, “You should have come earlier in person. You see, as soon as you come, your girl is rapidly recovering.”
Nanny Jin chuckled and replied, “Second Mistress, my girl has been spoiled by me and she no longer acts like a maidservant.”
“Nanny, please make yourself at home. I have always seen Jin Mi as my daughter. She has been in the Ji Manor since childhood and has been serving Yuxian for so many years. Originally, I had wanted to let Yuxian marry Jin Mi,” the Second Mistress said.
Jin Mi lowered her head, her face flushed. “Second Mistress, you must be joking with me. I’m just a humble maidservant. How can I deserve Eldest Young Master Ji’s love?”
There was a tinge of sadness in her voice.
Nanny Jin stood aside and silently poured tea for the Second Mistress with her head down.
“Originally, I had thought about this, but after the Young Mistress entered the Ji Manor, she is the only woman in Yuxian’s eyes, and all the other women are nothing to him. You’ve seen what Xie Ying and Ren Zhi’er ended up with, so I’m afraid that Jin Mi…” The Second Mistress smiled and paused.
Jin Mi dropped her head, biting her lower lip. Her face was pale.
Nanny Jin served them tea and smiled. “It’s my girl’s problem. She doesn’t have the blessing of owning the title of mistress.”
“Although she doesn’t have the blessing, it is somewhat a blessing for her.” The Second Mistress paused, took a sip of tea, and continued, “The Young Mistress is Yuxian’s only and favorite. If other women marry Yuxian, I’m afraid their fate would be worse than Xie Ying and Ren Zhi’er.”
With tears welling up in her eyes, Jin Mi pleaded, “Please, Second Mistress, please don’t talk about this.”
The Second Mistress sighed. “Ah, my poor girl. You may not know what love is. Only because you have stayed with Yuxian for a long time, you think that you can’t live without him. When your leg heals up, I will find you a young talented man from a good family. You’ll be his wife, not a concubine, and you’ll live a happy life without caring about what others say.”
Jin Mi’s face grew paler. She only bit her lips and said nothing.
Nanny Jin immediately said, “Thanks a lot. And sorry for bothering you with my girl’s matters, Second Mistress.”
“Not at all. I see Jin Mi as my child. I’m obligated to lend her a hand!” Second Mistress said.
The Second Mistress took another sip of tea, chatted with Nanny Jin for a while, then left at around noon.
After the Second Mistress left, Jin Mi immediately frowned at her mother and pouted. “Mother, why did you say that? Why did you want her to find a husband for me?”
Nanny Jin sat by the bed and comforted Jin Mi. “The Second Mistress is right. You are not a young girl anymore, and you need to find a husband for yourself. How can you always refuse this?”
“Brother is not married yet. Why should I worry about marriage? I can wait after my brother gets married,” Jin Mi reproved with an irritated look.
“Your brother works for the Eldest Young Master. We don’t need to worry about him. As for you, you are too stubborn and this is not a good thing.”
Looking away, Jin Mi said stubbornly, “I will not marry. I will stay in the Ji Manor all my life.”
“Did you not understand what the Second Mistress said? The Eldest Young Master will never treat other ladies as he does with the Young Mistress. Why do you persist? I have come back here twice, and I can see with my eyes that the Eldest Young Master loves the Young Mistress. You should stop dreaming!”
Jin Mi’s tears were hovering in her eyes as she choked with sobs. “Mother, I love the Eldest Young Master so much, and I don’t want to be away from him for a single moment. Even if I am a maidservant to him, I will serve him all my life!”
“Why are you so stubborn?” Nanny Jin sighed. “I shouldn’t have left you in the Ji Manor from the very beginning.”
“Mother, you were happy to see me staying with the Eldest Young Master. Although you didn’t say that to me, I know what you were thinking. But why do you discourage me now?” Jin Mi’s tears streamed down on her face.
Nanny Jin’s eyes dodged slightly as she said in a gloomy voice, “I know your feelings for the Eldest Young Master. I used to think that as long as you are happy, I won’t stop you. But now the Eldest Young Master has his beloved one, and he has no space left for you.”
“No, the Eldest Young Master loved many women throughout all these years. He loved Xie Ying. He loved Ren Zhi’er. But in the end, we know his love for them was short-lived. Su Yuejiu may have won his heart, but after some time, his craziness about her will fade. Maybe he won’t like her anymore after that!” In denial, Jin Mi tried to persuade her mother and herself.
Nanny Jin shook her head. “This time is different. The Young Mistress is different from those concubines. The Eldest Young Master loved his concubines before, but none of them has ever entered the main courtyard. Moreover, the Eldest Young Master has never cared for them as much as he did for the Young Mistress. My dear, don’t think about him anymore. You need to give him up.”
Jin Mi only cried and said nothing. She had served Ji Yuxian all her life, and he was the best man to her in the world. How could she give up easily? Her world only revolved around Ji Yuxian, and no other man was able to make her lift her eyes.
If she couldn’t marry Ji Yuxian, she would rather not marry forever.
When Nanny Jin saw Jin Mi’s dejected look, her caring eyes gradually darkened. Her eyebrows knitted in a frown.
In the evening, Ji Yuxian came back.
Su Jiu was out and hadn’t returned at this time. Ji Yuxian sat in the study and waited for Su Jiu to have dinner together. Looking at the empty study under the twilight, he felt bored and lonely. He had an impulse to go out and find his wife immediately, but he held back his eagerness and grabbed a book to read.
He promised to give her freedom, so he tried not to disturb her.
He turned two pages, but he became more irritable and wanted to ask Jin Feng for tea. At that moment, someone knocked on the door, and it was Nanny Jin who came in with ginseng soup.
“Master Ji, I saw you come back, so I prepared this ginseng soup. Please enjoy it when it’s warm.” Nanny Jin put the ginseng soup on the table and served out a bowl.
Ji Yuxian grinned and said, “I’ve told them that nanny doesn’t have to do anything. Let the others do it. It’s getting cold. Nanny, take care of yourself.”
Nanny smiled and lowered her head. “Master, don’t worry about my old bones. I’m afraid I’m becoming useless.”
Ji Yuxian had a slight smile on his thin lips as he took the ginseng soup and slowly drank it.
Nanny Jin suddenly thought of something. Frowning, she looked around to make sure no one was listening to them. She whispered, “I’m counting days. Master, it seems to be around these few days. Does it still hurt badly as before?”
Nanny Jin used to take care of Ji Yuxian ever since he was a child. Of course, she knew that Ji Yuxian had been poisoned.
Ji Yuxian’s eyes were gentle as he replied Nanny Jin, “It’s much better.”
Nanny Jin cared about him. She asked with a worried look, “When can you fully recover, Master?”
“That doesn’t matter. I’m used to it,” Ji Yuxian said lightly.
“This month is the middle of the year, and it will get much more painful. Master, my humble advice is to separate from the Young Mistress for this period, so you don’t end up hurting her,” Nanny Jin said with care.
Ji Yuxian’s eyes dimmed slightly. Ever since Su Jiu found out that he had been poisoned, she had been using her internal energy to help mitigate his pain every month. When he saw her pale face in the morning, he felt so sorry for her.
Ji Yuxian nodded slightly and said softly, “I know.”
“There will be a day when the antidote is found. Please don’t give up.” Nanny Jin comforted Ji Yuxian.
“I won’t.” Ji Yuxian smiled lightly.
It was getting dark. Ji Yuxian heard the sound of footsteps coming from outside, followed by Jin Feng saying ‘Young Mistress’, causing his eyes to beam immediately.
Nanny Jin looked at Ji Yuxian’s loving smile and got up, saying, “The Young Mistress is back. I’m leaving.”
“Take care, Nanny.”
As the nanny walked to the door, she met Su Jiu. She bowed and paid her respects to Su Jiu, greeting her, “Young Mistress.”
Nanny Jin had been in the Ji Manor for a few days. As she took care of Jin Mi every day, she hardly came to the main courtyard, and Su Jiu had barely seen Nanny Jin these days. She knew that the nanny had served Ji Yuxian in his childhood and was like family to him, so she had some respect for the nanny. “Please make yourself at home, Nanny.”
“Young Mistress, please go in. Master Ji is waiting for you,” Nanny Jin said with a soft voice.
Su Jiu glanced at the study, lowered her brows, and smiled.
Waiting for the nanny to leave the study, Su Jiu went inside.
Ji Yuxian sat on the low couch, wearing a red robe. His ink-black hair and handsome countenance were deadly attractive in the rays of evening sunlight, which streamed in through the window. The light reflected on his cheeks was as bright as the moon.
His long eyes flashed as he reached out to Su Jiu. “Come here, come to your husband.”
As soon as Su Jiu approached him, he immediately hugged her in his arms and put her on his lap. He kissed her red lips and asked with a sweet tone, “Where did you go?”
“I was in the commercial house for half a day,” Su Jiu replied casually and asked, “Does Nanny have a request from you?”
Ji Yuxian shook his head as he snuggled against her forehead. His half-closed eyes seemed to be hiding a touch of sadness. He slowly shook and said, “No.”
Su Jiu felt that there was something unusual with the man in front of her. She held his face in her hands and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
Ji Yuxian’s mouth slightly curved and his smile regained his usual lethargy. He whispered, “I missed you.”
Su Jiu’s eyes lit up as she chuckled softly. “We haven’t seen each other for only half a day at most!”
“I can’t stop missing you, not even a moment.” Ji Yuxian embraced Su Jiu’s waist, kissed her at the corner of her eyebrows, then gently pecked at her lips.
Sorely tempted, Su Jiu backed away from him by propping herself against his back. “Knock it off!” She said, her cheeks flushing pink.
“Huh?” Ji Yuxian’s voice was sexy and deep.
Su Jiu leaned on his shoulders and asked, “We received Qiao An and Dapao’s letter almost ten days ago. Why are they not in Shengjing yet?”
“There was heavy rain a few days ago. Maybe that’s the reason for the delay,” Ji Yuxian replied.
Su Jiu nodded. Maybe he was right.
Qiao An and Hu Dapao had been away for so long. She couldn’t feel at ease for a single day without seeing them in Shengjing. She hoped that they had a safe journey.
“Are you hungry? Let’s go for dinner.” Ji Yuxian carried Su Jiu in his arms and walked out.
“Let me walk!” Su Jiu struggled and broke away, not wanting to be seen that way in front of Jin Feng, who was outside the door.
Ji Yuxian didn’t give up and smiled. “Jin Feng is used to it. Don’t worry.”
Su Jiu didn’t speak anymore.
After dinner, Su Jiu and Ji Yuxian returned to the study and chatted while reading.
It seemed like the wind was racing outside. In an instant, the wind blew fiercely, and the sky was overcast with black clouds.
The wind carried the fallen leaves and disheveled the papers on the desk. Su Jiu got up to close the window, saying, “It’s going to rain.”
Ji Yuxian came over, arranged Su Jiu’s collar and sleeves, then said quietly, “Go back and rest early. Don’t go out in the rain.”
“What about you?” Su Jiu yawned and asked casually, “When are you going to go to bed?”
Ji Yuxian’s eyes flashed and he immediately flirted with her with a slight smile, “Tonight’s a beautiful night. Shall we?”
Su Jiu chuckled, glanced at the thunder outside the window, and repeated, “Tonight is a beautiful night?”
Ji Yuxian sighed. “When can my wife agree to me? Doctor Gu said that a man will get sick if he always restrains his desire.”
“You believe what he says? That is an excuse for his lechery when he was young. You must not listen to him!” Su Jiu said with a serious look.
Ji Yuxian was speechless.
Su Jiu touched the man’s delicate face and said, “Young man, don’t always think about sleeping with girls. Do some bigger things.”
Ji Yuxian felt a sense of injury in his heart. “It is also a big thing to make a baby for our Ji Family. Our ancestors used to say that the desire for food and sex is part of human nature. We must believe in our wise ancestors.”
Su Jiu frowned and asked, “Are you reading any porn again?”
Ji Yuxian instantly denied. “I’m not.”
Su Jiu squinted and said, “Good. Drink more tea to suppress your desire.”
Ji Yuxian was speechless again.
Su Jiu was getting far better at their playful fights.
Finally giving up, Ji Yuxian hugged Su Jiu and said, “My lady, have a good dream tonight. I have account books to finish. If it gets late, I will sleep in the study.”
Su Jiu frowned and asked, “Is it urgent?”
“Do you regret saying no?” Ji Yuxian began to flirt again.
Su Jiu said, “If it’s not that urgent, you can do it tomorrow. Take care of yourself.”
Ji Yuxian nodded and replied, “I know.”
After Su Jiu left, the lights in the study seemed to dim a little. Ji Yuxian stood there, his eyes dimming as he listened to the violent thunder outside. It seemed that the God of thunder living in the sky forgot the time of rain, so he rushed to start the thunder and the wind together.
At that moment, the rain fell and made a great composition when rainwater dripped from the eaves.
It seemed that only the rain screamed in the universe at this time.
After a while, the wind was gradually getting smaller.
Ji Yuxian stretched his arms and pushed open the window. Hearing the brisk sound of raindrops bouncing on the ground, he embraced the cool breeze coming in with moisture.
Under the moonlight, the rain was like a massive water curtain falling from the sky. The plantain under the porch bent under the rain, shaking with the rhythm of the wind but refusing to break. It would straighten up at every opportunity.
Under the porch, Jin Feng stood upright. The corner of his robe was soaked by the rain. He never moved, like a sculpture guarding the door behind him.
Jin Feng had been following Ji Yuxian since childhood. He was a guard and also a friend. Both of them had experienced the danger of life and death together. He protected Ji Yuxian from both open spear thrusts and arrows in the dark. For all these years, he was loyal to him.
Ji Yuxian stood there for a long time, and his beautiful face lacked his usual evil charm but had a hint of deep sadness. In the candlelight, there seemed to be an unfathomable mystery about him.
After a while, Ji Yuxian ran his eyes over Jin Feng’s back, closed the window, and went back to his table to continue looking at the account books.
When it was nine p.m., the rain gradually let up. Raindrops fell from the eaves, meandering through the late night.
The candlelight flickered, becoming faint.
There was a low voice outside the study, and then Nanny Jin knocked on the door and entered, holding the red date and lotus seed soup. She gently said, “It’s late. Why is the Eldest Young Master still in the study?”
Ji Yuxian got up and replied, “How come Nanny hasn’t gone to bed yet?”
“I’ve just left my girl’s room after she fell asleep. When I saw the lights in the study, I wanted to bring this warm soup to the Eldest Young Master and Jin Feng!” Nanny Jin glanced outside the door, appearing worried.
After the rain, it was cold outside. Jin Feng was on guard outside the door and might catch a cold.
Nanny Jin cared about her son. Especially when she recalled her son’s figure under the porch, she couldn’t fall asleep.
Ji Yuxian nodded lightly and called Jin Feng in to have the soup together.
“Have a try of your mother’s soup. This can get your body warm. Jin Feng, you can go back to rest after this,” Ji Yuxian said.
Nanny Jin was pouring the soup into a small bowl. She immediately said, “Eldest Young Master, don’t get me wrong, protecting you is my son’s duty. He can’t go to sleep when you are still working inside the study.”
“It doesn’t matter. After finishing the soup, I’m going to go to bed too.” Ji Yuxian smiled faintly.
Nanny Jin passed a bowl of soup to Ji Yuxian first, then the second bowl to Jin Feng.
She looked at them and smiled lovingly. “When you two were young, I used to prepare soup for you. After so many years, you both have become big men.”
Jin Feng grinned and replied, “No matter how many years, it is my luck to follow Master Ji and protect him.”
Ji Yuxian drank half a bowl of soup, and the corners of his beautiful mouth raised gently.
“Yes, you stay with Master Ji. Even if I am leaving this world one day, I can leave in peace,” Nanny Jin said.
“Mother, you are a little strange today. Why are you telling Master Ji this?” Jin Feng frowned.
“Nanny’s sure to live to a ripe old age,” Ji Yuxian followed.
“Yes, I’m stupid. Why did I talk such nonsense to Master Ji? Please finish the rest of the soup and go back to have a rest. Maybe it will rain again later,” Nanny said.
After Ji Yuxian and Jin Feng finished the soup, Nanny Jin took the soup bowls and left the study with Jin Feng.
Ji Yuxian sat at the desk, and he didn’t put away the account books until the candlelight went out. After that, he got up and went to bed.
There was a screen with a pattern of flowers of the four seasons in the study. Behind the screen was a bed. Soft pillows and bedsheets were prepared in advance for Ji Yuxian.
Ji Yuxian undressed and laid down on the bed. Sleeping on his own, he felt empty, and even his arms seemed to have nowhere to place.
It started to rain again outside. The rain would increase and decrease, but it never stopped.
Ji Yuxian wondered if Su Jiu was asleep, worried that she couldn’t sleep because of the noise of the rain like him. His thin lips curled into a gentle smile when he thought of Su Jiu, and slowly, he closed his eyes.
After midnight, the rain stopped and the night merged into total darkness. All the sounds in this world seemed to be swept away by this heavy rain.
The candlelight in the study room was extinguished. The room became dim and quiet. Suddenly, the door squeaked slightly and a figure slowly walked in.
The person closed the door and adjusted herself to the darkness in the room, then slowly tiptoed forward.
She passed the screen and looked at the bed. Her face was expressionless at this time, and it looked eerie in the darkness.
The raindrops on the eaves fell and hit the banana tree leaves under the window. A slight sound, resembling a human sigh, was lonely at night.
The person who came in stood there for a while, then moved up to the bed.
She sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. With a hoarse voice, she said, “Ah, I have to do this. Eldest Young Master Ji, please forgive me.”
Finally, she raised her hand and reached for the person on the bed.
As soon as she stretched out her hand, a slight sound of gear rotation suddenly came from behind the bed, and the bookshelves slowly separated into two parts. Su Jiu held a gauze lantern and came out slowly, saying with a smile, “Nanny, you are truly worried about my husband. It’s midnight and you don’t forget about serving him.”
Su Jiu was smiling, her delicate features emanating a wicked charm in the dim light of her gauze lantern. The woman sitting on the edge of the bed was startled and she fell off the bed, pointing at Su Jiu and stammering, “You… you…”
Su Jiu walked over with a cold smile. “Are you going to harm my husband? Why are you so terrified?”
“You are the Young Mistress…” Nanny Jin shuddered, slowly stood up, and said with a smile, “Because of the cold rain tonight, I worry about Master Ji sleeping in the study alone, so I came to have a look.”
With that said, Nanny Jin took a step back and added, “Since the Young Mistress is here to look after the Eldest Young Master, I’m leaving.”
Nanny Jin turned around and hurried out.
“Nanny.” Just then, there was a deep voice behind her. Nanny Jin’s feet were nailed to the ground.
Su Jiu smiled softly and asked, “My love, you are still alive? What a surprise.”
Nanny Jin shivered and slowly turned around, seeing that Ji Yuxian had sat up, leaning against the bed lazily. Under the candlelight, his beautiful eyes looked at her coldly.
Nanny immediately bowed and said, “I am to blame for disturbing the Eldest Young Master in the middle of the night!”
Ji Yuxian’s eyes dimmed, appearing indifferent and chilling. He asked coldly, “Nanny, are you surprised to see me alive?”
Nanny Jin panicked and said, “What do you mean? Master, I don’t understand.”
“Don’t understand?” Ji Yuxian chuckled and continued, “If you don’t understand, then why did you put blood worms in the lotus weed soup? Blood worms cause a toxic reaction of the Half Moon Devourer. Nanny, you should know this.”
Nanny Jin trembled, threw herself down on her knees, and said nothing.
“Nanny, you deliberately let me share the soup with Jin Feng so that I can ease my vigilance. But how can I not know that blood worms have no harm to ordinary people? I have suffered from the Half Moon Devourer for more than ten years.”
Nanny Jin panicked and shook her head. “There must be a misunderstanding! I don’t know what blood worms are. If I had put blood worms in the soup, you would have a relapse now, Master.”
Su Jiu glared at the old woman in front of him suspiciously with a cold look, the emotions in her eyes intensifying.
Ji Yuxian slowly stood up and walked over to the table to pour a cup of tea for himself and said, “Nanny, you must have fed the blood worms for five years. The blood worms are kept in a cool place and can’t see the light. You feed them with caterpillar fungus and the root of red-rooted salvia, but in the middle of every month, you also need to feed them with human blood. Nanny, you suddenly got sick five years ago, and Old Gu told me after feeling your pulse that you were feeding blood worms. At that time, I knew that you will not give up taking my life.”
Su Jiu turned to look at Ji Yuxian in amazement, but she could only see his vague and lonely back in the darkness.
He had known it for a long time. He had known it five years ago that the nanny, who he had regarded as his family, was planning to murder him.
As Nanny Jin heard his words, she slumped on the ground, her face ghastly pale.
“Nanny, you must be curious why I ate the blood worms you had carefully fed but didn’t get hurt. You don’t have to be surprised. Since I know that you are feeding blood worms, how can I just watch you do it? The pills which Old Gu had given you every mouth are mixed with the antidote, so the blood worms you feed with your blood can no longer provoke a toxic reaction. They become just worms.”
Nanny Jin quickly calmed down after the shock and sneered, “Since the Eldest Young Master already knows this, why don’t you kill me?”
Ji Yuxian turned around and stared at her coldly. “I know who is behind your actions. She asked you to put the Half Moon Devourer in my meal just because she was jealous of my eldest son’s identity. But in the Ji Manor, she couldn’t kill me, so she tried to find this poison to make me suffer from the pain that ordinary people can’t bear.”
Nanny Jin looked up to Ji Yuxian. Her previous panic had disappeared. She sneered again and said, “Eldest Young Master, you have known everything.”
“The last time when Jin Mi was sent away, I wanted to forget about our enmity for the sake of Jin Feng’s loyalty, as well as the favors you had done to the young Yuxian. However, I didn’t expect that you would be willing to be a tool to other people, and even to sacrifice your daughter. You sent Jin Mi back to the Ji Manor and let her watch me, so you can report to her.”
“Yes.” Nanny Jin sat on her knees with her back straightened up. “Eldest Young Master, you are right about everything.”
“Mother…”
Nanny Jin’s voice fell, only to hear a cry from a woman behind the screen.
Nanny Jin’s face changed and she turned abruptly.
Jin Mi and Jin Feng were standing behind the screen, having heard their entire conversation.
Jin Feng’s face was filled with shock, and he seemed unable to accept it. His face was extremely pale.
From the bottom of his heart, his mother was a kind woman, treating the Eldest Young Master as her son, if not better than her biological son. She could even give up her own life to save him. The Eldest Young Master had always been kind to his mother, even especially building a garden that was warm in the winter and cool in the summer to let her live happily for the remainder of her life. Why were there so many dirty tricks and conspiracies behind such seemingly deep love?
Jin Feng couldn’t accept it.
Jin Mi even burst into tears. She came from behind the screen, knelt beside Nanny Jin, and bawled. “Mother, this is not true! It is not true, how can you harm the Eldest Young Master? You treat him even better than my brother. You can’t do this to the Eldest Young Master.”
Jin Mi had been serving Ji Yuxian for more than ten years. Every time she returned to her mother’s place, her mother would ask about Ji Yuxian. She always thought that her mother was concerned about the Eldest Young Master, but it turned out to be a kind of surveillance.
Why was this happening?
She was used by her mother to watch Ji Yuxian. She loved Ji Yuxian and was doing something harmful to him at the same time. How could she be treated like this?
Jin Mi cried, leaning on her mother. “Mother, why is this happening? Why?”
Now she understood that her leg injury was part of her mother’s plan. On that day, she saw Ji Yuxian and Su Jiu fondling each other. She left the courtyard sullenly and happened to meet the Second Mistress.
The Second Mistress told her that Ji Yuxian still cared about her. If she had an accident, he would be worried.
It happened that night when she was knocked down by the Young Mistress’s nanny and hurt her leg, so she deliberately made the leg injury worsen to attract Ji Yuxian’s attention.
She now knew that the Second Mistress was using her to bring her mother back to the Ji Manor, and let her mother have an opportunity to kill Ji Yuxian.
However, she couldn’t figure out why her mother had listened to what the Second Mistress said. Why did she want to do bad things with the Second Mistress?
Nanny Jin looked at her daughter in tears and choked with sobs. “If I’m not in this world anymore, you and your brother must take care of each other. You two are adults.”
Jin Mi cried and shook her head. She crawled to Ji Yuxian and begged him, “Master Ji, my mother has been fooled by others. She never has the intention of hurting you. If she wants to kill you, how could she rush into the fire to save you? How could she come in front of you and make herself vulnerable to attacks? Master, there must be a misunderstanding and my mother must have been wronged.”
Ji Yuxian looked at her lightly, then his gaze fell on the nanny. He said softly, “Nanny, you may not know this. When you rushed into the fire to save me, I didn’t completely pass out and I heard you. When you hugged me at that time, you shouted ‘Feng’er’. At that time, you thought it was Jin Feng who was in the fire, right? And another time when someone wanted to kill me, you were pushed over by others. I didn’t forget the terrified look on your face.”
Ji Yuxian’s words chilled and almost numbed Jin Mi. She stood there, gaping at Ji Yuxian in amazement, with tears rolling down on her face.
She then turned to look at her mother and asked with a trembling voice, “Mother, is it true?”
The old woman closed her eyes and her face was as pale as a host. She said quietly, “Yes, I never had the thought of saving him.”
Feeling desolate, Jin Mi collapsed to the ground.
It turned out that everything was fake.
Favors were fake, love was false, and everything was a sham.
“Why did you do this? Mother, why did you do this?!” Jin Mi rushed over and grabbed the old woman’s collar, shaking her violently.
There was a crazy and sorrowful expression on Jin Mi’s face as if the world she had lived in for nearly two decades collapsed in front of her eyes in an instant.
Su Jiu listened to them on the side, only to feel that there was something extremely heavy pressing on her heart. She began to puff a little, and she reached out to hold Ji Yuxian’s hand and held it tightly.
At that point, she finally understood why Ji Yuxian appeared strange before.
He had already known that his nanny was going to kill him. Maybe he was also very sad.
His father had died early and his mother was seriously ill. Nanny Jin was like his mother when he grew up. He had truly regarded Nanny Jin as his family and Jin Feng as his brother, so even if he later knew that the poison in his body was caused by his nanny, he never thought about revenge.
He hoped that Nanny Jin would give up the bloodworms one day, but in the end, he was disappointed.
“Mother, why are you doing this? Why?” Jin Mi asked, again and again, still refusing to believe it.
With a miserable expression, Nanny Jin said, “I am avenging your father.”
Ji Yuxian’s eyes squinted slightly, and Jin Mi was stunned. “Daddy? Didn’t you say that Daddy died from an illness?”
“No, your father was killed by Ji Zhongyi.” The old woman gritted her teeth and said with hatred.
“My father?” Ji Yuxian frowned. “Who told you this? Was it her?”
The woman looked up to Ji Yuxian and continued, “My husband used to work as a housekeeper for the Ji Family, and he was in charge of Chongzhou’s business. A villain made up a terrible lie accusing that my husband had embezzled your family’s money. Ji Zhongyi believed the false accusation and secretly killed my husband.”
Jin Mi was stupefied, staring at Ji Yuxian blankly. Was there truly a feud between her and Ji Yuxian?
Ji Yuxian’s cold look didn’t change as he asked, “Is this what Mr. Jin said to you?”
Nanny Jin froze for a moment, then said, “No, when I arrived at Chongzhou to see my husband, he was dead. I found out the truth later.”
“Maybe the truth you found was intentionally placed there to be seen by you,” Ji Yuxian sneered. His father was an upright man who always acted with integrity. He would never do such a thing.
“The truth is the truth. Even if other people had deliberately let me find it out, it’s still the truth.” The woman never doubted the truth that she had discovered for more than ten years, so she naturally persisted.
Ji Yuxian no longer spoke. He knew that Nanny Jin wouldn’t believe him.
At that time, he was a young kid and did not know what exactly had happened. He believed his father but he needed evidence to prove himself.
“Now you know what I’ve done, and I have nothing else to say. If you want me killed, kill me. But Mi’er and Feng’er are innocent, and what I’ve done has nothing to do with them. Please don’t hurt them,” Nanny Jin said, with a determination to die.
Jin Mi knelt beside her, weeping continuously.
Ji Yuxian looked at the old woman faintly and shouted, “Jin Feng!”
Jin Feng was behind the screen, listening to them the entire time. He came over, kneeled on the ground, bowed his head, and said, “Eldest Young Master.”
His body seemed to be pressed by a thousand pounds.
Su Jiu looked at him, and she realized that Ji Yuxian was not the only victim in this thing. So was Jin Feng. What he had believed for the past years turned out to be a lie overnight. This was a fatal blow for him.
Ji Yuxian said, “Go back to rest with your mother and Jin Mi.”
Nanny Jin suddenly raised her head. Her blood-red eyes looked at Ji Yuxian as she asked, “What’s this for?”
She knew about Ji Yuxian’s decisiveness and thought that she was bound to die after Ji Yuxian knew what she had done.
Jin Feng said, “My mother planned to kill the Eldest Young Master. She is now old and ill. As her son, I should bear all the blame for her. Whether Master Ji wants to report to the government officials or punish her according to the Ji Manor’s rules, I’ll have no complaints.”
Ji Yuxian looked gloomy. “Jin Feng, you have been my faithful follower for more than a decade. That estate your mother stays at is my reward to you. Take your mother and sister back there. From then on, we are total strangers to one another.”
Jin Feng bowed his head low, his body quivering at Ji Yuxian’s words.
Nanny Jin refused his favor and shouted with contempt, “I don’t need you to forgive me and I don’t need your sympathy! All of your family are good at buying off people. That estate belongs to the Ji Manor. You are my enemy. A day in your estate is a day of suffering in my life. I would rather die and I won’t go back!”
Ji Yuxian showed no emotions on his face. He took Su Jiu’s hand and walked out as he muttered, “Live wherever you want to live.”
“Ji Yuxian, you kill me. I don’t want to owe you anything, Ji Yuxian!” Nanny Jin wailed in agony and rushed forward.
She was stopped by Jin Feng and Jin Mi, who wept bitterly.
“Mother!”
The old woman screamed and fell to the ground. “The Ji Family is our enemy! Our biggest enemy!”
Su Jiu and Ji Yuxian came out of the study, and could still hear the miserable crying of the old woman in the room. It echoed in the silent rainy night, spreading chilling despair and pain.