ã€ŠThe Dreamer in the Spring Boudoirã€‹


 Chapter 1

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 001 out of 513 ¨C A Strange Dream (1)

    ¡°I can¡¯t ept this! I can¡¯t! Even as a ghost, I¡¯m going to spend eternity cursing that your rtionship will shatter like ss! Break apart like a pair of mandarin ducks that fly away from each other!¡± The second female lead spat out blood as she faced the sky and shouted.

    ¡°You worthless and malevolent-hearted creature. You conspired to murder my heir and tried to frame Wen Wan. This marquis will bestow three feet of white silk today for you to resolve this issue!¡± The male lead coldly waved his hand.

    ¡°Ah Xuan, don¡¯t do this!¡± The kind-hearted female lead pulled the male lead¡¯s sleeve and piteously entreated, ¡°Don¡¯t kill her!¡±

    ¡°No matter what happens to me, Nie Sangyu, it¡¯s none of your business. I don¡¯t need you to beg for me!¡± The second female raised her face to the sky andughed for a long time while tears streamed down from her face.¡±

    ¡°But I can¡¯t ept this... I can¡¯t...¡±

    This was a ridiculously melodramatic book. If she hadn¡¯t been bored at home during the weekend, Ji Man wouldn¡¯t have browsed through the light novel website on her phone and read this story. But, when she read up to this point, she couldn¡¯t help sighing.

    ording to modern ideas, the second female lead had married the male lead first. The female lead should have been considered the other woman. But, the male lead loved the female lead instead of the second female lead, so the second female lead became the other woman. After many crafty plots by the second female lead, she had been ordered tomit suicide by the male lead.

    Ji Man shook her head and whispered, ¡°This is really destroying the three teachings too much.¡±

    (T/N: The three teachings refer to the philosophies of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.)

    Her eyes felt tired from reading, so she simply turned off her phone¡¯s screen. She didn¡¯t even have to think to know this novel¡¯s ending. After the second female lead was gotten rid of, the male and female lead would have a happily ever after.

    She had found it slightly interesting when the second female lead had been an obstacle in their path. Now that the second female lead was going to die soon, there was nothing left to see.

    Ji Man yawned, turned off the light, pulled up her nket to cover her head, and went to sleep. However, before she fell asleep, she couldn¡¯t help thinking. Wasn¡¯t it also because Nie Sangyu was too stupid?

    ¡°My lord, you¡¯re the only person that I ever loved in this entire lifetime. Whereas you...¡±

    ¡°Her life is a life. Is this consort¡¯s life not a life? Don¡¯t forget. I was once your bride that was carried through the main doors by a pnquin with eight carriers*.¡±

    (T/N: This means that she was married into the household as his legal wife.)

    The character¡¯s lines kept echoing in Jiman¡¯s mind. As Jiman slowly sank into sleep, sheughed at the woman for being so foolish and stupid.

    ¡°I can¡¯t ept this...¡± A voice traveled from the depths of Ji Man¡¯s dream.

    Ji Man slightly furrowed her eyebrows and looked towards the boundless darkness. In a seldom seen calmness, she calmly asked, ¡°So what if you can¡¯t ept this?¡±

    ¡°Help me... help me... I can¡¯t reincarnate with my dream unfulfilled...¡±

    ¡°Why is it any of my business if you can¡¯t reincarnate?¡± Ji Man rolled her eyes.

    The boundless darkness rose up to drown her. Ji Man¡¯s eyes widen. For a moment, it felt as if she had lost her breath. Her head felt like it was spinning. The world changed into a formless mass of chaos. It felt as if she was falling down an unending ck hole.

    Ji Man¡¯sst thought as she lost her consciousness; I¡¯m probably going to have a nightmare.

    <i>¡°At fourteen I became your wife,</i>

    <i>So bashful that I dared not smile,</i>

    <i>But at fifteen I straightened my brows andughed,</i>

    <i>Learning that no dust could ever seal our love,¡±</i>*

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t the poet write what type of feeling I would have at twenty? I see him marrying a new person, but I¡¯m not allowed to cry. Could it be that I must still show a smiling expression?¡±

    The woman¡¯s distressed and bitter cries drifted over from a faraway ce. It drifted to Jiman¡¯s ears as if it had no roots to hold it down.

    ¡°Madam...¡± A timid voice called out. The voice in Jiman¡¯s mind suddenly seemed to return to its original ce. Her vision blurred for a moment, then a bronze mirror appeared in front of her.

    The person in the mirror had a deathly pale face. She was wearing a white robe with wide sleeves and a simple shawl. There were two hairpins that each had pair of small white flowers in her cloud bun hairstyle. The colors were so light that she resembled a fresh corpse.

    Ji Man blinked and the person in the mirror also blinked. The jealously, hatred, and distress that had been on the face was reced with astonishment. When the unpleasant expression was removed, the face became more pleasing.

    ¡°Madam?¡± The nearby servant girl seems to be frightened as she looked at her madam, who had a devil-like expression. She felt as if a cold draft had swept over her back.

    Ji Man nkly turned around. The servant girl that was kneeling on the ground had a <i>luo</i> hairstyle and light green jacket and skirt. Her entire body was trembling.

    (T/N: Below is a picture of a <i>luo</i> hairstyle.)

    ¡°Muxu?¡±

    The young servant girl¡¯s trembling became worse. ¡°This servant is here.¡±

    Ji Man twisted her stiff neck and continued looking at the person in the mirror. She was probably dreaming. The person in the mirror had red lips and white teeth. There was a faint mark between the eyebrows and a pair of long and narrow phoenix eyes that contained malice. This appearance seemed like how the novel had described Nie Sangyu.

    Then, she looked at the servant girl that was kneeling next to her. She remembered that the novel had also said the Nie Sangyu¡¯s servant girl was weak. She was always trembling with fear. Her name was Muxu.

    She could have dreamed about anything. Why did she have to dream that she had be Nie Sangyu?

    Ji Man yawned. She still felt very sleepy. She might as well continue sleeping in this dream. Everything would be fine once she woke up.

    ¡°Madam... Don¡¯t take things too hard. The new madam¡¯s marriage sedan had already arrived at the entrance. You should at least go to the receiving room to see her.¡±

    Just as Ji Man was about to lie down on the bed, Muxu carefully pulled the corner of Nie Sangyu¡¯s robe.

    Ji Man¡¯s eyes nted downwards to look at Muxu. She was only dreaming. Why did she have to be responsible with helping Nie Sangyu deal with the female lead? No way! She still had to go to work tomorrow. She didn¡¯t have that energy.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother me. I¡¯m going to sleep.¡±

    *(T/N: These are lines from a poem called <i>A Poem of Changgan</i> by Li Bai, a famous Tang Dynasty poet. If you want to read the rest of the poem, here¡¯s the version that I thought was tranted the best and the one I used for this chapter. https://.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56596/a-poem-of-changgan.

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    P.s. This novel has a slow beginning. But, what happens in the beginning chapters will be relevant to the novelter on. It really seems like the author had properly nned out the entire novel and the ending from the very first chapter. You¡¯ll see what I mean when you read the final chapter. Or, even after reading 5-10% of this novel, you¡¯ll start viewing the beginning chapters differently.

    Anyways, hope you will enjoy this novel as much I did.)

 Chapter 4

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 004 out of 513 ¨C Since you¡¯re here, you might as well ept it (2)

    The room was silent for a while. The two honored concubines didn¡¯t speak. Instead, a woman that was wearing a purple and yellow long dress and farthest on the left side spoke first, ¡°Oh, even older sister has a day where she has to salute to us. I wouldn¡¯t have expected this to happen even if I was dreaming.¡±

    Ji Man nced at her. This woman was so conspicuous. She had the same lowly concubine status as her and she was also originally from a brothel, but she dared to speak without waiting for the honored concubines. What was her name? Mu Shuqing?

    Mu Shuqing was given to Marquis Moyu by the crown prince, so she had a strong supporter and her conduct was slightly more brazen. Anyways, the other women couldn¡¯t do anything to her. Ji Man remembered that this woman and Nie Sangyu were as ipatible as fire and water. Whenever one of them saw the other person, they would inevitably snap at each other like dogs.

    With Mu Shuiqing taking the initiative, the rest of the women didn¡¯t say anything. The two honored concubines also didn¡¯t signal for her to rise from her salute. Ji Man could only make the decision to straighten up.

    Then, she nced at Mu Shuqing and said, ¡°Younger sister, those words are faulty. The wheel of fortune is always changing. Who won¡¯t have a day when they need to lower their head? If it¡¯s time to lower your head, then you should do so. Right now, the honored concubines have a higher status than me. It couldn¡¯t be more normal for me to salute them in greeting. There¡¯s no need to be surprised.¡±

    When she heard these words, Honored Concubine Ling was surprised. ¡°You¡¯ve really shown progress. Did you really think things through just because the marquis locked you up for a few days?¡±

    Ji Man nodded. She was a person that had already foreseen her ending. How could she not think things through?

    ¡°This is good thing.¡± Honored Concubine Xue lightly coughed. She used a handkerchief to cover her mouth and said, ¡°Today is the marquis¡¯s wedding day and our household will be weing another madam. It¡¯s for the best that you can let go of the past. Come over here and wait with us.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. She looked left and right and saw that she could only stand next to Mu Shuiqing.

    If she were the real Nie Sangyu, who had to serve tea to her man¡¯s new lover after being demoted from the main wife to a concubine, it would have been justifiable for her to resort to violence because of emotional distress. Fortunately, she was Ji Man. She didn¡¯t have any feelings toward the current situation. These women were much easier to deal with than clients at work.

    The room was silent again. Ji Man looked around. The main room was empty except for them. Compared to the lively sounds of gongs and drums outside, it was extremely quiet inside. The mood even seemed slightly sad.

    When she thought about it, she could understand. This entire room was filled with Marquis Moyu¡¯s women. How can a woman be happy watching her man getting married?

    They had already been standing here for a long time and Ji Man was ovee with boredom when the lively sounds from outside finally entered the room. Ji Man raised her head and saw a woman that was escorted inside by the crowd. The woman seemed haloed in golden light.

    Of course, this definitely wasn¡¯t the bride. From the nine phoenixes that were embroidered on her dress, she was probably the empress. The old madam wasn¡¯t here and Marquis Moyu¡¯s father had prematurely died on a battlefield. Since there weren¡¯t any elders, the empress hade here to be the guest performer to convey friendly feelings.

    Ji Man¡¯s didn¡¯t like the empress at first sight. This woman seemed lifeless without even a hint of a smile. No wonder the emperor still didn¡¯t favor her even thought she given birth to the crown prince.

    The women kneeled down to pay their respects to the empress, so Ji Man followed them in kneeling. The empress said conventional words to them. The general idea was that they had worked hard in serving the marquis. Now that a new wife hade, they had to get along with her. It would be disadvantageous if they didn¡¯t.

    The group of women said they understood in unison. Ji Man followed the other women with standing up and walking to the side without making the slightest mistake.

    However, when she inadvertently looked up, her eyes met the empress¡¯s slightly cold gaze.

    Ji Man felt a cool breeze sweeping down her back. She hastily lowered her head. Oh my god, had Nie Sangyu even offended the empress? The author had used her pen to mostly write about the male lead and female lead, so Ji Man really didn¡¯t know what Nie Sangyu had done in the past. Now that she had been brought over here a scapegoat, this was really too cruel!

    ¡°The bride is entering, lift the skirt, ssh the good fortune water, pull the knotted red ribbon...¡±

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    The empress finally looked away from her and towards the entrance when an older female servant called out from outside.

    Ji Man secretly raised her head to take a look.

    Ning Yuxuan was wearing a crimson robe. He maintained a serious expression as his face was sshed with good fortune water. But, he couldn¡¯t hide the joy in his eyes that stealthily went from the corners of his eyes to the tip of his eyebrows.

    The book had said he was an iparable gentleman with an appearance that resembled a celestial being with the attractiveness of jade. It had sounded too abstract. Ji Man carefully looked him over. Marquis Moyu was worthy of his reputation. He had been born with a good appearance. He had a figure that looked as if it was drawn with a knife and peach blossom eyes. Combined with his habitually solemn expression, he was truly enticing in his asceticism.

    His eyes seemed like clear water that reflected the waves of sunlight. However, when his gaze met hers, the clear water froze into ice. Ji Man raised an eyebrow. She was already conscientiously and obediently waiting here to offer tea. Why did he still look as if he loathed her?

 Chapter 6

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 006 out of 513 ¨C The ending can¡¯t be changed

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    Chapter 006 ¨C The ending can¡¯t be changed

    The scalding tea was spilled onto the new madam and the tea also scalded Ji Man¡¯s hand. Someone nearby screamed and the main room suddenly became a chaotic mess.

    Wen Wan was ovee with shock for a moment. When she returned to her senses and saw the chaotic scene, she hurriedly said clever words, ¡°It¡¯s fine. It was only an ident. There¡¯s no need to be this anxious. It¡¯s only a cup of tea. My dress is very thick.¡±

    Ji Man clutched her left hand and stood at the side. She thought, I haven¡¯t done anything to hurt other people, but other people want to hurt me. She hadn¡¯t done anything at all. Why did her knees suddenly feel painful?

    She cast a nce at the women near her. Everyone looked tense and was trying their best to remain calm. She couldn¡¯t tell who done that trick or how she had done it. Ji Man felt that she had really underestimated the intelligence people from ancient times.

    There were nobles amount the guests, so Marquis Moyu couldn¡¯t explode in anger. He could only coldly look at Ji Man and have the matron of honor bring the bride to the bridal chamber.

    Ji Man summoned her courage and stood up. She knew that Marquis Moyu would definitely settle scores once there was opportune moment. She had already obediently changed Nie Sangyu¡¯s temperament and the plot had changed, so why was the result still the same? Nie Sangyu would still continue to be confined.

    She sighed. She could only ept her fate. As long as her life wasn¡¯t at risk, she might as well take things less seriously. Besides, her head was still on the chopping block, regardless if she stretched her head out or shrunk it back.

    After the ceremony was over, the concubines were led back by servant girls. Under the eyes of everyone, Ji Man lightly smiled and held Muxu¡¯s arm for support as she walked back the confinement courtyard.

    ¡°Master...¡± Muxu had mostly heard what had happened while she was standing outside, so she called out in worry. But, she didn¡¯t dare to say anything else.

    Ji Man tilted her head and smiled at her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Nothing bad will happen. In any case, my family has significant influence. He¡¯s already done the worst thing by demoting me to a concubine. At most, he¡¯ll continue to confine me. He won¡¯t do anything else.¡±

    Nie Sangyu¡¯s family was exceptional. Her father was a third-rank general and her paternal aunt was a noble consort. She also had a cousin that was an imperial physician and an older brother was a medium-rank military officer. It was exactly because of these background supporters that Marquis Moyu had tolerated Nie Sangyu¡¯s actions for so long.

    Because Marquis Moyu had recently wanted to marry Wen Wan, Nie Sangyu had caused her own ruined through her recklessness. She had charged into the pce and caused a huge disturbance. The emperor had angrily rebuked Nie Sangyu. And, her actions had even led Noble Consort Nie to lose favor with the emperor. This was how Marquis Moyu was able to demote her to a concubine status.

    Ji Man felt that Marquis Moyu was the archetype of an ungrateful person that failed to be loyal to his lover. Nie Sangyu had been hiswfully wedded wife. After he had angered her to the point of her losing her sense of propriety, he had casually taken away her position as the main wife. Marquis Moyu was probably secretly overjoyed.

    Even thought Ji Man didn¡¯t know if Nie Sangyu would be able to hear her thoughts, she still chided her. Look at this person that you had fallen in love with. You can¡¯t just fall in love with a man by only looking at his appearance!

    ¡ª¡ª¨C

    After staying in the room for a while and seeing that sky had darkened, Ji Man rubbed her stomach and asked, ¡°Muxu, what¡¯s for dinner?¡±

    Muxu had been standing at the doorway. Hearing these words, she half-stumbled and half-ran into the room and whispered, ¡°This servant recently went to the kitchen to ask. The marquis had said... There was a happy asion in the residence today, so there can be dishes added to dinner. But, there won¡¯t be any food sent here tonight... Master, you have to continue staying here for another month... Your future meals.... Your future meals will be the same as this servants.¡± Her voice became quieter and quieter. By the time she reached thest of these words, Muxu was almost crying and her body kept trembling.

    Ji Man looked at her and couldn¡¯t resist wondering how often Nie Sangyu had mistreated this servant girl. Why was Muxu so scared?

    Ji Man quietly said, ¡°He¡¯ll give out sweets during a wedding, but he won¡¯t even give me rice to eat. So stingy.¡± Then, she pinched Muxu¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Stop trembling. I won¡¯t hit you. It¡¯s fine. If there¡¯s no dinner, there¡¯s no dinner. I can ept this, just get my breakfaster earlier tomorrow. I¡¯m not picky.¡±

    rmed, Muxu lifted her head and nced at her. Then, she nodded and ran out of the room at lightning speed.

    Marquis Moyu had continued to confine her without asking a single question. He probably hated Nie Sangyu to the bone. Ji Man wasn¡¯t inclined to bother herself with this issue either. It wasn¡¯t possible for her to change everyone¡¯s opinion of her in a single day. She could only slowly change their perceptions.

    ¡ª¡ª¨C

    ¡°What did she say?¡± Marquis Moyu was standing outside of the bridal chamber and asking Liu <i>Mama</i>.

    In a mystified voice, Liu <i>Mama</i> said, ¡°Master Sangyu didn¡¯t cry or fuss. She only said that the marquis was stingy for not giving her rice to eat, then she went to sleep.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan raised an eyebrow. After considering for a moment, he shook his head and said, ¡°Continue watching her.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    No matter how strange Nie Sangyu acted, it wouldn¡¯t elicit his interest. Today was his and Wen Wan¡¯s wedding day. In the future, he wouldn¡¯t allow anyone in the residence bully Wen Wan.

    In the dead of the night, Ji Man was so hungry that she woke up. After rolling around the bed for a long time, she finally got up, went the outer room, shook Muxu awake, and quietly asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the kitchen?¡±

    Muxu was probably feeling very sleepy. She drowsily pointed out the direction for her before falling back to sleep again.

    Ji Man sneakily opened the doors and looked around. There wasn¡¯t anyone outside. The confinement was entirely self-enforcement. No one should be watching over her... right?

    She quietly walked out of the courtyard and walked in the direction that Muxu had pointed towards. In front of her, there were only buildings and gardens. She couldn¡¯t tell which building was the kitchen. After searching for an hour, she finally saw a wooden sign with the words ¡°gourmet food¡± written on it. Ji Man¡¯s eyes brightened. Seeing the locked gate, she decisively climbed over the wall.

 Chapter 7

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 007 out of 513 ¨C A chicken-stealing concubine

    Chapter 007 ¨C A chicken-stealing concubine

    After the wedding night event, Ning Yuxuan gently kissed Wen Wan¡¯s lips. He awkwardly and seriously said, ¡°You¡¯re my person.¡±

    Wen Wan¡¯s cheeks turned red. She red at him for a moment before she said, ¡°Don¡¯t think that I can¡¯t do anything to you just because you¡¯re a marquis. If you fall in love with another person in the future, I¡¯ll leave!¡±

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    Marquis Moyu chuckled. He grabbed her hand and ced it on his chest. ¡°I have you. How could I fall in love with another person? In this entire residence, you¡¯re the only person in my heart. Do you believe me?¡±

    Wen Wan cast an admonishing nce at him. Then, she obediently lied down in his embrace. There were so many women in the marquis¡¯s residence. Starting from tomorrow, she had to be a person that was worth of being the marquis¡¯s wife. Although her family background wasn¡¯t good, she wasn¡¯t afraid. It would be fine as long as Yuxuan¡¯s heart belonged to her.

    ¡°Go to sleep.¡± Ning Yuxuan kissed her forehead.

    Wen Wan nodded. Just as she was about to close her eyes, she suddenly heard a racketing from outside.

    ¡°Fire!¡±

    Jolted by surprise, Marquis Moyu turned over and sat up. He put on clothes and opened the doors. ¡°What happened?¡±

    Guibai nced in the direction of the kitchen and quietly said, ¡°To respond to the marquis, the kitchen caught on fire. The servants are all working to put out the fire, but the ce is far from Qiang Wei Courtyard. You can continue to sleep peacefully.¡±

    Kitchen? Ning Yuxuan furrowed his eyebrows, ¡°Everything had been fine before. Why did it catch on fire? Send people to investigate. Don¡¯t bother the new madam with this matter. It¡¯s the wedding night.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Guibai sent a servant boy to ask about the situation.

    ¡ª

    Muxu had truly been sleeping very well when Liu <i>Mama</i> woke her up to help with putting out the fire. Liu <i>Mama</i> had originally been deeply asleep and didn¡¯t pay attention to where Ji Man had gone. After she woke up Muxu, they left the confinement courtyard. This courtyard was the closest to the kitchen.

    Somehow the dry kindle in the kitchen had caught on fire and a spark from this fire hadnded on arge, nearby oil container. This situation had almost led to a catastrophe. The servants had used sand to extinguish the fire and examined the kitchen¡¯s every corner. But, the kitchen¡¯s chef, Aunty Li, said that she was missing a plucked chicken and two lotus leaves. The spices had also been moved around and the leftover rice in the wooden bucket was also missing.

    Who had been awake in the middle of the night and had gone to the kitchen to steal food? And had also caused the kitchen to catch on fire? The residence¡¯s steward immediately sent people to investigate. All the servants in the various courtyards were woken up and their sleeping ces were all searched. But, they weren¡¯t able to find the missing chicken.

    After half a night of disturbance, the steward decided to wait until tomorrow morning and leave the matter for the new madam to deal with. For now, he dismissed the servants so they could go back to sleep.

    Exhausted, Muxu returned the confinement courtyard. After she closed the doors, she saw her master sitting on her bed with glittering eyes.

    Startled, she retreated backwards out of habit. ¡°Was master woken up by the noise?¡±

    Ji Man sly shook her head. Seeing that Muxu had closed the doors, she curved her fingers towards her to gesture at her, ¡°Come here.¡±

    Muxu slowly walked over. She carefully looked her over, ¡°Master?¡±

    Ji Man asked, ¡°Are you hungry?¡±

    Muxu looked at her in surprised for moment. She didn¡¯t expect that she would suddenly ask this question. ¡°N-Not hungry.¡±

    Although her mouth said these words, how could she not be hungry? Staying in the confinement courtyard, she didn¡¯t have enough to eat every day. Her stomach growled and revealed her lie.

    Ji Man sighed. This young girl¡¯s life had been rather pitiful as Nie Sangyu¡¯s servant. Right now, she resembled a chicken that had been sshed with water.

    Ji Man stretched her hand out and took out the item she had hidden in the bed. She gestured for Muxu to be quiet, then she pulled her towards the wooden table in the center of the room.

    The item was wrapped with tworge lotus leaves. The fragrant scent floated out as soon as the leaves were open.

    Muxu¡¯s eyes were wide open from surprise. ¡°R-Roasted chicken?¡±

    Master had been the one that stole the kitchen¡¯s missing chicken!

    ¡°This isn¡¯t roasted chicken. It¡¯s lotus leaf chicken.¡± In an extremely pleased and triumphant tone, Ji Man said, ¡°First, I cleaned the chicken. Then, I rubbed salt on the chicken, stuffed spices and cooked rice into the chicken¡¯s cavity, wrapped it in lotus leaves, and covered it in mud. It was done after I threw it in a fire for a while!¡±

    (T/N: Below is a picture of Beggar¡¯s chicken.)

    Muxu was speechless. She was Nie Sangyu¡¯s dowry servant girl. Howe she didn¡¯t know that her master had this skill?

    Muxu did her best to swallow her saliva and whispered, ¡°Master, stealing things... There will be a punishment.¡±

    Ji Man took out themonly used eating utensils from a cab and untied the string wrapped around the chicken¡¯s stomach. She rolled her eyes and said, ¡°How will they know that the chicken was stolen by me? Anyways, I¡¯m Marquis Moyu¡¯s concubine. Even if they find out that I stole a chicken to eat, he¡¯s the one who¡¯s reputation will be damaged if other people know about this news. So, even if he knows, he won¡¯t publicly me me.¡±

    The smell of the rice mixed with the spices and the chicken smelled really fragrant. Muxu nced at Ji Man several times. She felt that her master had suddenly be much smarter.

    However, she was also very hungry. After hesitating for a long time, she finally mustered up her courage and opened her mouth to say, ¡°Master, could you... leave behind the bones for this servant. This servant won¡¯t eat the meat. Just the bones would be fine...¡±

    Feeling sad after hearing the girl¡¯s words, Ji Man poured some of the rice into a bowl and split the chicken in half. She pushed the remaining half of the chicken and rice in front of Muxu. ¡°You¡¯re a person, not a dog. Why would you gnaw at bones? I couldn¡¯t possible finish an entire chicken by myself. We can each have half. Eat it quickly so that other people won¡¯t find out.¡±

    Muxu¡¯s eyes widen. Feeling happy, she still carefully looked at her and asked, ¡°I can eat all of it?¡±

    Ji Man showed a serious expression and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to eat it, next time, I¡¯ll only bring half a chicken back and let you stay hungry!¡±

 Chapter 8

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 008 out of 513 ¨C Nie Sangyu¡¯s wish

    Scared, Muxu trembled. She hastily wrapped up the lotus leaf and went to sit in the outer room¡¯s couch. She ate the chicken and rice, tiny bite by tiny bite. As she ate, she turned her head to scrutinize Nie Sangyu.

    Her master voraciously ate her food without the slightest hint of table manners. There was even rice sticking on her face as one hand held a chicken leg. She really resembled a bandit. Noticing Muxu¡¯s gaze, she lifted her head and looked at her like a fiendish spirit, ¡°Eat your food!¡±

    Muxu shuddered. She hastily lowered her head and didn¡¯t dare to continue looking. Perhaps, it was her misperception, but she felt as if her master was gentler than before. But, when she behaved fiercely, her gaze was exactly the same as before.

    After Ji Man finished the chicken and rice, she started feeling more satisfied with her current situation. She left the aftermath of the meal to Muxu to clean and went back to sleeping.

    ¡ª¡ª¨C

    Ji Man unexpectedly dreamed of Nie Sangyu on her first night in this unfamiliar world.

    This pitiful and hateful woman with her deathly pale face floated by in her dream. She quietly said, ¡°You came here to fulfill my wish for me. When you fulfill my wish, I¡¯ll leave to be reincarnated and you can go back.¡±

    Ji Man really wanted to kick her far away. Stupid second female lead. She had caused her own death and now, she wanted her to change the novel¡¯s ending?

    ¡°What benefit do I get if I help you?¡±

    Nie Sangyu nkly looked at her and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t help me, you won¡¯t be able to go back.¡±

    Ji Man, ¡°...¡±

    So, the meaning was that she had been snatched here to do free work. If she didn¡¯t aplish her task, she wouldn¡¯t be able to return to her wonderful modern world and would have to continue staying here?

    She took a deep breath, then she took another deep breath. Ji Man decided that a person couldn¡¯t bicker with a ghost. She could only press down her anger and ask her, ¡°What¡¯s your wish?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Nie Sangyu didn¡¯t say a word. She turned around and her figure gradually faded away.

    She left?

    Ji Man was bbergasted. She shouldn¡¯t be messing around like this, right? If Nie Sangyu didn¡¯t say her wish, how could she fulfill it?

    When Ji Man woke up the next morning, there were two ck circles under her eyes.

    She was sitting at the table when Muxu brought a bowl of porridge and a pickled vegetable dish. Then, she closed the doors, and quietly said, ¡°Master, the marquis has ordered for you to stay in the confinement courtyard for now, so you don¡¯t need to pay respect to the new madam.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. If she didn¡¯t have to pay respects, it would save her trouble. She hadn¡¯t figure out who had harmed her on the wedding day yet. She would definitely be at a disadvantage if she went over there without knowing anything.

    ¡°This is breakfast?¡± She lowered her head to look at the porridge in the bowl. It was such a small bowl. It didn¡¯t even look like there was enough to fill the gap between teeth. Fortunately, she had stolen a chicken yesterday.

    Muxu lowered her head in shame. ¡°They said this servant hade toote. Only this was left... Master, please bear with it and eat it.¡±

    Ji Man actually wasn¡¯t hungry. She waved her hand and said, ¡°You can eat it. I¡¯m too full from yesterday. Since I¡¯ll be staying inside doing nothing, I won¡¯t be hungry for a while.¡±

    Muxu turned her head to look at things piled in a corner and quietly said, ¡°Master, you haven¡¯t finished your embroidery yet. That will take energy. You should at least eat a little bit. This servant will go to the kitchen at noon and wait. I¡¯ll bring more food for lunch.¡±

    Embroidery? Ji Man was at a loss. ¡°What embroidery?¡±

    ¡°The marquis has ordered that while you¡¯re in the confinement courtyard, you need to finish embroidering two hundred handkerchiefs. They¡¯ll be used by the people in the residence.¡±

    Ji Man swatted her head and remembered. This Nie Sangyu only had one skill: unique embroidery. The things she embroidered were vivid and lifelike and she had even received the emperor¡¯s praise once. As it turns out, Marquis Moyu was turning waste into profit. Wouldn¡¯t this count as forcedbor?

    ¡°How many have I embroidered?¡±

    Muxy honestly replied, ¡°To respond to master, you haven¡¯t even embroidered one. Didn¡¯t you say before that no one in the residence to deserve to use a handkerchief embroidered by you? So, they¡¯ve been put to the side...¡±

    The corners of Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched, ¡°What will happen if I don¡¯t embroider?¡±

    Muxu looked at her strangely. ¡°Liu <i>Mama</i> saidst time that if you don¡¯t embroider, then you¡¯re only allowed to eat breakfast and lunch. You won¡¯t be served anything for dinner.¡±

    In the previous month, Nie Sangyu would rather be beaten to death then embroider handkerchiefs. The quality of the food had also been too poor, so she didn¡¯t eat either. She spent every day endlessly wailing and weeping and had starved herself to only skin and bones.

    Ji Man rolled her eyes. If you can earn a meal, why not do it?

    But, there was a problem. She didn¡¯t know how to embroider.

    Muxu saw that she kept staring at the embroidery frame and other tools that were in the corner, so she went over there and brought the items over. There were two hundred white and clean handkerchiefs without any embroidery inside the bup bag. There was also arge pile of different color threads and a pincushion with numerous needles.

    Muxu put a handkerchief into the embroidery frame. Seeing her master experimentally pick up an embroidery needle, she looked at her with slight surprise and asked, ¡°Master, are you going to embroider?¡±

    ¡°Eh...¡± While Ji Man was still pondering on how to embroider, her hand suddenly started to move and skillfullypleted the first stitch. As the excellent stitches continued, the outline of a mandarin duck¡¯s head appeared.

    The hand was still hers and it was her strength that was being used. She could also stop when she wanted to, but Ji Man discovered that this hand had an innate ability embroider.

    Or, she could also exin it as Nie Sangyu still being in this body and this body had an instinctive response to embroidering.

    Nie Sangyu, who was unyielding towards Ning Yuxuan and who would prefer to starve to death than embroider, why was she willing to help her right now? Ji Man found this slightly inconceivable. But, this was great. If she obediently embroidered handkerchiefs, then she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about going hungry!

 Chapter 9

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 009 out of 513 ¨C Living is the top priority

    Ancient embroidery was really a high-level art. A small mandarin duck design required stitching back and forth for fiveyers. Although the skill was Nie Sangyu¡¯s, Ji Man also felt very tired. Her head felt woozy and her eyes felt blurry after only embroidering two handkerchiefs. When she raised her head to look outside, it was almost noon.

    Sure enough, her stomach started growling, but Muxu hadn¡¯te back yet. Ji Man put down the embroidery frame and stood at the doorway for a while. The smell of food from the kitchen had already drifted over here.

    She had given her breakfast to Muxu. Compared to Nie Sangyu¡¯s adolescent chicken-like body, Muxu looked even more pitifully thin. She didn¡¯t seem like a servant girl from a noble family at all. She didn¡¯t know if Muxu had been this thin in the past or if she had be thin from starving during the previous month.

    ¡°Master...¡± Muxu finally came back. As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she saw Ji Man standing in the doorway. Compared to the previous days, she wasn¡¯t as afraid of her and properly came over while holding a food box. ¡°This servant has brought back lunch.¡±

    Ji Man smiled and went inside to sit back down at the table.

    As Muxu took out the meal, she said, ¡°This servant seems to have gone toote again. This servant waited at the kitchen¡¯s entrance for a long time, but Aunty Zhao wouldn¡¯t let this servant enter the kitchen. By the time she allowed this servant to enter, only this was left.¡±

    A bowl of rice, a small te of Chinese cabbage, and a small te of green beans. She didn¡¯t even see any shredded meat with the green beans. Ji Man slightly raised her eyebrow, ¡°Is the marquis¡¯s residence this poor?¡±

    However, Muxu didn¡¯t seem disappointed. She turned around, closed the doors, and took something out from the chest underneath the couch.

    ¡°This servant knows that master won¡¯t eat a meal without meat. This servant tore yesterday¡¯s chicken into two portions. This servant hasn¡¯t touched this leftover portion at all. It¡¯s very clean. This servant left this part so that master can eat some meat today.¡±

    The young servant girl¡¯s eyes were bright as she carefully opened the lotus leaf while still crouched down on the floor. But, she discovered huge hole in the lotus leaf.

    A mouse came burrowing out from the lotus leaf. It squeaked twice before climbing down onto Muxu¡¯s arm, then jumping down to the floor and towards the chest underneath the couch.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± Muxu screamed. Her small face was deathly pale. She tossed the lotus leaf and chicken and jumped to the other side. Her face was full of dismay and rm. Her body started to tremble without stopping.

    Ji Man looked. There were only bones left from the lotus leaf chicken that had been secretly eaten by the mouse. She sighed. Nie Sangyu¡¯s life was too tragic.

    ¡°Why was there a mouse...¡± Muxu clung to the wall in fear. Seeing the lotus leaf chicken on the ground, she felt so distressed that she wanted to cry.

    Ji Man actually wasn¡¯t scared about the mouse. When she had been a migrant worker living in Beijing, she had lived in basements and had seen plenty of cockroaches and rats.

    She stood up, picked up the lotus leaf chicken, and stuffed it back into the chest to dispose of the stolen goods. Then, sitting in front of the two vegetarian dishes, she helplessly said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat first. It¡¯s still better than nothing. Later, bring the two handkerchiefs I finished embroidering to Liu <i>Mama</i>. Tell her I want to eat dinner.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Muxu closed the chest and slightly rxed her body. Feeling embarrassed, she went to stand at Ji Man¡¯s side.

    Ji Man ate half and left the remaining half to Muxu. Then, she casually asked, ¡°Who manages the residence?¡±

    As Muxu ate, she answered, ¡°Steward Qian has always been managing things.¡±

    Ji Man shook her head, ¡°No. I meant who manages the concubines¡¯ food, clothes, and expenses?¡±

    Muxu said, ¡°It used to be Master Siling. Now that the new madam is here, it should be the new madam.¡±

    When Nie Sangyu had been the marquis¡¯s main wife, the marquis had criticized her for not beingposed enough. He used this as excuse to give Qi Siling, who had always been virtuous and dignified, the authority over the residence¡¯s domestic affairs. The book hadn¡¯t described in detail the daily lives of the concubines, so she didn¡¯t know where to start. In addition, she couldn¡¯t leave the residence right now.

    After Ji Man¡¯s mind went in a circle, her gaze fell on Nie Sangyu¡¯s clothing and jewelry.

    ¡°Muxu, do you want to eat delicious food?¡± Ji Man asked with a smile.

    Muxu looked at her doubtfully and lightly nodded. ¡°Master, what do you want to do?¡±

    Ji Man gestured at her toe closer. Muxu went over and Ji Man whispered into her ear. Muxu¡¯s face paled. ¡°Master, this... these are your favorites...¡±

    ¡°Meat is your master¡¯s favorite right now.¡± Ji Man patted her shoulder and said, ¡°As long as we¡¯re living, everything is okay. I thought things through. I¡¯m not going topete and fight with them anymore. But, at the very least, we should have enough to fill our stomachs, right?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Muxu was silently for a long time before she finally nodded.

    The marquis¡¯s residence had its own doctors. Muxu coincidentally knew one of the doctors. He was a young doctor with the surname Li. When Ji Man asked about her rtionship with this doctor, Muxu hurriedly replied that they were innocent. They were only friends.

    Seeing her small, blushing face and hearing her anxious exnation, Ji Man understood and didn¡¯t want to put her in a difficult spot. It was fine as long as there was a method to sell some of Nie Sangyu¡¯s jewelry.

    Thus, Ji Man lied on the bed and pretended to be sick in the afternoon. Muxu went to inform Liu <i>Mama</i> and pleaded with her to call Doctor Li over to examine Nie Sangyu.

    A concubine¡¯s status was low and couldn¡¯t afford a veteran doctor. Liu <i>Mama</i> saw the two handkerchiefs that Mu Xu had brought, so she didn¡¯t make things difficult for her. She went to call the doctor over for them.

    ¡ª¡ª¨C

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to tell this marquis that she¡¯s sick.¡± Marquis Moyu was standing in the doorway. Looking at Liu <i>Mama</i>, he lightly said, ¡°As long as she¡¯s not up to any tricks and isn¡¯t harming anyone, there¡¯s no need toe and inform this marquis about her situation.¡±

    ¡°This servant was impudent.¡± Li <i>Mama</i> saluted and decided to withdraw.

    Ning Yuxuan thought of something else and opened his mouth to stop her, ¡°Wait.¡±

    (T/N: There will be a new chapter each day by 5PM EST for the next two weeks.

    Below in thements, there¡¯s a spoiler/caution if you¡¯re going to MTL the novel.)

 Chapter 13

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 013 out of 513 ¨C The conflict won¡¯t end stop (1)

    (T/N: I had extra time today, so posting an extra chapter, but please only expect one release per day.)

    Ji Man turned around to look at her, ¡°Little girl, sometimes we have to lose something in order to gain something better. To achieve a certain goal, we must pay a corresponding price. Aunty Zhao is a servant with status. If we don¡¯t give her plenty of money, why would she be willing to do work for us? Our request isn¡¯t excessive. We¡¯re only asking for better food. The remaining one hundred silver taels will be enough for us for a period of time. It¡¯s fine as long as our days aren¡¯t cold or exhausting.¡±

    Muxu still felt a sense of injustice. She held the remaining silver taels for a long time before she finally turned around and hid them on the bottom shelf of the cab.

    ¡°What did you ask her to buy?¡±

    Ji Man picked up the embroidery needle and continued embroidering the handkerchief. She unhurriedly said, ¡°They were all very ordinary things. I wrote on the list for her to bring a small quantity of those items to me each month. Once we use those items to make things, we won¡¯t have to worry about not having enough money.¡±

    Muxu didn¡¯t understand her master¡¯s words. But since her master appeared to have nned something out in advance, she didn¡¯t ask any further questions and sat down to help her embroider the handkerchiefs.

    ¡ª¡ª¨C

    As a result of Nie Sangyu¡¯s diligent work of embroidering two handkerchiefs each day and handing them over to Liu <i>Mama</i>, the entire residence¡¯s madam and concubines were using new handkerchiefs within a few days. She had embroidered the handkerchiefs with patterns that had excellent meanings: a pair of mandarin ducks or twin lotus flowers on one stalk*. In addition, Nie Sangyu was very talented with her embroidery skill. Even Wen Wan loved the handkerchiefs so much that she didn¡¯t want to put them down.

    *(T/N: These patterns symbolized a happy and devoted marriage.)

    When Marquis Moyu was sitting at a table drinking tea, he saw Wen Wan clutching one of these handkerchiefs and carefully stroking the pattern on it. She said, ¡°Even if I practiced for several years, I don¡¯t think I can embroider something of this level.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan followed her gaze and looked at the handkerchief. The light purple lotus flowers were blooming beautifully and it felt as if you could even faintly smell their scent.

    ¡°This is her only talent.¡±

    Wen Wan raised her head and rolled her eyes. ¡°Sangyu¡¯s personality doesn¡¯t seem as bad as you had described. Perhaps, she had done wrong things in the past. But, hasn¡¯t she be docile and obedient now? Why are you so biased against her?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    He was biased against her? Ning Yuxuan couldn¡¯t resist sighing. Nie Sangyu had married him when she was only fourteen years old. She has been jealous of his other concubines for the past several years. How many sharp and unkind words have they said to each other? Who knew her personality better than him?

    He had married her when he was fifteen years old. As soon as Nie Sangyu entered the household, she had dismissed all of his bedroom servants. Whenever he became angry with her, she would go to his mother lodge aint against him. Because of her familial rtionship with Noble Consort Ning and the fact that his own mother sided with Nie Sangyu, he couldn¡¯t even show his anger towards her when he was angry.

    When he was sixteen years old, Nie Sangyu still hadn¡¯t given birth to a child. Naturally, this was something he was intentionally responsible for. Later on, when he took Qi Siling as an honored concubine, that poisonous woman had almost destroyed Qi Siling¡¯s face. After he stopped her, she wouldn¡¯t repent and even said that she hadn¡¯t done anything wrong.

    When he was eighteen years old, he had brought in Qing Lian Xue and Liu Han Yun. Nie Sangyu had thrown a tantrum and was sick for a month. Her actions had caused Noble Consort Nie to censure him.

    When he was twenty years old, he had taken Mu Shuqing as a concubine. Nie Sangyu had drunk poison, but was unsessful withmitting suicide. This made the marquis¡¯s household aughingstock for the entire capital.

    Right now, he was twenty-one years old. That woman had finally caused enough trouble to lose her position as the marquis¡¯s wife. Her actions were directly responsible for promoting Wen Wan. Either she had finally be sensible, or perhaps she was secretly scheming something.

    If his mother hadn¡¯t forced him to marry Nie Sangyu, he would have never married this shrew. He had originally been an elegant, unrestrained, and leisurely marquis. Because of this woman, he hadn¡¯t had a single good day in the past several years. Now, he had finally locked her in the confinement courtyard. Even if he were to be beaten to death, he wouldn¡¯t easily let her out of there.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why. I find her rather pitiful.¡± Wen Wan sighed. She put the handkerchief back into her sleeve and raised her gaze to look at Ning Yuxuan as she said, ¡°I also feel jealous that she¡¯s been with you for so long.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan raised an eyebrow and looked rather good-looking as he curved his lips into a smile. ¡°Jealous of her? You still have decades left to stay by my side.¡±

    Wen Wan cast a rebuking nce at him as her cheeks turned slightly red. ¡°You two share a mutual past that I wasn¡¯t part of. Of course, I¡¯ll feel jealous. But, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll be the only person in your world in the future.¡±

    Marquis Moyu stretched his hand out and brought her into his embrace. With his chin lowered so that it was against her forehead, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve never loved anyone before you. Nie Sangyu doesn¡¯t mean anything to me. You don¡¯t need to be jealous.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Wen Wan smiled and hugged him back. Feeling at ease, she closed her eyes.

    ¡ª¡ª¨C

    Ji Man sneezed several times in a row to the point that tears came out. She sniffled and said, ¡°It couldn¡¯t be that I really got sick, right?¡±

    Her mood suddenly became gloomy. She didn¡¯t know why she was feeling this way. She usually wasn¡¯t a mncholy and sensitive person. Most of these feelings were probably from Nie Sangyu. She felt slightly ufortable when she thought about how there was another person residing in this body. But why did Nie Sangyu suddenly feel sad when everything was perfectly fine right now?

    Ji Man heard the sound of someone knocking on the courtyard¡¯s doors. After Muxu ran over to open the doors, Ji Man heard a servant girl¡¯s crisp voice say, ¡°My family¡¯s Master Shuiqing likes the handkerchiefs embroidered by your master. Send two more handkerchiefs to Feiyu Courtyard tomorrow. My master doesn¡¯t have enough.¡±

    Muxu looked at the handkerchief in Banxia¡¯s hand and her little face became tense. ¡°Master Shuiqing is only one person. How could she not have enough? We¡¯re both servants. How can you use something embroidered by a master?¡±

    Banxia was Mu Shuiqing¡¯s personal servant girl and had the same deplorable behavior as her master. She arrogantly raised her head and said, ¡°Servants are divided into different ranks. There are some masters who aren¡¯t even as good as some servants. Since Master Shuiqing gave me this handkerchief, of course I can use it. If you¡¯re unsatisfied, go and tell the marquis about it.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Muxu¡¯s mouth wasn¡¯t clever and she could only look at Banxia helplessly.

    They shouldn¡¯t bully people like this. Her master was already exhausted from embroidering two handkerchiefs every day. And now, she had to embroider handkerchiefs for servant girls too? They were treating her master as if she was an embroideress!

    (T/N: I¡¯m not sure if this was clear? Ji Man doesn¡¯t know the six-year history between Nie Sangyu and Ning Yuxuan. She only has a vague knowledge of the other characters. Her knowledge is limited to the stuff that happens in the original novel. She briefly mentions this in chapter 4, ¡°The author had used her pen to mostly write about the male lead and female lead, so Ji Man really didn¡¯t know what Nie Sangyu had done in the past.¡± This is the reason she¡¯s doesn¡¯t understand why he¡¯s still holding a grudge despite the recent change in her behavior.

    Generally, when there¡¯s a different POV, the author is giving us information that Ji Man doesn¡¯t know yet.)

    Also, there are 261 raw chapters, but I¡¯m splitting most of the raw chapters into 2 tranted parts. There are a few shorter chapters that haven¡¯t been split. And, to simplify my excel schedule, I numbered the chapters so that Chapter 1 in raws = Chapter 1 & 2. When the trantion is done, there will be 513 tranted chapters.)

 Chapter 16

    Thank you Dragon_Reader, Ainslee, ensaymadaroll, Tamasaga, Apples and Oranges, and Kurobito so much for writing reviews and providing different views about this novel! I really appreciate it. I was worried that no one would like this novel because it¡¯s too different.

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 016 out of 513 ¨C Household punishment of five-rods thick rattan (2)

    ¡°Yes.¡± There wouldn¡¯t be a good result even if she continued to argue. This man clearly hated Nie Sangyu and wanted to protect Wen Wan, so what was the use in her struggling? The sooner she was punished, the sooner the matter would be settled.

    Marquis Moyu was silent for a while. He seemed somewhat surprised. But, there were several people here, so he didn¡¯t show much of his thoughts or feelings. He only said, ¡°Since it¡¯s like that, Steward Qian, take her away and punish her in ordance to the household rules.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Steward Qian nodded. Two rough servants came forward and took her outside.

    Muxu was so frightened that she lost her wits. She was shocked that her master would so calmly ept being punished. If it weren¡¯t because of her, her master wouldn¡¯t have left confinement courtyard!

    When she thought of it that way, tears came rushing out from Muxu¡¯s eyes. With all of her strength, she repeatedly kowtowed to Marquis Moyu. ¡°My lord, my master already has poor health. Let this servant take her ce! Please!¡±

    Ning Yuxuan ignored her. Everyone else in the room, including Wen Wan, didn¡¯t say a single word. Feeling hopeless, Muxu raised her head to nce at them. Then, she turned around and ran outside.

    Ji Man had been very calm, but when she saw Steward Qian bringing the rattan, her heart felt hollow.

    Hey, why was the marquis¡¯s household punishment so harsh? Normally, wouldn¡¯t it only be a one-rod thick rattan? That rotten fellow, the household punishment was actually five-rods thick rattan! If she had known this early, she would have tried struggling more!

    Even though she felt endlessly remorseful about her early choice, Ji Man felt worse when she saw Muxu¡¯s pitifully crying on the side. She could only pretend to be utterly fearless as sheforted her, ¡°Muxu, don¡¯t cry. It won¡¯t hurt that much. I¡¯ll be fine after resting for a few days.¡±

    Muxu shook her head. Tears were still streaming down from her face. Her forehead was red from kowtowing ealier.

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t bear to see her like this. She had never been good atforting people, so she simply closed her eyes.

    Ning Yuxuan, Wen Wan, and Mu Shuiqing had alsoe out. The two people in the front hadplicated expressions while the third person came out to watch the excitement. Moreover, she seemed to be rejoicing in Nie Sangyu¡¯s misfortune.

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s household punishment was ten strikes of the rattan. Ji Man felt that it shouldn¡¯t be that difficult to endure.

    But, she hadn¡¯t expected that the servant dealing out the punishment would hate her that much. When the servant fiercely struck down, her kneeling position wasn¡¯t stable and she fell forward. Her back felt numb for a moment before it was reced by overwhelming pain.

    As a modern day person, Ji Man had never suffered such a punishment. The tears that Ji Man hadn¡¯t wanted to shed came out. She clenched her jaw and went back to the kneeling position again. She took the rest of the beating.

    Ning Yuxuan looked at her with cool eyes of a bystander. He saw her clenching her fists and even saw the cold sweat from her forehead fell down, but she still clenched her jaw and didn¡¯t let out any sound. In the past, she would have never epted this punishment.

    @@novelbin@@

    By the seventh strike, Ji Man¡¯s head wasn¡¯t as clear anymore. She unconsciously opened her eyes and nced at Marquis Moyu.

    That man looked at her without any emotion as he stood next to his new wife.

    At the very least, Nie Sangyu had been with him for six years. For him to be this heartless towards her, he truly didn¡¯t have the slightest feeling towards her.

    Ji Man heard a voice in her head say with a heart-wrenching cry, ¡°I hate him.¡±

    ¡°En. I hate him too.¡± Ji Man quietly replied. ¡°I¡¯ll help you get your revenge.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan watched Ji Man until she finished receiving her punishment. He didn¡¯t say anything and only waved his hand to indicate for the servants to bring her back. Her eyes had be cold. They no longer looked at him with their previous warmth.

    Muxu had cried so much that her voice had be hoarse. She rushed to Ji Man¡¯s side, but she couldn¡¯t do anything to help. She could only continue to cry.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Older sister Jiang and little radish had suffered much more than me.¡± Ji Man opened her eyes and smiled at Muxu. ¡°Sacrifices always have to be made for the revolution.¡±

    (T/N: Older sister Jiang and little radish are characters in a novel called, <i>Red Crag</i>. The novel is partially based on historical people from the Chinese Revolutionary War like Jiang Zhuyun. Little radish was a child that was brought to prison when he was one year old with his mom and he died eight yearster.)

    Muxu didn¡¯t understand her words and the sound of her crying got worse.

    When they returned to the confinement courtyard, Wen Wan sent people over with medicine. Muxu carefully undressed Ji Man and applied the medicine. Ji Man was in so much pain that her face was deathly pale. Her back was very swollen.

    ¡°It was this servant¡¯s fault.¡± Muxu couldn¡¯t help crying again. ¡°This servant wanted toe back earlier, but Master Shuiqing wouldn¡¯t let me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s my fault for being too foolish.¡± Ji Man grimaced in pain and said, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t acted so rashly and left the confinement courtyard, nothing would have happened. Or, if I hadn¡¯t gone to Qiangwei Courtyard, I wouldn¡¯t have angered Ning Yuxuan that much. But, I couldn¡¯t control this body and it somehow led me there.¡±

    Muxu¡¯s crying became more terrible. ¡°That¡¯s your courtyard. You lived there for six years.¡±

    Ji Man was silent for a moment. There was mournful feeling that rose in her heart like billowing clouds.

    When Nie Sangyu felt bad, she had to feel bad along with her. When Nie Sangyu felt heartache, she had to feel heartache too. Right now, Nie Sangyu¡¯s body was in so much pain that it felt as if it would split apart. She had to bear this pain along with everything else.

    She had wanted to peacefully live in this world as a bystander, but unexpectedly, this world didn¡¯t want her to have good days.

    Since she was Nie Sangyu, she should properly behave like the real Nie Sangyu. She should listen to what Nie Sangyu had to say and seriously act out her role.

    After she finished drinking a bowl of bitter medicine, she gritted her until the taste of the medicine passed. Ji Man decided. She would listen to Nie Sangyu¡¯s heartfelt wish and ask her what she wanted her to do. They had to have a proper discussion. Otherwise, if Nie Sangyu used this body to choke Wen Wan to death, she would be punished along with Nie Sangyu again.

    T/N: I went back and forth between whether or not I should say this... This will be the first andst time Ji Man is punished by Ning Yuxuan. If he had known in advance that she would ept the punishment, which is really out-of-character for her, maybe, he wouldn¡¯t have said it. The real Nie Sangyu would have threatened him with her maiden family.

    Ning Yuxuan and the other concubines really do have good reasons for why they¡¯re so biased against Nie Sangyu. This is also why Wen Wan, the only person who hasn¡¯t directly experienced interacting with the past Nie Sangyu, genuinely doesn¡¯t think badly of her. You¡¯ll see the reason in the next chapter.

    Unlike other transmigrators, Ji Man doesn¡¯t have the luxury of starting with a clean te. She has to live with the consequences of Nie Sangyu¡¯s past actions when she doesn¡¯t even know everything that Nie Sangyu had done. But don¡¯t worry, Ji Man will very quickly learn how to use Nie Sangyu¡¯s reputation to her advantage.

    ¡°But, I couldn¡¯t control this body and it somehow led me there.¡± Do you remember when Ji Man suddenly felt her knees hurting at the end of chapter 5, so she ended up pouring hot tea over Wen Wan? I¡¯m pretty sure that was Nie Sangyu¡¯s doing.

 Chapter 17

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 017 out of 513 ¨C Nie Sangyu¡¯s past (1)

    There was a superstition that if you ced your hands on your sr plexus when falling asleep, you would be more likely to have a nightmare. Ji Man followed the superstition and as expected, she saw Nie Sangyu in her dream.

    She was actually quite beautiful, but there was too much resentment expressed on her face. It made people feel ufortable to look at her. Inside the dream¡¯s nihility, Nie Sangyu was wearing a long white dress as she endlessly wept. Her drawn-out cries sounded hysterical.

    Ji Man stood at the side and looked at her for a long time before walking forward to hand her a handkerchief. ¡°No one can hear you. It¡¯s useless even if you cry to the point of losing your voice.¡±

    Nie Sangyu ignored her and continued her crying that had a magnitude that could rm the heavens and earth. She pointed her hand in front of her and a screen made of water appeared in the empty space. The water on the screen turned. When Ji Man turned her head to look, she saw the past.

    Nie Sangyu was wearing a red wedding dress as Marquis Moyu weed her into the household as his wife. There was a faint smile on Marquis Moyu¡¯s face as he held her hand and led her to step over the residence¡¯s threshold. Underneath her wedding veil, Nie Sangyu was so happy that tears fell down. On the wedding night, in the bridal room with ornamented candles, the entire night passed joyfully. But, Marquis Moyu left the room at dawn over a bed servant¡¯s matter.

    When Nie Sangyu woke up, she didn¡¯t see her husband. She didn¡¯t know what had happened until she sent Muxu to ask around. One of Marquis Moyu¡¯s ustomed bed servants had fallen into a pond and he had hurriedly gone to see her.

    As the main wife, how could she tolerate something like this? Nie Sangyu had an impulsive personality. Taking advantage of a time when Marquis Moyu was out of the residence, she sent away all of his bed servants, without leaving a single one behind.

    After this, Ning Yuxuan looked at her differently. Every time they shared a bed, he would light incense and put out the lights before sleeping with her.

    The first scene was reced by another scene. Marquis Moyu was weing Qi Siling, a dignified and magnanimous person, into the household. From top to bottom, she was ttering and very likeable. After she entered the household, Marquis Moyu never went to Nie Sangyu¡¯s room. Every evening, Nie Sangyu would wait until the oil in themp was used up, but the person she was waiting for never came. Nie Sangyu heard from other people that Honored Concubine Siling had a charmingly beautiful face, so she carelessly went to her room to deface Qi Siling¡¯s face.

    Ji Man face-palmed. Was Nie Sangyu a fool? Why didn¡¯t she think before acting? She had been so easily instigated by other people¡¯s words. She was remarkably like a good knife that could be borrowed to kill other people.

    No wonder Marquis Moyu would suspect that she was going to start a fire just from her standing by a pile of wood. This woman really was capable of doing anything when she was driven crazy.

    Marqus Moyu had hurriedly rushed over and stopped Nie Sangyu. This disgust in his eyes deepened.

    Spring left and autumn arrived. Marquis Moyu still hadn¡¯te to see her. Nie Sangyu lived in the lonely and cheerless Qiangwei Courtyard and cried every night, but she didn¡¯t receive the slightest bit of pity from him.

    Later on, Qian Lianxue and Liu Hanyun also entered the household. His eyes no longer had any space for her. Nie Sangyu learned how be gentle and soft, how to just obediently sit and embroidered robes and handkerchiefs for him, and how to not fuss or cause trouble. But no matter what she did, she couldn¡¯t get him to look at her again. And so, she caused trouble and hated him. She ate poison to try to kill herself, but she was saved.

    She asked Ji Man while crying, ¡°Loving him, hating him, begging him. I can¡¯t do any of these things. Am I not even allowed to die?¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s heart slightly moved. The Nie Sangyu at that time, she was truly desperate and without hope. For a man that didn¡¯t love her, she was going to give up her life.

    The scene changed. Nie Sangyu listened to Noble Consort Ning¡¯s advice and regained hope. It was true that Marquis Moyu was an amorous person, with courtyards full of concubines, but he never truly loved any of them. She felt that she still had a chance.

    Ji Man felt admiration for her. Even if Nie Sangyu died, Marquis Moyu wouldn¡¯t be emotionally moved. And, she actually thought she had a chance to get him to fall in love with her?

    And so, Nie Sangyu recovered. From the bottom of her heart, she joyfully stayed by Marquis Moyu¡¯s side. Then, Wen Wan appeared.

    When you were feeling utterly hopeless, you would say you want to die. Then, what do you say when you didn¡¯t even have the spirit to want to die? When you were hollowed out and had lost all of your feelings?

    In the next scene, Nie Sangyu blocked the doorway. She stubbornly looked at Marquis Moyu. She was determined to death to not allow him to go out and give the betrothal gift.

    Marquis Moyu raised his hand and pushed her to side. He mounted a horse and left. She staggered after him, but she couldn¡¯t stop him. Cutting a sorry figure, she headed to the pce in tears. She hoped that Noble Consort Ning could help her stop him.

    With her hair down and messy, she rushed into the pce and provoked the emperor with her disheveled appearance. Nie Sangyu didn¡¯t even have time to stop Marquis Moyu before she was reprimanded by the emperor and lost her position as the main wife.

    Ji Man sighed as she watched this. Under the cultural rules of ancient times, Nie Sangyu¡¯s actions were truly shrewish andcking the demeanor of a main wife. She hadn¡¯t understood that she had married a marquis, who was destined to have many concubines. She had acted like a young girl, who tried to forcibly hold onto her things without letting go.

    She turned to look at Nie Sangyu, who seemed as if she would never finish crying. Ji Man sighed again. But, it was because she was wretchedly in love with Marquis Moyu, so she acted without regard to the rules. She didn¡¯t seem like the vicious woman that had been written in the novel. She was just easily manipted and incited by other people. When she encountered a matter rted to Marquis Moyu, she would lose all of her calmness and rationality.

    ¡°Why did you show me this? What are you trying to tell me?¡± Ji Man contemted before saying, ¡°You have an unfinished desire. How about telling me what your wish is, so that I can help you fulfill it?¡±

    Nie Sangyu raised her head. Her eyes had turned red from crying. She pointed at the screen made of water again.

    @@novelbin@@

    The screen changed. Marquis Moyu was gently sitting in a pavilion. A smiling Nie Sangyu helped him put on a cloak. Marquis Moyu raised his head. His eyes were full of desire to pamper.

    Ji Man sneezed. This picture was definitely imagined by Nie Sangyu!

    ¡°You want him to fall in love with you?¡± The corners of Ji Man¡¯s mouth twitched and she firmly shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡±

 Chapter 18

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 018 out of 513 ¨C Eternally ssical cold cream (1)

    Ji Man had seen Marquis Moyu¡¯s attitude towards Nie Sangyu. It would almost be a fantasy to change his mind and get him to fall in love with Nie Sangyu. Ji Man pulled a long face as she looked at the crying person sitting on the ground. Her voice was low as she asked, ¡°Were you nning on trapping me here forever and that¡¯s why you mentioned a wish like this one?¡±

    Nie Sangyu raised her head and stretched her hands towards Ji Man to show her something. Ji Man didn¡¯t understand her intention, but when she lowered her head to look, she noticed that Nie Sangyu¡¯s hands had already be somewhat transparent.

    @@novelbin@@

    Nie Sangyu didn¡¯t exin whether or not Ji Man had guessed her wish correctly. She turned around and slowly disappeared into the smoke without saying another word.

    Ji Man furrowed her brow. She didn¡¯t understand what Nie Sangyu was trying to say. But, Nie Sangyu had already left and there was nothing she could do about it.

    When she woke up, she still felt burning pain on her back and couldn¡¯t move. Ji Man inhaled and exhaled the cold air twice before quietly calling, ¡°Muxu.¡±

    Muxu had already brought water inside the room. Seeing that she had awaken, she hurriedly went to her bedside, ¡°Master, don¡¯t move. Whatever you want, let this servant get it for you.¡±

    Ji Man was lying on her stomach and her chest felt very ufortable by the pressure, but she really couldn¡¯t move her body. She could only painfully ask, ¡°How long until I can move around freely again?¡±

    ¡°The ointment given by Madam has a pretty good effect. I asked Doctor Li. He said that you¡¯ll be bedridden for three days because of these injuries.¡±

    She had to lie on her stomach for three days? Ji Man let out a mouthful of gassy air. She considered for a while before asking, ¡°I still don¡¯t understand. How did they know that I left the confinement courtyard yesterday?

    Muxu turned her head to nce outside before saying, ¡°Master, have you forgotten? Liu <i>Mama</i> lives right outside. The marquis sent her here to watch you. If you leave the confinement courtyard, they¡¯ll naturally find out.¡±

    So, there was something like that. Ji Man gritted her teeth. There hadn¡¯t even been a hint of this previously. How could have known that Liu <i>Mama</i> was a spy? If she had known this earlier, she would have climbed over the wall instead of walking out through the front entrance. At any rate, she was getting better at climbing over walls.

    She had already been beaten to this state and didn¡¯t have any other methods. Luckily, that Marquis Moyu still had some degree of humanity. Knowing that she was seriously injured, he said that she didn¡¯t have to embroider handkerchiefs during the next two days.

    Really, she had to thank his whole family.

    Even though she wasn¡¯t embroidering handkerchiefs, there was still dinner. Aunty Zhao had done her work well after epting her money. Muxu didn¡¯t even have to get their meals. Aunty Zhao sent a young servant girl over here with their dinner along with the items that Ji Man had previously requested and the pot that Muxu had been looking for.

    Dinner was two small side dishes and soup. The soup was surprisingly bone broth. Liu <i>Mama</i> furrowed her brow after ncing at the food.

    The young servant girl cleverly said, ¡°Since Master Sangyu¡¯s body is weak and she was also punished ording to the household¡¯sws, Madam ordered us to show more care. The kitchen servants simmered the marrow bones left over from making lunch to make her broth.

    As a result, Liu <i>Mama</i> didn¡¯t have any suspicions.

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    After Muxu finished feeding Ji Man dinner, Ji Man impatiently said, ¡°Open that bag.¡±

    The bag was neither big nor small. The young servant girl had been able to bring it into the room by hiding the bag under her skirt. Muxu curiously opened the bag and saw two packages of beeswax, a jar of almond oil, and a few jars and containers.

    ¡°Master, why did you want these things?¡±

    Ji Man faintly smiled, ¡°It¡¯s for an experiment. I read about a recipe in a novel before. There shouldn¡¯t be a product like that here. Let¡¯s test it out for the time being and see if we can sessfully make cold cream.

    Master had recently been using words that she didn¡¯t understand, but Muxu understood thest part, ¡°What¡¯s cold cream?¡±

    ¡°You apply it to your face and the cream will make you face whiter and softer.¡± Ji Man slightly moved and cold sweat appeared on her forehead again from the pain. She clenched her teeth and said, ¡°I can only rely on this to change my fortune.¡±

    Muxu still didn¡¯t quite understand, so Ji Man ordered her, ¡°First, go outside, pluck all of the osmanthus flowers in the courtyard, and bring them back inside.

    This cold and cheerless courtyard naturally didn¡¯t have any expensive flowers. Plus, it was autumn. The only flowers that she could use were osmanthus flowers.

    Muxu swiftlypleted her order and brought back a basket of osmanthus flowers.

    Lying on a pillow, Ji Man instructed, ¡°Fill the pot over there with a little bit of water and dump all of the flowers into the pot. Cook the flowers with lid on.¡±

    Muxu did as she said. Once the pot full of osmanthus flowers had been simmered into a liquid, she poured them into the clean jars and sealed them up.

    ¡°Next, warm up the beeswax, but keep it separated from water.¡± Ji Man looked at the sky. Before the sky darkened, they should be able to produce a sample.

    Compared to the dense skincare products made with lead that were avable in ancient times, cold cream was naturally much better. The cost to make it also wasn¡¯t expensive. It was just slightlyplicated to make it and each batch might not be sessful. As a modern day person, she should have a cheat. She had already previously thought about this. Cold cream was her only choice if she wanted to appeal to a woman¡¯s desire to improve her appearance.

    After the beeswax had melted, Ji Man had Muxu pour the almond oil into the melted beeswax. Finally, the osmanthus flower water was poured in. It was only a small pot, but it was very fragrant.

    Muxu¡¯s eyes were glimmering as the pale yellow liquid became denser and creamier. By the time she had finished listening to Ji Man on how much of each ingredient to add and blew out the fire, this item had already finished bing a lovely cream.

    ¡°Remove the cosmetics from the containers on my dressing table, wash those containers, and use them to hold the cold cream.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Muxu quickly carried a pile of the boxes out. Ji Man touched her face and gritted her teeth. She would have to act as a human guinea pig for those women.

    The small pot of cold cream was enough to fill fiverge containers and three small containers. Ji Man sighed. It was only because Nie Sangyu had a lot of cosmetics. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have had enough containers. The cold cream was still slightly hot, so Ji Man had Muxu leave them on the table to cool off. She would check on them tomorrow.

    T/N: Here¡¯s a recipe for homemade cold cream https://.organic-beauty-recipes/galen-cold-cream. This type of cream was very popr in China during 20¡¯s to 40¡¯s. There¡¯s even a much more detailed recipe for cold cream on Baidu (Chinese wiki.)

    Someone in NUF¡¯s spoiler thread mentioned they were confused with what Ji Man is trying to achieve. I interpreted her actions in this chapter and following chapters as procrastinating. Ji Man continues her original goal of improving her living conditions and her rtionships with everyone else except Ning Yuxuan because she doesn¡¯t know how to fulfill Nie Sangyu¡¯s seemingly impossible wish yet. She would rather focus on work because that¡¯s what she¡¯s good at it. What do you guys think? This is just my interpretation.

 Chapter 19

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 019 out of 513 ¨C Eternally ssical cold cream (2)

    ¡°She didn¡¯t secretly send out a letter?¡± Marquis Moyu leaned back against the soft couch as he looked at Liu <i>Mama</i>.

    Liu <i>Mama</i> shook her head and said, ¡°She hasn¡¯t sent out any letter. Master Sang has been in her room during the past two days without doing anything. The only thing that had happen was that all of the osmanthus flowers in the courtyard had been plucked. This servant doesn¡¯t know why she had this done.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Ning Yuxuan found this baffling. With Nie Sangyu¡¯s temperament, it was strange that she didn¡¯t send a letter to her maiden home or to the pce toin about being punished. And, she was even obediently staying in her courtyard?

    On the side, Wen Wan smiled when she heard Liu <i>Mama</i>¡¯s words and said, ¡°It¡¯s good that she can view things this way. My lord, now you don¡¯t need to worry about being pressured by the Noble Consort Nie.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan followed her words with an, ¡°En.¡± His mother would be returning soon. All in all, his treatment of Nie Sangyu had been somewhat excessive. He still had to find an excuse to let her out of the confinement courtyard and give her some sweetness. Otherwise, she would sob out her grievences in front of his mother. Wen Wan was the main wife. If his mother saw Nie Sangyu in her current state, she would definitely feel that Wen Wan couldn¡¯t tolerate other people.

    However, she had just recently been beaten. He had to find an excuse to get out of this awkward situation.

    Although he was pondering this problem, he didn¡¯t show this on his face. ¡°I¡¯ll have to inconvenience <i>mama</i> to continue to watch her.¡±

    ¡°This servant asks to be excused.¡± Liu <i>Mama</i> withdrew from the room after saluting.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man acted as a human guinea pig for two days by using the cold cream. She didn¡¯t find any negative side effects, but herplexion had improved a lot.

    On the side, Muxu looked at her with a very curious expression.

    ¡°Take a container to use for yourself.¡± Ji Man said to her.

    Muxu¡¯s eyes brightened. She pinched her own robe and embarrassedly asked, ¡°Can I really?¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ji Man nodded. They had different skin types. Muxu had slightly oily skin while her skin was normal. It would be good to have another guinea pig.

    In high spirits, Muxu took the cold cream and tried it on herself.

    A week quickly passed by, the effect of the cold cream was very good. Ji Man and Muxu¡¯s faces had both be noticeably fairer and softer.

    Ji Man could now also leave the bed and walk around. She just couldn¡¯t bend over without feeling tearing pain. She looked at her face in the mirror, then she looked at Muxu¡¯s face. She felt it was time to take action.

    ¡°Other than Madam, who¡¯s most favored?¡± Ji Man asked.

    Muxu said, ¡°Other than Qiangwei Courtyard, the marquis goes to Xuesong Couryard the most. Honored Concubine Xue¡¯s health isn¡¯t very good, but her older brother is the marquis¡¯s close friend. The marquis has always taken good care of her. When he¡¯s not busy, he always goes to her courtyard to see her.¡±

    Ji Man remembered the coughing honored concubine that she had seen in the central room during the wedding. Honored Concubine Xue hadn¡¯t been wearing makeup.

    ¡°What¡¯s her servant girl¡¯s name?¡±

    Muxu said with a smile, ¡°Honored Concubine Xue¡¯s servant girl is Danzhu. Out of all the servant girls, she has the best temperament. This servant often goes to look for her to talk to with when this servant has free time.¡±

    Ji Man pursed her lips, picked up a small container of cold cream, and said, ¡°Since you have a good rtionship with her, then we can¡¯t hide good things from her. Give this to her to use, but tell her to not say anything to the other servant girls.¡±

    Muxu¡¯s eyes brightened, ¡°Last time, Danzhu said this servant¡¯s face had be better and better and asked what this servant has been using. This servant thought that since this was something we secretly made, it wouldn¡¯t be okay to tell her. She¡¯ll definitely be very happy to receive this. Thank you master!¡±

    Ji Man faintly smiled, ¡°You can go now. You¡¯re probably feeling stuffy and bored after being confined in this room with me for so many days.¡±

    Muxu made a sound of acknowledgement before picking up the container and rushing out of the room.

    Women were happy when their beauty was appreciated. Although they were servant girls, they still wished to appear beautiful.

    When Danzhu held the cold cream, she was overjoyed. After she secretly applied it for two days, she felt the result was truly quite good.

    When she was assisting Honored Concubine Xue with putting on clothes and styling her hair, her master turned her head and asked, ¡°Danzhu, which store¡¯s cosmetics are you using? Yourplexion keeps getting better each day.¡±

    Because Qian Lianxue had poor health, the doctors have told her to use fewer cosmetics, so she never wore makeup. Although she was a beauty, she still looked dullerpared to people who did use makeup.

    Danzhu was a servant girl that cared about her master. She didn¡¯t want to hide good things from her. She hurriedly went to her room and brought the cold cream for Honored Concubine Xue to see.

    ¡°Muxu said that this cold cream was made by her master using osmanthus flowers. It doesn¡¯t have any negative side effects. This servant has used this for two days. It¡¯s much better than those other cosmetics. This servant¡¯s face feels fresh and clear. It doesn¡¯t feel oily at all.¡±

    Qian Lianxue¡¯s eyes brightened a bit, but they quickly dimmed. ¡°I can¡¯t use stuff like this. It doesn¡¯t matter how good it is.¡±

    ¡°This item doesn¡¯t hurt the body like other cosmetics. Master, you can probably use it.¡± Danzhu quickly said, ¡°The doctors said those cosmetics have something harmful for the body, but this is made with osmanthus flowers. Master, it should be okay for you to try.¡±

    Qian Lianxue¡¯s eyes brightened again. She looked at herself in the bronze mirror and said, ¡°Then, let me try a little bit.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Danzhu hurriedly helped her finishing grooming before applying the cold cream.

    Ji Man waited a few days. As expected, Danzhu came to visit her.

    ¡°Master Sang.¡± Danzhu wasn¡¯t as arrogant as Banxia. She properly saluted when she came inside, but her gaze went towards Nie Sangyu¡¯s dressing table. ¡°This servant had boldly given the cold cream made by Master Sang to my master to use.¡±

    T/N: I thought it was interesting that the author selected a cheat that has limited use in the marquis¡¯s household. Yes, Ji Man could use this cold cream to improve her rtionship with the other concubines. But, this is only a temporary favorable impression and its entirely contingent on Ning Yuxuan continuing to dislike her. The second he shows her the slightest favor, the other concubines and Wen Wan won¡¯t care about this skincare product. Plus, if she gives it to all of them, it¡¯s not special anymore. If she only gives it to a few of them, the ones who don¡¯t get it will dislike her more.

 Chapter 22

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 022 out of 513 ¨C Preparing to invest and enter into a partnership (1)

    Nie Sangyu¡¯s older brother, Nie Qingyun, was a young and promising rank 5 military official in the imperial court. The emperor regarded him highly. Compared to Nie Sangyu¡¯s widely spread notorious reputation, the difference between their reputations was as far apart as the heavens and earth.

    Nie Qingyun was Nie Xiangyuan¡¯s son by his second main wife after the death of his original main wife, while Nie Sangyu was Nie Xiangyuan¡¯s original main wife¡¯s daughter. Although their mothers were different, Nie Qingyun treated Sangyu especially well. When they were children, he would always bear the punishment for trouble caused by Nie Sangyu. Thus, Muxu felt that if there was anything they needed help with, they should go look for first young master.

    Ji Man knew about this person. In theter part of the plot, he had helped Nie Sangyu a lot. He was truly sincere towards her. However, she wasn¡¯t Nie Sangyu right now. It was one thing for Muxu to not be astute enough to notice. But, if it was a person that had been close to Nie Sangyu, he might notice the difference. What would she do then?

    She wanted to find someone to help her sell the cold cream, but she couldn¡¯t take such a big risk. Money was important, but her life was more important.

    After thinking about it, Ji Man still said, ¡°Older brother is very busy every day. There¡¯s no need to bother him with such a small matter. Let¡¯s just go out first and treat it as an ordinary shopping trip, okay?¡±

    Muxu hesitated for a moment. In the end, she could only nod. Her master had changed too much recently. Although she treated her much better, she still didn¡¯t dare to easily disagree with her.

    With Wen Wan¡¯s permission, Ji Man put on a veiled hat and left the residence while escorted by Liu <i>Mama</i> and two other servants.

    Wen Wan wanted her toe out to buy more cold cream. Liu <i>Mama</i> and the other two servants had clearlye along to spy on her. But, Ji Man wasn¡¯t worried. By her calctions, today was a market day. The lively streets ahead of them were filled with countless people. Why should she be worried about separating herself from three servants?

    ¡°Muxu said that the person, who had purchased the cold cream for her, had purchased it on Luoxia Street.¡± As Ji Man walked, she turned her head and said to Liu <i>Mama</i>. ¡°I haven¡¯t gone out often. <i>Mama</i>, do you know where Luoxia Street is?¡±

    It was gradually bing more crowded in front of them.

    Liu <i>Mama</i> replied, ¡°This servant knows.¡± Then, she had the other two servants go forward to open a path in front of them to keep them from being jostled by the crowd. She also went forward to lead the way.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man pulled Muxu¡¯s hand and deliberately slowed their pace. She waited for the right time, a time when it was especially crowded.

    By the time that Liu <i>Mama</i> worriedly looked back, the two people had already disappeared without a trace.¡±

    ¡°Master Sang!¡± Liu <i>Mama</i> was so scared that her face paled. She hurriedly wanted to stop and go back to look for them. However, how could the crowd behind her be willing to give way? She continued to be pushed forward.

    Liu <i>Mama</i> turned back and yelled towards the other two servants, ¡°Master Sang disappeared! Quickly, go look for her!¡± The three of them did their best to walk against the stream of people. When their foreheads had been furrowed to look like fried dough twists, they still weren¡¯t able to take more than a few steps back.

    Ji Man pulled Muxu out of the crowd and stopped by the side. Keeping close to the side of the street, they ran to Zhengde Street like a puff of smoke.

    ¡°Master...¡± Muxu felt panicked and doubtful.

    Ji Man patted her back, then she looked around and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the rouge shop that you mentioned?¡±

    Muxu looked left and right, then she led Ji Man a few steps forward to a storefront that was four doors wide. On the top of the storefront, there was a que with the words, ¡°Shuiji¡¯s Rouge Shop¡±. There weren¡¯t anymps lit inside and the shop was situated in a poor natural light position, so the inside of the store was dark.

    Ji Man followed Muxu inside. It seemed that there weren¡¯t many customers inside today. The shopkeeper was even dispiritedly and listlessly leaning against a disy.

    Seeing peopleing inside, Miss Shui immediately mustered up her spirits and asked with a smile, ¡°Madam, what are you looking for?¡±

    ¡°Just looking at the items here to see how they are.¡± Ji Man casually replied and carefully looked over this woman. She was actually a female shopkeeper. This was quite rare.

    ¡°Shuiji¡¯s rouges have always been top-quality. Madams and misses from rich families all like to use them.¡± Miss Shui said.

    Ji Man looked around the entire store and curiously asked, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that your products are pretty good, but why is the store so empty today?¡±

    Miss Shui froze for a moment. Soon after, she sighed and said, ¡°I won¡¯t hide this from madam. We¡¯re about to sell this store. My father is sick and our business hasn¡¯t been doing well because of the poor location. Look at these rouges. They have such good colors. If they were in a ce with bright lighting, we would be able to sell them for a higher price.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Have you decided to stop selling rouge?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I have to still continue selling rouge.¡± Miss Shui picked up a box of rouge, sighed, and said, ¡°It¡¯s only that my father¡¯s illness needs a lot of money to treat. After we sell the store in a few days for a hundred and eighty silver taels, I¡¯ll continue selling the rouge by setting up a stall.¡±

    Realizing that she had been unknowingly led away from exchanging conventional greeting by the other person and started speaking about her troubles instead, Miss Shui returned to her senses and became somewhat guarded against this customer. She asked, ¡°Madam, did youe here to buy rouge?¡±

    Ji Man shook her head and said, ¡°I came here because I wanted to discuss business with you.¡±

    Miss Shui paused before asking, ¡°You want to buy this store?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Ji Man shook her head. ¡°I want you to exchange this store for a ce with better lighting and work with you in this rouge business. But, you have to help me sell something. If you can keep this matter confidential, perhaps, I can help with your father¡¯s illness.¡±

    Miss Shui carefully looked at the woman in front of her. Her clothing was made from high-quality material and half of her face was covered. Her exposed phoenix eyes showed a slight proudness and fierceness. She seemed like a concubine from a rich family.

    In this dynasty, there were very few women who were willing to show their face in public and do business. She was only working because she had to. This madam looked as if she didn¡¯t have worry about being provided with basic necessities. Why would she think about doing business?

    However, she seemed like someone that would be able to help her. Right now, she was alone and helpless. Her rtives were all coveting this store. She really didn¡¯t have any other choice.

    ¡°Madam, what do you want to sell?¡± She asked.

    Ji Man slightly smiled. She wasn¡¯t in a hurry to take out the cold cream. Instead, she took out the banknote that was worth one hundred silver taels and ced it in her hand.

    ¡°This is a deposit. You can use this money to rent the most prosperous store on Yongning Street. In a few days, I¡¯ll help you buy that store. Later on, when you¡¯re selling your rouge, sell my item for me. The item that you¡¯re selling for me, you can keep 30% of the profit. How about it?¡±

    (T/N: Just to rify, it¡¯s mentionedter in the story that Qingyun¡¯s mother was promoted to the position of main wife after the death of Sangyu¡¯s mother. That¡¯s why it¡¯s possible for Qingyun to be older than Sangyu.

    What do you guys think of Ji Man¡¯s business proposition? If Ipare it to other transmigration books, where everyone else is just a servant or employee, this seems too generous. But, if you think of her using Miss Shui as an intermediate consignment shop, her terms are pretty fair.)

 Chapter 24

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 024 out of 513 ¨C Delivering herself (1)

    Ji Man happily agreed that she was quite lucky. Now, she would be able to save part of her money.

    ¡°I thought about Madam¡¯s proposal. Since you¡¯re willing to work together with me, let¡¯s draw up a contract.¡± Miss Shui looked at her and said in a deadly earnest voice, ¡°Since Madam wants to be a behind-the-scenes boss, I¡¯ll help you sell your item for a monthly sry. It really doesn¡¯t seem fair to use your store for free and also get a share of the profit.¡±

    Ji Man smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s hard to find a trustworthy person. It¡¯s fine if you want to be my shopkeeper. Then, we can straightforwardly split the profits. Forty and sixty percent of the profit will go to you and me, respectively, from selling the cosmetics, including the sale of my item. The monthly sry won¡¯t be needed. What do you think?¡±

    Would anyone put as much effort and thought into managing another person¡¯s shop as she did for her own shop? Ji Man would rather earn less money and secure this shopkeeper, who looked verypetent.

    Miss Shui hesitated for a long time before she sighed and said, ¡°Madam, you¡¯re very frank and amodating. You¡¯re also my benefactor that saved me from a bad situation. Since you¡¯ve already spoken to this point, then I won¡¯t keep refusing. After the store is finished being sorted out and opens for business, I¡¯ll definitely do my best to manage the business.¡±

    Ji Man smiled as she nodded.

    They went the store¡¯s second floor and she gave her the banknotes that were worth three hundred silver taels to her and arge box of cold cream.

    ¡°This is the item that I want to sell. It¡¯s called cold cream. Once the store is ready, leave this container in the most conspicuous and best spot in the store. But, don¡¯t sell it. Only allow the customers to sample it.¡±

    Miss Shui looked at the box in puzzlement. When she opened the box, the faint fragrance of osmanthus flowers lingered at the tip of her nose. It was a lovely light yellow cream.

    ¡°What¡¯s this? Rouge?¡±

    Ji Man shook her head, ¡°No. This is a skincare product. It can make your skin fair and smooth. When women use rouge too much, it¡¯ll make their skin worse. Using this skincare product, their skin will be better.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Miss Shui¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen this type of item being sold before.¡±

    Ji Man faintly smiled. Then, she handed over a small box. ¡°This box is for you to use. If people see its positive effect on you, it¡¯ll be easier to convince them to buy it when you sell itter.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Madam.¡± Miss Shui epted the cold cream. She was still slightly puzzled, ¡°Is it really that magical?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be able to see it for yourself after trying it.¡± Ji Man said, ¡°No matter who tries to buy the cold cream, don¡¯t sell it to anyone. Only allow them to sample it. Just tell them that the supply is limited and they need to pre-order if they want to buy it. Therge box is ten silver taels. The small box is five silver taels. There will only be a total of one hundred boxes for sale every month. Once the supply runs out, there won¡¯t be anymore until the next month.¡±

    Miss Shui gaped. ¡°Why is it so expensive?¡±

    It was already considered expensive to sell normal rogue for one silver tael. She actually wanted to sell this item for ten silver taels? Would they really be able to sell it for that price?

    ¡°Believe me, they¡¯ll think it¡¯s worth every tael once they try it. If you have any familiar customers from rich families, you can scoop some up with a seashell so they can take it home to use.¡± Ji Man looked like a business shark as she said, ¡°Once they see how good the cold cream is, they¡¯ll naturallye back to buy it.¡±

    Miss Shui murmured assent. Although she still felt that these prices were unreasonable, she could onlyply with her boss¡¯s order.

    The two of them wrote out their agreement. Miss Shui was a straightforward person. The contract clearly said that if she ever exposed Ji Man as the storeowner, she would have topensate her with five hundred silver taels. Moreover, she would also have to immediately return the store to her.¡±

    Ji Man naturally didn¡¯t treat her unfairly either. Forty percent of the profits would be more than enough for her have a rich life.

    On the way out, Ji Man asked Miss Shui¡¯s address in the passing. She said that she would introduce her to a doctor that woulde over to check her father¡¯s illness.

    After this pleasantly cooperative meeting, Ji Man held the remaining tworge boxes of cold cream as she swiftly called for a carriage to return home.

    This time, Ji Man was waiting outside the residence¡¯s entrance to return with Liu <i>Mama</i> after ditching her again. This way, she wouldn¡¯t be scolded for returning without Ji Man. Although Liu <i>Mama</i> found the situation strange, she didn¡¯t say anything. It was fine as long as she wasn¡¯t punished.

    ¡ª

    Marquis Moyu had been busy with going back and forth to the pce during the past two days for an unknown reason. But, since he wasn¡¯t home much, the residence was a lot less tense during this period. None of other women left their courtyards to aimlessly walk around. They were all staying in their rooms to figure out ways to make themselves appear more attractive.

    ¡ª

    Wen Wan increasingly felt that Nie Sangyu had reformed. She now appeared more or less as a gentle and warm-hearted person. The struggles that she had anticipated that she would have to face aftering here never happened. In addition, Nie Sangyu had also given her the super effective treasure item, cold cream. Wen Wan no longer used any other cosmetic. Therefore, the favorable impression she had towards Nie Sangyu was creeping upwards towards the sky.

    Ji Man also knew that Wen Wan had rxed her vignce. But, when Wen Wan told her that she had arranged for her to serve Marquis Moyu tonight, Ji Man was still very shocked.

    To be willing to push her own man towards another woman, this woman was truly generous. The female lead was truly a self-inflicting Holy Mother that was asking to be killed.*

    ¡ª

    After hearing this news, Mu Shuiqing was furious. She had been frequently visiting Wen Wan¡¯s courtyard. She couldn¡¯t believe that Wen Wan would give the chance of sleeping with the marquis to Nie Sangyu. It was so rare for the marquis to let madam arrange for him to sleep with someone else.

    First, Honored Concubine Xue had received his favor. Then, he had repeatedly favored Wen Wan. Now, she wanted the marquis to favor that vicious woman, who had only recently left the confinement courtyard. Then, when would it finally be her turn?

    After she had torn her handkerchief into pieces, Mu Shuiqing angrily went to Qi Siling¡¯s courtyard.

    ¡ª

    Marquis Moyu was sitting at the table and his expression looked somewhat ugly. ¡°You want me to go to Nie Sangyu¡¯s room?¡±

    Wen Wan lowered her eyes. She was sitting in front of her dressing table. She quietly said, ¡°Old Madame will being back in two days. You¡¯ll have to go to her room sooner orter, so you might as well let me act as a sensible, worthy wife.¡±

    * T/N: I tried to keep phrasing as close to the original Chinese sentence as possible and still be grammatically correct. But, I¡¯m not sure if that made the meaning less clear. In that line, Ji Man is thinking that she really wants to kill Wen Wan for her ¡°generosity.¡±

 Chapter 25

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 025 out of 513 ¨C Delivering herself (2)

    Marquis Moyu furrowed his brow. He stood up, walked to Wen Wan¡¯s front, lifted her chin with his hand, and said, ¡°You really don¡¯t mind?¡±

    Wen Wan mockingly curved her lips, ¡°Has my lord ever stopped himself from going to another courtyard in consideration for my feelings?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s brow rxed. There was actually a trace of childish glee in his eyes. ¡°Are you jealous?¡±

    Wen Wan turned her head away. ¡°Before I married you and became your wife, I already mentally prepared myself with having to share you with other women. It¡¯s only that I can¡¯tpletely ept this reality right now, so I still feel bad. But, it¡¯ll be fine once I get over these feelings on my own.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan picked her up with one arm and sat himself down on the stool. He profoundly looked at the person in his arms and said, ¡°What there¡¯s for you to get over? No matter how many women I have, aren¡¯t you still the one that I love the most? As soon as you¡¯re unhappy, don¡¯t I obedientlye back to you? En?¡±

    Wen Wan blushed from his teasing words. Although she made an angry sound, she still obediently leaned her head against his chest. ¡°Yuxuan, I¡¯m really afraid that you won¡¯t treat me this well anymore after you¡¯ll fall in love with someone else one day.¡±

    Marquis Moyu slighty raised an eyebrow before lowered his head and kissing her forehead. ¡°I already have you. Who else could I possibly fall in love with?

    Wen Wan closed her eyes and stayed silent, but her fingers tightly grasped thepel of his robe.

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    ¡ª

    Although Nie Sangyu definitely wouldn¡¯t mind serving Marquis Moyu in bed, and would even be mad with joy, Ji Man would very much mind doing so. In modern times, she hadn¡¯t married yet. She had gone through many boyfriends, but none of them were good. As a result, she was a rare person that was still a virgin. Wanting her sleep with a scummy man in this rotten world? Dream on!

    However, she definitely couldn¡¯t directly refuse. Needless to say, she couldn¡¯t do something that was the opposite of fawning over him. More importantly, other people would use her of posturing. After all, Nie Sangyu was someone that would rush to Marquis Moyu¡¯s side as soon as she saw him. No one would believe that she wasn¡¯t willing to serve him in bed.

    And so, Ji Man told Muxu to dress her up prettily and properly this afternoon. Then, she flung the handkerchief in her left hand and went over to Feiyu Courtyard.

    If she had to describe the the women in the residence, Qi Siling seemed dignified and magnanimous with unfathomable depths, Qian Lianxue was a lovely and pitiful person that was fair and considerate, and Liu Hanyun seemed to have a straightforward personality, but she also didn¡¯t like to cause trouble. There was only one person that caused trouble, Mu Shuiqing.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t know if Nie Sangyu had ipatible <i>bazi</i> with this woman. Mu Shuiqing had fully disyed the deviousness that a woman from a brothel would have towards her. She had sessfully worsened Nie Sangyu¡¯s reputation behind her back countless times. Moreover, she never had a good expression as soon as she saw Nie Sangyu.

    (T/N: <i>Bazi </i>consists of the hour, day, month and year you were born. It¡¯s used in fortune telling to tell your future andpatibility with other people.)

    And so, right now, she was delivering herself to Mu Shuiqing to do her work for her.

    ¡ª

    When Mu Shuiqing returned from Qi Siling¡¯s courtyard, she still looked extremely angry. As soon as she saw Nie Sangyu standing at the entrance, her expression became worse. In a peculiar tone, she started saying, ¡°Yo, isn¡¯t this Master Sang, who¡¯s about to serve the marquis? Why are you here in my cold and cheerless courtyard?¡±

    Ji Man lightly smiled, ¡°I¡¯ve walked the entire path and felt hot. This is the only ce that feels pleasantly cool.¡±

    It was currently clear and refreshing autumn weather. How could she feel hot? She was clearlying here to show off that she was going to be favored. Looking at her, Mu Shuiqing¡¯s teeth felt itchy.

    ¡°I heard that you haven¡¯t seen the marquis in a long time.¡± Ji Man copied her expression. Then, she took out a handkerchief to almost hide her mouth as she smiled. ¡°Do you want toe visit me tonight to see him? It¡¯ll break up the bitter yearning that you¡¯re feeling.¡±

    ¡°No need to trouble yourself.¡± Mu Shuiqing sneered. ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯re going to be favored for a long time. There¡¯s no reason for me to feel jealous.¡±

    Everyone in the residence knew how much the marquis hated this woman. He was only doing this because of old madame. This woman wouldn¡¯t be feeling proud of herself for long.

    Although she knew this truth, Mu Shuiqing still felt bad when she saw how pleased Nie Sangyu was.

    ¡°Younger sister, if you¡¯re not jealous, then don¡¯t look at me as if you have a great hatred towards me.¡± Ji Man smiled and said, ¡°I heard that several new fishes had been added to the pond in the garden. Do you want go there with me to look?¡±

    Mu Shuiqing opened her mouth to immediately refuse, but when her words reached the side of her mouth, they slipped away. Her eyes turned and she stuffily said, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s go. I was feeling bored anyways.¡±

    Ji Man held Muxu¡¯s arm for support as they walked toward the garden. Muxu was slightly nervous. Every time she wanted to open her mouth to say something, Ji Man gestured for her to be quiet.

    ¡°Ah, these fishes. They can only live happily when they have water.¡± Ji Man stood at the side of the pond to look. In a proud tone, she said, ¡°They¡¯re like us. We can¡¯t live without the marquis.

    Mu Shuiqing coldlyughed repeatedly, ¡°The marquis has never loved you. Aren¡¯t you still living well regardless?¡±

    Ji Man kneeled down and fiddled with the water with her hand. She sighed and said, ¡°That¡¯s true. He doesn¡¯t love any of us. But, it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s still better to receive his favor. Don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    Mu Shuiqing narrowed her eyes and had the impulsive to push her into the water. With today¡¯s weather and the cold water in the pond, she would definitely get sick if she fell into the pond. If she was sick, then she wouldn¡¯t be able to serve the marquis.

    But, when she looked at the servant girl near Nie Sangyu, she didn¡¯t dare to do so. They were in broad daylight; everyone would be able to clearly everything.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Muxu, it¡¯s windy out. Go get my cloak.¡± Ji Man turned her head and ordered.

    Muxu didn¡¯t move from where she was standing until Ji Man lightly pinched her. She reluctantly acknowledged Nie Sangyu¡¯s order and looked at Mu Shuiqing several times before turning around and walking back to courtyard.

    Mu Shuiqing, her servant, and Ji Man were the only three people left in this ce. Mu Shuiqing was currently hesitating over what excuse to use when she heard the crouched down person in front of her ask, ¡°Do you want to push me into the water?¡±

    T/N: Oh Ji Man, you¡¯re working so hard to aplish two goals at the same time: creating an excuse to not sleep with Ning Yuxuan and getting Mu Shuiqing in trouble as payback forst time.

    Today is thest day for the two weeks of daily updates. I¡¯m going to be taking a mini break. Next update will be on<strong> Tuesday, July 3rd</strong>. There will be 2 releases per week (Tuesday and Friday) until <i>ChongFei Manual</i> ispleted on July 21st or earlier, then <i>the Dreamer in Spring Boudoir</i> will have same schedule as <i>ChongFei Manual</i>.

    Added a preview for the next chapter so that there won¡¯t be a cliffhanger for a week.

 Chapter 26 - Not too late for Sangyu (1)

    Chapter: 026 out of 513 ¨C Not toote for Sangyu (1)

    At first, Mu Shuqing was startled by her question. Then, her expression turned ugly. ¡°Don¡¯t say nonsense. Who wants to push you?!¡±

    Ji Man faintly smiled. She stretched her hand out and touched the cool water that would soon seep into her bones. She braced herself and said, ¡°If you¡¯re afraid of doing it, then let me do it.¡±

    After she finished her words, her crouched body fell forward, followed the cobblestones that lined the side of the pond, and rolled into Feiyu Courtyard¡¯s cold autumn pond.

    Mu Shuiqing was dumbstruck. Although there had been a momentary impulse of wanting to push Nie Sangyu into the pond and she had been standing behind her, she wouldn¡¯t have actually dared to do so. Even if the marquis disliked Nie Sangyu, the marquis would definitely get mad if she pushed her into the pond at this juncture in time. As soon as she had slightly calmed down, she knew that she couldn¡¯t go through with this.

    But, Nie Sangyu had actually fallen into the water herself? Didn¡¯t she know that if she got sick, she wouldn¡¯t be able to serve the marquis? Or, did she hate her to the point that she would give up the opportunity to serve the marquis in order to harm her? Mu Shuiqing gritted her teeth and looked at the Nie Sangyu struggling in the pond. She didn¡¯t think about calling for help. Since she was already being framed, then she would let that woman stay in the cold water!

    The water level in the pond didn¡¯t go past a person¡¯s waist. Normally, Ji Man could just stand up, but her leg had be cramped. In addition, the bottom of the pond was full of silt. She could only struggle to sit with a painful expression.

    ¡°Nie Sangyu, do you think that the marquis will me me if you y this type of trick?¡± Mu Shuiqing said with false confidence. ¡°I¡¯ll tell him that you fell into the water on purpose.¡±

    Ji Man choked on her saliva. A moment of instability and she had to struggle to sit back up again. Her entire body was soaked wet. She was so cold that her face became pallid. ¡°Have someone save me first.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m going to save a malevolent woman like you?¡± Flustered and exasperated, Mu Shuiqing said, ¡°If you drown, everyone in the residence will be happier!¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s teeth began to chatter from the cold. She could only tenaciously cling to the side of the pond. ¡°H-hurry save me!¡±

    ¡°In your dreams!¡± Mu Shuiqing turned around and was about to leave. This had nothing to do with her. She wouldn¡¯t let herself be framed for this!

    But as soon as she turned around, Mu Shuiqing was dumbstruck. Marquis Moyu had happened to pass by here through an opening in the garden. From far away, he had seen her and was walking towards here.

    What should she do? The marquis had already seen them about to leave. If the marquis saw the person in the pond, then she wouldn¡¯t be able to wash clean her reputation even if she jumped into the Yellow River.

    Mu Shuiqing felt panicked and anxious as she clutched her handkerchief.

    Ning Yuxuan thought her behavior was strange. Why was she just standing there with such a panic-stricken expression?

    When he walked closer, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Mu Shuiqing¡¯s body had started to tremble. With great difficulty, she forced herself to smile, said there was nothing wrong, and started to lead the marquis away from here. But, there was the suddenly the unexpected sound of falling watering from the pond behind them.

    Ning Yuxuan curiously raised his eyebrows and looked past Mu Shuiqing and toward the pond.

    ¡°My lord...¡± Ji Man weakly waved her hand at him.

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s face sunk. He strode over and personally pulled Nie Sangyu out from the pond.

    The water sshed all over his body. Marquis Moyu¡¯s eyebrows were deeply furrowed. ¡°What happened?¡±

    Nie Sangyu¡¯s hair was disheveled and her entire body was soaked. Her lips had even turned almost white. She actually looked somewhat pitiful.

    ¡°This has nothing to do with this servant!¡± Mu Shuiqing hurriedly shouted. ¡°She jumped into the pond herself!¡±

    For a moment, Marquis Moyu¡¯s body stiffened. But in the end, he still hugged Nie Sangyu. The weather was chilly. She would definitely get seriously sick if she continued to stand her.

    Ji Man widened her eyes. She hadn¡¯t expected that this person would be willing to hug her. Her body suddenly felt warm and for an inexplicable reason, tears started falling from her eyes. But, it was mixed with pond water, so no one else notice. Ah, these were Nie Sangyu¡¯s tears. When she saw Ning Yuxuan, her tears would be especially numerous.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because I was feeling too depressed, so I jumped into the pond.¡± Ji Man¡¯s teeth were still chattering. After she grabbed Marquis Moyu¡¯s clothes as she said these words, the chilly wind blew by and her mind started to be muddled.

    ¡°You!¡± Mu Shuiqing fiercely looked at Nie Sangyu.

    Behind Mu Shuiqing, Banxia also wasn¡¯t willing to let things stand as they were. She said, ¡°Clearly, Master Sang jumped into the water to frame my master. My lord, please investigate this matter.¡±

    Marquis Moyu didn¡¯t say anything. He sharply looked at Mu Shuiqing for a long time, until she felt unbearably wronged.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Summon a doctor to the courtyard on the east side.¡± After flinging down these words, Ning Yuxuan picked Nie Sangyu up in a bridal carry, turned around, and left.

    Mu Shuiqing clutched her handkerchief and stood in ce for a long time. She almost cried, but in the end, she gritted her teeth and stopped herself. She sent Banxia to get a doctor and followed after Marquis Moyu towards the small courtyard by herself.

    Ji Man leaned against the man¡¯s chest with her eyes closed. Not mentioning anything else, his embrace felt very stable. Although he was walking very quickly, it didn¡¯t feel too bumpy. His stable hold made her feel very at ease.

    She hadn¡¯t expected that Ning Yuxuan would suddenly appear. This man usually avoided Nie Sangyu like she was a poisonous serpent or scorpion. There was something off about this.

    At some pointter, her body was ced down on a cushioned couch and she heard Muxu crying out in rm. It seemed as if Marquis Moyu had told Muxu to change her clothes, then he carried her over to her bed. The doctor had also arrived.

    ¡°Master Sang is in shock from falling into water. In addition, her health is poor. I¡¯m afraid that she¡¯ll get sick from this.¡± As the doctor wrote out a prescription, he said, ¡°In the short-term, she won¡¯t be able to attend to bed duties.¡±

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s brow rxed before tensing again. He looked at the nearby Mu Shuiqing, ¡°Qing-<i>er</i>, I thought you were a sensible person.¡±

    Mu Shuiqing immediately kneeled on the ground. She clenched her teeth and said, ¡°This servant really didn¡¯t do anything. This servant swears on my life!¡±

 Chapter 27 - Not too late for Sangyu (2)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 027 out of 513 ¨C Not toote for Sangyu (2)

    Ning Yuxuan looked at her for a moment, then he look at the person on the bed that had her eyes closed. ¡°Never mind, go back to your courtyard. Finish embroidering the handkerchiefs that she hasn¡¯t finished embroidering and this matter will be considered settled.¡±

    ¡°My lord!¡± Mu Shuiqing refused to ept this as final.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say anymore.¡± Marquis Moyu lightly waved his hand.

    He was clearly showing bias in favor of Nie Sangyu. He didn¡¯t even question them before directly punishing her. Mu Shuiqing wanted to cry from anger, but she didn¡¯t dare to fuss. She could only swallow her anger and withdraw from the room. She would have a sobbing fest once she returned to Feiyu Courtyard. In her heart, she hated Nie Sangyu even more.

    Ji Man rxed once she heard the doctor¡¯s words. It was good as long as she didn¡¯t have to serve him in bed. Plus, there would be someone to finish embroidering those handkerchiefs for her. It had been worth it to jump into the pond.

    Muxu went to prepare the medicine and Marquis Moyu didn¡¯t seem as if he wanted to sit down. His silently looked at Ji Man. Her moving eyes and twitching eyshes showed that she wasn¡¯t resting peacefully.

    Realizing that she was wake, Ning Yuxuan quietly said, ¡°Qing-<i>er</i> isn¡¯t sensible. There¡¯s no need for you to bicker with her. I know that you suffered a lot of grievancestely. But, you should understand. It¡¯s only natural that you¡¯re punished when you do things that are unsuitable for your status.¡±

    After such a long time had passed, did hee here to exin why he had demoted Nie Sangyu from main wife to concubine? You¡¯re supposed to give a sweet date after pping someone, but wasn¡¯t he giving this sweet date far toote?

    Ji Man internally rolled her eyes, but she still slightly opened her eyes and looked at the man by the bed.

    It was easy for a woman to fall under Marquis Moyu¡¯s spell when he was treating her gently and warmly. Just like right now, he was looking at her with his eyes full of tender feelings. His slender hand with distinct joints reached out and brushed her still wet hair to the side.

    He was an iparable gentleman that possessed the elegance of white jade.

    @@novelbin@@

    If it were Nie Sangyu in this body, she would instantly sumb to his seduction and forget the various wrong things that Marquis Moyu had done. She would even speak up in his favor when old madame returned.

    But, Ji Man¡¯s zodiac sign was the Scorpio and she was especially good at holding grudges. Even though the person in front of her was unreasonably attractive and gentle, she still wouldn¡¯t forget who had been responsible for punishing her.

    ¡°Sangyu understands what the marquis is saying.¡± Although her heart bore grudges, she still had to outwardly pretend that she was touched by his words and actions. ¡°Sangyu doesn¡¯t me the marquis. Sangyu¡¯s current state is just the result of reaping the consequences of my actions.¡± Choosing to marry a man like this, it truly was Nie Sangyu suffering the consequences of her actions!

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s eyes showed a slight puzzlement. ¡°You seemed to have changed a lot since Wan-<i>er</i> married into this household.¡± She had changed so much that she didn¡¯t resemble the previous Nie Sangyu at all.

    Ji Man faintly smiled. ¡°It¡¯s because Sangyu understands now. Sangyu won¡¯t be able to snatch anything back through hysterical actions and doesn¡¯t want to try anymore. Sangyu only hopes to live a peaceful life and won¡¯t chase after something that can¡¯t be obtained.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan froze in surprise. A piece of his heart felt as if it was being lightly twisted.

    Everyone in the capital knew about Nie Sangyu¡¯s crazily foolish love towards him. This woman always looked at him with a fervent and longing gaze. She was always waiting for him. She had tried countlessughable tricks in order to gain his favor.

    But now, she has said that she wouldn¡¯t chase after something that couldn¡¯t be obtain.

    He couldn¡¯t describe the emotions that were being crammed into him. Ning Yuxuan somewhat ashamedly turned his head. Then, he thought of why he hade here and his expression returned to normal. ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand. I¡¯ll keep youpany during the next two days. This courtyard doesn¡¯t have a name yet. What do you want to name it?¡±

    Keeping herpany for two days? Ji Man¡¯s eyes turned. She had guessed correctly. He was only giving her sweet dates because old madame wasing back.

    ¡°This courtyard is quiet and peaceful. Let¡¯s call it Feiwan* Courtyard.¡±

    * T/N: <i>Feiwan</i> literally means notte. It¡¯s part of this idiom, ¡°<i>Shi zhi dongyu, shou zi sangyu, wei shi feiwan¡±. </i>It¡¯s a Chinese idiom that means, the earlier years have already passed, but if you learn from those experiences and make a determined effort, it¡¯s not toote for the second half of your life. Also the <i>sangyu</i> in that idiom is the same Chinese characters as Nie Sangyu¡¯s first name.

    Ning Yuxuan was surprised again. <i>Shi zhi dongyu, shou zi sangyu, wei shi fei wan.</i>When did Nie Sangyu have feelings like these?

    The more time passed, the more he didn¡¯t understand this woman. He used to think she was hopelessly foolish, but now he felt that she was very intelligent.

    Seeing his expression, Ji Man smiled, ¡°My lord, are you thinking about why this servant has suddenly be so clever?¡±

    Marquis Moyu took a deep breath and against her expectations, heughed. ¡°Can you read my mind?¡±

    Ji Man shook her head, ¡°Your expression was too obvious. My lord, have you heard of a certain phrase before?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Ji Man smiled and said, ¡°A woman behaves the most foolishly when she¡¯s in love.¡±

    It took a while before Ning Yuxuan understood the meaning of her words. His expression immediately sunk. ¡°Nie Sangyu, do you know that your words are viting the sevenws?¡±

    T/N: The seven ancientws and excuses a man can use to divorce his wife are: not obedient to the inws, childless, adultery, jealousy, disease, excessive gossiping, and theft.

    Was she telling him that she had be clever because she no longer loved him?

    Ji Man lightlyughed, ¡°My lord, you¡¯re the only person that Sangyu has ever loved in this lifetime. Whereas you...¡±

    These were lines that Nie Sangyu would sayter in the novel. It should be okay if she said these words a little bit earlier, right?

    Marquis Moyu froze in surprise and stayed silent. The room immediately became quiet and Ji Man closed her eyes.

    Muxu brought the medicine into the room and quietly said, ¡°My lord, the medicine has been prepared.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan returned to his senses and reached out to take the bowl of medicine. He scooped up a spoonful and blew on it to cool down. ¡°You should drink this medicine before doing anything else.¡±

    Ji Man nodded, but when she saw that spoonful of ck-looking medicine approaching her mouth, she wasn¡¯t as calm anymore. ¡°My lord, this servant can drink this medicine myself. You don¡¯t need be so courteous. Sangyu won¡¯t me you for anything.¡±

 Chapter 29 - The honorable pestilence god is here (2)

    Chapter: 029 out of 513 ¨C The honorable pestilence god is here (2)

    Marquis Moyu had the day off on the next day. Instead of leaving to go somewhere else, he stayed in Feiwan Courtyard to read books. Ji Man had originally nned to invite Miss Shui over to discuss the store¡¯s pertinent matters. However, she didn¡¯t dare to do anything with this great Buddha sitting here.

    Various varieties of wild roses were quickly brought over and nted in her courtyard until the ce was full of these pink and white flowers.

    Ji Man was recovering from her cold and couldn¡¯t go outside. As she looked at those flowers through the window, she felt a burst of joy. Next time, she would be able to make wild rose cold cream. These raw materials were entirely free. Other than these free flowers, the other ingredients cost five silver coins perrge box. Eachrge box sold for ten silver taels. She would be able to earn a crazy amount of money.

    When Marquis Moyu looked up, he saw a side view of Nie Sangyu slightly smiling and somewhat lost in thought. When this girl was quiet and not causing trouble or clinging to him, she was actually quite beautiful.

    @@novelbin@@

    Noticing his gaze, Ji Man turned her head and their eyes met. The eyes across from her suddenly showed a slight amount of interest.

    Ji Man twitched her lips. This promiscuous and fickle man was like a stud horse. Only foolish women from ancient times would be able to tolerate him.

    ¡°I heard that your older brother recently received the emperor¡¯s appreciation and received three days of vacation. Do you want me to invite him over to see you?¡± Ning Yuxuan suddenly said.

    Startled, she instinctively said, ¡°No need.¡±

    The interest in Ning Yuxuan¡¯s eyes deepened. ¡°En? Why not? Whenever you suffered grievances in the past, your favorite thing to do was to invite Sir Nie over to visit you.¡±

    Was he suspicious about something? Goosebumps rose on Ji Man¡¯s back. She felt that his smile looked far too sinister.

    ¡°This servant hasn¡¯t suffered any grievance.¡± Ji Man quickly thought of an excuse, ¡°This servant just doesn¡¯t want my older brother to worry by seeing my current unfavorable situation.¡±

    ¡°Sir Nie should already know about your current situation. There¡¯s nothing for you to worry about.¡± Ning Yuxuan closed his book and said with a light smile, ¡°I happen to be free this afternoon. I¡¯ll send a messenger to invite him here now. He can also drink wine with me while he¡¯s here.¡±

    Oh no.

    Ji Man¡¯s face stiffened. She turned around to continue looking at the outside scenery. She had no idea how Nie Sangyu used to interact with Nie Qingyun. Ning Yuxuan was already suspecting her. If Nie Qingyun also felt that there was something wrong with her, would they think she was a demon? Were they going to tie her up and burn her to death?

    While Ji Man thought of a way to respond to this problem, she turned her head to look at Muxu through the window. That girl had been standing outside the door this entire time in order to give them privacy.

    She shouted, ¡°Muxu,e inside and help me outside to look at the wild roses.¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not allowed to go outside.¡± Marquis Moyu opened his mouth to stop her, ¡°You¡¯re still sick. You can¡¯t be exposed to the wind. If you want to look at the flowers, you can see them from here.¡±

    The corner of Ji Man¡¯s mouth slightly twitched. She couldn¡¯t even go outside to speak with Muxu. Was this pestilence god nning on staying by her side to constantly watch her? Then, what should she do?

    When she had originally read this light novel, she had skimmed through the book and only read motional scenes. Everything else was apletely mystery to her. She knew nothing about Nie Qingyun¡¯s personality.

    Her eyes turned a full circle. She couldn¡¯t think of a good solution. Anyways, she was sick. She would go straight to acting weak and start crying as soon as she saw Nie Qingyun.

    Having settled on this idea, Ji Man held her forehead and lied down on her bed. ¡°My lord, now that you mentioned it, this servant is feeling woozy. This servant will rest for a bit first.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan curved his lips and nodded, ¡°En.¡±

    This wasn¡¯t the first time he felt suspicious. He didn¡¯t believe that a person¡¯s innate temperament could change this much in a short period of time. Although Liu <i>Mama</i>had been spying on her this entire time, what if someone had figured out a way to switch Nie Sangyu with someone else? Not only was Nie n¡¯s status high, Nie Sangyu was also an important chess piece to maintaining the bnce in the imperial household. If someone had kidnapped her, it would be problematic.

    The only method that would put him at ease was to let Nie Qingyune and see her.

    ¡ª

    Ning Qingyun had always spoiled his younger sister. When he heard about her news, he quickly came over. He even rode a horse here. As soon as he arrived at Feiwan Courtyard, he furrowed his brow. ¡°Sangyu is sick?¡±

    The smell of medicine hadn¡¯t faded from the room. Of course, this was because Ji Man had deliberately spilled some of the medicine when she was drinking it recently.

    ¡°En, it was because of the cold weather.¡± Marquis Moyu was sitting by the bedside. With a gentle expression, he said, ¡°I told her to properly drink medicine, but she wouldn¡¯t.¡±

    Ji Man didn¡¯t dare to open her eyes and continued to pretend to be sleeping. But, someone suddenly pinched her waist. Caught off guard, she couldn¡¯t help screaming, ¡°Ahh!¡±

    Nie Qingyun hurriedly walked forward. With his brow furrowed, he said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    With a perfectly calm face, Ning Yuxuanforted her, ¡°Did you have a nightmare?¡±

    Ji Man clenched her teeth and opened her eyes. First, she silently cursed at Ning Yuxuan. Then, she looked at the older brother that had been continuously looked at her with concern.

    Ning Yuxuan was born with a healthy body, a straight nose, and clear and open facial features. One nce would show that he was a good person. While Ji Man looked at him, she pinched herself in the same spot that Ning Yuxuan had recently pinched her. She tearfully looked at him, ¡°Older brother...¡±

    Nie Qingyun sighed. ¡°Everything had been perfectly fine. Why did you do this to yourself?¡±

    Ji Man only sobbed, clutched the hem of Nie Qingyun¡¯s clothes, and didn¡¯t let go. ¡°I dreamed about mother.¡±

    Nie Sangyu¡¯s mother had died very early. This was why Nie Qingyun¡¯s mother had been promoted to position of main wife. Nie Qingyun felt that Sangyu was very pitiful, so he always protected her. He had fully taken on a parent¡¯s responsibility towards her.

    Hearing these words, Nie Qingyun nced at Marquis Moyu. There was a question and also a slight amount of dissatisfaction in his eyes when he looked at him. ¡°The marquis is here. And you still dreamed about your mother?¡±

 Chapter 31 - The malicious mother-in-law has returned (2)

    Chapter: 031 out of 513 ¨C The malicious mother-inw has returned (2)

    The secondary female characters in novels were always talented individuals, with powerful backgrounds and that was why they were able to frame the female leads. Nie Sangyu wasn¡¯t an exception. Ji Man remembered that the reason Nie Sangyu was able to execute all of her schemes was because Marquis Moyu¡¯s mother was supporting her. As a malicious mother-inw, Marquis Moyu¡¯s mother, Old Madame Ning, was Nie Sangyu¡¯s perfect partner. One would frame the female lead and the other would punish her. They had horribly tormented the female lead.

    And now, Ji Man¡¯s long awaited savior, Old Madame Ning, was finally returning home after staying at Foshan for two months!

    Marquis Moyu had woken Ji Man early this morning and ordered Muxu to change her into her best set of clothing. Look at herplexion. It had improved a lot. At least, she didn¡¯t look too ill and could leave her room to meet people.

    Muxu was put into a difficult position and she looked through Nie Sangyu¡¯s wardrobe for a long time. She only found one slightly expensive-looking long blue dress. What else was there left? The other expensive clothing and jewelry had all been sold. There were only a few silver hairpins in Nie Sangyu¡¯s jewelry box.

    However, Ji Man generously said words to help her, ¡°This servant is only a concubine. It wouldn¡¯t be proper for me to wear morous clothing. Simple clothing would be more suitable.¡±

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    Marquis Moyu nced at her jewelry box. He didn¡¯t say a word and seemed to be tacitly agreeing. Ji Man changed into a white sleeves top and wore the long dress over it. After Muxu brushed her hair into a simple <i>duoma </i>hairstyle, Ji Man went with Ning Yuxuan to Qiangwei Courtyard.

    (T/N: Below are picture of <i>duoma</i> hairstyle.)

    Several eyes had turned red from worry over the marquis staying at Feiwan Courtyard for two days. He hadn¡¯t taken a single step out of the courtyard during those two days. Countless eyes had looked over the walls of Feiwan Courtyard. They saw the courtyard being nted full of wild roses, and they also saw the marquis inviting Nie Sangyu¡¯s older brother over to see her. Even Wen Wan¡¯s heart felt slightly ufortable after knowing about this.

    Furthermore, Mu Shuiqing had strangely spent thest two days telling Wen Wan that Nie Sangyu was only pretending to be a good person and how she had framed herself. Even if Wen Wan didn¡¯t believe Mu Shuiqing¡¯s words, these ideas still lingered in her mind. When she looked at Nie Sangyu today, her gaze was more reserved than before.

    @@novelbin@@

    As a result, when Ji Man stood behind Honored Concubine Xue, several eyes fell on her.

    ¡°Sangyu, have you recovered from your cold?¡± Wen Wan asked.

    ¡°Thank you Madam for your concern. It¡¯s not a hindrance anymore.¡± Ji Man slightly saluted. ¡°It was all thanks to the marquis¡¯s care. Sangyu will fondly remember this.¡±

    Qi Siling lightly smiled and said, ¡°This can be considered as something gooding from a disaster. I presume that the marquis won¡¯t be focusing on younger sister¡¯s previous actions. In the future, we should all get along as a family.¡±

    Qing Lianxue smiled and echoed Siling¡¯s sentiment, ¡°Yes, the family that lives in harmony will be prosperous together.¡±

    Mu Shuiqing also smiled. Next to her, Liu Hanyun had her head lowered and didn¡¯t show any response.

    Ji Man thought, were they saying that once they finished off Nie Sangyu, this family would be harmonious and prosperous?

    Truly a wonderful group act in sarcasm and derision.

    Wen Wan looked a bit nervous, but Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t seem to be in a good mood. He was sitting on the side and hadn¡¯t said a single word to her. He even didn¡¯t turn his head to nce at her.

    Ji Man watched Wen Wan as she bit her lip and looked toward Marquis Moyu. He was probably having a fit of pique. Although Ning Yuxuan was usually quite astute, he still acted very childish sometimes. If he felt that you went against him, he would have a sullen expression and give you the cold shoulder for a long time. Besides, Wen Wan had pushed him out of her room. And, now she wanted him to greet her with a smiling face?

    Compared to the women in ancient times, Ji Man was better at understanding the inner thoughts of men. Although she never had a serious rtionship, she already had abundant theoretical knowledge from interacting with people on Tianya.

    T/N: Tianya used to be a very popr Inte forum in China.

    And so,pared to Wen Wan, who didn¡¯t know what to do, Ji Man knew what the crucial thing to do at this moment was. She should be providing the man a way out of this awkward situation. She should be ttering and coaxing him instead of acting proud and reserved.

    But, she was the secondary female character. Her role was to destroy the rtionship between the male lead and female at all costs. So, how could she be willing to give Wen Wan this opportunity? On the contrary, she had to break them apart so that she could fulfill Nie Sangyu¡¯s wish.

    Kindness? That was something that the female lead should have. It had nothing to do with the secondary female character.

    And so, she said, ¡°When the marquis was with this servant, he spent the entire time missing Madam and worrying if you were eating and sleeping well. Old Madame hasn¡¯te back yet. Madam, you and the marquis can speak to each other. We¡¯ll all just pretend to not hear.¡±

    These clever words made it seem as if she was trying to help them. Even Ning Yuxuan raised his head to look at her when he heard these words.

    After Wen Wan heard that the marquis had been worried about her, her anxieties lessened. But, when she turned to look at him, she saw that he was looking somewhere else. Slightly angry, she said, ¡°How is the marquis worried about me? Look at him right now. He¡¯s not even willing to look at me. What¡¯s there for us to say to each other?¡±

    Marquis Moyu coldly harrumphed.

    In front of so many people, Wen Wan couldn¡¯t act unsuitable for her status by acting cutely spoiled. She could only look at the side of his face and be more worried. Even Nie Sangyu had tried to help him by saying those words. Why couldn¡¯t he soften his stance? She hadn¡¯t done anything wrong!

    Since Ning Yuxuan wasn¡¯t speaking, the atmosphere in the room was slightly awkward. Wen Wan couldn¡¯t step down from her position and her face looked very tense.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t say anything else and just quietly waited. Eventually, a servant came inside and reported that old madame¡¯s carriage had already entered the city.

    By chance, a person from the pce hade at the same time and said that the emperor wanted to see Marquis Moyu to discuss something. Ning Yuxuan hadn¡¯t been able to wait until Old Madame Ning had arrived at residence¡¯s entrance before he hastily mounted a horse and left for the pce.

    As a result, Wen Wan waspletely panicking.

    Trantor Ramblings: I wonder if Noble Consort Nie was behind the emperor suddenly summoning Ning Yuxuan right before old madame returned. Also,pared to the other women, including Ji Man, Wen Wan feels like a baby white lotus.

 Chapter 32 - A marquis that had become foolish because of love (1)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 032 out of 513 ¨C A marquis that had be foolish because of love (1)

    Wen Wan hadn¡¯t known Ning Yuxuan for a long time. They had only met six months ago. But, these short six months had entirely canceled out Nie Sangyu¡¯s six years. Wen Wan had snatched her position as the main wife, her Qiangwei Courtyard, and the tiny, remaining space she had in Ning Yuxuan¡¯s heart.

    Although it had been the emperor¡¯s intention to abolish Nie Sangyu¡¯s status, it had been Marquis Moyu, who had taken the initiative of promoting Wen Wan to main wife. From the beginning until now, old madame hadn¡¯t known about this matter. Wen Wan had originally thought that the two of them would exin this matter to old madame together. For the sake of her biological son, old madame probably wouldn¡¯t do anything to her.

    But now, a matter had popped up in the pce and she was left here with no one to rely on. Sitting here in the red dress that only the main wife could wear, what should she say to old madame when she came?

    With her thoughts thrown into disorder, Wen Wan swept her gaze around the room. All of these women knew about her current unfavorable situation, but no one would help her because she had the marquis¡¯s heart. They were probably wishing that they could hit her while she was down.

    Just as she was feeling helpless, Steward Qian came inside to report, ¡°Madam, Old Madame will be arriving soon.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Let¡¯s all go out to wee her.¡± She forced herself to smile, stood up, and held Tanxiang¡¯s arm for support, but her palms were sweaty.

    She was the marquis¡¯s wife and should naturally be walking in the front. Right now, she couldn¡¯t retreat. As long as Yuxuan supported her, she would fine.

    She straightened her shoulders before walking out. The two honored concubines were walking behind her. Liu Hanyun, Mu Shuiqing, and Ji Man followed after them.

    Ji Man¡¯s expression was calm. She hadn¡¯t walked two steps before Mu Shuiqing whispered, ¡°You must be feeling proud, right?¡± Her voice was sharp and her tone wasn¡¯t pleasing to hear. Ji Man slightly furrowed her brow and nced at her sideways.

    ¡°Do you think that once Old Madame has returned, you¡¯ll be able to get rid of Madam with her support?¡± Mu Shuiqing¡¯s eyes were full of provocation. ¡°Give up! Madam has the marquis¡¯s heart. No matter what you do, you won¡¯t be able to seize it back.¡±

    Ji Man looked at her twisted face. Perhaps, she had lost her senses from being too angry during the past two days? And, that was why she was able to say these types of words out loud.

    ¡°As long as you have the diligent intention of doing something, there¡¯s nothing that can¡¯t be done.¡± Ji Man said, ¡°If it makes you happier to hate me, that¡¯s fine. Feel free to hate me. Do your best!¡± She made a gesture of encouragement before returning her hands to their original position in front of her abdomen.

    ¡°You!¡± Mu Shuiqing was so angry that she wanted to have stomping fit. Her voice had be slightly louder at the end and Qi Siling turned around to look at her.

    Mu Shuiqing immediately became well behaved. She coldly harrumphed once and stopped talking. In contrast, Liu Hanyun, who had originally been looking at Ji Man indifferently, unexpectedly had a trace of a smile in her eyes after hearing her words.

    The marquis¡¯s residence¡¯s entrance was very magnificent. It had a que that had been bestowed by the emperor and a pair of formidable stone lions. With everyone standing at the entrance in a line, it was truly a great scene.

    Ji Man was at the very end of the line. From far away, she saw a spacious carriage slowlying here. There were four guards on horses before the carriage and two servant girls sitting on the shaft of the carriage. Behind the carriage, there were numerous servants. This grandiose procession showed the considerable status of old madame.

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s mother was the imperial court¡¯s only first rankdy. She had married Marquis Pingnan in her youth, but he had sacrificed his life for the country. The emperor had felt very grateful, so he bestowed her the title of first rankdy and allowed her to enter the pce whenever she wanted.

    She should have been addressed as Marchioness Pingnan, but old madame had felt heartbroken about her husband¡¯s death, so she had people address her as Old Madame. She didn¡¯t want to be reminded of Marquis Pingnan by hearing that title. After the death of her husband, she stayed at Marquis Moyu¡¯s residence and would asionally have interaction with the pce, but she never asked about governmental affairs again.

    Ji Man remembered that old madame was Noble Consort Nie¡¯s best friend. The two of them had grown up together and had an extremely good rtionship. This was why old madame had always shielded her while she lived in Marquis Moyu¡¯s residence. It was only when old madame was away that these people had an opportunity to bully her.

    The carriage stopped in front of the entrance. The guards at the front went to the sides and the two servant girls jumped down from the carriage to bring over a stool and carefully supported old madame as she came out of the carriage.

    Seeing this, Wen Wan hurriedly went forward to lend an arm to support her. However, old madame, who had passed her fortieth birthday at the beginning of this year, had a truly terrifying imposingness. When Wen Wan slightly raised her eyes, her hand ended up freezing in midair.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°This daughter-inw greets Old Madame.¡± Wen Wan straightforwardly kneeled down. The concubines behind her could only follow her action and kneel down too.

    Old madame¡¯s clothes were simple and unadorned, but she was wearing a stately, golden hairpin. She cast a sidelong nce at the person in front of her, then she indifferently said, ¡°You may rise, Sangyu.¡±

    Just as Wen Wan was about to let out a sigh of relief after hearing the first three words, her heart plummeted after hearing thest word. She didn¡¯t even dare to raise her head.

    Gritting her teeth, Wen Wan didn¡¯t stand. She saluted old madame again, ¡°This daughter-inw, Wen Wan, greets Old Madame.¡±

    Old madame was silent for a long time. She looked at person kneeling on the ground and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s Wen Wan?¡±

    As Ji Man silently kneeled in the back, she thought that this old madame was really good at pretending. They were all kneeling so close to her. How could she possibly not be able to tell who was who? She was deliberately asking this question to embarrass Wen Wan.

    Trantor Ramblings: Ji Man will be meeting the supporting male character in 2 weeks and 2 days. I included a spoiler below for their first meeting.

    Also, I like the interaction between Ji Man and Mu Shuiqing. I interpreted Ji Man¡¯s words to Mu Shuiqing as sincere encouragement instead of mocking. What do you guys think?

 Chapter 33 - A marquis that had become foolish because of love (2)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 033 out of 513 ¨C A marquis that had be foolish because of love (2)

    Wen Wan¡¯s face turned red from humiliation. Her fingernails were rigidly digging into her palms. She felt so wronged that she wanted to cry. How was she supposed to handle this type of situation? Yuxuan clearly knew that his mother was very difficult to deal with. How could he have left her alone like this?

    When she thought of it that way, her heart actually felt somewhat resentful.

    In the midst of this silence, Ji Man raised her head and said, ¡°Old Madame, Sangyu is no longer this household¡¯s main wife. The madam in front of you is the main wife. It¡¯s rather cold outside. How about we go inside to talk?¡±

    Old madame turned her head to look at Nie Sangyu. Her eyes held a bit of doting, but she didn¡¯t say anything. It became silent again for a while. When everyone¡¯s knees ached from kneeling, old madame finally said, ¡°All of you,e inside with me.¡±

    Tanxiang helped Wen Wan stand up, and the other concubines also stood up. No one dared to breath too heavily as they followed behind old madame.

    @@novelbin@@

    When she reached the main courtyard¡¯s entrance, old madame turned her head and said, ¡°Sangyu, I¡¯m slightly tired today. They can forgo with paying respect to me one by one. You and that Wen Wan,e into my room to speak.

    ¡°This servant will obey.¡± Nie Sangyu acknowledged the order and the other women dispersed. Wen Wan was left to stand by herself in front of Nie Sangyu. The furrowed space between her eyebrows showed that she was worried.

    While old madame was changing her clothes, Ji Man whispered to Wen Wan, ¡°Madam, don¡¯t be afraid. Old Madame is just unhappy that the marquis hid this from her. It¡¯s not that she doesn¡¯t like you. You¡¯re already the marquis¡¯s wife. There¡¯s nothing for you to be afraid of.¡±

    Wen Wan hadn¡¯t expected that Nie Sangyu would beforting her at this time. But, she couldn¡¯t distinguish if she was being sincere or not. She could only nod and silently clutch her handkerchief.

    After old madame changed into morefortable clothing and reclined on a wooden chaise lounge, her personal servant girl, Shouwu, finally went out and told them toe into the room.

    ¡°I already heard about this on the way here. Xuan-<i>er</i> took away Sangyu¡¯s position as the main wife.¡± Old madame¡¯s eyes sharply swept over the two people in front of her. ¡°But, I didn¡¯t know that he had put someone else into her position. Miss Wei, where do youe from?¡±

    Wen Wan had already been married to Ning Yuxuan for a month, but she was still calling her Miss. Old madame was clearly unwilling to acknowledge her status. Wen Wan¡¯s face turned slightly white. She kneeled down and reported, ¡°My father¡¯s name is Wen Yi. He works as a jailer on the northern side of the capital¡¯s imperial prison. My father¡¯s younger brother is a seventh rank judicial officer.

    Even Ji Man felt that Wen Wan¡¯s family background was shabby. Normally, this would only be enough for her to be a concubine in a non-aristocrat family. No one would have expected that the dignified Marquis Moyu would have made her his main wife.

    Old madame¡¯s face changed colors. In the end, she heavily harrumphed and said, ¡°Did you instigate Xuan-<i>er</i> into making you his main wife?¡±

    Wen Wan bit her lip, ¡°This daughter-inw didn¡¯t do this. The marquis had done this voluntarily...¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that my son is blind?¡± Old madame¡¯s gaze became abruptly sharp. ¡°For the noble families, marriages are only between families that are well-matched in terms of social status. Xuen-<i>er</i> isn¡¯t stupid. If you hadn¡¯t bewitched him, how could he possibly do something so asinine?¡±

    Wen Wan felt extremely wronged. Kneeling on the ground, her body even started to slightly tremble.

    Seeing old madame¡¯s attitude, Ji Man also felt slightly terrified, so she also kneeled down on the ground. How could she dare to speak while standing in the face of that aura and gaze?

    Ji Man took a deep breath and said, ¡°Old Madame, this matter happened because Sangyu hadmitted a sin. Sangyu¡¯s previous willful actions had provoked the emperor and caused me to lose my position. Since the position was empty, the marquis has the authority to wee a new main wife.¡±

    Old madame berated, ¡°Nonsense!¡±

    Ji Man was so scared by this one word that her legs felt weak and she almost fell over.

    ¡°You married Xuan-<i>er</i> as his first wife when you fourteen years old. You were living perfectly fine and now you¡¯re actually tolerating a wild girl with a questionable background to climb over your head? You¡¯re utterly tarnishing Nie n¡¯s reputation!¡±

    Ji Man decided that she wouldn¡¯t act like a good person again. It would be safer for her act obedient and avoid being scolded. She had thought that old madame was the type of mother-inw, who would act sweetly towards Nie Sangyu and sternly towards Wen Wan. Unexpectedly, her expression was the same towards everyone. Although she favored Nie Sangyu, she wouldn¡¯t hold back while lecturing at her.

    ¡°Noble Consort Nie had personally handed you over into my hands and I had promised her that I would take good care of you. Although you were young and didn¡¯t know how to act sensibly or how to manage the household, I was willing to slowly teach you. But, what are you doing right now? What is her status? What is yours? How can you so easily ept this as your fate?¡±

    Although she was scolding Ji Man, her words had directly caused Wen Wan to start crying. She had really wanted to receive old madame¡¯s approval, but instead she had been called a wild girl without any status. These words had stifled her ability to speak.

    After old madame had finished admonishing Nie Sangyu, they heard a servant announcing that the marquis had returned to the residence. Ji Man stayed kneeling in ce without moving and old madame rested her voice for a moment. Still feeling residual anger, she said to Danggui, ¡°Bring the marquis here.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± The young servant girl, Danggui, acknowledged the order. She could see that old madame was in a bad mood and hurriedly went out to inform Marquis Moyu.

    When Ning Yuxuan came into the room, he immediately saw Wen Wan kneeling on the ground and heard the sound of her falling tears. While feeling distressed, he even forgot to greet old madame first. Instead, he directly walked over to Wen Wan and asked, ¡°Wan-<i>er</i>, what happened?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan was her biological son and she hadn¡¯t seen him in two months, so old madame had originally missed Ning Yuxuan a lot. But, instead of greeting her and asking her if she had been well, her son went to that wild woman¡¯s side and asked her what happened.

    Old madame was so angry that she almost couldn¡¯t breath. She ordered, ¡°Kneel!¡±

    Crouched down on the floor, Ji Man rejoiced in Ning Yuxuan¡¯s misfortune. What a fool. In this type of situation, he still dared to look after his woman first. Ning Yuxuan was also a person that had be foolish because of love.

    Trantor Ramblings: Although it¡¯s super enjoyable to watch old madame reprimand Ning Yuxuan, Ji Man was probably better off at ruining the rtionship between the Ning Yuxuan and Wen Wan without old madame. She knows that a white lotus¡¯s best skill is crying and won¡¯t do anything to trigger it.

 Chapter 34 - He loves her (1)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 034 out of 513 ¨C He loves her (1)

    Marquis Moyu returned to his senses after hearing old madame¡¯s angry voice. He pursed his lips, kneeled, and said, ¡°This son greets mother.¡±

    ¡°Do you still remember that you have a mother?¡± Old madame¡¯s anger wasn¡¯t light. She pointed at Wen Wan and asked, ¡°Did you even ask me once before marrying her?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan lowly said, ¡°Mother, please calm down. This son had nned to report our marriage to you after you returned.¡±

    After saying this, he actually nced at Ji Man.

    Ji Man hurriedly hid away her glee and innocently looked at the decorative pattern on the carpet.

    Marquis Moyu had been naturally talented and clever since childhood. Other than this marriage, he had never given his mother any reason to worry. Right now, there were rapid changes in the imperial household and the emperor deliberately wanted to oppress Nie n. Thus, she could understand why he had acted against Sangyu. But, even if she had calcted a thousand times, she would have never expected that he would wee a woman without status into this household.

    ¡°You knew that I wouldn¡¯t agree, so you acted first and reportedter.¡± Old madame heavily harrumphed.

    Ning Yuxuan raised his head. His eyes were full of sincerity. ¡°This son truly loves Wen Wan. This is why I want to give her the best position.¡±

    Love.

    Old madame stared nkly at him for a long time. Wen Wan, who was still kneeling, started to cry again.

    Ji Man found his wordsughable, but Nie Sangyu felt as if her heart was being ripped out. Ji Man couldn¡¯t help furrowing her brow.

    Among the nobles, generals, and officials¡¯ families, the most unspeakable word was love and the most difficult thing to obtain was sincere love. Old madame had loved Marquis Pingnan for over half of her life, but she had never said this word. And now, she was hearing the word ¡°love¡± from her son¡¯s mouth.

    After she returned to her senses, old madame actuallyughed. Sheughed until her shoulders shook. ¡°Xuan-<i>er</i>, do you know what love is?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan kneeled with his back perfectly straight and didn¡¯t cower the slightest bit, ¡°This son wants to grow old with her.¡±

    Wen Wan was extremely moved by his words. Underneath their sleeves, Marquis Moyu was gently holding her hand. She suddenly felt confident and kowtowed to old madame, ¡°All of this me is entirely Wen Wan¡¯s. As long as Wen Wan can stay by the marquis¡¯s side, whether it¡¯s being the main wife or concubine, Wen Wan doesn¡¯t mind either way.¡±

    Ah, such a profoundly loving, harmonious, and affection couple. Ji Man looked at them with the cool eyes of a bystander. She felt that the male lead and female lead¡¯s minds werepletely different from everyone else¡¯s. For them, emotions could prevail over everything. The male lead¡¯s one word, ¡°love¡±, was supposed to make everything else inconsequential.

    But, it couldn¡¯t work out like that. This was a light novel about harem struggles, not a Grimm¡¯s fairytale.

    Old madame was silent for a long time. She finally said with a smile, ¡°Look at the two of you. One is crying like a rained upon pear blossom. The other has a solemn expression and a stretched taut figure. If someone didn¡¯t know any better, they would think of me as a malicious old woman that was tearing up a happily married couple that truly loved each other.¡±

    Her tone had changed too quickly. Ning Yuxuan and Wen Wan both froze in surprise and looked up.

    ¡°I was just testing you. Wan-<i>er</i>, you also seem to truly love Xuan-<i>er</i>.¡± Old madame¡¯s entire face softened and she indicated for Danggui and Shouwu to help the two of them to stand. In the passing, she also let Ji Man stand up as well.

    ¡°Actually, as long as you can undertake the role of marquis¡¯s wife well, your family background isn¡¯t especially important. I¡¯m feeling tired. You can all leave.¡±

    Wen Wan was overjoyed at the unexpected good news. She whole-heartedly thought that old madame had epted her. She repeatedly kowtowed to express her thanks and pulled Ning Yuxuan¡¯s hand to kowtow with her.

    @@novelbin@@

    However, Ning Yuxuan¡¯s brow didn¡¯t rx. He only saluted old madame before taking Wen Wan with him as he left.

    He naturally had a clear understanding of his mother¡¯s character. But, seeing how happy Wen Wan was, he couldn¡¯t tell her the truth and make her worry more.

    Ji Man shrugged her shoulders. She saluted old madame and was nning on leaving the room too. However, the servant girl next to her, Shouwu, stopped her and lightly shook her head to single for her to stay.

    After the doors were closed, Ji Man gritted her teeth and kneeled down again in front of old madame. She still needed to kneel in order to have the courage to speak to her.

    ¡°Steward Qian said you changed a lot, but I hadn¡¯t believe him.¡± The smile on old madame¡¯s face faded. It was reced by a deep sigh. ¡°It must have been difficult for you. You use to have such a lively and straightforward personality, but it¡¯s been grounded to dust by Xuan-<i>er</i>. You didn¡¯t even cry or fuss when you heard him say that he loves someone else.¡±

    At the mention of this, her reaction was prompt. As Ji Man bit her lip, she started to cry and sobbed out, ¡°Old madame, I don¡¯t want to ept this. I really don¡¯t want to...¡±

    That had definitely been Nie Sangyuing out for a guest appearance. It was only for a brief moment, but Ji Man noticed her frailty.

    It seemed that old madame truly cared about Nie Sangyu. Otherwise, Nie Sangyu wouldn¡¯t have risked her life and wasted her spiritual energy to say so many words.

    Her tears wouldn¡¯t stop falling down. Ji Man also started to truly feel badly along with Nie Sangyu.

    Old madame felt distressed for her. She hurriedly stood up and personally led her to sit down on the cushioned chaise lounge with her. ¡°Silly girl, of course I know that you¡¯re not willing. This old woman has seen how you treated Xuan-<i>er</i> during the past several years. You love him too much. Doing too much is just as bad as doing too little. Perhaps, he¡¯ll understand your feelings one day.¡±

    Ji Man shook her head. Wait until he understood? He would have already killed the secondary female character if she only waited.

    ¡°From what I saw of that Wen Wan, she¡¯s not someone that has the ability to appear in public. In the short term, Xuan-<i>er</i> can repeatedly tell me that he truly loves her. But, in the long term, she won¡¯t be able to withstand the pressure of being the marquis¡¯s wife. In the end, that position will be returned to you.¡±

    Old madam¡¯s ck eyes slightly sunk, ¡°As for you, don¡¯t act so impulsively and stir up trouble again. I heard the you barged into the pce with loose hair and that was why you were rebuked by the emperor.¡±

    Ji Man nodded her head in shame.

    T/N: I love how the author writes old madame not just as disapproving mother-inw to Wen Wan and a tough love one to Nie Sangyu, but also as a woman that was deeply in love with a man in a polygamous society. We know that old madame loved Ning Yuxuan¡¯s father, but I wonder if he loved her back. Does she see herself in Nie Sangyu? Right now, she¡¯s this imposing 40 years old woman, but she was once Nie Sangyu¡¯s age.

    Also, old madame¡¯s POV is one of the earlier hints to show the readers that Ji Man¡¯s perspective isn¡¯tpletely right. Up to this point, we assumed that her demotion to concubine was strictly because Ning Yuxuan doesn¡¯t like her. Now, we also know there was a political reason behind it. As the story continues, we¡¯ll see more hints. Her perspective is very much limited to the marquis¡¯s inner court.

 Chapter 38 - Itâ€™s time to have a son (1)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 038 out of 513 ¨C It¡¯s time to have a son (1)

    Although Wen Wan had tried her best by personally cooking all of old madame¡¯s favorite dishes, because of this unpleasant episode, old madame didn¡¯t smile even once during this meal.

    Wen Wan felt bad. On the way back to Qiangwei Courtyard, she turned around and cried into Ning Yuxuan¡¯s chest. ¡°Yuxuan...¡±

    Feeling distressed for her, Marquis Moyu hugged her andforted her by saying, ¡°En. It¡¯s okay. You have me. That¡¯s just mother¡¯s temperament. If you can¡¯t please her, then just go to the main courtyard less.¡±

    Wen Wan pouted and said with a grievance voice, ¡°But she¡¯s your mother. I want her to like me.¡±

    ¡°Go slowly with this.¡± Marquis Moyu patted her back. ¡°As time passes, old madame will naturally see your good points.¡±

    Wen Wan nodded. She leaned against Ning Yuxuan¡¯s chest with her eyes slightly downcast.

    ¡ª

    After old madame came back, the treatment towards Nie Sangyu clearly improved in all aspects. Not only did she move to arger courtyard, the kitchen servants also delivered better quality food.

    Aunty Zhao also personally cooked pigeon soup and brought the soup along with the remaining thirty silver teals to Feiwan Courtyard today.

    ¡°This servant is here to return the leftover money. This is amount remaining after this servant had purchased the items that Master Sang had wanted.¡± Her tone was ttering and without any of her original audacity of a servant bullying her master.

    Ji Man pursed her lips into a smile, ¡°Aunty Zhao, does this mean you¡¯re not willing to work for Sangyu anymore?¡±

    Aunty Zhao hurriedly shook her head. ¡°How could that be? Master Sang, if there¡¯s anything that you want, you only need to give yourmand.¡± She had seen that Master Sang could now freely leave the residence and she also had old madame¡¯s protection. Thus, she naturally wouldn¡¯t need her to buy things on her behalf. She hade here to curry favor with her by returning the money.

    Ji Man stood up, personally helped her stand up, and said with a smile, ¡°Since you¡¯re still willing to work for me, then why are you returning the money to me? Even if you no longer need to use the money on my behalf, you can keep it and use it to send your son for private schooling.¡±

    Aunty Zhao hadn¡¯t expected that after Master Sang would still be so gentle after she had regained power. Her heart was slightly moved and she wrapped up the silver taels, ¡°Master Sang, thank you for this reward.¡±

    Ji Man continued to smile. After she said a few sentences of praise, she changed the topic and said, ¡°I heard that recently a rouge shop in the capital has been doing good business by selling cold cream. Old Madame also likes to use this item. Aunty Zhao, if you really want to help me, invite the shopkeeper to the residence for me, so that I easily order more cold cream from her.¡±

    Either Steward Qian would be in charge of this type of purchase or the marquis¡¯s wife would be the one making this decision. Either way, it would never be Nie Sangyu¡¯s turn to make the order. However, cold cream was a special item that could obtain the favor of masters and servants. Beside, the other masters in the household didn¡¯t seem particrly aware of this yet. As soon as Aunty Zhao thought of this, she understood. Master Sang probably wanted to use this item topete for favor.

    She would definitely help with this task. For an inexplicable reason, she suddenly thought that if she followed Master Sang, it might be possible for her to have boundless future prospects.

    ¡°This servant will secretly bring that shopkeeper into the residence.¡±

    ¡ª

    Ji Man cheerfully waited. After Ji Man attended to old madame during lunchtime, Shouwu would apply a facial for old madame during the break after lunch. Since she had free time, she should ask about the rouge store¡¯s current situation.

    Aunt Zhao was still quite reliable with handling work. Halfway through the afternoon, Ji Man saw a very surprise-looking Miss Shui entering Feiwan Couryard. She was dressed up from top to bottom.

    ¡°Madam, this...¡± Miss Shui hadn¡¯t known about her identity. Seeing that she was someone from Marquis Moyu¡¯s household, her face immediately paled. Then, she looked at the courtyard Nie Sangyu was living in and her lips started to slightly tremble.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared.¡± Ji Man said with a smile, ¡°The better my position is, the better position our rouge store will be in. Why are you scared instead of being happy?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Miss Shui hadn¡¯t expected that Ji Man would have such a noble identity. After a while, she finally recovered from her shock and started to feel happy. This madam was the rouge store¡¯s behind-the-scenes shopkeeper. In other words, she was the store¡¯s supporter. The more stable the supporter was, the better off the rouge store would be.

    She had brought the ount book and also the list of orders. Her smile was so big that her eyes were closed. ¡°Madam, look at this first. Our store has only been open for three days, but our business is absolutely flourishing. My previous customers had alle to the new store. Yongning Street is a bustling street, so there were also numerous new customers. I met many madams from noble families during the past two days.¡±

    Ji Man pretended to look through the ount book. She didn¡¯t want to bother with looking through these financial records. After flipping through the pages, she turned her attention to the list of orders and brought it closer to look.

    She had stipted that there would be a limited supply of cold cream. One after another, many madams and misses had wanted to ce an order after trying the cold cream. Miss Shui was a person that knew how to do business well. Seeing that there was only a limited supply, she only epted two orders per day and kept the remaining order in reserve. If she met a woman from an ordinary family, she would say it was sold out. When she met a customer from a rich family, she would take out the order form.

    The store¡¯s publicity was also doing well in the capital. Although they weren¡¯t able to buy the cold cream yet, they were able to sample it. Praise for the cold cream spread further and further. She believed that it would take less than a month for cold cream to be a huge sess.

    Ji Man was very satisfied. First, she had Muxu give the big and small boxes of cold cream they had previously made to Miss Shui. Miss Shui had brought arge bag with her that was filled with the raw material that Ji Man had requested in order to continue the production. And so, when she left with the samerge bag, no one said anything.

    ¡ª

    The women in the marquis¡¯s residence either spent their days embroidering orpeting for his favor. It was mind-numbingly boring. And so, Ji Man used her free time to make cold cream to earn money and didn¡¯t think about assigning this work to other people. Muxu worked with her as they experimented with new flowers to make different types of cold cream. Whenever there was a failed product, they would secretly bury it in the garden. Anyways, this courtyard was big enough.

    Thinking about the bank notes that would soon arrive, Ji Man smiled even when she was dreaming. When she went to old madame¡¯s side to serve her each day, she was always brightly smiling, so her skin appeared even better.

 Chapter 41 - A small-minded and shortsighted female lead (2)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 041 out of 513 ¨C A small-minded and shortsighted female lead (2)

    @@novelbin@@

    Wen Wan was a small-minded and shortsighted female lead. In the original novel, after she had vented her feelings like this a few times, the marquis had dismissed all of the concubines in the household and they reached their perfect ending. They were like an inseparable pair of birds that flew together and stayed together.

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t help thinking that the original novel was written by a brain-dead person. True love was one thing. Living one¡¯s life was another matter. How deep would a love have to be tost for an entire lifetime? At the most, the sweetness of love wouldst for a few years. The remaining years would depend on the couple¡¯s ability to get along with each other. Wen Wan was the type of a woman that could onlyst during the honeymoon period. She absolutely wasn¡¯t someone that you could spend the rest of your life with.

    Marquis Moyu decided to take a walk around the residence. As he walked, he tried to think of ways that would make Wen Wan¡¯s life better. Just after he left Qiangwei Courtyard and passed through a shady spot under the trees, he saw Nie Sangyu sitting in a pavilion. There were two cups of tea on the pavilion¡¯s table.

    ¡°My lord.¡± Ji Man looked at him with a smile. ¡°If there¡¯s something that¡¯s troubling you, how about saying it out loud? Perhaps, this servant will have a way to help you.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan slightly raised an eyebrow and aimlessly walked over. ¡°How did you know that I was going to leave Qiangwei Courtyard?¡±

    Ji Man lowered her eyes. ¡°This servant just came here to drink tea.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re using two cups to drink tea by yourself?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ji Man cleared her throat. ¡°My lord, you¡¯re a clever person and this servant isn¡¯t too stupid. Madam found out that Master Qing is pregnant today, so it¡¯s only inevitable that she would be feeling ufortable and the marquis wouldn¡¯t linger in Qiangwei Courtyard. And so, this servant came here to try my luck.¡±

    Marquis Moyu profoundly looked at her for a moment, then he sat down to left of her. ¡°What¡¯s your idea?¡±

    Wen Wan was angry with him. But as the main wife, she should be happy for him when she found out that he would have soon have a descendent. And so, Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t know how to persuade her. But at the same time, he truly loved her, so he wasn¡¯t willing to me her.

    Ji Man lightly smiled, ¡°Madam has always been wanting to have a baby. But in the end, someone else had a child before her. No matter what, it was only expected that she would be angry. My lord, why don¡¯t you clear things up by directly saying that after Master Qing gives birth, the child will be given to Madam to raise, regardless if it¡¯s a boy or girl. This way Madam will feel better.¡±

    It was amon urrence for the main wife to raise the oldest child, even if the child wasn¡¯t her own. Marquis Moyu sighed and said, ¡°I had also thought about this method. But, with Wen Wan¡¯s temperament, I can¡¯t say for sure that she¡¯ll feel happier if I tell her this.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a woman. As long you spend more time coaxing her, it¡¯ll be fine.¡± Ji Man said, ¡°Madam is definitely afraid that if someone else bes pregnant, the other woman will steal away your heart. My lord, if you spend time with her every day and don¡¯t look at Master Qing, Madam will naturally understand your feelings.¡±

    Marquis Moyu raised his head and chuckled, ¡°Are you still bearing a grudge against Qing-<i>er</i> for pushing you into the pond?¡±

    She obviously wanted him to give Mu Shuiqing the cold shoulder. Mu Shuiqing was also a person that he had to worry about. If she were given the cold shoulder after bing pregnant, she would definitely cause trouble.

    Ji Man looked at Marquis Moyu with a slightly mncholy expression and said, ¡°My lord, why do you always think Sangyu is so petty? Master Qing had already been punished forst time. Why would Sangyu still want to harm her? But, my lord, you know Master Qing¡¯s temperament. If you allow her to do as she pleased, Madam will definitely end up unhappy. With Master Qing¡¯s personality, it¡¯s easy for her to offend people. It¡¯ll be difficult for her to keep this baby.¡±

    Ning Yuxaun raised his eyebrows, ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯re doing this for her own good?¡±

    Even if you beat him to death, he wouldn¡¯t believe that Nie Sangyu would have this type of inclination.

    Ji Man shook her head and very seriously said, ¡°This servant is only telling the marquis something that might make Madam feel happier in order to curry favor by being well-behaved in front of the marquis. As for whether the marquis will listen or not, the power is in your hands.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan quietly harrumphed. He looked at the person in front of him. Her eyes were as bright as the red glow of sunrise. He pursed his lips and said, ¡°If you just honestly don¡¯t do anything, that would be the most obedient.¡±

    Ji Man lowered her head tough and said, ¡°My lord, don¡¯t worry. This servant won¡¯tpete or desire anything.¡±

    Only a fool would actually believe a woman¡¯s words, including hers. How could she possible not want anything? There were many things that she wanted. But, these things couldn¡¯t be rushed. She had to take these things step by step.

    Ning Yuxuan picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip. It tasted fresh and sweet with a fragrant scent. It was actually osmanthus tea.

    He furrowed his eyebrows. He put down the tea and said, ¡°I don¡¯t like to drink sweet teas like this one.¡±

    Ji Man raised an eyebrow, casually took the cup he had drunk tea from, took a sip, and licked her lips. ¡°You don¡¯t even like to drink tea that¡¯s made from dew. Then, next time, if there¡¯s anything sweet, this servant will help you eat it and drink it.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan slightly widened his eyes. He hadn¡¯t expected that she would do something like this. After being stunned for a while, he finally slightly pursed his lips and said, ¡°Pay attention to decorum.¡±

    Ji Man realized what she had done and somewhat awkwardly put down the cup. ¡°This servant has overstepped. This servant will be leaving to go to the pce with Old Madamter and won¡¯t bother the marquis any further.¡±

    Going to the pce? Ning Yuxuan knew that Noble Consort Nie¡¯s confinement period had ended and his mother was going to the pce to visit her. But, hadn¡¯t they already spoken about this before? Only the main wife and secondary wife had the status to enter the pce. As a concubine, how could she enter the pce?

    ¡°My lord, you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± Ji Man saw the confusion in his eyes and lowered her gaze as she ridiculed herself, ¡°Other than the concubine status you gave me, I still have my identity as Noble Consort Nie¡¯s niece. As long as I keep a low-profile, it shouldn¡¯t be difficult for me to enter the pce with Old Madame.¡±

    Marquis Moyu paused, raised his eyes to look at the well-behaved person in front of him, and surprisingly felt somewhat guilty.

 Chapter 42 - The devastatingly beautiful Noble Consort Nie (1)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 042 out of 513 ¨C The devastatingly beautiful Noble Consort Nie (1)

    In the past, he had maltreated Nie Sangyu because she failed to see therger issues and provoked his annoyance and disgust. But, the person in front of him right now had already changed from a shrew to proper, magnanimous, and unselfish woman. Thinking of their marriage that had urred before their adulthood ceremonies, Ning Yuxuan felt a slight sense of humanness and ended up not willing to make her suffer.

    @@novelbin@@

    Besides, if Nie Sangyu entered the pce using her identify as a member of Noble Consort Nie¡¯s maiden family, what would happen to reputation of his marquis¡¯s household?

    After being silent for a while, Ning Yuxuan stood up and said, ¡°Come with me first.¡±

    Ji Man raised her head to look at him in confusion. The carriage would be leaving soon. Why would she go somewhere with him?

    Ning Yuxuan lifted his feet and started walking forward. Ji Man could only follow after him. As they were walking, Ji Man carefully scrutinized the side of his face. Although his face was mostly expressionless, he didn¡¯t seem angry, so she put down her worries.

    Marquis Moyu led her to western courtyard, told her to wait outside, and entered his room. A short whileter, he came out with a circr jade essory.

    The jade essory was truly circr and felt very nice to touch. There wasn¡¯t a decorative pattern on the jade, but it had a neatly carved character, ¡°Ning¡±.

    To be honest, this jade essory looked really ugly. It was a wasted use of a valuable piece of white jade. However, when Ning Yuxuan put the jade into her hand, he still hesitated slightly.

    ¡°In the end, you¡¯re still a person from my household.¡± Marquis Moyu finally loosened his grip and the piece of jade fell into the hollow of Nie Sangyu¡¯s palm.

    Ji Man was at a loss. She naturally didn¡¯t understand the significance of this item. Just as she was about to ask him, Ning Yuxuan extremely impatiently said, ¡°If you¡¯re going to the pce, you should hurry up and go. Why are you dilly-dallying? Mother might already be waiting for you at the entrance.¡±

    One moment he was cold, the next moment he was warm. It really was difficult to understand this person¡¯s thoughts. Ji Man decided that since he was giving this item away for free, she would just ept it. After she hanged the jade essory on her waist, she ran back to Feiwan Courtyard in small steps. She had Muxu straightened her up before they would walk to the main entrance.

    ¡°Master,¡± Muxu saw the jade essory that was hanging on Nie Sangyu¡¯s waist and was very surprised. ¡°This... Did the marquis give you this?¡±

    Ji Man nodded. The surface of the jade essory was carved with hisst name.

    Muxu brightened with joy. She stretched her hand out and reced the silver hairpin in Nie Sangyu¡¯s hair with the jewelry they had redeemed back from the pawnshop, until her hair was covered in gold. She also changed Nie Sangyu¡¯s clothing to a long pink dress over white sleeves.

    ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡± Ji Man was confused.

    ¡°Although the marquis gave you this jade essory without announcing it to the household, it¡¯s still worth of a celebration.¡± Muxu happily said, ¡°This is the jade essory with the marquis¡¯sst name that can only be worn by the secondary wife. The marquis must have definitely felt that he couldn¡¯t bear to let you lose face when entering the pce. This servant naturally can¡¯t let you look unpresentable either.¡±

    Secondary wife? Ji Man was speechless from amazement. She had only said a few words and Marquis Moyu had actually been this generous? Hadn¡¯t he originally done everything possible to block old madame from promoting her to secondary wife? Why did he end up giving her this jade essory himself?

    ¡°This servant had just been thinking. What will you do if you meet Madam Nie and Old Master in the pce? But, now it¡¯s fine. Although you hadmitted a huge mistake, you¡¯re still the marquis¡¯s secondary wife and other people won¡¯t dare to be derisive towards you.¡± As Muxu said this, she helped her stand up with a smiling face.

    Ji Man leaned her head to side and thought for a long time. Even as they were walking, she still continued to think. Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t seem like the type of person that would be willing to forgive Nie Sangyu after a short period of time. He had suddenly given her such a great favor. What was his purpose?

    As she was getting into the carriage with old madame, old madame saw the jade essory. Her eyes brightened, but she wasn¡¯t too surprised. ¡°Xuan-<i>er</i> was finally willing to give this to you.¡±

    Ji Man smiled in a well-behaved manner and said, ¡°Sangyu will have thank the marquis for his favor again when we return.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine for you to thank him, but he¡¯s currently having a disagreement with that person in Qiangwei Courtyard. Don¡¯t directly go there and add to the trouble.¡± Old madame advised.

    Ji Man naturally understood the logic behind her words. Since Marquis Moyu hadn¡¯t announced to the household about giving her this jade essory, she would just treat it as him lending her this item temporarily. When they came back from the pce, she would still have to return this jade essory to him.

    After old madame has sat down in the carriage, she quietly discussed, ¡°Right now, your older brother¡¯s political career is going smoothly and your father continues to be highly regarded by the emperor. But, Nie n¡¯s branches had recently been significantly cut down and those people are more aware of their ce and won¡¯t go beyond their bounds. Thus, the emperor is willing to favor Noble Consort Nie again. As for you, be better behaved. Don¡¯t always rush forward andnd yourself on the chopping block.¡±

    ¡°Sangyu understands.¡± Ji Man nodded. Her mind faintly became aware of what had happened. Marquis Moyu had only been willing to treat Nie Sangyu better because of Nie n. In addition, so that he wouldn¡¯t be putting old madame into a difficult position, he had given her a reasonable status to meet Noble Consort Nie.

    And so, this meant that his change didn¡¯t have much to do with her personal performance. She had thought that if this man saw Nie Sangyu acting well-behaved for the past few months, he would be able to see her good points.

    However, Ji Man was still feeling happy that she would be able to see this dynasty¡¯s pce. She would treat this experience as a free vacation.

    Before they entered the pce, they had to go through three inspections. After the formalities werepleted, old madame came down from the carriage and brought Nie Sangyu with her as they followed the pce servants deeper into the pce. This dynasty was called Song Dynasty and its economic environment wasparable to the historical Song Dynasty.

    The current pce wasn¡¯t asvish as the pce in the Qing Dynasty. The red walls and yellow tiles weren¡¯t too excessively majestic to the point of feeling oppressive. It was only that the covered corridors meandered like ribbons with twists and turns. The eaves of the roofs were curved upwards like a beast¡¯s fangs and there was a building or pavilion every five or ten steps. All in all, it was different from amoner¡¯s ce.

    Noble Consort Nie had always been very favored by the emperor and the ce she lived in was more morous than the other halls. Ji Man kept her head lowered while she followed old madame inside. When they entered the hall, she sawyers of gauzy curtains with a vague figure behind them and smelled the strong scent of incense.

 Chapter 43 - The devastatingly beautiful Noble Consort Nie (2)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 043 out of 513 ¨C The devastatingly beautiful Noble Consort Nie (2)

    ¡°Your servant greets the noble consort.¡± Old madame neatly kneeled before the gauzy curtains.

    Ji Man hurriedly kneeled too, but she didn¡¯t know how to address herself, so she simply didn¡¯t say anything.

    Laughter came from behind the curtains. ¡°I had been hoping you would visit soon. It¡¯s lonely in the pce. There isn¡¯t anyone I can talk to here.¡±

    Then, Noble Consort Nie ordered, ¡°Pengshu and the others, withdraw and close the front doors for this consort. Other than the emperor, don¡¯t let anyone else enter. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± The female pce servant acknowledged hermand, hurriedly led the group of pce servants out of the hall, and a deep, groaning sound was heard from the front doors as they were closed.

    ¡°Quickly, rise.¡± The person behind the gauzy curtains got up from her cushioned couch, separated theyer uponyer of curtains, and personally helped old madame stand up.

    ¡°Xiu-<i>er</i>, if you didn¡¯te here to talk with me soon, I would have almost died from being shut up in here.¡± Noble Consort Nie¡¯s voice was choked up with emotion. It didn¡¯t sound anything like her earlier cheerfulughter.

    Standing by the side, Ji Man couldn¡¯t resist secretly ncing at Noble Consort Nie.

    One look was enough to shock her. Logically, Noble Consort Nie was the around the same age as old madame. Although she possessed elegant bearing and charm, she was still a middle age woman.

    However, Noble Consort Nie had a small face with shining, tenderhearted, almond-shaped eyes and seductive figure. She didn¡¯t look like a woman in her thirties or forties.

    People couldn¡¯t be med for saying that the Song Emperor was bewitched by Noble Consort Nie¡¯s beauty. There were very few people that wouldn¡¯t be bewitched by her devastating beauty. However, her skin didn¡¯t look as youthful anymore. There were a few fine lines and it looked slightly dull.

    ¡°I know you suffered grievances.¡± Old madame sighed. She held Noble Consort Nie¡¯s hand and sat down at the table with her. ¡°Sangyu wasn¡¯t sensible and gave the emperor a reason. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to bear with punishing you.¡±

    Following old madame¡¯s words, Ji Man kneeled down again. ¡°Aunt, Sangyu caused trouble for you and came here to humbly apologize.¡±

    Noble Consort Nie turned around to look at her. She shook her head and stretched a hand out to help her stand up. ¡°It can¡¯t bepletely med on you. He wanted to prune Nie n¡¯s leaves. Even if you didn¡¯t barge into the pce, he would have found another reason. It¡¯s only that you really need to change your temperament. You must have also suffered a lot during this period of time, right?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man did her best to grin. She looked at her beautiful aunt, shook her head, and said, ¡°Sangyu hasn¡¯t suffered. I¡¯ve lived in the marquis¡¯s household for several years and finally figured things out. I won¡¯t act as impulsive and unruly as before. I¡¯ll consider myself fortunate if I can properly serve Old Madame and aunt for the rest of my life.¡±

    Noble Consort Nie was slightly shocked. She stretched her hand to stroke Nie Sangyu¡¯s hair. ¡°You seem to have be much more sensible. When I heard that Yuxuan had demoted you to a concubine, I was worried that you would take things too hard.¡±

    Nie Sangyu had truly taken things too hard, but she, Ji Man, wouldn¡¯t take these things to heart. If it weren¡¯t for Nie n, Ning Yuxuan would have definitely directly divorced Nie Sangyu. For her to continue to stay at the marquis¡¯s residence and make aeback, this opportunity was already hard toe by.

    ¡°No matter how depressed I was, I became less depressed when I thought about my family,¡± Ji Man said with a smile. ¡°Compared to the amount of doting that the marquis had given me, Old Madame and aunt had given me much more. So, why should Sangyu waste time obsessing over this matter?¡±

    Noble Consort Nie froze from shock and contemted these words for a long time. Her eyes redden again, ¡°Even a young girl is able to take a lighter view than me. Xiu-<i>er</i>, I had prepared a stomachful of grievances to tell you, but this girl has decreased half of it just by saying a few words.¡±

    Old madame¡¯s eyes held praise as she nced at Nie Sangyu. Then, holding Noble Consort Nie¡¯s hand, she quietly said, ¡°The two of you, aunt and niece, are the same. You¡¯re both the type that falls head over heels. But, Your Highness, your servant had already said a long time ago, there¡¯s no such thing as real feelings in the imperial family. When the emperor is willing to favor you, you should treasure it. Don¡¯t act immaturely by causing trouble for him. On the other side, the empress is ring at you like a tiger watching her prey. The crown prince has also recently been working industriously. If you don¡¯t start to fight for the third prince and help him now, it¡¯ll be toote if you want to speakter.¡±

    On the surface, Noble Consort Nie and the empress had a peaceful rtionship. But, in private, they fierclypeted with each other. The crown prince was not only oldest son, but also the son of the legal wife. The emperor rather liked his intelligence and elegant demeanor. The third prince was Noble Consort Nie¡¯s son, but he liked the mountains and rivers and preferred to stand aloof from worldly affairs. Even though Noble Consort Nie was anxious to death, she didn¡¯t have a way to change him.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t want it. What¡¯s the use in mepeting for him?¡± Noble Consort Nie sighed. ¡°There will be new people in the pce next year. When I look at myself in the mirror and see myself growing older each day, I feel despair from the bottom of my heart.¡±

    Old madame shook her head, ¡°Countless women have been added to the harem during the past years, but doesn¡¯t he still stay at your ce for a few days every month. What¡¯s there for you to worry about?¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Noble Consort Nie touched her face. ¡°Women age faster in the pce. When the timees and I¡¯m physically and mentally exhausted, perhaps my hair will turn white overnight.¡±

    Old madame thought about the gift that Sangyu had brought with her when they left the pce, hurriedly turned her head, and said, ¡°Sangyu has something good she wants to give to Your Highness. Your Highness, how about looking at it?

    Ji Man nodded, went outside, and took back the bundle wrapped in cloth that she had recently handed over to a ce servant.

    ¡°Sangyu had gathered these items from outside the pce. These are all beautifying items to nourish the skin to maintain a youthful appearance. Your Highness, if you find these itemsfortable to use, Sangyu will bring more of these items next time.¡±

    Hearing the words, ¡°beautifying items, youthful appearance¡±, Noble Consort Nie¡¯s eyes brightened. Seeing Sangyu taking out various containers, she couldn¡¯t resist curiously asking, ¡°What are their effects?¡±

    Old madame slightly smiled and said, ¡°Just look at my face. You were so preupied with being broken-hearted that you didn¡¯t notice I¡¯m only wearing light makeup today. Do you see that the spots on my face have diminished a lot?¡±

 Chapter 44 - Putting up advertisement. Settling the household (1)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 044 out of 513 ¨C Putting up advertisement. Settling the household (1)

    It was only now that Noble Consort Nie had the inclination to carefully look at old madame¡¯s face. At first nce, there didn¡¯t seem to be any difference from before. It was only that her skin looked a bit smoother than usual. But, when she looked closer, she saw that the wrinkles around the corners of eyes had diminished significantly and her face looked rosier.

    ¡°This...¡± Noble Consort Nie was slightly excitedly. She turned her head to look at Nie Sangyu, ¡°Is this change due to Sangyu¡¯s efforts?¡±

    Ji Man lightly smiled.

    Old madame nodded and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it so. She¡¯s such a young girl, but instead of dressing herself up, shees to y my ce every day to take care of my face by applying creams. She¡¯s more serious about it than Shouwu and Danggui. There¡¯s truly a noticeable effect.¡±

    Noble Consort Nie became interested. She slightly propped herself up and picked up one of the gold boxes that Nie Sangyu had taken out of her bundle.

    ¡°This is a popr item called cold cream. Sangyu had previously given a box of this cold cream to old madame and also brought a box of it for you today. It¡¯s more effective than any other expensive powder and it won¡¯t harm your face.¡± Ji Man acted like a salesperson.

    @@novelbin@@

    After she finished introducing cold cream, she held up something woven from silkworm fibers. ¡°This is called a facemask. I made a moisturizing type and a whitening and wrinkle removing type. There¡¯s ten of each type. I¡¯ve already tested them on a servant girl¡¯s face. The results were pretty good. Old Madame had also used this before. Next to them, the other containers are filled with herbal gel with natural fragrance.¡±

    ¡°Moisturizing... wrinkle removing?¡± Noble Consort Nie was slightly at a loss.

    Ji Man lightly smiled, looked at her face that was considerably covered by powder that was made by using grounded lead, and said, ¡°Aunt, if you believe in Sangyu, how about trying these products right now? Have people bring in water to wash your face. Sangyu will apply a wrinkle removing face mask and you can see the result for yourself.¡±

    There was naturally a reason why Ji Man had brought so many products with her today. The rouge store had started to introduce facemasks as a set package. But, the cost to make it was significant and it¡¯s price was considerably high. The average person wouldn¡¯t be able to afford buying them and Ji Man needed to promote this product in order to sell it.

    If they could say that these facemasks were being used by a consort in the pce, it would be the best type of publicity.

    Once Noble Consort Nie¡¯s face was cleaned of makeup, the wrinkles on her face became more apparent.

    Ji Man said, ¡°Excuse me,¡± before she stepped closer to carefully look. Then, she took out and unfolded the facemask and carefully put it on to Noble Consort Nie¡¯s face.

    Noble Cosort Nie only felt a sense of coldness as something covered her face. Although she was slightly unused to it at first, a little whileter, it actually felt quitefortable.

    ¡°It needs to be left on for fifteen minutes. You can rest for a bit.¡± Ji Man quietly said.

    Noble Consort Nie slightly nodded and closed her eyes to take a nap. She had been very tired during the past period.

    Old madame sat on the side and watched as Nie Sangyu smoothed out the facemask on Noble Consort Nie¡¯s face before sitting down on the cushioned couch and quietly watching her.

    This child had truly changed significantly. Even from the viewpoint of an old woman, she felt that the side view of Nie Sangyu had be more captivating. But, Xuan-<i>er</i>¡¯s heart had already been firmly locked by that Wen Wan girl. For Sangyu to take back her position as the main wife, it would be extremely difficult.

    After the facemask, Ji Man also applied cold cream onto Noble Consort Nie¡¯s face and used her ability to re-draw Noble Consort¡¯s eyebrow makeup.

    Her face looked even better than before and this way her pores wouldn¡¯t be poisoned by crude, ancient cosmetics, which in turn would also greatly improve her skin. Ji Man smiled as she looked at Noble Consort Nie¡¯s surprised face. She gave her the bag with the remaining facemasks. The bag was marked with a Shuiji rouge store¡¯s seal.

    ¡°Pengshu.¡± Noble Consort Nie couldn¡¯t stop touching her face. After the facemask treatment, her skin had noticeably be whiter. Her skin looked even more like white jade after cold cream had been used. She was overjoyed. The effects were very obvious.

    She directly said, ¡°Bestow Sangyu the pair of golden bracelets that had twining flowers that the emperor had bestowed to this consort and also the ruby hairpin!¡±

    Pengshu acknowledged her order. Seeing her rarely happy master being so happy today, she also felt happy. She brought the items over and handed them to Sangyu.

    Ji Man kneeled down to express her thanks. This transaction had been worth it. She had received such an expensive pair of bracelets and hairpin in exchange for the twenty facemasks, one box of cold cream, and a few bottles of herbal gel. She was so happy that her eyes were closed as the abacus in her heart calcted her profit.

    Seeing how pleased Noble Consort Nie was, old madame returned to saying more mollifying words for a while.

    When they were leaving, Noble Consort Nie profoundly looked at Nie Sangyu and said, ¡°I feel like this child has grown up.¡±

    Ji Man was smiling as shepleted the thanks and good-byes required by etiquette. Afterwards, she followed old madame into the carriage and returned home with her.

    Trantor Ramblings: I wonder if Ji Man worked in the marketing department at a cosmeticpany, or had a simr job as Go Ha-jin from <i>Moon Lover: Scarlet Heart Ryeo</i>.

    Also, one more week until we meet the supporting male character and his sister, Nie Sangyu¡¯s best friend.

 Chapter 45 - Putting up advertisement. Settling the household (2)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 045 out of 513 ¨C Putting up advertisement. Settling the household (2)

    Everyone in the Marquis¡¯s residence knew that Nie Sangyu had caused Noble Consort Nie to lose favor. And so, when she came back from the pce with the items bestowed to her, everyone was surprised.

    Even if Nie Sangyu was her niece, Noble Consort Nie couldn¡¯t possibly be that generous and forgiving, right?

    But, the servant that had apanied them to the pce said that the noble consort had been moved by Master Sang¡¯s presents.

    Qi Siling thought for a while before she said to the servant girl next to her, ¡°Go and investigate. What did she give the noble consort?¡±

    The women in the other courtyards gave their servant girls approximately the same order as Qi Siling. And so, these servant girls went to chat with Muxu.

    Muxu pretended that she didn¡¯t know their intentions and didn¡¯t hide anything from them. She just told them that Master Sang had given skincare products purchased from Yongning Street¡¯s Shuiji Rouge Store.

    All of these servant girls immediately rushed to that rouge store. Ji Man had created these facemasks a month ago when she was bored. This world had a material woven from silkworm fibers. It was very simr to the material used in modern facemasks. Since they had the capital, this product could be mass-produced even though the woven material was expensive. And so, these facemasks were currently in stock in Shuiji Rouge Store.

    ¡ª

    Gossip traveled as fast as an infectious disease. Noble Consort Nie had regained the emperor¡¯s favor. He had slept in her pce for five days in a row. When people asked what the secret to her sess was, everyone replied, Shuiji Rouge Store.

    As a result, Miss Shui became extremely busy. For an inexplicable reason, people from the pce suddenly came to buy the store¡¯s skincare products. It wouldn¡¯t be good if she couldn¡¯t sell them anything. But, she had run out of cold cream for the month and wouldn¡¯t have anymore for another seven days. She could only offer facemasks for sale.

    Fortunately, she had enough of the facemasks and the people from the pce didn¡¯t find the price too expensive. Thus, arge sum of money came into Shuiji Rouge Store.

    Seeing that her business was proceeding smoothly, Ji Man stopped worried and turned her attention to the marquis¡¯s residence.

    ¡ª

    On the same day that Ji Man retuned from the pce, she went to look for Ning Yuxuan to return the jade essory and said, ¡°My lord, thank you for lending this jade. Sangyu is here to report back afterpleting my task. Noble Consort Nie was very satisfied with Sangyu.¡±

    At that moment, Marquis Moyu¡¯s gaze was very harsh and stern as if he was going to see through her. But, it onlysted for a moment before Ning Yuxuan returned to his normal, cold expression. He deeply looked at her as he said, ¡°I¡¯m surprise that you¡¯re willing to return this to me.¡±

    ¡°The marquis didn¡¯t really want to give this item, so it¡¯s pointless for this servant to hold on to it.¡± Ji Man slightly saluted, then she turned around and left.

    Ji Man felt his gaze watching her for a long time as she walked away. She knew the marquis was thinking that she must have lost her mind to prefer being a concubine instead of a secondary wife.

    However, Ji Man knew that the faster you climbed up, the more it would hurt when you fell. Right now, there was Mu Shuiqing to be the target and she had no intention of joining in that mess.

    ¡ª

    Wen Wan had a cold war with the marquis for two days before he gave in and said that Mu Shuiqing¡¯s child would be given to her to raise. Moreover, he showed no intention of promoting Mu Shuiqing¡¯s status.

    Mu Shuiqing felt wronged and ran to old madame¡¯s side to cry. Old madame didn¡¯t show much reaction to her tears. Instead, she lectured her by saying that the child hadn¡¯t been born yet. She shouldn¡¯t be causing so much trouble.

    Mu Shuiqing couldn¡¯t endure this cold reception. Her current treatment was worse than before she had be pregnant. She immediately returned to her room, locked herself up, and went on a hunger strike.

    ¡°Take everything away!¡± With a wave of her sleeves, the tea went sshing in all directions. With red-rimmed eyes, Mu Shuiqing sat in her room and waved her hand in loathing towards the table full of food.

    Banxia didn¡¯t dare to try to persuade her. She could only wipe her tears and tidy up the mess. After she finished, she saw a person at the doorway.

    Ji Man unselfconsciously walked into the room, sat down at the table, and started eating Mu Shuiqing¡¯s food.

    In order to nurture her pregnant body, the kitchen servants had prepared pretty good food for her. There were meat dishes, vegetable dishes, and also chicken soup.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Why did youe here?!¡± Mu Shuiqing sharply shouted.

    Ji Man turned her head to nce at her and quietly said, ¡°The food was going to be wasted since Master Qing wasn¡¯t eating it.¡±

    Mu Shuiqing was so angry that she almost couldn¡¯t breath. ¡°Even if I¡¯m not eating it, you still can¡¯t eat it either. Why did youe to my courtyard?!¡±

    Ji Man picked up a chicken leg and turned around to nce at Muxu. Muxu understood and pulled Banxia out of the room with her and closed the doors.

    ¡°Do you no longer want your baby?¡± Ji Man asked.

    Mu Shuiqing furrowed her brow. At the mention of this topic, her anger leaked out and she said dejectedly, ¡°You¡¯re right. No one cares about my unborn baby. Everyone wants me to die. Even if I want this baby, what¡¯s the use?¡±

    Ji Man harrumphed, ¡°Who told you to be born as a hostess?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± She never liked to hear people mention this and immediately picked up a pillow and threw it at Nie Sangyu.

    Song Dynasty¡¯s pillows were all very sturdy and Ji Man didn¡¯t have eyes behind her back. She ended up getting arge bump because she wasn¡¯t paying attention.

    Mu Shuiqing was startled. She hadn¡¯t expected that she would lose control. Her arrogance immediately dissipated and she somewhat nkly looked at Nie Sangyu.

    ¡°Do you feel better now?¡± Ji Man didn¡¯t get annoyed. She only rubbed the bump on the back of her head. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she checked the bump. ¡°If you act like this, how can you hope that the marquis will defend you? If you act as fierce as a tigress like me, he¡¯s going to hide as soon as he sees you.¡±

    Mu Shuiqing didn¡¯t say anything. She was probably afraid that Nie Sangyu would go and file aint against her, so she became well behaved.

    ¡°If you¡¯re calmed down, then listen to me for a bit.¡± Ji Man cast a sidelong nce at her and said, ¡°Your entire lifetime¡¯s worth of hope lies in your unborn baby. If you act rashly because you¡¯re feeling injustice, the only person that will suffer a loss is you. So what if Madam raises the child, it¡¯ll still be your blood and flesh and will show filial piety towards you in the future. If you have a child, it¡¯ll be better than if you have no one to rely on for the rest of your life, right?¡±

    Why did these words sound as if she was saying them for her benefit? Mu Shuiqing outwardly froze from surprise, but her heart had calmed down. Even thought no one cared about her future child, losing her child would only benefit her enemies. Why had she been so foolish?

    ¡°But, I¡¯m scared that I won¡¯t be able to keep it.¡± Mu Shuiqing lowered her head and ced her hands on her abdomen. ¡°I don¡¯t have anyone to rely on. It¡¯s only Honored Concubine Ling that will asionally help me. But, right now Madam hates me to death, so she definitely won¡¯t help me again.¡±

    At a time when Wen Wan was desperately hoping to be pregnant, she had gotten pregnant first. If Wen Wan didn¡¯t dislike her, who else would she dislike? Ji Man sighed and said, ¡° You don¡¯t know. The female lead... Madam is a tolerant and kind-hearted person. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to be the marquis¡¯s wife. Although she¡¯s angry, she won¡¯t harm you. You only need to guard against other people.

    Mu Shuiqing looked at her nkly for a while as she thought Nie Sangyu¡¯s words over. Nie Sangyu¡¯s words were right. Madam had a soft temperament. How could she harm someone? She might as well be worrying about Honored Concubine Xue.

    But... She guardedly raised her eyes to look at the person in front of her. Mu Shuiqing asked, ¡°What¡¯s your motive in telling me this?¡±

    Trantor Ramblings: I have no idea if Ji Man is plotting. Does it benefit her in any way to say these words to Mu Shuiqing? Whether or not the child is born, it wouldn¡¯t change the marquis¡¯s household. Or, is she simply saying these words out of the kindness of her heart without any hidden motive? But, anyways, I really like that they can have this conversation and Mu Shuiqing doesn¡¯t stay as a character that only exists to hate Nie Sangyu.

 Chapter 46 - Just treat him as if he was her son (1)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 046 out of 513 ¨C Just treat him as if he was her son (1)

    Actually, wasn¡¯t the person in front of her, the most person that she should be most guarded against? Who did she have the worst rtionship with in this household? Nie Sangyu. She would have never expected that Nie Sangyu would also be the person that woulde here to persuade her.

    Mu Shuiqing thought over Nie Sangyu¡¯s words three times over and couldn¡¯t see if she was hiding anything. Nie Sangyu¡¯s words had been analyzing the situation from Mu Shuiqing¡¯s point of view and had all been for her benefit.

    It couldn¡¯t be that Nie Sangyu had really turned over a new leaf and was giving consideration to other people¡¯s needs in all respects, right? No, this couldn¡¯t be true. But, she didn¡¯t have a choice right now. She had to believe this was the truth.

    Mu Shuiqing¡¯s face became considerably less tense as she gloomily sat at the edge of her bed. She agreed with Nie Sangyu¡¯s words, but she felt awkward and didn¡¯t want to leave her bed to eat.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man paid attention to the changes in her expression. In the modern world, she worked as a salesperson. Her ability to guess what people were feeling had already reached perfection. And so, she immediately added a little bit of each dish into a bowl, brought the bowl over to Mu Shuiqing, and stiffened her face as she said, ¡°Here. If you don¡¯t start eating, I¡¯m going to eat it all.¡±

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    Mu Shuiqing raised her head and saw Nie Sangyu pretending to look severe, but there was concern in her eyes. Her heart inexplicably felt warm and she reached out to take the bowl without thinking. When she returned to her senses, Mu Shuiqing somewhat angrily looked at her own hand.

    ¡°Eat. Once you¡¯re finished eating, tidy up and go to Old Madame and attend to her.¡± Ji Man said.

    Mu Shuiqing raised her eyes. Not understanding why Nie Sangyu had said those words, she said, ¡°Why should I go serve Old Madame? I¡¯m pregnant!¡±

    She had only been pregnant for a month or two. There wasn¡¯t even a noticeable bump and she was calling herself pregnant? Ji Man couldn¡¯t resist rolling her eyes. If women couldn¡¯t work anymore in their first trimester, then how did pregnant modern women go to work with their big bellies when they were seven to eight months pregnant?

    ¡°Old Madame is the one that has the ultimately say in this household. If you want to live well and avoid being stabbed in the back by a hidden enemy, then Old Madame¡¯s ce is the best harbor. Do you understand?¡± Ji Man patiently exined her reasoning. If Mu Shuiqing¡¯s intelligence was too low toprehend reality, then she didn¡¯t have any other methods. She left after saying thesest words.

    Mu Shuiqing¡¯s eyes turned. She lowered her head and picked up her chopsticks to quietly eat. She understood the meaning of Nie Sangyu¡¯s words. But, she still felt that this situation was strange. Why Nie Sangyu being nice to her? She was the crown prince¡¯s person and Nie Sangyu was Noble Consort Nie¡¯s niece. No matter how she looked at it, neither of them could draw the other person to her respective side, right?

    Even though she felt that Nie Sangyu¡¯s behavior was strange, Mu Shuiqing still went to serve old madame during the break after lunchtime after she finished eating.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you causing trouble by going on a hunger strike?¡± Old Madame coldly looked at Mu Shuiqing. ¡°You still have energy toe here to serve me?¡±

    Standing on the side, Ji Man secretly made a gesture to kneel with her index finger.

    Mu Shuiqing paused for a moment, then she kneeled and quietly said, ¡°Old Madame, please don¡¯t be angry. This servant didn¡¯t try to cause trouble by going on a hunger strike. This servant had eaten arge bowl of food during lunch and is feeling fine.¡±

    Old madame carefully looked her over before rxing her expression. ¡°It¡¯s naturally good that you¡¯re willing to be more well-behaved.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Mu Shuiqing agreed. She stood up and took over Nie Sangyu¡¯s previous position to massage old madame¡¯s back by lightly pounding on it with her fists.

    Standing nearby, Ji Man was smiling as she brought over the items that she would be applying to old madame¡¯s face today.

    Old madame felt that it was extremely strange that these two people, who usually argued the most with each other, were now on good terms with one another in front of her. But, she didn¡¯t ask any questions and only quietly observed these two people.

    ¡ª

    As they were leaving the main courtyard, Mu Shuiqing harrumphed, ¡°Don¡¯t expect me to be grateful towards you.¡±

    Ji Man indifferently smiled, ¡°If you¡¯re too grateful towards me, my life will definitely be shortened*. You should go back and focus on taking care of your health and unborn baby.¡±

    * T/N: Ji Man uses the word <i>zheshou</i>, which is a superstitious idea that being too favored will lead to a shorter life.

    Mu Shuiqing flung her handkerchief as she left. Even though she remembered Nie Sangyu¡¯s previous unpleasantness, she still put those thoughts down anyways. Moreover, even though she knew that Nie Sangyu probably wasn¡¯t actually this kind-hearted, she still felt grateful towards her.

    When everyone else in this household didn¡¯t care about her unborn baby, Nie Sangyu was the only person that pointed out a clear path for her and didn¡¯t try to harm her.

    She slightly looked down. For a moment, Mu Shuiqing even felt that the current Nie Sangyu was quite likable.

    ¡ª

    Mu Shuiqing stopped causing trouble and peacefully focused on the health of her unborn child. She even regrly went to serve old madame. Mu Shuiqing was very good at speaking. It only took her a few days to coax old madame into a happy mood. As a result, the marquis finally came to her courtyard to see her.

    ¡°Just focus on taking care of your health and the unborn baby.¡± Although Marquis Moyu only said this one sentence, Mu Shuiqing was already very happy. This was better than when he didn¡¯t say or ask anything.

    ¡ª

    Wen Wan was the only person that continued to be unhappy. Mu Shuiqing¡¯s pregnancy was like a thorn in her heart. Every time she thought about it, there was a difficult to endure pain in her heart. And so, she usually avoided any ce where Mu Shuiqing would be and her mood continued to be bad. There hadn¡¯t been any smiles on her face in a while.

    At first, the marquis stayed in Qiangwei Courtyard every day to keep herpany. However, it seemed that he had be busier with his work in the pce and he would return home veryte. asionally, he would sleep in Qi Siling or Qian Lianxue¡¯s ce instead.

    When Ji Man heard of this information, she thought that this man truly didn¡¯t take her words seriously. At this juncture, when madam was still feeling upset, he was going over and sleeping at another woman¡¯s ce. It would be strange if Wen Wan didn¡¯t be angrier.

 Chapter 50 - Can the world have two people that look exactly the same? (1)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 050 out of 513 ¨C Can the world have two people that look exactly the same? (1)

    Ji Man wanted to cry, but she didn¡¯t have tears. Being watched over by Ning Yuxuan, she didn¡¯t dare to go to sleep. She could only drink tea and long-windedly tell stories. By the time it was dawn, her voice had already be hoarse.

    Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t sleep the entire night. He watched this woman the entire night to see how long she could talk. But, she actually didn¡¯t stop until dawn arrived. His face continued to show a slight smile, but he had almost fallen asleep several times.

    ¡°My lord, did you enjoy listening?¡± Ji Man hoarsely asked.

    Marquis Moyu curved his lips. ¡°It was good. Good to the point that I don¡¯t even want to sleep. But, there are still things I have to do at the Ministry of Justice today. When Ie back tonight, you can continue telling me these stories.¡±

    Continue telling? Ji Man tried her best to smile, but her face had turned a different color. Damn, did he think she was an audio book for <i>One thousand one nights</i>?

    With her face as stiff as a corpse, she helped him change his clothes and walked him to the entrance. But, Ji Man still properly saluted at the entrance, ¡°My lord, take care.¡±

    The person in front of her turned around after only walking a few steps. In the red glow of sunrise, his face was as gentle and warm as jade, ¡°You didn¡¯t use to dislike me like this. It seems like I did something wrong somewhere. I¡¯ll treat you well in the future, Sangyu.¡±

    Ji Man raised her head to look at him and froze in surprise. His outline was still illuminated by the rising sun. She didn¡¯t know why, perhaps it was radiant sunshine, or perhaps it was some other reason. This person looked like a solemn and serious Buddha that was finally showing a smile of pity.

    After a long time pause, Ji Man lowered her head again and Ning Yuxuan resumed walking away.

    He had actually noticed her dislike. Moreover, he hadn¡¯t gotten mad and had actually said he would treat her well. Was this a naturally deep-rooted problem in men ¨C despicably cheap?

    When Nie Sangyu had liked him that much, she didn¡¯t move him and he even gave her the cold shoulder for six years. Now that she, an innocent person, had reced Nie Sangyu, was he feeling a sense of novelty?

    ¡ª

    Ning Yuxuan was sitting in the Ministry of Department¡¯s office. His head was supporting his chin as he quietly fell asleep.

    The crown prince had been discussing with the crowd of advisors and important ministers for a long time. When he turned his head, he saw Marquis Moyu peacefully sleeping. His long eyshes were quietly lowered and his thin lips were lightly pressed together. Compared to when he was awake, he looked a few degrees gentler.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ning Yuxuan rarely fell asleep when he was outside. Finding the sightughable, the crown prince, Zhao Zhe waved his hand to dismiss everyone. He sat down next to Ning Yuxuan and called out, ¡°Yuxuan?¡±

    Marquis Moyu woke up. His eyes showed that he was utterly exhausted, ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Did you not sleep wellst night?¡± Zhao Zhe said with a smile, ¡°I heard that there¡¯s been hostility between you and your wife. The princess consort has a slight friendship with Wen-<i>shi</i>. Do you want her to go over and help you?¡±

    To say that they were friends wasn¡¯t very urate. The princess consort had only helped Wen Wan with arranging her dowry because of the crown prince. To say that the two of them were close, Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t dare to have suchplimentary thoughts. However, for the crown prince to even know that he and Wen Wan were having a disagreementtely... Ning Yuxuan nted his head and said to the crown prince, ¡°No need to bother the princess consort. I stayed at another ce and listened to stories the entire night yesterday, so I wasn¡¯t able to sleep well.¡±

    ¡°Listening to stories?¡± The crown prince was baffled. ¡°How could you listen to stories to the point that you didn¡¯t sleep? Look at your bloodshot eyes. What stories could be that interesting?¡±

    Thinking of Nie Sangyu, who had kept her eyes opened with all of her energy and pretended that she wasn¡¯t sleepy as she told him stories, Ning Yuxuan curved his lips into a smile. ¡°The stories were interesting. The person telling the stories was also very interesting. Your Highness, do you believe that there could be two people that look exactly the same in this world, but havepletely different personalities?¡±

    Zhao Zhe¡¯s face showed that he was aplete loss. ¡°How could there be such a thing? No matter how simr they are, there must be a difference between them.

    Ning Yuxuan was silent for a while, then heughed. ¡°Yes, no matter what, there should be a difference.¡±

    Zhao Zhepletely didn¡¯t understand his words and his mind felt somewhat uncertain. Although Marquis Moyu was a leisurely marquis that had been personally bestowed his title by the emperor, he didn¡¯t have Marquis Pingnan¡¯s* military power. The emperor had feared the consequence of allowing Ning n to be unrestrained. However, the officials in the six ministries still consisted of either members of Ning n or people that had rtionships with the Ning n.

    * T/N: Just in case it was too long ago, Marquis Pingnan was Marquis Moyu¡¯s father¡¯s title.

    When Ning Yuxuan was eighteen years old, he started to gain control of the six ministries and had ess to the information above his rank. Surprisingly, the emperor had actually allowed Marquis Moyu to have this power. Fortunately, Ning Yuxuan wasn¡¯t a person with wild ambitions. As long as he properly enticed him over to his side, he would be free of worries. However, the person that he was most afraid of was Marquis Moyu¡¯s household¡¯s Nie Sangyu.

    More than anyone else, he didn¡¯t want Nie Sangyu to be favored.

    ¡°The matter with the Ministry of Justice isplete. How about we go walk around in your residence?¡± Zhao Zhe said, ¡°I haven¡¯t gone there in a long time. I don¡¯t even know if the plum blossoms in your home have bloomed yet.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan rubbed his eyes, stood up, yawned, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. But winter just started, so the plum blossoms naturally haven¡¯t blossomed yet. It¡¯ll still be good to walk around. Chu Feng was truly bing too boring.¡±

    The crown princeughed loudly. ¡°Of course, you would feel bored. If you were to randomly take out one of the beauties in your residence, she would be more beautiful than any of the women in Chu Feng. Let¡¯s go. The emperor won¡¯t be asking me about my assignments today, so I¡¯ll take a break.¡±

    At the mention of beauties, Nie Sangyu¡¯s face emerged in Ning Yuxuan¡¯s mind for an inexplicable reason. She clearly hadn¡¯t been wearing any rouge and looked very nd, but after looking at her the entire night, he actually felt she looked somewhat beautiful.

    He must have be muddle-headed from being too sleepy.

    Trantor Ramblings: Just wanted to point out that dialogue between the crown prince and Ning Yuxuan is very informal. Compare it to when Ning Yuxuan was talking with Nie Sangyu¡¯s older brother in chapter 30, they were always addressing each other by their title.

    Also, I wonder how urate the crown prince¡¯s assessment of Ning Yuxuan¡¯s power is. No one in this story is 100% right about the other characters.

 Chapter 51 - Can the world have two people that look exactly the same? (2)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 051 out of 513 ¨C Can the world have two people that look exactly the same? (2)

    After Ji Man took a bath, she went to sleep. However, she hadn¡¯t been sleeping for long before Wen Wan¡¯s personal servant girl, Tanxiang, actually came here to pass on a message, ¡°Mistress Sang, Madam said that you¡¯re the most familiar with Miss Errong¡¯s likes and dislikes. Pleasee with me to the southern courtyard.¡±

    Wen Wan was currently expending a great deal of effort and trouble toplete the task that old madam had given her. Ji Man agitatedly rolled over in bed. People that didn¡¯t get enough sleep were very irritable. She really didn¡¯t want to go!

    But, she didn¡¯t have a choice. The other person was the main wife. As a concubine, she could only ept Wen Wan¡¯s order with a happy face. After changing her clothes, she headed towards the southern courtyard.

    Ning Errong¡¯s likes and dislikes? Ji Man didn¡¯t even have to think about it. Standing in the southern courtyard, she said, ¡°Change it to <i>Louhan</i> silk, spread out a Persian carpet, and just decorate this ce with luxurious items.¡±

    (T/N: Louhan is ancient kingdom based around an important oasis city along the Silk Road.)

    Put into a difficult position by Nie Sangyu¡¯s words, Sterward Qian looked at the budget and hesitated again and again before he finally said, ¡°I¡¯ll go look for Madam and report this to her first.¡±

    Ji Man originally stood at the side of the southern courtyard to wait, but she really couldn¡¯t keep her eyelids open. So, she called out to Muxu, ¡°Let¡¯s go sit at the swing below that grape trellis over there.¡±

    Looking that the dark circles under her master¡¯s eyes, Muxu knew that her master hadn¡¯t slept wellst night. But, she kept quiet and only ambiguously smiled her as she helped walk over there.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let the swing move. Just let me sit here and take a nap. If there¡¯s nothing important, don¡¯t wake me up. Try to deal with the problem by yourself first.¡± After Ji Man said this, she sat down on the swing, held onto the swing¡¯s ropes, closed her eyes, and leaned against one side as she fell asleep.

    Muxu sighed. Her master¡¯s life wasn¡¯t easy either, so she tried to allow her to sleep some more. When Aunty Zhao came by with some snacks and yelled out, ¡°Master Sang¡±, while she was still far away, Muxu hurriedly ran over to her in small steps and pulled her farther away to speak.

    Aunty Zhao saw that the other servants had been busy inside and outside of the residence and smiled as she asked, ¡°Is Marquis Jingwening?¡±

    ¡ª

    ¡°He¡¯sing here in two days.¡± Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°Mingjie has been doing his work well. The emperor probably has the intention of returning him to the capital and promoting him to an official¡¯s position. Mingjie unfortunately isn¡¯t interested in officialdom. Otherwise, he would be a very good chess piece.¡±

    The crown prince looked around before nodding and saying, ¡°If he has the desire, I can help him. After all, he¡¯s your cousin.¡±

    Marquis Moyu nodded. Ning Mingjie would have a bright future even without his help. However, his other cousin, Ning Errong, had the sameck of moral integrity as Nie Sangyu and was very difficult to deal with. He still had to give his attention to figuring out her future. Just thinking about it made him feel tired.

    Nearby him, the crown prince suddenly stopped walking.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ning Yuxuan turned around to look at him. Seeing the surprise and strange glimmer in the crown prince¡¯s eyes, he curiously followed the direction of his gaze.

    @@novelbin@@

    There was a beauty sleeping in the swing underneath the grape trellis. The bottom of her light purple dress was slightly swaying along with the swing. She wasn¡¯t wearing any makeup, but her lips were so beautiful that it made a person want to impulsively go over there to kiss her. Her hands were loosely wrapped around the ropes as she innocently slept.

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression sunk. Was Nie Sangyu an idiot? Why was she sleeping outside?

    The crown prince had already started walking over as he asked, ¡°Who is she?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow, walked a few steps forward, and pretended that he was only identally blocking the crown¡¯s prince¡¯s view, ¡°She¡¯s Nie Sangyu.¡±

    Surprised, the mistiness in the crown prince¡¯s eyes scattered. He looked at the person on the swing, then he looked at Ning Yuxuan, ¡°Nie Sangyu?¡±

    Marquis Moyu seriously nodded.

    To avoid arousing any suspicion, Zhao Zhe had only met Nie Sangyu a few times during pce banquets. But, during those times, she had been dressed to the nines and wearing heavy makeup. No matter how beautiful her face was, it would have been tarnished by the conspicuous makeup. And so, he hadn¡¯t paid any attention to her.

    He hadn¡¯t expected that when she wasn¡¯t wearing makeup, she would look even better. She resembled an attractive piece of white jade that enticed people toe closer and y with her.

    The crown prince lightly coughed. The expression on his face returned to normal and he said, ¡°If her personality wasn¡¯t unbearable, she¡¯s also a beauty.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan was slightly displeased, but he didn¡¯t mention it. He only said, ¡°She hadn¡¯t slept wellst night, let¡¯s not wake her up. Let¡¯s go the garden.¡±

    The crown prince nodded and subconsciously looked back at Nie Sangyu one more time before he followed Ning Yuxuan.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t open her eyes until the sound of their footsteps had disappeared. Her hands were sweaty. She hadn¡¯t read the ending in the original novel, but she knew that the crown prince was a fickle and ruthless person. It wasn¡¯t a good thing to attract his attention. She hadn¡¯t looked at the <i>huangli</i> before leaving her room today and hadn¡¯t expected the misfortunate of encountering them.

    (T/N: <i>Huangli</i> is simr to horoscopes. In ancient china, there were certain government officials that were in charge of writing this calendar and it was originally used for recording the movements of the sun and the moon, major issues of the nation and government, and the emperors¡¯ words and deeds. The divination part was addedter on. In modern times, it¡¯s a calendar that mostly used for telling people which days are lucky and unlucky based on their Zodiac sign. There are various people creating these calendars, so it¡¯s not as authoritative and centralized as it was during ancient China.)

    When Muxu came back with the snacks, she saw her that her master¡¯s face was ashen white.

    ¡°Master?¡± Muxu looked at her in confusion.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Ji Man shook her head and decided that she had been mistaken about the crown prince¡¯s burning gaze. Since the crown prince knew that she was Nie Sangyu, he should also know what she represented. He wouldn¡¯t do anything to her. She was just overthinking things.

    ¡ª

    In the evening, Ning Yuxuan came to Feiwan Courtyard after he finished dinner. His expression wasn¡¯t rxed. As soon as he came inside, he stared at her for a long time.

    ¡°Is there something on this servant¡¯s face?¡± Ji Man quietly asked.

    ¡°No.¡± Ning Yuxuan turned his head away. His mood didn¡¯t look good. Right after he lied down on the bed, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to listen to stories tonight.¡±

    Ji Man was startled. If he didn¡¯t want to listen to stories, what did he want to do?

    ¡°How about telling me interesting stories from your childhood?¡± Ning Yuxuan suddenly said.

    Ji Man let out a sigh in relief. As long as he just wanted her to talk, everything was fine. She didn¡¯t believe that Marquis Moyu could continue to favor her again tomorrow night. If he favored her for that many days in a row, Wen Wan definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to sit still and do nothing.

    ¡°This servant doesn¡¯t really have any interesting stories from childhood, other than dressing as a boy to go outside and visiting the bustling streets with my older brother or climbing Marquis Pingnan¡¯s residence¡¯s walls to see my crush.¡±

    She had slowly seen these memories in her dream. That young girl had really put forth all of her energy to climb over another household¡¯s walls.

    Ning Yuxuan naturally still had an impression of Nie Sangyu climbing over walls. It was at that point in time when he started to dislike her. As he carefully looked at Nie Sangyu¡¯s face, his heart was filled with a sense of uncertainty.

    Trantor Ramblings: I¡¯ve been wondering why Ji Man she doesn¡¯t give enough consideration to Nie Sangyu¡¯s maltreatment of the other concubines during past years. No matter how good she¡¯s been during the past three months, it doesn¡¯t erase Nie Sangyu¡¯s past actions. But, if Nie Sangyu is only sharing her memories involving Ning Yuxuan, then it make sense that she still doesn¡¯t know what Nie Sangyu had done in the past.

    Also, I think it¡¯s reasonable that he¡¯s surprised about Nie Sangyu¡¯s sudden change. Yes, he¡¯s treated her very indifferently and sometimes overly harsh. Any other person would have given up on him a long time ago. But, he¡¯s been consistently treating her this way since he and Nie Sangyu were children and this has never stopped Nie Sangyu from continuing to obsess over him. I included a tiny spoiler in thements below rted to this.

 Chapter 52 - The world changes whether you want it to or not (1)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 052 out of 513 ¨C The world changes whether you want it to or not (1)

    For her to remember even childhood memories this well, there naturally wouldn¡¯t be any noticeable physical difference. Ning Yuxuan had observed Nie Sangyu for many days and had examined her face when she was sleeping. And now, he finally had to admit that this person was Nie Sangyu herself. This person couldn¡¯t be an impersonator.

    Then, what could have made this woman change so drastically?

    ¡°During childhood, other thaning out to look at the marquis, this servant was at home embroidering the rest of the time. Unfortunately, even though the marquis epted my embroidered items, you never used any of those items even once.¡± There was a mocking smile on Ji Man¡¯s lips. ¡°How fortunate that Sangyu used to feel very happy over this. In hopes that the marquis would enjoy using those items, Sangyu had kept practicing in order to be more skillful at embroidery.

    Once these words were said, Ning Yuxuan became somewhat embarrassed. He lightly coughed and turned his gaze away. ¡°The things that I use are managed by the servants. I wasn¡¯t paying special attention to it.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t care about Sangyu, so you naturally don¡¯t pay attention to the items made by Sangyu.¡± Ji Man sighed. ¡°Sangyu had once spent an entire month embroidering a cloak with a cedar tree pattern, but unfortunately, Sangyu hasn¡¯t seen you wearing it even once.¡±

    Nie Sangyu had spent several days embroidered that cloak without stopping to rest. After falling sick, she resumed embroidering again for a month before she has even recovered from her illness. However, Marquis Moyu had only indifferently epted the item, put it away in his wardrobe, and never took it out again.

    ¡°It¡¯s all in the past. If you hadn¡¯t been so devoid of sense, I wouldn¡¯t have treated you coldly for that long.¡± Ning Yuxuan looked at Nie Sangyu and said, ¡°The way you¡¯re behaving right now is pretty good. It saves me from being troubled.¡±

    Ah yes, her behavior was saving him from being troubled. She was already at the point where she didn¡¯t want anything. Of course, she was saving him from feeling troubled. Men always wanted women to be magnanimous, not argue or worry about things that men felt were minor, and to not be willful. Actually, it would be easy for a woman to do this. Just, don¡¯t be in love with than man and she would be able to satisfy all of his requirements without any difficulties. Her current interactions with Marquis Moyu were an example of this.

    ¡°My lord, your eyes look bloodshot. Let¡¯s go to sleep early.¡± Ji Man expressionlessly turned her back to him in clear show of rejection.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t insist on continuing this conversation. Lying next to her, he straightforwardly fell asleep without the slighted additional movement.

    She had been right. He wasn¡¯t thrilled with the idea of bestowing favor on her either. Ji Man let out a slight sigh in relief. Tomorrow, she would still go to old madame¡¯s ce to hide and avoid other people feeling jealous that she had been favored for two nights in a row.

    But, there was a saying. The trees longed for peace, but the wind will never cease*. When Marquis Jingwen¡¯s family finally arrived, something still went wrong.

    * (T/N: This idiom means that the world changes whether you want it to or not.)

    Because it was close family members that were visiting, old madame naturally warmly weed Marquis Jingwen and his son and daughter with a festive meal at the main courtyard. All of honored and ordinary concubines also attended. However, they were separated by status. The honored concubines and the main wife were sitting. The ordinary concubines could only stand in ce.

    Although Mu Shuiqing was pregnant, she wasn¡¯t an exception to this rule and still had to stand near old madame to add food to her bowl.

    Ji Man stood behind Wen Wan and looked the table full of fish and meat and silently swallowed her saliva.

    This was called poor people can only smell the rich scent of meat and wine as they freeze to death in winter. She hadn¡¯t even eaten dinner yet! These people were actually just sitting and talking nonsense while leaving these delicious delicacies untouched.

    ¡°The new cousin-inw is truly beautiful. She¡¯s much prettier than our old cousin-inw.¡± Ning Errrong was a wearing a cute outfit that consisted of a vest-style garment lined with white fox fur and a sky blue, pleated skirt. She looked rather lively. Her eyes had looked at Sangyu for a long time before falling on Wen Wan¡¯s body.

    This devilish little ancestor had be friends with Sangyu several years ago after a period of discord. She never gave anyone any face. Although Wen Wan had a beautiful face, it had be significantly haggard during the past several days. She hadn¡¯t been able to smile since the beginning of this dinner and resembled a squashed flower. Compared to Nie Sangyu, who had been using skincare products made of natural ingredients, her face looked quite inferior. And yet, Errong still said those words.

    Hearing the words, ¡°new¡± and ¡°old¡±, made Ning Yuxuan¡¯s expression turn ugly.

    Sitting next to Errong, there was a man wearing a silver mask. He quietly said, ¡°Errong, properly eat dinner and speak less,¡± and added more food to her bowl.

    Ning Errong quietly harrumphed, lowered her head to eat, and firmly kicked Ning Mingjie¡¯s leg underneath the table.

    Ning Mingjie didn¡¯t show any reaction to being kicked and only quietly ate dinner. When he inadvertently raised his head and saw a nce of Wen Wan, he felt that this woman was quite pretty.

    Ji Man remembered that the female lead and the supporting male character had met during this banquet. But since she had entered this book, a lot of the details had already changed. Wen Wan also hadn¡¯t caused as much trouble as written in the original novel. She couldn¡¯t say whether or not the direction of the original plot was changing. However, whether or not the supporting male lead stayed was a serious matter that was rted to preserving her life.

    The reason than Nie Sangyu had been ordered tomit suicide was because this supporting male character had obtained the evidence of Nie Sangyu harming the female lead. As a result, the marquis had ended the supporting female character¡¯s life in a fit of anger.

    They were both supporting characters. Why did the supporting male character have to make life difficult for the supporting female character?

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t resist looking at Ning Mingjie a few more times. When that person paused while holding chopsticks, he inexplicably looked up and looked in her direction.

    When his bright and beautiful eyes looked at her, Ji Man slightly froze for a moment before she hurriedly lowered her head and obediently went back to adding food to Wen Wan¡¯s bowl.

    Hey! This man¡¯s eyes were too good-looking. No wonder people said that the male lead was for the female lead and the supporting male character was for the readers. A reader like her loved supporting male characters like him! Ah, he was such a beautiful man and his temperament also seemed better than Marquis Moyu. Perhaps, she should try her best to change the plot and let the male lead and female lead have their grand finale while she returned to her world with the supporting male character?

    As she thought about this, Ji Man nced at Ning Mingjie again and felt that it would be worth it try out this idea.

 Chapter 53 - The world changes whether you want it to or not (2)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 053 out of 513 ¨C The world changes whether you want it to or not (2)

    Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t like to look around the table while he was eating, but during this meal, he raised his head twice.

    By coincidence, he saw Nie Sangyu staring at Ning Mingjie like a love-struck idiot both times.

    He slightly raised his eyebrows. Finding the situation somewhatughable, he kicked Ning Mingjie¡¯s leg.

    ¡°En?¡± Ning Mingjie looked at him in confusion.

    ¡°Be careful that you don¡¯t get stung by a fly,¡± Marquis Moyu whispered.

    It was the middle of winter. How could there be a fly? Ning Mingjie felt that his words were very odd. In the passing, he raised his head and looked around. He saw Nie Sangyu with her head slightly lowered as she conscientiously added food to Wen Wan¡¯s bowl. Part of her neck was exposed and when the wind blew by, it shrunk inward like a turtle.

    She had be significantly quieter since thest time he saw her. Ning Mingjie had previouslye to the capital for Marquis Moyu¡¯s grand wedding and had seen Nie Sangyu causing a disturbance. She and Errong had almost started a fight with each other during that time. But, for some unknown reason, they had be good friends afterwards.

    He didn¡¯t have much of an impression of her. He only remembered hearing her shouting to the concubines and bed servants that attended the wedding, ¡°No one likes Yuxuan as much as me!¡±, while she was standing in the main hall during the wedding with her head covered by her wedding veil. She had been carefree and not afraid of idle gossip.

    These wordster became a source ofughter for the people in the capital during their leisure time. They said that this Nie n¡¯s daughter truly wasn¡¯t bashful. This was also a reason why Ning Yuxuan rarely went to her courtyard after the wedding night.

    She had been a girl that had been so ardent with her love. But now, she was able to quietly stand by the woman that Ning Yuxuan liked the most and add food to her bowl after she had be a concubine. Nie Sangyu¡¯s face was as calm as ake without ripples as if she had severed off all thoughts.

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    Ning Mingjie lowered his head and continued to eat.

    By the time the meal was over, the sky had be dark. After old madame talked with Marquis Jingwen for a while, she had Wen Wan guide this uncle and these cousins to their rooms.

    Ji Man followed after Honored Concubine Xue. Qi Siling and Mu Shuiqing were also walking with them. Just as they passed by the southern courtyard¡¯s grape trellis and were walking on a small stone bridge, someone suddenly pushed Ji Man¡¯s back very hard and she couldn¡¯t help falling towards Honored Concubine Xue.

    ¡°Ah!¡± A cry in surprise and the surrounding people became a disorderly mess. The servants, who had been carrying thenterns, turned around to look and saw that Mu Shuiqing had already fallen over the bridge and into the clear stream.

    ¡°Master Qing!¡± Banxia had been walking at the very back and didn¡¯t make it in time to save her from falling into the water. She could only yell out, ¡°Hurry and save Master Qing! Her pregnant body can¡¯t suffer shock!¡±

    Ji Man had fallen down with Qian Lianxue pressed underneath her and had caused the delicate beauty to suffer a terrible fall. At the front, Wen Wan had also stumbled. Originally, Ning Mingjie was going to step forward to help her, but Ning Errong had stepped forward one moment earlier and was already supporting her.

    In the dark night with onlynterns for illumination, the servants hurriedly went to save Mu Shuiqing and fetch a doctor.

    As the main wife, Wen Wan was worried about dying the guests as she saw this mess unfolding. She hurriedly said, ¡°Siling, bring Marquis Jingwen and his children to the southern courtyard first. I¡¯ll sort things out here.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Qi Siling acknowledged her order and continued walking forward to led Marquis Jingwen.

    By the time Ji Man got up from the ground, she saw that Mu Shuiqing was alreadypletely drenched and had been taken out of the water. It was the middle of the winter and her face had changed colors from the cold. Ji Man hurriedly took off her small sleeveless jacket that was lined with rabbit fur to give to Mu Shuiqing, so that she could at least be bundled up.

    Mu Shuiqing¡¯s lips kept trembling and she wasn¡¯t able to speak. Before she had time to say anything, Banxia had already started helping her return to Feiyu Couryard.

    Although Mu Shuqing¡¯s baby wasn¡¯t favored, no one would be able to peacefully sleep tonight after something like this happened.

    Ji Man rubbed her forehead. What was meant to happen would still inevitably happen. She just knew that Mu Shuiqing wouldn¡¯t be able to keep her baby. The male lead still had to spend an entire lifetime with the female lead as a couple. How could a child from another woman be allowed to exist?

    The important point was, who would be charged with the crime of killing the marquis¡¯s eldest child?

    ¡ª

    Just as Ning Yuxuan was about to go Qiangwei Courtyard, he was called to Feiyu Courtyard.

    @@novelbin@@

    Mu Shuiqing had already taken a warm bath and drank ginger tea, but she still caught a cold. Her face was deathly pale.

    Doctor Li hade to check her pulse and seriously said, ¡°You¡¯re pregnant, so you can¡¯t take medicine. Master Qing, you¡¯ll have to recover from this cold by yourself.¡±

    Catching a cold in ancient times wasn¡¯t a minor thing the way it was in modern times. If she didn¡¯t drink medicine, the cold could be serious enough to take her life.

    As soon as Mu Shuiqing heard these words, she felt slightly hopeless. If she really couldn¡¯t ovee this cold on her own, not only would she not be able to keep her baby, she would also be throwing away her own life.

    Ning Yuxuan stood far way from the bed as if he was afraid of catching her cold and only said, ¡°Take care of yourself,¡± before he started to leave with Wen Wan.

    Mu Shuiqing¡¯s eyes turned red and she gritted her teeth as she said, ¡°My lord, aren¡¯t you going to investigate who tried to harm this servant?¡±

    Why had someone suddenly pushed her without rhyme or reason as she was walking? She would obviously get sick if she was pushed into cold water during the middle of winter, so why had someone deliberately push her into the water?

    Ning Yuxuan stopped walking. His instinctive response was to look at Nie Sangyu.

    Seeing his gaze, Ji Man¡¯s expression sunk. ¡°Although it was dark out, people would have still seen things. My lord, you have plenty of time to investigate. There¡¯s no need for you to make a final decision in your heart beforehand.¡±

    Someone had also pushed her. Why was she the first person that he suspected? Ji Man felt extremely angry. The thing that she hated the most in her life was being falsely used. Whoever tried to ce this me on her, she wouldn¡¯t let that person have a good ending!

    Trantor Ramblings: It¡¯s ironic that it was Ning Yuxuan¡¯s kick and words that caused Ning Mingjie to notice Nie Sangyu. Unlike Ning Yuxuan and old madame, who likes the new Nie Sangyu, the way Ning Mingjie described Nie Sangyu¡¯s change seemed sad to me. It felt like he was noting that Nie Sangyu had changed from a passionate and lively girl to someone who¡¯s dead inside. What do you guys think?

 Chapter 56 - The savior arrives in time (1)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 056 out of 513 ¨C The savior arrives in time (1)

    Ning Yuxuan had said that he would investigate yesterday¡¯s matter, so everyone that had been on the stone bridgest night came to Feiyu Courtyard this morning.

    Wen Wan¡¯splexion had greatly improved. Marquis Moyu had probably sessively coaxed herst night. However, when her gaze turned to Nie Sangyu, Ji Man felt that the female lead had changed. Wen Wen had originally been the fortunate female lead that had received everything without even having to ask for it, but she had interfered and taken away part of the female lead¡¯s halo. Wen Wan¡¯s heart was most likely feeling a sense of unfairness and staring to hate her.

    Even if a woman was a Holy Mother, she would be angry when her fundamental interests were disturbed. Moreover, Wen Wan could be considered a somewhat careful person. Ji Man almost suspected that Ning Yuxuan was deliberately using her as a way to provoke Wen Wan, so that Wen Wan would learn to keep herself away from the other women and not be bullied by them.

    Wen Wan started by saying, ¡°I was walking in the front with the two honored concubines yesterday, so we naturally couldn¡¯t have turned around and pushed Qing-<i>er</i>. The people that were following behind the two honored concubines, go and stand in the same position you were in.¡±

    Ji Man pursed her lips and was the first person to walk to the center of the courtyard. At that time, Liu Hanyun was standing to her right and Mu Shuiqing was standing to her left. They were followed by Wen Wan¡¯s servant girl, Tanxiang, Qi Siling¡¯s servant girl, Sonn, and Qian Lianxue¡¯s servant girl, Dangzhu. Further behind them, it was Nie Sangyu¡¯s servant girl, Muxu, Mu Shuiqing¡¯s servant girl, Banxia, as well as Liu Hanyun¡¯s servant girl, Chunpi.

    No matter how anyone looked at it, Nie Sangyu had been in the most suspicious position. She had been in the best position to push Mu Shuiqing into the water.

    Wen Wan determinedly looked at them for a long time before she turned her head to look at Marquis Moyu and said, ¡°We¡¯re all sisters. It wouldn¡¯t be good for your servant to make any guesses. My lord, please make the decision instead.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan nced at Nie Sangyu before he pursed his lips and asked the servants in the back, ¡°At that time, who moved? Or, did anyone feel someone next to herself move? All of you, close your eyes and point. No one is allowed to open her eyes. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be driven out of this household.¡±

    This was actually a pretty good method. It allowed the people that were afraid to speak to also act as witnesses. Ji Man silently praised him and also closed her eyes.

    Ji Man heard the faint sound of sleeves being raised behind her. While she waited for Ning Yuxuan to order everyone to open their eyes, she whole-heartedly believed that she wouldn¡¯t be wrongly used. However, when she finally opened her eyes, she saw that Ning Yuxuan was looking at her with an extremely harsh gaze.

    ¡°What?¡± Ji Man didn¡¯t understand. When she turned around to look, all of the servant girls were standing in ce with their heads lowered.

    ¡°I can listen to your exnation.¡± Marquis Moyu pursed his lips and said, ¡°Why did you push Qing-<i>er</i> into the water?¡±

    She pushed Mu Shuiqing into the water? Ji Man widened her eyes. She incredulously turned her head and nced at the servant girls behind her. It was such arge group of people. It couldn¡¯t be that they had all pointed at her, right?

    After being surprised for a short period of time, she calmed down again. There were five servant girls behind her. At least three of them had past enmity with her. Why had she thought that they would say the truth instead of harming her?

    Ji Man smiled, turned around to look at Marquis Moyu, and said, ¡°My lord, if you were this servant and stood in such a conspicuous spot, would you push Master Qing into the water? What¡¯s the benefit to me if she loses her child? First, I¡¯m not the main wife. Second, I¡¯ve never received any genuine feelings from you. Other than harming myself, what will I get by doing this?¡±

    These words had the slight meaning of implicating Wen Wan. Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression immediately sunk and his peach blossom eyes were filled with fury. He coldly harrumphed, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know that you have a poisonous heart? Not only did you plot to murder my heir, now you¡¯re also trying to harm Wen Wan by cing the me on her?¡±

    Ji Man also sneered. ¡°My lord, you¡¯re heart is already nted to one side and you won¡¯t listen to anyone¡¯s exnation. Why are you bothering with asking Sangyu this question? Just directly lock me in the confinement courtyard.¡±

    ¡°Audacious!¡± Ning Yuxuan was truly angered. His eyes were sharp enough to be swords that wanted to stab through her while she was still alive. ¡°Nie Sangyu, are you relying on your identity as a member of Nie n to increasingly disregard other people? Right now, you¡¯re a concubine. And you dare to talk back to me like this?¡±

    Ji Man was also ovee with anger. She was innocent and had been wrongly used. Who wouldn¡¯t be angry? And yet, this scumbag had the insistent attitude of protecting the female lead and disregarding everyone else¡¯s opinion. It made her fume with rage.

    The female lead¡¯s life was important. It couldn¡¯t be that the supporting female character¡¯s life was worth nothing!

    Wen Wan hurriedly came forward to act as the mediator. ¡°My lord, please calm down. Sangyu, be mindful and pay attention to propriety when you¡¯re speaking. Don¡¯t anger the marquis. If you¡¯re really confined again, your days won¡¯t be good.¡±

    Ji Man inwardly sneered, but she returned to showing an obedient expression on her face. There wouldn¡¯t be any good result to directly facing off with Marquis Moyu. The female lead had given her a way out. It would be a waste to not use it.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t know why he was behaving this way. When Nie Sangyu had acted improperly and angered him in the past, he would never outwardly express his anger in this manner. At the most, he would show her a cold face and ignore her. But Nie Sangyu¡¯s current indifferent attitude of having nothing to lose always provoked his anger and made him want to choke her to death.

    After he calmed himself down, he said, ¡°You¡¯ve always been narrow-minded and unable to tolerate other people. Right now, there are so many witnesses. Even if you want to argue, it¡¯ll be difficult for you to avoid being punished. You had the sinister intention of trying to murder my heir. In consideration for the fact that you¡¯ve been part of this household for several years...¡±

    ¡°You also know that Sangyu has been in this household for several years?¡± A furious voice came from the courtyard¡¯s entrance. Everyone in the courtyard was startled. Wen Wan hurriedly turned her head and saw Ning Errong supporting old madame as they entered Feiyu Courtyard.

    Everyone was shocked. They looked at the Marquis Moyu¡¯s cousin, who was beaming. In their minds, they hatefully thought, why did she have to bring old madame here at this point in time?

    Trantor Ramblings: I didn¡¯t me Ning Yuxuan for suspecting that Nie Sangyu was the one that pushed Mu Shuiqing into the water, especially since she has pretended to be good in the past. Even Errong, who is 100% on Nie Sangyu¡¯s side, believes that this is totally something she would do. He at least made an attempt by asking the other servants instead of directly asking Mu Shuiqing, given her well-known hostile rtionship with Nie Sangyu.

    But then, Ji Man touched his bottom line, Wen Wan.

    Storywise, I really like that the author shows us a different perspective of how terribly unreasonable a typical male lead is when it¡¯s something rted to the female lead. Logic will be thrown straight out the window. For example, in ChongFei Manual, the male lead orders his bodyguard to cut off the tongue of a singer just because she saw something that she shouldn¡¯t have about the female lead. I don¡¯t remember anyonementing that the male lead¡¯s order was unnecessarily harsh or being upset at him. He was partially doing it to ensure that the female lead¡¯s reputation will be left pristine. Ning Yuxuan is doing the same thing here. He shows an extreme reaction whenever anyone intentionally or unintentionally tries to smear Wen Wan¡¯s reputation.

    That being said, I love old madame¡¯s words and how she defends Sangyu in the next chapter.

    Also, I included a spoiler in thements below rted to this.

 Chapter 57 - The savior arrives in time (2)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 057 out of 513 ¨C The savior arrives in time (2)

    ¡°Mother.¡± Ning Yuxuan retracted part of his anger, saluted, and said, ¡°Your son is currently questioning about the matter of Qing-<i>er</i> falling into the water yesterday.¡±

    ¡°This is what you call questioning?¡± Old madame looked at him sternly and said, ¡°I clearly only heard you convicting Sangyu. Sangyu, do you ept this?¡±

    Ji Man felt that the original novel¡¯s vicious mother-inw was truly too lovely. She almost wanted to cry in gratitude. She hurriedly responded to old madame¡¯s words by yelling out, ¡°I don¡¯t!¡±

    Her life had finally improved and they wanted to drive her back to her original state? No way!

    Old madame nced at Sangyu to indicate for her to keep calm and to not get excited. Then, she immediately asked, ¡°Xuan-<i>er</i>, how were you questioning earlier? Show me.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan knew that his mother would protect Nie Sangyu no matter what. But, the facts couldn¡¯t be changed. Nie Sangyu hadmitted a crime. He didn¡¯t believe that anyone could invert right and wrong.

    And so, he had the servant girls repeat their earlier actions and had everyone close their eyes.

    Old madame didn¡¯t close her eyes and watched the five servant girls in the back with Marquis Moyu. However, this time, none of the five servant girls dared to point.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°So this is the method that Xuan-<i>er</i> used to question?¡± Old madame smiled, but her eyes severely looked at Ning Yuxuan.

    Marquis Moyu pursed his lips and said, ¡°It¡¯s probably because mother is too biased in favor of Sangyu, so they didn¡¯t dare to point.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Old madame chuckled. ¡°Then Xuan-<i>er</i>, have you been biased enough in favor of Wen Wan?¡±

    Stunned, Marquis Moyu lowered his eyes and stayed silent.

    ¡°My household¡¯s rules are strict and won¡¯t allow for the preposterous idea of having the servants decide their master¡¯s crime.¡± Old madame¡¯s expression was upright as she said, ¡°Can you ensure that these servant girls don¡¯t have selfish motives? Sangyu has been married to you for six years, before you even had your adulthood ceremony. It¡¯s one thing for you to be indifferent towards her. But now, you¡¯re going to convict her because of other people¡¯s nderous words?¡±

    By the side, Wen Wan¡¯s face turned red, then white as she listened to these words. Old madame¡¯s words made it sound like Sangyu was her daughter-inw, while she continued to be an unacknowledged, wild woman. From the time that old madame entered this courtyard, she hadn¡¯t even nced at her.

    This wasn¡¯t afortable feeling to experience. She truly liked Ning Yuxuan, so she also wanted his mother to like her. But, why was it so difficult?

    Marquis Moyu was silent for a long time before he finally said, ¡°Mother, you¡¯re right to reprimand. But, Qing-<i>er</i> is pregnant with your grandchild. This matter can¡¯t be left unsettled.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to investigate, then do it properly. This house is full of deceitful women. Who¡¯s words can you believe? How about asking Shuiqing, who she thought pushed her and what she wants done for this matter to be settled?¡±

    Mu Shuqing was the person that had been the most harmed by this incident. Right now, it wasn¡¯t even known if she would be able ovee her cold. Ning Yuxuan felt that these words were reasonable. He straightforwardly entered Mu Shuiqing¡¯s room to ask for her opinion. In the passing, he could also say a few words tofort her.

    ¡°At the time, Tanxiang was standing behind this servant.¡± With reddened eyes, Mu Shuiqing said these words. Seeing Marquis Moyu¡¯s sunken expression, she hurriedly said, ¡°However, this servant doesn¡¯t know who had pushed her. The only thing that this servant knows for sure, is that it wasn¡¯t older sister Sangyu.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t Nie Sangyu? Ning Yuxuan slightly raised his eyebrows. He had expected that Mu Shuiqing would allege that it was definitely Nie Sangyu. Instead, she had said words to exonerate her.

    Why?

    Hadn¡¯t Mu Shuiqing and Nie Sangyu¡¯s rtionship always been bad? This was such a good opportunity. Why wasn¡¯t she taking the opportunity to bite her?

    Although he was curious, he couldn¡¯t actually ask her this question. And since Mu Shuiqing had said these words, he could no longer me Nie Sangyu even the slightest bit. As for her saying that the person behind her had been Tanxiang, he naturally didn¡¯t believe her. Tanxiang was Wen Wan¡¯s servant girl and had entered this household with her. She was as gentle as Wen Wan. How could it be possible that she would push Mu Shuiqing?

    And so, this matter was resolved by leaving it unsettled. Marquis Moyu and old madame sent over many gifts to Feiyue Courtyard and even their treatment of Mu Shuiqing improved significantly. And so, Mu Shuiqing didn¡¯t ask for an in-depth investigation to be performed.

    ¡ª

    ¡°How are you going to thank me?¡± Ning Errong mischievously smiled. She pulled Nie Sangyu as they walked on the path. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t because I knew you were in trouble and went over to invite Old Madame, you would have definitely been punished today.¡±

    Errong looked really cute and Ji Man couldn¡¯t resist poking her forehead. She asked, ¡°What do you want? How about I give you a box of cold cream?¡±

    ¡°You have that item?¡± Ning Errong gaped. ¡°I heard about it as soon as I arrived in the capital. I had Baizhi wait in line for a long time, but I still wasn¡¯t able to buy a box.¡±

    Ji Man rubbed her nose. She really wanted to tell her that the person in front of her was a cold cream factory. Anyways, seeing that she also liked this type of item, Ji Man brought her to her room and generously gave her a box.

    ¡°I heard that a box this size cost fifty silver taels.¡± Ning Errong was beaming as she held the box. Then, she lightly coughed twice and clearly started to kiss up to Nie Sangyu, ¡°What do you want to eat tonight? I¡¯ll bring you over to my ce to eat. It¡¯ll definitely be better than the food you¡¯re eating as a concubine.¡±

    Ji Man was amused intoughing by her behavior. She thought for a moment before saying, ¡°I¡¯ve been here for so long. The food that I miss the most is barbecue. If your ce has the tools for it, how about having a barbecue tonight?¡±

    Her most beautiful memories of modern times were barbecues and beers during hot summers.

    Trantor Ramblings: Was this chapter¡¯s resolution satisfying?

    I love that it¡¯s Mu Shuiqing, the person that originally had the most antagonistic rtionship with Nie Sangyu, who saves her and not Ning Mingjie.

    P.s. Ning Mingjie will have his moments to be heroicter in the story. And, I want to point out that Mu Shuqing doesn¡¯t know for sure who pushed her, only Ning Mingjie saw the culprit.

 Chapter 62 - The matchmakerâ€™s task (1)

    Chapter: 062 out of 513 ¨C The matchmaker¡¯s task (1)

    Sure, my ass! This was clearly something that a servant girl could do. And yet, he had easily told her to do this. It was clear that in Marquis Moyu¡¯s heart, Nie Sangyu wasn¡¯t any different from a servant girl!

    Although she already knew this truth, Ji Man was still very upset about this and immediately silently cursed him a hundred times to wear a green hat (i.e. be cheated on).

    ¡ª

    The next day, when Ji Man went to old madame¡¯s courtyard to pay her respects, Ning Mingjie was also there. He hade here earlier than her and was currently sitting on the small couch that was near the window and quietly drinking tea.

    ¡°Sangyu, you came here at just the right time,¡± Old madame said with a smile. ¡°Mingjie said he wanted to go out with Errong, but they¡¯re not too familiar with this area. How about you bring Errong out and have Qingyune over to drink wine with Mingjie?¡±

    Tell Qingyun toe here? Ji Man raised her eyebrows and looked at old madame doubtfully. But, she saw old madame giving her a meaningful look.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t understand what she was trying to hint at, but she still agreed. On the side, Ning Mingjie turned his head and his silver mask slightly glimmered. His eyes held a gentle, smiling intent as he said, ¡°Old Madame, thank you for taking the trouble.¡±

    Ji Man still didn¡¯t understand. She was only a concubine, ah. How could she apany the guests outside to stroll around? Although she had a good rtionship with Errong, it was strange that old madame would so easily agree to this.

    ¡°Young people like to y together. I¡¯m old, so I won¡¯t bother the four of you bying along,¡± Old madame was smiling as she looked at Nie Sangyu. ¡°While you¡¯re out, check if that store is selling cold cream and buy two boxes for me.¡±

    Old madame had really liked the cold cream and hadn¡¯t used any of her other skincare and makeup products since she started using it. She had used up the box of cold cream from before. Shouwu and Danggui had also been using the small box of cold cream and seemed to have outstanding status in the household. Recently, the price of cold cream had decreased and the supply had increased. It was much easier to buy cold cream. This was why old madame asked her to bring back two boxes.

    Ji Man agreed with a smile. Right now, she didn¡¯t have to worry about Miss Shui¡¯s business. She had already made Shuiji¡¯s cold cream into a brand. Everyone was using Shuiji¡¯s cold cream as a status symbol.

    Although she was feeling happy, Ji Man was still thinking about old madame¡¯s strange behavior while she went to the southern courtyard with Ning Mingjie. They were going there to look for Ning Errong. Why had old madame wanted here along? It couldn¡¯t be that she was also unhappy about seeing Wen and Ning Mingjie together?

    Hearing that Ning Errong was still dressing up inside, Ji Man led Muxu and Ning Mingjie to stand outside to wait. Ning Mingjie seemed to be in a very good mood. The corners of his mouth had a tendency of curving upwards today. His ck hair was tied up by a jade crown hat. Even though he was wearing a mask, he still gave off a handsome impression.

    (T/N: Below is a picture of a jade crown hat.)

    When Ji Man was reading the light novel, she had kept thinking. The supporting male character was generally a gentle and soft person and was also devastatingly beautiful. He also whole-heartedly only loved the female lead. Why was the female lead so stupid? Why had she stubbornly stayed obsessed with that one person?

    Now that Ji Man was looking at the supporting male character from a close distance, even her heart was skipping. The supporting male character was written for the audience. She was the audience, ah. Thus, he was written for her! Please allow her some time to look at him with starry-eyed infatuation.

    Ning Mingjie was standing five steps away from Nie Sangyu. He had originally been continuously looking at the building in front of them, but the gaze from the side was too ardent. He couldn¡¯t resist tilting his head to nce at her.

    That single nce showed Nie Sangyu looking at him as if she had lost her bearings. Ning Mingjie slightly raised his eyebrows. Find her gaze slightly amusing, he asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±

    ¡°Sangyu, older brother.¡± Ning Errong¡¯s voice came from the front and Ji Man hurriedly returned to her senses. With a proper expression, Ji Man said, ¡°I was looking to see if your mask was 999 silver or not. I observed for too long. I hope that you can overlook my discourteous behavior.¡±

    Right after saying this, she went to greet Ning Errong.

    What did 999 silver mean? Ning Mingjie didn¡¯t understand her words, but seeing that Ning Errong had alreadye outside, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    (T/N: A piece of silver that¡¯s marked with 999 means that it¡¯s almost pure silver, 99.9% silver.)

    Ning Errong had been especially attentive with her manner of dress today. She was wearing a light pink sleeveless fur jacket and a white dress embroidered with silver thread. She had also put on a thinyer of makeup and there were dangling ornaments in her hair. She truly looked like a <i>junzhu</i>.

    (T/N: <i>Junzhu</i> is one rank lower than princess. The title of <i>junzhu</i> is usually given to a daughter of a first-rank prince. The title can also be bestowed by the emperor¡¯s decree.)

    Ji Man had originally been wondering what old madame had been up to, but she finally understood after seeing Ning Errong.

    Ning Errorng had already reached a marriageable age. No matter how reluctant Marquis Jingwen was, it was still time for her to marry. After going back and forth with looking, Maquis Jingwen still hadn¡¯t found a son-inw that he would be satisfied with. Instead, Ning Errong had said that Nie n¡¯s Qingyun was pretty good.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t know when those two had meet for the first time. It hadn¡¯t been written in the book. While Ning Errong had married Nie Qingyunter on, they also ended up divorcing. As for what happened after that, Ji Man didn¡¯t know.

    In this dynasty, divorce was very rare. What had happened for Errong and Nie Qingyun to marry? And, what happened to cause them to divorce, ah? Ji Man¡¯s mind was full of question marks. But, thinking about how she would soon be a spectator with a front row seat, she temporarily restrained her curiosity. She praised Errong¡¯s style of dress as they headed out.

    Old madame had a very good rtionship with Nie n. A singlemand from her had been enough to have Nie Qingyun driving a carriage to Marquis Moyu¡¯s residence and waiting outside.

    Seeing theme outside, Nie Qingyun called out, ¡°Sangyu,¡± without greeting anyone else first.

    Ji Man cleverly and cutely pulled Errong along with her as she walked over and sweetly shouted out, ¡°Older brother.¡±@@novelbin@@

 Chapter 64 - Half of five gold taels (1)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 064 out of 513 ¨C Half of five gold taels (1)

    Ning Mingjie didn¡¯t express an opinion to her words. When they reached the fifth floor, he found seats in the tearoom and sat down with Nie Sangyu. Muxu stood at their side.

    On the fifth floor, there was an impressive painting and calligraphy exhibition and many schrs. There were people writing poems and bursts of cheers came from other people from time to time. There were also several clusters of two or three schrs that were discussing the paintings and calligraphy that were hanging on the walls.

    A person that looked like a ceremonial official was standing in the center of the fifth floor. He announced to surrounding people, ¡°The fifth floor is still missing one more poem for today. Is there any young master ordy that¡¯s willing to contribute a poem?¡±

    Ning Mingjie turned his head to briefly look and seemed quite interested. But, the woman sitting across from him was only quietly eating snacks. Her eyes hadn¡¯t even flickered in that direction.

    Ning Mingjie asked, ¡°I heard that you¡¯re pretty good at all four arts of the schr.* Are you not interested in going up to try?¡±

    *(T/N: The Four Arts are <i>guqin</i> (ancient musical instrument), Go, calligraphy, and painting.)

    Nie Sangyu was from an aristocratic family. She would¡¯ve had lessons in these areas since she was a child and should be pretty good in these arts.

    Ji Man had been focused on eating the snacks. Hearing his words, she very indifferently and simply replied, ¡°Poetryes from the heart. Wouldn¡¯t it be going against the core foundation of poetry to apose a poem in order to seek fame?¡±

    Ning Mingjie was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected that she would be able to say words like these. He immediately didn¡¯t want to try anymore either.

    In the center of the room, there were already a few schrs that had gone up to try writing poems. Ji Man didn¡¯t even look at them. She was only thinking about how to continue promoting the rtionship between her older brother and Errongter on.

    Ning Mingjie was watching the schrs and couldn¡¯t resist saying, ¡°The person on the left wrote a pretty good poem.¡±

    Ji Man finally turned around to look. A schr had written a poem about how wonderful the country was. She twitched her mouth and objected, ¡°I¡¯ve read so many books and my favorite poems are Li Bai*¡¯s unrestrained ones and Li Qingzhao*¡¯s euphemistically ones. The poems up there aren¡¯t up to par.¡±

    * (T/N: Names of two very famous Chinese poets.)

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ning Mingjie was slightly interested. ¡°Who are Li Bai and Li Qingzhao?¡±

    Ji Man, ¡°...¡±

    How could she have forgotten? This was a made-up era. There were many areas where this world was different from history. Naturally, Li Bai, Du Fu, and Li Qingzhao didn¡¯t exist in this world.

    ¡°The two of them are poets that live in the countryside. I was fortunate in being able to read a few of their poems and I thought they were pretty good.¡± Ji Man loudlyughed and skirted around his question.

    Ning Mingjie slightly nodded. Looking at the crumb on the corner of her mouth, there was finally a hint of a smile in his eyes. But, he didn¡¯t point this out to her.

    ¡°Are there any other young master ordy that¡¯s willing to write a poem?¡± The ceremonial official called out. ¡°If there¡¯s no one else, we¡¯ll start judging these poems. The winner will be awarded five gold taels by Louyan Pagoda and his or her poem will be hanged on the wall for others to admire.¡±

    This was the oft referred to literarypetition. Because of this tradition, Luoyan Pagoda attracted countless literati. For people with real talent, but had repeatedly failed their exams, they were able toe here and earn enough for food.

    However, Ning Mingjie shook his head. For people like them, who were from aristocratic families, Luoyan Pagoda¡¯s direct reward of gold taels was considered tacky. He had originally still wanted to try, but now hepletely dismissed this idea.

    Just as he turned his head back to ask Nie Sangyu when she wanted to continue going up the pagoda, he saw that the person sitting across from him had already disappeared.

    Startled, Ning Mingjie looked at the nearby servant girl.

    Muxu noticed his gaze, covered her face, and pointed at the tform in the middle of the room.

    Ji Man had simply moved too quickly. As soon as she heard there was a mary reward, she moved so quickly that it seemed as if she had flew onto the stage. She picked up a brush and seriously said, ¡°It would be too unreasonable to not disy talent if you have it. Since this is a good opportunity tomunicate with others, I¡¯ll alsoe and write a poem?¡±

    Ning Mingjie, ¡°...¡±

    What happened to the core foundation of poetry?

    @@novelbin@@

    Since the people here didn¡¯t know Li Bai, winning thispetition would be easy. Ji Man easily picked up the brush and wrote out the title to her favorite poem, ¡°Inviting you to drink wine¡±.

    But, right as she was about to write, ¡°Don¡¯t¡±, she saw the crooked words that she had written with the brush and immediately scrunched up the paper she had written on as fast as lightning. Then, she turned her head and looked at Ning Mingjie with a burning gaze.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ning Mingjie had already stood up and walked to the tform without going up. Looking at the words on the crumpled paper on the ground, he couldn¡¯t resistughing.

    ¡°Young Master, can you write out the words that I say?¡± Ji Man crouched down and whispered guiltily, ¡°My hand hurts...¡±

    Ning Mingjie raised his eyebrows. Seeing her pitiful face, he decided to not ask any further questions. He flipped himself onto the tform and took the brush from her hand, ¡°Tell me.¡±

    <i>¡°Don¡¯t you see?</i>

    <i>The water as it pours down from the Heavens and into the Yellow River,</i>

    <i>It surges towards the sea and will never return again.</i>

    <i>Don¡¯t you see?</i>

    <i>Your elderly parents¡¯ sorrow as they look into the mirror and see white hair,</i>

    <i>Their formerly fine ck hair had turned as white as snow in their twilight years.</i>

    <i>Humans should enjoy themselves fully when they have the opportunity,</i>

    <i>Don¡¯t show an empty golden goblet to the moon.</i>

    <i>The heavens created me ¨C I must naturally have a use,</i>

    <i>A thousands coins have been spent, but they will return.</i>

    <i>ughter and cook the sheep and cow for a happy feast,</i>

    <i>We must drink at least three hundred cups of wine tonight.¡±</i>

 Chapter 65 - Half of five gold taels (2)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 065 out of 513 ¨C Half of five gold taels (2)

    Ji Man¡¯s recitation of the poem had been majestic and Ning Mingjie¡¯s calligraphy was even better. His brush strokes were vigorous and prated the paperpletely. It resembled Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan¡¯s style of writing, but it also contained a degree of unrestrained elegance. It could be assumed that Ning Mingjie¡¯s calligraphy skills weren¡¯t poor.

    (T/N: Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan were the two great masters ofte Tang calligraphy. Below are pictures of their calligraphy.)

    The onlookers were dumbstruck by what they had witnessed. First, they were astonished to see a married woman walk up the tform to write a poem. Then, they were further shocked to see a peerlessly talented man go to the tform to write out the poem for her. And, what left them dumbstruck was, was that really a poem?

    No matter how they looked at it, it didn¡¯t seem like a poem. Moreover, it didn¡¯t seemplete. However, the magnificence of those words was iparable. When they listened to that madam say that poem, it made the audience feel as if they were being guided to the verge of a breakthrough that would free them from the restraints in their hearts.

    Ning Mingjie was also somewhat stunned. Was this a poem that a woman couldpose?

    ¡°And then?¡± He asked.

    Ji Man curved her eyes and smiled, ¡°The official shouted to write one stanza. The section that I¡¯ve already said is enough. Leave it here. If a person of outstanding abilityes, he or she might be able to write out the rest of the poem for me.¡±

    One after another the audience started discussing amongst themselves. Fortunately, Ji Man was wearing a veil and the average person wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize her. It was fine for her to be in the spotlight. It¡¯s not like anything serious would happen because of this.

    The official stroke his beard and looked at the writing for a long time before he finally sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m embarrassed that we, the schrs, aren¡¯t as talented as a lowly woman. Madam, your poem is much more remarkable than the other poems. Unfortunately, there¡¯s only half.¡±

    Ji Man said with a smiling expression, ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just take half of the five gold taels. When someone else can write out the second half of the poem, give the remaining gold taels to that person.¡±

    Ning Mingjie raised his eyebrows. He seemed to have suddenly understood something. Nie Sangyu had suddenly rushed up the tform after she heard about the five gold taels.

    She was truly a greedy woman. With her family status, she already had plenty of money, but she actually cared about this pittance of gold. If she were willing topose more poems like this one, he wouldn¡¯t mind giving her gold taels too.

    As he thought of this, he actually found it very interesting. Ning Mingjie saw Nie Sangyu receiving her prize and scampering back to her seat like a rabbit. After the official discussed with Luoyan Pagoda¡¯s servants for a bit, they earnestly hung up that half finished poem on the most eye-catching position on the fifth floor.

    ¡°Starting from today, except for the madam over there, Luoyan Pagoda will pay fifty gold taels to the person that canplete the second half of that poem.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s chin fell the ground. Fifty gold taels? Such spendthrifts! Since they had this money, why wouldn¡¯t they pay it to her?! She had only received two and half gold taels for her writing!

    Feeling indignant, she wanted to go up there and argue, but Ning Mingjie stretched his hand out and stopped her.

    ¡°You gave Luoyan Pagoda a new gimmick.¡± Ning Mingjie curved his lips into a smile and said, ¡°After today, Luoyan Pagoda will definitely be crowded with people for a long time.¡±

    Ji Man quieted down. She understood their reasoning after Ning Mingjie¡¯s exnation. All businesses paid attention to gimmicks. Luoyan Pagoda seemed like it was a high-end teahouse. They were offering fifty gold taels as a tactic to attract more guests toe here and spend money. If she easily wrote out the second half of the poem, it would make the poem worthless.

    While the people around them were eager to try writing out the second half of the poem, the official came over to them and gave Nie Sangyu a cedar token.

    ¡°Madam, when youe to Luoyan Pagoda in the future, as long as that poem is still here, then you and your friends won¡¯t have to pay when youe here.¡± The official shrewdly smiled and said.

    Ji Man behaved judiciously. It would be a waste to not ept this benefit, so she straightforwardly epted the token.

    Ning Mingjie exined, ¡°It¡¯s a great honor for you to receive Luoyan Pagoda¡¯s token.¡±

    It was just a token. Wasn¡¯t it the same as a membership card? What was there to feel honored about? Ji Man snorted twice, then she had the waiter bring some more snacks in the passing. Since this wouldn¡¯t cost her any money, could she get those snacks wrapped up to go?

    Sitting near her, Ning Mingjie carefully looked over Nie Sangyu for a long time.

    Ji Man outwardly pretended that she didn¡¯t notice, but she inwardly scolded him. No matter how much you look at me, I still can¡¯t make flowers blossom out of nowhere. You¡¯ll have a better chance if you go back and look at your female lead.

    (T/N: Just in case that sounds too nonsensical, Ji Man is probably saying this because it¡¯s verymon for artists to draw blooming flowers around the female lead in manga/manhua.)

    A whileter, Errong and Nie Qingyun also came up to the fifth floor. The two of them seemed to be getting along well. Errong¡¯s eyes were full of stars. She approached them, tugged Nie Sangyu¡¯s sleeve, and whispered, ¡°Will you find it awkward to call me older sister-inw in the future?¡±

    Their birthdays hadn¡¯t even been looked at* and she was already thinking about this. Ji Man stroked Errong¡¯s head. This little girl was three years younger than Nie Sangyu and she would actually have to call her older sister-inw. But, this would be pretty good. When Errong and Nie Qingyun stood next to each other, they looked very well matched. Nie Qingyun also wasn¡¯t half-hearted person. The other women at home were all easy to get along with. Errong wouldn¡¯t suffer any grievances.

    * (T/N: In historical times, before a couple could be married, a matchmaker would have to check if two people werepatible by looking at their birthdays and birth hours.)

    ¡°When you get engaged to my older brother, I¡¯ll embroider your wedding dress for you.¡± Ji Man said.

    Ning Errong felt even happier. She skipped over to Ning Mingjie¡¯s side and circled around him once before she suddenly stopped, ¡°Eh?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ning Mingjie lowered his head to look at her.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Older brother, you seem to be in a very good mood. What happened recently?¡± Ning Errong asked in surprise. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you with that expression in a long time.¡±

    Ji Man thought, the mask hid half of Ning Mingjie¡¯s face. How could Errong see his expression?

    ¡°I was thinking that scenery here is pretty good. Let¡¯s continue going up.¡± Ning Mingjie didn¡¯t mention what had recently happened or even look at Nie Sangyu again before he went towards the stairs.

    Ning Errong thoughtfully looked at Nie Sangyu. Her sensitive teenage heart felt there was something wrong.

    Her older brother acted courteous towards everyone, but she could tell that he distanced himself from everyone. He originally didn¡¯t have any good impression towards Sangyu, ah. Why did it seem like they had be good friends during today?

    Anyways, her older brother was always sensible. She didn¡¯t have to worry about him. Instead, she should be focusing on figuring out how to get Nie Qingyun to think highly of her.

    ¡ª

    During the rest of the day, Ji Man created countless opportunities for Nie Qingyun and Errong. The two of them seem liked they were getting along well. But, when Nie Qingyun was bringing them back home, the courteous words that he said made people feel alienated, ¡°<i>Junzhu</i>, you should go to rest early. Sangyu, behave in the marquis¡¯s residence and don¡¯t cause trouble.¡±

    Ji Man looked at the disappointment in Errong¡¯s eyes and followed his words with a sigh.

    ¡ª

    Reading the half written poem that was hanging on Louyan Pagoda¡¯s fifth floor, the onlookers clicked their tongues in admiration and spread the news. Ji Man wouldn¡¯t have anticipated that this simple poem wouldter end up attracting a hugemotion.

    Trantor Ramblings: I really like the little snippet from Errong¡¯s POV where she¡¯s the only one that notices something different about her older brother and how close these siblings are. I almost wish the rest of the story is just Errong, Ji Man, Mingjie, and Qingyun going out on double dates.

 Chapter 67 - This brainless woman (2)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 067 out of 513 ¨C This brainless woman (2)

    Without noticing, his feet had led him to Feiwan Courtyard. Nie Sangyu was currently pruning the plum tree in her courtyard. Her sleeves were tied up and her hair was loosely tied behind her back instead of being arranged into an borate hairstyle. She looked gentle and soft.

    In the past, Nie Sangyu was the person that he disliked to see the most. But now, the more he looked at her, the more he found her pleasing to look at. Ning Yuxuan couldn¡¯t help silently cursing himself. How could he think of Feiwan Courtyard as a ce that would put his mind at ease?

    Ji Man¡¯s back was facing the entrance, so she didn¡¯t see Marquis Moyu. But, Muxu, who was standing nearby, saw him. However, this young girl had spent a lot of time with Ji Man and had be much smarter. She immediately left without making a sound.

    ¡°Muxu, where¡¯s my handkerchief?¡± Ji Man¡¯s hands had been stained by dirt. She was in a very good mood as she looked at the plum tree she had just finished pruning.

    There was someone standing near her. The person wordlessly took out a handkerchief, grabbed her hand, and wiped her hand clean bit by bit.

    Finding something off about the situation, Ji Man turned her head and saw Ning Yuxuan¡¯s gentle eyes.

    Her hand instinctively pulled away from his.

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t get angry. He only looked at her as he asked, ¡°Why are you in such a leisurely mood today?¡±

    Ji Man awkwardlyughed and said, ¡°Winter has arrived and the courtyard is feeling bleak, so this servant has been trimming this plum tree. This way, this servant will feel happier seeing this tree from inside my room.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan looked at the plum tree in front of them and his eyes were rather disdainful as he said, ¡°You¡¯ll feel happy looking at this mess of a tree?¡±

    The way she had trimmed it look way too ugly.

    Ji Man was grinding her teeth as she forced herself to smile. Then, how else should she prune it? Was he expecting her to prune it into the shape of Hello Kitty? She had already cut down all of the branches that looked ugly!

    ¡°Hand that over to me.¡± He stretched his hand out. His slender fingers were simply perfection.

    Ji Man gulped and handed over the slightly dirty shears.

    Ning Yuxuan took the shears and looked at the plum tree for a few moments, then he stretched his hands out and swiftly started to cut away the superfluous branches and twigs. He left behind the trunk and small, nicely shaped branches. Compared to the lush growth from before, the plum tree finally had the feeling of winter¡¯s bleakness.

    Ji Man felt that Marquis Moyu¡¯s standard of beauty was slightly strange, but she didn¡¯t have courage to say this thought out loud. She could only agreeably say, ¡°Ah, it looks much better.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan dropped the shears to the side, took the handkerchief from her hand, and wiped his hands. Then, he was silent for a moment before he said, ¡°I¡¯ll be sleeping here tonight.¡±

    A nce was enough to tell that Ji Man that he was feeling troubled again. Ji Man was already used to this. Every time this person was feeling troubled or had an argument with Wen Wan, he would alwayse to her ce.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡ª

    Wen Wan stayed in her room and cried for an entire afternoon. Her eyes were swollen when Qi Siling came by.

    ¡°Why are you doing this to yourself?¡± Qi Siling sighed and said, ¡°You have a ce in the marquis¡¯s heart. Why are you in a rush to force him?¡±

    ¡°Siling, what should I do?¡± Wen Wen said in an aggrieved tone, ¡°I feel that he doesn¡¯t love me as much as before.¡±

    Qi Siling paused, then she said, ¡°You¡¯re overthinking things. You know how much the marquis protects you. It¡¯s only that Old Madame has always been thinking about returning Nie Sangyu to the position of main wife. No matter what you do, she won¡¯t care.¡±

    Wen Wan pursed her lips, ¡°Then, at worse, I¡¯ll just give her the position of main wife. I just want Yuxuan.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying nonsense.¡± Qi Siling shook her head and said, ¡°On the day that you give the position of main wife to Nie Sangyu, no one in this household will be able to live peacefully.¡±

    Wen Wan look like she was about to cry again. ¡°Then, what do you want me to do?¡±

    ¡°This matter is actually very easy to deal with,¡± Qi Siling said. ¡°Old Madame is only causing trouble for you because of Nie Sangyu, so think of a way to get rid of her. Once Old Madame is no longer thinking about her, she naturally won¡¯t make life difficult for you anymore.¡±

    Wen Wan widened her eyes. After thinking over these words for a while, she actually thought that Qi Siling¡¯s words were reasonable.

    But, how could she get rid of Nie Sangyu? She had old madame¡¯s protection.

    ¡°If Madam believes in me, just follow my instructions. Nie Sangyu already has a corrupt reputation. Catch her with any crime and you can make her die without a burial site.¡± As Qi Siling said these words, she was slightly agitated and made Wen Wan look at her doubtfully.

    ¡°Why do you have such a bias against her?¡±

    Qi Siling pursed her lips and lightly smiled, ¡°If someone wanted to carve your face, you¡¯ll naturally be very biased against her.¡±

    Wen Wan thought about things that Marquis Moyu had told her about Nie Sangyu and nodded. She decided to believe Qi Siling.

    ¡ª

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Today, I¡¯ll tell you one of Hans Christian Andersen¡¯s children fairy tales.¡± Ji Man was lying in bed. She couldn¡¯t resist patting Ning Yuxuan¡¯s back like she was coaxing a child as she said, ¡°In the depths of the sea, there lived a young mermaid...¡±

    Ning Yuxuan quietly listened. His peach blossom eyes weren¡¯tpletely closed as he looked at her delicate, rosy neck. He actually felt an impulse in his mind.

    ¡°The mermaid fell in love with the prince and decided to exchange her voice for a pair of legs with the witch...¡± Ji Man didn¡¯t notice anything. Anyways, Marquis Moyu hadn¡¯t been interested in her during the past several times, so she had considerably let down her guard.

    ¡°Later on, the prince fell in love with the princess and was going to marry her. The young mermaid couldn¡¯t speak. She could only secretly cry...¡±

    ¡°... In the end, the young mermaid turned into bubbles and disappeared into the sea.¡± Ji Man sighed as she said thest word. Just as she was about to ask if he had any thoughts about this story, she suddenly felt warmth on her neck.

    Trantor Ramblings: Poor plum tree. You were the unfortunate innocent victim of marital dispute.

 Chapter 69 - Confusing amorous desires in the snowy night (2)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 069 out of 513 ¨C Confusing amorous desires in the snowy night (2)

    Marquis Moyu had been silently standing in the room until Muxu stopped at the doorway and cautiously announced that she had brought hot water. He turned around and hoarsely said, ¡°Come in.¡±

    His self-control had always been very good. Why had he lost control today? It definitely wasn¡¯t because of Nie Sangyu. He wasn¡¯t so desperate that he couldn¡¯t choose another alternative. But when he had realized that he had been drugged, he didn¡¯t resist. Instead, he had been willing to go along.

    He didn¡¯t know when his feelings had changed. He already no longer loathed Nie Sangyu as much as before. He would even asionally feel that she was pretty good and that he was the one that had wronged her.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man wildly rushed to the southern courtyard to look for Ning Errong. It wasn¡¯t toote and Errong might not even be asleep yet. She couldn¡¯t drive Ning Yuxuan away and she absolutely couldn¡¯t go to old madame¡¯s ce. After quickly thinking things over, her only option was to go look for Ning Errong.

    @@novelbin@@

    As she stood outside in the courtyard as the snow fell, the heat in her body slow dissipated. Ji Man silently repeated, <i>form is emptiness and emptiness is form</i>* for a long time before she finally calmed down.

    * (T/N: Part of a popr Buddhist sutra.)

    Fortunately, it hadn¡¯t been the legendary medicine where you would die if you didn¡¯t copte. It had only stirred up their hormones and caused them to be horny. After the period passed, the symptoms naturally went away by themselves.

    ¡ª

    When Ning Errong heard Baizhi announce someone¡¯s arrival, she was discussing her marriage with Marquis Jingwen and Ning Mingjie. She liked Nie Qingyun, but Marquis Jingwen still had some apprehensions. The three of them hadn¡¯t finished discussing this matter when Baizhi came into the room to say that Sangyu hade over.

    It waste evening and she had heard that her cousin was staying at Sangyu¡¯s ce tonight. Why had shee over? Ning Errong was very scared and worried. She hurriedly told her father and older brother that it was gettingte and sent them away. Then, she quickly went outside.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Seeing Nie Sangyu standing alone in the snow, Ning Errong worriedly went over to her and helped her walk inside. ¡°Did you make my cousin angry?¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s response was dyed. Her face had already turned thoroughly red from cold. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just need you to let me sleep over for a night.¡±

    Ning Errong supported her as they walked into her inner room. She signaled for Baizhi to leave, then she asked, ¡°Everything had been going fine. How can you not have a ce to sleep?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that so.¡± Ji Man bitterly smiled and said, ¡°I just want to peacefully live my life. I don¡¯t know who put something unclean in my room. Just now, with your cousin, we almost...¡±

    She didn¡¯t finish her sentence, but Errong understood her meaning. Errong patted her chest and sighed in relief, ¡°Thank goodness, nothing bad happened.¡±

    The room was silent for a while. Ning Errong suddenly gasped, jumped up, and looked at Nie Sangyu as she said, ¡°What almost happened? You¡¯ve already married my cousin a long time ago. Someone tried to help the two of you improve your rtionship. Why would you run away?¡±

    Ji Man was almost scared to death by her. She hurriedly pulled her down to sit and said, ¡°Speak quieter!¡±

    Ning Errong looked at her in absolute confusion. ¡°You seem like you¡¯re enduring to the point of pain. Do you really need to y hard to get to this level?

    You¡¯re the one that¡¯s ying hard to get! Your whole family is ying hard to get!

    Ji Man did her best to calm down, then she exined, ¡°He despises me and doesn¡¯t want to bestow favor on me. He onlyes to my ce to hear stories. Since Madam has entered this household, he rarely bestows favor on anyone else. He¡¯s probably determined to be a good male lead and love Madam whole-heartedly. If I let him have a good time with me while he¡¯s drugged at this point in time, nothing good will happen. He would probably think I was behind it and despise me even more.¡±

    Ning Errong turned these words over in her head. They seemed reasonable. It was surprising that Sangyu was able to resist herself and also consider things so thoroughly. After the night of love passed, her cousin might even order her to move to the confinement courtyard on the next day.

    ¡°Besides, he called out Wen Wan¡¯s name at the most critical point.¡± Ji Man faintly smiled. ¡°If I were willing to sleep with that type of man, then I must be blind.¡±

    Startled, Ning Errong looked at the sorry looking person in front of her and her nose felt slightly sour. She lightly squeezed Sangyu¡¯s hand and didn¡¯t say a word.

    Why did Errong look like she was trying tofort her? Ji Man didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. She said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to feel bad for me. This was only to be expected. He likes Wen Wan. This is something that everyone in this household knows. What¡¯s the point in me trying to struggle or fight for his affections? It¡¯ll be okay. I¡¯ll just do my best to live a good life.¡±

    ¡°En, then I¡¯ll have someone bring a pillow and quilt for you. You can sleep in my bed.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ji Man was truly feeling tired. Seeing Ning Errong opening the doors and leaving, she let out a yawn and leaned against the cushioned couch to rest for a bit. Her body still felt achy, especially her back. She had really collided hard against the wall. If they were in modern times, she would definitely sue him for domestic violence!

    While thinking of these thoughts, Ji Man drift off into sleep. She had used up too much energy and was exhausted.

    Right after Ning Errong stepped outside, she saw someone standing by the doorway. Just as she was about to let out a startled yelp, Ning Mingjie covered her mouth with his hand.

    ¡°Older brother, why haven¡¯t you returned to your room?¡± Ning Errong swallowed down her instinctive response and curiously asked.

    ¡°I came back to get an umbre. It¡¯s snowing very heavily.¡± After Ning Mingjie said this, he looked towards the inside of her room. ¡°It¡¯s surprising that she ran over to your ce. She¡¯s quite strange.¡±

    Trantor Ramblings: I didn¡¯t notice this the first time I read the story. But, at this point in the story, isn¡¯t Ning Errong and Nie Qingyun¡¯s rtionship repeating Nie Sangyu and Ning Yuxuan¡¯s? One side knows the other one person isn¡¯t interested and yet, she¡¯s still pushing forward with the marriage. Yes, Nie Qingyun is a very different type of person from Ning Yuxuan, so we can expect their marital life to be different. But isn¡¯t there something fundamentally wrong with forcing someone, who¡¯s not interest in you, into marriage and epting your one-sided feelings? From what we¡¯ve been shown so far, Ning Qingyun is an astute person. He¡¯s not the emotionally dense person that Ji Man thinks he is. He¡¯s aware of Ning Errong¡¯s very obvious feelings and he deliberately keeps distance between them to avoid giving her false hope.

    What do you guys think?

 Chapter 71 - Occasionally gentle (2)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 071 out of 513 ¨C asionally gentle (2)

    Ji Man woke up in the afternoon, but her head felt woozy after sitting up, so she lied back down again.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ning Yuxuan transferred the bowl of thin congee to the other hand and used his other hand to help her sit up and lean against his shoulder. He expressionlessly asked, ¡°Why are you so delicate?¡±

    Ji Man was too tired to talk to him. Her mouth was dry. She didn¡¯t feel hungry even when she saw the congee.

    But, Ning Yuxuan scooped up a spoonful of congee and overbearingly forced it past her lips and into her mouth.

    ¡°This servant can¡¯t bear the honor of being fed congee by the marquis.¡± Ji Man was so angry by his action that a vein on her temple was throbbing. Who would act so crudely towards a sick person? Did she owe him something in a previous life?

    ¡°Then, you should feel deeply grateful,¡± Ning Yuxing lightly snorted. After stuffing her with a bowl of congee while she was dazed, he also fed her two pieces of spicy dried radish to improve the taste in her mouth.

    Ji Man was peeved, but she didn¡¯t have the strength to respond. She could only let him do as he pleased. Her eyes were feeling so tired that she didn¡¯t even want to keep them open. She only said, ¡°It¡¯s easy to catch a cold. My lord, you should leave.¡±

    For an inexplicable reason, Marquis Moyu seemed to be in a good mood. After tucking her in, he said, ¡°I¡¯m not a person that easily gets sick. You don¡¯t have to worry.¡±

    Ji Man clenched her teeth. Who was worried about him getting sick? She was merely finding his presence annoying!

    Muxu hurriedly came into the room to wipe Nie Sangyu¡¯s body with medicinal liquid and also feed her medicine.

    Looking at Muxu, Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°It¡¯s really tiring to be your servant girl. Muxu, I¡¯m giving you two days off. You can leave the residence and visit your family.¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Although Muxu really wanted to take a vacation... ¡°My master is sick. What will she do if there¡¯s no one to take care of her?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be here. You can leave.¡± Marquis Moyu waved his hand.

    And so, Muxu quickly left the room.

    Ji Man¡¯s head felt muzzy from her fever. Although she heard their conversation, she couldn¡¯tprehend the meaning of their words. In this midst of her confusion, someone took off her clothes and wiped her entire body down with a handkerchief that was dampened with medicinal liquid. The person followed up by pouring a very bitter medicine down her throat.

    Whoever was taken care of by Ning Yuxuan would feel as if she had lost half of her life. This was a person thatpletely didn¡¯t know how to gently take care of another person. And yet, he still showed an expression of concern the entire time.

    However, Ji Man¡¯s fever started to go away by the next day. With her body wrapped up in a thick quilt, she resembled a newborn chick as she sat by a brazier. From time to time, she would sniffle and blow her nose.

    Marquis Moyu had really continued to stay here to take care of her. Even when a servant from Qiangwei Courtyard came over to say that Wen Wan wasn¡¯t feeling well, he only sent a doctor to go check on her.

    Ji Man propped up her chin in her hand to look at his attractive face from the side. She couldn¡¯t help thinking; what part of the y was he performing now?

    Theings and goings in the residence decreased in winter. Ji Man heard that Mu Shuqing was feeling at ease with taking care of her pregnancy. Liu Hanyun usually didn¡¯t leave her courtyard. Qian Lianxue had a weak body, so she wasn¡¯t willing to go outside once winter arrived either. Qi Siling was the only person that frequently left her courtyard.

    Ning Yuxuan was finally called away by someone. After spending the past few days inside a stuffy room, Ji Man hurriedly bundled herself to the point that she resembled a ck bear and went outside for fresh air.

    She felt as if she had almost been smothered to death by the smell of medicine and burning charcoal in her room. The snow hadn¡¯t melted outside, but it wasn¡¯t too cold outside. She stepped out into the snowy courtyard and made impressions in the snow with her feet.

    Ji Man continued treading in snow until she finally wrote out a word in English to express her feelings about the past two days. Fuck!

    From a distance, Ning Mingjie and Ning Errong saw a ck bear skipping in the snow as they walked over here.

    ¡°Look at her. She doesn¡¯t look like a person you have to worry about at all.¡± Ning Mingjie couldn¡¯t helpughing.

    Ning Errong walked closer and hurriedly stopped Nie Sangyu. ¡°You just recovered from your cold. Why did youe out? Let¡¯s go back to your room.¡±

    Ji Man said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s too stuffy inside. Why did the two of youe here?¡±

    ¡°I was worried that you were bored, so I came here to keep youpany and relieve you of your boredom.¡± After Ning Errong said this, she pointed at the person behind her, ¡°Older brother wanted the snow on the plum tree, so he also came.¡±

    Snow on the plum tree? Ji Man nced at Ning Mingjie, nodded, and said, ¡°Young Master, feel free to take it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Ning Mingjie nodded. Holding a porcin bottle, he headed towards the plum tree.

    ¡°I heard the half poem in Luoyan Pagoda is extremely popr recently.¡± Ning Errong pulled her to stand underneath the covered walkway and sent Baizi to bring out chairs. ¡°A lot of people have been going there to try to write out the second half of the poem, but none of their attempts have been as imposing and majestic as the first half. I heard that even the crown prince has gone there and spent a long time trying, but failed. He¡¯s offering a hundred gold taels as a reward to the person that canplete the poem.¡±

    After a pause, Ning Errong added, ¡°Fortunately, other than Old Madame, no one knows that you and my older brother wrote that poem. My cousin seems to have been invited by the crown prince to Luoyan Pagoda today for this very reason.¡±

    Ji Man was stunned. She hadn¡¯t expected that poem would attract the crown prince¡¯s attention. This was actually a bit troublesome. If someone recognized Ning Mingjie¡¯s handwriting, would he also confess that she was the writer of the poem in the passing?

    She couldn¡¯t resist turning to look at Ning Mingjie. His slender body was currently quietly using a hairpin to sweep the snow on the plum flowers into a bottle.

    Trantor Ramblings: ¡°She couldn¡¯t help thinking; what part of the y was he performing now?¡±Why do you think Ning Yuxuan is suddenly acting attentive towards Nie Sangyu?

    P.s. Just in case it was too long ago, it was mentioned in an earlier chapter that it would be a bad thing for Ji Man if the crown prince notices her. She wants to be as unobtrusive as possible for safety reasons.

 Chapter 73 - A hidden disaster (2)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 073 out of 513 ¨C A hidden disaster (2)

    ¡°Cousin?¡± Ning Errong curiously turned around to look at him. ¡°Why did youe here?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan lightly smiled. He didn¡¯t waste words and straightforwardly said, ¡°I just returned from Luoyan Pagoda. I saw Mingjie¡¯s wonderful calligraphy there, so I came over here.¡±

    Ning Mingjie¡¯s heart slightly jumped. Although he hadn¡¯t done anything to wrong Marquis Moyu, he was worried that Ning Yuxuan would dislike Nie Sangyu even more after he found out. For a man and a woman to write a poem together, it gave off a sense of picturesque charm.

    Thinking of Nie Sangyu¡¯s deathly pale face, Ning Mingjie found himself in a difficult position. Should he pretend that he wrote the poem? But, he wouldn¡¯t be able to write out the second half.

    As he was thinking about what to do, he forgot that he had a carefree younger sister standing next to him.

    Hearing Marquis Moyu mentioned this topic, she hurriedly said with the intention of helping Sangyu. ¡°My older brother isn¡¯t that broad-minded. He only wrote it out on Sangyu¡¯s behalf. She¡¯s the one thatpose the poem, cousin.¡±

    After these words were said, the room became silent for a long time.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s smile didn¡¯t change, but his gaze gradually became cold. ¡°Sangyu was the one thatpose the poem?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it happened on the day that Old Madame allowed us to leave the residence. Sangyu and my older brother went to the fifth floor and there was a poetrypetition. So, Sangyu went up and disyed her skills!¡± Ning Errong didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong at all with what happened. ¡°Sangyu showed that she was truly from a family with a famous literary reputation. Cousin, Sangyu is a very talented and cultured person. Why do you always possess prejudice towards her?¡±

    Above the poem that had people clicking their tongues in admiration, there was a conspicuous ink blob*. As he listened to people discussing the origins of the ink blob, he heard a nearby schr joke, ¡°That was from a woman¡¯s heart and her rosy and soft hands. How can you possibly know what a beauty is feeling?¡±

    * (T/N: After Ji Man¡¯s failed attempt at writing the title of the poem in chapter 64, she immediately crumpled up the paper, so the ink didn¡¯t have time to dry and probably smeared together to make an ink blob.)

    At the time, he was pondering over the second half of the poem with the crown prince in a private room and didn¡¯t pay special attention to these words. But now, he realized that Sangyu had probably drawn that ink blob. Why did she insist on having Ning Mingjie write the poem on her behalf instead of writing the poem herself? Was she afraid that he would recognize her handwriting? There was no need for her to do something so superfluous. He didn¡¯t care if showed her face in the public. Anyways, Nie Sangyu had done plenty of embarrassing things in the past and there were many people in the capital that recognized her.

    Although his mind thought logically, his heart still inevitably felt ufortable.

    ¡ª

    By the time Ning Yuxuan went to Feiwan Courtyard, Ji Man was already inside and drinking thin congee. Seeing hime into the room, she almost chocked.

    ¡°Why are you here again?¡±

    Listen to these words. Had his two days of care been a waste of effort? And to think, he had been feeling guilty and had decided that he would treat her better from now on. But, here she was, hoping that he wouldn¡¯te visit her.

    There was fire in his heart, but there was also a faint amount of concern. Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t good. He left after standing at the doorway for a short period of time.

    He came and he went. It seemed like she had angered him. Ji Man stuck out her tongue. She really couldn¡¯t be med. Only a moment of not controlling herself and she had said inappropriate words.

    It was true that Ning Yuxuan had truly treated her very well during the past two days. She had let go of most of the grievances in her heart. As long as he wasn¡¯t so bias against her in the future, there was still a chance that they could get along well.

    Shortly after Marquis Moyu left, his personal servant, Guibai, came back and said, ¡°The marquis requests that Mistress Sang write out the second half of the poem.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s heart jumped. How did he find out? But, she immediately patted her chest. He hadn¡¯t shown any extreme reaction towards her or asked her any difficult questions. This meant that he wasn¡¯t particrly offended and this wasn¡¯t a big deal. She didn¡¯t have a ce in Ning Yuxuan¡¯s heart, so that matter probably wouldn¡¯t make him feel displeased.

    At the very least, she was increasing his reputation.

    Ji Man had Muxu bring over a brush and ink, but her handwriting was still a problem. She didn¡¯t know if anyone had seen Nie Sangyu¡¯s writing before. Anyways, her handwriting was crooked and sloppy. It didn¡¯t look like a nobledy¡¯s writing from any angle.

    ¡°Sir Guibai, do you know how to write?¡± Ji Man brightly smiled at the expressionless servant.

    Guibai paused before saying, ¡°Mistress Sang, you don¡¯t know how to write?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I can. It¡¯s just that I haven¡¯t recovered from my cold yet and my hand feels weak.¡± Ji Man held her forehead and pretended to be frail, ¡°Come on, you can write it out while I speak.¡±

    Guibai saw that she truly looked weak, so he kindly took the brush from her.

    ¡°<i>Master Mingjie, Schr Qingyun,</i>

    <i>Drink up. Don¡¯t neglect your wine cup.</i>

    <i>Let me sing you a song,</i>

    <i>Lend me your ears as I sing.</i>

    <i>Bells, drums, delicacies, and jade aren¡¯t precious enough,</i>

    <i>I rather fall into intoxication and never awake.</i>

    <i>Since ancient times, wise and holy men have always been alone,</i>

    <i>Only drinkers leave behind a reputation.</i>

    <i>In the past, Cao Zhi had held a banquet at the Pingle,</i>

    <i>And provided ten thousand cups of wine for his guests to indulge and enjoy.</i>

    <i>As the host, I won¡¯t excuse myself from drinking by imingck of money,</i>

    <i>I¡¯ll straightforwardly buy as much wine as we want to drink.</i>

    <i>A fine steed with a five-color pattern like a five-petal flower.</i>

    <i>Its skin is worth a thousand gold.</i>

    <i>Call my boy over and have him exchange this horse for more wine,</i>

    <i>I¡¯ll share this wine with you as we drink away worries that have existed since ancient times.</i>¡±

    As Ji Man guilty recited the poem, she changed the two names of Li Bai¡¯s friends that were mentioned in the original poem to Ning Mingjie and Nie Qingyun. This way, it would make it seem more like she hadposed this poem. Otherwise, how would she be able to answer Marquis Moyu if he asked her who was Master Cen and Schr Danqiu?

    After Guibai finished writing, the look in his eyes was veryplicated. He stared at Nie Sangyu for a long time. He seemed as if he couldn¡¯t believe that she would able topose verses like these.

    Ji Man held her forehead as she returned to her bed to rest. Naturally, Nie Sangyu shouldn¡¯t be this broad-minded. But, in this world, she was the only one that knew Li Bai¡¯s poems. There was no one that would be able to take out evidence to show that she had giarized.

    However, she hadn¡¯t figured out yet what method the novel¡¯s formerly kind-hearted and lovely female lead would use to recover the Marquis Moyu¡¯s heart.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Marquis, Madam went to the garden to walk around after eating.¡± Liu <i>Mama</i>continued to act as a spy, but this time, Wen Wan was her target that she kept a close watch over.

    Marquis Moyu was sitting in Mu Shuqing¡¯s courtyard. Hearing these words, he pursed his lips and asked, ¡°She didn¡¯t ask you to pass on any messages?¡±

    ¡°To respond to the marquis, she didn¡¯t.¡± Liu <i>Mama</i> honestly said.

    Trantor Ramblings: Even though Ji Man believes that she¡¯s let go of most of the grievances in her heart, her instinctive response toward Ning Yuxuan is still ¡°go away¡± and ¡°leave me alone¡±.

 Chapter 75

    Chapter: 075 out of 513 ¨C An intense war between a mother-inw and daughter-inw (2)

    Behind them, Ning Yuxan wanted to chase after old madame, but Wen Wan grabbed his sleeve.

    Wen Wan looked at him with red eyes as she asked, ¡°Are you always going to choose your mother over me?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s eyebrows were tightly creased. He angrily said, ¡°Why are you deliberately stirring up trouble? I¡¯m already taking your side. And yet, you¡¯re still saying words like these.¡±

    Wen Wan wanted to continue to fuss, but she remembered Qi Siling¡¯s words. She should quit while she was ahead. She hurriedly controlled her anger, tugged at Marquis Moyu¡¯s sleeve, and quietly said, ¡°I know you¡¯re doing this for my benefit and I also know that you love me. I was just temporarily feeling too agitated and couldn¡¯t help blurting out my grievances. She¡¯s already said those type of words about me...¡±

    ¡°Wen Wan.¡± Ning Yuxuan removed her hand from his sleeve and said, ¡°You need to be more sensible.¡±

    Stunned by these words, Wen Wan nkly moved her hand back to her side. She watched as Ning Yuxuan ran after old madame. She bit her bottom lip. Her eyes were full of unwillingness.

    Actually, if that old woman went away, her life would be much better.

    At some point, Ning Mingjie had also left without notice. Wen Wan stood in ce for a while before turning around and going to Qiangwei Courtyard. She ordered Tanxiang to bring Qi Siling over here.

    ¡ª

    Ning Yuxuan was kneeling outside in the main courtyard, but old madame was calmlymanding Shouqu, Danggui, and Nie Sangyu to pack up their luggage.

    Ji Man was slightly worried, so she asked, ¡°Old Madame, are we really going to the pce? Wouldn¡¯t that be a bit inappropriate?¡±

    Old madame was very calm as she sat in her chair. She lightly smiled and said, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m doing this out of impulse?¡±

    Wasn¡¯t she? She was a stately, first-rankdy. If the news that she had been forced to move into the pce was spread, it would sound really bad, ah. Although this is what Ji Man thought, she didn¡¯t voice her thoughts.

    Old madame sent the servant girls outside and whispered into Ji Man¡¯s ear, ¡°Yesterday, Noble Consort Nie sent me a secret letter. She said she¡¯s pregnant, but she doesn¡¯t dare to make this information public. She wants me to go to the pce and keep herpany. The empress doesn¡¯t want her to have another child, so her baby definitely has to remain a secret until her pregnancy has reached three months and it¡¯s condition bes stabilized. She doesn¡¯t have any person that she trusts in the pce, so she asked me to keep herpany.¡±

    Ji Man was shocked. Noble Consort Nie was pregnant? She was almost forty years old. Even though the third prince had no interest towards politics, the emperor was still very fond of him. If Noble Consort Nie gave birth to another prince, wouldn¡¯t the empress¡¯s feeling of impending crisis be more serious?

    ¡°Originally, I was only nning on keeping herpany for two days and leave Shouwu and Dangui there to serve her, so that she¡¯ll feel more at ease.¡± Old Madame¡¯s expression sunk. ¡°But Wen Wan has acted too outrageously. She even dares to try to bully me. We¡¯ll stay in the pce for a few extra days, so that she¡¯ll knows my power.¡±

    If old madame used this opportunity to stay in the pce longer, it would be the equivalent of giving Wen Wan the reputation of an unfilial person. In the end, she would have to humbly request for old madame to return. As for whether or not old madame would be willing to easilye back, that was another matter.

    Ji Man thought; as expected, old ginger was spicier.

    ¡°Old Madame, it¡¯s snowing again. The marquis is still kneeling here.¡± Shouwu couldn¡¯t resist shouting from outside.

    Old madame felt distraught about her son, but she couldn¡¯t take a step forward. If she forgave him, wouldn¡¯t that be the same thing as forgiving Wen Wan? There was no way she would do that.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t have another option. She had to serve as a way out of this ufortable situation for old madame. She went out to try to help Marquis Moyu stand up.

    ¡°My lord, you know why Old Madame is angry. Why are you gambling with your own health?¡± She said.

    Ning Yuxuan was kneeling with a perfectly straight back. He pursed his lip and stayed silent.

    Ji Man brushed away all of the snow near his body and brought an umbre and fox fur cloak to support him.

    When the lights in old madame¡¯s room were extinguished, Ning Yuxuan finally let out a tiny sigh. He slowly stood up and asked, ¡°Sangyu, if you were in my position and was faced with this dilemma, what would you do?¡±

    Ji Man shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to handle this dilemma either. My lord, you might as well allow things to happen naturally.¡±

    Marquis Moyu left and went to Qiangwei Courtyard.

    She could already foresee what would happen next. There would definitely be a serious problem between Wen Wan and Marquis Moyu.

    @@novelbin@@

    Nie Sangyu had been so foolish, ah. She had directly rushed out to deal with Wen Wan. But, the environment of the marquis¡¯s household was already sufficient to make Wen Wan¡¯s life miserable. Why ruin its effect by adding something superfluous?

    ¡ª

    Early next morning, old madame had the servants prepare a carriage. She was going to bring Sangyu, Shouwu, and Danggui with her to the pce.

    ¡°Old Madame, please calm down. Don¡¯t leave.¡± Qi Siling had led the female servants to kneel in the middle of the road and had attracted the attention of many pedestrians.

    Old madame sneered, opened the curtains, nced outside, and said, ¡°She¡¯s a main wife, and yet she has you, an honored concubine,ing here in her ce. Don¡¯t block my way. Otherwise, I¡¯ll have the carriage run you over.¡±

    Qi Siling gritted her teeth. She had already told Wen Wan that she couldn¡¯t show her temper, but Wen Wan wouldn¡¯t listen. She had actually thought that her life would befortable after old madame left.

    What a hopelessly inept person!

    Trantor Ramblings: I think Ning Yuxuan and Ji Man¡¯s rtionship is really interesting and unique. He¡¯s only recently crossed over the boundary line of not despising her and he only shows care towards her out of guilt, his mother, and Nie n. But, at the same time, he actually asks her for advice and values her opinion. There¡¯s such a huge contrast between this rtionship and his true love rtionship with Wen Wan.

    Ning Yuxuan think that Wen Wan is being immature and unreasonable, but he¡¯s also aware that she doesn¡¯t understand the stricter rules of a noble family. Even though Wen Wan is stupid for not following Qi Siling¡¯s advice, I think it¡¯s understandable. Experience has taught Wen Wan that she only needs to cry and Ning Yuxuan will resolve everything. Until there¡¯s asting consequence to Wen Wan¡¯s behavior, there¡¯s no reason for her to change or think she¡¯s wrong.

 Chapter 76 - The crown princeâ€™s playboy nature (1)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 076 out of 513 ¨C The crown prince¡¯s yboy nature (1)

    If old madame really went to the pce to live, could Wen Wan¡¯s life in the marquis¡¯s residence be good?

    The answer was no.

    The carriage directly went past the crowd and headed towards the pce, and yet Wen Wan was angrily sitting at her dressing table. Marquis Moyu was standing nearby. His expression was very ugly, but Wen Wan pretended that she didn¡¯t see it and sobbed in aggrieved tone, ¡°You said you would treat me well and wouldn¡¯t let me suffer any grievances, so why do I have to be the one that apologizes to her every time?¡±

    This was the first time that Ning Yuxuan felt that Wen Wan was immature and unreasonable. She refused to admit her mistake. It didn¡¯t even ur to her that causing this type of trouble wouldn¡¯t benefit her at all.

    ¡°Besides, what¡¯s wrong with the pce? There¡¯s delicious food and drink in the pce. She¡¯ll be treated very well in there. What exactly are you worried about?¡± Wen Wan red at Ning Yuxuan through the mirror.

    Marquis Moyu rubbed the spot between his eyebrows and said in a low voice, ¡°You were the one that was wrong to begin with. It was already sote in the day, but you still did something that would arouse suspicion by being so intimate with Mingjie. How could mother not be angry?¡±

    ¡°He was the one that came over of his own initiative. I didn¡¯t invite him. Why are you ming me?¡± Wen Wan became even angrier. ¡°Tanxiang and Changshan were also there. Why are you treating me as if I was fickle woman?¡±

    It was impossible to talk sense with her. Ning Yuxuan¡¯s face finally sunk. He coldly harrumphed, then turned around and stepped past the doorway. It was still snowing outside, but he didn¡¯t go back inside to take an umbre with him. Instead, he directly returned to the western courtyard.

    Wen Wan was shocked. She stood up and took two steps outside to chase after him, but seeing that Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t even look back, her eyes became red again.

    She had just wanted to make him angry. She knew that he would be in the garden at that time, so she had Tanxiang lead Ning Mingjie over. How could she have known that old madame would be in the garden and be so furious? Wen Wan felt that she was totally an innocent victim. She turned around and went to her bed to cry.

    Anyhow, Yuxuan loved her dearly. In a few days, after his mother wasfortably settled in the pce, he would probably forgive her, right?

    ¡ª

    Noble Consort Nie had regained the emperor¡¯s favor. The emperor looked after her in every possible way, which made many people¡¯s eyes turn red with jealousy in the harem. She had simply said she wanted old madame toe to the pce and keep herpany, and the emperor had marked off a <i>ting yu xuan</i> that was near Ninglu Pce for old madame and Sangyu to stay.

    (T/N: <i>Ting yu xuan</i> literally means a listening and viewing rain building. It¡¯s building that has windows and a balcony view over ake or pond. Below is a picture of a simple one.)

    The gossip traveled quickly in the pce; Marquis Moyu had married a shrew that forced his mother out of the marquis¡¯s residence and into the pce. Old madame wasn¡¯t an ordinary mother. She was a first-rankdy. While clutching her handkerchief, she cried in front of the emperor. And so, the emperor summoned Marquis Moyu to admonish him.

    ¡°You previously had me promote Wen Yi¡¯s rank on the basis that he had taught his daughter well and he has a good moral character,¡± The emperor said as he looked at Ning Yuxuan with shining eyes. ¡°As it turns out, the good daughter that he taught was a woman like this.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Marquis Moyu realized that his mother had lodged aint with the emperor in a fit of pique. His father had die in a battle and the emperor had always felt that he owed something to the Ning n because of this. Thus, the emperor was naturally often willing to take his side. However, if there was an argument between him and his mother, as an elder, the emperor had to side with his mother and protect her.

    ¡°This subject has failed in seeing the truth,¡± He slowly kneeled down and said.

    Wen Wan¡¯s father, Wen Yi, was just a jailer that worked in the capital¡¯s prison. After Wen Wan married into his family, he had used his connections to promote his father-inw all the way up to a sixth-rank official. Wen Wan had already been satisfied with this, but because old madame had used Wen Wan¡¯s background to criticize her, he didn¡¯t have any other options. He had to think about promoting Wen Yi further up.

    But after this incident, there was no chance the emperor would ever agree. He valued a woman¡¯s morality and conduct the most. Last time, part of the reason that he had angrily rebuked Sangyu was truly because she had acted too outrageously. And clearly, Wen Wan had acted even worse than Sangyu this time.

    Ning Yuxuan felt that the emperor could see that he truly loved Wen Wan. And thus, unlike with Sangyu, he wasn¡¯t instructing him to abolish Wen Wan¡¯s position.

    After suffering through a long lecture, Ning Yuxuan went to the <i>ting yu xuan</i> to look for someone.

    ¡ª

    After Ji Man followed old madame to the <i>ting yu xuan</i>, they started unpacking. Old madame would be staying in the main hall and she would be staying in the side hall. The group of servant girls would be staying in a small side room. Right after they had finished settling in and old madame was speaking with Noble Consort Nie in the main hall, someone came over.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t react properly by kneeling down to salute until Muxu tugged her sleeve. Because she didn¡¯t clearly see if the dragons on the robe had four-ws or five-ws, she didn¡¯t know if it was the crown prince or the emperor that hade. She didn¡¯t dare to call out the wrong greeting, so she only quietly kneeled.

    ¡°Is Noble Consort Nie and Old Madame Ning inside?¡± The crown prince looked at the person kneeling on the ground and asked with quite a bit of interest.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Ji Man said with her head lowered.

    The snow had just stopped. The crown prince stood in ce and didn¡¯t seem as if he wanted to go inside. Instead, he stretched a hand out and helped Nie Sangyu stand up.

    Shocked, Ji Man¡¯s gaze swiftly nced at the dragons on his robe. Thank god, it was four-ws. This person was the crown prince.

    She wasn¡¯t overthinking. There were too many examples of an emperor forcibly seizing married women in history. With no one to manage the emperor from above, past emperors were allwless and out-of-control. But, the crown prince was different. The emperor controlled him. No matter what, he wouldn¡¯t dare to act recklessly.

    Last time, she had felt uneasy just hearing his movements when he had visited the marquis¡¯s residence¡¯s southern courtyard. And now, this grand crown prince was actually helping her stand up. Ji Man felt chills going up her back.

    ¡°I heard from Yuxuan that you wrote the poem in Luoyan Pagoda,¡± The crown prince moved closer to her and quietly said. ¡°This has greatly helped this prince. What should I reward you with?¡±

    Ji Man took a step back and respectfully said, ¡°It¡¯s because the marquis has instructed me well. Your Highness, please just reward him.¡±

    Zhao Zhe raised his eyebrows, looked at this well-behaved woman, chuckled, and said, ¡°How could I have the opportunity to reward Marquis Moyu? He¡¯s only below one person and above a thousand others. He has countless beauties. His life is morefortable and unrestrained than mine.¡±

    Ji Man felt that this crown prince was somewhat dislikable. Why was he standing so close to her while he was talking? He waspletelycking in manners.

 Chapter 78 - Hidden danger is lurking everywhere (1)

    Chapter: 078 out of 513 ¨C Hidden danger is lurking everywhere (1)

    Ning Yuxuan was silent for a long time before he suddenly smiled. ¡°If you say you¡¯re Nie Sangyu, then I really can¡¯t believe you. But, regardless of who you are, you really can only be her.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s heart jumped and she secretly scolded herself. Her careless words had attracted Marquis Moyu¡¯s suspicion. But after Ning Yuxuan said those words, she felt uncertain.

    Had he always been suspicious about her?

    After the person in front of her turned around and left, Ji Man nkly stood there for a while before she returned to the <i>ting yu xuan</i>.

    The crown prince had already left. She reckoned that he had juste here to take a look. Old madame and Noble Consort Nie were still inside talking. In a well-behaved manner, Ji Man poured tea for them after entering the room.

    ¡°Do you think I would make life difficult for that woman if she was as well-behaved as Sangyu?¡± Old madame took the cup of tea and sighed.

    Noble Consort Nie smiled and said, ¡°If you¡¯re not satisfied with your daughter-inw, then just have Yuxuan divorce her and have him remarry. Look at you. Right now, you should be living infort in your old age, but you¡¯re letting yourself be angered to this state by a junior.¡±

    ¡°I do want Xuan-<i>er</i> to divorce her.¡± Old madame looked serious for a moment, but her shoulders slumped down in defeat as she said, ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m worried that they¡¯ll act out the tragedy of <i>A Peacock Flying to the Southeast</i>. Xuan-<i>er</i> is deeply in love with her. I can¡¯t forcibly break up their marriage. I can only hope that Xuan-<i>er</i> will wake up one day and see that woman¡¯s true colors.¡±

    (T/N: <i>A Peacock Flying to the Southeast</i> is a poem about a tragic love story of newly weds that were forced apart by the husband¡¯s mother. As a result, theymitted suicide in hopes that they could be together in the next life.)

    Ji Man thought; it was an impossible for Ning Yuxuan to wake up on his own. Right now, the story had already changed a lot from the original novel and it continued to deviate even further. Even she didn¡¯t know what would happen in the future.

    But, the feelings between the male lead and female lead were the central theme. If one day, Marquis Moyu suddenly stopped loving Wen Wan, what would the novel change into?

    ¡ª

    @@novelbin@@

    Wen Wan was very happy that old madame was no longer in the residence, but she felt a bit depressed that Ning Yuxuan hadn¡¯te to see her in the past few days. Instead, he visited Qian Lianxue and Mu Shuiqing.

    Qian Lianxue was sickly and Mu Shuqing was pregnant. There wasn¡¯t anything wrong with him visiting them more often. But counting the days, he hadn¡¯t slept with her for several days already. If this continued, how could she get pregnant?

    Wen Wan was very worried. Feeling worried, she went to the garden to walk around. Once she went to the garden, she met Ning Mingjie again. He was feeling bored from being idle, so he was in the garden collecting snow that had fallen on the flowers.

    Because of what had happenedst time, Wen Wan felt slightly embarrassed when she saw Ning Mingjie. She didn¡¯t know if she should approach him to greet him or turn around and leave. Fortunately, she saw Qi Silinging over in the other direction, which solved her problem.

    ¡°Madam, this concubine has something to say.¡± Qi Siliang pulled her to the side and they avoided Ning Mingjie.

    ¡°What?¡± Wen Wan looked at her and asked.

    Qi Siling had their servant girls stand farther away before she said heartfelt and sincere words, ¡°Madam, the marquis¡¯s household has strict rules. You should avoid the marquis¡¯s cousin as much as possible. Even if you weren¡¯t the woman in the marquis¡¯ heart and you were only an ordinary concubine, he¡¯ll still feel unhappy if his woman gets too close to another man. Don¡¯t try using those cheap tricks on the marquis.¡±

    Her words made Wen Wan feel unbearably embarrassed. She put on a serious expression and said, ¡°I¡¯ve always followed the rules. Who¡¯s ying cheap tricks?¡±

    Qi Siling paused. She didn¡¯ty bare the truth and only said, ¡°Although the marquis¡¯s cousin looks like a celestial immortal, he¡¯s still a mortal nheless. This concubine has already secretly observed him for a while and discovered that he¡¯s very interested in Nie Sangyu. It¡¯s one thing for him to write a poem together with her at Luoyan Pagoda, but Sonn had seen Nie Sangyuing out of the southern courtyard in the early morning. She probably spent the night in the southern courtyard.¡±

    Wen Wan frowned slightly. For an inexplicable reason, her heart felt ufortable. ¡°How could he be interested in Nie Sangyu? They probably only have contact with each other because of his younger sister.¡±

    ¡°Even if he¡¯s not interested, her oue could still be overturned if she¡¯s not careful about her actions.¡± Qi Siling faintly smiled. ¡°The marquis has recently been treating that woman, who lives in Feiwan Courtyard, better and better. I heard that when he went into the pce two days ago, he didn¡¯t go see Old Madame. He only visited Nie Sangyu.¡±

    Wen Wan¡¯s heart clenched. She hurriedly asked, ¡°What did they talk about?¡±

    ¡°This concubine doesn¡¯t know. Regardless, the current Nie Sangyu has a sense of propriety and knows when to advance or retreat. She¡¯s knows how to skillfully deal with problems. She¡¯spletely changed from her previous self. Madam, this concubine thinks that if you don¡¯t be guarded against her, the marquis will return to her side sooner orter. This concubine will say the unpleasant truth. Madam, you¡¯ve been with the marquis for less than a year. Nie Sangyu has been with him for over six years.¡±

    Wen Wan was silent. The thing that she was most afraid of, was that Nie Sangyu and the marquis had too much past history. It wasn¡¯t possible for her to insert herself into their past.

    Qi Siling has a glib tongue. Her words made Wen Wan¡¯s heart struggle and waver. After she left Wen Wan in the garden, she went to instigate Qian Lianxue. She wanted Qian Lianxue to get angry with Wen Wan and do something against her.

    Unfortunately, Qian Lianxue didn¡¯t fall for her trick. She only lightly smiled as she listened to her talk for a while, then she said, ¡°Madam is still Madam after all. I¡¯m already satisfied with being able to eat my fill and wear clothes that keep me warm. Older sister, you don¡¯t need to say anymore.¡±

    Faced with a tactful rejection, the smile on Qi Siling¡¯s face disappeared and she withdrew from Xuesong Courtyard.

    ¡ª

    The crown prince¡¯s servant, Taxue, saluted Ning Yuxuan and said, ¡°Marquis, the crown prince said he¡¯s not done with his assignments yet and won¡¯t be going to Luoyan Pagoda.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good that the crown prince is willing to be studious. I won¡¯t bother him.¡± Marquis Moyu lightly nodded, turned around, and left the crown prince¡¯s residence.

    Zhao Zhe had always loved to y and rarely did his assignments. But, he had been surprisingly goodtely. Ning Yuxuan hadn¡¯t even seen his shadow during the past two days. Was he really doing his assignments? Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow. Right after he went onto his sedan chair, he ordered the porters for the sedan chair, ¡°Bring me to the pce.¡±

    Two days had passed. He had listened to Nie Sangyu¡¯s words and waited for his mother¡¯s anger to subside before visiting her. If this didn¡¯t work out, he would just me her.

    Trantor Ramblings: Tiny, vague spoiler. Things will improve for Ji Man this week. Also, Ji Man is slowly bing more ustomed to this world and is getting better at figuring out how far she can push things. For example, when she recently called out Marquis Moyu¡¯s bluff of dismissing her.

 Chapter 80 - The position of the secondary wife (1)

    Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

    Chapter: 080 out of 513 ¨C The position of the secondary wife (1)

    Hearing something off in his voice, she looked in his direction and saw a silver fox fur cloak hanging on the divider screen. It was a valuable cloak embroidered with a golden dragon with four-ws.

    She sighed. This cloak had nothing to do with her. Early this morning, when the crown prince hade to pay respect to Noble Consort Nie, a part of the cloak had been damaged when it was being hanged. Noble Consort Nie knew that she was very skillful with needlework, so she had handed the cloak to her to mend.

    But, Ning Yuxuan thought about this matter differently. He knew Zhao Zhe better than anyone else and had negative mental associations when he saw the cloak here.

    ¡°Are you very close with the crown prince?¡±

    Ji Man seriously said, ¡°This matter has to be clearly exined. I¡¯m not familiar with the crown prince and I¡¯m not mending this cloak because of him. Noble Consort Nie was the one that handed me this cloak to mend.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan made a sound of acknowledgement. The corners of his lips faintly curved. ¡°It¡¯s true that your embroidery skills are very good, but there are plenty of people in the pce. The noble consort doesn¡¯t need to order you around like a servant girl.¡±

    His words made it seem like she was deliberately trying to show off. Ji Man decided not to argue with this person. Otherwise, she would be the one that was angered to death.

    ¡°My lord, you¡¯ve been here long enough. You should go back to keep Madampany,¡± Ji Man considerately said with a smile. ¡°You only need to go through the motions here. This servant won¡¯t say any unnecessary words in front of Old Madame and the noble consort. You don¡¯t have worry. This servant will only say good things about you in front of them.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression sunk. His peach blossom eyes seemed like they were full of needles. ¡°You¡¯ve be very mature. You used to eagerly hope that I would stay longer. Now, you eagerly hope that I¡¯ll leave sooner.¡±

    ¡°People will always change.¡± Ji Man lightly smiled. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be so stupid to spend an entire lifetime loving a person that didn¡¯t love you back? My lord, walk slowly. It¡¯s slippery outside. Have the servants support you more while you¡¯re walking.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t know what to say. He sullenly flung his sleeve and started to leave the <i>ting yu xuan</i>. However, he saw the crown prince after only walking a few steps.

    Zhao Zhe had a Casanova-like smile. ¡°Marquis, did you just go to pay your respect to Old Madame?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan stopped walking. ¡°Your Highness, weren¡¯t you staying home to work on your assignments? Why are you here?¡±

    Zhao Zhe rubbed his nose and said with a smile, ¡°I came to the pce early this morning and ordered the servants to say I was working on assignments. You understand why I have to use those cheap tricks. Otherwise, other people will think I¡¯m a hedonistic crown prince that doesn¡¯t know how to diligent.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrows, but stayed silent.

    But, the crown prince was in a very good mood and he said, ¡°It¡¯s good that I met you here. Bring out my silver fox cloak for me. Let¡¯s go to Chun Feng.¡±

    (T/N: Literal trantion of Chun Feng is spring breeze.)

    <i>She¡¯s like a spring breeze in the three-mile long Yangzhou Street. There are many rolled up beaded screens, yet there is no one equal to her.*</i>

    * (T/N: These are lines from a Tang poem that¡¯s about a beautiful songstress.)

    As the capital¡¯s most popr money squandering establishment, Chun Feng had captivating women that were very understanding of their customers¡¯ needs. Ning Yuxuan wasn¡¯t an ascetic person and he frequently went there at the request of others. He wasn¡¯t in a very good mood today. Thinking that it would be good ce to get over his unhappiness, he agreed.

    He turned around and personally went inside to bring out the crown prince¡¯s silver fox fur cloak.

    Zhao Zhe put on the cloak. His phoenix eyes curved into crescent moons as he smiled. ¡°Her skill is truly better than the capital¡¯s best embroideress¡¯s.¡±

    His smile was dazzling as he caressed the embroidered blooming lotus flower that was at the cloak¡¯s corner. ¡°Sangyu is so skillful with her hands. There was such a big rip in the cloak that I thought I would have to discard it, but she embroidered a lotus flower to hide the mended tear.¡±

    The contrast between the golden dragon that was baring its fangs and brandishing its ws and the elegant lotus flower blooming in the corner of the silver cloak gave off a different kind of feeling from the original design.

    There was a saying; I¡¯m willing to rebuke the entire world for you and protectively hold you in my grasp as if you were a flower.

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s expression sunk and turned ugly. He coldly harrumphed, ¡°It had been a perfectly good golden dragon cloak. Adding a nondescript lotus flower is the same as ruining it. It¡¯s surprising that Your Highness think she¡¯s skillful.¡±

    The crown prince loudlyughed. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you despise Nie Sangyu the most? Why does your voice sound like you¡¯re feeling jealous?¡±

    ¡°If you want to go, let¡¯s leave quickly.¡± Ning Yuxuan flung his sleeve, raised his foot, and sat down on the sedan chair.

    Seeing that he was annoyed, the crown prince snickered before following him by going into his own imperial sedan chair and leaving the pce together.

    ¡ª

    At Chun Feng, beautiful women danced and sung in soft voices that resembled moving water, ¡°There are trees in the mountains and there are branches on the trees. I adore you, but you do not know me.¡±

    The crown prince and Marquis Moyu were sitting in the best private room. Hearing the news of their arrival, the officials came by affably to propose toasts. They didn¡¯t expose these two people¡¯s status. They addressed the crown prince as ¡°Second Master¡± and Marquis Moyu as ¡°Sir Ning¡±.

    Sir Xu, a Ministry of Rites¡¯s official, looked at the crown prince and said, ¡°Second Master, why did youe out while wearing this cloak? It¡¯s not peaceful and safe outside and your status is very noble. You should be more careful.¡±

    Zhao Zhe had already drunk two cups of wine, but he was still holding the lotus flower in his other hand. He said, ¡°This master likes this cloak and doesn¡¯t want to take it off.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan nced at him.

    The crown prince¡¯s gaze happened to meet his. He couldn¡¯t help breaking intoughter. ¡°Look at Sir Ning. Doesn¡¯t it look like Sir Ning¡¯s eyes are shooting fire after this master said I like this cloak? He¡¯s exactly like a jealous wife.¡±

    The officials from the Ministry of Rites all awkwardlyughed. They didn¡¯t dare to honestly answer even though Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression truly looked very ugly.

    ¡°Second Master, you should pay attention to propriety.¡± Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t drink wine. He calmly said, ¡°Everyone has a bottom line. You shouldn¡¯t provoke her.¡±

    The crown prince paused. Holding a wine cup, he approached Ning Yuxuan and said, ¡°Tell me the truth. Do you also like her now? You go on and on about her bad points, but aren¡¯t you still feeling angry right now?¡±

 Chapter 83 - Vigilance must be maintained to avoid being harmed (2)

    Chapter: 083 out of 513 ¨C Vignce must be maintained to avoid being harmed (2)

    ¡°Master, we purchased the cold cream.¡± The two young servant girls had returned. These two fresh fourteen to fifteen-year-olds were the lowest-ranking servants girls. One was called Dengxin and the other was called Gancao.

    Muxu was normally the only one that entered her room, so Ji Man hadn¡¯t paid special attention to these young servant girls. Now, she carefully looked at them. Dengxin had clear eyes and seemed energetic. Gancao was quiet, sensible, and knowledgeable about etiquette. They would be good, young sessors to Muxu.

    ¡°En.¡± Ji Man smiled. ¡°Go see if your Aunt* Muxu has woken up yet. She suffered from a fright because of me.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    * (T/N: Just to be clear, these two girls aren¡¯t rted to Muxu. Calling Muxu their Aunt is just showing that she¡¯s higher than them in hierarchy. Just like how Wen Wan calls Nie Sangyu her younger sister.)

    There were five boxes of cold cream in total. Ji Man sent over arge box and two small boxes of cold cream to old madame¡¯s courtyard. As for the remaining two boxes, she sent one box each to Wen Wan and Qian Lianxue.

    Originally, since there was cold cream that could be purchased by anyone now, it wouldn¡¯t be necessary for her to do this good act. However, she had ordered Miss Shui to not sell any cold cream to the marquis¡¯s household unless it was her servant girls that were asking.

    She had initially nned on always doing this as a way to curry favor. However, she knew that it wouldn¡¯t be possible to continue. She had to end this before the bomb exploded.

    ¡ª

    When Muxu woke up, she leaned against her bed and gasped for a while. She saw that there were two lowest-ranking servant girls and Doctor Li in the room. Her master was the only one missing. Her heart clenched. She staggered out of bed and opened her wardrobe to look.

    The bag was in its original position and there weren¡¯t any traces of it being rummaged through.

    ¡°Did master give any orders?¡± Muxu turned her head to ask the people in the room.

    The two young servants girls and Doctor Li shook their heads.

    ¡°Mistress Sang said she frightened you. She was worried, so she had me stay here.¡± Doctor Li picked up his medicine box and said, ¡°You fainted because you were too scared. There¡¯s nothing else that¡¯s wrong. You¡¯re fine after taking that short nap.¡±

    Muxu rxed. She straightened her clothes for a moment, then she sent Doctor Li away and went to look for Nie Sangyu.

    Seeing Muxue inside, Ji Man only asked, ¡°You woke up?¡± There was a slight amount of distress in her expression.

    Muxu¡¯s heart rose up in fear again. She walked to her side and asked, ¡°Master, why are you so dispirited?¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s head was resting on the table and her tone was extremely dejected as she said, ¡°Ai, I believed in the wrong person.¡±

    Muxu¡¯s knees felt weak. She was almost about to kneel down. Her face was also bing increasingly pale.

    ¡°I treated Miss Shui so well. Why did she see profit and forget her morality? She abandoned me in spite of my care.¡± Ji Man quietly said.

    Miss Shui? Muxu paused. She stammered out a few words, ¡°Why is it her?¡±

    ¡°Other than her, who else could it be?¡± Ji Man angrily said. ¡°We had agreed upon a sixty and forty percent split. But now that she has money, she won¡¯t acknowledge our agreement. She gave me five hundred silver taels and said she had purchased the copyright for the cold cream. She taking my ideas and going to do business for herself.¡±

    ¡°How could she do something like that?¡± Muxu widened her eyes. ¡°Miss Shui seems like a decent person.¡±

    Ji Man shook her head and sighed. ¡°You can known a person for a long time without understanding her true nature, ah. I put the banknotes in bottommost drawer in the wardrobe. I¡¯ll leave it alone and use it to support myself in old age.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Muxu lowered her eyes. There was a struggle in her eyes.

    The pair of master and servant stayed silent for a long time. Muxu couldn¡¯t resist asking, ¡°Master, aren¡¯t you going to sue her? Wasn¡¯t there a contract?¡±

    Ji Man shook her head and said, ¡°It won¡¯t be good for me to make this matter public. If the marquis and Old Madame found out that I was the one behind the cold cream, there¡¯ll definitely be unpleasant consequences.¡±

    Muxu nodded and dazedly stood at the side in silence.

    Ji Man lowered her head and drank tea with saying another word.

    ¡ª

    On the very same night, Qi Siling said a thief had entered her courtyard. She was fine, but she had lost a hundred silver taels of personal money.

    Noise mored throughout the marquis residence immediately, even the guests in the southern courtyard were affected. Full of curiosity, Ning Errong ran over to Nie Sangyu¡¯s room to join in the fuss. ¡°The honored concubines in your family are really rich. She¡¯s actually saved a hundred silver taels.¡±

    Ji Man was currently facing her mirror and grooming herself. When she heard these words, she chuckled and said, ¡°She¡¯s a person that once managed the inner courts. It would be strange if she didn¡¯t have any foundation. There¡¯ll probably be peopleing over here to search my roomter. You don¡¯t have to go anywhere else to watch drama. My ce will be the most exciting.¡±

    Ning Errong didn¡¯t understand the meaning of her words. But, a short whileter, she saw Qi Siling and Marquis Moyue to Feiwan Courtyard¡¯s entrance, along with a group of servants.

    ¡°Check this ce too.¡± Ning Yuxuan saw Nie Sangyu as soon as he entered the room. She even turned her head to look at him. Her face seemed even more beautiful nowpared to when he saw her a few days ago. His heart would start to beat faster if he looked at her for a little bit longer.

    Marquis Moyu faintly looked away and gestured at the servants.

    Qi Siling entered the room and warmly held Nie Sangyu¡¯s hand. ¡°Older sister, we¡¯ll have to bother you. The marquis and I even searched Qiangwei Courtyard recently. There shouldn¡¯t be a problem here, right?¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s smile was proper and rxed. ¡°Younger sister, feel free to search anywhere.¡±

    Qi Siling nodded. She turned around and saw a few servant girlsing inside. They opened Nie Sangyu¡¯s wardrobe. A few of the servants also barged into Muxu¡¯s room. After rummaging through, one of them yelled out, ¡°Found it.¡±

    A lot of Nie Sangyu¡¯s clothes had been thrown out of the wardrobe in their search, but the servant girls came up empty-handed. With red faces, they stood up and said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing here.¡±

    Qi Siling looked at Marquis Moyu. A few of the servants had seized Muxu and brought her into Nie Sangyu¡¯s room. Just as they ced the bag down and was about to open it, they heard Nie Sangyu call out, ¡°Wait.¡±

 Chapter 84 - You still owe me a dare (1)

    Chapter: 084 out of 513 ¨C You still owe me a dare (1)

    Everyone paused in his or her movements and uniformly looked at Nie Sangyu. There wasn¡¯t panic on her face. Instead, she friendly held Qi Siling¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°Younger sister, is your lost money in the form of silver ingots or is it banknotes?¡±

    Qi Siling paused, cast a nce at the shape of the bag, and said, ¡°Fifty in silver ingots and fifty in banknotes.¡±

    ¡°What union was the banknotes from?¡± Ji Man asked another question.

    If this was a few days ago and she was still a concubine, Qi Siling would definitely ignore her question and say that she was just quibbling. But, her status had changed after all. She was now a secondary wife and was half a step above her. Nie Sangyu¡¯s questions were asked in such a friendly tone; Qi Siling couldn¡¯t refuse to answer.

    And so, Qi Siling could only put on a bold face and said, ¡°It¡¯s probably Feng Hui Union. Sonn was the one that exchanged the silver taels for the banknote, so this concubine doesn¡¯t clearly remember.¡±

    Thergest two unions in the capital were Feng Hui Union and Hui Tong Union. And so, it was only a coincidence that Qi Siling had guessed correctly.

    Ji Man waved her hand to indicate for the servants to open the bag. The silver ingots spilled out and the banknote on the bottom was revealed.

    ¡°Why is there so much?¡± Surprised, Qi Siling covered her mouth after seeing the money.

    It seemed that Qi Siling hadn¡¯t been the one that was trying to frame her. She was just taking advantage of the situation for her own benefit. Why? If she were the one that had Muxu nt the evidence, then she definitely wouldn¡¯t have spoken the wrong amount.

    Three hundred sixty silver taels was arge sum of money. Right now, Ji Man¡¯s monthly allowance was ten silver taels. This amount would be enough tost her for three years.

    Muxu kneeled down and exined, ¡°This servant didn¡¯t steal Mistress Ling¡¯s money.¡±

    ¡°Of course you couldn¡¯t have been the one that stole the money.¡± Seeing that Marquis Moyu was about to speak from her peripheral vision, Ji Man spoke before he could. Having nned in advance, she looked at Qi Siling and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t younger sister Ling say that there was a thief in the middle of the night? The thief must have stuffed all of his stolen money into Muxu¡¯s room. But... this amount doesn¡¯t match younger sister Ling¡¯s amount of a hundred silver taels.¡±

    Qi Siling froze in surprise for a moment, then she pursed her lips and said, ¡°Perhaps, this money isn¡¯t the concubine¡¯s. This concubine¡¯s monthly allowance is seven and a half silver taels. It took this concubine a long time to save up a hundred silver taels. It absolutely couldn¡¯t be this much.¡±

    Ji Man raised her eyebrows. She picked up the banknote and handed it to Marquis Moyu.

    Ning Yuxuan took the banknote and looked at it. Feng Hui Union¡¯s mark was clearly at the top.

    When Qi Siling had been managing the inner court¡¯s ounts, Ning Yuxuan knew that it wasn¡¯t possible for Qi Siling topletely keep her hands clean. But, he hadn¡¯t expected that she would have this much money after only managing for four years.

    There wasn¡¯t much anger on Marquis Moyu¡¯s face. Instead, he asked with a great deal of interest, ¡°It¡¯s strange. The thief had stolen money. Why did he stuff the money into Muxu¡¯s room instead of running away or putting the money into Sangyu¡¯s room?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Qi Siling¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t good, but she still spoke, ¡°My lord, this isn¡¯t this concubine¡¯s money.¡±

    ¡°Then, tell me. Where did the money found in Muxu¡¯s roome from?¡± Ning Yuxuan looked at her as he asked. ¡°A servant girl¡¯s monthly allowance is only one silver tael. Muxu has only been in my residence for six years. When all is said and done, she could have only saved seventy-two silver taels at the most.¡±

    Qi Siling nced at Nie Sangyu and quietly said, ¡°Perhaps, older sister Sangyu had bestowed her this money.¡±

    With a face full of innocence, Ji Man pointed at her wardrobe and jewelry box. ¡°Younger sister, take a clear look. My monthly allowance just increased. My jewelry and clothes are all very in and simple. I only have ten silver taels saved up in my jewelry box, without any other exceptions. Where would I have the money to reward a servant?¡±

    Qi Siling felt as if she had fallen into a trap. She was truly experiencing suffering that she couldn¡¯t defend herself against. Why were they saying that this found bag of money was hers? There truly had been a thief in her courtyard tonight. Marquis Moyu has also been there. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t have been a great number of servants carrying out this search everywhere. She had just wanted to take advantage of this situation for her own benefit. It would have been good to ce the crime on Nie Sangyu. But, for an inexplicable reason, she wasn¡¯t about to outtalk Nie Sangyu.

    Nie Sangyu¡¯s mouth was bing increasingly clever.

    Muxu was kneeling by their side and repeatedly kowtowed. ¡°These silver taels have nothing to do with this servant. Marquis, please investigate!¡±

    Seeing her panic-strickened expression, the corner of Ji Man¡¯s mouth faintly curved up.

    She didn¡¯t know who was trying to harm her. Fortunately for her, she had identally seen part of their n before it was executed and avoided it. Otherwise, if they had also found banknotes in her room, the matter of the thief in the residence would be a small matter. The other people would most likely stand around in a circle as they watched Marquis Moyu punish her.

    She had been very lucky.

    ¡°As for this money, how about a hundred silver taels will be given to Ling-<i>er</i>, the rest will be confiscated by Steward Qian?¡± Ning Yuxuan lightly said.

    Qi Siling was very unsatisfied, ¡°My lord...¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anymore. This trouble hassted for such a long time. You should go back to rest.¡± Marquis Moyu sat down and said, ¡°Ling-<i>er</i> take the money and go back to your room.¡±

    She was going back by herself? Qi Siling¡¯s heart turned cold. She had finally received the chance to be favored. The marquis had said he would be resting at her ce tonight. After a thief had broken into her courtyard and they hade to Feiwan Courtyard, the result was that he ended up staying here instead.

    Inwardly, Qi Siling was vexed. She had suffered a double loss after trying to harm her enemy. But, she still put on a proper smile. ¡°Then, this concubine won¡¯t bother the marquis with his rest. This concubine will send the marquis a tasty, light breakfast in the morning.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ning Yuxuan nodded. He waved his hand and all of the servants they had brought also withdrew from the room.

    Seeing that this matter had been so simply settled, Muxu was somewhat stunned and amazed. But, she still packed up the rest of the money and followed Marquis Moyu¡¯s order by leaving to go and deliver the money to Steward Qian.

    Ji Man was slightly distressed about losing her money. She had lost three hundred sixty silver taels just like that. How many cold creams would have to be sold for her to earn back that money, ah? However, after thinking about, she decided that she could ept using money to avoid misfortune.

    Trantion Ramblings: Wait, what happened to Errong? The author seemed to have forgotten about her. I find it hard to believe that she would have been able to stay silent in this recent conversation.

 Chapter 87 - The ending can be changed (2)

    Chapter: 087 out of 513 ¨C The ending can be changed (2)

    Her hot blood was slightly boiling from these thoughts, but then a plop of snow fell down on her from the eaves and cooled her down.

    She hade here to fulfill Nie Sangyu¡¯s wish. She couldn¡¯t stay in this ancient world for a lifetime. Other than getting Ning Yuxuan to fall in love with her, there wasn¡¯t another way for her to return to modern times. There was no reason for her to get so excited, ah.

    She sighed and reluctantly looked away from Ning Mingjie. She calmly brushed off the snow on her head. ¡°It¡¯s not early anymore. I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ning Mingjie casually broke off a branch with plum blossoms and brought it to her. ¡°The way the plum tree in your courtyard was trimmed is slightly ugly. Take this with you and put it into a vase.¡±

    Ji Man, ¡°...¡±

    The plum tree in her courtyard, Marquis Moyu had trimmed it....

    She resisted the urge tough. Ji Man epted the plum blossoms and expressed her thanks. Then, she turned around and started walking to Feiwan Courtyard. As she walked, she started to feel that something was off.

    Eh? Ning Mingjie didn¡¯t seem to dislike to her? Ji Man stopped her steps and couldn¡¯t resist turning around to look. He was still standing in the same ce. Seeing that she was looking over here, he was somewhat surprised for a moment, then he slightly turned his head away.

    In the original novel, the supporting male character had sided with the female lead and deeply hated the supporting female character because of this, ah. Of course, it was also because Nie Sangyu had done truly outrageous things. But now, she was very well behaved and hadn¡¯t done anything wrong since she came here. Was this enough for the supporting male character to not despise her?

    The person who had given evidence against the supporting female character had been Ning Mingjie! Did this mean that part of the ending had already changed? At the very least, she wouldn¡¯t die. There was a burst of excitement in her heart.

    She had originally thought that no matter what she did, the general plot wouldn¡¯t change. Unexpectedly, it was possible to change fate.

    ¡ª

    Under the warmth of a hibiscus canopy* in Qiangwei Coutryard, it was obvious that Wen Wen had recently cried. Her eyes were red-rimmed. However, her face showed a bashful joy.

    * (T/N: Under the warmth of a hibiscus canopy is a line from <i>the Song of Evesting Regret</i> by Bai Juyi. It¡¯s expressing the emperor¡¯s disregard of politics and caring only about the beauty of his consort. He neglected his duties and promoted members of her family into important positions (basically what Ning Yuxuan seems to be doing right now).

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s chin was resting on Wen Wan¡¯s head. He sighed and said, ¡°Why can¡¯t you be more obedient? You¡¯re always making me feel worried.¡±

    ¡°How am I not obedient?¡± Wen Wan snorted. ¡°You¡¯ve been treating Nie Sangyu so well recently. You were clearly trying to make me feel jealous. But when I feel jealous, you say that I¡¯m making you feel worried. You¡¯ve already done your best to make me feel good and bad, what do you want me to do?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan chuckled. He lowered his head to look at Wen Wan¡¯s face and couldn¡¯t resist kissing her eyes. ¡°Okay, okay. Don¡¯t be angry with me. It was Noble Consort Nie¡¯s idea to bring Nie Sangyu with me on this trip. Right now, the noble consort has regained the emperor¡¯s favor. The emperor has broken off most of Nie n¡¯s power and connections, but he has started to fear the influence of empress¡¯s faction. If I didn¡¯t insist on saving your position as the main wife, it would have definitely gone to Nie Sangyu.¡±

    Wen Wan furrowed her brows, but then she quickly smoothed out her expression. ¡°It¡¯s not important if I¡¯m the main wife or not. As long as I can be by your side forever, I¡¯ll be satisfied.¡±

    Marquis Moyu kissed her forehead and stroked her face for a long time before he finally said, ¡°Go to sleep. Have sweet dreams.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Wen Wan hugged his waist and closed her eyes.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man had been nning for her trip that would take ce in half a month when a servant had suddenly brought the message that old madame wanted to see her.

    With a serious expression, old madame said, ¡°Sangyu, I need your help with something.¡±

    ¡°Old Madame, please give your order.¡± Ji Man hadn¡¯t seen this old one look so serious in a long time. She was somewhat curious.

    ¡°Take a trip to Nie residence to persuade your older brother,¡± old madame said. ¡°Our two families should have already settled on a wedding date between your older brother and Errong, but he suddenly told Errong that he doesn¡¯t want to get married so early. Isn¡¯t that just nonsense? The crown prince¡¯s side has always been covetously eyeing Errong. If the crown prince pleads with the emperor for an imperial edict, the second half of Errong¡¯s life will be ruined.¡±

    Ji Man was shocked by old madame¡¯s words. During the past period, she had been busy dealing with Marquis Moyu. When she carefully thought about it, she realized that she hadn¡¯t talked to Errong in a while. During the past few days, she had heard that Errong had been leaving the residence to go on scenic tours with Nie Qingyun to cultivate their rtionship. Why did a probleme up with their engagement at this juncture?

    ¡°Sangyu understands.¡±

    After taking the token that would allow her to leave the residence, Ji Man went to the southern courtyard first. Ning Mingjie was helplessly leaning against a wall on the first floor. Seeing hering inside, he indicated for her to go upstairs.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ning Errong had locked herself inside her room. Baizhi was standing outside.

    Baizhi was both worried and angry as she said, ¡°Mistress Sang, please persuade the <i>junzhu</i>. She¡¯s such a good woman. She can easily find someone else to marry her. Why does insist on obsessing over Sir Nie and torturing herself like this?¡±

    (T/N: This was first mentioned in chapter 63, but since this word doesn¡¯te up often, I¡¯m repeating the exnation again. <i>Junzhu</i> is one rank lower than princess. The title of <i>junzhu</i> is usually given to a daughter of a first-rank prince. The title can also be bestowed by the emperor¡¯s decree.)

    Baizhi had been so focused on protecting her master that she temporarily forgot that Nie Qingyun was Sangyu¡¯s older brother. When she returned to her senses, she stopped speaking, lowered her head, and stepped to the side.

    ¡°Go and bring something sweet to eat. I¡¯ll go inside to persuade her.¡± Ji Man pushed the doors and faintly smiled at Baizhi.

    Baizhi made a sound of agreement and lifted her skirt as she went down the stairs.

    Ji Man looked around. There wasn¡¯t anyone else upstairs. She lifted up her heavy skirt, so she could kick the tightly sealed doors.

    Nie Sangyu was too weak and the first kick didn¡¯t budge the doors at all. Ji Man took a deep breath and gathered the strength that a baby would use to drink milk. Her second attempt kicked the doors wide open.

    Ning Errong forgot to cry. With leftover tears on her face, she nkly looked at Nie Sangyu at the doorway.

    Ji Man lightly smiled. She put down her skirt, tidied her hair, entered the room, and warmly said, ¡°I heard that you were in a bad mood.¡±

    Errong bit her lip and hoarsely said, ¡°Your older brother doesn¡¯t want me.¡±

 Chapter 89 - Matchmaking isnâ€™t easy (2)

    Chapter: 089 out of 513 ¨C Matchmaking isn¡¯t easy (2)

    Nie Residence was veryrge and magnificent, but it was slightly off from the established customs of how the buildings should be arranged. However, the emperor had bestowed this residence, so no one could say anything. Ji Man looked around and discovered that the pavilions and other buildings were built irregrly. Underneath the covered corridors, there was a green pool. After they passed through pool area, they arrived at the southern courtyard. When servant girls passed by them, they would curtsey at them before walking forward.

    Nie n¡¯s level of prosperousness inexplicably made Ji Man think of the residence in <i>Dream of the Red Chamber</i> and she was absent-minded for a brief period.

    Seeing that she wasn¡¯t speaking, Nie Qingyun thought she was feeling unhappy. And so, he exined, ¡°Chenyu and Youran are both attending embroidery ss right now, that¡¯s why they¡¯re not here to wee you. The honored concubines are waiting for you in the main courtyard with mother.¡±

    Ji Man returned to her senses and somewhat nervously said, ¡°Sangyu is a junior. There¡¯s no need for them to wait for me, right?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Why did she keep feeling that the people in this household didn¡¯t have friendly feelings towards her? Hearing that a group of women were waiting for her up ahead, Ji Man felt even more nervous.

    ¡°You¡¯re Marquis Moyu¡¯s secondary wife. It¡¯s only right that they¡¯re waiting for you.¡±

    Marquis Moyu was a first-rank official and managed the six ministries. Even Nie Xiangyuan had to salute him when he saw him. When Ji Man had originally read the light novel, she thought he was a leisurely marquis. Unexpectedly, his position was this powerful.

    Nie Xiangyuan¡¯s current main wife was Chen Suqing. Technically, she was also Nie Sangyu¡¯s maternal aunt. However, she had never liked Nie Sangyu. The strange thing was that Nie Qingyun was especially fond and caring of his half-sister.

    And so, Ji Man wasn¡¯t sure. Exactly, what was Nie Sangyu¡¯s position in Nie n?

    After entering the main room, there was a row of honored concubines sitting in the top seats. In the center of the row, there was a graceful and luxuriously dressed woman. She smiled and said, ¡°So, you¡¯vee back.¡±

    Ji Man stood still. She didn¡¯t know if she should salute them or do something else. She was only sure that the woman in the center was Chen Suqing, but she had no idea about the names of the other women.

    There was a trace of annoyance in Chen Suqing¡¯s eyes. She clutched her handkerchief and looked at Nie Sangyu for a while before finally saying, ¡°As expected, people change when they marry well. Are you not even going to salute your mother aftering back?¡±

    Ji Man froze for a moment, then she kneeled down in front of her. ¡°Daughter Sangyu respectfully greets mother.¡±

    Chen Suqing coldly harrumphed and didn¡¯t signal for her to stand. Sitting in her chair, she coldly said, ¡°What kind of status does Nie n have? You relied on your maiden family¡¯s fame and left your family to marry into that household as the main wife. But, you didn¡¯t follow the rules and came back here with the position of a secondary wife. Other people will criticize me for not teaching you well.¡±

    Ji Man felt slightly annoyed. Chen Suqing had been a secondary wife herself. If Nie Sangyu¡¯s mother hadn¡¯t died well, the position of the main wife would have never gone to this woman.

    Thinking of the recent words that Nie Qingyun had said, Ji Man felt that there was no need for her to speak in a soft voice here. In the marquis¡¯s household, she needed to survive. Why should she let herself suffer from pent-up frustrations and petty annoyances here?

    And so, she didn¡¯t care about getting Chen Suqing¡¯s permission before standing up. She patted her skirt, raised her eyes to look at Chen-<i>shi</i>, and said, ¡°Mother, you don¡¯t need to worry. Sangyu was entirely taught and raised by my biological mother. This has nothing to do with you. Other people will only remember that Sangyu was born from father and his original main wife. They won¡¯t me you. At the time, you were only a secondary wife.¡±

    There were so many honored concubines and ordinary concubines in the room. Ji Man¡¯s words directly choked Chen Suqin to the point that she couldn¡¯t properly speak. Chen Suqin¡¯s finger shook as she pointed at her and kept saying, ¡°You.¡± She was so angry that her face turned white.

    Standing by the side, Nie Qingyin gently tugged Nie Sangyu¡¯s sleeve.

    Ji Man eased her expression into a smile and said, ¡°This daughter only came back this time under Old Madame Ning¡¯s order to talk about Marquis Jingwen¡¯s daughter¡¯s marriage with older brother. I won¡¯t stay long and offend mother¡¯s eyes.¡±

    ¡°Utter nonsense!¡± Chen-<i>shi</i> was so angry that she didn¡¯t even care about maintaining herposure anymore. She stood up and said, ¡°When did it be any of your business to interfere with Qingyun¡¯s marriage? You¡¯re outrageously disrespectful to your elders. You just came back and you¡¯re not showing me the proper respect. You think you can act as Qingyun¡¯s matchmaker? Dream on!¡±

    ¡°Mother, calm down.¡± Ji Man lightly smiled and curtsied. ¡°A main wife must have an elegant demeanor and presence. You shouldn¡¯t need Sangyu to teach you this, right?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Chen-<i>shi</i> was so furious that sheughed. ¡°Good, very good. I can¡¯t outtalk you. But, I¡¯ll leave you with these words. If you want Qingyun to marry that <i>junzhu</i>, you need to obtain my approval. I¡¯m his mother!¡±

    Ji Man slowly walked over. She picked up a nearby teapot and poured Chen-<i>shi</i> a cup of tea. She presented the cup with both of her hands and said, ¡°Mother, you don¡¯t need to listen to truth said by Sangyu or quibble with me. This matter is rted to older brother¡¯s major life event. Mother, shouldn¡¯t you carefully think this over?¡±

    Chen-<i>shi</i> wasn¡¯t against Nie Qingyun marrying that <i>junzhu</i>. After all, her status was very good. There would only be benefits and no detriments for him to marry Ning Errong. However, she couldn¡¯t stand Nie Sangyu¡¯s current attitude. In the past, she could at least punish her in ordance to the householdws for acting rude and unreasonable. But now, she was the one that was angry enough to stomp her feet. She couldn¡¯t even find and grasp a minor wrongdoing by Nie Sangyu!

    The tea was brought to her, but Chen-<i>shi</i> didn¡¯t want to ept it. She couldn¡¯t swallow the anger in her heart, so she pushed the cup away. ¡°I¡¯ll be the one making a decision on this matter. It¡¯s not your ce to say anything.¡±

    The strength she used to push the cup away probably wasn¡¯t great, but the cup of tea was actually pushed out Nie Sangyu¡¯s hands, fell to the ground, and sshed in all directions.

 Chapter 91 - A hardworking matchmaker (2)

    Chapter: 091 out of 513 ¨C A hardworking matchmaker (2)

    It was time for lunch. A group of servant girls came into the room and brought in wonderful-smelling delicacies. Ji Man almost drooled, but there was also a sullen Chen-<i>shi</i> at the same table. She couldn¡¯t forget her manners and had to eat the meal with dignity and elegance.

    When half of the meal was over, Chen-<i>shi</i> suddenly said, ¡°I heard that Marquis Moyu greatly favors his new wife, ah. I also heard that a concubine in Marquis Moyu¡¯s household has be pregnant. Sangyu, you¡¯re faced with pressure from top and bottom. Are your days going well?¡±

    Nie Qingyun slightly frowned and nced at his mother. Chen-<i>shi</i>¡¯s didn¡¯t notice at all and only stared at Nie Sangyu.

    Ji Man said with a smile, ¡°People only know the reality and truth of their own lives by experiencing it. Even if someone¡¯s life looks magnificent and bright on the surface, we don¡¯t actually know how much suffering that person is hiding. Some things might seem bitter on the outside, but that person might actually be living freely and leisurely. Don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    Chen-<i>shi</i> coldly sneered, ¡°Are you saying that a main wife¡¯s life might not necessarily be as good as yours? Isn¡¯t that just sour grapes?¡±

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    ¡°Grapes are sweet. Whether or not I eat them, their taste won¡¯t change.¡± Ji Man put down her chopsticks and ced her hands on her knees. She looked at Chen-<i>shi</i> and said, ¡°Sangyu wasn¡¯t sensible before and provoked the marquis¡¯s ire and lose the position of the main wife. But now, Sangyu understands. I just want to live the rest of my life peacefully. I don¡¯t want to struggle orpete for his favor. As long as I have a clear conscience, that¡¯s better than anything else. There are certain people that exhaust themselves with crafty plots and tricks. In the end, nightmares will wake them up in the middle of the night. That¡¯s what I would call a truly wretched existence.¡±

    Ji Man had just casually said these words. Chen-<i>shi</i> had probably used plenty of underhanded tricks in order to climb up to the position of the main wife. And so, Ji Man hadn¡¯t expected that Chen-<i>shi</i> would have such an extreme reaction to her words.

    Chen Suqing¡¯s face immediately paled. She looked at Nie Sangyu as if she was seeing a ghost; even her hands that were holding the chopsticks trembled.

    Nie Xiangyuan quietly said, ¡°If you can¡¯t even peacefully eat a meal together, then go back to your room.¡± These words were clearly directed towards Chen-<i>shi</i>.

    Chen-<i>shi</i> stood up and surprisingly didn¡¯t even say another word. After she saluted, she staggered back to her room.

    Chen-<i>shi</i>¡¯s behavior made Ji Man think there was definitely something she was feeling guilty about.

    After Chen-<i>shi</i> left, the atmosphere around the table became friendlier.

    Nie Xiangyuan lightly smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re a lot more clever than before. You know what words to say now. Before, you would have been the one that left the table first.¡±

    Ji Man smiled in embarrassment. ¡°If I don¡¯t grow up now, then I won¡¯t even know when someone tries to harm me.¡±

    Nie Qingyun¡¯s eyes showed a slight amount of distress. ¡°Did something happen in the marquis¡¯s residence? Is this why you¡¯ve changed so dramatically?¡±

    ¡°Not really. Every day, I spend my time gardening, eating, and napping. When everything else is done, I just need to go to old madame¡¯s courtyard to pay her respect,¡± Ji Man breezily said.

    This pair of father and son knew that she was just saying these words tofort them, but they couldn¡¯t say anything to expose her lies. They could only inwardly sigh.

    After they finished the meal, Nie Xiangyuan said, ¡°If you¡¯re suffering any grievances, you can directlye back. My Nie n can afford to support and raise another daughter.¡±

    Ji Man was touched. She vehemently nodded.

    After the meal was over, Ji Man and Nie Qingyun went to stroll around in her old courtyard. It was time for Ji Man to figure out his thoughts. She tilted her head and asked, ¡°Older brother, why don¡¯t you like Errong? She¡¯s so lively and cute. Isn¡¯t she a perfect match for your introverted personality?¡±

    Nie Qingyun pursed his lips and didn¡¯t say anything

    ¡°Look, Ning Mingjie is going to stay in the capital and develop his career. If Errong marries you, won¡¯t you have another connection through marriage? Older brother, you¡¯re still young. There¡¯s a long path for you to walk...¡±

    ¡°Sangyu.¡±

    ¡°En?¡± Ji Man followed Nie Qingyun¡¯s action and also stopped walking.

    Nie Qingyun took a deep breath, clenched his fist, and said, ¡°I¡¯m worried about disappointing her and failing to live up to her expectations. I don¡¯t care that much about... the feelings between a man and a woman. On the contrary, I feel that I¡¯ll be content if I can just take care of you for the rest of my life. As for marriage, I don¡¯t want to marry a woman that has feelings towards me. A casual marriage for the sake of an alliance would be fine.¡±

    Ji Man widened her eyes and gaped for a long time.

    Nie Qingyun has a serious sisterplex, ah. He actually wanted to take care of Nie Sangyu for the rest of his life?

    ¡°Older brother, listen to me.¡± Ji Man returned to her senses and said with serious expression, ¡°Right now, I¡¯m person that¡¯s capable of defending herself. Unlike before, I¡¯m not prone to causing trouble and I don¡¯t need you toe and clean up my messes. You¡¯re just too used to protecting me. Actually, even if you protect another woman instead of me, you¡¯ll feel the same way.¡±

    Ji Man thought; some older brothers suffer from heroplexes ording to psychology. They get into the habit of protecting their younger sisters and because they¡¯re foolish when ites to love, they mistake their feelings as romantic affection.

    Nie Qingyun declined toment. He only looked the climbing roses in the courtyard and seemed lost in his thoughts.

    Ji Man continued to chatter on, ¡°Isn¡¯t Errong very simr to me in many aspects? She also likes to cause trouble. She¡¯s also very energetic. Older brother, you probably like this type of woman.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    After a long period of silence, Nie Qingyun looked at her and asked, ¡°Do you want me to marry her?¡±

    Ji Man nodded, but then she felt there was something wrong with this situation. She hurriedly said with a serious expression. ¡°Older brother, you have to be sure about your decision. If you marry a woman, then you have to be responsible for her for a lifetime. You can¡¯t make your decision because of someone else¡¯s opinion. If you marry Errong, then you have to wholeheartedly treat her well. Otherwise, I won¡¯t give you such a cute, young girl to marry.¡±

    Nie Qingyun sighed. ¡°Then, let me think about this some more.¡± There was already a hint of softening in his voice.

    Ji Man¡¯s smile was so big that her eyes curved. ¡°This is your major life event, of course you have to carefully think it over. I won¡¯t rush you. It¡¯s afternoon. I should be going back to the marquis¡¯s residence. You have to properly take care of yourself.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll send you back,¡± Nie Qingyun said.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    During this visit, Ji Man had hurriedlye and hurriedly left. She didn¡¯t get a chance to see Nie Sangyu¡¯s two younger half-sisters. However, she had aplished her objective. Three dayster, Nie Xiangyuan personally brought Nie Qingyun to the marquis¡¯s household for him to propose marriage to Ning Errong.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Sangyu, what should I do? I¡¯m so nervous.¡± Ning Errong held Nie Sangyu¡¯s hand in a death grip. ¡°What do I need to do to prepare for my wedding?¡±

    Trantor Ramblings: I¡¯m d that Ji Man says at the end that Nie Qingyun should make the decision for himself and not be swayed by what she wants.

 Chapter 94 - Ji Manâ€™s previous romance (1)

    Chapter: 094 out of 513 ¨C Ji Man¡¯s previous romance (1)

    @@novelbin@@

    However, he hadn¡¯t known there would be such strange scenery here. With no one else around but them, Nie Sangyu, who had already changed into a dignified and virtuous woman, was just hanging over the railing without regard for appearances.

    Ning Mingjie felt the situation was slightly humorous. Under normal circumstances, he would follow etiquette and directly walk away. But, for some reason, perhaps because the weather was exceptionally good, or maybe because he was in a very good mood, he felt very close to the person next to him. She looked very cute and lovable right now.

    ¡°Errong is with my older brother?¡± The corners of Ji Man¡¯s mouth twitched. Why had she forgotten to tell Errong that she needed to y hard to get? If she always longingly ran to his side, he wouldn¡¯t cherish her.

    Nie Qingyun wasn¡¯t fickle like Ning Yuxuan and treated people courteously. When he married Errong in the future, he would definitely treat her well. But, even though Nie Qingyun had a pretty good character, romance was a thing that required skill. Otherwise, as time went on, no one could guarantee that feelings wouldn¡¯t fade.

    ¡°She really likes Qingyun.¡± Ning Mingjie looked at the sky¡¯s somewhat pale clouds. The winter sun had alreadye out and its rays made people feelfortably warm. He raised his hands and almost couldn¡¯t resist taking off his mask.

    But, thinking of how there was still a person next to him, he lightly sighed and put his hands down to grip the railing. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sunlight¡¯s warmth.

    After Ji Man thought for a while about the things she had to discuss with Errong tonight, she turned her head and saw Ning Mingjie¡¯s shining silver mask. She couldn¡¯t resist her curiosity and asked, ¡°Do you bask in the sun during the summer?¡±

    ¡°En?¡± Ning Mingjie tilted his head. After a pause, he finally said, ¡°I rarely go outside in Jingzhou.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good,¡± Ji Man said as she looked at his mask. ¡°If you go out and bask in the sun during summer, won¡¯t the area around your eyes and chin turn ck while the rest of your skin stays white when you take off your mask at home?¡±

    Ning Mingjie froze in surprise. His mind pictured the image that Nie Sangyu had described and he suddenly felt the urge tough. He turned his back to her while his shoulders shook from trying to hold back hisughter.

    Ji Man worriedly asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    It had been okay when she hadn¡¯t said anything. But once she asked, Ning Mingjie directly burst out inugher and couldn¡¯t stop himself. He held onto the railing for support and almost fell into the canal.

    Ji Man looked at him in confusion. The sound of hisughter was too excessive. Although the sound of hisughter sounded nice, she had never seen people from this worldugh like this. After he hadugh for a while, even she startedughing along with him.

    Ning Mingjie wiped away the tears that hade out while he wasughing. He looked around and saw that there was no one else around except them. He reached his hand behind his head and untied the strings for his mask. There was a trace ofughter in his voice as he said, ¡°Look, is one part of my face ck from being tanned and the other part white?¡±

    Hearing his words, Ji Man turned to look. In that moment, her heart jumped.

    The face in front of her was exquisite with facial features that were just perfect. It was indescribably beautiful. His eyes and brows were deep and his nose was straight. He had all of the features that a beautiful person would have.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time that Ji Man saw this face. Her first love, a high school ssmate, had the same face. They ended up breaking up shortly after he started Beijing Academy of Film. This face was devastatingly beautiful, but it wasn¡¯t too feminine. A single nce was enough to make a person feel attracted to him and unable to feel the slightest sense of loathing.

    Attractive people could be divided into two types: ostentatious people and restrained and gentle people. There were people that like the former type and also people that dislike the former type. While there was less of thetter type, there was no one that would dislike them.

    Ning Yuxuan was also attractive, but he clearly belonged in the first group of people. At the very least, she instinctively had a negative feeling towards him. As for Ning Mingjie... he looked almost exactly the same as her first love and his personality traits were superior. While feeling dazed, she felt as if that person, who had cheated on her, was right in front of her. She had caught him after he had rolled around in bed with another woman after she had taken the train for two days to see him.

    Ning Mingjie had only wanted to tease her. He hadn¡¯t expected that such aplicated expression would appear on her face. It seemed as if she was reminiscing, but there was also disgust and surprise. It almost seemed as if the person she was looking at wasn¡¯t him.

    His good mood immediately sunk. Ning Mingjie put his mask back on, straightened his body, and said, ¡°I was presumptuous. Today¡¯s sunlight was too nice and I temporarily forgot my manners. Madam Ning, please don¡¯t be offended by my action.¡±

    When Ji Man returned to her senses, she opened and closed her mouth as she tried to think of words to exin herself. It had also been very rude of her to stare at him for so long.

    But, Ning Mingjie had already turned around and left. His back figure looked a bit gloomy and waspletely different from his earlier happy and unrestraint appearance.

    Seeing his face today, many unpleasant feelings had surged upwards. Ji Man felt as if her entire body had lost all of its energy. She went back to her room and lied down to sleep.

    Around noon, they had travel a hundred miles away from the capital to Rongcheng district. Both of the boats stopped for a rest. The regional officials had prepared for this visit in advance. Their mouths said, ¡°Wee Old Master¡±, but they had prepared an extravagant wee that was worthy of an emperor¡¯s visit and invited the group of people to dine at a temporary imperial residence.

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t help sighing. Every resting spot had most likely arranged for a temporary imperial residence. What a waste of manpower and resources. This trip was truly a catastrophe for themon people.

    But, she had no ns on doing the arduous and unrewarding task of going up to the emperor and saying this truth. Her days were going well, and she was only a woman. Weren¡¯t there court officials present?

    Trantor Ramblings: I added a tiny spoiler about Ning Mingjie and Ji Man in thements below rted to this chapter.

 Chapter 97 - A source of catastrophe (2)

    Chapter: 097 out of 513 ¨C A source of catastrophe (2)

    Ji Man was lost in her thoughts for a while before she finally said, ¡°Errong, help me apologize to your older brother on your way back.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Ning Errong widened her eyes. ¡°No way! Did you p my older brother?¡±

    Ji Man dryly coughed. ¡°I didn¡¯t. He took off his mask today and I looked at him for a little bit longer than I should have. He seemed really angry because of this.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ning Errong gaped and her entire body froze.

    Ji Man stretched her hand out and poked her. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so rmed. It¡¯s not like your older brother is a virginal maiden that can¡¯t be seen by other people.¡±

    ¡°No...¡± Ning Errong slowly closed her mouth and her expression returned to normal. ¡°My older brother didn¡¯t wear a mask when he was a child. Butter on, other people always stared him at, whether he was attending a banquet or walking outside on the streets. He felt bothered by this, so he had a mask made. He hadn¡¯t taken off his mask in a long time.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. If a man was too beautiful, it truly wasn¡¯t a good thing. Fortunately, he was born with a high social status. Otherwise, who knows what kind of ce he would have been sold to?

    ¡°Still, it doesn¡¯t make sense that he would angry just be you looked at him for a bit too long,¡± Ning Errong said in a curious voice. ¡°Do you want me to ask him what happened?¡±

    Ji Man nodded and said, ¡°That sounds good. All in all, we¡¯re rtives by marriage, it would the best if there aren¡¯t any misunderstandings between us.¡±

    And so, the little <i>junzhu</i>, who was filled to the capacity with knowledge about how a married woman should conduct herself, pushed open Ning Mingjie¡¯s door on her way back to her room.

    Ning Mingjie¡¯s expression still wasn¡¯t very good, even his mask couldn¡¯t conceal this fact.

    Ning Errong said with a bright smile, ¡°Older brother, Sangyu asked me toe here to apologize on her behalf. You¡¯re too good-looking, so her gaze lingered for a bit. It wasn¡¯t deliberate.¡±

    He looked at his younger sister for a long time before finally lifting the corners of his mouth and saying, ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be going back to my room.¡± Holding the rice paper, Ning Errong happily returned to her room.

    ¡ª

    There were twists and turns in the river and also a gentle wind in the evening. It had been decided that the two boats wouldn¡¯t dock for the night. Instead, they would follow the steady river channel down south.

    ¡ª

    Ning Mingjie nkly stood in the doorway for a long time. He felt a slightly headache.

    For an inexplicable reason, he kept dreaming about Wen Wan during the past two days. He didn¡¯t know why. He didn¡¯t have any improper feelings towards her. Instead, it was Nie Sangyu that he thought about when he opened his eyes every day...

    There was a voice that kept reminded him; this is wrong, the person is wrong. It made his entire self feel somewhat irritable.

    @@novelbin@@

    What was right? What was wrong? He had always followed his conscience when doing things. Who had the right to say he was doing something right or wrong?

    He coldly harrumphed, brushed away the voice in his head, closed the doors, and went to sleep.

    ¡ª

    The next day, the boats arrived at a simple, destitute-looking city. The city walls were only made of packed loess. When the boats were docked, a courtdy came to inform everyone to change into their inest clothing and address the emperor as ¡°Old Master¡± and the noble consort as ¡°Madam¡±. They were going to stay in this simple city for a few days.

    Ji Man felt that this emperor¡¯s interests were quite extensive. He had eaten enough of the expensive meat and fish during the journey and knew to try different vors and types of food.

    ¡°Master, how about this outfit?¡± Gancao held up a white dress with a simple design. It was probably the type of clothing that would be worn by themon people, but the material was slightly better than sackcloth.

    ¡°En.¡±

    After Ji Man nodded, Gancao and Dengxin helped her change into the new outfit andbed her hair into an ordinary married woman¡¯s hairstyle with only one wooden hairpin.

    After she was finished dressing up, Gancao and Dengxin didn¡¯t speak for a long time.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ji Man looked at them. The expressions in their eyes seemed strange. ¡°Does this look weird?¡±

    Dengxin spoke, ¡°Master, do you want to wear a veil?¡±

    They were told to dress ordinarily. Wouldn¡¯t it seem out of ce to wear a veil? Ji Man turned around to look at herself in the mirror.

    The young woman in the mirror looked very lovely. Although she was dressed inly and she wasn¡¯t wearing makeup, her lips were brilliantly red and her eyes were beautiful. It made Ji Man think of Pan Jinlian.

    (T/N: Pan Jinlian was a beautiful heroine in the novel <i>The Plum in the Golden Vase</i>. While she¡¯s considered one of the most infamous viinesses in ssical Chinese books because she cheated on her husband, she¡¯s seen as a controversial literary figure in modern times. There were mitigating reasons for her affair.)

    She wasn¡¯t referring to Pan Jinlian¡¯sck of moral integrity. She meant it reminded her of beauty hidden under simplicity. It would increase a person¡¯s desire to peel away heryer of simplicity to carefully love her dearly. To put it in more academic terms, it was the beauty that came from suppressing desire.

    Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. Nie Sangyu¡¯s face truly had a touch of inviting disaster. Howe she hadn¡¯t noticed this before? It seemed as if Nie Sangyu was bing more and more beautiful.

    Ji Man took the veil andpared the difference between wearing it and not wearing it. ¡°It¡¯ll be better if I walk with my head lowered. Wearing a veil would be more noticeable.¡±

    The two servant girls felt apprehensive. When their master was wearing morous clothing along with everyone else, their master¡¯s beauty wasn¡¯t conspicuous. However, after she changed into simple clothing and wasn¡¯t wearing any makeup, she was probably going to attract unwanted attention and criticism when she joined the group of people that included the emperor¡¯s rtives.

    They heard Marquis Moyu¡¯s impatient voice from outside, ¡°Are you ready yet?¡±

    ¡°Ready.¡± Ji Man sighed, lifted up her skirt, and opened the doors.

    The person in the doorway raised his eyes to look at her.

    Ji Man lightly smiled and winked at him. ¡°My lord, does this servant look pretty?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan was slightly dazed. Feeling as if he had been put into a difficult position, he turned his gaze away and said, ¡°Too conspicuous.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Ji Man lowered her head and looked at her dress. There wasn¡¯t any decorative embroidery on it. Then, she felt her hair and only touched the wooden hairpin. ¡°What part is conspicuous?¡±

    ¡°Face.¡± Ning Yuxuan passed by her and entered the room. He found her veiled hat and ced it on her.

    Ji Man innocently blinked. Her phoenix eyes sparkled like water in the sunlight. Covering the lower half of her face was the same as not covering her fact at all. In fact, it only made her face more conspicuous.

    Marquis Moyu stared at her for a long time. Seeing that this wasn¡¯t a better option, he took off the veiled hat. ¡°Let¡¯s go, just follow behind me.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Ji Man obediently agreed, lowered her head, and followed him off the boat.

 Chapter 99 - Experiencing a different type of life (2)

    Chapter: 099 out of 513 ¨C Experiencing a different type of life (2)

    @@novelbin@@

    Fortunately, the emperor favored Marquis Moyu and had allocated a pretty good courtyard to him. Everything was new here and there wasn¡¯t much dust. By the time a bucket of hot water had cooled down, Ji Man had finished cleaning the rooms. The floor tiles that were made of precious stones were very smooth, so Ji Man straightforwardly ripped off strips of cloth, made them into a mop, and cleaned the floors until they were as clean as the surface of a mirror.

    The crown prince had stopped at the doorway with one foot slightly raised up. Looking at this floor, he almost didn¡¯t dare toe inside.

    When Ji Man turned around and saw him, she hurriedly put her skirt down and said with a calm expression, ¡°Eldest Young Master, is there a reason why you¡¯re here?¡±

    Hearing her address, the crown prince chuckled for a bit, ¡°You¡¯ve changed modes quickly. You¡¯re certainly an exquisitely clever person.¡±

    Holding the mop, Ji Man lightly smiled. ¡°Eldest Young Master, you¡¯re giving me too much credit.¡±

    Looking at the person in front of him, Zhao Zhe really wanted to step forward and stroke her face. However, the words, ¡°If there¡¯s anything you want to say, quickly say it. Otherwise, hurry up and leave,¡± were clearly written on her face. He was normally a fearless crown prince, but in front of her, he was at aplete loss.

    He lightly coughed and said, ¡°You¡¯ve made it so clean. I¡¯m reluctant to step on this floor.¡±

    Ji Man considerately brought a stool over to the doorway, bent her waist to salute, and said, ¡°Then, Eldest Young Master, you should just sit outside. I haven¡¯t finished cleaning yet.¡±

    Zhao Zhe looked at the stool she was holding in the doorway and didn¡¯t know if he shouldugh or cry. He had never met a woman that failed to appreciate the favor of his interest in this way. And yet, he wasn¡¯t angry at all.

    Right after the beauty put down the stool, she was about to go back. Zhao Zhe grabbed her white wrist and asked, ¡°Why do you shun me so much?¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s expression sunk. She made one attempt to yank her hand away before she calmly looked at him and said, ¡°Oldest Young Master, although Sangyu doesn¡¯t know any grand principles, I know the virtues a married woman should have. Other than Yuxuan, Sangyu shuns all men.¡±

    Zhao Zhe boisterouslyughed. ¡°You¡¯ve really be an upright woman. Yuxuan has been called away by my imperial father to discuss official business and there isn¡¯t anyone else around here except us. If I insist on forcing you, what can you do?¡±

    Ji Man felt that this person was slightly crazy. Out of the various groups of people, crazy people were the worst group to offend. Even when they killed someone, it wouldn¡¯t be counted asmitting a crime. They were truly terrifying. However, she couldn¡¯t act cowardly. For a person like him, if you showed him even the slightest trace of fear, he would want a mile if you give him an inch.

    ¡°Sangyu is only a mere woman. Of course, there¡¯s nothing I can do,¡± Ji Man said. ¡°But, Sangyu isn¡¯t a person that willmit suicide while having feelings of deep resentment. Before I die, I¡¯ll definitely tell Yuxuan and my aunt why I¡¯m going to kill myself.¡±

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Zhao Zhe raised his eyebrows.

    Ji Man sweetly smiled and her eyes were very gentle, but the word that her mouth spat out was powerful and resonating, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Zhao Zhe quietly looked at her for a brief period before he suddenly smiled, ¡°Nie Sangyu, you¡¯re truly a woman that¡¯s suitable to be the empress.¡±

    After saying this, he nced at the stool before turning around and leaving.

    Ji Man was scared out of her wits by these words. Gripping the mop, she was at aplete loss for a long time. She didn¡¯t know what kind of reaction she should have.

    A whileter, she heard Ning Mingjie¡¯s voice from the courtyard¡¯s entrance, ¡°Everyone knows that the crown prince¡¯s words are the most untrustworthy. You can just act as if you didn¡¯t hear anything.¡±

    Ji Man raised her head and looked at the courtyard¡¯s entrance, but she didn¡¯t see Ning Mingjie. Why was he outside the courtyard? Did he hear all of the crown prince¡¯s words?

    After running out to look for him, she saw that Ning Mingjie had already walked far away. She didn¡¯t know when he hade by. Perhaps, he was just passing by and happened to overhear?

    Ji Man¡¯s apprehensive heart calmed down after these words. Although the crown prince¡¯s words were rming, when she thought about it carefully, Ning Mingjie¡¯s words were logical. Knowing what type of man the crown prince was, why should she take his words seriously?

    ¡ª

    At noon, Ji Man decided that she would personally cook. It wasn¡¯t because she wanted to show off. It was because the courtdies and eunuchs had all been sent away. The only people left were the emperor¡¯s rtives. Not a single one of them knew how to cook.

    With a blushing face, Ning Errong followed her into the kitchen and said, ¡°I¡¯ll act as your assistant.¡±

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll teach you how to cook a few dishes for my older brother,¡± Ji Man said as she washed the potatoes.

    The princess consort and Noble Consort Nie were in the main courtyard talking with the emperor. The remaining women either said they were afraid of the cold or didn¡¯t want to do any work. Ji Man and Errong were the only two people in the kitchen. Fortunately, there were sufficient ingredients. Ji Man counted; there was enough to make twenty dishes.

    ¡ª

    Ning Yuxuan was with the third prince. They were studying calligraphy together. They weren¡¯t far away from the kitchen and would frequently smell the tasty aromas that drifted over from the kitchen.

    ¡°I frequently hear that you¡¯re unsatisfied with Sangyu.¡± The third prince lightly smiled as he nced at Ning Yuxuan. ¡°From what I see now, my cousin doesn¡¯t seemcking whenpared to anyone else, ah.¡±

    In terms of familial rtionship, third prince was Nie Sangyu¡¯s older cousin. However, they weren¡¯t close. The third prince usually spent his time outside of the capital. Once he reached adulthood, it was even rarer for him to see Sangyu. He had only asionally heard news about her from Noble Consort Nie. The young girl that used to not be sensible had grown up now, ah.

    Ning Yuxuan slightly frowned and said, ¡°Third Young Master, you only have partial information. When she¡¯s good, she¡¯s truly very good. But when she does something upsetting, it¡¯s enough to make a person be angered to death.¡±

    The third prince raised his eyes and looked at him for a long time, ¡°Yuxuan, haven¡¯t you noticed this? There are very few people that can make your emotions swing back and forth so dramatically. When I came backst year and saw you, there was always a smile on your face. But now, you show anger and annoyance. You seem more like a person now.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan was stunned. His expression was slightly ugly. ¡°It¡¯s not like that...¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anything else.¡± Third prince raised his hand to stop him from speaking. ¡°I¡¯ll just remind you of one thing. If you heart likes someone, don¡¯t let your mouth be stubborn. There are some things where if you don¡¯t tightly hold onto them, they might slip away from you. Do you understand?¡±

 Chapter 102 - Who does your heart desire? (1)

    Chapter: 102 out of 513 ¨C Who does your heart desire? (1)

    Ning Yuxuanughed boisterously, ¡°When did you start caring about other people¡¯s reputations?¡±

    Ning Mingjie pursed his lips. His expression seemed somewhat sullen underneath his silver mask.

    Marquis Moyu also knew that there were certain jokes that shouldn¡¯t be overdone, so he put away hisughter. However, his mind would asionally think about what happenst night and a smile would sneak out at the corners of his eyes and brow.

    Li Province¡¯s water project was just a river that went around the city walls. Due to repeated droughts in the past several years, this river had already been on the verge of running dry in past years. Right now, there were very few sources of water for themon people. Their only two choices were to dig deep wells or to bring water back from several miles away.

    When the emperor brought along the princes and his inner circle of ministers to go look, there were countless citizens kneeling by the river. They were all kowtowing and weeping. The emperor slightly furrowed his brow and nced at Li Province¡¯s governor.

    Thetter immediately kneeled down and said in a trembling voice, ¡°This subject has been unable fulfill my duty.¡±

    If rainfall didn¡¯te from the Heavens, then there was only one option. The imperial court had to allocate funds for disaster relief. And yet, only a small portion of the disaster relief money came into his hands, much less themon people. Zhang Jin was as absolutely helpless as the ordinary people. He didn¡¯t want to wrong them, so he hadn¡¯t followed the orders from above and gathered everyone to lock them up during the emperor¡¯s visit.

    Zhang Jin was already doing everything that he could.

    The emperor looked at that scene for a long time before he turned his head and asked the crown prince, ¡°Zhe-<i>er</i>, how do you think this matter should be handled?¡±

    The crown prince put away his half-hearted and unconcerned expression. He stepped forward and bowed. ¡°Father, this son thinks that since Li Province has only turned into a disaster area this year, the imperial court should continue to support them so that they can ovee this crisis. They should be encouraged to sow seeds in this drynd in order to preserve their livelihood.¡±

    The emperor nodded and also asked the third prince, ¡°Jue-<i>er</i>, what do you think?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Zhao Jue swept his gaze across the dried out river. ¡°This river is a distributary channel that originates from arge river in the east. Half a year ago, the debris from a great mountain that suffered an earthquake cut off this distributary channel from the main river. This son thinks that imperial father only needs to expend manpower to dig out a channel in the blockage. Once the water is able to flow to this distributary channel, this problem will be solved.

    The surrounding people made noises to expression their admiration, even Marquis Moyu slightly nodded.

    Surprised, the emperor asked, ¡°Jue-<i>er</i>, how did you know about this blockage?¡±

    The third prince lightly smiled. ¡°This son happened to pass through thatrge river half a year ago while traveling and heard the elderly folk mention that matter about the mountain. I wrote and sent a letter to imperial father that Li Province might be suffering from a dried up river. Imperial father, did you not see my letter?¡±

    Zhao Jue spent his time traveling and Noble Consort Nie though he was uninterested in the imperial court¡¯s matters because he never asked any questions. She didn¡¯t know that Zhao Jue had traveled the entire country in the past years and remembered the circumstances of the people, along with each region¡¯s natural conditions and social customs. He had even sent a booklet with all of his travel notes to the emperor. Although the emperor was very fond of the third prince, he though he was too leisurely and showed no interest about the imperial court matters. And so, the emperor had only looked at a few pages of the booklet before forgetting about it.

    Now that the third prince mentioned that booklet, the emperor finally remembered. His eyes showed that he was extremely pleasantly surprised. After repeatedly nodding his head several times, he summoned the local officials and important ministers, as well as Li Province¡¯s governor, to apany him to discuss this matter.

    The crown prince¡¯splexion slightly changed, but he was smiling as he patted third prince¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Third younger brother, you have extensive knowledge and experience.¡±

    ¡°Oldest brother, you¡¯re too kind with your praise.¡± Zhao Jue cupped his hands and lowered his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve just traveled a lot.¡±

    ¡°What a good job you¡¯ve done with traveling a lot.¡± Zhao Zhe narrowed his eyes. ¡°Your older brother has stayed in the pce for too long and can¡¯t bepared with you, third younger brother.¡±

    Zhao Jue seemed somewhat lost in his own thoughts and didn¡¯t respond.

    Zhao Zhe¡¯s gaze wasn¡¯t very friendly, but he only turned around and led the other people to continue to look around this area.

    ¡ª

    Ning Mingjie felt slightly sleepy. For an inexplicable reason, he kept having a nightmare every time he went to sleep recently. In his dreams, there would be a thick nket of white fog. It was followed by a voice that continuously shouted, ¡°You¡¯re wrong, you¡¯re wrong, you¡¯re wrong.¡±

    What had he done wrong? Ning Mingjie yawned, got onto a prepared horse, and went with the two princes and Marquis Moyu as they moved along the riverside.

    Even if he had made a horrible mistake, at least tell him what he had done wrong. He wouldn¡¯t look back if that voice only continued to shout that he was wrong.

    He recalled yesterday¡¯s memory. Nie Sangyu had personally prepared the meal. He had simply chosen a table that had three meat dishes and four vegetarian dishes because there was also a jar of Li Province¡¯s local rice wine on that table¡¯s tray.

    He liked to drink wine. While he had been living in Marquis Jingwen¡¯s fiefdom, he would frequently be drunk for several days and nights in a row. As a result, his father had said he wascking in propriety. However, life onlysted for so long. If you always upheld propriety and never rxed, wouldn¡¯t life be meaningless?

    He was still reminiscing over yesterday¡¯s food. It was so much better than the food cooked by the servants. It tasted sort of like food from themon people¡¯s restaurants, but it was made with much more care and thought. If one day, he could freely roam the mountains and rivers in a small boat with a jar of wine while the water reflected the bright moon, and have a person like her cooking for him, wouldn¡¯t this life be wonderfully unrestrained?

    After thinking about these thoughts, Ning Mingjie started to feel sleepier. He lightly leaned against the horse¡¯s neck, but it felt too ufortable because of the horse¡¯s jolting steps. Just as he wanted to change his position, he heard a distant guard shouting, ¡°Watch out, assassins!¡±

    Mixed in with the crying crowd, there were suddenly several sword-wielding people violently jumping out and rushing forward towards the crown prince and third prince.

    Nie Qingyun hadn¡¯te out with them today because he had a stomachache from eating snacks that Errong made yesterday. Other than the guards, he and Marquis Moyu were the only ones that knew martial arts.

    Ning Mingjie furrowed his brow before vaulting over, pulling the third prince from his horse, and protectively cing the third prince behind himself. Nearby, Marquis Moyu had done the same thing with the crown prince.

    The group ofmon people started to scatter in a flurry of screeching, shoving, and kicking. Ning Mingjie and Ning Yuxuan were both in an extremely difficult position. The guards had seemed to be in control of the situation, but then a sound seemed to be rushing over here from a distance. Ning Mingjie wanted to dodge, but if he did, it would expose the third prince, who was behind him.

 Chapter 106 - Yet another prostitute (1)

    Chapter: 106 out of 513 ¨C Yet another prostitute (1)

    However, she hadn¡¯t expected that Ning Yuxuan would actually bring back a woman after returning from the trip to the brothel. Ji Man was standing by the doorway. She looked at the iparably beautiful woman standing by Ning Yuxuan and her mouth couldn¡¯t help twitching.

    Nearby, the other women had rxed their expressions. Other Ning Yuxuan, no one else had brought back something unclean.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to look so worried,¡± Marquis Moyu lightly said. ¡°Jinse will only be apanying me during this journey. On the way back to the capital, she¡¯ll naturally leave.¡±

    Ji Man understood. This great lord felt that she wasn¡¯t attentive enough towards him, so he had brought back a more thoughtfully intimate person to serve him in bed.

    She shrugged her shoulders. She didn¡¯t really care, but she felt slightly awkward because everyone was looking at her with sympathetic expressions.

    ¡°He could have brought back anyone else. Why did he bring back a prostitute?¡± Ning Errong got angry on Nie Sangyu¡¯s behalf. She grabbed her hand, started walking, and heatedly continued saying, ¡°Is there something wrong with my cousin¡¯s head? Why didn¡¯t the emperor stop him? This is too preposterous!¡±

    Ji Man lightly smiled. ¡°Can you tell what the emperor is thinking?¡±

    Ning Errong turned her head and her pace slowed down. ¡°Can you tell?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either, ah,¡± Ji Man quietly said, ¡°But none of those men are easy to deal with. Since they all think this is okay, I¡¯ll just assume they have their reasons.¡±

    Errong frowned. ¡°Can you tolerate sharing your husband with a prostitute?¡±

    Ji Man raised her eyebrows. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, there¡¯s already a precedent in Marquis Moyu¡¯s household. Anyways, I¡¯m only a secondary wife, not the main wife. Why should I concern myself with this matter? As long as he doesn¡¯t make life difficult for me, I¡¯ll happily enjoy having more free time.¡±

    ¡°Is this how you truly feel?¡± Ning Errong incredulously said, ¡°Do you really not feel bad about this? You don¡¯t have to be concerned about etiquette in front of me. If you¡¯re feeling bad, then you can swear at him. I¡¯ll help you swear at him too.¡±

    Ji Man smiled and patted her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m okay. How about we go the city¡¯s most famous snack shop this afternoon when the emperor is off visiting the local governmental office?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Seeing that Nie Sangyu¡¯s clear and calm eyes truly didn¡¯t have any hint of sadness, her heart inexplicably felt a burst of mncholy. However, since Sangyu didn¡¯t care, there was no reason for her to keeping thinking about this matter. As long as Nie Qingyun didn¡¯t bring back a woman, she should feel okay.

    ¡ª

    @@novelbin@@

    Jinse was a very quiet woman. She had a naturally somewhat voluptuous face, but she changed into the most in and simple attire after following Ning Yuxuan. From far away, she resembled a servant girl.

    Ning Yuxuan seemed to like her a lot. He brought her along when he went with the crown prince to observe the circumstances of themon people in the afternoon. The crown prince had loudlyughed and rather meaningfully looked at Nie Sangyu.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t understand the meaning in his eyes. After she slightly smiled in response, she immediately looked away and discussed with Xiang Province¡¯s governor¡¯s wife to arrange the womenfolk¡¯s afternoon outing.

    ¡ª

    Because this trip hadn¡¯t been low-key and there had even been an encounter with assassins, protective measures had to be taken. Ji Man and Errong just wanted to go out to eat some snacks, but several people, along with their servants, followed them. Although they had dressed like themon people, Ji Man still felt she was wearing a sign that said, ¡°A noble status,e and kill me.¡±

    Ning Mingjie and Nie Qingyun hadn¡¯t gone out with the princes this afternoon, so Ning Errong had dragged Nie Qingyun intoing along. Then, feeling somewhat embarrassed, she also brought along Ning Mingjie. Although the number of people had increased, Ji Man suddenly felt much safer.

    Nie Qingyun and Ning Errong¡¯s rtionship had developed quite nicely during this journey. From Ji Man¡¯s perspective, Nie Qingyun was finally not treating Errong like an outsider. When Errong asionally forgot her manners, he would even look serious and say a few scolding words.

    If things continued to develop like this, they would probably be even happier after they got married. Ji Man¡¯s eyes slightly closed as she smiled.

    Nie Qingyun looked a the wooden sign hanging on the wall of the snack shop and asked, ¡°What do you want to eat?¡±

    Errong said, ¡°I want lotus seed buns and golden rolls.¡±

    Ning Mingjie was very easygoing and let Ji Man choose for him.

    Ji Man looked over the menu on the wall for a while before she said, ¡°Older brother likes to spring rolls, pair that with a te of peanuts. Young Master doesn¡¯t seem to like overly vorful food. He can just have two steamed roughage buns. I want scallion pancakes and water chestnut cake. As for those gluttonous servant girls behind us, they¡¯re definitely interested in trying snacks they haven¡¯t eaten before. Waiter, you can pick whatever you think they¡¯ll like.¡±

    (T/N: Below are pictures of two types of golden rolls, lotus seed buns, and water chestnut cake.)

    Ji Man was always very thorough and thoughtful. It was just how people should act, but Errong was surprised and looked at her with tiny stars in her eyes. ¡°Sangyu, you¡¯re so thoughtful. Unfortunately, our cousin doesn¡¯t know how to appreciate his good fortune.¡±

    Ning Mingjie didn¡¯t care that much about what he ate, but steamed roughage buns... He turned his head slightly to look at this woman, ¡°Has this one done something to displease Madam Ning?¡±

    ¡°Eh? You haven¡¯t.¡± With a sincere expression, Ji Ma said, ¡°I know that you look down on steamed roughage buns because of your noble status, but steamed roughage buns are pretty good. They help with digestion. Besides, you¡¯ve been wearing a mask for a long time, so you¡¯ll be prone to getting e. It¡¯s better if you avoid eating overly greasy food.¡±

    The corners of Ning Mingjie¡¯s lips twitched.

    Ji Man looked at him with a serious expression and added, ¡°Young Master, Sangyu doesn¡¯t want to meddle, but as a man, you shouldn¡¯t be afraid of other people looking at you. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re a young, virginal maiden. You¡¯re too concerned about your appearance, so naturally you don¡¯t like people looking at you. But in reality, there¡¯s nothing wrong with being attractive, ah. There are many people that want to be beautiful, but the Heavens haven¡¯t given them the opportunity.¡±

    Ning Errongughed. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to try to persuade my older brother. Our father and his honored concubines have already tried persuading him several times. My older brother always stays silent.¡±

    Ji Man sighed. ¡°What a pity. This is a face that could cause the downfall of a country, but it¡¯s blocked by a mask.¡±

 Chapter 108 - On the precipice between life and death (1)

    Chapter 108 out of 513 ¨C On the precipice between life and death (1)

    If men were reliable, then pigs could climb to the top of trees. A man would say all types of flowery, but insincere words in order to obtain a woman. Ji Man¡¯s smile bared her teeth as she said, ¡°Sangyu iscking in virtues and talent. It¡¯s enough for me to just apany the marquis. It¡¯s not worth it for the crown prince to go through such trouble for a fallen woman like Sangyu.¡±

    The smile on Zhao Zhe¡¯s face froze. He pursed his lips and said, ¡°Do you ever say anything sweet with your mouth?¡±

    Ji Man saluted, ¡°Sure. May the crown prince and princess consort live a long and happy life together.¡±

    The crown prince was momentarily stifled by her words. His gaze sunk and he said, ¡°Nie Sangyu, you really don¡¯t know how to appreciate a good thing. You don¡¯t even have a tiny spot in Marquis Moyu¡¯s heart. Why do you cling to him so tightly? Don¡¯t you think this prince is offering the better way out of your difficult situation?¡±

    Ji Man smiled. This person must think she was stupid. What kind of rtionship did they have? How could Nie Sangyu be with the crown prince? As soon as Nie Sangyu showed feelings towards the crown prince, someone would deliver this information to Marquis Moyu and the rtionship between Nie n and Ning n would be over. Did Zhao Zhe assume she was easy to bully based on her appearance and think her head was filled with tofu?

    ¡°Your Highness, have you heard of this saying? There are some people, who you can¡¯t clearly say what¡¯s good about them, but nheless, they¡¯re irreceable to you.¡± Ji Man was still showing a beaming smile to the person standing in front of her, but inwardly she cursed him from top to bottom. ¡°To say it in a slightly more artistic way, ¡°Compared with the clouds on Wu Mountain, the clouds elsewhere are beneath my notice.¡±* Your Highness, you¡¯re also very good. Perhaps, if Sangyu hadn¡¯t married the marquis six years ago, Sangyu might be willing to be with the crown prince for a lifetime.¡±

    * (T/N: This is a line from a poem, <i>Thoughts of Departure.</i> The writer of this poem was mourning the death of his wife and saying that no one could bepared to her, like the way a river can¡¯t bepared to the sea. Below is a picture of Wu Mountain.)

    But, perhaps, things could change.

    Zhao Zhe raised his eyebrows and chuckled. ¡°I really can¡¯t get angry with you after hearing these words.¡±

    ¡°Sangyu still has something that needs to be embroidered. Sangyu will leave first.¡± Ji Man saluted, then she meekly retreated to her room.

    Gancao and Dengxin were currently tidying the room.

    Seeing Nie Sangyuing inside, Dengxin hurriedly went over and closed the doors. Looking at her with worry, she said, ¡°Master...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. There¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡± Ji Man waved her hands. She saw through the crown prince¡¯s plot and absolutely wouldn¡¯t fall into his trap.

    ¡ª

    Lost in his thoughts, Zhao Zhe stood at the deck of the boat for a while. His trusted aide, Taxue, whispered, ¡°My prince, shouldn¡¯t you be returning to the other boat? If the emperor ends up looking for youter on ...¡±

    Zhao Zhe raised his hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± He stood at the prow of the boat for a long time and looked at the river. When he finally closed his eyes and reopened them, he had on a gentle smiling expression again. ¡°Since I boarded this boat, I¡¯ll just stay here without worrying. Third imperial brother rarely has a chance to talk with imperial father. I¡¯ll be generous and give him this opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Taxue retreated to the side.

    During this journey, he had experienced the various popr customs and much of the public opinions in the regions they had visited. He was the throne¡¯s sessor and naturally had his own ns for the future. A prince needed to project an aura that could calm the imperial court as well as the entire country.

    After he gained the loyalty of Ning n and removed Nie n, his position in the imperial court would naturally be secured. This had been Zhao Zhe¡¯s n all along. He would do his upmost to find Nie Sangyu¡¯s mistakes and use them to destroy the rtionship between Ning n and Nie n. He had originally thought it would be easy to seduce her. He had money and other valuables, as well as the promise of the future empress¡¯s position. Either of those things should have been enough to lure her in.

    He would have never expected that Nie Sangyu would obstinately refuse to be swayed by him.

    A strategic advisor had once told him to look for an opportunity to get rid of Nie Sangyu as a way to break the link between Ning n and Nie n. This was a good idea and he had originally nned on doing so during this trip. But, for an inexplicable reason, when he thought of that woman¡¯spletely guarded gaze while still adhering to etiquette, he was suddenly somewhat reluctant.

    Nie Sangyu was so interesting, ah. Would this world feel lonelier if she disappeared?

    ¡ª

    The boats would continue to travel during the night, so everyone had to stay on the boats. When they stopped at a dock at a midpoint, Ning Yuxuan returned to the second boat and the crown prince returned to the first boat.

    ¡ª

    That night, Jinse served Marquis Moyu in bed again.

    ¡ª

    Feeling bored, Ji Man visited Errong to talk.

    ¡°The crown prince was the one that gave my cousin Jinse.¡± Errong had heard about this gossip from someone. In an irritated tone, she said, ¡°Is this the crown prince¡¯s hobby? Giving men women from brothels? Was Mu Shuiqing not enough? Now, there¡¯s Jinse.¡±

    Ji Man considered before saying, ¡°Isn¡¯t this just a way from him to win people over? Isn¡¯t money, power, and women what all men want? It wouldn¡¯t look good for him to give money and power, but he can easily send a woman over.¡±

    Ning Errong stewed in anger for a while before she suddenly said something in a slightly gloating tone, ¡°Look at how my cousin is treating this woman. He hasn¡¯t let her leave his side for a few days, right? If Wen Wan knew, she definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to be as calm as you.¡±

    That was certainly true. With Wen Wan¡¯s small-mindedness, could she tolerate Marquis Moyu bringing back a prostitute six months after she had married into this household? She couldn¡¯t. However, Ning Yuxuan had probably considered this point too. He had said he wouldn¡¯t be bringing Jinse back to the capital with them. He was only using Jinse as a way to make her feel ufortable during this journey.

    Unfortunately for him, she didn¡¯t care. Unless he was starving her or locking her up, then there was nothing else that Marquis Moyu could do to make her feel angry.

    ¡ª

    The river wasn¡¯t peaceful tonight, and Ji Man wasn¡¯t able to peacefully sleep. Getting a headache from the swaying boat, she put on her clothes and went up to the deck for fresh air. She was starting to get seasick.

    In the dead of night, without a moon in the sky, Ji Man looked at the other boat¡¯s fluttering dragon gs. The other boat wasn¡¯t far. She could even faintly see a person standing on the other deck.@@novelbin@@

 Chapter 112 - The culprit cant be found (1)

    Chapter: 112 out of 513 ¨C The culprit can¡¯t be found (1)

    Refusing to stop loving a person that didn¡¯t love you back was like a moth that was flying into fire. Even as it its wings were crumbling, it still struggled to fly closer to the center of the fire. How regretful and pitiful.

    When Ji Man regained her consciences, she felt as if Nie Sangyu¡¯s body had recently been burned by fire. Not only did she feel ufortable, it felt as if her body was burning up.

    After a struggle to open her eyes, she saw Ning Errong¡¯s happy face looking at her.

    ¡°Sangyu, are you awake?¡±

    The room seemed very dim. Errong was the only other person in the room.

    @@novelbin@@

    Seeing Nie Sangyu opening and closing her mouth, Errong hurriedly brought over a cup of water and poured it down her throat without any gentleness.

    Errong was also a person that had never taken care of someone else before. And so, she wasn¡¯t aware that she had moderate her strength. Ji Man ended up coughing for a long time to clear her throat. With her eyes half-opened and her head somewhat foggy, she asked, ¡°Who saved me?¡±

    Ning Errong looked at her with a solemn expression. ¡°My older brother saved you. Sangyu, what happenedst night? Why did you fall into the river? If it wasn¡¯t for my older brother, you would have definitely lost your life!¡±

    Ji Man did her best to recollectst night¡¯s memories. She had gone outside for fresh air because she was having trouble falling asleep. Then, she had seen the crown prince on the other side. After that, she had been forced to jump into the river by those two shadowy figures.

    The crown prince? Her body tensed. Ji Man suddenly remembered the lingering peaceful lute music yed by the crown prince. Even though she had shouted, no one had woken up on either of the two boats. Last night had felt like a nightmare. Fortunately, she woke up and was still alive.

    Who wanted to harm her? Ji Man couldn¡¯t figure it out. If it was the crown prince, wasn¡¯t he afraid that by allowing her to live, she would tell Marquis Moyu what he had done and cause hostility between them?

    Someone lightly knocked on the door and she heard Jinse¡¯s voice from outside, ¡°Madam, you weren¡¯t in your room. The marquis is looking for you.¡±

    Ji Man returned to her senses. Her entire body still felt weak and her forehead was slightly feverish. Herplexion probably looked deathly pale. She looked at Ning Errong. Ning Errong gave her a reassuring look, then she turned around and opened the door.

    ¡°Sangyu got sick. She came over here to sleepst night and ended up catching a cold.¡± Ning Errong expressionlessly looked at Jinse, who was still standing outside. ¡°Why is my cousin looking for her so early in the morning? Isn¡¯t it enough that you¡¯re serving him?¡±

    Jinse felt somewhat embarrassed. She nced inside the room, then left after bowing.

    In a bad mood, Errong rolled her eyes, closed the doors, and returned to the bedside. As she stretched her hand out to pick up the bowl of medicine, she said, ¡°It¡¯s strange. Everyone was deeply asleepst night. I called Baizi several times, but I couldn¡¯t wake her up, so my older brother personally prepared this medicine. Here, you should drink this. It¡¯ll help with your cold.¡±

    ¡ª

    There were no traces left in the rooms. Everyone didn¡¯t wake up until noon, but no one felt there was anything strange aboutst night.

    ¡ª

    Shortly after, Marqus Moyu came to Ning Errong¡¯s room. Seeing Nie Sangyu¡¯s sickly face, he lightly said, ¡°You should properly rest.¡±

    Ji Man looked at his eyes and asked, ¡°My lord, did you hear anything strangest night?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan quietly looked at her. His eyes were as deep as the river. ¡°I didn¡¯t. I slept very well.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. Seeing Marquis Moyu turning around and leaving, she finally figured things out.

    The most likely probability was that the crown prince had wanted to silently get rid of her and hadn¡¯t thought of the possibility that he might fail. However, even if she guessed that the crown prince was behind this, she didn¡¯t have any evidence that would prove he was guilty. She was a member of Nie n and Marquis Moyu didn¡¯t wholeheartedly believe her. And so, there was no use in telling Ning Yuxan what happenedst night.

    It seemed that it would be quite difficult if she wanted to continue living. Ji Man let out a wryugh. After drinking the bowl of medicine, she peacefully lied down and went to sleep

    ¡ª

    Other than Nie Qingyun, Ning Mingjie didn¡¯t tell anyone else about the matter of Nie Sangyu falling into the water.

    There was no one on this boat that would have a reason to dislike Nie Sangyu. Her magnanimous and proper conduct during this entire journey hadpletely shattered people¡¯s previous impression of her. In addition, she hadn¡¯tined about anything. When there was hard work to do, she was willing to do it. And so, everyone¡¯s impression of her had significantly improved.

    However, Ning Mingjie felt there was only two people that truly wished her well: Errong and Nie Qingyun.

    As for Ning Yuxuan, he felt it was already surprising that his cousin hadn¡¯t gotten rid of her.

    When Nie Qingyun found out about this matter, he was silent for a while. His following action was to go look for Marquis Moyu.

    Ning Mingjie hastily stopped by saying, ¡°Talking to him won¡¯t be helpful.¡±

    With a faint smile as he held up a broken piece of jade, he said, ¡°Someone had secretly burned sleeping incense in everyone¡¯s roomst night. But, someone had also ced the antidote in my room and Nie Sangyu¡¯s room. I truly admire that person¡¯s careful efforts, but I don¡¯t know who that person was. Although that person had casually used jade to strike my door, this one had only found this one piece.¡±

    For a person to throw jade at a door, the person was probably in a rush and also wasn¡¯t concerned about money. Nie Qingyun took the jade from Ning Mingjie¡¯s hand. It was an ordinary piece of jade. And, since it was shattered, he couldn¡¯t tell the original decorative design. Everyone on this boat was from rich families and would be able to afford breaking a piece of jade.

    Nie Qingyun frowned while thinking. ¡°Could it have been Yuxuan?¡±

    Ning Mingjie paused. As he stroked the jade, he said, ¡°It probably wasn¡¯t him. If it was him, why would he act so superfluously?¡±

    That was true. If Ning Yuxuan knew that someone wanted to harm Sangyu, he could just directly save her. Why would he leave it someone else? Nie Qingyun shook his head and sighed. Sangyu had suffered so badly and couldn¡¯t let the marquis settle this injustice for her. She must be feeling so badly right now. He should hurry and go see her.

 Chapter 116

    Chapter: 116 out of 513 ¨C Sicknesses like andslide, but goes slowly like spinning silk (1)

    It wasn¡¯tfortable sleeping on a boat, so the emperor ordered everyone to settled down at Qin Province¡¯s governor¡¯s residence.

    Standing by the side of the bed, Ning Yuxuan looked at Nie Sangyu¡¯s deathly pale face. With a slightly disdainful expression, he stretched his hand out. ¡°It¡¯s time to get up.¡±

    Ji Man didn¡¯t have the strength to move. Although her fever had faded, her entire body felt weak.

    Standing by the side, Nie Qingyun couldn¡¯t continue to watch this sight. With a calm and collected face, he said, ¡°Let me carry Sangyu off the boat instead.¡±

    ¡°Are you really that delicate that you can¡¯t walk by yourself, just because you¡¯re wearing a slightly heavier cloak?¡± Ning Yuxuan took down the nearby cotton-padded cloak, turned his head, and said to Nie Qingyun and Errong, ¡°You two can leave first. I¡¯ll bring Sangyu off the boat.¡±

    No one would feel at ease if you were the one carrying her, okay? Errong frowned and looked at him for a while before saying, ¡°Cousin, Sangyu hasn¡¯t recovered from her cold yet and she¡¯ll be exposed to the wind when we go outside. Don¡¯t treat her too roughly, okay?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan chuckled, ¡°I know how to act within the bounds of proper behavior.¡±

    Yeah right! Ji Man silently cursed at him. As soon as she raised her head, she felt woozy. She would much rather be carried out by Nie Sangyu¡¯s older brother than by him! She couldn¡¯t help think that he was going to drag off her of the boat by her legs.

    When all was said and done, these two were a married couple. It wouldn¡¯t be proper for Ning Errong and Nie Qingyun to interfere. And so, they led the servants away and closed the door on their way out.

    Ning Yuxuan leisurely picked up one of her cotton-padded dresses and her hair essories, helped her up, and slowly helped her change her clothes. Then, he simply tied her hair behind her and wrapped the cotton-padded cloak around her.

    Ji Man really wanted to say that the sh between the red cloak and green dress looked really ugly, but Marquis Moyu didn¡¯t look interested in speaking with her. After helping her dress, he turned around and had Gancao and Dengxin bring Jinse into the room.

    ¡°Help Madam off the boat.¡±

    Jinse quietly nodded. She didn¡¯t show the slightest opinion and directly stretched her hand out to support Nie Sangyu.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man didn¡¯t refuse either. Her body didn¡¯t have any strength, so she could only drape herself on Jinse¡¯s shoulder like a sea sponge as they started walking outside.

    The river was very windy. Ji Man was wrapped up in the cloak with only her eyes left uncovered. However, when her peripheral vision saw the river, she remembered the bone-chilling coldness of the water and felt as if she was going to faint.

    ¡ª

    In the evening, Noble Consort Nie came over with medicinal soup. Moreover, she had pulled Marquis Moyu to the side and said that Sangyu had been very attentive throughout this journey. He couldn¡¯t ignore her just because she was sick. She even mentioned old madame¡¯s hopes, as well as the rtionships between their two ns.

    Ji Man felt a headache just hearing these words. Sometimes, Noble Consort was way too long-winded and troublesome. Moreover, her intention was so tant. She just wanted Marquis Moyu to bestow his favor on her niece. And yet, she went around this huge circle instead. It was really tiring to listen to her.

    However, Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t show the slightest sign of impatience as he listened to her. When she finished speaking, there was actually a hint of shame on his face. ¡°Yuxuan understands. Many thanks to the noble consort for your edification.¡±

    Seeing that he had epted her words, she happily praised him for a long time before lifting her skirt and leaving.

    And so, Ning Yuxuan and Ji Man slept in the same room that night. Ji Man¡¯s rest that night was wasn¡¯t peaceful. Her body started to heat up again. It was already a miracle that she was still alive right now. Thus, she treasured her little life very much. Feeling a sense of wrongness, she hurriedly turned over and shouted, ¡°Yuxuan!¡±

    Because she hadn¡¯t fully recovered from her cold yet, NIng Yuxuan was sleeping on the cushioned couch in the outer room. Her yell didn¡¯t wake him. He was probably deeply asleep.

    Ji Man struggled to push the quilt off and got up to pour herself a cup of water. She felt that her bed was slightly too hot. And the more she slept, the hotter it became. Her body felt as if it was burning up and there wasn¡¯t even a cold object she could use to cool herself down. She felt very tormented.

    And so, after standing in her room for a few moments and noticing that charcoal fire was burning too much, she went to open a window.

    The cool breeze brought her a moment offort before her head felt woozy again. The window was above the cushioned couch. Ji Man didn¡¯t take another second to think before choosing to lie down on the cushioned couch because of proximity.

    The cushioned couch wasn¡¯t as hot as the bed. The temperature was just right. Marquis Moyu¡¯s body even felt slightly cold.

    Since the couch was so big and she couldn¡¯t wake him, Ji Man decided it would fine if she also slept here. If Ning Yuxuan ended up getting sick tomorrow, then he could only me his immune system for not being good enough.

    Just like that, Ji Man muddle-headedly fell asleep. One moment, Nie Sangyu¡¯s body would feel hot, and she would roll over to a cooler part. The next moment, her body would feel cold, and she would snatch the quilt away and tightly roll up in it.

    When Ning Yuxuan opened his eyes, he saw her rolling away one moment and rolling back the next moment. One moment, she would befortably hugging him. The next moment, she would disdainfully push him away.

    Really, she was as difficult to serve in her sleep as when she was awake. Ning Yuxuan snorted and touched Nie Sangyu¡¯s forehead to check her temperature. Then, he sat up and took out a small box that had been tucked into the sleeve of his clothing that had been hanging on a divider screen. There was a pill-sized medicine in the box. After dissolving it into water, he started pouring it down Nie Sangyu¡¯s throat.

    Ji Man struggled even in her sleep.

    With a stiff expression, Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°This isn¡¯t poison. This is to prevent your mind from burning up and bing a fool. There¡¯s not much good about you to begin with. If you¡¯re brain stops working, then don¡¯t me me for not wanting you.¡±

    Strangely, Nie Sangyu stopped struggling. Ning Yuxuan poured the rest of the liquid down her throat, then he quietly lied down and went back to sleep.

    (T/N: My friend, <strong>Fringe Octopus</strong>, has recently picked up <strong>ck Belly Wife</strong> to trante. It was one of the novels that Girly Novels selected as a teaser trantion, so if you like ChongFei Manual, I think you might like this novel as well.)

 Chapter 117

    Chapter: 117 out of 513 ¨C Sicknesses like andslide, but goes slowly like spinning silk (2)

    When Ji Man woke up the next day, she felt much better. Although she still felt slightly light-headed and stuffy, she felt much more energetic.

    Ning Yuxuan had disappeared early in the morning and Ji Man didn¡¯t care enough to ask the servants where he had gone. Instead, she had a little bit of millet congee with Errong.

    ¡°I heard that the emperor is handling Qin Province¡¯s legal cases rted to unjust and false charges.¡± Full of excitement, Errong said, ¡°It¡¯s quite interesting. Qin Province has always been known for having the most cases with unjust and false charges. The emperor had originally nned on only staying here for a day and a night, but a pile of cases attracted his interest. He told the first prince and third prince to go with him to solve these cases.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. This wasn¡¯t difficult to understand. During this entire journey, the emperor had been publicly and secretly testing these two princes and the third prince had been doing a cut better than the crown prince each time. Hearing that the crown prince would also be responsible for solving cases, Ji Man thought that it was about time for the crown prince to show his ability.

    ¡°The crown prince will be going to investigate a case of a headless murder victim this afternoon. The third prince¡¯s case is about a missing young woman. Everyone is going to leave the residence today. It¡¯s going to be so boring.¡± Errong sighed.

    Nie Qingyun would also be leaving with the third prince. Originally, Ning Mingjie hadn¡¯t been interested in participating. But for an unknown reason, he ended up perfectly willing to follow along with the third prince¡¯s group today. As for the crown prince, he would only have Marquis Moyu helping him.

    Ji Man wasn¡¯t interested in these cases. It had taken her a huge amount of effort to improve Nie Sangyu¡¯s sickly health, but this serious illness had ruined her efforts. Once she was feeling better, she had to figure out a way to recover her health again.

    ¡ª

    That afternoon, Ji Man took a nap after lunch with only Gancao and Dengxin keeping herpany. Errong had left with Ning Mingjie to participate in the excitement. Ji Man¡¯s health hadn¡¯t recovered, so she naturally couldn¡¯t go with them.

    But, when she woke up, the room was quiet and peaceful. Gancao and Dengxin weren¡¯t in the room, but Ji Man saw the crown prince as soon as she raised her eyes.

    The psychological shadow was still in her heart, so Ji Man couldn¡¯t present a pleasant expression. She could only calmly look at him. ¡°Your Highness, do you still want Sangyu¡¯s life?¡±

    Zhao Zhe faintly smiled. ¡°What are you thinking? Why would this prince want your life?¡±

    There was no else in the room, so Ji Man felt slightly nervous. But, when she raised her eyes, she saw that the door hadn¡¯t been closed. Gancao and Dengxin were probably standing right outside.

    Her heart slightly rxed and Ji Man was able to smile as she looked at Zhao Zhe.

    ¡°If you miss the first time, it¡¯s going to be difficult to strike again. Although Sangyu hadn¡¯t done anything to wrong the crown prince, if the crown prince really wants Sangyu¡¯s life, it would be very easy for Your Highness to aplish this. Sangyu still wants to live. If you¡¯re going to kill Sangyu, don¡¯t give Sangyu any chances to live. Otherwise, Sangyu will bite you.¡±

    Zhao Zhe raised his eyebrows and couldn¡¯t resistughing. ¡°Your words... Sangyu, you¡¯re overthinking things. It¡¯s said that people that are sick have heavy thoughts. You should properly rest. This prince¡¯s investigation happened to lead me here, so I came by to see you in the passing.¡±

    His expression looked so innocent as if he had nothing to do with the almost sessful murder attempt. Even his words were watertight. Ji Man could only sigh with admiration. The crown prince was truly worthy of being the crown prince.

    Zhao Zhe didn¡¯t try to stay any longer. He stood up and left the room.

    With lingering fear, Gancao and Dengxin entered the room. Both of them had their heads silently lowered.

    ¡°How long was he here?¡± Ji Man asked.

    ¡°To respond to master, an hour,¡± Gancao whispered, ¡°As soon as the crown prince entered the room, he had us go outside and stand by the door. Then, he brought a stool over here and sat down. We didn¡¯t dare to say anything...¡±

    The two servant girls weren¡¯t brave. Moreover, the other person was the crown prince. Ji Man understood their dilemma. But, what was wrong with Zhao Zhe? Did he have too much free time? Why did he sit here for an hour? Was he trying to kill her by staring at her? Ji Man couldn¡¯t stop worrying. She didn¡¯t peacefully lie back down until she had Gancao bring a doctor over here to examine her and confirm that she hadn¡¯t been poisoned.

    ¡ª

    They had stayed in Qin Province for the past three days. Marquis Moyu left early and came backte each day. Ji Man was focused on recuperating during this period, so she slept early. And so, although the two of them were sharing a room, they didn¡¯t see each other during this time.

    Today, Ji Man had finally made a full recovery from her illness and Jinse came over to pay her respects.

    While obediently massaging Nie Sangyu¡¯s leg, Jinse said, ¡°The marquis said that in half a month, the boats would be returning to the north by way of another river.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ji Man wasn¡¯t concerned about the route they were traveling. Still, her life had been sofortable during this trip. She didn¡¯t have to pay respects to Wen Wan or have to attend to old madame every day. If someone hadn¡¯t tried to harm her, this trip would have been a total rxation for her body and mind.

    @@novelbin@@

    Actually, she didn¡¯t want to go back so soon.

    Jinse gritted her teeth. It seemed as if there was something she wanted to say, but Ji Man pretended to not see. If Jinse was going to speak and stop, then start again, she wasn¡¯t interested in listening.

    ¡°Madam... Do you think Jinse has been attentive enough?¡± Jinse finally asked.

    Ji Man lightly smiled. ¡°Whether or not you¡¯ve been attentive enough, this is a question for the marquis. I can¡¯t make that decision. While we¡¯re outside, I can be called ¡°Madam¡±. When we return to Marquis Moyu¡¯s residence, I¡¯ll only be person that can silently stand by the main wife¡¯s side.¡±

    Jinse knew that Nie Sangyu wasn¡¯t the main wife. However, based on what she had observed during this journey, she thought that this woman¡¯s words probably had some weight. Although Marquis Moyu had treated her well for a couple of days, he had already clearly told her that he wouldn¡¯t be bringing her home.

    She was somewhat unwilling. She had finally left that filthy and lowly ce. It couldn¡¯t be that she had to return, right?

    She clenched her jaw and kneeled down in front of Nie Sangyu. She kowtowed and said, ¡°Madam, please help me. If you plead with the marquis, he¡¯ll definitely agree!¡±

 Chapter 120 - Returning to the capital (1)

    Chapter: 120 out of 513 ¨C Returning to the capital (1)

    Ning Yuxuan really didn¡¯t eat dinner. With a gloomy expression, he stayed in his room and started painting a picture of a beautiful woman.

    Jinse stood by his side and watched him paint the outline of a woman¡¯s beautiful, thick hair and eyshes. She bashfully asked, ¡°My lord, are you painting this servant?¡±

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s brush paused. He carefully looked at the silhouette on the paper and pursed his lips.

    The outline did sort of resemble Jinse, and also Mu Shuiqing. It looked even closer to Wen Wan. He ced the brush down and chuckled. ¡°The beauty in a painting truly can¡¯t bepared to the beauty in real life. Don¡¯t go to sleep toote.¡±

    After saying this, he turned around and started heading towards the door.

    Startled, Jinse asked, ¡°My lord? Where are you going?¡±

    After these words came out, she realized that this wasn¡¯t a question she could ask. Jinse hurriedly lowered her head and retreated to the side.

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s steps hadn¡¯t halted. He directly headed over to Nie Sangyu¡¯s room.

    ¡ª

    The sky had gradually darkened, but the food box delivered by the kitchen servants was still warm. Ji Man was sitting at a table. She took out a small te and sampled the food. The vor was pretty good.

    By her side, Gancao quietly asked, ¡°Master, why didn¡¯t you give the food you prepared to the marquis?¡±

    Ji Man raised her eyebrows. ¡°Who created a rule that I have to give the marquis food that I made? Why can¡¯t I eat it myself?¡±

    Dengxin nodded in agreement. ¡°Yeah, the marquis is with that vixen. He¡¯s not showing any care towards our master. Why should our master send him food personally made by her?¡±

    The person that was pushing the door from the outside paused.

    Although Dengxin¡¯s words weren¡¯t what she had meant, Ji Man didn¡¯t feel like correcting her. Although these two servant girls were very lively and cute, she didn¡¯t know how loyal they were. She couldn¡¯t tell them that she had cooked this food for Ning Mingjie.

    ¡°It¡¯s not early anymore. You two should go back and rest,¡± Ji Man said.

    The two servant girls tidied the room, supported Nie Sangyu to her bed, and put down the bed curtains before saluting and withdrawing from the room.

    Right after they stepped out of the room, they saw Marquis Moyu standing outside. Gancao and Dengxin were both very shocked. They wanted to call out to announce his presence, but Ning Yuxuan stopped them, ¡°I¡¯ll go inside by myself.¡±

    Dengxin thought of her recent words. Not knowing how much he had heard and scared that he would punish her, she hastily pulled Gancao with her as she left.

    Ning Yuxuan quietly entered the room, closed the door, and cast a nce at the bed with the lowered curtains. Then, he sat down at the table and tried one of small dishes. His gloomy expression drifted away like feathers.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man lied in bed for a while. Guessing that it was about time, she turned over and got up to open the windows to see if Ning Mingjie hade.

    However, as soon as she opened the bed curtains, she saw a person sitting in the outer room. He was currently quietly putting down the chopsticks.

    ¡°You ¨C ¡±Ji Man was frightened to the point that her face turned white. Her entire body stretched taut. She was afraid that a thief hade into her room. Anyone would feel scared seeing such a scene in the middle of the night after waking up.

    Ning Yuxuan turned his head, saw her scared expression, and lightly said, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±

    Ji Man rxed and almost starting cursing at him. My god, even a mouse would make a sound when it was stealing food. Who knows how long he had been silently sitting here eating? He must have intentionally done this to scare her. She should have pretended that she didn¡¯t recognize him and taken this opportunity to throw a vase at him!

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s mood seemed to have improved. His lips were curved and he looked at her in disapproval. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a waste to leave food here and not eat it?¡±

    Ji Man paused. Then, she hurriedly draped a robe over herself and left the bed to go look. He really ate an entire food box¡¯s worth of food? There were only a couple of empty tes and leftovers from the two vegetarian dishes. There wasn¡¯t even a shred of meat left.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man gritted her teeth and took a deep breath before asking with a slight smile, ¡°My lord, are you full now?¡±

    Sneakily eating someone else¡¯s food wasn¡¯t exactly an honorable thing. Marquis Moyu dryly coughed twice, then he turned his head away before saying, ¡°I was a bit hungry, so it tasted pretty good.¡±

    Was he actually implying that her cooking wasn¡¯t tasty? Ji Man thought; she really had to set up anti-theft measures next time. She couldn¡¯t believe that the food she had prepared for Ning Mingjie to thank him had been stolen by this person!

    She angrily returned to her bed and forced her voice to be calm as she said, ¡°This servant is tired and will be sleeping first. My lord, feel free to leave.¡±

    It was so rare for him to see her looking so obviously unhappy. Ning Yuxuan stood up and walked to the bed. After considering for a moment, he took off his outer clothing, lied down on the bed, and wrapped his arm around her waist.

    Ji Man rolled away from him and faced the wall as she curled up into a ball like she was a hedgehog that was showing her spikes.

    Was she angry? Marquis Moyu raised his eyebrows and found her behavior somewhat amusing. Just as he was about to say a few words to tease her, he heard her quietly saying, ¡°We¡¯ll be returning to the capital soon. My lord, what are you nning to do with Miss Jinse?¡±

    He had thought that she wouldn¡¯t bring up this topic. ¡°Do you want me to bring Jinse back home?¡±

    Ji Man shook her head, ¡°Miss Jinse¡¯s status isn¡¯t appropriate. Besides, if you take her back, Madam will definitely be unhappy.¡±

    A light shed through Marquis Moyu¡¯s eyes as he thought of Wen Wan. He had left her for such a long period of time. Had she be slightly more sensible in this time? Sangyu¡¯s words were correct. If he brought Jinse back, Wen Wan definitely wouldn¡¯t be happy.

    Wen Wan couldn¡¯t be the only woman in his life. And yet, she stubbornly insisted on wanting his entire heart. This was really troublesome for him. He hoped that she could slowly ept reality and not make his life difficult.

 Chapter 124 - Unable to peacefully sleep (1)

    Chapter: 124 out of 513 ¨C Unable to peacefully sleep (1)

    Wen Wan bit her lip and quietly harrumphed. She knew that she shouldn¡¯t have said those words, so she softened her voice as she said, ¡°I¡¯m just asking you to not let me down...¡±

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression was very calm. He stood up and said, ¡°If you ever feel that I¡¯m treating you unfairly, then just ask me for a divorce letter. You can remarry whoever you want and I¡¯ll fully support your decision.¡±

    After these words were said, he immediately left the room

    Wen Wan was shocked by these words. She couldn¡¯t suppress the feeling of being wronged and her eyes became teary.

    She opened and closed mouth as she tried to think of a way to keep him from leaving without backing down from her position. He was the one that was wrong to begin with. Why was he flipping it around and ming her? Wen Wan was extremely hurt and upset. And, when she thought of Nie Sangyu¡¯s earlier words, she swallowed down the words asking him to stay.

    Men were always greedy and not satisfied with what they had. She wasn¡¯t wrong, and she wouldn¡¯t lower her head in apology. If his heart truly had her, he definitely wouldn¡¯t make her suffer this monumental grievance and continue to give her a cold shoulder.

    She turned around and went to her bed to have a crying fit. Wen Wan hated to death the other women in the residence. If they didn¡¯t exist, her life with Yuxuan would be perfect. They were such a well-matched pair. Was a perfect couple¡¯s happy life a dream? Why were there so many bothersome women?

    ¡ª

    That evening, old madame returned home and Jinse went to pay her a visit. Jinse had originally thought that elderly people would feel happy at the news of descendants. And so, she had dressed up nicely to pay respects. How could she have known that old madame would be so harsh? Instead of acknowledging her and letting her stand up from her kneeling position, old madame just elegantly drank her tea.

    Ji Man had alsoe to pay respects. Seeing old madame¡¯s attitude, she knew that old madame wasn¡¯t happy seeing a second Mu Shuiqing. However, she didn¡¯t have the right to interfere, so she just obediently poured tea for old madame.

    After Jinse had been kneeling for a long time, she finally couldn¡¯t suppress her temper. She raised her head and said again, ¡°This servant, Jinse, is here to pay respects to Old Madame.¡±

    Old madame coldly harrumphed. ¡°When did this household start the practice of having new servant girlsing to pay me respects? Then, will this old bag of bones have to stand at the entrance and suffer though all of you paying me respects instead of resting?¡±

    Jinse¡¯s face turned red, then white. She gritted her and said, ¡°This servant isn¡¯t a servant girl. This servant is a pregnant concubine brought back by the marquis.¡±

    Her tone was rather belligerent. She wasn¡¯t the same as Mu Shuiqing. At the very least, Mu Shuiqing was a woman that had been trained in the crown prince¡¯s household for two years and knew proper etiquette. In contrast, Jinse¡¯s tone strongly showed that she was a person that had lived in a rougher environment and didn¡¯t know how to restrain herself when feeling wronged. She immediately showed her dissatisfaction when old madame embarrassed her.

    ¡°Oh? I heard that you¡¯re a woman from a brothel.¡± Old madame¡¯s eyelids didn¡¯t even twitch. ¡°Who¡¯s the father of your child?¡±

    Hearing these words, Ji Man didn¡¯t know whether she shouldugh or cry. It seemed that old madame didn¡¯t want to acknowledge this child, ah. In this dynasty, it was extremely rare for prostitutes to be brought back home, and yet Marquis Moyu had two of them. It was only to be expected that old madame would be angry.

    Jinse felt so wronged that her voice was choked with emotion as she said, ¡°Of course it¡¯s the marquis¡¯s child. Otherwise, the marquis wouldn¡¯t have brought back this servant.¡±

    Old madame was silent again for a long time. She also turned her head to sharply look at Nie Sangyu with a rather reproachful gaze.

    Ji Man lowered her head. It couldn¡¯t be helped. Nie Sangyu¡¯s body had failed to live up to the expectations of her two elders by not getting pregnant.

    ¡°A pregnancy isn¡¯t a big deal. You just need to have two more servants watching over you.¡± Old madame put down her cup and expressionlessly said, ¡°You¡¯ll only be considered to have ability if you can give sessfully give birth to a son. Since you¡¯re a woman from the outside, then know your ce and stay in your courtyard. On a normal day, you don¡¯t need toe here. I prefer peace and quiet.¡±

    Jinse lowered her head and uttered a sound of eptance. She knew that this old madame was disdainful of her background, so she didn¡¯t try to do anything else. Dingxiang helped her up and they withdrew from the room.

    It was true that getting pregnant wasn¡¯t difficult. Look at herself as an example. Hadn¡¯t she easily gotten pregnant? But, Jinse knew that it would be impossible for her to sessfully give birth.

    ¡ª

    The marquis and Wen Wan started another cold war. And so, Ji Man wasn¡¯t surprised to see Ning Yuxuan and his gloomy face that night.

    While his mood was never good when he argued with Wen Wan, it seemed especially bad this time. As Ji Man was wondering what Wen Wan had said to anger this person that seem to suffer from facial nerve paralysis, she heard Ning Yuxuan say, ¡°Don¡¯t say a single word tonight. I don¡¯t want to hear a woman¡¯s voice.¡±

    Great, it would be saving her effort if she wasn¡¯t allowed to talk. Ji Man nodded her head to indicate agreement. She ordered Muxu to bring back warm water, then she washed her face and rinsed her mouth. Once she was done, she went to bed and closed her eyes to sleep.

    Ning Yuxuan was very irritable tonight. His inability to sleep and his constant tossing and turning bothered Ji Man enough that she opened her eyes and usatorially looked at him.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°The bed is too hard!¡± Marquis Moyu said with a gloomy face.

    Ji Man silently criticized; are you the Pea Princess? He normally slept perfectly okay here. And now, he suddenly thought the bed was too hard?

    (T/N: Just in case this fairytale isn¡¯t famous enough, the Pea Princess was a woman whose royal identity was proven by her sensitivity to feel a pea even under many mattresses.)

    But, she didn¡¯t have a choice. Whatever he said was right. Ji Man left the bed and had Gancao bring over twoforters.

    ¡°Too soft.¡± This great lord still wasn¡¯t satisfied.

    Ji Man nodded and kept her light smile. She had Gancao take away aforter. This time, Marquis Moyu didn¡¯t say anything. He just lied down with an ugly expression.

    ¡°Why are you so far from me?¡± He asked in an annoyed tone.

    Ji Man scooted over a bit.

    ¡°Don¡¯te too close!¡± He disdainfully pushed her away.

    Ji Man took a deep breath, then she took another deep breath. He was already keeping her from sleeping. Why was this great lord still finding so many faults?

    She got out of bed, put on her shoes and cloak, and started walking the doors.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrows.

    ¡°Going off to die,¡± Ji Man finally spoke to him, then she opened the doors and left.

    This great lord was unbearable. Whoever wanted to serve him was wee toe here. This unstable person was truly breaking the boundaries of eptable human behavior. Ji Man kicked the cobblestone path a few times, then she decisively went to the southern courtyard to look for Errong and rely on her for help.

    Trantor Ramblings: Oh, Ning Yuxuan when will you learn that Ji Man doesn¡¯t care about your problems and she really will ignore you if she has the option? It was nice to see Ji Man finally having enough of his childish antics and leaving.

 Chapter 125 - Unable to peacefully sleep (2)

    Chapter 125 out of 513 ¨C Unable to peacefully sleep (2)

    Ning Yuxuan was still in a bad mood. Seeing her leave, he thought that she would probably stille back. And so, he didn¡¯t chase after her.

    However, after he lied on the bed for a while and his anger had disappeared, the doors were still open. The cold wind blew inside and Nie Sangyu still hadn¡¯t return.

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    Feeling slightly unsettled because of herst words, Marquis Moyu couldn¡¯t lie in bed any longer. He put on his outer clothing and headed outside.

    Spring had started and the snow was melting, but it was still chilly outside. He had only walked a few steps before his shoes had gotten soaked. Ning Yuxuan walked around the entire Feiwan Courtyard, but he couldn¡¯t find Nie Sangyu and had also unintentionally awoken Muxu.

    Muxu was scared to death from seeing Marquis Moyu opening her doors in the middle of the night. She grabbed her quilt and nkly looked at him. ¡°Marquis?¡±

    What was he going to do to her? Didn¡¯t he have her master to serve him? Why had hee to her room? During this period of shock, Muxu¡¯s heart was palpating very quickly. However, before she had time to say another word, Marquis Moyu had already left after scanning the room.

    Originally, he had wanted to order a few servant girls to look for Nie Sangyu. However, he couldn¡¯t bear the loss in face if other people found out. Since he had driven her away, why was he looking for her now? Moreover, the object of his search was a woman that he had disliked for a long time.

    Feeling bothered and gloomy, he left Feiwan Courtyard and went to the garden to look for Nie Sangyu.

    Passing through the garden, he saw a person in the pavilion. Marquis Moyu called out, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

    Ning Mingjie turned his head slightly and chuckled. ¡°Yuxuan, why are you awake sote at night too?¡±

    So, it was him. Ning Yuxuan rxed, coughed once, and said, ¡°The moon looks nice tonight. I was just strolling around.¡±

    Ning Mingjie slightly froze in surprise for a moment. He raised his head and looked at the dark sky.

    ¡°It¡¯s not early anymore. I should go back to rest. Cousin, you should go to sleep too.¡± Ning Yuxuan turned his head away and looked rather pitiful as he walked away.

    ¡°En, you can go. I¡¯ve gotten used to sleeping during the day. I really can¡¯t fall asleep at night anymore.¡±

    Marqyus Moyu didn¡¯t understand the meaning of his words and merely thought that Ning Mingjie had messed up his sense of day and night during their trip. Thus, he didn¡¯t ask any others questions and hurriedly went elsewhere to look.

    After walking around the entire residence and waking up a lot of people, Ning Yuxuan still hadn¡¯t found Nie Sangyu. Feeling anxious, he returned to the garden and asked Ning Mingjie, ¡°Have you see Sangyu passing by here?¡±

    Ning Mingjie raised his eyebrows, ¡°It¡¯s the middle of the night. Why would she be going outside?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan opened and closed his mouth. He didn¡¯t know how to exin. He could only put on a coldly indifferent expression and say, ¡°She did go outside. I¡¯m just casually walking around. If I can find her, I¡¯ll bring her back. If I can¡¯t, then let nature take its course.¡±

    A light shed through Ning Mingjie¡¯s eyes and a hint of smile appeared. He pointed in the direction of the southern courtyard and said, ¡°Have you gone to Errong¡¯s room to look? They¡¯ve always gotten along well.¡±

    Marquis Moyu suddenly realized, and he hurriedly headed to the southern courtyard. Noticing that his walking speed had increased, he lightly coughed twice and slowed down his pace to a leisurely stroll. But, after he left the garden, he used his martial arts ability to quickly reach the southern courtyard.

    He told himself that he wasn¡¯t worried about Nie Sangyu. She wasn¡¯t that important. It just wouldn¡¯t be worth if something bad happened to her.

    The light in Ning Errong¡¯s room had been extinguished. Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t let out a sigh in relief until he received confirmation that Nie Sangyu was upstairs by asking the servant girl on the first floor. Then, with a dark expression, he ordered Baizhi to drag her downstairs.

    Woken from her sleep, Ji Man¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t good and her tone didn¡¯t sound pleasant either as she asked, ¡°What?¡±

    Marquis Moyu coldly said, ¡°Your temper is quite big. I had toe out and look for you.¡±

    Ji Man was so sleepily that she could barely keep her eyes open, even her standing position was as totteringly unstable as a newborn chick¡¯s. Hearing his words, she drowsily said, ¡°En.¡± Then, she leaned against the wall and started to fall asleep again.

    A belly full of fury had been growing like a smoldering fire while he was searching for her, but this feeling was washed away by her sleepy appearance. Marquis Moyu put on a serious expression and carried her back to Feiwan Courtyard on his shoulder without any gentleness.

    With her eyes closed, Ji Man said, ¡°I want to sleep.¡±

    ¡°You can sleep. I won¡¯t bother you.¡± Ning Yuxuan covered her with a quilt. ¡°In the future, don¡¯t always run off to Errong¡¯s room. You¡¯re already a married woman. Other people willugh at you.¡±

    Ji Man had already fallen asleep.

    Ning Yuxuan looked at her for a while, then he lied down on the outside part of the bed. This time, he was well behaved. He didn¡¯t toss and turn.

    ¡ª

    Spring had arrived. It was time for new clothes to be made and many bolts of silk fabric had been brought to the residence. ording to the rules, the best two bolts of fabric were given to old madame, Wen Wan received snowy, light silk fabric, Nie Sangyu received brocade fabric from Sichuan, and the rest of the women were given ordinary silk fabric.

    The tailors came to each of the courtyards to take their measurements. An ident happened to ur in Qiangwei Courtyard. Wen Wan¡¯s hand had identally been injured by a scissor.

    In the past, Ning Yuxuan would have rushed over there without taking the time to say a single word. He might have even punished the tailors.

    @@novelbin@@

    But as Ji Man was getting her measurements taken, she looked at the nearby Ning Yuxuan, who was leisurely reading a book. Had the sun risen from the west today?

    Trantor Ramblings: ¡°En, you can go. I¡¯ve gotten used to sleeping during the day. I really can¡¯t fall asleep at night anymore.¡±

    Marqyus Moyu didn¡¯t understand the meaning of his words and merely thought that Ning Mingjie had messed up his sense of day and night during their trip.¡±

    What do you guys think Ning Mingjie really meant?

 Chapter 127

    Chapter 127 out of 513 ¨C The ssical scene of a supporting female character framing the female lead (2)

    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t gone, I wouldn¡¯t have known that Wen Wan had been able to enter Tonghua Poetry Association because of my older brother. My older brother said that Wen Wan had pleaded with him to go out with her because she was feeling bored and wanted to go out. And, he actually agreed! When they got there, a group of people became utterly attracted to her mediocre beauty and continuously ttered her. They even gave her Qianqian¡¯s title of most talented woman. Bah! Even a three year old child can write better poems than her!¡±

    Ji Man was slightly surprised. ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad. If Madam wants to obtain the marquis¡¯s affection, she shouldn¡¯t be acting too outrageously.¡±

    ¡°She probably knows that Tonghao Poetry Association is ce that doesn¡¯t care about etiquette and people can¡¯tin about her behavior,¡± Errong gloomy said, ¡°Two years ago, a foreigner came to the imperial court and used poetry to back people into difficult positions. A talented individual from Tonghao Poetry Association came and suppressed the other person to the point that he was speechless. While feeling very happy, the emperor bestowed a que to Tonghao Poetry Association that said, ¡°Only discussion of poetry is allowed, do not judge people by status.¡± As long as the people in the group are gathered for a meeting, even married women can attend and talk about poetry with men.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. This allowed this ce to be a good breeding ground for schrs.

    There were plenty of talented individuals that came from boudoirs, ah. For example, there were poetesses like Li Qingzhao. With a ce like Tonghao Poetry Association, there naturally would be a ce for them to disy their talent.

    (T/N: Li Qingzhao was a famous Song Dynasty poetess.)

    But, why did Wen Wan go there?

    ¡ª

    When Marquis Moyu was informed of this new, his expression was calm. Without even raising his head, he went to Jinse¡¯s courtyard.

    ¡ª

    Two dayster, Wen Wan was the one that caved in first. However, she didn¡¯t look for the marquis, instead she ordered Jinse to Qiangwei Courtyard.

    Jinse was supposedly over a month pregnant, but none of the doctors could confirm her pregnancy yet. Still, backed by the words of a sage monk, she had already been considered pregnant over a month ago even if no one else could tell then either.

    Jin Man didn¡¯t know what had happened between Wen Wan and Jinse. However, during dinnertime, old madame¡¯s personal servant girl, Showu, came to get her. Showu¡¯s expression was grave as she said, ¡°Mistress Sang, something bad happened. Old madame wants everyone toe to the main courtyard.¡±

    Without changing her clothes, Ji Man went to the main courtyard in casual robes. Everyone else had already arrived before her.

    With an unyielding expression, Wen Wan was kneeling at old madame¡¯s feet.

    Ji Man raised her eyebrows and turned around to look, but she didn¡¯t see Jinse.

    Marquis Moyu was standing by the side. His brow was slightly furrowed, but his expression didn¡¯t look too bad. He quietly looked at Wen Wen before asking, ¡°What happened today? Did you deliberately push Jinse into a wardrobe?¡±

    Hearing these words, Ji Man immediately understood what was happening. In novels, there was always a scene where the supporting female character would suffer miscarriage and frame the female lead. This scene would usually end up with someone being tortured. The oue was dependent on the male lead and female lead¡¯s attitudes!

    Ji Man secretly felt a bit excited and she lowered her head to watch Wen Wan¡¯s reaction.

    Wen Wan raised her head and calmly looked at the marquis. ¡°Is a Wen Wan a malicious woman in the marquis¡¯s mind? We¡¯ve been married for so long. My lord, how can you not trust me?¡±

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t resist rolling her eyes and silently gagging. Whenever a female lead was misunderstood, she would always have an attitude of ¡°I don¡¯t want to exin, but you have to believe me¡±. She always felt annoyed when she read this type of novel. Where did they get the confidence that people would automatically believe in them when they hadn¡¯t exined what had happened? Besides, even if the marquis believed her, he couldn¡¯t just say in front of this entire group of people, ¡°En, I believe you,¡± and then say that female lead was innocent, right?

    This was just pure stupidity.

    Old madame¡¯s expression didn¡¯t look good. She coldly harrumphed and said, ¡°There¡¯s a servant girl willing to act as a witness that you pushed Jinse. What do you have to say for yourself?¡±

    Wen Wan angrily said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. She ran into the wardrobe herself!¡±

    Dingxiang kneeled down and said in a trembling voice, ¡°This servant came from Qiangwei Courtyard and wouldn¡¯t falsely use Madam. Madam truly pushed Mistress Jinse. This servant saw this from the outside.¡±

    Wen Wan was furious. With tears falling from her face, she said, ¡°If I can tolerate Mu Shuiqing, then why can¡¯t I tolerate Jinse? I merely called her over to have a heart-to-heart talk. How could I have known that her attitude would be so horrible? As soon as we had a disagreement, she ran into the wardrobe herself. I can¡¯t be med if she ends up miscarrying.¡±

    Ji Man also felt that this wasn¡¯t something that Wen Wan would do. But, why would Jinse deliberately do this? Wasn¡¯t it good that she was pregnant? Why would she deliberately cause herself to miscarry in order to frame Wen Wan? At the very least, the crown princess consort had a hand in arranging Wen Wan¡¯s wedding. Wasn¡¯t Jinse given to Marquis Moyu by the crown prince?

    Unable to figure out the logic behind this, Ji Man knocked her hand against her head to think.

    ¡°Do you have evidence that this matter is unrted to you? There¡¯s a witness right here,¡± Old madame said.

    Wen Wan bit her lip. At the time, she had sent Tanxiang out to bring a pot of tea. Where would she find the evidence to prove that this liar had deliberately hurt herself? Old madame¡¯s heart was also biased against her. She definitely wouldn¡¯t believe her. But the marquis...

    Wen Wan raised her head to look at Marquis Moyu. She looked quite pitiful, but stubborn as well.

    Her beauty came from looking weak and delicate, and asionally being a bit strong. It made people want to protect her. All men had saviorplexes. Marquis Moyu wasn¡¯t an exception to this rule.

    And so, he sighed and said, ¡°Let Wan-<i>er</i> go back to Qiangwei Courtyard to ponder over her mistake. We can make a final decision after we find out about Jinse¡¯s condition.¡±

    Old madame coldly harrumphed. ¡°Xuan-<i>er</i>, if she really ends up miscarrying, how will you deal with the offender?

    Ning Yuxuan paused. ¡°What is mother¡¯s thought?¡±

    ¡°How can a woman that can¡¯t tolerate your heirs be the future matriarch of this family?¡± Old madame severely looked at Wen Wan and said, ¡°If this child is gone, you have to return the position of the main wife to Sangyu.¡±@@novelbin@@

 Chapter 129 - Rumors are fiercer than tigers (2)

    Chapter: 129 out of 513 ¨C Rumors are fiercer than tigers (2)

    After paying respects to old madame, Ji Man met Mu Shuiqing on her way out.

    Mu Shuiqing walked to her side and profoundly looked at her as she said, ¡°This servant never thought you would have a day like this.¡±

    No one had thought that Nie Sangyu would regain her original position. It was only to be expected that Mu Shuqing would be surprised.

    Ji Man smiled and said, ¡°The days are long. Who can predict the future?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Mu Shuiqing chuckled. The space between her eyebrows had softened considerably. With her hand held protectively over her slightly protruding belly, she said, ¡°Right now, I don¡¯t want anything else. I just want to peacefully give birth to my child.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve be much better with behaving yourself. You won¡¯t have the same oue as Jinse. Don¡¯t worry, just focus on taking care of your health and baby.¡±

    Unexpectedly, Mu Shuqing whispered unfathomable words next, ¡°This servant isn¡¯t walking on the same path as her, so naturally this servant won¡¯t have the same ending as her. Madam, you don¡¯t need to worry.¡±

    Ji Man was bewildered. Why would Mu Shuqing and Jinse be walking on the different paths? Weren¡¯t they both loyal to the crown prince?

    ¡ª

    Errong had prepared a table full of tasty food and invited Nie Qingyun over. She also dragged Ning Mingjie and Nie Sangyu over to apany them.

    She happily said, ¡°Let¡¯s celebrate Sangyu¡¯s change in fortune. This is the food I personally prepared. Don¡¯t look down on my cooking.¡±

    There were several dishes on the table. They all looked pretty good. Ji Man was slightly surprised. They had onlye back a couple of days. When had Errong learned how to cook a full meal?

    After tasting a bite of food, Ji Man couldn¡¯t resist nodding her head. The young girl had a bright future. She had learned quickly and the food tasted pretty good.

    Ning Mingjie chuckled and said, ¡°It seems like you prepared this meal for your uing marriage. You¡¯ll be getting married to Qingyun in only four days. ording to the rules, shouldn¡¯t you be waiting until then to see him?¡±

    Ning Errong blushed. She nced at Nie Qingyun before smiling and saying, ¡°I¡¯m already familiar with him. It¡¯s not like this is an arranged marriage. It fine if we wait until tomorrow to stop seeing each other. Let¡¯s not focus on the minor details. Just treat today as a celebration for Sangyu.¡±

    Ning Qingyun nodded. ¡°If Sangyu is happy, then I can marry without worries. Brother Mingjie, you¡¯ll be the only one left here after Errong marries into Nie n. Please help me take care of Sangyu.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Older brother, I can take care of myself.¡±

    Ning Mingjie was also at a marriageable age. In a few months, he should be discussing his marriage prospects too. Although he was a pretty good person, Ji Man still had to consider the issue of avoiding suspicion.

    Ning Qingun chuckled. ¡°If you can take care of yourself, then I wouldn¡¯t have to worry.¡±

    Feeling discontent, Errong interrupted him. ¡°Spend more time eating and less time talking, ah. I spend such a long time cooking. This food isn¡¯t just for you to look at.¡±

    After the four people had eaten most of the food on the table, Errong finally revealed a happy smile and pulled Nie Sangyu away to talk.

    She whispered, ¡°After I¡¯m married, what will you do with no one by your side to help you?¡±

    Ji Man patted her shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I can handle it.¡±

    ¡ª

    After Wen Wan was demoted to the position of the secondary wife, she became less unruly, but she still frequently went out to see friends to discuss poems and voice herints.

    Ji Man felt that Wen Wan¡¯s behavior was only to be expected. Wen Wan¡¯s method of venting was already done in a very harmless way.

    However, when she met Ning Mingjie in the garden one day, he suddenly solemnly asked, ¡°Forgive this one for asking this question. Madam, are the rumors true? Are you really guilty of being unjust?¡±

    Ji Man was utterly baffled by these words. Confused, she asked, ¡°What made you ask this question?¡±

    Ning Mingjie wasn¡¯t a gossipy person. However, he had frequently heard the same rumors being repeated in Tonghao Poetry Association. Moreover, it was sounding worse and worse as time went, to the point that he was almost about to believe in those rumors. Thus, he came here to ask Nie Sangyu.

    There was a rumor circting that Nie Sangyu had caused the death of a concubine¡¯s unborn child and framed Wen Wan for it, in order to snatch away Wen Wan¡¯s status as the main wife. Although Wen Wan was the victim, she didn¡¯t me Nie Sangyu much. She just wrote many poems about how she felt wronged, pained, and helpless. On top of this, thoughtful people had inquired about what had happened. The end result was gossip being spread about Nie Sangyu.

    Even if she buried herself in dirt, she still couldn¡¯t avoid being shot at. This matter had absolutely nothing to do with her, but the rumors had altered the truth into this form. Ji Man could only admire these people for their rich imaginations.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never harmed anyone.¡± Ji Man wrylyughed and said to Ning Mingjie, ¡°I¡¯ve always believe that the sins youmit in this lifetime will be paid back to you in the next lifetime. So, I won¡¯t hurt anyone, but other people better not try to hurt me either.¡±

    Ning Mingjie nodded and didn¡¯t say anything else.

    ¡ª

    Although Ji Man had already finished embroidering Errong¡¯s wedding dress during the trip, she was still busy with other matters rted to Errong¡¯s wedding. Thus, she didn¡¯t pay attention to these rumors. Butter on, she finally understood what was meant by the saying, ¡°rumors are fiercer than tigers¡±. Originally, it had been something false. But after it had been repeated numerous times, everyone actually looked at Wen Wan with sympathetic gazes and said Nie Sangyu was a poisonous woman behind her back.

    Even if Ji Man had a hundred mouths, she couldn¡¯t clear her name. Even if she exined the truth, people wouldn¡¯t believe her. Besides, it would too much of a wasted effort to exin the truth every time you met a new person. But, if you didn¡¯t exin, people would think you have a guilty conscience and the rumors would continue to be more exaggerated.

    Wen Wan¡¯s move of crying her grievances had truly been very effective. And yet, not one would believe that Wen Wan was doing this intentionally. Instead, they would all say that Wen Wan hadn¡¯t said a single bad word about Nie Sangyu, and that other people had figured out the truth through guessing.

    Ji Man was furious over this white lotus Holy Mother¡¯s act. When it was time to serve Marquis Moyu in bed that night, her expression was still very gloomy.

    Marquis Moyu looked at her for a while. Instead of asking her what was wrong, he asked, ¡°Do you want to go to Tonghua Poetry Association?¡±

 Chapter 132

    Chapter 132 out of 513 ¨C Even if you give a jade crown hat to a pig, the pig will still be a pig (1)

    With someone to help her write, the pressure that Ji Man felt decreased considerably. All girls liked poetry about flowers since they were young. The poem that she had the deepest impression about was a poem that her teacher had requested they recite many times. It was called <i>Ode to the Plum Blossom.</i>

    Now that she was thinking about it, it would be quite appropriate for today. Ji Man lightly smiled, nced at Wen Wan, and said, ¡°Sangyu will give this poem to Wan-<i>er</i>.¡±

    Wen Wan had been confidently looked at Nie Sangyu. Surprised by these words, she slightly frowned. Giving her a poem?

    <i>¡°Wind and rain escorted Spring¡¯s departure, flying snow wees Spring¡¯s return,</i>

    <i>On the ice-d rock rising high and sheer, a flower blooms sweet and fair,</i>

    <i>Sweet and fair, she craves Spring not just for herself,</i>

    <i>To be the harbinger of Spring, she is content,</i>

    <i>When the mountain flowers are in full bloom, she will smile mingling in their midst.¡±</i>

    (T/N: The full trantion of <i>Ode to the Plum Blossom </i>can be found here<strong>.)</strong>

    After Ji Man finished reciting the poem, the heir had also finished writing the poem. Hearing that this poem would be given to Wen Wan, he had done a very good job writing it.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°This is called <i>Ode to the Plum Blossom</i>. Sangyuposed it to praised Wan-<i>er</i>, who doesn¡¯t try to vie for anything. Her devotion to selflessly contribute is impable.¡± Ji Man followed these words with a cutting remark, ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> has always been as lofty and unsullied as a plum blossom. An ordinary person doesn¡¯t have any hope of catching up to her level.¡±

    Wen Wan felt endlessly aggravated by her words. What did she mean by ¡°doesn¡¯t try to vie for anything?¡± Wasn¡¯t Nie Sangyu just saying these words sarcastically? The most hateful part was that, other than the several women that had never liked her in the poetry association, no one could tell that Nie Sangyu was mocking her. Instead, they all thought that this poem was very wellposed. Even Qiang Yingchen was smiling and nodding.

    Originally, the various sons of nobility had nned on saying something to make life difficult for Nie Sangyu. But, hearing that this poem was meant to praise Wen Wan and it was also truly well-written, they dryly coughed and wanted to change the discussion.

    One of the said, ¡°Let¡¯s look at the poem that Wan-<i>er</i> had written.¡±

    Wen Wan blushed. She had already handed her poem to Qian Yingchen and it was already toote for her to take the poem back.

    Qian Yingchen swept his gaze across the paper and read it aloud. ¡°A bluish green pond outside of the city, it has an overlooked snow-like thing. The white lotus is thoughtful, it¡¯s not the same as other muddy things.¡±

    The tonal cadence was awkward and the poem didn¡¯t rhyme either.

    Hearing that Wen Wan had written about a white lotus, Ji Man couldn¡¯t stop herself from turning around and holding onto Muxu for support as she guffawed.

    Really, Wen Wan was too cute. She had actually written a poem praising the white lotus to indicate that she was different from them, the muddy things.

    Several of the men were racking their brains trying to think of a way to help Wen Wan. Unfortunately, Ji Man had already disregarded appearance and let out herughter. If they still wanted to pretend that the poem was good by saying a few words of praise, they couldn¡¯t do so.

    With Wen Wan¡¯s poor disy of skill, she naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to enter Tonghao Poetry Association. Ji Man also now understood what Ning Errong had meant by ¡°poems that even a three-year-old could write¡±.

    For a period of time, there was only the sound of Nie Sangyu¡¯sughter.

    Tears appeared in Wen Wan¡¯s eyes. Her pitiful appearance as she bit her lip made it seem as if she had been monumentally wronged. Her eyes were filled with hate and resentment as she looked at Nie Sangyu.

    Xiao Tiangyi stepped forward and said, ¡°Madam Ning, you¡¯re being rather rude. Even if Wan-<i>er</i>¡¯s poem wasn¡¯t as good as yours, you shouldn¡¯tugh so loudly. You¡¯re not showing any respect.¡±

    Ji Man hadughed enough. She dried her eyes, turned around, and said, ¡°Sangyu has truly acted rudely. Sangyu didn¡¯tugh because Wan-<i>er</i> didn¡¯t write a good poem. It¡¯s because Sangyu feels that the imagery that Wan-<i>er</i> had written was truly too suitable for her.¡±

    Wen Wan felt confused. Didn¡¯t Nie Sangyu dislike her a lot? Then, why did she give her a poem and also praise her for being like a white lotus?

    Nie Sangyu must be plotting by pretending to be magnanimous and treating her nicely. Wen Wan settled her mind and quietly said, ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> is willing to admit defeat for today¡¯spetition. Madam, please let Wan-<i>er</i> off and stop embarrassing Wan-<i>er</i>.¡±

    There was an art to speaking. Even though Ji Man hadn¡¯t done anything, Wen Wan¡¯s words had made her look guilty. Because Wen Wan¡¯s first response was to plead with her to let her off, it gave off the impression that she had be ustomed to frequently bullying Wen Wan in the ears of outsiders.

    It was pointless to waste her saliva arguing with Wen Wan. Ji Man said, ¡°Let¡¯s stop this game here. Sangyu still has to go back to attend to Old Madame. Since everyone hase to Marquis Moyu¡¯s residence, Sangyu has to do a proper job with entertaining. After lunch, everyone can go to Luoyan Pagoda to continue appreciating poetry. All expenses will be paid by Marquis Moyu.¡±

    Wen Wan looked at Nie Sangyu and tried to persuade her, ¡°Madam, it might be a bit inappropriate for you to be so generous.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Yuxuan said I could make the decisions.¡± Ji Man smiled and said, ¡°The result of today¡¯spetition isn¡¯t important either. Sir Qian can handle everything. Sangyu has to leave first.¡±

    Just one sentence, ¡°Yuxuan said I could make the decisions¡± was enough to turn Wen Wan¡¯s eyes red. Nie Sangyu¡¯s following words aboutpetition¡¯s results made Wen Wan¡¯s heart feel as if it was being hanged up to be drawn and quartered. Today had been extremely humiliating for her. Without any good reason, Luo Qianqian had been given the opportunity tough at her. She would definitely remember this enmity.

    Holding the two poems, Qian Yingchen lightly smiled asked, ¡°Everyone, judge for yourself. Nothing needs to be said about Madam Ning¡¯s poem. But, what about the lesser Madam Ning¡¯s poem? Can she be admitted into Tonghao Poetry Association?¡±

    Luo Qianqian, who had been watching from the side for a long time, snickered and said, ¡°The woman chosen as the capital¡¯s most talented woman by Tonghao Poetry Association lost to a married woman. You guys can afford to lose this face, but I can¡¯t. If people find out that Wen Wan¡¯s poem meets the threshold for entering Tonghao Poetry Association, then we¡¯ll definitely have enough members to cover the world soon.¡±

    Wen Wan bit her lip and quietly said, ¡°Today¡¯s poem is indeed a bitcking... Wan-<i>er</i> was just feeling too lonely, so Wan-<i>er</i> came to Tonghao Poetry Association to talk about poems with everyone. But after the fuss of today, Wan-<i>er</i> is afraid that I¡¯ll have to bid everyone farewell...¡±

    Before these words were finished, her voice became choked with emotion. Several men came forward to yell at Luo Qianqian.

    One of them said, ¡°Miss Luo, your words are too harsh. Aren¡¯t you just being hostile because Wan-<i>er</i> took your title as the most talented woman?¡±

 Chapter 133

    Chapter 133 out of 513 ¨C Even if you give a jade crown hat to a pig, the pig will still be a pig (2)

    A couple of women by Luo Qianqian¡¯s side harrumphed.

    One of them said, ¡°That title isn¡¯t important. Everyone still knows that Qianqian is the most talented poetess. For example, even if a nobleman doesn¡¯t wear a jade crown hat, he¡¯s still a nobleman. And, even if you give a jade crown hat to a pig, the pig will still be a pig.¡±

    Qian Yingchen couldn¡¯t resist quietlyughing. But, it was only for a brief moment. He quickly returned to normal and solemnly said, ¡°Anyone that wants to vote for the lesser Madam Ning to stay in Tonghua Poetry Association, write down your name. We have fifteen members here today. If more than eight people vote her, then she can stay.¡±

    Of the fifteen people here, more than half of them were by Wen Wan¡¯s side. The results of this vote didn¡¯t even need to be looked at.

    Luo Qianqian coldly harrumphed, flung her sleeves, and walked away.

    The other people also felt that it was pointless to continue staying here and the crowd dispersed.

    Wen Wan¡¯s mood couldn¡¯t be any worse.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man hummed a little ditty the entire walk to old madame¡¯s ce.

    ¡ª

    Old madame had already heard about herpetition with Wen Wan. She happily pulled her over and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been looking forward to seeing you win over that vixen in every aspect. This way, Xuan-<i>er</i> will be able who¡¯s truly the best.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Old Madame, you don¡¯t need to worry. Other than not being as delicate as her, Sangyu won¡¯t lose to her in any other area. If she really wants topete with Sangyu, then Sangyu will outperform her for Old Madame¡¯s amusement.¡± Her words directly led to old madameughing.

    Old madame¡¯s tapped Nie Sangyu¡¯s nose and said, ¡°You clever little imp. All of the care I¡¯ve shown you in the past several years have been worth it.¡±

    Ji Man chatted with old madame for a while. After eating lunch with her, she headed out to make arrangements with Luoyan Pagoda.

    The current Luoyan Pagaoda had be even more luxurious than before. On the fifth floor, there was the second half of ¡°Inviting you to drink wine¡± had been personally written by the crown prince, as well as the legendary first half of the poem. It had be a must-see tourist attraction. As a result, the shopkeeper had earned quite a bit of money.

    Carrying the wooden token that Luoyan Pagoda had originally given her, Ji Man also brought Dengxin along with her. Right after Ji Man got into the sedan chair, she heard a voice shouting from the outside, ¡°Madam Ning.¡±

    Opening the curtain, she saw Luo Qianqian. This young woman wasn¡¯t outstandingly pretty. Although her looks were average, her personality and manners were exceptionally good and people feltfortable when looking at her.

    Ji Man came out of the sedan chair and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Luo Qianqian curtsied and said, ¡°Qianqian admires Madam for being so talented in poetry, but that group of people are nning on going to Luoyan Pagoda and spending extravagantly to give Madam a hard time. Qianqian happens to have a friendly rtionship with Luoyan Pagoda¡¯s shopkeeper. How about I go there with Madam? This way you¡¯ll be more prepared.¡±

    This young woman had a kind heart. Ji Man smiled and said, ¡°Sure, that sounds good. Thank you Miss Luo.¡±

    At the time, the shopkeeper had said that until someone else wrote out the second half of the poem, she would be able to go there with friends for free by using this wooden token. Although the second half of the poem had been written out now, the financial benefits from her poem hadn¡¯t decreased at all, ah. Ji Man thought it would be possible to sessfully discuss this matter with the shopkeeper. This was why she had the confidence to let that group of people go to Luoyan Pagoda.

    She shared the sedan chair with Luo Qianqing. Fortunately, both of them were thin and it wasn¡¯t strenuous for the servants carrying the sedan chair.

    Luo Qianqian felt that Nie Sangyu¡¯s face looked familiar, so she started chatting with her.

    Ji Man casually asked a few questions rted to Wen Wan and Luo Qianqian¡¯s extensive reply was like a cascade of spilling beans.

    For example, when Wen Wan was making friends, her behavior was always slightly ambiguous and she neverid bare the actual facts. As a result, a group of men that were fond of lovely and charming women all circled around her. It didn¡¯t even need to be said that Wen Wan was a married woman. Even if she was still unmarried, fooling around like this was enough to reveal her intentions. And yet, those men were very protective of her. They all insisted that they were only friends talking about poems.

    Another example was Luo Qianqian had once pointed out to Wen Wan¡¯s face that her behavior was inappropriate for a married woman. As a result, Wen Wan left Tonghua Poetry Association in tears, which led to a group of men saying that Luo Qianqian had a poisonous heart. Then, the group of men left together to request for Wen Wan toe back.

    Wen Wan was truly treated like a goddess in Tonghua Poetry Assocation.

    Luo Qianqian somewhat resentfully said, ¡°I can¡¯t stand seeing her vixen-like appearance.¡±

    Ji Man quietlyforted her, ¡°It¡¯s okay. A fox will always end up revealing her tail. If Wen Wan still wants Marquis Moyu¡¯s heart, she won¡¯t dare to act more impudently.¡±

    Luo Qianqian looked at her for a few moments before saying, ¡°You¡¯re not as narrow-minded as rumors say you are.¡±

    Ji Man was already tried of hearing the rumors about Nie Sangyu. She rather despondently waved her hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already learned to let things go...¡±

    ¡ª

    The crown prince and Ning Yuxuan were both sitting in a side room on Luoyan Pagoda¡¯s fifth floor.

    Hearing about Nie Sangyu¡¯s recent impressive feat, the crown prince boisterouslyughed. He looked at Ning Yuxuan and said, ¡°Don¡¯t let your family¡¯s wealth be bankrupted by her!¡±

    Marquis Moyu helplessly rubbed his nose. ¡°Sangyu wouldn¡¯t do something so impulsively. If she really ends up bankrupting me, then this one will move to the crown prince¡¯s residence.¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t ask for anything better than that.¡± The crown prince said with a smile, ¡°But your Wen Wan has been bullied. Why aren¡¯t you as distressed as before?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan paused before saying, ¡°I do care about her. But, I¡¯ll still feel angry when she¡¯s acting inappropriately. It¡¯s because I¡¯m concerned about her that I sent Sangyu. If you¡¯re not busy, how about staying here to watch the good show with me this afternoon?¡±

    The crown prince looked at him with a prating gaze. He tapped his fingers on the table and smiled. ¡°Yuxuan, do you really still not like Nie Sangyu?¡±

 Chapter 135

    Chapter 135 out of 513 ¨C A supporting female character that knows the plot (2)

    However, once her mind cleared up from the euphoria, Ji Man still greatly missed her modern life. Having a lot of money was great, but she couldn¡¯t take this with her, so there was no need to take it so seriously.

    Miss Shui wanted to give her the box that contained the banknotes to her, but Ji Man hastily said, ¡°Safeguard this money for me. I¡¯ll just take three hundred silver taels with me as pocket money. If I need more, I¡¯ll send someone to get it. You have to remember, if someonees to you and ask who¡¯s the behind-the-scenes owner, you have to pretend to not recognize me. Just say that you created everything yourself.¡±

    ¡°This servant understands.¡±

    Miss Shui was a clever person, so Ji Man¡¯s worries lessened considerably.

    Knowing that she had her own money, Ji Man felt ample confidence. When she returned to the residence to check the ount book, she was still in a very good mood.

    When Qi Siling had returned the inner courts¡¯ ount book, she had look through it. Although she didn¡¯t notice any clerical error for the transactions, the remaining money left for this residence was very little.

    Marquis Moyu had his own enfeoffment and gifts from various people, as well asrge rewards from the emperor. His sry was considerably abundant, so there shouldn¡¯t be the slight problem with him supporting arge family. However, the money left for this quarter was only twenty-something silver taels. At the beginning of spring, items still needed to be purchased for every courtyard. The remaining money definitely wasn¡¯t enough.

    But, the position of the main wife had only recently returned to her. It wouldn¡¯t reflect well on her if she were seen as being stingy with each of the courtyards¡¯ essential necessities. Misunderstandings caused by gossip would ur.

    Ji Man considered for a while, then she gestured for Gancao toe over, gave her the banknotes, and sent her off to buy the items. At minimum, the items for old madame¡¯s courtyard needed to be purchased.

    ¡ª

    After Jinse had miscarried, she had been resting this entire time. It seemed that Marquis Moyu had the attitude of not wanting to pay attention to her.

    Thinking that it wasn¡¯t easy for a woman to recover from miscarriage, Ji Man prepared and sent over the items that Jinse would need.

    @@novelbin@@

    In the end, the only courtyard that she didn¡¯t send over enough stuff was Jiyue Courtyard.

    Ji Man could see that Qi Siling had always been targeting her. But since Nie Sangyu had been the one that treated Qi Siling poorly to begin with, Ji Man didn¡¯t say anything and just pretended that she didn¡¯t notice Qi Siling¡¯s previous attempts. But now that Qi Siling had messed with the ount book, she could only counter her tricks. Didn¡¯t leave her enough money for the quarter? That¡¯s fine, ah. But, Qi Siling wouldn¡¯t be receiving much for her courtyard.

    ¡ª

    Tonghao Poetry Association¡¯s members had the equivalent of avish party at Luoyan Pagoda for one afternoon and had attracted the attention of many people. Wen Wan also stepped into the limelight again. She was proimed Tonghao Poetry Associations¡¯ most beautiful woman.

    Luo Qianqian could only silently stew in resentment. Why had Nie Sangyu left so early? If she hadn¡¯t left, there would be no way that the words ¡°most beautiful woman¡± would be used to describe Wen Wan.

    ¡ª

    However, Wen Wan was in trouble once she returned that evening. Marquis Moyu went to the crown prince¡¯s residence to have a long talk and wouldn¡¯t be returning tonight. Thus, old madame was able to punish Wen Wan with kneeling in the ancestral hall for a night because Wen Wan had been loose with her morals.

    This episode had also happened in the original novel. Ji Man remembered that Wen Wan would faint during the night. Because she had fainted, a doctor had checked on her and she had been revealed to be pregnant. After the marquis came back, he had a huge fight with old madame. The male lead lovingly protected the female and their cold war ended.

    Ji Man wasn¡¯t just the supporting female character. She was a supporting female character that knew the plot. So, how could she let them reconcile? Haha, dream on.

    Didn¡¯t Wen Wan like to be surrounded by men? Then, let her get her fill.

    Ji Man sent out the news that Wen Wan had been punished with kneeling in the ancestral hall and requested the presences of emissaries to protect this fragile flower. The ancestral hall was located a short distance outside of Marquis Moyu¡¯s residence¡¯s back entrance and it was easy enough to climb over the wall that surrounded the ancestral hall.

    Hearing the news that a delicate beauty had been wronged and was pitifully kneeling in an ancestral hall, the group of romantic young men couldn¡¯t stop themselves. One by one, they came over like thieves to protect this frail flower.

    They still had some sense of propriety. Thus, instead of entering the ancestral hall, they only stood outside and sighed and moaned to the moon that Marquis Moyu didn¡¯t appreciate beauties and old madame had a poisonous heart.

    Wen Wan had originally been kneeling, but there wasn¡¯t anyone else in the ancestral hall except for Tanxiang. She had been bored to begin with. Now that a crowd of people hade over to keep herpany, why would she care about staying inside to kneel? She went outside to cry out her grievances.

    With such arge group of people keeping herpany, would Wen Wan still faint? Of course not. Wen Wan passed the night very happily with her admirers doing their best to make herugh and smile.

    When she returned to the residence the next day, she thought; why did she insist on staying with Marquis Moyu when there were so many other people treating her well?

    ¡ª

    The fainting episode had been skipped, so Wen Wan¡¯s pregnancy hadn¡¯t been detected. Ji Man calcted the days. Wen Wan should be about two months pregnant. There just hadn¡¯t been any pregnancy signs, that was why she hadn¡¯t noticed.

    Right now, the question was, how should she deal with this baby that hadn¡¯t been discovered yet.

    No matter what, a child was innocent. Back when she used to watch pce dramas, she always despised the women that would harm children the most. She wasn¡¯t nning on poisoning Wen Wan like Nie Sangyu had done in the original novel. But, under what circumstances would Wen Wan¡¯s pregnancy be less important?

    If she was pregnant as well.

    Ji Man counted the days on her fingers. From the time they returned from the Southern Trip until now, two months had passed. Was it possible for her to have be pregnant too?

    If she wasn¡¯t pregnant, then she could only wait to see Wen Wan¡¯s reversal in fortunes. If she was pregnant, although Marquis Moyu might not necessarily be as happy about it as Wen Wan¡¯s pregnancy, the other women would still be expected to stand to the side if the main wife was pregnant.

    In a gambling mood, Ji Man summoned a doctor to check her pulse.

    Doctor Li came over with his medicine box. After checking her pulse, his following words left her very disappointed. ¡°Madam, you¡¯re not pregnant.¡±

 Chapter 139 - A rapist in the middle of the night? (2)

    Chapter 139 out of 513 ¨C A rapist in the middle of the night? (2)

    Ning Yuxuan came to the confinement courtyard again that night. Just likest time, he smoothly climbed over the wall and made Muxu unconscious. Then, he came over to the bed, hugged her, and sighed.

    ¡°My lord, are youfortable?¡± Ji Man mockingly asked.

    Marquis Moyu curved his lips. ¡°Don¡¯t think of me as an inhuman person. I¡¯ll still feel bad because my child is gone.¡±

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t tell if he was genuinely feeling bad at all. Her heart felt slightly chilled. This man was too terrifying.

    Ning Yuxuan changed the topic. ¡°Errong didn¡¯t seem too happy today when she came back. I¡¯ll let her see you tomorrow.¡±

    Ji Man paused. Errong wasn¡¯t happy? Shouldn¡¯t things be different this time? In the original novel, Errong and Nie Qingyun had been forced into marriage before the Southern Trip and divorced around the time that Nie Sangyu had died. But this time, they both had favorable impressions of each other before marrying, right?

    She had already changed the plot for the two of them by dying their marriage until after the Southern Trip where they had time to get to know each other. She thought that by doing this, they wouldn¡¯t divorce.

    @@novelbin@@

    Were the shackles of the original novel inescapable? Were they still going to divorce?

    If their oue was staying the same and had only been dyed, then was Nie Sangyu doomed to die? Had her death only been postponed?

    Ji Man¡¯s entire body felt chilled and she tightly hugged Marquis Moyu.

    ¡°En?¡± Ning Yuxuan was slightly surprised. Why was she taking the initiative today?

    ¡°My lord, will there be a day when you¡¯ll fall in love with Sangyu?¡± Ji Man softly and quietly asked.

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s body stiffened, then it slowly rxed. He faintly curved his lips and said, ¡°Who can say for sure?¡±

    Ji Man secretly sighed. No, she couldn¡¯t let down her guard. She had to fight for his favor. Her life would only be secure if she obtained Marquis Moyu¡¯s heart. The only person in this household that wouldn¡¯t be sacrificed for his plots was the person in his heart.

    ¡ª

    After clearly understanding what she had to do, Ji Man started to seriously practice writing during the day and took the initiative to be slightly more attentive towards Marquis Moyu if he came to visit her in the night. When she was bored during the day, she would embroider or draw. The level of difficulty in learning how to y a musical stringed instrument was too high, so she didn¡¯t try.

    ¡ª

    After Ji Man¡¯s ten-day stay in the confinement courtyard ended, the residence had alreadypletely changed. With Mu Shuiqing gone, Jinse was even more active in front of the household. Qi Siling held onto the inner court¡¯s ount book and wouldn¡¯t hand it over to her. Wen Wan spent her time wholeheartedly taking care of her health and fetus. From time to time, she would act deliberately unreasonable and cause some drama. The only two people that didn¡¯t change were Qian Lianxue and Liu Hanyun. Both of them continued to quietly stay in their respective courtyards. It almost felt as if they didn¡¯t exist. Still, the marquis would always visit them once a month.

    Ji Man was wearing a sky blue dress today. She took a deep breath of the outside air and made an encouraging ¡°do your best¡± gesture at the sun.

    It was easy to fight with other women, but sessfully gaining the affection of a man would be more difficult.

    Ji Man went to pay respects to old madame, as well as acknowledging her wrongdoing. Old madame merely said a few sentences of rebuke and told her to behave better in the future. Staying in the confinement courtyard for ten days had actually helped her avoid trouble and wasn¡¯t a bad tradeoff.

    ¡ª

    Holding a bowl of soup with both hands, Ji Man very thoughtfully went to visit the hardworking Marquis Moyu after dinner. Muxu was walking behind her

    The sky had darkened very early today. When the two of them hade out of the kitchen, they could feel the night¡¯s chilliness.

    As they were passing by the pond, Ji Man felt goosebumps on her neck. She stopped walking and looked around.

    ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Muxu shrunk her neck and suddenly felt somewhat scared.

    Ji Man forced herself to smile. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m probably just being too sensitive.¡±

    Ji Man continued walking forward with the bowl of soup. When they passed by Feiyue Courtyard, they suddenly heard a baby crying. Ji Man was so startled that she dropped the bowl and the hot soup sshed onto her body.

    Ji Man¡¯s face paled and she turned her head to ask Muxu, ¡°Where did that babye from?¡±

    Muxu was so terrified that her legs felt wobbly. She clung to Nie Sangyu and said, ¡°M-master, we¡¯re at Feiyu Courtard.¡±

    After Mu Shuiqing had been sent away, there was no one living in Feiyue Courtyard. How could they be hearing a baby crying? Ji Man was someone that had seen Nie Sangyu¡¯s ghostly apparition with her own eyes. She immediately had a negative association, took a deep breath, and ran towards the study as if the dogs of hell were chasing after her.

    Muxu couldn¡¯t remain calm anymore. She chased after Nie Sangyu and shouted, ¡°There¡¯s a ghost!¡±

    Jiyue Courtyard was next to Feiyu Courtyard. Many people were startled awake by Muxu¡¯s scream.

    Ji Man continued to flee towards the study. When she arrived, she barged through the doors, rushed over to Ning Yuxuan¡¯s side, grabbed his clothing, and said in a trembling voice, ¡°Your retribution hase.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrow. It was rare to see her looking so scared. He hugged her and asked, ¡°What retribution?¡±

    ¡°Listen...¡± Ji Man pointed outside.

    The sound of the baby¡¯s cries became louder and louder. It resonated throughout the residence. Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression had also sunk.

 Chapter 141 - Who weaved this large trap? (2)

    Chapter 141 out of 513 ¨C Who weaved thisrge trap? (2)

    The imperial physician said the fetus had already been disturbed. If Wen Wan didn¡¯t calm down soon, it would be very likely for her to suffer a miscarriage.

    After hearing these words, Marquis Moyu looked at Nie Sangyu.

    ¡°Don¡¯t consider this servant as an option.¡± Ji Man faintly smiled. ¡°She definitely wouldn¡¯t allow me near her.¡±

    Her words were true. The person that Wen Wan disliked the most right now was Nie Sangyu. How could WenWan be willing to have Nie Sangyu keep herpany? After Marquis Moyu had a headache for several hours, Qian Lianxue came over.

    Qian Lianxue covered her mouth and coughed a few times before saying, ¡°Let this servant try caring for Mistress Wan. She coulde to Xuesong Courtyard and stay for a few days. This servant has always been very sickly, so my personal servants have experience with attending to people that are ill.¡±

    Qian Lianxiue had always been a gentle person without any signs of hostility towards the other women, so Marquis Moyu nodded his head in agreement.

    Surprisingly, Wen Wan didn¡¯t show much resistance. While holding Qian Lianxue¡¯s hand, she was able to peacefully sleep and didn¡¯t have any more nightmares.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man thought that Honored Concubine Xue was a mysterious person. She normally didn¡¯t participate with inner court matters, but when the situation was at it¡¯s worse, she had appeared and solved the problem by taking Wen Wan to her courtyard.

    Perhaps, she was truly a kind-hearted person. Ji Man shook her head and didn¡¯t think anymore about this matter.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man¡¯s practice writing had reached a hundred pages. Although her writing didn¡¯t look very good, she could finally write using a brush. The residence hadn¡¯t been peacefultely, but Ji Man still went over to old madame¡¯s ce to talk with her and improve her mood every day.

    ¡ª

    Old madame was a person that practiced Buddhism. Hearing about the rumors, she only smiled and said, ¡°If you¡¯re innocent, then you wouldn¡¯t feel scared about ghosts chasing after you. Those other women are so restless. You¡¯re the only that lets me feel most at ease.¡±

    After Ji Man obediently attended to old madame during breakfast, she very thoughtfully brought over refreshing herbal tea to Marquis Moyu.

    Ning Yuxuan had been so stressed and tired by the long hours of work that he would soon be suffering yin deficiency. Refreshing herbal tea was naturally the best item for detoxifying from stress and overwork. In order to obtain a man¡¯s heart, you naturally had to be more attentive and caring. As Ji Man watched Ning Yuxuan¡¯s brow smoothing out, she silently gave herself a ¡°like¡±.

    ¡°Sangyu, it¡¯ll be the third prince¡¯s birthday soon.¡± Supporting his forehead with his hand, Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°This household has been so chaotictely, so I haven¡¯t had time to prepare his present. Help me out with this matter.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. One of the rules of being a good woman was helping her man with his worries and difficulties. Don¡¯t make things worse for him in a bad situation.

    Preparing a present was only a trifling matter. First, she had to find out what the third prince likes. Ji Man chose to go and ask old madame.

    Old madame said the third prince had a fondness forndscape paintings, so Ji Man ordered Miss Shui to buy andscape painting that cost around five hundred silver taels for her.

    Miss Shui always handled her work very efficiently. She sent people over with that painting that very afternoon. On the way to bringing the painting to Marquis Moyu, she met Jinse.

    Jinse curiously looked at the painted screen and blurted out a question, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    Towards Jinse¡¯sck of etiquette, Ji Man had already be ustomed it. She straightforwardly said, ¡°This is a present for the third prince. The marquis ordered me to buy it.¡±

    ¡°Is this really something that the third prince would like?¡± Jinse scoffed. ¡°You would be better off buying a painting of a beautiful woman for him.¡±

    Ji Man thought; this woman was probably just a self-styled genius. Wasn¡¯t the third prince above such earthly matters? How could he possibly like paintings of beautiful women? Besides, Jinse didn¡¯t know the third prince. She was speaking without thinking. How could her words be believed?

    And so, Ji Man lightly smiled, went around Jinse, and delivered the item to Marquis Moyu toplete her assignment.

    However, after Ning Yuxuan looked at the painted screen for a long time, he said, ¡°That¡¯s fine. His house is missing this type of item. But, why did you choose andscape painting?¡±

    Ji Man froze for a moment. ¡°Doesn¡¯t the third prince likendscape paintings?¡±

    Ning Yuxuanughed and said, ¡°Your cousin is just pretending to be proper. He¡¯s always liked to collect paintings of beautiful women.¡±

    Ji Man felt a light shing through her mind, but it was too quick for her to catch. It felt as if she had momentarily understood something, but when she raised her head, the epiphany had already vanished.

    ¡ª

    After three days of nothing happening in the maruqis¡¯s residence, it was time for the sage monk to return to his mountain. A group of people hade to the entrance to send him off, but he pressed his hands together and said to Nie Sangyu, ¡°Donor, please walk with me. There¡¯s something this old one wants to say.¡±

    Ji Man didn¡¯t know why this person was called a sage monk. Although he had the aura of a transcendent immortal, his gaze wasn¡¯t clear. He clearly hadn¡¯t left behind the secr world yet. Why was he calling her over?

    The sage monk looked at her with a solemn expression and quietly said, ¡°Trouble wille to you tomorrow. If you leave the marquis¡¯s residence, you¡¯ll be able to escape danger. You should visit your maiden family. That would be a reasonable excuse to leave. This old one can only help you up to this point.¡±

    The sage monk bowed and left.

    Escape danger? Although Ji Man thought that this old monk wasn¡¯t as magical as he seemed, his words held a warning to her.

    What danger would she be escaping? Why was he helping her? Had she fallen into arge trap without noticing?

    It was better to believe him just in case. Ji Man decided to follow the order that Marquis Moyu had given her a couple days ago by returning to Nie Residence to see Ning Errong tomorrow.

    ¡ª

    When Ji Man went to Nie Residence, the atmosphere felt somewhat oppressive. Ning Errong and Nie Qingyun were a newly wedded couple, but they weren¡¯t sleeping in the same courtyard.

    Seeing Sangyu, Ning Errong rushed over in tears. Her crying expression looked wretched. She sobbed, ¡°Sangyu, I want to go home...¡±

    Ji Man thought; your home is much more chaotic than here. It would be better to stay here.

    However, seeing Errong miserably crying, Ji Man asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    After the servant girls were told to withdraw, Errong clung to her and said, ¡°Your older brother hasn¡¯t touched me since he married me.¡±

    Trantor Ramblings: I like how the author gives us little hints that the third prince isn¡¯t who he seems.

    What do you guys think of the sage monk? He¡¯ll be making more guest appearancester in the novel.@@novelbin@@

 Chapter 143

    Chapter 143 out of 513 ¨C Mission aplished with aphrodisiac (2)

    Good, the matter could be simply settled. Ji Man looked at Chen-<i>shi </i>and said, ¡°Although Qingyun has married above his social status, mother, you haven¡¯t had to lower your head in front of Errong. On the contrary, Errong has acted very filial towards you in every aspect, so why are you making life difficult of her?¡±

    ¡°How have I made life difficult for her?¡± Chen-<i>shi</i> frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t spread venomous nder.¡±

    ¡°Checking her body.¡± Ji Man¡¯s gaze became slightly sharper and Chen-<i>shi</i> turned her face away. ¡°Mother, you must be thinking that because Errong deeply loves older brother, she won¡¯t tell her father about this. Nie n is the one that¡¯s in the wrong about this matter to begin with, and yet you made this matter even worse. Mother, aren¡¯t you afraid that one day Errong won¡¯t be able to tolerate your abuse and will report everything to the imperial courts? The emperor had even issued a celebratory decree for this marriage. Mother, don¡¯t you have any sense of what¡¯s considered appropriate behavior?¡±

    These words left Chen-<i>shi</i> speechless. Nie Sangyu had guessed correctly. She had thought there was no reason to fear the consequences because this <i>junzhu</i> was deeply in love with Qingyun. It was Ning Errong¡¯s fault for being the person that Nie Sangyu had pushed Qingyun to marry. Although that girl wasn¡¯t bad, she was still unhappy with their marriage.

    Chen Suqin pretended to be fierce while inwardly feeling cowardly. She scolded, ¡°When did it be the younger generation¡¯s turn to lecture someone older than them? Who cares if she¡¯s a <i>junzhu</i>? She married into Nie n, so it¡¯s only right for her to obey me. If she feels she¡¯s being treated unjustly, then I¡¯ll have Qingyun give her a divorce letter!¡±

    Ji Man was feeling angered to death by this woman¡¯s stupidity. She wasn¡¯t showing the slightest consideration for her son and was letting her own feelings decide everything.

    ¡°Sangyu has tried her best to persuade mother. It¡¯s rare for a daughter-inw to be good as Errong. If mother fails to appreciate her and loses her, it¡¯ll be toote to feel regretfulter.¡± Ji Man stood up, saluted, and said, ¡°Mother, you should carefully reconsider.¡±

    Ji Man saw resentment and fear shing through Chen Suqin¡¯s eyes and decided to stop looking. She turned her head away and left the courtyard.

    ¡ª

    She ordered Dengxin to buy something for her. Two hourster, she went to the courtyard that Nie Qingyun usually stayed in.

    Don¡¯t misunderstand. She wasn¡¯t going there to talk with him. Those two were a married couple. As his younger sister, she didn¡¯t have any basis to discuss this type of thing with him. She was just going to his room to ce the drugs she had asked Dengxin to purchase.

    Yes, it was aphrodisiacs. What was there left to say? If he wasn¡¯t willing to sleep with Errong, then she would simply force him to sleep with Errong, even if she had to drug him. These two were already married. There was no need to feel any apprehension about right or wrong. The sooner she drugged him, the sooner the matter would bepleted.

    ¡ª

    Nie Qingyun hadn¡¯t returned home yet. He was actually quite busy in the imperial court too and usually didn¡¯t return home until the evening.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man had sent Dengxin to buy this drug at a high-ss brothel. Dengxin had been quite lucky. She had met a female brothel owner at the back entrance and was able to aplish her task with just one silver ingot. There were two parts to the aphrodisiac. One part was for internal use and the other part was for external use.

    After she personally poisoned, no, personally cooked a meal for Nie Qingyun, she called Errong over to take a bath. Dengxin personally attended to Ning Errong and rubbed the external use drug everywhere. She also rubbed a little bit of the remaining internal use drug onto Ning Errong¡¯s neck as well. The rest of the internal use drug had been already been added to the food. Ji Man had also added some of the external use drug into Nie Qingyun¡¯s courtyard¡¯smps.

    Don¡¯t say she was treacherous. Sometimes, you had to act slyly in order to aplish your objective. She was only taking an indirect method because the direct method wouldn¡¯t work.

    And so, after Nie Qingyun came home that evening and he had finished asking Nie Sangyu a couple of questions out of concern for why she was here, they all went to his courtyard to have dinner.

    Of course, Ji Man had only eaten a few bites of food before saying she had to go to the bathroom. In the passing, she brought all of the servants with her as she left to create a favorable environment.

    Good deeds should be done with intention, not for attention.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man had a peaceful night¡¯s sleep at Ning Errong¡¯s Huarong Courtyard. When she woke up the next morning, she sent Dengxin to check up on the situation in Nie Qingyun¡¯s courtyard.

    However, before Ji Man heard any news about Nie Qingyun, Dengxin had hurriedly rushed back to report, ¡°Master, something bad happened in the marquis¡¯s residence. You should hurry and go back!¡±

    Something bad happened? Ji Man¡¯s heart jumped. It felt as if a stone was being suspended high above her.

    Was there some degree of truth to that sage monk¡¯s words? Had she avoided misfortune?

    After Ji Man put on her clothes, she asked while entering the carriage, ¡°What happened?¡±

    Dengxin furrowed her brow and said, ¡°Early this morning, a servant from the marquis¡¯s residence came over with a message. He said something disastrous had happenedst night. He didn¡¯t provide details, but based on how anxious he looked, it¡¯s probably not a trivial matter.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man frowned. She supported her chin in her hand and thought for a while.

    What could have possibly happened? The images of the sage monk, the third prince, and the eye-catching Jinse appeared in her mind. Ji Man felt as if she was on the edge of an epiphany, but there was still a missing piece that she needed before her confusion cleared up.

    ¡ª

    Gancao was waiting at the marquis¡¯s residence¡¯s entrance for them. Seeing theme out of the carriage, she hurriedly rushed forward and concisely reported, ¡°Madam, Mistress Wan suffered a miscarriagest night. This servant heard that she was being gued by a ghost baby and ended up losing her baby because she was too frightened. Honored Concubine Xue has also fallen sick from fright. A monk will being over soon. The marquis was furious all night. Right now, everyone is with Old Madame in the main courtyard.¡±

    Wen Wan had lost her baby? Although Ji Man really wanted to ask, was everyone gathered together today because of this reason? She was more curious about the ghost baby. Hadn¡¯t the sage monk already performed a purification ritual? Shouldn¡¯t any spirt have been vanquished? Why had the ghost appeared again and caused Wen Wan to suffer a miscarriage?

    Looking at Marquis Moyu¡¯s residence¡¯s wooden que, Ji Man also shivered. She pursed her lips and followed Gancao to the main courtyard.

    She had the constant ominous feeling that a plot was gradually rising from a watery surface.

    Trantor Ramblings: Oh, Ji Man. How could you drug Nie Qingyun and think it¡¯s okay to do something like that? The first time I read the novel, I thought it wasn¡¯t that bad of Ji Man to use aphrodisiacs because in this novel, people are capable of fighting off the effects if they¡¯re truly not interested. But, now that I¡¯m reading it for the second time, Ji Manes off as smugly righteously about ying god. If Nie Qingyun truly isn¡¯t in love with Ning Errong, how does she think he¡¯ll react the next morning?

    Tiny spoiler. Ji Man won¡¯t do anything as horrible as this again.

    If you want to know why Nie Qingyun hasn¡¯t had sex with Ning Errong yet, I included the spoiler in thements below.

 Chapter 147

    Chapter 147 out of 513 ¨C The truth behind the haunting (2)

    Wen Wan woke up during lunchtime. Ji Man personally cooked lunch for her. It wasn¡¯t because she wanted to treat her well. She just wanted to avoid Wen Wan getting food poisoning during her stay here.

    ¡ª

    Later in the afternoon, Ji Man went over to old madame¡¯s courtyard.

    After Ji Man had been chatting with old madame for a while, Ji Man mentioned Qian Lianxue and old madame responded, ¡°Lianxue is quite pitiful. She¡¯s Qian Yingchen¡¯s older sister. She¡¯s had to constantly drink herbal medicine since she was born. Xuan-<i>er</i> felt pity for her, and since she also likes Xuan-<i>er</i>, she entered this household as an honored concubine.¡±

    Based on Ji Man¡¯s impression of Marquis Moyu, he definitely wasn¡¯t the type of person that would feel unchecked sympathy. Instead of saying he felt pity for Qian Lianxue, it would be better to say Qian Yingchen was very valuable to Marquis Moyu.

    In order for Marquis Moyu to continue showing care and concern towards Honored Concubine Xue, Qian Yingchen had to continue being important to Marquis Moyu.

    Fine, she would admit that she was already biased against Marquis Moyu. Anyways, this person always gave her the impression that he did everything with purpose.

    Qian Lianxue¡¯s background could be considered simple and clean. She also had a good-natured personalty. She probably wouldn¡¯t do anything outrageously evil. Ji Man thought that perhaps, she was being too suspicious of everyone and overthinking things.

    ¡ª

    Ning Yuxuan had already said that he would send over people, but Ji Man didn¡¯t see a single shadow that evening. Holding onto the belief that the male lead was all-powerful, Ji Man still persuaded Wen Wan into sleeping early.

    Nie Sangyu¡¯s servant girls slept on the floor of her room again and themps were also left lit.

    When midnight arrived, Ji Man even silently counted out, ¡°three, two, one¡±. As expected, the sound of a baby crying started on the roof.

    However, this time, the sound of crying was apanied with the sound of fighting. Many roof tiles were broken from the fighting before the sound of the crying fell from the roof and into the courtyard.

    The courtyard was suddenly brightly illuminated. Ji Man hurriedly put on an outer robe and went outside to look.

    A group of servants were holding upnterns. At the center of the group, there was man holding a baby. Because the living baby was feeling unwell, it let out a intive cry.

    As expected, the baby ghost hadn¡¯t been real.

    Ning Yuxuan was standing by the side.¡°Mingjie take off that person¡¯s mask.¡±

    Ning Mingjie was currently restraining the ck-robed figure by his hands. Hearing these words, he took off the mask ¨C

    Alright, even after the mask was taken off and an honest-looking face was revealed, Ji Man still didn¡¯t recognize the person.

    The ck-robed figure pursed his lips and nced at Marquis Moyu, then his head tilted to the side and ck blood dripped out of his lips. He was dead.

    Ji Man retreated two steps and frowned. She had never seen someone actuallymit suicide in real life.

    Ning Mingjie handed the baby over a servant, as well as the corpse for the servants to deal with. Then, he briefly looked at Nie Sangyu and said, ¡°Madam, there¡¯s no reason for you toe out. You might have nightmares.¡±

    Ji Man thought; I didn¡¯t want toe out, ah. But, it was so noisy outside. Everyone had a curious heart. How could she possibly note out to see?

    ¡°So, the baby ghost turned out to be fake.¡±

    Marquis Moyu curved his lips and said, ¡°It¡¯s strange. We missed catching this person several times before. Usually, he never appears if he sees other people nearby. He¡¯s certainly brave today. I had arranged for people toe here early in the day, but he still came.¡±

    Ji Man froze for a moment.

    ¡°Even though that ck-robed figuremitted suicide, it¡¯s still possible to find some traces of clues,¡± Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°I want to see, who tried to stretch their hand into my residence.¡±

    Ning Mingjie nodded, ¡°It¡¯s rather contemptible to use this type of a trick on women.¡± Ning Mingjie believed that if you didn¡¯t like someone, you should just directly assassinate him or her. Why act out a fake haunting?

    Ji Man yawned. Now that they knew a living person had been behind everything, the household should be able to stop worrying. It wasn¡¯t early anymore. The rest of this matter could be given to the men to handle. It was time for her to sleep.

    After Ji Man returned to her room, she started to tell Wen Wan what had happened.

    With her eyes half-opened and leaning back on a pillow, Wen Wan listened. After Nie Sangyu was done talking, tears suddenly started to fall out of Wen Wan¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Exactly who hates me this much?¡± Her beautiful, delicate tears resembled fallen raindrops on pear blossoms. ¡°My baby, I lose it just like that. I have nightmares every night, and I haven¡¯t been able to peacefully sleep. If I find out who¡¯s behind this, I¡¯ll definitely pay them back a hundred, no, a thousand times!¡± As Wen Wan said this, her face suddenly looked ferocious and sinister. Her voice had also be malevolent.

    Ji Man was shocked by this change. Feeling there was something off about this, she asked, ¡°It¡¯s not like you actually harmed someone¡¯s baby. Why did you get so afraid when you heard that baby crying?¡±

    Wen Wan paused. She lowered her eyes and stop speaking.

    Ji Man shrugged and just assumed that Wen Wan wasn¡¯t very brave.

    ¡ª

    The next day, Marquis Moyu showed the baby to the rest of the household. The innocent baby with unknown origins was starting to look slightly purple. Its eyes were shut and it kept wailing.

    Wen Wan kindly said, ¡°Send the baby to a temple to be raised. After all, it¡¯s still a life.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Marquis Moyu went with her rmendation and ordered the servants to send the baby away. Then, he ordered for all of the paper talismans and other like-items to be removed from the residence.

    Ning Yuxuan looked at everyone as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t mention this matter again in the future. I¡¯ll definitely find out who the hidden criminal is and severely punish him or her.¡±

 Chapter 149

    Chapter 149 out of 513 ¨C You¡¯re a gorgeous and noble flower in the mortal world (2)

    The long, white dancing sleeves fluttered in the air. The simple sash entuated Wen Wan¡¯s supple waist that resembled a willow tree. She was only wearing one white jade hairpin. With her white clothes, she resembled a celestial immortal that had descended from the Nine Heavens. She stood on her tiptoes and started dancing in the grassy area.

    Ji Man thought Wen Wan¡¯s method in regaining Ning Yuxuan¡¯s interest was quite clever. Wen Wan had been sick for a long time, but Marquis Moyu had only visited her a few times without staying overnight. But today was a good opportunity. The weather was nice and everyone was in a good mood. Bying here to dance, she swept away his impression of her past period of depression and made Marquis Moyu¡¯s eyes brighten in interest again.

    Men were visual animals to begin with. Everyone in the courtyard stopped talking to silently watch Wen Wan¡¯s dance.

    From far away, the sound of traditional Chinese musical instruments floated over to apany Wen Wan. Dancing to the tune of the music, Wen Wan softly sang,

    <i>¡°In the celestial immortal gardens, we listen to the heavenly music of the emperor.</i>

    <i>Who knows how many times we have listen to these songs?</i>

    <i>How can it bepared to the human world, one song of ¡°Plucking Lotus¡± newly passed down?</i>

    <i>Willow waist is lithe; oriole tongue warbles.</i>

    <i>Being carefree in the misty wave, who would restrain me? </i> @@novelbin@@

    <i>However, the celestial steps have already urged the departure and return. </i>

    <i>Ride on the colorful simurgh, with lotus nting and looking. </i>

    <i>We wish year after year that we could apany this banquet.¡±</i>

    (T/N: Trantion of the song was taken from here with a few minor modifications. They¡¯re thest lines in <i>Lotus Plucking Dance</i>. Here¡¯s a video of the dance that Wen Wan performed https://.youtube/watch?v=luFQ76uNJvo.)

    Hearing this wonderful singing voice, as well as the feeling of looking at a distant, untouchable celestial immortal, it reminded Ning Yuxuan of the moment when he had first felt tempted by Wen Wan. At the time, he had gone along with her willful behavior of wanting to go to a brothel with him and he had seen her perform this same dance on the stage. Although her behavior was very improper, her dance could conquer a man¡¯s heart.

    Watching this dance brought the memories that had almost been forgotten.

    Ji Man looked at Ning Yuxuan. Just by looking at his eyes, she could tell that the female lead had seeded.

    She hadn¡¯t expected that Wen Wan would be able to think of this tactic. Originally, she had thought Wen Wan would only gradually use up Ning Yuxuan¡¯s love for her. Surprisingly, Wen Wan had be smart and used a wonderful memory to arouse a man¡¯s heart.

    After the dance, Wen Wan didn¡¯t say a single word. She saluted Ning Yuxuan and left. She seemed as if she had onlye here for him. She didn¡¯t even look at the third prince.

    After Marquis Moyu returned to his senses, he saluted third prince and said, ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> was rude. Yuxuan apologizes on her behalf.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± The third prince¡¯s smile had dimmed. ¡°This woman can be considered rare. She actually knows how to sing an entertainer¡¯s song.¡± These words held the intention of belittling Wen Wan.

    Marquis Moyu pursed his lips and didn¡¯t respond.

    (T/N: Just in case it doesn¡¯t make sense, the third prince isn¡¯tplimenting Wen Wan. He¡¯s putting her on the same level as Mu Shuiqing, who was an entertainer at a brothel before she was given to Marquis Moyu.)

    The previouslyfortable atmosphere suddenly stiffened.

    Nie Qingyun sneered for moment, then he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go drinking next. We¡¯re pretty much finished with painting.¡±

    ¡°That sounds good.¡± Marquis Moyu asked, ¡°Your Highness, what do you think?¡±

    After the third prince nodded, Ning Yuxuan had them stay here to wait for a bit while he left to pay a visit to Qiangwei Courtyard.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t need to guess to know why he was going to Qiangwei Courtyard. Since the male lead and female lead¡¯s rtionship had been fixed, her work as the supporting female character increased.

    Ning Mingjie was still standing at the front of the easel and painting.

    Ji Man quietly asked, ¡°Young Master, are you still painting?¡±

    Ning Mingjie finished his careful painting of the daffodil. He took a nce at the third prince and Nie Qingyun and saw that they had walked a little farther away to talk. He turned his head and lightly smiled at her. ¡°Come here and look.¡±

    Ji Man walked over. The daffodil on the paper looked very realistic and elegant.

    ¡°Instead of saying you¡¯re a gorgeous and noble flower in the mortal world, it would better to say you¡¯re as elegant as a daffodil.¡± Ning Mingjie removed the excess ink off the painting paper. His mood seemed to very good as he said, ¡°You can keep this painting. I probably won¡¯t have time to send it out to be framed.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ji Man very solemnly epted the painting. She thought for a moment, then she picked up a brush and wrote something. She still wasn¡¯t very skillful with using a brush yet.

    ¡°The quiet and calm ce is preferable, an elegant heart, not a gorgeous and noble flower in the mortal world.¡± Ning Mingjie¡¯s eyes brightened. It onlysted for a brief moment before he politely took a step back. ¡°We¡¯ll leave first and wait for Yuxuan at the entrance.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ji Man smiled as she sent them off to the entrance, then she handed the painting over to Muxu to have it framed.

    ¡ª

    Ning Yuxuan stayed over at Wen Wan¡¯s ce that night. Ji Man wasn¡¯t surprised. Instead, she was lying on her bed and looking at that painting. The corners of her lips were curved up into a smile; she was in a very good mood.

    On the next day, when she went to pay respects to old madame, she met Ning Mingjie again. Ji Man snuck several nces at him. Even though he had the same face as that scumbag, he was immeasurably better than Xu Xi. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t hers. The supporting male character also belonged to the female lead.

    ¡ª

    Once again, Ning Yuxuan and Wen Wan stuck together like honey. However, Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t treat Nie Sangyu coldly. He sent over many items to her courtyard.

    Qi Siling was very happy. As long as Wen Wan was willing to follow her instructions, Wen Wan would definitely be able to receive favor. She hadn¡¯t chosen the wrong side.

    Although the marquis wasn¡¯t favoring her, Qi Siling still felt that her fortune had turned for the better. And so, when she met Nie Sangyu on a path, her voice was confident as she asked, ¡°Madam, this servant has been looking at the ount book. There were several areas in the ount book that looked strange. When you were managing the ount book, why did it seem as if more money had appeared?¡±

    Ji Man looked at her and smiled. ¡°Isn¡¯t having more money better? On the contrary, I want to ask you a question. Siling, when you were managing the inner court¡¯s ount, where did all of the money go?¡±

    Qi Siling pursed her lips. Sounding as if she was being rather wronged, she said, ¡°Madam, are you reprimanding this servant? All of the expenditures are recorded in the ount book. This servant hasn¡¯t taken even half a silver tael.

    Ji Man nodded.¡°Then, return the ount book to me. It¡¯s better to have extra money.¡±

    Qi Siling had only wanted to say a few sentences to speak out against Nie Sangyu. She hadn¡¯t expected that Nie Sangyu would ask for the ount book back. She naturally wasn¡¯t willing to hand it over. And so, she loudlyughed and said, ¡°Madam, managing the ount book is tiring. You should just have this servant handle it.¡±

    A long time had already passed since she handed over the ount book to Qi Siling when she had been punished with a ten-day stay in the confinement courtyard. Ji Man looked at Qi Sling in askance for a moment, then she turned around to return to the main courtyard. ¡°Since younger sister isn¡¯t willing to give me the ount book when I ask, then I¡¯ll have to go ask Old Madame for it.¡±

    Trantor Ramblings: For a moment, I though Wen Wan was bing smarter. Too bad it turned out to be Qi Siling¡¯s idea.

 Chapter 150

    Chapter 150 out of 513 ¨C You certainly were born with a beautiful face (1)

    Qi Siling felt so regretful. Why did shee over and said those words to Nie Sangyu? She had been entrusted with temporary management of the ount book on the premise that Nie Sangyu had been in the confinement courtyard. After Nie Sangyu hade out, she should have returned the ount book to her. However, Nie Sangyu hadn¡¯t asked her for it and she hadn¡¯t mentioned it. Now, her words had provoked Nie Sangyu into demanding the ount book back. She had tried to gain an advantage, but had only ended up worse off.

    If old madame asked her for the ount book, she naturally couldn¡¯t avoid doing so. The duck that hade to her mouth had flown away just like that.

    Qi Siling decided that she would take a detour when she saw Nie Sangyu in the future.

    ¡ª

    After Ji Man got the ount book from old madame, she flipped it open and started to look at it. As she looked it over, she noticed that there was something off. ¡°Aren¡¯t these expenses a little too high?¡±

    Old madame didn¡¯t care that much. ¡°The marquis has always been generous with the spending over food and clothing. It¡¯s only normal that the expenses are little higher than average.¡±

    Ji Man shook her head. She brought over the ount book for old madame to see. ¡°Three hundred silver taels were used just for half a month of food. Old Madame, do you think that¡¯s possible? The food for your courtyard is the very best and it only costs twenty silver taels per month. Where did the rest of the money go?¡±

    Old Madame wasn¡¯t a person that knew about the costs of daily necessities. Hearing these words from Nie Sangyu, she furrowed her brows. ¡°How could so much be used?¡±

    If the food for her courtyard cost twenty silver taels per month, the other courtyards naturally wouldn¡¯t spend more than ten silver taels. Even if they added the cost of the servants, it shouldn¡¯t exceed a hundred silver taels for half a month. If she calcted it like that, there were over two hundred silver taels missing.

    ¡°When I first took over the ount book, it was the same situation. I didn¡¯t feelfortable bring it up at the time, so I used my own money to cover the costs.¡± Ji Man looked at Qi Siling and lightly smiled. ¡°Strange. When the ount book returned to Siling¡¯s management, this happened again.¡±

    Old madame¡¯s gaze abruptly sharpened. She looked at Qi Siling and asked, ¡°Do you have anything to say for yourself?¡±

    Qi Siling kneeled down and very innocently said, ¡°The groceries have always been purchased by the kitchen servants. This servant only records the expenses and wouldn¡¯t dare to embezzle money.¡±

    ¡°Then, where did all of the money go?¡± Old madame scoffed. ¡°Did you think you were this family¡¯s matriarch just because I allowed you to manage the ount book? Do you think you can use the money without permission?¡±

    Qi Siling hurriedly kowtowed and said, ¡°Old Madame, this servant is wrongly used, ah. This servant swears on her life, this servant definitely didn¡¯t embezzle any money. Old Madame, if you don¡¯t believe this servant, you can send servants to Siling¡¯s courtyard to search.¡±

    Qi Siling¡¯s maiden family wasn¡¯t poor. There was no reason for her to be thiscking in money. No, Wen Wan was the person that would need money. She had a gambling father that had always been like a bottomless pit for money. More likely than not, Qi Sling had taken this money to give to Wen Wan. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have such a good rtionship with Wen Wan.

    Although she had these thoughts, she couldn¡¯t say them aloud. Ji Man closed the ount book and seriously said to old madame. ¡°It¡¯ll be hard to manage the household if there isn¡¯t a system of checks in ce. In the future, how about have different people buy the groceries each time? As for the missing two hundred silver taels when Siling was managing the ount, if Siling can prove to Steward Qian that three hundred silver taels worth of items had entered the warehouse in the past half month, then everything is fine. If she can¡¯t prove it, then she can just pay back the money. What do you think?¡±

    Qi Siling¡¯s face looked extremely bad. She kept her head lowered and stayed silent.

    ¡°What? Are you not willing to agree to this method?¡± Old madame angrily said, ¡°If you want me to decide, then I¡¯ll have Xuan-<i>er</i> give you a separation letter for daring to manage the ount book like this. Once you¡¯re driven out of this residence, the matter will be done with.¡±

    ¡°Old Madame, please calm down,¡± Qi Siling hurriedly said, ¡°This servant will go to Steward Qian and properly check this matter.¡±

    Old madame harrumphed and waved her hand to indicate for Qi Siling to leave the room. She turned her head to look at Nie Mingjie, who had been watching the show, and said, ¡°Mingjie, look at these women. In the end, it¡¯s only people from our own family that set my mind at rest.¡±

    Ning Mingjie was sitting next to old madame and filially peeling lychee for her. The sight of clear lychee juice dripping down his slender, long fingers made Ji Man stare nkly for a while.

    ¡°Old Madame is right.¡± He stretched his hand out and fed a lychee to old madame.

    Old Madame¡¯s expression immediately improved. Sheughed and said, ¡°At least you¡¯re obedient. Looking at how Xuan-<i>er</i> has been behaving, I¡¯m almost angered to death.¡±

    Ning Mingjie nced at Nie Sangyu, then he quietly said, ¡°Mingjie actually feels that the marquis is a person that does major things. One can¡¯t bother with trifles when he¡¯s out to aplish important matters. Old Madame, there¡¯s no need for you to feel fretful.¡±

    Hearing someone praise her son, old madame would definitely feel happy. She still harrumphed a few times before talking about daily household matters with Nie Sangyu and Ning Mingjie.

    ¡ª

    Marquis Moyu and Wen Wan were both in Qiangwei Courtyard.

    Wen Wan was standing in a cluster of flowers. She pouted and acted cutely spoiled, ¡°Paint a painting for me too.¡±

    She was probably still thinking about the peony that he had painted in the garden a few days ago. The third prince had even said that he had captured Nie Sangyu¡¯s essence. Wen Wan was very unhappy over this and insisted that he paint a painting for her too.

    @@novelbin@@

    Standing in front of the numerous blooming flowers, Wen Wan resembled a snow lotus flower. She didn¡¯t have a peony¡¯s morous beauty, but she looked pleasantly fresh and pure.

    Ning Yuxuan picked up a brush. From her beautiful, thick hair to the bottom of her skirt, he painted very carefully. But, he hesitated when he started to paint her face.

    The smiling woman in front of him looked very beautiful, but his thoughts wandered to someone else. When he had returned to his senses, the woman in the painting didn¡¯t resemble Wen Wan at all.

    Shocked, he hurriedly crumpled the paper.

    Wen Wan looked very confused.

    He smiled at her and said, ¡°It didn¡¯t look good. I want to start over.¡±

    Wen Wan wasn¡¯t suspicious of him.

    The crumpled paper ended up quietly lying in Marquis Moyu¡¯s sleeve. He repainted the smiling beauty in front of him.

    Wen Wan was satisfied when she saw thepleted painting. She thought that the issue over the painting had ended.

 Chapter 154

    Chapter 154 out of 513 ¨C It¡¯s better to destroy ten temples than ruin a marriage (1)

    @@novelbin@@

    For a few moments, Wen Wan felt confused by Nie Sangyu¡¯s words. She had clearlye here to help her. Why would she hate her?

    On the side, there was a bowl of murky ck medicinal soup. She wasn¡¯t stupid. She wouldn¡¯t drink that medicine. Feeling tired, she wrapped the quilt that Nie Sangyu had brought her around herself and leaned against the nearby woodpile to sleep.

    Shortly after Ji Man left the woodshed, Ning Yuxuan came over from the other side.

    In the end, Wen Wan still had a ce in his heart and he couldn¡¯t bear to just leave her alone. After all, they had gotten together despite difficulties, and they also had so many beautiful memories. How could he be willing to abandon her just like that?

    As soon as he thought about all of the injuries she had suffered today, Ning Yuxuan still came over with ointment so that he could apply it to her wounds.

    However, when he opened the doors, he immediately saw that Wen Wan¡¯s injuries had already been bandaged. She was also peacefully sleeping while wrapped up in a thick quilt.

    Ning Yuxuan stood at the doorway and looked at her for a while before tucking the jar of ointment into his sleeve. Thinking about how Wen Wan had truly done something wrong, he decided that he shouldn¡¯t be softhearted. Otherwise, her behavior would be even worse.

    After closing the doors, Ning Yuxuan turned around and decided to go to Xuesong Courtyard to visit Qian Lianxue.

    ¡ª

    Prince Huainan¡¯s heir¡¯s wife had requested for a divorce.

    This news spread throughout the capital and even entered the pce. After the emperor heard the reason for this request, he was furious. He summoned Marquis Moyu into the pce and told him to give Wen Wan white cloth for her failure to behave as a moral married woman.

    (T/N: Giving white cloth means he wants her tomit suicide by hanging herself.)

    In actually, the emperor had only summoned Marquis Moyu into the pce as a show for the benefit of Luo n and Prince Huainan¡¯s household. The emperor had bestowed the marriage between these two families, so Luo Qianqian and Prince Huainan¡¯s heir naturally couldn¡¯t get a divorce after recently getting married. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t even the heir that wanted to get a divorce. It was his wife.

    Since someone from Marquis Moyu¡¯s household was involved with this incident, it wasn¡¯t good for Ning Yuxuan¡¯s reputation. And so, the emperor thought it would be worth it to sacrifice Wen Wan.

    Frustratingly, Marquis Moyu wouldn¡¯t agree.

    Luo Qianqian also knew that Ning Yuxuan wouldn¡¯t give up Wen Wan. Her only intention in calmly kneeling in front of the emperor was to request for a divorce.

    Kneeling next to her, the heir snuck several nces at her. Luo Qianqian didn¡¯t look like she had the intention of changing her mind.

    Zhao Kaifeng didn¡¯t actually want a divorce. Although his wife was very fierce, had quite a temper, and wasn¡¯t pretty, she was very good at managing the household. Sometimes, she would be too controlling and he would get angry. But, if she wasn¡¯t there controlling him, he would feel... as if something was empty.

    He adored Wen Wan because she gave off an aura that made people want to protect her. Her attractive face was also very likable. He had just wanted to make Wen Wan happy, so he had given Wen Wan¡¯s father a hundred silver taels. How could he have known that the matter would explode into something like this?

    He was also too used to acting like a great lord. He could admit to himself that he had acted outrageously be pping his wife, but he wasn¡¯t willing to lower himself by apologizing to her.

    And so, when the emperor, who was feeling quite the headache over this matter, asked him if he was willing to divorce, the heir could only stiffen his neck and reply, ¡°Yes.¡±

    He knew that even if he agreed, his father definitely wouldn¡¯t agree!

    Prince Huainan had already spent a long time apologizing to Sir Luo. Hearing his son¡¯s response, he immediately smacked the back of Zhao Kaifeng¡¯s head. ¡°Bastard! You¡¯ve only been married to Qianqian for such a short period of time. How dare you not take any responsibility?¡±

    Luo Qianqian calmly smiled and said, ¡°Your Highness, there¡¯s no reason for you to be angry. Qianqian just isn¡¯t fated to be with him. There¡¯s nothing more that needs to be said. At worst, we¡¯ll just be consideredughingstocks by everyone else.¡±

    Zhao Kaifeng looked at his father in disbelief. Why had his father stopped talking? Was he really going to stop persuading her on his behalf?

    Prince Huainan kicked his son¡¯s back and angrily rebuke, ¡°You lost yourself a wonderful wife. Let¡¯s see how you¡¯ll cry about this in the future!¡±

    The emperor¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t good either. He kept staring at Marquis Moyu. A woman had ruined a marriage that he, the emperor, had bestowed, and Ning Yuxuan wasn¡¯t even willing to deal with her. How could the emperor not be angry?

    However, the emperor still felt slightly fearful of the consequences of pushing Marquis Moyu too far, so he didn¡¯t immediately have a falling out with him. He only said, ¡°This marriage holds a great importance. The two of you should go home first and cool down for a few days before asking this emperor for a decision. However, a justification for how the culprit will be punished needs to be handled today.¡±

    Luo Qianqian wanted to say something, but her father pressed down on her shoulder to stop her.

    ¡ª

    A rumor was springing up everywhere in the capital that there was a seductress in Marquis Moyu¡¯s household. She failed to act like a proper married woman, seduced other men, and was causing the heir and his wife to get a divorce. This rumor caused quite amotion.

    It was actually good for Wen Wan that she was confined in the woodshed and didn¡¯t leave the residence. Otherwise, if she heard people cursing her name everywhere, she might want to die.

    Marquis Moyu had humbly apologized to the emperor. He punished himself with a loss of one year¡¯s sry, as well as promising that Wen Wan would remain a servant for the rest of her life and never be allowed to marry.

    This promise waspletely blocking Wen Wan¡¯s future. She would never be more than a servant for the rest of her life.

    Hearing this news, Ji Man felt secretly happy. It had taken so long, but she had finally gotten revenge for Nie Sangyu. The woman that had stolen away her husband had finally received retribution.

    Although her intuition told her that Wen Wan¡¯s ending wouldn¡¯t remain like this, Ji Man still felt satisfied when she thought about what Wen Wan¡¯s expression would look like when she found out about her punishment.

    However, the rtionship between Marquis Moyu and Luo n had be rocky. Luo Qianqian¡¯s father was the Chancellor of Exchequer in the Three Departments. As the person in charge of the country¡¯s treasury, his status was very illustrious. Due to his falling out with Marquis Moyu, the Six Ministries were in a very awkward position.

 Chapter 159 - News that arrived without warning (2)

    Chapter 159 out of 513 ¨C News that arrived without warning (2)

    Two dayster, the rumors had subsided. The heir and his wife weren¡¯t getting a divorce. Luo Qianqian had also finished packing up to travel to Prince Huainan¡¯s fiefdom with Zhao Kaifeng.

    Sir Luo and Prince Huainan had personallye over Marquis Moyu¡¯s residence to bring gifts to express their thanks, and Ji Man had received a small fortune for her work.

    This was a load off old madame¡¯s mind. Right now, she was just thinking about how to deal with Wen Wan. Her son had clearly shown he would keep protecting Wen Wan. If even the emperor hadn¡¯t been able to do anything to her, then other people naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to either. However, as long as old madame was alive, Wen Wan¡¯s life naturally wouldn¡¯t be good either.

    ¡ª

    Lately, Nie Sangyu¡¯s body had felt somewhat ufortable. Ji Man frequently felt sleepy, but when she had Doctor Li examine her, he only said her tiredness was from fatigue.

    Could it be that this body was the rumored type that would feel tired all year round for various reasons? Ji Man yawned, leaned back against the cushioned couch, closed her eyes, and took a short nap.

    Seeing that Nie Sangyu had fallen asleep, Muxu quietly closed the doors from the outside. She looked at Gancao and Dengxin and said, ¡°Watch over our master. I¡¯ll go to the kitchen to get afternoon snacks for her.¡±

    After Gancao and Dengxin made sounds of agreement, Muxu lifted her skirt and left Feiwan Courtyard.

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    ¡ª

    Nie Sangyu appeared in Ji Man¡¯s dream. She wasn¡¯t crying anymore and her expression looked rather happy. ¡°You¡¯re amazing.¡±

    ¡°Not amazing as you.¡± Ji Man twitched her lips. ¡°When are you going to let me go back?¡±

    Nie Sangyu giggled. ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a rush. I came here to tell you to be careful with your stomach.¡±

    Stomach? Ji Man lowered her head to look at it in confusion. ¡°What wrong with my stomach.¡±

    Ji Man felt as if Nie Sangyu had thrown a tremendous bomb when she heard, ¡°You¡¯re almost three months pregnant. Don¡¯t be deceived by other people.¡±

    Shocked, Ji Man woke up from her nap and almost fell off the couch.

    ¡°Master?¡± Hearing a sound from inside, Gancao pushed opened the doors, entered the room, and gave her a handkerchief. ¡°Master, did you have a nightmare?¡±

    Ji Man was at a loss for a while. She absent-mindedly took the handkerchief from Gancao, wiped her face, shook her head, and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Where¡¯s Muxu?¡±

    ¡°Older sister Muxu went to the kitchen to get some snacks for you,¡± Dengxin said.

    Ji Man pursed her lips. Thinking of Nie Sangyu¡¯s words, her sense of vignce went up.

    She was pregnant? If she had been pregnant for almost three months, then the baby must have been conceived during the Southern Trip. But, hadn¡¯t she asked a doctor to check her body several times, and he had said everything was fine?

    But, when she carefully thought about it, she realized that the doctor that had examined her was always Doctor Li. The young doctor that had helped her pawn off her jewelry when she had firste here was now a doctor that had some status in this residence. Since he had a good rtionship with Muxu, she thought there was no reason for her to ask for another doctor. During thest check up, Doctor Li had even said her belly was just bloated.

    It seemed that she encountered something interesting. Without changing her expression, Ji Man lied back down on the cushioned couch. She closed her eyes and sighed. Last time, she had thought that she would be considered lucky if Muxu didn¡¯t betray her again. It seemed that she didn¡¯t have that fortune.

    @@novelbin@@

    Three people had already suffered a miscarriage in this residence. Right now, she was the main wife. If she gave birth to a child, then her status as the main wife would be unmovable.

    But, herst name was Nie. Even if she felt that her rtionship with Marquis Moyu was pretty goodtely and he no longer disliked her, Ji Man wasn¡¯t stupid enough to think that he would be happy if he found that she was pregnant.

    If he had wanted Nie Sangyu to give him a child, she didn¡¯t believe that Nie Sangyu wouldn¡¯t be able to during the past six, long years.

    Old madame was the only person that would be happy if she found out. If she gave birth to a child, even if it was a girl, it would still be the child of the main wife and Ning Yuxuan¡¯s first child. And, on behalf of this blood connection, Marquis Moyu would slowly favor Nie n over the crown prince¡¯s faction. But right now, the situation wasn¡¯t definite. Ning Yuxuan was very clever. He wouldn¡¯t want to make a decision so soon on whose side he would be loyal to.

    If other people found out about her pregnancy, she wouldn¡¯t be able to keep it. She just hadn¡¯t expected that someone really had been watching her.

    ¡ª

    When Muxu came back, she brought melon pastries.

    However, Ji Man said she didn¡¯t have an appetite and wanted to go outside to walk around.

    Muxu said, ¡°It¡¯s been very lively outsidetely. Master, if you want to walk around, this servant will apany you.¡±

    Ji Man said with a smile, ¡°You should stay home instead. It¡¯s rare for you to have free time. Doctor Li is probably free right now too. How about you go over to his ce and chat with him?¡±

    Muxu blushed. She looked down and fidgeted her feet. ¡°Master, you¡¯re always teasing me.¡±

    Ji Man smiled and waved her hand. ¡°Go on. Otherwise people will say I¡¯m an unreasonable master. It¡¯s fine if I just go out with Gancao and Dengxin.¡±

    She wanted to go outside and look for a doctor, so she naturally couldn¡¯t bring Muxu along. Actually, she didn¡¯t want to tell anything to Gancao and Dengxin either.

    Ji Man still went to Shuiji Rouge Store. She had Gancao and Dengxin stay on the first floor to look around, then she went upstairs and asked Miss Shui for help.

    Miss Shui didn¡¯t ask any question. She called a doctor over to the store.

    Ji Man¡¯s face was hidden by a veil as the doctor checked her pulse.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pregnancy pulse. You¡¯re two to three months pregnant.¡± The old doctor smiled as he said, ¡°Madam, congrattions.¡±

    Ji Man wasn¡¯t feeling too happy about this. This was Nie Sangyu¡¯s child, not hers. She was just temporarily being pregnant in Nie Sangyu¡¯s ce. However, she would be the one that had to face all the future problems that came with this pregnancy.

    ¡°Doctor, can you check this incense for me?¡± Ji Man took out a box from her sleeve. Inside the box, there was the incense that she used to use. When she had transmigrated here, this was the incense that Nie Sangyu liked to use in her room. Later, she had found it too stuffy and stopped using it. Unfortunately, Marquis Moyu insisted that he liked this smell.

    After smelling the incense for a long time, the doctor said, ¡°Madam, it¡¯ll be better if you use this incense less. It¡¯s made with musk and saffron.¡±

    Understanding his meaning, Ji Man wrylyughed. Marquis Moyu had certainly worked hard. Even with the pressure of not having a child after six years, he still wouldn¡¯t allow Nie Sangyu to get pregnant.

    T/N: I wrote a spoiler about why I tagged this novel with romance in thements below.

 Chapter 160 - She continues to harm me (1)

    Chapter 160 out of 513 ¨C She continues to harm me (1)

    If she could confer the title of a god that controlled the birth of heirs, Marquis Moyu would be a very suitable candidate. This person had a full harem, but whether a person got pregnant or not, whether a person would be able to sessfully give birth or not, everything was under his control.

    Although Mu Shuiqing¡¯s and Jinse¡¯s pregnancies had seemed like an ident, as well as Wen Wan¡¯s miscarriage, Ning Yuxuan hadn¡¯t lost anything with theings and going of these pregnancies. When it was time for those pregnancies to ur, they had urred. When it was time for them to go, they had gone. Wen Wan had even changed from someone that would show her petty temper from time to time to someone that would listen to everything he said.

    While Ji Man didn¡¯t believe that Ning Yuxuan was directly responsible for the chain of events that led to all of those miscarriages, she believed that everything had happened under his acquiesce.

    However, Ning Yuxuan had never wanted Nie Sangyu to have a child. She knew this just from what happened with this incense. When she had wanted to stop using it, he had said he liked this smell and told her to continue using it.

    In the end, what was it made of? Musk and saffron. With Nie Sangyu¡¯s previously poor health,bined with the use of the incense, it would have been strange if she had been able to get pregnant.

    However, Ning Yuxuan would have never expected that she would get pregnant. The incense had almost done the permanent damage of making Nie Sangyu infertile. He had tried so hard to not touch her during the Southern Trip. But in the end, he had favored her five times. Despite always personally pouring her a cup of contraceptive tea afterward, she had still gotten pregnant.

    Was this the will of the Gods? Ji Man smiled. If she secretly gave birth to this baby, would Ning Yuxuan get so angry that he would try to strangle her to death?

    However, the other women in the household would probably never think that Marquis Moyu wouldn¡¯t want his own child. So, who had tried to conceal her pregnancy from her? Fortunately, she had Nie Sangyu, this high-level teammate. Otherwise, someone would have harmed her without even knowing it.

    After taking some pocket money while she was here, Ji Man left Shuiji Rogue Shop, strolled around the streets, and bought a few trinkets. Although this child¡¯s future was uncertain, since she had a hand in its conception, she naturally had to do her best in keeping it safe.

    She didn¡¯t know who else in the household knew this information, or how Muxu and Doctor Li were nning on harming her. After walking around to drive away her worries temporarily, she had to go back to deal with these despicable people.

    However, if she was too soft-hearted this time, then she would be wronging Nie Sangyu¡¯s title of the most vicious viiness.

    After returning to Feiwan Courtyard, Ji Man saw Ning Yuxuan sitting at the table in her room. Muxu¡¯s face was slightly red.

    Seeing that Nie Sangyu had returned, Muxu¡¯s expression changed slightly, and she instinctively took a step back.

    Ji Man pretended that she didn¡¯t see anything. She smiled and said, ¡°My lord, why did youe here?¡±

    ¡°I came here to see you for a bit. I didn¡¯t expect that you wouldn¡¯t here.¡± Ning Yuxuan raised his head and looked her. While smiling, he pulled her over to sit down next to him. ¡°The incense in this room is smelling better and better.¡±

    Ji Man felt a thud of fear in her heart. She pursed her lips, ¡°The previous scent felt too oppressive, so I had the servants change it to a flowery scented incense. It¡¯s made with musk and vani. Does it smell better?¡±

    Unlike modern people, who had seem many dramas, the average woman in ancient times didn¡¯t know about any side effects from flowers and herbs. They didn¡¯t know what musk was used for. Most women thought it was just an ingredient for perfume and incense.

    Ning Yuxuan nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not bad to change to a different smell.¡±

    Muxu had already poured a cup of tea and ced it by Nie Sangyu¡¯s hand.

    Ji Man raised her eyes and nced at her. Then, she turned her head and smiled at Marquis Moyu. ¡°My lord, Muxu is at the age when she should be getting married. As her master, I shouldn¡¯t be keeping her for too long, right?¡±

    ¡°En? Who do you want to pair Muxu with?¡± Ning Yuxuan looked at her.

    Muxu¡¯splexion paled. She pursed her lips and said, ¡°Master, this servant still wants to stay with you for a couple more years.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re already seventeen years old. If I dy it any longer, you might not be able to get married.¡± Ji Man covered her mouth andughed. ¡°Don¡¯t you really like Doctor Li? Since the marquis is here right now, how about we ask him to make the decision and set down a wedding date?¡±

    Muxu tried to force herself to smile, but she wasn¡¯t to smile. A pair of teary eyes looked at Marquis Moyu as she responded, ¡°This servant doesn¡¯t want to marry yet...¡±

    If Ji Man couldn¡¯t figure out what her affection-filled gaze meant, then she was a fool. The trope of a servant girl falling in love with her master was too trite. But, if Muxu wanted to act out this y, then she wouldn¡¯t mind helping her.

    And so, Ji Man pretended to not see anything. After she said a couple of sentences to tease Muxu, she let her off and turned to look at Ning Yuxuan. ¡°My lord, will you be staying here tonight?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan raised an eyebrow. ¡°Hmm? Have you be interested inpeting for favor? Ling-<i>er</i> is still upset that you intercepted me when I was halfway to her courtyardst time.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man giggled. ¡°That¡¯s okay. If she gets angry a couple of time, her tolerance will increase. My lord, this servant will prepare a bowl of chicken soup for you tonight.¡±

    Marquis Moyu looked at her for a few seconds. He felt that her mischievous appearance and foxlikeughter looked rather cute.

    And so, even thought he knew that she was plotting something, he still decided that he woulde back to Feiwan Courtyard tonight.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man had Muxu bring Doctor Li over, then she found an excuse to send Muxu out of the room.

    Doctor Li awkwardly remained standing.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t ask him to sit down and check her pulse. Instead, she kept observing him.

    Doctor Li wasn¡¯t a thick-faced person. After being watched like this for only a short period of time, he felt too ufortable and asked, ¡°Madam, why did you call me over here?¡±

 Chapter 162

    Chapter 162 ¨C How about I personally help you up into the position of an honored concubine?

    Half-believing and half-doubting, Ning Yuxuan looked at Nie Sangyu. After all, there wouldn¡¯t be a woman stupid enough to drug her husband, then let her servant girl snatch away her chance at being favored. But, he clearly remembered that he hadn¡¯t let down his guardst night until he saw her. How did he end up on Muxu¡¯s bed? Could her words be true? Had he really been the one that insisted on leaving?

    Ji Man pinched her thigh to force herself to cry and said, ¡°Muxu has served me for several years. Originally, I had wanted to pair her with Doctor Li. My lord, I didn¡¯t expect that you would do such a thing...¡±

    If you¡¯re going to do something bad, make your usation before the other party has time to figure things out.

    Ning Yuxuan doubtfully looked at Nie Sangyu for a few more moments, then he started reflecting on himself. Had he really gone to the wrong room?

    ¡ª

    Muxu gritted her teeth as she continued to kneel in the courtyard. From behind her, she could hear the sound of everyonementing and ming her. A lot of people were gathered outside of Feiwan Courtyard to watch the show.

    Gossip spread quickly like an infectious disease. A short whileter, word came from old madame¡¯s ce. She said that Nie Sangyu could decide on what Muxu¡¯s oue would be.

    A servant girl¡¯s status was lowly to begin with, even bing a concubine was an impossible dream for them. At the most, they could rise to the rank of bed servant. However, if a bed servant wasn¡¯t able to give birth to a child after a few years of serving her lord, then she would still be married off to someone like any other servant girl. Still, after losing her virginity, it wouldn¡¯t be possible for her to be married off to a good partner.

    Muxu felt panic-stricken at first. But, once she remembered that her kind-hearted master usually treated her very well and that they hade out of the confinement courtyard together, she thought that Nie Sangyu probably wouldn¡¯t punish her too harshly.

    And yet, as Marquis Moyu left Feiwan Courtyard to go to the Six Ministries for work, he didn¡¯t even nce at her as he passed by her. Muxu¡¯s heart sank and she nkly looked at the ground.

    A long time passed before Ji Man came out with redden eyes. Looking at the person kneeling at the center of the courtyard, she simply said an actor¡¯s script that a wronged woman would say, ¡°Muxu, I haven¡¯t treated you poorly. Why would you do this to me...¡±

    Muxu¡¯s heart hopefully went up. She hurriedly said, ¡°Master, please calm down. This servant really didn¡¯t try to steal master¡¯s chance at receiving the marquis¡¯s favor. This servant... this servant also truly likes the marquis...¡±

    Li Zixiu was standing at Feiwan Courtyard¡¯s entrance. Although he had originally felt very sleepy, hearing Muxu¡¯s words was like being sshed with icy water.

    She truly liked the marquis? Doctor Li pinched his own face andughed. My goodness, he must be feeling too tired from waiting up for herst night. Surely, this was just a hallucination.

    Muxu¡¯s back was facing the courtyard¡¯s entrance, so she naturally couldn¡¯t see the people that were standing at the entrance. She continued to cry as she said, ¡°This servant is willing to continue to serving Madam and the marquis. This servant won¡¯t ask for even an ounce of doting. Madam, please let this servant stay here. Please don¡¯t kick this servant out...¡±

    Ji Man pursed her lips and asked her, ¡°Doctor Li wholeheartedly cares for you. Do you not care about him at all?¡±

    Muxu froze in surprise. She shook her head and said, ¡°We¡¯re just acquaintances. There aren¡¯t any romantic feelings between us.¡±

    These were the words that Ji Man had been waiting for. She looked at the pitiful man that was standing at the entrance. His expression had abruptly changed. Ji Man curved her lips, sighed, and said, ¡°You¡¯ve served me for so long. I wouldn¡¯t be cold-hearted. Why would I kick you out?¡±

    Muxu let out a sigh in relief.

    Ji Man added, ¡°Go to Steward Qian and tell him that you¡¯ve been reassigned to wash clothes in the back of the residence. You¡¯ll still be in this household. And, if you want to serve me, you can wash only my clothing instead of the rest of the household¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Muxu instinctively refused. Her tone had be slightly anxious.

    Ji Man raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

    ¡°This servant doesn¡¯t want to leave master¡¯s side.¡± Muxu¡¯s voice softened again. Her tears seemed endless as she looked at Nie Sangyu and said, ¡°This is the first time this servant made a mistake. Master, please forgive me. Please forgive me!¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man ignored her. She stood there and waited until Muxu¡¯s cries sounded hopeless before waiving her hand and saying, ¡°Gancao, help you older sister Muxu inside. I have something I want to say to her in private.¡±

    Gancao uttered a sound of agreement, pulled Muxu up, and pushed her into the Nie Sangyu¡¯s room. Ji Man also went inside and closed the doors to shut everyone outside.

    Ji Man sat down, looked at Muxu, and said, ¡°Old Madame said I can decide whether you¡¯re staying or leaving this household. That means, if I want you to leave, no one can help you. Do you think I should let you stay or have you leave?¡±

    ¡°Master, please have mercy!¡± Muxu¡¯s voice already sounded slightly hoarse. She knelt down and repeatedly kowtowed. ¡°This servant will wholeheartedly serve master in the future. Even if this servant hadn¡¯t done anything outstanding, this servant has at least worked hard during the past six years. Master, please spare me this one time...¡±

    Ji Man supported her chin with one hand and tapped the table with her fingers on her other hand. ¡°I remember, when I rewarded you with a banknote the first time, you also gratefully said that you won¡¯t betray me again.¡±

    Muxu froze. She lowered her eyes and guilty looked at the floor.

    ¡°That time, I believed you. And then, I found my banknotes in your wardrobe and people came to my room to search for missing money. I almost got into trouble because of that. I haven¡¯t figure out who was behind that yet. Is it Qi Siling? But, that doesn¡¯t seem like her style.¡±

    ¡°Master...¡± Muxu looked at her in dismay. Feeling fearful, Muxu was even slightly trembling. Nie Sangyu actually knew... that those banknotes were stolen from her?

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic. I haven¡¯t finished speaking yet.¡± Ji Man slowly and deliberately said, ¡°You know a lot of my secrets. And as you said, you¡¯ve been with me for six years. As my servant, you¡¯re notcking in money, so money wouldn¡¯t be enough to gain your loyalty. So, Muxu, tell me. What method did that person use in order to have you be willing to risk your life for her? Who is that person? She¡¯s even tried to harm my unborn baby this time.¡±

 Chapter 166 - Its not easy to protect a baby (1)

    Chapter 166 out of 513 ¨C It¡¯s not easy to protect a baby (1)

    Ji Man observed Wen Wan for the next couple of days.

    Wen Wan continued her obedient demeanor. Even if someone deliberately did something to antagonize her, such as dropping a cup or sshing water onto her, she responded like a normal servant girl by cleaning up the mess without any sign of anger.

    Whenever Marquis Moyu came to Feiwan Courtyard, Wen Wan didn¡¯t try to speak to him. After tidying up the bed, she would quietly leave to stand outside. As a result, it was Ji Man and Ning Yuxuan that felt slightly awkward around Wen Wan.

    One night, Ning Yuxuan summoned Wen Wan and quietly asked, ¡°Are you getting used to things?¡±

    Wen Wan¡¯s voice was calm as she said, ¡°To respond to the marquis, everything is well with this servant.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯recking in anything, you can tell me or Madam about it.¡±

    Wen Wan finally raised her head to nce at him. Her eyes showed a sense of despair, but she still patiently nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan probably felt bad for her after seeing the look in her eyes. He sighed and said to Nie Sangyu, ¡°Sangyu, isn¡¯t Muxu¡¯s previous room still empty? Let Wan-<i>er</i> live there. Don¡¯t mistreat her by having her sleep in the woodshed.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. ¡°I already had Gancao and Dengxin move Wen Wan¡¯s stuff into that room. But, Wan-<i>er</i> seems to not like that room. She prefers to sleep in the woodshed.¡±

    Wen Wan seemed to treat herself masochistically in every aspect. When Ji Man gave her new clothes and essories, she wouldn¡¯t take it. She wouldn¡¯t eat food that was slightly better than what a normal servant would eat either. She insistented on staying in the woodshed and having a servant¡¯s diet.

    It really gave off the impression that she was abusing Wen Wan.

    @@novelbin@@

    Marquis Moyu looked at Wen Wan and said, ¡°If you can live a little better, there¡¯s no reason to make life difficult for yourself.¡±

    The corners of of Wen Wan¡¯s lips raised slightly, but she stayed silent.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man didn¡¯t have the free time to y along with Wen Wan¡¯s mistreatment game. She was finally feeling other symptoms of pregnancy. It was taking all of her self-control to endure the difort and act normal in front of the marquis and old madame, so that they wouldn¡¯t find out.

    Ji Man no longer ate any of the food prepared by the kitchen servants. Instead, she gave her food to Gancao and Dengxin, then she had them sneak out of the residence each day to buy food that was prepared outside. She also had people checking the incense in her room. However, after Muxu had left her side after bing a concubine, her surroundings had been quiet. Qian Liaxnue continued to act the same as before, quietly staying in her courtyard because of her poor health.

    Ji Man felt uneasy. If she continued to hide her pregnancy, sooner orter, it would be found out through an ident. Rather than nothing and responding to someone¡¯s move, it would better for her to figure out a n first.

    ¡ª

    When Ji Man was around five months pregnant, old madame decided to visit Noble Consort Nie. Thinking about how her aunt¡¯s pregnancy was only a few months further along than herself, Ji Man felt somewhat awkward. However, right now, Noble Consort Nie and old madame were the only people that had the power to help her.

    And so, Ji Man told Noble Consort Nie about all the miscarriages that had happened in the marquis¡¯s household.

    Hearing these words, Noble Consort Nie frowned and asked, ¡°Why is your household messier than the pce?¡±

    Old madame sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s because I haven¡¯t been watching over and managing these girls. I don¡¯t care about their pregnancies. I only hope that Sangyu can be pregnant.¡±

    Ji Man blinked. She looked at Noble Consort Nie, then she looked at old madame. She asked, ¡°Aunty, Old Madame, do the two of you think that Sangyu will be able to sessfully give birth to a child if Sangyu gets pregnant?¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you be able to?¡± With a serious expression on her face, old madame said, ¡°Your baby would be the oldest offspring from the main wife. How could it be lost like the babies from those other women?¡±

    ¡°There will always be people doing bad things in the residence. One day, those people might direct their attentions at me.¡± Ji Man wryly smiled. ¡°I actually think it¡¯ll be better if I don¡¯t get pregnant.¡±

    Noble Consort Nie slightly sat up and held Sangyu¡¯s hand as she said, ¡°Sangyu, you have to believe in your mother-inw. If you really be pregnant, she¡¯ll definitely help you in keeping it.¡±

    Ji Man looked at old madame.

    Old madame¡¯s sitting posture looked very dignified. There was a smile on her face as she said, ¡°I fought with those type of tricky no-good women for several years when I was younger. In the end, they¡¯re all gone and only me and Yuxuan are left. It won¡¯t be difficult at all for me to help you.¡±

    Back then, her husband had several concubines and a residence full of his offspring. However, after he had died in battle, old madame and Ning Yuxuan were the only two people left in his household. At the beginning, Ji Man had found this very strange. It was normal for people to have several siblings in ancient times. Why did Ning Yuxuan only have cousins?

    As it turned out, the reason was this.

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t resist staring at old madame for a bit. She finally understood why old madame liked to chant Buddhist sutras so much.

    She was doing it to make up for her past actions, right?

    After contemting this for a while, Ji Man pursed her lips and said, ¡°Sangyu found out something recently. I don¡¯t know if I should say it. Old Madame, aunty, the two of you will probably feel bad if you hear it.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Noble Consort Nie asked, ¡°Speak freely. We¡¯re all one family.¡±

    Ji Man pursed her lips and tried to show the proper mood. She rubbed her eyes with her handkerchief that had traces of hot pepper, so that her eyes finally reddened when she said, ¡°It¡¯s the marquis¡¯s intention, that¡¯s the reason behind why Sangyu hasn¡¯t gotten pregnant after several years of marriage.¡±

    The two elders were shocked by her words. Old madame¡¯s expression was slightly ugly. After all, Ning Yuxuan was her biological son, and she naturally felt biased in favor of him.

    Ji Man took out a box of incense. Her tone wasn¡¯t usatory when she gently said, ¡°The marquis is probably worried that if Sangyu gets pregnant, the crown prince will feel uneasy. Thus, he always had Sangyu use this incense that had musk and saffron.¡±

 Chapter 169 - A disastrous chemical reaction (2)

    Chapter 169 out of 513 ¨C A disastrous chemical reaction (2)

    She had been so foolish. She had thought that as long as Ning Yuxuan doted on her, she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about anything. But, the result was that Nie Sangyu had taught her what it meant to use skills and tricks. It wasn¡¯t enough for Ning Yuxuan to treasure her. She needed to use his feelings to achieve things. She had eaten enough of steamed buns that were as hard as rocks, nightmares while sleeping in the woodshed, and cold indifference from the servants. Little by little, she would slowly snatch back all of the things she had lost.

    She wouldn¡¯t let a momentary impulse ruin everything again.

    So what if the emperor ordered for her to be a servant for the rest of her life? She would show these blind people what a servant was capable of.

    When she passed by the garden¡¯s pond, Wen Wan stopped walking to look at it. There used to be many fishes swimming here. But for an unknown reason, there were many dead fishes floating on the surface of the pond today.

    After only briefly looking at the fishes, she felt somewhat difited by this sight. Her throat suddenly felt tight and she spat out a mouthful of ck blood.

    ¡ª

    In the end, the female lead was the female lead. When she was seemingly pushed to a dead end, she would have powerful tools that weren¡¯t avable to anyone else. And so, the likelihood of her reversing her fortune was higher than the average person.

    ¡ª

    The news of what had happened to Wen Wan quickly reached Ning Yuxuan¡¯s ears. He had been discussing matters with people from the Six Ministries, but when he heard this news, he immediately rushed home to see her.

    ¡ª

    After Doctor Li checked Wen Wan¡¯s pulse, he respectfully cupped his hands and said, ¡°She¡¯s been poisoned with a slow-acting poison. The symptoms won¡¯t show up until a month after the poison was administered. If an antidote isn¡¯t found within seven days, it might be difficult for Miss Wan-<i>er</i> to keep her life.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s expression was very ugly.

    The person that had been responsible for bring food to Wen Wan during her confinement period was called over to Feiwan Courtyard. Trembling with fear, the servant said, ¡°This servant always delivered food that was prepared by the kitchen. No else had a problem after eating this food. The only exception is when Madam brought over a bowl of medicinal soup. This servant didn¡¯t dare to stop her. Counting the days, it was about a month ago.¡±

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression sunk.

    ¡ª

    There was no chance of Ji Man being able to peacefully spend her days. Even under Old Madame¡¯s protection, there would still be people that would dig her out and shoot her.

    For example, even now with Old Madame sitting in the head seat, Ning Yuxuan was looking at her with a foreboding expression as he asked, ¡°What did you add in the medicinal soup that you gave Wan-<i>er</i>?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Although Old Madame had given her a bottle of poison, she had clearly thrown all of it into the pond. Where would she have the poison to pour into Wen Wan¡¯s medicinal soup? Moreover, Wen Wan definitely wouldn¡¯t have drunk that pitch-ck soup. So, why was he ming her?

    Ji Man said, ¡°My lord, please investigate this matter. There were only beneficial herbs in that soup. If you don¡¯t believe this servant, you can check. There¡¯s a record of the herbs used in the soup with Doctor Li. ¡±

    Old Madame pursed her lips. ¡°Wen Wan is only a servant. How can youe here to interrogate your wife just because Wen Wan was poisoned?¡±

    Old Madame believed that Nie Sangyu was the one behind the poisoning because she had ordered her to do this. And so, her words showed an obvious bias in favor of Sangyu.

    Ji Man really wanted to say; she was innocent. Old Madame, you don¡¯t need to show such a guilty expression.

    Marquis Moyu looked at his mother for a long time. His voice was slightly hoarse as he said, ¡°Mother, you don¡¯t like Wan-<i>er,</i> but she¡¯s already suffered so much. Why can¡¯t you let her off?¡±

    Old Madame sneered. ¡°I should be the one asking her to let me off. My perfectly good son had been mesmerized by her to the point that you don¡¯t even know the difference between right and wrong. You¡¯re even questioning your own mother for her.¡±

    Marquis Moyu deeply looked at her, then he stood up, saluted her, and left without saying another word.

    ¡°Absolutely disgraceful!¡± Old Madame was so angry that she pped the table. ¡°How could I have given birth to someone so disappointing?!¡±

    Ji Man hurriedly said a couple of sentences tofort Old Madame. Her brow continued to be furrowed as she wondered who had ¡°kindly helped¡± her.

    ¡ª

    Marquis Moyu stayed in Feiwan Courtyard¡¯s side room for several days without taking a single step to Nie Sangyu¡¯s room.

    Valuable medicine from the pce¡¯s storage had been dug out and brought over. Ning Yuxuan was willing to pay any price in order to cure Wen Wan¡¯s poison.

    With her hair untied, Wen Wan obediently lied in Marquis Moyu¡¯s arms. She quietly said, ¡°It¡¯s worth it if I can die like this.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying nonsense.¡± Ning Yuxuan lowly reprimanded. He gripped her chin and looked at herplexion. He wasn¡¯t able to hide the distress he was feeling. ¡°I¡¯ll cure your poison. You won¡¯t die.¡±

    Wen Wan¡¯s smile was very joyful. ¡°If I can use thesest seven days to trade for your original deep feelings, Wan-<i>er</i> can die without regrets.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan froze in surprise.

    When had he stopped loving her as deeply as he had in the beginning? He had originally promised her that they would be together until old age and wouldn¡¯t let her suffer any grievances. But now, she had be a servant and was at death¡¯s door.

    No matter how hard a heart was, these words would soften it. Ning Yuxuan held Wen Wan tighter and quietly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Wen Wan smiled, but tears slid down her face. ¡°I¡¯ve always been scared that you would say those words to me. Don¡¯t say them. Even if you fall in love with someone else in the future, don¡¯t tell me. Just let me think that your heart only has me.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s breathing deepened. He lowered his head and kiss her lips.

    Wan-<i>er</i> should be the only person in his heart. How could there be someone else?

    A gorgeous peony shed through his mind. Ning Yuxuan closed his eyes, clutched Wen Wan¡¯s shoulder, and deepened the kiss to distract himself.

    ¡ª

    After three days of praying to Buddha at Old Madame¡¯s courtyard, Ji Man finally sighed. ¡°You can only depend on yourself, praying to Buddha to save you won¡¯t help.¡±

 Chapter 172 - Reassigning the servants after the Lantern Festival (1)

    Chapter 172 out of 513 ¨C Reassigning the servants after the Lantern Festival (1)

    @@novelbin@@

    Old Madame looked at Nie Sangyu in surprise.

    Ji Man straightened her back, but she didn¡¯t dare to meet the olddy¡¯s gaze.

    Marquis Moyu silently looked at Nie Sangyu before turning his head and ordering Guibai to scoop the bottle out of the pond. He also sent other servants to Feiwan Courtyard¡¯s back garden to examine the dead fishes.

    After the bottle that had contained the poison was scooped out of the pond and the fishes were dissected and examined, it was confirmed that the bottle had fallen into the pond. The conclusion was that the fishes had bitten off the cork on the bottle and poison spilled out into the pond. The diluted poison had eventually killed some of the fishes. By the time everything was settled, six to eight hours had already passed.

    Listening to this overly methodical analysis, Ji Man wanted tough. But, since this inspection proved that she was 100% innocent, she still put on a grateful expression as she watched the people perform their procedures.

    Since the poison didn¡¯te from this household, then how did Wen Wan get poisoned? And, who had poisoned her? Marquis Moyu ordered people from the Ministry of Justice to investigate this matter. Although it seemed that he was taking this matter very seriously, he knew that he wouldn¡¯t find the true culprit. He was just putting on a show for Wen Wan¡¯s benefit.

    Surprisingly, it was Wen Wan that suggested, ¡°My lord, since this matter has nothing to do with the people in this household, there¡¯s no need for you to continue pursuing this matter. Wan-<i>er</i> still has her life. Let bygones be bygones. If there are people that really want to harm Wan<i>-er</i>, they¡¯ll eventually make a mistake and reveal themselves.¡±

    The matter had already caused the household to degenerated into aplete mess, but Wen Wan had waited until now to say these words. Ji Man just smiled and refrained frommenting.

    Marquis Moyu told the people from the Ministry of Justice to stop their investigation, but he kept Wen Wanpany for several days in a row.

    Once again, the male lead and female lead had reconciled and their rtionship returned to a harmonious one. Although Wen Wan had be a servant girl, she received the marquis¡¯s favor night after night. The servants had astute eyes and naturally didn¡¯t treat Wen Wan as if she was an ordinary servant. If there was any work to do, it wouldn¡¯t be given to her to do. She even had servants fawning after her.

    From this point of view, her life as a servant girl wasn¡¯t any worse than her life as the main wife.

    ¡ª

    It would soon be this dynasty¡¯s equivalent of the Lantern Festival. It was simr to the Spring Festival in modern times, but it happened about a monthter. Every residence would be decorated withnterns and colorful ribbons and everyone would visit their rtives.

    Since Nie Sangyu was the marquis¡¯s main wife, Ji Man spent arge sum of money to decorate the marquis¡¯s residence. However, only a few of these expenses were recorded in the ount book, which led to Old Madame praising her for being talented at financial management. Old Madame¡¯s vocal praise for Nie Sangyu caused Qi Siling to be ashamed and unable to calmly sit in front of the other women.

    As Ji Man epted the praise, she thought; it was naturally impossible for her to have bought these expensive items for the same amount of money it would have taken to buy cabbages. She had actually paid for most of these items with her own money. However, since she had plenty of money and didn¡¯t have any other use for them, she might as well use this money to make her life morefortable.

    ¡ª

    On the first day of the celebrations, the crown prince and his consort were the first ones to pay a visit to the marquis¡¯s residence. Marquis Jingwen would be returning to his fiefdom after this holiday was over, so the crown prince¡¯s visit could also be considered asing here to see him off.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man didn¡¯t know when this had happened, but Wen Wan seemed to have be much closer to Ning Mingjie. Ning Mingjie currently had his head lowered to speak with Wen Wan in the outside courtyard and his manner looked quite gentle.

    In the end, he was the deeply affectionate supporting male character. Perhaps, it was inevitable that he couldn¡¯t resist his fate of being attracted to the female lead. And yet, Ji Man couldn¡¯t help feeling a pang of disappointment. She thought about that concealed daffodil painting and let out a small sigh.

    Whatever, it wasn¡¯t worth thinking about. She couldn¡¯t have any lingering feelings for this ce anyways, so she might as well concede that person to Wen Wan.

    As Ji Manforted herself with these thoughts, she walked inside and greeted the crown prince and his consort.

    As always, the mere sight of Zhao Zhe made Ji Man feel annoyed.

    Seeing Nie Sangyu entering the room, Zhao Zhe smiled and said, ¡°Sangyu, I haven¡¯t seen you in a while. You¡¯ve be even more beautiful and captivating.¡±

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t resist silently scolding him. He was addressing her so intimately as if the two of them were close enough to share a leg. How could he think this was a good idea? His wife was sitting right next to him

    The crown prince¡¯s wife, Shen Youqing, was from an aristocratic family, so she was very poised. Instead of showing her true feelings, she smiled at Nie Sangyu and said, ¡°It can¡¯t be helped that the crown prince is always praising Madam Ning. Madam Ning, you¡¯re a rare beauty that also has elegant temperament.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re overpraising me. This servant can¡¯t even bepared in the same sentence as the princess consort. It would be likeparing a star to the bright moon.¡±

    Shen Youqing covered her lips and smiled. ¡°Look at you. Your mouth says such sweet words. It¡¯s alright. We only came here to join your family dinner. The propriety customs don¡¯t have to be observed so rigidly. It¡¯s okay to rx a bit.¡±

    Ji Man made a sound of agreement.

    Wen Wan appeared from behind and stepped forward to bring a cup of tea to the crown princess.

    Ji Man wondered where this prop hade from. She hadn¡¯t seen Wen Wan holding a tray with tea before she came inside.

    Looking at the crown princess¡¯s slightly surprised expression, Ji Man waited for her to speak.

    The crown princess had acted as the nominal matchmaker for Wen Wan and Marquis Moyu. Wen Wan¡¯s demotion to the position of a servant girl was unavoidably embarrassing for the crown princess.

    After the crown princess epted the tea from Wen Wan, she looked at her and said, ¡°This consort has already heard about Wan-<i>er</i>¡®s matter. You must be feeling very wronged. Fortunately, it seems that the marquis still favors you greatly.¡±

    Wen Wan furtively wiped away a tear before putting on a smile. ¡°This servant failed to live up to the crown princess¡¯s expectations and kind regard.¡±

    The crown princess shook her head and sighed. It was unclear what she was sighing about.

    The dishes for the family banquet had already been ced on the table. Shortly after, Old Madame came into the dining hall as well.

    Ji Man sat down in her seat. For today¡¯s meal, she was the only women in the marquis¡¯s harem that had the right to sit down. All of his other women had to stay standing and assist in adding food to the bowls.

    Wen Wan stayed standing behind the crown princess. Once the dinner started, she obediently added food to the crown princess¡¯s bowl from the center tes.

    Ji Man chewed with her mouth closed and didn¡¯t say much during this meal.

 Chapter 175 - Paying a visit to Errongs maiden home (2)

    Chapter 175 out of 513 ¨C Paying a visit to Errong¡¯s maiden home (2)

    At this time, Wen Wan stepped forward, curtsied, and magnanimously said, ¡°My lord, you don¡¯t need to trouble yourself over this servant. Right now, this lowly one is only a servant. Whatever Young Madam wants this servant to do, this servant should do it. This servant will leave right away to buy the snacks.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan looked at her, then he waved his hand.

    Ning Errong mockingly nced at Wen Wan, then she tugged Sangyu¡¯s hand and acted cutely spoiled. ¡°Old Madame, let¡¯s go to Feiwan Courtyard.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Old Madame stood up and informed Nie Xiangyuan that they were leaving.

    @@novelbin@@

    Nie Xiangyuan politely cupped his hands toward the other men to take his leave, then he got up and apanied them as they walked to Feiwan Courtyard.

    ¡ª

    Dengxin was currently angrily standing at Feiwan Courtyard¡¯s entrance. From a distance, she saw that a couple of the masters were walking over here. She hurriedly walked over to Nie Sangyu¡¯s side. Feeling a bit apprehensive because Old Madame was also here, she kept her lips sealed.

    Ji Man whispered, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Dengxin was so angry that she wanted to stamp her feet. She whispered into her master¡¯s ear, ¡°Master, why on earth did you bring those servants to Feiwan Courtyard? Go and look. It¡¯s already bad enough that they¡¯re all sozy, but they act as if Wen Wan is their master. They wouldn¡¯t even heat up some water for tea when this servant ordered them. It¡¯ll look so bad if there¡¯s no tea to offer the guests when they reach Feiwan Courtyard.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. This didn¡¯t surprise her. Wen Wan¡¯s dowry servants were used to doing light work like embroidery. Even after Wen Wan lost her position, these servants were assigned to the two honored concubines¡¯ courtyards and didn¡¯t have to do unskilledbor. For example, Ah Zi was assigned to Honored Concubine Xue as her personal servant girl.

    And so, they naturally wouldn¡¯t be happy doing work like chopping firewood and boiling water. In addition, their real master, the crown princess, had recently visited, so they were thinking quite highly of themselves right now. How could they possibly be willing to listen to Dengxin¡¯s orders?

    ¡°Keep calm. Don¡¯t get impatient.¡± Ji Man squeezed Dengxin¡¯s hand.

    Then, Ji Man walked to Old Madame¡¯s side and said, ¡°An order of spring tea was recently delivered to the residence. There¡¯s a box of it left in Feiwan Courtyard. Since father and Errong havee over, Sangyu will take it out for everyone to drink. But, Sangyu isn¡¯t very good at brewing tea. Danggui or Shouwu, could you help me by brewing the tea instead?¡±

    Danggui and Shouwu were Old Madame¡¯s personal servants. Every time Nie Sangyu sent something to Old Madame, there would always be a portion given to them as well. Thus, they naturally liked her a lot and easily agreed to her request.

    And so, the group of people entered the main room in Feiwan Courtyard to sit down and talk. Ji Man took out a few embroidered items and gave them to Errong. She also gave newly embroidered sachets to Nie Xiangyuan and Old Madame.

    Nie Xiangyuan looked at the sachet and said, ¡°Sangyu, your embroidery skills are getting better and better. You must practice a lot, right?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, Sangyu has been using the marquis¡¯s clothing and other items to practice. The more Sangyu perfects my craft, the better the items Sangyu will be able to embroider for Old Madame and father in the future.¡±

    Hearing these words, Old Madame cackled. ¡°Oh, you lovable girl.¡±

    During this conversation, Danggui had already left the room with the tea leaves to brew the tea. But, even after they had waited for a long time, she still hadn¡¯t returned.

    When Old Madame reflexively stretched her hand out to pick up a cup of tea, she only grasped air. She asked, ¡°Why hasn¡¯t she brought tea back yet?¡±

    Shouwu nced towards the outside and said, ¡°This servant will go over there to check. Perhaps, Danggui is just beingzy.¡±

    A short whileter, Danggui and Shouwu returned. Danggui was still holding the container of tea leaves as she approached Old Madame and said, ¡°The servant girls in this courtyard are outrageous. They were just sitting there, goofing off and joking around with each other instead of boiling water for tea. This servant had to call them several times to get their attention. In the end, they only hurriedly worked on starting a fire when they found that Old Madame hade here.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s disgraceful!¡± Old Madame frowned. ¡°When did the servant girls in this household be sozy? If they¡¯re so neglectful when there are guests present, then how are they serving their master normally?¡±

    Dengxin hastily stepped forward and said, ¡°They aren¡¯t even serving Madam at all. It¡¯s Madam that¡¯s serving Miss Wen. When this servant asks them to do something, they only roll their eyes in response. Who knows where they learned such bad behavior?¡±

    Old Madame harrumphed and immediately stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll see how pampered these servant girls are!¡±

    Wen Wan had already left the residence to buy snacks, so these dowry servant didn¡¯t have anyone to warn them. As soon as Danggui and Shouwu had left, they had sat back down. As they watched the water being heated up on the stove, they startedining again.

    ¡°What kind of life is this? I thought life would be easier aftering here to work for the marquis¡¯s wife. I didn¡¯t expect that we would still have to do hardbor.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re one to talk. Who was that fought over the chance to be a dowry servant and even dragged me along into this mess?¡±

    ¡°You wench. You have some nerve saying that. If it wasn¡¯t for me, then you would still be cleaning chamber pots in the crown prince¡¯s residence.¡±

    Ah Zi poked at the firewood under the stove. Feeling discontent, she said, ¡°Just wait and see. I believe in the crown princess¡¯s foresight. Miss Wen will definitely be able to reverse her fortunes. That Nie Sangyu is just shrewish trash. Even after six years, she still hadn¡¯t gotten pregnant even once. Let¡¯s see how long she can hold her head high.¡±

    When Old Madame announced her presence by coldly harrumphing, it felt like lightning was striking the ground.

    Shocked and scared, the servant girls stumbled as they hurriedly got up and saluted, ¡°Old... Old Madame.¡±

    The back courtyard was always a messy ce. Normally, the masters would nevere to this ce. This was why they dared to be so bold in their conversation. They would have never expected that Old Madame woulde here without sending a servant to announce her arrival beforehand.

    ¡°In my twenty years as the matriarch of this household, I¡¯ve never seen such wicked servants.¡± Old Madame swept her gaze across these servants and sneered. ¡°It¡¯s one thing for a servant to bezy, but you actually have the nerve to speak badly about your master behind her back. Danggui, fetch me their servitude contracts. Sell them to farmers in the countryside to be their wives!¡±

    Trantor Ramblings: In defense to Ning Yuxuan and Ji Man¡¯s seemingly obliviousness to the other peoples¡¯ true characters, first impressions have an unfairly, longsting advantage or disadvantage. If your best friend or anyone else that you think is good person does something horrible, are you really going to think, my friend is a bad person, or are you going to make excuses for your friend¡¯s behavior? They were just having a bad day. They didn¡¯t meant to do that. It was the other person¡¯s fault. Even if they mess up multiple times, everyone has a natural tendency to cling to their narrative of the world. And, the inverse is true. If someone makes a bad first impression on you, they have to work so much harder to erase that impression.

    It doesn¡¯t matter how smart Ning Yuxuan and Ji Man are, they¡¯ll fall victims to this trap too.

 Chapter 178

    Chapter 178 out of 513

    Ji Man said with a smile, ¡°The marquis already has more than enough to food to eat just from what all of you have sent him. Since he caught a cold, you should just make him something that will warm his stomach. Won¡¯t it be fine if you just don¡¯t give her the opportunity to be nitpicky?¡±

    Jinse raised her eyebrows and looked at Nie Sangyu in askance. ¡°All of the other women are showing their affection towards the marquis in his sickness. As the main wife, won¡¯t it look bad if you don¡¯t show any sign of your care for him?¡±

    Ji Man nodded. ¡°I can think about this on my own. You can go back.¡±

    Sending over food would be the same as putting on a show. Right now, Marquis Moyu¡¯s heart was full of thoughts of how weak and delicate Wen Wan was. Did they really think that they could move his heart just by sending him delicious food? Anyways, she was still feeling annoyed by him. She had worked hard to make an entire table full of food forst night, but he had barely moved his chopsticks. If someone wanted her to be particrly attentive to him just because he was sick?

    Haha.

    After sending Jinse away, Ji Man raised her legs and leisurely peeled melons seeds to eat. With Marquis Moyu being sick, she actually had a lot more free time. Perhaps, she would go outside in the afternoon and stroll around the market.

    ¡ª

    Ning Yuxuan was leaning back on the side of the bed.

    Wen Wan was fussily looking at the various types of soups and other foods. ¡°Honored Concubine Xue¡¯s food is too nd. You have a dulled sense of taste right now, so you definitely won¡¯t like her food. You can try drinking some of Mistress Yun¡¯s chicken soupter. You can also drink a little bit of Honored Concubine Ling¡¯s ginseng soup. It¡¯ll be replenishing. The bone broth that Mistress Jin recently brought over is too oily. I had it sent away for you. As for Mistress Muxu¡¯s congee, the kitchen servants can prepare a bowl of it for dinner. There¡¯s no need for hers.¡±

    After listening to Wen Wan list out all of the food items, Marquis Moyu didn¡¯t hear her mention Nie Sangyu¡¯s name. He slightly raised his eyebrows and asked, ¡°Was there anything else?¡±

    Wen Wan asked, ¡°Do you not like any of them? How about I go make soup for you then?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan lowered his gaze. ¡°I¡¯ll just drink the chicken soup then. You don¡¯t need to work so hard.¡±

    In the end, Wen Wan was a person that had lived a wealthy lifestyle before, so she could be quite picky about things. She left right after saying, ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go fetch your bowl. The bowls they brought over are a bit crude.¡±

    Marquis Moyu nced at the table full of nourishing soups and asked Gui Bai, ¡°Where¡¯s Madam?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Gui Bai bowed and said, ¡°Madam is resting in Feiwan Couryard.¡±

    ¡°Does she not know that I¡¯m sick?¡± Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrows. No, that couldn¡¯t be possible. Even his mother hade over here to check up on him. There was no way that Nie Sangyu wouldn¡¯t know about this.

    Gui Bai considered his words before he said, ¡°Madam probably knows, but she might have thought it was unnecessary to send over more food since everyone else had already sent over something.¡±

    Unnecessary? Based on what he knew of her personality, she should at leaste over here to see him, right? Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression sunk.

    However, after thinking about it more, he came to the conclusion that he had indeed done something wrongst night. He should have waited for the New Year with her instead of with Wen Wan. Perhaps, she was just acting rashly because she felt wronged.

    No need to worry. Once she stopped feeling angry, she woulde over toplete the rest of the rituals for New Year.

    Ning Yuxuan continued to lie in bed to recuperate.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man had decided to go out in the afternoon. By chance, Ning Mingjie and Steward Qian were also going out at the same time and she met them at the residence¡¯s entrance. They decided to leave together as a group. She had Gancao following after her and Ning Mingjie had his personal servant, Changshan, following after him. This could be considered avoiding doing something that would invite gossip.

    After taking a carriage to the main streets, Ji Man chose a less busy street to slowly stroll around with Gancao. It would be good to walk around more for her pregnancy. Ning Mingjie and Steward Qian went to another street to make their purchases. They agreed that they would meet at Yongning Street¡¯s corner in two hours.

    As Ji Man looked at the trinkets being offered for sale as she walked down the street, someone bumped into her when she wasn¡¯t paying attention.

    Gancao hurriedly went forward to protect her and scold that person, ¡°Are you blind? Why didn¡¯t you use your eyes?¡±

    The honest-looking farmer hurriedly bowed and apologized, ¡°Madam, forgive this small one. This small one is lost and didn¡¯t notice you.¡±

    Seeing that his attitude was very good, Gancao¡¯s anger cooled. While supporting Nie Sangyu, she said, ¡°If you¡¯re lost, then go the corner of the street to ask for directions. Don¡¯t randomly bump into people.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± The man nodded, then he turned around and headed to the street corner.

    Ji Man saw him being shooed out of a fruit shop that was at the street corner and dejectedly walking back to them.

    He asked them, ¡°Would you mind telling this small one how to get to Songling Temple?¡±

    Seeing that he looked quite pitiful, Gancao pursed her lips and said to Nie Sangyu, ¡°Madam, go to that nearby tea house. This servant will go to point out directions for him.¡±

    Ji Man frowned. She looked at that man and said, ¡°There¡¯s so many other people on this street. Why did you walk back such a long street just to ask us for directions?

    The man scratched his head. ¡°The two of you looked familiar. When this small one asked other people, they ignored this small one...¡±

    It was true that the people in the capital weren¡¯t very friendly sometimes. Ji Man nced at him again before nodding and saying, ¡°Gancao, go with him to the street corner to point out directions. Come right back afterwards.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Gancao nodded, and then she turned around and said to that man, ¡°Follow me.¡±

    The man hurriedly nodded and bowed to them. He gratefully followed after Gancao.

    The end of this street was an intersection. Other than that fruit shop, there weren¡¯t any other stores. And so, there weren¡¯t many people at the end of the street.

    Ji Man went up the teahouse and picked a seat by the window to sit down on the second floor. From here, she watched as Gancao led the man to the corner of the street and pointed in the direction he would have to go as she told him the instructions. The man wrung his hands for a while. It seemed as if he wasn¡¯t sure about where to go yet and wanted Gancao to lead him further.

    No, there was something off about this.

    Ji Man hurriedly descended the stairs and shouted from a distance, ¡°Gancao!¡±

    The streets were full of people and the crowd naturally drowned out her voice. Ji Man sprinted towards the end of the street.

    Gancao stamped her feet. She seemed as if she was considering his request bothersome, but she wasn¡¯t a match for the man¡¯s repeated pleading. And so, she actually continued walking further away to guide him.

    The street after the intersection had even less people! Ji Man clutched her stomach as she rushed after them.

 Chapter 181 - A bowl of medicine (2)

    Chapter 181 ¨C A bowl of medicine (2)

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man pursed her lips, rubbed the spot between her eyebrows, and mockingly smiled. ¡°My lord, this servant of yours has an attitude that¡¯s more overbearing than me, your main wife.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan also felt that Wen Wan¡¯s behavior was slightly inappropriate. However, he didn¡¯t remark on it. Looking at Nie Sangyu¡¯s slightly pale face, ¡°You really do look a bit unwell today. It¡¯s not a big deal if someonees over to check your medicine.¡±

    But, what if the doctor noticed that this medicine was for pregnant women? How could she exin it away then? Say that another doctor had given her the wrong prescription? Ji Man felt extremely panicky. She hadn¡¯t found the opportune time to announce her pregnancy yet. What would happen if Marquis Moyu found out about it now?

    Tightly clutching the bed sheet, Ji Man took a deep breath, did her best to calm herself down, and quickly tried to think of a countermeasure for dealing with this situation.

    Wen Wan¡¯s speed was certainly quick enough. It had only taken her a short period of time to bring back Doctor Liu. She pointed at the bowl of medicine and told him to examine it.

    Ji Man had already prepared herself for admitting that she was pregnant. At worst, she would just have to be more guarded against Marquis Moyu in the future. Anyways, once the truth was revealed, she would still have Old Madame to protect her. There was no reason for her to be so scared.

    However, after Doctor Liu looked at the medicine for a while as well as tasted it, he surprisingly said, ¡°This is indeed the medicine for making menstruation cycles more regr. One of the ingredients in here, saffron, is especially good for treating this type of problem.

    Wen Wan and Ji Man frowned at the same time.

    Wen Wan frowned because she had thought there was something strange about Nie Sangyu¡¯s behavior today, which was why she had rushed to bring a doctor over here to look. Thus, she was very surprised to hear that it really was medicine for menstruation.

    As for Ji Man, she was looking at Dengxin. Dengxin didn¡¯t show any reaction when she heard the doctor¡¯s words. She hadn¡¯t known what this medicine was for to begin with. She even felt somewhat enlightened. So, Madam had asked Doctor Li to give her a prescription for menstruation medicine. No wonder, Madam hadn¡¯t let her stay to listen to their conversation. This really was a private matter.

    While checking Dengxin¡¯s expression, Ji Man felt shocked and scared. She had asked for medicine that would help stabilizing her pregnancy. How could this medicine contain saffron?! Fortunately, she hadn¡¯t drunk the medicine earlier. Otherwise, would the baby in this body still be alive?

    However, Dengxin¡¯s confused expression made Ji Man feel bad about suspecting her. Doctor Li had definitely given the medicine to her. So, did Doctor Li want to harm her, or had the packet of medicine between reced by someone at some point?

    Ji Man¡¯s expression became worse.

    Marquis Moyu actually didn¡¯t think too much about her peculiar behavior. He waved his hand and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re not feeling well, then drink more medicine to nourish your body. I¡¯ll have Steward Qian send over some nourishing herbs to youter. Look at this medicine, it doesn¡¯t even have any remnants of ginseng.¡±

    Ji Man just nkly nodded.

    Marquis Moyu continued to stay in the room for a bit. He cast a nce at the peony painting on the wall, and his mood seemed to have improved slightly. After saying that he needed people to take care of him since he was sick, he took Wen Wan and Tanxiang with him as he left.

    Looking at the new servants in Feiwan Courtyard as she walked out, Wen Wan finally noticed that the servant girls that she was familiar with had all disappeared.

    To her surprise, Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t react to this change at all. He only uninterestedly said, ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for new servant girls to attend to you tomorrow. Just like that, he considered the matter ended.

    Wen Wen felt incredulous. It seemed that Ning Yuxuan had also changed quite a bit without her noticing.

    ¡ª

    That night, Ning Mingjie finally brought Gancao back. Ji Man and Denginx were both overjoyed at the unexpected good news. They tugged Gancao this way and that way to check that she was okay.

    Although Gancao had lingering fears after the trauma she experienced, she still very gratefully kowtowed to Ning Mingjie. ¡°Many thanks, Young Master.¡±

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t resist pulling Gancao over to ask, ¡°Where did they bring you after you were kidnapped?¡±

    With reddened eyes, Gancao said, ¡°An underground warehouse. It wasn¡¯t far from that intersection. When this servant was brought there, this servant thought all hope was lost. This servant didn¡¯t expect that Young Master would suddenly appear...¡±

    When she thought of that memory of him as he kicked open the doors like a god descending from the Heavens and rescuing the group of women and children, Gancao couldn¡¯t stop herself from blushing. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Young Master.¡±

    Sitting at the side, Ning Mingjie said, ¡°Madam, I need to express my thanks to you. If you hadn¡¯t remembered the course of events so clearly, Mingjie wouldn¡¯t have had the idea of having someone pretend to be a woman to lure those criminals into a trap.¡±

    Ji Man repeatedly shook her head. ¡°I only provided a few clues. It was Young Master that solved the case. You¡¯re the one that deserves the credit. You saved Gancao and brought her back. Sangyu really doesn¡¯t know how to return this favor...¡± As she said this, she turned around, took out a piece of jade that the emperor had bestowed to her during the Southern Trip, wrapped a handkerchief around it, and gave it to him. ¡°This is merely a token of my gratitude. Young Master, please ept it.¡±

    Ning Mingjie shook his head. ¡°This was just part of my job. You don¡¯t need to give me such a grand gift.¡±

    ¡°No matter what, Gancao is more valuable than a piece of a jade,¡± Ji Man said, ¡°Just ept my gift.¡±

    Ning Mingjie looked at the gift, then he stretched his hand out and took the handkerchief she had used to wrap the jade. ¡°This is enough. Madam, keep the jade. It¡¯ll be the same if you give the jade to Miss Gancao in the future as her dowry.¡±

 Chapter 185 - The Peony and the Beautiful Man (2)

    Chapter 185 ¨C The Peony and the Beautiful Man (2)

    Wen Wan had fled to the garden to cry. She had been here for a while, but Ning Yuxuan still hadn¡¯te here to console her. Not only that, she overheard from passing servant girls that everyone had gone to the main courtyard to celebrate Madam¡¯s pregnancy.

    How could she not feel bad about this? The position of Ning Yuxuan¡¯s main wife had originally been hers, and she had been the pregnant one first. But, in the blink of an eye, she had lost everything. Nie Sangyu had left the path that would lead to her demise, and an opportunity had unexpectedly been given to her!

    At the thought of this, Wen Wan cried even more bitterly.

    The sound of her weeping attracted a passerby¡¯s attention.

    Ning Mingjie turned around and saw that it was Wen Wan. He raised his eyebrows and walked over to ask her what was wrong.

    Wen Wan looked up in surprise and saw Ning Mingjie¡¯s breathtaking face. Her heart jumped and her face turned slightly red. ¡°Young Master.¡±

    Ning Mingjie lightly asked, ¡°Howe you¡¯re crying here?¡±

    Previously, when they had been at Tonghua Poetry Association, Wen Wan would ask his help from time to time in shooing off a couple of young nobles that were acting too outrageously. Since she was Ning Yuxuan¡¯s wife, he hadn¡¯t refused her requests. Little by little, the two of them had be more familiar with each other. Ning Mingjie didn¡¯t dislike Wen Wan, but he didn¡¯t like her either. He just regarded her as his cousin¡¯s wife.

    @@novelbin@@

    However, his naturally seductive eyes had a negative aspect. No matter who he looked at, his gaze would look unintentionally too gentle and affectionate. As a result, Wen Wan had always thought Ning Mingjie had a small crush on her.

    Since ancient times, how many men didn¡¯t like weak and delicate women?

    And so, when she had been confined in the woodshed, she had used Ah Zi to send many messages to Ning Mingjie. For example, she would say that the other servants were bullying her, or that she had gotten a cold because the weather was too cold.

    Ning Mingjie had visited her a few times when he had been feeling bored. Seeing how pitiful she had looked, he even brought her a quilt. However, his work became busierter, and he no longer had time to pay attention to her various requests.

    During the holidays, when there had been that incident with women and children being kidnapped, he happened to see Wen Wan and asked her if she knew about the situation. However, Wen Wan hadn¡¯t known about anything, so he didn¡¯t ask any further questions. Now that he happened to meet her again, Ning Mingjie blurted out this question. But, as soon as he did, he felt somewhat regretful.

    Why had he asked her this question? It was none of his business.

    ¡°Young Master, have you not heard the news yet? Madam is pregnant. She¡¯s been pregnant for four months.¡± Wen Wan forced herself to smile, but there were still tears in her eyes. It gave off the impression of a delicate person trying her best to appear strong.

    Ning Mingjie nodded. ¡°I was just about to send someone to tell Errong. She¡¯ll probably be the happiest person when she hears this news.¡±

    Wen Wan ced her hands over her stomach, lowered her eyes, and said, ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> should also have her own child. Unfortunately, the gods are cruel...¡±

    ¡°You can just get pregnant again in the future. There¡¯s no need toe here to cry.¡± Ning Mingjie lightly smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡±

    Wen Wan, ¡°...¡±

    She had thought this person would at least say a couple offorting words. Then, she would have the opportunity to air out her grievances in response. Unexpectedly, Ning Mingjie had left right after saying those words.

    She pursed her lips. He was right. There really was no point in crying. She wiped her tears and went to look for Ning Yuxuan.

    ¡ª

    Ning Yuxuan returned to his study. Unfortunately for him, Nie Sangyu hade here with him too.

    Ji Man continued to act super clingy. She insisted on moving her chair next to Ning Yuxuan¡¯s, then she stared at him with loving eyes. Whenever Ning Yuxuan turned his head, she would wink at him. In addition, she would ask in a syrupy voice, ¡°My lord, do you want to drink or eat something?¡±

    In order to avoid hearing that voice that would give him goosebumps, Ning Yuxuan had been staring at the same piece of paper for almost half an hour.

    Wen Wan entered the room with reddened eyes. She had originally thought she coulde here to indulge herself in acting cutely spoiled until she felt better. However, as soon as she walked inside, she saw Nie Sangyu leaning against Marquis Moyu. Wen Wan heard Nie Sangyu say in a coquettish voice, ¡°My lord, if you¡¯re tired of reading, this servant can read it aloud for you.¡±

    This woman was truly being too shameless. She clearly knew that Yuxuan didn¡¯t like her. And yet, she used her pregnancy as an excuse to cling to him! Wen Wan couldn¡¯t contain her anger. She stepped forward and shouted, ¡°Yuxuan!¡±

    Since Marquis Moyu had taken her as his personal servant girlst month, she had already lost the attitude that a servant girl should have. She was even ustomed to addressing him by his name instead of by his title.

    Ji Man raised her eyebrows and showed a displeased expression. ¡°Miss Wan-<i>er</i>, have you forgotten your status after staying by the marquis¡¯s side for only a short period of time?¡±

    Feeling very disgruntled, Wen Wan said, ¡°How has Wan-<i>er</i> forgotten her status?¡±

    ¡°Can all of the servants in this household address the marquis by his name? If so, I¡¯ll order the rest of the servants to also address him like that in the future.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan frowned and lightly said, ¡°Don¡¯t say such nonsense.¡±

    ¡°How is it nonsense? Isn¡¯t this servant just amodating Miss Wan-<i>er</i>¡¯s behavior?¡± Ji Man asked with a smile. Every particle in Ji Man¡¯s body felt invigorated when she imagined a chorus of servant girls greeting Marquis Moyu with syrupy voices, ¡°Yuxuan, we wish you well.¡±

    Wen Wan bit her lips, lowered her head, and said, ¡°This servant is the one that acted improperly. The marquis is the marquis. This servant shouldn¡¯t have addressed him based on my previous status.¡±

    Ji Man felt somewhat disappointed that Wen Wan acknowledged her mistake so quickly. She twitched her lips and said, ¡°Miss Wan-<i>er</i>, you¡¯re very forgetful.¡±

    Wen Wan lowered her head more and stayed silent.

    Ji Man continued to smile and do things to nauseate the both of them for a while. Then, seeing that it wasn¡¯t early anymore, she finally mercifully said, ¡°This servant should go back to my courtyard to rest now.¡±

    Nie Sangyu was finally leaving! It was as if there were little firecrackers being set off in Wen Wan¡¯s heart in celebration.

    Marquis Moyu also sighed in relief.

    ¡°But...¡± Ji Man stood up and seriously looked at Wen Wan. ¡°My courtyard iscking servants. Life is definitely bound to be more inconvenient as a pregnant person. Miss Wan-<i>er</i>, return to Feiwan Courtyard with me.¡±

 Chapter 188 - Stricken with smallpox (1)

    Chapter 188 ¨C Stricken with smallpox (1)

    Ji Manzily stretched before getting out of bed. With an unhappy expression, Tanxiang begrudgingly came forward and helped her put on her robes and get ready for the day.

    Recently, Wen Wan and her servant had be considerably more obedient, so Ji Man didn¡¯t need to spend too much energy worrying about these two. The other women in the harem were attentively adhering to the gradation of etiquette in ordance to their social status, so they wouldn¡¯t bother her for petty reasons. In addition, she hadn¡¯t even seen Marquis Moyu¡¯s shadowtely. Thus, her lifestyle was quite rxed for a period for time.

    ¡ª

    Errong was free today, so she came over to visit her. However, Errong¡¯splexion didn¡¯t look too good, and she kept coughing.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man held her hand and asked, ¡°Did you catch a cold?¡±

    Errong sniffled and said, ¡°I went to a temple that was outside of the capital to burn incense about half a month ago. I don¡¯t know why, but a few days after I returned home, I started feeling unwell. It¡¯s been a several days, but I still haven¡¯t gotten any better. Even after a doctor checked me, he couldn¡¯t tell me why I was feeling unwell. He told me to just stay at home to recuperate. If I wasn¡¯t feeling so worried about you and your pregnancy, Qingyun wouldn¡¯t have let me leave the residence.¡±

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    Ji Man looked at her face. Herplexion didn¡¯t look healthy and her cheeks were flushed. Ji Man checked Errong¡¯s temperature by touching her forehead. One moment, it felt feverish, but the next second, it felt cold.

    Worried, Ji Man said, ¡°I happen to have an imperial physician staying here. Let¡¯s have him check you too. There have been a lot of servant girls getting sick in the residencetely. They¡¯ve all been sent out of the residence by Old Madame.¡±

    The imperial physician, whom Imperial Noble Consort Nie had previously sent over, had been watching after her daily activities and food. It wouldn¡¯t be inconvenient for him toe over and examine Errong. Errong agreed.

    However, after the imperial physician came over, he used every type of diagnostic to check Errong and took over an hour with his examination. In the end, his expression was solemn as he said, ¡°Madam Ning, please go outside first. Don¡¯t stay so close. Have the servants bring some warm water over and wash your hands.¡±

    Ji Man felt something was wrong. Why did it seem as if Errong had a contagious illness?

    It was better to be careful. After she followed the doctor¡¯s orders and washed her hands, she went back to her room to wait.

    After the imperial physician was done with his examination, he didn¡¯t immediately go to Nie Sangyu¡¯s room to tell her about Errong¡¯s condition. Instead, he ordered the servants to inform Old Madame first. After that, it only took a brief period of time for anxiety to spread throughout the entire household.

    Ning Errong had smallpox.

    Recently, many people had gotten smallpox outside of the capital. At first, no one had noticed. Later, as the number of people dying gradually increased, it finally caught the attention of the local authorities. Imperial Physician Lin had treated smallpox before, so he was able to see that Errong had smallpox even though the average doctors wouldn¡¯t be able to correctly diagnose her illness.

    In this era, smallpox was the equivalent of a chronic disease that eventually killed its host. It left people feeling petrified at the mere mention of it. However, Errong was clearly only at the initial stage of smallpox and didn¡¯t have any obvious symptoms.

    ¡ª

    With a solemn expression, Imperial Physician Lin said, ¡°This illness is contagious. People that have contact with her will be susceptible to getting sick themselves. Recently, there have been servants that have also gotten smallpox. Fortunately, Old Madame, you¡¯re very wise and sent them out of the residence. As for Madame Nie, it¡¯ll be best to have people quickly send her back to Nie Residence. Don¡¯t let her have any contact with other people, just leave two servant girls by her side to serve her. Request for another imperial physician to go to Nie Residence to treat her illness.¡±

    Old Madame was very anxious. She hurriedly asked, ¡°Sangyu had contact with Errong. Will she have caught the smallpox from her?¡±

    Imperial Physician Lin said, ¡°Madam hadn¡¯t been in contact with Madam Nie for long. We¡¯ll have to wait and see. This old one will stay in Feiwan Courtyard and continue to check up on Madam. If she doesn¡¯t show any smallpox symptoms after ten days, then it¡¯ll be considered as having avoided a disaster.¡±

    The room became very silent. Ji Man was sitting at the side. Nearby, Qi Siling and Jinse both instinctively took a few steps away from her.

    Ji Man twitched her lips. This really was an unepted cmity that had dropped from the heavens. Everything had been going perfectly well, but now smallpox had appeared.

    In her previous life, smallpox had already been eradicated. As for whether Nie Sangyu had caught smallpox before and developed immunity, she didn¡¯t know.

    Old Madame sighed and had servants escort Nie Sangyu back to Feiwan Courtyard.

    Imperial Physician Lin prepared disinfectant water and had Wen Wan and Tanxiang clean Feiwan Courtyard with it. After that, they could only wait and see if Nie Sangyu would show any symptoms after ten days.

    ¡ª

    Wen Wan lightly smiled and asked, ¡°Imperial Physician, what do people with smallpox look like?¡±

    With a stern expression, Imperial Physician Lin said, ¡°The symptoms are fluctuating temperatures, nausea, vomiting, insomnia, as well as red dots. Madam is pregnant right now, so smallpox is especially dangerous for her. A moment of inattention might lead to her miscarrying. It¡¯s even possible that she might lose her life as well.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Wen Wan¡¯s eyes showed her smiling intent.

    Imperial Physician nced at her, and Wen Wan thought that her tone shouldn¡¯t sound too happy. She hurriedly lowered her eyes and said, ¡°This servant will be careful.¡±

    ¡ª

    That night, when Ning Yuxuan returned home and heard about the smallpox matter, he washed himself with disinfectant water, changed his clothes, and went to Feiwan Courtyard.

    Wen Wan walked forward and hurriedly stopped him. ¡°My lord, the imperial physician said that Madam might have smallpox. It¡¯s better if you don¡¯t go inside.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan slightly pursed his lips, leaned against the entrance as he looked at Wen Wan, and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t she still okay right now? It¡¯s not like she¡¯ll definitely catch smallpox.¡±

    ¡°Still, it¡¯s not necessary for my lord to take this risk just to see Madam, right?¡± Wen Wan¡¯s expression sunk. ¡°If you have something you want to say to her, can¡¯t I just tell her for you?¡±

    Marquis Moyu chuckled. ¡°Why are you looking so stern? I just happened to be walking in this direction, so I came by to see her. If I can¡¯t see her, then I¡¯ll just leave.¡±

    Wen Wan hurriedly stopped him again. ¡°My lord, I haven¡¯t seen you in a while. I have so many things that I want to say to you. Why do you keep avoiding me?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan paused his footstep. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking things. There¡¯s been an outbreak of smallpox in the pce too, so I¡¯ve been busier. Once it¡¯s less busy, let¡¯s talk then.¡±

    Unsatisfied, Wen Wan bit her lip. But, she could only let go of Ning Yuxuan¡¯s arm and watch as he strode away.

 Chapter 191 - The marquis has become infected (2)

    Chapter 191 ¨C The marquis has be infected (2)

    In the middle of the night, Ning Yuxuan¡¯s restless movements awakened Ji Man. He seemed to be having a nightmare. He kept muttering iprehensible nonsense, as well as Wen Wan and Jinse¡¯s names.

    Ji Man rolled her eyes; even his dreams were filled with women. He really was a stallion.

    However, she felt surprised when she felt wetness around his eyes. Ji Man¡¯s eyes widened. She used amp that hadn¡¯t been extinguished yet to check. There really was liquid on her fingers.

    Was Ning Yuxuan really crying? Ji Man raised her eyebrows and used his clothes to wipe away the liquid on her fingers. Perhaps, he was dreaming that all of his beautiful women had left him, and he was feeling heartbroken.

    Her hand identally touched his face, and she noticed that it felt somewhat hot. Ji Man paused, then she touched his forehead.

    It really did feel a bit hot.

    Getting a fever at this point in time was very rming. Ji Man hurriedly put on her outer robes and went out to call the imperial physician.

    ¡ª

    In the middle of the night, Feiwan Courtyard became brightly lit. Imperial Physician Lin¡¯s expression was very ugly as he checked Marquis Moyu¡¯s pulse. In the end, he could only shake his head. ¡°The marquis has smallpox.¡±

    Everyone else in the room immediately and neatly retreated a step. Ji Man turned her head and looked at these women for a moment before asking the imperial physician, ¡°It¡¯s possible to treat smallpox, right?¡±

    ¡°The emperor has already ordered the imperial physicians to find a solution,¡± Imperial Physician Lin said, ¡°But they haven¡¯t figured out a cure yet. So, it¡¯ll better to iste the people with smallpox from everyone else.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    It definitely wouldn¡¯t be okay to send Marquis Moyu to that ry station. Ji Man gritted her teeth. It wouldn¡¯t be okay to wake Old Madame up in the middle of the night either. She could only look at the group of women behind her and say, ¡°This is an emergency. The marquis will be sent to the other estate. Who¡¯s willing to go there with him and care for him?¡±

    Jinse turned her head away. Muxu lowered her head and stayed silent. Qi Siling and Qian Lianxue yed dead. Surprisingly, it was Liu Hanyun, who rarely spoke, that raised her head and looked at Nie Sangyu.

    Ji Man fake smiled. ¡°All of you constantly say that you love the marquis and how you¡¯re always thinking about him. But now that something happened to him, you¡¯ve all be mutes.¡±

    None of these women were brave and willing to risk their own lives. Ji Man also knew that most people in ancient times weren¡¯t knowledgeable about smallpox. They thought that smallpox could be spread by a single touch. And so, most of these women didn¡¯t dared to step forward, much less follow Marquis Moyu to the other estate to care for him.

    ¡°Since it¡¯s like that, then I¡¯ll personally go to the other estate to take care of the marquis,¡± Ji Man lightly said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to bother someone to go out and have the servants prepare a carriage for us.¡±

    Qi Siling was the first one to make a sound of acknowledgement, then she rushed out of the room. The other people stayed silent. Liu Hanyun kept raising and lowering her head.

    At the end, when Guibai was carrying Marquis Moyu onto the carriage, Liu Hanyun finally stepped forward and quietly said, ¡°Hanyun is willing to leave with Madam.¡±

    Ji Man looked at her in surprise. Her eyes showed a true smile as she said, ¡°Alright.¡±

    After Liu Hanyun had packed up her stuff, she went into the carriage behind the main one and followed them to the other estate.

    There definitely wasn¡¯t a chance to receive favor by going to the other estate. Furthermore, a moment of carelessness might lead to her losing her life. So, why was Ji Man willing to take this risk? It wasn¡¯t because Marquis Moyu looked so beautiful that she couldn¡¯t bear to leave him. It was entirely for her benefit.

    Think about it, as long as she took the proper protective measures, there was no way that she would get infected with smallpox. Moreover, Ning Yuxuan was definitely the type of person that would clearly remember past gratitude and grudges. In the future, he might be willing to spare her life at a crucial point because of her current decision.

    Her little abacus was calcting the pros and cons of this decision. Although there was risk, high risk came with the potential for high reward.

    However, Ji Man couldn¡¯t figure out why Liu Hanyun had volunteered toe along. Liu Hanyun was Liu <i>Mama</i>¡¯s adopted daughter. Ji Man had heard that Liu Hanyun had saved the marquis¡¯s life several years ago and was promoted to a concubine. In the past several years, she hadn¡¯t been excessively favored or neglected. Compared to other concubines, she lived her life more like a servant than a concubine.

    Inside the main carriage, Ji Man had put on a veil and Marquis Moyu¡¯s head was resting on herp. She couldn¡¯t resist sighing. ¡°You¡¯re so lucky. You met a person that truly loves you.¡±

    Other than genuine love, she really couldn¡¯t think of another reason why Liu Hanyun would be willing to follow after him.

    Ning Yuxuan slightly opened his eyes, then he slowly closed them again. He seemed bothered by the slightly bumpy ride and leaned closer to Nie Sangyu¡¯s body.

    ¡ª

    Wen Wan¡¯s wish had finallye true. Marquis Moyu hade to the other estate. However, after she rushed outside, she hesitated in walking forward when she saw that Guibai was carrying the marquis on his back. Seeing that Nie Sangyu and Liu Hanyun had alsoe, she looked even more confused. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the marquis?¡±

    Ji Man faintly smiled. ¡°It¡¯s already been confirmed that he has smallpox. It¡¯s very serious, so he has to be isted from everyone else. I made the decision toe here with him.¡±

    Wen Wan¡¯s reaction was simr to the other women. She instinctively retreated a few steps. However, seeing how close Nie Sangyu was standing to Ning Yuxuan, she felt somewhat suspicious. ¡°Since it¡¯s so serous, why is Madam here?¡±

    Ji Man smiled and said, ¡°Even if I have to give up my life, I want to be with the marquis. Miss Wan-<i>er</i>, aren¡¯t you also deeply in love with the marquis? Let¡¯s die together with the marquis then.¡±

    There was horror in Wen Wan¡¯s eyes, but she didn¡¯t know what to say. It was true that she loved Ning Yuxuan, but... there were already so many people taking care of him. There was no need for her to help out too, right? What if she got smallpox too? Yuxuan would definitely feel upset if that were to happen.

    With these thoughts in mind, she took a step back.

    (T/N: I posted a spoileryment about Liu Hanyun and Ji Man¡¯s assumption that Liu Hanyun is genuinely in love with Ning Yuxuan below.)

 Chapter 194 - The shifting of power in the midst of smallpox (1)

    Chapter 194 ¨C The shifting of power in the midst of smallpox (1)

    When Ji Man heard this question, she really wanted to say that Mu Shuiqing was too foolish and na?ve. Marquis Moyu was the grand male lead. How could he possibly die from something as minor as smallpox? No matter how she looked at it, this would be impossible.

    However, she had to provide a response that would be understandable to the ignorant masses. Moreover, she had to blend in with the people that were feeling nervous about Marquis Moyu¡¯s illness. And so, with tears in her eyes, she unflinchingly said, ¡°If the marquis dies, then I¡¯ll apany him into the eternal rest.¡±

    Stunned, Mu Shuqing could only stare at her.

    Behind them, someone quietly closed the door that had been slightly cracked open.

    Who didn¡¯t know how to say catchy phrases? Hadn¡¯t Wen Wan been the loudest one in proiming her love for Marquis Moyu? Ji Man gently hit her legs that felt somewhat sore. She decided to go back to the neighboring courtyard to rest.

    If Marquis Moyu really kicked the bucket this time, she would go look for Nie Sangyu and ask her if she would let her off and allow her to return to the modern world.

    Her stomach felt somewhat ufortable, so Ji Man went to Imperial Physician Lin to check her over. She was probably just too tiredtely.

    After he prepared a bowl of medicine for her, he implored her once again, ¡°Madam, you can¡¯t overwork yourself. It¡¯s bad for your pregnancy.¡±

    She didn¡¯t want to overwork herself either, ah. However, she didn¡¯t have a god-like male lead to protect her or a god-like secondary male character to help her. In order to deal with that group of women that wanted to bite her, how could she not be overworked?

    Since she had been given the rare opportunity to leave the main estate, Ji Man decided that she would use this time to work on her improving her health. After all, if something happened, she could at least leave behind a baby for Nie Sangyu, right?

    ¡ª

    After Wen Wan calmed herself down over the course of a few days, she decided that her behavior had been inappropriate. And so, she gritted her teeth as she stepped outside into the rain and stood there for a night. By the next morning, when she visited Marquis Moyu, she looked quite sickly.

    Leaning against the bedside, Ning Yuxuan looked at Wen Wan, who was five steps away from him. He weakly smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re finally willing toe see me.¡±

    Wen Wan replied in an equally weak-sounding voice, ¡°I came herete. Do you me me?¡±

    Ji Man felt that these two people could totally be dropped into a snowy mountain scene. Then, after dabbing some tomato sauce onto them for fake blood and putting them on separate sides, they would both stretch their hands out to each other while clinging onto the mountain.

    A weak voice would call out, ¡°Yuxuan!¡±

    An even weaker voice would say, ¡°Wan-<i>er</i>!¡±

    When their hands were only a few inches apart, they would waste time saying some nonsense. There would be another stter of tomato sauce. Then, the only things left behind would be a beautiful, snowy backdrop and poignant music.

    Season finale!

    @@novelbin@@

    Standing at the side and hugging her arms, Ji Man was cracking herself up with these thoughts. While she was gleefully imaging this scene, Marquis Moyu interrupted her in a low voice, ¡°Sangyu.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Ji Man returned to her senses and noticed that female lead had already sat down. Wen Wan was coughing and gasping for breath. How very pitiful.

    The male lead only watched the female lead. It was difficult to decipher what he was feeling.

    Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°Bring over the imperial physician for Wan-<i>er</i>.¡±

    Of course, he was treating her as his errand girl. Ji Man twitched her lips and silently left to do his bidding.

    It was easy to guess that Wen Wan hade here to win herself some pity. She would definitely excuse her recent behavior by saying she had been too sicktely, so she hadn¡¯t been able to visit the marquis. Perhaps, Wen Wan would even try to nder her by saying that he shouldn¡¯t believe in other people¡¯s false usations.

    However, there was only one doctor in this estate, Imperial Physician Lin. Who was Imperial Physician Lin? He was the imperial noble consort¡¯s confidant. And, who was the imperial noble consort? She was Nie Sangyu¡¯s aunt. Ji Man merely had to tell Imperial Physician Lin what she wanted him to say.

    He followed her back to the main room. After checking Wen Wan¡¯s pulse, he said, ¡°This miss just has a slight cold. It was rainingst night. She probably forgot to close her windowst night and caught her cold that way. It¡¯s no big deal. She¡¯ll be fine after resting for a bit.¡±

    Marquis Moyu asked, ¡°She doesn¡¯t need to drink any medicine?¡±

    Imperial Physician Lin smiled and said, ¡°Since it¡¯s not that serious, she naturally doesn¡¯t need any medicine. As long as she doesn¡¯t get soaked in the rain again and has a good night¡¯s sleep tonight, she¡¯ll be fully recovered by tomorrow.¡±

    Wen Wan¡¯s face changed colors. She coughed again and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already been sick for a couple of days. How can you say it¡¯s not serious?¡±

    Imperial Physician Lin¡¯s expression didn¡¯t look good. He nced at Marquis Moyu and somewhat hesitantly said, ¡°This old one has been a doctor for many years. The youngdy¡¯s sickness should be at the initial state. It definitely shouldn¡¯t have alreadysted for a couple of days. If you just rx your mind, your illnesses will disappear.¡±

    The implied meaning of his words was that she was pretending to be sick. Wen Wan¡¯s expression stiffened. She hatefully looked at the nearby Nie Sangyu.

    Marquis Moyu seemed a bit tired. Unwilling to pursue this matter further, he waved his hand and said, ¡°Since it¡¯s like that, Wan-<i>er</i>, you should leave and go rest.¡±

    Wen Wan stood up. She really wanted to leave, but it seemed that she hadn¡¯t gotten any benefit out of this visit. It felt as if she had only shot herself in the foot by pretending to be sick. She showed a slightly unwilling expression and said to Ning Yuxuan, ¡°My lord, Wan-<i>er</i> still wants to stay here to take care of you.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Ji Man firmly nodded. ¡°You can take a turn with taking care of the marquis tonight. The marquis will cough and be feverish at night. There¡¯s a jar of wine by him. Wipe his body down with wine to help him cool down. You just need to be careful. Don¡¯t directly touch the marquis¡¯s body. Wrap a handkerchief around your hand before touching him.¡±

    Wen Wan¡¯s face turned red, then it turned white. She hadn¡¯t expected that Nie Sangyu would really allow her to stay. It would only take a moment of carelessness to identally touch his body while wiping him down. What if she ended up getting infected with smallpox?

    Seeing Wen Wan¡¯s desire to retreat, Ji Man was very happy. She patted Wen Wan¡¯s shoulder as if she was handing over a heavy duty to her. Then, she turned around left the room.

    Wen Wan stood in the room. Behind her, she could feel Ning Yuxuan¡¯s burning gaze. She didn¡¯t have any way of retreating, and she didn¡¯t want to get any closer. She could only tightly clutch her handkerchief.

    T/N: Sorry for thete chapter parts! I¡¯ll make up Sunday and Monday¡¯s part on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

 Chapter 196 - Donâ€™t you dare hurt my baby! (1)

    Chapter 196 ¨C Don¡¯t you dare hurt my baby! (1)

    Wow, he even said that he really miss him. Ji Man twitched her lips; she really wanted to ask, ¡°Your Highness, are you gay?¡±

    However, the crown prince was no longer showing his usualzy smile, and his joking demeanor had disappeared. His imperial crown was shing with a golden radiance. His sharp eyes seemed to be aggressively saying that the world was within his grasp.

    It appeared that he had be angered by the recent shifts in power. Was the cobra-like crown prince finally about to face his opponent head-on?

    Ji Man straightened her posture, sighed, and said, ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re the heir to the crown. If you end up getting sick because of Yuxuan, then all of lives in Marquis Moyu¡¯s household won¡¯t be enough topensate the nation. Yuxuan was still feverishst night, and he¡¯s not very clear-headed right now. Your Highness, if you insist on seeing him, how stopping at the doorway and talking to him from there? This servant will have Guibai put down the bed curtains.¡±

    Zhao Zhe stared at her, then he suddenly stroked her cheek with the back of his hand and started to move his hand down to touch her belly.

    Guibai and Liu Hanyun were still standing nearby them, but this person dared to overstep propriety in front of witnesses.

    Ji Man¡¯s expression immediately sunk. She took a step back to avoid his touch and coldly said, ¡°Your Highness, please conduct yourself with dignity.¡±

    Zhao Zhe chuckled, but his eyes were icy as he looked at her. He took a step closer, lowered his head, and whispered into her ear, ¡°You¡¯ve be a scourge after all. That time at the river, I shouldn¡¯t have been weak-hearted.¡±

    Remembering the icy river that had chilled her the bones, Ji Man¡¯s face paled. She clenched her fist and met his eyes as she said, ¡°Your Highness, thank you for your benevolence back then. Sangyu remembers that moment from the bottom of my heart. You have Sangyu¡¯s undying gratitude.¡±

    ¡°Haha,¡± The crown prince raised his head and turns his gaze towards Marquis Moyu¡¯s room. ¡°Yuxuan had been able to temporarily hide, but he can¡¯t hide forever. As a woman, you should just stay out of this.¡±

    After saying this, he went around Nie Sangyu and pushed open the doors.

    Ji Man could only follow after him.

    Marquis Moyu was lying in bed. His handsome face was covered in red dots, and his overly flushed cheeks gave off the impression that he really was feverish to the point of being muddle-headed.

    The crown prince nced at him, then he looked at the nearby Imperial Physician Lin and said, ¡°This prince¡¯s imperial physician has recently figured out a treatment method for curing smallpox. He came with this prince, and he¡¯s right outside. Imperial Physician Lin, you can go andpare notes with him.¡±

    As soon as he heard these words, Imperial Physician Lin¡¯s eyes brightened, and he left the room right away. He didn¡¯t notice Nie Sangyu¡¯s meaningful nce at all.

    Looking at the two women, Zhao Zhe said, ¡°Please bring me some tea.¡± He clearly wanted everyone to leave the room.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t leave and sent Liu Hanyun to get the tea by herself.

    Guibai was also standing by the bedside. He wrung a wet handkerchief and ced it on Maquis Moyu¡¯s forehead.

    The crown prince chuckled and said, ¡°Smallpox is something that¡¯s easy to get and goes away just as easily. If someone uses the same trick as me, there¡¯s no one way that person can fool me. Yuxuan, you¡¯re a clever person. I hope to see you recovering from your smallpox in a few days.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan continued to remain unconscious and seemed as if he hadn¡¯t heard the crown prince¡¯s words.

    Zhao Zhao chuckled again, then he turned his head and looked at Nie Sangyu. ¡°Madam, since you¡¯re not willing to leave to fetch tea, thene out with me into the courtyard to talk for a bit.¡±

    Ji Man didn¡¯t want to leave the room with this lunatic. He had almost killed herst time. No matter what, she didn¡¯t want to be alone with him.

    However, Marquis Moyu was currently unconscious, and there was no one else in the room that had the power to refuse the crown prince. Even if the crown prince decided to drag her out of the room by her arm, Guibai wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him.

    The crown prince walked out of the main courtyard and continued walking until they reached Wen Wan¡¯s courtyard. He seemed extremely familiar with Marquis Moyu¡¯s other estate.

    Tanxiang didn¡¯t look surprised to see them. She closed the doors shut and locked them inside.

    Wen Wan, who had recently fainted yesterday, was standing in the courtyard and looking very spirited. She saluted the crown prince and said, ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> greets His Highness.¡±

    Zhao Zhe superficially smiled at Wen Wan and said, ¡°Miss Wen, you used to be the marquis¡¯s main wife, and you were even pregnant with the marquis¡¯s baby. Now, you¡¯ve fallen down to only being a servant. Do you ept this fate?¡±

    Wen Wan smiled as she looked at Nie Sangyu, ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> naturally isn¡¯t satisfied with this.¡±

    Ji Man frowned. These two people seemed to be working together. What were they nning? While she knew that Wen Wan had been colluding with the crown princess consort, she was surprised to see that Wen Wan was looking at the crown prince as if she was his loyal servant. She seemed one step away from wagging her tail.

    Ji Man felt somewhat oppressed by the atmosphere. She straightened her shoulders, looked at them both, and said, ¡°Your Highness, if you want to visit Wan-<i>er</i> to reminisce, then Sangyu won¡¯t bother you. Sangyu will leave first.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    When she turned around, the crown prince¡¯s personal servant, Taxue, blocked her way.

    Ji Man¡¯s heart felt as if it was hanging over an abyss, but she continued to smile. ¡°What are you doing? Is Sangyu not allowed to leave?¡±

    Zhao Zhao sat down on one of the stone stools. He lightlyughed and said, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t want to reminisce. I want toin. Madam, are you willing to listen?¡±

    Did it matter if she was willing or not? With Taxue in front of her, there might as well be a mountain blocking her escape route. Right now, Ji Man was regretting that she had given Gancao and Dengxin such a long vacation. She should have told them toe back sooner. If she had done that, she wouldn¡¯t be so isted and without anyone to help her right now.

    She helplessly turned around and faced the crown prince again. Ji Man instinctively ced her hand protectively over her belly. Her eyes were full of vignce.

 Chapter 199 - The rule that the female lead canâ€™t be killed (2)

    Chapter 199 ¨C The rule that the female lead can¡¯t be killed (2)

    Wen Wan saw Nie Sangyu from her peripheral vision and immediately put down the bowl that she had been holding. ¡°Madam is here? Then, Wan-<i>er</i> will leave first. Madam, you can stay here to serve the marquis.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s the best if you can attend to the marquis. This way, I can give myself a vacation and go back to have a good rest.¡±

    Marquis Moyu also gently grabbed Wen Wan¡¯s hand and said, ¡°You¡¯ve only been here for a short period. Why are you leaving so soon?¡±

    Look at them, holding their hands. If Ning Yuxuan had tried to hold Wen Wan¡¯s hand yesterday, she would have definitely flung it away and jumped out of her seat. She cherished her life too much and wanted to keep a distance from someone infected with smallpox.

    But now, Wen Wan only smiled and let him pull her back down to a sitting position. In an utterly gentle voice used to coax children, she said, ¡°Alright, Wan-<i>er</i> won¡¯t leave. My lord, you have to be good and drink the rest of the medicine, okay?¡±

    Ji Man almost wanted to gag at this nauseating scene and decisively left the room.

    Guibai was standing outside by the doorway. Seeing Nie Sangyuing outside, he said, ¡°Imperial Physician Lin has already prepared pregnancy medicine. Madam, when you go back to your room, you should drink it before resting.¡±

    He had seen the struggle that Madam had gone through today. If it was any other women, she would have already suffered a miscarriage from today¡¯s traumatizing experience. It was fortunate that Madam was able to remainposed and shout out something to temporarily distract everyone. Otherwise, even if he had rushed inside, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to save her in time.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ji Man gratefully looked at him, then she followed his suggestion and went back to her room to drink the medicine.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man didn¡¯t know what Marquis Moyu had said to the crown prince, but the crown prince didn¡¯te back for a second visit. Instead, he sent over a considerable amount of medicinal supplements. As for Marquis Moyu¡¯s ¡°illness¡±, he really did quickly recover. The only major change was that he no longer wanted Nie Sangyu to attend to him. Instead, he kept Wen Wan by his side.

    The change in his feelings was so abrupt that the onlookers felt whished. Even someone like Liu Hanyun, who didn¡¯t pay attention to the affairs of life, noticed that Marquis Moyu was beginning to fake his feelings towards Wen Wan. How could other people not notice too?

    They werecking a reasonable exnation for why Marquis Moyu would fall back in love with Wen Wan. At the very least, there had to be a reason to show to the public.

    Very quickly, an opportunity came. Half a month after the crown prince¡¯s visit, Ning Yuxuan had fully recovered from his serous illness and was finally leaving the other estate. On the way back to his main estate, something went wrong.

    The matter was very simple. When Nie Sangyu, Ning Yuxuan, as well as other people were preparing to get into the carriages, several ck-robed people emerged from behind a corner of the courtyard.

    That¡¯s right, it was a group of men with their faces covered up with masks and dressed in ck like a murder of crows. They had their swords raised up and were rushing forward to greet the male lead.

    Ji Man moved far away to avoid them. When a scene like this happened, it definitely wasn¡¯t time for a secondary character to perform. Only two possible things can happen right now. One, the male lead would protect the female lead and get injured. Second, the female lead would protect the male lead and get injured.

    Under the current circumstances, it would definitely be thetter. Don¡¯t ask her why she would predict this. That¡¯s just how all novels were written.

    Wen Wan intentionally blocked a swipe of the sword for Ning Yuxuan and received an injury on her stomach. As if she was performing a brain-dead script, the deathly pale-faced female lead lied in the male lead¡¯s arms and asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    Rubbish. If there was something wrong with him, would he be able to hug you and look at you with a deeply affectionate gaze? After silently ridiculing Wen Wan, Ji Man was forced by the situation to rush over and look at Wen Wan in concern.

    ¡°How could you be so foolish?¡± Marquis Moyu appeared extremely distressed. He covered her stomach wound with his hand, but the blood continued to seep out.

    In a gossamer-like voice, Wen Wan replied, ¡°For you, any price is worth it. My lord, if Wan-<i>er</i> can¡¯t be with you in the future, then you have to find someone that loves you as much as Wan-<i>er</i>.¡± These words were so touching that even the nearby horses snorted.

    Naturally, Ning Yuxuan was even more iparably sorrowful. Hugging her, he quietly murmured, ¡°Wan-<i>er</i>.¡±

    ¡°My lord, Wan-<i>er</i>¡¯s wound needs to be bandaged.¡± Ji Man patted Marquis Moyu, who was immersed in his theatrical y. She calmly said, ¡°If you keep nattering on like this, she¡¯s going to die from blood loss.¡±

    Nearby, Imperial Physician Lin had already taken out his medicine box.

    Marquis Moyu hurriedly carried Wen Wan into the carriage.

    Ji Man naturally didn¡¯t want to squeeze herself into the same carriage as them. And so, she sat down in the carriage behind the main one, with Liu Hanyun and Mu Shuiqing.

    Ning Yuxuan had been the one the said Mu Shuiqing could return with them since she was no longer crazy. Ji Man didn¡¯t have any objections. Anyways, Wen Wan was the person that Mu Shuqing hated, not herself.

    It was a very bumpy carriage ride. By the time they reached Marquis Moyu¡¯s residence, Wen Wan had almost stopped breathing. Originally, it hadn¡¯t been a very serious injury. But, the jolting carriage ride had caused Wen Wan to lose practically half her life. Ji Man couldn¡¯t help thinking that a modern car was so much more dependable.

    As a result of Wen Wan¡¯s worsening condition, Ning Yuxuan was so anxious that he didn¡¯t even go to Old Madame¡¯s courtyard first. Instead, he carried Wen Wan back to Qiangwei Courtyard and had the imperial physician continue his treatment.

    The marquis had recovered from smallpox. Although there were still traces of red dots on his face, it didn¡¯t affect the attractiveness of his face at all. When Old Madame heard that Wen Wan had gotten injured in order to protect her son, she immediately rushed to Qiangwei Courtyard.

    ¡°Old Madame.¡± Ji Man stepped forward and lent an arm to support her. It had been a while since she saw Old Madame. She looked quite frailpared to before.

    Old Madame patted Nie Sangyu¡¯s hand. ¡°I was worried about you. It¡¯s good that you¡¯re okay. You worked hard. It must have been tiring for you to take care of Xuan-<i>er</i>.¡±

    ¡°Sangyu only did what I should.¡± Ji Man nodded and supported her into the courtyard.

    There was already a group of people in the outer room. Seeing Old Madameing inside, they all saluted. However, Marquis Moyu was in Wen Wan¡¯s inner room and unwilling to take even one step away from her bed.

    Sitting on the center seat, Old Madame sighed, ¡°Nothing bad happened to Xuan-<i>er</i>. It could be considered as Buddha protecting him.¡±

    Clutching her handkerchief, Qi Siling stepped forward and said, ¡°It¡¯s also thanks to Miss Wen being so courageous. She was willing to sacrifice her own life in order to protect the marquis.¡±

    Trantor Ramblings: When I read this story for the first time, I felt so confused about Ning Yuxuan¡¯s feelings in the following chapters because I somehow missed reading this part,

    ¡°The change in his feelings was so abrupt that the onlookers felt whished. Even someone like Liu Hanyun, who didn¡¯t pay attention to the affairs of life, noticed that Marquis Moyu was beginning to fake his feelings towards Wen Wan. How could other people not notice too?

    They werecking a reasonable exnation for why Marquis Moyu would fall back in love with Wen Wan. At the very least, there had to be a reason to show to the public.¡±

    P.S. Sorry, the day got away from me. I¡¯ll be posting Monday¡¯s chapter part on Saturday EST instead.

 Chapter 201 - Isnâ€™t suffering also a type of blessing, Madam? (2)

    Chapter 201 ¨C Isn¡¯t suffering also a type of blessing, Madam? (2)

    Chunpi had been bringing over Liu Hanyun¡¯s clothing to the back of the residence and was about to hand them over to theundress. But, then Qi Siling¡¯s personal servant, Banxia, came over. Banxia had been holding her mistress¡¯s cherry blossom silk dress and ordering theundress to be wash it first. The edges of the dress had gotten dirty.

    Chunpi had arrived here first, but Banxia had tantly cut in front of her. However, Chunpi¡¯s temperament was simr to her mistress. She didn¡¯t squabble orpete in anything. And yet, Banxia was determined to bully her. A moment of inattentiveness and Liu Hanyun¡¯s clothes ended up falling into theundry pool. Normally, this wouldn¡¯t be a big deal. However, Liu Hanyun¡¯s dress had recently been stained with arge patch of ink. Some of the ink dissolve into the water and stained the cherry blossom dress.

    Everyone knew how much Qi Siling treasured that dress. Banxia immediately left to report this matter to her mistress and me Chunpi. As usual, Liu Hanyun wasn¡¯t a mistress that wouldin about unfair treatment or being bullied. And so, Qi Siling vented her anger on this pushover by having Chunpi kneeling outside her courtyard and Liu Hanyun personally washing her dress.

    @@novelbin@@

    After hearing the entire story, Ji Man thought this matter wasn¡¯t a big deal. Wasn¡¯t it just a dress? Qi Siling had a higher status than Liu Hanyun. Although it wasn¡¯t very nice of her to order Liu Hanyun to wash the dress, it wasn¡¯t breaching any etiquette.

    Still, Ji Man hade to like Liu Hanyun a lot during their stay in the other estate. She had also said that she would help her once they returned to the main estate.

    And so, she continued walking to theundry area. When she got there, she saw Liu Hanyun with her sleeves tied up and washing the dress as if she was doing an ustomed chore.

    Ji Man called out, ¡°Hanyun.¡±

    The servants, that had been gathered around to watch Liu Hanyun, suffered a shock when they turned their heads and saw Nie Sangyu.

    One of them hastily took the dress from Liu Hanyun and said, ¡°Mistress Yun, Madam is here. You should go over there to talk to her. This servant can wash the dress.¡±

    Liu Hanyun turned her head, wiped her wet hands, and walked over. She looked at Nie Sangyu in confusion, ¡°Madam, why did youe here?¡±

    Ji Man reached out to hold her hands and noticed that they were icy-cold. She couldn¡¯t resist covering then up in her hands to warm them up. ¡°I just wanted to visit you and talk for a bit. I didn¡¯t expect that I would find you here.¡±

    Liu Hanyun nodded, nced at the dress in washing pool, and said, ¡°Madam, if there¡¯s something you want to say, let¡¯s go back to Shanshui Courtyard first.¡±

    On the way back, Liu Hanyun didn¡¯t say a single word about Qi Siling ordering her to wash her dress. She would only respond with a brief answer for every question that Ji Man asked her. It was like squeezing out toothpaste.

    With a cheerful smile, Ji Man asked, ¡°You¡¯ve also worked hard in the other estate to take care of the marquis. I¡¯m thinking of going over to Old Madame¡¯s courtyard and requesting her to promote you to the position of an honored concubine. What do you think of that idea?¡±

    Liu Hanyun slightly froze. She frowned and said, ¡°Hanyun came from a lowly background. Moreover, Hanyun hasn¡¯t given birth to any children.¡±

    ¡°There are very few people in this household that have a better heart than you,¡± Ji Man seriously said, ¡°The marquis is surrounded by women that have their own agendas. But, I¡¯ve been observing you for a long time. You truly love the marquis. That¡¯s a rare thing to see.¡±

    With her eyebrows slightly raised, Liu Hanyun looked at her with a smile that wasn¡¯t quite a smile. ¡°Madam, don¡¯t you also truly love the marquis?¡±

    Faced with her clear eyes, Ji Man felt slightly awkward, so she lowered her eyes and said, ¡°How can it be enough with just me?¡±

    Liu Hanyun considered her response for a moment, then she replied, ¡°Hanyun isn¡¯t good at scheming or speaking eloquently. The marquis has given Hanyun a small corner. It¡¯s safest here. If Hanyun moves to center, where the heart of the struggle exists, Hanyun¡¯s life might not be asfortable as it is now.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan had actually said these words to her? Ji Man felt slightly surprised. The person in front of her wasn¡¯t outstandingly beautiful, but Liu Hanyun reminded her of a poem.

    <i>At the corner of the wall, there are a few branches of plum blossoms,</i>

    <i>Facing the cold, they bloom alone,</i>

    <i>Even from a distance, the white blossoms can¡¯t be mistake for snow.</i>

    <i>Because their delicate fragrance will waft over.</i>

    Ji Man didn¡¯t know why she felt like sighing. She held Liu Hanyun¡¯s hand and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to have topete with other people either. But, I feel bad. She¡¯s taking advantage of your temperament and bullying you.¡±

    Liu Hanyun pursed her lips and looked down at her hands that were slightly calloused. ¡°Isn¡¯t suffering also a type of blessing, Madam?¡±

    Ji Man was stunned.

    She had originally thought that as a modern person and a reader of the original novel, she was already open-minded enough about her tribtions. However, Liu Hanyun was on a higher level than her.

    Ji Man wasn¡¯t a person that was willing to suffer hardships. Every time she suffered, she would remember all of it and pay it back in the same magnitude. But today, Liu Hanyun taught her that suffering was a blessing.

    After Ji Man returned to her courtyard, she contemted these words for a long time. In the end, she still went over to Old Madame¡¯s ce to discuss Liu Hanyun¡¯s position.

    No matter how much suffering was a blessing, Liu Hanyun was already living in the most remote courtyard in the estate and eating the same food as the servants. And now, Qi Siling was bullying her. Ji Man couldn¡¯t stand by and do nothing.

    Old Madame didn¡¯t have much of an impression towards Liu Hanyun. However, Liu Hanyun had been the only other woman that stepped forward to take care of her son when he had been infected with smallpox. And so, she didn¡¯t object to promoting Liu Hanyun to an honored concubine and letting Nie Sangyu make the arrangements.

    Ji Man moved Liu Hanyun to Linghan Courtyard. This courtyard was very close to the marquis¡¯s bedroom in the western courtyard. She also gave her the appropriate amount of new clothes and jewelry, as well as assigning her additional servants.

    Although Liu Hanyun felt somewhat reluctantly helpless about this change, she did feel slightly grateful to Nie Sangyu when she saw how happy Chunpi was. Chunpi¡¯s living standards had also improved along with her own.

    ¡ª

    However, after Marquis Moyu heard about this news, he didn¡¯t seem very happy. When he met Nie Sangyu on a path, he deeply looked at her and asked, ¡°Everything was fine as it was. Why are you dragging Liu Hanyun into this?¡±

    Ji Man slightly shook her head. ¡°This servant isn¡¯t trying to harm her. My lord, there¡¯s no need for you to worry.¡±

    In a harem, it was impossible for a woman to always remain content with her lot. Liu Hanyun would be a very good helper to her. If she didn¡¯t snatch her to her side today, there would definitely be someone that would use her against her in the future. So, why wouldn¡¯t she bring her to her side in advance and keep her forter use?

    Trantor Rambling: I really like Liu Hanyun. It¡¯s so rare to see a supporting female character that¡¯s very self-aware and content with her life. She doesn¡¯t just exist to make Ji Man look better inparison. She feels like a real person that¡¯s living her life and happens to be crossing paths with Ji Man.

 Chapter 202 - Solicitude for the common people (1)

    Chapter 202 ¨C Solicitude for themon people (1)

    Yes, she did have an ulterior motive in involving Liu Hanyun, who Marquis Moyu had secretly been protecting. But, when in Rome, do as the Roman do. She didn¡¯t have any allies in this harem, and it was difficult for her to execute any ns.

    Fortunately, she hadn¡¯t chosen the wrong person. Even after wearing slightly more morous clothing and expensive jewelry, Liu Hanyun¡¯s eyes were still clear. She didn¡¯t go around causing trouble. Other than going over to Old Madame¡¯s ce to pay respects each day, she didn¡¯t leave Linghan Courtyard. She even sent over some snacks to Feiwan Courtyard to express her thanks.

    Marquis Moyu also stayed over in Linghan Courtyard for a couple of nights. He always remembered and felt grateful towards Liu Hanyun for saving his life. Therefore, he wanted to help her by ensuring that her new position was stable. She was no longer safely at the edges.

    ¡ª

    Liu Hanyun normally had an unobtrusive presence. Now that she had suddenly been promoted to an honored concubine, Qi Siling was furious. Nie Sangyu had promoted Liu Hanyun right after she punished her with washing her dress. Wasn¡¯t this just a deliberate attempt to be at odds with her?

    Swinging her handkerchief and holding a few gifts, Qi Siling started walking over to Linghan Courtyard to ¡°greet¡± Liu Hanyun. On the way there, she saw Muxu and her servant girl, Luqiao.

    Muxu hadn¡¯t received much favor since being promoted to a concubine and still had the demeanor of someone that came from amoner¡¯s family.

    Luqiao was indignantly saying, ¡°No matter what, you came into this household with Madam. It¡¯s really baffling that Madam would choose to promote Mistress Yun instead of you.¡±

    Hearing these words, Qi Siling¡¯s resentfulness immediately dissipated. Smiling like a Cheshire cat, she walked over to them and said, ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s Muxu. Did youe here to see the new honored concubine?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Since bing a concubine, Muxu hated when other people addressed her by her first name as if she was still a servant girl. Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t afford to offend Qi Siling. She could only salute her and said, ¡°Mistress Ling, this servant hopes you¡¯re doing well.¡±

    Qi Siling helped her up from her saluting position and sighed. ¡°When I heard that Madam was promoting someone to an honored concubine, I thought it would be you. I didn¡¯t expect that it would Mistress Yun. She¡¯s not close to Madam at all.¡±

    Muxu pursed her lips. Her expression didn¡¯t look very good. ¡°It¡¯s up to Madam to decide who she wants to promote. Even if other people are unhappy about her choice, there¡¯s nothing they can do about it.¡±

    Qi Siling shook her head and said, ¡°s, perhaps, Madam still remembers and resents you for stepping on her back in order to climb up. Does it matter that you¡¯re a concubine now? Your status is still low, and you¡¯re not favored at all.¡±

    Muxu stiffly stood in ce.

    Qi Siling looked at her with sympathetic gaze for a while, then swung her handkerchief and resumed walking to Linghan Courtyard first.

    ¡ª

    Two months after the outbreak of smallpox, the epidemic had finally started to slow down. The imperial physicians had figured out a way to treat smallpox and had the various pharmacies provide the medicine to themon people.

    Ji Man sent servants outside to inquire about the situation and found out that many people had died outside of the capital. However, the Heavens had been kind to Ning Errong. She had already recovered from smallpox, and it would only take about a month for her smallpox marks to fade away. Nie Qingyun had already bought her back to Nie Residence. After this episode, the rtionship between these two people should have grown stronger.

    Marquis Moyu had also arranged for medicine to be distributed outside the capital. Using the crown prince¡¯s name, he collected medicine to help themon people. Not only that, he also had a congee stands set up next to the medicine distribution spots and gave extra food to the families that had lost members to smallpox. He also sent medical specialists over there to take care of people that were seriously ill.

    As a result, the poprity of the crown prince suddenly increased among themon people. Ning Yuxuan¡¯s poprity campaign was truly done very well. He didn¡¯t spend too much money, but the crown prince had received a lot of public praise. When the time was right, he used a few schrs to nt a certain idea amongst themon people. Thus, themon people seemingly voluntarily wrote letters to express their gratitude towards the emperor for his vast and powerful benevolence, as well as the crown prince¡¯s solicitude for themon people.

    Therefore, when the third prince was energetically fighting for power, the crown prince¡¯s poprity rose. After the smallpox epidemic ended, there were elderly that needed support, orphans that needed to be raised, and bodies to be burned.

    The emperor left the pce and went out into the capital for an inspection tour. To his surprise, he saw themon people had constructed a shrine for himself and the crown prince. They had gathered here today to kneel and shout, ¡°Long live the imperial family!¡±

    Being worshiped like this by themon people, how could the emperor not feel overjoyed? The emperor had originally been a little biased in the third prince¡¯s favor, but seeing the popr sentiment during this trip, his favoritism was swayed over to the crown prince. After returning to the pce, he heaped piles of praise onto the crown prince in front of the third prince and the rest of the imperial court. He also returned the phoenix seal to the empress and praised her for raising her son well.

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t resist sighing. Marquis Moyu had truly put on a good show. The third prince had won over the hearts of the officials, so Ning Yuxuan had helped the crown prince win over the hearts of themon people. Not only did he do that, he had used them to delight the emperor.

    Even if you beat her to death, she wouldn¡¯t believe it was possible for themon people to take initiative to n out this series of events. Ning Yuxuan had done his good deeds under the crown prince¡¯s name. Why would the average people think they should also express gratitude towards the emperor? They wouldn¡¯t have been clever enough to know that they should make a statue of the emperor to avoid him feeling jealous.

    Moreover, Ji Man felt distressed just looking at the estate¡¯srge amounts of expenditures. Was there any chance that the crown prince would be reimbursing these expenses?

    Since the emperor had praised the crown prince, then the activities for helping themon people naturally had to continue. However, Marquis Moyu had to turn his attention to fighting for power in the imperial court.

    He tossed the ount book to her and gently said, ¡°You¡¯ve done such a good job with managing the household¡¯s ounts, so I¡¯ll handle over the matter of managing the various congee and medicine stands to you. Just take the money you need from the estate¡¯s general funds.¡±

    Ji Man blinked and pointed at her belly. Didn¡¯t pregnant women in ancient times not have to work and only needed to rest at home to make sure the fetus would be okay? Why was he giving her so much work?

    Marquis Moyu smiled, stroked her bulging belly, and said, ¡°Just think of it as umting virtuous merit for our baby.¡±

    Ji Man seriously considered his words. Ning Yuxuan was naturally a very wicked person, and this child had half of his genes. So, it was only natural that this baby needed to do more virtuous things to make up for its father¡¯s misdeeds. Otherwise, the Heavens might punish her baby just because of its connection to Ning Yuxuan. And so, she nodded in agreement.

    Trantor Ramblings: The first time that I read this novel, I thought Ji Man was being really selfish in dragging Liu Hanyun into her mess. Hanyun was already really nice to her without asking for anything in return, and she just wants to be left alone. But, can I me her for being selfish when she¡¯s trying to stabilize her position because she¡¯s worried about protecting her baby?

    Plus, even if Ji Man intellectually acknowledges that Liu Hanyun¡¯s life philosophy is morally superior to hers, on a gut level, Ji Man doesn¡¯t understand Hanyun¡¯s perspective of choosing to not want revenge or even something as basic as yummy food because those are things that Ji Man thinks everyone wants. She does thinks that she¡¯s improving Liu Hanyun¡¯s life for the better.

    That¡¯s just my thoughts. What do you guys thinks?

 Chapter 203 - Solicitude for the common people (2)

    Chapter 203 ¨C Solicitude for themon people (2)

    However, when Ji Man left the estate in a sedan chair to check on the situation the next day, she encountered a mob of people at the congee stand. This was the juncture point where people had originally been praising the crown prince after getting their food. This mob looked very dirty and was one step away from looking like a group of beggars. They were shouting that their family members had died after eating the crown prince¡¯s medicine and wanted the crown prince topensate them.

    Ji Man was very familiar with this type of scene. It was the same as when someone deliberately bumped into you, then fell over and tried to ckmail you for his or her self-inflected injuries.

    There were people guarding the congee stand. They were the guards that had been recently sent over by the crown prince. Looking at these scoundrels in front of them, they were about to step forward to push them to the ground.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Ji Man hurriedly shouted. With a hand protectively covering her stomach, she stepped down from the sedan chair. How could anything goode from shoving these people? It would just give them the perfect opportunity to spread rumors that the crown prince¡¯s guards were rude and unreasonable.

    The guards looked at the sedan chair. Seeing that the sedan chair was decorated with golden flowers at the top, they knew that this graceful woman with luxurious clothing and jewelry had to be from a family that was third-rank or higher.

    A sharp-eyed person called out, ¡°It¡¯s Marchioness Moyu.¡±

    The crowd was silent for a while before resuming their moring for money again.

    Ji Man took a few steps forward. Gancao and Dengxin followed after her and carefully guarded her. They were scared that someone would rush forward and knock over their master.

    ¡°Who are these people that got sick after eating the medicines that were distributed here? Bring their corpses here, and a coroner will examine their bodies. If they had really died from eating the wrong medicine, then the crown prince will naturallypensate their families.¡±

    Back and forth, the group of people looked at each. It was obvious that they had been sent here to temporarily cause trouble. They hadn¡¯t thought about creating props to back up their false usations.

    Ji Man serenely said, ¡°The medicine here is everyone¡¯s life-saving medicine. So many people have already been saved from dying because of the crown prince¡¯s benevolence. Why did you guyse here to deliberately cause trouble?¡±

    This was a group of a people that didn¡¯t even regrly have enough food to eat. Faced with a beautiful married woman that was patiently persuading them, they weren¡¯t sure how to respond. They hade here to knock over the congee and medicine stands, but seeing that this woman was pregnant, they felt hesitant with proceeding forward with their original n.

    Ji Man thought; humans did have an inherent goodness to them. These people had consciences. Even thought they were on opposing sides, everyone had a mother and that gave them a sharedmonality.

    And so, she continued to persuade them, ¡°There¡¯s a congee stand right here. If you¡¯re feeling hungry, you can get a helping of congee. Then, let¡¯s sit down together. We can discuss while you¡¯re eating if you want. If you wait a bit, I¡¯ll have my servant girls go and buy some pickled vegetables. Eating just congee by itself is a bit strange. Also, isn¡¯t it about time for you guys to change out your clothes? The crown prince is also handing out linen clothing for free. Later on, after you returned home and washed your face, how about recing your current clothing with a new set of clothes? Doing this will also help prevent the spread of smallpox.¡±

    The people that were standing in line and waiting for the congee and medicine had all looked over here in Nie Sangyu¡¯s direction. They were all thinking that although this woman was a bit too talkative, she was truly kind-hearted.

    Looking at the troublemakers, whose expressions showed that they were at a loss, Ji Man persisted with her speech. ¡°If you¡¯re truly having a hard time making a living and feel as if you won¡¯t be able to continue living, you can tell me. I happen to have some loose change with me today. Come here, I¡¯ll distribute them to you. In the future, you guys have to strive to be good-hearted people. Don¡¯t do anymore bad things, like trying to ruin your fellow people¡¯s means of subsistence.¡±

    After saying this, she really did hand over a small purse to Gancao, so that she could hand out the silver taels to them.

    Gancao hastily flung the money at them, and someone in the group foolishly caught the purse in reflex.

    After Ji Man returned to her sedan chair, she stretched her head out and said, ¡°Marquis Moyu has received the crown prince¡¯s order to continue providing disaster relief in the form of food and warm clothing for themon people. His Highness hopes that everyone can live afortable life.¡±

    Marquis Moyu had assigned an agent by the stand. The agent immediately used this opportunity to stir up emotions. ¡°His Highness is truly apassionate person that cares about themon people!¡±

    ¡°May the crown prince live for a thousand years!¡±

    Hearing these words, Ji Man sat back into the sedan chair. She had the bearers ce the sedan chair down on the side of a nearby street. This way, she could eat her snacks and observe the situation at the congee stand at the same time.

    The group of people that had taken her money left with their tails between their legs. However, it only took a short period before arge group of people came and lined up to ask for medicine and congee.

    At this rate, there wouldn¡¯t be enough congee in the stand to feed everyone. The cost of food had recently be very expensive. Very soon, the congee ran out and the people that had been waiting in the line started toin.

    This was just human nature. Once people were used to getting a handout, they would think that it should continue forever. If the handout ever stopped, they would actually me the kind person that had helped them.

    The person in charge of the congee stand came over and asked with a smile, ¡°Madam Ning, what should we do? There¡¯s not enough congee.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay. Go back and calm the crowd down. I¡¯ll bring people to buy food and medicine.¡± Ji Man light-heartedly waved her hand and ordered the bearers to head towards Yongning Street.

    Wasn¡¯t this merely a problem that could be solved with money? Out of everything, money was her leastcking resource. So what if the price for food and medicine had skyrocketed? She still had her private savings stored away in Shuiji Rouge Shop. What was there to worry about?

    And so, even though the prices for food and medicine had increased to a point that people were clicking their tongues in disapproval, Ji Man was still able to take out arge sum of money to buy enough supplies. She ordered people to watch the stand and make sure that everyone got his or her portion, but no one was allowed to take an extra helping.

    ¡ª

    It was very obvious that someone had arranged for the two groups of people toe over and start trouble.

    Seeing that Nie Sangyu had defused the conflicts one after another, they reported this matter to one of the third prince¡¯s servant.

    Hearing this news, the servant thought there had to be something wrong. Wasn¡¯t Madam Ning the third prince¡¯s cousin? Why would she do something to help an outsider instead of her rtive? And so, he immediately reported the matter to the third prince.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡ª

    As Ji Man was happily watching the congee being distributed, she saw a servant from Marquis Moyu¡¯s household running over here from a distance.

    In a loud voice, the servant said, ¡°Madam, an important guest hase to Marquis Moyu¡¯s residence. Old Madame wants you to hurry back.¡±

 Chapter 205

    Chapter 205 ¨C Being slick at establishing social connections is a praiseworthy trait (2)

    Marquis Moyu raised his eyes and deeply looked at her. He chuckled, then brought her onto hisp. ¡°You¡¯re such a clever person and so slick at establishing social connections. You¡¯ve gotten yourself a favorable impression from everyone.¡±

    Sitting on hisp, Ji Man seriously said, ¡°This servant thinks that being slick at establishing social connections is a praiseworthy trait. It¡¯s really not easy to aplish this.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan chuckled again, ¡°Are you actually praising yourself?¡± He rubbed her belly and said, ¡°It¡¯ll be born in another five months, right?¡±

    Ji Man also stretched her hand out to touch her stomach. She nodded and tried to probe out his feelings by asking, ¡°My lord, do you think it¡¯s possible for this baby to be born safely?¡±

    Marquis Moyu paused. The smile in his eyes dimmed. ¡°You¡¯re worrying over nothing. This baby is doing fine. Why wouldn¡¯t it be able to be born safely?¡±

    Ji Man turned her head to look at him. Her bright gaze was full of tenderness and a mother¡¯s special glow. ¡°This is this servant¡¯s first time being pregnant. No matter what it takes, this servant wants to give birth to this baby. My lord, please help me aplish my goal.¡±

    She had been wearing Nie Sangyu¡¯s body for such a long time and done her best to win over Marquis Moyu. She had changed Nie Sangyu¡¯s reputation from an insensible, vicious viiness to a reasonable woman that did her best to know when to advance and when to retreat. If she still hadn¡¯t made a ripple in Marquis Moyu¡¯s heart, then she really wanted to ask if a stone had reced this person¡¯s heart.

    A light shed through Ning Yuxuan¡¯s eyes. He hugged for a long time while he contemted his answer. He finally said, ¡°Why would you need my help? Don¡¯t worry, nothing bad will happen. Just be at ease and take of your health.¡±

    Ji Man seriously nodded. In an iparably intimate and emotional voice, she said, ¡°My lord, this servant will believe in you.¡±

    This would be the only time she would believe in him. If something bad still happened, she would wreak havoc on Marquis Moyu¡¯s entire household.

    ¡ª

    The next day, Ji Man took the storeroom key and secretly hired people to take her dowry and sell it off for her. This would put an end to the lie she had told Old Madame by making it into a truth.

    However, there was still an unavoidablemotion as they were carrying her entire dowry out of the estate. Although Ji Man had chosen a time when everyone was resting after lunch, Muxu happened to not be napping today. Moreover, Muxu had decided toe over to talk to her.

    And so, Muxu saw a stream of familiar boxes being carried out of the estate. Although she felt very puzzled, she didn¡¯t anything and continued walking to Feiwan Courtyard to pay respects to Nie Sangyu.

    Looking at Muxu with a smile, Ji Man asked her how she had been doingtely.

    Muxu forced herself to smile and said, ¡°Thanks to Madam¡¯s generosity, this servant no longer has to serve anyone. Still, this servant¡¯s days haven¡¯t been very good.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man thought; you had such a good opportunityst time. Whose fault was it that you were scared of dying and didn¡¯t go with us to take care of Marquis Moyu? You repeatedly said you¡¯re in love with Ning Yuxuan, but those feelings are probably just a teenage girl¡¯s infatuation from being mesmerized by his face. Although she had agreed to help Muxu with bing an honored concubine, if Muxu acted too stupidly, then her hands were tied.

    Ji Man softened her voice and said, ¡°I¡¯ll say a few words for you to the marquis to help you out. If you receive more favor and get pregnant, it¡¯ll be easy for you to have good days in the future.¡±

    A light shed through Muxu¡¯s eyes. After she had be a concubine, Marquis Moyu hadn¡¯t gone to her courtyard. Many of the servant girls wereughing at her behind her back. If Madam was willing to help her receive favor, then it hadn¡¯t been a waste to betray Mistress Xue.

    After leaving Feiwan Courytard, it was obvious that Muxu¡¯s mood had significantly improved. She was smiling and had practically skipped her way back to Wenxiang Courtyard. However, when she arrived at the entrance to the courtyard, she saw Li Zixiu.

    Muxu¡¯s face immediately paled. She straightened her posture and kept a proper distance from him. Feeling somewhat helpless, she bunched up her handkerchief.

    Holding his medicine box, Li Zixiu asked in unclear tone, ¡°You look so happy. Are you going to be favored?¡±

    Muxu nced behind her to look at Luqiao. Luqiao hurriedly said, ¡°Doctor Li, did youe here to check my master¡¯s pulse? Let¡¯s go inside to talk.¡±

    After Li Zixiu was invited to Wenxiang Courytard, Luqiao checked the outside surroundings before closing the doors.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man was in her room reconciling her ounts. Recently, she had been using quite a bit of her money to pay for the household¡¯s expenses. For example, she had only recorded the normal prices for the food and medicine that she had purchasedst time. However, the actual expenditure had been outrageously high. Fortunately, she had her private savings. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been possible for her toplete Marquis Moyu¡¯s task.

    Everyone thought she was very talented at managing money and could use one silver tael to buy ten silver taels worth of stuff. That wasn¡¯t true, she had simply bought the items with ten silver taels! She waspletely relying on her secret stash of money. Ji Man silently cried; it really was very difficult to manage a household.

    However, she had to find an opportunity to stop using her money to supplement the household expenditures. Otherwise, sooner orter, someone would notice that it seemed as if she had an unending supply of money. If she was found out, it could be disastrous.

    Right now, Muxu was the only person in this household that knew about her secret business. Ji Man supported her chin and thought. There was a fifty-fifty chance that Muxu would betray her, so it wasn¡¯t very safe. She had to find a way to make sure this secret would never be told.

    ¡ª

    After two days of Nie Sangyu¡¯s persuasion, or to put it another way, two days of nagging, Marquis Moyu finally couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and went to Muxu¡¯s courtyard. However, it was only one time. For some unknown reason, he was absolutely unwilling to go over there again. Still, Muxu seemed very happy. Even though the marquis never visited her again, Muxu seemed utterly blissful each day and as if her good days would soon arrive.

    Ji Man felt very confused, but two monthster, she knew the reason behind Muxu¡¯s happiness.

 Chapter 208 - A charmingly picturesque rainy day (1)

    Chapter 208 ¨C A charmingly picturesque rainy day (1)

    Holding Marquis Moyu¡¯s hand, Liu Hanyun led him to the cushioned couch to sit down.

    She quietly said, ¡°Madam said there¡¯s a woman outside the capital named Lady Shi. She endured a lot of suffering in order to carry her baby to the eighth month of pregnancy. But, her husband had several concubines. Day after day, these concubines would nderously say Lady Shi was having illicit rtions with another man and that she was pregnant with someone else¡¯s child. Their testimonies were supposed to be conclusive proof. At first, Lady Shi¡¯s husband believed in her. But after repeatedly listening to these nderous words so many times, he started to doubt her. In the end, he ordered the innocent, pregnant Lady Shi to be locked into a bamboo cage and tossed into the river to be drowned.¡±

    After retelling the gist of the story, Liu Hanyun felt slightly despondent. ¡°Pregnancy is naturally difficult for a woman. This servant can see this just from looking at Madam¡¯s swollen ankles and feet. Working so hard to give birth to the next generation, isn¡¯t it just in hopes of ensuring that one¡¯s family will be prosperous? And yet, there will always be people that love to speak lies behind other people¡¯s backs. That Lady Shi was such a virtuous woman, but she was so easily wrongfully misunderstood by her husband, and her baby lost its life with her too.¡±

    Marquis Moyu slightly froze for a moment. He lowered his eyes. ¡°That really is kind of pitiful.¡±

    ¡°Exactly, this servant felt really sad after hearing that story.¡±

    Feeling somewhat uneasy, Liu Hanyun added, ¡°Now that this servant thinks about it, it would better for me to go back to being an ordinary concubine. It¡¯s dangerous at the top, and this servant doesn¡¯t want the same fate as Lady Shi.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan gently patted her back and quietly said, ¡°You saved my life, that means I owe you for a lifetime. No matter what other people say, I won¡¯t harm you.¡±

    Liu Hanyun wryly smiled, ¡°If you say it like that, then this servant is more fortunate than other people.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to think so much,¡± Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°You just need to work on taking care of your health and the baby¡¯s.¡±

    These women, one side was ndering Nie Sangyu and the other side was speaking on her behalf. Did they really think he was an idiot? However, Marquis Moyu had to admit that Nie Sangyu had her tricks. He had almost half-believed Wen Wan¡¯s side. But, Nie Sangyu had known that using Liu Hanyun¡¯s voice to tell him a story would be the most effective method.

    After hearing this story, he clearly understood what was going on. Wasn¡¯t it just a case of a person at the top being pushed down by others? Her baby would be the oldest child in this household, and there were many people fixing their attention on it.

    ¡ª

    Ning Mingjie was currently rxing in Ning Residence. By his side, the old housekeeper, Changshan, was reading aloud a letter from Marquis Jingwen.

    After Marquis Jingwen had gotten news of woman after woman in the marquis¡¯s household getting pregnant, he had started feeling impatient and wanted his son to get married soon. Even if Ning Mingjie didn¡¯t want to marry yet, it would be good if he got a few concubines to start with, right? After all, he was a marquis¡¯s heir and also an important official in the imperial court. And yet, he still didn¡¯t have any concubines. He only had two bedroom servants to serve him. Compared to the sons of other noble families, Marquis Jingwen thought that his son was a little too pure-minded.

    As always, his father¡¯s words went in one ear and went out the other ear. After Ning Mingjie finished writing one set of words, he thought it still didn¡¯t look as elegant and unrestrained as the words he had written for ¡°Inviting you to drink wine¡±.

    Did this issuee from the content of his words? Ning Mingjie pondered this issue and finally decided that he would go pay respects to Old Madame while he had free time today. While he was there, he would ask Sangyu topose two more poems for him.

    As for the matter of marrying a wife, he wasn¡¯t dying matter because he was seeking a true love. He just thought that he should build up his career before starting a family. Isn¡¯t that what his parents had taught him to do? Even though other people thought he had already gained recognition and be aplished in his career, Ning Mingjie felt that he hadn¡¯t reached the point he wanted yet.

    He stood up and changed his clothes for going out of the residence. His servant girl, Luoqi, noticed that a handkerchief had fallen out of his sleeve. That handkerchief was exquisitely embroidered with snow-capped mountains.

    ¡°Young Master, do you want to bring this handkerchief with you?¡± Luoqi carefully asked.

    Ning Mingjie nced at it and nodded. He casually tucked it away into his robe and left the residence.

    ¡ª

    Marquis Moyu had originally been nning to go to the Six Ministries today to instruct the neers on how he wanted certain things to be handled. However, right after he decided to leave, it started to rain. He stood in the doorway and watched the heavy rainfall as it pitter-pattered down. He suddenly had a rare inclination to take the rest of the day off and stay at home to rx.

    Just as he was turning around, he saw a carriage driving quickly over here in the midst of the rain from his peripheral vision. On the way to the entrance, the carriage wheels caused a ssh of water to go up, and the nearby pedestrians quickly skirted away to avoid being drenched.

    Changshan jumped down from the carriage and opened an umbre up before lifting the carriage curtains. ¡°Where did this sudden downpoure from?¡±

    Ning Mingjie was in a pretty good mood. Even though he cut a sorry figure, he was still smiling as he took the umbre from Changshan. He joked, ¡°I really look like a drowned rat.¡±

    Changshan hurriedly ran to stand underneath the eaves. He patted his drenched clothes. As he muttered to himself, he raised his head and saw a fake smiling Marquis Moyu.

    ¡°Marquis.¡± Changshan quickly saluted.

    Ning Mingjie walked to the doorway, closed the umbre, and also lightly smiled. ¡°Yuxuan, you¡¯re not going out today?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan nodded. ¡°I wanted to take a break from work. Work has been so busytely. It¡¯s quite tiring.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because there are too many things for you to worry about,¡± Ning Mingjie said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s rare for the weather to be so cool and refreshing. Let¡¯s not think about anything and just enjoy the rain.¡±

    Even with using the umbre, he had still gotten very wet. Ning Mingjie casually took out his handkerchief and used it to wipe his face and body.

    It was rare for handkerchiefs to be embroidered with snow-capped mountains. Usually, the average person liked to embroidered handkerchiefs with flowers or birds. Ji Man had gotten tired of those patterns and embroidered something that she had drawn herself. She had given handkerchiefs with this unique design to the servants in Feiwan Courtyard as well as one handkerchief to Marquis Moyu. But, he didn¡¯t like it and ended up not using it.

    However, seeing this handkerchief, Ning Yuxuan recognized Nie Sangyu¡¯s handiwork. His heart slightly moved, and he pursed his lips to say, ¡°I heard that you came over here a few times when I wasn¡¯t here. How about we go pay respects to Old Madame together, then take advantage of this weather to write some poems or paint something afterwards?¡±

    Ning Mingjie didn¡¯t pay attention to Marquis Moyu¡¯s gaze. This suggestion was pretty good, but he still added a modification, ¡°How about we have Sangyupose poems for us instead? I don¡¯t know why, but my calligraphy always looks a little bit better when I¡¯m writing out her poems.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression sunk. He only uttered a sound of assent, then turned around, epted an umbre from a servant, and started walking to the main courtyard.

 Chapter 211 - The long-awaited disaster finally strikes (2)

    Chapter 211 ¨C The long-awaited disaster finally strikes (2)

    Qian Lianxue quietly coughed, then she said, ¡°It¡¯s Lianxue that made a mistake. It wasn¡¯t an appropriate time to take it out.¡±

    Wen Wan continued along the same line by saying, ¡°Madam, really, what were you thinking? Why didn¡¯t you give him something else? This servant thinks that handkerchiefs would only be given as a gift between lovers.¡±

    Ji Man was speechless. She could only wrylyugh at herself. She shouldn¡¯t have been so brainless at the time and agreed to Ning Mingjie¡¯s suggestion.

    Ning Mingjie¡¯s expression was very ugly. ¡°This one didn¡¯t expect that a mere handkerchief would cause everyone to feel the need to say so many words. Really, it¡¯s my fault. This one can¡¯t continue eating this dinner. This one needs to think of an apology to Madam that will remove all of the dirty water that¡¯s been sshed onto her.¡±

    He usually wasn¡¯t a verbose speaker and had never said such a cutting remark in front of them.

    After these words were said, even Old Madame slightly pursed her lips and called out in a low voice, ¡°Mingjie.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan lowered his eyes so that his gaze was directed at the food. Ji Man looked at him, but she had no idea what he was thinking of.

    Standing behind Nie Sangyu, Gancao hadn¡¯t been able to keep herself still for a while. She gritted her teeth, kneeled down in the middle of the room, and kowtowed three times in front of them. ¡°Masters, if there¡¯s anything that you want to say, then just directly scold this servant. It¡¯s this servant¡¯s fault for having a presumptuous wish. My master hasn¡¯t done anything wrong.¡±

    ¡°Gancao.¡± Ji Man was slightly surprised, but looking at that young girl¡¯s stubborn gaze, she seemed to have understood something. She pursed her lips and didn¡¯t say another word.

    It truly was a teenage girl¡¯s feelings. The hero had saved the beauty, and the beauty had lost her heart to him. Was Gancao nning on taking responsibility for this matter and also confessing her feelings to Ning Mingjie? But, you silly girl. How could the people in this room allow a servant girl to resolve this misunderstanding?

    Old Madame asked, ¡°Gancao, what are you saying? What have you been presumptuously wishing for?¡±

    Ning Mingjie was also looking at Gancao.

    Gancao bit her lips. Keeping her head lowered, she said, ¡°After Young Master saved this servantst time, this servant kept recalling that memory fondly and had thoughts that this servant shouldn¡¯t have. Even though this servant knows it was presumptuous, this servant continued having romantic feelings towards Young Master. And so, when Madame was giving Young Master a thank you gift, this servant pleaded with Madam to also give him that handkerchief that was personally embroidered by this servant. Moreover, Madam has also given him a piece of jade, but Young Master hadn¡¯t epted it.¡±

    ¡°Marquis and Old Madame, please allow this servant to make this clear. If this servant had known that the various masters would make something out of nothing, then servant would have never pleaded with Madam to allow this servant to express her selfish wish.¡±

    After saying this, she kowtowed several times. Her body was slightly trembling as she stayed in the kneeling position.

    She was clearly saying that the people that had used her master of improper behavior were deliberately making stuff up. However, Qian Lianxue stayed silent with her head lowered to show a contemtive demeanor.

    Wen Wan also said in aggrieved tone, ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that this servant is the evil person. This servant shouldn¡¯t have said those words. This servant deserves to die.¡±

    In contrast, Qi Siling pursed her lips and lightlyughed, ¡°Madam, your servant is truly very loyal to you.¡±

    Marquis Moyu, who had been silently eating during this entire episode, suddenly called out, ¡°Ling-<i>er</i>.¡±

    Qi Siling trembled for a moment, then she lowered her head too and didn¡¯t say another word.

    Ji Man sighed. She looked at Old Madame and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t Sangyu say a few days ago that there will definitely be people that won¡¯t allow Sangyu¡¯s days to be peaceful by using the excuse that Sangyu¡¯s belly isrger than average? Old Madame, at the time, you said that Sangyu didn¡¯t need to worry. See, how can Sangyu not worry over this?¡±

    Hearing these words, Old Madame finally stopped scrutinizing Ning Mingjie. She put down her chopsticks and said, ¡°This dinner has gone very unsatisfactory. As expected, when there¡¯s an excessive amount of women in a harem, there aren¡¯t too many peaceful days to be had.¡±

    Marquis Moyu lightly said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a handkerchief? If Gancao enjoys giving Mngjie handkerchiefs, then it¡¯s no big deal even if she embroiders him a hundred handkerchiefs to give to him. Why is there any need to feel upset and stop eating dinner? Mother, Mingjie, the servants had prepared a pretty good meal today. The two of you should eat more.¡±

    Ning Mingjie nced at him, then he looked at Nie Sangyu. He stood up, walked to Gancao¡¯s side, and helped her stand up.

    Gancao felt overwhelmed by his gesture.

    ¡°My father has recently been urging me to get at least get a concubine,¡± Ning Mingjie lightly said, ¡°It¡¯s rare to see a woman like Gancao that¡¯s so wholeheartedly devoted to me. I also like the handkerchief that she embroidered. Old Madame, how about giving Gancao to me?¡±

    Everyone in the room was stunned. Old Madame managed to say, ¡°You want Gancao?¡±

    Ning Mingjie nodded. ¡°Is Madam unwilling to give her to me?¡±

    After nkly looking at him for a moment, Ji Man shook her head. ¡°If Young Master likes Gancao, then that¡¯s her good fortune. It¡¯s just that marriage is forever for a woman. We should finish dinner first, then carefully discus this matter.¡±

    The entire table of people sunk into silence.

    In regards to Ning Mingjie¡¯s obviously impulsive decision, there were some people that thought Gancao was very lucky, and there were also others that thought he was only making the matter more conspicuous by trying to cover it up. But everyone agreed that he was obviously doing this to protect Nie Sangyu.

    As for why he was protecting her, it was up to each person to guess the reason.

    No one was able to enjoy eating the rest of the dinner. After the meal was over, Old Madame brought Mingjie and her son, as well as Nie Sangyu and Gancao to her inner room to talk.

    Looking at Ning Mingjie with a wry smile, Old Madame said, ¡°If I let you promote a servant girl into your concubine, your father probably won¡¯t be thanking me. You¡¯ve always been a considerate child. Can you tell me the real reason why you want Gancao?¡±

    Even after all those previous words had been said, Old Madame and Marquis Moyu clearly didn¡¯t believe Gancao¡¯s confession.

    @@novelbin@@

    Sitting in a lower chair than Old Madame, Ning Mingjie pursed his lip and said, ¡°Mingjie thinks that Gancao is very good. It won¡¯t be a big deal to wee her into my household as a concubine. Mingjie will naturally exin the matter to my father. As for my real reason, it really is because she looked at me with a pair of deeply adoring eyes.¡±

 Chapter 213 - The last night of summer (2)

    Chapter 213 ¨C Thest night of summer (2)

    With her back straightened to support her belly, Ji Man went over to visit Old Madame. It had only been a short period of half a month, but Old Madame looked as if she had considerably aged.

    Leaning back against the pillow, Old Madame held her hand and said, ¡°People will always have to face retribution for what they¡¯ve done. When I was younger, I did plenty of wicked things. Otherwise, Xuan-<i>er</i> wouldn¡¯t have been able to peacefully live up today and start his own family. But, a debt always has to be paid back. They¡¯ve probablye for me to pay back what I owe them.¡±

    Feeling a bit scared by these words, Ji Man hurriedly said, ¡°Don¡¯t scare yourself like this. Sangyu will be giving birth to your grandchild soon. Don¡¯t have these wild thoughts.¡±

    Old Madame looked at her belly, and her eyes curved into smiling crescents. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking forward to this precious grandchild, always hoping for its arrival.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s eyes turned red. She stroked Old Madame¡¯s white hair, then left the room to prepare soup for her.

    ¡ª

    At the sight of Nie Sangyu in the kitchen, Aunty Zhao was almost scared out of her wits. ¡°Madam, you shouldn¡¯te to this ce. Be careful with your health! If you need anything, us servants can do it.¡±

    Ji Man shook her head. Old Madame had been the person that treated her the best. No matter what, she should at least do something, right?

    When she had passed by the rooms where the doctors were saying, she heard them quietly discussing that Old Madame probably wouldn¡¯t make it to the end of the year.

    She pretended that she hadn¡¯t heard them and devoted herself to preparing soup for Old Madame.

    Marquis Moyu seemed to be preupied with something troublesometely. His brow never rxed. In the imperial courts, the crown prince and the third prince continued to be mutually opposed. However, the third prince had an outstanding track record of political achievements, and the emperor seemed to be considering giving him the title of crown prince. In addition, the imperial noble consort was also imploring the emperor during their pillow talks, so the crown prince¡¯s position appeared as if it was on the verge of tottering over.

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t figure it out. If she gave birth to Marquis Moyu¡¯s child, it would practically be a deathblow to the crown prince. However, other than frightening her that one time, the crown prince hadn¡¯t done anything. He hadn¡¯t actually harmed her. It couldn¡¯t be that the crown prince was really that magnanimous and willing to let her peacefully give birth to this baby, right?

    Ning Yuxuan was currently sitting in her room and quietly reading a book. Noticing her scrutinizing gaze, he put down his book and impassively asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Ji Man shook her head. Perhaps, she was overthinking things. At the beginning, Ning Yuxuan hadn¡¯t wanted her be pregnant either. How could he possibly be secretly helping her?

    ¡ª

    On thest night of summer, Ji Man suddenly felt a burst of pain. Her scream woke up the entire household.

    The imperial physician and the midwife came over to take their positions. The other women also gushed forth to Feiwan Courtyard to wait. In the midst of her illness, Old Madame still sent Danggui and Shouwu to wait over there too. As soon as there was any news, they were toe back and report to her.

    Wen Wen personally went over to call over Ning Yuxuan. Seeing him sitting in the dimly lit study, she said, ¡°Madam is about to give birth. You shoulde with Wan-<i>er</i> to go over there.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan lightly nodded. ¡°I still have documents that I need to look at. Just send someone overter to tell me if she gave birth to a boy or a girl.¡±

    Wen Wan sweetly smiled. ¡°My lord, how can you be like this? Madam is giving birth to a baby for you. How can you not be willing to go over there to just take a look?¡±

    Right after saying this, as if she was scared he would change his mind, she immediately turned around and said, ¡°Then, this servant will go over there to tell the people on that side for you. As soon as there¡¯s news, this servant wille back to tell you.¡±

    In the midst of the quiet study, Marquis Moyu said one word, ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡ª

    As Ji Man followed the midwife¡¯s instructions to take deep breaths, she silently cursed that person who had predicted that she would be able to easily give birth.

    Hadn¡¯t that person said the fetus had been a very good birthing position? Why was she feeling so much pain right now then?

    The screams that couldn¡¯t be suppressed traveled outside ands scared the waiting pregnant women.

    Holding Liu Hanyun¡¯s hand, Muxu was slightly trembling as she asked, ¡°Could something be wrong with Madam?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯ll be okay,¡± Liu Hanyun resolutely said, ¡°Good things will happen to good people. Madam and her baby will definitely be okay.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Inside the room, Gancao and Dengxin were so busy that they felt vertigo. A moment of carelessness and one of them knocked over a basin of hot water.

    The midwife angrily shouted, ¡°You inexperienced servants! Don¡¯t cause trouble. Go and boil more hot water!

    Ji Man was already in so much pain that she couldn¡¯t coherently speak anymore.

    After hesitating for a while and looking at the room full of servants that the midwife had brought with her, Gancao and Dengxin still felt worried about leaving their master along. However, the midwife¡¯s words were true. They didn¡¯t have any experience and were only adding to the chaos by being here.

    And so, the two of them withdrew from the room and hurriedly went to boil water.

    ¡ª

    When Ji Man blearily opened her eyes, she saw the kind-hearted midwife say, ¡°Madam, you won¡¯t go wrong with listening this servant. Do your best to push hard. This is definitely a fat baby boy!¡±

    No matter how clever a woman was, she would be at her most fragile point when she was giving birth. Ji Man closed her eyes again and followed the midwife¡¯s words by pushing hard again and again.

    ¡ª

    The entire household could hear Nie Sangyu¡¯s screams. Ning Yuxuan chuckled, that woman had quite the loud voice.

    But, hearing her screams, it really did seem that she was in a lot of pain.

    His fingers tightened, and he opened the doors to go outside. He called out for Guibai.

    Guibai asked, ¡°Master? Do you want this servant to go over there and wait for news?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan chuckled. ¡°No need. She¡¯s not that important. Bring a pot of tea for me. My throat feels a bit dry.¡±

    Looking at his master¡¯s somewhat pale face, Guibai didn¡¯t say anything and left to get tea.

    ¡ª

    After Wan Wan entered Feiwan Courtyard, she aggrievedly stood in the outer room and loudly said, ¡°I went to look for the marquis, but the marquis wasn¡¯t willing toe. He said he was busy with work and just wanted someone to report the gender of the baby to him once Madam had given birth.¡±

    Naturally, Ji Man was able to hear Wen Wan¡¯s voice from the inner room. She inwardlyughed. Wen Wan really tried her best to upset her at every opportunity. Unfortunately for Wen Wen, she didn¡¯t care.

    Trantor Ramblings: I like that Old Madame isn¡¯t portrayed as only a kindly, doting mother-inw, or doesn¡¯t suddenly be senile just so that the author has a way to make Ji Man¡¯s life more difficult. And, I wonder how much of Old Madame¡¯s illness is caused by the guilt of what she had done in the past to eliminate her husband¡¯s concubines and Ning Yuxuan¡¯s half siblings. Unlike Ji Man, she doesn¡¯t seem scared of what¡¯sing and is at peace with her perceived punishment.

 Chapter 215

    Chapter 215 - Recing a son with a toddy kitten (2)

    @@novelbin@@

    One after another, almost everyone left the room. Shouwu and Danggui had been standing in front of her bed and appeared as if there was something they wanted to say, but after a nce at the toddy kitten, they also hurriedly left the room too.

    There seemed to be officers outside of the room that were examining a corpse. Gancao and Dengxin knelt down by her bed. Crying as they kowtowed and said, "It''s all our fault for not taking good care of master. We failed at watching over you!"

    Ji Man nkly touched the toddy kitten. The little kitten stuck its tongue out and licked her finger.

    "Tell me... what happened?"

    Choked with sobs, Gancao said, "After we were sent to the kitchen to boil water and came back, we didn''t hear any noise from master''s room. When the marquis anxiously rushed over, everyone was still sleeping in the outer room. In the inner room, there was only master and a toddy kitten. The midwife... the midwifemitted suicide by master''s bed."

    Frightened, Ji Man trembled. Turning her head to look, it was only now that she noticed there were traces of blood at the end of her bed.

    After dry retching a few times, Ji Manughed until tears almost came out of her eyes. "I thought I would be lucky enough to give Nie Sangyu a child, but that insidious hand had never stopped, not even for a moment!"

    Gancao and Dengxin were both crying and didn''t notice there was something off about her words. They just continued to me themselves. "We should have stayed outside master''s room and kept watch! We shouldn''t have left!"

    Ji Man felt exhausted. She didn''t have much strength to begin with and had just gone through a horrendous shock. The space in front of her suddenly turned ck.

    ---

    A monster had appeared in Marquis Moyu''s estate. His wife had give birth to toddy kitten in September.

    This news quickly spread. Soon, even the people in the pce heard about this. The imperial noble consort''s face turned deathly pale, and she became sick for several days because of this. The emperor thought this matter was very unlucky and sent many people to the marquis''s estate to do purification rituals.

    Old Madame had been seriously ill to begin with. She had been clinging onto herst breath to wait for Sangyu to give birth. But, the result had beenpletely out of her expectations. Even if Sangyu had given birth to a girl, she would have still felt less worried about Sangyu''s future. How could she ept that Sangyu had given birth to a toddy kitten?

    Before this incident, Old Madame had still been able to eat two bowls of congee every day. Afterwards, she wasn''t even able to eat that. Day and night, she would have nightmare after nightmare, and her health rapidly deteriorated. No matter how many doctors Marquis Moyu called over or how much medicine was used; Old Madame didn''t show any sign of recovery from her illness.

    ---

    People from Nie n finally rushed over to Marquis Moyu''s estate. ording to the customs, as Nie Sangyu''s mother by marriage, Chen-<i>shi</i> should have rushed over here when Nie Sangyu had startedbor and kept herpany the entire time. But, Chen-<i>shi</i> had imed that she was sick and wouldn''t allow Errong toe here either. Errong had already been discontent with Chen-<i>shi</i>. Now that something had happened to Sangyu, she hated Chen-<i>shi</i> to death.

    Unfortunately with Qingyun between them, she couldn''t start a fight with his mother. She could only hurry to Sangyu''s side as fast as possible.

    Ji Man had been unconscious for two days.

    Looking at his younger sister''s deathly pale face, Nie Qingyun clenched his fist and asked Dengxin, "Where''s the marquis?"

    Dengxin rubbed the tears from her eyes and answered, "The marquis is busy dealing with follow-up matters. He hasn''t closed his eyes inst few days too."

    The midwife hadmitted suicide. People from the local authority division hade over to examine her corpse.

    As for the toddy kitten, it had been confined in the backyard. They didn''t dare to kill it or let it go. They were waiting for Marquis Moyu to make a decision.

    The crown prince kept offering to introduce venerated senior monks to Ning Yuxuan, so that they could check if Nie Sangyu was a transformed toddy cat demoness. Ning Yuxuan rejected his offers.

    Outside of the estate, everyone was discussing this incident. If this matter wasn''t properly resolved, it could have an enormous impact.

    But, Ji Man still hadn''t woken up.

    The doctor had said her energy consumption had been too great, and she wouldn''t wake up until her energy had recovered.

    And yet, standing on the side, Chen-<i>shi</i> sneered and said, "She''s even capable of giving birth to a toddy kitten. Who knows if she''s a human or a demoness? Why are you all so worried about her?"

    Nie Qingyun finally showed his anger. "Mother! Sangyu is already like this. Why can''t you say something nice?"

    Errong couldn''t control her fury and angrily said, "Madam, are you hoping that Sangyu will die so that you can send your own daughter into the marquis''s estate?"

    Chen-<i>shi</i> indignantly rebuked Ning Errong, "Impudent! When did it be your turn to talk? Have you forgotten your status?"

    "My status?" It had really been too much of a torment to tolerate this mother-inw. Right now, Sangyu had encountered a great catastrophe, but Chen-<i>shi</i> was still making these cynical remarks. How could she possibly continue to endure this?

    "I''m Marquis Jingwen''s legitimate daughter with a noble title of my own. Madam, tell me, what do you think my status is? If it wasn''t because of Qingyun, I wouldn''t have tolerated you for so long!"

    Clutching one hand to her chest, Chen-<i>shi</i> grabbed Nie Qingyun with her other hand and said, "Look at this good wife that Nie Sangyu had chosen for you. As I had expected, she would rather be loyal to an outsider than her own family. She actually dared to speak to your mother like this. A wife that acts this way, do you still want her?

    Nie Qingyun frowned. "Mother, Sangyu is going through something horrible right now. Can you please stop acting this way for a little bit?"

    "I should stop?" Chen-<i>shi</i> widened her eyes and pointed her finger at Ning Errong and said, "If she hadn''t been so bad-mannered and talked back to me, would I be making a fuss?"

    Ning Errong clutched Ji Man''s hand with a death grip, pressed her lips together, and stayed silent.

    In a low tone, Nie Qingyun said, "Mother, if you didn''t want toe here, feel free to leave. You don''t need to put on this act for father. Sangyu still needs to rest and can''t stand so much noise."

    Chen-<i>shi</i> took a deep breath. "Fine, fine."

    She moved a stool next to Nie Sangyu''s bed and sat down. "I''ll wait for her to wake up. I won''t cause a fuss. I''ll just wait here to see if she''ll wake up as a human or demoness!"

 Chapter 219 - Donâ€™t look down on a woman for being fat (2)

    Chapter 219 ¨C Don¡¯t look down on a woman for being fat (2)

    Gancao angrily said, ¡°What kind of sister is she? She said she came here to take care of you, but she hasn¡¯t taken even half a step into Feiwan Courtyard after moving here. Instead, she frequently goes over to Qiangwei Courtyard. If people didn¡¯t know better, they would think she was a servant bought for Wen Wan instead of your younger sister.¡±

    Ji Man was currently doing gymnastics and wearing a uniform that she had the seamstress specially create. In college, there had been a professor in the Chemistry Department that liked to research about weight loss and had imparted a lot of her knowledge to her students. Ji Man was d that she had a good memory and was able to remember some of the exercises the professor had mentioned back then. She wrote out an exercise routine and followed it every day.

    Originally, Gancao and Dengxin had been so shocked that their jaws had dropped. But by now, they were so ustomed to this sight that they would merely chat and spectate. It was because their master had said this was from a secret martial arts book that would help build up her health through exercise. The two simple servant girls easily trusted her words.

    ¡°Chenyu isn¡¯t like her mother. She has a lot of foresight, and her nning ability is pretty good too,¡± Ji Man responded as she jumped around, ¡°Right now, the marquis goes to Qiangwei Courtyard the most often. Why shouldn¡¯t she rush over there for the chance to profit from the marquis¡¯s favored treatment to his darling? If shees to my lonely Feiwan Courtyard, it¡¯s unlikely that she¡¯ll get any benefits.¡±

    Unconvinced, Dengxin asked, ¡°Who said that Feiwan Courtyard isn¡¯t favored?¡±

    Ji Man nced at her.

    The young servant girl twitched her lips and quietly said, ¡°When I went to the kitchen today, Aunty Zhao was as warmly cordial as before. The amount of food that she gave me wasn¡¯t any less than usual. If anything, she gave more than required. Master, if the marquis doesn¡¯t care about you, would a stingy person like Aunty Zhao be acting so generous?¡±

    Gancao said, ¡°This servant also feels that amount of delicious food and other items hasn¡¯t decreased in this courtyard. Master, although the marquis hasn¡¯te, it doesn¡¯t mean that he doesn¡¯t care about you.¡±

    Ji Man smiled. ¡°He¡¯s probably feeling guilty, so he wants topensate me. But if hees here to see me, he¡¯ll probably be rmed and immediately turn around and go.¡±

    ¡°Go where?¡± A chilly voice came from the courtyard¡¯s entrance.

    Ji Man froze in surprised. She hasn¡¯t changed out of her exercise outfit yet. Her neck was stiff, and she didn¡¯t dare to turn around to look at him.

    Ning Yuxuan quietly walked inside. There wasn¡¯t anyone behind him. He was wearing a formal robe and appeared as Cassanova-like as always.

    ¡°Marquis.¡± Gancao and Dengxin stood up and saluted. Aftering up from her curtsy, Dengxin hastily picked up the nearby outer robe and draped it over Nie Sangyu.

    After tidying her hair, Ji Man turned around and also saluted, ¡°My lord.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrows. He walked to her side and looked at her from top to bottom for a long time. He finally pursed his lips and harshly said, ¡°Too fat.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched, but she docilely replied, ¡°It¡¯s inevitable to gain weight after giving birth.¡±

    On the side of the courtyard, the one-month old toddy kitten was chasing after a small insect and meowed at this time.

    Marquis turned his head and nced at the toddy kitten, then he looked at Nie Sangyu and quietly said, ¡°You¡¯ve suffered a lot.¡±

    For an inexplicable reason, Ji Man¡¯s eyes got a little bit teary. She straightened her back and asked, ¡°My lord, can you ease this servant¡¯s suffering? Can you bring my baby back to me?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan opened and closed his mouth. He seemed to want to say something, but he swallowed those words down and shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡±

    Bah, then you might as well have said nothing!

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man faintly smiled. She drew the outer robe around her and said, ¡°My lord, with my appearance like this, this servant won¡¯t be able to serve you. My mother has already sent my younger sister here. If you¡¯re interested, then feel free to go and see her.¡±

    ¡°Chenyu?¡± Ning Yuxuan casually sat down on a stool and indifferently said, ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> already bought her to see me yesterday.¡±

    After saying this, he nced at her, ¡°She looks quite simr to your previous appearance, but as for your current one...¡±

    Ji Man automatically ignored his disdainful gaze. She thought; Wen Wan, that servant, was behaving more responsible and diligent than her, the main wife. If the harem¡¯s management was handed over to her, then there was nothing for her to worry about.

    ¡°My lord, what are your ns?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Aren¡¯t you still alive? She can be a concubine.¡± Marquis Moyu unconcernedly turned his head. ¡°All things go into decline, it hasn¡¯t reached the point where you should act outrageously. If you anxiously try to stabilize your position, you¡¯ll be more likely to suffer a setback.¡±

    Ji Man focused on the first part of his reply and didn¡¯t think about the hidden meaning of thetter part.

    He was only giving Nie Chenyu the position of an ordinary concubine? Wouldn¡¯t that put her on the same standing as Muxu and Jinse? Chen-<i>shi</i> would definitely be angered to death. But, it was her choice to send her daughter here. It was toote now. If she wanted to take her daughter away, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to marry her off to someone else.

    Really, Ning Yuxuan was too despicable. He probably didn¡¯t want to inte Nie n¡¯s ego. This was why he wasn¡¯t willing to give Nie Chenyu face, right?

    However, it was only muchter that she understood that Marquis Moyu¡¯s ¡°you¡± wasn¡¯t referring to Nie n. He had meant the third prince and the imperial noble consort.

    After only sitting here for a bit, Marquis Moyu left. It was the same as if he hadn¡¯te. However, she was left feeling surprised that he hadn¡¯t seemed stunned by her current roundly venerable appearance.

    ¡ª

    That night, Nie Chenyu received the marquis¡¯s favor. It was rumored that Wen Wan had acted as the matchmaker.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t pay attention to outside matters and wholeheartedly focused on exercising. She also nned out a diet in the passing. She was determined to lose the excessive weight within two months.

    However, even though she just wanted to lose weight and didn¡¯t want to cause trouble, there were still people that wouldn¡¯t leave her alone.

    After Nie Chenyu had only received the position of a concubine, someone jokingly said to Chen-<i>shi</i> that it must be because Nie Sangyu was suppressing her younger sister and not allowing Marquis Moyu to raise her position. This had to be the reason behind Nie Chenyu¡¯s lowly position.

    Chen-<i>shi</i> was furious when she heard these words. She wasn¡¯t a magnanimous person to being with. She immediately went to the pce to cry out her grievances to Imperial Noble Consort Nie. She told her that Nie Sangyu was already halfway to a handicapped person, but was deliberately blocking her younger sister¡¯s way and not allowing the marquis to favor her.

    Because of the toddy kitten incident, the favor that Imperial Noble Consort Nie got from the emperor had slightly diminished. And so, after this conversation, she summoned Nie Sangyu to the pce.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t even need to guess why Imperial Noble Consort Nie had summoned her. She would definitely order her to help Nie Chenyu raise her status in the marquis¡¯s household in order to strength the rtionship between Nie n and Marquis Moyu¡¯s family. Once she was no longer a useful pawn, the aunt that used to wholeheartedly support her would still choose to abandon on her.

    Trantor Ramblings: While its understandable for Ji Man to think the worst of Ning Yuxuan, I do feel a bit bad for him that she doesn¡¯t see any of his attempts at helping her. Does he think that Nie Sangyu is in cahoots with her aunt and cousin, the third prince? So, he¡¯s sending a message to them through her? He knows that Nie Sangyu is no longer in love with him, and she¡¯s clever enough to continue faking her feelings. He doesn¡¯t know if she¡¯s still loyal to him.

 Chapter 221 - I know what you did (2)

    Chapter 221 ¨C I know what you did (2)

    ¡°Who know what you were thinking?¡± Qi Siling lightlyughed. ¡°Perhaps, you just couldn¡¯t stand watching how much the marquis favored Mistress Xue. Either way, there¡¯s conclusive proof of your wrongdoing. Do you think the truth will change if you try quibbling?¡±

    ¡°Enough,¡± Ning Yuxuan interrupted her and indifferently waved his hand. ¡°Send her away.¡±

    By his side, Guibai made a sound of assent, ordered more servants toe into the room, and they started dragging Jinse outside.

    ¡°Marquis! Mistress Xue! Madam!¡± In the end, Jinse called out to these three people. Her voice wasing from farther and father way. Very quickly, her voice couldn¡¯t be heard anymore.

    When people were in a desperate state, they would usually shout out for people that could save them. Ji Man stroked her chin. It made sense that she would call out for the marquis as well as herself. But, why would she call out for Qian Lianxue too? Qian Lianxue had fallen unconscious because of Jinse¡¯s snacks. Why did Jinse thinking Qian Lianxue would save her?

    Even though Ji Man couldn¡¯t figure that part out. She felt that Marquis Moyu had handled this matter too breezily. No matter what, Jinse had once been pregnant with his child. Now, she was being sent out of the estate without any further consideration.

    There wasn¡¯t any expression on Ning Yuxuan. When Guibai returned to report that there was still something that needed the marquis¡¯s attention in the study, Ning Yuxuan left. As Ning Yuxuan left the room, he nced at Nie Sangyu and quietly said, ¡°Take care of Xue-<i>er</i>.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. It was only at this moment that everyone else noticed her presence. She didn¡¯t stand up to salute him, just nodded her head to send her regards.

    ¡°Gancao, stay behind to take care of Honored Concubine Xue. Everyone else, it¡¯s about time for dinner. Go back to your respective courtyards,¡± Ji Man said.

    Wen Wan stood up, made a sound of assent, and was the first person to leave. Qi Siling also followed after her in departing. Muxu was the only one that looked at Nie Sangyu and seemed somewhat hesitant in leaving.

    Ji Man asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Muxu quickly shook her head, came forward to help her stand, and said, ¡°This servant will go back with you, okay?¡±

    Since Gancao was staying behind, Ji Man agreed to Muxu¡¯s request and walked out of the room with Muxu supporting her by the arm.

    As they were walking, Ji Man looked at Muxu¡¯s shifty gaze and suddenly thought of an online game. Feeling interested, Ji Man brightly smiled at her and said, ¡°I know what you did.¡±

    Muxu¡¯s hand stiffened. She nkly raised her head to look at her.

    Ji Man inwardlyughed, but showed an outwardly all-knowing smile. ¡°You know how skillful I am. If you still want to stand on my side, tell me the truth now.¡±

    Muxu couldn¡¯t maintain herposure anymore. Her face was deathly pale, and her lips were trembling. She almost fell down to kneel.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man¡¯s heart turned cold, and her smile disappeared. People in ancient times really couldn¡¯t withstand fear tactics. As soon as they were scared, they would spill out all of their secrets. No wonder there were people that like to pretend to be ghosts to scare other people.

    ¡°This servant hasn¡¯t betrayed you!¡± Muxu said, ¡°This servant only went to Xuesong Courtyard in the past two days for master.¡±

    Xuesong Courtyard? Ji Man looked at her. Of course Muxu went running to Xuesong Courtyard as soon as she wasn¡¯t paying attention to her.

    Ji Man took her arm back and looked at her as she asked, ¡°What do you mean it was for me?¡±

    Muxuposed herself, moved a little bit closer, and quietly said, ¡°Master, don¡¯t you find it strange that the people waiting in the outer room while you were giving birth had all fallen asleep?¡±

    What was strange about that? Someone had wanted to steal her child. Of course, they would use drugs to make everyone fall unconscious first. Ji Man slightly clenched her hand. At the mention of this topic, her voice wasn¡¯t as steady anymore. ¡°What do you know?¡±

    Muxu clutched her handkerchief. Her gaze was somewhat shifty as she said, ¡°This servant doesn¡¯t know anything either. This servant is just guessing after hearing that Mistress Xue had Danzhu lit incense in the back. Later, everyone fell asleep. This servant thinks... there was something wrong with that incense.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s smile was insincere as she contemted these words for a while. Looking at Muxu, she said, ¡°Where did you hear that it was Mistress Xue¡¯s incense? I remembered that when I was giving birth, they said the odor of blood was too strong and told everyone that was pregnant to leave first.¡±

    Muxu paused. ¡°This servant overheard...¡±

    Ji Man sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that I¡¯m a person that¡¯s seen too many ys? Do you think your paltry acting skills is enough? All your thoughts are practically written on your face.¡±

    Shocked, Muxu took a step a back and covered her face. Feeling confused, she looked at Nie Sangyu.

    Right now, Muxu looked like a small white rabbit that had been startled. Unfortunately, her intelligence was too low. She had wanted to benefit from both sides, but Ji Man had easily seen through her scheme.

    ¡°You wanted to tell me that there¡¯s something wrong with Honored Concubine Xue as a way of proving that there¡¯s nothing between you two, in order to obtain my trust, right?¡± Ji Man chuckled. She stretched her foot out and lightly nudged Muxu¡¯s trembling leg. Like a bullying ruffian, she said, ¡°Then, stop shaking. How can you expect me to believe you when you¡¯re looking so guilty?¡±

    Muxu was so frightened that she took several steps back. But, for every step that she retreated, Ji Man would also move one step forward. Her chubby face looked quite cute as she said, ¡°Go on, tell me more. There was something wrong with Honored Concubine Xue¡¯s incense. What happened next? Where did she take my child?¡±

    ¡°That... this servant doesn¡¯t know...¡± Muxu shook her head. ¡°Didn¡¯t Mistress Xue make herself fall unconscious too?¡±

    Her acting had to look realistic if she didn¡¯t want people to suspect her. Ji Man sneered. Her intuition wasn¡¯t wrong. There was something off about Qian Lianxue. But, how could she pursue this matter? Qian Lianxue had always behaved like a good person in this household, and was a hundred times better at being a Holy Mother than Wen Wan. She hadn¡¯t left behind any evidence of wrongdoings either.

    In the eyes of other people, Muxu was loyal to her, so it would be useless to use Muxu¡¯s words as viable proof. Perhaps, other people might even use her of ndering Qian Lianxue.

    Still, if Qian Lianxue didn¡¯t have anything to do with her missing child, then she wouldn¡¯t care about her other schemes. But, if Qian Lianxue really was the one that took her child, then, at the very least, she would tear off ayer of her skin in retaliation.

    Trantor Ramblings: Posted a tiny spoiler rted to Jinse in thements below if anyone is interested.

 Chapter 224 - Little by little, everything will be dealt with (1)

    Chapter 224 ¨C Little by little, everything will be dealt with (1)

    When Ji Man heard there was a fire in Xuesong Courtyard, her heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly stood up and went outside.

    Dengxin was walking by her master¡¯s side. Feeling somewhat uneasy, she said, ¡°This servant had only want to cause a smallmotion and didn¡¯t expect that the fire would spread so fast, hope Gancao is doing okay.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s always acted smartly. Nothing bad will happen to her.¡± Ji Man quietlyforted her and sped up her own pace.

    Qian Lianxue was standing outside of Xuesong Courtyard and surrounded by a group of servants. Seeing Nie Sangyuing over, she quietly called out, ¡°Madam.¡±

    Ji Man nodded and looked around, but didn¡¯t see Gancao. She raised her head and saw that the fire had already grown into a raging inferno. In ancient times, the only way they knew how to put out fires was by pouring bucket after bucket of water onto the fire. It wasn¡¯t an effective method. Looking at the situation, Ji Man guessed that the fire wouldn¡¯t be extinguished until the entire courtyard was burnt down.

    ¡°Lianxue, have you seen Gancao?¡± Ji Man asked.

    The tears in Qian Lianxue¡¯s eyes suddenly increased. She coughed twice before sobbing, ¡°This servant hasn¡¯t see Gancao. Right after she said she was going back into my room to get something, she disappeared.¡±

    Disappeared? Ji Man froze in surprise. She took a step towards Xuesong Courtyard and watched the servants that were entering and exiting the courtyard to put out the fire. None of their faces looked familiar too her.

    Gancao wasn¡¯t here.

    Standing behind her master, Dengxin cover her mouth as her body slightly trembled.

    Ji Man lowlyughed and said, ¡°Heaven helps the worthy. Don¡¯t worry, nothing bad will happen to Gancao. Perhaps, she just went to somewhere else. Dengxin, go and look for her.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Dengxin turned around and nkly walked around the perimeter of the courtyard.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡ª

    Therge fire had engulfed the entire main rooms in Xuesong Couryard. The beams had copsed, and it seemed as if everything had turned into ashes. Fortunately, there had been many people working on putting out the fire, so only the main rooms had been burnt down. By the time the fire had beenpletely extinguished, Steward Qian came over with other servants and had them sort out the items that hadn¡¯t been burned. Some of the gold and other precious items might not have been damaged by the fire and could be taken out. As for the other more mmable items, there were probably beyond salvaging.

    When Steward Qian opened the doors to the main rooms, he saw a charred corpse quietly lying on the ground,

    The sky suddenly became overcast. As Dengxin was returning to report that she hadn¡¯t found Gancao, Steward Qian had already ordered the servants to take corpse outside.

    Ji Man took two steps back and asked with a smile. ¡°Steward Qian, why are you showing me something so frightening?¡±

    Steward Qian cupped his hands and said, ¡°Madam, this subordinate has already done a headcount of all the other servants in this courtyard, this... this seems to be Gancao.¡±

    Dengxin wasn¡¯t able to keep standing. Her legs weakened, and she sprawled down onto the ground. Her eyes were wide in horror.

    Ji Man¡¯s hands tightened. She slowly crouched down and quietly said, ¡°How can you say something like that without proof? How do you know it¡¯s her...¡±

    On the charred corpse¡¯s waist, there was something that hadn¡¯t been burnt beyond recognition, a waist essory with red coral beads. Ji Man remembered. This had been Gancao¡¯s most precious treasure. When Ning Mingjie had given her this present, he told her that in two months, he woulde and take her into his household.

    Ji Man fell silent.

    Standing behind her, Qian Lianxue clutched her handkerchief and sobbed with emotion, ¡°It¡¯s Lianxue¡¯s fault. Lianxue didn¡¯t take care of Gancao. There was something in the room that this servant wanted. This servant had originally intended to send Danzhu inside to get it, but Gancao had gone inside first, but then she didn¡¯te out...¡±

    Dengxin didn¡¯t care about gaze of the onlookers. Her tears were heart-wrenching as she forcefully repeatedly kowtowed toward the corpse. Blood had started to seep out of her forehead from the repeated knocks against the ground.

    If she hadn¡¯t thought of such a stupidly rotten idea, Gancao wouldn¡¯t have died! Dengxin¡¯s crying was so intense that she had to gasp for breath as her face was smeared with tears.

    The sound of her crying quickly made the surrounding atmosphere feel heavy and somber.

    Ji Man just nkly looked at the corpse for a long time until she finally slowly got up and said to Steward Qian, ¡°Don¡¯t hesitate with spending money for her burial rites. I¡¯m the one that owes her. Tell me where her family is. I¡¯ll go talk to them.¡±

    Steward Qian made a sound of assent, then he ordered the servants over and had them take the body away.

    There was a sudden p of thunder. It had originally beente afternoon, but at some point, the sky had darken. After the shocking sound of thunder, the downpour started. The surrounding servants hurriedly started ushering Qian Lianxue to the side to avoid the rain. Ji Man and Dengxin stayed in their spots and didn¡¯t move.

    Qian Lianxue stopped walking and called out, ¡°Madam, quicklye over here to avoid the heavy rain. There¡¯s lightning too.¡±

    Ji Man tilted her head and smiled at her. ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything wrong. Why would I be scared of getting struck by lightning?¡±

    Qian Lianxue stiffened. From a distance, she looked at this woman and felt a shiver go up her spine.

    Danzhu tugged on her arm, and she hurriedly turned around and allowed herself to be ushered forward.

    Ji Man¡¯s entire body was soaked, but she continued to stand frozen in the courtyard. From a distance, there were ps of thunder and the shes of lightning. Every round of boom and rumble felt like a piece of iron smashing against her heart.

    She wasn¡¯t able to cry. Her heart felt too pained, but she couldn¡¯t uninhibitedly cry out her sorrow like Dengxin. She just felt a stifled pain in heart. She opened her mouth slightly. She felt as if she almost couldn¡¯t breath anymore.

    This rainstorm hade toote. If it hade a little bit earlier, would Gancao still be alive right now?

    No one could persuade her to move. Ji Man stood in the same spot until the sky had cleared. The glowing sunset after the rain was extremely beautiful, and their faces didn¡¯t look so terribly pale under the reflection of this light.

    Ning Yuxuan slowly walked over, held her hand in his, and started leading her to Feiwan Courtyard.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t resist. She seemed like a lost, wandering spirit that had no strength.

    ¡°Tomorrow, I¡¯ll find you another servant girl. She¡¯ll be even more attentive.¡± Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips and said, ¡°You already look ugly enough. Stop making that expression.¡±

    Ji Man stayed silent.

    ¡ª

    After Marquis Moyu brought her back to her room, he ordered the servants to prepare hot water for a bath. Looking at her vacant gaze, he pressed his lips together and stopped the words that he had intended to say. He left without saying another word.

 Chapter 225 - Little by little, everything will be dealt with (2)

    Chapter 225 ¨C Little by little, everything will be dealt with (2)

    Ji Man fell sick. She didn¡¯t have any appetite or much energy. Doctor Li hade over twice to check on her. Each time, he said that it was her heart that was sick. There wasn¡¯t a prescription that could fix this.

    After Dengxin had cried enough, she knelt down in front of her master and tried to persuade her by saying, ¡°Master, don¡¯t feel too bad. If Gancao was still here, she wouldn¡¯t want to see you like this.¡±

    Ji Man shook her head and quietly said, ¡°I want to feel better too. I never had the habit of wanting to torment myself. But Dengxin, I really can¡¯t make myself eat.¡±

    Dengxin covered her mouth and let out a sob. She turned around to hide her crying face.

    ¡ª

    Gancao¡¯s family consisted of two younger sisters and her parents. Ji Man gave them plenty of money inpensation for the loss of their daughter, so they would never have to worry about money again for the rest of their lives. But, when Ji Man watched as Gancao¡¯s parents happily knelt down in front of her to thank her benevolence, she felt an indescribable pain in her heart.

    ¡ª

    Ning Mingjie came to Marquis Moyu¡¯s estate to take Gancao¡¯s body away to be buried.

    Ji Man tottered after him to watch the burial rites that would be held at the top of a mountain.

    Gancao hadn¡¯t formally entered Ning Residence, or observed any other formalities. But, Ning Mingjie still took on the role of her husband byying her body into the wooden coffin and setting up a gravestone that said, Ning Gancao, maidenst name Liu.

    Standing behind Ning Mingjie, Ji Man quietly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Ning Mingjie slightly turned his head to look at her. There was a bit of stubble on his lower face. He dryly smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s probably because I just don¡¯t have that fortune. I finally met a woman that truly loves me, but we¡¯ve already been separated by time.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s eyes redden.

    It was slightly too windy on the top of the mountain, and the edges of Ning Mingjie¡¯s long robe was lifted up by the wind. His back figure looked quite lonely.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man was sick for a month. She had probably only survived by drinking medicine. Because she couldn¡¯t keep down any solid food during this month, her body rapidly lost weight. Although she didn¡¯t look as thin as a skeleton like when she had firste here, her body had returned to being slender and well proportioned. Every part was just right. If any part was slightly bigger, it would be too much. If any part was slightly smaller, it would be too little.

    Ji Man bitterly smiled. This was thest present that Gancao would give her. It was better than any weight loss program.

    It was just that her appetite was almostpletely ruined.

    ¡ª

    When Muxu gave birth, it was a bit earlier than expected. However, she was able to smoothly give birth to a baby boy. Perhaps, her smooth delivery was due to Doctor Li taking care of her.

    The estate became a bit more cheerful. After all, this was the Marquis Moyu¡¯s first baby, and it was a boy too. Even though Old Madame wasn¡¯t happy that this baby was from a concubine, she still felt a bit of joy in being able to hold her grandson in the midst of her sickness.

    Ji Man took this opportunity to suggest to Old Madame to raise Muxu up to an honored concubine.

    ¡ª

    It was about time for Liu Hanyun to give birth too. By happy coincidence, there were more doctors checking up on her. When Ji Man went over to visit her, she saw that Liu Hanyun had gained weight and seemed more blessed than before.

    Looking at Nie Sangyu¡¯s eyes, Liu Hanyun felt somewhat distressed and said, ¡°Madam, you look as if you have suffered a lot of terrible tribtions. Your eyes don¡¯t look the same as before.¡±

    Ji Man smiled at her. ¡°It wasn¡¯t any terrible tribtions. It was just a bunch of little things. Those little things, I can handle them on my own.¡±

    ¡ª

    After the main rooms in Xuesong Courtyard had been damaged by fire, Qian Lianxue had been staying in the side rooms. Marquis Moyu had allocated money to repair Xuesong Courtyard. Qian Lianxue said that she had a rtive that knew how to do repair work, so this job had been given to her rtive to do.

    Ji Man acted very magnanimously. Whatever price that person quoted as the cost of material, she would pay him that amount without asking any questions. This person was a man slightly over thirty, and his monkey-like face was a bit oily. Strictly based on appearances, he didn¡¯t look like an honest person.

    Seeing how agreeable Nie Sangyu was being, he thought that the women in this harem were very ignorant and could be easily tricked. Thus, he fraudulently marked up the cost of the other materials as well.

    By the end of the repair process, it had cost over three thousand silver taels just to fix the main rooms in Xuesong Courtyard.

    Ji Man delivered the ount book to Marquis Moyu and calmly said, ¡°Since he was a person rmended by Lianxue, this servant didn¡¯t say anything. But my lord, you should still look at this ount book yourself.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan supported his chin in his hand and scrutinized the woman standing in front of him for a while before finally flickering his eyes to nce at the ount book. His expression changed, and his hands sped together.

    Ji Man faintly smiled and said, ¡°This servant doesn¡¯t know why you and Old Madame are so biased in favor of Lianxue, but from my perspective, she¡¯s even slicker at establishing social connections than this servant. Moreover, she doesn¡¯t seem as much of an invalid as she appears.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    After a pause, Ning Yuxuan helplessly said, ¡°Lianxue has always been wholeheartedly loyal to me. Plus, with her health, I don¡¯t want her to be dragged into conflict.¡±

    Dragged? The person that was stirring up the conflict was probably Qian Lianxue. Ji Man sneered. Looking at Marquis Moyu, she said, ¡°My lord, if you¡¯re interested, how about we y an interception game?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s an interception game?¡±

    Ji Man smiled, ¡°My lord, if you aren¡¯t busy sometime during today, how about we go together somewhere and do something wicked like ying out the role of bandits?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s interest was stirred up. ¡°Where do you want to go?¡±

    ¡ª

    After the old guard¡¯s grandson skipped his way to Feiwan Courtyard, Ji Man pulled Ning Yuxuan towards the back gate with her. The two of them crouched behind the shrubs that lined the unavoidable path that Danzhu would have to pass to return to Xuesong Courtyard.

    Marquis Moyu heard the the woman next to him seriously say, ¡°My lord, when Danzhues by, please knock her unconscious.¡±

 Chapter 226 - The weak and delicate person thats on our side (1)

    Chapter 226 ¨C The weak and delicate person that¡¯s on our side (1)

    Ning Yuxuan really wanted to ask her, wasn¡¯t it overkill to ask a talented person like himself toe here to act liked a hired thug? Couldn¡¯t she have just asked to borrow Guibai?

    But, he remembered that she hadn¡¯t been able to eat muchtely. Although it was good that her figure had slimmed back down, herplexion looked anemic. It was rare to see her so lively. And so, he decided it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal to go along with her antics.

    Marquis Moyu looked away for her. Even though he was wearing an expensive, extravagant robe, he apanied her in hiding behind a spherical shrub like a street hoodlum.

    Danzhu had already hurriedly gone to the back gate from Xuesong Courtyard. On her way back, just as Danzhu passed by them, Ji Man pinched Marquis Moyu. Thetter took a deep breath, very skillfully moved to stand behind Danzhu, and shed his hand down on the back of Danzhu¡¯s head.

    People that practiced martial arts knew how to swiftly and urately knock people out. And so, with a roll of her eyes, Danzhu fainted straight away.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man hurriedly came out and helped Marquis Moyu carried Danzhu behind the shrubs. Then, she started to search her body for the letter.

    Ning Yuxuan watched her with the indulgent gaze of a parent ying hide-and-seek with his child.

    The letter tucked in Danzhu¡¯s sleeve was taken out. Today was the start of the month. It wasn¡¯t the same day as when thest letter had been delivered. Then, could the sender of this letter be a different person fromst time? Ji Man really wanted to open the letter to read, but Ning Yuxuan had taken the sealed letter from her.

    He asked, ¡°Why do you want to look at this letter?¡±

    Ji Man lightly smiled. ¡°My lord, if I said that Gancao died because of this letter, would you believe me?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan frowned. After a while, he finally said, ¡°Sangyu, you concern yourself with too many things. There are some things where it¡¯s better for you to not know.¡±

    ¡°My lord, you want this servant to stay in Feiwan Courtyard and be a carefree, content Madam?¡± Ji Man giggled. ¡°Then, who will pay for Gancao¡¯s life? Who will pay for my child¡¯s life?¡±

    Marquis Moyu opened and closed his mouth. He really wanted to say something. But, holding the letter in his hand, he couldn¡¯t tell her anything. In the end, he could only say, ¡°Can you believe in me?¡±

    Ji Man didn¡¯t even need to think about her answer. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± After a pause, she decided that she had been too brusque. So, she smiled and added, ¡°My mother told me, a man¡¯s words are the most untrustworthy.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan sighed.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t know why he sighed. Still, they couldn¡¯t stay here for long. The letter had already been stuffed in Marquis Moyu¡¯s sleeve. Even thought she wanted to snatch the letter from him, she knew that she wouldn¡¯t be able to.

    After thinking for a moment, she took out her backup handkerchief that was embroidered with snow-capped mountains and dropped it by Danzhu. Then, she pulled Ning Yuxuan onto the path with her towards Xuesong Courtyard and acted as if they had juste here to take a stroll.

    ¡ª

    From the outside, the recently renovated Xuesong Courtyard looked about the same as before, just slightly newer.

    Seeing that Nie Sangyu didn¡¯t show any fear as she sat on Xuesong Courtyard¡¯s rooftop with him, Ning Yuxuan couldn¡¯t resist asking, ¡°Exactly how many times have you climbed over the walls before?¡±

    Her recent movements had looked way too practiced.

    Ji Man wasn¡¯t in the mood to answer his question. Beneath them, this was the spot that Gancao had lost her life. She couldn¡¯t smile no matter how hard she tried. She could only expressionlessly sit here.

    Marquis Moyu also quieted. The two of them just sat here in silence as they waited and watched as the distant sun slowly descended.

    After Danzhu had finally woken up, she ran back here in a disheveled state. She went into the main rooms and closed the doors, then she said, ¡°Master! This servant was knocked unconscious by someone on the way here! The letter is gone!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Qian Lianxue¡¯s voice sounded much more forceful than usual. Sounding anxious, she asked, ¡°Did you not see who knocked you out?¡±

    Danzhu took out the handkerchief that was embroidered with a snow-capped mountain design and handed it Qian Lianxue.

    Qian Lianxue¡¯s face sunk. Stroking the embroidered part of the handkerchief, she was silent for a long time.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t see who had taken the previous letter, right?¡±

    ¡°This servant doesn¡¯t know. There were too many people at the time. But, Gancao had definitelye back here to grab that letter. This servant doesn¡¯t know how she found out about these letters either.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s body stiffened.

    Ning Yuxuan looked at her. He hesitated for a moment before reaching out and holding her icy-cold hand.

    Ji Man turned to look at him. Several emotions shed through her eyes. In the end, her gaze softened, and she lightly leaned on his shoulder.

    ¡°It¡¯s for the best that she died,¡± Qian Lianxue said.

    Then she added, ¡°Send a message out, let those two master know to not send any more letters. Nie Sangyu is onto me.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    It¡¯s for the best that she died? Ji Man¡¯s hands clenched, and her nails dug into Ning Yuxuan¡¯s palm. She coldlyughed.

    Marquis Moyu pursed his lips, took his hand out from hers, and softly and quietly carried her down from the roof and over the wall.

    Ji Man was very clever. If she hade here by herself and torn holes in Qian Lianxue¡¯s lies, as long as Marquis Moyu believed that Qian Lianxe was innocent, then no matter how much evidence she had, it would still be useless. This was why she had dragged Ning Yuxuan toe here today with her.

    She didn¡¯t know what was written in that letter. But, as clever as Ning Yuxuan was, he had let slip that she shouldn¡¯t concern herself with too much. This meant that he knew there was a secret in this letter, and it wasn¡¯t an unimportant secret either.

    As for the rest of the matter, with his brains, he would definitely investigate the matter. Once he found out the truth, then she would be able use her testimony to its fullest effect.

 Chapter 228 - The spider starts to weave (1)

    Chapter 228 ¨C The spider starts to weave (1)

    It happened that Xuesong Courtyard also needed some items to be purchased. After Ji Man left Old Madame¡¯s courtyard, she went over to Qian Lianxue¡¯s ce to ask her what she wanted to buy.

    Qian Lianxue covered her mouth, then she looked at her for a long time while coughing. ¡°Madam, are you going outside yourself to buy these items?¡±

    Ji Man nodded with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s best to do things yourself. After all, even if you send your personal servant girl to do something, there are times when a mishap will still ur. Don¡¯t you think agree?¡±

    Danzhu was standing behind Qian Lianxue. Her eyelids slightly twitched when she heard these words.

    She had just tantly admitted that she had been the one that knocked Danzhu unconscious and taken the letter.

    Qian Lianxue¡¯s expression looked a bit unnatural as she handed over the list of items.

    Ji Man was still smiling as she stood up and left the room with Dengxin.

    Right now, it was as if there was a que hanging on her body that had the words, e and kill me if you can¡±.

    After they returned to Feiwan Courtyard, Ji Man spent sometime dressing herself up.

    That night, Ji Man had Dengxin remain in Feiwan Courtyard while she sneaked over to Ning Yuxuan¡¯s study by herself. She wanted him to go with her when she went shopping tomorrow.

    ¡°Do you think I have so much free time right now that you can treat me like an errand boy?¡± Ning Yuxuan was slightly discontent. ¡°Why do you want me to go shopping with you? I¡¯m very busy.¡±

    Ji Man smiled very sweetly. Holding his hand, she swung it left and right. ¡°The streets haven¡¯t been very safetely. If I go out by myself, what will I do if I encounter danger?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips and said, ¡°Then, send someone else to go. You don¡¯t need to go yourself.¡±

    Regardless if it was ancient times or modern times, men dislike apanying women in shopping. Ji Man copied Wen Wan¡¯s style and twisted her body around his like it was fried dough. ¡°It¡¯s so rare for me to be in the mood to do anything. Please. Come with me.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    She could feel that Ning Yuxuan had recently be gentler towards her. An ancient woman¡¯s greatest asset was a man¡¯s indulgence and softhearted feelings towards her. Wen Wan used to have this, but she hadn¡¯t used it effectively. Now that she saw the stirrings of those feelings towards herself, she naturally had to use it well.

    Ning Yuxuan felt quite helpless at her hounding. He impatiently waved his hand and said, ¡°Fine. Go back to Feiwan Courtyard for now. I¡¯ll wait for you at the back gate tomorrow.¡±

    As expected, this person was behaving sneakily as usual, that would work perfectly with her n. Feeling quite satisfied, Ji Man obediently returned to Feiwan Courtyard.

    Guibai, who had been standing to the side during their conversation, saw the serious expression that appeared on the marquis¡¯s face after Nie Sangyu left. He couldn¡¯t resist his impulse and asked, ¡°Marquis, do you want to bring more people during tomorrow¡¯s outing?¡±

    ¡°No need.¡± Ning Yuxuan shook his head. Feeling a bit vexed, he asked, ¡°But, what should I wear tomorrow when I apany that woman on her shopping trip?¡±

    All of his clothing was iparably luxurious. If he wore his usual clothing, there was no way that he wouldn¡¯t be stared at like a circus attraction by themonfolk.

    Guibai hadn¡¯t expected that his master would worry over something so minor. He let out a shortugh. ¡°My lord, if you don¡¯t mind, this subordinate has a set of clothing that was just made and hasn¡¯t been worn yet. You can borrow it to wear.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ning Yuxuan¡¯s eyebrows rxed. Looking at the crown prince¡¯s letter, he returned to his work and deftly wrote out a reply.

    ¡ª

    The next day, Ji Man walked to the back gate. She had only brought along two lower-ranking servants with her to carry her purchases. Arriving at the back gate, she saw Guibai¡¯s familiar figure sitting on the carriage¡¯s driver seat and waiting for her. She dismissed the servants she had brought along and happily stepped into the carriage without any worries.

    As soon as she lifted the carriage¡¯s curtain, she saw Ning Yuxuan¡¯s impatient face.

    Holding the shopping list she had given him, he looked at her and asked, ¡°Why are there so many items?¡±

    If there were only a few items, what reason would she have for staying out longer? Ji Man slightly smiled. Since she had this bodyguarding with her, she naturally felt very confident. No matter who came to attack her, she wouldn¡¯t feel scared. Even if she died, she would be dying together with Ning Yuxuan. Based on this point alone, Nie Sangyu wouldn¡¯t count it as her failing the mission.

    She was wearing a soft green dress today, and she looked much livelier. It was just a simple dress, not expensive at all. Actually, it matched Ning Yuxuan¡¯s average-looking clothes quite well.

    Right after Ji Man left the estate, another servant came out of hiding and followed after the carriage.

    ¡ª

    Inside an antique ceramic store, Ji Man was holding a vase and haggling, ¡°No matter how I look at it, this item isn¡¯t worth fifty silver taels. At most, it¡¯s worth ten silver taels.

    There was an assortment of vases and containers on the shelves in front of them. Just by how the vases were thin enough that sunlight could pass through them, customers could easily see that these vases were all top-tier goods.

    Ji Man had seen a fiery red vase that she liked and was currently bargaining.

    However, Ning Yuxuan felt that her bargaining was too extreme.

    It seemed that this store¡¯s business had be better after they came inside. Several people had followed them inside and were looking around the store too.

    Without saying a word or making a sound, Marquis Moyu stepped to stand behind Nie Sangyu.

    This group of people had been following them during the entire shopping trip, from the back gate¡¯s flowerbeds to the streets and now to this ceramic store. He always had a good memory for faces. Even thought these people had taken the special effort of changing their outer garb, he still recognized them.

    Looking at the woman in front of him that hadn¡¯t notice anything was off and was focused on nitpicking the vase that she was holding in her hand, Ning Yuxuan inwardly smiled. She really was very clever. Once again, she had involved him in something bad.

    With a sour expression on his face, the shopkeeper said, ¡°Madam, this vase is an antique. It¡¯s absolutely impossible to buy this vase for ten silver taels.¡±

    Ji Man still wanted to say more, but the shelves in front of her tottered. It seemed as if someone had identally bumped into it. A momentter, the shelves rapidly started to fall down on her.

    Countless vases fell onto the floor and shattered into pieces. Ning Yuxuan gritted his teeth and blocked the falling shelves from hitting her. Protectively nestled in his arms, Ji Man sharply looked at the nearby people.

    As the shopkeeper was screaming, ¡°Watch out!¡±, the people behind them had already taken out their daggers and were aiming them at Ji Man.

    Trantor Ramblings: Ji Man seems so reckless right now. It doesn¡¯t feel like a recklessness thates from thoughtless overconfidence, more like she doesn¡¯t care if she dies or not.

 Chapter 229 - The spider starts to weave (2)

    Chapter 229 ¨C The spider starts to weave (2)

    ¡°Shopkeeper, why are you just standing there? Go to the authorities and get help!¡± Ji Man shouted. She pushed Ning Yuxuan away and left the area underneath the falling shelves. Dust immediately rose in the room as several daggers flew through the air and almost struck her body. Frightened, she immediately went back to hiding in Ning Yuxuan¡¯s arms.

    ¡°You¡¯re such a troublemaker,¡± Ning Yuxuan angrily said.

    Ji Man pouted. She was totally innocent.

    @@novelbin@@

    He picked up her and jumped towards the antique store¡¯s doors. Theynded outside on the street. There was a considerable amount of people outside. Hearing such argemotion, one after another, they stopped to watch.

    Several of the dagger-wielding men followed them outside and hurled themselves at Ning Yuxuan without regard to their lives.

    While protectively guarding the woman behind him, Ning Yuxuan pulled out a piece of wood from a market stall. As he used the makeshift weapon to block the daggers, he shouted, ¡°Guibai!¡±

    The carriage hadn¡¯t been parked from here. Hearing his name, Guibai swiftly ran over and caught the woman that was flung over. He protectively moved her to the center of the crowd.

    It would be difficult enough for one person to fight three people at once, much less four armed people. These people seemed to not recognize him and only thought of him as a hindrance. Two people stayed behind to deal with him and the other two people tried to move towards the crowd to to grab Nie Sangyu.

    This was critical juncture between life and death, but Ji Man had crouched down at the edge of the crowd to calcte.

    Qian Lianxue had sent people to kill her, but there wasn¡¯t an absolute guarantee that they would be able to seed. And so, she guessed that Feiwan Courtyard would definitely be set on fire in order to destroy the letter. Perhaps, the prepared item she had left behind would be put to good use.

    After today, even if she didn¡¯t have undeniable evidence that Qian Lianxue was guilty, Marquis Moyu and Old Madame¡¯s formerly unshakable belief in Qian Lainxue would waver. At minimum, Qian Lianxue¡¯s position as an honored concubine could be taken away, and the number of spies in the household would be cut in half.

    Calcting it this way, as long as her view of Qian Lianxue as a person with evil ns was urate, then this had been a worthwhile transaction.

    The antique store had other employees. Before the shopkeeper left to get the city¡¯s guards, he ordered them to surround the group of people that had shattered so many antiques and seize them. This helped Ning Yuxuan out a lot. Although the store¡¯s employees weren¡¯t actually able to stop them, they would be able to dy them until the capital¡¯s guards arrived to arrest them.

    The guards that were responsible for this area were quite quick. The shopkeeper hadn¡¯t been gone for long before these guards arrived on the scene and seized the remaining men that were fighting with Ning Yuxuan. Because Ning Yuxuan had also been vigorously fighting and was dressed in amoner¡¯s clothing, he was also taken along to be judged by the local magistrate.

    Looking at Ning Yuxuan¡¯s livid face, Ji Man wasughing so hard that she almost cried. She had Guibai drive the carriage and follow after them so that she could bail Ning Yuxuan out.

    ¡ª

    The arrested assassins had ordinary-looking faces. Although they had been arrested, there weren¡¯t any hints of fear on their faces.

    One of them nonchntly mumbled, ¡°We failed, might get punished.¡±

    The leader of the group red at Ning Yuxuan and said, ¡°If he hadn¡¯t suddenly interfered, how could we have failed?¡±

    A person behind him murmured, ¡°He¡¯s one of the marquis¡¯s household guards, right? His martial arts is pretty good.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan coldly harrumphed and sarcastically said, ¡°Thanks for the praise. You¡¯re guilty of attempted murder, and yet you¡¯re in the mood to idly chat. You¡¯ll be facing Magistrate Yin soon. Do you still want to live?¡±

    The group of assassins remained unperturbed. It seemed as if they were unafraid of death, or perhaps, they thought it was impossible for them to be sentenced to death.

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s mind slightly turned. He lowered his head and didn¡¯t say another word.

    ¡ª

    After they were brought out of the cells to be judged and sentenced by Magistrate Yin, Ning Yuxuan took out his waist essory that proved his identity and told the judge what had happened. He asked Magistrate Yin to take charge of this matter and enforce justice.

    Magistrate Yin had onlye into this position recently and hadn¡¯t seen Marquis Moyu before. His only thought was that this person had an attractive appearance. After taking an extra look of him, he said, ¡°They hadn¡¯t actually harmed anyone, so they naturally can¡¯t be given the death sentence. It¡¯ll be fine just to imprison them for a period of time.

    Under thews of this dynasty, killing someone was a death sentence. Attempted murder was also a death sentence. And yet, this judge had breezily said this matter would be settled with locking them up for a while.

    Ning Yuxuan smiled, ¡°Sir, let¡¯s speak in private.¡±

    ¡ª

    Ji Man waited outside the local magistrate¡¯s office for the announcement of the judge¡¯s decision. She hadn¡¯t been waiting long when she saw Ning Yuxuaning outside by himself. His expression was very ugly.

    Ji Man asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan waved his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. Have other people buy the rest of the items.¡±

    Ji Man could see that he was in a terrible mood, so she didn¡¯t dare to be troublesome and obediently followed him back.

    However, after they returned, Ji Man didn¡¯t go to Feiwan Courtyard. Instead, she went looking for Nie Chenyu.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man smiled as she asked, ¡°Younger sister, do you want toe over to Feiwan Courtyard for a bit? Since Old Madame wants us to happily get along, we shouldn¡¯t let her down.¡±

    Nie Chenyu looked at her with a guarded expression. ¡°Older sister, you¡¯re suddenly showing such great hospitality. It makes younger sister feel a bit afraid.¡±

    When they were younger, there had been countless times when she and Nie Sangyu would mutually fight each other. But, Nie Sangyu didn¡¯t have a mother and she had one. And so, every single time, no matter who was in the wrong, there could only be one oue. Nie Sangyu getting scolded and punished.

    Ji Man continued to smile. ¡°Nothing bad will happen. The marquis just returned home with me. I¡¯m sure that he¡¯ll being over soon after he finishes up his work in his study.¡±

    Nie Chenyu¡¯s eyes brightened. After tidying up, she followed Nie Sangyu.

    As soon as they entered Feiwan Courtyard, they could see Dengxin standing outside.

    She said with a bright smile, ¡°Mistress Yu, there¡¯s a surprise waiting inside. You should open the doors slowly.¡±

    Nie Chenyu curiously asked, ¡°What surprise?¡±

    Ji Man shrugged and gestured for Nie Chenyu to open the doors.

 Chapter 230 - A surprise (1)

    Chapter 230 ¨C ¡°A surprise¡± (1)

    As a daughter of a noble family, Nie Chenyu had probably never encountered such a scene before.

    As soon as she had pushed open the doors, she saw snakes everywhere in the room: long snakes, short snakes, red ones, blue ones, and green ones. There were ones that were rising up and ones that slithered. There was an overflow of them on the table and a group of them encircling a corpse on the floor and hissing at it. Hearing the sound of the doors opening, a couple of them turned their triangr-shaped heads and focused their gaze on her.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Nie Chenyu frantically took several steps back, lost her bnce, and fell down. The snakes that had noticed the doors were open started slithering towards the outside.

    Dengxin hurriedly went over and shut the doors.

    Nie Chenyu had been frightened into tears. She grabbed her sister¡¯s hand and said while crying, ¡°I knew it. You didn¡¯t have good intentions when you asked me toe over. Why are those awful things in your room?!¡±

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    Ji Man pursed her lips. She had also been a bit scared too. She had thought of a lot of ways that Qian Lianxue could choose to harm her, but a room full of snakes hadn¡¯t been one of them. She had originally nned on having Dengxin wait outside with other servants and ambush whomever Qian Lianxue would send over. Then, she would bring Nie Chenyu over and put on a show of being surprised to see the detained person. This way, Nie Chenyu could act as a witness when she told this to Old Madame.

    After all, they were two members of Nie n. If they both said the same thing, Old Madame should at least believe in them a little bit, right?

    As it turned out, Dengxin didn¡¯t even need to do any acting. Qian Lianxue¡¯s big move had caused Nie Chenyu to be scared witless.

    ¡°You did this deliberately! I¡¯m going to find Old Madame and tell her what you did!¡± Nie Chenyu¡¯s legs still felt weak. Holding her servant girl¡¯s hand for support, she faltering stood up and scurried out of the courtyard.

    There was still a corpse inside her room. Such a serious matter, it wasn¡¯t something that could be decided by her. As Ji Man followed after Nie Chenyu and walked towards the main courtyard, she ordered Dengxin to send someone to inform Marquis Moyu about this matter.

    ¡ª

    When Ning Yuxuan arrived in the main courtyard, Dengxin was kneeling in the middle of the room as she said, ¡°After Madam left the estate, this servant had brought everyone to the kitchen to prepare some snacks, so that Madam would have something delicious to eat after she came back. But, servants from Qiangwei Courtyard were already using the kitchen. This servant could only bring everyone back to Feiwan Courtyard. But, right after we went back, there were noises inside the main rooms. Along with the other servants, this servant went over to look. As soon as the doors were open, we saw that the floor was full of snakes. We immediately closed doors. Later, we heard a scream inside the room. It was only at that point we found out that there was someone inside the room.¡±

    Why would a servant bring a basket full of snakes to Feiwan Courtyard? Those snakes had even been able to bite that person to death. These were clearly poisonous snakes.

    Nie Chenyu was sitting by Old Madame¡¯s side and crying. Her body was still trembling as she said, ¡°That scene was too frightening. Dengxin even lied to Chenyu and said there was a surprise inside. If I didn¡¯t have a habit of checking a room before entering, I would have definitely been bitten by those poisonous snakes too.¡±

    Dengxin gravely said, ¡°This servant didn¡¯t misspeak. There really was ¡°a surprise¡±. Old Madame, please find this kind-hearted person that specially had Little Five deliver so many poisonous snakes to my master.¡±

    Little Five was a servant that worked in the kitchen. He had been an honest, youngd.

    Ning Yuxuan profoundly looked at Nie Sangyu, then he finally spoke, ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll have people from the Ministry of Justice personallye here to investigate this matter. I¡¯ll send people over to remove the snakes in Feiwan Courtyard too.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man nced at Qian Lianxue, who had been sitting on the side without showing any reaction, then she took out the ount book as well as a list of prices, ¡°This servant went shopping today. While I was outside, I asked about the prices for some items. Based on the average prices from several ces, it should haven¡¯t cost more than a thousand silver taels for the materials needed to repair Xuesong Courtyard.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, the rtive that Lianxue had rmended had reported over three thousand silver taels as the cost for those materials. This servant had already reported this matter to the local magistrate.¡±

    Qian Lianxue finally showed a reaction. She raised her head and deeply looked at Nie Sangyu, then she stood up and knelt down in front of Marquis Moyu and Old Madame. While mildly gasping for breath, she said, ¡°Lianxue wasn¡¯t aware of this matter. Old Madame, Marquis, please forgive Lianxue.¡±

    She had ingratiated herself with everyone. Who knows how many masters she was secretly serving? Qian Lianxue thought Nie Sangyu¡¯s understanding was really too low-leveled. So what if she caught her red-handed? Old Madame and the marquis believed in her. No matter what, they wouldn¡¯t me her. As for those two letters, even if they had both fallen into Nie Sangyu¡¯s hands, that was okay too. Those letters only had orders and didn¡¯t mention her by name. There was no way that Nie Sangyu could prove that she was the intended recipient of those letters.

    Qian Lianxue lightly coughed a few times. She raised her face that looked as if it would never hurt another person or animal and pitifully looked up at the two people in the center seats.

    Old Madame was silent for a while, but she surprisingly asked Nie Sangyu, ¡°What do you think is the most appropriate way to handle this matter?¡±

    Ji Man closed the ount book and said, ¡°Even though Lianxue¡¯s intentions weren¡¯t bad, her actions have established a negative precedent. What will we do if more people think they can use their rtionship with the other concubines to defraud the marquis? How can the rules of right and wrong be enforced then? This servant thinks, the punishment doesn¡¯t need to be harsh. Lianxue has always been a person that didn¡¯tpete for favor or status. Rank isn¡¯t that important to her. Let¡¯s just lower her status to an ordinary concubine in order to warn other people from following her bad example. Lianxue, I¡¯m sure you can ept this as the resolution, right?¡±

    Qian Lianxue¡¯s heart tightened in rm. She raised her head and looked at Marquis Moyu. Nie Sangyu¡¯s words left her unable to defend for herself. She naturally couldn¡¯t say that she wasn¡¯t willing to ept this. She could only pleadingly look at Marquis Moyu and wait for him to help her.

    However, this time, Ning Yuxuan only nodded his head and said, ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±

 Chapter 234 - Teasing Little Minx (1)

    Chapter 234 ¨C Teasing Little Minx (1)

    ¡°Your Highness.¡±

    After walking halfway to the study, Zhao Jue encountered Qian Lianxue. She was wearing an unobtrusive, white dress today and looked even more delicate than usual. Her waist looked slender enough to be held in only one arm, and there was a sickly blush on her face.

    There was no other passerby on the path. Danzhu saluted, then she stood to the side to keep watch.

    The third prince looked at Qian Lianxue and said, ¡°I heard that you provoked Sangyu.¡±

    Qian Lianxue shook her head, sighed, and quietly said, ¡°Lianxue hasn¡¯t done anything to offend Madam. It¡¯s Madam that¡¯s insisting on making life difficult for Lianxue. She was the one that snatched the previous letter that you sent and knocked my servant unconscious.¡±

    The third prince slightly raised his eyebrow. ¡°How could that be possible?¡±

    ¡°Lianxue wouldn¡¯t lie to you.¡± She coughed a few times, then she said, ¡°Your Highness, Lianxue has always whole-heartedly worked for you. But, Madam used the excuse of Lianxue¡¯s rtive¡¯s wrongdoing to demote Lianxue to an ordinary concubine and snatch away a lot of Lianxue¡¯s key servants.¡±

    What on earth was Sangyu thinking? Zhao Jue felt slightly angry. Could it be that she was the same as before? Was she willing to disregard everything in order topete for the marquis¡¯s favor? She should know that Qian Lianxue¡¯s was his loyal servant.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to herter about this. Just be more careful when carrying out what you should be doing.¡± With a fling of his sleeve, the third prince resumed walking to the study.

    At present, his top priority was to find and talk to Marquis Moyu.

    ¡ª

    Ning Yuxuan was sitting in his study. On the small table next to him, there was a pot of tea. Seeing that the third prince hade, he invited him to sit down.

    Zhao Jueughed. ¡°Yuxuan, did you predict that I woulde here?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Marquis Moyu nodded. ¡°The first prince is most likely waiting to see what your expression looks like when you leave this estate.¡±

    Although Zhao Zhe was under house arrest, Xiao Tianyi and the empress wouldn¡¯t be sitting around doing nothing. Even though the crown prince was in a dire state, the crown prince¡¯s faction hadn¡¯t been defeated yet.

    ¡°Then, I should start practicing on showing an especially displeased and darkened expression. That way my oldest brother will feel at ease.¡± Zhao Jue¡¯s gently smiled. After picking up the tea, his expression had turned downcast.

    Ning Yuxuanughed in spite of himself. But then, thinking of something else, his expression turned serious again. ¡°I have possession of two letters. Your Highness, excuse me for speaking bluntly. You shouldn¡¯t underestimate women.¡±

    ¡°Letters?¡± Zhao Jue thought of his recent conversation with Qian Lianxue and somewhat awkwardly asked, ¡°Where did these two letterse from?¡±

    Marquis Moyu took out the two letters. One letter was smudged, but some of the words could still be clearly read. The other letter was in perfect condition.

    After reading the two letters, the third prince¡¯s expression sunk. He coldly harrumphed and said, ¡°I must have been blind.¡±

    After a pause, he still somewhat incredulously asked, ¡°Did you get both of these letters from her?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan nodded. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Sangyu.¡±

    If Sangyu hadn¡¯t given the back gate¡¯s guard so much money, he wouldn¡¯t have paid attention to Danzhu, much less pursue the matter of Qian Lainxue¡¯s family letters. It was because he had always underestimated women, so he hadn¡¯t notice that there had been such deeply hidden saboteur.

    He had previously disregarded the third prince¡¯s meddling in his harem through Qian Lianxue because he thought the third prince was just doing those things to help his younger cousin. But after Qian Lianxue had been fully exposed, he was deeply shocked.

    The infighting between women in a harem was a lot more ferocious than he had thought.

    The third prince was silent for a long time. He carefully looked over the smudged letter, then he closed his eyes and said, ¡°How do you want to deal with this? Do you want to turn around and use her against that person or just dispose of her?¡±

    Although the sender¡¯s name couldn¡¯t be seen in the smudged letter, he could see that it wasn¡¯t his orders that had been written on the letter. Qian Lianxue had actually been serving another master while following his orders too. The smudged part of the letter made it impossible to tell who her other master was, but it was obvious that Qian Lainxue had yed him, Zhao Jue, like a fool.

    She couldn¡¯t be allowed to live.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to consider trying to use her against that other person,¡± Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°It¡¯s unlikely that will work. For her to sessfully hide herself for so long without being caught, that shows her innate skills. As for disposing her... how about handing her to Sangyu?¡±

    With the hatred that Sangyu felt towards Lianxue for snatching away Gancao¡¯s life, he believed that it wasn¡¯t necessary for him to make any moves. Sangyu would neatly deal with Lianxue by herself.

    ¡°What about Yingchen?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan paused, then he sighed and said, ¡°He¡¯s not close with Lianxue. Otherwise, Lianxue wouldn¡¯t have done those foolish things. If Sangyu wants to punish Lianxue, she¡¯ll definitely find a reason that will leave people sincerely convinced and ready to concede. That way, it¡¯ll naturally be possible to give Yingchen an exnation that he¡¯ll be willing too ept.¡±

    Zhao Jue raised his eyebrows. He carefully looked at the person in front of him and said, ¡°Yuxuan, have you noticed that whenever you mention Sangyu, your gaze has be very gentletely?¡±

    He used to think that it would almost impossible for Ning Yuxuan to fall in love with Sangyu. But looking at him now, he could see there was a hint of...

    Marquis Moyu expressionlessly said, ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re overthinking things. Yuxuan will naturallyplete everything that I¡¯ve promised you. As for the other things, there¡¯s no need for Your Highness to waste time thinking about them.¡±

    The third prince twitched his lips. He stood up, straightened his robe, and said, ¡°I won¡¯t say anything unnecessary. It¡¯s about time for me to return. I won¡¯t interfere in your household affairs anymore.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan bowed. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Zhao Jue turned around and left the study. His face had regained its earlier cold and distressed expression as he walked out of the residence.

 Chapter 237 - Nie Sangyu, die a wretched death! (2)

    Chapter 237 ¨C Nie Sangyu, die a wretched death! (2)

    Lianyi widened her eyes in horror. She straightened her body and asked, ¡°Why? No one else died. It was only you...¡±

    ¡°Little Five¡± helplessly said, ¡°It¡¯s because I helped someonemit an evil act. It¡¯s the cycle of karma. The King of Hell said that if the truth isn¡¯t revealed, then he has to sentence me with being unable reincarnate. This way, the mortal world will see that there¡¯s a price for doing something nefarious.¡±

    Lianyi could only nkly stare at him as tears kept falling from her eyes.

    Ji Man tugged on Marquis Moyu¡¯s sleeve, and the two of them quietly went back inside.

    Ning Yuxuan asked, ¡°You want Lianyi to act as a witness against Qian Lainxue?¡±

    Ji Man pursed her lips. ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°Then, what do you want her punishment to be?¡±

    Ji Man seriously thought over his question before saying, ¡°At minimum, didn¡¯t she try to kill me? ording to thew, isn¡¯t the punishment death?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan slightly furrowed his brow.

    Lianxue was someone that had been with him for several years and helped him with many tasks. For her to die like this...

    Clearly understanding his feelings, Ji Man patted his shoulder and said, ¡°This servant knows that the marquis will definitely feel heartache if Lianxue dies. This servant isn¡¯t an unreasonably demanding person either. How about you just write a divorce letter?¡±

    Was she really someone that would kind-heartedly let off Qian Lianxue like this? She just wanted him to divorce her? Marquis Moyu looked at her in disbelief.

    Ji Man seriously said, ¡°This servant won¡¯t go back on my word.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan mulled over her words. For the time being, he would just wait and see. Perhaps, with Qian Lianxue¡¯s skillful rhetoric, Nie Sangyu wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat her.

    ¡ª

    The next day, as expected, Lianyi followed Nie Sangyu to meet with Old Madame and tell her the truth about the poisonous snakes incident in Feiwan Courtyard. She exposed Qian Lianxue as the hidden mastermind. Little Five had just been following her order.

    Qian Lianxue felt furious as she knelt down in front of Old Madame. In tears, she said, ¡°This servant has always whole-heartedly served the marquis and Old Madame. This servant didn¡¯t expect that even after all these years, Madam still can¡¯t tolerate this servant. This servant hasn¡¯t treated Lianyi unwell either. This servant is shocked that she would turn around and bite me.¡±

    Old Madame was frowning as she looked at Nie Sangyu. She wasn¡¯t quite sure what was going on.

    However, Ji Man said, ¡°This household has always been in disharmony. A lot of servants have said that it¡¯s because Sangyu has been inciting trouble. But, Old Madame, did you know? It¡¯s the meekest person that¡¯s the scariest.¡±

    ¡°Lianyi is Xuesong Courtyard¡¯s loyal servant. If she hadn¡¯t seen Little Five¡¯s ghostst night, she would have never exposed the truth.¡± Ji Man nced at Marquis Moyu, who sitting on the side, and said, ¡°The marquis was also therest night.¡±

    Old Madame froze in surprise, then she looked at her son.

    Ning Yuxuan quietly looked at the kneeling Qian Lianxue. He wasn¡¯t a cold and ruthless person. Even if Lianxue had a lot of hidden secrets, and it would be better to deal with her sooner rather thanter, he couldn¡¯t stay an indifferent bystander. After all, they had been married for so long.

    If he allowed her to stay here, she and Sangyu wouldn¡¯t stop fighting until one of them died. Perhaps, even more secrets would be dragged out into the light. Since it was like that, then he should just release her and give her freedom.

    Ning Yuxuan finally spoke, ¡°I¡¯ll write a divorce letter. Lianxue can return to her maiden home.¡±

    Qian Lianxue incredulously looked at him. She probably didn¡¯t know that she had already lost her usefulness. ¡°My lord, you want to divorce Lianxue?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan looked at her and lightly said, ¡°You conspired to murder Madam. Normally, the punishment would be a death sentence. But, because of our past years of mutual affection, I¡¯ll allow you to leave this estate.¡±

    Old Madame looked at her son and didn¡¯t say another word. She didn¡¯t especially like Qian Lianxue. It was just that Qian Lianxue had helped her with so many things. Although she didn¡¯t understand why Qian Lianxue had wanted to drive Jinse out of the estate, Qian Lianxue hadn¡¯t made any other mistakes.

    Ji Man smiled. Looking at the shocked expression on Qian Lianxue¡¯s face, she lightly said, ¡°My lord, thank you for fairly settling this matter for Sangyu.¡±

    Qian Lianxue had already thought that Nie Sangyu had acted outrageously by demoting her from an honored concubine to an ordinary concubine. She couldn¡¯t believe that the marquis was now divorcing her because of this woman.

    What was the result of being divorced? The important thing wasn¡¯t her reputation, it was the fact that she hadpletely lost her usefulness. For now, let¡¯s not even discuss the third prince. That was rted to Nie Sangyu. But, what about her other master? She had always hidden herself well. She absolutely shouldn¡¯t have been exposed at this point!

    No, this was wrong. Old Madame and the marquis shouldn¡¯t have treated her like this just because of Lianyi¡¯s words. Nie Sangyu must have used some underhanded tricks. It was all her fault.

    @@novelbin@@

    Qian Lianxue was filled with an endless amount of anger and resentment. After gasping for breath for a few seconds, she fainted.

    Even after she fainted, Qian Lianxue¡¯s teeth were still clenched. She was feeling too resentful. She hadn¡¯t reached her goal yet. She had helped so many people with their tasks. As long as one of them seeded, she would be able to enjoy untold riches and luxuries. She wouldn¡¯t have to continue being a pitiful concubine. Why? Why did Marquis Moyu choose to give up on her at this juncture?

    ¡°Master...¡± Danzhu watched as the other servants carried her master out. She knelt down and kowtowed at the marquis and Old Madame. ¡°Master has always been sickly and now she¡¯s fainted. There aren¡¯t many people left in Qian n. Old Madame, Marquis, please just look the other way and spare my master!¡±

    Ji Man started walking outside and had Dengxin pull Danzhu up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll personally escort your master back home. Qian n¡¯s estate, I¡¯ll definitely properly sort it out for your master.¡±

    Danzhu wanted to say more, but Dengxin was especially forceful and was already dragging her out of the room.

    ¡°Nie Sangyu, die a wretched death!¡±

 Chapter 241 - The legendary illegitimate child (2)

    Chapter 241 ¨C The legendary illegitimate child (2)

    She had once expected that this day woulde, but she hadn¡¯t thought the emperor¡¯s decree would still count after so much time had passed. She had already given birth to a son. Why did she still have to remain servant? He was her son. Why should he be given to Nie Sangyu to raise? Only the gods knew if this viinous woman would mistreat her son or not.

    @@novelbin@@

    However, after Tanxiang tugged on her sleeve, Wen Wan returned to her senses.

    She had been demoted and also sent to the other estate once. This was because she had been too impulsive. It was time for her to learn how to moderate her actions based on the situation. She had to endure. In this household, Nie Sangyu was the main wife.

    ¡°This one is just a lowly servant and doesn¡¯t have the right to speak. Everything should be decided by Old Madame.¡± Wen Wan swallowed her anger and furtively cried as she stood by Marquis Moyu¡¯s side.

    Her tearsnded on the back of Ning Yuxuan¡¯s hand. He turned his head to the side, silently looked at her, and held her hand in his.

    Wen Wen cried harder, but she didn¡¯t make a sound. Her tears were like a strand of cascading pearls where the string had broken.

    It truly was extremely painful to be separated from your child. Ji Man took the baby from Old Madame and inwardlyughed.

    When Wen Wan was being separated from her child, there was someone to hold her hand andfort her. What about herself? She had to struggle by herself for a few months to escape from that shadow. But, when she went to sleep, she still kept dreaming about her lost child.

    However, no one ever mentioned her child. Old Madame had said that she sent people to look for her child. Marquis Moyu had said the same words too. And yet, even though baby after baby had been born in this household, her child still hadn¡¯t been found.

    Muxu¡¯s son¡¯s childhood nickname was Fu-<i>er</i>. Old Madame named Wen Wan¡¯s son Xi-<i>er</i>. As for Liu Hanyun¡¯s daughter, she gave her the nickname Yun-<i>er</i>.

    (T/N: <i>Xi</i> can means sunlight, sunshine, early dawn. This specific <i>yun</i> character is used to describe the smooth, hard skin of bamboo. It¡¯s not the same <i>yun</i> character that¡¯s in Liu Hanyun¡¯s name.)

    ¡ª

    Now that Xi-<i>er</i> had been given her to take care of, Feiwan Courtyard became livelier. Every night, Ji Man would be awakened by his cries. Then, the wet nurse woulde and feed him milk. Ji Man would stand by the wet nurse and sing him lubies with dark circles under her eyes. After Xi-<i>er</i> came, Ji Man felt that her mood had be much better. It was probably because she had lost her own child, but hadn¡¯t been able to grieve.

    ¡ª

    Wen Wan could be considered as having regained her freedom. Right now, she was impatiently working on regaining the figure she had before pregnancy, then she would be able to cultivate deep feelings with Marquis Moyu once again.

    Whenever Ji Man asked Dengxin where the marquis was, Dengxin had answered several times in a row that he had taken Wen Wan out of the residence to have fun.

    As these two visited idyllic mountains andkes, Wen Wan and Marquis Moyu¡¯s feelings seem to heat up quite quickly.

    Taking advantage of this time, Ji Man paid a visit to Ning Mingjie¡¯s home.

    After there was news in the imperial court that Ning Mingjie would be going off to battle next year, people had tried to climb up socially by establishing a connection with him. But, Ning Mingjie seemed to be in a bad mood since Gancao¡¯s death. Visitors would be given a polite thank you while being declined entrance into the residence.

    However, when Ji Man went to visit him, he personally came to the entrance and opened the gate to wee her inside.

    Looking at his beautiful face that could topple a country, Ji Man thought it had greatly changed over time. Whenever she saw him, she always felt a pang of sorrow. She couldn¡¯t stop herself from remembering that time when Gancao had shyly stood next to him with a blushing face.

    ¡°There¡¯s something that I want to give Young Master.¡± Ji Man steadied her emotions, took out the autopsy report as well as some of the depositions from Xuesong Courtyard¡¯s previous servants from her sleeve, and handed them to him. ¡°Sangyu also wants to ask Young Master for a favor.¡±

    She hadn¡¯t been able to find conclusive evidence for Gancao¡¯s case. After all, she wasn¡¯t Sherlock Holmes. Although she could be considered an expert at guessing the hidden intentions of women, she still needed to rely on a professional to solve this case.

    Ning Mingjie was the most suitable person.

    After carefully reading over the documents, Ning Mingjie pursed his lips and said, ¡°This one will have to bother you with a visit tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for taking the trouble, Young Master.¡± Ji Man saluted him, then she covered her head back up with the cloak¡¯s hood and left.

    Ning Mingjie continued standing in the opened entrance until her figure had disappeared. The weather had already felt chilly enough today.

    ¡ª

    Everyone in the marquis¡¯s household had thought that Wen Wan had regained the marquis¡¯s favor and were extremely envious of her. However, on the fifth day he took her out, when they returned from their outing, he had also brought back another woman.

    This woman was very ordinary-looking, but she did somewhat resemble Nie Sangyu. She was also holding a baby in her arms.

    Standing next to him, Wen Wan¡¯s eyes were red. Without saying a word, she directly went back to Qiangwei Courtyard by herself.

    Ji Man thought this was the same as pping Wen Wan. Not only had he brought back another woman, this woman had a child.

    Ning Yuxuan looked at Nie Sangyu and seriously said, ¡°This is Xia-<i>shi</i>. She¡¯s a woman that I had a fated encounter with during the Southern Trip. She ended up pregnant with my child after we shared a night together. In the end, he¡¯s my son and shouldn¡¯t be left outside. So, I brought him back.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. Bringing back an illegitimate child, did this great lord think he was Qianlong Emperor that had visited Jiangnan?

    (T/N: In the famous drama, <i>Return of the Pearl Princess</i>, Qianlong Emperor had an illegitimate child with a woman named Xia Yuhe.)

    Ji Man drylyughed and asked, ¡°Miss Xia, is your first name Yuhe?¡±

    Xia-<i>shi</i> looked at her oddly, then pursed her lips and said, ¡°This servant is called Lianxin. Madam, who is Yuhe?¡±

    Ji Man waved her hand. ¡°Never mind then. That¡¯s not important. Since the marquis brought you back, I¡¯ll bring you to see Old Madameter.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan looked at her. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to look at the baby?¡±

    What was the point in looking at a baby? Lately, she was almost getting tired of looking at them. Ji Man twitched her lips, but in the end, she still approached Xia-<i>shi</i> and looked at the baby in her arms.

    This baby was much bigger than Xi-<i>er</i>. He didn¡¯t cry or fuss. He just curiously looked at her with his limpid, ck eyes.

    Somewhere in her heart, a piece suddenly softened.

    Trantor Ramblings: I would feel bad for Wen Wan, but since she was totally okay with switching her real child with Liu Hanyun¡¯s, I really doubt the sincerity of her tears.

    Anyways, Ji Man is finally reunited with her baby! If you want to know when Ji Man will know that this baby is actually her son, I included the spoiler in thements below.

    And, even though Ning Yuxuan seems like he¡¯s falling love with Wen Wan again (at least for part of this chapter), Ji Man/Nie Sangyu has been getting the final say in everything important in the household.

    Also, I wonder if Ning Mingjie is really feeling sad because of Gancao¡¯s death? Or, is that just Ji Man¡¯s false impression because she¡¯s projecting her own feelings? Even though he was willing to take Gancao as his concubine, he barely knew her.

    ¡°Looking at his beautiful face that could topple a country, Ji Man thought it had greatly changed over time.¡± Has his appearance actually changed, or is it just the way that Ji Man looks at him has changed?

 Chapter 244 - Unaware that shes already involved (1)

    Chapter 244 ¨C Unaware that she¡¯s already involved (1)

    This answer to this question was directly rted to whether or not she could return to her time. It was true that she had gotten used to an ancient person¡¯s lifestyle after staying here for so long. Wasn¡¯t it just going to sleep a little bit earlier, not having any nightlife orputers and other electronics, andpeting back and forth with a group of women to pass the time? When she looked up or down, she would see antiques. There were also several servants to attend to her every need. Her life wasn¡¯t too boring here.

    Still, she wanted to go back. There were upleted reports and sales that were waiting for her toplete. There were novels and dramas that were waiting to be enjoyed. There was also a substantial year-end bonus waiting for her. She could use the bonus to buy her parents a few expensive household items to show filial respect. She had been here for so long. How much time had already passed in the modern world?

    Feeling a bit depressed, Ji Man sighed.

    Ning Yuxuan suddenly hugged her tighter. It was only for a moment before he rxed his hold. His steady breathing seemed to indicate that he had already fallen asleep.

    Ji Man raised her head to look at him. This was a man that Nie Sangyu had continued to love despite losing her life. Compared to when he was awake, his sleeping face looked a lot more lovable.

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    ¡ª

    The next day, hearing that Old Madame had awakened, Ji Man hurriedly brought Xia-<i>shi</i> to pay respect to her. After holding Xia-<i>shi</i>¡®s child and repeatedly saying, ¡°<i>hao</i>¡°, Old Madame fell unconscious again. She had only been awake for several minutes this time.

    And so, with a calm expression, Ji Man announced that Xia<i>-shi</i>¡®s baby¡¯s childhood nickname would be Haohao.

    (T/N: <i>Hao</i> means good, well, etc.)

    <i>Xia-shi</i> was slightly dissatisfied with this odd name. But, Ning Yuxuan wasn¡¯t opposed to this name. He ced his hand on her shoulder andfortingly said, ¡°It¡¯s just a childhood nickname. When he¡¯s one year old, I¡¯ll personally give him a name.¡±

    Wen Wan was standing by the side. Her eyes were slightly red.

    Ji Man thought; if she was reading this in the original novel, then this would be the portion where the female lead is being tormented. The male lead had brought back an illegitimate child and had shifted his feelings to someone else. The author would be able to write several pages about the female lead¡¯s emotional response and masochistically recalling old memories.

    ¡ª

    Once again, Ji Man was faced with the seasonal problem of allocating resources such as charcoal for brazier, clothes, and food to each courtyard. Since several courtyards now had babies, Ji Man had to allocate more to those courtyards. Since Xia-<i>shi</i>¡®s baby had been added into Ning n¡¯s genealogy record as Ning Yuxuan¡¯s oldest son, Ji Man naturally had to allocate slightly more items to Cailian Courtyard.

    As for Xia-<i>shi</i>¡®s status, there were already too many people in this household that were discontent with Xia-<i>shi</i>, so Ji Man didn¡¯t dare to give her a status that was too high. She reluctantly gave Xia-<i>shi</i> the status of an ordinary concubine, a position that was below Liu Hanyun and Muxu.

    ¡ª

    News arrived from Qian Residence that said Qian Lianxue had gotten so sick that she was on her deathbed. To give Qian Yingchen face, Marquis Moyu decided to go to Qian Residence to visit her.

    Ji Man grabbed Ning Yuxuan¡¯s sleeve and said with a smile, ¡°This servant should go too.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t refuse her, and the two of them went to Qian Residence in the same carriage.

    When they entered Qian Lianxue¡¯s room, they saw that she had lost weight to the point that she was just skin and bones.

    As soon as she saw Marquis Moyu, her tears fell without stopping.

    ¡°It¡¯s really too wonderful that my lord is still willing to see Lianxue.¡± Qian Lianxue stretched out her thin and weak hand. She wanted to pull Marquis Moyu closer to her, but he was standing too far away for her to reach him. He didn¡¯t seem as if he was going to step closer either.

    Ji Man was speechless. She had originally thought that Qian Lianxue was just pretending to be sick. She nced at Jinse, who was standing nearby. Jinse made a gesture of wanting to go outside with her hand, so Ji Man went along with her request and left the room.

    Outside, Ji Man asked, ¡°Is she really sick?¡±

    Jinse led her to a more remote corner and sneered, ¡°She¡¯s so clever. She¡¯s the one that made herself sick like this. My master had originally wanted to silence her permanently, but after hearing that she was sick, he hasn¡¯t sent anyone. Even though everyone is saying that she¡¯s going to die soon, her breath still hasn¡¯t stopped after being sick for so long.¡±

    Ji Man thought; ah, of course. But, what was Qian Lianxue¡¯s goal? She still couldn¡¯t figure it out.

    Jinse derisively said, ¡°This servant has been thinking there was something strange going on since that time when that woman ate the wrong pastry in the marquis¡¯s estate. This servant had practically treated her like a master, but she turned around and harmed this servant. This servant had been totally caught unprepared.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    A thought stirred in Ji Man¡¯s mind.

    At the beginning, Jinse had been sent to the marquis by the crown prince. However, other than a few minor attempts at trying to give her a hard time during the Southern Trip, Jinse hadn¡¯t done much to set herself against her once they arrived at the marquis¡¯s estate. On the contrary, Jinse would frequently try to give her helpful advice. The crown prince hated her. If Jinse was really loyal to the crown prince, they naturally wouldn¡¯t have gotten along so easily.

    There had also been a strange urrence that she had overlooked until now. When she had bought the third prince¡¯s birthday gift, Jinse had told her that the third prince like paintings of beautiful women and notndscape paintings.

    This meant that Jinse was probably loyal to the third prince. Since she had practically treated Qian Lainxue as her master, didn¡¯t this mean that Qian Lianxue had been following the third prince¡¯s orders?

    Ji Man felt somewhat confused. Although she wasn¡¯t close to Zhao Jue, based on their familial rtionship, Zhao Jue shouldn¡¯t want to harm her. If Qian Lianxue was absolute loyal to the third prince, why would she harm her or Jinse?

    Unless, Qian Lianxue was acting out the role of an undercover agent in an olden times spy show? While she was following the third prince¡¯s orders, she was also follow someone else¡¯s orders as well. Since Qian Lianxue was carrying out orders from both sides, she hadn¡¯t been able to figure out what Qian Lianxue really wanted.

    Was this hypothesis too ridiculous? Women in ancient times grew up in boudoirs. It should be very rare for a woman in ancient times to be so shrewd and brave, right? After all, Qian Lianxue would have nowhere to go once she was exposed.

    But, if she was guessing right, who was Qian Lianxue¡¯s other master? Could her child have fallen into that person¡¯s hands?

    Trantor Ramblings: I think Ji Man¡¯s reasons for wanting to go back to modern-day are very weak. There are so many better reasons for why she would want to go back: not worrying about being killed by the crown prince or someone else, getting away from this poisonous harem and Ning Yuxuan, not living in a world where she¡¯s a second-ss citizen just because she¡¯s a woman, etc. Is it because deep down, she doesn¡¯t really want to go back anymore?

 Chapter 247

    Chapter 247 ¨C If you y around too much, it will end up ruining your rtionship with the person that you love (2)

    Recently, Xi-<i>er</i>¡®s health hadn¡¯t been good. He would frequently be feverish and throw up milk. The wet nurse had said that perhaps it was because he had been prematurely born, so Ji Man had Doctor Lie over from time to time to check up Xi-<i>er</i> diet. After he said there was nothing wrong with it, Ji Man stopped worrying.

    ¡ª

    On the day of the little prince¡¯s one month birthday, Wen Wan truly made a spectacle of herself. Wearing a dancer¡¯s outfit, Wen Wan performed a <i>xianyue</i> dance. It could be considered apletely unprecedented act.

    Among themoners, <i>xianyue</i> was a very famous dance that would attract the eyes of all men. During the performance, the dancer¡¯s elegant movements and postures would be brimming with seduction.

    (T/N: <i>xianyue</i> means celestial/heavenly music)

    However, while Wen Wan was beside herself with joy, she had forgotten that this banquet was for celebrating the little prince¡¯s one month birthday. The person that should be in the limelight wasn¡¯t her. Moreover, although men like to look at alluring and charming women, there was no man that liked to look at his own woman being alluring and charming in front of arge group of men.

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s expression was very ugly. Because the emperor and the imperial noble consort were present, he didn¡¯t erupt in fury. He only lowered his head and drank more wine.

    Holding the little prince, the imperial noble consort sneered, ¡°A few days ago Her Majesty said that Miss Wen Wan had wholeheartedly devoted herself to motherhood. It¡¯s such a surprise to see your performance today. Even this consort¡¯s heart is stirred up by looking at your womanly physique and posture on the stage.¡±

    In contrast, sitting at the table, the emperor was actually faintly smiling. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped that Yuxuan likes her so much. Wen family¡¯s daughter is truly a stunning beauty.¡±

    There were many members of the imperial family attending this banquet. The men were all repeatedly praising Wen Wan, and the women were all wearing mocking expressions.

    After Wen Wan finished her dance, she inwardly encouraged herself with the thoughts that the women disliked her because they were jealous of her. This meant that she had done very well.

    She nced at Ning Yuxuan and saw that he hadn¡¯t raised his head to look at her. Wen Wan felt a bit distressed. However, after thinking it over, she asked herself. Hadn¡¯t Yuxuan¡¯s personality always been like this? The more he liked someone, the more he wouldn¡¯t look at that person. Thus, she treated it as him being very happy with her performance too.

    After the performance section was over, Wen Wan left the hall to change her clothes. However, a lot of the guests didn¡¯t know about the marquis¡¯s household special situation and thought that Wen Wan was just a servant. And so, after she had changed her clothes, several sons of nobility and distant descendants of the imperial family surrounded her.

    ¡°Beautiful Miss, may this one ask for your name?¡±

    Wen Wan bashfully smiled. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, ¡°Wen-<i>shi</i> is just a lowly one. My name isn¡¯t worth mentioning.¡±

    Her smile gave off the impression of a timid, pretty daughter from a humble family. This very easily stirred up these men¡¯s hormones. And so, the female lead captured the hearts of most of the men today. During the entire way back to the banquet hall, Wen Wan was lightly smiling.

    When Wen Wan returned to stand by Nie Sangyu¡¯s side, Ji Man looked at Ning Yuxuan, who was seated at the side, and fake smiled as she reminded Wen Wan, ¡°Since you¡¯re already the marquis¡¯s person, it¡¯ll be the best if you clearly refuse those men that are interested in you.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    With an innocent expression, Wen Wan asked, ¡°Madam, what are you saying? Who¡¯s interested in Wan-<i>er</i>?¡±

    There wasn¡¯t any benefit to reminding this person. Besides Wen Wan didn¡¯t even appreciate her advice. Ji Man shook her head. A lot of women liked to y games of ambiguous love. Even if the woman already had a partner, she wouldn¡¯t clearly reject the other person and would just fake obliviousness as an excuse so that she could enjoy the feeling of another person liking her.

    If you y around too much, it will end up ruining your rtionship with the person that you love.

    However, Ji Man wouldn¡¯t share this high-level modern romance theory with Wen Wan. Watching as Wen Wan walk down the path to ruin was pretty fun too.

    The imperial noble consort pulled Nie Sangyu to her side, and they talked for a while. The imperial noble consort also called Nie Chenyu over and bestowed her several items.

    Looking at her older niece, the imperial noble consort gently said, ¡°You¡¯re both daughters from the main wife. Chenyu must be feeling a bit wronged.¡±

    Ji Man pursed her lips. ¡°Sangyu understands.¡±

    Nie Chenyu was the daughter of the main wife, but she had entered the marquis¡¯s household as only a concubine. From Chen-<i>shi</i>¡®s perspective, her daughter was being horribly wronged, so she frequently went to the pce to cry in front of the imperial noble consort. This must be why the imperial noble consort was suggesting this to her. But, Ji Man wasn¡¯t the female lead. She wouldn¡¯t go the male lead and ask him to favor another woman while feeling aggrieved herself. And so, this was just an empty acknowledgement.

    ¡ª

    When they returned to the estate that night, contrary to Wen Wan¡¯s expectations, Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯te over to favor her. He didn¡¯t evene to Qiangwei Courtyard. Instead, he went to Feiwan Courtyard.

    Tanxiangforted Wen Wan by saying, ¡°This servant thinks that the only reason the marquis frequently goes to Feiwan Courtyard is because Young Master Xi is there. You still have a ce in the marquis¡¯s heart.¡±

    Wen Wan was sitting at the table with red eyes. ¡°He¡¯s my child. How can I be willing to ept that he was taken from me and being used by that woman to gain favor?¡±

    Tanxiang considered her words before saying, ¡°Master, you can take Young Master Xi back.¡±

    ¡°Right now, I don¡¯t have any status. How can I take him back?¡± At the mention of this, Wen Wan¡¯s eyes turned redder. ¡°The emperor has already rxed his position. Why hasn¡¯t Yuxuan returned me to my original position?¡±

    Tanxiang lowered her head. She really didn¡¯t have any words tofort her master. She could only say, ¡°It¡¯s probably because Madam is pressuring him not to.¡±

    Wen Wan paused. She clenched her fist. Her eyes darkened and brightened. ¡°Where¡¯s the item that Her Majesty gave me?¡±

    ¡ª

    Feiwan Courtyard.

    Seeing that Marquis Moyu was in a bad mood tonight, Ji Man stayed silent. After helping him change his clothes, she obediently lied down to sleep. The wet nurse had already fed Xi-<i>er</i> and taken him out of the room. Surprisingly, he hadn¡¯t fussed or cried tonight.

    After sleeping to the middle of the night, Ji Man kept feeling uneasy. She got up, draped an outer robe over herself, pushed opened the doors, and went to neighboring room to look.

    Xi-<i>er</i> was quietly lying on the bed. His little face was red.

    Had she just gotten used to being woken up by Xi-er¡¯s cries? Now that this baby was quiet, she actually felt a sense of unease.

    From the doorway behind her, she suddenly heard the voice of the wet nurse asking, ¡°Madam?¡±

 Chapter 249 - An upright official that fell from the sky (2)

    Chapter 249 ¨C An upright official that fell from the sky (2)

    Sometimes, women were like animals that would selffort themselves. Ning Yuxuan had only stated two facts, and Wen Wan had supplemented everything else in her imagination.

    And so, this female lead that whole-heartedly believed the male lead was in love with herself, foolishly allowed herself to be persuaded by these words. She never considered what would happen to her child if Nie Sangyu had a child of her own in the future.

    After making such a big scene, Wen Wan left without obtaining anything and even sent a message to the empress to say good things about Ning Yuxuan.

    Marquis Moyu liked foolishly cute women. In contrast, a woman like Nie Sangyu was too difficult to deal with.

    ¡ª

    Wen Wan had stopped making a fuss, but poor Xi-<i>er</i> was very sick for several days. He almost didn¡¯t recover. During this time, Ji Man was very busy with taking care of him.

    When she was finally able to take a rest, Ning Mingjie came to Feiwan Courtyard with Jinse. They also brought the news of someone¡¯s death.

    Qian Lianxue had died.

    Ji Man¡¯s first reaction was that Qian Lianxue had to be pretending. How could this be possible? Qian Lianxue had countless hidden secrets. She had even deliberately made herself sick in order to turn around her fortune. How could she have died so quietly?

    With an indifferent expression, Jinse said, ¡°Shemitted suicide by drinking poison. Just as the cases had been figured out and before she could be confronted, this servant went to her courtyard. She died in her bed with a bottle of poison in her hand. Danzhu had disappeared.¡±

    For a while, Ji Man couldn¡¯t digest this information.

    Ning Mingjie cupped his hands and said, ¡°This one didn¡¯t live up to your expectations, but the cases were solved by another official in the Ministry of Justice. The whole truth has been revealed.¡±

    What was the real truth?

    ¡ª

    Ji Man nkly followed them to Qian Residence. Qian Yingchen was currently kneeling in front of Qian Lianxue¡¯s room. Inside the room, there were people here to prepare Qian Lianxue¡¯s body for the funeral. They were currently at the stage of doing her make up. The burial would happen three dayster.

    The doors were open, but most people wouldn¡¯t have dared to go inside. Ji Man wasn¡¯t even scared of ghosts, and she didn¡¯t care if she saw another corpse. And so, she followed Ning Mingjie inside.

    She asked, ¡°Why did they say shemitted suicide?¡±

    Qian Lianxue was lying on the bed, and her clothes were tidy without any sign of being moved.

    ¡°There weren¡¯t any traces of a struggle. Also, ording to what the servants said, Qian Lianxue hadn¡¯t been wearing an outer garment while she was recuperating from her illness. But, when she died, she was nicely dressed up. The bottle of poison was also found in her hand. So, they determined that she hadmitted suicide.¡±

    Ji Man cast her gaze across Qian Lianxue. When Qian Lianxue had been alive, due to her poor health, she couldn¡¯t use rouge and could only use cold cream on her face. And now that she was no longer alive, the servants were applying a thickyer of makeup for her. Her face looked very morous.

    There were also servants that were slowly sorting out the jewelry that would be buried with her. Ji Man cursorily looked in that direction. She absently noticed that there was a dragon-shaped jade essory among the other items.

    She didn¡¯t pay any extra attention to it. The mood in the room wasn¡¯t good, so Ji Man didn¡¯t dare to linger in this room for too long. She left the room right after saluting Qian Lianxue.

    The dead should be respected.

    After walking to the courtyard, Ji Man saw the official that Ning Mingjie had mentioned earlier. He had written down all of Qiannxue¡¯s crimes and was currently showing the paper to Marquis Moyu so that he could look it over.

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s expression was especially ugly. It was so ugly that Ji Man was extremely curious about what was written on that paper.

    He nced at her, then handed the paper over to her. ¡°Here, you can look.¡±

    Ji Man hurriedly took the paper.

    The words were densely packed together, and there were also several traditional Chinese words that she couldn¡¯t read. However, she was able to read enough of the words to grasp the general meaning. After she finished reading the paper, her mood was also very heavy.

    Should she praise this official for being a teenage Bao Qingtian? He had been able to find all of the evidence for the three cases in such a short time. Not only did he find witnesses and material evidence, he had also found a few of the servant girls that had attended to her when she was giving birth. The witnesses had testified that Qian Lianxue had been the one responsible for everything.

    (T/N: Bao Qingtian is a fictional nickname of Bao Zheng, a Nothern Song official renowned for his honesty. He¡¯s honored as a cultural symbol of justice.)

    ording to this paper, Qian Lianxue had been responsible for the ghost baby and the multiple miscarriages in the marquis¡¯s estate, even the crime of kidnapping her baby was being ced at Qian Lianxue¡¯s feet.

    Other people had thought these three cases were impossible to solve, but he had found overwhelming evidence by sheer coincidence and neatly resolved them.

    This person¡¯sst name was Fan. Henceforth, everyone called him Fan Qingtian.

    (T/N: <i>Fan</i> means pattern, model, rule,w. <i>Qingtian</i> can mean clear sky as well as upright and honorable when used to describe an official.)

    Ji Man thought the whole thing felt kind of fake.

    @@novelbin@@

    A person with many secrets had inexplicably died. All of the crimes had fallen onto her head. If she was watching this as TV show in the modern times, she would definitely think Qian Lianxue was a scapegoat.

    Reading this report that very reasonably wrote out all of the evidence and concluded Qian Lianxue as the culprit, Ji Man suddenly really wanted to know; who was Qian Lianxue¡¯s other master? Did she have more than one?

    Although the case had been solved, her child still remained missing. Since Qian Lianxue had died, no one knew where she had sent her child.

    Ning Yuxuan was silent for a long time, before he held her hand and led them out of Qian Residence.

    ¡°Is Sir Fan one of your men?¡± Ji Man quietly asked.

    Marquis Moyu lightly said, ¡°What do you mean by one of my men? He¡¯s an official of the court.¡±

    Until now, he hadn¡¯t noticed Fan Tianxiang¡¯s quiet, nobody existence in the Ministry of Justice. But now, he had suddenly appeared like someone that had fallen from the sky and solved a difficult problem.

    ¡ª

    Qian Yingchen was affected by his older sister¡¯s crimes; the emperor demoted his rank and dispatched him to Xu Province.

 Chapter 253 - Competing for my husband and lords heart (2)

    Chapter 253 ¨C Competing for my husband and lord¡¯s heart (2)

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Nie Sangyu has beencking in etiquette since she was young. She¡¯s always liked seducing my older brother too.¡±

    Sitting in Qiangwei Courtyard, Nie Chenyu hade here to follow through with her half of the agreement to tell about Nie Sangyu¡¯s past.

    Wen Wan cast a nce at her clothes and adornment before quietly listening to her.

    Twisting the handkerchief in her hand and with a face full of resentment, Nie Chenyu said, ¡°My older brother always sided with her and protected her, but she was always offending my mother and speaking rudely. Who knows how her mother taught her?¡±

    Wen Wan wasn¡¯t interested in this. Waving her hand, she said, ¡°What was the information that could be used against her?¡±

    Nie Chenyu looked left and right before whispering, ¡°Nie Sangyu is a shameless person. Before she got married, she would frequently leave home to go out to y. One time she didn¡¯t return until the next day. I heard that she had gotten separated from my older brother and spent the time alone with a man. No one else knows about this. My older brother had only told me and threatened me with keeping it a secret from our mother.¡±

    Wen Wan raised her eyebrows. This was already something that happened several years ago. Could this really be considered ckmail material? Still, spending a night with a man was something that could ruin a woman¡¯s reputation. So Nie Sangyu had hidden this matter and that was how she was able to marry Marquis Moyuter?

    ¡°Who was that man? Do you know?¡± Wen Wan asked.

    Nie Chenyu shook her head. ¡°How could I know this?¡±

    Wen Wan looked at her in disappointment. She shouldn¡¯t have believed in her. Don¡¯t even mention that she had given away Yuxuan¡¯s favor to her, but she hadn¡¯t even gotten any useful information in return.

    Looking at Nie Chenyu¡¯s prideful expression now that she had gotten power, Wen Wan was in a bad mood. After exchanging a few more words, she let her leave.

    Wen Wan felt fretful. It really wasn¡¯t an easy thing to overturn Nie Sangyu.

    Standing by her side, Tanxiang said, ¡°Master, is there any need in asking about her past? It¡¯s only natural that Nie Sangyu hasn¡¯t messed up too badly before. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t be able to act so arrogantly for so long. If she hasn¡¯t done anything bad, won¡¯t it be fine if you just get her to do something bad now?¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Wen Wan somewhat helplessly rubbed her handkerchief. ¡°If I act so viciously, I¡¯m afraid that Yuxuan will despise me in the same way that he used to despise her.¡±

    ¡°Master, do you still not understand? Kind-hearted people can¡¯t survive in this household. If you want something, then you need topete for it.¡±

    Wen Wan fell silent.

    ¡ª

    Returning from the imperial court, Ning Mingjie didn¡¯t take a carriage back. Instead, he slowly walked. He found out today that his father had selected a main wife for him. She was Prince Gong¡¯s daughter. Although he had never met her, he heard that she didn¡¯t know the Four Schrly Arts, her adherence to etiquette was very poor, and she was very arrogant and rude. He didn¡¯t understand why his father had chosen a woman like this to be his wife.

    Still, he wasn¡¯t young anymore. If he had to marry a woman and settle down, he could... try to amodate it.

    Just as he was absorbed in thinking about this, there was suddenly a figure in front of him that hadn¡¯t notice him and ended up bumping into him.

    Wearing a cloak, Wen Wan hurriedly bowed and said, ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Ning Mingjie raised his eyebrows. ¡°Why is it you?¡±

    He had always had a good impression of Wen Wan because he hadn¡¯t seen her shady side. This woman knew how to write, and her fragile appearance made people feel tenderness towards her. If it wasn¡¯t... he might have liked this type of woman.

    Wen Wan seemed to have recognized him. She wryly smiled and said, ¡°So it¡¯s Young Master. Wan-<i>er</i> is sorry for bumping into you.¡±

    ¡°Why did youe out by yourself?¡± Finding the situation strange, Ning Mingjie looked around.

    Wen Wan sadly smiled and said, ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> is just a servant. If Wan-<i>er</i> doesn¡¯te out by myself, then should there be someone with me to protect me? Young Master, if you aren¡¯t busy, do you want to go to a nearby teahouse with Wan-er?¡±

    Ning Mingjie slightly nodded.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Last time at the pce banquet, a lot of people praised you for your dancing. Why do you still seem unhappy today?¡± Ning Mingjie asked another question.

    Wen Wan lowered her head before finally sighing and saying, ¡°It¡¯s probably because Wan<i>-er</i> shone too brightly that time. After we returned home, Madam wouldn¡¯t let the marquis raise Wan-<i>er</i>¡¯s status. Wan-er is still only a servant.¡±

    Ning Mingjie raised his eyebrows. ¡°Didn¡¯t you give birth to a son?¡±

    ¡°So what if I did?¡± Wen Wan¡¯s eyes reddened. ¡°Even my child was taken away by Madam. Even though I gave birth to that child, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    Seeing that she seemed to have a lot of grievance that she wanted to spill out, Ning Mingjie looked at the sky, stood up, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk on another day. It¡¯s not early anymore. If we keeping talking, it might be snowing by the time we¡¯re done.¡±

    Wen Wan paused. She nodded and wanted to stand up, but her foot suddenly wobbled and she fell towards Ning Mingjie.

    Ning Mingjie stretched his hand out to support her. Slightly frowning, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Wen Wan hurriedly endured her pain and stood up straight, only to end up gasping as she said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing... I just sprained my foot.¡±

    ¡°Can you still go back without seeing a doctor first?¡±

    Wen Wan forced a smile. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not a problem.¡±

    Looking at how her foot was in so much pain that she had to keep it raised, Ning Mingjie hired a carriage to bring her back to the marquis¡¯s estate even though he thought this wasn¡¯t a good idea.

    ¡°You can stop at the back gate,¡± Wen Wan said to the driver.

    When they arrived at the back gate, Wen Wan was in so much pain that she couldn¡¯t get off the carriage. Herrge eyes gleamed with tears as she looked at Ning Mingjie.

 Chapter 256 - Im a natural tsundere (1)

    Chapter 256 ¨C I¡¯m a natural tsundere (1)

    Standing nearby, Tanxiang said with an innocent-looking face, ¡°Madam, are you remembering it wrong? This servant has been in Qiangwei Courtyard this entire time. When this servant recently came out to pick a few branches of plum blossoms for Mistress Wan, this servant met the marquis, who asked where Madam was, so this servant brought him here.¡±

    Ji Man found her wordsughable. ¡°Oh? If you¡¯ve been in Qiangwei Courtyard this entire time, then how did you see me enter this room?¡±

    Tanxiang paused. Her expression was slightly unpleasant.

    Marquis Moyu stretched his foot out and lightly kicked Nie Sangyu¡¯s stool. He chuckled and said, ¡°How can your words be so prickly when you¡¯re already in so much pain? Can you still walk?¡±

    Ji Man straightened her posture. Her lips twitched. Why was Ning Yuxuan in such a good mood today? He was even in the mood to tease her.

    ¡°Even if this servant can¡¯t walk, this servant wouldn¡¯t choose this ce to rest.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan cast a nce at the nearby bed that was neatly made up. He smiled and asked, ¡°Are you nning on sleeping here then?¡±

    Ji Man paused before drylyughing.

    Nearby, Tanxiang had already looked everywhere in the room while standing in the same spot. She mumbled to herself, ¡°Where is he?¡±

    Ji Man shook her head at Ning Yuxuan, who seemed as if he was going to pick her up. ¡°This servant still wants to ask Tanxiang something. Why did you lead me into this room for no reason? You lied to me by saying that the marquis was drunk, sent Dengxin away, and locked the doors. What were you nning?¡±

    Tanxiang froze for a moment. Ning Yuxuan looked at her with a baffled expression.

    Dengxin came into the room. Seeing that Marquis Moyu was perfectly fine, she said in surprise, ¡°Eh? Isn¡¯t the marquis supposed to be drunk? Has he already recovered? This servant looked in the southern kitchen for a long time, but couldn¡¯t find the sobering soup. Tanxiang, where do you leave it?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan paused. He looked around the room, and his gaze was somewhat sharp when it fell on Tanxiang.

    Tanxiang slightly trembled. She pursed her lips and said, ¡°What sobering soup? This servant only led the marquis here to look for Madam and doesn¡¯t know anything else, ah.¡±

    Ji Man pretended to inadvertently look up at the ceiling. The person hidden on the beam was watching this lively show. Such a big person, Marquis Moyu would definitely see him if he looked up.

    ¡°Never mind, there¡¯s no need to pursue this matter. Just treat it as this servant misunderstanding Tanxiang.¡± Ji Man stretched both of her hands out at Ning Yuxuan. ¡°This servant can¡¯t walk by myself. My lord, this servant will have to trouble you for help.¡±

    Marquis Moyu raised his eyebrows. He went over and wanted to carry her in princess carry, but she was injured at her waist. If he carried her that way, it would feel like her waist was being twisted into two pieces. After thinking it over, Ning Yuxuan decided to just carry her as if she was a baby. Face to face, with his hand under her butt instead of her knees, he lifted her up.

    Nie Sangyu was a bit thin-skinned, and her face turned red.

    This position... It was really... too indecent.

    Tanxiang and Dengxin were both stunned, but Ning Yuxuan was very calm.

    Without any expression on his face, he said, ¡°Bring over Madam¡¯s cloak.¡±

    Dengxin hurriedly brought over the cloak and covered up her master so that this indecent position was hidden.

    Ji Man drylyughed. ¡°My lord, you¡¯re really working hard.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ning Yuxuan turned around and started walking out. ¡°You¡¯re quite heavy.¡±

    Ji Man, ¡°...¡±

    It was still snowing outside, so she tucked her head against Ning Yuxuan¡¯s chest. Wrapped up in the warm cloak, she suddenly felt very at ease.

    Dengxin had originally wanted toe closer to shield her master from the snow with an umbre. But, holding the umbre, for an inexplicable reason, she didn¡¯t dare toe closer to them.

    Strangely, Marquis Moyu was walking very slowly. Even though he had said she was heavy, he wasn¡¯t willing to walk faster and return to Feiwan Courtyard sooner.

    Ji Man sighed. With her face against his chest, she asked, ¡°Are you just a tsundere, ah?¡±

    She could feel the sound vibration in his ribcage as he asked, ¡°What does tsundere mean?¡± Her ears felt a bit tingly.

    Not showing the slightest sign of blushing, Ji Man said, ¡°Tsundere means... valiantly handsome and elegantly unrestrained.¡±

    (T/N: Tsundere is a Japanese word used to describe a character that starts off as cold and arrogant, but bes sweet and affectionate when he or she fall in love.)

    Ning Yuxuan seemed as if he was suddenly enlightened. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of this term before. But, it¡¯s interesting word. I¡¯m a natural tsundere.¡±

    The sound of muffledughter came from Ji Man, but it was followed by acute pain that caused her to gasp several times.

    Marquis Moyu felt that this woman was sometimes an odd, unfathomable mystery. And yet, holding her like this, it felt nice and warm. He actually wanted to walk a little bit longer like this.

    Dengxin had look at Feiwan Courtyard¡¯s sign three times already and finally couldn¡¯t resist calling out, ¡°My lord...¡±

    Ning Yuxuan only responded with an ¡°En.¡± It was only when he felt that the person in his arms had fallen asleep and his arms were feeling numb that he finally walked into Feiwan Courtyard.

    ¡°Why did she fall today?¡±

    ¡°Xia-<i>shi</i> and Honored Concubine Zheng were fighting in the kitchen. My master ended up being identally pushed by someone when she went over there.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re certainly being troublesome enough. Bring over the liniment.¡±

    ¡°Understood... should this servant apply it?

    ¡°No need.¡±

    While Ji Man was still half-asleep, she felt her clothes being taken off. It felt a bit cold. Then, a nicely scented and warm quilt covered her, and someone was gently rubbing the painful spot between her waist and lower back. Very quickly, she fell into a deep sleep.

    ¡ª

    The next day, when she woke up, the first thing she saw was Marquis Moyu¡¯s expressionless face.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to the imperial court.¡±

    ¡°This servant will respectfully send my lord off.¡± With one hand supporting her waist, she helped him change his clothes.

    When she went to rub her waist, she noticed that it felt much better, so her mood became pretty good.

    After sending away this great Buddha, Ji Man went to the neighboring room to visit Xi-er, then she went to y with the toddy cat in the backyard.

    The toddy cat was already pretty big. It had a fur coat that alternated between ck and gray, as well as a pair of beautiful, deep, yellow eyes.

    Dengxin had once asked her master what would be a good name for this toddy cat.

    After thinking it over, Ji Man said, ¡°Let¡¯s call it Big Meow.¡±

    Dengxin had always thought that her master was a very talented and artistically inclined woman. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have named this ce Feiwan Courtyard orpose so many wonderful poems. And so, she thought that her master would give this toddy cat a poetic name too.

    But, with a totally serious expression, she had actually said to call it Big Meow.

    @@novelbin@@

    Dengxin sighed. Every day, she collected bones and meat from the kitchen to feed Big Meow.

 Chapter 258 - How long will the road to revolution be? (1)

    Chapter 258 ¨C How long will the road to revolution be? (1)

    Chunpi bit her lips.

    Ji Man passed by her and saw a deathly pale Liu Hanyun on the bed.

    Liu Hanyun coughed a few times before sitting up and leaning against the headboard. ¡°The weather has be colder, and the other servants are afraid of the cold, so they don¡¯t want toe here to serve. Madam, why did youe here?¡±

    Ji Man put Haohao down by her bedside. Behind her, the wet nurse walked forward and ced Xi-<i>er</i> next to Haohao. The two young babies seemed to feeling cold too. Haohao only widened his eyes. Xi-<i>er</i> wobbled his lips for a moment before bursting into tears.

    ¡°I remembered that I haven¡¯t seen you in a while. Xia-<i>shi</i> happened to be visiting, so I brought the two children along too.¡± Ji Man¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t good. She turned her head and said to Dengxin, ¡°Go and tell all of Linghan Courtyard¡¯s servants toe and stand in the outside courtyard.¡±

    Dengxin left right after making a sound of assent.

    Xia-<i>shi</i> was left standing in the room and shivering. She clicked her tongue in disapproval and said, ¡°That Honored Concubine Zheng lied to me. She said there was a difference in the treatment between honored concubines and ordinary concubines. Look at this pitiful ce. Even my room has three braziers, but your room doesn¡¯t have a single one. How about I bring you two of mine?¡±

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    Liu Hanyun picked up the crying Xi-<i>er</i> and gently patted him as she tried coaxing him. Hearing these words, she looked at Xia-<i>shi</i> and wryly smiled. ¡°No need. There are braziers in my courtyard too. They were just taken away.¡±

    ¡°Who took them?¡± Ji Man¡¯s expression sunk again.

    While Liu Hanyun was hesitating, Chunpi straightforwardly said, ¡°It¡¯s those older female servants. Just because they¡¯re Mistress Yu¡¯s servant girl¡¯s rtives, they dared to take away all of my master¡¯s braziers. They said that they need the braziers because they¡¯re older and more sensitive to the cold. And then, there are those other servant girls. They dare to gossip about my master behind her back. They said that my master¡¯s fortune would never be changed because she had been unlucky enough to give birth to a daughter.¡±

    Ji Man pursed her lips. Although it was true that there would be incidents of higher rank people stepping on lower rank people inrge households, Liu Hanyun was someone that the marquis was protective of. How could this entire courtyard of servants dared to act so outrageously just because she and the marquis hadn¡¯t had the free time to visit her recently?

    ¡°Master, they¡¯re gathered outside,¡± Dengxin reported with a solemn expression after entering the room. From herplexion, it seemed that she recently had a shouting match.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man nodded, stood up, and walked outside.

    There were four servants scattered in the courtyard: two older female servants and two lower ranking servant girls. They unwillingly stood in the courtyard with their legs shivering from the cold.

    Seeing that it was Nie Sangyu, one of the older servants smiled, approached her, and called out, ¡°Second Miss.¡±

    It really was someone from Nie Residence. When Nie Chenyu entered this household as an ordinary concubine, she had brought over many servants. Unfortunately, her status wasn¡¯t high enough, so several of her servants had been sent to work in different courtyards.

    Although Ji Man couldn¡¯t remember the name of the person standing in front of her, seeing this servant¡¯s fawning smile and the dislike in her eyes, Ji Man knew that this person was walking on a different path than her.

    Ji Man lightly asked, ¡°Do you think it¡¯s appropriate to call a married woman Miss?¡±

    Stiffed by her words, the older servant¡¯s smile disappeared. She took a step back and called out, ¡°Madam.¡±

    Looking at her, Ji Man said, ¡°I had thought it was just the marquis¡¯s household servants behaving insensibly, and the matter would be settled by punishing them. But, the group of you caused the Nie n to lose face in front of the marquis¡¯s household. People that don¡¯t know better would think that Nie n doesn¡¯t know how to manage their own servants. Otherwise, how could there be a servant like you that doesn¡¯t even know how to serve her master?¡±

    The older servant was very unsatisfied and retorted, ¡°This servant came here to serve Third Miss. How could this servant have known that I would be sent to this deste ce? When this servant went to ask for coal in the winter, they weren¡¯t even willing to give me that. The days here are far worse than when this servant was serving Third Miss.¡±

    Dengxin scowled. ¡°It¡¯s only masters that choose their servants. This is the first time this servant heard of a servant feeling disdainful towards her own master. Honored Concubine Yun had such a good temperament. It¡¯s your fortune to be chosen as her servant. How can you have the decency to say such shameful words?¡±

    The older servant weakly harrumphed a few times and mumbled, ¡°Third Miss has gained the marquis¡¯s favor. Madam, why don¡¯t you raise her status and send this servant back to her side?¡±

    Ji Man smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t want to serve Mistress Yun, right?¡±

    The older servant looked at her and nodded.

    ¡°Alright, go and pack up your belongings.¡± Ji Man waved her hand.

    The older servant was thrilled. She hurriedly bowed and said, ¡°Thank you, Madam!¡±

    Seeing this, the other nearby servants also pleaded, ¡°We don¡¯t want to serve Mistress Yun either.¡±

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Ji Man lightly smiled. ¡°The rest of you can pack up your stuff too.¡±

    The servants cheered and hurriedly went to their respective rooms to pack up their possessions.

    Looking at her master¡¯s cold smile, Dengxin pursed her lips and said, ¡°This servant will go and arrange for some sensible servants toe to Linghan Courtyard.¡±

    ¡°Go.¡±

    By the time the four servants had finished packing up their stuff, Steward Qian was standing at Linghan Courtyard¡¯s entrance.

    Ji Man smiled at him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to bother Steward Qian with a task. Send these four servants to the back of the estate to wash clothes. The weather has gotten cold, and there aren¡¯t many servants that can wash clothes.¡±

    The four servants had originally been in high spirits. As soon as they heard these words, their expressions changed.

    Steward Qian was also stunned. ¡°Madam... This...¡±

    ¡°The marquis told me to take good care of Hanyun. It was my negligence that allowed these people toe here to serve her.¡± Ji Man continued to smile as she said to Steward Qian, ¡°If the marquis get angry and wants to punish someone, I can¡¯t afford his anger. In order to avoid these things from harming Mistress Qiling too, I have to use them as a warning against others from following their bad examples. Steward Qian, don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    Steward Qian paused before nodding. He gestured for the other servants to enter the courtyard and bring those four servants away.

    ¡°Madam! Madam! Forgive this servant!¡±

    When the ringleader of the four servants had been dragged out, rm and dismay finally appeared on the other three servants. One after another, they pitifully pleaded.

    Standing by Madam¡¯s side, Chunpi said with an expression that showed she had let off steam, ¡°They¡¯re finally dealt with. Those despicable creatures. They saw that Mistress Yun has a kind temperament and took advantage of it. It would be one thing if they didn¡¯t serve her, but they actually dared to steal their master¡¯s stuff.¡±

 Chapter 262 - Is there a bit of green on your head? (1)

    Chapter 262 ¨C Is there a bit of green on your head? (1)

    Nie Chenyu¡¯s face paled. She pressed her lips together and didn¡¯t dare to say another word. Ji Man swept her gaze across the splendorous items in the room. This room looked more like the room of a main wife than the actual main wife¡¯s room. As she had expected, Chen-<i>shi</i> loved her daughter the most and hadn¡¯t been skimpy in using Nie n¡¯s money to stuff Nie Chenyu¡¯s jewelry and makeup boxes with expensive items.

    It was just that Nie Chenyu¡¯s life was toofortable and leisurely. She had never acted within the propriety of her status. No matter how high her status was within Nie n before she married, once she was married, she had to be content with her new station in life. If she kept acting as if was still in her previous position, it would make people feel very annoyed with her.

    ¡ª

    After bringing Doctor Li to Linghan Courtyard, Ji Man saw Marquis Moyu sitting by the bedside and holding Liu Hanyun¡¯s hand as he said, ¡°It¡¯s my fault for being so ipetent and failing to take good care of you.¡±

    Liu Hanyun faintly smiled and said, ¡°Hanyun has already been blessed enough in this lifetime. My lord, you don¡¯t need to me yourself.¡±

    Stopping by the side to watch, Ji Man thought that Ning Yuxuan was truly talented in showing expressions of love. He could look at any women with a deeply affectionate gaze that said he would love you for a thousand years. What was he really feeling? Who was actually in his heart?

    If someone said that his heart still had Wen Wan, Ji Man wouldn¡¯t believe it. Just from Wen Wan¡¯s current status, Ji Man could tell that Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t have his original deep love for Wen Wan. Otherwise, he absolutely wouldn¡¯t be letting her remain a servant girl.

    ¡ª

    A new person reced the servant that had been responsible for tending to the plum trees. Xia-<i>shi</i> continued to not be punished for her actions. Not only was Nie Sangyu protecting Xia-<i>shi</i>, even when the matter had been brought to the marquis¡¯s attention, the marquis had also sided with her.

    Muxu couldn¡¯t figure it out. She wasn¡¯t a lowly servant girl anymore. She was an honored concubine that had a son. People were supposed to look up to her. Why did she still have to suffer being mistreated? Why wasn¡¯t anyone taking charge of the matter for her and punishing Xia-<i>shi</i>?

    When Li Zixiu came to visit Muxu, he saw her sitting in her room with a gloomy expression.

    In a low voice, Doctor Li said, ¡°I have something that I want to say.¡±

    Luqiao tactfully left the room and closed the doors shut on her way out.

    When there were only two people left in the room, Li Zixiu finally said, ¡°My mother is very sick. She wants to see her grandchild. Find a time today and bring our child to see her.¡±

    Muxu wasn¡¯t happy with his request. ¡°What if someone sees? Beside, when I brought Fu-<i>er</i> to visit herst time, your mother almost dropped him when she was holding him. I haven¡¯t even said anything about that to her.¡±

    Li Zixiu helplessly said, ¡°My mother isn¡¯t very strong to begin with. At worst, just don¡¯t let her hold Fu-<i>er</i> this time. She¡¯s very old and only has so much time left to see her grandson. You can¡¯t be so heartless.¡±

    Muxu frowned. It was true that she didn¡¯t like going to that broken-down house. If she took Fu-<i>er</i> there too many times, he might get infected with a disease.

    But, she was afraid of making Li Zixiu angry and could only unwillingly agree. ¡°Alright, wait until after lunch. There will be less people walking around then. Prepare a carriage at the back gate.¡±

    There were only four people that knew who Fu-<i>er</i>¡®s real father was. Other than Muxu and Li Zixiu, only Li Zixiu¡¯s mother and Luqiao knew the truth.

    Marquis Moyu had only favored Muxu twice. She hadn¡¯t been prepared the first time, but she had been fully prepared the second time and had dug a pit for Ning Yuxuan to jump into.

    That¡¯s right, she had given him a very beautiful green hat.

    (T/N: Giving your husband or boyfriend a green hat is a Chinese expression that means you cheated on him.)

    This affair had started during the time when Muxu had be a concubine, but hadn¡¯t been favored. She went crying to Li Zixiu and said that she had been framed and didn¡¯t have any other choice. While it was true that Li Zixiu was feeling sad about this, he didn¡¯t have any reason to refuse Muxu when came onto him.

    Li Zixiu was an honest person and had also studied Buddhist scriptures, but there would always be a time when a man didn¡¯t think with his brain and let himself be tricked by a woman¡¯s dishonest words into willingly bing an adulterer.

    So much so that when Muxu became pregnantter and came to him in panic, Li Zixiu had helped her out by giving her a suggestion, just say that Fu-<i>er</i> had been prematurely born and that the baby was Marquis Moyu¡¯s.

    And now, Muxu¡¯s status had already been raised to an honored concubine because of her son, and Li Zixiu¡¯s mother wanted to see her grandchild because her illness had gotten worse. Muxu wasn¡¯t happy with these visits, but she couldn¡¯t say her true feelings either, so the hostility gradually grew between them.

    As expected, after lunchtime, most people were curled up in their warm quilts and taking a nap. Mu Shuiqing was the only that was walking outside. She wanted to take advantage of this less busy time to go to Feiwan Courtyard and chat with Nie Sangyu.

    @@novelbin@@

    Since returning the marquis¡¯s estate, Mu Shuiqing had been so well-behaved that she seemed also nonexistent. Still, she had a good idea of many things that were happening in the various areas of the estate. Why? It was because Marquis Moyu had assigned her a group of servant girls that loved to idly gossip everywhere.

    She had prepared a pile of household matters that Madam might be interested in knowing. Just as she was passing through the corridor by the back gate, she happened to see Li Zixiu with a woman that was wearing arge cloak with the hood up. They were hurriedly walking towards the back gate.

    Who was this woman? Curious, Mu Shuiqing stopped walking away and hid behind a vermilion pir to look.

    The old guard at the back gate greeted Doctor Li. Li Zixiu stuffed something into the old guard¡¯s hand, then he helped the woman in the cloak into the carriage that was waiting outside the gate.

    It was unclear what had exactly happened from the angle that Mu Shuqing was looking from, perhaps the woman in the cloak had just bumped into something, but as the woman got into the carriage, Mu Shuiqing suddenly heard a baby crying.

    Startled, Mu Shuqing wondered; which baby was Doctor Li taking out of the estate?

    After the carriage hurriedly left, Mu Shuiqing lifted her skirt, ran to Feiwan Courtyard, and told Nie Sangyu what she had seen and heard.

    ¡°Kidnapping a baby to sell?¡± Ji Man rubbed her eyes. ¡°Li Zixiu doesn¡¯t have the guts to do something like that.¡±

    Mu Shuiqing pursed her lips and said, ¡°This servant is very curious who that woman and baby were. There¡¯s definitely something suspicious about choosing to leave the estate at a time when no one else would be around except the guard.¡±

 Chapter 263 - Is there a bit of green on your head? (2)

    Chapter 263 ¨C Is there a bit of green on your head? (2)

    Ji Man poured a cup of tea for her, then she contemted for a bit before saying, ¡°Since it¡¯s suspicious, let¡¯s go to the back gateter and wait for them toe back to see what kind of wicked activity is afoot. They probably won¡¯t be in a hurry toe back for another two hours. Everyone would be napping until then. Take your time drinking the tea.¡±

    Mu Shuiqing took the cup and looked around Nie Sangyu¡¯s room. It was nicely scented and warm. There was even a toddy cat gracefully walking around.

    Mu Shuiqing sighed and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that in the end your life would be the best.¡±

    Ji Man smiled and responded, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that in the end, you would be the person that I can calmly drink tea with either. Didn¡¯t you use to hate Sangyu the most and want to fight with me as soon as you saw me?¡±

    Mu Shuqing chuckled. In a low voice, she said, ¡°But I can¡¯t beat you Besides, I think the marquis most likely likes your type. There¡¯s no point in me continuing topete with you. As long as I¡¯m not confined in that deste courtyard in the other estate with other people thinking I¡¯m insane, I¡¯m content.¡±

    During their conversation, Dengxin brought over a small ount book for her master to look. This was Ji Man¡¯s personal ount book. The expenses hadn¡¯t been high this month. Other than amounts for buying some clothes and jewelry, there was only one number that was rtively noticeable. It was a gift for fifty silver taels.

    Mu Shuiqing nced at the ount book. She thought that line item looked a bit strange, but she didn¡¯t ask any questions about it. Madam had money, and it was her private business if she wanted to give money to someone.

    Two hourster, Ji Man and Mu Shuiqing put on their cloaks and went to the back gate.

    The old guard at the back gate was still pretty happy to see Nie Sangyu. He stood up and took tottering steps towards the outside so that he could salute her.

    Ji Man hurriedly stopped him and told him to stay in the warm room by the brazier.

    A short whileter, a carriage really did stop at the back gate. Li Zixiu helped a woman down from the carriage. She seemed to be quite angry. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she pushed him away from her and irritably walked through the back gate.

    Looking at the person¡¯s face under the hood, Ji Man was slightly surprised, and yet she felt it wasn¡¯t too unexpected. ¡°Muxu?¡±

    ¡°... Madam?¡± Shocked, Muxu almost dropped Fu-<i>er</i>.

    Li Zixiu¡¯s face turned white. He came inside the estate and knelt down.

    Ji Man looked back and forth at them for a while as well as the baby in Muxu¡¯s arms. She neutrally smiled and asked, ¡°What did you leave the estate for?¡±

    Muxu looked around the courtyard. Even after thinking for a long time, she couldn¡¯t figure out an excuse, so she simply knelt down and didn¡¯t reply.

    Li Zixiu hesitated for a little bit longer before finally speaking, ¡°Today is a market day, so...¡±

    This was worse than staying silent. So what if it was a market day? Did it make sense for a doctor to apany an honored concubine and her baby out to go shopping just because it was a market day?

    Muxu¡¯s voice was slightly trembling as she called out, ¡°Master.¡±

    Muxu hadn¡¯t called her ¡°Master¡± in a long time. Since Muxu had be one of Ning Yuxuan¡¯s women, she had changed to calling her Madam. Now that she was calling her Master again, Ji Man found itughable.

    It only confirmed that Muxu had been doing something wrong.

    ¡°This servant was just thinking that since Doctor Li¡¯s mother has be so pitifully sick, it would be nice to bring a baby to visit her and cheer her up.¡± Muxu gritted her teeth and straightforwardly said, ¡°Master, you also know that this servant and Doctor Li... Even though this servant hasn¡¯t had any rtionship with Doctor Li after this servant was favored by the marquis, this servant can¡¯t bear to see his elderly mother feeling such regret...¡±

    Li Zixiu turned his head to silently nce at Muxu.

    Ji Man seriously said, ¡°Muxu, raise your head.¡±

    Bewildered, Muxu raised her head to look at her.

    With a splitting smile, Ji Man pointed at herself and said, ¡°Do I look like a fool to you?¡±

    Mu Shuiqing, ¡°...¡±

    Muxu¡¯s lips trembled, but Ji Man just continued smiling as she took Fu-<i>er</i> from her and said, ¡°This matter, let¡¯s just hand over this child to the marquis and let him decide.¡±

    ¡°Master!¡± While kneeling, Muxu crawled over and grabbed her master¡¯s cloak. ¡°Master, in consideration for the several years this servant served you...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. I won¡¯t ept your y of an emotional card.¡± Ji Man shrugged. ¡°This matter doesn¡¯t benefit or harm me. Someone has given my husband a green hat for no reason and even passed off another man¡¯s child as his. I feel that he deserves to know the truth.¡±

    Muxu¡¯s body trembled, but Mu Shuiqing found the situation somewhat humorous. ¡°Madam didn¡¯t even say that she would punish you and you already scared yourself into this shape. Isn¡¯t that the same as confessing without even being pressured?¡±

    Ji Man waved her hand. Holding Fu-<i>er</i>, she started walking back to Feiwan Courtyard. ¡°Shuiqing, go get the marquis. On your way to his study, invite over anyone that¡¯s awake too.¡±

    Mu Shuiqing made a sound of assent. Wrapping the cloak tighter around herself, she left.

    Li Zixiu helped Muxu stand up.

    Looking at Nie Sangyu¡¯s back figure, he whispered, ¡°Muxu, how about we run away?¡±

    Muxu harshly flung his hand away from her, clenched her jaw, and said, ¡°She doesn¡¯t have evidence and can¡¯t prove anything. I finally have a good life. I won¡¯t ept losing like this.¡±

    Li Zixiu¡¯s stopped his hand in mid-air before he slowly put it back down.

    ¡ª

    Sitting in the head seat, Ning Yuxuan listened to Mu Shuiqing¡¯s report of what had happened. His expression was very ugly. It was as if his face had been painted with ayer of back paint, then brushed over with ayer of green paint. The excess green paint was even wiped off his head.

    ¡°What do the two of you have to say for yourselves?¡± He looked at Muxu and Li Zixiu. They were kneeling below him.

    Muxu hurriedly kowtowed and said, ¡°My lord, Fu-er is your son. This servant had only taken him outside for a bit and ended up being ndered by other people. My lord, please investigate this matter. Even a tiger wouldn¡¯t devour his own cub ah!

    @@novelbin@@

    People from the various courtyards hade to watch this spectacle. Muxu¡¯s life had declined quite badly. First, her son had gone from being the oldest son to the second oldest. And now, her son wasn¡¯t even the marquis¡¯s child.

 Chapter 265 - Arent you afraid that Ill tell on you? (2)

    Chapter 265 ¨C Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll tell on you? (2)

    @@novelbin@@

    Monk Xuwu entered the room and very politely saluted Ning Yuxuan, then he straightened his body and started to ridicule him, ¡°Other families invite this old one over to perform religious ceremonies or ask for insight on how to meditate and contemte Buddhist truths. Marquis, you¡¯re the only one that would ask this old one toe over to check how old the baby was when his mother gave birth to him.¡±

    Ji Man made a bet with herself. This old monk had definitely rolled his eyes. He just did it so quickly that no one had noticed.

    Without any expression, Marquis Moyu handed the baby over to the monk.

    Holding the baby, the monk lowered his head for a closer look. He twitched his lips and said, ¡°This child had no traces of riches and nobility. He¡¯s destined for a mediocre life of aplishing nothing. He¡¯s not as good as that previous baby...¡±

    Ning Yuxuan coughed to interrupt him. With his brow slightly furrowed, ¡°Just tell me how long his mother had been pregnant when she gave birth to him.¡±

    ¡°A solid body with strong bones. He¡¯s definitely a baby that had been carried to full term, ah.¡± Monk Xuwu had only held Fu-<i>er</i> for a few seconds before he found it boring and stuffed him back into Ning Yuxuan¡¯s arms. ¡°You have too many children. Instead of staying an evil creature and involving yourself with worldly affairs, why don¡¯t you learn from this old one¡¯s immacte lifestyle and have a pure and tranquil mind...¡±

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    Marquis Moyu was already not in the mood to listen to the rest of Monk Xuwu¡¯s advice. Dengxin had brought over a booklet that recorded which dates each woman had been favored. All noble families had records like these in order to avoid muddling a family¡¯s lineage.

    ¡°From the time that Honored Concubine Xue had been favored to when she gave birth, it had only been nine moon cycles.¡±

    Ji Man sympathetically looked at Ning Yuxuan.

    There wasn¡¯t any man that could tolerate something like this, much less a tyrannical male lead like Ning Yuxuan.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to ask anymore questions.¡± So angry that even yelling wouldn¡¯t be enough to vent his feelings, Ning Yuxuanughed instead. Looking at Nie Sangyu, he said, ¡°Pick two good stones for them, then tie them up and let them sink into theke.¡±

    Ji Man slightly pressed her lips together. She epted the child that Ning Yuxuan pushed into her hands. Kneeling on the ground, Li Zixiu¡¯s face had turned deathly pale. Muxu didn¡¯t dare to raise her head and only cried and shouted, ¡°My lord, please have mercy!¡±

    ¡°Lock them up in the woodshed. Tomorrow, drown that vile spawn with them.¡±

    Guibai made a sound of assent, and the other servants came forward and dragged Li Zixiu and Muxu out of the room.

    Someone came to take the baby from Ji Man. She paused for a moment before handing him over.

    Wen Wan took a step and said, ¡°Madam, how can you be so heartless? The child is innocent. Why won¡¯t you persuade the marquis to change his mind?¡±

    Ji Man nced at her and replied, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and persuade him yourself?¡±

    Wen Wan looked at that man, who was in the midst of a raging temper, and shrunk her neck back. At this moment, if anyone dared to go forward to plead for the child, then that person would be a true idiot. Even the greatest Holy Mother aura wouldn¡¯t be able to calm down Marquis Moyu¡¯s overwhelming fury.

    Muxu cried until her voice became hoarse as she was dragged to the woodshed. She and Li Zixiu were shut into the woodshed together.

    ¡ª

    Before leaving with Haohao in her arms, Xia-<i>shi</i> sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s a pity. Why couldn¡¯t she figure things out instead of doing something so shameless?¡±

    Ji Man was lost in thought for a while before she decided to return to her room to rest. Standing behind her, Qi Siling lightly said, ¡°Madam, you¡¯re truly a vicious and merciless person. Even though she¡¯s your servant girl, you¡¯ll still get rid of her like this.¡±

    Ji Man didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Why does Muxu¡¯s punishment have anything to do with me?¡±

    Marquis Moyu and Monk Xuwu had already left the room to supposedly talk about Buddhist principles. Most of the other people had already departed. Ji Man and Qi Siling were the only ones left.

    ¡°Servants are always the ones that know the most about their masters¡¯ secrets. Today¡¯s show of a pleading servant that betrayed her husband, isn¡¯t this Madam¡¯s way of burying a secret?¡± Qi Silingughed as if she knew more than she was saying.

    Ji Man really wanted to say, big sister, you¡¯re overthinking things.

    But, after thinking things over, while it was true that Muxu was the one that choose to walk down the path that would lead to her death, Muxu also knew a lot of her secrets, including how to make cold cream. Muxu¡¯s death would save her a lot of trouble.

    No wonder Qi Siling¡¯s thoughts had turned to that direction. Ji Man sighed. ¡°Everything is determined by an iprehensible fate. Siling, you should start going to sleep earlier. Look at the dark circles under your eyes...¡±

    After saying this, she went inside her room to rest.

    Qi Siling stood in ce for a while before clutching her handkerchief and heading toward the back of the estate.

    Just as Ji Man was about to sleep, Dengxin led Luqiao inside and said that Luqiao had pleaded to see her.

    With a shrewd and hopeful expression, Luqiao said, ¡°This servant know everything that Mistress Xue has done and can bring everything out into the light of day. Madam, can you let this servant have slightly better days in the future?¡±

    Once Luqiao¡¯s master fell, she naturally had to be reassigned.

    Looking at Luqiao, Ji Man asked with interest, ¡°What do you know?¡±

    Luqiao answer, ¡°This servant knows Young Master Fu-<i>er</i>¡®s origin.¡±

    Ji Man really wanted to say, I know too. But, looking at Luqiao¡¯s glimmering eyes, she swallowed those words and nodded.

    ¡ª

    Muxu and Li Zixiu had been locked in the northern courtyard¡¯s woodshed. After she had given up on crying, Muxu started to yell that she wanted to see Madam with all of her strength.

    After dinner, Ji Man went over to the woodshed to see her.

    Muxu looked quite pitiful as she cried out, ¡°Master, save me.¡±

    ¡°The mistake that you made, it¡¯s not something I can save you from.¡± Ji Man shrugged.

    The pitiful tear-stained face suddenly became malevolent. Looking at her, Muxu hatefully said, ¡°Madam, are you not afraid that I¡¯ll tell the marquis about your business dealings?

    Ji Man clicked her tongue and shook her head. ¡°Do you really think that the marquis will still be willing to see you?¡±

 Chapter 267 - Perhaps, there was still something left (2)

    Chapter 267 ¨C Perhaps, there was still something left (2)

    ¡°My lord, every single time in the past, you didn¡¯t believe Wan-<i>er</i>. Are you going to not believe Wan-<i>er</i> this time either?¡± Tears fell from Wen Wan¡¯s eyes. ¡°Back then, didn¡¯t you say that it wasn¡¯t important if I gave birth to a son? It only mattered that the child was the one that I had given birth to. Since you had said those words, why would I go through the trouble of switching the two babies?¡±

    ¡°Moreover, after giving birth, I didn¡¯t even have the strength to open my eyes to look. How could I have the strength to change my baby for Liu Hanyun¡¯s? My lord, you were the one that choose Midwife Yang and brought her into the estate...¡±

    Ji Man pped her hands. ¡°Speaking of that midwife, I¡¯ve already sent people to bring her over. But, she probably won¡¯t get here until tomorrow. My lord, if you want to find out the truth, there¡¯s no harm in waiting another day, right?¡±

    Liu Hanyun was still calmly holding Yun-<i>er</i>, but once Wen Wan heard these words, she looked at Nie Sangyu in utter shock.

    Ning Yuxuan finally spoke, but his voice sounded extremely exhausted. ¡°Alright. Since you can find that midwife, then we¡¯ll discuss this matter tomorrow. You can all leave.¡±

    ¡°My lord...¡± Wen Wan tearfully called out.

    ¡°Leave!¡± Marquis Moyu was truly furious. He even flung the small table, which had been used to y the Chinese chess, in their direction. The group of women was so scared that the color faded from their faces.

    Dragging Liu Hanyun along with her, Ji Man ran away the quickest. They went past the doorway and disappeared like fleeing rabbits.

    Xi-<i>er</i> had been left behind with the old monk. Every step that Liu Hanyun took, she would turn her head back to look. In her arms, Yun-<i>er</i> wouldn¡¯t stop crying. It felt as if a dense mass of dark clouds had formed above the estate.

    A few words by an old monk had been enough to dredge up the old water in the estate¡¯s pond.

    After Ji Manforted Liu Hanyun, she went back to her room and had a wonderful night of dreamless sleep.

    ¡ª

    Wen Wan was so anxious that she couldn¡¯t stay still. Ovee with worry, she kept pacing back and forth, but she didn¡¯t know what to do.

    In the woodshed, Muxu was also unable to sleep the entire night.

    ¡ª

    The next morning, Ji Man went to handle Muxu¡¯s matter first in high spirits.

    If a woman vited one of the seven reasons for divorce, then the matter would normally be settled by her husband divorcing her. But, Muxu had put a green hat on the marquis, and the matter absolutely couldn¡¯t be simply settled with divorce. Ji Man didn¡¯t let past feelings influence her decision. After the servants tied up Li Zixiu and Muxu up, they were brought to ake that was outside of the capital, Tianhu Lake, along with a swaddled bundle, to be drowned.

    ¡°What a heartless person. She¡¯s not even willing to let off a baby.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that baby is so young. What evil could it had possibly done?¡±

    One after another, the nearby people were talking about this, but Ji Man pretended to not hear anything.

    Muxu¡¯s hands were tied to the back of the carriage, and she was being dragged forward by it. Her voice was already hoarse, and she shouted out one word, ¡°Master.¡±

    ¡°En?¡± Ji Man poked her head out to look at her.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Can¡¯t you let off Fu-<i>er</i>?¡± As Muxu staggered forward, she looked at her master with a pleading gaze.

    When a person was about to die and he or she had lost all hope of obtaining anything else, a person¡¯s greed would be pulled back to show his or her kind-hearted side.

    Ji Man shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s the marquis¡¯s order. There¡¯s no way to defy it.¡±

    If this matter had been given to Wen Wan to handle, she would definitely cry and implore the marquis to let off these three people and let this family of three changed their names and live on somewhere else.

    However, Ji Man felt that she was a more vicious person inparison. Muxu was a person that would only have a conscience right before she was about to die. If she were to kind-heartedly let her off, Muxu would definitely seek revenge against her in the future.

    After Muxu and Li Zixiu were tied to stones, Ji Man walked over to them and stuffed the swaddled bundle into Li Zixiu¡¯s arms.

    Some of the surrounding people were cursing that the adulterers for being shameless. There were even more people shouting that Nie Sangyu was a malicious woman. It was only Li Zixiu, who looked at Nie Sangyu with an extremely grateful gaze when she had put the swaddled bundle into his arms.

    Ji Man waved her hand. ¡°Drown them.¡±

    The nearby servants pushed the family of three into theke. Muxu let out a mournful cry, but she soon sunk deep into theke with the fifty-kilogram stone that had been tied to her.

    Ji Man knew that the female lead wouldn¡¯t have been so heartless. This was why she herself was fated to be the secondary female character. She was capable of anything. She was the secondary female character that wasn¡¯t beholden to any pressure.

    After Ji Man returned to the estate, there was still Wen Wan and Liu Hanyun¡¯s matter to be resolved. However, Ji Man felt that she didn¡¯t need to do anything herself. She just needed to safely deliver Midwife Yang to Marquis Moyu.

    However, while the person sent to fetch Midwife Yang hade back, Midwife Yang hadn¡¯t been brought back. Instead, the person was currently kneeling for his failure. ¡°This servant followed master¡¯s directions to look for Midwife Yang, but she wasn¡¯t there.¡±

    Ji Man had already done all that she could to protect the sole witness, but in the end she hadn¡¯t been able to sessfully protect her. Ji Man shrugged. It couldn¡¯t be helped. She wasn¡¯t an all-powerful god, only a woman in the inner court.

    Since Midwife Yang had disappeared, Wen Wan felt much more rxed. She insisted that she didn¡¯t know anything while Liu Hanyun looked at Marquis Moyu with an eager gaze.

    Two women. One woman had once been the woman he had loved the most. The other woman had saved his life, and he had said he would always protect her. Ji Man was very happy that she could be here with melon seeds to watch this show.

    However, in the end, there wasn¡¯t any marvelous highlights or a wonderful show to watch. Marquis Moyu directly used the excuse that the midwife had made a mistake to give Xi-<i>er</i> back to Liu Hanyun. Yun-<i>er</i> didn¡¯t need be raised by Nie Sangyu and would be sent to Qiangwei Courtyard for Wen Wan to take care of.

    Holding Yun-<i>er</i>, Wen Wan forced herself to smile as she said, ¡°It¡¯s good that this misunderstand has been resolved. As long as your heart has me, it¡¯s not important if my baby is a boy or girl.

    Ning Yuxuan closed his eyes and faintly said, ¡°En.¡±

    Perhaps, there was still something left.

    Trantor Ramblings: I missed this the first time I read this novel, but I don¡¯t think Fu-<i>er</i> was actually in the swaddled bundle. It¡¯s why Ji Man was the one holding ¡°Fu-<i>er</i>¡± instead of having a servant do it, why she waited to put the bundle into Li Zixiu¡¯s arms, and why he gratefully looked at her in that moment. During this chapter, the author kept using the words ¡°swaddled bundle¡± instead of baby, child, or Fu-<i>er</i> like normally.

    Also, in chapter 135, Ji Man thought, ¡°No matter what, a child was innocent. Back when she used to watch pce dramas, she always despised the women that would harm children the most.¡±

    What do you guys think? I have a hard time believing Ji Man is capable of ordering someone to kill a baby.

 Chapter 269 - What kind of men do you like? (2)

    Chapter 269 ¨C What kind of men do you like? (2)

    This reception after the wedding was different from amoner¡¯s reception because the bride¡¯s father was a prince. After the proper ceremonial rites were observed, the bride had to meet with various madams from noble families.

    As one of these women, Ji Man naturally approached her with a cup of wine.

    Because they were now rtives by marriage and Ning Mingjie was older than Ning Yuxuan, Ji Man had to address her as older cousin. When she was toasting her, the bride slightly lifted up her wedding veil and very courteously drank the wine she was offered. Even with most of the bride¡¯s face covered by the veil, Ji Man could see that the bride had a prettyplexion that was easy on the eyes.

    Sitting in a different area, Ning Mingjie was greeting his guests. His marriage to Prince Gong¡¯s daughter was a very favorable decision that didn¡¯t have any detriment to the third prince¡¯s faction. However, he had never met his bride before today and didn¡¯t have any feelings for her.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ning Residence was very lively today. Taking advantage of this wedding banquet, a considerable amount of people were going around and trying to climb up socially. Ning Yuxuan had also been pulled away by a group of people to drink, so Ji Man was left sitting by the bride¡¯s side and helpfully adding food to her bowl.

    Holding a cup of wine, the the first princess consort came over, sat down by Nie Sangyu¡¯s side, and said with a smile, ¡°Marchioness Moyu, you¡¯re bing more and more beautiful.¡±

    Ji Man straightened her posture and lightly smiled. ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re overpraising this servant. This servant is like a willow tree that easily withers away. How could it bepared to Your Highness¡¯s outstanding and heavenly beauty?¡±

    ¡°Such a sweet-talker. No wonder the marquis likes you.¡± The first princess consort pursued her lips andughed. ¡°I heard that a lot of things had happened in your householdtely. You¡¯re quite skillful.¡±

    The first princess consort clearly didn¡¯te here with good intentions. Ji Man sighed and said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t something that Sangyu had wished for. If someone hadn¡¯t secretly used a child for nefarious reasons, Sangyu wouldn¡¯t have needed to do those things.¡±

    ¡°I heard that they already found the culprit who switched out the marquis¡¯s heir,¡± the first princess consort said, ¡°Has your child been found yet?¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s gaze sunk. Next to her, the bride interrupted their conversation by saying, ¡°First princess consort, didn¡¯t youe here to drink with Qian-<i>er</i>? Why are you talking with Sangyu?¡±

    ¡°Aiya, look at me.¡± Afterughing for a few seconds, the first princess consort stood up and went over to the bride¡¯s other side. Looking at the bride, she said, ¡°This cup of wine is to toast the bride. You have to properly drink all of it.¡±

    Because her alcohol tolerance wasn¡¯t good, Zhao Qian had been nning on drinking the wine, then spitting it out into her sleeve. But, while other people hadn¡¯t mind and would look away, the first princess stared at her the entire time, and she could only swallow the entire cup of wine down.

    Including the cup of wine that Nie Sangyu had offered her, she had only drunk two cups of wine today, but she suddenly felt very woozy.

    ¡°I want to go back to my room.¡± She didn¡¯t want to lose her self-control on her wedding night. Zhao Qian turned her head and wanted to call over her personal servant girl.

    The first princess consort pressed down on Zhao Qian¡¯s shoulder and asked, ¡°The mood is so good right now. How can you leave?¡±

    Ji Man faintly frowned. She stood up and helped the bride up. ¡°Since older cousin-inw wants to go back, Sangyu will escort older cousin-inw.¡±

    Zhao Qian gratefully raised her eyes to nce at her.

    Breaking the bride away from the first princess consort¡¯s hold, Ji Man supported her out of the room.

    Ning Residence was veryrge. All of the servants had gone to serve at the wedding banquet, and Ji Man wasn¡¯t familiar with Ning Residence¡¯syout. After looking left and right, she finally saw a servant girl that was wearing red clothesing over here.

    ¡°Does the bride want to go to her room to rest?¡± This servant girl stretch her hand out and wanted to take Zhao Qian from Nie Sangyu. ¡°This servant will lead her.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯lle with her.¡± Ji Man felt slightly worried and avoided that servant girl¡¯s hand. ¡°Just lead the way.¡±

    The red-robed servant girl didn¡¯t say anything. After many twists and turns, they finally stopped in front of a courtyard that was full of red ribbons that had been tied into concentric knots.

    ¡°The good luck woman is waiting inside. Madam, you don¡¯t need toe inside.¡± The servant girl took Zhao Qian from Nie Sangyu and said. ¡°Madam, thank you.¡±

    Seeing that they had arrived, Ji Man couldn¡¯t stubbornly insist on following them inside. She could only watch as Zhao Qian was brought into the bridal chamber, then she turned around and went to look for Ning Yuxuan.

    Ning Yuxuan was already drunk from all of the toasting. His usually cold face was flushed. Seeing hering over, he childishly stretched his hand out towards her. ¡°Sangyu.¡±

    Ji Man felt a bit startled. When she reached his side, he hugged her waist and said, ¡°Older cousin is clearly the groom that should be doing all of the drinking, but he keeps pushing me to drink more. Don¡¯t you think he¡¯s being really mean?¡±

    Ning Mingjie had also drunk too much. His eyes were filled with sparkling things. He loudlyughed and said, ¡°He wouldn¡¯t speak the truth when I asked him, so my only choice was to get him drunk. Once he¡¯s drunk, he¡¯ll naturally say truthful words.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. She swept her gaze across this table of young men. Nie Qingyun was also here, but he had drunk too much and lost conscious. When she carefully looked at him, she could see that his brow was still furrowed. Had he been worrying about somethingtely? Other than Ning Mingjie and Ning Yuxuan, none of the other men were still awake and capable of saying anything.

    ¡°Help me drink.¡± A white wine cup was brought to her lips.

    As soon as Ji Man lowered her head, she could smell a very strong alcoholic scent.

    In ancient times, noble families didn¡¯t dilute the wine with water during banquets, so the alcoholic percentage was very high. No wonder Ning Yuxuan had drunk to the point of looking like a fool.

    Ji Man took the cup and looked as if she had cleanly drunk it, then she raised her sleeve and spat it all out. The wine had been potent enough to flush her cheeks. ¡°En, I¡¯ll help you drink.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan actually smiled. Pulling on her waist, he asked, ¡°Sangyu, what kind of men do you like?¡±

    Startled, Ji Man carefully looked at his eyes. He really was wasted.

    ¡°This servant likes a man that whole-heartedly loves one person. His sry isn¡¯t too high or too low. He¡¯s someone that could a buy house together with me, treats me well, and knows how to cook. When I say east, he won¡¯t look west. His wife would be the most important person to him. He won¡¯t be a promiscuous person that cheats on me. He knows how to repair light bulbs and how to fixputers.¡±

    Her expression didn¡¯t change as she finished answering this question. After thinking it over, she added, ¡°That type of men is already on the verge of going extinct. It would be easier to just find a hourly worker.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan nkly looked at her. Next to him, Ning Mingjie was also dumbfounded by these words. A momentter, he suddenlyughed.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what your other requirements mean, but just from your requirement of wanting a man that whole-heartedly loves you, I know that the type of men that Sangyu likes doesn¡¯t exist.¡±

    Ji Man seriously nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s because you were raised in this this world.¡±

    Pursing his lips, Marquis Moyu copsed to the side. Feeling very unhappy, he looked at her and said, ¡°So, you don¡¯t like me.¡±

    Ji Man covered her mouth andughed. ¡°My lord, you¡¯re drunk. This servant is also drunk. Let¡¯s go back home, wash up, and go to sleep.¡±

    Trantor Ramblings: OMG, Ji Man, why aren¡¯t you sending Ning Mingjie or someone else to check up on the bride? How did you let yourself get distracted like this?

    This is the first time in this novel, where I was actually worried about what¡¯s going to happen next. For Ji Man, I feel that she can handle anything that¡¯s thrown at her, so I¡¯ve never felt worried. Hope the bride is okay.

 Chapter 271 - Who had flagrantly cut in? (2)

    Chapter 271 ¨C Who had grantly cut in? (2)

    Looking at the pond, Ning Mingjie lightly said, ¡°There¡¯s going to be a battle in Jiangdong soon. It¡¯ll be good for me to enter the battlefield unencumbered by worries or responsibilities. Matters rted to marriage, let¡¯s talk about itter.¡±

    Standing by his side, Marquis Moyu pursed his lips and said, ¡°I¡¯ve never done anything that would harm you. This time is the same. How about listening to my advice?¡±

    Ning Mingjie chuckled. He turned his head to the side to look at his cousin and said, ¡°How could I not know that you¡¯ve paved a path for me? The crown prince had expressed his goodwill towards me several times, and I had felt somewhat sway by it. But, on the Southern Trip, you led me to the water to save Sangyu from drowning. After that happened, it was only to be expected that I would kneel under the third prince¡¯s wings. Right now, the third prince is the most likely person to be the next crown prince. You naturally haven¡¯t done anything to harm me.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan faintly smiled. ¡°So, you already knew.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Regarding the matter of Nie Sangyu falling into the water, he had received information in advance that the crown prince would be putting sleeping incense in everyone¡¯s rooms. It was also him that had switched out the sleeping incense in Ning Mingjie and Nie Sangyu¡¯s rooms. After Nie Sangyu fell into the water, it was him that led Ning Mingjie to save her instead of saving her himself. One aspect was that he was scheming towards pushing Ning Mingjie to the third prince¡¯s side. The second aspect was...

    He didn¡¯t know how to swim.

    Of course, there was no reason to bring out these past matters to talk about. Now that Ning Mingjie could no longer whole-heartedly follow the third prince, Ning Yuxuan had to point out another path for him.

    Before Ning Yuxuan could suggest affiliating with the Six Ministries, Ning Mingjie said, ¡°There isn¡¯t much of a point in the disputes between political factions. Since there¡¯s an opportunity to go the battlefield right now, if I write a letter to the emperor to request allowing me to follow the army and go into the battle, the emperor won¡¯t refuse my request.¡±

    It was the emperor¡¯s son that had made a mistake, but as his father, he wouldn¡¯t want to punish his son. Since the emperor didn¡¯t have a good way of setting his official¡¯s heart at ease, he naturally wouldn¡¯t reject his official¡¯s request. Although it was very dangerous to go into battle, Ning Yuxuan thought; with Ning Mingjie¡¯s skills, his cousin would definitely have a better future as a general than staying as a civilian court official.

    Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t tried to persuade Ning Mingjie any further. He sighed and said, ¡°Your romantic life has really been full of trouble and misfortune.¡±

    Ning Mingjie lightly shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. As long as there¡¯s people I care about by my side, that¡¯s enough.¡±

    ¡ª

    In the end, Zhao Qian left with Consort Han, but the matter couldn¡¯t be easily swept under the rug. Even if it had been an ident, Prince Gong wouldn¡¯t let his daughter suffer by bing someone¡¯s concubine. He naturally demanded that she would be the third prince¡¯s princess consort.

    The third prince wasn¡¯t happy about this. He was saving the position of his princess consort for someone else. How could he possibly give this position to Zhao Qian just because of one mistaken night?

    As soon as he showed that he was unwilling, Prince Gong became very angry. Prince Gong went to the emperor and talked all the way from the meritorious services that happened during the founding of the nation to the previous emperor. Furthermore, Zhao Qian was his only legitimate daughter. In what way was she not suitable for the third prince?

    The emperor was in a dilemma, but he was angrier with his rotten son that had done such muddled-headed thing.

    The first prince used this opportunity to add fuel to the fire by saying, ¡°Prince Gong¡¯s daughter has a lovely appearance. This mistake can also be considered as fate. Imperial father, why don¡¯t you write an imperial edict to bestow Prince Gong¡¯s daughter to the third imperial brother as his princess consort?¡±

    Standing on the side, the third prince¡¯splexion was ashen, but he didn¡¯t dare to say a word of refusal.

    ¡ª

    The imperial consort invited her niece to Ninglu Pce and angrily vented to her for a while. ¡°This consort just knew that the other side wouldn¡¯t have any good intentions. They directly trapped your older cousin by tying him to Prince Gong¡¯s daughter. Such sinister hearts!¡±

    Ji Man actually didn¡¯t know why she was so angry. At the bare minimum, Prince Gong was a first-rank prince. The third prince wasn¡¯t suffering an injustice by marrying Prince Gong¡¯s daughter!

    However, she understood after hearing the imperial noble consort¡¯s following words.

    ¡°Yuzhen¡¯s princess will being to the capital in half a month to choose her husband. Jue-<i>er</i> had originally been the best candidate. Everything is ruined now. How could a stately princess from another country be willing to be his concubine? Jue-<i>er</i> has practically lost his chance with her.¡±

    Yuzhen was a country that bordered Great Song. The country wasn¡¯t big, but it was very wealthy. The king of Yuzhen was sending his daughter here to choose a husband because he wanted an alliance to Great Song though marriage.

    Ji Man suddenly understood. No wonder Ning Yuxuan had said that the third prince¡¯s wish of bing the crown prince would soon be fulfilled. If the third prince married the Yuzhen princess, he would be gaining the support of an entire country, and there was no way the position of the crown prince would be able to run away from him. But in the end, an unknown person had grantly cut in. Not only did the third prince have to marry Prince Gong¡¯s daughter, his rtionship with Ning Mingjie had also been damaged.

    The imperial noble consort was steaming mad. Pulling on her niece¡¯s hand, she said, ¡°You¡¯ve always been the cleverest one. When that princesses to the capital, this consort will be responsible for arranging the women that will be keeping herpany. Once that timees, think of words to say to her that will help your older cousin. Prince Gong¡¯s daughter might be Jue-<i>er</i>¡®s princess consort right now. But, who knows if something will happen to herter on. Once Jue-<i>er</i> wins power, he definitely wouldn¡¯t wrong the Yuzhen princess.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. It was only natural for the imperial noble consort to worry about her son. As his younger cousin, it was only to be expected that she would help him.

    But, how could a stately princess be easily persuaded into bing someone¡¯s concubine?

    ¡ª

    After returning the estate, Ning Yuxuan was focused on writing.

    When Ji Man came over with tea, he quickly covered up the papers on his desk.

    He said with a calm expression, ¡°I¡¯m probably going to be busy for a while. Take good care of the children in this household for me.¡±

    ¡°En.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan thought for a moment before saying in a low voice, ¡°Also, Mingjie is leaving with the army to go to Jiangdong in half a month. You can take some time out to help him with sorting out his estate too.¡±

    Did he see her an omnipotent housekeeper? Ji Man twitched her lips. ¡°My lord, will this servant¡¯s monthly allowance be increasing?¡±

    Trantor Ramblings: When Sangyu¡¯s aunt said, ¡°But, who knows if something will happen to herter on,¡± thates off as ¡°I¡¯m already plotting a way to get rid of her¡± to me. Poor Zhao Qian.

 Chapter 273 - The sky is filled with little stars (2)

    Chapter 273 ¨C The sky is filled with little stars (2)

    Wen Wan naturally didn¡¯t have the face toe over and ask Nie Sangyu to change her status.

    And so, Ji Man pretended that she hadn¡¯t heard anything about this matter. When night arrived, she went to the western courtyard ording to the time that Marquis Moyu had set.

    When she heard this afternoon that Ning Yuxuan had been ordering the servants to move things around, Ji Man didn¡¯t inquire further about it. Shouldn¡¯t men be allowed to have their little secrets?

    But, she did find it strange that when she arrived in the western courtyard, Ning Yuxuan pointed a spot for her to sit down and told her to not move. Then, he crouched down in the outside courtyard, took out various skynterns from a bamboo chest, and started fiddling with them.

    What was he doing?

    Ji Man was stunned. She really wanted to open her mouth and ask questions. But, seeing how serious he looked, it felt awkward for her to speak.

    One by one, Ning Yuxuan fixed all of the broken skynterns that he had taken out from the bamboo chest over the span of two hours. His feet were probably frozen from crouching down in the snow for so long, but he hadn¡¯t said a single word.

    Based on the principle that if the other person wasn¡¯t making a move, then she wouldn¡¯t either, Ji Man hadn¡¯t asked a single question either. She watched him fix all of the skynterns. Then, he ordered Guibai to light up thenterns for him. One by one, thenterns were released in the sky.

    Ji Man propped up her chin in her hand as she watched. The sky was overcast tonight, and the moon¡¯s light couldn¡¯t be seen. Once the skynterns were released, it attracted many people¡¯s attention. Thenterns looked like little stars in the sky. It was quite the spectacr sight.

    Ning Yuxuan walked over and asked, ¡°Does it look pretty?¡±

    Ji Man nodded. She could finally ask, ¡°My lord, were you thinking that Sangyu is tired from managing household affairs, so you invited Sangyu here to look at the skynterns.¡±

    The corners of Ning Yuxuan¡¯s lips twitched. He seemed to be emphasizing a certain point when he said, ¡°I fixed them.¡±

    So? Did he want her to congratte him with arge bouquet of red flower? Ji Man felt somewhat confused. Looking at his slightly sparkling eyes, she went along with it and cheered him by pping her hands. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re so amazing!¡±

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression slightly sunk. His gaze even looked slightly angry as he looked at her.

    Ji Man blinked. Did he not like it when people ttered him? Then, he should have said that earlier, ah. But, did he not having anything better to do? Why had he fixed so many skynterns untilte evening?

    ¡°My lord.¡± Wen Wan¡¯s voice came from the courtyard¡¯s entrance. Ji Man froze for a moment before she subconsciously jumped into the room behind them.

    By the time she was thinking clearly again, she felt there was something strange about her impulse. Why did she need to hide?

    Wen Wan hade over here because she saw the skynterns. With her thin dress and fluttering cloak, she looked like a butterfly when she rushed to Ning Yuxuan¡¯s side.

    Because of the darkness of the night, she hadn¡¯t seen that Nie Sangyu was also here.

    ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> knew it. My lord¡¯s heart still has Wan-<i>er</i>.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s body stiffened. He turned his head and looked at the room behind them.

    Wen Wan raised her head and looked at him as she said, ¡°I was feeling really sad today. I thought you had forgotten all of the beautiful memories that we had shared together. But, you actually remembered it all.¡±

    Marquis Moyu, ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Thesenterns, aren¡¯t they the same ones that were released during a Qixi Festival?¡± Wen Wan looked at thenterns that Guibai was still releasing into the sky. With tears in her eyes, she smiled and said, ¡°Back then, we were just getting to know each other. I called you a lecherous skirt-chaser, but you didn¡¯t get angry. You wrote my name onnterns and released them by my room for me see.¡±

    (T/N: Qixi Festival is a festival celebrating the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in Chinese mythology. It¡¯s also called Chinese Valentine¡¯s Day.)

    Behind them, Ji Man listened to their conversation. She let out a muffledugh. Wen Wan was amazingly delusional. She thought that her love was still reciprocated. Still, this presented her an opportunity to gracefully withdraw from the situation. Ah, what a good night. They could look at the skynterns and also look at the snow. They could talk about life and the past as well.

    Hugging Ning Yuxuan¡¯s waist and with her face pressed against his chest, she mumbled, ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> is truly feeling very sadlytely. It feels like your eyes and heart only has Nie Sangyu now. Wan-<i>er</i> had said this in the past, if you dare to fall in love with someone else, I¡¯ll also dare to leave you.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s lips twitched. He didn¡¯t raise his arms to hug her back and only nomittally said, ¡°En.¡± In the passing, he kicked the door behind him.

    ¡°En?¡± Wen Wan let go of him and looked at the door. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Ning Yuxuan¡¯s tone was light. ¡°I just find this door very unpleasing right now. It¡¯s normally very useful, but at the critical points, it¡¯ll get stuck.¡±

    Ji Man was stumped for words. She pressed her lips together.

    Wen Wan angrily said, ¡°Why are you suddenly talking about a door...¡±

    Looking at thenterns in the sky, she asked, ¡°My lord, how long are you going to make Wan-<i>er</i> wait?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan stopped talking again.

    Ji Man silently heckled. Dear sisters, when you reached the point in your rtionship when a man won¡¯t even be willing to make a promise to you, you should hurry and run away. A man that only offered you empty promises was a scum, but if a man wouldn¡¯t even say words ofmitment, then it meant his mind wasn¡¯t nning a future with you.

    Feeling numbness in her feet, Ji Man stood up to rub her legs. She thought for a moment before she pulled open the doors.

    ¡°My lord, as long as you promise that your heart only has Wan-<i>er</i> in the future, then no matter how long it takes, Wan-<i>er</i> will wait...¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Before Wen Wan could find the rest of her sentence, the doors behind them suddenly opened, and a woman came out.

    Frightened, Wen Wan screamed, ¡°¡±Ahhh!¡± She hurriedly hid between Ning Yuxuan¡¯s arms. ¡°What is that creature?!¡±

    Ji Man gave them a very sweet smile, then she looked at Ning Yuxuan and said, ¡°My lord, this servant is cheering for you to do your best and will leave here first.¡±

 Chapter 277 - Was it really that difficult to say, I love you? (2)

    Chapter 277 ¨C Was it really that difficult to say, ¡°I love you¡±? (2)

    Ji Man was genuinely preparing for the Yuzhen princess¡¯s visit. In ordance to the imperial noble consort¡¯s wishes, she had to do her best to y matchmaker for the third prince. If she couldn¡¯t do that, then it would better to match the princess with Ning Mingjie rather than letting this alliance marriage benefit someone else.

    Right now, there were only three princes that would be suitable marriage candidates. The first prince and third prince already had princess consorts. Between them, there was the second prince, whom hadn¡¯t been engaged yet. But, the second prince¡¯s mother had already passed away, his legs were disabled, and his father didn¡¯t care about him. It was very improbable that the princess would be interested in him. Out of all the young, talented men in the imperial court, Ning Mingjie was clearly the most popr character.

    She knew that Ning Yuxuan had extensive knowledge about the important officials, even minor information like what breed of dog a specific imperial court official had in his household. During his free time, he had even shared gossipy information about some of the officials¡¯ families with her.

    And so, Ji Man thought that he would know something about this Yuzhen princess.

    She had only been waiting in the study for a short period of time when Ning Yuxuan arrived. It seemed that Wen Wan hadn¡¯t been able to keep him.

    Marquis Moyu said, ¡°I heard that the Yuzhen princess likes men that are talented in martial arts. I think that you shouldn¡¯t even make an attempt to pair her with the third prince. That princess is prideful and arrogant. You might end up offending her if you try to convince her to be a side consort. It¡¯ll be better if you go straight to matchmaking her with Mingjie.¡±

    The corners of Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. She wasn¡¯t a professional matchmaker. As far as Ning Yuxuan knew, her only task was to wee the princess and y tour guide as well. Did everyone think that the princess would just marry whomever she choose?

    ¡°This servant will do my best.¡±

    ¡ª

    Everyone used to say that Ning Yuxuan was Zhao Zhe¡¯s close friend, but during this period of time when Zhao Zhe was spending his days in the rxed role of the first prince, Ning Yuxuan¡¯s path rarely crossed with his. Ji Man vaguely thought; the first prince probably had no hope of getting back the crown prince position. Otherwise, Marquis Moyu, this rudder that agilely followed the winds of poprity, wouldn¡¯t be acting like this.

    If the third prince¡¯s position was stable, then Nie Sangyu¡¯s little life was secured safely in a safe. No one would dare to touch her.

    Ji Man made a resolute decision to y matchmaker. She wrote down all of Ning Mingjie¡¯s good points and nned out a series of methods to fully disy the best of his special qualities.

    However, before she could start executing her n, Ji Man mentally prepared herself and went to Ning Residence again.

    ¡ª

    Sitting outside in a courtyard, Ning Mingjie quietly watched her as he prepared tea for the two of them.

    Ji Man went straight to the point by saying, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the portraits in Young Master¡¯s study.¡± She smiled for a few seconds before adding, ¡°The woman in the portrait looks quite simr to me.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ning Mingjie slightly lowered his eyes before saying, ¡°When I was looking at the scenery sometimes, I somehow ended up painting you each time.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. ¡°The only person in my heart is the marquis.¡±

    Ning Mingjie froze for a moment before ncing at her and saying, ¡°That¡¯s okay. I was just casually painting.¡±

    ¡°Then, sell all of those scrolls to me,¡± Ji Man said with a smile, ¡°I happened to have recently started a hobby of collecting paintings and calligraphy.¡±

    The steam from the tea rose up in spirals. Ning Mingjie silently kept his head lowered. After a long time passed, he finally mumbled, ¡°If I had known this earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have let you go in there...¡±

    ¡°En?¡± Ji Man raised her eyebrows. She hadn¡¯t clearly heard his words.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. If you like them, then I¡¯ll give all of them to you.¡± Ning Mingjie smiled. It looked as if his vitality had been sapped away. ¡°It¡¯s about time for me to change the decorations on the walls anyways.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ji Man didn¡¯t feel the slightest trace of embarrassment. She had specially brought two extra servant girls with her today to help her move the items.

    ¡°Sangyu has no good way to repay Young Master¡¯s generous giving of so many presents,¡± she said, ¡°Young Master, how about meeting with Sangyu at Luoyan Pagoda three days before you leave the capital? Sangyu will treat Young Master to drinks, and we can have a discussion about poems one more time.¡±

    Three days before he was leaving to go the battlefield, the Yuzhen princess would be arriving in the capital. Ning Mingjie lowered his eyes again. Pretending not to know her real motive behind asking him, he lightly nodded and said, ¡°Sure.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡ª

    Ji Man brought back all of the calligraphy scrolls and paintings to Feiwan Courtyard, dug a big hole in the backyard, and started to bury the box that contained everything.

    She turned around to return to her room. There was a painting in her room. It was a very average-looking peony painting that could be purchased anywhere. Once she took down the peony painting, the hidden daffodil painting was revealed.

    ¡°Master, do you want to bury this painting too?¡± Dengxin asked.

    Ji Man stretched her hand out to take down the painting andughed, ¡°En, bury this too.¡±

    Dengxin took the painting from her and tossed it into the box outside.

    The peony painting that Ji Man had been holding slipped and made a loud sound as it dropped to the ground.

    The edge of the mounted painting slightly curved up and revealed anotheryer.

    Was there something underneath the t-surfaced peony painting? Ji Man slightly raised her eyebrows and ripped off the peony picture.

    There was a wrinkled painting of a beauty underneath. The ink used to paint the woman¡¯s beautiful, thick hair had slightly bled into the paper. There was a light colored mark between her eyebrows, and her lips were vermillion.

    Was this her?

    Ji Man raised her eyebrows. Paintings in ancient times always looked as if the artist had liberally used Photoshop. When Nie Sangyu¡¯s face was drawn like this, she looked really beautiful.

    But, who had painted this? Ning Yuxuan had been the one that gave her this peony painting. Why had he hidden a crumpled, then smoothed out portrait underneath it?

    Could it be that in ancient times, people always secretly drew pictures of people they were in love with?

    Ji Man¡¯s eyes brightened and she hastily ran to Ning Yuxuan¡¯s study.

    Marquis Moyu was currently in the middle of writing a secret letter when the study¡¯s doors were suddenly pushed open. He impressively maintained his calm and used a book to cover the letter.

    He asked, ¡°What?¡±

    Slightly gasping for breath, Ji Man clutched hispel and said, ¡°My lord, say that you love me.¡±

    Startled by her behavior, Ning Yuxuan nkly looked at her and repeated, ¡°Love me?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t just say, ¡°love me¡±. Say that you love me.¡± Ji Man was very eager. Thinking that she would soon be able to return to modern times, she was so excited that her body was slightly shaking.

    ¡°You love me?¡± Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips.

    Ji Man felt flustered and exasperated. This person more or less had fallen in love with Nie Sangyu. As long as he said that one sentence, she guessed that she would be able to go back!

    ¡°It¡¯s not, you love me, it¡¯s I love you!¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s cheeks had turned slightly red. He pursued his lips and turned his head away. ¡°Alright, I know.¡±

 Chapter 280 - Acting as well-qualified tour guide (1)

    Chapter 280 ¨C Acting as well-qualified tour guide (1)

    Ji Man was also considering this problem. When she normally went out to buy something, she was always riding in a carriage or sedan chair. For her to apany this lively, spirited, and active princess wasn¡¯t her status a bit unsuitable?

    Unexpectedly, the imperial noble consort had already nned for this issue. She covered her smiling lips and said, ¡°The princess is a noble guest. Bring along Sir Ning as the two of you take the princess out for sightseeing. This way, you¡¯ll be able to walk around freely without worries. This consort had also already asked Marquis Moyu and Sie Nie to borrow the two of you for a few days. The two of you are about the same age as the princess, so the three of you will be at ease to enjoy yourselves.¡±

    The empress sneered. ¡°Younger sister Ninglu, this empress is worried that this conduct would be somewhat improper.¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty, you don¡¯t need to worry,¡± the imperial noble consort smiled and said, ¡°The emperor has given this consort authority over handling this matter, so Ninglu will be responsible for arranging everything. If Sangyu and Errong aren¡¯t suitable to apany the princess, isn¡¯t there still Sir Ning?¡±

    It should be said that the focus of all this was Sir Ning.

    In ordance to his agreement with Nie Sangyu, Ning Mingjie had already gone to Luoyan Pagoda. The next step was to figure out how to get Princess Pengyue over there.

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    With an unsmiling face, the empress didn¡¯t say another word. In the harem, the status of each woman was based on how much favor they received. The imperial noble consort had been quite favored recently because of the fourth prince. There wasn¡¯t much that she could say after the imperial noble consort brought up the emperor.

    Princess Pengyue slightly frowned. It seemed that her mood was worsening. But, soon after, Nie Sangyu and Errong led her out of the pce, this princess gradually started to smile again.

    ¡ª

    Inside the carriage, Princess Pengyue looked at the women across from her and said, ¡°I came here to marry someone, but I want to choose my husband myself. I don¡¯t want someone to pick for me.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s heart slightly jumped. Ah, was this a rebellious princess?

    Ji Man asked, ¡°Your Highness, do you already have someone that you like?¡±

    The imperial court had probably previously sent over many portraits.

    ¡°No.¡± Pengyue curled her lip. ¡°I¡¯ve only seen several portraits. A couple of them look very handsome, but I want to see them with my own eyes. Imperial father is insisting that I marry someone from Great Song and I already agreed. As for who I marry, I should be able to choose the person that I want.¡±

    Compared to other girls, her sense of independence was very strong and made her quite unique. But, this type of personality wasn¡¯t suitable to living a happy life in this ancient time period.

    Ji Man smiled. She opened up a map of the capital that she had prepared in advanced, pointed at Luoyan Pagoda, said, ¡°There¡¯s a lot of people here that like poetry. They also have very delicious snacks here. Your Highness, if you don¡¯t mind, let¡¯s go there to y first.¡±

    Pengyue¡¯s eyes brightened. She nodded. But then, lowering her head and looking at her attire, she opened up the curtain and shouted, ¡°Stop!¡±

    The carriage stopped at the side of the street. Ji Man stretched her head out look. They had stopped right outside of a clothing store.

    This made sense. If the three of them were going to y, they really should change their attire first.

    ¡°Come on,e on.¡± Pengyue excited jumped down from the carriage. The attendants assigned to Pengyue were skilled at martial arts and doubled as her bodyguards had been following behind them. Seeing the princess exiting the carriage, they protectively swarmed around her.

    ¡°Errong?¡± It took Ji Man tugging on Errong¡¯s arm a few times before Errong returned to her senses. With her eyes lowered, Errong made a sound of assent.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ji Man curiously looked at her. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be having a good time. I though your personality would verypatible with Princess Pengyue¡¯s, that why I asked the imperial noble consort to have youe with us today. But, you seem troubled today?¡±

    Ning Errong opened and closed her mouth, but in the end, she only sadly smiled and said, ¡°Never mind that. We came out to have fun today. I don¡¯t want to bring up anything depressing. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Ning Errong and Nie Qingyun had been married for a year and nothing major had happened during this period. When they hade to visit her, they seemed to have still been deeply in love. Feeling somewhat doubtful and unconvinced, Ji Man followed Errong out of the carriage. When they had free timeter, she would definitely ask Errong what was going on and get to the bottom of this matter.

    The store had many beautiful dresses and sleeveless garments and jackets in a variety of styles. They browsed through the clothes for a while before Ji Man pointed out a greenish blue dress for Pengyue, ¡°What about this one?¡±

    Pengyue disdainfully shook her head, turned around, and choose an inconspicuous gray cotton dress. ¡°I¡¯ll wear this one.¡±

    Ji Man paused. Without a better option, she chose two simr types of dresses for herself and Errong. The two of them had also undone their married women hairstyles and reced them with an ordinary maiden¡¯s hairstyle. Three beautiful, nobledies entered the store, and three vige girls left the store.

    Although it was true that their new attire looked ugly, it didn¡¯t have any of the confining feeling that her formal attire had. In the short walk it took to return to the carriage, Ji Man had already noticed that this dress felt extremelyfortable.

    Right after they boarded the carriage, Pengyue stretched her head out and shouted at the bodyguards, ¡°Don¡¯t follow us. With so many people following, aren¡¯t you worried that our status will be too obvious to other people?¡±

    Errong lightly said, ¡°The capital isn¡¯t safe right now. Your Highness, it¡¯ll better to allow some of them to stay for your protection. They can also keep a little farther away from us.¡±

    Pengyue pouted. Gripping her red whip, she said, ¡°Even so, if there are any evil doers, I¡¯ll be able to protect the two of you.¡±

    Ji Man could see it clearly now. From top to bottom, every cell in this girl was full of rebellious intentions. If someone wanted her to do something, she would insist on not doing it for the sake of being contrary.

    Errong shrugged. All of the guards outside of the carriage pretended to leave, then they continued to follow the carriage from a distance.

    ¡ª

    Luoyan Pagoda was as lively as usual. On the fifth floor, the scroll for the first half of ¡°Inviting you to drink wine¡± was no longer in the center of a wall. Without its other half, the second half of the poem, which was still being hanged on the wall as a decoration, looked lonely. By chance, when the group of them came up, Ning Mingjie was in the middle of writing a poem.

    Ning Mingjie¡¯s deft and strong strokes of calligraphy made the brush resembled a dancing dragon as he wrote his poem. His silvery sleeves that were embroidered with blue threads were also slightly swaying. Everyone was utterly silent on the fifth floor as they admired the scene before them. If Ji Man was watching this scene on TV in modern-day, there would definitely be special effects such as plum blossom petals drifting into the room through a window and sprinkling down on top of this man or the sound of traditional Chinese music magically starting in the background.

    Unfortunately, this man¡¯s brow wasn¡¯t rxed, and there was a faint mocking smile on his face. He mumbled, ¡±

    <i>Back then, I wasn¡¯t aware,</i> @@novelbin@@

    <i>Drawing the beauty in the east of the Cinnamon Hall,</i>

    <i>Now that I am aware,</i>

    <i>I am filled with endless vexation.¡±</i>

    (T/N: I think the ¡°east of the Cinnamon Hall¡± might be in reference to one of Li Shangyin¡¯s poems, which was about his longing and ethereal connection he feels towards someone. Two of the lines in that poem are ¡°west of the Painted Chamber and east of Cinnamon Hall¡± and ¡°Yet we had a meeting of minds and a binding of hearts to each other.¡± I think thetter line describes Ning Mingjie¡¯s one-sided feeling about Nie Sangyu/Ji Man pretty well.)

 Chapter 283 - Even a marriage predestined by fate cant survive without love (2)

    Chapter 283 ¨C Even a marriage predestined by fate can¡¯t survive without love (2)

    Knowing that the princess would be staying over as a guest, Nie household had already fully prepared in advance. When Errong led Nie Sangyu and the princess into the estate, Ning Mingjie bid his farewell first.

    As they were passing through the scenic covered corridors, Pengyue looked amazed the entire time. ¡°Isn¡¯t your home too exquisite?¡±

    This estate naturally had a different type of splendor than the pce, but it had a charm that was superior to the pce.

    Smiling, Errong pointed at a pond and said, ¡°In the summer, lotus flowers will bloom here. Qingyun had those flowers nted here for me.¡±

    Pengyue somewhat admiringly asked, ¡°Is Qingyun your husband?¡±

    At the mention of Qingyun, Errong gave a tiny smile. ¡°Yeah. He treats me very well. The flowers in this pond are from him, and embroidery building over there was built for me too.¡±

    ¡°This is how men should behave, ah.¡± Having gotten rid of the group of trailing servants, Pengyue was slightly skipping. Full of energy, she said, ¡°My imperial father has told me a thousand times that I should choose a man that has power and influence, but I don¡¯t want to. I just want to marry a man that will treat me well.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty good way of thinking.¡± Ji Man nodded and said, ¡°As long as a man isn¡¯t poor to the point of only having fabricated dreams and can¡¯t even financially support himself, it¡¯s not necessary for him to be super rich. As long as he treats you well, it¡¯ll be fine to marry him.¡±

    Looking at her, Pengyue smiled. ¡°It¡¯s rare to see someone that thinks the same way as me. Does your husband treat you really well too?¡±

    Ji Man paused before shaking her head.

    Pengyue showed her a pitying expression before looking at Errong and saying, ¡°It seems that it isn¡¯t easy to find a good husband. You have to treasure yours.¡±

    Errong nodded and slightly lowered her eyes.

    Right after they entered a room, a servant girl came over and saluted.¡± Young Madam.¡±

    Errong nodded and quietly asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Young Master?¡±

    The servant girl nced at Nie Sangyu and Pengyue before saying in a low voice, ¡°He hasn¡¯t returned yet.¡±

    Ji Man looked at the sky outside. Should he have already quickly finished his work ande home to eat dinner? Why was Nie Qingyun not home yet?

    Errong wasn¡¯t showing a surprised expression. She turned around and said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s good too. All three of us can share a room together then.¡±

    Ji Man slightly frowned. ¡°Is my older brother noting back tonight?¡±

    Without turning her head back, Errong continued walking up the stairs as she answered, ¡°En, he¡¯s been busytely.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Pengyue looked at Errong, then she looked at Nie Sangyu before following Errong upstairs. She treated this ce as if it were her own home.

    When Chen-<i>shi</i> led a group of concubine-born daughters over here to pay respect to the princess, Pengyue found it bothersome. Right after seeing them, before Chen-<i>shi</i> even had time to speak, Pengyue said she was tired and wanted to go to sleep.

    Chen-<i>shi</i> wasn¡¯t happy as she withdrew from the room. As she was leaving, she cast a nce at Errong.

    Errong lowered her eyes and stayed silent.

    ¡ª

    By the time the evening sky had darkened more, as Errong had said, Nie Qingyun still hadn¡¯te back. Ji Man had the servants add many more braziers to the room, so the three of them didn¡¯t feel that cold even with just their sleeping robes on.

    Ji Man finally had the chance to straightforwardly ask, ¡°What¡¯s going on with you and my older brother?¡±

    On the bed with them, Pengyue pretended to sleep with her small hands covering her eyes. Ji Man really wanted to remind her that it should be her ears that should be covered and not her eyes. But, seeing that Errong looked as if she was about to cry, she didn¡¯t have the mind to care about other things.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s a perfectly normal matter. Your older brother is going to take a concubine soon.¡± Errong was smiling as she said those words, but tears dripped down. She hurriedly wiped her tears and said, ¡°I¡¯m the one that¡¯s being small-minded. I keep hoping that I¡¯ll be the only person that he looks at for a lifetime. But, one year has passed without any pregnancy. My mother-inw insists that he takes a concubine, and he hasn¡¯t... refused.¡±

    With a ¡°Dammit!¡±, Pengyu sat up and stared at her. ¡°Should a husband take a concubine after only one year? My imperial father only has my imperial mother. It¡¯s been so many years, but he hasn¡¯t added any imperial consorts.¡±

    Talking about this topic in front of a princess they had only met for one day, Ji Man had originally been worried that there would be a conflict. But, it seemed that this young girl was quite vehement about her beliefs and gossip. In the end, this was a princess that was being transnted to Great Song. If they could have a closer rtionship, it would naturally be good.

    ¡°Yuzhen has a smaller poption, so the custom is to have one husband and one wife, ¡°Ji Man quietly said, ¡°It can¡¯t bepared to Great Song where it¡¯s normal to have a few wives and several concubines. In a country where there¡¯s a higher poption, after men have obtained power, money, andnd, it¡¯s only to be expected that they¡¯ll pursue a variety of women.¡±

    Unhappy, Pengyue said, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it only today that you said Errong¡¯s husband treated her very well. Why is he taking a concubine then?¡±

    ¡°In a man¡¯s mind, there¡¯s no conflict between treating a women well and having many women at the same time.¡± Ji Man twitched her lips. ¡°I used to think that my older brother was the exception to this rule.¡±

    Errong¡¯s eyes were red. After being silent for a while, she smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ve alreadye to terms with it. If he takes a concubine, he takes a concubine. I can¡¯t forcibly keep him for a lifetime. But... when I asked him to not fall in love with someone else, he said I was being unreasonable.¡±

    Ji Man rubbed her temples. Regarding the matter of whether the man or woman was being the more unreasonable one, she really didn¡¯t want to discuss it. But, it seemed that a problem had appeared in Errong and Qingyun¡¯s marriage.

    Only one year had passed since their wedding. Back then, Nie Qingyun had been somewhat unwilling to marry Errong. Was this just an eruption of his earlier discontent or something?

    After Old Madame passed away, the connection between Nie n and Ning n had be much weaker. Right now, it was only herself, Errong, and Qingyun that tenuously connected the two families. If Errong and Qingyun couldn¡¯t get along, what would happen in the future?

    Perhaps, she had made a mistake too. If Nie Qingyun truly didn¡¯t like Errong, she shouldn¡¯t have pushed him to marry her. Even a marriage predestined by fate can¡¯t survive without love. No matter how much effort was put into it, it wouldn¡¯tst for long.

    Ji Man suddenly asked, ¡°Where does my older brother usually go?¡±

    Errong pursed her lips and wryly smiled. ¡°How would I know? I only know that he says he¡¯s busy and hasn¡¯t beening home. I don¡¯t know where he¡¯s been going.¡±

    Pengyue excitedly suggested, ¡°Send people to follow him.¡±

 Chapter 284 - The best matchmaker (1)

    Chapter 284 ¨C The best matchmaker (1)

    Errongughed and said, ¡°Why would I send someone to follow him? He also has his own work to do, just leave him be.

    Pengyue puffed up her cheeks. She wanted to say more, but Nie Sangyu said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s go to sleep.¡±

    With the three of them sleeping together on therge bed, it was quite warm and cozy. Pengyue felt much closer to these women. It was only that one woman seemed too stupid, and the other one seemed too clever. Still, Nie Sangyu¡¯s heart didn¡¯t seem to be in bad ce.

    ¡ª

    The next day, Nie Qingyun still hadn¡¯t returned home yet, but Ning Mingjie hade over early in the morning to pick them up. In ordance to the imperial noble consort¡¯s order, Ning Mingjie had to act as a bodyguard for the remaining two days. After that, he would be leaving the capital with the army.

    Ning Mingjie suggested, ¡°How about visiting the market today?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Pengyue had slept wellst night, so she had plenty of energy.

    Ji Man was also doing okay. Errong was the only one that seemed listless. Her face was slightly pale as she said, ¡°I¡¯m staying home today. I¡¯m not feeling well.¡±

    Ning Mingjie frowned. He looked at his younger sister and said, ¡°How did you be so haggard?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Errong smiled and waved her hand at them. ¡°Go on without me.¡±

    As Ji Man got into the carriage with the other two, she turned her head back. Supported by Baizhi, Errong had already disappeared behind the cinnabar doors.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡ª

    The market was truly very lively. But, when Ji Man remembered that no one had cared when she didn¡¯t return to the marquis¡¯s estatest night either, she wasn¡¯t in the mood to have fun. What was Ning Yuxuan thinking? When there was an abrupt change in weather, there would a weather announcer to report it. He had changed faces faster than the flipping pages of a book. There should be a reason, right?

    Ning Mingjie had them get off the carriage at an intersection. Pengyue was feeling excited just from seeing the bustling crowd. In her dull grey dress, she turned left, then right to look around.

    ¡ª

    By the time her hands were filled with little trinkets, Pengyue finally couldn¡¯t walk anymore. Ning Mingjie casually pointed at a ce and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to that teahouse and sit for a bit.

    Ji Man looked at that teahouse. It was a famous franchise in the capital. There were probably many high-ranking officials and members of noble families inside.

    Pengyue made a sound of agreement and started heading towards there.

    Last night, Ji Man had sent a letter to the third prince¡¯s side that provided an ounting of the overall situation. Ning Mingjie refused to marry the princess. Although his reason wasn¡¯t clear, they still had find another person to introduce to the princess, right?

    Zhao Jue¡¯s answer was, as long as it wasn¡¯t someone from the first prince¡¯s side, anyone would be okay.

    Then, there were plenty of people to choose from the imperial court. Many promising officials from the imperial court had already been gathered at Luoyan Pagoda. They were just waiting for Nie Sangyu to bring the princess overter and start off an enormous blind date spectacle.

    However, contrary to her expectations, someone would be cutting her off frompleting her n.

    As soon as she entered the teahouse, something felt off. This ce was normally very lively with many guests, but it was very quiet today. There weren¡¯t many people in the main room, and the second floor was totally empty.

    ¡°Guests, please continue going upstairs,¡± the waiter earnestly requested.

    If she was in modern-day Ji Man would think this was a scene where someone was about to propose. But, she was in ancient times, ah. Who would do something like that in ancient times...

    ¡°Princess Pengyue.¡± A voice interrupted Ji Man¡¯s train of thought.

    On the third floor, the second prince was quietly sitting in his wheelchair. There wasn¡¯t much expression on his face, and the dark-colored embroidery on his silvery robe looked a bit old.

    Pengyue¡¯s expression slightly changed as she looked at him with a frowning face. Ning Mingjie directly went in front of her to protectively guard her and asked the second prince, ¡°Your Highness, why are you here?¡±

    The second prince, Zhao Li, pursed his lips and said, ¡°I have something I want to say to the princess.¡±

    ¡°Second prince, this one is afraid that this would be a bit inappropriate.¡± Ning Mingjie turned his head back and said to Pengyue. ¡°Your Highness, we should leave this ce.¡±

    ¡°If he dares to speak, why should I be afraid to listen?¡± Pengyue lightly harrumphed and walked around him. When she reached the second prince¡¯s side, she slightly narrowed her eyes and asked, ¡°What is it that you want to say?¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, would you mind going to a private room to talk?¡± Zhao Li slightly raised his eyebrows.

    Pengyue looked at his legs, then she pursed her lips and said, ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness.¡± Ji Man didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. Was Pengyue a young child? The second prince¡¯s motive was so obvious. He was definitely going to talk about marriage. Why did she still want to follow him?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Pengyue raised the whip in her hand and said, ¡°I know martial arts, and he¡¯s a person that doesn¡¯t even had the strength to truss a chicken. What could he possibly do to me?¡±

    Ji Man nced at Ning Mingjie and said, ¡°Then, Sangyu and Sir Ning will wait in the neighboring room. Your Highness, if anythinges up, just yell my name.¡±

    Pengyue nodded. She went around the second prince and helpfully pushed the second prince¡¯s wheelchair into the private room.

    Zhao Li was stunned for a moment.

    Ji Man pushed open the neighboring room¡¯s doors and looked at Ning Mingjie as she said, ¡°Young Master, pleasee.¡±

    Since they had alreadye into this teahouse, there was no way for her to stop anything now. Out of all the possible people, Ning Mingjie had been thest person she would expect to interfere with her n.

    ¡°Young Master, what are your ns?¡±

    After Prince Gong¡¯s daughter had been bestowed onto the third prince, Ning Mingjie hadn¡¯t done anything other than nning on going to the battlefield to fight. Ji Man had thought it was because he was a good-natured person.

    But, at some unknown point, he had decided to be the second prince¡¯s matchmaker? Moreover, he had grasped the key point of Pengyue¡¯s personality very well and used reverse psychology to lure her Pengyue¡¯s interest. And, during this entire time, she hadn¡¯t noticed Ning Mingjie¡¯s hidden intention.

    As it turned out, this was the reason why he had used the excuse of Luoqi¡¯s pregnancy to refuse her attempt to be their matchmaker. At the time, she had thought his heart was simply troubled. But, really... it had just been a ssic case of a woman being unable to out-scheme a man.

    Ning Mingjie let out a low sigh and said, ¡°Madam, you should just spend your time taking care of the marquis. You don¡¯t need to concern yourself with so many other things.¡±

    Ji Man tapped the table. Feeling as if she was missing something, she asked, ¡°Sangyu just doesn¡¯t understand. Why is it the second prince?¡±

 Chapter 286 - Sister Complex? (1)

    Chapter 286 ¨C Sister Complex? (1)

    Just like that, Princess Pengyue shocked everyone by choosing the second prince. The empress would do the wedding nning and a good date was selected.

    ¡ª

    Today was the day that Ning Mingjie was leaving the capital with the army. Although he wasn¡¯t themander of the army, as the assisting general, he also needed to make a ceremonial vow before departing.

    On the military training ground, Ning Yuxuan was quietly standing behind the emperor and between the first prince and the third prince. Ning Mingjie was standing in the army procession. Along with a group of soldiers, he raised his sword to the Heavens and vowed, ¡°With the blood flowing in my veins, I will guard my country. I will not return until the enemy has been defeated! Our swords will be stained by the blood of a thousand enemies before we return to the capital!¡±

    With a faint smile, the third prince looked at the men on field. Han De was themander of this army. This was a young general that he had personally promoted, and Consort Han¡¯s older brother. The assistant generals were Ning Mingjie and Chen Bozhong. Surely, the meritorious credit for a victorious battle was already in the bag for him. When the timees, the first prince would no longer be able topete with him.

    Zhao Zhe stayed silent and quietly looked at Chen Bozhong.

    On the surface, the army was leaving the capital to protect the country. But, underneath, it symbolized the struggle between the princes. Right now, Ning Yuxuan should be figuring out a n for the first prince. And yet, he was lost in his thoughts.

    ¡°Who are you really?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just me. I¡¯m Ji Man. The character Ji is from <i>huaji</i> (flowering season), and the character man is from <i>jiman</i> (graceful, soft and beautiful season). My English name is Ji Man too.¡±

    Early on, he had already considered the idea that the current Nie Sangyu wasn¡¯t the same as the original one. But, she had been able to clearly and easily say their shared memories. Another person wouldn¡¯t have known about these moments. Besides, Liu-<i>mama</i> had previously been keeping a close watch over her. It had to be impossible for her to have been reced by someone else while she was so closely watched, right?

    And yet, when he had used the pear wine, which had contained a difficult to find hallucinogenic herb, to test her, she had actually said, she was Ji Man.

    Who was Ji Man? Why did she look the same as Nie Sangyu? He had touched her face. It wasn¡¯t fake. She even had the birthmark behind her neck that Nie Qingyun had describe. What was going on?

    Could it be that Nie Sangyu was possessed by a demon?

    He had avoided her for a long time. He had thought about inviting a monk over, but he didn¡¯t have the heart to do so. He didn¡¯t like people that he had no way to control. And, he didn¡¯t know what she was nning on doing or why she hade here. To avoid her gradually adversely influencing him or ruining a major event, he should kill her now.

    His fingers slightly drew together. Marquis Moyu raised his head and met the first prince¡¯s gaze.

    Watching him, Zhao Zhe slightly narrowed his eyes and asked, ¡°Yuxuan, are your household matters taking too much of your attention?¡±

    Secretly feeling as if his heart had frozen for a moment, Marquis Moyu lightly smiled and said, ¡°How could that be? There¡¯s not much going on in my home.¡±

    In a low voice, Zhao Zhe said, ¡°I heard that your oldest child is almost one year old, but I don¡¯t even have one child myself.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, if you want a child, you can just let your princess consort give birth to a child.¡± Ning Yuxuan turned his face away. ¡°Yuxuan has recently been busy with reassigning people for the Six Ministries and hasn¡¯t had time to care about the children in my household.¡±

    ¡°Really...¡± Zhao Zhe smiled and said, ¡°Once everything is done, you¡¯ll be able enjoy watching your children running around you and living out the rest of your life peacefully.¡±

    ¡°En.¡±

    A small amount of sweat had gathered in his palms. The vow ceremony had ended, and the soldiers were sorting things out and preparing to leave for the battlefield. Ning Yuxuan pretended to feel unwell, boarded his carriage, and returned to his estate.

    Ji Man had also finally returned from Nie Residence today. She hadn¡¯t seen Nie Qingyun during this visit either and had told a dependable servant girl to follow after him to see what exactly he was up to.

    @@novelbin@@

    The two of them met as they wereing down from their respective carriages. Ji Man looked at Ning Yuxuan and slightly paused before deciding to walk forward and salute him.

    However, the oue was that damn person walked around her and headed towards the estate.

    Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. He was being too obvious with ignoring her. She had been right in his line of sight, but he had deliberately turned his head away and walked towards the estate.

    This was truly intolerable. Ji Man immediately strode after him and grabbed his sleeve. ¡°My lord.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s body stiffened. He stopped walking, but he didn¡¯t turn his head to look at her. ¡°What?¡±

    Feeling angry, but also wanting tough, Ji Man simply used a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her eyes. Leaning against him, she said, ¡°When our rtionship was at it¡¯s best, my lord would always warmly ask me what¡¯s wrong. Now that your feelings have dimmed, you¡¯ll only curtly ask me ¡°What?¡± with an unsmiling face. What exactly did this servant do wrong?

    Marquis Moyu was silent for a long time. He finally looked at her and said, ¡°I¡¯m just busy. I didn¡¯t say that you did anything wrong.¡±

    Who was he trying to fool? Ji Man pressed her lips together, straightened her posture, and said, ¡°My lord, regarding the inner court¡¯s ount book, this servant needs to discuss it with you...¡±

    In a low voice, Ning Yuxuan interrupted her, ¡°Just hand that over to Ling-<i>er</i>. You¡¯ve always been so busy, and now you have to help manage Mingjie¡¯s estate too. Just hand over management of the inner court to Ling-<i>er</i>.¡±

    Ji Man froze in shock.

    Looking into the distance, Ning Yuxuan said in a very light voice, ¡°I¡¯m going to bring the children to a temple outside of the capital in a few days. Stay at home and watch over the estate.¡±

    Without any good reason, he was telling her that she had fallen out of his favor. Ji Man was at a loss. What had she done wrong for this man to treat her like this?

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go see Xi-<i>er</i> now.¡± As the beautiful silk robes brushed passed her, it brought a small breeze.

    Standing in ce, Ji Man seriously thought for a while. In the end, she could only conclude that Ning Yuxuan was in a bad mood from the male equivalent of PMSing.

 Chapter 289 - In the blink of an eye, all the riches and honor had vanished like smoke (2)

    Chapter 289 ¨C In the blink of an eye, all the riches and honor had vanished like smoke (2)

    The imperial noble consort suffered a great shock. One after another, the third prince¡¯s faction petitioned the emperor to plead for leniency. Ji Man didn¡¯t know the details about this course of events. When the news reached her, it was just this:

    ¡°Old Master has been removed from his official position and has to return to his hometown. Ning Errong and Young Master are divorced.¡± After the servant from Nie n knelt down in front of her and reported this news, he took her money and returned to Nie Residence to pack up.

    Ji Man nkly stretched her hand out, and a few snowkes felt onto her palm. They slowly melted.

    Nie n once had soaring influence and power. It had the imperial noble consort and the third prince supporting them. There was Nie Xiangyuan as well as all of the other members of Nie n stretching out in all directions. It had been like a great, towering tree. They had just been waiting for the army to triumphantly return. After that, the third prince would have been able to smoothly rise up into the crown prince position.

    But, the end result was that the army had lost the battle, and it had been their n¡¯s fault. Nie Xiangyuan had always been responsible for the armory and weapons. After Nie Xiangyuan had made such a big blunder, the only reason that the emperor hadn¡¯t ordered his execution was because of the imperial noble consort.

    This great, towering tree had been cut down to its roots and was finally slowly withering away.

    After Ji Man packed up a few things, she went to send her father off on his way out of the capital.

    The loss of his job had forcefully aged Nie Xiangyuan. By his side, Chen-<i>shi</i> wouldn¡¯t stop crying. With a couple servants holding her boxes of stuff, she said she wanted Nie Qingyun to support her. She didn¡¯t want to leave the capital with her husband.

    Although Nie Qingyun still had his position as an official, he decided to go with his father to his hometown, buy an estate, and help him settled down. Hearing Chen-<i>shi</i>¡®s words, he only lightly smiled and said, ¡°We can¡¯t go against the emperor¡¯s order.¡±

    Chen-<i>shi</i> hatefully red at a distant carriage. Baizhi was standing by the side of the carriage.

    ¡°No wonder she wanted to get a divorce. She truly has foresight. Rats always leave a sinking ship. Why put on this pretense ande here to send us off?¡±

    Ji Man followed her gaze over. She was looking at Errong¡¯s carriage.

    In the end, she and Nie Qingyun had still divorced. Her actions had only dyed it by less than a year.

    Then, could it be that Nie Sangyu¡¯s death was also only dyed? Ji Man quietlyughed.

    ¡°This daughter iscking the power to do her filial duty. Once father has settled down, this daughter wille to pay respects,¡± Ji Man said, ¡°Although this daughter knows that father isn¡¯tcking in material items, this represents this daughter¡¯s heartfelt intentions.¡± She ced a bundle into Nie Xiangyuan¡¯s hand.

    Nie Xiangyuan looked at her with aplicated expression. In the end, he sighed and said, ¡°Take good care of yourself too.¡±

    An entire estate of concubines and their daughters were all following Nie Xiangyuan out of the capital. Right now, Chen-<i>shi</i>¡®s biggest regret was that she hadn¡¯t married off the rest of the daughters when Nie n was in its heyday.

    Who could have guessed that in an instant the unstable situation would have changed? In the blink of an eye, all the riches and honor had vanished like smoke.

    Of course, a part of the imperial court changed. Originally, the imperial noble consort had already thought of how she would request the position of the crown prince from the emperor, but she quietly put that idea to rest after the results of the battle.

    ¡ª

    Ning Yuxuan had chosen a good time to leave the capital to go pray for blessings. He hadpletely avoided this stormy period. By the time he returned, the situation had calmed down.

    ¡°Why do you look so unwell?¡± Standing in the entrance, he looked at Nie Sangyu. He stretched his hand out and gently tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man raised her head and looked at him. She gave a weak smile. ¡°As I pondering about my lord and husband, I¡¯ve be old. The slow carriage arriveste.¡±

    (T/N: These are lines are from the poem, <i>the lonely bamboo slowly withers away</i>. The poem is about a newly wedded wife missing her husband. At the end of the poem, she selfforts herself by saying that she believes her husband will return.)

    The hand that lingered by her face paused. There was a hint of mocking in Ning Yuxuan¡¯s smile, but it quickly disappeared.

    ¡°Haohao is almost one year old. Since you don¡¯t have any children of your own, I¡¯m thinking about officially making him my heir.¡±

    Ji Man paused. She nced at Liu Hanyun and Wen Wan, who were behind Ning Yuxuan, then she smiled and said, ¡°My lord, if that¡¯s what you want, this servant doesn¡¯t have any objections either.¡±

    The heir was always the oldest son of the main wife, but since Marquis Moyu had said she didn¡¯t have any children, then she didn¡¯t have any other choices. It meant that she definitely wouldn¡¯t have any children in the future. After all, she couldn¡¯t reproduce by herself.

    Liu Hanyun was just quietly holding Xi-<i>er</i>. Wen Wan was looking at her with a gaze that showed she was gloating over her misfortunate.

    The purpose of the trip had been for praying for blessings for the children, but it had been a failure for Yun-<i>er</i>. After the long journey back to the estate, this pitiful baby seemed to be close to herst breath. From Yun-<i>er</i>¡®s current appearance, Ji Man could see that this baby wouldn¡¯t have much longer to live. She just didn¡¯t know who would be med for Yun-<i>er</i>¡®s inevitable death.

    ¡ª

    The next day, because Ji Man was on her guard over this issue, when she heard that Wen Wan was bringing over Yun-<i>er</i> to Feiwan Courtyard to pay respects to her, Ji Man decisively choose to flee and hide. She brought Dengxin along with her to Liu Hanyun¡¯s courtyard.

    When they arrived, Liu Hanyun was ying with Xi-er. Seeing that Nie Sangyu hade, there was an estranged look in her eyes that hadn¡¯t been seen in a long time. Still, remembering Nie Sangyu¡¯s kindness and favor from long ago, she still brought over Xi-<i>er</i>.

    Looking at her, Liu Hanyun lightly smiled and said, ¡°Madam, although the marquis didn¡¯t bring you on this trip, he was still thinking about you. We only ended up staying there for a few more extra days because Xia-<i>shi</i> wasn¡¯t being sensible. She liked the hot springs there and refused to leave.¡±

    Not caring about this, Ji Man smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s okay. The estate was quite peaceful when there were fewer people around.¡±

    Liu Hanyun paused. She hesitantly looked at her for a while, then she said, ¡°Madam, do you really not mind that Haohao is going to be the heir? If that happens, then if you have children in the future...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the marquis¡¯s decision, and he has the highest authority in this household. There¡¯s nothing I can do about it.¡± Ji Man lightly smiled and stroked Xi-<i>er</i>¡®s face. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not unreasonable to name the oldest son as the heir either, and Haohao is a well-behaved child.¡±

    Liu Hanyun pursed her lips and said, ¡°Madam, you¡¯re very magnanimous. But, you shouldn¡¯t let yourself suffer too much. After all, men aren¡¯t dependable. It¡¯s your own child that will be the most reliable and trustworthy.¡±

    Trantor Ramblings: Ji Man sees Nie n as a towering tree, but I think we get a hint that it¡¯s a tree that¡¯s rotting from the inside out. Early on in the novel, the author tells us that there¡¯s been a history of corrupt family members taking for granted that the emperor favors Noble Consort Nie¡¯s and acted badly thinking they wouldn¡¯t be punished. Even thought the emperor had pruned some of these members away, once the Noble Consort Nie regained the emperor¡¯s favor, other family members probably started acting badly again (i.e. maybe taking bribes and epting shoddy armor and weaponry). I think it¡¯s very suspicious that Nie Xiangyuan would rather trust Errong¡¯s father for help in procuring supplies than members of his own n. Anyways, this is just my spection. What do you guys think?

 Chapter 290 - Other than possessing his heart, have you thought about your future? (1)

    Chapter 290 ¨C Other than possessing his heart, have you thought about your future? (1)

    Ji Man felt a bit shocked to hear Liu Hanyun saying these words. Liu Hanyun had always been blessed with Marquis Moyu¡¯s protection. How could she also feel that men weren¡¯t reliable?

    Liu Hanyun didn¡¯t notice that Nie Sangyu had been struck dumb by her words and continued to say, ¡°Besides, Xia-<i>shi</i> isn¡¯t a person that¡¯s suitable to appear in public. If her child bes the heir, she might be too heady from sess.¡±

    Ji Man lowered her head and yed with Xi-<i>er</i> for a few moments before handing him back to Liu Hanyun. ¡°The marquis has always liked Haohao, so there¡¯s really nothing I can do to change his mind about this matter. If Xia-<i>shi</i> acts poorly, I¡¯ll spend more time teaching her etiquette.¡±

    Liu Hanyun didn¡¯t say anymore about this matter. She sighed and changed the topic. ¡°This servant heard that Madam¡¯s family had encountered a cmity.¡±

    ¡°En,¡± Ji Man said, ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. It¡¯s just that my father is getting old, so he¡¯s going back his hometown to live his golden years infort.¡±

    Liu Hanyun nodded and said a few more reassuring words.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t linger here. After only chatting for a short while, she left Linghan Courtyard.

    Walking by her side, Dengxin quietly said, ¡°Master, a servant from Feiwan Courtyard reported that Miss Wan-<i>er</i> went to the study with Young Miss Yun-<i>er</i>.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ji Man nodded. Wen Wan was basically holding a ticking time bomb. She didn¡¯t care where this bomb would explode as long as it wasn¡¯t directed at herself. Right now, she was more concerned about Nie Qingyun and Errong. Their divorce was already a forgone conclusion, and Errong would be leaving the capital to return to Jing Province soon.

    Right now, Nie n was undergoing a cmity, but Errong wasn¡¯t a person that longed for riches and honor. She had probably just reached a deadlock with Nie Qingyun. Neither of them was willing to clear the air, so the situation had deteriorated to the point of divorce. While it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate for her to step forward to say something, there was one person that would be very suitable.

    Marquis Moyu.

    During the recent past period, Ning Yuxuan hadn¡¯t been home, so she couldn¡¯t ask him then. But, Errong was his younger cousin, and Nie Qingyun was his brother-inw. It would bepletely justified for him to act as a mediator between these two.

    After thinking it over, Ji Man went to a room near the study to wait and ordered Dengxin to tell her as soon as Wen Wan left the study.

    Standing by the doorway of the room, Dengxin suddenly said, ¡°Master, something seems to be wrong, ah.¡±

    Ji Man went to the doorway to look.

    Guibai came out of the study in a rarely seen flustered state and returned with a doctor. The study and this room was only separated by several steps, but Ji Man couldn¡¯t hear the sound of a baby crying.

    It seemed that something had happened to Yun-<i>er</i> again. During the past period, Wen Wan had used Yun-<i>er¡¯s</i> poor health to capture Ning Yuxuan¡¯s sympathy, and Ning Yuxuan had seemed very weak against this tactic. Out of the three children, Yun-<i>er</i> received the lion¡¯s share of Ning Yuxuan¡¯s concern and attention.

    Ji Man thought for a moment before wrapping her cloak closer and walking over to see what was going on.

    Not caring that the floor was cold, Wen Wan had copsed onto the ground. Ning Yuxuan was standing by the side with an extremely pained expression. His right hand was slightly trembling.

    The doctor was currently kneeling by the cushioned couch. The swaddled bundle that had been ced on the cushioned couch was totally silent and unmoving.

    Ji Man¡¯s heart jumped, then she heard the doctor say, ¡°Her pulse has already stopped. Marquis, you should restrain your grief and ept fate...¡±

    Struck with the pain over the loss of Yun-<i>er</i>, Ning Yuxuan closed his eyes.

    Wen Wan seemed to have gone a bit mad. She went forward and pulled at Ning Yuxuan. ¡°She¡¯s your daughter. How could you be so heartless? I just wanted you to hold her for a bit. Why did you push me?!¡±

    In a hoarse voice, Marquis Moyu said, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it deliberately. It was an ident. I wasn¡¯t paying attention.¡±

    ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> has just started recovering from my serious illness. You knew that I wouldn¡¯t be able to securely hold onto Yun-<i>er</i>. I just wanted you to hold her, but what was the result?¡± Wen Wan shouted herself hoarse, ¡°Give me back my child!¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    This show wasn¡¯t being performed realistically enough. From these words, Ji Man only understood the general gist of what had happened. Wen Wan wanted Marquis Moyu to hold the child, but for an unknown reason, Marquis Moyu had pushed her. Then, Wen Wan¡¯s grip slipped and the baby fell onto the ground.

    Inside the tiny bundle, Yun-<i>er</i>¡®s little face had already gradually changed colors. Ji Man pressed her lips together and suddenly thought of the legendary Empress Wu Zetian.

    How daring and ruthless did a woman have to be in order to strangle her own daughter?

    (T/N: Wu Zetian was a Tang Dynasty empress. Traditional historians believed that she killed her own daughter in order to frame Empress Wang during a power struggle.)

    No matter what, Ning Yuxuan was a person that knew martial arts. It was impossible that he wouldn¡¯t know how to control his strength. As for what recently happened between Ning Yuxuan and Wen Wan, only the two of them knew the real truth.

    After the wet nurse took the baby away, Wen Wan followed after her in tears and shouted for her to hand over her baby.

    Even though she had predicted that Yun-<i>er</i> wouldn¡¯t be able to live for long, looking at the dead baby, who was so small, Ji Man still felt very bad. Ning Yuxuan¡¯s gaze had already swept over to look at her. She didn¡¯t hide her troubled feelings and lightly repeated the traditional words offort that the doctor had said earlier.

    Looking at her eyes, Ning Yuxuan asked her an inexplicable question, ¡°Can you help bring Yun-<i>er</i> back?¡±

    Ji Man was baffled. How could she bring Yun-<i>er</i> back? Where would she suppose to look? The underworld?

    ¡°Never mind.¡± Ning Yuxuan lowered his eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯m being muddle-headed.¡±

    ¡°My lord, don¡¯t feel too bad,¡± Ji Man said, ¡°Yun-<i>er</i> is gone, but maybe next time, she¡¯ll return to Miss Wan-er¡¯s belly again and have a second chance at being your child.¡±

    Derisively shaking his head, Ning Yuxuan quietly said, ¡°That won¡¯t happen.¡±

    How could he know that it won¡¯t happen? Based on how frequently he was sowing his seeds, it shouldn¡¯t be difficult for Wen Wan to get pregnant again, right?

 Chapter 293

    Chapter 293 ¨C What? Did you think this was going to be a reenactment of <i>the Legend of the White Snake</i>? (2)

    A momentter, Ning Yuxuan asked, ¡°Can you visit a temple?¡±

    Why wouldn¡¯t she be able to? With a questioning expression, Ji Man said, ¡°Although temples are bleak and not very interesting, they¡¯re good ces for setting one¡¯s heart and spirit at ease. Of course this servant can visit a temple. My lord, do you want this servant to go to one? ¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Ning Yuxuan looked away and let out a long sigh.

    Ji Man twitched her lips. This person had been behaving very strangetely. She slipped under the quilt too. Leaning against him, she closed her eyes.

    Just as she was about to fall asleep, Ning Yuxuan suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯ll bring you to Xiangguo Temple tomorrow. I heard ... Xuwu, that old monk, said there¡¯s going to be a Buddhist gathering there tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Ji Man turned over and continued to keep her eyes closed to sleep.

    Marquis Moyu looked at her back figure for a long time. He stretched his hand out and wanted to ce his hand down on her shoulder, but after pausing for a moment, he took his hand back.

    ¡ª

    The vigil for Yun-<i>er</i> had tost for three days, and was apanied by the sound of Wen Wan crying day and night. It was exactly like a mysterious scene from a TV show, so Ji Man was d to get a break from this. She left the estate with Ning Yuxuan, and they headed to Xiangguo Temple.

    During the entire way there, Ning Yuxuan¡¯s expression didn¡¯t look good. Ji Man nced at his hands. They were tightly clenched together.

    When they had reached halfway, Marquis Moyu shouted, ¡°Guibai, drive the carriage slower.¡±

    Ji Man had already been feeling that this ancient-period carriage was as unbearably slow as a tractor. Hearing him say those words, she wasn¡¯t able to keep her calm. ¡°My lord, if we can get there sooner, why wouldn¡¯t you want the carriage to move faster?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan nced at her said, pursed his lips, and said, ¡°I get motion sickness.¡±

    Ji Man, ¡°...¡±

    ¡ª

    By the time they finally arrive at Xiangguo Temple, it looked like a very lively scene with peopleing and going. There was a Buddhist gathering today, so there were Buddhist images hanging by the entrances.

    Just as Ji Man was about to take a step inside, he grabbed her hand and stopped her.

    ¡°Sangyu.¡± His hand was slightly sweaty, and he looked at her with a deep gaze as he asked, ¡°If I wanted to harm, what would you do?¡±

    What?

    Ji Man paused. Looking at his gaze, she could tell that he wasn¡¯t joking. She suddenly wondered if this temple had some sort of booby trap mechanism. It couldn¡¯t be that a thousand arrows would shoot through her heart as soon as she entered the temple, right?

    No, that wasn¡¯t possible. If Ning Yuxuan wanted to kill her, there were countless ways that he could do it without exerting any effort. Right now, her life wasn¡¯t worth much. There was no reason why he would need to harm her in broad daylight.

    ¡°My lord, didn¡¯t you want this servant to enter Xiangguo Temple?¡± Ji Man faintly smiled. ¡°Then, this servant will go inside. If my lord wants to harm me, then this servant can only ept my fate.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan trembled a bit in shock. He slightly tightened his grip on her hand.

    He asked, ¡°Have you ever thought about harming me?¡±

    Ji Man tilted her head to look at him. Had this person bumped his head on the way out of the estate today? Even if she had that evil intention, she wouldn¡¯t have the courage to carry it out, okay?

    ¡°My lord, if this servant wanted to harm you, then this servant would haven¡¯t entrusted my body to you in marriage.¡± She smiled and said, ¡°Harming you would be such a loss for me.¡±

    The winter sun was just right today. Its warm rays illuminated Nie Sangyu¡¯s face, and her face looked especially gentle.

    For a while, Ning Yuxuan was stunned. He finally pursed his lips and said, ¡°Then, let¡¯s go back.¡±

    It had taken such a bumpy ride to get here, and now he wanted to go back before they had even stepped through the entrance? Ji Man unhappily said, ¡°Why aren¡¯t we going inside? There are a lot of people inside. It looks so lively.¡±

    ¡°You want to go inside?¡± Marquis Moyu looked at the fluttering Buddhist scrolls that were everywhere.

    ¡°Is there an entry fee?¡± She forcefully tugged her hand out from his and ran to the entrance to look. There wasn¡¯t an employee stationed here to check if they had tickets. After all, this temple was a public facility in ancient times, so it wasn¡¯t a modern-day tourist attraction where you had to pay money.

    ¡°Sang...¡± Not knowing why, Ning Yuxuan felt somewhat panicked. He stretched his hand out to stop her, but she had already taken a step into Xiangguo Temple.

    Xiangguo Temple¡¯s bells started ringing. It was followed by the long recitation of one of the many names of Buddha. Although there were many people, there weren¡¯t any moring noises. Instead, there was a very solemn and serene atmosphere.

    Ji Man looked around, turned her head back, and gestured for Ning Yuxuan toe inside and stop talking.

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s body stiffened. For a moment, he forgot to breath. By the time he recovered his senses, the person in front of him was energetically skipping around and tugging him forward.

    No? Was she not a demon?

    @@novelbin@@

    It was as if a heavy stone fell down in his heart. Pressing his lips together, Ning Yuxuan followed her inside. Standing behind her, he saw her bowing to all the Buddha statues that could be seen.

    ¡ª

    Later, during the Buddhist gathering, Great Master Xuwu was sitting in the highest position, and a group of Buddhism practitioners were sitting below and listening to his meditations.

    Sitting next to Ning Yuxuan, Ji Man noticed that he was sneaking nces at her from time to time from the corner of her eye.

    Ji Man turned her head to look at him and said, ¡°My lord, there¡¯s a question that this servant has been wanting to ask you for a long time. A while ago, when you had this servant drink pear wine, what did you hear this servant say that night?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan froze in shock for a moment, then he pursed his lips and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything.¡±

    If he hadn¡¯t heard anything, why would take her to a temple to act out a scene from <i>the Legend of the White Snake</i>, or ask her if she would ever harm him? Was there a problem with his brain? Ji Man resisted the urge to voice her ridicule and let out a long sigh instead. ¡°This servant often mumbles nonsense during sleep. My lord, please don¡¯t take those words seriously.¡±

    (T/N: <i>The Legend of the White Snake</i> is one of the four Chinese great folktales.)

    ¡°En.¡± Xuwu had only told him that her original fate had changed, but he hadn¡¯t been able to see any other abnormality in her. In addition, she was able to freely walk inside a temple, so he probably didn¡¯t have to worry that she was a danger to his home and household.

    Ji Man thought of an idea and kindly suggested, ¡°My lord, since you suffer from motion sickness, why don¡¯t we walk instead of taking the carriage? The streets here are bustling, so it shouldn¡¯t be boring too walk back.¡±

 Chapter 295 - Lets keep a memento (2)

    Chapter 295 ¨C Let¡¯s keep a memento (2)

    ¡°Is she asleep?¡±

    ¡°She should be sleeping, but her room is locked.¡±

    ¡°She really has a strong sense vignce.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s nerves stretched taut. She couldn¡¯t resist the urge to sit up. She stuck to the wall like a gecko.

    A slick, unfamiliar voice said, ¡°The reason for Shaoan¡¯s visit this time is to remind the marquis of camaraderie ties. If Sir Ning is willing to take the position of Zhenyuan General, it would naturally be a beneficial decision that wouldn¡¯t harm the marquis. After all, the two of you are rted by blood. Even if the bones are broken, the tendons will still be connected.

    ¡°Sir Qin, you think too highly of Yuxuan. Yuxuan is merely a powerless marquis. Such an important imperial court matter can¡¯t be determined by Yuxuan.¡±

    ¡°Marquis, why act so modest? Who doesn¡¯t know that the emperor is increasingly relying on you? Everyone had originally expected Sir Ning to take that position, but there were people in the imperial court that used hisck of experience and seniority to disagree, so the emperor has remained hesitant. If the marquis would be willing to say a few words...¡±

    Ning Yuxuan interrupted him, ¡°Second Young Master recently got married. Are his days going well?¡±

    Qin Shaoan paused before saying, ¡°Second Young Master married a good woman. She¡¯s very helpful.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°That¡¯s good. Then, send my regards to Second Young Master. It¡¯s not early anymore. Yuxuan understands Sir Qin¡¯s intentions. How about giving Yuxuan time to think things over?¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The unfamiliar voice sounded a bit hesitant as he added, ¡°Shaoan will boldly say a few words to remind the marquis that if your goal is to stay out of the political turmoil, then your honorable wife can¡¯t be allowed to remain.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s voice was a bit deeper as he said, ¡°Thank you for your concern. The night air is cold. Sir Qin, be careful as you leave.¡±

    Ji Man took a deep breath, slowly fell back down on the bed, and quietly covered herself with the quilt.

    She had truly thought that Ning Yuxuan was stupid enough to apany her in such a long walk, but in actually, it was just an excuse to meet up with someone.

    Their conversation was also a bit funny. An outsider hade to persuade Ning Yuxuan to help Ning Mingjie into the position of Zhenyuan General. Ning Yuxuan¡¯s voice sound as if he was trying to avoid responsibility, and that person had also tried to convince him to abandon Nie Sangyu.

    What was going on?

    From the other side, Ning Yuxuan asked, ¡°The door was locked?¡±

    Guibai¡¯s answer of yes was followed by the sound of a window opening. Her heart tightened. They were on the third floor, so she had forgotten to lock her window!

    It was only to be expected that people with martial art skills could jump over walls and enter rooms through windows by scaling buildings. Ning Yuxuan¡¯s movements were also very efficient as he entered through her window. He groped around until he found the bed, then he very naturally lied down as if she was dead asleep.

    Wrapping his arm around her waist and straddling his leg over hers, Ning Yuxuan hugged her like she was a doll. After letting out a very long sigh, he started to drift off into sleep.

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t move and had to keep her body from tensing. She had to keep her breathing smooth and regr while mixing in a little bit of teeth grinding that would normally happen when she was sleeping.

    The person hugging her let out a muffledugh and gently kissed her forehead.

    Goosebumps rose up on her entire body, and Ji Man pretended that she was fidgeting in her sleep. She pushed him away and turned over to face the wall to sleep. Ning Yuxuan lightly clicked his tongue and finally lied down next to her without trying anything again.

    The emperor had removed Nie Sangyu¡¯s old father from his position because the army had lost a battle due to problems with the military equipment. Themander of the troops had died during that battle, and Ning Mingjie was temporarily in charge. And now, someone hade over and said that he wanted Ning Mingjie to take up the position of Zhenyuan General. gued by these thoughts, Ji Man couldn¡¯t sleep.

    Still, she couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on.

    ¡ª

    Early next morning, before the sun was up, Ning Yuxuan sneakily left the bed and returned to his room.

    Ji Man had ck circles under her eyes like a panda. Supporting her chin in her hand, she continued to think.

    ¡ª

    After eating breakfast, Marquis Moyu overtly came over and knocked on her door. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. There¡¯s probably going to be an important guesting to the estate.¡±

    Ji Man instinctively moved her body to block his sight of the untouched food on the table. ¡°What important guest?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan lightly said, ¡°Princess Pengyue heard that something unfortunate happened in our family, so she wants to see for herself. The two of you talked before, so there¡¯s some familiarity between the two of you. Do a good job with entertaining our guest, okay?¡±

    Thinking of that young woman, who had amanding presence as she held her whip up and stood by that wheelchair, Ji Man nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go back by carriage then.¡±

    Before Ning Yuxuan could fully enter the room, she pushed him out and hurriedly pulled him towards the stairs to go down.

    After Guibai paid the inn, they rented a carriage and rushed back the marquis¡¯s estate. Because an important guest wasing over, Ning Yuxuan untied the concentric knots essory from his waist and reced it with his formal jade essory.

    Ji Man took off the concentric knots waist essory that she was wearing too. Pinching the low-quality ring in her fingers, she asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you taking off the ring made of concentric knots too?¡±

    Marquis Moyu straightened his clothes. In a tone that was as light as drifting clouds, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s just treat it as a memento. It¡¯s rare for us to take trips together.¡±

    Ji Man twitched her lips and tossed the ring into a small bag. He was acting as if in the next second, he was going to valiantly sacrifice himself for a righteous cause.

    Qi Siling was standing at the entrance of the marquis¡¯s estate. Seeing that they had returned, she came over and very properly greeted them. ¡°My lord, Madam, the visiting card from the second prince¡¯s household has already arrived. The second princess consort is probably on her way here too. This servant has already prepared Princess Pengyue¡¯s favorite snacks and incense.¡±

    ¡°Very good.¡± Ning Yuxuan slightly smiled and nodded. ¡°You saved me from having to worry about this.¡±

    Qi Siling nced at Nie Sangyu, then she weed them inside while smiling.

    ¡ª

    There was still one more day to the vigil, but Wen Wan had cried herself out and was just kneeling in the mourning hall with reddened eyes.

 Chapter 297 - Buying insurance (2)

    Chapter 297 ¨C Buying insurance (2)

    Miss Shui had brought along this tea set when she dropped off the ount booksst month. The rouge store¡¯s business was getting better and better, and the profits were like rolling snowballs that were getting bigger too. As a result, Miss Shui had developed a slight connection with the local authorities. This tea set had passed through many hands before Miss Shui had purchased it off a wife of a government official for a high price. Miss Shui had also given that woman a VIP membership card to express her thanks for parting with the tea set.

    Ji Man had Dengxin bring out this tea set as a way to tell Pengyue that she wasn¡¯tcking in money, so the offered benefit from Pengyue naturally couldn¡¯t be money. Although Ji Man hadn¡¯t decided yet whether or not she would help Pengyue, she still wanted to establish a base for the value of this favor.

    Pengyue pursed her lips and lightly smiled. ¡°This is a really good tea.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, you know that Sangyu¡¯s family isn¡¯t in a good situation right now, so my words won¡¯t have much weight with Marquis Moyu.¡± Ji Man sighed and said, ¡°Even if Sangyu wants to help, Sangyu don¡¯t have the power to do so.¡±

    Pengyue blinked and said, ¡°Ah Li said your words will be the most effective.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. Didn¡¯t the second prince live a secluded life? Where did he get the information to reach this verdict? If her words had any persuasive ability, she would have already gotten Ning Yuxuan to say, ¡°I love you¡± and made a clean getaway a long time ago.

    Watching her, Pengyue said, ¡°I just want older sister to try. I said that I would protect Ah Li and not let him suffer being bullied and humiliated anymore. Older sister, please help me aplish my goal.¡±

    Alright, she was even calling her older sister. But, had this silly girl not considered the fact that Nie Sangyu¡¯s older cousin was the third prince? If she helped out the second prince by saying good words about him to Ning Yuxuan, wouldn¡¯t there be a missing motive? Could she say that she was sympathetic towards the second prince and liked Pengyue? No, that wouldn¡¯t make sense. She wasn¡¯t the Holy Mother.

    Ji Man lowered her eyes in hesitation.

    Pengyue also silently thought for a long time. Then, she gritted her teeth and unhooked the red whip that was hanging from her waist. ¡°Older sister, if you think that Pengyue can¡¯t give you a worthwhile benefit, then how about this, I¡¯ll leave this whip with you. It¡¯ll count as Pengyue owing older sister an extremely big favor. In the future, if older sister is ever in a difficult situation, then Pengyue will definitely help you without hesitation if it¡¯s within my power.¡±

    This type of promise was what someone like Ji Man, who was scared of death and living in a ce far from home, liked the most. Still, during a negotiation, she couldn¡¯t show how much she wanted this promise. Ji Man pretended to quietly consider this offer for a long time, then she pinched her thigh. In a tone of voice as if she had been put into a difficult position, she finally said, ¡°Your Highness, since you¡¯re already shown such heartfelt sentiment, then Sangyu can only try my best.¡±

    Pengyu let out a sigh of relied. With a heart filled with joy, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for your good news.¡±

    Since she had agreed, then what should she say to Marquis Moyu? At the time that Ji Man agreed, she had already thought of an answer,

    Right now, during the war period, what was the imperial court mostcking? Money.

    What did she have the most of and was just piling up without any use? Money.

    In summary, there was no need for her to say any extra words. She could just literally tell Ning Yuxuan Pengyue¡¯s request, then rece Pengyue¡¯s whip with a huge amount of banknotes as the grand gift.

    This was the equivalent to spending her money to buy insurance, and Marquis Moyu was doing the paid work for her. Thinking about it like this, it was definitely worth it.

    Ning Yuxuan was a wily old fox. He definitely wouldn¡¯t refuse this request that wouldn¡¯t take any effort at all and would also gain him the second prince¡¯s favorable impression. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t like Ning Yuxuan was an honest and upright official that wouldn¡¯t ept bribes. He had such arge family to support. Did you think that his fiefdom and his official¡¯s sry would be enough?

    Still, as the third prince¡¯s younger cousin, she couldn¡¯t tell him this matter with a happy face. She had to look extremely unwilling and helpless as she told him about this request.

    Even though it wouldn¡¯t be a threat to the other princes if the second prince gained a title that would improve his living standards, she still had pay attention to any adverse changes.

    After Pengyue left, Ji Man decided to talk about this matter with Ning Yuxuan and went to his study.

    But, when she pushed open the doors, she saw Nie Chenyu¡¯s snow white shoulders and back.

    Hearing the creaking sound from the doors, Nie Chenyu hurriedly came down from Ning Yuxuan¡¯s body and bashfully put on her clothes. She stamped her feet and said, ¡°Older sister, why didn¡¯t you knock on the door beforeing in?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan raised his eyes and saw Sangyu. Surprisingly, his clothes weren¡¯t disheveled.

    How was this her fault? Every time there was a passionate scene inside the study, the doors were never locked, and there wasn¡¯t a servant posted outside the doors to warn visitors. Ji Man rolled her eyes. Looking at Nie Chenyu¡¯s pleased expression, she indifferently said, ¡°My lord, I have something to discuss with you.¡±

    Tugging on Ning Yuxuan¡¯s sleeve, Nie Chenyu coquettishly protested, ¡°But younger sister¡¯s clothes are already in disarray. It¡¯s so cold outside. What if I get a cold? At the very least, we¡¯re sisters by blood. Is there really something that you can¡¯t say in front of your own sister?¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Ji Man found a nearby seat and sat down, then she nodded her head and said, ¡°Feel free to continue then. After the two of you are done, and you return to your courtyard, I¡¯ll discuss the matter with the marquis. After all, we¡¯re sisters by blood. Is there really something that you can¡¯t do in front of your own sister?¡±

    Nie Chenyu choked on her words. She cautiously looked at the marquis¡¯s expression. There was a smile in his eyes.

    @@novelbin@@

    He waved his hand and said, ¡°You should leave first.¡±

    ¡°My lord...¡± Nie Chenyu pouted in discontent.

    Marquis Moyu nced at her and said with a smile, ¡°Go.¡±

    Nie Chenyu felt a shiver up her spine. She wrapped her cloak around herself and hatefully red at her sister before opening the doors and leaving.

    Ning Yuxuan stared at Nie Sangyu¡¯s face, but he was left feeling disappointed once again. There wasn¡¯t the slightest trace of jealousy and vexation that a woman should be feeling. Instead, she was looking at him with a fake smile as she said, ¡°My lord, this servant came here to tell you the reason behind the princess consort¡¯s visit.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Marquis Moyu withdrew his gaze and disinterestedly fiddled with the brush he was holding.

 Chapter 300 - When falsehood is taken for truth, the truth becomes falsehood (1)

    Chapter 300 ¨C When falsehood is taken for truth, the truth bes falsehood (1)

    Looking at Xia-<i>shi</i>¡®s unsophisticated peasant appearance, Ji Man thought that it probably wasn¡¯t her. Besides, it had been too easy to catch her assant. It seemed more like someone was trying to frame Xia-<i>shi</i>.

    In contrast, Liu Hanyun seemed especially active today. She was normally a very quiet person, but today she had followed them here and found fault with Xia-<i>shi</i> several times.

    Thinking of how Liu Hanyun had tried to persuade her to not allow Haohao to be the marquis¡¯s heir and how Liu Hanyun had a son of her own, Ji Man felt suspicion growing in her heart. She pursed her lips and said, ¡°How about we wait until tomorrow and take our time investigating this matter?¡±

    Slightly frowning, Liu Hanyun said, ¡°Madam, it¡¯s already reached this point. Why do you want to wait until tomorrow instead of making a resolute decision now?¡±

    Xia-<i>shi</i> raised her head to look at Liu Hanyun and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything to offend you. Why do insist on ming me? This matter really has nothing to do with me. Madam has even said that she wants to investigate this matter more before deciding. Why are you insisting on pushing this crime onto my head?¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Liu Hanyun pursed her lips and her brow slightly furrowed.

    Marquis Moyu nced at Liu Hanyun and considered for a while before saying, ¡°It really is getting toote, and we¡¯re going to disturb Haohao from his sleep if we keep talking. Let¡¯s just do as Sangyu said. Let¡¯s save this discussion for tomorrow.¡±

    Liu Hanyun lowered her head and said, ¡°Since neither my lord nor Madam are anxious about settling this matter, then Hanyun naturally has nothing to say.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan added, ¡°En. As for the matter of promoting you to the position of secondary wife that I mentioned before, let¡¯s do it at the same time as Haohao¡¯s first birthday.¡±

    ¡°Many thanks, my lord.¡± Liu Hanyun didn¡¯t linger here. After saluting, she turned around and left.

    Xia-<i>shi</i> patted her knees as she stood up. Hearing the sound of a baby crying in the next room, she pped her thigh and said, ¡°Aiya, my Haohao!¡±

    Without saying another word, she hastily left too. It seemed that she was very worried about Haohao.

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s brow rxed. Looking at Nie Sangyu, he said, ¡°Xia-<i>shi</i> doesn¡¯t know anything. You have to take extra care of her. Sometimes, you¡¯ll have to protect her more too.

    Ji Man raised her eyebrows. Clutching her cloak, she coughed a few times before saying, ¡°This servant understands.¡±

    ¡ª

    In the end, the me for the extremely ridiculous incident of someone pretending to be a ghost was ced on Xia-<i>shi</i>¡®s head. But, since Xia-<i>shi</i> was needed to take care of Haohao, and the marquis had already signaled that he wanted her punishment to be lighter, Ji Man only punished her with not getting a monthly allowance for the next six months. Still, the food, clothing, and other necessities that she was provided with wouldn¡¯t be any less than before.

    ¡ª

    Liu Hanyun was holding Xi-<i>er</i>, and her expression didn¡¯t look good as she said, ¡°Madam, are you thinking that Hanyun is deliberately not getting along with Xia-<i>shi</i>?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man silently thought; wasn¡¯t that just the simple truth? But, she outwardlyforted her by saying, ¡°You don¡¯t have to overthink things. It wasn¡¯t a big deal. It¡¯s not like a ghost would scare me anyways. Since the marquis isn¡¯t willing to perform an in-depth investigation, let¡¯s just put it behind us.¡±

    Liu Hanyun opened and closed her mouth, but in the end, she sullenly swallowed down the words that she wanted to say. Holding Xi-<i>er</i>, she didn¡¯t say another word.

    ¡ª

    When Haohao¡¯s first birthday came, Ji Man was a bit absent-minded. This day wasn¡¯t that far from when she had given birth to her own child. Xia-<i>shi</i> had probably conceived her child around the same time as her during the Southern Trip.

    Although Wen Wan had been enjoying the living standards of an honored concubine since the day that Marquis Moyu had brought up the topic with Ji Man, everyone still had to wear new clothing that was appropriate to the changes in their status on Haohao¡¯s birthday celebration. And so, Liu Hanyun was wearing a light pink dress when she brought Xi-<i>er</i> over in her arms.

    Since they were still in the three-year mourning period for Old Madame, the birthday banquet couldn¡¯t be too big or special. Instead, it was just the entire household sharing a meal together, then there would be a birthday grab and an official recording of Haohao bing the marquis¡¯s heir.

    (T/N: The birthday grab (<i>zhuazhou</i>) is a tradition where parents ce a variety of items in front of their child on his or her first birthday, and the child will grab one of the items. Whatever the child chooses is said to determine his or her future inclination and proficiencies.)

    After Wen Wan was once again called Mistress Wen, she seemed to very quickly walk out from the shadow of Yun-<i>er</i>¡®s death. Her face was like a beautiful blooming peach flower.

    There was also a faint smile on Liu Hanyun¡¯s face from her promotion to a secondary wife. And, once Qi Siling had regained control over the household ounts, she also wore slightly morevish clothing. The only person that was feeling dissatisfied was Nie Chenyu.

    Nie Chenyu, who had been quite favoredtely, was still only a concubine and had to sit next to Mu Shuiqing. Nie Chenyu¡¯s face was livid today, but given Nie n¡¯s current state, she didn¡¯t have the means to demand a promotion in her status. She hadn¡¯t been able to get pregnant either, so she could only sit in a deste corner with Mu Shuiqing and watch.

    For some reason, Xia-<i>shi</i> hade to the birthday celebration wearing a red gown. Holding Haohao, she was smiling quite happily. But, as soon as Xia-<i>shi</i> entered the main hall, Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched.

    During ancient time banquets, only the main wife was allowed to wear red, even a secondary wife or side consort could only wear hues of light pink. But, Xia-<i>shi</i> had casually entered the room wearing bright red.

    The room full of people stopped talking, but Xia-<i>shi</i> didn¡¯t notice. With a bright grin, she brought Haohao over to the marquis and said, ¡°Haohao has been very well-fed today. He¡¯ll definitely grab something goodter!¡±

    Marquis Moyu looked at her from top to bottom. With a fake smile, he asked, ¡°Who gave you the clothes that you¡¯re wearing right now?¡±

    ¡°My clothes?¡± Xia-<i>shi</i> lowered her head to look. Smiling, she said, ¡°I made these clothes myself. They said we¡¯re going to celebrate Haohao¡¯s first birthday today, so I should wear slightly more colorful clothing. Out of all the fabrics they sent over, this one looked the best, so I used this one. My lord, what do you think?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan lightly smiled. He stretched his hands out and took Haohao, then he turned his head to the side and said to Nie Sangyu, ¡°Take her to have her clothes changed.¡±

    Ji Man nodded and stood up to lead Xia-<i>shi</i> to Feiwan Courtyard.

    Trantor Ramblings: Isn¡¯t there a possibility that Xia-<i>shi</i> tried to kill or harm Nie Sangyu, and she just wasn¡¯t very good at hiding the evidence? Or, it¡¯s neither of them, and someone else tried to frame Xia-<i>shi</i>? It¡¯s consistent with Ji Man¡¯s character to side with whomever she thinks is the underdog.

    Earlier in the story, there¡¯s no doubt that when Liu Hanyun helps out Nie Sangyu/Ji Man, she doesn¡¯t want anything in return. In contrast, Ji Man has always viewed Liu Hanyun as a tool that could be useful to her, so it¡¯s possible that she¡¯s projecting her motivation onto Liu Hanyun. Or, maybe, Liu Hanyun really has changed.

 Chapter 302 - Dogs that bite dont bark (1)

    Chapter 302 ¨C Dogs that bite don¡¯t bark (1)

    After the Lantern Festival, the empress would bestow various gifts to the imperial consorts as well as nobledies each year. Last year, Ji Man had received several items. But this year, for an unknown reason, she only got two pieces of finely engraved silver bracelets.

    As Dengxin put away the gift, she grumbled, ¡°Has Her Majesty be hard pressed for money? Last year, there were four strings of coral beads, eight Eastern Sea pearls, and two golden bracelets. This year, why was the gift only this?¡±

    With her chin propped up in her hand, Ji Man contemted for a while and finally concluded, ¡°The annual gifts are based on a person¡¯s social status and value.¡±

    If Marquis Moyu wasn¡¯t still in his three year mourning period, who knows how many people would be trying to push women into this harem? Right now, Nie n was being entirely supported by Nie Qingyun. One after another, his cousins and other rtives had gotten implicated with the corruption case over the shoddy armors and weapons. As for herself, she was Marquis Moyu¡¯s wife and didn¡¯t have any children yet. Who knows how many saw her as an eyesore?

    Dengxin sighed. ¡°How well a woman¡¯s maiden family is doing determines her current status in her husband¡¯s home, but unlike you, Master, Mistress Yu doesn¡¯t see this. She constantly thinks about trying to climb up in status and has been over-the-top with chasing after the marquis during the recent past period. She even pulled the marquis away when he was at Mistress Yun¡¯s courtyard.¡±

    Nie Chenyu only dared to bully someone like Liu Hanyun, who didn¡¯t have any strong supporter. Ji Man sighed. ¡°I should send her a clear warning to be less restless. Without a strong supporter, she really should know when to stop. The one that stands out the most amongst a group is most likely to get shot.¡±

    Dengxin nodded. Right after she closed the wardrobe, Chunfeng, a servant girl from Xia-<i>shi</i>¡®s courtyard ran into the room.

    ¡°Madam! Please hurry over and save Mistress Xia!¡±

    Feeling as if her heart had just thumped loudly, Ji Man stood up and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Chunfeng¡¯s eyes had already reddened. ¡°For no reason at all, Mistress Yun came to Cailian Courtyard and said that my master harmed Young Master Xi. With the Heavens as my witness, my master hasn¡¯t even taken a step past her doors recently.¡±

    As soon as she heard this news, Dengxin knew there would be no peace. She took out Nie Sangyu¡¯s cloak. It was the beginning of spring, and there would still be a chill in the air.

    Ji Man put on the cloak and as she walked, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Xi-<i>er</i>?¡±

    Feeling wronged, Chunfeng said, ¡°Young Master Xi was fed some thick congee by the wet nurse. That food was for my master. My master was nning on starting to wean Young Master Haohao off of milk, but a servant girl from Linghan Courtyard made a mistake and took that congee. She was the one that took the wrong thing. How can they me my master for it? What kind of logic is that?¡±

    Ji Man raised her eyebrows and sped up her pace towards Cailian Courtyard.

    When they got there, Xi-<i>er</i> was wailing and being examined by the doctor. Looking somewhat helpless, Xia-<i>shi</i> was standing by the side and holding Haohao. Liu Hanyun was staring at her with an icy gaze.

    ¡°Madam has arrived.¡±

    A servant girl pushed back the curtain, and Ji Man entered the room. As she took off her cloak, she observed the people in the room.

    @@novelbin@@

    Liu Hanyun withdrew her gaze and came over to salute. ¡°Madam.¡±

    Xia-<i>shi</i> was still aggrievedly standing in the same ce. Briefly looking over, she said, ¡°Madam, you came.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ji Man walked over to look at Xi-<i>er</i>.

    After the doctor finished examining the nearby bowl, he cupped his hands and said, ¡°Young Master Xi has eczema and can¡¯t eat fish or shellfish. This bowl has remnants of shrimp, and that¡¯s why he¡¯s covered in rashes.

    Xi-<i>er</i>¡®s little face, which was covered in lots of red rashes, looked very pitiful. Ji Man pursed her lips. Looking at Liu Hanyun, she said, ¡°How did that servant girl take the wrong bowl? Xi-<i>er</i> isn¡¯t old enough to be weaned off of milk yet.¡±

    ¡°This servant doesn¡¯t know.¡± Liu Hanyun bit her lip and said, ¡°The wet nurse wasn¡¯t watching Xi-<i>er</i> carefully enough and he ate some.¡±

    How could a baby that wasn¡¯t even six months old crawl over and eat the wrong food? Ji Man frowned. ¡°If the wet nurse isn¡¯t doing a good job, then just rece her.¡±

    Xi-<i>er</i>¡®s wet nurse stepped forward. Slightly trembling, she said, ¡°Madam, please forgive me. This servant didn¡¯t do it deliberately and just wanted to eat something from the kitchen. But, then, Young Master Xi-<i>er</i> pointed at it, and this servant thought that perhaps, young master could start eating solid food sooner than normal. This servant didn¡¯t know that young master would be allergic to something in this bowl.¡±

    ¡°So then, why is Xia-<i>shi</i>¡®s being med for this?¡± Ji Man nced at Xia-<i>shi</i>.

    ¡°Who knows why, ah?¡± Xia-<i>shi</i> pressed her lips together before saying, ¡°She brought her child over here and started ming me. I¡¯m already too busy with taking care of Haohao. Where would I find the time to me her? All children are innocent, ah. I had a servant making that congee because it¡¯s something that Haohao can eat.¡±

    Liu Hanyun unwaveringly red at Xia-<i>shi</i>. ¡°The wet nurse told me that Muyu had given her the bowl. If this food was being made for Haohao, then why would she give it to my wet nurse?¡±

    Muyu paused before kneeling in front of Nie Sangyu and saying, ¡°This servant only had good intentions. This servant saw that Young Master Xi-<i>er</i>¡®s wet nurse hade into the kitchen to get a snack. Thinking that it¡¯s not easy to take care of a baby, and there wasn¡¯t any other food ready to eat in the kitchen at the time, this servant gave her the thick congee and just make another batch.¡±

    Lia Hanyun coldly harrumphed. She stretched her hands out and picked up Xi-<i>er</i>. ¡°The group of you always have an excuse, and it¡¯s always rted to the heir. Since the marquis and Madam will always be biased in favor of you, there¡¯s nothing else for me to say.¡±

    ¡°Hanyun.¡± Ji Man stopped her from leaving. ¡°Don¡¯t get so worked up.¡±

    ¡°Xi-<i>er</i> is already like this. How can I not be upset?¡± Liu Hanyun¡¯s eyes were slightly red. She stamped her feet and said, ¡°She¡¯s not an easy person to deal with. Madam, you should be more careful!¡±

    Unwilling to take things lying down, Xia-<i>shi</i> refuted, ¡°You¡¯re acting as if you¡¯re a straightforward person yourself. Is there a single person in this household that¡¯s easy to deal with?¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Liu Hanyun clenched her jaw.

    Marquis Moyu entered the room. Seeing the tense situation in the room, he furrowed his brow and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

 Chapter 306 - The last chance (1)

    Chapter 306 ¨C Thest chance (1)

    Before she could make head or tail of it, Ji Man was pulled outside.

    Standing in the crowd of people, Ning Mingjie finally let out a sigh of relief. As he saw that person walking farther away from his peripheral vision, his expression became more rxed. ¡°The third prince and his princess consort have an extremely good rtionship. Mingjie will respectfully offer a toast to the third prince and his princess consort. May the two of you live to an old age in marital bliss.¡±

    The third prince loudlyughed. He took a cup of wine and drank it in one gulp. Standing next to him, Zhao Qian wasn¡¯t smiling much. Her eyes were filled with sadness and resentment as she looked at Ning Mingjie.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡ª

    A pce garden was naturally much more beautiful than the ones outside of the pce. Ji Man silently stood with Ning Yuxuan by a pond. It happened to be dusk right now. Although they weren¡¯t talking, it felt pretty nice just standing here.

    Marquis Moyu suddenly broke the silence by saying, ¡°Mingjie has aplished great achievements this time. The emperor will definitely want to bestow a marriage to him.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ji Man nodded, that sounded reasonable.

    Turning his head to the side to nce at the person next to him, Ning Yuxuan slightly pursed his lips. ¡°He wants to promote Luoqi to the position of an honored concubine. I heard that their child is already a few months old.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± Ji Man nodded again. She had already heard about this.

    ¡°This means that he¡¯ll also have a harem one day.¡±

    Wasn¡¯t this true for all men in the ancient times? Confused, Ji Man nced at Ning Yuxuan. ¡°So?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan opened and closed his mouth. Looking at this woman¡¯s undisturbed gaze, he felt as if his heart had let out a sigh of relief. He snorted at himself.

    Why had he been so worried? This woman simply didn¡¯t have a heart.

    ¡°My lord, what was it that you want to say?¡± Ji Man blinked as she looked at him.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing important. I just won¡¯t have time to visit you in the uing days. Stay in Feiwan Courtyard. Don¡¯t get up to anything while I¡¯m not there,¡± Ning Yuxuan friendly suggested.

    If you¡¯re going to share a spoiler, do a more thorough job. Why bother telling it if you¡¯re going to continue concealing part of it? Ji Man felt very dissatisfied, but when she reconsidered it again, she thought it was already pretty good that he was willing to give her advance notice that something was going to happen.

    ¡ª

    Right now, it was a tricky matter to understand Ning Mingjie¡¯s position. On the surface, it seemed that he was still loyal to the third prince. And yet, with Prince Gong¡¯s daughter between them, there was bound to be a slight estrangement. The third prince mistakenly believed that as long as he put forth some effort and time, he would be able to slowly draw Ning Mingjie back to his side again.

    ¡ª

    While Ji Man obediently listened to Marquis Moyu¡¯s words, Nie Chenyu seemed have gotten some hidden information too. Thinking that she could rely on the imperial noble consort to support her, Nie Chenyu thought she had endless opportunities. She tried all sorts of tricks on Ning Yuxuan such as dancing to seduce him and drugging him with aphrodisiac drugs.

    Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t avoid her and epted all of her attempts. He even tantly sought publicity by frequently taking Nie Chenyu outside to look at colorednterns and stroll around the markets at night. It was all very romantic.

    ¡ª

    Sooner orter, this day was bound toe; the emperor fell seriously ill, and a prince had to be named as his heir. Once there was a crown prince again, the situation in the imperial court would be clear. And naturally, arge group of people had to be sacrificed, and a great wave of people would rise up as well. In the middle of all this, the members of each of the prince¡¯s maternal n would be implicated.

    Ji Man wasn¡¯t someone that possessed remarkable abilities. She could only sit and wait as the changes unfolded. As Nie Qingyun rushed about and was deeply troubled, Ji Man could only help him by giving him banknotes using Errong¡¯s name.

    While the imperial court was undergoing change, money was naturally a resource that needed to be used for bribes. Ji Man took the savings she had kept with Miss Shui and gave it Nie Qingyun by saying that Errong had given this to her.

    As a result, Nie Qingyun refused to ept the money and even intensely questioned her on why Errong would have so much money. Unable to fabricate a good excuse, Ji Man could only tell Nie Qingyun about her private business.

    Nie Qingyun¡¯s face became deathly pale. Squeezing her shoulder, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll take the money. You have to quickly sever your rtionship with that shopkeeper. As for everything else that she¡¯s keeping for you, just treat it as giving her a gift. It¡¯s more important to ensure your safety.¡±

    Ji Man nodded and nned on finding a day to visit Miss Shui to discuss this matter.

    However, before she had time, the emperor¡¯s illness rapidly took a turn for the worst. It had only been a few days ago when she heard the news of the emperor¡¯s illness.

    Two days after her conversation with Nie Qingyun, the death bells tolled inside the pce. The court officialsmented to the Heavens and uttered cries of anguish. Why? It was because the emperor hadn¡¯t chosen a crown prince yet!

    The struggle between the empress¡¯s faction and the imperial noble consort¡¯s faction formally started. On one side, there was the empress, who said that the oldest son should be the next emperor. On the other side, there was the imperial noble consort, who had always been favored by the emperor and said that she had a posthumous imperial edict written by thete emperor.

    Since the imperial noble consort had the posthumous imperial edict, it naturally didn¡¯t even need to be said what was written in the edict. The two factions shed, and countless people became embroiled. However, at the end, Ning Mingjie and Marquis Moyu, who led a group of old court officials, escorted the third prince onto the throne.

    The empress and the imperial noble consort were respectfully given the titles Renxiao Dowager Empress and Huizhuan Dowager Empress, respectively. The first prince was conferred a title and would be sent away to his new fiedom, Yidu.

    This was the public news that Ji Man heard, but she didn¡¯t know about the stormy behind the scenes development. She only knew that Zhao Jue¡¯s wish had been fulfilled; he had ascended the throne. He granted a general pardon to the opposing side as well as dering Nie Qingyun, Marquis Moyu, and Ning Mingjie as officials that had performed outstanding services. They were given a lot of deferential treatment and bestowed countless gifts.

    As Zhao Zhe peacefully departed for his fiefdom with his princess consort and the rest of his harem, he looked extremely unfettered.

    It was as if there had been warning rumbles of a thunderstorm and you had already taken your clothes off the drying line and checked that drainpipe was working, but then after only a light drizzle, spring had arrived.

    It was difficult to ept this oue. The emperor had died too simply. What happened to the usual drama of forcing the emperor to abdicate? How could the first prince magnanimously let Zhao Jue be the emperor?

    Still, after the third prince became the emperor, Ji Man received a ton of benefits. As the new emperor¡¯s younger cousin, she was on the same level of titled prince¡¯s daughter.

    Like a withered tree that was experiencing spring, Nie n had gotten a new lease on life. Nie Xiangyuan also received the new emperor¡¯s favor and decided to return to the capital to resume being an official.

    Sighing with emotion, Ji Man thought; fate had been changed.

 Chapter 308 - From now on, theres nothing between the two of us (1)

    Chapter 308 ¨C From now on, there¡¯s nothing between the two of us (1)

    There was a rumble of thunder from the sky. It was only now that the downpour of rain had truly started.

    Ji Man numbly followed Ning Yuxuan. He didn¡¯t look back as he led her to the carriage that would take them to execution grounds.

    When the carriage¡¯s curtain was put down, they were the only two people inside. With only the sound of the rain falling onto the top of the carriage, the atmosphere felt very stifled.

    After a long time had passed, Ji Man broke the silence to ask, ¡°My lord, have you always been helping the second prince?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Marquis Moyu slightly turned his head to look at her. He lightly smiled and said, ¡°Where does the issue of helping a certain person or note into y? As a government official, Yuxuan¡¯s duty is to assist the person on the throne.¡±

    When the first prince had been the crown prince, he had done his best to help him. If it turned out that the third prince would be the emperor, then he would help the third prince instead. However, he had taken stock of the matter and felt that Zhao Jie wouldn¡¯t be able securely maintain his position as the emperor, so he had personally opened the capital¡¯s gates for Zhao Li so that he could enter the capital.

    If the deceased Qian Lianxue were to be described as two-faced spy, then Ning Yuxuan would be a salesman that had an unknown number of faces. She had thought that he was trying to remain equilibrium with two sides, but as it turned out, there had been three sides.

    He was a pragmatic person that knew how to steer the rudder perfectly in the face of ever-changing winds. Ji Man thought it was only to be expected that he would be able to save himself as well as everyone else in his household during this turbulent situation.

    With his gaze on the carriage¡¯s curtain, Ning Yuxuan very calmly said, ¡°After we go to the execution grounds, you should leave with Guibai. He¡¯ll arrange a ce for you.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s brain hadn¡¯t recovered yet. She hadn¡¯t given thought to what would be waiting for her in the near future, so she only quietly nodded.

    Ning Yuxuan finally turned his head back to look at her. ¡°Do you still not have anything that you want to say to me?¡±

    Ji Man smiled. ¡°My lord, do you have anything that you want to say to Sangyu?¡±

    After a long pause, with the sound of the rain getting heavier and heavier, Ning Yuxuan said in a neutral tone, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of Xia-<i>shi</i> and Haohao. Nothing will happen to Hanyun and Xi-<i>er</i> either.¡±

    What the f***? This was already the scene of their parting, and he was listing out his women and children? The corners of Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched before she chuckled and said, ¡°May my lord live to a hundred years old and have enough to descendants to fill a hall.¡±

    Marquis Moyu deeply looked at her before pursing his lips and saying, ¡°Big Meow is still in your courtyard. I¡¯ll take good care of it too.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Thanks.¡± Ji Man really would miss that fellow. However, after going to the execution grounds, she had no idea what her future would look like. It was already going to be a problem to support herself, much less a toddy cat too.

    It felt as if this carriage ride had been very long. When they finally arrived, Ning Yuxuan got down from the carriage first, opened an umbre, and helped her down from the carriage.

    Although there was an rmingly heavy rainstorm, this hadn¡¯t diminished the number of people at the execution grounds. They had on woven rush coats or were using umbres. In the nearby audience stands, the seats were filled with court officials and their wives. They were dressed quite magnificently. Sitting in center stand, where the officials would be supervising the execution, there was Ning Mingjie.

    In front of them, the second prince turned around and said with a smile, ¡°Sangyu, how about you go up there and sit at the closest stand to watch the execution? Since you¡¯ll still be living on for Nie n, they¡¯ll feel more at ease.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s steps stiffened. She nodded and left the protective cover of Ning Yuxuan¡¯s umbre and headed towards the curtains of rain.

    ¡°Sangyu...¡±

    There were over a hundred people kneeling on the execution ground. The third prince was at the forefront, and he hadn¡¯t been tied up. The public thought that the second prince felt brotherly affection for his younger brother. And so, he would be allowed death by poisoned wine instead of being beheaded. As for the people behind the third prince, they were either his confidants or members of Nie n.

    As soon as Ji Man turned her head, she saw Nie Xiangyuan and Nie Qingyun. They were right behind the third prince and had raised their heads to look at her.

    Feeling as if her heart was being tightly clenched, Ji Man couldn¡¯t take another step. She numbly stood in the pouring rain and let the rainstorm drench her from head to toe.

    Chen-<i>shi</i> and Nie Chenyu were kneeling in the center of the group. As soon as Nie Chenyu saw Marquis Moyu, she kept crying, ¡°My lord, my lord... why won¡¯t you save Chenyu? Why won¡¯t you save Chenyu?¡±

    Chen-<i>shi</i> cried to the point that her entire body was shaking. Desperately leaning against Nie Xiangyuan, she loudly mumbled, ¡°Old Master, Old Master.¡±

    Nie Qingyun hadn¡¯t said a single word, but when he saw her, there was surprisingly a relieved look in his eyes. He faintly smiled and closed his eyes.

    From a distance, Ning Yuxuan looked at the person standing in the rain. He pursed his lips and said, ¡°Sangyu, go over there. Sit down next to Mingjie.¡±

    Ji Man wanted to reply, ¡°Okay.¡± But, when she opened her mouth, only a sob came out.

    She was just an outsider. She should have already gotten used to seeing people in this novel dying. So why? Why did she feel so pained and wretched right now?

    She absent-mindedly remembered that not long ago, when she had first visited Nie Residence, Nie Xiangyuan had gently stroked her hair as he said that if she was suffering any grievances, she could juste home. She also remembered the first time she met Nie Qingyun. He had been standing by her bed as she pretended to be unconscious. He reproachfully looked at Marquis Moyu as he questioned what had happened to her. They were thest two remaining people that treated Nie Sangyu the best, were they really going to depart from this world too?

    From all sides, a feeling of boundless desteness and loneliness pressed down on her. With a pale face, Ji Man slowly turned around.

    In the midst of the battering sound of the heavy rain as it hit the ground, she heard the sound of crying welling up inside her. That was probably Nie Sangyu, who was crying as if her heart was being torn into pieces. Ji Man wanted to smile. Did her arrival help Nie Sangyu or had it only brought her pain? At the very least, when Nie Sangyu had originally died, her family members had all been alive then.

    As she half-fell and half-crumpled onto a stool, she sensed the person next to her looking at her. Ji Man faintly smiled. Her gaze was unfocused as she said, ¡°I¡¯m so lucky. I get to be the only survivor.¡±

    Trantor Ramblings: Tiny spoiler for the next chapter part since chapter part 308 and 309 were originally one chapter. Nie Qingyun will be saved from execution.

    When I first read this novel, this scene felt so tragic and devastating. Even now, on my third time reading it, Ji Man¡¯s grief feels so palpably heartbreaking. But other than Nie Xiangyuan (who I argue isn¡¯t a very good person) and Nie Qingyun (who will be saved), Nie Sangyu and Ji Man weren¡¯t close to anyone else in her family. Since the beginning, Ji Man described Nie Residence as a dangerousir of vipers. It says a lot that she would rather put with the craziness of Ning Yuxuan¡¯s harem rather than get a divorce and live with Nie Sangyu¡¯s maiden family.

    Is Ji Man ming herself? If she hadn¡¯t helped Noble Consort Nie with her pregnancy, and the third prince hadn¡¯t be emperor, the rest of Nie n might be safe right now. It might have been the empress¡¯s family on the execution ground instead. But, there were so many other factors and other points that could have diverted Nie n¡¯s extermination. Ji Man is just one person.

    Anyways, if anything, the death of Nie n finally frees Ji Man from the shackles of Nie Sangyu¡¯s family and having to be her. Ji Man spends the entirety of book 1 trying to seed as Nie Sangyu, but it was simply impossible for Sangyu to get what she wanted as the daughter of Nie n.

    What do you guys think?

 Chapter 311 - Personally handing over the advantageous position (2)

    Chapter 311 ¨C Personally handing over the advantageous position (2)

    After changing out of her wet clothing, Ji Man sniffled as she nned out their next move. ¡°Once we go downstairs, Errong will board a carriage by herself, and older brother and I will board the carriage at the front. It would be great if there was someone around to help us make the situation more chaotic.¡±

    In their group, only she and Nie Qingyun could be put into one carriage. They were wearing extrayers of clothes and helmets specially fashioned from cotton-padded cloth. At any time, they had to be ready to jump out of the carriage. It would be the best if they could avoid involving Errong any further. When the time came, they could only flee by jumping into a river. She had considered the option of jumping off a cliff, but since they weren¡¯t the female lead, she couldn¡¯t be sure that they would survive.

    Errong still felt that this idea wasn¡¯t very reliable. Just as she was hesitating, they heard their horses making neighing sounds from the inn¡¯s rear courtyard. It seemed as if the horses were being forcefully led somewhere.

    Horse thieves? Shocked, Ji Man hurriedly opened the window to look.

    There were several people standing in the rear courtyard. There were three men dressed as carriage drivers as well as a man wearing coarse clothing. There were also four females. The two women had a married woman¡¯s hairstyle, and the two younger girls were dressed like servants.

    Ji Man raised her eyebrows. Why did this configuration look so familiar?

    A stabled had harnessed the horses to the three carriages. A man and a woman boarded the first carriage, the woman with the slightly protruding belly went into the middle carriage, and the two servant girls boarded thest carriage.

    What a coincidence, he had thought of the same n as her. Ji Man drylyughed and pushed open the room¡¯s doors. As expected, Guibai was standing right outside of their room.

    Guibai cupped his hands and said, ¡°Madam, you don¡¯t need to worry. The marquis has already arranged everything. Just wait here until the evening before leaving.¡±

    Ning Errong and Nie Qingyun were both slightly stunned as they looked at Guibai from the doorway. Fortunately, this inn wasn¡¯t busy. The main entryway room was totally empty.

    Ji Man smiled at Guibai and said, ¡°I¡¯m not his wife anymore. Give my thanks to your lord for his great benevolence and mercy.¡±

    Guibai slightly pursed his lips and said, ¡°Actually, the marquis, he...¡±

    ¡°I know. The marquis is still protecting me. Thanks.¡± Even though her face was showing a smile, for some unknown reason, her eyes were still slightly red.

    Protecting Nie Sangyu? Is that why he opened the capital¡¯s gate, ruined all of the third prince¡¯s efforts, and allowed the rest of Nie n to apany the third prince into death? Because he had done such a good job protecting her, if not for Errong, she would have been the only one that didn¡¯t need to kneel in a puddle. She only had sit on the side and watch as her entire family was executed.

    She hated this type of man the most. If he was going to protect her, why couldn¡¯t he have protected everyone else too? If he only protected her and let her entire family die, what kind of lousy method was that?

    It was also because the women in this era were too weak, so the men had the belief that women shouldn¡¯t be involved in anything and should just safely hide behind their backs.

    If this wasn¡¯t their territory, she also wanted to annihte their entire family so that not even a strand of hair was left.

    This entire time, she had been living for the purpose of fulfilling Nie Sangyu¡¯s wish. But now, after witness such a massacre today, Ji Man changed her mind. She wasn¡¯t sure exactly what Nie Sangyu¡¯s wish was anyways, so she might as well fulfill her own wish first.

    Originally, she didn¡¯t have any strong desires of her own. She just wanted to go back to modern-day sooner. But now, there were things that she wanted to do.

    The three carriages left the inn and headed towards outside the capital. Ji Man and the others waited at the inn until the sky had darkened. Then, they followed Guibai down the stairs and exited the inn through a side door. They boarded a veryrge carriage and arrived at a ry station at the outskirts of the capital after the carriage had made many twists and turns.

    Holding Errong¡¯s ice-cold hand to support her, Nie Qingyun slightly pursed his lips and said, ¡°Let¡¯s wait here until tomorrow. We can continue on our way after the rain has stopped.¡±

    Ji Man nodded her head to indicate her agreement. The three people separated into two rooms. They nned on leaving the capital as soon as dawn arrived the next day.

    Inside her room, Ji Man lit amp and waited for someone toe. The rain had already ended, and the window was half-opened.

    When thempwick was half-used up, Ning Yuxuan finally didn¡¯t fail to live up to her expectations. He snuck into her room through the window.

    @@novelbin@@

    The man, whose shoulders were slightly wet, walked to her side and softly asked, ¡°Were you waiting for me?¡±

    Ji Man turned her head and looked at him with a beautiful smile. ¡°I knew that my lord woulde.¡±

    Marquis Moyu was slightly stunned. There was surprising twinge of pain in his heart.

    He sat down by her side and poured a cup of warm tea for himself. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel upset?¡±

    A hundred or more members of Nie n had died on the execution ground today. Everyone had been discussing this matter today. He thought that she wouldn¡¯t understand why he would open the capital¡¯s gate for the second prince. He thought that she would hate him right now.

    Looking at Ning Yuxuan, Ji Man stretched her hand out and gently clutched his hand. ¡°Of course, I feel upset. But, it¡¯s only because of the marquis that my life was saved. It¡¯s already very good that I can keep living.¡±

    Nie Sangyu, who had been cool-headed for so long, was now looking at him with reddened eyes and holding his hand. Ning Yuxuan¡¯s heart slightly moved, and he stretched his other hand out to pull her into his arms.

    ¡°I¡¯ll look for an opportunity to bring you back.¡±

    Ji Man silentlyughed. Her voice was very light as she asked, ¡°My lord, how long do you want Sangyu to wait?¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t be long. Stay with Errong and take care of yourself.¡± Marquis Moyu closed his eyes. ¡°This time, I finally won¡¯t need to let you down.¡±

    All of Nie Sangyu¡¯s supporters¡¯ power had copsed. Right now, Nie Sangyu¡¯s background was even cleaner than what Wen Wan¡¯s had been. Ji Man understood. Previously, because of Nie n, he was very guarded against her and had all sorts of suspicions. He had always been hesitantly apprehensive towards her. But now, all of that was gone. For Ning Yuxuan to be wiling toe here, it clearly meant one thing.

    He had fallen in love with the current Nie Sangyu.

    He had fallen in love with Sangyu, who had been stripped of her family background. In other words, he had personally handed over the advantageous position to her.

 Chapter 312 - Lets start anew (1)

    Chapter 312 ¨C Let¡¯s start anew (1)

    Ji Man lightly leaned against Ning Yuxuan¡¯s chest. The corners of her lips were curved up.

    Since ancient times, even a hero would be weak against the charms of a beautiful woman. As long as your bedroom skills were good, all men would fall at your feet... Wait, no, that¡¯s wasn¡¯t the right idiom. It should be, as long as you could correctly guess his intentions and thoughts, you could aplish anything.

    Ning Yuxuan was really treating her like an idiot, ah. After Nie n had beenpletely obliterated, did he really believe that she would still want to obediently be part of his harem?

    Her fingers softly slid down and opened his outer robe. Ji Man raised her head and kissed his lips. She closed her eyes and stuck her tongue out.

    Probably because he wasn¡¯t used to her taking the initiative, Ning Yuxuan was slightly stunned for a moment. Afterwards, he allowed her to push him down onto the bed.

    The rain gradually stopped, and the water falling from the eaves and onto the paved ground slowed to a drip. After a round of love, the feelings between the two people in the room seemed to have grown stronger.

    Draped over Ning Yuxuan¡¯s chest, Ji Man twisted a lock of his hair and asked, ¡°My lord, can you say, I love you?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan chuckled. He closed his eyes and said, ¡°I won¡¯t say those three words.¡±

    Don¡¯t think about leaving.

    Once she recovered from her shock, Ji Man very unhappily pinched his face. ¡°Cheapskate.¡±

    Marquis Moyu let out a small snort ofughter. He gripped her chin towards him and gently kissed her.

    ¡ª

    When Ji Man woke up the next morning, she heard Guibai¡¯s voiceing from the hallway. He seemed to be standing by the doors to her room. He reported, ¡°Madam, you can continue your journey without worries now.¡±

    The person by her pillow-side had already left a while ago. After Ji Man finished dressing, she boarded the carriage with everyone else. Before she left her room, she had noticed that someone had put a small bag inside her packed bundle. When she opened the bag, she saw that it contained two worthless trinkets: a concentric knot essory and a ring made of concentric knots. She softly smiled before stuffing the small bag back into the packed bundle.

    Guibai escorted them for a long distance before turning back to return to the capital. Everyone had changed intomoner attire by now. When they stopped at a tea stand on the way to their destination to take a break, they overheard people gossiping.

    ¡°I heard that two carriages with passengers had fallen off a mountain path yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Those carriages were so high up the mountain when they fell. There¡¯s no way they¡¯re still alive now. I heard those three carriages belonged to Marquis Jingwen¡¯s daughter. How fortunate that only the two of the three carriages fell off the mountain path.¡±

    ¡°Who were the people riding in the fallen carriages?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I heard that the Marquis Jingwen¡¯s daughter has stopped at a nearby vige. Heh, do you want to go over there and see what she looks like?¡±

    Errong listened with her head lowered. Next to her, Nie Qingyun looked at those people for a few seconds before paying for their tea and leading them back to their carriage to continue on their way.

    As expected, the second prince had no intention of letting them off. Fortunately, Ning Yuxuan had helped them. Otherwise, they would have been the ones that fell off that mountain path.

    Once he heard the news of their deaths, Zhao Li probably wouldn¡¯t concern himself further. After all, he was currently busy with thinking of ways to ascend to the throne and didn¡¯t have the free time to concern himself with other matters.

    Right now, the throne was empty, and the first prince was obediently staying faraway in his fiefdom without making any moves to seize the crown. The fourth prince was still a baby and wouldn¡¯t pose a threat. Zhao Li was just missing an excuse to push him up into the throne. All it took was a few people saying something along the lines of, ¡°Oh no, this country is missing an emperor. The second prince has integrity and talent. Let¡¯s just pick a date and crown him as the emperor.¡±

    However, the second prince still made a few token protests. He said things like, ¡°No, no, no, Li iscking in talent and virtue. I wouldn¡¯t dare ept such a high position.¡±

    After his two attempts at being deliberately contrary, all of the court officials knelt down and pleaded with him to be the emperor. Having his wish fulfilled, Zhao Li pushed himself in his wheelchair to the dragon throne and became the first crippled emperor since the founding of this dynasty.

    Pengyue naturally became the empress, but Zhao Li didn¡¯t take other women as his consorts. It could be counted as Zhao Li not renegading on his earlier promise to her.

    ¡ª

    A monthter, when Ji Man and the others had arrived in Jing Province, the imperial court seemed to have gradually settled down. The remains of the third prince¡¯s faction had been eliminated by now. Originally, they had been worried that Ning Mingjie would be implicated. After all, he used to be clearly on the third prince¡¯s side before. However, for an inexplicable reason, the new emperor was especially trusting towards him. Not only did the new emperor not me him, Zhao Li also bestowed to him, a marriage to a titleddy.

    Marquis Jingwen didn¡¯t need to worry about his son. However, he fretted as he looked at Nie Sangyu and Nie Qingyun. What did they have to do to sessfully keep these two from being discovered? At the very least, Nie Qingyun and Nie Sangyu had to change their names and start their lives anew.

    Actually, the old man was worrying for nothing. Jing Province was very far from the capital. There wouldn¡¯t be anyone here that would recognize them.

    Ji Man simply said, ¡°From today onwards, I¡¯m changing my name to Ji Man. Nie Sangyu had already fallen off a cliff in a carriage.¡±

    Nie Qingyun slightly furrowed his brow. ¡°What about me?¡±

    Ji Man seriously thought before suggesting, ¡°Since we¡¯re siblings, how about Ji Kuai?¡±

    (T/N: <i>Man</i> (Âü) has more than one meaning, and one meaning is long, as in the length of time. <i>Kuai</i> (¿ì) means speedy.)

    The corners of Nie Qingyun¡¯s lips twitched. He seriously shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t like that name.¡±

    ¡°Then, what do you want to be called?¡±

    After seriously pondering it over, he said, ¡°Call me Ji Zhu.¡±

    (T/N: Zhu (Öù) means pir or support.)

    They were all sitting in the hall. Looking at his absolutely sincere expression, they didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. In the past, Qingyun had such an elegant name. But now, were they supposed to call him big pir in the future?

    (T/N: Qingyun can mean clear sky or noble.)

    Ji Man impolitely let a chortle escape. But, as she continued tough, her eyes unexpectedly reddened.

    Ji Zhu (Qingyun¡¯s new name)... <i>jizhu</i> (remember). Of course, she would always remember that scene of overflowing bloody water as well as Nie Xiangyuan¡¯s expression when he died. How could she possibly forget?

    @@novelbin@@

    (T/N: Qingyun¡¯s new name (¼¾Öù) is a homophone for remember (¼Ç×¡) in Chinese.)

 Chapter 315 - It feels so nice to rely on someoneâ€™s reputation (2)

    Chapter 315 ¨C It feels so nice to rely on someone¡¯s reputation (2)

    (T/N: The author changed the name of the rouge store from Tianxiang to Mohong.)

    This woman had voluptuously red lips. Just from her stance, Ji Man could see that she was a sharp and bold woman. However, this wasn¡¯t important. The important part was that her skin wasn¡¯t very good. Her dry hands had cracks and calluses. Ji Man gave her a small container of hand cream.

    ¡°What is this?¡± The female restaurateur looked at Ji Man skeptically.

    Smiling, Ji Man brought out Marquis Jingwen¡¯s household token for her. She also took out a flier. ¡°This is a newly released product from Mohong. We¡¯re looking for people to try it. Seeing that you¡¯re such a beautiful woman, it¡¯ll provide us helpful word of mouth advertising if this cream turns out effective for you. That¡¯s why I¡¯m giving you a sample.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t clear if it was because Ji Man was a persuasive speaker or if it was because she was using Marquis Jingwen¡¯s household token, but the female restaurateur happily ept the cream and said that she would definitely use it. After that, Ji Man found a female brother owner, anfemale innkeeper, a female shopkeeper for a fruit store, and other women that would be useful in providing publicity for her products. As soon as each of them saw Marquis Jingwen¡¯s household token, they each happily took the creams and said they would use it.

    Just as she had finished her task and was about to go to Mohong, she bumped into Liu Rufeng again.

    Instead of fleeing in panic like yesterday, she saluted him. ¡°Sir Liu.¡±

    Smiling, Li Rufeng responded in kind. ¡°This one had acted too impudently yesterday.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s this one that failed to recognize your importance,¡± Ji Man said with a smile, ¡°It was only after this one returned home that this one heard from the <i>junzhu</i> that you¡¯re a promising youth and it would be good to make friends with you. This one has only recentlye to Jing Province and though you were...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± Shaking his fan, Liu Rufeng very gently said, ¡°The weather is good today too. There¡¯s a gathering of schrs at Qianbai today. Brother Ji, would you be interested in going?¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s eyes brightened. This Liu Rufeng was truly an important person. Could it be that this person wanted to get closer to Marquis Jingwen, so he was being extra helpful to her?

    Ji Man shamelessly said, ¡°It¡¯s so rare to get an invitation from Brother Liu. How could this one refuse? Let¡¯s go then. It¡¯ll be good to widen one¡¯s horizons. It¡¯s okay if my servant girles with us, right?¡±

    Liu Rufeng nced at Dengxin and said with a smile, ¡°Sure. Brother Li, your servant girl is quite pleasing to look at.¡±

    Feeling slightly annoyed, Dengxin kept her head lowered as she followed Ji Man. She didn¡¯t like impetuous people. Unfortunately, it was likely that she would meet plenty of these types of people if she followed her master outside to do business.

    To Dengxin¡¯s surprise, Ji Man pulled her into her arms and grinned. ¡°Isn¡¯t that so? She¡¯s stunningly beautiful, right? Once I¡¯ve saved up enough for bridal gifts, I¡¯m going to marry her.¡±

    With her hair tied up in a jade hair essory and dressed in a masculine ck robe, Ji Man pulled off a convincing image of a Casanova. She was just a bit shorter than the average man. She had painted her eyebrows thicker and pasted on a mustache. Even knowing all this, Dengxin still ended up blushing when her master embraced her.

    Liu Rufeng loudlyughed. He turned his head and said, ¡°Brother Ji, this way please.¡±

    Business had to be done slowly, and people had to be slowly handled too. Ji Man followed Liu Rufeng to Qianbai, and he introduced to her many men that she could coborate with. When they finally left, he even said, ¡°Jing Province isn¡¯t a big ce. Even if you make a fortune here, it won¡¯t be a big fortune. Brother Ji, are you interested in going to the capital?¡±

    Without even considering, Ji Man replied, ¡°Not interested.¡±

    Liu Rufeng was quite surprised. ¡°Why? The capital is the most flourishing ce to be. Brother Ji, if you want to do business, that ce would naturally be the best. Moreover, this one has a couple of friends there too. If you ever need help, feel free to ask me.¡±

    ¡°I want to earn enough tounch a business venture first. Brother Li, thank you for your help today.¡± Ji Man cupped her fist at him. After bidding farewell, she returned to the estate and had Dengxin go buy a work of calligraphy to send to Liu Rufeng¡¯s estate and invite him over to Marquis Jingwen¡¯s estate in the passing.

    Having receiving Liu Rufeng¡¯s care, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to repay him with money, so she sent him a gift instead.

    After that, Ji Man hired a group of workers and set up a small workshop outside the city. She started to seriously produce a series of skincare products.

    The capital? She wouldn¡¯t return there unless she absolutely prepared.

    Two monthster, Ji Man finally earned enough money to open a store of her own with its own signboard and no longer needed to sell her products through Mohong.

    Because the creams were new items and only the rich would be able pay well, Ji Man focused on promoting her products to aristocratic families. By borrowing Marquis Jingwen¡¯s household reputation, the sale of the skincare products went increasingly well. Girls from less well-off families would save up their monthly allowance for quite a while just to buy a box of these creams.

    In Jing Province, knockoffs of cold cream had already flooded the marketce and caused the price to drop from several silver taels to only five silver coins. In contrast, these skincare products hadn¡¯t oversaturated the market yet, so these creams could be sold at a price of five to ten silver taels depending on box size. These creams were a revolutionary product for women in ancient times. In addition, an advertising campaign and the refined boxes that these creams came in helped their poprity. For a period of time, all of the older women from aristocratic families in Jing Province used the product.

    Actually, the cost to make one box of cream was only two silver coins.

    (T/N: Ten silver coins is one silver tael.)

    @@novelbin@@

    Feminine beauty products were all exorbitantly expensive, but in order to make to make themselves feel better, these women willing allowed themselves to be gouged by these prices.

    After busily working for two months until her business was on track, Ji Man handed over the daily management of her store to Dengxin while she paid visits to various families with Liu Rufeng. During these visits, she presented the hosts with all sorts of novel gifts.

    For a store to do well, there were countless behind-the scenes influences. Originally, Ji Man wasn¡¯t familiar with this type of stuff. Fortunately, Liu Rufeng knew and guided her with one thing after another, so everything went well.

    Very quickly, Ji Man was once again living the life of happily counting her banknotes that came pouring in.

    Errong¡¯s belly was bing bigger and bigger. Ji Zhu had already entered the army. Once Ji Zhu had achieved sess, these two people could be reunited again, right?

    As she was counting her banknotes, Ji Man¡¯s hands paused. She suddenly really wanted to know how Ning Yuxuan and Wen Wan were doing right now.

    A servant girl rushed inside. She was so agitated that even her voice had changed as she called out, ¡°Miss Ji.¡±

 Chapter 318 - Is she gone forever? (1)

    Chapter 318 ¨C Is she gone forever? (1)

    In the first year of the new emperor¡¯s reign, Marquis Moyu continued to hold power over the Six Ministries. Above Ning Yuxuan were Prime Minister Xiao Tianyi and Xiaoren Dowager Empress, and below him were officials from Xiao n. And so, Zhao Li¡¯s daily life wasn¡¯t going that smoothly. Still, the new emperor had a very good rtionship with his empress, which guaranteed his alliance with Yuzhen. Thus, his position as the emperor was still very stable.

    (T/N: Just in case it was too long ago, Xiaoren Dowager Empress¡¯s maiden n is Xiao, and she¡¯s also the first prince¡¯s mother.)

    Zhao Zhe seemed to have already contently settled down in his fiefdom with his new title, Zhangjun Prince. And, all of Xiao n had publicly expressed their loyalty and devotion to the new emperor. Zhao Li was busy handling political affairs, so he naturally tolerated the continued existence of Zhangjun Prince. It was only that he seemed especially interested in Ning Yuxuan and interfered with his household matters several times. For example, when Ning Yuxuan went to file documentation with the Ministry of Revenue to formally raise Liu Hanyun to the position of main wife, Zhao Li stopped the process.

    Brightly smiling, Zhao Li asked, ¡°No matter what, Liu-<i>shi</i>¡®s family background makes her unsuitable to be a main wife, right?¡±

    Sitting on the side, Ning Yuxuan thought; Zhao Li really deserved to be called his father¡¯s son. He disyed the same irritating behavior as histe imperial father. Just like his father, the scope in which he wanted to exercise his control was vaster than the sky.

    ¡°This subject thinks Liu-<i>shi</i> is very suitable.¡±

    Unhappy with this response, the new emperor said, ¡°Qi Siling is the one that¡¯s served you the longest, and her family background is adequate too. Why is it Liu-<i>shi</i> that¡¯s the most suitable?¡±

    Marquis Moyu slightly smiled. ¡°Qi-<i>shi</i> recentlymitted an offense. This subject is already writing a divorce letter.¡±

    Hearing Qi Siling being called ¡°Qi-<i>shi</i>¡°, Zhao Li slightly raised his eyebrows. He cleared his throat and asked, ¡°What offense has shemitted?

    ¡°She tried to poison my heir. If this subject hadn¡¯t found out in time, my heir would have lost his life,¡± Ning Yuxuan very calmly said, ¡°It¡¯s only because this subject is taking into consideration Qi n that this subject is writing a divorce letter instead of ordering her tomit suicide.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Zhao Li stayed silent. After all, this was someone else¡¯s private family matter. It was only unfortunate that Qi Siling had been with him so long and was now being discarded.

    The new emperor¡¯s gaze became deeper as he changed the topic. ¡°This emperor heard that you¡¯ve recently been exchanging a lot ofmunication with Jing Province. What does Jing Province have that catches your attention?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan slightly paused before answering, ¡°Marquis Jingwen¡¯s daughter is Yuxuan¡¯s younger cousin. She¡¯s pregnant, and also... So, it¡¯s only normal for this subject to send more letters inquiring after her health.¡±

    The new emperor smiled. ¡°Now that you mention it, that was quite a pity. This emperor had already let them off, but in the end, they weren¡¯t able to continue living. Yuxuan, do you hold grudges against this emperor?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Marquis Moyu lightly lowered his head. ¡°This subject isn¡¯tcking in women.¡±

    The new emperor loudlyughed. He looked at Ning Yuxuan with admiration. ¡°Yuxuan, you¡¯re certainly a very talented individual that¡¯s worthty of being cultivated.¡±

    Marquis Moyu only chuckled in response.

    As he was leaving the pce, he saw that were already soft green leaves on the willow trees that lined the path. Ning Yuxuan turned around and asked Guibai, ¡°How are things developing in Jing Province? When will she be returning to the capital?¡±

    Guibai lowered his head and stayed silent.

    ¡°En?¡± Ning Yuxuan raised an eyebrow. ¡°Did you not hear my question?¡±

    After hesitating for a bit, Guibai said in a low voice, ¡°Master, Madam has disappeared.¡±

    The curved lips slowly went down. Ning Yuxuan nkly looked at him for a long time before asking, ¡°What do you mean by disappeared?¡±

    ¡ª

    Marquis Jingwen¡¯s estate had been thrown in an upheaval. Ji Man had quietly left. Other than leaving behind Ji Store¡¯s title deed to Dengxin, she hadn¡¯t left behind anything else, not even a letter.

    Sitting in the empty room, Errong was at aplete loss. Ji Man¡¯s life had been going so well here. Why did she leave?

    Next to her, Ning Mingjie¡¯s face was somewhat pale. Lowering his eyes, he smiled and asked, ¡°Did she leave of her own initiative?¡±

    With reddened eyes, Dengxin nodded. ¡°If she didn¡¯t willingly leave, then master wouldn¡¯t have had the time to leave her stuff in this servant¡¯s room.¡±

    Standing by Ning Mingjie¡¯s side, Kangyuan <i>Junzhu</i> still had a calm expression. No one would think that Ji Man¡¯s departure had something to do with her.

    She hadn¡¯t known Nie Sangyu from before, but she didn¡¯t like to see other women by Ning Mingjie¡¯s side. Since that woman was suppose to be dead, then she should stay far away. If that woman came back to entangle herself with Ning Mingjie, then she would send her away a second time too.

    ¡ª

    Marquis Moyu suddenly became gravely ill. The new emperor personally came to the marquis¡¯s estate to visit him. Seeing that he looked haggard and was even having trouble breathing, Zhao Li allowed him to take sick leave. He wouldn¡¯t need to attend the imperial court sessions until he had recovered.

    The heavy burden and great responsibility of managing the Six Ministries temporarily fell on Prime Minister Xiao Tianyi¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡ª

    A carriage swiftly sped towards Yong¡¯an County. When they had reached halfway, the passenger said her stomach wasn¡¯t feeling well. While they were temporarily stopped at a ry station, she snuck onto another carriage and continued her journey in a different direction.

    ¡ª

    In the following year, no one was able to find Ji Man. Even though Ning Yuxuan had faked an illness and secretly went to Jing Province, he only found out about Kangyuan <i>Junzhu</i>¡®s connection to Ji Man¡¯s departure. As for what happened after that, he knew nothing.

    ¡ª

    One yearter, the carriages on the roads were all heading in the same direction. The titled princes with fiefdoms at the bordends of the country were on their way to visit the capital.

    Sitting inside a luxurious carriage, Ji Man sighed and said, ¡°Riding a carriage is still such bumpy ride.¡±

    The other person in the carriage lightly harrumphed and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t need toe here this time.¡±

    Ji Man turned her head to look at Zhao Zhe. She cupped her hands and said, ¡°Your Highness, these words are said in bad taste. Although this one is only an insignificant advisor, it¡¯s still fine if this one shares your carriage toe to the capital to do business, right?¡±

    Zhao Zhe pursed his lips and swept his gaze across her. ¡°Is being able to sell your rice the only reason why you don¡¯t want to be an official?¡±

    No one would have expected that Ji Man would ask for help from Zhangjun Prince after she left Jing Province. Dressed in a man¡¯s attire and carrying the five hundred silver taels she had umted, she started from the entrance of Zhangjun Prince¡¯s estate selling rice. From there, she attracted the attention of the estate¡¯s head steward, and then she got acquainted with the advisors that lived in the prince¡¯s estate. At the end, because of her out of the ordinary style of conversation, she was given a rmendation to be one of Zhangjun Prince¡¯s advisors.

 Chapter 321 - He had been lying to her this entire time (2)

    Chapter 321 ¨C He had been lying to her this entire time (2)

    ¡°You¡¯ve already followed me here. Why are you saying this now?¡± Xia-<i>shi</i> coquettishly pouted. Tugging on thepel of Ji Man¡¯s robe, she said, ¡°I¡¯m a widow, and I don¡¯t care about my reputation. When I was at that rich person¡¯s ce, I didn¡¯t dare to make a wrong move, so it¡¯s been so long since I had a taste of being ravished.¡±

    Ji Man grabbed her hand and nervouslyughed. ¡°Older sister, there¡¯s no need to hurry. I¡¯m kind of curious. What kind of ce did you go to? Since it was a rich household, what caused you to be so upset over it?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Xia-<i>shi</i> harrumphed. At the mention of this topic, she still felt somewhat indignant. ¡°I had originally thought it was a boon from the Heavens. Someone appeared out of the blue, gave me a child, and wanted me to go to his household to be a mother for his child. But, as it turned out, he just wanted me to be a milk mother. He even said that I didn¡¯t look as good as the child¡¯s biological mother. I felt so mad today.¡±

    Ji Man was stunned. It took a long time before she found her voice again. ¡°Haohao isn¡¯t your son?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Xia-<i>shi</i> blurted out. A momentter, her entire body stiffened as she looked at Ji Man. ¡°You...¡±

    After Ji Man had taken a deep breath, she suddenly burst out inughter.

    If Haohao wasn¡¯t Xia-<i>shi</i>¡®s son, then who were his parents? Since Ning Yuxuan had announced Haohao as his heir, Haohao had to be Ning Yuxuan¡¯s biological son. When would he have gotten a son that appeared out of nowhere and needed a fake mother?

    Thinking it over, it had to be her child that had disappeared back then. Haohao was the child that had been reced with a toddy kitten. Ning Yuxuan had felt it was safe to bring Haohao back into the household by saying he was another woman¡¯s son.

    Ning Yuxuan, ah, Ning Yuxuan, you yed such an underhanded trick. By keeping her in the dark, he had caused her so much pain.

    Slowly standing up and heading towards the door, Ji Man almost couldn¡¯t stop her hystericalughter. Her son had been right in front of her, and she had even seen his birthday grab, but she hadn¡¯t known that he was her child.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Xia-<i>shi</i> returned to her senses and grabbed Ji Man¡¯s arm. Xia-<i>shi</i>¡®s pull was so forceful that Ji Man almost fell to the ground. But, suddenly, someone had grabbed her other arm and stopped her from falling.

    Xia-<i>shi</i> shrieked. Ji Man didn¡¯t see who was behind her and didn¡¯t know what had happened. Before she coulde to her senses, the other person had already taken her outside and towards a carriage.

    There was the sound of children crying in the fishing vige, as well as a woman swearing. Ji Man nkly raised her head and saw the face that she wanted to smack the most right now.

    Ning Yuxuan was holding Haohao and quietly looking at her.

    Ji Man clenched her hands. She really wanted to hit him, but she didn¡¯t dare to strike down. In this society where men had all the power, if a woman pped a man and offended his sense of dignity, then there was no use in even discussing if there was love between the two of you. Anyways, a woman wouldn¡¯t have a good end.

    ¡°This face looks really ugly,¡± Ning Yuxuan lightly said.

    With her attention focused on the child that he was holding, she absent-mindedly asked, ¡°How do you know that it¡¯s me?¡±

    ¡°Just trying my luck. They said there was an advisor named Ji Man by Zhangjun Prince¡¯s side.¡± Ning Yuxuan lowered his gaze. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯re called Ji Man. Hearing that same name, I tested to see if it was you, and you really dide here.¡±

    The corners of Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. It couldn¡¯t be that this person had been testing every single person with the same name as her, right?

    Haohao opened his eyes and sucked on his finger. Marquis Moyu turned him around to face Ji Man. He took Haohao¡¯s little finger out of his mouth and pointed at Ji Man. He said, ¡°Mom.¡±

    Eyes slightly reddening, Ji Man pressed her lips together. Looking at her son, whom she had always thought was someone else¡¯s child, she didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Haohao blew a few saliva bubbles. He looked at Ning Yuxuan with a pitiful gaze and silently pouted.

    Stretching her arms out, she took the young child into her arms. Burying her head in between that little shoulder, she said in a muffled voice, ¡°Marquis, your heart is really too cruel.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan chuckled. ¡°You say that as if your own heart isn¡¯t the same.¡±

    Ji Man stayed silent for a while before saying, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be protected by someone in that way. I want to be able to protect myself instead of staying behind you while living in ignorance and having no idea what you¡¯re doing.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips and lowlyughed. ¡°So, it¡¯s better for you to be Zhangjun Prince¡¯s advisor instead? Sangyu, you¡¯re a woman. It¡¯s not your ce to do these things, and you won¡¯t be able to do it sessfully either.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Ji Man, not Sangyu.¡± Ji Man raised her head and continued to hold Haohao as she looked at Ning Yuxuan. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen what women are capable of. I¡¯ll show you through my actions.¡±

    ¡°What about Haohao?¡± Marquis Moyu slightly furrowed his brow. ¡°Do you not want Haohao anymore?¡±

    Slightly stunned, Ji Man drew her hands closer to herself. The little fellow in her arms rubbed against her chest.

    She was already working under Zhangjun Prince. She refused to give up on her n halfway. But, what about Haohao? She had already missed so much time with Haohao. And now, she had to leave him again. Was she going to miss the rest of his childhood little by little?

    Although she had repeatedly told herself that this was Nie Sangyu¡¯s child, her heart stilled melted into mush as she held Haohao.

    ¡°Can you give Haohao to me?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re holding my heir. Do you think a heir is someone that can be casually given away?¡±

    ¡°Then...¡± Ji Man frowned.

    ¡°Haohao needs a teacher,¡± Marquis Moyu lightly said, ¡°But, based on your status, I¡¯m afraid that you wouldn¡¯t be suitable. You¡¯ll have to figure out a way by yourself.¡±

 Chapter 323 - Your Highness, you misunderstood! (2)

    Chapter 323 ¨C Your Highness, you misunderstood! (2)

    After going through a checkpoint at a pce gate, Ji Man followed Zhao Zhe with her head lowered as he walked through the pce. When they had almost arrived at the empress dowager¡¯s pce, she saw the emperor¡¯s carriage slowlying over from a distance.

    This was the first time that Zhao Zhe had met Zhao Li after he had be the new emperor. In the past, Zhao Li had been a cripple that he could bully and humiliate as he liked. But now, he was an emperor that was high above him.

    ¡°This subject greets His Majesty.¡± Without any hesitation, Zhangjun Prince knelt down. Ji Man and the others also knelt down.

    ¡°It¡¯s been so long since Ist saw you, imperial brother.¡± Zhao Li gestured for the golden, dragon carriage to stop and looked down at the group of people from high above. ¡°Who could have expected that there would be a day when you would have to kneel before me?¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty, you should be referring yourself as ¡®this emperor¡¯.¡± Amazingly, Zhao Zhe said these words in a very rxed tone. He smiled and added, ¡°Your Majesty, you shouldn¡¯t forget the etiquette rules because of our close brotherly rtionship.¡±

    If these two brothers actually became close, then Ji Man would write her name in reverse. It was fortunate that Zhao Zhe could say words that were shameless enough that the other party couldn¡¯t even refute.

    ¡°It¡¯s this emperor that forgot my manners.¡± Zhao Li smiled. ¡°Imperial brother, your days seem to be going pretty well.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s thanks to the blessings from Your Majesty,¡± Zhao Zhe said, ¡°The empress dowager also lives because of His Majesty¡¯s grace and care. This subject has no way of expressing my thanks, so this subject can only kowtow.¡±

    After saying this, he really did knock his forehead against the ground while continuing to kneel.

    Ji Man¡¯s face and hands were lowered to the ground, so she could only hear that the surroundings had suddenly fallen silent.

    A momentter, Zhao Li fakeughed. ¡°Imperial brother, you¡¯re being too courteous. This emperor has matters to attend to. This emperor will leave first.¡±

    ¡°Respectfully seeing off His Majesty.¡±

    Zhao Zhe didn¡¯t raise his head until the emperor¡¯s carriage had reached the end of the pce road.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t know why, but she couldn¡¯t feeling apprehensive and shocked. Zhao Zhe had always been a high-status prince that smiled in a rather improper way, but after seeing him kowtowed, instead of seeing this as subservience, she thought that he actually looked more imposing.

    ¡ª

    After entering the dowager empress¡¯s pce, Zhao Zhe greeted, ¡°This imperial son greets imperial mother.¡±

    Holding the gifts, Ji Man and Wu Yong knelt down behind the prince.

    The dowager empress chuckled and said, ¡°You can all rise. It¡¯s so rare for you toe back, so don¡¯t waste time observing ceremonial etiquette.¡±

    Zhao Zhe expressed his thanks. When he raised his head, he saw Ning Yuxuan to his surprise.

    Marquis Moyu was standing calmly to the side and even saluted him. ¡°Greetings, Zhangjun Prince.¡±

    ¡°I see that you¡¯ve been in good health since west met.¡± Zhao Zhe was still smiling, but his eyes had turned chilly. ¡°Why do you have the free time to visit the dowager empress?¡±

    Before Ning Yuxuan had time to reply, the dowager empress replied for him, ¡°I want to renovate my pce, but unfortunately, the emperor isn¡¯t willing to agree. Marquis Moyu came over here of his own imitative to discuss a budget and see what could be renovated with that amount.

    Hearing these words, Zhao Zhe¡¯s expression became much better. ¡°Oh, I see.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan cupped his hands and said, ¡°This subject won¡¯t stay around to bother Your Majesty and Your Highness¡¯s reunion. This subject will leave first.¡±

    Zhao Zhe nodded, and Marquis Moyu left the hall without ncing sideways to look at Ji Man.

    When all of the pce servants had withdrawn and only the advisors and the princess consort were allowed to stay, the dowager empress held her son¡¯s hand and sincerely said, ¡°Why did you put on that unpleasant expression in front of him? The new emperor isn¡¯t my son, and there isn¡¯t any affection between us. In this pce, I rely on Marquis Moyu to help me from time to time. Otherwise, even something like renovating my pce won¡¯t be possible.¡±

    ¡°Imperial mother, why haven¡¯t you told this to uncle?¡± Zhao Zhe furrowed his brow. ¡°You don¡¯t need to let yourself suffer.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not easy for someone in the imperial court to get involved with matters rted to the harem. Moreover, the national treasury is going through a scarcity period. It really isn¡¯t easy to get money from it,¡± the dowager empress said. ¡°Are you doing well in Zhangjun?¡±

    Shen Youqing took a step forward and helped her husband answer this question. ¡°This servant has always been attending to the prince, and Zhangjun has rich and fertilends. It¡¯s easy to live well there.¡±

    ¡°You were right to retreat a step back then.¡± The dowager empress pursed her lips. ¡°Who could have expected that it would be old two that reversed the situation in the end...¡±

    Zhao Zhe nced at Ji Man. He wanted to change the topic to something else.

    The dowager empress still said many other good words on Marquis Moyu¡¯s behalf. It seemed that he had been quite helpful towards her, but Zhao Zhe couldn¡¯t figure it out. Why was Ning Yuxuan treating the dowager empress so well?

    ¡ª

    On the carriage ride back to the inn, Wu Yong said, ¡°This one thinks that Marquis Moyu is doing this to express goodwill towards you. Xiao n has maintained its power and holds much more power than Ning n. It¡¯s probably because the new emperor¡¯s behavior has caused many people to feel discontent with him, so Marquis Moyu once again wants to side with you.¡±

    ¡°That can¡¯t be it,¡± Ji Man interrupted Wu Yong.

    Zhao Zhe looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

    ¡°Based on this one¡¯s understanding of Marquis Moyu, he¡¯s not the type of person that would make any overt moves when it¡¯s not clear how the situation will develop,¡± Ji Man said, ¡°Right now, the imperial court can be considered to be in stable position. There¡¯s no reason why he would risk the danger of offending the new emperor just to showing goodwill to Your Highness. On the contrary, this one thinks that Marquis Moyu is taking care of the dowager empress with sincere intentions.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zhao Zhe lightly harrumphed. ¡°How can you be sure?¡±

    ¡°At the time of the coup, this one wasn¡¯t in the capital and doesn¡¯t know the details of what happened back then, ¡°Ji Man seriously said, ¡°This one will dare to ask Your Highness. During your struggle with the third prince over the throne, were you the one that took the initiative to back down, or did Marquis Moyu help the third prince seize the throne?¡±

    Zhao Zhe paused. With his brow furrowed, he said, ¡°Back then, old three had already gained control of the situation. If I wasn¡¯t willing to retreat, what else could I do? But, if Ning Yuxuan hadn¡¯t been helping him at the end, old three wouldn¡¯t have ascended the throne so easily.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Ji Man pped her thigh. ¡°Your Highness, this means you misunderstood him!¡±

 Chapter 326 - Finding out about many things after becoming the heirs teacher (1)

    Chapter 326 ¨C Finding out about many things after bing the heir¡¯s teacher (1)

    She swept her gaze over the nearby people. They were all real men that had Adam¡¯s apples. In this era, was there any man that took care of children?

    These people were really doing their absolute best during thispetitive job interview.

    Not willing to ept this, Ji Man stood on her tiptoes to raise her hand higher.

    Surprisingly, Ning Yuxuan actually smiled. He got up and brought Haohao over. Pointing at the group of people, he asked, ¡°Which one do you like?¡±

    Holding onto his little wooden figure toy, Haohao nkly looked at the crowd for a while, but as soon as his little feet touched the ground, he headed towards Ji Man.

    Overjoyed, Ji Man crouched down and held her hands out.

    Seeing this sight, the people near her became nervous. One of them hastily said, ¡°This one heard that the marquis has high requirements for his heir¡¯s teacher. This one had previously taught at the Imperial College of Supreme Learning, and some of my students had passed the imperial exam to be officials in the imperial court...¡±

    Another person said, ¡°This one¡¯s paternal grandfather had been thete emperor¡¯s imperial tutor, and this one has inherited all of his teachings. It¡¯s only that this one¡¯s family fell on hard times.¡±

    Since they had lost in affinity, they could onlypete with schrly merits. All of the schrs started to talk about their qualifications and work experience. There was even one person here that hade second in the imperial examination several years ago. Unfortunately, his path as an official hadn¡¯t gone smoothly, and he was still an unimportant minor official. He hade here hoping to rely on Marquis Moyu¡¯s status to rise up in the ranks.

    As soon as Ji Man heard this person¡¯s introduction, she almost blushed in shame. In this era, she didn¡¯t even have a diploma. Everyone else here was more qualified than her.

    Haohao had already walked to her. Ji Man couldn¡¯t resist her impulse to hug him and rub her face against his soft, rosy cheeks and little face.

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s gaze fell down on her. Not showing any favoritism, he directly asked, ¡°What about you?¡±

    Ji Man awkwardlyughed. Holding Haohao, she stood up and said, ¡°This one doesn¡¯t have everyone else¡¯s excellent family background and aplishments. However, several years from now, this one can dere a good reputation for myself.¡±

    ¡°En?¡± Ning Yuxuan raised an eyebrow. ¡°What kind of reputation?

    ¡°Marquis Moyu¡¯s heir¡¯s teacher.¡±

    If they werepeting to see who was the most shameless, Ji Man wasn¡¯t scared of losing. Even if she didn¡¯t have a diploma here, she still had her mouth.

    ¡°If the heir follows this one, he¡¯ll read and re-read until he¡¯s familiar with the Four Books and Five ssics andprehend the importance of propriety, justice, integrity, and honor, as well as epting of new ideas and knowing how to do more than just fawn over other people. The heir is still young. He needs to be slowly taught. This one believes that this one is more patient with young children than anyone else here. This one wouldn¡¯t mistreat a child. When the heir grows up, he¡¯ll achieveudable goals. When that timees, this one will naturally gain a famous reputation.¡±

    (T/N: The Four Books and Five ssics are ssical texts that serve as an introduction to Confucianism and further understanding of Confucian ideals.)

    Marquis, the most terrible thing when trying to find a teacher for your young child was unintentionally hiring a pervert!

    Ning Yuxuan contemted for a long time before pursing his lips and saying, ¡°In order to choose a teacher for my heir, I¡¯ve tried my best. I naturally need to choose someone that my heir likes and canmunicate easily with him. I also need that person to share my burden in taking care of my heir. Everyone here is pretty good, so it¡¯s difficult for me to choose. How about just letting the heir choose for himself?¡±

    Everyone¡¯s gaze fell on Ji Man. The heir was already in that person¡¯s arms. Hadn¡¯t he already chosen?

    One of the schrs questioned, ¡°Could it be that he has something on his body that attracts children?¡±

    The chosen person didn¡¯t look like he had any strong background, and Marquis Moyu hadn¡¯t shown any favoritism towards this person. The heir had been the one that chose. How could a two to three year old child be allowed to make such an important decision? There was definitely something off about this.

    Clutching thepel of Ji Man¡¯s robe, Haohao giggled.

    It had started off as stringent and rigorous process for selecting a teacher, but it ended with Ji Man officially bing Haohao¡¯s teacher just because Haohao was holding onto Ji Man and refusing to let go.

    ¡ª

    People that entered Marquis Moyu¡¯s household would all have their backgrounds thoroughly investigated. Fortunately, very few people in the capital knew that Ji Man was Zhangjun Prince¡¯s advisor. In addition, Wu Yong had pulled a few tricks, so Ji Man entered the household under the identity of an ¡°erudite and multi-talented grain merchant proprietor¡±.

    There were masters in the pce that had inquired about this matter too, but everyone had said that the selection process for choosing a teacher for the heir had been very strict, and that grain merchant had just gotten lucky. Since he was an unimportant person that didn¡¯t have a strong background, no one cared enough to ask further questions.

    ¡ª

    Once again, Ji Man returned to this familiar estate. Steward Qian, who was as honest as always, led her to a room in the western courtyard. Ji Man carried Haohao the entire way there without letting go. She looked like a weird uncle figure as sheughed and said, ¡°Hehe, we¡¯re going to spend all our time together in the future.¡±

    Haohao blinked, and his long eyshes briefly shook.

    ¡ª

    Right after Ji Man had settled down in her new room, Steward Qian came back to inform Ji Man that everyone would be having dinner in the western courtyard tonight. It could be considered as introducing this new teacher to the rest of the household.

    She nced at herself in the mirror. Seeing that she still had that disguised face and even her own mother wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize her right now, Ji Man waspletely at ease as she headed to the dining room.

    Some things have remained the same, but the people had changed. A year had already passed since thest time she was here, and it seemed that there were less people in the household now. Only three other women came over to eat dinner: Wen Wan, Liu Hanyun, and Mu Shuiqing.

    Remembering the courtyard that had been full of women¡¯sughter when she had firste to this world, Ji Man sighed as she sat down.

    Wen Wan raised her head to look at this new teacher and warmly smiled. Wen Wan¡¯s face was as beautiful and pleasant to see as always.

    Next to her, Liu Hanyun quietly said, ¡°We¡¯ll have to depend on you to teach the heir in the future.¡±

    Ji Man cupped her hands and made her voice rougher as she answered, ¡°This one will do his best.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Quietly standing behind Marquis Moyu, Mu Shuiqing repeatedly nced at this new teacher.

    Ning Yuxuan turned his head and said to Liu Hanyun, ¡°When Xi-<i>er</i> reaches a suitable age, I¡¯ll find a teacher for him too.¡±

    Liu Hanyun nodded, but she still looked a bit troubled. ¡°Xia-<i>shi</i>... My lord, are you really going to have a teacher take care of the heir? The heir is still young and doesn¡¯t have a mother...¡±

    Ning Yuxuan interrupted her, ¡°Did you forget? Xia-<i>shi</i> had already died from an illness.¡± As he stretching his chopsticks out to start the dinner, he added, ¡°A teacher can do a good job with taking care of Haohao too. You don¡¯t need to worry.¡±

    Ji Man thought it was unexpected that Liu Hanyun could be the main wife. She didn¡¯t know what had happen in this household during the days that she had been gone.

 Chapter 329 - To enjoy fortune, a road must be built first (2)

    Chapter 329 ¨C To enjoy fortune, a road must be built first (2)

    The talented women offered cup after cup of wine. Ji Man didn¡¯t hesitate with epting the cups of wine. She even took the initiative of helpfully intercepting wine for the director. Of course, she secretly spat out all of the wine into her sleeve.

    Later on, when she was supporting the director as they were walking down the stairs, Ji Man very considerately suggested, ¡°Director, you look a bit tipsy. This one had already book a room for you in the neighboring inn. How about letting these talented women assist you with walking over there?

    Director Tang smiled with unchecked vulgarity. Patting Ji Man¡¯s shoulder, he said, ¡°Teacher Ji, as expected, you have a very good understanding of other people.¡±

    Shopkeeper Liu had given gifts and toasted Director Tang several times during the meal, but he hadn¡¯t obtained any smiling expression from the director. But, in the end, Ji Man had been the one that benefited from the meeting that Shopkeeper Liu had arranged. When they left Luoyan Pagoda, Shopkeeper Liu¡¯s expression didn¡¯t look pleasant, but Ji Man didn¡¯t care. They were both rice merchants, so they were naturally going to bepetitors. Hadn¡¯t Shopkeeper Liue here with the intention of trying to profit by using her status as Marquis Moyu¡¯s heir¡¯s teacher?

    ¡ª

    When she returned to the marquis¡¯s estate, the back gate wasn¡¯t closed even though it was gettingte. Ji Man stuck her head out and looked around, then she dashed in the direction of her room.

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    Haohao was staying in the room next to hers and being watched over by a servant girl. Since her body stunk of alcohol, she naturally couldn¡¯t visit Haohao in her current state. After she entered her room and was about take her clothes off to take a bath, someone suddenly mped his hand over her mouth.

    There was a disadvantage to staying in someone else¡¯s home. At any moment, the owner of the home might pop out and scare you half to death.

    Without a better option, Ji Man could only push Ning Yuxuan¡¯s hand away from her and say, ¡°Marquis, this one is a man right now. Isn¡¯t it a little inappropriate for you to be lurking in my bedroom at night?¡±

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression didn¡¯t look good. He raised his hand and lit amp. Wrinkling his nose, he asked, ¡°Did you go drinking?¡±

    ¡°It was forworking.¡± After Ji Man took off her outer robe and tossed it to the side, she felt much morefortable.

    Right now, Ning Yuxuan looked like a wife that had caught her husband red-handed withing home after an evening of debauchery drinking. His posture had already shifted into an interrogating one.

    ¡°Did you forget that you¡¯re a woman again?¡±

    Ji Man nodded. ¡°Marquis, you¡¯ve also forgotten something. Right now, this one is a man.¡±

    With her chin raised high, she looked as if she was one step away from knocking against the tip of his nose. Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips as he looked at her. ¡°What more do you want?¡±

    He had already given Haohao to her. Why wasn¡¯t it enough? Why couldn¡¯t she quietly remain in his inner court and care for their child? Why did she insist on going out and exposing her face in public?

    Ji Man narrowed her eyes and looked at him for a while before saying, ¡°I want to be a tree, not a trumpet vine. Marquis, do you understand?¡±

    Marquis Moyu froze in shock. He didn¡¯t have time to recover and ask her what she meant before she started talking again.

    Half-talking to herself, Ji Man continued, ¡°I must have gotten drunk from the alcohol vapors to ask such a question. A man like you, who¡¯s full of male chauvinism and doesn¡¯t have any romantic feelings, how could you possibly understand me?¡±

    Minding her own business, she washed her face, then she copsed onto her bed. Pointing at the doors, she said, ¡°I still have to give Haohao lessons tomorrow morning. I won¡¯t keep the marquis up any longer. Have a safe walk back.¡±

    Left speechless by her stream of words, Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow. Feeling rather angry, he turned around and left.

    ¡ª

    The price of Zhangjun rice was about the same as other rice, but its kernels were especially plump, so they were doing pretty good in sales.

    And so, Ji Man took out her savings and rented out stores in various parts of the capital to expand the scope of her business.

    While rice was still being transported from Zhangjun without interruption, it was about time for her take stock of her inventory and make a decision. Would it better for her to build a road from Zhanghun to the capital or continuing paying a high freight fee while earning small profits each time and having the advantage of quick turnover?

    ¡ª

    This time, after Zhao Zhe had entered the pce and paid respects to the emperor, he paid another visit to the dowager empress¡¯s ce to chat with his mother alone. There were many mountains between Zhangjun and the capital, so once Zhao Zhe left the capital, he probably wouldn¡¯t see his mother for several years.

    ¡ª

    As Wu Yong was trying to think of an excuse to allow Zhangjun Prince to his extend his stay in the capital, Ji Man came by the inn.

    @@novelbin@@

    With a serious expression, Ji Man said, ¡°I think it¡¯s necessary to build our own road. Brother Wu, what do you think?¡±

    Wu Yong asked in curiosity, ¡°Why do you want to build a road? Is there a good reason? It would be a veryrge undertaking to do so.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s exactly because it¡¯s arge undertaking, so it¡¯ll be reasonable to ask for the funding toe from the imperial treasury. While His Highness is still in the capital, he should rely on the dowager empress to discuss this with the emperor, ¡± Ji Man said, ¡°Once a road is built, it¡¯ll also be very helpful for our future ns. Brother Wu, think about it. If a road could be directly building from Zhangjun to the capital, a lot of time would be saved from dys that happen on mountain paths. In the future, if you want to transport weaponry and such, wouldn¡¯t it also be faster...¡±

    Wu Yong furrowed his brow. ¡°His Highness had written several petitions to request for a road to be built between Zhangjun and the capital, but the new emperor had refused all of his appeals under the reasoning that there¡¯s a national treasury shortage.¡±

    ¡°A national treasury shortage?¡± Ji Manughed. ¡°The dowager empress can¡¯t renovate her pce because there¡¯s a national treasury shortage. A road between Zhangjun and the capital also can¡¯t be built because there¡¯s a national treasury shortage. But, haven¡¯t you heard that the emperor is going to build a pavilion called Wangyue Pavillon for the empress? Why is there suddenly enough money in the national treasury for that expense?¡±

    ¡°That...¡± Wu Yong sighed. ¡°That¡¯s also within reason.¡±

    With an expression as if she was doing all of this solely for the nation, for themon people, and for the prince, she said, ¡°Brother Yu, as an imperial strategic advisor, it¡¯s your duty to think of a solution. You can¡¯t just allow the emperor to continue to mistreat His Highness.¡±

    Wu Yong solemnly nodded.

    ¡ª

    Only a few days had passed before Marquis Moyu received a request for government funding. The messenger said that the letter had been presented directly by Zhangjun Prince to the emperor, so the new emperor couldn¡¯t reject it outright. Zhao Li had it sent over here instead. The implied meaning was that he wanted to use Marquis Moyu as the excuse to reject this request.

    ¡ª

    Standing in front of a small ckboard and shooting a quick nce at Ning Yuxuan¡¯s figure, which wasn¡¯t far away from them, Ji Man solemnly taught Haohao. ¡°Repeat after teacher. To enjoy fortune, a road must be built first.¡±

    Haohao opened his mouth and repeated, ¡°To enjoy fortune, a road must be built first.¡±

 Chapter 331 - Taking her through the back door (1)

    Chapter 331 ¨C Taking her through the back door (1)

    Once again, Ji Man returned in the dim light of night. Although she was tired, instead of going straight to sleep, she still ordered a servant girl to prepare a hot bath for her. She had already been wearing the fake skin face mask for ten days. If she didn¡¯t take it off and give her skin time to breathe, she would probably end up with a face full of e soon.

    After closing the windows and locking the doors, she took off the mask and her clothes. She submerged her body into the bathwater for a while before sitting back up and letting out a long rxed sigh.

    Sure enough, when the pressure of work became too much,ing back home and taking a hot bath was enough to wash it away.

    She happily scrubbed her face clean. Just as she dried herself off and was about to step out of the bath bucket, she heard a creaking sound as someone opened the doors.

    What the hell? Ji Man hastily hid herself by submerged her body. She had clearly locked the doors. How was someone able to push open the doors?

    ¡°You¡¯re certainly being very leisurely.¡± Ning Yuxuan¡¯s voice had already arrived by the bath bucket. Seeing the mass of hair that was floating on the top of the water, he helplessly pulled her out. ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about identally suffocating yourself by doing something like that?¡±

    With a flushed face, Ji Man looked at him and said, ¡°Marquis, why can¡¯t you uphold the standards of a gentleman¡¯s honor instead of acting with such impropriety?¡±

    Looking at her, Marquis Moyu felt a sh of inexplicable terror. He didn¡¯t hear her words and only nkly stretched his hand out to touch the face that he hadn¡¯t seen in such a long time.

    ¡°Sangyu.¡±

    Ji Man frowned. ¡°Marquis, this one is Ji Man.¡±

    As if he hadn¡¯t heard her words, Ning Yuxuan leaned over, tilted her chin up, and gently kissed her lips. ¡°It¡¯s really been too long.¡±

    There wasn¡¯t anything to cover her body, so Ji Man could only clench her jaw. ¡°If people find out that the marquis snuck in his heir¡¯s teacher¡¯s room to do uwful things, what would other people think? Do you not care about your reputation anymore?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a reputation worth?¡± Ning Yuxuan scooped her out of water in one swift motion. He didn¡¯t seem to care that the water was dripping down from her body and falling onto him. ¡°When have I ever cared about something like that?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    As early as when he had opened the capital¡¯s gate to allow Zhao Li inside, the title ¡°Marquis Moyu¡± had already be something that many people secretly cursed about.

    Ji Man was somewhat stunned. As he carried her over to the bed, he dried most of the water from her body. After putting her down on the bed, he even wrapped her up in a quilt.

    ¡°Marquis, did youe here looking for a booty call with this one?¡±

    ¡°Booty... what? ¡± He stood back up. With a slightly displeased tone, he said, ¡°Can you stop saying words that I don¡¯t understand?¡±

    Ji Man pressed herself against his chest and seriously said, ¡°A booty call is when two strangers that have no feelings for each other sleep together. It¡¯s just a way to release the lust in your body.¡±

    He had been about to kiss her forehead, but he froze after hearing these words. Ning Yuxuan lowered his head and silently looked at her. ¡°Do you see us as two strangers that don¡¯t have any mutually shared feelings?¡±

    ¡°At the very least, we don¡¯t have a legitimate rtionship.¡± Ji Man drylyughed. ¡°Marquis, the divorce letter that you gave me, this one has always been keeping it with me.¡±

    His body had stiffened by the bedside. Ning Yuxuan stared at her for a moment before pursing his lips and saying, ¡°I forgot. You¡¯re not my wife anymore.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ji Man casually picked up a robe that was on her bed and put it on. ¡°It¡¯ste. Marquis, it¡¯s best if you go back to your room sooner.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ning Yuxuan got up. As he was about to leave the room, he remembered something and said, ¡°I came over because I wanted to tell you that there¡¯s going be a banquet at the assistant minister of revenue¡¯s house tomorrow. It¡¯s a celebration for his family¡¯s Old Madame¡¯s eighty birthday. Do you want to go with me?¡±

    The assistant minister of revenue? That was a grand fourth rank official. Back when she was the marquis¡¯s wife, she hadn¡¯t thought it was a big deal when someone was a high-ranking official. But now that she was only an ordinary citizen, she realized that those were people that she really needed to curry favor with.

    Ji Man looked like a puppy that was one moment away from wagging its tail. She looked at Ning Yuxuan with glimmering eyes and said, ¡°Marquis, thank you. This one will definitely be waiting tomorrow to go with the marquis to the banquet.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan lightly smiled and left the room.

    He hadn¡¯t learned to be considerate person yet. After opening the doors to leave, he didn¡¯t think to close them shut. As a result, the wind that blew through the doors chilled Ji Man, who was still sitting on the bed.

    ¡ª

    The next evening, Ning Yuxuan¡¯s carriage was waiting at the front gate. After Ji Man had coaxed Haohao into going sleep earlier, she swiftly went to the front gate and followed Ning Yuxuan into the carriage.

    ¡°My lord...¡± Liu Hanyun had just walked to the front gate too. Originally, she was going to ask, since the marquis was attending a banquet today, as his main wife, should she being along with him? As it turned out, Marquis Moyu hadn¡¯t thought about bring her with him at all. Instead, he was taking Haohao¡¯s teacher.

    This new teacher had truly obtained the marquis¡¯s high regard. It was probably due to the marquis¡¯s favoritism towards Haohao. He wanted to give everything that was good to Haohao.

    Liu Hanyun sighed and turned back to return to her courtyard.

    ¡ª

    During the entire trip, Ji Man was silently contemting on what she would do when they arrived. Was there anything that she should avoid doing?

    Leaning against the carriage, Marquis Moyu yawned and nonchntly said, ¡°The assistant minister of revenue has a son that¡¯s the same age as Haohao, but his son¡¯s stubborn and mischievous personality is always giving people headaches. He¡¯ll probably be pretty happy if you spend time with his son.¡±

    Somewhat stunned, Ji Man turned her head to look at him. Was he helping her?

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t like talkative people, so watch how much you¡¯re saying.¡± Ning Yuxuan swept his gave over her, then he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

    Sometimes, it was useful to have this haughty person in your family. One day in the future, once Ning Yuxuan had figured out what her real intention was, he most likely wouldn¡¯t be willing to continue to help her. But, right now, he was looking out for her and helping her establish a useful rtionship by taking her through the back door. And so, Ji Man did feel somewhat grateful towards him.

    Although she might have an enmity that was absolutely irreconcble with this person, Ji Man wasn¡¯t in a hurry. Revenge could be slowly taken. She had to stabilize her position first.

    ¡ª

    The front entrance to the assistant minister¡¯s estate was bustling with people. At first, Ji Man was even worried that there wouldn¡¯t be space to park their carriage. Unexpectedly to her, the carriage was directly driven to the back entrance.

    When they arrived there, a man in his forties was waiting there. He ced one hand over his fist to salute and greeted, ¡°Shuyou is deeply honored that the marquis has personallye here.¡±

 Chapter 333 - What do you think of my daughter? (2)

    Chapter 333 ¨C What do you think of my daughter? (2)

    Ji Man was eating when she heard Zhu Shuyou say, ¡°Teacher Ji, I heard that you¡¯re not married yet.¡± Ji Man almost spit out the food that she was chewing. She hurriedly stood up and said, ¡°This one isn¡¯t in a hurry to start a family.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan was nearby and making small talk with a group of court officials. Zhu Shuyou nced over his way, then he stretched his hand out and pulled Ji Man to the side.

    As it turned out, this tendency of abruptly pulling people to the side was a hereditary habit for the Zhu family.

    Looking at Ji Man with a good-natured expression, Zhu Shuyou said, ¡°Teacher Ji, as someone that¡¯s part of Marquis Moyu¡¯s household, you¡¯ll likely to have bright prospects in your future. I heard that you also have a family business?¡±

    Ji Man cleared her throat. ¡°... This one has a rtive that¡¯s a grain merchant.¡±

    Zhu Shuyou nodded. ¡°It¡¯s about time for the rice that¡¯s being used for the tribute to be changed. We¡¯ve always been using rice from the Li family. But, actually, rice from any merchant family would be okay too. Teacher Ji, would your family be able to do this business?¡±

    Ji Man gasped. This was the rice that would enter the pce! Looking at him with a somewhat guarded gaze, she said, ¡°Sir Zhu, your favor is too high. This one is just from a small merchant family...¡±

    Assistant Minister Zhu chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so self-effacing. Once the rice bes tribute rice, does it matter if it came from a small merchant family or arge one? Won¡¯t its price increase by a hundredfold either way? Actually, speaking of this matter, it¡¯s quite the coincidence. The decision for choosing which merchant to buy the rice from is under my purview. I¡¯m also familiar with the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.¡±

    The discussion had already gotten to this point, so Ji Man frankly asked, ¡°Sir, is there something that you would like this one to do?¡±

    Since he was willing to give out such a fatty piece of meat, then the help that he wanted couldn¡¯t be small. Ji Man didn¡¯t guess wrong. What he wanted really wasn¡¯t something insignificant.

    Zhu Shuyou opened his mouth and straightforwardly asked, ¡°Teacher Ji, since you don¡¯t have a wife, what do you think of my daughter?¡±

    Ji Man had seen parents worried about marrying off their daughters, but she had never seen something like this before. How horrible exactly was Zhu Yurun that her father had to pay such a high price in order to marry her off?

    Ji Man wanted to cry, but she didn¡¯t have tears. She wasn¡¯t a man. Even if you wanted to give her the imperial harem, she still couldn¡¯t marry a woman.

    ¡°I know that this isn¡¯t an issue that can be rushed, so you can take your time to consider this.¡± Zhu Shuyou patted her shoulder and said, ¡°After all, my daughter is really...¡± Zhu Shuyou trailed off with a sigh.

    Honestly, Zhu Yurun wasn¡¯t ugly, so Ji Man couldn¡¯t understand. Why would she have such a difficult time getting married?

    ¡ª

    On the way back, Ji Man asked Ning Yuxuan her earlier question.

    Looking as if he had just stepped into dog poop, Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°He wants you to marry his daughter?¡±

    Ji Man nodded. ¡°It¡¯s probably because I have such a gentlemanly appearance.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t marry her.¡± Ning Yuxuan interrupted her. With a ckened expression, he said, ¡°I won¡¯t even bring up the fact that you¡¯re a woman. Even if you¡¯re a man, Zhu Yurun isn¡¯t someone that you can marry.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Ji Man was somewhat surprised.

    Ning Yuxuan sternly answered, ¡°She¡¯s an unclean and faithless person. She¡¯s not even married yet, and she¡¯s already pregnant. You should keep your distance from her.¡±

    Ji Man slightly furrowed her brow. She recalled Zhu Yurun¡¯s physical state. As it turned out, she wasn¡¯t actually chubby. It was just a sign that her pregnancy was progressing well.

    If a woman got pregnant out of wedlock in ancient times, she would either hang herself out of shame or be cursed at so badly by other people that she would be scared of going outside. Ji Man didn¡¯t think Zhu Yurun was unclean and faithless. There were plenty of single mothers in modern-day. However, that Miss Zhu had seemed very cheerful and easy-going. Herrge eyes had looked quite lively. It was pretty good that Zhu Yurun could maintain such a healthy attitude.

    ¡ª

    After returning to the estate, Ning Yuxuan sat in her room for two hours without speaking. After drinking two pots of tea, he finally left.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t have the free time to guess what he was thinking.

    ¡ª

    The next day, after Haohao¡¯s sses were over, she hurriedly went to the rice store to check on the situation.

    Right after Ji Man stepped into the rice store, she heard someone calling out in a syrupy voice, ¡°Teacher Ji.¡±

    She turned her head and wasn¡¯t surprised to see that the voice hade from Miss Zhu.

    The nearby people were all pointing at her, but Zhu Yurun acted as if she didn¡¯t seem them. She walked straight into the rice store. Standing by Ji Man side, she asked, ¡°The weather is pretty nice today. Teacher Ji, would you have the time to apany Yu-er on a boat ride?¡±

    Before Ji Man could answer, an old woman that was passing by the store couldn¡¯t stand the sight in front of her anymore. She flung a rotten egg at Zhu Yurun¡¯s feet and shouted, ¡°Bah! Have you no sense of shame?!¡±

    Seeing a perfectly nice dress bing dirty, Ji Man slightly frowned.

    In contrast, Zhu Yurun pretended to not notice. After shaking her dress a bit, she continued to look at Ji Man.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t know if she was just feeling sympathetic towards this young woman, or if she was troubled by a curious mind that wanted to know Zhu Yurun¡¯s backstory. She nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    The other employees in the rice store watched them leave with strange looks in their eyes. Yan Buba was that only that remained uninterested towards anything except money. Grabbing hold of the old woman that had thrown the egg and was leaving, he said, ¡°Either sweep the floor or pay two copper coins for the mess that you made.¡±

    ¡ª

    Not trying to avoid suspicion at all, Zhu Yurun pulled Ji Man along. She hadn¡¯t even brought along a servant girl. After they had boarded a decorated leisure boat, she gestures for Ji Man to sit down.

    Ji Man asked a question that she already knew the answer too, ¡°Miss Zhu, is something the matter?¡±

    The young woman across from her looked at her. Putting away her smile, she said, ¡°People say that business people don¡¯t like to lose money. I came here today because I want to discuss a business proposal with Teacher Ji.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man wryly smiled. ¡°Miss, if you¡¯re hoping that this one will marry you, then this one is afraid that this business isn¡¯t doable.¡±

    Zhu Yurun frowned. ¡°Why?¡±

    Not even slightly embarrassed, Ji Man said, ¡°I¡¯m impotent.¡±

    Zhu Yurun blushed, but she stillughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s even better. This will be like me giving you a free son then!¡±

    Ji Man, ¡°...¡±

    Was this like being given the chance to marry a goddess, but it was only because she was already pregnant with another man¡¯s child?

    Ji Man coughed to clear her throat and took a sip of tea. ¡°Miss Zhu, if you just want to find a father for your baby, it shouldn¡¯t be difficult.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Zhu Yurun grinned. ¡°But, I want to find a man that¡¯s even better looking than him, that¡¯s the difficult part.¡±

    Him? Ji Man¡¯s gossiping spirit was awakened. With her ears perked up, she asked, ¡°Who is he?¡±

 Chapter 336 - Getting married is only a trifling matter (1)

    Chapter 336 ¨C Getting married is only a trifling matter (1)

    Ji Man felt despondent. What did Ning Yuxuan mean by canceling the sses? She had been nning on teaching Haohao how to sing nursery rhymes today.

    After changing her clothes, she went looking for Ning Yuxuan. However, when she got to his courtyard, Guibai stopped her and said that the marquis was with a guest.

    He was holding Haohao while he was with a guest? Who was he trying to trick?! Ji Man stood at the doorway and looked at Guibai with awkward smile for a long time. She remained here so that she could eavesdrop.

    It seemed that there were people talking inside. She even heard words like, ¡°congrattions, congrattions¡± and ¡°will definitely show up¡±. She was helpless though. Haohao was Ning Yuxuan¡¯s heir, so she couldn¡¯t take Haohao away by force. Since he wouldn¡¯t allow her to give Haohao lessons today, then she could only ept it for now.

    Since she had agreed that she would marry Miss Zhu, she had to start preparing for their wedding. Regarding the problem of a betrothal gift, Ji Man had already figured out what she would do. ording to the rules of this era, she would have to spend several hundred silver taels to buy the traditional gifts that would be up to par, then she just needed to hire a matchmaker to go to Miss Zhu¡¯s home on her behalf. Assistant Minister Zhu was in hurry to marry off his daughter, so he wouldn¡¯t be too picky andin.

    As Ji Man walked through the streets and ordered red silk and other wedding decorations from one store and jugs of fine wine from another store, she continued to have conflicting emotions. After she had finished with most of the preparations, she dropped by Zhu Residence to discuss the specific details for the wedding day.

    ¡ª

    Assistant Minister Zhu was broadly smiling. Ji Man had fixed the big problem that had gued him. Although he felt a bit wronged that his daughter¡¯s wedding would be done so casually, it was already a blessing from the Heavens that someone was willing to marry her.

    Teacher Ji seemed like a trustworthy person, and he heard that Teacher Ji was from a well-off family too. If he opened a few paths for Teacher Ji, his future son-inw would definitely have a bright future. His daughter wouldn¡¯t suffer by marrying this man. Thinking of it like this, Zhu Shuyou was full of smiles as he exchanged many words with Ji Man.

    At the end of their discussion, he even offered to visit Ji Man¡¯s rice shops to look around.

    Ji Family¡¯s rice business was going pretty well, but their customers were all normal citizens, and their stores weren¡¯t big. Although there was a store in the north, west, south, and east parts of the capital, each of their stores only took up the space of two standard storefronts.

    Before leaving his estate, the assistant minister of revenue had changed out of his high-ranking official¡¯s attire and into in clothing in order to go about incognito. He had also brought along a few trusted aides during his tour of Ji Family¡¯s business. As they visited each of the four stores, he gave Ji Man some pointers. By his side, there was a person scribbling down his advice. After they had taken a tour of all the stores, Ji Man and the rest of the group bumped into Shopkeeper Liu.

    Since the election for the new head of the grain merchant association was at a critical point, Shopkeeper Liu was putting forth his full effort. He had invited Director Tang out today and spent a lot of money to entertain him. They had juste out of Luoyan Pagoda and ended up bumping into Ji Man.

    Ji Man politely bowed. ¡°Sir Tang.¡±

    Director Tang still had a very good impression of Ji Man, so he nodded his head to acknowledge Ji Man¡¯s greeting. Just as he was going to continue walking forward to go browsing at a jade artifact store with Shopkeeper Liu, he saw that the curtain of the pnquin that was next to Ji Man being slightly parted.

    Director Tang¡¯s expression slightly changed, and he went forward to politely bow at the pnquin. He didn¡¯t call out that person¡¯s title and only bowed deeply.

    Shopkeeper Liu was quite startled by this sight and hurriedly followed with a bow of his own. Why was Teacher Ji with a person that even Director Tang had to greet with a bow?

    Assistant Minister Zhu cast a nce at Director Tang and said, ¡°No need to bow, I just came out to walk around with Teacher Ji. You can withdraw first.¡±

    With a broad smile, Director Tang looked at Ji Man and said, ¡°Teacher Ji, you¡¯re certainly an extraordinary person.¡±

    Smiling, Ji Man responded with a trite formality, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Sir Tang¡¯s help.¡±

    Shopkeeper Liu¡¯s expression didn¡¯t look good. Fortunately, they were in the middle of a busy road, and it wasn¡¯t convenient for them to continue standing here to talk. After Ji Man left with the pnquin, Director Tang resumed walking forward.

    Director Tang changed his stance, which he had recently stated before they had bumped into Ji Man. ¡°There¡¯s no needed to rush with that matter with the rice merchant association that you brought up before. There¡¯s still one more month left. Your qualifications are sufficient. You don¡¯t need to worry too much.¡±

    Shopkeeper Liu was barely able to keep a smile on his face as he made a sound of assent.

    ¡ª

    When they returned to Zhu Residence, Assistant Minister Zhu said that it was more important to focus on the wedding preparations and that Ji Man didn¡¯t need to worry about the rice business. After Ji Man thanked him for his favor, she followed a servant girl to visit Zhu Yurun.

    Servants had already started putting up wedding decorations in Zhu Yurun¡¯s courtyard. Zhu Yurun seemed to have also gained more weight since the first time Ji Man met her. Her plump body was sitting down at the table. Seeing Ji Man, she said, ¡°Older brother Man,e over here and take a look. What do you think of this handkerchief that I embroidered?¡±

    Ji Man chose to automatically ignored Zhu Yurun¡¯s address and walked over to look. There was a strange-looking duck embroidered on the red handkerchief.

    The corners of Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Donald Duck?¡±

    ¡°... What duck?¡± Feeling annoyed, Miss Zhu pouted and said, ¡°This is a mandarin duck!¡±

    (T/N: A pair of mandarin ducks symbolizes a happily married couple.)

    ¡°Okay, it¡¯s a mandarin duck.¡± Covering her mouth to hide her expression, Ji Man sat down. Unable to resist her impulse, she took the embroidery hoop from Miss Zhu and said, ¡°But this isn¡¯t the right way to embroider. Don¡¯t most women learn embroidery skills? How can even a simple mandarin duck design turn out to look like this?

    The nearby servant girls tactfully left the room and closed the doors to give these two some privacy.

    ¡°My dad never forced me to learn feminine skills like embroidery, and I found it bothersome, so I haven¡¯t tried embroidering much before.¡±

    Watching as Ji Man fixing her embroidery, Zhu Yurun pouted again and said, ¡°Ah, you actually know how to do this?¡±

    Ji Man hadn¡¯t embroidered in a long time, so Nie Sangyu¡¯s hands had felt itchy with the desire to practice her craft. Without even being consciously aware, she had started trying to rescue the badly embroidered mandarin duck.

    ¡°I picked up the skill during childhood from my mother when I was feeling bored.¡±

    Zhu Yurun looked at Ji Man in admiration. ¡°My mother died young, and I¡¯m the only daughter that my father has, so I¡¯ve been spoiled to the point of not knowing how to do anything.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. She had already figured that part out. For a woman to dare to force a man onto a bed, Zhu Yurun must have been spoiled to the point of being out-of-control.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. The servants can do this. I¡¯ve discussed our marriage with Sir Zhu today. I¡¯ll send the betrothal gifts the day after tomorrow, then ask a matchmaker to choose an auspicious day for our wedding. I¡¯ll marry you before this month is over.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Zhu Yurun¡¯s eyes curved into small crescent moons. ¡°That¡¯s great. I can finally wearing a wedding dress.¡±

    But as she smiled, her eyes started to redden. ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that you¡¯re not him.¡±

 Chapter 339 - Gay? (2)

    Chapter 339 ¨C Gay? (2)

    Fortunately, she was very familiar with theyout of the marquis¡¯s estate. She chose the shortest route, so it didn¡¯t take long before they arrived at Ning Yuxuan¡¯s room. The lights inside the room were clearly still lit, and the doors weren¡¯t even fully shut. They could see from the outside that Ning Yuxuan and Qian Yingchen were ying chess and chatting.

    Tapping a chess piece, Qian Yingchen said, ¡°Once a pathway is opened for Zhangjun, many things will be easier. Originally, this would have been an unmentionable topic. It¡¯s unexpected that new emperor would agree to it.¡±

    Marquis Moyu pursed his lips and said, ¡°That was also outside of my expectations as well. Someone had already suggested this idea earlier, but I thought it wasn¡¯t doable, so I dismissed it. I didn¡¯t think it thoroughly enough.¡±

    Ji Man was slightly stunned as she listened to their conversation, but Zhu Yurun had already lightly pushed the doorframe to get a better view. Her eager eyes were practically falling out. She let out a sound as if she had suffered a critical hit after squeezing Ji Man to the side to get a better view.

    The corners of Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. Before the people inside the room came out to check on the noise, she haplessly scrambled into the room. Half-kneeling, she said, ¡°Marquis, this one has something to report.¡±

    With his eyebrows furrowed, Ning Yuxuan nced at her. ¡°It¡¯s sote. Why did youe here?¡±

    Qian Yingchen also looked over in Ji Man¡¯s direction with a confused expression.

    Ji Man could still hear Miss Zhu¡¯s loud breathing, so she hurriedly said, ¡°Marquis, please follow this one. It¡¯s something urgent. Really urgent!¡±

    Worried by her nervous tone, Marquis Moyu stood up and pulled her up by the arm as he strode out of the room. ¡°Yinghen, wait here for a bit.¡±

    Qian Yingchen was smiling as he assented, ¡°Sure.¡± As he watched Ji Man staggering along from being pulled out of the room by Ning Yuxuan, there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.

    However, soon after, his smile disappeared. Shortly after Marquis Moyu and Ji Man left, a blur rushed into the room and excitedly grabbed onto him by thepels of his robe and shook him. ¡°Sir, I finally found you!¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    After getting a clear look of that person¡¯s face, Qian Yingchen¡¯s face turned red, then white before settling on a greenish color. ¡°You...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me, it¡¯s me, it¡¯s me!¡± Zhu Yurun happily eximed, ¡°I¡¯m the person that you had a physical rtionship with, in that inn in Xu Province. I¡¯m so happy that you still remember me!¡±

    It really would be a difficult task to forget a woman like her. Qian Yingchen was choked off into silence by the shock of her appearance for a long time. Finally, he took in a fresh gulp of air. With an unpleasant expression, he said, ¡°Miss, is there a reason why you came looking for this one?¡±

    ¡ª

    In another area, Ning Yuxuan had brought Ji Man near the garden. With his brows furrowed, he asked, ¡°What exactly is wrong?¡±

    Even after Ji Man had thought for a long time, she still couldn¡¯t figure out a sufficient excuse to say. She could only pull on his hand and somewhat stiffly say, ¡°The moonlight looks very good tonight. I wanted to take a stroll outside with my lord...¡±

    Ning Yuxuan was a bit sluggish in responding. Soon after recovering, he snorted.

    ¡°My lord, don¡¯t be angry, ah.¡± Ji Man let go of his hand and sped her hands behind her back. ¡°I wasn¡¯t intentionally trying to pretend there was an emergency. It was because... Because...¡±

    He helped her with finishing up her sentence by saying, ¡°You were scared that I would kick you out of the estate and you wouldn¡¯t be able to see Haohao anymore, right?¡±

    Ji Man repeatedly nodded. Right, this was exactly it.

    The moonlight really did look very good tonight. With the moonlight sprinkled on the ground, the shadows of the two people looked very, very close.

    Ning Yuxuan suddenly sighed. He looked at her and said, ¡°Since you don¡¯t want to leave Haohao, then why are you getting married?¡±

    ¡°I have my own reasons for wanting to get married...¡± Ji Man pouted and said, ¡°Marrying Miss Zhu will be beneficial for her and me. Why wouldn¡¯t I do it?¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯re willing to take Haohao into consideration, why won¡¯t you take me into your consideration when you make decisions?¡± Ning Yuxuan sneered. He deeply looked into her eyes as he said, ¡°It¡¯ll be very good for you if you marry Assistant Minister Zhu¡¯s daughter, but what about me?¡±

    It felt as if his eyes were bottomless. It made Ji Man feel apprehensive. She instinctively wanted to look away. ¡°My lord, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    She was just marrying a woman, not marrying another man. Why was he so out of sorts over it?

    Ning Yuxuan took a deep breath, then he hugged her and very helplessly sighed, ¡°You¡¯re so terribly selfish.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s body somewhat stiffened. His arm was around her waist, and her entire upper body was touching his. He slightly leaned over, and his hug got even tighter.

    This was the scene that greeted Wen Wan when she walked over here through another small path. She was holding a tray of refreshments. While Wen Wan¡¯s eyes were widening in shock, Tanxiang tugged on her master¡¯s sleeve.

    ¡°What...¡± Just as Wen Wan was about to ask what was going on, Tanxiang gestured for her to remain silent and pointed at the other side.

    The marquis was actually publicly hugging a man while they were standing by the garden¡¯s entrance and illuminated by moonlight.

    Startled by this sight, Wen Wan took a step closed to them.

    Ning Yuxuan loosen his grip on Ji Man, but then he grabbed her chin and kissed her as if he was a thirstynd that had been suffering through a long drought, and now, he finally met a long spell of sweet, copious rain. He almost bent her body too far backwards.

    Wen Wan gasped before she covered her own mouth. She couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing with her eyes.

    The three servant girls that had been following behind Wen Wan all took a few steps back and pretended that they hadn¡¯t seen anything. They quickly left this ce in order to stay out of trouble. It was only Wen Wan that nkly stood here for a while before staggering back to her courtyard.

    Ning Yuxuan was interested in men? Wen Wan shook her head. No, this had to be wrong. How could he...

    Although it was true that he recently hadn¡¯t been visiting anyone¡¯s bedrooms in a while, he was someone that already had children. How could he be gay? After falling onto the floor in a sitting position, Wen Wan sat there for a long time before she stood back up and headed towards Liu Hanyun¡¯s courtyard. It had been too long since she received favor herself, so she had to ask another women about this matter.

 Chapter 343 - A special task (2)

    Chapter 343 ¨C A special task (2)

    Bringing the small bag with her, the servant girl passed through the garden on her way to Liu Hanyun¡¯s courtyard.

    Liu Hanyun looked at the concentric knot waist essory and the concentric knot ring. She pursed her lips and said, ¡°What¡¯s special about this? Isn¡¯t Teacher Ji going to get married soon? Perhaps, these are just love tokens that he¡¯s exchange with his fianc¨¦e.¡±

    Wen Wan was sitting by the side. She frowned and said, ¡°What family would use such cheap items as engagement tokens? They¡¯re totallycking in value. This servant has also investigated. Teacher Ji is marrying Assistant Minister Zhu¡¯s daughter. There was even amotion in the western courtyard because of her. It¡¯s exactly because of this that this servant finds him despicable. He¡¯s a man that¡¯s about to get married, but he still go around and seduces our lord.¡±

    Liu Hanyun handed the items back to the servant girl and gestured for her to put those items back. Then, she turned and disdainfully smiled as she said to Wen Wan, ¡°There aren¡¯t many people left in this household. I though the rest of my days could go by peacefully. But now, this man has appeared.¡±

    ¡°He should move out of the estate once he gets married, so there shouldn¡¯t be any danger after that.¡± Wen Wan wrung her handkerchief. ¡°This servant is just unhappy that his wedding day is still fairly far away. What if he steals away the marquis¡¯s soul during this time?¡±

    If the other person was a woman, then at least they could justpete for favor as usual. But, if the other party was a man, how could theypete with him?

    However, Wen Wan was very good atforting herself. Perhaps, the marquis was just feeling impulsivest night and not gay. After all, she had been with him for so long and hadn¡¯t seen any indications of this preference before. Perhaps, the moonlight had just been too beautiful, so he had briefly lost his senses.

    That master already had her here. It couldn¡¯t be that her master had sent someone over here topete with her for the marquis favor as a way to test her ability, right? Perhaps, Teacher Ji was just using a special method in order to aplish something?

    ¡ª

    After finishing Haohao¡¯s lessons for the day, Ji Man left the estate. She decided that it would be best if she finished buying the bridal gifts anyways. Although Ning Yuxuan had said he would help Miss Zhu, she had a premonition that his help wouldn¡¯t be very dependable. It would better if she prepared for the worst. That way, if this marriage didn¡¯t work out, she could just take everything back.

    However, she had only taken a few steps on the street when a carriage stopped by her side. The carriage¡¯s curtain was slightly lifted up, and Wu Yong quietly called out, ¡°Brother Ji.¡±

    After a pause, Ji Man very naturally boarded the carriage.

    Of course, Zhao Zhe was also in the carriage. There wasn¡¯t much affection in his expression as he smiled at her and said, ¡°Teacher Ji, you seem to be living welltely.¡±

    Ji Man very properly saluted him with her hands ced over each other and head bowed low. ¡°This one has tried to not disappoint His Highness¡¯s great expectations.¡±

    Zhao Zhe didn¡¯t say she coulde out of her salute. Instead, he asked her, ¡°I heard that you¡¯re getting married and nning on leaving Marquis Moyu¡¯s estate?¡±

    Ji Man shook her head. ¡°This one has already thoroughly considered everything. Even if this one gets married, this one will continue to stay in the marquis¡¯s estate.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Zhao Zhe nodded. ¡°You seem to have gotten very close with Marquis Moyu. Rather than handing this task to someone else, it would be better to just assign it you.¡±

    Ji Man knew there had to be something. Why else would he suddenlye looking for her? She lowered her eyes and said, ¡°Your Highness, please issue your order.¡±

    ¡°Once the road to Zhangjun ispleted, a tariff for iron ore will be imposed on Zhangjun for military use. Did you know about this?¡±

    Ji Man nodded. Everything had its advantages and disadvantages. A price naturally had to be paid for Zhangjun gaining a benefit of having a road that went straight to the capital. Other than rice, Zhangjun was also rich in iron ore. Because of this abundance, Zhangjun¡¯s army was equipped with especially good swords and armor.

    ¡°What can this one do?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Zhao Zhe deeply looked at her as he said, ¡°I need you to seal Marquis Moyu¡¯s signature seal so that I can alter a few details on the official order.¡±

    The corners of Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. Did this great lord think she was a mystical thief or a secret service agent? Marquis Moyu was a very guarded person. His seal was probably hidden away somewhere. With his current status as a teacher, it wouldn¡¯t even be good for him to stay in the marquis¡¯s room for long. How was she supposed to steal it?

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. When the timees, someone will assist you. It¡¯s okay if you fail at getting the item. It¡¯s more important to keep yourself safe.¡± Zhao Zhe waved his hand. His expression showed that he wasn¡¯t at all optimistic about her chances of sess.

    ¡°This one understands.¡±

    Each advisor had his or her unique value. Her extra values were that she had a murky connection with certain people as well as her ability to urately judge a person¡¯s motive. She knew what Zhao Zhe wanted and what each of his actions meant, so she could help him a bit. This was why Zhao Zhe allowed her to stay.

    Although this task was very difficult, she still had to figure out a way toplete it.

    Ji Man calmly disembarked from the carriage and finished the purchases she had nned, then she returned to the marquis¡¯s estate.

    Ning Yuxuan hadn¡¯t returned yet. When he wasn¡¯t home, there would be people watching over his study and bedroom, so there was no way for her to get close.

    Just as Ji Man was feeling a bit despondent, the helper that Zhao Zhe had mentioned earlier arrived.

    ¡°Teacher Ji.¡± Wen Wan smiled as she saluted. ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> heard that the teacher is getting married and didn¡¯t have time to congratte you until now.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Ji Man saluted with her hands.

    Wen Wan carefully looked at Teacher Ji¡¯s face. His pale face wasn¡¯t even rosy at the cheeks. This somewhat sickly-looking schr, how could his looks possiblepared to her beauty?

    ¡°Teacher Ji, you were probably informed about that task while you were out.¡± Wen Wan insincerely smiled and said, ¡°Once the marquises home, Wan-<i>er</i> will need Teacher Ji to cooperate with me.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your n?¡± Ji Man looked at her. She felt that Wen Wan wouldn¡¯t be very dependable.

    ¡°Once the marquises home, Wan-<i>er</i> will lead him out of the study. Teacher Ji, you can then take the opportunity to go take that item. What do you think?¡± Wen Wan asked.

    Do you think I¡¯m an idiot? Ji Man inwardly sneered. What if Wen Wan didn¡¯t keep the marquis¡¯s attention on herself? Wouldn¡¯t she be the one deemed guilty if Marquis Moyu happened to turn around?

    But, after thinking it over, Ji Man actually said, ¡°Good idea, let¡¯s do that then.¡±

 Chapter 345 - Stealing requires professional skills (2)

    Chapter 345 ¨C Stealing requires professional skills (2)

    Before half an hour has passed, Wen Wan was actually pulling Ning Yuxuan back towards the study. Ji Man watched as the two of them entered the courtyard. She had been right to not trust Wen Wan. Wen Wan was quietly bringing Ning Yuxuan back to the study so soon after leaving with them. If she had really been inside and searching for the signature seal, she would have been doomed once Marquis Moyu opened the study¡¯s doors.

    ¡°Marquis.¡± Guibai was standing in front of the study¡¯s doors, and he pushed open the doors for them.

    Wen Wan had Marquis Moyu enter the study first, but there was no sign of activity inside the room at all. It was only when Ning Yuxuan asked where Teacher Ji had gone that Ji Man raise her hand and said, ¡°This one is out here enjoying the moonlight.¡±

    They were partition by a short distance, and the sky was dark, so it wasn¡¯t possible to clearly see the other person¡¯s expression. Although Ji Man couldn¡¯t know for sure what kind of expression Wen Wan was currently showing, she could tell that Wen Wan stood in ce for a long time before following Marquis Moyu outside.

    Ning Yuxuan looked at Wen Wan as he said, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, you can go back first.¡±

    Wen Wan was somewhat unwilling. She looked at Ji Man several times, but in the end, she could only stamp her feet and leave.

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    This was man was too cunning. It seemed that he wouldn¡¯t be easy to deal with. As Wen Wan recollected that intimate scene in the study, she felt as if ants were chewing her heart, liver, lungs, and spleen. Even if she had to ignore the order given by the master, she wouldn¡¯t allow Marquis Moyu be snatched away by a man! His heart only had her. She was forever the only person that could be allowed in heart!

    ¡ª

    Ji Man returned to her room, and the person hidden in the corner reported, ¡°There isn¡¯t any secret space in the study, and the signature seal couldn¡¯t be found either.¡±

    It had taken the professional less than half an hour to thoroughly search the study. Ji Man sighed. If it wasn¡¯t in the study, then it had to be in the bedroom. If it was in the bedroom, then she could only depend on Wen Wan.

    ¡ª

    They met in the garden the next morning. Wen Wan was frowning as she said, ¡°Teacher Ji, why didn¡¯t you follow our n to search for that item?¡±

    Ji Man responded with a smile. ¡°This one already looked for it. It¡¯s not in the study.¡±

    ¡°Teacher Ji, you clearly weren¡¯t inside the study looking for that item yesterday.¡± It was obvious from Wen Wan¡¯s expression that she was very displeased. ¡°You wasted Wan-<i>er</i>¡®s efforts.¡±

    ¡°Someone else looked through the study for me.¡± Ji Man continued to have a warm smile as she said, ¡°Otherwise, since the marquis had returned in under half an hour, there would be no way for this one to safely leave the study.¡±

    Startled, Wen Wan averted her gaze. ¡°What will we do now then?¡±

    ¡°Mistress Wan, there are times when you¡¯re favored, right?¡± Ji Man said in a low voice, ¡°Go to the marquis¡¯s bedroom to look around.¡±

    Wen Wan¡¯s face turned red. ¡°The marquis hasn¡¯t visited anyone in his harem in a long time.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Ji Man nodded. ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯ll be fine for Mistress Wan to take the initiative by going to the marquis¡¯s bedroom. Apply a sleeping drug to your lips. Once the marquis falls unconscious, Mistress Wan, you¡¯ll have your chance to render meritorious service.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Wen Wan felt a bit shy. After all, the person sitting across from her was a man. Wringing her handkerchief, she hesitated for a long time before finally saying, ¡°I can only try my best.¡±

    Applying a sleeping drug to her lips was a good idea. As long as Wen Wan wasn¡¯t stupid enough to ingest the drug herself, the n would be a sess. Ji Man expectantly waited for the good news.

    ¡ª

    However, Wen Wan still ended up failing. Ning Yuxuan hadn¡¯t fallen unconscious, and Wen Wan didn¡¯t have the chance to search his bedroom. The next time that Wen Wan saw Ji Man, her expression was especially unpleasant. She didn¡¯t even say a single word before turning around to go to Linghan Courtyard.

    Ji Man was at a loss. Marquis Moyu wasn¡¯t a person that practiced abstinency<i>. </i>He would have definitely favored Wen Wan, so why had Wen Wan failed? Could the sleeping drug have been expired?

    ¡ª

    Wen Wan sat down in front of Liu Hanyun. ¡°Madam, we¡¯re probably going to have fight a man for the marquis¡¯s favor.¡± She already couldn¡¯t stop her tears from falling down.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Liu Hanyun was ying with Xi-<i>er</i> and doubtful nced at her.

    ¡°Do you remember that concentric knot waist essory and ring?¡± Wen Wan wiped her tears and said, ¡°When this servant went to the marquis¡¯s room to serve himst night, this servant saw those same items by his bedside table. He wouldn¡¯t even let this servant touch them.¡±

    Liu Hanyun¡¯s expression changed. ¡°The same items?¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Wen Wan gritted her teeth and said, ¡°You said those items could just be love tokens between an engaged couple, but the other party turned out to be our lord. That man, he¡¯s truly has no sense of shame!¡±

    Wen Wan was crying very bitterly, but she didn¡¯t feelfortable telling Liu Hanyun the worst part. Last night¡¯s n had been so meticulous. She had even thought of how she would send the signature seal out once she found it, but Yuxuan had been absolutely unwilling to kiss her lipsst night.

    Wen Wan looked at Liu Hanyun said, ¡°How could this type of person be allowed to teach the heir? He should be driven out of the estate! Madam, if you continue to be soft-hearted, this man will snatch away your spot.¡±

    Liu Hanyun stayed silent. She only believed part of Wen Wan¡¯s words. The most important part was the she knew Ning Yuxuan would never be interested in a man. Perhaps, that teacher had somehow offended Wen Wan, so she was trying to ruin him?

    Contrary to what she was really thinking, Liu Hanyun said, ¡°Go back to your courtyard to rest first. I¡¯ll look into this matter myself and deal with it.¡±

    ¡ª

    Ji Man felt dejected. At the very least, Wen Wan was the female lead. Shouldn¡¯t she have the basic ability to learn from her mistakes? It had already been so long, but she was still so stupid and couldn¡¯t even sessfully seduce someone. Men were visual creatures that were controlled by the lower half of their bodies. All Wen Wan had to do was sneak into his bed in the middle of the night. Then, while wearing skimpy clothing, she would expose a fragrant shoulder and call out, ¡°I¡¯m so cold¡±. How many stallions wouldn¡¯t have fallen for that trap?

    How could Wen Wan have failed?

    Ji Man sighed for a while before making a decision and standing up.

 Chapter 348 - Dont wear rose-colored glasses because of love (1)

    Chapter 348 ¨C Don¡¯t wear rose-colored sses because of love (1)

    Zhu Yurun tensed up. Underneath the table, she yanked Ji Man¡¯s clothes.

    Ji Man looked at Qian Yingchen with apletely calm expression and asked, ¡°Sir Qian, are you still not nning on marrying Miss Zhu?¡±

    Qian Yingchen shook his head. ¡°Yingchen doesn¡¯t like being forced into marrying someone. Besides, Grand Tutor Peng had personally asked this one to care for Miss Peng. It wouldn¡¯t be fair to wrong her like this before she¡¯s even married into my household.¡±

    As the chubby girl next to Ji Man was uneasily fidgeting, the bluish-green gems dangling from her hair swung back and forth. It was obvious that she was very perturbed by these words. Ji Man looked at Miss Peng next. Although the boat was swaying, she was still able to maintain a proper sitting position, and the dangling ornaments in her hair weren¡¯t moving much either.

    Comparing Zhu Yurun to Miss Peng was likeparing an unpresentable duck to a graceful swan. No one would be able to like her.

    ¡°Our wedding date was originally set for ten dayster,¡± Ji Man said, ¡°If Sir Qian hasn¡¯t changed his mind by then, this one is naturally willing to wee Miss Zhu into my family.¡±

    Qian Yingchen looked at Ji Man with a slightly astonished look. ¡°Teacher Ji, you have a upright appearance, so why...¡±

    Why do you have such bad taste?

    Zhu Yurun was a woman that was rarely seen in this world. When he had happened to meet her by chance half a year ago, she was an attractive young woman instead of the plump figure she was now. However, although half a year had passed, her personality hadn¡¯t changed at all. As soon as she saw a man, she would throw herself at him. Qian Yingchen recollected his memories of their first encounter and couldn¡¯t help slightly frowning.

    His first impression of this young woman hadn¡¯t been bad when they had seen each other in the passing in the inn. However, he woke up in her bed the next morning, and this young woman had said with a grin, ¡°You¡¯re mine.¡±

    Any man would feel that this woman had no sense of shame. She had even dared to boldly proim that she had like how he looked, so she had drugged him to be his person.

    At that time, he was returning to the capital after receiving a notice that he had been promoted and couldn¡¯t afford to ruin his reputation. When he saw her looking for him in inn that morning, he didn¡¯t say anything and simply left the inn.

    He had wondered if his encounter with this insane woman had anything to do with the shameless people in Xu Province that would want to deliberately harm him. Fortunately, nothing bad had happened in the end. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have let her off.

    Taking a deep breath, Qian Yingchen swallowed down the rest of the words he had wanted to say. He ced one hand in front of the other to salute Ji Man and said, ¡°This one will offer my congrattions to Teacher Ji then.¡±

    Ji Man smiled. Next to Qian Yingchen, Miss Peng seemed to have not heard anything. She was indifferently looking out at theke.

    After they disembarked from the boat, the four of them strolled around theke. Zhu Yurun seemed to have epted reality. Her head was drooping, and she wasn¡¯t skipping around like her usual self. She just closely walked behind Qian Yingchen and Miss Peng.

    Ji Man was walking by her side, so she didn¡¯t look that obviously pitiful. The two of them seemed to be walking slower and slower, and the distance between them and the two people in the front were increasing.

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t resist quietly asking, ¡°Why won¡¯t you give up on him?¡±

    She had seen too much of cold logic and too little of sincere feelings in this ce. And so, she absolutely couldn¡¯t understand a young woman like Zhu Yurun.

    Zhu Yurun grinned from ear to ear. ¡°From the time I met him, I keep having the same dream.¡±

    ¡°I dream that I¡¯m quietly waiting in a pavilion. There¡¯s no one else around. Rain is pouring from the sky, and I feel as if no one is going toe. But, when I¡¯ve waited until the moment, hees. He¡¯s holding an oilpaper umbre with one hand and urging his horse to go faster with the other hand. He says that he¡¯s going to marry me. And, the rain from the sky suddenly stops. His smile looks so beautiful as he¡¯s standing there.¡± As she says this, her eyes start to brighten with little stars.

    The corners of Ji Man¡¯s lips twitch, and she interrupted her by saying, ¡°If you try holding onto an oilpaper umbre while riding a horse, the wind will end up tearing the umbre apart. It definitely wouldn¡¯t be as perfect as your imagination.¡±

    Why did foolish girls always have a pre-installed beautification function? Their love would embellish a in rice paddy that was strong with the scent of fertilizer into a fragrantvender field that stretched out as far as the eyes could see. And then, they would do their absolute best to chase after this false dream. If they saw the reality a bit more clearly, wouldn¡¯t that be better?

    Zhu Yurun paused. She lowered her head and looked at her shoes as she said, ¡°I¡¯ve been staying by his side for the past several days, and I tried my best to get him to like me, but the end result was the opposite of what I wanted. Perhaps, what everyone else is saying is right. I¡¯m always making my choices based on the reality I see, and my views are unrealistically optimistic.¡±

    ¡°But, still, I don¡¯t know why. I just really like him.¡± Zhu Yurun shook her head and stopped walking. She smiled at Ji Man and said, ¡°I¡¯m not willing to give up.¡±

    Ji Man was stunned.

    Qian Yingchen and Miss Peng had already walked far enough that their figures weren¡¯t visible anymore. Seeing this, Zhu Yurun stamped her feet and said, ¡°Aiya, look. They forgot about us again. It¡¯s gettingte and about time to end our stroll and go back. Yingchen hasn¡¯t fully healed from his injuries yet either. Teacher Ji, you can leave first. Let¡¯s meet again tomorrow.¡±

    Once again, her smile was as splendidly radiant as spring. She jogged forward like a ball of rolling cotton candy and even turned around to say, ¡°Let me keep trying. If it doesn¡¯t work out, I¡¯ll just marry you. I don¡¯t want to have any regrets.¡±

    Standing in the same spot, Ji Man watched as that little chubby figure ran farther and farther away. She finally let out a long sigh when Zhu Yurun¡¯s figure had disappeared from her sight too.

    Why were there so many fools in the world?

    @@novelbin@@

    And yet, if there were only smart, rational people around, the world would be too boring.

 Chapter 351 - Mistaken as a pond fairy? (2)

    Chapter 351 ¨C Mistaken as a pond fairy? (2)

    Liu Hanyun slowly crouched down and whispered to Chunpi, ¡°Go and point out the way for the marquis. It¡¯s towards Jin Province.¡±

    With reddened eyes, Chunpi said, ¡°Master, why do you need to point out the way? If the marquis wants to go look, just let him look on his own. He might not be sessful.¡±

    Liu Hanyun bitterlyughed. She took Xi-<i>er</i> from the wet nurse and quietly said, ¡°There¡¯s no point in having him fruitlessly search for a long time. Sooner orter, Teacher Ji will be found. The marquis probably already knows that Teacher Ji¡¯s disappearance has something to do with me. Let¡¯s just end it here, so that I don¡¯t end up implicating my older brother.¡±

    Chunpi gritted her teeth and stamped her feet. ¡°The marquis really doesn¡¯t have a conscience. Master has saved his life and gave birth to Young Master Xi, but now, he¡¯s treating Master like this over a man.¡±

    Liu Hanyun shook her head and sighed.

    ¡ª

    Once Ning Yuxuan was told which direction to heard towards, he left the estate with Guibai and headed there in haste. Their horses¡¯ hooves raised high as they galloped down the road. There was only one road from the capital to Jin Province, but it might take a lot of time to catch up to that carriage.

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    Really, she was always making him worry. He didn¡¯t have toe out himself. He could have sent Guibai to search for her. Perhaps, he was just having insomnia, so he decided toe out and get some air?

    Again and again, the whip struck the horse to urge it to go faster. Ning Yuxuan chuckled. Yeah, that had to be the reason.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man didn¡¯t know how far the carriage had gone, but it was already very dark outside. At some point, she had fallen asleep while she was leaning against the carriage. She didn¡¯t wake up until the carriage had stopped, and the group of servants had pulled her out. It seemed that they were nning on spending the night in this grove. This type of grove was favorable to travelers because there were plentiful hares and pheasants in this area due to not having any natural predators. They could rest easy for the night after setting up shelter.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man amodatingly sat on the side and didn¡¯t cause trouble as the servants efficiently went about their work in starting a fire and setting up shelter. They were worthy of being servants from the marquis¡¯s estate.

    Ji Man remembered that the original Nie Sangyu had sent away Marquis Moyu¡¯s bed servants. Perhaps, this was the same group of people that had carried out her orders back then. It was quite amusing when she thought of it that way.

    She looked at the sky. They would probably be able to leave the capital¡¯s surrounding area by tomorrow morning. She pondered for a moment before asking, ¡°There¡¯s probably a river around here, right? Can I go take a bath?¡±

    The servants looked at her. One of them stepped forward to say, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    The corners of Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. She nodded after thinking it over. She couldn¡¯t leave the capital for real. In order to escape from this group of servants, she naturally had to employ some tricks.

    The sky was ck, and the moonlight was just right when they approached the river. She could faintly see the shimmering ripples in the river, and there seemed to be voices that were drifting over here from a distance.

    It seemed that there were other people staying the night in this forest too. Thus, this river didn¡¯t seem quite so frightful.

    Ji Man took off her outer robe, and entered the robe while still wearing her inner robe and boots.

    By the shore, the servant kept an eye on her while he taking off his own clothes, ¡°Don¡¯t try to y any tricks!¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t. It¡¯s not like I can run away to somewhere.¡± Ji Manughed and stayed in shallow area of the river. She waited until the moment the servant was distracted with taking off his clothes, then she dived head first into the water.

    The servant¡¯sughter drifted over from the shore. ¡°Don¡¯t think you can escape by using the river. This river ends in a pond when you go further down.¡±

    This was only a stream that had split from a bigger river, and it really did end in a tranquil pond. Even, if she dived into the water and swam over there, the servant could just go to the other side and block off her escape path as soon as he noticed that she was missing.

    However, she had a skill that would save her life.

    Changing her face.

    While underwater, Ji Man removed the fake skin face mask and stuffed into her inner robe. Once she removed the wooden hairpin that kept her hair tied, her freed hair floated in all directions. She took off her inner robe next. With only her boots left, she allowed the river current to bring her toward that pool.

    Seeing the clothes that had floated up, the servant shouted, ¡°I knew you were up to something!¡± He didn¡¯t bother entering the water. Instead, he ran towards the pond.

    Just as that servant was about to reach the pond, he was stopped by a group of armored guards. ¡°Halt! Don¡¯te closer.¡±

    ¡°This...¡± the servant felt a bit foolish. He stopped and exined, ¡°A male servant from my household escaped to here from upstream. I came here to catch him!¡±

    The guards frowned. One person left to report the matter.

    Soon after, a young servant girl shouted towards the pool, ¡°Madam, be careful! They said a male servant fled over her. Don¡¯t let yourself bump into him.¡±

    There was the sound of falling water. The servant from Marquis Moyu¡¯s household was standing far away, and the guards blocked his view, so he only heard a woman saying, ¡°There are only women here. How could there be a male servant amongst us? It must be some lechers trying to sneak a peak. Have the guards send them away.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    The male servant was forcefully escorted away from the pond area.

    One after another, the women got out of the water with rather dampened spirits. After the woman in charge put on her clothes, she lightly said, ¡°We¡¯ve almost reached the capital. Once we¡¯ve returned, we¡¯ll definitely have to make up for all the hardships that we¡¯ve suffering on the journey there.¡±

    ¡°Yes, absolutely, ¡± answered a woman with a delicate voice, ¡°Ourdy has never had to sleep outside in wilderness before now.¡±

    When someone happened to nce back at the water, she saw that a woman had remained behind in the pool. Smiling, she asked, ¡°Who is this? Did you forget to bring your clothes? Why haven¡¯t you gotten out of the water yet?¡±

 Chapter 353 - An unwelcome encounter (2)

    Chapter 353 ¨C An unwee encounter (2)

    ¡°After we were parted in Jing Province, it¡¯s been so long since I saw you... How did you end up here?¡±

    Ji Man pursed her lips together. ¡°Someone tried to harm me and brought me all the way out here from the capital.¡±

    Feeling as if something was wrong with her words, Ning Mingjie furrowed his brow. ¡°Why did you return to the capital?!¡±

    Once someone saw her face, only death would await her. Back then, when she and Nie Qingyun had supposedly fallen off a cliff, Marquis Moyu had even specially gone to Foshan to put up a spiritual memorial tablet at that temple to signify that he had believed her death was real. This was why the new emperor hadn¡¯t pursed the matter any further. If she went back again, wouldn¡¯t this be an unpardonable crime of lying to the emperor?

    Ji Man gestured for Changshan to let go of her. ¡°It¡¯s a long story. I usually don¡¯t go out with this face. Right now... there was a mishap. General, would you mind helping me return to the capital based on our prior acquaintanceship?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ning Mingjie opened his mouth. There were so many things that he wanted to say, but when he saw the guarded look in her eyes, he swallowed those words back down. Instead, he took out a handkerchief and said, ¡°Use this to hide your face for now. I¡¯ll send you back myself.¡±

    It was a light blue handkerchief, and there were still embroidered snow-capped mountains on it. Ji Man paused, but she didn¡¯t refuse. She took the handkerchief and spread it open, but it wasn¡¯t big enough. She could only press it against her face.

    ¡°Changshan, lead my horse over here.¡±

    Changshan was a bit stunned. ¡°Master, are you going travel through the night to bring her back?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t let the <i>junzhu</i> see her,¡± Ning Mingjie quietly said, ¡°Otherwise, her life would be absolutely be at risk.¡±

    Changshan assented and left right away. The remaining two people awkwardly looked at each other.

    Since that time in Jing Province when Ning Mingjie has asked her toe with him, Ji Man felt conflicting feelings towards him. Although she was very supportive that the secondary male character had abandoned the female lead, gotten married, and was run towards a new life for himself, she wasn¡¯t interested in him. Her initial romantic interest in him had dissipated over time. Ning Mingjie was a good person, but he was too sentimental. It would be difficult for him to aplish great things.

    She would just treat this incident as owing him a favor. Once she got back to the capital, she would simply resolve it by sending him a gift.

    Kangyuan <i>Junzhu</i> had naturally noticed when Changshan came over to take Ning Mingjie¡¯s horse. However, Changshan refused to say anything. He took the horse and left. Kangyuan <i>Junzhu</i> followed after him and only saw Ning Mingjie getting onto a horse with a woman that was dressed like a servant.

    ¡°Who is she?¡± Kangyuan <i>Junzhu</i>¡®s expression sunk.

    The servant girl by her side looked and said, ¡°Aiya, isn¡¯t that the person who recently borrowed clothes from Luqi?¡±

    Ning Mingjie had Ji Man sitting in front of him and waspletely blocking the sight of her so no one could see her face. Without even taking the time to exchange greetings with Kangyuan, he quickly fled away with Ji Man.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man shrank her head back and stayed silent as she endured the pain of riding a galloping horse. It felt as if her internal organs were going to be jostled out.

    Ning Mingjie asked, ¡°Did you go to the capital because you were looking for Yuxuaun?¡±

    Ji Man pretended that she hadn¡¯t heard him. The wind was too strong. She really couldn¡¯t hear much.

    Ning Mingjie smiled as he said, ¡°I though you would hate him. After all, he was the one that ordered the capital¡¯s gate to be opened. I guess I was worrying for nothing. At the time, Yuxuan didn¡¯t have any other choices. If he didn¡¯t order it, other people would have done it. If he ordered it, he would at least be able to ensure the safety of Ning n.¡±

    Ji Man was stunned.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have the chance to tell you this before. You were always avoiding me when we were in Jing Province. I couldn¡¯t even say one word before you would disappear.¡± Ning Mingjie wryly smiled as he said, ¡°Do you hate me too for supervising the execution of Nie n?¡±

    ¡°You weren¡¯t in the capital then, so perhaps you don¡¯t know that a lot of things couldn¡¯t be avoided. Yuxuan also did all that he could in order to save you.¡±

    There was the clopping of the horse¡¯s hooves, and the whizzing of the wind. Ji Man sneered. She hadn¡¯t heard anything. She only knew that Nie Xiangyuan had died, that Nie Qingyun had been forced to change his name in order to save his life, and that all of the other members of Nie n were gone. As for them beingpelled by circumstances and difficulties to do those things, she didn¡¯t know and didn¡¯t want to know.

    The sound of the horse¡¯s hooves striking the ground suddenly became messy. It sounded as if someone up ahead was urging a galloping horse to go faster with a whip.

    ¡°Whoa -¡± Both parties stopped on the small road when they saw the other person.

    ¡°Mingjie?¡± Ning Yuxuan was gasping for breath. He furrowed his brow as he looked at his cousin. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Hearing Marquis Moyu¡¯s voice, Ji Man let out sigh of relief. She raised her head and waved her hand at him. ¡°It¡¯s me...¡±

    Before she could finish her words, Ning Mingjie pressed her head back down against his chest. He calmly looked at Ning Yuxuan and said, ¡°I¡¯m bringing her back to the capital. Did youe out looking for her?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s gaze dropped. He moved his horse closer and grabbed Ji Man over so that she was on his horse. ¡°Something happened in my estate. I dide out here to find her.¡±

    Ji Man was initially startled by being plucked off from one horse and brought onto another as if they were performing a challenging circus act. However, as she leaned against Ning Yuxuan¡¯s chest, she actually let out a sigh in relief. She nestled herself and decided to not say another word. Since she was able to see Ning Yuxuan, then she would naturally be able to return. It had been quite tiring to rush about all night.

    Marquis Moyu lightly asked, ¡°How did the two of you meet?¡±

    Ning Mingjie shook his head. ¡°I met her when was I wasing back from hunting. Yuxuan, excuse me for overstepping. With her face, it¡¯s not suitable for her to walk around the capital. You...¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to worry.¡± As Ning Yuxuan turned the horse¡¯s head around, he said, ¡°Kangyuan <i>Junzhu</i> is probably waiting for you. Older cousin, you should concern yourself with tending to your own affairs.¡±

    Behind him, Guibai also turned his horse towards a different direction.

    Ning Mingjie watched as those two horses gradually moved further away. He furrowed his brow, then decided to follow after them anyways.

    There weren¡¯t any signs of human inhibition around here except for a shabby city temple that was over 2.5 kilometers from here. Just as they had arrived and was getting off the horses, Ning Yuxuan saw that his cousin had caught up to them.

 Chapter 356 - Zhu Yurun (1)

    Chapter 356 ¨C Zhu Yurun (1)

    Her name is Zhu Yurun.

    <i>Zhu yuan yu run</i> was a beautiful idiom*. Zhu Yurun originally hadn¡¯t been as plump and round as her dad had been anticipating. Her little face had barely been able to meet the qualification of being as round as a pearl when she smiled.

    * (T/N: This literal meaning of this idiom is round as pearls and smooth as jade. It¡¯s used to describe beautiful singing and polished writing.)

    Zhu Yurun¡¯s life had been smooth sailing until she met Qian Yingchen. She had a father that doted on her, an older brother that spoiled her, and all of the concubines in the family were protective towards her. Because she had been surrounded by an overabundance of love, Zhu Yurun learned from a young age that she should love and protect someone that she cared about.

    They had met each other in an inn that was in Xu Province. He had been going up the stairs when she was going down. It had only been a glimpse, but it left her with asting impression. She thought that this man was truly very good-looking. She stopped on the second floor and couldn¡¯t force herself to look away from his figure.

    His movements looked effortless and elegant. It seemed that he was feeling very joyful from being promoted for something and was epting congrattion from the innkeeper while he was eating his meal in the dining hall.

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    She hadn¡¯t been able to resist the impulse to go downstairs. She hid herself and eavesdropped on his conversation.

    ¡°This one received the emperor¡¯s great favor and will be going to the faraway capital,¡± he mildly said. She thought that his voice was so lovely to hear. She almost couldn¡¯t resist stepping forward and asking him to repeat himself.

    ¡°Congrattions, sir¡¯s efforts in requesting help haven¡¯t been a waste.¡± The innkeeper said with a smile, ¡°Sir, you¡¯re quite lucky. That scoundrel from the senior provincial official¡¯s family also wants to be an official in the capital. It¡¯s fortunate that sir was chosen first.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Qian Yingchen¡¯s eyes curved as he smiled. There was a look of ambition that was freely unfurling in his eyes. When he inadvertently turned his head, he was a bit stunned to see her staring at him, but he still politely put one hand in front of the other to salute.

    Zhu Yurun blushed.

    When she ran back to her room, her wildly beating heart was like a jumping fawn.

    Zhuer, who was by her side, even teasingly said, ¡°Miss, are you feeling the stirring of love?¡±

    Zhu Yurun¡¯s heart was filled with joy. She lightly rebuked, ¡°You¡¯re too chatty.¡±

    That person was going to the capital too, and he was a governmental official. When she went back, could she ask her dad to help her? That person was also staying in the room next to her. It must be fate that was ordained by the Heavens. This would definitely work out.

    ¡ª

    In the middle of the night, she was suddenly woken up by the sounds of a man pushing open the door to her room. Zhu Yurun thought; is this what her father¡¯s concubines had meant by a spring dream? She was surprised that this man would appear in her dream.

    It was only when she heard Zhuer¡¯s shocked scream that she returned to her senses. Her body had already been pushed down on the bed. This wasn¡¯t a dream.

    ¡°Miss!¡± Zhuer was shocked. When she went over to open the door, she discovered that it had been locked from the outside. She could hear someone¡¯s muffledughter from the other side of the door. A momentter, white smoke entered the room through the window, and Zhuer slowly fell down.

    Zhu Yurun felt dizzy too. The man on top of her had a flushed face and seemed as if he wasn¡¯t in his right mind. He was looking at her with a very gently gaze as he softly kissed her lips.

    Back then, she had shamelessly thought; even if this person was a rapist, she could ept him. She had never been so tempted by a man before. Even if she gave him her body and soul, it would be worth this encounter.

    Women really could be this stupid when they were being impulsive.

    She had originally felt lethargic enough to fall unconscious, but his rough actions pained her enough that she stayed away the entire night.

    Early next morning, she heard someone outside the room quietly asking, ¡°Did the n work?¡±

    ¡°Yes, call Sir Zhu over. That arrogant fellow definitely won¡¯t be able to go to the capital after this.¡±

    Zhu Yurun was shocked to hear these words. Enduring the pain, she got out of the bed and woke Zhuer up. She didn¡¯t have time to exin and just told Zhuer to stop her older brother froming over here.

    The man on the bed woke up. He was stunned to see her scantily d body.

    ¡°Sir, you¡¯re already my person.¡± Zhu Yurun looked at his blearily eyes. She almost couldn¡¯t stop herself from kissing him again. ¡°We¡¯ve already be husband and wifest night.¡±

    Qian Yingchen was at aplete loss. He didn¡¯t know how he had lostst night¡¯s memories. Hisst memory was drinking downstairs. Why had he woken up in a woman¡¯s room?

    Wasn¡¯t this the same woman that had been foolishly staring at him yesterday?

    He swept his gaze across the room. There was still some white powder residue in a corner of the room. He put on his clothes and went over to look. It was an aphrodisiac drug.

    ¡°You looked so handsome, so Yurun couldn¡¯t resist...¡± Zhu Yurun sat on the bed. Even she didn¡¯t know what she was babbling. ¡°So... just treatst night as me forcing you.¡±

    Qian Yingchen¡¯splexion changed colors as he looked at her incredulously. He exited the room right after he finished putting on his clothes properly.

    Zhu Yurun didn¡¯t understand why he would have such an extreme reaction. She hastily put on the rest of her clothes and wanted to chase after him, but a group of people had alreadye up the stairs. Panicking, Zhu Yurun could only jump inside the neighboring room.

    After her older brother rushed into her room and didn¡¯t see her, other people led him into this room. Seeing her disheveled appearance, he angrily asked, ¡°Yurun, did you encounter a womanizer?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Yurun sat on the bed and calmly smiled. ¡°I met a handsome man yesterday evening. Affectionate feelings formed, and I couldn¡¯t resisting over to his room in the middle of the night. But, I don¡¯t know why. He left.¡±

    Everyone was dumbstruck by her words, and even Zhuer widened her eyes in incredulity.

    They had never seen such a bold woman before. Not only had she taken the initiative to start a rtionship with a man, she had actually scared that man away.

    Zhu Yurun¡¯s older brother felt too embarrassed. After he dispersed the crowd, he was in a rush to bring her back to the capital. The inn was moring because of this incident, and many people bombarded her with curses.

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s that shameless woman!¡±

 Chapter 359 - Ancestor veneration ceremony (2)

    Chapter 359 ¨C Ancestor veneration ceremony (2)

    Steward Qian came over with newly made clothes. He was all smiles as he looked at Ji Man and said, ¡°Teacher Ji, this is a gift from the marquis. There were only two bolts of this satin fabric in the estate this year. One bolt was used for the marquis, and other bolt was used for you. Please have a look.¡±

    Stunned, Ji Man turned her head to the side to look at the item in his hands and took it from him. ¡°Thank you for your trouble, Steward Qian.¡±

    This extravagant silvery brocade satin robe was definitely worthy of being worn by a noble. She didn¡¯t know what Ning Yuxuan was thinking to have a mere teacher wear something so expensive.

    After silently ridiculing him, Ji Man still changed into the robe and took a hard look of herself in the blurry mirror.

    It looked pretty good.

    ¡ª

    In this time period, the ancestor veneration ceremony was a superstitious activity to prove that the Heavens had chosen the emperor. The new emperor had only recently ascended the throne, and the people¡¯s hearts were unsteady. It was only natural to depend on using the Heavens to get everyone to surrender and pay allegiance to the new emperor. Ning Yuxuan had already put everything into ce. A mechanism had been installed on the altar so that it would appear as if the new emperor was emitting a golden light on the day of the ceremony. He had also hired craftsmen to build a mysterious giant golden dragon-shaped kite. When the time came, the kite would be released into the sky.

    Everything was in ce. On the day of the ancestor veneration ceremony, after Ning Yuxuan had washed up and put on his clothes, he left to go to the Temple of Heaven. As soon as he walked out of the estate, Ji Man followed right after him.

    They were a bit far from the Temple of Heaven, but in order to show respect for the imperial ancestors, they had to walk there instead of taking a carriage. The streets were crowded with themonfolk that were walking in the same direction. Ji Man looked at that faraway person, who was wearing court attire, and sneakily followed after him.

    She had already thought of a n for the simple task. When they were near Quyi Pavilion, she would just appear in front of him and pull him into the pavilion.

    Wu Yong silently appeared in the crowd and quietly asked her, ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    Ji Man nodded and curiously asked, ¡°I just need to bring him to Quyi Pavilion, right?¡±

    Wu Yong nodded. ¡°His Highness is already there waiting.¡±

    His Highness? Ji Man stumbled and almost fell down.

    Didn¡¯t Zhangjun Prince return to his fiefdom already? Why was he still in the capital? Why was he waiting in Quyi Pavilion?

    Wu Yong supported Ji Man with one hand and patted her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to this.¡±

    ¡°Okay...¡± Ji Man suddenly had an inkling of what was going on. Zhangjun Prince was in Quyi Pavilion. If Marquis Moyu was brought over there before the ancestor veneration ceremony...

    Could it be that Zhangjun Prince wanted to incite disharmony between Marquis Moyu and the new emperor? If the new emperor found out that Marquis Moyu had secretly met with Zhangjun Prince in Quyi Pavilion, would he still continue to have absolute trust in Ning Yuxuan?

    To gain this trust, Ning Yuxuan had opened the capital¡¯s gate, wiped out Nie n, and divorced her.

    Ji Man furrowed her brow. As she took one step after another, she didn¡¯t notice that the person up ahead had turned around to look at her.

    Ning Yuxuan was walking very slowly. The person following him was toocking in ability and being too conspicuous. She hadn¡¯t even disguised her appearance or tried to avert her gaze as she followed him this entire way. What she was plotting now?

    A person that looked like an ordinary citizen nonchntly brushed past him and said into his ear, ¡°Marquis, there¡¯s been a change in Quyi Pavilion. Everything else has been arranged properly, but there¡¯re someone that can¡¯t be seen in the pavilion.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Marquis Moyu nodded and continued walking forward.

    Just as the day broke, the shadow of Quyi Pavilion could be seen. Ji Man felt an indescribable feeling. A moment of inattentionbined with someone pushing her from behind made Ji Man¡¯s legs feel wobbly. She ended up falling to her knees.

    At some unknown point, the person that had been walking in the front hade back and stopped in front of her. He stretched his hand out to pull her up and lightly said, ¡°You should pay attention to the road when you¡¯re walking.

    Ji Man raised her head up in surprise. Ning Yuxuan was slightly smiling. He looked especially handsome underneath the sunlight.

    ¡°Are you hurt?¡±

    She suddenly had the feeling of being yed with. Had he known that she was following him this entire time and was just pretending to not notice? Ji Man remained half-kneeling on the ground. In a somewhat annoyed tone, she retorted, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to help you walk to that nearby Quyi Pavilion so you can sit down?¡± He asked.

    Startled by this question, she looked at his court attire and saw parts of the silvery robe peaking out from beneath. She lowered her head even more and looked at her own attire. She pursed her lips and hesitated for a while before quietly saying, ¡°No need.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrows.

    ¡°I¡¯m not hurt. I can continue walking. There¡¯s no need to go there to sit.¡± Ji Man stood up and started walking forward.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to go rest?¡± Marquis Moyu was slightly surprised.

    ¡°En.¡± Ji Man lowered her eyes and chuckled. ¡°It¡¯ll be better to go there earlier to watch the ancestor veneration ceremony.¡±

    Something faintly thawed in his eyes. Ning Yuxuan resumed walking. He passed Ji Man and walked over to join the formation of civil and military officials.

    Quyi Pavilion was very quiet. Not many people hade over here to take a break. Wu Yong was standing in front of the pavilion. As he watched Ji Man¡¯s distant figure from the back, he shook his head.

    ¡ª

    The improvised special effects in ancient times weren¡¯t bad. When the empress pushed the new emperor, who was in his wheelchair, up to the altar, a golden light suddenly appeared around them and shocked the audience.

    ¡°Long live the emperor!¡± Grand Tutor Peng took the lead and knelt down. The people behind him also knelt down.

    After the new emperor recited the ceremonial words, a golden dragon suddenly flew over the crowd. Themon people cried out in rm, and someone shouted, ¡°His Majesty is a true descendent of dragons. Therefore, a real dragon hase down from the Heavens.¡±

    Hearing this loud promation, the ignorant masses knelt down. As Ji Man followed the crowd in kneeling down, she thought; these people were so easy to deceive.

 Chapter 362 - A foolish woman (1)

    Chapter 362 ¨C A foolish woman (1)

    It would have been fine if it had been an ordinary painting, but the people in the painting had been Nie Sangyu, the heir, and the marquis. Liu Hanyun had already been brooding over the fact that Xia-<i>shi</i> had been abruptly sent away. It was only reasonable to assume that the marquis had chosen Haohao as his heir more or less because of his affection for Haohao¡¯s mother. And so, it didn¡¯t make sense that the heir¡¯s mother would be sent away.

    Liu Hanyun had originally been thinking that it was because Xia-<i>shi</i> was unbearably vulgar, and the marquis was worried that Xia-<i>shi</i> would be a hindrance to the heir in the future. Thus, he had sent her away. However, a terrible conjecture had popped up in her mind after seeing this painting.

    Back then, Nie Sangyu had given birth to a toddy kitten after a full-term pregnancy, and the circumstances around the parentage had been unclear. Later on, the marquis had brought Xia-<i>shi</i> to the estate along with a baby that would have been about the same age as Nie Sangyu¡¯s baby. Could it be that Haohao was actually Nie Sangyu¡¯s son?

    Shocked by this line of thought, Liu Hanyun reflexively nced at Wen Wan. Back then, everyone had said that the marquis deeply loved Wen Wan and not Nie Sangyu. So, he wouldn¡¯t have troubled himself over Nie Sangyu to that point, right?

    But, if Haohao wasn¡¯t Nie Sangyu¡¯s child, why would the marquis have chosen a random peasant woman¡¯s child as his heir? Even when she had brought up several times about changing the position of the heir to Xi-<i>er</i> because he was the main wife¡¯s son, the marquis had never been swayed by her words.

    Her heart sank, and she nced at Wen Wan, who was still racking her brain over the painting.

    In a quiet voice, Liu Hanyun said, ¡°Since this painting was in Teacher Ji¡¯s room, it means that he¡¯s very special to the marquis.¡±

    Wen Wan furrowed her brow. The uneasiness in her heart grew even stronger. How much space did she still have in Ning Yuxuan¡¯s heart? She had endured that the children upied his heart. After all, she would have children of her own in the future. But, Wen Wan really couldn¡¯t ept that she would have to share Ning Yuxuan¡¯s favor with a man.

    ¡ª

    As Wen Wan was walking back from Liu Hanyun¡¯s Courtyard and passing through a covered corridor, she happened to see the marquising back with Teacher Ji.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°I forgot to give you back the bag fromst time.¡± Ning Yuxuan tossed a small bag to Ji Man. ¡°Keep good care of it. It might even save your life.¡±

    Ji Man epted the bag and felt the bag for the concentric knot items. They were still there. She awkwardlyughed before putting the bag into her sleeve. ¡°Thank you, marquis.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan stopped walking and looked at her as he said, ¡°Go back to Haohao. He hasn¡¯t had his lessons today.¡±

    Ji Man nodded and turned around to go to Haohao¡¯s room. Ning Yuxuan stood in ce without moving until her figure had disappeared through the moon gate.

    Wen Wan¡¯s eyes reddened as she watched them.

    A long time ago, before they had gotten married, he would escort her home every day. He would stand at the entrance and watch until she closed her door. When Ning Yuxuan was in love with someone, he really would be very gentle and considerate. Her previous arrogance and willfulness had been the product of him spoiling her too much.

    But now, it had been a long time since she had seen this gentle side of him directed towards herself. Instead, he had turned around and was giving this gentleness to someone else while having her watch by the sidelines. The pain from this type of torture was truly worse than dying.

    Back when the first prince had first approached her to be his pawn, he had said that if she obeyed him, she would be the only person by Yuxuan¡¯s side once everything was aplished. Back then, she would daydream how wonderful it would be to grow old with Yuxuan once the other women were removed.

    Now that she was watching as someone was slowly stealing Yuxuan¡¯s heart from her, Wen Wan felt even more resolute about driving away everyone else that was by Yuxuan¡¯s side. Once she was the only person around, Yuxuan¡¯s heart would definitely return to her.

    She called out, ¡°My lord.¡±

    Marquis Moyu turned his head. Seeing that it was Wen Wan, he nodded and asked, ¡°Are you waiting here for me?¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Wen Wan cautiously smiled and asked, ¡°My lord, will youe with me to Qiangwei Courtyard and sit for a bit?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan hesitated for a while before nodding and answering, ¡°Alright.¡±

    Wen Wan was overjoyed. She wrapped her arm around his and just like in the past, she skipped as she walked. ¡°This concubine had the servants go out to buy sugar-coated hawthorns on sticks from West Street today. My lord, do you still remember those?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrows. He suddenly remembered something. Wen Wan liked to eat the sugar-coated hawthorns on sticks from West Street, and he used to frequently take her there to buy them, but this was something that happened a long time ago.

    When he remembered something like this in the past, he used to feel a faint sense of nostalgia, but now he didn¡¯t feel anything. He felt as if he was only inadvertently remembering a trifle incident.

    He turned his head to the side and seriously looked at Wen Wan. Her simple yet elegant beauty was as moving as before. He had once loved her and wanted to be with her to a ripe old age in conjugal bliss. But, things changed. He finally clearly saw that their past love couldn¡¯tst a lifetime.

    Because of Wen Wan, he had been able topletely disregard Nie Sangyu¡¯s feeling back then. He had given Wen Wan splendidly beautiful clothing and married her as his main wife. But now, his retribution hade. All of the harm and hurtfulness that he had given Nie Sangyu, it was all finally being paid back to him.

    Wen Wan had no idea what Ning Yuxuan was thinking of. She only thought that everything was just like before. She was wearing a gauzy dress and bashfully sitting in hisp. She murmured, ¡°My lord, Wan-<i>er</i> wants a child.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan was slightly startled. He instinctively looked at the lit incense on the nearby mahogany counter.

    ¡°En, if you want a child, let¡¯s have another one.¡± He lowered his eyes.

    In an extremely cheerful mood, she tugged him onto the bed. During this romantic moment, she looked at him as she asked, ¡°My lord, is Wan-<i>er</i> important or is Teacher Ji important?¡±

    Startled by her question, Ning Yuxuan knitted his brow and asked, ¡°Why are youparing yourself to him?¡±

    In a cutely spoiled tone, she said, ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> wants to hear the answer.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan lightly snorted. He closed his eyes and said, ¡°Naturally, you¡¯re more important.¡±

    How could men bepared to women?

    Wen Wan giggled. She was full of joy as she threw herself into his arms.

 Chapter 366 - A boneheaded teammate (1)

    Chapter 366 ¨C A boneheaded teammate (1)

    It felt as if he had been confidently lifting a box, but then, someone had thrown a knife into his back out of nowhere. Ning Yuxuan turned his head in shock. The only thing behind him was his household, which he had always been protecting, so where had the betrayale from?

    The new emperor was smiling unfathomably. He patted Ning Yuxuan¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°This emperor will return your heir to you once my reign ispletely stable.¡±

    There wasn¡¯t any difference between what Zhao Li was doing and a normal kidnapping, but he was making it sound so dignified. The emperor personally gave Haohao a new name. He said that Ning Jinyan, the previous name that Ning Yuxuan had given Haohao, was too ordinary, so he was going to change it to Ning Jinchen.

    Chen, the emperor¡¯s imperial ancestral temple.

    (T/N: <i>Jin</i> means brilliant like gems, <i>yan</i> means speech, and <i>chen</i> can have several, different meanings including association with the Year of the Dragon.)

    Ning Yuxuan couldn¡¯t think of any words to say. Step by step, he walked towards his carriage. His footsteps had never felt so heavy before.

    Ji Man had been pacing back and forth outside the pce walls. As soon as she saw Ning Yuxuan¡¯s carriageing out, she hurriedly approached him and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Haohao?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan was sitting on the shaft of the carriage. He pursed his lips and said, ¡°His Majesty brought Haohao into the pce and even bestowed him a name. He¡¯ll be fostered by the empress.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man widened her eyes. ¡°Why?¡±

    After a bitterugh, Ning Yuxuan got onto her horse from behind. ¡°I don¡¯t know who it is, but someone disclosed the truth about Haohao to the new emperor. He even knows that you¡¯re still alive.¡±

    Ji Man was shocked.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t say anything else and only took Haohao into the pce. I was powerless.¡± Ning Yuxuan closed his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder. He whispered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Ji Man wasn¡¯t stupid. She could figure out the critical points of what had happened. But, they had always done a good job of hiding these secrets, so how were these secrets discovered?

    Thinking of how Liu Hanyun had tried to stop her at all costs when Haohao had been taken away, Ji Man frowned. She sneered as she said, ¡°Marquis, when you go back home, it¡¯s time for you to clean up your inner court.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my inner court?¡±

    Ji Man didn¡¯t answer him. She could only figure out that this was rted to Liu Hanyun somehow, but she didn¡¯t know the exact details. After finding out that Haohao had been taken into the pce, her mind had already feltpletely disheveled.

    Ning Yuxuan thought it over and decided to not question her further as the two of them returned to the marquis¡¯s estate.

    As soon as they passed through the estate¡¯s entrance, Ji Man returned to her room, and Ning Yuxuan went to Linghan Courtyard.

    After sitting in her room for a long time, Ji Man looked around the room before taking out a box from underneath her bed.

    As expected, the painting was gone.

    Ji Man went over to the neighboring room, grabbed hold of the servant girl that unusually watched over Haohao, and asked her, ¡°Who has been in my room?¡±

    The servant girl was slightly at a loss. ¡°Several people havee and went, so I haven¡¯t paid special attention. I do remember seeing Tanxiang, a servant girl from Qiangwei Courtyard,ing here. She said that she came here to help out by tidying your room.

    Tanxiang would have never been assigned to clean her room. Ji Man pursed her lips. She took the empty box with her to Qiangwei Courtyard.

    ¡ª

    Liu Hanyun currently held her head low as she held Xi-<i>er</i>. She was calm as she answered Ning Yuxuan¡¯s question. ¡°This servant doesn¡¯t know anything. When the people from the pce came, this servant was discussing with Teacher Ji about giving Xi-<i>er</i> lessons.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan rubbed his forehead. He had always done his best to show tolerance towards Liu Hanyun. It wasn¡¯t just because she had risked her life to save him. It was also because she was Xi-<i>er</i>¡®s mother. There weren¡¯t many people left in his inner court.

    But, she was the matriarch of this household. It was uneptable for her to say that she had no idea what had happened when people from the pce hade here and taken away the heir.

    He had only asked her a few questions when Liu Hanyun crumbled. Holding onto Xi-<i>er</i>, she cast an angry look at him and said, ¡°My lord, you¡¯re so concerned about the heir, but why won¡¯t you look at Xi-<i>er</i>? Xi-<i>er</i> is also your blood and flesh and your legitimate son. What¡¯s wrong with the heir being taken to the pce? He¡¯ll be able to enjoy even more extravagance and splendor there. My lord, don¡¯t you still have Xi-<i>er</i>?!¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s forehead was very wrinkled.

    Xi-<i>er</i> was frightened by his mother¡¯s scream. His little face turned red, and he stumbled towards the wet nurse.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t care about Xi-<i>er</i>. It¡¯s only...¡± No matter how angry he was before, the feeling dissipated after he heard Xi-<i>er</i> crying. Ning Yuxuan felt a bit guilty. It was true that he was too biased in favor of Haohao. He spent practically all of his time with Haohao to make up for Haohao not having a mother to keep himpany. It was inevitable that he would end up neglecting Xi-<i>er</i>.

    Liu Hanyun destely sobbed. She looked at him and asked, ¡°This servant doesn¡¯t try topete for my lord¡¯s favor. This servant just wants my lord to look at Xi-<i>er</i> more often. Can you do that? This servant doesn¡¯t want anything else.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips and let out a long sigh. He didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡ª

    In a different area of the estate, Ji Man had barged into Qiangwei Courtyard.

    Wen Wan was currently gleefully looking at the gifts that Kangyuan <i>Junzhu</i> had sent over in her room.

    By her side, Tanxiang said, ¡°That was such a worthy trade. Not only did Master get so many items in return for that one painting, Master and <i>junzhu</i>¡®s rtionship has also be much better.¡±

    Smiling, Wen Wan replied, ¡°Absolutely! Once the marquises back, make soup with this ginseng, and I¡¯ll pay a visit to the western courtyard in the evening.¡±

    Tanxiang was feeling joyful and was about to say a few more fawning words when the doors behind her were suddenly mmed open.

    Ji Man¡¯s expression looked unpleasant. She sneered as she shook the box in her hand. ¡°Mistress Wan, did you give that item to Kangyuan <i>Junzhu</i>?¡±

    Wen Wan was shocked. She hadn¡¯t expected Ji Man to barge into here at this time.

    ¡°Y-You, you¡¯re acting impudent!¡± She instinctively stood up to block the view of the table. ¡°Is my room a ce that you can casually enter?¡±

    Ji Man sneered. She took a step forward and pressed the box against her neck. ¡°Mistress Wan, are you proud of yourself? Did you know that because you gave her that item, the heir has been taken into the pce by the emperor?¡±

 Chapter 369 - Haohao is the only reason (2)

    Chapter 369 ¨C Haohao is the only reason (2)

    Ning Yuxuan sat down on the side of the bed and lightly said, ¡°Hanyun, arrange for a carriage to bring Wan-<i>er</i> back to Wen Province tomorrow. It wouldn¡¯t be suitable for her to remain here.¡±

    Hearing these words, Liu Hanyun¡¯s heart suddenly jumped. She somewhat incredulously asked, ¡°My lord, you want to send Wan-<i>er</i> to her hometown?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s already caused a catastrophe today. It would be too soft-hearted of me to allow her to remain here,¡± Ning Yuxuan lightly answered, ¡°Since we were once husband and wife, help me by arranging more things for her to take back.¡±

    Still feeling stunned, Liu Hanyun nodded. Then, she instinctively nced at Ji Man.

    There was a scornful look in Ji Man¡¯s eyes. She didn¡¯t say another word and simply turned around to leave.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Ning Yuxuan shouted, ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    Ji Man didn¡¯t bother turning her head. ¡°Haohao isn¡¯t here anymore. Why would I continue to stay here? Marquis, you don¡¯t need to put on this show of dealing with your beloved for me. I won¡¯t forgive her wrongdoing. You might as well try your best to protect her.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan chased after her. His brow was furrowed as he grabbed her hand to stop her. ¡°Ji Man! I¡¯ll figure out a way to bring Haohao back. Don¡¯t be so impulsive. We¡¯re already at this point. Are you really going to leave?¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Ji Man turned her head to look at him with her eyebrows dubiously raised. ¡°Marquis, why do you think I want to stay in your estate? What do you think is the reason I was willing to disregard my feelings of enmity?¡±

    Marquis Moyu was a bit stunned. He pursed his lips and said, ¡°Was it entirely because of Haohao? Is there really no other reason?¡±

    ¡°There isn¡¯t.¡± Ji Man smiled. ¡°It¡¯s time for this one to return to being a rice merchant. Marquis, take care of yourself.¡±

    In the end, there was nothing left to hold in his hand. Ning Yuxuan stood in ce as he watched the silver-robed person open the doors and walk out of the room without any trace of hesitation. It was if he had been utterly delusional in believing that his affection wasn¡¯t one-sided.

    ¡°My lord,¡± Liu Hanyun called out in a quiet voice, ¡°He... Are you not going to chase after him?¡±

    Teacher Ji had turned out to be Madam. The person that she had harmedst time was actually Madam, who had always treated her kindly. Liu Hanyun was at aplete loss. As she clutched her handkerchief, it seemed as if she had changed back to her former self that wasn¡¯t eloquent with her words and was an insignificant concubine that didn¡¯t know how topete for favor. Her eyes were slightly red as she looked at Ning Yuxuan.

    ¡°Would hee back if I chase after him?¡± He asked in quiet voice.

    She wasn¡¯t the same as other women. If she said she was going leave, she really did have a ce to go to. He couldn¡¯t stop her or bring her back. For other women, he was their supporter, and someone they depended on. However, she never relied on him. On the contrary, she left him feeling clueless on what action he should take.

    What could he use to keep her here? Haohao? Haohao had already been taken away. No wonder she had walked away without hesitation.

    Ning Yuxuan wrylyughed. He finally understood why people would say that it¡¯s depressingly futile to keep a beautiful woman. It really was a sad feeling.

    ¡ª

    It was simple enough to pack away her things. After stuffing her original clothes into a bag, Ji Man swept her gaze over the room. Her gazended on a small bag that was on the table.

    She froze for a moment before looking away. Putting the bundle over shoulder, she strode out of the room.

    The estate was very quiet. She had only taken a few steps when her pace slowed.

    She went back into the room and stuffed the small bag into her bundle. After that, she walked out of the estate without looking back.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man¡¯s rice business had been going smoothly under Yan Buba¡¯s management. She used the extra money she had to purchase a home near one of her stores. After that, she went over to Zhu Residence to visit Zhu Yurun.

    After learning that Haohao had been taken into the pce, Zhu Yurun, who was currently recovering from her miscarriage, sighed regretfully and said, ¡°Does that mean you won¡¯t be able to see Haohao anymore?¡±

    Ji Man pursed her lips and nodded. Her eyes were quite red.

    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t be so upset,¡± Zhu Yurun hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell my dad to go check on the marquis¡¯s heir to see if he¡¯s doing well whenever he gets the chance to enter the pce.¡±

    Ji Man wouldn¡¯t cry in front of Ning Yuxuan, much less when she was in the marquis¡¯s estate. But now, seeing Zhu Yurun¡¯s pale face and plump figure, Ji Man couldn¡¯t stop herself from bawling.

    Zhu Yurun frantically waved her hands in panic. She quickly told Zhuer to bring over a handkerchief and even shouted, ¡°Hurry, bring over a basin to hold the tears.¡±

    Shefortingly patted Ji Man¡¯s back and murmured, ¡°You look like a woman when you¡¯re crying like this. You have smooth hands like a woman too...¡±

    Ji Man was grievously crying her heart out, so how could she pay attention to Zhu Yurun¡¯s nattering words? Her days were so difficult. Before, she could continue to bear with everything because she had Haohao. But now, he was gone too. She didn¡¯t even know if Haohao would end up being mistreated inside the pce. Ning Yuxuan could probably frequently enter the pce to see Haohao, but it would be difficult for her to see Haohao again...

    Nie Sangyu,e out. Let¡¯s talk. Could you please let me go back? She had just wanted to read a book. She didn¡¯t want to be dragged into the story and be devastated with these emotions.

    Someone sighed, but the sound was so weak that it couldn¡¯t be heard.

    A man had been walking over here from the entrance of the courtyard. Hearing the sound of weeping, he furrowed his brow and picked up his pace. He walked past the doorway and asked, ¡°Why are you crying?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man felt that she had cried enough. She rubbed her eyes and turned her head to look.

    Qian Yingchen was standing by the doorway with a serious expression. When their eyes met, the person on the other side was clearly stunned for a moment. He awkwardly turned his head away and said, ¡°Sorry, this one must have misheard.¡±

 Chapter 372 - Knowing everything (1)

    Chapter 372 ¨C Knowing everything (1)

    Ning Yuxuan had been quietly sitting here this entire time. There was a trace of gentleness in his gaze as he listened to Wen Wan¡¯s hysteria.

    ¡°You said that you would protect me for a lifetime and wouldn¡¯t let me suffer any grievances!¡± Tears started to spill out from Wen Wan¡¯s eyes again. ¡°Why are you going back on your word?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    A stupid woman would always point out what a man had once promised her and feel heartbroken over the matter. Silly girl, those promises were given to the person that you were at the time and not the present you. Were you really going to depend on those two promises for a lifetime?

    Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t n on disputing with her. Instead, he gently tugged her hand over and ced it on his palm.

    In a low voice, he said, ¡°You once said that as long as you could be with me, you wouldn¡¯t care about status or how many other women were by side. My heart once belonged to you, so I didn¡¯t me you when you failed to keep your words.¡±

    Wen Wan widened her eyes. She aggrievedly shook her head and asked, ¡°How have I not kept my words? Who did I try topete with?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s gaze was slightly deep as he looked at her, but his voice continued to be soft as he asked, ¡°Do you really think that I know nothing?¡±

    Wen Wan was stunned. Faced with his direct gaze, she actually felt somewhat guilty.

    ¡°When we wereing back from the other estate and encountered assassins, you blocked a de meant for me.¡± Ning Yuxuan let go of her hand and lightly smiled. ¡°Actually, even if you didn¡¯t block it, I could have evaded that strike. It wouldn¡¯t have been difficult for me to investigate the background of those ck-robed men, but I didn¡¯t.¡±

    Stunned, Wen Wan stopped crying as she looked at him.

    ¡°Sangyu had originally kept the midwife that assisted you and Hanyun during childbirth.¡± Ning Yuxuan looked away and lightly continued, ¡°She had already sent the person back the estate¡¯s entrance, but I stopped her. Do you know why?¡±

    Wen Wan pursed her lips. ¡°My lord...¡±

    ¡°It was probably because I still loved you then.¡± Marquis Moyu lowered his eyes and scoffed. ¡°But, I wondered, how could a person be so ruthless? After all, if you truly love me, why would you hurt me by helping the first prince?¡±

    ¡°And then, you dropped Yun-<i>er</i>.¡±

    Wen Wan copsed onto the bed and widened her eyes. It was as if she had remembered something terrible. She retreated. ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I thought you had just been careless.¡± Ning Yuxuan turned his head to the side and nced at her. ¡°There isn¡¯t a mother that would be ruthless enough to kill her child, even if it¡¯s only a daughter.¡±

    Wen Wan¡¯s entire body was trembling. In the midst of her fright, she grabbed hold of Marquis Moyu¡¯s sleeve. ¡°I didn¡¯t do that. Yun-<i>er</i>... It really was just because I didn¡¯t have a firm hold on her and my lord, you pushed me...¡±

    ¡°A person really can change drastically,¡± Ning Yuxuan interrupted her, but he continued to gently look at her with his head lowered. ¡°If I had known that you would be like this, I wouldn¡¯t have condone you when you harmed Qing-<i>er</i> for the first time.¡±

    It felt as if all the blood in her body had congealed. Wen Wan nkly looked at Ning Yuxuan. She didn¡¯t dare to move.

    Did he really know about everything? Everything that she had done up to this point? How could that be? While it was true that he had gradually be more indifferent towards her after Nie Sangyu had taken the position of the main wife from her, he had clearly still been treating her very well. It was Nie Sangyu that had taken away his heart. So, how could it be her fault?!

    ¡°I know that you can¡¯t tolerate my existence anymore.¡± Wen Wan did her best to find her voice as she said, ¡°You fell in love with Nie Sangyu. You can just frankly admit that you fell in love with someone else. There¡¯s no need for you say that...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in love with her?¡± After a pause Ning Yuxuan chuckled and said, ¡°Wan-<i>er, </i>the rtionship I have with her isn¡¯t like our previous sensational romance. I hadn¡¯t even notice that I feel anything for her.¡±

    ¡°But now that I¡¯ve lost her for real, I feel like all of color has faded from my life.¡± He smiled and asked, ¡°Is that love?¡±

    Wen Wan was out of breath from crying so much. She opened her mouth wide and did her best to breath. ¡°You don¡¯t love... That¡¯s not love...¡±

    ¡°En, that¡¯s not love.¡± Ning Yuxuan slowly stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll continue to protect you for the rest of your life. Live the rest of your life in Qiangwei Courtyard. It can be counted as me not turning my back on the love that we once had for each other.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± Wen Wan was still crying as she toppled from the bed. Pulling on Ning Yuxuan¡¯s sleeve, she said, ¡°Yuxuan, I don¡¯t want to be alone for a life time. Why won¡¯t you even let me go?¡±

    ¡°You saw her.¡± Ning Yuxuan turned his head to look at her. The gentleness in his gaze finally broke apart little by little until there was nothing left. ¡°She has to keep living, so you can¡¯t go out.¡±

    Her?

    Nie Sangyu?

    Wen Wan was bbergasted. A long timeter, she burst out in riotousugher.

    After a lot of hard work, she had finally snatched the man she loved from that group of women. But now, because of another woman, he was never going to let her see the sky again?

    What a wonderfully loving Marquis Moyu! Such a ruthless Ning Yuxuan!

    The sound of Wen Wan¡¯s mournfulughter passed through the walls and resonated through the entire estate. ¡°It was for her. It was actually for her!¡±

    Ning Yuxuan only quietly looked at her before lightly saying, ¡°Behave yourself.¡±

    Guibai had been waiting outside of Qiangwei Courtyard. Seeing his mastering out, he said, ¡°Master, your older cousin is here.¡±

    Right now, he wasn¡¯t in a good mood, but Ning Mingjie was the current Zhenyuan General. Even if they were rtives, it wouldn¡¯t be okay to slight him.

 Chapter 376 - Always working towards a goal (1)

    Chapter 376 ¨C Always working towards a goal (1)

    Ji Man obediently followed Ning Yuxuan out, and Wen Wan was left for Liu Hanyun to handle.

    ¡°The empress likes Haohao a lot.¡± Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about him too much.¡±

    The empress and the new emperor hadn¡¯t had a child yet. Although the fourth prince lived in the pce too, the new emperor didn¡¯t care about him. Therefore, the pce became much more livelier after the addition of a young child. Knowing that Haohao was Nie Sangyu¡¯s biological son, Pengyue felt slightly closer to him. In addition, the new emperor had personally bestowed a new name to Haohao, so Haohao¡¯s life in the pce was pretty good.

    However, as Ji Man listened to Ning Yuxuan talk, her brow never rxed. No matter how nicely it was framed, her son was still a hostage in the pce. She was always worrying that at any moment the emperor could be unhappy with Marquis Moyu or if he wanted to force him do something. When that happened, Haohao would be the first person to suffer. But, right now, she was only a wealthy rice merchant. She didn¡¯t have the power to oppose the emperor.

    Although Marquis Moyu had sufficient power, he was loyal to the emperor. He was the type to obediently surrender without putting up a struggle. He couldn¡¯t even bepared to her. Ji Man sighed. Men weren¡¯t reliable. She had to depend on herself.

    Although she knew the answer would be no, Ji Man still asked, ¡°Can I enter the pce to see him?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan shook his head without even considering. ¡°You should prioritize on hiding yourself well. You shouldn¡¯t even frequentlye here, much less think about entering the pce. If somethinges up, I¡¯ll go look for you.¡±

    Ji Man lowered her gaze and dully agreed. Unless it was something rted to Haohao, she really didn¡¯t want to see Ning Yuxuan.

    ¡ª

    After Wen Wan woke up from the suicide attempt, she passed the next several days quietly without any fuss. It seemed that she had genuinely lost her memory, and even needed Tanxiang to frequently remind her who was who and what to do next. Although she would asionally get headaches, she said that she still didn¡¯t remember any old memories.

    And so, Ji Man didn¡¯t bother continuing paying attention to news about Wen Wan anymore. Regardless of whether or not Wen Wan actually had amnesia, she was still confined. If Marquis Moyu ever let Wen Wan out one day, she would reconsider the matter. However, the likelihood of that happening was extremely small.

    Just as Ji Man was feeling happy that her rice business was expanding its storefronts and bing a well-known brand in the capital, a mishap urred.

    Someone had gotten sick from eating Ji Store¡¯s rice and died. That person¡¯s family members filed awsuit against Ji Store. This was followed by manymoners iming in session that there was a problem with Ji Store¡¯s rice.

    What nonsense. Ji Man was eating the same rice too. How could someone die from eating this rice? It was obvious that someone was jealous about Ji Store¡¯s sess and was trying underhanded tricks.

    After Ji Man had run off thosemoner families and obtained evidence, she secretly invited a local judicial official for a meal. Afterwards, the local judicial official weighed the money tucked away in his sleeve and smiled as he said to leave this matter in his hands.

    However, on the day of the trial, the local judicial official for the case was switched to a different person. The new person ordered people to thoroughly investigate Ji Store¡¯s rice. Because this store had provided the tribute rice, he said this matter had to be reported to the officials in the pce as well.

    If a big deal was made out of this matter, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be good for Ji Store. While Ji Man was gritting her teeth over the change in events, several rice merchants that had stores nearby came over to watch the fuss. They were smiling as they took turns tofortingly say words like, ¡°A person with a clean conscience doesn¡¯t fear false usations. As long as there¡¯s nothing wrong with Ji Store¡¯s rice, there¡¯s no reason for you to worry about being investigated.¡±

    It didn¡¯t matter if there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with rice or not. It would be bad publicity for arge number of officials to go over and investigate her rice stores. Ji Man looked at the judicial official that was presiding over the case and decisively sent someone to notify Assistant Minister Zhu about this matter.

    Since Assistant Minister Zhu had been the one to rmend Ji Store¡¯s rice as the tribute rice, if a problem arose over Ji Store¡¯s rice, Assistant Minister Zhu would naturally be med too. And so, as soon Zhu Shuyou heard this news, he sent Qian Yingchen over to check on the matter.

    As the director responsible for the money and rice given as tribute and tax, Qian Yingchen had a ck expression as he headed over to the local judicial court. He didn¡¯t look at the people that were about to head out to check. Instead, he went straight to the local judicial official and whispered something into his ear.

    Afterwards, the official ordered his subordinates, ¡°Go and bring back two bags of rice and check the rice that way.¡±

    Ji Man slightly rxed.

    When she brought those people to her rice store, Yan Buba calcted something on his abacus and said, ¡°We probably won¡¯t be able to get back the two bags of rice if they¡¯re taken for investigation. That¡¯ll be a loss of one tael and six coins.¡± After saying this, he selected two bags of good rice for them to take back and check.

    It would take a while to investigate the results, so the judicial official said the trial would be continued tomorrow.

    Ji Man waved at the rice merchants that hade over to watch the show and said, ¡°Shopkeeper Liu, Shopkeeper Rong, don¡¯t leave yet.¡±

    Shopkeeper Liu turned around and said with a smile, ¡°Ji Store is facing trouble, but we have no way of helping out. Isn¡¯t it for the best if we leave first?¡±

    Shopkeeper Rong nodded and parroted, ¡°Proprietor Ji, you¡¯ll be busy handling your troubles.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a big deal.¡± Ji Man smiled and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen the two of you in a while. Since I have some free time today, how about we go to Luoyan Pagoda together? What do you think?¡±

    Liu Store and Rong Store had originally been the two biggest rice businesses, and they used to get along like fire and water. But then, Ji Store had appeared in between them. It hadn¡¯t been a big deal when they had chosen to support Ji Store in order to hinder each other. It was only after Ji Store had been the one chosen for supplying the tribute rice, and its business continued to flourish that these two sides became displeased, especially because Ji Man was the current head of the rice merchant association.

    When faced with a mutual enemy, the previous enemy became a friend.

    And so, Shopkeeper Liu and Shopkeeper Rong were united in their desire to see Ji Store¡¯s embarrassment. Ji Store¡¯s owner was merely a weak and gentle schr. Although he had a good character, he didn¡¯t have a threatening presence. Shopkeeper Liu and Shopkeeper Rong thought it over. What was the harm in epting the invitation and going over there for a meal?

 Chapter 379 - Grain War (2)

    Chapter 379 ¨C Grain War (2)

    Ji Man kowtowed and withdrew from the room in cold sweat. Yan Buba had already started to collect grain in the capital under the behalf of fictional rice businesses.

    While the imperial court was still in the nning process for collecting the grain, Ji Man¡¯s side had already started to take action. The cost of two and a half bushels of grain was around eight silver coins. Seemingly overnight, the entire supply of grain that was currently avable in the shops in the capital went into Ji Man¡¯s granaries. Calcting the amounts, this was as much grain as she could afford. In total, she had purchased 25,000 bushels of grain.

    However, after this sweeping purchase, the major rice business felt there was something strange going on. They didn¡¯t know why someone would buy such arge quality of rice. However, it was nevertheless good to see their rice being sold so quickly. Thus, they all restocked their stores with rice from their granaries, raised their prices, and continued selling.

    Themoners were unaware of what was going on. They only knew that when they woke up the next day, the cost of two and a half bushel of rice had risen up by a silver coin in all of the rice stores. After voicing theirints, they could only buy the rice at the higher cost to take home to eat.

    The cost of Ji Store¡¯s rice had also correspondingly increased. The proceeds for the sale of the tribute rice had been received. Using this profit along with this month¡¯s revenue, Yan Buba skillfully haggled with two major rice stores and was able to buy several thousand more bushels of rice at a lower cost. Ji Man even went to a bank and used the deeds for the granaries as coteral to borrow money up to the principal amounts. She continued with buying and selling more rice.

    Less than two dayster, the other rice merchants in the capital also started to stock up on their supply of rice. However, Ji Man had already emptied out most of their stock. Since Yan Buba had brought the rice on behalf of several different merchants, no one knew that it was really Ji Store that had collected the rice. They believed that the market price of rice was increasing because people were buying up the capital¡¯s rice to resell it somewhere else.

    As expected, an order soon came from the imperial court. Rice was to be collected from all of the nearby farming viges for a uniformed price of seven silver coins per two and half bushels.

    The farmers were very happy. Normally, they would only be able to sell their rice for five silver coins per two and a half bushels. Since the imperial court was willing to pay seven silver coins instead, why would they sell it to anyone else? And so, one after another, they sold their rice to the higher authorities.

    The merchants in the capital were bbergasted. If there wasn¡¯t any rice for them to buy, then how could they sell anything? Their inventory continued to dwindle as they sold their rice. The rice merchants watched as their estimated annual ie was shifted to an earlier time. They weren¡¯t sure if they should be happy or not.

    However, there was nowhere good to go for themoners. The cost of rice continued to increase in the rice stores. At the end, the price for two and a half bushels of rice actually went up to ten silver coins. Other than those rice shops, there wasn¡¯t anywhere else to buy rice. After adding in the cost of transportation fees, the cost of imported rice wasn¡¯t any cheaper.

    Ji Store didn¡¯t try anything special either. It simply matched the prices of the other rice shops, but since they had plenty in their inventory, there wouldn¡¯t be any shortages. As a result, its business continued to well. At the very end, when the other rice shops had to hang ups boards that said they were sold out, Ji Store still didn¡¯t run out of stock.

    ¡ª

    Let¡¯s rewind to several days after Ji Man¡¯s original meeting with Zhangjun Prince.

    Ji Man brought Yan Buba¡¯s written n with her when she went over and requested to see Zhangjun Prince.

    Seeing the drastic changes in the rice price during the past several days, Zhao Zhe had felt apprehensive. After he read Yan Buba¡¯s n and discussed the matter with Wu Yong for a while, he decided to lend Zhangjun¡¯s rice to Ji Man.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡ª

    Zhangjun was considered a major rice producing territory that was nearest to the capital and had also been monopolized by someone. The rice merchants didn¡¯t have anyone to turn to acquire more rice. In the end, they could only grit their teeth and collectivelye to Ji Store to buy rice.

    Ji Man was holding up a cup of tea and staying silent as she looked at the representatives from five major rice shops s well as some small-time rice merchants.

    ¡°Ji Store has such an extensive ess to a supply of rice, and we¡¯re all members of the Rice Merchant Association. As the head of the association, Owner Ji, you should consider everyone¡¯s needs.¡± Shopkeeper Liu stepped forward and said, ¡°Now that there¡¯s a shortage in rice, and the price of rice continues to increase, we¡¯re just asking for Owner Ji¡¯s help in importing some rice from Zhangjun for us to sell.¡±

    If one person is enjoying a piece of meat by herself, do you think she¡¯s going to let others snatch it away from her?

    Ji Man slightly smiled as she put down her cup. Surprisingly, she very good-naturedly said, ¡°It¡¯s not difficult to supply enough rice for everyone to be able to sell it too. This is something that this one should do.¡±

    Ji Man looked at them as she said, ¡°Ji Store currently has 25,000 bushels of rice and can sell it to everyone at nine silver coins per two and half bushels.¡±

    Everyone looked at each other. Based on the previous price, nine silver coins per two and half bushels wasn¡¯t cheap, but it definitely wasn¡¯t too high either. In the future, the price of rice might go above ten silver coins.

    Ji Man changed her voice and tune as she continued. ¡°However, there¡¯s no such thing as a free lunch. Since this one is willing to hand over this supply and let everyone profit, shouldn¡¯t this one bepensated with something?¡±

    He had known that the matter wouldn¡¯t be so simply resolved. Shopkeeper Rong furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Owner Ji, you¡¯re a straightforward person. How about just telling everyone your conditions?¡±

    Ji Man was smiling as she said, ¡°I¡¯ll speak frankly. Ji Store can supply everyone with rice, however all the rice stores need to hand over their contracts with their tenant farmers. What do you think?¡±

    This was audaciously profiting from other people¡¯s misfortunes! Shopkeeper Liu pped the table and stood up. ¡°You want to monopolize the capital¡¯s entire rice supply. Isn¡¯t your appetite too big?¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. She tapped the table with her fingers and calmly and leisurely said, ¡°This one merely wants to try a different way of selling rice. If you¡¯re willing to hand over your contracts with the tenant farmers, this one is willing to supply the rice at unit price of eight silver coins. It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to agree. Su Province is rich in rice, you can just import the rice from there by yourselves.¡±

 Chapter 381 - Competing to death (2)

    Chapter 381 ¨C Competing to death (2)

    Shopkeeper Rong couldn¡¯t continue to sit still. After considering the matter over, he took out banknotes and went to Ji Store.

    Smiling, Shopkeeper Rong asked, ¡°I want to buy 25,000 bushels of rice from you. Are you willing to sell it to me, Owner Ji?¡±

    Ji Man was slowly hanging up a signboard that said the unit price was now fourteen silver coins. Looking at him, she said, ¡°Shopkeeper Rong, are you buying this as a direct customer? The price won¡¯t be cheap then.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s alright!¡± Shopkeeper Rong clenched his jaw. Purchasing this rice would only bring him profit. He had already seen how the price of rice had rapidly increased day after day. Even themoners knew by now that they had to store up on rice. As a merchant, how could he not be aware of this importance?

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ji Man was smiling as she pped her hands. ¡°Shopkeeper Yan, lead the way for Shopkeeper Rong to pick up the goods.¡±

    Yan Buba had been fiddling with his abacus. A hint of a smile finally appeared on his face. ¡°Shopkeeper Rong, please follow me.¡±

    This time, the shopkeepers hade here separately. After Shopkeeper Rong hade over, Shopkeeper Liu was the next one to arrive. One after another, the remaining shopkeepers also came here. It seemed that the alliance between the other shopkeepers was very fragile.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t bother asking them if they would hand over their tenant farmer contracts in order to get the discounted price. Instead, she sold the rice to them at the higher market price.

    She had originally brought this rice from them at unit price of seven silver coins. Now, she was selling off that same rice at a unit price of fourteen silver coins along with the rice she had gotten from Zhangjun Prince

    When Yan Buba looked at the money, he was smiling so widely that his eyes were closed. A sign was finally hung outside Ji Store that they had sold out.

    The various rice stores now had rice of their own. Seeing that Ji Store had no rice of its own, the shopkeepers confidently raised their prices. The unit price of rice jumped straight to sixteen silver coins. Themonersined about their hardships, but they had no way to change the ways of the world. They only had the option of buying this rice.

    After a week of this, the capital was starting to be an abyss of suffering. Looking at the rice prices of the other stores, Ji Man smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s about time. Let¡¯s reopen the store.¡±

    Ji Store was restocked with rice. On the opening day, a sign was hung up that the rice would be sold at unit price of thirteen silver coins.

    Seeing the cheaper price, the other shopkeepers were dumbfounded. Was Ji Store nning onpeting to death with them?

    Fine, let¡¯spete then. Who¡¯s scared of who? No one believed that Ji Store had enough stock to continuepeting with them.

    However, even when the end of summer had arrived, Ji Store was still selling rice at the lower price. As autumn approached, not only did Ji Store not run of rice, it lowered its unit price to twelve silver coins.

    By now, a few rice shops were on the verge of bankruptcy. They had no other choice, they could only decrease their prices to match Ji Man¡¯s store. At the very least, they would be able to sell their rice again.

    ¡ª

    ¡°You¡¯re certainly doing very well.¡± Ning Yuxuan was sitting in Ji Man¡¯s room and looking at her thick ount book that was on the table. He pursed his lips and said, ¡°But your actions have been too big. A lot of people in the Ministry of Revenue have been questioning and discussing the reasons behind your actions.¡±

    Ji Man was wearing an expensive gold and silver robe that was frequently worn by merchants. She smiled gently and said, ¡°Marquis, aren¡¯t you protecting this one from above? So, why should this one be afraid?¡±

    The imperial court didn¡¯t control the price of rice, so naturally the merchants could sell the rice at any price or volume. If she didn¡¯t act deviously, would Ji Store havested for so long?

    The profits from the past several months had been almost horrifyingly high. Not only had she fully repaid the Zhangjun grain that she had brought on credit, she also had money to signed contracts with numerous tenant farmers. It was only be keeping herself busy that she wouldn¡¯t have the time to miss Haohao.

    She didn¡¯t know if that little fellow was doing well.

    ¡°Food is the foundation of a country. As long as you¡¯re within the emperor¡¯s reach, you should do your best to be less conspicuous.¡± Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips and said, ¡°If you end up provoking someone, and the matter of Ji Store is brought up to the emperor, I won¡¯t be able to save you.¡±

    This person woulde here twenty times every month. He would just sit there and watch her do bookkeeping. It seemed as if he was onlying here to see her. He usually stayed silent. asionally, he would seemingly carelessly mention a matter that only members of the imperial court should know about. At the beginning, Ji Man had been against his visits. Later on, after many visits and him telling her information that had been very useful to her, she learned to tolerate his presence.

    Right now, the various rice merchants were already at the end of their strength. Tomorrow, she would lower the unit price of rice to ten silver coins. With the other rice merchants being in the deficit, there was no way that they would be able to sign contracts with the tenant farmers next year.

    While Ji Man had a price monopoly here, she had made contact with rice merchants in other regions to ask about their grain prices. She didn¡¯t have much inventory left either. She would have to stock up on rice soon.

    ¡°Prince Huainan¡¯s heir is returning to the capital tomorrow. There¡¯s going to be a lot of people gathered to wee him back.¡± Ning Yuxuan lightly said, ¡°It¡¯ll be a gathering of people that you¡¯re familiar with. Do you want to go?¡±

    (T/N: Prince Huainan¡¯s heir, Zhao Kaifeng, was introduced in chapter 152. Ji Man had helped him and his wife, Luo Qianqian, from getting a divorce.)

    Ji Man was stunned. Prince Huainan¡¯s heir?

    That was someone that she hadn¡¯t seen in a long, long time. She was surprised to hear that he and Luo Qianqian, who dared to loved and hate, were finally returned to the capital.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll go.¡± Ji Man looked at the ount books on the table and said, ¡°Marquis, thank you for your invitation. Where is the gathering going to take ce?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯lle over tomorrow and pick you up.¡± Ning Yuxuan stood up and indifferently said, ¡°You just need to prepare yourself.¡±

    Recently, his attitude towards her hadn¡¯t been overly familiar or oppressive. He was neither too cold nor too warm. Ji Man actually liked this feeling, so she didn¡¯t refuse his offer of going to the gathering together.

    ¡ª

    Luo Qianqian and Zhao Kaifeng already had a son, and their rtionship seemed more harmonious than before. The people that hade to the gathering were all couples. Qian Yingchen and Zhu Yurun were also here. And so, when people saw that Ning Yuxuan had brought Ji Man along as his plus-one, the scene of two men together looked very discordant inparison.

 Chapter 383 - The fragrance of the flowers has already faded away in the mortal world (2)

    Chapter 383 ¨C The fragrance of the flowers has already faded away in the mortal world (2)

    With a miserable expression, Ji Man forced herself to get up. She had onlye along because she wanted to see how Luo Qianqian was doing. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t havee here and be putting herself through this torment. Hiking boots didn¡¯t exist in ancient time and wearing normal shoes to go hiking felt extremely ufortable.

    Ning Yuxuan shot several fleeting nces at Ji Man and continued walking slowly with her.

    At the front of the group, Sun Zhangyang turned his head to nce at the peoplegging behind. He smiled and said, ¡°Yuxuan, are you too tired to continue going up?¡±

    ¡°En, I¡¯m going to take it easy.¡± Ning Yuxuan waved his hand and said, ¡°You guys can continue walking ahead. I¡¯ll follow behind the group with Mister Ji.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Sun Zhangyang smiled and pulled Zhao Kaifeng along as he continued walking.

    Ji Man cast a nce at Ning Yuxuan and lightly said, ¡°Marquis, there¡¯s no need for you to concern yourself with this one. This one can walk by myself.¡±

    ¡°Yingchen recently said there¡¯s no need to pay attention to status.¡± Ning Yuxuan chuckled. Not looking at her, he asked, ¡°So shouldn¡¯t you be changing how you address me?¡±

    After a pause, Ji Man curled her lip and said, ¡°Yuxuan.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s eyes slightly brightened. He turned his head away to look at the trees in the distance. ¡°I feel a bit tired too. Let¡¯s just walk slowly.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ji Man didn¡¯t look at him either.

    There was arge space between them as they walked side by side. The mountain path was very rugged, and neither of them said anything as they walked.

    When they finally reached the temple at the top of the mountain, Ji Man suddenly felt a sense of happiness that came from heaving a sigh of relief as she looked at the setting sun. She turned her head to nce at the person next to her. Side by side, he was also quietly looking at the sunset.

    ¡°Do you feel a lot better now that you came out and walked around?¡± He asked.

    Ji Man smiled. ¡°I was already in a pretty good mood.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan looked at her in askance. It looked as if there was scorn in his eyes. He didn¡¯t bother say anything else and just turned around and led her into the temple.

    Marquis Moyu had once brought his family to this temple to pray for blessings, and it looked as if a lot of money had been donated to this temple. Although this temple was at the top of a mountain, it was still exquisitely decorated. There were a lot of worshippers inside the temple, and it seemed as if the temple was out of guest rooms.

    Ji Man was very worried until Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°I sent someone up here in advance. There¡¯ll be enough rooms for us. Everyone, let¡¯s rest for now. Once the rest of the group arrives, we divided the rooms up after eating.¡±

    A novice Buddhist monk led the group to the back of the temple. After the group had rested in the dining hall for a while, the rest of the group thatprised mostly of women had also arrived. This group of nobles appeared quite happy as they ate a simple meal of tofu and leafy vegetables.

    There were only five rooms left, and there happened to bedding for two people in each room. Ji Man looked at the room in front of her then she looked at Ning Yuxuan, who was next her. She faked smiled and asked, ¡°Yuxuan, didn¡¯t you say there would be enough rooms?¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t have the slightest hint of shame on his face. He seriously said, ¡°There¡¯ll naturally be enough rooms if each room is shared by two people. There¡¯s no need for us to treat each other like outsiders.¡±

    On the side, Luo Qianqian cast a strange look at these two. She looked at Ji Man, then she said to Ning Yuxuan in low voice, ¡°Qianqian heard that your household went through a tough period, and that Madam Ning has passed away during that time. Qianqian can empathize with your feelings. After all, Madam Ning was a very good person. But, she¡¯s already gone now. You shouldn¡¯t take her death so hard and act like this...¡±

    There¡¯s no need for you to get mixed up with another man, ah. If Madam Ning could see what was happening from the underworld, who knows how upset she would be feeling?

    With a lowered smile, Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°Thank you for your concern, Mister Ji is an honest sleeper and wouldn¡¯t press me down. It¡¯ll be fine. As for other issues, there¡¯s no need to worry about them.¡±

    Luo Qianqian gasped. This Marquis Moyu wasn¡¯t even making an attempt at concealment. He was obviously nning on favoring a man. No wonder she had heard that the owner of Ji Rice Store was very tricky. As it turned out, he had Marquis Moyu supporting him from behind the scenes.

    Remembering Madam Ning, Luo Qianqian felt a bit dejected. She had really admired that woman¡¯s intelligence and magnanimous personality. If it wasn¡¯t for her, she and Kaifeng¡¯s rtionship wouldn¡¯t have progressed to their current point. This temple had Madam Ning¡¯s memorial table, so she was nning on going over there to pay her respectster.

    @@novelbin@@

    After looking at Ji Man with a grieving look, Luo Qianqian turned around and left.

    The corners of Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. She followed Ning Yuxuan into the room and saw that there was only one bed. Five women hade along on this trip, but she was the only one that was cross-dressing, so she couldn¡¯t share a room with anyone else. Since this was a very popr temple, there weren¡¯t any extra vacant rooms left.

    If Ning Yuxuan hadn¡¯t done this deliberately, she would write her name backwards!

    However, when she nced at him to check his expression, he didn¡¯t seem to be paying special attention to anything.

    After changing into a pair of lightweight shoes, he looked at her and asked, ¡°Do you want to go look at your memorial tablet?¡±

    Ji Man furrowed her brow. In order to fool other people, he had put a memorial tablet for Nie Sangyu. But, Nie Sangyu¡¯s spirit was still in her body. If she got too closed to the memorial table, would a mishap ur? It¡¯s not like there was a fraudulent sorcerer around to help her out.

    ¡°No, this one will just take a stroll around the temple.¡± Ji Man felt stifled by being in the same room as him. She turned around and walked out of the room.

    It was bit chilly on the mountain. As the cold night wind blew by, Ji Man actually discovered a grove of flowering peach trees.

    It was already autumn at the bottom of the mountain, so it was surprising to see peach blossoms in the mountain. Just as Ji Man was sighing with emotion over this, she heard a monk¡¯s voice saying, ¡°Madam if you¡¯re seeking a happy marriage, there¡¯s still five unimed trees here. You can carve your beloved¡¯s name onto one of them. If the tree is well, your marriage will naturally be well too.¡±

    (T/N: The title of this chapter is from the first line of Peach Blossoms of Dalin Temple by Bai Juyi. The poet wasmenting that spring is over, but then he sees that spring has merely moved to the temple. )

 Chapter 386 - Each mountain is higher than the previous one (1)

    Chapter 386 ¨C Each mountain is higher than the previous one (1)

    Everyone was slightly surprised. They could get over Marquis Moyu bringing a rice shop owner to their group outing. After all, that person had received the great monk¡¯s praise, and he wrote pretty good poems too. But, they had already left the mountain. Why would he ask them to go to a rice shop to eat when there were perfectly good restaurants around?

    What was there to eat at a rice shop? Rice?

    Ji Man also found Ning Yuxuan¡¯s suggestion a bit unexpected. These people were either members of the imperial family or important court officials. Why would he suggest taking them to a rice shop to eat?

    In the midst of the following silence, Qian Yingchen was the one that broke it by saying, ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Ji Store was the one that sold the tribute rice this year. We should go over there to see what that rice tastes like.¡±

    Eh? Many officials¡¯ households purchased Ji Store¡¯s rice. Why wouldn¡¯t they have already had the chance to try the tribute rice? Everyone knew that Qian Yingchen was only saying these words to help. Still, since Marquis Moyu had already spoken, the group didn¡¯t have a reason to refuse.

    And so, the group boarded three carriages and headed over to Ji Store.

    ¡ª

    During the past two days that Ji Man had spent on the mountain, a problem had arisen in the rice store. There would naturally be repercussions to Ji Man gouging out money from the hands of sly old foxes. Shopkeeper Liu and Shopkeeper Rong could be considered to have shed all pretenses of cordiality with Ji Man. When the unit price of rice had fallen to ten silver coins, they had filed a formalint with the government. They said that Ji Store was maliciously lowering the price of rice. By causing the rice price in the capital to be unstable, it had caused a few major rice shops to go bankrupt.

    Normally, this would be beyond the scope of this dynasty¡¯sws. However, this time, Shopkeeper Liu and Shopkeeper Rong had amassed arge sum of money by selling off a few of their family properties to use for bribery. After this money had been passed through many hands, they were able to meet with the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Justice. They did their best to draw them to their side through bribery. Ji Store had to fall to ruin in order for them to make up their losses.

    And so, the government epted this case. During the time that Ji Man wasn¡¯t around, Yan Buba had been taken to a government office and interrogated. A constable had remained in Ji Store to catch Ji Man when he returned.

    Although Shopkeeper Liu felt quite distressed about giving up so much money, sacrifices had to be made in order to obtain his goal. Since Ji Store had Assistant Minister Zhu supporting it, he could only bribe that greedy and insatiable Minister of Revenue. Although the cost he had to pay felt quite painful, everything would be worth it once Ji Store copsed!

    Shopkeeper Liu had already checked. Assistant Minister Zhu was currently busy with other matters. After Zhu Shuyou had receiving his superior¡¯s order, he no longer had the intention of protecting Ji Store. No matter what happened next, Ji Store was doomed.

    ¡ª

    Inside the carriage, Ji Man sneezed and received Ning Yuxuan¡¯s nce. ¡°I already told you to sleep on the bed, but you insisted on being stubborn.¡±

    ¡°How could the humble me have the right to share a bed with the marquis?¡± As she sniffled, Ji Man looked at the other important people in the carriage. She silently grumbled. Where could she get food that would satisfy this group of people?

    After figuring it out, she sent a person to the rice shop ahead of the group to tell Yan Buba to order takeout from Luoyan Pagoda. Ji Man had no hope that this group of nobles would be interested in her simple home cooking after they had eaten vegetarian meals for the past two days. Naturally, the more meat there was, the better.

    Holding his reward money, the passerby ran to the rice shop. But, when he got there, a constable stopped him.

    ¡ª

    When Shopkeeper Liu and Shopkeeper Rong heard that Owner Ji wasing back, they left their dinners behind and hurriedly rushed to Ji Store to watch the good show.

    Thinking of how Ji Man had so easily taken away the money they had earned through blood and sweat and taken many years to save up, both shopkeepers practically had their teeth set on edge. They wanted nothing more than to see Ji Man being dragged away and locked away in the imperial prison.

    The constable that was stationed at the store had also been notified. He would immediately arrest as Ji Man as soon as he caught sight of him.

    ¡ª

    The three carriages slowly reached Ji Rice Store. Right after Ji Man disembarked from the carriage, she was seized and restrained by the constable before she even knew what was going on.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Ji Man furrowed her brow.

    The constable asked, ¡°Are you the owner of Ji Rice Store?¡±

    The shopkeepers that hade to watch the show hurriedly cried out, ¡°It¡¯s him! It¡¯s him! He¡¯s Ji Man!¡±

    The constable nodded. Just as he was about to bring the detained person away, people started toe out of the carriage. When the first person that came down from the carriage saw the scene, he didn¡¯t bother saying a single word and went straight to kicking away the constable that had Ji Man restrained.

    The person that hade out of the carriage was wearing a simple robe, but he had a very attractive face. He had such a mild, gentlemanly appearance; no one would have thought that he was the one that had just violently kicked someone.

    Ning Yuxuan stretched his hand out and pulled Ji Man over. He swept his nce over the constable and asked, ¡°Which government office are you from?¡±

    ¡°This one is following Jing Zhaoyin¡¯s order to arrest Ji Store¡¯s owner, Ji Man.¡± The constable looked at the person in front of him for a few moments. He didn¡¯t recognize this person and only thought that he had an out of ordinary presence. He guessed that this person was probably just the son of an official.

    ¡°Oh? And, why are you arresting him?¡± As Ning Yuxuan asked this question, he had the carriage driver hold up the carriage¡¯s front curtain. One after another, the curious people, who had been behind him, disembarked from the carriage. They hadn¡¯t even eaten yet, and this constable was going to arrest Ji Man?

    Suddenly faced with arge group of men and women that were dressed out of the ordinary, the constable felt slightly panicky. He retreated a step and said, ¡°This is an order from above. This one isn¡¯t sure either.¡±

    ¡°Above?¡± Xiao Tianyi raised his eyebrows. He nced at Ning Yuxuan before asking, ¡°Which official is it?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    On the side, Shopkeeper Liu and Shopkeeper Rong felt there was something off about these people¡¯s attitudes. It couldn¡¯t be that Ji Man had gone off somewhere and met more important officials, right? However, after looking at the group and only recognizing a few of the people, they decided that this group of people couldn¡¯t possibly be that important. After all, they had even met someone as high-ranking as the Minister of Revenue before.

 Chapter 389 - Having supporters (2)

    Chapter 389 ¨C Having supporters (2)

    The group was happily chatting away in Luoyan Pagoda. Sir Li was probably feeling embarrassed over today¡¯s matter, but the awkwardness wouldn¡¯t disappear while the group drank only tea and remained cleared-headed. Thus, as more tea was drunk, it was eventually reced with wine.

    Drunkenness can get rid of all sorts of troubles. The group of people on the seventh floor of Luoyan Pagoda let loose and let poetry skills dictate who was superior. The loser of each round had to drink. Naturally, nothing would happen to Ji Man and Luo Qianqian. Ning Yuxuan wouldn¡¯t lose either. Zhu Yurun that pitiful chubby girl was doomed. Ji Man tried to help her by slipping her notes, but Qian Yingchen confiscated the paper. As soon as he saw what was written on the paper, he ripped the paper up and even harshly red at Ji Man. A human married couple wasn¡¯t like a pair of phoenixes that could fly together with their colorful wings, but shouldn¡¯t husbands and wives have a close, inseparable union anyways?

    The young, chubby woman helplessly wrung her hands, so Qian Yingchen helped her write a few verses. But, in the end, they couldn¡¯t win against Luo Qianqian. After drinking a few cups of wine for losing, Zhu Yurun leaned against Qian Yingchen¡¯s chest and didn¡¯t move.

    By the end of the gathering, no one cared about poems and were simply randomly toasting. Sir Li had drunk too much. Holding up a wine cup, he looked at Ji Man and said, ¡°Work hard. You¡¯ll have a great future!¡±

    ¡°May your good wishese true.¡± Ji Man didn¡¯t refuse his toast. She took a few sips. It wasn¡¯t bad. There was a slight burning sensation as the wine went down.

    Xiao Tianyi and Ning Yuxuan were also drinking wine with each other. Xiao Tianyi chuckled and said, ¡°Who could have expected that the marquis would have this type of taste?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan lightly snorted. He clinked his wine cup with Xiao Tianyi¡¯s and drank the contents of his cup in one gulp.

    Seeing that most people had drunk a lot and since she was the host, Ji Man asked Luoyan Pagoda¡¯s shopkeeper to arrange for carriages to bring everyone back to their respective homes. This gathering had cost Ji Man two hundred silver taels, but she wasn¡¯t upset about it. Shopkeeper Liu and Shopkeeper Rong had a dug out a path for her to the minister of revenue, so she would naturally use it. After today, it was very likely that no one else would dare to mess with Ji Store again.

    Although she hadn¡¯t wanted to rely on a man for her livelihood, it seemed that she still hadn¡¯t been able to escape the social system in ancient times. Wasn¡¯t she depending on Ning Yuxuan to protect her?

    @@novelbin@@

    After belching once from the wine, Ji Man smiled. There wasn¡¯t anything wrong with that. Another person meant that there was another path avable, and Ning Yuxuan was the most stable and steady path. Walking on this path, she wouldn¡¯t fall...

    Marquis Moyu stretched his hand out and caught hold of this tottering person.

    After they had boarded thest carriage, he lightly ordered the carriage driver, ¡°Marquis Moyu¡¯s estate.¡±

    Although he had drunk a lot too, Ning Yuxuan wasn¡¯t drunk at all. He continued to hold her in his arms and even tolerated her using his clothes to wipe her nose.

    ¡°I miss my mom...¡± Ji Man murmured, ¡°I said I would go back on New Year and buy her a foot warmer. How many New Years have passed...¡±

    Ning Yuxuan slightly furrowed his brow and hugged her a bit tighter.

    Ji Man felt ufortable and pushed him away. She opened her eyes halfway and looked at him for a long time before saying, ¡°Strange, why do I feel so uneasy that you¡¯re treating me so well? I keep thinking that you¡¯re using me for something. You¡¯re too clever. It¡¯s hard to believe in smart people.¡±

    Marquis Moyu was stunned for a moment before he chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re really clever too.¡±

    ¡°En, two clever people can¡¯t be happy together.¡± Ji Man leaned against the carriage and tilted her head as she looked at him and said, ¡°Look at Zhu Yurun and Qian Yingchen¡¯s rtionship. One is clever, and the other one is unbelievably stupid, so they have an easy time together.¡±

    Her voice was fuzzy, but her words were very clear. Ning Yuxuan sighed and brought her over to hold in his arms once again. He couldn¡¯t tell if she was truly drunk or just pretending to be dunk. When the carriage arrived at the destination, he carried her into his estate.

    Ning Yuxuan was carrying Ji Man, who was dressed as a man, to the western courtyard with her face tucked against his chest. On the way there, they passed by servants, who saw the sight of the marquis carrying a man underneath the moonlight and were shocked.

    With his robes lightly fluttering, he strode into his room.

    At this time, Marquis Moyu¡¯s status of a gay man was confirmed. Later on, someone tried to bribe Marquis Moyu by sending him five beautiful men with alluring bodies. Of course, this was something that happened muchter on.

    ¡ª

    When Ji Man woke up, she saw that she was in a somewhat familiar room. Ning Yuxuan was already gone, but Guibai was standing outside by the doors. He sent a servant girl into the room to attend to Ji Man when he heard noiseing from the inside.

    ¡°The marquis gave us orders. He said that you were a bit drunk and that you can rest here until you feel better. A carriage will you bring you back to your home when you want to leave,¡± the servant girl obediently said, ¡°The kitchen servants are preparing breakfast. It¡¯ll be ready for you in just a bit.¡±

    Ji Man just nkly nodded.

    However, reality proved that staying in Marquis Moyu¡¯s estate for too long was an unwise decision. While she waited for breakfast and did some stretching in the courtyard, Liu Hanyun came over.

    Seeing her face, Liu Hanyun let out a long breath and said, ¡°So it¡¯s you.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Ji Man stopped stretching and returned to a normal position.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Liu Hanyun wiped her cold sweat. She had though that the marquis had brought back a different man. That would be very difficult to deal with. ¡°Were you drunkst night?¡±

    ¡°En.¡± ¡±Ji Man nodded. Since they happened to meet, they might as well eat breakfast together.

    ¡°I happened to have something that I wanted to discuss with you.¡± Something flickered through Liu Hanyun¡¯s eyes. She looked in a different direction as she said, ¡°A long time has passed since that incident, and I had people secretly watch Wen Wan during this time. She really has amnesia and doesn¡¯t remember anything.¡±

    Slightly stunned, Ji Man pursued her lips and asked, ¡°So...?¡±

 Chapter 392 - Going to the palace? (1)

    <h4>Chapter 392 ¨C Going to the pce? (1)</h4>

    Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow. He let go of the curtain and said in sunken voice, ¡°Prime Minister, you think too highly of him. He¡¯s just amoner. If you want General Ning to enter the pce, there¡¯s naturally other ways.¡±

    ¡°Aiya, you¡¯re so overprotective of that person.¡± Xiao Tianyi chuckled. ¡°Even I¡¯m feeling jealous from how protective you¡¯re being. Aren¡¯t I just asking to borrow him to use for a bit? Ning Mingjie isn¡¯t the type of person to easily fall for tricks. I¡¯ve been inquiring for a long time, but I still haven¡¯t found anyone that he¡¯s particrly close with. Now that I happened to see he¡¯s has some affection for your Mister Ji, why are you being so stingy?¡±

    ¡°I have other ways, so why are you being carried away by an impulse to have him do your work?¡± Ning Yuxuan lowered his eyes and said, ¡°What kind of affection could he possibly have with Ning Mingjie? They¡¯ve only met once before because of me. Today is probably just a chance encounter while they¡¯re both out shopping. I already have a better person to use than him.¡±

    Xiao Tianyi raised his eyebrows. ¡°Really? I was only joking. You don¡¯t need to take it so seriously. Still, I never expected that the Marquis Moyu, who has the world¡¯s women falling at his feet, would end up falling in love with a man.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan snorted. ¡°It¡¯s just your imagination. He¡¯s only a person that I¡¯m casually favoring.

    Standing inside the store, Ji Man suddenly sneezed.

    Next to her, Ning Mingjie turned to look. He quietly asked, ¡°Did you catch a cold from not sleeping wellst night?¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, General.¡± Ji Man sniffled. ¡± It¡¯s probably because someone didn¡¯t properly cover me with a quiltst night. This one stayed the night in Marquis Moyu¡¯s estate yesterday.¡±

    Ning Mingjie furrowed his brow. ¡°You still frequently go to the marquis¡¯s estate?¡±

    ¡°No,st night was an exception. This one identally drank too much.¡± Ji Man nced at him and chuckled. ¡°General, could it be that you haven¡¯t visited marquis¡¯s estate in a long time? Mistress Wen had tried to hang herself, but her attempt was unsessful. What an unexpected event. Who knows if she still remembers you, general?¡±

    Stunned, Ning Mingjie shook his head and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t gone over there in the past few months. It¡¯s very possible there might be a war, so I¡¯ve been busy. I haven¡¯t even had time to pay a visit to Yuxuan.

    A war? Ji Man¡¯s ears immediately perked up when she heard these words. ¡°Is there going to be a battle soon?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Ning Mingjie looked away and changed the topic. ¡°I should take the time to pay a visit to my cousin¡¯s estate tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± If he wasn¡¯t willing to say anything, Ji Man wouldn¡¯t continue to ask. After all, it was an important military issue.

    Once the engraving for the jade was done, and it was put into a fine box, Ji Man took her purchase and said, ¡°This one will be leaving first.¡±

    Ning Mingjie nodded.

    Changshan, who had been browsing for gifts for the past hour on the side, sighed in relief. Finally, that was over.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man had originally been thinking of delivering the gift herself, but after thinking it over, she decided that it would better to go back and have Yan Buba find someone to deliver it for her. The gift was only intended as a bribe. There was no reason for her to be so meticulously by delivering it herself.

    ¡ª

    Once Ning Yuxuan and Xiao Tianyi finished discussing their n, Ning Yuxuan returned home.

    Liu Hanyun apprehensively came over to his courtyard and said, ¡°My lord, this servant feels that there aren¡¯t enough people to serve you in the inner court. How about lifting the ban on Qiangwei Courtyard? Mister Ji even went to see Wan-er in Qiangwei Courtyard this morning. Wan-er really doesn¡¯t remember anything. This servant thinks that it would be good if there¡¯s more people to serve the marquis.¡±

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t remember anything?¡± Ning Yuxuan chuckled. ¡°How novel.¡±

    After saying this, he stood up and went to Qiangwei Courtyard.

    Wen Wan was currently embroidering a handkerchief. Her embroidery skill wasn¡¯t good, and her stitches were crooked. She was gritting her teeth and bristling with anger as she tried again. She looked like a child that was about throw a tantrum.

    As soon Ning Yuxuan stepped through the entrance, Wen Wan¡¯s eyes brightened. Looking like bashful young girl, she obediently stood up and saluted. ¡°My lord.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re embroidering?¡± Ning Yuxuan walked over and sat down.

    Wen Wan hurriedly hid the handkerchief and replied, ¡°It doesn¡¯t look good. There¡¯s not much I can do here, so I was just ying around.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Ning Yuxuan stretched his hand and pulled her over.

    After gasping, she obediently leaned on him with a bright red face.

    ¡°You don¡¯t remember anything, but you can embroidered a handkerchief. How interesting.¡± Ning Yuxuan¡¯s expression was very gentle. He quietly said, ¡°Madam recently said that she wanted you to resume serving me. Are you willing?¡±

    Feeling somewhat happy, Wen Wan shyly asked, ¡°Really...?¡±

    She had lost her memory, but she was still so deeply in love with him. How touching. Ning Yuxuan¡¯s eyes were like deep pools that didn¡¯t miss capturing any emotion that flicked over her face. ¡°Really.¡±

    Clutching her handkerchief, Wen Wan said, ¡°This servant fell in love with my lord at first sight. Although this servant can¡¯t remember anything from the past, this servant is a hundred percent willing to serve my lord.¡±

    ¡°En, that¡¯s good then.¡± Ning Yuxuan smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to the pce to see my son the day after tomorrow. You used to really like him in the past too. Would you want toe along with me to see him?¡±

    Wen Wan was a bit stunned.

    ¡°Well?¡± Ning Yuxuan continued to smile. ¡°You don¡¯t want to? Is it because you don¡¯t remember him, so you don¡¯t want toe along to see him?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°No...¡± Wen Wan lowered her eyes and pursed her lips. ¡°This servant hasn¡¯t gone to the pce before. My lord, you¡¯re suddenly mentioning this out of the blue, so this servant feels a bit nervous. It would better if...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Nothing will happen.¡± Ning Yuxuan let her go, stood up, and said, ¡°You¡¯ll have a whole day to prepare yourself. When I go to the pce the day after tomorrow, I¡¯ll send Guibai over toe get you.¡±

    ¡°Okay...¡± Wen Wan lowered her head and saluted.

 Chapter 394 - A pleasant surprise (1)

    @@novelbin@@<h4>Chapter 394 ¨C A pleasant surprise (1)</h4>

    Ning Mingjie had brought up the request without thinking because it wouldn¡¯t be too inconvenient. Since Yuxuan wasn¡¯t willing to deliver the gift, he would just order a servant to do so instead. But, Yuxuan¡¯s mood seemed kind of strange today. One moment he was gloomy, and the next moment he was fine.

    The topic was changed to something else, and Ning Yuxuan invited his cousin to stay for lunch. Ning Mingjie agreed.

    ¡ª

    On the other side, Wen Wan continued to be apprehensive. Coupled with her innocent appearance, she looked very pitiful. Kneading her handkerchief, she quietly asked Tanxiang, ¡°What do you think will happen if I go to the pce?¡±

    Tanxiang closed the doors and thought for a long time before answering, ¡°This servant thinks that perhaps the marquis is suspicious of you and wants to take you to the pce to test you. But, there isn¡¯t any big event happening in the pce tomorrow. There¡¯s only Kangyuan Junzhu¡¯s birthday.¡±

    Kangyuan Junzhu was being mentioned again.

    Wen Wan lowered her gaze. Her eyes were dark and unclear. A whileter, she finally said, ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡ª

    After lunch was finished, Ning Yuxuan went with Ning Mingjie to the Ministry of War. On the way there, he behaved like a kind-hearted younger brother that was concerned about his older brother¡¯s marital rtionship. ¡°Kangyuan Junzhu is the emperor¡¯s most beloved cousin. Her marriage to you symbolized how much the emperor values you. How could you overlook her birthday because of a trifle work matter? She¡¯s probably only going to the pce on her birthday because she¡¯s angry with you.¡±

    Hearing these words, Ning Mingjie pursed his lips. ¡°You want me to go to the pce to apany her?¡±

    ¡°Not just that, I want you to bring Kangyuan Junzhu back to your estate and for the two of you to work on your rtionship,¡± Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°She¡¯s your wife. You should take good care of her. I once had a person like that, but I didn¡¯t treasure her, and now it¡¯s toote for regrets.¡±

    Ning Mingjie nced at him. ¡°You also know?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ning Yuxuan chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s the reason why I¡¯m advising you to cherish the person in front of you.¡±

    Ning Mingjie slightly furrowed his brow. He had been married to Kangyuan for a while now. They each minded their own businesses. Other than their quarrel when she had sent Ji Man away while they were in Jing Province, the two of them rarely interacted with each other.

    He understood the emperor¡¯s intentions in bestowing this marriage. Zhao Li had wanted help in stabilizing his reign, and he had done so. Now that the country was in a stable state, he didn¡¯t have any other ideas. Zhao Li had given him an opportunity to aplish amendable deed, so he naturally had to repay him by being loyal to him for a lifetime.

    As for Kangyuan, now that he thought about it, it was true that he could have treated her better.

    ¡°Alright, if you can make the arrangements for the Ministry of War, I won¡¯t let Kangyuan enter the pce tomorrow,¡± said Ning Mingjie.

    ¡°The emperor has already prepared a banquet in the pce. How can you tell the junzhu to not go to the pce now?¡± Ning Yuxuan looked at him in askance. Shaking his head, he said, ¡°Have you lost some intelligence from fighting those battles? You shoulde to the pce after the banquet is over and personally escort the junzhu home. Wouldn¡¯t that be a pleasant surprise for her?¡±

    ¡°A pleasant surprise...¡± Ning Mingjie thought it over. He had randomly bought her birthday present and didn¡¯t know if she would like it. He sighed and said, ¡°Fine. Aren¡¯t you going to the pce to see your heir tomorrow? Once the banquet is over, send someone over to the west entrance to tell me.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Ning Yuxuan was smiling as he nodded. He swept his gaze over the piece of jade that was dangling from his cousin¡¯s waist before looking away again.

    ¡ª

    The next day, Ning Yuxuan brought Wen Wan along with him to the pce in the afternoon.

    Following his order, Wen Wan had dressed herself up as a page boy. She was leaning close to him as she said, ¡°My lord, this servant is really scared of making a mistake.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay. You don¡¯t need to do much.¡± Ning Yuxuan smiled and said, ¡°Once we¡¯re done seeing my heir, you just need to go to the west entrance and call Mingjie over.¡±

    Surprised, Wen Wan lowered her head and made a sound of assent.

    Ning Yuxuan looked at her in amusement. ¡°You remember Mingjie?¡±

    If someone introduced Ning Mingjie to her, they would only say he was Young Master or an important general. They definitely wouldn¡¯t address Ning Mingjie by his first name.

    Startled, Wen Wan slightly clenched her hand. When she raised her head and looked at him, she looked a bit lost. ¡°This servant doesn¡¯t know.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t scold her. He only gently tucked her hair behind her ear and said, ¡°Mingjie is my cousin. You met him yesterday. I¡¯ll point out where the west entrance ister.¡±

    ¡°.... Okay.¡± Wen Wan lowered her head and leaned against him. Her face was pale, and she didn¡¯t say another word.

    Marquis Moyu was in a pretty good mood today. After entering the pce, they went over to the empress dowager¡¯s pce to pay respects and went over the empress¡¯s pce to do the same thing afterwards.

    Kangyuan Junzhu had said she wasing to the pce to visit the emperor and the empress. However, the empress was ying with Haohao by herself, and the emperor was nowhere to be seen. When Ning Yuxuan sent someone to inquire about the emperor¡¯s whereabouts, he was informed that the emperor was meeting Kangyuan Junzhu in Zichen Hall.

    As they took a stroll around the imperial garden, Wen Wan praised Haohao for being very cute.

    When they were about to leave, Haohao was clinging to Ning Yuxuan and wouldn¡¯t let go. His eyes were red from crying. ¡°Dad, you just came here. When are you going toe again?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan felt like someone was squeezing his heart. He hugged Haohao and sighed. ¡°Dad wille get Haohao very soon.¡±

    ¡°Really? If you lie, then you¡¯re a small dog.¡± Haohao pouted. He looked like he was about to cry again. Although the empress was very nice and kind, he really wanted to go home. He hadn¡¯t seen his teacher in a long time too.

    ¡°En, I wouldn¡¯t lie to you.¡± Ning Yuxuan rubbed his little head.

    ¡°Why did you bring this person here instead of teacher?¡± Haohao nced at Wen Wan before burrowing himself into Ning Yuxuan¡¯s arms and said, ¡°I miss teacher.¡±

    Trantor Rambling: I was initially thinking that Ning Yuxuan is trying to get Ning Mingjie to improve his rtionship with his Kangyuan Junzhu out of jealousy. But, we know from a few chapters ago that Ning Yuxuan and Xiao Tianyi had been plotting together to get Ning Mingjie to go to the pce before Ning Yuxuan saw Ji Man and Ning Mingjie in the jade store together.

 Chapter 396 - Oh so high Wangyue Building (1)

    Chapter 396 ¨C Oh so high Wangyue Building (1)

    Zhao Li had remained sitting in Zichen Hall. He summoned the eunuch inside and asked, ¡°What happened outside?¡±

    Trembling with fear, the eunuch knelt down and said, ¡°The general came here without notice. Kangyuan Junzhu had already left with him.¡±

    Zhao Li swept the wine cup off the table and very angrily asked, ¡°Why did no onee here to report that he had entered the pce?

    ¡°The general seemed to have onlye to the pce to pick up Kangyuan Junzhu and hadn¡¯t requested an audience with Your Majesty.¡± The eunuch¡¯s legs were wobbling in fear.

    Zhao Li felt a headache. Rubbing his temples, he said, ¡°Kangyuan Junzhu drank too much and was just joking around. If anyone dares to tell the empress this matter, they¡¯ll have their heads chopped off!¡±

    The eunuch made a sound of assent and was trembling as he withdrew.

    Kangyuan chased after Ning Mingjie, but men could walk faster than women. It didn¡¯t take long for Wen Wan and Kangyuan to fall behind.

    ¡°Who brought the general over?¡± Kangyuan¡¯s gaze was like an arrow that wanted to pierce through Wen Wan.

    With an innocent expression, Wen Wan lowered her head and quietly said, ¡°Wan-er was only following the marquis¡¯s order...¡±

    ¡°The marquis¡¯s order?¡± Kangyuan Junzhu stopped walking. Her eyebrows were twisted as she pulled Wen Wan to a deserted spot by the pce wall. ¡°What kind of joke is that? He gave you an order, so you brought the general there and put me into that predicament? Wen Wan, don¡¯t forget, that man had locked you up. If it wasn¡¯t for me, you would still be trapped there!¡±

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    Wen Wan pursed her lips. With a lowered her head, she said, ¡°Wan-er didn¡¯t do it deliberately. Most likely, the marquis had deliberately nned to expose the junzhu¡¯s...¡±

    Kangyuan Junzhu was her benefactor. Once the first princess consort had found out that she had been put into confinement, there was no more news from her. She had probably given up on her. In contrast, it was Kangyuan Junzhu that gave her the idea of pretending to have amnesia. Marquis Moyu had locked her up because he wanted to cover up Nie Sangyu¡¯s new identity. So, as long as she did a good job with pretending to lose her memories and figuring out a way to get Liu Hanyun to help her, she would be able to turn around her fortune.

    In order to not make a mistake, Wen Wan practiced in front of a mirror for a month. She didn¡¯t want to be alone for a lifetime. Ning Yuxuan had turned his back on her, and Nie Sangyu had cheated her and taken unfair advantage of her. She had to find an opportunity and pay them back for every wrong done to her. No matter how much resentment and pain she felt, she would repress all of it. No one could see any ws in her eyes that would expose her. People really did need to be pushed to a dire state before their strength could burst forth.

    Nie Sangyu¡¯s new identity was herst trump card, so she hadn¡¯t told anyone. She was waiting for a suitable opportunity, so that Nie Sangyu would die a miserable death. Ending her confinement in Qiangwei Courtyard was only her first step.

    However, she hadn¡¯t expected that Ning Yuxuan would take her to the pce right after letting her out and cause Kangyuan Junzhu to misunderstand her like this.

    Wen Wan gritted her teeth and did her best to exin, ¡°Junzhu, Wan-er definitely didn¡¯t have any intention of harming you.¡±

    Kangyuan Junzhu was still in the heat of the moment. While tidying her clothes and hair essories, she said in a weepy tone, ¡°What should I do? The general definitely won¡¯t forgive me.¡±

    Her heart was devoted to Zhao Li, but she was Ning Mingjie¡¯s wife. If General Ning wanted to pursue today¡¯s matter, she wouldn¡¯t be able to turn things around even if she was a junzhu.

    Wen Wan thought it over and said, ¡°Junzhu, why don¡¯t you go plead with His Majesty? Only His Majesty can save you.¡±

    No matter how smart a woman was, she would lose her head when faced with this type of situation. Kangyuan had been helping Zhao Li for a long time and was capable of a few small tricks. But, she didn¡¯t have a clear understanding of the political situation in the imperial court. Thus, she actually thought that Wen Wan¡¯s lousy suggestion was a decent idea.

    And so, Kangyuan Junzhu didn¡¯t leave the pce. Instead, she went back to talk to the emperor and missed the best timing to exin herself to Ning Mingjie.

    ¡ª

    Ning Mingjie left the pce. His eyes were red with anger. He hadn¡¯t thought that the emperor would do such a thing. Back when he had first gone to the second prince¡¯s side, Zhao Li was only an unfavored prince. On the surface, he had used the opportunity that Ning Yuxuan had given him to join the third prince¡¯s faction, but he had always been secretly helping Zhao Li¡£

    One of his several childhood lessons was the importance of loyalty. Once you gave your loyalty to someone, you should never betray that person. He had vowed allegiance to Zhao Li and helped him seize the country. But in the end, he had been betrayed by the person that he had sworn allegiance too.

    Truly, too ridiculous.

    ¡°Mingjie.¡± Ning Yuxuan seemed to pop out of nowhere and was smiling as he looked at him. ¡°Has it ended? Where¡¯s Kangyuan Junzhu?¡±

    Ning Mingjie stopped walking. His voice was slightly hoarse as he said, ¡°Have you finished seeing your heir? How about going drinking with me?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Ning Yuxuan was smiling as he agreed. They boarded the same carriage and went to a bar.

    ¡ª

    When Kangyuan Junzhu returned to Zichen Hall, the empress had arrived some time before her and was sitting across from Zhao Li.

    Pengyue saw her panicking expression but stayed silent.

    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Kangyuan knew that this empress had a good temperament. The empress seemed to have been sick for a while previously. After the empress¡¯s illness had past, she was no longer as close to the emperor. Kangyuan thought; why not take the opportunity to exin everything to her? Perhaps, the empress would be soft-hearted and help her?

    Pengyue turned her head and lightly nced at her. ¡°Yu-er, you haven¡¯t left the pce, yet?¡±

    ¡°Yu-er has something to report.¡± Kangyuan mustered up her courage and didn¡¯t notice Zhao Li¡¯s expression suddenly changing. Focused on herself, she said, ¡°Your Majesty, please give your blessing for Yu-er and His Majesty to be together. Yu-er truly loves His Majesty, and we already have a physically intimate rtionship.¡±

    Pengyue¡¯s expression was very calm.

    @@novelbin@@

    The sky above the pce suddenly drastically darkened. There was a sh of lightning, and an autumn rain started to fall in the capital.

 Chapter 399 - You brought that upon yourself (2)

    Chapter 399 ¨C You brought that upon yourself (2)

    Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrows. He pointed at an oxcart that was outside a farmer¡¯s house. ¡°Since you¡¯re not busy, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to slowly go back.¡±

    Go back on an oxcart? Ji Man was dumbfounded. Although it was true that riding an oxcart would be more rxing and less bumpy, wouldn¡¯t it also be too slow? By the time they got back, it would be the middle of the night.

    ¡°Head of the household, would you be willing to exchange your oxcart for my carriage?¡± Ning Yuxuan had gone straight to negotiating with the farmer, without waiting for Ji Man to agree.

    In the end, the carriage was exchanged for an oxcart plus an additional cost of two silver taels. This was donepletely without her, the real owner of the carriage, assent. After that, the farmer led them to a spot to take some loose straw to cushion the oxcart.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man felt quite indignant as she carried over the straw. This man¡¯s chauvinism really couldn¡¯t be changed.

    However, after they gotten onto the oxcart, and the original carriage¡¯s driver started the slow drive home on the oxcart, not only was this ride less bumpy, there was also a pretty good view of the autumn sun descending to the horizon.

    Not caring about his image at all, Ning Yuxuan lied down on the oxcart with her in his expensive robes. Looking at the sky too, he asked her, ¡°Doesn¡¯t this feel reallyfortable?¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ji Man nodded.

    After the autumn insects had chittered a few times, they fell silent. The sky gradually darkened. Ji Man was almost lulled to sleep by the swaying oxcart when the person next to her quietly asked, ¡°Can you really not find a man that you like in this ce?¡±

    Ji Man opened her eyes and responded with a very puzzled expression at his sudden question.

    ¡°You said that you want a man that knows how to repair skynterns and cushion brains.¡± Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips and slightly looked away as he said, ¡°That part is easy enough, but if you want someone that will whole-heartedly love one person, that¡¯s really difficult.¡±

    (T/N: Ji Man originally says someone that can repairputers in chapter 269, but she amends her words so that it¡¯ll make sense in ancient times in chapter 270. In Chinese, the literal trantion forputer (di¨¤nn¨£o) is electrical brain, and the Chinese words for electrical and cushion are homophones.)

    Ji Man felt even more confused. What did he mean by repairing skynterns and cushioning brains?

    But, she understood the intent behind the second half of his words. Ning Yuxuan wanted to confess his feelings for her.

    Turning her head to the side to look at him, Ji Man smiled and said, ¡°That really is very difficult, so I¡¯m not holding onto that hope. If I can¡¯t go back in this lifetime, then after I¡¯ve aplished my goal, I¡¯m going to find a ce to live in seclusion.¡±

    ¡°Where do you want to go to live in seclusion?¡± Ning Yuxuan slightly furrowed his brow. It had already been so long, but she was still saying that she hadn¡¯t found...

    ¡°I¡¯ll find a ce that has enchanting scenery. A ce where I can see the sunset and sunrise and isn¡¯t suppressed by bureaucracy or divided by social ss,¡± Ji Man casually answered, ¡°Actually, when I was reading light novels, I used to really admire the male lead that would renounce his power for the female lead and go live in seclusion with her. But, now that I¡¯m here, I finally understand that¡¯s impossible.¡±

    ¡°Once a person has risen to a high position, how many people would be willing to go back to being ordinary? Love between ordinary people isn¡¯t explosively spectacr. And, who can guarantee a lifetime love? For example, those people that jumps off buildings. When they¡¯re throwing themselves off the ledge, they probably mustered up their courage and think they never want to go back. But, if the building is a bit higher, and they¡¯re given more time to contemte their decision as they fall, they¡¯ll regret it.¡±

    Love was like that too.

    Ning Yuxuan couldn¡¯t fully understand her words. He just gently leaned his head against hers and watched as the sunset glow changed into a night sky that was full of glimmering stars. The rest of their surroundings were tranquil too.

    A long timeter, Ning Yuxuan broke the silence by asking, ¡°Do you still hate me?¡±

    Ji Man contemted. At the very beginning, she hated him very much and thought of a hundred ways to get revenge. However, after returning to the capital, finding out that Haohao was her son, and she herself was always in his care, as time went on, the hatred in her heart wasn¡¯t as strong as it had been at the beginning.

    No wonder suffering had to be experienced every day to be remembered. Otherwise, as time psed, it became much easier to forgive a lot of things.

    Although she wouldn¡¯t knock off the price of what was owed to her, he was no longer on her list of people that she wanted to kill.

    ¡°Marquis, you¡¯re overthinking things.¡± Ji Man smiled and said, ¡°Our rtionship had already concluded a long time ago with that divorce letter. This one doesn¡¯t hate the marquis.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan slightly sat up. There was a glimmer of brightness in his eyes.

    ¡°Anyways, that doesn¡¯t matter. The marquis has chosen to be loyal to the emperor, and this one is carrying a blood debt that has to be collected. Our paths and ns are different,¡± Ji Man added before closing her eyes.

    She could forgive him, but she couldn¡¯t forgive Zhao Li for having her watch as Nie n was exterminated.

    His eyes had looked as if they were filled with stars, but after hearing her words, it was as if there had been a sudden downpour, and the stars hadpletely disappeared.

    Marquis Moyu wrylyughed. He twirled a wisp of her loose hair as he said in a slightly hoarse voice, ¡°Why are you so heartless?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I learn this from the marquis?¡± Ji Man turned her head away.

    The oxcart continued to slowly move forward. Ning Yuxuan quietly looked the side of her face without moving.

    He had said that she brought trouble upon herself, but in the end, who was the real culprit?

    ¡ª

    A few dayster, Ji Man received a letter from Zhangjun Prince. As expected, he wanted her to collect grain. Moreover, he wanted her to slowly raise the price of grain in the capital.

    There had already been a shortage of grain to begin with this year, and the imperial court was collecting arge amount of grain to supply the soldiers that were going on the military exercise. Themonfolk had already been grumbling about this. Once Ji Man raised the price for grain, many people were unable to afford food, and cries ofints filled the streets.

    As a result, the imperial court was forced to release some of their stored grain to the general poption, which was thenpletely bought out by Ji Man and shipped to Zhangjun. Thus, the price of grain didn¡¯t improve at all in the capital.

    However, the emperor didn¡¯t care about the plights of themonfolk. He still wanted Ning Mingjie to take the army to Zhangjun at the end of the year.

 Chapter 402 - Giving him an umbrella (1)

    Chapter 402 ¨C Giving him an umbre (1)

    Guibai nced at his master in a somewhat bbergasted gaze, but he wasn¡¯t a garrulous type of person. Since his master had already told him to leave, he silently left the room and closed the doors on his way out.

    The face in front of him looked very blurry and slowly changed into another person¡¯s face. Feeling a bit vexed, Ning Yuxuan stretched his hand out and wanted to push Wen Wan away. ¡°What did you do?¡±

    Wen Wan¡¯s face looked extremely innocent and slowly changed into Nie Sangyu¡¯s face. In a nervous and helpless tone, she said, ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow. His mind felt muddled, and he felt dizzy. He wanted to stand up, but he ended up falling down.

    Wen Wan hurriedly helped him up and towards the bed. Seeing that his gaze wasn¡¯t focused, she looked at him with feeling and somewhat bashfully asked, ¡°My lord, does this servant look beautiful?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan stretched his hand out and stroked the spot between her eyebrows that he saw with his eyes. ¡°En, very beautiful.¡±

    Wen Wan smiled. She brought him to the bed and softly said, ¡°My lord, this servant hasn¡¯t done anything. You¡¯re just drunk. Look at you, you can¡¯t even stand up.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan was leaning on a pillow and looking at her with half-opened eyes. After a long time, he finally said, ¡°En.¡±

    A glimmer shed through Wen Wan¡¯s eyes. She untied her clothes, pressed closer to him, and softly asked, ¡°My lord, what¡¯s the most important thing to you right now?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan really didn¡¯t want to answer. He didn¡¯t even know the answer to this question himself, but he surprisingly said, ¡°World peace.¡±

    Wen Wan was stunned for a moment, and then sheughed.

    From Ning Yuxuan¡¯s perspective, he was seeing Ji Man¡¯s radiant smile. He hadn¡¯t seen her smile like this in a long time.

    He knew this was a trap, but he couldn¡¯t resist touching her face. It was rare to see Ji Man smiling so happily without restraint.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°This servant wants to ask my lord for another child. My lord, you¡¯ve been so heartless to me and unwilling to give a child to this servant.¡± Wen Wan untied Ning Yuxuan¡¯s belt. Sounding as if she had been wronged, she continued, ¡°It¡¯s been so long, and this servant has tried all sorts of methods. But, this servant still hasn¡¯t gotten pregnant. Why?¡±

    Feeling somewhat bad for her, Ning Yuxuan pulled her closer and whispered, ¡°All of the incense in this household has been prepared by a specialist. The more incense that¡¯s burned in a courtyard, the more unlikely it is to have a child. Sangyu, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Wen Wan¡¯s body trembled. It wasn¡¯t just because of the secret that he had revealed. It was more because of the name he had said.

    It was actually Nie Sangyu¡¯s name? Kangyuan Junzhu had told her that this hallucinogenic drug would make a person delirious and imagine that the person in front of him was his most beloved person.

    She hadn¡¯t been willing to believe that Yuxuan, who had once whole-heartedly loved her, had fallen in love with someone else.

    ¡°Why are you crying?¡± Ning Yuxuan was slightly flustered as he looked at her. ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad. We¡¯ll have lots of children in the future. Once I bring Haohao back, we can live happily together.¡±

    Wen Wan wiped away her tears and lowered her eyes as she leaned on his chest. It hadn¡¯t been easy for Kangyuan Junzhu to get this drug, and she had given her this drug in order to ask Marquis Moyu questions for her. She had toplete her task.

    ¡°My lord, aren¡¯t you going to Zhangjun? Do you feel confident about winning the uing battle? This servant can¡¯t help feeling worried that something might happen to you,¡± said Wen Wan in a low voice. She closed her eyes as she leaned against his chest.

    Ning Yuxuan had one hand resting on the side of the pillow and was tenaciously holding onto something, but his voice remained slightly dazed as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already prepared everything. I¡¯llplete the emperor¡¯s task and return at the appropriate time.¡±

    Wen Wan let out a sigh of relief and asked another question. ¡°My lord, do you not resent the emperor for locking Haohao up in the pce?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s there to feel resentful about? It¡¯s better for Haohao to be in the pce,¡± Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°I should be thanking His Majesty. This way I won¡¯t be troubled by family issues.¡±

    ¡°Since it¡¯s like that, what will my lord do if Zhangjun Prince revolts?¡± Wen Wan pressed closer to him as she asked, ¡°My lord, how will you save yourself then?¡±

    Marquis Moyu lightly smiled. ¡°Real men are born to serve the country. There¡¯s no need to fear death. In order to stabilize the emperor¡¯s reign, Mingjie and I are willing to fight Zhangjun Prince to the death.¡±

    The person that had been hiding in the darkness silently left. His martial arts was good enough that not even Ning Yuxuan noticed his presence. Wen Wan heard the secret signal from outside the window and finally rxed. Wrapping her body around Ning Yuxuan, she said, ¡°This servant doesn¡¯t have any regrets in this life after marrying my lord. There¡¯s no incense in this room. My lord, let¡¯s do that....¡±

    In order to remain clear-headed, Ning Yuxuan had been gripping the dagger that was beneath his pillow so tightly that his hand was bleeding. However, the person in front of him still had Nie Sangyu¡¯s face. He could control his words, but he couldn¡¯t force himself to push her away.

    While his gaze was still dazed, her beautiful, red lips had already descended down.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man entered the western courtyard. Seeing the closed doors as well as Guibai, who was standing outside, she curiously asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the marquis?¡±

    Guibai panicked. He hurriedly went over to her. ¡°The marquis isn¡¯t here. Mister Ji, please follow this servant elsewhere...¡±

    ¡°My lord...¡± A charming voice drifted out from the room. Hearing the breathy panting that followed, it was easy to guess the amorous scene that was happening inside the room.

    Guibai¡¯s body stiffened. He hadn¡¯t expected Wen Wan to suddenly make such a loud noise. For a time, he didn¡¯t know how to exin the situation to Ji Man. Say that the marquis¡¯s mind had broken down? That wasn¡¯t possible.

    Trantor Ramblings: It felt like Ning Yuxuan spent the past several chapters crawling out of the hole that he had dug for himself, and now he¡¯s fallen back into it, and the impact of the fall has made the hole even deeper. To his credit, he does need to gain Zhao Li¡¯s trust for Haohao¡¯s sake.

 Chapter 404 - Longing for you makes me old (1)

    Chapter 404 ¨C Longing for you makes me old (1)

    Ji Man obsequiously smiled. What choice did she have? She had to be this generous. Since ancient times, how many wealthy people had met with a bad ending? Merchants had money, but they didn¡¯t have power. If a merchant was too rich, it would attract the attention of someone that held power. Once that happened, the merchant would definitely be killed and his or her wealth would be feasted upon. And so, she might as well donate her money in order to preserve her life.

    By showing loyalty to Zhao Zhe, she would have a way out. Instead of waiting for someone else to find a way out for her and seeing her as a hindrance, it would be better to walk with them and share both the glory and disgrace.

    ¡°This one doesn¡¯t need to guess to know that a family can only survive when the nation survives,¡± Ji Man said, ¡°If Zhangjun doesn¡¯t resist against being oppressed, the days when this one has to flee to escape death won¡¯t be far away. This one will hand over the ount books that show Ji Rice Store¡¯s profits to Sir Wuter. Your Highness, please don¡¯t treat this one as an outsider.¡±

    Zhao Zhe was smiling very happily. He said, ¡°good¡± several times before looking at her and saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t think highly enough of you in the past. I thought... Haha. I didn¡¯t expect that you would be someone that entertained thoughts of possessing the world.¡±

    No matter how brilliant a ruler was, he would still like to hear ttery. Ji Man wasn¡¯t stingy with her words. She raised up the wine cup and said, ¡°Right now, there¡¯s disasters wrecking havoc everywhere. The people have no way to make a living, and the emperor continues to obstinately cling to his own course and make life difficult for Zhangjun. As a person of Zhangjun, it¡¯s only natural for this one to put forth my meager contribution. Moreover, Your Highness ispetent and governs well. With you as Zhangjun¡¯s learned and virtuous leader, Zhangjun has be even more prosperous than the capital. After going to the capital and returning, this one feels even more certain that seeking shelter from Your Highness was the best choice.¡±

    He had used her to threaten Ning Yuxuan and treated her as an insignificant pawn, but she could forget all those past unpleasant things. After all, at that time, she didn¡¯t have the means to do anything herself.

    But now, the situation was different. She had a bargaining chip in her hand, so Zhao Zhe would value her more. She wouldn¡¯t be regarded as unimportant person that could be kept or not kept without much thought. There was value to be had by closely following this master.

    Zhao Zhe was smiling as he epted her toast. After asking her a few more questions about matters in the capital, they quietly finished the meal. Afterwards, they went to the prince¡¯s estate, he arranged a few things for her, then let her withdraw to peacefully rest. Ji Man was finally able to have her first good night¡¯s sleep in the past half month.

    ¡ª

    Half a month ago, in the capital.

    The spy had returned from the marquis¡¯s estate and repeated every single word that Ning Yuxuan had said. Hearing these words, Zhao Li finally felt more at ease.

    Kangyuan <i>Junzhu</i> was wearing a gauzy, pear-colored pce dress and sweetly snuggled up against the emperor. ¡°Your Majesty, you should feel reassured now, right?¡±

    Zhao Li lightly smiled. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to your idea.¡±

    ¡°That herb was very hard to obtain. Yu-<i>er</i> had to spent a lot of money to get it.¡± Kangyuan <i>Junzhu</i> smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s good as long as Your Majesty feels better. This way, you¡¯ll stop tossing and turning at night.¡±

    Can¡¯t sleep... Zhao Li chuckled. He stroked his red agate thumb ring. ¡°It was very thoughtful of you.¡±

    It would be great if he could sleep well now that this matter was resolved, but he was worried that he would find out that he was wrong about the importance of this matter. And, there was something more important in the depths of his heart.

    He had obtained all of the most hard toe by things in the world: money, power, and beautiful women. Pengyu didn¡¯t object to him taking Kangyuan as his consort. Instead, she confined herself in Wangyue Building and wouldn¡¯te out. When the officials saw this, one after another, they started stuffing women into his harem.

    @@novelbin@@

    Once one consort was epted, there would inevitable by another one. In the end, he failed to uphold his previous promise to Pengyue.

    But, she seemed to not care anymore? Zhao Li chuckled. He turned his wheelchair and headed towards the inner part of the hall. Kangyuan¡¯s eyes brightened, and she followed him after him.

    ¡ª

    Since Ji Man had left, Ning Yuxuan would bring that not very nice looking oil-paper umbre everywhere.

    People from the Six Ministries would tease him by saying, ¡°Marquis, the sky is clear today. It¡¯s not raining.¡±

    He would lightly smile and respond, ¡°Yeah, sunny days are good too.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know far along she was in her journey.

    He didn¡¯t pursue the matter of Wen Wan drugging him. On the contrary, he pretended to not have memories of that incident at all. The wound on his hand had been taken care of and was wrapped up, but he felt as if there was a hole in his heart, and he didn¡¯t know when that wound would recover.

    Every day, he kept hoping that the end of the year would arrive sooner, so that he could go to Zhangjun sooner and see her... It wasn¡¯t because he wanted to exin himself. It was because he wanted to return the umbre to her. An umbre was such a bad gift. Even if Ning Mingjie had a matching purple jade, he still liked the purple jade present more.

    The emperor¡¯s suspicion towards him had gradually decreased, and Zhao Li also went back to giving him important tasks to handle. And so, he would go to Qiangwei Courtyard to express his loyalty at regr intervals. Whether he was talking or writing poems, he would always be expressing his devotion to the emperor. After a few months of this, whenever the emperor summoned Ning Mingjie to discuss important military affairs, he would also be called over.

    ¡°Zhangjun is easy to guard and difficult to attack. Thus, use the excuse that you¡¯re looking for a ce to rest. Wait until you¡¯ve passed Xi River before doing anything else.¡± Zhao Li had his head lowered to look at the map. ¡°Once you passed over Xi River, look for a good ce to build an encampment. After that, go to Zhangjun¡¯s city and convey this emperor¡¯s decree. If Zhangjun Prince epts my decree, bring the heavy infantry to seize his ore mines and military fields in order to take control of Zhangjun. If he doesn¡¯t obey my decree, attack and conquer the city under the reasoning that he¡¯s guilty of disobeying an imperial order.¡±

    Ning Mingjie solemnly assented. Ning Yuxuan also had serious expression.

    ¡°This emperor knows that my imperial brother will make his move sooner orter.¡± Zhao Li smile and said, ¡°If the two of you can help resolve this deep scourge for this emperor, you¡¯ll be heavily rewarded once you return to the capital.¡±

    ¡°This subject will obey Your Majesty¡¯smand.¡±

    The two cousins from Ning n seemed to be of one mind and iparably loyal.

    The emperor was assured as he gestured for them to go back home and rest.

 Chapter 407 - Rather wait three more years (2)

    Chapter 407 ¨C Rather wait three more years (2)

    After paying the carriage driver, Ji Man hastily got off the carriage. She straightened her clothes, then went to the entrance to look for the jailer. After messing around in Zhangjun for so long, she had established some contacts here. But, it wouldn¡¯t be good to go bother those people in the middle of the night, so she went straight to using money as a temporary expedient.

    After a lot of persuasion, she finally gained ess to the imperial prison. However, when she said that she was looking for Ning Yuxuan, they all said that there wasn¡¯t a prisoner by this name.

    It was probably because his imprisonment was a top secret, so themon jailers wouldn¡¯t know? Ji Man thought it over and bribed them with more money. ¡°Sir, could you help me out and let this one see the people that were arrested today?¡±

    Once enough money was given, the jailer became quite easy-going. He led her into the prison and allowed her to walk around. The imperial prison wasn¡¯t a ce that enforced strict and fair discipline. There were plenty of people that came here to settle personal vendettas. The row after row of torture tools that were hanging on the wall were quite terrifying. Ji Man¡¯s heart felt increasingly heavy as she walked here. However, after searching through the entire ce, she didn¡¯t see Ning Yuxuan.

    Did Wu Yong lie to her? No, that couldn¡¯t be possible. Then, Ning Yuxuan must have been locked up in a secret location, and it wouldn¡¯t be a ce that she could gain ess just by using money.

    Ji Man left the imperial dungeon in dismay. She felt a bit regretful. He was a man that would do important things. As a woman, why had she messed things up for him? If Ning Yuxuan met his end here, it would be such a waste. If one day, someone wrote Marquis Moyu¡¯s bibliography, she would be written as the femme fatale that brought disaster.

    After returning to the prince¡¯s estate, she asked around again, but no one knew where Marquis Moyu had went. Ji Man didn¡¯t sleep well that night and even had a nightmare before waking up. She couldn¡¯t remember what had happened in that nightmare and only felt lingering fear.

    ¡ª

    To her surprise, Guibai came over when she was eating breakfast.

    ¡°The marquis has already left the city.¡± Guibai looked at her with a stern expression as he said, ¡°He wants me to say something to Mister Ji on his behalf.¡±

    Left the city? Stunned, Ji Man felt as if arge stone had fallen down in her heart with a loud thump. Great, she hadn¡¯t actually harmed him.

    Ji Man slightly smiled as she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the message?¡±

    Guibai lowered his head. He was probably mimicking Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression. ¡°My lord said,

    ¡°I came from far away with a heart full of hope,

    but all my expectations and efforts have been dashed to nothing.

    The past three months had felt like three years.

    Once we met, I would rather go back and wait another three years.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s smile slightly stiffened, and the corners of her mouth slowly went down. In the end, her lips twitched, and she chuckled. ¡°The rhyming isn¡¯t very good. It could use some work.¡±

    Guibai deeply bowed at her, then he turned around and left.

    The weather was chilly today, and snowkes were fluttering down. Ji Man stood at the doorway, and white mist came out with each exhale. She looked at the sharp edge of a distant building and couldn¡¯t helpughing lowly.

    It was good to not show forgiveness. She wouldn¡¯t relent to him, and he shouldn¡¯t show her affection. After all, she was only a passerby, and she didn¡¯t want to leave behind any reasons for sorrow.

    ¡ª

    The army sent by the imperial court was already stationed at Xi River when Ning Yuxuan arrived at the army camps.

    Seeing his cousin¡¯s unpleasant expression, Ning Mingjie chucked and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Didn¡¯t you rush toe here? Why do you seem unhappy?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan expressionlessly answered, ¡°It¡¯s too cold. I¡¯m frozen stiff. I can¡¯t move my face.¡±

    Ning Mingjie wasn¡¯t sure how to respond. He gestured for him toe over. ¡°I¡¯ve sent people over to Zhangjun to announce the imperial decree, but looking at their stance, a battle is inevitable. I¡¯ve already written a military report requesting for reinforcements. The report is on its way to the emperor now.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Marquis Moyu went over to the side to look at the pile of correspondence on the desk. He lightly said, ¡°Let¡¯s bide our time and wait until the imperial court has sent reinforcements before attacking Zhangjun.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking too.¡± Ning Mingjie slightly smiled. ¡°This war will probablyst a long time. Who knows how old our children will be by the time we return?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan froze in surprise for a moment. Thinking of how Haohao was still in the pce, he couldn¡¯t help sighing.

    @@novelbin@@

    Zhangjun Prince refused to ept the imperial edict, tightly closed the city¡¯s gates, and gathered the twelve surrounding cities with Xi River as a boundary line. He threatened to purge the emperor¡¯s court of its evil officials as his political slogan for fighting against the current regime.

    This news traveled to the capital, and the emperor was furious. He sent the requested reinforcement to Ning Mingjie and put the dowager empress under house arrest. Zhao Li also wanted to take the opportunity to deal with Xiao n.

    (T/N: Just in case it was too long ago, the dowager empress is Zhao Zhe¡¯s mother, and Xiao n is her maiden n.)

    The news quickly spread from the imperial court to themoners like smoke. Xiao n had a centuries-old foundation, so how could it be possible to remove it in a single move? Xiao Tianyi incited themon people, and the civil and military officials also jointly petitioned to protect Xiao n. It was only now that Zhao Li woke up from his dream. When he swept his gaze over the imperial court, he realized that most of the officials that had once been loyal to him had been pulled to Xiao n¡¯s side without him noticing.

    He had previously arranged for his own people to take over duties in the Six Ministries. To his surprise, other than the people in the Ministry of Revenue, most of those people had be traitors. Every one of them was saying that Prime Minister Xiao was a good official that worked for the benefit of themon people and the country and that Xiao n couldn¡¯t be harmed. It was a n that had always taken on the responsibility of supporting the reigning emperor.

    Under this pressure, Zhao Li could only back down and leave Xiao n alone.

    After he gave Kangyuan Junzhu the rank of virtuous consort, her father, Yong¡¯an Prince, took the opportunity to enter the capital and serve the emperor by lending his troops to Ning Mingjie. Surely, this would help Ning Mingjie seize Zhangjun.

    As a result of all this, the situation in the imperial court suddenly became tense. Zhao Li was at a loss. When he turned back to look, it had already been a long time since Pengyue was willing to see him while Kangyuan was whole-heartedly devoted to him. It was only... He didn¡¯t know why. His heart felt empty.

    ¡ª

    An endless stream of reinforcements were sent to Zhangjun, but Ning Mingjie continued to bide his time. By the beginning of spring, there were already fifty thousand soldiers camping outside of Zhangjun¡¯s city. The grain reserve was running low, and the imperial court was struggling, but support continued to be provided. The emperor had sent four imperial edicts to order Ning Mingjie to start attacking as early as possible, but Ning Mingjie ignored them.

    ¡ª

    Spring was already heavy in the air when the war against Zhangjun finally and officially started.

 Chapter 410 - The most loyal official (1)

    Chapter 410 ¨C The most loyal official (1)

    Ji Man felt a bit absent-minded, but soon after sheughed. She knew that Ning Yuxuan would have never said something like that. Still, it was pleasant to hear these words.

    She truly felt apologetic towards Nie Sangyu¡¯s face. It had been so long since this face had been exposed to sunlight, and it was pale enough to pass as a ghost¡¯s face. Fortunately, she had been diligent in taking care of her skin, so she didn¡¯t have any e. After changing into a woman¡¯s airy attire, she couldn¡¯t wait to go out and take a frolicking stroll around the block a few times.

    @@novelbin@@

    After saying good-bye to Guibai and thinking it over, Ji Man decided to go back instead. It would be safer in the prince¡¯s estate. However, she forgot that most people wouldn¡¯t be able to ept her sudden gender change. And so, on the way back to her room, the other advisors looked at her with surprised expressions. The reason was simple. Almost everyone here was man, except for Shen Youqing, the prince¡¯s wife, and a few servant girls.

    After Zhao Zhe had be a titled prince, Shen Youqing had dismissed the rest of her husband¡¯s harem before they went to Zhangjun. She had said it was because having too many women would be a distraction and hardship to the prince. Since the dowager empress hadn¡¯t voiced any objections, Zhangjun Prince silently epted the disbanding of his harem.

    And now, a woman had suddenly appeared in his estate today.

    Seeing Wu Yong, Ji Man finally stopped walking. She brightly smiled at him and curtsied. ¡°Brother Wu.¡±

    Wu Yong was dumbfounded. Ji Man was the only person in this estate that dared to address him as Brother Wu, so who was this woman in front of him?

    ¡°This one is Ji Man. This one is really sorry for keeping this secret from you for so long,¡± Ji Man said in embarrassment.

    In the end, Wu Yong was a person that had seen many things. Although he was very shocked, he still quickly returned to his senses. ¡°So you¡¯re... Miss Ji. His Highness is looking for you.¡±

    Ji Man followed him to meet with Zhangjun Prince. After looking at her in silence for a period of time, Zhao Zhe told her to go the main military camp on the other side of Xi River. Since she had returned to her original gender, there would naturally be uses.

    In every war, regardless if it would be effective or not, there would be an attempt at negotiating peace. There would be a few visits from one side to the other to express that they didn¡¯t want to continue to fight and were keen for a peaceful resolution.

    Ji Man knew this was her opportunity to make a showy appearance. And so, she spent some effort in dressing herself up. She wore a bright red dress embroidered with peonies and had her hair done up in chaotian hairstyle with a pair of dangling bluish-green hair essories. It wasn¡¯t surprising that she would attract everyone¡¯s gaze when she stepped into the military camp.

    (T/N: Below is a picture of chaotian hairstyle.)

    Ch 410 ¨C chaotian hairstyle.png

    The soldiers unobtrusively murmured amongst themselves. Had Zhangjun Prince sent this woman over to curry favor with their general? However, everyone clearly saw that as soon as Ning Mingjie saw this woman, he identally knocked over the wine and seemed dazed.

    Ning Yuxuan wasn¡¯t here to see it, but Ning Mingjie¡¯s performance was very sessful. Not only did Ning Mingjie keep looking at Ji Man, he also seemed very reluctant to part from her as he watched her leave.

    Many people in the army began to gossip about the identity of this woman.

    Ning Mingjie¡¯s trusted aide said, ¡°That¡¯s Nie Sangyu¡£¡±

    A single sentence raised a thousand ripples. Wasn¡¯t Nie Sangyu dead? Wasn¡¯t she Marquis Moyu¡¯s divorced wife? Why did Zhenyuan General looked like he was very fond of her? It couldn¡¯t be that these cousins had really simr tastes, right?

    ¡ª

    At the same time, Mu Shuiqing, who had supposedly been sick for a long time, finally came out of her courtyard and brought people over to Feiwan Courtyard. She acted very mysteriously and deliberately led Wen Wan over before having the servants dig for something in the courtyard.

    Arge box filled with portraits of Nie Sangyu that had Ning Mingjie¡¯s signature was dug out. Although her face wasn¡¯t painted, everyone could guess that it was her by the clothing and the view of her back figure, especially because that box also had the first half of the famous poem that used to hang in Luoyan Pagoda, ¡°Inviting you to drink wine¡±.

    Mu Shuiqing pretended that she had inadvertently discovered this box and had the box buried again in a flurry of panic. After that, she left to take a leisurely stroll around the estate.

    But, Wen Wan was an idiot and didn¡¯t realized that Mu Shuiqing had deliberately lured her over here to show her this act. As soon as Mu Shuiqing left, Wen Wan dug out that box. When she saw the contents of the box, she joyfully thought this was an opportunity to get credit for a meritorious aplishment again. She hurriedly had a servant send a letter to the virtuous consort about the situation and told her toe get the box.

    (T/N: The emperor gave Kangyuan Junzhu the status of virtuous consort a few chapters ago. It¡¯s one rank below noble consort.)

    ¡ª

    Zhao Li was sitting on the throne. He had received a letter from his spies in Zhangjun that Nie Sangyu had appeared. Her appearance hadn¡¯t stirred up the slightest emotion in Ning Yuxuan, but Ning Mingjie had lost his sense of propriety when he saw her.

    What did this mean? Why would Ning Mingjie care about Nie Sangyu?

    Once the virtuous consort sent over that box and exined the matter to him, Zhao Li finally came to a sudden realization. Ning Mingjie had fallen in love with Marquis Moyu¡¯s former wife? Was it really a coincidence that they had met again on the battlefield? And, Nie Sangyu was loyal to Zhao Zhe?

    Zhao Li sneered and sent Ning Mingjie an imperial edict. The imperial edict stated that as long as Ning Mingjie won this war, the emperor would bestow him any unmarried woman that he wanted.

    This imperial edict was very attractive to Ning Mingjie. His cousin had already divorced Nie Sangyu. As long as he achieved victory, he would be able to marry her.

    However, he wasn¡¯t swayed. He epted the imperial edict and agreed, but his next action was ordering the troops to retreat.

    Zhangjun Prince had hanged Ji Man in front of the army and was using her to threaten Ning Mingjie into withdrawing. The rumors that Ning Mingjie was deeply in love with Nie Sangyu had already circted on both sides. There were varied versions of their past withplicated plots. Some old soldiers even became a bit teary when they heard these stories.

    And so, no one found it strange when Ning Mingjie ordered the soldiers to withdraw, but many people weren¡¯t willing to follow the order. They had finally started the war with Zhangjun. How could they just leave?

    Ning Yuxuan was the one that mostly fiercely objected. He spent a long time trying to persuade Ning Mingjie, but his cousin wouldn¡¯t listen. Furious, Ning Yuxuan obstinately took his most trusted aids away to continue to wage war while Ning Mingjie led the majority of the army back to the capital.

 Chapter 414 - The capitals gate can be opened with grain (1)

    Chapter 414 ¨C The capital¡¯s gate can be opened with grain (1)

    Zhao Zhe stopped his horse on the other side of the moat. He looked at the capital. He could hear the moring sounds even at this distance.

    Zhao Zhe slightly smiled, turned his head back to look at Ji Man, and said, ¡°You once said that you would open the capital¡¯s gate for this prince. That gate is right in front of us now.¡±

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t refrain fromughing. ¡°Your Highness, you don¡¯t need to feel too anxious. You can¡¯t be asking for Sangyu to push down the gate with my hands, right? Sangyu has already arranged for people to create mayhem inside and spread the news that Ji Store¡¯srgest granary is right outside of the capital. A huge amount of grain is stored in granary, and no one is guarding it. Themon people can go get grain from Ji Store¡¯s granary as soon as they breakthrough the capital¡¯s gate.¡±

    Zhao Zhe pursed his lips. ¡°This prince still wants to go over there and directly attack. It¡¯s unlikely that the gate will be open if we rely on the efforts of thosemon people.

    ¡°Your Highness, you shouldn¡¯t underestimate the power of themon people,¡± Ji Man sternly said, ¡°Water can move a boat as well as capsize it. It¡¯s themoners that are the foundation of a country. The current emperor doesn¡¯t have the hearts of the people because of his tyrannical ways. Once the grievances of the people have umted to a certain level, it¡¯ll naturally be a flood that will drown the capital.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Zhao Zhe¡¯s gaze showed that he didn¡¯t really believe her. ¡°This prince will wait one more hour. If the capital¡¯s gate isn¡¯t open by then, this prince will order for the battering ram to be used.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ji Man nodded.

    ¡ª

    Ning Yuxuan was standing on the capital¡¯s wall. From far away, he was able to spot Ji Man, who was wearing her red outfit, in the crowd. The sight of her and Zhao Zhe sitting side by side on their horses felt a bit offensive to his eyes.

    ¡°Master, there¡¯s at least three thousandmoners gathered below. The emperor has ordered for these people to be killed without exception. What...¡±

    Turning his gaze to Guibai, Ning Yuxuan slightly furrowed his brow. ¡°If those three thousand people are all killed, it will only cause more people to rise up in rage. Why would the emperor issue such an order?¡±

    Guibai shook his head. ¡°The pce is already a mess, and the emperor has lost his temper.¡±

    Guibai reported that the emperor had even roared out, ¡°Those who submit to me will prosper, those who rebel will be executed.¡±

    In the end, Zhao Li was an emperor that had once been oppressed and bullied for a long time. After he had a change in fortune, it was inevitable that he would be obstinate and do whatever he pleased.

    Ning Yuxuan was stunned for a moment. He nced down at the person below the capital¡¯s gate tower, pursed his lips, and said, ¡°Since it¡¯s like that, follow the emperor¡¯s order. I¡¯m going to take a trip to the pce.¡±

    Even people with discerning eyes could see that he had done his best in guarding this country for Zhao Li. Seeing that the capital¡¯s gate would soon be broken down, it was time for him to pick up Haohao.

    ¡ª

    The virtuous consort was standing in Zichen Hall. In a fluster, she said, ¡°Your Majesty, please calm down. Those people outside are just rebels and traitors. My father has already brought his army over. Don¡¯t let yourself fall into panic.¡±

    Zhao Li¡¯s eyes were thoroughly red. Sitting in his wheelchair, he said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy for me to seize this country. Why should I submissively hand it over to someone else? Oldest imperial brother has always made life difficult for me. Now that I¡¯m sitting on the throne after going through such great difficulties, why is he trying to snatch it away from me?¡±

    These words were a bit too naive. It was because he was so angry that he had gotten muddle-headed and couldn¡¯t think of anything else. He only had Fan Tianxing by his side. This trusted aide had followed him up step-by-step from the bottom.

    ¡°Your Majesty, Marquis Moyu is currently guarding the capital, but how about recing him with a general?¡± Fan Tianxing furrowed his brow and said, ¡°Marquis Moyu had once opened the capital¡¯s gate for you. This subject is worried that he¡¯ll open the capital¡¯s gate for the first prince too.¡±

    Zhao Li turned his head to red at him. ¡°I spent so much effort on Ning Yuxuan. Other people might not know that, but shouldn¡¯t you know better?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Fan Tianxing froze in surprise for a moment.

    Back when the princes werepeting, the first prince and third prince had both tried to pull Marquis Moyu to their respective faction and even meddled in his harem. At that time, the second prince was powerless, and could only rely on a few loyal officials to do his bidding. However, in the end, Marquis Moyu had chosen Zhao Li instead of the first prince and third prince.

    Zhao Li had been able to seed in the past by keeping a low profile and bidding his time. He secretly umted power until he was able to seize control in one sessful swoop.

    However, Fan Tianxing had to admit to himself that Zhao Li¡¯s temperament had greatly changed once he had sessfully seized the throne. He had once been a reserved and low profile person, but after bing the emperor, he had be egotistical. He wouldn¡¯t listen to other people¡¯s advice or admonishments. Even someone like him, who had wholeheartedly followed Zhao Li, felt bitterly disillusioned.

    Although it was disloyal of the first prince to revolt, it was truly Zhao Li¡¯s actions that paved the way for his army to easilye all the way to capital without difficulties.

    Fan Tianxing sighed and said, ¡°Your Majesty, although it¡¯s true that you spent a lot of effort on Marquis Moyu, and he¡¯s seems very loyal, this subject still feels worried.¡±

    Zhao Li lightly sneered. ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about? The civil and military officials have all fled. It¡¯s only him that persists in defending the capital for this emperor. Can you really not discern his stance?¡±

    Fan Tianxing hesitated. He wanted to say more, but in the end, he just let out a long sigh.

    ¡ª

    Ning Yuxuan entered the pce. There was no restriction to where he could go, and he headed straight for the empress¡¯s pce.

    Pengyue had already deteriorated to half consciousness, but Haohao remained under the care of her pce servants. It was just that his little face was crumpled and looked very sad.

    ¡°Dad!¡± Haohao rushed over as soon as he saw him. With tears falling down to the floor, he said, ¡°Dad is a liar. You clearly said that you woulde pick up Haohao up very soon, but Haohao hasn¡¯t seen you in forever.¡±

    His tender little face looked so pitiful with tears. Ning Yuxuan hurriedly picked him up. ¡°Dad said that the next time Ie, I would be picking you up. I wasn¡¯t lying. It¡¯s only that dad has been dyed, so I came here a bitte.¡±

 Chapter 416 - Didnâ€™t you make a mistake? (1)

    <h4>Chapter 416 ¨C Didn¡¯t you make a mistake? (1)</h4>

    The distant howls of death seem to gradually approach the pce. The imperial guards didn¡¯t have time to care about anything else. They lifted up the wheelchair and headed towards Chenhui gate to leave the pce.

    Zhao Li roared the entire way, but it was useless. His legs were crippled. He had no way to resist.

    ¡ª

    The fighting in the capital¡¯s streets didn¡¯tst for long. It was because Ning Yuxuan led the civil and military officials over to respectfully wee the first prince into the pce, so the efforts at resisting Zhangjun¡¯s army slowly dispersed.

    A messenger that had traveled a distance reported another victory. Nie Qingyun had scored a major victory against Marquis Yong¡¯an outside of autumn waters. The remaining people that were loyal to the emperor fled.

    By the time the sunset clouds were sprinkled over the sky, the capital had slowly calmed down, and Ji Man and Zhao Zhe finally entered the capital. The horses stepped on a ground filled with bloody corpses as they slowly headed towards the pce.

    As soon as they arrived at the pce¡¯s gate, Ning Yuxuan and the group of civil and military officials behind him silently saluted Zhao Zhe, then the officials parted to either side to make way.

    Zhao Zhe immediately smiled and asked Ning Mingjie, ¡°Has that person been caught?¡±

    Ning Mingjie naturally knew that he was asking about Zhao Li. Lowering his head, he said, ¡°This subject had ordered people to guard all of the pce¡¯s gates in advance. The emperor has to be in the pce. There¡¯s no way he could have left.¡±

    ¡°Very good.¡± Zhao Zhe smiled and turned his head to look at Ji Man as he said, ¡°You fulfilled your promise to this prince, so this prince definitely wouldn¡¯t skip out on handing your reward to you. You can go do the thing that you most want to do now.¡±

    Ji Man took a deep breath. Dismounting from the horse, she saluted, ¡°Your Majesty, thank you for your support.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan slightly furrowed his brow. Seeing Ji Man heading towards the pce, he silently grabbed her arm to stop her.

    Ji Man turned her head. ¡°Marquis, do you have an order for me?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ning Yuxuan looked at Zhao Zhe, then faintly smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯lle with you.¡±

    Zhao Zhe was in a hurry to sit on the throne, so he naturally didn¡¯t have the excess energy to care about them. At once, he urged his horse forward and into the pce. He brought along a group of trusted aides as he made a beeline towards Zichen Hall.

    Ji Man¡¯s wrist felt a bit hot with Ning Yuxuan pulling her. ¡°Are you going to take me to where Zhao Li is?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan nodded. He pulled her along as they past through the pce¡¯s gate and continued further into the pce. ¡°Sangyu, do you want to kill him?¡±

    Wasn¡¯t that obvious? Ji Man sneered. ¡°I¡¯m not in a hurry. I¡¯ll wait until my older brother arrives to make my move. But, no matter what, I won¡¯t let Zhao Li off. Nie n has so many ghosts that are crying out for their unjust deaths. He has to pay back for everything that he did.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan suddenly softly asked her, ¡°Aren¡¯t you Ji Man?¡±

    Ji Man was taken aback. ¡°Why are you asking this?¡±

    ¡°You said that you¡¯re Ji Man, not Nie Sangyu.¡± Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow and said, ¡°What business do you have with the deaths of Nie n¡¯s members then?¡±

    It felt as if her heart had stopped, and even her breath slowed down. Ji Man nkly looked at the person walking in front of her.

    It was true that she had always considered herself as only a spectator, She and Nie Sangyu were two different people. She wouldn¡¯t confuse one thing for another. Nie Sangyu¡¯s feelings belonged to Nie Sangyu, and her own feelings belonged to herself.

    But... Why would Nie Sangyu¡¯s feelings affect her then? Nie Sangyu¡¯s family members had treated her well, so she naturally regarded them as her own family members. The people that Nie Sangyu disliked, she had been influenced by Nie Sangyu to slightly dislike them too. The person that Nie Sangyu liked, she had also been influenced to... slightly like him too.

    Wrylyughing, Ji Man closed her eyes and said, ¡°Because we¡¯re the same person.¡±

    Since she had started living in this body, she and Nie Sangyu had be the same person. Nie Sangyu¡¯s heartache was her heartache. Her happiness was her happiness too. It seemed... there was no way to carefully differentiate between them.

    Ning Yuxuan was stunned. He turned his head to nce at her. ¡°If you¡¯re the same person, then just like her, you...¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ji Man curiously looked at him.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Never mind.¡± Marquis Moyu turned his head back. ¡°I want to give you a suggestion. Zhao Li... you shouldn¡¯ty your hands on him.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Ji Man sneered. ¡°It can¡¯t be that you want me to kill him by scolding him to death, right? He¡¯s an unscrupulous lunatic. Would he even care if I curse at him? I want him to be hacked into mincemeat!¡±

    Ning Yuxuan sighed. ¡°I know that you hate him. After all, he had you witness Nie n¡¯s members being beheaded. But, he¡¯s still Zhangjun Prince¡¯s biological brother.¡±

    ¡°Do you know why I choose to join Zhangjun Prince¡¯s side?¡± Ji Manughed. ¡°It was because he promised me that if Zhao Li is ever taken down, he would give me the chance toy my hands on my mortal enemy.¡±

    She was a woman whose family had been ruined. Other than having a mind that was slightly different from other people, she had nothing else. How could it be easy to kill the emperor? By helping Zhao Zhe, she would be able to achieve her wish. Zhao Zhe had even recently said that she had fulfilled her promise to him, so she could go do what she wanted now.

    The thing that she wanted the most was for Zhao Li to die a wretched death.

    Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips. He wanted to say more, but there was someone in front that wasing over.

    The person stumbling towards them was the woman formerly titled, Kangyuan <i>Junzhu</i>, and the current virtuous consort. Several imperial guards were chasing after her, but she heedlessly ran towards this side. When she saw Marquis Moyu, it was if she had seen her savior, ¡°Marquis, save me!¡±

    Who was she again?

    Ji Man stopped walking. She slightly furrowed her brow as she watched that woman frantically run towards them.

 Chapter 418 - That rotten Zhangjun Prince (1)

    Chapter 418 ¨C That rotten Zhangjun Prince (1)

    ¡°What nonsense are you saying?!¡± Zhao Li angrily said, ¡°How has this emperor mistreated her? The things that she should have, the things that this emperor has, this emperor has given all of it to her. How could it be a mistake to marry me?¡±

    ¡°If she had chosen my third imperial brother back then, she would have been beheaded with him. If she had chosen my first imperial brother, his princess consort would have definitely made her life miserable. If she hadn¡¯t acted so stupidly, how could this emperor have lost?¡±

    Ji Man shook her head and walked past him to the bed. ¡°If marrying you was the right choice, then she wouldn¡¯t be so unhappy.¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± Zhao Li angrily shouted, ¡°I still have a score to settle with her. Even if you want your revenge, you have to wait!¡±

    Ji Man paused. She turned her head and disdainfully looked at him, but she did stop walking.

    His unfeeling legs were a heavy burden as Zhao Li desperately crawled a few more feet. He finally reached the bedside before Ji Man. He was gasping for breath as he sat up. When he opened the bed curtains, he saw Pengyue¡¯s peacefully sleeping face.

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    ¡°You can still peacefully sleep when this emperor has fallen to such a state?!¡± Zhao Li fiercely grabbed her hand. ¡°Is your heart made of stone?¡±!¡±

    When he grabbed that weak hand, something to seemed have snapped. Shocked, Zhao Li hurriedly lessened the force he was using. ¡°Your hand... This emperor didn¡¯t mean to do that... This emperor clearly wasn¡¯t using that much force...¡±

    Even though the bones in her hand had been broken, the person on the bed didn¡¯t react at all. The expression on her face remained exceptionally serene.

    Zhao Li was taken aback.

    An angry, but also panicking expression froze on Zhao Li¡¯s face. He nkly looked at the person lying on the bed for a long time before stretching his hand to her nose to see if she was still breathing.

    As soon as his hand came into contact with her icy-cold face, he knew. Only a dead person would have this temperature.

    Zhao Li quieted. His stomach full of anger had turned into shock. Widening his dulled eyes, he pursed his lips and foolishly asked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    From behind, Kangyuan looked at Pengyue¡¯s appearance and couldn¡¯t resistughing. ¡°She¡¯s dead.¡±

    Kangyuan walked to the bedside, knelt down by the emperor, and happily said, ¡°Your Majesty, look. She¡¯s dead. You don¡¯t have to worry about her any longer because Yuzhen. When all is said and done, you love Yu-<i>er</i> the most, right?¡±

    It had just been a business transaction. From beginning to end, the rtionship between these two was only a mere business transaction. If it wasn¡¯t because the emperor needed Yuzhen¡¯s help, he would have never married this woman.

    Zhao Li slightly turned his head and looked at Kangyuan.

    Tears had apanied Kangyuan¡¯s smile. Wrapping her arm around his, she said, ¡°Your Majesty, let¡¯s go. There¡¯s nothing left to see here. She¡¯s already dead.¡±

    Zhao Li showed Kangyuan away and struggled to pull himself onto the bed by gripping the edge of the bed. But, he didn¡¯t have the strength, and his legs were too heavy. He couldn¡¯t get onto the bed no matter how hard he tried.

    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t die. She¡¯s perfectly fine. She¡¯s just pretending to be sick so that this emperor will feel bad for her. This emperor will do that, and she¡¯ll get better.¡± Zhao Li¡¯s eyes were widened. More and more tears gathered in his eyes, but they didn¡¯t fall. He just continued to look at her with ssy eyes. He wanted to go onto the bed.

    Ning Yuxuan sighed and helped him.

    Once Zhao Li was siting on the edge of the bed, he pulled Pengyue into his arms.

    *Snap*

    It wasn¡¯t clear which bones had snapped. Frightened, Zhao Li trembled. He wanted to tightly hug her, but he didn¡¯t dare. At a loss, he said, ¡°How did you be like this... Why do you seem like you¡¯re going to shatter from just a touch? This emperor will have the servants make you bone broth, okay? It must because you were being too picky with your food and that¡¯s why your body has be so weak.¡±

    Kangyuan, who had been fallen to the side, quietlyughed. ¡°Your Majesty, hug her more, hug her tightly. Hearing the sound of her bones breaking, it quenches my hatred.¡±

    Zhao Li turned to look at her with thoroughly reddened eyes.

    Ji Man had initially been too shocked to react after finding out about Pengyue¡¯s death. Hearing Kangyuan¡¯s words, she frowned. ¡°You did this?¡±

    ¡°Haha, yes, it was me! This is the oue that she deserves!¡± Kangyuan¡¯sughter sounded somewhat deranged. ¡°After I married Zhenyuan General, I came to the pce to pay respects to Her Majesty, and I fed her Bone Erosion Poison then. It¡¯s a slowing-acting poison that¡¯s tasteless and colorless. I didn¡¯t expect that she would be ablest for over a year. Her bones are certainly hard enough.¡±

    *Snap*

    As Zhao Li held Pengyue¡¯s upper body, the sound of Pengyue¡¯s bones breaking started and didn¡¯t stop. Zhao Li had originally been ring at Kangyuan, but he turned his head back when he heard these frightful sounds. Still, he was unwilling to put Pengyue down.

    If he didn¡¯t let her go, then he would have to hear the sound of all her bones slowly breaking.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± Zhao Li angrily shouted. Tears spilled out from his reddened eyes. He wanted to put her down, but he couldn¡¯t bear to do so. He helplessly watched as her body became distorted in his arms from her disintegrating bones. In the end, he simply hugged her tighter.

    He opened his mouth to suck in air. He couldn¡¯t stop his tears from falling. Men shouldn¡¯t cry. Moreover, he was an emperor. He still had an entire country to consider. How could he stay here hugging her and crying like this?

    By now, most of Pengyue¡¯s bones had broken into pieces. As Zhao Li clutched her soft body, he had to support the back of her head so that her head wouldn¡¯t fall down

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man couldn¡¯t bear this sight and turned her head. Pengyue, who was so innocent, was gone. Although Ji Man hated Zhao Li, she wanted to cry after seeing this scene.

    Ning Yuxuan stretched his hand out to hold her. When she turned her head to the side, she saw his calm expression as he said, ¡°We won¡¯t get to this point.¡±

 Chapter 420 - Treating her as a monk? (1)

    Chapter 420 ¨C Treating her as a monk? (1)

    However, even if she and Nie Qingyun had known in advance that this was a trap, they would have still jumped into it. They had worked so hard for such a long time for the sole purpose of getting revenge.

    But... Ji Man nced at Ning Yuxuan. At the end, he had snatched the dagger from her.

    Was he being stupid? He could have just let Wu Yong seize her and Nie Qingyun. The fatal strike on Zhao Li¡¯s neck was from her, so Nie Qingyun wouldn¡¯t be punished too badly. He also had Marquis Jingwen to protect him. She had been hoping that Ning Yuxuan would be able to lend a helping hand, but in the end, Ning Yuxuan had delivered himself into here along with them.

    What would they do now? Ji Man felt somewhat exhausted. The great revenge had been achieved. It seemed that there was nothing left to concern herself with here. However, after carefully thinking it over, she remembered that there was still Haohao, ah.

    She had to get out of here to take care of Haohao.

    Thinking of this, Ji Man felt somewhat anxious. She stood up and looked at Ning Yuxuan through the bars. She asked, ¡°Where did you take Haohao?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s in my estate.¡± Ning Yuxuan slightly furrowed his brow. He had forgotten about this until she brought it up. Haohao was in his estate with Guibai looking after him. There probably wouldn¡¯t be any problems.

    Ji Man pursed her lips. ¡°Why did you grab my dagger? If you hadn¡¯t taken it, with your status, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to easily confine you here. You could have remained outside to take care of Haohao.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan chuckled. ¡°If I didn¡¯t grab it, you would have been the perfect choice for a scapegoat. You don¡¯t have a strong background to protect you.¡±

    If the role of the killer was switched to him, Zhao Zhe would need to tread carefully.

    Nie Qingyun furrowed his brow and asked, ¡°What will Zhangjun Prince do to us?¡±

    How would the deeply scheming former crown prince deal with them?

    Ning Yuxuan chuckled and answered, ¡°Neither of us will die. We just need to wait to see what kind of conditions he¡¯ll set for us.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    There was a period of silence. These three knew that Zhao Zhe wasn¡¯t the type of person that would issue an easy condition.

    ¡ª

    At this time, the situation in the pce had calmed down from the earlier chaos. Zhao Zhe was sitting on the throne, and the hall only had officials loyal to him.

    Shen Youqing had arrivedte. When she saw that no one was standing next to throne, she finally sighed in relief.

    ¡°The rewards from today¡¯s aplishment will be shared with everyone.¡± Zhao Zhe was currently giving an inspirational speech. The situation in the capital was already under control. With Shen Youqing standing by his side and the kneeling officials below him, he felt as if he had already ascended the throne and be emperor.

    Wu Yong strode into the hall and saluted with his hands without saying a word. However, from the looks of Wu Yong¡¯s expression, Zhao Zhe guessed that the matter had already beenpleted sessfully. Zhao slightly smiled, turned his head, and said, ¡°Although the current emperor is heartless, unjust, disloyal, and unfilial, he¡¯s still this prince¡¯s younger brother. This prince has decided to spare his life. As long as he abdicates, this prince is willing to return good for evil. He¡¯ll be allowed to peacefully live out the rest of his life in the pce.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness is merciful -¡± the group of people called out in unison.

    Wu Yong stepped forward at this time to report, ¡°Your Highness, the emperor has already been murdered. When this subject recently rushed to Wangyu Building, the emperor was already lying in a pool of blood. Marquis Moyu and General Nie were holding weapons, so this subject arrested them both.¡±

    The officials were shocked, and even Zhao Zhe was caught off guard.

    Marquis Moyu was involved too?

    Zhao Zhe smacked his armrest and stood up. ¡°They have some nerve. The emperor hasn¡¯t abdicated yet. Although the emperor is guilty of serous crimes, it¡¯s not their ce to carry out judgment! Where is Marquis Moyu and General Nie now?¡±

    ¡°To report to Your Highness, they¡¯re both in the imperial prison.¡±

    ¡°The pce matters will be handed over to the princess consort and Sir Wu to deal with. This prince will go to the imperial prison to take a look. Those murderers will certainly be severely punished!¡± Zhao Zhe indignantly departed and left behind a hall full of ministers that looked at each other in dismay.

    It was unlikely for a fallen emperor to keep his life. Although the first prince had said merciful words, Marquis Moyu and General Nie¡¯s actions were within reason.

    Although they could see through this act, out of self-preservation, no one in the hall would speak out to plead for leniency for these two people.

    ¡ª

    Zhao Zhe was extremely happy. He had finally seeded after so many years of scheming. All of his troubles were resolved. Now, he just had to see how he would deal with those three.

    After ordering the jailer to withdraw, Zhao Zhe walked into the depths of the imperial prison with his trusted aides.

    When he passed by a cell, he heard a woman screeching, ¡°Let me out! I want to see the emperor!¡±

    Zhao Zhe flicked his eyes that way and saw a disheveled Kangyuan. He sneered and continued walking forward.

    Arriving at the furthest cell¡¯s door, Zhao Zhe suddenly changed his expression to a sympathetic one as he said, ¡°Yuxuan, Qingyun.¡±

    Then, he looked at the neighboring cell. ¡°Sangyu, how did you... get caught red-handed?¡±

    Ji Man froze in surprise. As she looking at this insincere hypocrite, there was a trace of loathing and disgust in her eyes.

    Nie Qingyun stayed silent too.

    It was actually Ning Yuxuan that spoke up. ¡°Your Highness, it really was very unfortunate. Your Highness¡¯s trusted aide must have listen to someone else¡¯s order. He came to Wangyue Building and had us arrested.¡±

    Zhao Zhe furrowed his brow and said, ¡°This prince isn¡¯t fully aware of what happened. This prince had been in the midst of handling other matters in Zichen Hall when someone suddenly came to report that that three of you had been arrested.¡±

    His expression looked so sincere. Ji Man almost thought that he really didn¡¯t know what had happened, but she was someone that had lived in Zhangjun Prince¡¯s household. How could she not know how loyal Wu Yong was? Other than Zhangjun Prince, Wu Yong wouldn¡¯t follow anyone else¡¯smand.

    ¡°The emperor and empress have both died,¡± Marquis Moyu lightly said, ¡°Your Highness, your great ambition has been achieved, so you probably don¡¯t have much use left for the three of us. How about you have us buried with the emperor? This way, Your Highness¡¯s reputation won¡¯t be tarnished.¡±

    Trantor Ramblings: I thought it was interesting and very unusual that the author portrays Ji Man as someone that values getting revenge more than her own child. Once she finally gained ess to the pce, her first thought wasn¡¯t; let¡¯s find Haohao. It was revenge. Plus, even though she knows Zhao Li has taken Haohao as a hostage, she doesn¡¯t worry at all that her actions will indirectly lead Haohao to getting hurt.

    In this aspect, I think she and Liu Hanyun are foils of each other. Xi-<i>er</i> is Liu Hanyun¡¯s entire world, and she will do anything for him including tossing her morals to the side of the road. For her son, she will do things that she would never do for her on sake. Whereas, Haohao is a small part of Ji Man¡¯s world, and she has other priorities that she values more than her son. Her light-hearted, easygoing rtionship with him is a reflection of that. She seems more like his fun aunt than his mother.

    That¡¯s just my interpretation. What do you guys think?

 Chapter 422 - Kept under confinement (1)

    <strong>Chapter 422 ¨C Kept under confinement (1)</strong>

    ¡°Sangyu actually doesn¡¯t mind hiding my identity.¡± Ji Man drylyughed. ¡°Anyways, my previous reputation wasn¡¯t very good. It wouldn¡¯t be bad to change my name.¡±

    Zhao Zhe paused. He furrowed his brow as he looked at her and asked, ¡°You don¡¯t mind?¡±

    People in ancient times were very particr about recognizing and keeping their lineage. No one else would be willing to change her name, but she had actually said that she didn¡¯t mind?

    Ji Man nodded. ¡°Your Majesty, if you sincerely want to pardon Sangyu, then you can just directly release Sangyu.¡±

    He wanted her to stay in the pce? What a joke. She had to leave the pce so she could take care of Haohao. He couldn¡¯t seriously want to confine her in the pce and recite Buddhist scripture every day, right?

    While Ning Yuxuan slightly rxed, Zhao Zhe¡¯s expression became a bit unpleasant. He looked at with a deep gaze as he asked, ¡°You would rather live amoner¡¯s dull life instead of staying in a flourishing ce like the pce?¡±

    ¡°Sangyu doesn¡¯t have high aspirations.¡± Ji Man saluted. ¡°Excuse my mediocrity, Your Majesty.¡±

    Zhao Zhe¡¯s face was livid. He pursed his lips and looked at her for a long time before sneering. ¡°Since it¡¯s like that, this emperor won¡¯t insist. But, if that¡¯s what you want, it won¡¯t be easy to find an excuse to exonerate you.¡±

    The three people briefly froze in surprise.

    Nie Qingyun frowned and said, ¡°Your Majesty, if Sangyu doesn¡¯t mind continuing to conceal her identity, you can find and execute a convict sentenced to death to take Sangyu¡¯s ce and simply release her.¡±

    Zhao Zhe cast him a nce at him before scoffing, ¡°Didn¡¯t you three say that you were willing to be directly executed? If I switch her out and themon people find out, won¡¯t this emperor be reviled by everyone?¡±

    Nie Qingyun was stifled by these words. Zhao Zhe took a few steps back and said, ¡°For now, General Nie can be released first.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± A trusted eunuch stepped forward and unlocked the cell¡¯s door.

    ¡°Marquis Jingwen and his daughter are waiting at Marquis Moyu¡¯s estate. General Nie, you can leave first. As for the marquis and Sangyu, this emperor will have to think more about this.¡±

    This was clearly an excuse to weasel out of letting Ji Man go. Ning Yuxuan slightly smiled and said, ¡°Your Majesty, thank you for troubling yourself.¡±

    Zhao Zhe flung his sleeve and left. As Nie Qingyun was escorted out, he kept turning back to look at the cells. His eyes were full of worry.

    Peace returned to the prison.

    Ning Yuxuanid out his bedding by the railing that separated the two cells, then he sat down on it. Sighing, he asked, ¡°Sangyu, what should we do?¡±

    Ji Man mimicked his actions and brought her quilt over too. Flopping down on the quilt, she leisurely asked, ¡°I caught the emperor¡¯s eye?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan harshly looked at her. ¡°Are you very happy about it?¡±

    ¡°Not happy, and it¡¯s a misfortune not a blessing.¡± Ji Man shrugged. ¡°I heard that the princess consort, Shen Youqing, had previously gotten rid of all the first prince¡¯s concubines and bed servants. That woman must be very skillful. For my own safety, an insignificant person like me should stay far away from her.¡±

    ¡°I want to make a bet with you.¡± Ning Yuxuan closed his eyes and asked, ¡°Do you want take the bet?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Bet on what?¡± Ji Man raised her eyebrows in curiosity.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t agree to stay in the pce, he¡¯ll keep you locked up here until you agree. Perhaps, at the end, he¡¯ll threaten me with your life to force me to agree for you.¡± Ning Yuxuan chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to keep this from happen since that encounter underneath the grape trellis several years ago. Unexpectedly, I wasn¡¯t able to prevent it.¡±

    (T/N: He¡¯s referring to the moment when Zhao Zhe sees Nie Sangyu sleeping in the swing underneath the grape trellis in chapter 51.)

    Ji Man was slightly stunned. Furrowing her brow, she asked, ¡°Would he really do that? It won¡¯t be good for his reputation to steal someone else¡¯s wife.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan froze in surprise for a moment. He opened his eyes and looked at with a burning gaze. ¡°Whose wife are you?¡±

    Ji Man rolled her eyes. ¡°Aren¡¯t I your...¡±

    Ji Man stopped halfway when she realized that she actually wasn¡¯t Ning Yuxuan¡¯s wife anymore. She had already taken the divorce letter from him.

    Ning Yuxuan chuckled. ¡°Why do you think he wants to force you to stay in the pce? It¡¯s because we don¡¯t have a formal rtionship. After a period of time passes, it wouldn¡¯t be wrong of him to take you into his harem.¡±

    Ji Man furrowed her brow. Was Zhao Zhe crazy? He had already be the emperor and could have any type of woman that he wanted. Why did he have to make life difficult for her?

    ¡°Let¡¯s make a bet. If you stay in the pce, it means you lose.¡± Ning Yuxuan went on to say, ¡°If you lose, you have to return something that originally belonged to me.¡±

    Curious, Ji Man asked, ¡°What thing? I haven¡¯t taken anything that belongs to you?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan very meaningfully smiled. ¡°Several years ago, someone told me, ¡°When the mountains have ttened and the heavens and earth have joined, then I¡¯ll be willing to separate from you, my beloved.¡± You gave me that promise a long time ago. I just don¡¯t know when you took it back.¡±

    After a pause, he added, ¡°I hope you give it back to me.¡±

    Ji Man was dumbstruck for a long time. She racked her brains trying to remember when she said these words to him.

    Rummaging through Nie Sangyu¡¯s memories, she reyed a scene that happened a long time ago, a very long time ago. A silly girl stayed out in the pouring rain and wouldn¡¯t go home. She followed Marquis Moyu all the way to a city temple. She was a lone maiden, but she didn¡¯t do anything to avoid arousing suspicion. Instead, on that dark, rainy night, she had shouted those words to an indifferent Ning Yuxuan.

    She had started off with, ¡°By the heavens, I want to be your love forever and ever, my feeling will never end or wither.¡±

    Returning to the present, Ji Man chuckled. ¡°I didn¡¯t give you that. It was Nie Sangyu. I guess there is a difference between me and her.¡±

    ¡°Ji Man?¡± Ning Yuxuan murmured. He was lying on his quilt too. The two of them were very close and only separated by the railing. ¡°Once, when you were drunk, you told me that you were called Ji Man and that you had an English name. It was Ji Man too. Don¡¯t these two names sound the same?¡±

    Ji Man froze in surprise. Soon after, she burst out inughter. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re the same. It¡¯s a joke.¡±

    Marquis Moyu didn¡¯t see how this was funny at all. His expression showed that he was at a loss.

 Chapter 425 - I know a secret (2)

    Chapter 425 ¨C I know a secret (2)

    Zhao Zhe became the emperor, so Shen Youqing would naturally be the empress. It was just that the formal ceremony to confer her the status of empress hadn¡¯t urred yet. Right now, the harem was empty. Seeing the emperor¡¯s growing interest in Nie Sangyu, Shen Youqing had to figure out a way to solve this problem. Wen Wan was someone that had beenpeting with Nie Sangyu since the beginning, so she should be someone that could help her the most.

    After hearing that Wen Wan knew a secret, Shen Youqing brought her into the pce.

    Shen Youqing was in a pretty good mood when she knelt down before the throne. ¡°Your Majesty.¡±

    In contrast, Zhao Zhe was feeling very fretful. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°This servant went out today and saw something. This servant wants to hear what Your Majesty thinks of this incident.¡± Shen Youqing slightly smiled as she said, ¡°On East Main Street, there¡¯s a shopkeeper that forcibly married a widow that already had a child. Your Majesty, do you this matter is absurd?¡±

    Zhao Zhe slightly furrowed his brow. ¡°If a widow doesn¡¯t have a child, it¡¯s eptable for her remarry. Since she had a child, how could she marry someone else even if her husband has died?¡±

    ¡°This servant agrees. If a woman has a son, it doesn¡¯t matter if she¡¯s a widow or a divorced woman, she shouldn¡¯t remarry.¡± Shen Youqing was smiling as she gestured for Wen Wan toe forward. ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> has something to report. Your Majesty, please listen carefully.¡±

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    Wen Wan took one step forward and fell on her knees before the throne. She kowtowed and said, ¡°Your Majesty, this subject has been serving in the marquis¡¯s estate this entire time and knows something. The marquis¡¯s heir¡¯s biological mother isn¡¯t Xia-<i>shi</i>. It¡¯s Nie Sangyu. Nie Sangyu gave birth to the marquis¡¯s heir, Ning Jinchen, when she was his main wife.¡±

    Zhao Zhe was shocked. He pped his throne and stood up. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Wen Wan trembled in fear. She hurriedly corrected her kneeling posture. ¡°This subject has spoken truthfully. Your Majesty, please investigate this matter.¡±

    There was a ferocious glimmer in Zhao Zhe¡¯s eyes. He was extremely furious as he looked Wen Wan. He looked at Shen Youqing, who was next to her, and said, ¡°Wen-<i>shi</i>, do you know that you¡¯ll be guilty of deceiving the emperor if you¡¯re telling a lie?¡±

    ¡°This subject wouldn¡¯t dare to lie to Your Majesty.¡± Wen Wan clenched her jaw. ¡°Kangyuan <i>Junzhu</i> also knows about this matter. Your Majesty, if you don¡¯t believe this subject, you can go to the imperial prison and ask her.¡±

    Zhao Zhe took a deep breath. He shook his sleeve and went to the imperial prison.

    He was actually being this impulsive over Nie Sangyu? Shen Youqing almost broke her teeth with how hard she was grinding it. She waved her hand to gesture for Wen Wan to stand up. ¡°Follow this consort!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Wen Wan tried to look as docile as possible when she timidly followed after Shen Youqing.

    ¡ª

    When Zhao Zhe arrived at the imperial prison, the head jailer was already used to handing over the key to the innermost prison cell, but the emperor¡¯s trust follower actually took the key for Kangyuan <i>Junzhu</i>¡®s prison cell.

    Kangyuan hadn¡¯t been found guilty of a crime that deserved the death penalty. At most, she was only guilty of being too loyal to the deposed emperor, which made the current emperor ufortable. If he released her, who knows what she would urge her father, Marquis Yong¡¯an, to do? So, he was keeping her confined for a period of time. He would decide what to do with her once she became obedient.

    When the door to her prison cell was opened, Kangyuan silently looked at the emperor. As soon as she saw the golden robe, her tears fell. ¡°Is it you...?¡±

    She stretched her hand out wanting to touch him, but a nearby person pushed her away.

    Zhao Zhe arrogantly looked at her said, ¡°This emperor has something to ask you.¡±

    Kangyuan was muddled-headed and didn¡¯t immediately return to her senses. It took her a long time to realize that she was looking at Zhao Zhe¡¯s face. When that happened, her eyes were filled with overwhelming disappointment.

    Even as death was imminent, that person wasn¡¯t willing to be with her, so how could he possibly being here to see here? She was so stupid.

    ¡°What question does Your Majesty have for this worthless servant?¡± Kangyuan scoffed.

    Zhao Zhe pursed his lips and said in a low voice, ¡°Someone told this emperor that Marquis Moyu¡¯s heir, Ning Jinchen, is Nie Sangyu¡¯s biological son. Do you know about this matter?¡±

    ¡°Someone?¡± Kangyuan harrumphed. ¡°It¡¯s Wen Wan, right? Of the people that knew about this, we¡¯re the only two people that are still alive.¡±

    Zhao Zhe¡¯s body stiffened. The meaning of her words meant that Wen Wan wasn¡¯t lying?

    ¡°Marquis Moyu has done such a good job protecting their child.¡± Kangyuan dreamily said, ¡°If I had been able to be pregnant with older cousin Li¡¯s child, it would have been great if he also protect me like that.¡±

    Zhao Zhe kicked the railing on the side. It was such a loud sound that even Ji Man and Ning Yuxuan, who were further in the prison, could hear this sound. They stopped talking and looked into the ckness of the prison.

    ¡°Your Majesty, please calm down.¡± Wu Yong respectfully cupped his hands and said, ¡°Your Majesty, if you really want that woman, this subject has a way. Please keep calm.¡±

    ¡°What can you do?¡± It was difficult for Zhao Zhe to let go of his residual anger. ¡°Ning Yuxuan had actually dared to lie to this emperor. He clearly hated Sangyu back then, but he stole the child back from this emperor¡¯s hands. If it wasn¡¯t because this emperor had been momentarily negligent because of everything that happened shortly afterwards, how could that vile spawn still be alive?¡±

    Wu Yong said in a low voice, ¡°Your Majesty, this isn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing. The better the marquis hid this matter, the more convenient it¡¯ll be for Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zhao Li looked back.

    Wu Yong whispered something into the emperor¡¯s ear for a while. Zhao Zhe¡¯s furrowed brow slowly rxed. His eyes even slightly brightened. ¡°That is a good idea.¡±

    Kangyuan couldn¡¯t be bothered to try to eavesdrop on their conversation. After Zhao Li died, her mind had be muddled. Every day, she would see a mirage of Zhao Li¡¯s face, but it wasn¡¯t clear.

    @@novelbin@@

    Perhaps, she would be able to see him once she went to the underworld.

    ¡°Oh, right. I still owe Nie Sangyu a secret.¡± Kangyuan giggled. ¡°Just treat this as thanking her for bringing me to see older cousin Li onest time.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zhao Zhe raised his eyebrows and partially turned his head to look at her.

    ¡°Tell her to be careful.¡± Kangyuan grinned sinisterly. ¡°Wen Wan hasn¡¯t lost her memory. She¡¯ll definitely give Nie Sangyu a hard time.¡±

 Chapter 428 - How can there be a perfect ending if I donâ€™t marry you? (1)

    Chapter 428 ¨C How can there be a perfect ending if I don¡¯t marry you? (1)

    He was a red-blooded emperor that had summoned a beauty to see him. Was there any need for his wife, who was past the prime of her beauty, to ask him this question? Zhao Zhe was feeling very annoyed. Still, Shen Youqing was his main wife, and she hadn¡¯t given Nie Sangyu a hard time. It seemed that the two of them got along pretty well too.

    Zhao Zhe¡¯s thoughts turned to a different direction. If these two got along well, would it be possible that Shen Youqing wouldn¡¯t try to stop him from adding Nie Sangyu into his harem?

    Reality would soon prove that he was being too delusional. Even the most tolerant of wives wouldn¡¯t be happy if their husbands took a concubine. The only big difference would be if they straightforwardly stated aloud their thoughts or not.

    Youqing was clearly the type to voice her thoughts. As soon as she saw Zhao Zhe¡¯s expression, she didn¡¯t wait for his answer. Instead, she knelt down and said, ¡°This consort was wrong. If Your Majesty wants to take Miss Nie as a consort, it¡¯s true that it would be overstepping boundaries for this consort to be present. However, this consort¡¯s father frequently tell this consort that a woman must follow the three obeisances and four virtues, and everyone must follow the three principles and five virtues. Miss Nie¡¯s heart already belongs to someone, and she has a living son too. She truly wouldn¡¯t be a suitable candidate to enter the pce.¡±

    (T/N: The three obeisances are a woman must obey in turn, her father, husband, and son.)

    Zhao Zhe was stifled into silence. His expression sunk. Seeing that he was about angrily rebuke Shen Youqing, Ji Man chuckled and said, ¡°Consort Shen, you¡¯re worrying about nothing. His Majesty is such a wise and valiant ruler. How could he possibly want a divorced woman like myself? Moreover, this humble woman already has an agreement with Marquis Moyu to return to his estate. Marquis Moyu has been so loyal to the emperor. So, why would the emperor put his important court official in a difficult spot?¡±

    After saying this, Ji Man looked at Zhao Zhe as she said, ¡°This humble woman guesses that emperor only summoned me here to reward me for mymendable service in opening the capital¡¯s gate, right?¡±

    After the two women had perfectly followed up each other sentiments, Zhao Zhe was left reprimanded to the point that he couldn¡¯t say a single word. He felt extremely furious, but he could only go along with Ji Man¡¯s words by saying, ¡°Exactly. Qing-<i>er</i>, you¡¯re overthinking things. How could this emperor... have ideas about taking Miss Nie as a consort?¡±

    The two women exhaled in relief. Shen Youqing nced at Ji Man admiringly, then she stood up and said, ¡°Since it¡¯s like that, this consort was wrong. But, Your Majesty, since you weren¡¯t nning on taking Miss Nie as a consort, why did you give her Yushu Pce? It caused this consort to misunderstand Your Majesty¡¯s intention.¡±

    If someone hadn¡¯te to warn her, she wouldn¡¯t have even known that the emperor had taken Nie Sangyu out of the imperial prison.

    Zhao Zhe insincerely smiled. ¡°Sangyu had aplished meritorious service for this country, but she was wrongfully locked up for so long. It¡¯s only right that this emperor reward her with something. Don¡¯t all women like to take baths there? That¡¯s why this emperor rewarded her with Yushu Pce. Qing-<i>er</i>, if you like that Yushu Pce, you can go there too.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡± Shen Youqing smiled without restraint. ¡°Your Majesty, since you want to reward Miss Nie, and Marquis Moyu previously divorced her, this consort thinks that the best reward is to bestow them another chance at marriage. Your Majesty, what do you think of that idea?¡±

    Zhao Zhe¡¯s smile had disappeared. He pursed his lips and said, ¡°The state of affairs in the imperial court hasn¡¯t been settled yet. Yuxuan still has many things to do and doesn¡¯t have time for a wedding. This matter will have to be dyed. Once there¡¯s free time avable, this emperor can bestow another marriage to him then.¡±

    The corners of Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. Consort Shen had been too impatient. She was more of a hindrance than help. If she was going to marry Ning Yuxuan again, she could have made that decision for herself. Why did Consort Shen have to ask the emperor to bestow a marriage? Well, this was great. Now, if the emperor never bestowed a marriage to them, they couldn¡¯t get married. If they got married before the emperor gave his approval, it would be showing tant disrespect to the emperor.

    Shen Youqing¡¯s smile froze. She pursed her lips and said, ¡°That¡¯s good too. Your Majesty, do you have any other words you want to say to Miss Nie? Do you need this consort to withdraw first?¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°That¡¯s not necessary.¡± Zhao Zhe took a deep breath, curved his lips up, and said, ¡°Have Taxue personally send Miss Nie out of the pce. Qing-<i>er</i>, stay here. This emperor hasn¡¯t had a good talk with you in a long time.¡±

    ted, Shen Youqing immediately voiced her assented.

    Ji Man¡¯s heart also rxed. She hurriedly followed after Taxue as if she was fleeing from this ce.

    ¡ª

    As they were walking on a path, Taxue quietly asked her, ¡°Miss, do you not like the pce?¡±

    Ji Man shook her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like that pce. It¡¯s just that the person I like isn¡¯t in the pce, so for me, this pce is the same as a prison.¡±

    Stunned, Taxue turned back to look at her. ¡°Miss, you still like Marquis Moyu?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ji Man chuckled. Ning Yuxuan was only a character in a novel. Why would she like him?

    ¡°If you don¡¯t like him, then the outside world is a prison too. Miss, why give up a splendorous cage for a simpler one?¡± After Taxue said this, he turned his head back and led her down a small path.

    Ji Man was stunned by his words. She lowered her eyes and wrylyughed.

    She hadn¡¯t expected Taxue to be a wise person.

    Clearly, it shouldn¡¯t have taken them a long time to exit the pce if they were taking a direct path. However, Taxue took her on meandering route that passed by the inner pce.

    ¡°Aiya, wasn¡¯t that child already sent out of the pce? Why has hee back?¡± Two female pce servants were holding bundles of clothing and quietly discussing as they walked on the same path as them.

    Ji Man raised her head to look. When the two female pce servants saw them, they saluted. Then, they moved aside and stopped by the wall to wait for them to pass. When they continued walking, they continued to discuss.

    ¡°How could I know where that child came from? That child, Haohao, used to stay in Wangyue Building. He disappeared for a while, but he¡¯s back again. Who knows who¡¯s going to end up having to care of him? I only caught a glimpse of him. He¡¯s such a cute child...¡±

    Slightly pausing, Ji Man turned her head to look at those two female pce servants. They had already walked far away and disappeared around a corner of the pce.

 Chapter 430 - Who did you love the most in your lifetime? (1)

    Chapter 430 ¨C Who did you love the most in your lifetime? (1)

    Ji Man drylyughed. She let out a long sigh.

    Wow, it was time to go back. It had already been such a long time since she hadst heard Nie Sangyu¡¯s voice. It was probably because she was getting closer and closer to fulfilling her wish, right? On the day that she finally fulfilled her wish, would she heard the sound of a system going ¡°ding¡± as a signal? Then, the system would congratte yer Ji Man forpleting the supporting female¡¯s wish. Mission reward: return to modern-day.

    Eventually, she wasn¡¯t able to keep smiling. Turning her head to the side, she looked at the person lying next to her. Ning Yuxuan¡¯s eyes were closed.

    His throat slightly moved, and his voice was somewhat hoarse as he asked, ¡°I won the bet we made in the imperial prison. Isn¡¯t it about time for you to return those words to me?¡±

    Ji Man nkly stared at him. ¡°What words?¡±

    He turned over. This was a person that had proven himself to be a yer, a superior stallion. He stretched his hand out and brushed it over her heart. He said each word very seriously, ¡°This. Don¡¯t pretend that you don¡¯t know.¡±

    Feeling her heart warming up, Ji Man evaded his fingers in dismay. Slightly moving back a bit, she said, ¡°If this is something that can be given away or taken back at will, Nie Sangyu wouldn¡¯t have ended up with such a miserable fate.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan looked at her and couldn¡¯t resist softlyughing. ¡°You¡¯re usually so clever. It¡¯s cute to asionally see you being confused. It¡¯s been such a long time. Do you really not have any feelings for me?¡±

    Ji Man honestly nodded. ¡°I like gentle men, so there was a few times when I was tempted.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ning Yuxuan raised his eyes brows.

    Ji Man continued ¡°But, as soon as I think about the unknown number of times that your affection has been duplicated and portioned out to others, I immediately feel that your affection isn¡¯t worth my feelings. I won¡¯t do things that aren¡¯t worth my effort. I just did my best to think about your bad points, and I wasn¡¯t feel tempted.¡±

    Was there such a thing? Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. ¡°I remember that you said that you like men that will only love one woman. But, how can there be a man in this world that will only have one woman for a lifetime?

    ¡°Exactly, that¡¯s why I want to go back.¡± Ji Man curled her lip. ¡°Although transportation andmunication is very fast in my world, and it¡¯s possible to fall in love with many people, each person is only allowed to marry one other person at a time.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan froze in surprise.

    ¡°If we were in my world, when you wanted to marry Wen Wan back then, you would have to divorce Sangyu first. Not only that, you would have to give Nie Sangyu half of your assets,¡± Ji Man said with a serious expression, ¡°If you didn¡¯t divorce Nie Sangyu before taking Wen Wan as your concubine, then as your legal wife, Sangyu could go to her home and curse her for being shameless. If you punish Sangyu ording to the household rules, it¡¯ll be considered domestic violence, and the courts will sentence you to marilypensating her.¡±

    Feeling somewhat dumbfounded, Marquis Moyu frowned as he asked, ¡°How can there be a world that¡¯s this unreasonable?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a world that has equality for men and women. That¡¯s why, no matter how wonderful the ancient world is, or how much money I have here, I want to go back.¡± Ji Man sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s go to sleep. I have to go look for Haohao tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± And yet, Ning Yuxuan silently thought about Ji Man¡¯s words for a long time before he finally closed his eyes.

    ¡ª

    The next day, the two of them entered the pce ording to the n.

    Kneeling in front of Shen Youqing, Ji Man said, ¡°Consort Shen, please help this humble woman look for my child. If my child is lost, this humble woman might not be able to enter the marquis¡¯s household.¡±

    Shen Youqing furrowed her brow. She naturally wanted to help Nie Sangyu with this matter. The further away she could send this woman, the better. However, when the emperor has asked her to stay behind to privately talk yesterday, he had already said a whole bunch of words about hoping that she could be tolerant of other women. He had also promised that he would promote her to empress as soon as possible. Zhao Zhe¡¯s words had softened her. She had already promised that she wouldn¡¯t publicly try to stop him again. It would be a bit improper if she were to go back on her words and help Nie Sangyu search for her child.

    Moreover, Wen Wan had offered her words of advice yesterday. Although she could temporarily stop the emperor from doing what he wanted, she wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him forever. Sooner orter, Nie Sangyu would be added to emperor¡¯s harem, so why should she leave a bad impression with the emperor by helping her? It would better to slowly deal with this woman after she entered the harem. In the end, wasn¡¯t it the empress that had the highest authority in the inner ce?

    @@novelbin@@

    Shen Youqing hade to terms with things. Since she couldn¡¯t stop the emperor, then she might as well help him. This way, she could at least curry favor with him.

    Thinking of this, Shen Youqing held Ji Man¡¯s hand and said, ¡°How about this? You can take a stroll around the pce with this consort. This way, you can freely look around during the walk.¡±

    Ji Man was eager to find Haohao, so of course she nodded and agreed. Ning Yuxuan was in the pce too. With someone to rely on, she wasn¡¯t scared.

    She followed Shen Youqing from the imperial garden to the ce where she had heard those two female pce servants talking yesterday. She asked the people in that area, but no one mentioned a child. Other than the deposed emperor¡¯s imperial consorts that hadn¡¯t been moved out yet, there currently weren¡¯t any other consorts in the pce. One by one, Ji Man asked them without any sess.

    At the same time, Ning Yuxuan was standing in a great hall. Above him, the emperor was brilliantly smiling. ¡°This emperor hasn¡¯t thought of a suitable reward to bestow you for yourmendable deeds yet. Marquis, how about you think of something yourself? Is there something that you want?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan respectfully saluted with his hand said, ¡°The benevolence of the emperor is as vast as the seas. This subject isn¡¯tcking anything right now. It¡¯s only...¡±

    Beaming, Zhao Zhe interrupted him, ¡°Oh, right. Marquis, there probably aren¡¯t many people left in your harem, right? This emperor remembers that there are only three women left. Isn¡¯t it about time to replenish your harem?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow. ¡°Yes, but...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This emperor happens to have several women, whose fathers are officials, in my possession.¡± Zhao Zhe didn¡¯t intend to give him the chance to talk at all. Still smiling, he continued, ¡°Let¡¯s select two of them and send them to your estate. What do you think of this emperor¡¯s idea?¡±

 Chapter 433 - Finding a good equilibrium (2)

    Chapter 433 ¨C Finding a good equilibrium (2)

    ¡°You¡¯re a clever woman. If it¡¯s possible, this emperor wants to do as this emperor had said back then, make you empress and dismiss the rest of the imperial harem,¡± Zhao Zhe softly said, ¡°However, it¡¯s only after this emperor had ascended to the throne, that this emperor realized how irresistible this position and wealth is. Even if someone offered this emperor a hundred beauties, this emperor wouldn¡¯t be willing to trade the throne for them. Men have an innate desire for power. There¡¯s no exception to this, even Yuxuan is the same.¡±

    This child¡¯s ability tomunicate his thoughts was defective. Ji Man had to listen to him ramble on for a long time before she understood his meaning.

    So, Zhao Zhe was telling her that he had only snatched her here because he wanted to see Marquis Moyu¡¯s reaction? If Marquis Moyu wanted to be with her and grow old with her, then he would have to leave this country in order to leave Zhao Zhe¡¯s sphere of authority. If he wanted power, he would lose her.

    This selection was too senseless. It would be just as nonsensical as asking someone if they wanted hamburgers or love. What kind of love would there be without hamburgers? If you didn¡¯t have a loved one to share it with, would there be any point in eating a hamburger by yourself?

    @@novelbin@@

    Why did Ning Yuxuan have to decide between one or the other? Why couldn¡¯t equilibrium be found? Ning Yuxuan was a yer that had previously maintained bnce between three factions, so why should she worry that he wouldn¡¯t be able to find a way to reach equilibrium now?

    ... Actually, she was quite worried. After all, right now, she was hanging at the end of the bnce beam. If he gave up on her, she would fall to a horrible death.

    Ji Man let out a long sigh. Zhao Zhe was certainly cruel enough. Since that time when his minions had forced her into jumping off the boat, she should known that he was a calcting, traitorous person that wasn¡¯t easy to deal with.

    ¡°Today, he left the pce after this emperor said he wanted you.¡± Zhao Zhe meaningfully smiled. ¡°Were you hoping that he would save you? Instead of immediately choosing you, he left.¡±

    Ji Man nodded. ¡°If someone put my ex-boyfriend and five hundred million dors in front of me and told me to choose, I would hesitate too.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not angry? That¡¯s tantamount to him giving up on you.¡± Zhao Zhe looked at her in surprise. ¡°If a woman is in love with someone, shouldn¡¯t she at least feel upset and angry?¡±

    Ji Man slightly smiled and answered, ¡°Your Majesty, do you know that there¡¯s a type of person that can bury all of their feelings in their heart? No matter what, they can keep their calm. Even if they wakes up in the middle of night and sees that their home is lost, they can calmly get up and go to the police station.¡±

    The corners of Zhao Zhe¡¯s lips twitched. He couldn¡¯t understand what she was saying at all.

    ¡°That type of person isn¡¯t without joy and sorrow. Their reflection time is just very long,¡± said Ji Man expressionlessly, ¡°It¡¯s long enough to circle the Earth and tie a bow around it. However, once this type of person is given the time to respond, the consequence will be extremely terrible.¡±

    ¡°To put it in another way, ¡°For people of noble character, even ten years isn¡¯t too long to wait before seeking revenge.¡±

    If Ning Yuxuan really dared to give up on her, she would dedicate her life to making his life a living hell.

    Zhao Zhe finally understood her meaning. Heughed and said, ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have simply answered that you do care?¡±

    Ji Man sneered and lowly said, ¡°I care a little bit, but there¡¯s nothing I can do about it. Anyways, I believe in him. He¡¯ll definitely find a way to save me.¡±

    ¡°What could he possibly do?¡± Zhao Zhe suddenly stood up and walked to Ji Man¡¯s side. He lifted her chin and said, ¡°If this emperor chooses to favor you right now, what can he do? Invade the pce? This emperor would like nothing more.¡±

    Heughed for a while, then said, ¡°Face reality. You and him are merely chess pieces that belong to this emperor.¡±

    Ji Man turned her head away. She stood up and took two steps back. The mood in the great hall suddenly became tense. She was already thinking that if she kicked Zhao Zhe¡¯s lower half, would it count as trying to murder the emperor?

    However, right after Zhao Zhe took a step forward, they heard Taxue¡¯s voice from outside reporting, ¡°Your Majesty, General Nie and General Ning are seeking an audience with you. Marquis Moyu is already waiting in Zichen Hall. He said an urgent report came from a border station. Your Majesty, pleasee quickly.¡±

    Both people in the hall stiffened. After hearing Taxue¡¯s entire message, Zhao Zhe¡¯s face changed colors, and Ji Man couldn¡¯t resistughing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be too pleased.¡± Zhao Zhe was smoldering in anger, but this onlysted a moment. Soon after, he regained his calm. He looked at her and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t your child still missing?¡±

    Ji Man didn¡¯t feel likeughing anymore.

    Zhao Zhe coldly harrumphed and left the great hall.

    ¡ª

    Along the way here, Ning Mingjie and Nie Qingyun frowned when they heard that Sangyu was still in the pce. No one could stop the emperor from adding a woman to his harem.

    Still, Ning Mingjie was very curious. He asked, ¡°If the emperor genuinely wants Sangyu, why wouldn¡¯t he just write an imperial edict to make her his consort?¡±

    Nie Qingyun foolishly suggested, ¡°Could it be that the emperor doesn¡¯t want to force Sangyu?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan iprehensibly looked at Nie Qingyun for a while before sighing. His older brother-inw was too simple.

    They waited and waited until Zhao Zhe finally arrived. His clothes were a bit disheveled, and his crown was slightly askew.

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s body stiffened, and he didn¡¯t even salute the emperor in greeting.

    Zhao Zhe was slightly gasping for breath when he sat down and asked, ¡°What happened at the border?¡±

    The three people stayed silent. A long timeter, Ning Yuxuan finally answered, ¡°Yuzhen has initiated war with Great Song on the grounds that Princess Pengyue had died unjustly. The message just arrived. This subject estimates the war has already been going on for over a month at the borders.¡±

    Zhao Zhe furrowed his brow. He straightened his crown and asked, ¡°How can this have happened? The imperial court should have sent out additional soldiers to defend the borders.¡±

 Chapter 435 - Dont give away your heart (2)

    Chapter 435 ¨C Don¡¯t give away your heart (2)

    Huh? Ji Man had no idea what this person was saying. Just as she was going to ask him to rify, he continued, ¡°The emperor has ordered me to leave the capital within the next ten days to go to the border between Yuzhen and Great Song and provide reinforcements to the border troops.¡±

    Ji Man was stunned. In ten days? They hadn¡¯t even found Haohao yet. What would she do after those ten days passed? If she went with him, she would be giving up Haohao. If she stayed in the capital, she would probably be added to the emperor¡¯s harem and been promoted by the time he returned.

    Ning Yuxuan asked, ¡°You... are you going to stay here ore with me?¡±

    The hand that was holding hers loosened. Ji Man furrowed her brow as she looked at him. ¡°You want me to choose? If I choose to stay then, what will you do?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan stopped in a spot that wasn¡¯t far from her. He didn¡¯t turn his head. His empty hand slowly clenched into a fist. ¡°You want to stay?¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I stay? If I leave with you, what will happen to Haohao?¡± Ji Man took a deep breath. ¡°Why can¡¯t you negotiate with the emperor? He¡¯s afraid of the power that you possess, so why can¡¯t you trade that power for Haohao? At worst, the three of us as a family can escape to a faraway ce. Wouldn¡¯t that be good?¡±

    Marquis Moyu turned his head back and seemed to be quietlyughing. ¡°You want me to give up and hand over something that I¡¯ve spent half of my lifetimepeting for? Just like that?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget. There¡¯s an entire household of people. It¡¯s not just the three of us. I¡¯m responsible for a household that has over a hundred people.¡±

    Shocked, Ji Man involuntarilyughed.

    She really had gotten stupid recently. She had merely told him everything when they were in prison. Why did she stop seeing him as an outsider? There was nothing wrong with what he had said. How could it be easy to abandon something he had struggled to obtain for most of his life? There were so many people in his household, including his other son. How could he easily give up everything else?

    Idiot. Her mind had repeatedly reminded warned her to not fall in love, to not feel anything for these storybook characters. Logically, she understood, but her heart wouldn¡¯t listen. Well, this was great. It was her heart that would suffer punishment as it was sliced into pieces by logic and being hawked off as each slice was cut.

    Hey, look here, there¡¯s an idiot¡¯s heart that¡¯s avable for sale. Only two dors per 2.5 kilograms. Don¡¯t miss out on this sale when you walk by.

    Ji Man burst out inughter as she pictured that scene. She shook her head and said, ¡°I was the one that forgot. I¡¯ve changed.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow. He lowered his eyes and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back first, then talk.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ji Man caught up to him in two steps. They quietly boarded the carriage, but their hands never touched.

    Words of love were harmful. It turned a clever woman into fool.

    Ji Man finally asked him, ¡°Marquis, do you not care about Haohao anymore?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s heart was a mess. Hearing her question, he only lightly pursed his lips and answered, ¡°If the emperor has him, he... won¡¯t be harmed.¡±

    Ji Man sneered and turned her head away.

    They passed the rest of the carriage ride in silence. When they returned to Marquis Moyu¡¯s estate, Ji Man went to Feiwan Courtyard by herself.

    Sangyu¡¯s Feiwan Courtyard. When she opened the door, nothing had changed. It was just that the former upants were no longer than there. There was no Muxu, no Gancao, and no Dengxin. When Ji Man stepped into the courtyard by herself, an unfamiliar servant girl approached her and carefully called out, Miss Nie.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan had actually followed after Ji Man. He had originally wanted to stop her and say something, but Wen Wan suddenly appeared from the side. He hadn¡¯t seen her in a year, even after he hade back from Zhangjun

    Wen Wan clutched his hand and cried, ¡°My lord, you¡¯ve finally returned.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan flung her hand away and indifferently said, ¡°En, what?¡±

    Wen Wan wasn¡¯t discouraged at all. She grabbed his hand again and said, ¡°My lord, you¡¯ve been back for so long, but you haven¡¯te to the inner court. Wan-<i>er </i>has been caring for Madam in Linghan Courtyard this entire time. Madam is very ill. All of your attention has been focused on outsiders. Haven¡¯t you noticed that it¡¯s been a long time since Madam hase to pay you respect?¡±

    Liu Hanyun was sick? Ning Yuxuan softly sighed. He had owed her a debt from the beginning. Out of everyone, the debt that he owed Yun-<i>er</i> was the biggest one.

    After thinking it over, he turned around and went to Linghan Courtyard.

    Wen Wan didn¡¯t go with him. Instead, she watched until he had walked far away, then she headed to Feiwan Courtyard.

    Ji Man was currently trying to think of a n. If she could figure out a way to find Haohao within the next ten days, there would still be a way to turn things around, right?

    Just as she was going to the southern courtyard to pay Errong and her older brother a visit to discuss, the door was pushed open from the outside.

    ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> heard this courtyard has a new person living here, so Wan-<i>er</i> specially came over here to see you,¡± Wen Wan was still maintaining her innocent facade. She didn¡¯t know that Kangyuan had already told the truth about her fake amnesia.

    Ji Man sat back down and looked at Wen Wan with a slight smile. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s Mistress Wan.¡±

    Wen Wan excitedly looked at her as if she was looking at a total stranger. ¡°There¡¯s finally someone living in this courtyard again. Miss, for you to be given this courtyard, the marquis probably likes you a lot.¡±

    Ji Man inwardly sneered. She wanted to see what this little b*tch was going to say. ¡°Oh, no, it was nothing. This ce was randomly chosen.¡±

    ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> heard that the previous upant of Feiwan Courtyard was someone that the marquis likes.¡± Wen Wan bit her lip. ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> is truly very curious. What kind of woman can receive the marquis¡¯s affection? Thest time that Wan-<i>er</i> served the marquis in bed, the marquis called out Madam¡¯s name in the middle of the night. Wan-<i>er</i> truly doesn¡¯t understand my lord¡¯s heart.¡±

    Trantor Ramblings: I feel conflicted. Since we know that Ji Man is secretly nning to return home and leave Haohao behind, I don¡¯t think she has the right to feel hurt by Ning Yuxuan¡¯s choices. Of the two of them, he¡¯s actually the more responsible one. And, I think logically, she acknowledges that his choice isn¡¯t wrong. But... I don¡¯t know what I want her to do either.

    Also, Ji Man, priorities! No matter how much you dislike Wen Wan, why are you wasting time talking to her when you¡¯re on a short deadline just to satisfy your curiosity?

 Chapter 436 - The actual wish (1)

    Chapter 436 ¨C The actual wish (1)

    Ji Man sneered. It had been over a year since Wen Wan had been favored. Was there a need toe by here to mention it?

    Wen Wan was trying to drive a wedge between their rtionship, but she didn¡¯t have any special skills. With her third-rate skills, she couldn¡¯t even bepared to the mistresses in other s.

    Wen Wan sighed again and said, ¡°Wan-<i>er</i> has no hope of receiving the marquis¡¯s heart in this lifetime. Wan-<i>er</i> had thought that Madam would be able to receive the marquis¡¯s genuine love after giving birth to Young Master Xi. But, who could have expected that another woman woulde to live in Feiwan Courtyard? Miss, you might think you have a special spot in the marquis¡¯s heart, but look, he¡¯s not here right now. The marquis went over to Linghan Courtyard.¡±

    After saying this, Wen Wan stood up and very sympathetically looked at her. ¡°Miss, take care. Don¡¯t fall in love with the marquis.¡±

    Ji Man seriously listened to her words. If she didn¡¯t know that Wen Wan was faking amnesia, she would have been fooled into thinking that Wen Wan was giving her earnest and well-meaning advice.

    ¡°Miss Wan-<i>er</i>, don¡¯t worry. No one would genuinely love the marquis,¡± Ji Man lightly said, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t and neither would I.¡±

    Wen Wan froze in surprise for a moment before looking away and saying, ¡°I once did. Since the first moment I saw the marquis, I...¡±

    ¡°Miss Wen, you¡¯re the only that touched by your feelings. No one else is moved by it,¡± interrupted Ji Man. She chuckled and continued, ¡°You can tearfullyin in front of other people that the marquis abandoned you. You can say that you stay up all night to cry until dawn because of this, how deeply in love the two of you once were, how his favor is gone, and you¡¯re left with a broken heart. You can say all these things so that other people will think he¡¯s a heartless person.¡±

    ¡°But, you haven¡¯t put much effort into maintaining your rtionship with him. You only know how to let the marquis pamper you and love you. You don¡¯t know how to be considerate, how to show understandings for his difficulties, and how to share his burdens. You require that his love towards you remains unchanged, but you¡¯re not as lovable as you were at the beginning. Although you¡¯re the one that¡¯s brokenhearted, the person that¡¯s unworthy of any sympathy is also you.¡±

    Wen Wan was taken aback. Her expression was slightly twisted as she looked as Ji Man. She had already forgotten to keep her amnesia persona. ¡°You¡¯re saying nonsense. It was clearly you that snatched away the marquis!¡±

    ¡°Mistress Wan, you¡¯re misremembering.¡± Ji Man smiled. ¡°A long time ago, the marquis was Sangyu¡¯s beloved. He married her first, then you stole him away with your simple innocence. How can you forbid her from snatching him back?¡±

    Wen Wan was bbergasted, but she continued to quibble, ¡°I¡¯m his true love. You ruined our true love. You¡¯re the one that robbed me of my true love.¡±

    Ji Man said, ¡°Oh, in my world, there¡¯s a lot of people that like you, who say someone else¡¯s husband is their true love, and it¡¯s okay for them to abandon their wife. I think you¡¯re very suitable to be friends with those women. They have a unified name. It¡¯s called the other woman.¡±

    While Wen Wan was at a loss, Ji Man stood up and brought her to the doorway. ¡°Also, Kangyuan <i>Junzhu</i> had already told me that you¡¯re faking amnesia, and yet you still came over to put on a performance. Although your acting skills are very poor, I was still amused by it. Goodnight.¡±

    After pushing her outside and closing the doors, Ji Man leaned against the doors and heard a shriek of madness.

    Having your acting and lies being exposed was one of the most humiliating things possible. Wen Wan probably wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep well tonight.

    ¡°Nie Sangyu, you wretched woman! It serves you right that you can¡¯t find your son!¡± Wen Wan roared, then she turned to run away. Her face was flushed in anger.

    However, Ji Man swiftly opened her doors, caught up to her in a few steps, and stopped her. ¡°You know Haohao¡¯s whereabouts?¡±

    Wen Wan¡¯s entire body was trembling. Standing behind her master, Tanxiang was supporting her and looking at Ji Man with a guarded expression.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Haha, you want to know? Wen Wan¡¯s eyes were flushed red. She looked at her and said, ¡°Kneel down and beg me.¡±

    Without even thinking, Ji Man knelt down. She raised her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m begging you. Tell me where Haohao is.¡±

    Seeing that Nie Sangyu hadn¡¯t hesitated at all in kneeling, Wen Wan and Tanxiang were both shocked. Wen Wan pursed her lips, harrumphed, and said, ¡°I won¡¯t tell you even if you beg me.¡±

    Ji Man sneered. She abruptly stood up and pushed Wen Wan. As a bonus, since Tanxiang was supporting her from behind, both of these people fell to the ground when Ji Man pushed Wen Wan.

    Ji Man slowly approached them and softly asked, ¡°Have you ever seen a mother wolf that¡¯s protecting her pup?

    Wen Wan ached from her fall. She looked at her with a pale face. ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°You can joke about anything, but if you joke about my son, I¡¯ll take your life.¡± Ji Man softlyughed. Her expression was probably very terrifying, even Tanxiang let out a scream of horror.

    Tanxiang supported Wen Wan as they desperately retreated.

    The servants that had passed by here were attracted by the noise. One after another, they gathered here to watch the show. Ji Man¡¯s mind was in turmoil. Seeing that Wen Wan was scared out of her wits, Ji Man coldly harrumphed and headed towards Linghan Courtyard to see Marquis Moyu.

    Even if Wen Wan really knew Haohao¡¯s whereabouts, she wouldn¡¯t be able to get the answer from her. She needed Marquis Moyu.

    At this time, Ning Yuxuan was by Liu Hanyun¡¯s bedside. Seeing how haggard Hanyun had be, he did feel very guilty. How did he be like this? Someone that only cared about Ji Man. Why had he so thoroughly neglected everyone else, to the point that Liu Hanyun was this ill and he hadn¡¯t known?

    Ji Man wasn¡¯t a person from this world. She was a celestial immortal that would sooner orter leave. Why was he being so stupid by allowing his heart and mind to only have her?

    He closed his eyes. Just as he was about to chat with Liu Hanyun for a while, he heard someone making a loud fuss outside.

    ¡°I want to see the marquis.¡±

 Chapter 438 - You can go back (1)

    Chapter 438 ¨C You can go back (1)

    Ning Yuxuan looked for a while before asking the nearby Tanxiang, ¡°She was poisoned?

    Tanxiang had already cried to the point that she looked quite ghastly. Sobbing, she answered, ¡°Master had only went to Feiwan Courtyard to take a look. She probably said something wrong and offended Miss Nie. Miss Nie threatened to take her life. There were several other servants present, and they all heard Miss Nie¡¯s threat. And then, right after we came back, Master died of poisoning.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips. There was a coroner from the localw enforcement office waiting nearby. Ning Yuxuan turned his head to nce at the coroner and said, ¡°Do the autopsy.¡±

    The coroner ufortably looked as Tanxiang, who was doggedly guarding Wen Wan¡¯s corpse.

    ¡°My lord, how can you let other people defile my master¡¯s body by touching her? She¡¯s already dead now.¡±

    ¡°Your master has died like this. An autopsy has to be done to find her murderer,¡± said Ning Yuxuan with a somber expression. ¡°Move aside.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Tanxiang shook her head, ¡°The murderer is Miss Nie. All of the servants that were present can be witnesses. There¡¯s no reason to investigate this case. My lord, why are you being so biased?¡±

    ¡°My master has always done everything for the marquis¡¯s sake. Now that she¡¯s dead, my lord, are you going to prevent her from having a peaceful afterlife?¡± Tanxiang heartrendingly cried, even the nearby coroner was somewhat moved.

    In contrast, Ning Yuxuan was calmly looking at her. He lightly said, ¡°Tanxiang, you¡¯ve been serving Wen Wan for several years. As for whether she died for me or if she died for someone else, would you really not know the truth?¡±

    Shocked, Tanxiang slightly trembled. It wasn¡¯t known if she was trembling from anger or fear. ¡°My lord, how can you say that... My master has only love you. How could you not know...¡±

    Ning Yuxuan chuckled and gestured for the servants to pull Tanxiang away. ¡°I¡¯ll naturally know once the autopsy is done.¡±

    Tanxiang¡¯s face turned deathly pale.

    Shouldn¡¯t the marquis¡¯s heart still have a spot for her master? Didn¡¯t that person say if her master died, the marquis would definitely be slightly moved? Was it because her words weren¡¯t effective enough to make the marquis feel moved, or was it something else? Why was the marquis insisting on the autopsy?

    Tanxiang was rattled. Although the servants were pulling her away, she kept struggling and wanted to keep the corpse on the ground in her line of sight.

    Wen Wan¡¯s corpse wasid out on a quilt. Her clothes were neat, but her face was unpleasantly pale. She no longer possessed her previous good looks.

    She was supposed to be the final piece of straw that would cause Marquis Moyu to copse under the weight of everything else. That person in the pce had thought using Wen Wan as a knife to thoroughly separated Ning Yuxuan and Nie Sangyu was a well-calcted move.

    Unfortunately, that person in the pce didn¡¯t know that decisive people wouldn¡¯t let emotions affect their decisions. Moreover, this knife was truly too dull.

    Because Wen Wan was poisoned, the coroner would have to cut open the deceased¡¯s stomach to do the autopsy and take out the remnants left in there to examine. This deceased woman was the marquis¡¯s dependent, so the coroner was in a dilemma. He confirmed, ¡°Are you sure you want an autopsy done?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan nodded. ¡°Be sure to get to the bottom of this and find the truth.¡±

    Tanxiang copsed onto the ground.

    Doing the autopsy at the scene of the crime would get the most urate results, so the coroner didn¡¯t dy. Most of the other servants were dismissed. Only Tanxiang, Marquis Moyu, and the servants holding Tanxiang back were left. The coroner removed enough of Wen Wan¡¯s clothes to slice open her abdomen and took out the remnants that were left in her stomach.

    There was a smell in the air that made people feel like vomiting. Tanxiang couldn¡¯t resist covering up her nose and mouth. She wasn¡¯t able to keep crying.

    ¡°Once the examination is done, the poison can be determined,¡± said the coroner.

    Ning Yuxuan nodded. He looked at Wen Wan onest time and covered her up with a nearby in white cloth. ¡°Have her buried.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± said the other servants.

    Seeing that Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression continue to remain unchanged, Tanxiang finally gave up. This man didn¡¯t have a heart. If he could act so heartless towards a woman that he once loved so much, how could you expect him to be willing to do something for love?

    ¡°It¡¯ll take a day to figure out what the poison is and it¡¯s origin. Miss Nie will have stay in jail tonight.¡± The coroner saluted Ning Yuxuan.

    Ning Yuxuan indifferently said, ¡°That¡¯s fine. Just watch over her.¡±

    The servants stood at the side and watched as Wen Wan¡¯s corpse was carried away and the coroner left with his belongings. When everyone from the localw enforcement was gone, the marquis finally let out a long sigh.

    ¡°It¡¯s best to not fell love,¡± he said, ¡°Love is the most malicious poison. It can burrow its way through anything.¡±

    Not quite understanding, the other servants just nodded. Seeing Ning Yuxuan turned around, one of them asked, ¡°My lord, where are you going?¡±

    ¡°Jail.¡±

    The other servants, ¡°...¡± Didn¡¯t he say that he wouldn¡¯t go see her?

    ¡ª

    Because Ji Man was someone from Marquis Moyu¡¯s household, the constables didn¡¯t use torture to extort a confess from her. After she was asked a few questions, and the servants from Marquis Moyu¡¯s gave their testimonies, she was locked up in a prison cell.

    She must truly have a fated connection with this ce ce. She was back here again shortly after being let out.

    It was only that this time, there was no one in the neighboring cell to keep herpany and chat with her. There was only a dirty prisoner that kept aguishly wailing at the window.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ji Man felt less bored once she start reminiscing about everything that had happened when she first came here. However, once she started recollecting old memories, she actually thought about that wedding day in the hall, and Ning Yuxuan looking at her with loathing. And then, it was Qiangwei Courtyard, he had also looked at her disdainfully there too. After that it, it was scene after scene of his very attractive but also very dislikable face.

    Trantor Rambling: Given Wen Wan¡¯sck of intelligence, I think Ning Yuxuan could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had reced Tanxiang with a servant that was loyal to him at the beginning of the story.

 Chapter 440 - I dare not love for I fear this is only a dream (1)

    Chapter 440 ¨C I dare not love for I fear this is only a dream (1)

    The cloak was unfolded. The embroidered cedar trees still looked lifelike. This warm cloak contained a woman¡¯s cherished desire.

    Ning Yuxuan softly assented. He let go of the reins and walked to her side.

    The civil and military officials were all here. The emperor was also standing at the top. Ji Man thought that her hands were trembling because there were too many people watching.

    As she draped the cloak over him, Ning Yuxuan whispered into her ear, ¡°You told me that Sangyu¡¯s wish was to hear me say, ¡°I love you. If I say that now, will you be able to leave here?

    ¡°En.¡± Ji Man lowered her eyes. She slowly moved her hands around his neck and pulled the cloak¡¯s strings to the front of hispel.

    ¡°Will Nie Sangyu be an empty corpse?¡±

    ¡°Maybe yes, or perhaps not.¡±Ji Man slowly tied the strings into a bow. ¡°Sangyu¡¯s spirit seems very weak. She might not be able to hold onto this body.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s eyes suddenly sharpened a bit. He reached out and brought her into his arms. His voice sounded somewhat anxious, ¡°That¡¯s not important. You¡¯ll still be able to leave here, right?¡±

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ji Man didn¡¯t know why he was acting this way. He was holding her so tightly by the waist that she felt as if her waist was going to snap. He kept a tight grip on her head, so she wasn¡¯t able to turn around and see his expression.

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Ning Yuxuan¡¯s voice sounded as if he was relieved from a heavy burden. ¡°I love you.¡±

    Shocked, Ji Man suddenly felt an indescribable feeling in her heart.

    A gust of wind blew by, and the cloak slightly turned over. It looked as if the embroidered trees hade alive. They seem to glow. He doggedly held onto her and wouldn¡¯t let her turn her head, but he continued to softly say, ¡°I love you, Ji Man.¡±

    She could hear the sound of her heart beating. Thump. Thump. Thump. It sounded as if something had broken. It was beating very quickly. The light in front of her seemed to be increasingly bright. Her consciousness became blurry. It felt as if her spirit had floated into the sky, and she suddenly saw the scene behind her body.

    The departing troops had taken out their hooked spears. Step by step, they approached Marquis Moyu, who was still tenaciously hugging Nie Sangyu¡¯s body. He was murmuring something into her ear, but his eyes were looking at the group of soldiers.

    Startled, Ji Man finally realized what was wrong about this scene.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ning Mingjie and Nie Qingyun were missing from the crowd of civil and military officials that were assembled today. There were no familiar faces from the Six Ministries. Xiao Tianyi was standing by the emperor¡¯s side, and they were surround by Xiao n¡¯s members.

    It was only Ning Yuxuan that was hemmed in by the numerous soldiers.

    ¡°No...¡± Ji Man really wanted to say something, but no one could hear her voice. The woman in Marquis Moyu¡¯s arms slumped over as if she was dead.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± a tired voice lightly said thesest two words before finally disappearing from her mindpletely.

    Ji Man widened her eyes. She called out in panic, ¡°No!¡±

    She didn¡¯t want to leave. At the very least, she shouldn¡¯t leave at this time. What would happen to Ning Yuxuan? How could he have stepped into such a horrifying trap?!

    There was a p of thunder, but Ji Man seemed to be floating farther and farther away. She tried to grab onto something. She wanted to stay here, but her attempt was futile.

    A sense of weightlessness came over her. Ji Man abruptly opened her eyes. To her surprise, she saw the ceiling of her apartment. Her rm was going off next to her. Next to it, the calendar showed that today was August 27, 2014. There was also arge stack of reports that she had brought home to work on yesterday and was going to bring back to work today.

    Noplicated embroidery patterns, no bloody scenes of mutual attempts at deception, no Errong, no Yurun, no Wen Wan, or Ning Yuxuan.

    At a loss, she stood up and looked around. Several years had passed in that world, but now, it was just one night¡¯s dream?

    She nkly sat there, then pinched her thigh. Ji Man couldn¡¯t helpughing.

    Ah, so it was just a dream. There wasn¡¯t a female lead or a secondary female character. There wasn¡¯t a Marquis Moyu. All those years of struggling and cautiously living, it was all in vain. It had all just been a dream.

    She opened her eyes again. She was still in the peaceful modern era where there was gender equality and monogamy.

    Wasn¡¯t this wonderful? Ji Man wrylyughed. Her face felt a bit itchy. It was only when she touched her face that she realized she had been crying. Not only that, enough time had passed for the tears to dry.

    Why did she cry? She tilted her head but couldn¡¯t figure it out. It was only a dream, and the people in the dream were just imaginary characters. Why would she cry over them?

    She dazedly washed up, picked up the reports, put on her heels, and headed out for work. As always, the air in the city was irritating, and the crowded subway was enough to make a person feel nauseous. The air in the subway was filled with the smell of breakfast steamed buns, but taking the subway was much smoother than riding inside a bumpy carriage. It only took a short time before the subway had traveled halfway through the city.

    When Ji Man left the subway, she was thinking that if Ning Yuxuan was here and took a trip on the subway, his face would end up ghastly pale after being smushed by the crowding people, even if his expression was usually calm.

    ¡°Morning.¡± After greeting her cubicle neighbors, Ji Man sat down as usual and swiftly prepared to start her work. Her nearby coworker was scrolling threw a webpage and suddenly eximed, ¡°What a well-written poem.¡±

    Ji Man didn¡¯t listen to her. She had always cared about efficiency at work. Although she was already holding a report in her hand, she was only nkly looking at it. She needed to quickly adapt to the present.

 Chapter 444 - Turn of events (1)

    Chapter 444 ¨C Turn of events (1)

    Marquis Moyu voiced his assent. Ji Man had been helping him stand up when he suddenly fainted without warning.

    Ji Man only had enough time to feel the weight on her hand abruptly increasing. She almost fell to the ground with him. ¡°My lord!¡±

    The surrounding people were startled. From the other side, Ning Mingjie hastily came over to support Ning Yuxuan.

    ¡°There was poison on the weapons?¡± Ji Man angrily raised her head to re at Zhao Zhe.

    The corners of Zhao Zhe¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°How could there be poison? They were usingmon military issued weapons and only made brief contact.¡±

    If it was only brief contact, how could there be a deep wound on Ning Yuxuan¡¯s shoulder? Ji Man supported Ning Yuxuan and somewhat anxiously said, ¡°Go find a doctor first.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Your Majesty, if the marquis doesn¡¯t head out soon, the auspicious time will have passed.¡± Nearby, a ceremonial official furrowed his brow as he reminded, ¡°It would be very unlucky for the army to depart after the auspicious time has passed.¡±

    Ancient times people were very superstitious and thought these superstitious practices were extremely urate. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be so many officials responsible for ceremonies and astrologers observing the sky in the Ministry of Rites. An army of 80,000 soldiers was already waiting outside, but themander had suddenly fainted. If Ning Yuxuan was forcibly brought onto a horse, and the soldiers saw their unconsciousmander, was there still a need to fight a battle? They might as well give up now and directly give their country to the enemy.

    However, if Zhao Zhe had the 80,000 soldiers wait until Ning Yuxuan had recovered to depart, not only would the auspicious time be missed, how would Ning Yuxuan be able to sessfullymand the army?

    The nearby people had tried all sorts of ways ¨C from pinching him to using needles on his acupuncture points to pressing on his pressure points ¨C but Ning Yuxuan remained unconscious, and the wound on his shoulder had gotten worse from their attempts. That injury was starting to look terrible.

    With an ashen face, Zhao Zhe looked at Ning Yuxuan for a long time before he finally clenched his jaw and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Ning Mingjie?¡±

    ¡°This subject is here.¡± Ning Mingjie knelt down again.

    ¡°This emperor bestows you the title ofmander over these troops that will head out on a punitive expedition to the west. Are you willing to lead these reinforcements to the borders and ensure the security of my country and its citizens?¡±

    Ning Mingjie deeply kowtowed. ¡°Thank you for your great benevolence, Your Majesty¡±

    Ji Man was thrilled. So Ning Yuxuan wouldn¡¯t have to go out on the expedition? Although she was worried why he had suddenly fainted, it meant that he could remain in the capital.

    ¡°Alright, bring the marquis back to his estate for now.¡± Zhao Zhe nced at Ji Man and said, ¡°The position of themander has been temporarily changed due to the desperate circumstances. Yuxuan is a good general. Once he¡¯s recovered, he¡¯ll follow after the troops and go the bordends too.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Ji Man agreed on Ning Yuxuan¡¯s behalf.

    Even if he was only pretending to be ill, it seemed that he would have to keep up this pretense for a long time.

    Ji Man brought Ning Yuxuan back onto the carriage, and they headed to his estate. On the way there, he woke up. He opened his eyes and looked at her as she said, ¡°You¡¯re freed from your dilemma.¡±

    Since he didn¡¯t have to go on the expedition, they could work together to figure out how save Haohao. She didn¡¯t have to stay here and face Zhao Zhe by herself.

    Ji Man looked at his bleeding wound. Furrowing her brow, she asked, ¡°Did you do that deliberately?

    ¡°En.¡± Ning Yuxuan moved his head slightly up so that it was pillowed on her thigh. He closed his eyes after he found afortable position. ¡°Zhao Zhe is determined to get rid of me. It can only end in my death or him perishing.¡±

    Shocked, Ji Man said, ¡°It¡¯s another fight for power? You¡¯ve gone through multiple rounds of this. Why don¡¯t you just try to seize the throne for yourself?¡±

    ¡°I have thought about that.¡± Ning Yuxuan helplesslyughed. ¡°However, it¡¯s an ancestral rule that no one in my n can scheme to sit on the throne. The imperial family¡¯sst name can¡¯t be changed. Even though the person on the throne keeps changing, I can never be allowed to sit on it.¡±

    Otherwise, how could he be willing to stay only a subject despite the numerous opportunities?

    Oh, so it was like that. Ji Man had thought it was because Marquis Moyu didn¡¯t have great ambition and was devoted to the idea of supporting the current ruler.

    ¡°Since the emperor wants me to leave once I¡¯ve recovered, my illness can only get worse.¡± Ning Yuxuan looked at Ji Man and earnestly said, ¡°This information is a matter of life and death. You¡¯re the only one I shared it with. Don¡¯t disappoint me and turn your back on me.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ji Man seriously nodded.

    The new emperor had only recently ascended to the throne, so his foundations weren¡¯t stable yet. However, Ji Man thought the Ning Yuxuan¡¯s odds of sess wasn¡¯t as good as the previous time. After all, Zhao Zhe didn¡¯t suffer from psychological issues like Zhao Li. Back when Zhao Zhe was the crown prince, Zhao Jue and Zhao Li hadn¡¯t been a match for his resourcefulness and scheming.

    In addition, Marquis Moyu was handicapped by his wife and children. Although he had control of the officials in the six ministries and was allied with generals, from her perspective, he appeared to be in a weaker position.

    Ji Man felt quite anxious. First, she didn¡¯t know if this was a dream or reality. Second, why had she chosen such a troublesome man? At anytime and at anyce, he might lose his life. She had to worry on his behalf.

    But, as she was running back here in her heels, she had already understood. So, what if she was dreaming? <i>I dare not love for I fear this is only a dream.</i> At the very least, she had properly experienced love. It was better than waking up, nkly looking around, and not even knowing why she was crying.

    If she was too scared of getting hurt, then why bother with trying to have a romantic rtionship? She was already twenty-six years old and past the ideal age for getting married. Wasn¡¯t it because her mechanism to protect herself from getting hurt had been taken too far? She hadn¡¯t been willing to invest her feelings in a rtionship. She had been too scared of getting hurt. In the end, she had be a leftover woman.

    Taking a deep breath, Ji Man stroked Ning Yuxuan¡¯s head and quietly said, ¡°This time, I¡¯ll stand at my lord¡¯s side.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan opened his eyes. They were gleaming as he looked at her for a while, then he slowly closed them. ¡°En.¡±

 Chapter 446 - Men arent dependable (1)

    Chapter 446 ¨C Men aren¡¯t dependable (1)

    Ji Man opened and closed her mouth. She really wanted to say that she was his mother. However, Ji Man suddenly felt a bit upset that Haohao would look at her as if she was a stranger when he was already this old.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it after we go home.¡±

    Guibai looked Nie Sangyu and nodded. He quickly followed after her to leave the pce. They had to return to the marquis¡¯s estate before Zhao Zhe discovered their disappearance.

    Ji Man wasn¡¯t nning on arguing with Zhao Zhe on why Haohao was in Wangyue Building¡¯s basement. It was fine now that she had found him. In the future, she would keep him well protected. Zhao Zhe would probably have a headache for a period of time now that he had lost his bargaining chip.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Why was he taken away?!¡± Zhao Zhe shouted at Shen Youqing, who was on the bed.

    @@novelbin@@

    Shen Youqing¡¯s face was deathly pale. She had recently finished drinking medicine to help with her pregnancy. Her brow was furrowed as she answered, ¡°Hasn¡¯t Nie-<i>shi</i> vowed in front of arge crowd that she would follow Marquis Moyu in life and death? Your Majesty, since it¡¯s no longer possible for you to bring Nie-<i>shi</i> into the pce, what¡¯s wrong with this servant returning Marquis Moyu¡¯s heir to her in order to gain karma points for my unborn child?¡±

    Original trantion is from fuyuneko dot org. If you¡¯re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

    ¡°Preposterous!¡± Zhao Zhe stepped forward and angrily grabbed her wrist. ¡°Why is your vision so short-sighted and narrow? Why do you only see that Ning Jinchen is Nie Sangyu¡¯s son.? Do you not know that he¡¯s also the marquis¡¯s heir? If he can be used to threaten Nie Sangyu, then he can naturally also be used to threaten Ning Yuxuan. This emperor worked so hard to keep him hidden for such a long time, and you actually turned around and gave him back to Nie Sangyu?¡±

    Shen Youqing knew how topete for favor in a harem, but she didn¡¯t understand the conflicts in the imperial court. She had almost miscarried, but the emperor hade here to criticize her instead of showing concern. It was inevitable that she would feel disillusioned. Shen Youqing lowered her head and stayed silent.

    ¡°This emperor has originally thought we could work together to stabilize my reign. Instead, you do something like this to harm me behind my back!¡± Zhao Zhe flung her wrist away. As he left in huff, he tossed her these departing words, ¡°Stay here and reflect on your actions.¡±

    It had been difficult enough to capture a bargaining chip that could frighten Nie Sangyu and pressure Ning Yuxuan. And now, someone that was supposed to be loyal to him had ruined it. Now that Ning Jinchen had returned to the marquis¡¯s estate, what other possible reservations could Marquis Moyu have?

    Zhao Zhe rubbed his temples.

    The nearby eunuch said, ¡°The Department of Pce Affairs sent over a list of courtdies that recently entered the pce. Your Majesty, do you want to take a look?¡±

    After he had ordered Consort Luo¡¯s death, no one else had been added to his harem. Zhao Zhe thought it over before nodding. ¡°Bring this list over.¡±

    ¡ª

    When Haohao returned to the marquis¡¯s estate, he threw himself into his father¡¯s arms and cried for a long time. Ning Yuxuan promptlyforted his son. In the passing, he sent Guibai to bring a board.

    Not sure what to do, Ji Man stood at the side. This was her first time meeting Haohao with Nie Sangyu¡¯s original appearance. Logically, she should be affectionately hugging her son. Instead, she actually felt nervous.

    Seeing that Haohao had finished crying, Ning Yuxuan turned Haohao around to look at Ji Man. ¡°Haohao, do you recognize her?¡±

    Haohao blinked. He thought for a long time before finding an answer, ¡°She looks very simr to the woman in the painting that¡¯s hanging in dad¡¯s study.¡±

    Painting? Ji Man raised her eyebrow and looked at Marquis Moyu.

    Ning Yuxuan awkwardly coughed and covered his son¡¯s mouth. ¡°That¡¯s not what I want you to talk about. Do you find her familiar?¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s palm felt a bit sweaty. She stiffly smiled at Haohao.

    Haohao¡¯s eyes were full of doubt. He shook his head and mumbled into Ning Yuxuan¡¯s palm, ¡°Not really...¡±

    Ning Yuxuan hastily stopped him from continuing. He smiled as he looked at Ji Man and said, ¡°Our child has never seen you in this appearance, so it¡¯s only to be expected he¡¯ll find you a bit unfamiliar. It¡¯ll fine once you spend more time together.¡±

    Ji Man sighed. She crouched down and used Teacher Ji¡¯s voice to ask, ¡°Heir, have you learned a new poem today?¡±

    Haohao froze in surprise for a moment before instinctively reciting a poem. He swayed his head as he said,

    <i>¡°Purple mists rise from the Incense Burner Peak in the sun;</i>

    <i>The waterfall seems to hang above the stream, seen from far¡¯way.</i>

    <i>Straight down three thousand feet the white spraying torrent does run.</i>

    <i>Descending from Ninth Heaven, could this be the Milky Way?¡±</i>

    (T/N: Trantion is taken from here. It¡¯s another poem by Li Bai.)

    Ji Man stroked a beard that wasn¡¯t there. She nodded and said, ¡°The heir is clever.¡±

    ¡°Teacher?¡± Haohao widened his eyes. He scratched the back of his head and looked at her in surprise. ¡°Teacher doesn¡¯t look like this...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. You don¡¯t need to think about that.¡± Ning Yuxuan picked up Haohao and positioned him so that he could still see Ji Man. ¡°You have to call her mom.¡±

    Haohao was dumbstruck. A whileter, he pursed lips and lowered his head.

    Smiling, Ji Man asked, ¡°You don¡¯t want to call me mom?¡±

    Haohao was a smart child. He knew that the person in front of him was a good person. However, the mom in his memories didn¡¯t look like her. Seeing how this older sister¡¯s smile looked sad, Haohao felt conflicted. Should he call her mom or not? If he didn¡¯t, she would be really sad. But, if he did, he would be the one feeling sad.

    He had lost his mother a long time ago.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. You can call me teacher instead of mom.¡± Ji Man continued to smile as she pinched his little face. It wasn¡¯t as silky smooth as before. ¡°The heir needs to properly recuperate too.¡±

    The topic was diverted. Haohao tugged the edge of his sleeve to avoid his father¡¯s gaze. It wasn¡¯t his fault, ah. It was this older sister that said he could call her teacher....

    Ning Yuxuan silently sighted.

    The family of three had finally reunited, but it felt as if there was dark, dismal wind blowing in the marquis¡¯s estate. Liu Hanyun was bed-ridden and didn¡¯t leave her courtyard. After a period of time had passed, Mu Shuiqing would asionallye out to chat with Ji Man.

    ¡ª

    ¡°This servant heard that the emperor is choosing new concubines.¡± Mu Shuiqing had only recently recovered from a serious illness. It was rare for her to be in such good spirits and be in the mood toe over and gossip with her.

 Chapter 450 - Women that he needed to marry and women that he didnt (1)

    Chapter 450 ¨C Women that he needed to marry and women that he didn¡¯t (1)

    A woman could be weak or tough, but no matter what her attitude was, as long as she did the following three things, her husband wouldn¡¯t bully her.

    First, respect her husband about his choices in his career and his other decisions. Give him sufficient respect. Even if you think he¡¯s wrong, don¡¯t criticize him and boss him around. Instead, in an appropriate tone, carefully give him suggestions.

    Second, don¡¯t rely too much on your husband. She could spend her husband¡¯s money, but she shouldn¡¯tpletely rely on her husband to support her.

    Third, no matter how considerate and gentle a wife was, she had to have a bottom line and have principles. If the bottom line was ever touched, it was necessary for an explosive scene to ur so that he would clearly remember to not do it again.

    Ji Man had forgotten which forum post she had read these words. Anyways, she thought these rules were quite reasonable. If one day, she wasn¡¯t happy living with Ning Yuxuan, she could immediately leave him. She wouldn¡¯t starve to death without him. She had her rice store. If she wasn¡¯t happy, she could go look for Errong and Yurun. He wasn¡¯t the only person in her world.

    If male chauvinism didn¡¯t die, the holy war would simply continue indefinitely!

    However, she couldn¡¯t just think about taking a stand and fighting Ning Yuxuan. The two of them still had to live together. Her advantage was that she was a modern-day person, so she was more knowledgeable and slightly smarter than the average person here.

    Right now, Ning Yuxuan was probably secretly preparing for the major event. As the person standing by his side, she couldn¡¯t cause trouble for him. Instead, she had to do her best to assist him.

    Men had their battlefields, and women had their own as well. After Erxin was promoted, Ji Man went with Errong to visit her in the pce.

    Erxin¡¯s rank wasn¡¯t considered high, however, other than the empress, Erxin was the only one to receive the emperor¡¯s favor in being promoted. Ji Man looked at this young woman¡¯s delicate and pretty face. There was a big difference between her and Errong, who had a carefree personality. Erxin seemed like a sensible youngdy that strictly adhered to etiquette. It wasn¡¯t surprising that she had received the emperor¡¯s favor.

    Errong remained in the hall to chat with Erxin while Ji Man left to go to the empress¡¯s pce.

    The ceremony to promote Shen Youqing to empress had already passed. It hadn¡¯t been as grand as one would have imagined. The emperor had publicly said it was because he didn¡¯t want to tire the empress out now that she was pregnant. However, Shen Youqing knew the truth. Zhao Zhe wouldn¡¯t be that considerate of her.

    Now that she was pregnant, it wasn¡¯t suitable for her to receive favor. With wave after wave of new women entering the pce, Shen Youqing felt awful. And yet, as the empress, she had to be the mother of the nation. She couldn¡¯t show her jealousy or casually punish other people. As the empress, she was worse off than an imperial concubine.

    Since Ji Man had visited Shen Youqing many times before, Shen Youqing¡¯s servants had be familiar with her. She didn¡¯t have to say a word before she was led to Shen Youqing to pay her respects.

    ¡°Why do you have the free time to visit today?¡± Shen Youqing wasn¡¯t happy to see her. During the past round of selection, the emperor had kept several of the courtdies that looked simr to Nie Sangyu. This woman continued to be her greatest threat.

    Ji Man smiled and said, ¡°Sangyu just came here as an ordinary friend to pay respects to Your Majesty. Sangyu heard that Your Majesty has been feeling ill-at-ease, so Sangyu came here to chat with you.¡±

    Right now, Nie Sangyu was a meremoner, but she could freely go anywhere in the pce. If she did anything wrong, the emperor wouldn¡¯t me her. How could it be possible for the women in the pce to not hate her? If Nie Sangyu didn¡¯t have the emperor¡¯s love as her support, what right would she have to call herself the empress¡¯s friend? Or, even be granted an audience?

    While Shen Youqing inwardly sulked, her slight smile didn¡¯t waver. ¡°How thoughtful of you.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°This humble woman thinks that Your Majesty doesn¡¯t have to worry about losing favor,¡± Ji Man seriously said, ¡°Your Majesty¡¯s n has worked hard to make strong contributions for the emperor¡¯s benefit. No matter what, Your Majesty¡¯s position as the empress can¡¯t be rattled.¡±

    Shen Youqing nodded. She knew this. However, without the emperor¡¯s favor, what would be the point in being the empress?

    ¡°Your Majesty doesn¡¯t need to avoid these new people and should personally train them. This way, you¡¯ll be familiar with them, and everyone will be closer in the future.¡± Ji Man smiled. ¡°This humble woman has said too much. Your Majesty naturally already knows this.¡±

    Of course, Shen Youqing already knew that it was important to win over the loyalty of the imperial harem¡¯s members. She didn¡¯t need Nie Sangyu to teach her this. It was only that she wasn¡¯t the type of woman that could tolerate her husband¡¯s other women.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t say anything extraneous. She assured Shen Youqing that her position as empress was unmovable while hinting that she had to instruct and be guarded against these new women. Otherwise, what if they became major threats to her one day in the future?

    In fact, not every pce was rife with thepetition, even if there was, it wasn¡¯t as fierce as it was portrayed on TV. However, after Ji Man carefully stirred these thoughts into the muddy waters of Shen Youqing¡¯s mind, other simr thoughts bubbled over. Once Ji Man left, Shen Youqing ordered her servants to bring over the newly arrived courtdies to the eastern pce so they could respectfully listen to her words of edification.

    There were people in the pce that were loyal to Ning Yuxuan. They took advantage of this perfect opportunity by ying a few tricks. During one of the empress¡¯s lectures, Erxin was pushed from behind and sprained her ankle.

    When Zhao Zhe heard that the empress was giving a hard time to someone that he was currently favoring, he was fuming mad as he took Erxin away. Although he didn¡¯t reprimand Shen Youqing, a few people in the eastern pce murmured within Shen Youqing¡¯s hearing range that the emperor must be harboring a grudge against her. Words like once a man achieves great sess, his main wife would be the least favored were also said. Even if the empress was pregnant, she didn¡¯t have a strong position in the emperor¡¯s heart.

    These pce servants were the best at their craft. Instead of saying these kinds of words in front of Shen Youqing, they would sneakily say this on the front staircase leading to the pce¡¯s doorway. Even if Shen Youqing didn¡¯t want to hear these words, it would be difficult for her to avoid hearing it.

    Zhao Zhe no longer cared about her? Shen Youqing covered her lips. Extremely upset, she wanted to directly ask the emperor. She got onto a pnquin and ordered the pnquin bearers to bring her over to the emperor¡¯s hall.

    However, the pnquin bearers ended up taking her on a detour. Because of their dillydallying, her arrival at Zichen Hall interrupted the emperor, who was in the midst of favoring a pce maid.

 Chapter 453 - - I like him (2)

    Chapter 453 ¨C I like him (2)

    Tanxiang waited until that servant girl had walked far away. She thought; truly the Heavens are helping me. She went forward and silently approached Haohao from the behind. Seeing that were no one else around, she smiled and said, ¡°Heir, Madam is looking for you.¡±

    Haohao put down the book. He looked at her confusion. ¡°What Madam?¡±

    ¡°The main wife that lives in Linghan Courtyard, ah.¡±

    Haohao was frightened by Tanxiang¡¯s fake-looking smile. He retreated a few steps. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go. I¡¯m waiting here for someone.¡±

    ¡°You have to go even if you don¡¯t want to!¡± Tanxiang¡¯s smile looked somewhat deranged. She went forward, covered Haohao¡¯s mouth, tied him up, and tossed him into a bup bag.

    ¡°Even if I can¡¯t deal with your mother, do you think I can¡¯t deal with a little child like you?¡± Tanxiang sneered. She looked around again, before bringing the bag onto her shoulder and carrying Haohao to Linghan Courtyard.

    After Wen Wan had died, she had been living in Qiangwei Courtyard by herself. Everyone in the estate thought she had gone crazy, so even if someone saw her behaving strangely, no one would dare to approach her and stop her. After all, lunatics would bite people.

    After her master had died, she lived worse than the estate¡¯s dogs. She couldn¡¯t think of a direct way to get revenge for her master, so she could only harm Nie Sangyu behind her back. Right now, she was bringing the heir to the Madam. How would she deal with him?

    In this household, it was Liu Hanyun that was the most woeful woman. Wasn¡¯t she the main wife? Hadn¡¯t she given birth to a son? But, she had a hard time even seeing the marquis¡¯s face. The marquis freely spent every day with Nie Sangyu and the heir, but he never looked at Liu Hanyun¡¯s son, much less look at her. Tanxiang didn¡¯t believe that Liu Hanyun¡¯s heart wouldn¡¯t have any resentment.

    Hadn¡¯t Liu Hanyun fainted when she heard that Nie Sangyu was pregnant again? Even if Liu Hanyun was a person that could tolerate a lot, Tanxiang really wanted to see what the oue would be if she secretly brought the heir to her courtyard.

    @@novelbin@@

    If Haohao died, then Young Master Xi-er would be the heir.

    ¡ª

    Liu Hanyun saw Tanxianging over with something, but wasn¡¯t too surprised. She only looked at Tanxiang and asked, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Tanxiang darkly smiled. ¡°This servant only wants Nie Sangyu to be so stricken with grief that she wants to die.¡±

    ¡°Why did youing looking for me?¡± Liu Hanyun calmly looked at her. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just do it yourself?¡±

    Tanxiang was taken aback. She slightly pulled back her emotions, straightened her posture, and said, ¡°This servant wants to leave the marquis¡¯s estate. Madam, please help me. This servant doesn¡¯t have a single coin...¡±

    Hearing this, Liu Hanyun finally lowered her guard. She nodded, took a banknote from her dressing table, and handed it to Tanxiang.

    ¡°Thank you, Madam!¡± Tanxiang repeatedly kowtowed before leaving.

    Haohao quietly looked at Liu Hanyun¡¯s face without making any attempt to get away. Liu Hanyun¡¯s gaze swept over him, and she gently picked him up. ¡°Heir, that must have been a frightful experience.¡±

    Although she said these words, she didn¡¯t untie him or take out the thing muffling his voice.

    ¡°I have some honey here. Heir, do you want to eat it?¡± Liu Hanyun took out a small red bottle. ¡°It¡¯s very yummy.¡±

    Haohao shook his head. His lips were wobbly, and he looked as if he was about to cry.

    However, Liu Hanyun kept a tight grip on him. The smile on her face looked increasingly horrifying.

    The cloth was finally taken out of his mouth, but in the next instance, medicine was poured down his throat. Haohao fruitlessly struggled, but in the end, he could only swallow down the medicine.

    ¡°Sweet child, go to sleep. You¡¯ve already enjoyed such an easy andfortable life for so long. It¡¯s about time you let your younger brother experience it too,¡± said Liu Hanyun softly. She soothingly patted Haohao¡¯s back just like how she would coax Xi-<i>er</i> to sleep.

    ¡ª

    When Ji Man and Ning Yuxuan entered the pce, Zhao Zhe was smiling more happily than when he found out he was going to be a father.

    Hepletely ignored Ning Yuxuan¡¯s presence and looked at Ji Man as he asked, ¡°Is your condition stable?¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty, thank you for your concern.¡± Ji Man knelt down and said, ¡°Is Your Majesty still not nning on bestowing the marriage? Sangyu is pregnant with the marquis¡¯s child.¡±

    Zhao Zhe¡¯s smile stiffened. He pursed his lips and asked, ¡°How can you know for sure that the marquis is the father of your baby?¡±

    ¡°Because from beginning to end, this servant has only been with the marquis.¡± Ji Man furrowed her brow. She was already confronting him. How could a person act so shamelessly?

    ¡°You¡¯ve only been with one person?¡± Zhao Zhe seemed as if he had heard a joke. He suddenlyughed, and there was even a hint of sadness and pain in his eyes.

    Looking at his eyes, even Ji Man felt an inkling of doubt towards her memory. Had she slept with Zhao Zhe before?

    Marquis Moyu¡¯s expression was very ugly. Standing next to Ji Man, he stretched his hand out and helped her slowly stand up.

    ¡°Your Majesty, what will it take for you to let go of this husband and wife?¡± He asked.

    Zhao Zhe raised his eyebrows. ¡°This emperor hasn¡¯t bestowed the marriage yet. How could the two of you dare to be husband and wife?¡±

    ¡°Although there¡¯s no formal status, the marquis and Sangyu had already be husband and wife a long time ago.¡± Ji Man raised her head to look at him. ¡°Your Majesty, you can block us from getting married and also nder Sangyu¡¯s reputation, but the marquis and Sangyu are already husband and wife.¡±

    ¡°He already has a wife, even if you marry him, you¡¯ll only be a concubine.¡± In a sh, Zhao Zhe pointed at Ning Yuxuan and said, ¡°This emperor can¡¯t tell. What¡¯s good about this person?¡±

    Ji Man smiled. ¡°He¡¯s not good. He has a harem. He¡¯s merciless and vicious. I can¡¯t guess what he¡¯s thinking. He¡¯s even had children with other women. It¡¯s not even a question of what¡¯s good about him. He¡¯s simply utterly awful.¡±

    The corners of Ning Yuxuan¡¯s mouth twitched. He turned his head to the side to look at her.

    ¡°But, I like him.¡± Ji Man lowered her eyes as she said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing good about him, but I like him. I used to say that I wouldn¡¯t like disloyal men, who had other women. That I wanted someone who could repair light bulbs and knows how to fixputers. But, after meeting him, all of those conditions became obsolete. Your Majesty, do you understand this feeling?¡±

 Chapter 455 - From heaven to hell (2)

    Chapter 455 ¨C From heaven to hell (2)

    Ji Man let out a long sigh of relief. Ning Yuxuan showed signs of happiness too. They were finally obtaining an imperial edict for marriage.

    However, after Zhao Zhe finished writing, he smiled at Ning Yuxuan and said, ¡°Marquis, take a look. Is this correct?¡±

    Furrowing his brow, Ning Yuxuan stepped forward to take the imperial edict and read it.

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s expression turned ugly. He raised his head and looked Zhao Zhe. ¡°Your Majesty, since you¡¯ve already agreed, why make things difficult for us?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯ll be an auspicious day five years from now.¡± Zhao Zhe lightly smiled. ¡°It¡¯ll be a very suitable day for a wedding. The head of the astrology department specially calcted this date for the emperor. There¡¯ll be a gorgeous spectacle in the sky that day. Be sure to not let down this emperor¡¯s good intentions.¡±

    Although they couldn¡¯tin that he hadn¡¯t bestowed them a marriage, but with the way he did it, he might as well not have bestowed it. The only difference was that he had given Ji Man the title of Ning Yuxuan¡¯s fianc¨¦e.

    Still, this was good too. This way, he couldn¡¯t have Ji Man enter the inner ce anymore.

    When everyone was departing the hall, Zhao Zhe called out to Xiao Tianyi, who was walking at the very end of the group.

    Zhao Zhe simply said, ¡°Cousin, don¡¯t forget which family you belong to.¡±

    Xiao Tianyi nodded and left after saluting.

    ¡ª

    On the carriage ride back to the estate, Ji Man¡¯s heart was full of happiness. Sitting next to Ning Yuxuan, she hummed a tune. Seeing that he wasn¡¯t showing any response, she touched his forehead and asked in concern, ¡°Did you lose your mind from bumping your head?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan pulled her hand down and held it in his. He chuckled. ¡°I haven¡¯t. It¡¯s just rare to see you so happy.¡±

    ¡°How can I not be happy?¡± Ji Man thought that if she had a tail, it would be raised up to the sky right now. ¡°I¡¯ve finally gotten rid of that big pervert, and I have my child. Even if someone offered me fifty gold taels right now to cry, I wouldn¡¯t be able to.¡±

    Marquis Moyu chuckled. Her good mood was infectious. He wished they could get home sooner, so he could take her and Haohao out to eat some snacks.

    However, as soon as they arrived, they saw there was something very wrong in the estate. The servant girl that was supposed to watch Haohao was waiting at the entrance. As soon as she saw them, she knelt down and kowtowed until her head was bleeding. ¡°This servant deserves to die!¡±

    Generally, servants wouldn¡¯t be so sincere with kowtowing. Ji Man smiled. When they were supposedly kowtowing, their heads would never actually touch the ground. What could this servant girl have possibly done wrong for her to continue repeatedly knock her forehead against the ground even after it was bleeding?

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s expression had already changed. He went forward and wrenched the servant girl up. ¡°What happened? Where¡¯s the heir?¡±

    ¡°The heir is in the estate.... he¡¯s in his courtyard.¡± The servant girl was trembling in fear. Looking at Ning Yuxuan, she pleased, ¡°My lord, please spare this servant¡¯s life.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    If Haohao was in the courtyard, why was she begging for her life? Ji Man felt puzzled, but she suppressed her unease. Haohao would be okay. Hadn¡¯t a monk said that Haohao was meant for riches and nobility?

    They turned and sprinted towards Haohao¡¯s courtyard. This was the first time that Ji Man and Ning Yuxuan ran without any regard to keeping an elegant image. They even ran through a flowerbed on their way to the courtyard.

    When they arrived, the room was quiet and didn¡¯t have the usual sound of Haohao reciting from a book orughing. Although a doctor had already arrived before them, he was sitting next to Haohao and at aplete loss. He had opened his medicine box and was holding a needle in his hand.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Ning Yuxuan walked to the bed and looked at Haohao¡¯s little face that was turning blue.

    Haohao was silently lying there without making any sound. He almost seemed if he had stopped breathing.

    The nearby doctor trembled as he said, ¡°My lord, the heir has been poisoned with something strange...¡±

    Ji Manughed when heard these words. A strange poison? It was another strange poison again. Why were there so many sinister poisons in the ancient world? Why were there so many malicious people?!

    Ji Man went forward and stroked Haohao¡¯s face. She looked at the doctor and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you using your needles? You already took them out. Why aren¡¯t you using them?

    Hard-pressed, the doctor replied, ¡°This one has already tried them. They didn¡¯t work. There¡¯s no antidote to the heir¡¯s poison. This one is afraid...¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s eyes widened. Ning Yuxuan couldn¡¯t ept reality either. He turned his head to look at the servant girl with the bleeding forehead and angrily said, ¡°Who did this?¡±

    The servant girl repeatedly shook her head. ¡°This servant just went to the toilet. When this servant came back to the garden, the heir was already on the ground. Many of the servants went back to visit their families recently, so there was no one around to see whom else entered the garden. This servant... This servant really doesn¡¯t know.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s eyes were red. Ji Man nkly sat down on the bed and didn¡¯t say a word. When the doctor packed up his stuff, Haohao started to painfully whimper, ¡°Dad...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Ning Yuxuan hastily returned to the bed and picked up Haohao. ¡°Dad is here.¡±

    Haohao¡¯s little face, which had finally regained some weight after his kidnapping, looked deathly pale right now. Ji Man clenched her jaw as tears fell down. She had clearly been in heaven a moment ago, why had she fallen to hell in the next moment?

    Who was so vicious that they could harm a child?

    ¡°Check everyone in the estate,¡± Ning Yuxuan ordered Guibai, ¡°Tell me if anyone has disappeared.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Guibai left right after acknowledging the order.

    It was as if the estate was shrouded in ck fog. Ning Yuxuan invited over many famous doctors, but they all said that Haohao would die in a few days if the antidote wasn¡¯t found.

    During this time, Ji Man tirelessly watched after Haohao. She even knelt down towards the cloak in the wardrobe and pleaded with Nie Sangyu, ¡°He¡¯s your son too. Can you send him to modern-day for medical treatment? The medical treatment in modern-day can save him.¡±

    However, Nie Sangyu hadn¡¯t appeared again after that previous dream.

 Chapter 456 - Mother (1)

    Chapter 456 ¨C Mother (1)

    Each day, Haohao¡¯s condition worsened further. When he woke up, he would be in so much pain that he could only scream and cry. Ji Man felt so upset that she would rather he stay unconscious. At the very least, he would feel less pain in his sleep.

    Guibai very quickly found out that Tanxiang had disappeared.

    Did she do this? Ning Yuxuan sneered. A portrait of Tanxiang was painted and sent to the local governmental office. Notices that dered she was a wanted fugitive were hanged up. These notices stretched all the way from the capital to thousands miles away. There was no ce for Tanxiang to find sanctuary.

    Mu Shuiqing looked at Marquis Moyu, whose brow had remained furrowed this entire time, and sighed. ¡°My lord, in the past, you remembered to never show too much favor on one person. The more you ignored them, the safer they would be. Even if you were going to favor them, you would take measures to protect them thoroughly in advance. Why did you forget this time?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t understand her words. Frowning, he looked at her. ¡°Qing-<i>er</i>, why are you saying this?¡±

    ¡°My lord, you forgot. You have more than one son. But, there¡¯s only one son that enters your eyes.¡± Mu Shuiqing sighed again. ¡°This servant has seen Young Master Xi-<i>er</i> shyly keeping to Madam¡¯s side so many times. Just like Madam, a long time passes before he gets a chance to see my lord. Although his mother is the main wife, he¡¯s treated no differently than a bastard. Compared to the heir, he¡¯s really too pitiful.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan froze in surprise for a moment. Soon after, he asked, ¡°You think Hanyun is rted to the heir¡¯s poisoning?¡±

    ¡°This servant¡¯s intention wasn¡¯t to nder her.¡± Mu Shuiqing saluted. ¡°This servant has always served as my lord¡¯s ears and eyes and only came here pass on information that my lord doesn¡¯t see. Although this servant doesn¡¯t know who poisoned the heir, this servant is sure that my lord caused the heir¡¯s misfortune.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan fell silent. He finally nodded and said, ¡°I understand.¡±

    That night, he went over to Lingahn Courtyard. Right now, the plum flowers had blossomed in the courtyard. Liu Hanyun was quietly sitting inside her room. Seeing him entering, she coughed a few times before saying, ¡°This servant greets my lord.¡±

    Her body had bing increasingly weak. Perhaps, she might even pass away before Haohao. Ning Yuxuan deeply looked at her before stretching his hand out. ¡°You might as well give me the antidote.¡±

    Liu Hanyun wasn¡¯t surprised by his question. Her next bout of coughing was worse thanst one. ¡°My lord, this servant doesn¡¯t know what antidote you¡¯re referring to. This servant¡¯s entire room is filled with medicine, but none of them can cure poison.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips and sat down next to her. ¡°I remember that you¡¯ve always been the one thatpeted the least. The only time you asked me for a favor, it was only to transfer your brother to the capital so he could take care of your foster mother.¡±

    This was also the reason why he had always treated Liu Hanyun well. Even though her foster mother, Liu-<i>mama,</i> was the empress¡¯s loyal servant, Liu Hanyun had never gone against her own morals. She had never tried to get information from him, much less help anyone act against him. She simply wanted to remain by his side.

    Liu Hanyun smiled. ¡°My lord, this servant is also a very greedy woman that wants a lot of things. But, this servant knows that there are things the my lord won¡¯t give, so this servant has merely lost interest in them.¡±

    ¡°But then, this servant had Xi-<i>er. </i>This servant can give up everything. My lord, can you give Xi-<i>er</i> what he deserves?¡± Liu Hanyun¡¯s eyes were teary as she looked at Ning Yuxuan. ¡°He¡¯s also your child. It¡¯s only that he¡¯s this servant¡¯s child. This servant was born from a lowly background and doesn¡¯t want other people to look down on my child...¡±

    ¡°No one looks down on Xi-<i>er</i>.¡± Ning Yuxuan interrupted her, ¡°Do you know why I chose you as my main wife? First, it¡¯s because of your magnanimous nature. Second, it¡¯s because I want to give Xi-<i>er</i> a good family background.¡±

    Liu Hanyun was taken aback. Her coughing got worse for a moment. Not understanding, she looked at him and asked, ¡°My lord, if you also love Xi-<i>er</i>, why do you only spend time with the heir? Why can¡¯t you give some of your time to Xi-<i>er</i>?¡±

    ¡°The heir¡¯s mother wasn¡¯t by his side in the past two years. If I wasn¡¯t with him, what would the heir do?¡± Ning Yuxuan bitterly smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not that I haven¡¯t spent time with Xi-<i>er.</i> I just spent more time with Haohao because Xi-<i>er</i> has his mother, but Haohao doesn¡¯t.¡±

    Liu Hanyun fell silent, but soon after her eyes reddened. ¡°The heir¡¯s mother has already returned. Why does my lord only spend time with them in the western courtyard still? This servant brought Xi-<i>er</i> over several times, but we could only watch the harmonious picture of you three from a distance. Xi-<i>er</i> almost doesn¡¯t recognize you...¡±

    Ning Yuxuan stayed silent. This was his fault. He had enjoyed spending time with Ji Man and Haohao so much that he had forgotten everyone else.

    He felt slightly regretful. Why had he let so many women get pregnant back then?

    ¡°This servant will die this time. My lord, can you keep your promise fromst time and take good care of Xi-<i>er</i>?¡± There was a sweet, rotting taste in Liu Hanyun¡¯s throat as she coughed. She covered her mouth as blood soaked through the handkerchief.

    Ning Yuxuan frowned. ¡°Give me the antidote for Haohao first.¡±

    ¡°This servant didn¡¯t poison him.¡± Liu Hanyun leaned against the table as she gasped for breath. She stubbornly shook her head. ¡°How could this servant give Xi-<i>er</i> the burden of having a mother a murderer? So, it wasn¡¯t this servant that poisoned the heir.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    This reasoning was very persuasive. Ning Yuxuan looked at her for a while before going out to call a doctor over.

    The doctor came over and said it was an old illness. She only had a few days remaining.

    Ning Yuxuan personally searched her room and didn¡¯t find the antidote, so he left.

    ¡ª

    The heir wouldn¡¯t be able tost a few more days, and Liu Hanyun was in the same state. Ji Man stayed by Haohao¡¯s side. She didn¡¯t eat or drink. She opened and closed her eyes. Could she dream again and bring Haohao along with her in the dream to modern-day?

    T/N: I¡¯m sorry that I¡¯ve gotten so behind. I¡¯ve been busy the past week and probably going to be busy the rest of September, but I¡¯ll do my best to catch up on chapters starting today.

 Chapter 457 - Mother (2)

    Chapter 457 ¨C Mother (2)

    On the veryst day, Monk Xuwu came. Just like before, his face showed a glow of wisdom as well as a hint of cynicism of the mortal world. He walked over to Haohao¡¯s bed. ¡°Amitaba. I warned you a long time ago that this child should be handed over to me to care for. If you had done that, this could have all been prevented. Instead, you insisted on dragging things to this point.¡±

    Ji Man¡¯s eyes brightened. She rushed towards the monk and knelt down in front of him. ¡°Great Master, please save the heir!¡±

    Ning Yuxuan came into the room after the monk. He helped Ji Man stand back up.

    Monk Xuwu stroked his beard and said, ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯ll save him. The marquis has already entreated this old one countless times on the way here. However, this old one still has to ask the two of you a question, are you willing to make a sacrifice?¡±

    Ji Man looked at him and seriously said, ¡°Great Master, I¡¯ll agree to anything that you want. Whether its gold, silver, and precious gems, my life, or even the marquis¡¯s...¡±

    A piercing gaze from the side was aimed at Ji Man, but it was if she hadn¡¯t noticed. She saluted Xuwu. ¡°Great Master, please save his life.¡±

    Xuwu loudlyughed and went over to check Haohao¡¯s condition, then he picked him and ced him onto his own shoulder. ¡°This old one is a monk and has no use for mortal things like wealth or madam¡¯s life. It¡¯s only that this old one has said a long time ago that this child had a fated connection with Buddhism. It¡¯s the marquis that insisted on dragging him to the mortal world. It¡¯s only to be expected that he would inevitably meet with cmity. If you want this child to live, then you have to let this childe with this old one to Mount Tian and look for a cure there.

    As he said this, he stuffed an unknown pill into Haohao¡¯s mouth.

    The doctor had already said that Haohao wouldn¡¯t be able to live past tonight. Could she believe in Great Master Xuwu¡¯s words? Ji Man looked at Haohao. She was absolutely unwilling to part with him. This child had been separated from her at birth, and now, after they had only been reunited for a short period, she had to send him away.

    ¡°To gain what you want, you have to give up on something.¡± Xuwu could see that Ji Man was unwilling to part with Haohao. He lightly smiled and continued, ¡°If the heir doesn¡¯t leave with this old one today, it might not be possible to save his life. It¡¯s only by leaving with this old one, that there¡¯s a chance that the rest of his life will be safe and happy.¡±

    What other choice could she make? She could only allow him to take Haohao, right? Ji Man selfforted herself. It was good enough that Haohao would be saved. This was a better option than watching him die in front of her and feeling heart-wrenching pain, right?

    Although Ji Man nodded in assent, her heart still felt very reluctant. As she watched as the monk carried Haohao away, Ji Man couldn¡¯t resist the impulse to run after them.

    ¡°Man-<i>er</i>.¡± Ning Yuxuan pulled her back. ¡°Don¡¯t keep chasing after them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just sending them off. Let me follow them a few more steps.¡± Ji Man turned her head to look at him. ¡°I¡¯ll just walk with them to the entrance.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s heart ached too. Looking at her expression, he could only sigh and let go of her. He watched as she lifted up her skirt and ran to catch up.

    Carrying Haohao, Xuwu walked at quick pace as if he was a fleeing thief. For a moment, Ji Man felt as if a kidnapper was taking Haohao away. It was if a motor had been installed in her body, she sprinted towards them and heard the old monk, whose bald head was shining underneath the sunshine, murmuring, ¡°Poor child, you¡¯ve been polluted by the mortal world. Who knows if you¡¯ll face other cmities in the future? Don¡¯t worry, juste with this old one.¡±

    Haohao¡¯s face was still blue and unconscious. However, his breathing wasn¡¯t as weak as before.

    By the time she got to the estate¡¯s entrance, Ji Man was gasping for breath. She could only watch as the bald head disappeared into the distance with her son. She didn¡¯t know how long it would take until Haohao would be returned to her.

    ¡ª

    Liu Hanyun didn¡¯t know how much longer she had left to live. Her old illness couldn¡¯t be cured, but she felt now was the best time to die, before the marquis found out that she was the culprit and while he still felt pity towards her.

    Liu Hanyun called Xi-<i>er</i> over to her bedside and looked at him as she said, ¡°In the future, you¡¯ll be the only child in this estate. You have to talk more with your father and spend more time with him. Don¡¯t resent your father. Do you understand?¡±

    Xi-<i>er</i> nkly looked at his deathly pale mother and suddenly burst into wailing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry. Learn from the heir, smile more.¡± Liu Hanyun covered her mouth, as she started coughing and gestured for Chunpi to bring Xi-<i>er</i> farther away from her. She continued to advise him, ¡°If Miss Nie¡¯s next child is a son, even as a ghost, I¡¯ll help you. If it¡¯s a daughter, you¡¯ll be this household¡¯s heir. You can¡¯t keep hiding behind other people.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Mom...¡± Xi-<i>er</i> couldn¡¯t stop crying. He wanted to go over to hold his mother¡¯s hand, but Chunpi stopped him. Liu Hanyun smiled and gestured for Chunpi to take him outside. ¡°Go bring him to the marquis.¡±

    She didn¡¯t regret in being ruthless enough to harm a child. She didn¡¯t regret her actions, but her heart felt tormented, and her illness became increasingly worse. Liu Hanyun got out the dagger she had hidden nearby, mustered up her courage, and drove the dagger into her heart.

    This time, she wouldn¡¯t continue to live and be a burden to Xi-<i>er</i>. Once Xi-<i>er</i> lost his mother, the marquis would definitely treat him a little bit better. When he saw that she had ended her life, no matter what, the marquis would definitely feel more pity, right?

    ¡ª

    Chunpi was crying as she brought Xi-<i>er</i> over to the western courtyard. She knelt down in front of the marquis and couldn¡¯t stop crying. Ning Yuxuan asked her twice why she was here, but Chunpi was crying too hard to speak.

    Thus, he more or less guessed what had happened.

    ¡°Have her buried with full honors,¡± Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°She was a foolish person.¡±

    Xi-<i>er</i> was still crying too. He hid behind Chunpi with eyes full of fear.

    Trantor Ramblings: When I was reading this story for the second time, I felt much sadder about Liu Hanyun¡¯s death, especially because she¡¯s clinging onto the hope that Ning Yuxuan will treat Xi-<i>er</i> better if she dies. Based on Ning Yuxuan¡¯s previous actions, we can easily guess that¡¯s not going to happen. Killing herself is ultimately a futile gesture. There¡¯s nothing she could have done to get Ning Yuxuan to care about Xi-<i>er </i>the same way that he cares about Haohao. I wish someone could have told her that Xi-<i>er</i> would rather have his mom alive. It would have been awesome if she could have be friends with Mu Shuiqing, who seems the most sensible woman in the story.

    And, I feel like Haohao is being taken into Child Protective Services because time and time again, his parents have failed to protect him. More importantly, if they actually care about him, why don¡¯t they ask the monk if they cane with Haohao and give up the secr world for a period of time?

    What do you guys think?

    If you want to read a vague spoiler about Haohao¡¯s future, I wrote one in thements below.

 Chapter 458 - - Standing by your side (1)

    Chapter 458 ¨C Standing by your side (1)

    It was clear that Liu Hanyun¡¯s own hands had hastened her death. Although she was gued by an old illness, she shouldn¡¯t have died so early. Ji Man teared up a bit when she found out. However, she had recently lost Haohao, so she wasn¡¯t in the mood to think about anything else. When Ning Yuxuan came over to ask what should be done with Xi-<i>er</i>, Ji Man sighed and said, ¡°He¡¯s my lord¡¯s legitimate son. Your blood and flesh, so he naturally can¡¯t be treated poorly. My lord, what are your ns for him?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°Let¡¯s give him to Qing-<i>er</i> to care for then. She¡¯s worked for me for so long, and her courtyard is quite deste.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ji Man didn¡¯t have any objections. She quietly stood up and put away Haohao¡¯s things to avoid having these reminders in in sight.

    ¡ª

    After the recent events, Marquis Moyu¡¯s estate became quite cheerless Ji Man hadn¡¯t officially married into the household, but everyone treated her as the matriarch of the family. Seven days after Liu Hanyun¡¯s funeral, all of the servants switched to addressing Ji Man as Madam.

    Mu Shuiqing liked Xi-<i>er</i> a lot. She spent all of her time ying with him and would bring him over at a fixed time each evening to pay respects. If she wasn¡¯t bringing him to the garden to y, then she was taking him outside the estate to stroll around.

    Although the estate had be quite gloomy, Ning Yuxuan thought there was a lot less to worry about. He no longer had to worry that the situation would blow up in his inner court. Thus, he had more free time to deal with matters in the imperial court.

    Many officials wanted to stuff new women into the Marquis Moyu¡¯s estate, but he tactfully refused all of them by saying that his health was poor, and he wouldn¡¯t want to waste these women¡¯s lives.

    Ji Man was very touched. Ning Yuxuan had already used such high-level words to nder himself. What more could she say?

    However, since ancient times, marrying and getting inws were an essential way for establish rtionships. Right now, Ning Yuxuan needed to win over the loyalties of the other officials. How could she let herself be a stumbling block?

    Thus, Ji Man created a ¡°Hundred Flowers Association¡±. First, she invited Luo Qianqian, Errong, and Zhu Yurun. Then, one after the other, she invited the madams of other noble families. The standard for membership into a Hundred Flowers Association was lengthy. A woman had to be capable, virtuous, and multitalented in zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting as well as have an attractive appearance.

    Although Ji Man was simply giarizing the idea behind Tonghua Poetry Association, her marketing of this new association was a sess. Not only could the members of a Hundred Flower Association enjoy benefits like mastering the art of skincare, they also had ess to thetest products in skin whitening, makeup, jewelry, and clothing. When unmarried women were admitted to a Hundred Flowers Association, matchmakers would efficiently guarantee in finding them a good marriage.

    As a result, the madams and youngdies in high-ranking officials¡¯ families, who were bored of staying at home every day, all liked to visit Marquis Moyu¡¯s estate. Ji Man made a clear distinction of what type of people could and couldn¡¯t enter a Hundred Flowers Association in coordinating with Marquis Moyu¡¯s ns. If he wanted to draw someone to his side, that person¡¯s wife and daughters would absolutely be on a Hundred Flowers Association¡¯s invitation list. If he was in conflict with that person, Ji Man would personally appear, challenge the other parties to a poetry contest, win by giarizing famous poems, and reject the other parties¡¯ request to enter the association under this excuse.

    It took less than a month for a Hundred Flowers Association¡¯s reputation to skyrocket. It was because Zhu Yurun, who had previously been unskilled in poetry, went to Luoyan Pagoda and wrote <i>Heavenly Pure Sand: Autumn Thoughts.</i>

    <i>An old tree, dried vines entwined, by ev¡¯ning crowse roosting;</i>

    <i>O¡¯er a small bridge, by a running stream, homes of people nestling.</i>

    <i>On an old road, in the autumn wind, a scrawny horse keeps trudging.</i> @@novelbin@@

    <i>The sun, nting, to the west, setting ¡ª</i>

    <i>Heart-torn, lovelorn, the wanderer, to the verge of the sky a-roaming.</i>

    (T/N: Trantion of the poem was taken from here.<i>)</i>

    This poem had already received the praise of graduated schrs. There were also people that thought a mere woman couldn¡¯t be capable of such broad-minded thoughts that came from bitter life experiences. As a woman that stayed in the confines of a boudoir, how could she have possibly felt heartbroken from traveling to a far-away ce?

    Zhu Yurun covered her face and repeated the words that Ji Man had instructed her to say. ¡°I merely wrote this apanying poem after seeing a painting by a member of a Hundred Flowers Association.¡±

    At this time, Luo Qianqian sent over her painting to Luoyan Pagoda. The scenery on this painting wasn¡¯tcking at all whenpared to the poem. The style of painting was astonishingly deste.

    Luo Qianqian saluted and said, ¡°Sirs, this is Qianqian¡¯s humble painting. Qianqian saw this scene on the southern part of Prince Huainan¡¯s fiefdom.¡±

    After this presentation, other people believed in Zhu Yurun¡¯s words. On the same day, members of a Hundred Flowers Association left behind many works of calligraphy in Luoyan Pagoda for future generations toment and evaluate. Although this move was wildly over-the-top, it left behind a deep impression. A group of schrs flushed and sighed amongst themselves that they weren¡¯t as talented as these women.

    Ji Man was a person that knew how to conduct herself. Once she had gotten to know many of these married women, she established good rtionships with them. For time to time, she would send over new ideas for hairstyles as well as hairpins with gems.

    ¡ª

    When Ning Yuxuan came back from the imperial court today, he was surprised to see her busily writing. When he got a closer look, he saw that she had written the words ¡°Fashion Magazine¡± on the cover of a thick stack of paper.

    ¡°What are you up to now?¡± Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. ¡°A lot of people have beening over here recently. What are you messing around with?¡±

    Ji Man nced at him before taking out a list of paper. ¡°The Minister of Revenue, Sir Li¡¯s wife, Zhang-<i>shi</i>, Grand Tutor Sun¡¯s wife, Zhao-<i>shi</i>, the Minister of Justice, Sir Xu¡¯s wife, Qian-<i>shi</i>...¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrows and took the list from her to read it. It had only been a month; how had she gathered all this information?

    ¡°All of these madams seem like pretty good people.¡± Ji Man smiled. ¡°It¡¯s probably because of you, but their attitude towards me is pretty good. We all get along pretty well.¡±

    Marquis Moyu, ¡°...¡± This paper was densely packed with the maiden names of important official¡¯s wives and their preferences and hobbies.

    ¡°I was thinking, since I¡¯m not willing for you to take any concubines, I should figure out a way to help you in some way.¡± Ji Man propped up her chin in her hand and looked at him. ¡°The threshold for Marquis Moyu¡¯s estate is too high, that¡¯s why they all think marriage is necessary if they want to establish a connection with you. In actually, as long as I have a good rtionship with the various madams, that¡¯s also a type of connection. Just like... the previous connection between Noble Consort Nie and Old Madame.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan was stunned.

    Trantor Ramblings: At first, I found it strange how quickly Ji Man gets over the lost of Haohao each time, but I guess; she didn¡¯t have enough time to bond with him. She never got the chance to hold him right after she gave birth to him or spend a lot of time with him as he was growing up.

 Chapter 459 - Standing by your side (2)

    <strong>Chapter 459 ¨C Standing by your side (2)</strong>

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about what I¡¯m doing. I wouldn¡¯t do anything that would harm you.¡± Ji Man took the list back from him. ¡°Since you¡¯re doing your best in the front, I naturally have to do my best to support you from behind. It¡¯s only by doing that, that I have the qualifications to stand by your side.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan looked at Ji Man for a long time before finally letting out a heavy sigh and hugging her. ¡°I¡¯ve truly picked up an extraordinary treasure.¡±

    Ji Man felt somewhat embarrassed. ¡°Actually, all the women from my world are this clever too. It¡¯s only by chance that I was the one that came here.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Ning Yuxuan smiled and kissed her forehead ¡°Exactly, it was you.¡±

    Ji Man smiled. She tugged him down to the seat next to hers and started to show him the results of this month.

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change much, but his mind had turned into a spectacr mess.

    ¡°How do you know...that Assistant Minister Zhu is loyal to me?¡± Seemingly inadvertently, Ning Yuxuan asked. ¡°Yingchen and Zhu Yurun¡¯s wedding was rocky. Who knows if Assistant Minister Zhu has secret ns of his own?¡±

    ¡°He won¡¯t.¡± Ji Man pointed her writing brush at Zhu Yurun¡¯s name and said, ¡°Assistant Minister Zhu cherishes Zhu Yurun greatly. Yurun has married Qian Yingchen, and her life is pretty good right now. When she returns to her maiden family, she only reports good things and leaves out anything negative, so her father must be feeling relieved and reassured. Even if Assistant Minister Zhu felt resentful towards you at the beginning, his anger would have dissipated once he saw how happy Zhu Yurun is with Qian Yingchen.¡±

    Zhu Yurun was the simplest girl that she had met in this world, or perhaps, she could say that she was stupid to the point of being cute. Assistant Minister Zhu¡¯s parental love for his daughter was the most sincere love she had witnessed aftering to this world. As long as his daughter was happy, he was happy too. Since Zhu Yurun had married Qian Yingchen, there was no way that her father wouldn¡¯t help Marquis Moyu.

    Ning Yuxuan¡¯s eyes slightly dimmed. Ji Man was really too different from the women here. She could sway the hearts of people and even analyze political affairs. During the past period, when he had met with difficulties, he would asionally mention those people to her. He hadn¡¯t expected that she would remember all of this,e up with a list of people that had connections with those court officials, and figured out what motivated them.

    Her observations were rtively simple, but she only had ess to limited information. If she could see the full picture, those important officials would be thoroughly analyzed to death by her.

    This type of woman was a bit terrifying and might even be a threat to the imperial power. If she turned out to be as bewitching as Daji, it was possible that she would be a beauty that caused the next downfall of the nation.)

    (T/N: Daji was the favorite consort of King Zhou of Shang Dynasty. She¡¯s portrayed as a beautiful fox spirit that caused the downfall of a dynasty in legends.)

    No, that wouldn¡¯t happen. Ji Man wasn¡¯t that wicked. Ning Yuxuan closed his eyes for a moment, then he stretched his hand out, scooped her onto hisp, and stroked her stomach.

    @@novelbin@@

    He knew that she just wanted to work together with him to throw off the restraints that Zhao Zhe had ced on them and lived a better life.

    ¡ª

    However, with her help, he became much closer with the officials in the Six Ministries. For example, when Li Licheng, the Minister of Revenue, came over to exchange greetings with him, he joked, ¡°My wife has repeatedly spoken highly of Miss Nie. She said that Miss Nie is a virtuous and magnanimous woman. Once there¡¯s free time, she wants to prepare a banquet in our humble home and invite Miss Nie over. May she honor us with attending.¡±

    Hearing these words, Ning Yuxuan couldn¡¯t stop the corners of his lips from curving upwards. He naturally felt happy that other people would praise his woman so highly.

    ¡ª

    Ji Man was used to running around to make sales, so she had her own set of skills to establish connections with other people. She definitely wouldn¡¯t inadvertently offend anyone. Without them noticing, she would draw them into a closer rtionship. Although the marquis¡¯s household didn¡¯t have many people, there would be madams and youngdiesing over here every day to eat melons seeds, embroider, and chat. It was much livelier than before.

    The only unfortunate thing was that Errong and Luo Qianqian had already left to travel back to their respective fiefdoms. It was only Zhu Yurun that woulde over every day to keep herpany while eating snacks.

    Ji Man asked Zhu Yurun, ¡°Why are youing over so frequently? Don¡¯t you need to keep Sir Qianpany?¡±

    Zhu Yurun pouted. ¡°Yingchen recently became interested in a dancing girl and doesn¡¯t need mypany, so I came over here to keep youpany.¡±

    Ji Man didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. It was only Zhu Yurun that could be so open-minded. When Qian Yingchen asionally gained an interest in amother woman, Zhu Yurun wouldn¡¯t get angry. Instead, she would take the initiative of avoiding him. Once Qian Yingchen got bored of the other woman, she would slip back to his side. The two of them would return to being the model of a loving couple and as if nothing had happened.

    Oh my god!

    Ji Man thought only Zhu Yurun could be capable of living her life so happily and decided not to go over there to bother her. She would peacefully stay at home to care for her pregnancy and gossip with the other visiting madams and youngdies.

    ¡ª

    When spring arrived, news came from the bordends that the army had done poorly in a battle. Ning Mingjie had left with an army of 80,000 soldiers. On the way to the bordends, he had recruited more soldiers from various fiefdoms so the army had increased to 120,000 soldiers by the time they reached their destination. However, once they had arrived at the bordends, after only two months of battle, they suffered a crushing defeat on the battlefield one day, and a military report was sent from the bordends. The 120,000 soldiers had been reduced back down to 80,000.

    The imperial court was shocked. Ning Mingjie was leading elite soldiers. How could they have done so badly? The emperor was furious. When his gazended on Marquis Moyu, it clearly showed that he med him for not leading the army as originally nned.

    When the important court officials saw that the emperor was going to name Marquis Moyu as themander again, one after another, they rmended a deputy general from Xiao n to go into battle and aplish meritorious service. The person they rmended was Xiao Sihai. He was the emperor¡¯s distant rtive.

    Zhao Zhe hesitated for a while before agreeing. However, he felt suspicious how unified the imperial court had be. He kept having the nagging feeling that the officials were bing more loyal to Marquis Moyu.

 Chapter 463 - Pengxin (2)

    Chapter 463 ¨C Pengxin (2)

    ¡°I had youe here because I wouldn¡¯t feelfortable if anyone else was entrusted with this. I need you to bring a person back to the capital. While you¡¯re here, look at this letter from Yuzhen¡¯s king.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan was stunned, but his expression didn¡¯t change. ¡°Why would Yuzhen¡¯s king write a letter to you?¡±

    ¡°Probably because I kidnapped a Yuzhen princess during the past half year,¡± Ning Mingjie answered with a serious face, ¡°And, I can¡¯t send her back.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t know what he meant by not being able to send her back. But, at the mention of a Yuzhen princess, he was reminded of Pengyue. Yuzhen probably despised Great Song. Pengyue had been Yuzhen¡¯s precious princess. Yuzhen had even lent her soldiers to help Zhao Li seize the throne.

    It wasn¡¯t possible for Great Song to lose against Yuzhen in battle. After all, they would win just from sheer number of soldiers. The military report from the bordends had been falsified. Ning Mingjie had already umted 180,000 soldiers under hismand during this time.

    This was thest weapon they needed to turn Zhao Zhe into a puppet leader.

    Ning Mingjie had already ced the letter on the table. Ning Yuxuan carefully opened it to read. He didn¡¯t whether tough or cry after reading the contents.

    Was Yuzhen a country that had lost its mind to love? Inws were a more important connection than blood rtives. Yuzhen¡¯s princess, Pengxin, had fallen in love with Ning Mingjie. And, Yuzhen¡¯s king was actually willing to allow Ning Mingjie to set whatever conditions he wanted ¨C such as borrowing soldiers ornd, or even seceding part of the capital to him ¨C as long Ning Mingjie was willing to marry Pengxin.

    Was kind of nonsensical joke was this? If Ning Mingjie married Pengxin at this juncture, what excuse could they use to force the emperor to hand over his remaining military power to Ning Mingjie?

    Ning Mingjie had truly gone to bordend to battle, but he had also used underhanded means to kidnap Yuzhen¡¯s princess to force them to surrender. Yuzhen¡¯s army had retreated a long distance, but he wasn¡¯t able to return their princess back. Killing her would be a disaster, letting her stay... was also a disaster.

    Pengxin was even more impressive than Pengyue. At the time, she had thrown a three-ringrge sword into a table and demanded that Ning Mingjie marry her.

    After having experienced two unhappy weddings, Ning Mingjie already thought poorly of marriage. However, winning the war was a higher priority, and it would be the best possible oue if Yuzhen was willing to cooperate. At worst, he would just send the princess to his estate in the capital first, then he could sit down to have a proper discussion about cooperation with Yuzhen¡¯s king.

    If that was the result that he wanted, then he needed to find a person to bring the princess to the capital first. If something happened to her on the journey there, then Yuzhen would do all it could to settle this new score along with the one for Pengyue¡¯s death. If she could be sent off to the capital sessfully, then it would be easy to reach an agreement for the battlefield situation in the bordends.

    After Ning Yuxuan finished reading the letter, he stroked his chin and looked at Ning Mingjie from top to bottom for a long time before finally saying, ¡°Older cousin, your face is truly very valuable.¡±

    Ning Mingjie¡¯s expression ckened.

    Ning Yuxuan dryly coughed a few times and continued, ¡°Alright then, give that person to me. Also, this long letter is an imperial edict. Look, it has Yuzhen¡¯s emperor¡¯s seal. You should take care when you put it away.¡±

    The two of them knew what they each had to do afterwards. After they finished quietly discussing top-secret information, Ning Mingjie put on his hat to leave.

    Before Ning Mingjie left, he turned his head and looked at Marquis Moyu as he asked, ¡°Hey, I heard that Sangyu is pregnant again. Congrattions.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan smiled and nodded. ¡°She¡¯s resting in the next room. Do you want to go see her?¡±

    Ning Mingjie consider for a long time before chuckling and turning around. ¡°No, no need.¡±

    It would better to not see her.

    The boat turned around and prepared to leave for the capital. Marquis Moyu had nned the timing of this trip perfectly. During the month he was gone, Zhao Zhe had flipped tablets for the women he would sleep with. Of the women chosen, four of them were women that Ning Yuxuan had sent into the pce.

    When Xuwu had left with Haohao, he had given him four bottles of treasure. It was four types of herbs that when mixed together would be a slow-acting poison. A poison that couldn¡¯t be detected by the imperial physicians was a rare treasure.

    It could be considered not a waste.

    When Ning Yuxuan returned to the capital, he would resume control over the important matters in the imperial court and act as a low-key, helpful official. While he waited for the emperor¡¯s health to gradually deteriorate, he would control the overall situation. By the time the emperor finally died, there wouldn¡¯t be any panic in the country. He would assist the neglected fourth prince in ruling the country while the fourth prince sat on the throne and yed with a slingshot.

    In other words, although he had to follow his n¡¯sw in not taking the throne for himself, he was allowed to take down thest remaining emperor that would have a grudge against him.

    ¡ª

    @@novelbin@@

    When Ji Man woke up, she saw a young woman sitting by her bed. She looked huffy, but also very happy.

    When the young woman saw her opening her eyes, she curiously stared at her and asked, ¡°My name is Pengxin. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°My name is... Ji Man.¡± Ji Man was a bit muddled-headed from her sleep. She felt confused when she saw this vaguely familiar-looking person.

    Marquis Moyu came inside with a bowl of soup. He swept his gaze over Pengxin, and she instinctively moved aside. For some unknown reason, she felt a bit fearful of him.

    ¡°The reason behind this trip was toe here to pick her up.¡± Ning Yuxuan gently sat down on the bed and fed the soup to Ji Man, spoonful by spoonful. ¡°She¡¯s Yuzhen¡¯s princess.¡±

    Ji Man choked on a mouthful of soup. She couldn¡¯t resist looking at Pengxin.

    No wonder this young woman had looked familiar. She did look a bit simr to Pengyue, but she seemed bolder than Pengyue.

    Wait, pick up Yuzhen¡¯s princess? Ji Man widened her eyes as she looked at Ning Yuxuan. ¡°Is that battle with Yuzhen over?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s continuing,¡± Ning Yuxuan seriously replied, ¡°The war will continue for one more month before it¡¯s okay for it to end.¡±

    Trantor Ramblings: At first I was thinking, isn¡¯t it weird that there are so many undetectable and incurable poisons? But, I think it makes sense that the known poisons outnumber the known antidotes. It¡¯s much easier to figure out that something has a harmful effect, then to find a cure for it or to identify the exact poison, especially since they didn¡¯t have any high-tech medical equipment back then.

 Chapter 466 - Reincarnation (1)

    Chapter 466 ¨C Reincarnation (1)

    After Zhao Zhe died, there were only three days of crying in the pce. Using the excuse that the various titled princes wereing to the capital with their armies, Marquis Moyu pushed the idea of promoting the fourth prince, Zhao Yu, to emperor.

    There were people in the imperial court that voiced objections. The fourth prince was too young and naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to rule by himself. Marquis Moyu¡¯s proposal meant that this child emperor would be under his control, and he would have control of Great Song¡¯s vassals through the child emperor.

    This was obvious enough. No one needed to voice these thoughts. Everyone could see the truth for himself.

    However, once Ning Mingjie arrived in the capital, hisrge army felt like a ck cloud of oppressive pressure that surrounded the capital. The majority of officials had also switched allegiance to Marquis Moyu already. Someone even suggested for Marquis Moyu to act as regent.

    @@novelbin@@

    Ning Yuxuan opened the capital¡¯s gates and weed the various titled princes that hade to the capital. They were allowed to bring many of their subordinates into the capital with them, but their private armies had to stationed far away from the capital. These princes were all members of the imperial family.

    Once the emperor had died, there was no way to bring him back. Xiao-<i>shi</i>, who had recently been promoted to grand dowager empress, moved passed the pain of losing her child and publicly stated that it was only right for the fourth prince to ascend the throne. She made this statement in exchange for Xiao Tianyi¡¯s life.

    The titled princes hadn¡¯t except that the ascension would be resolved so rapidly. Couldn¡¯t they have been given some time to adjust to these drastic changes?

    Just as abruptly, the bordends war ended without any warning. Yuzhen announced that its army would retreat, and it would also offer tribute aspensation.

    While the fourth prince sat on the throne and yed with toys, Marquis Moyu stood at his side and gave instructions on the country¡¯s matters.

    Ning Mingjie was going to marry Yuzhen¡¯s princess. It could be considered the two countries resuming their alliance. The members of Xiao n were punished for their crimes, and some of them were exiled. Ning Yuxuan spared Xiao Tianyi. He lost his position as the prime minister and became an official that had a position that was neither high nor low.

    All theplicated things in the world seemed to have slowly gotten resolved.

    ¡ª

    Marquis Moyu took a sedan chair back to his estate. When he carelessly lifted the curtain to look outside, many young women called out to him, but they also shyly retreated away from the sedan chair.

    Dengxin had recently been brought back to the capital and was in the crowd of women that were looking at Marquis Moyu. She sighed. During the long period of separation, the marquis¡¯s poprity had risen. No wonder her master had been perfectly willing to remain by his side. He had once just been a beautiful man, but now he had the kingly bearing of someone that had the entire world in his grasp.

    Holding her luggage, Dengxin hurriedly took thest steps to the marquis¡¯s estate. By chance, the marquis was leaving his sedan chair at this time too. Dengxin entered the estate through a side entrance to look for Steward Qian to report that she had returned. Afterwards, she changed her clothes and went to the western courtyard.

    When she entered the western courtyard¡¯s main bedroom, the person on the bed seemed to have just awoken. Ning Yuxuan was sitting on bedside.

    Carrying a bowl of nourishing medicine, Dengxin went forward to pay her respects. ¡°Master.¡±

    ¡°Dengxin!¡± Ji Man was thrilled to see her. But, she had left Dengxin in Jing Province. Why had shee here?

    Dengxin put the bowl down and properly saluted. ¡°Master, you¡¯re pregnant. It¡¯s only right for Dengxin to return here to serve you.¡±

    Because Ji Man had left behind a store for her, she had been living very well in Jing Province. During this time, she had reached a marrying age. Since Liu Rufeng kept bugging her and wouldn¡¯t give up, she decided that she might as well marry him.

    Liu Rufeng had recently been transferred to capital, and she hade along with him. By chance, the marquis found her and told her that her master was pregnant and needed someone to care for her.

    Gancao and Muxu were no longer here. She was the only one left.

    Overjoyed, Ji Man didn¡¯t even feel sleepy anymore. She held Ning Yuxuan¡¯s arm and pinched him with all of her strength.

    Frightened, Dengxin felt cold sweat gathering on her back. She quickly called out, ¡°Master!¡±

    In the past, her master had always been a sensible person. How could she have be so audacious? The marquis¡¯s previous status couldn¡¯t even bepared to his current one. Her master should be more careful...

    To her surprise, the marquis, who had been pinched hard enough for his forehead to scrunch up in pain, only took her master¡¯s hand off his arm. He carefully looked at her master¡¯s nails and said, ¡°Be careful, your nails have gotten very brittletely. If they break off, you¡¯ll be the one crying in painter. Dengxin, bring over a pair of scissors.¡±

    Dengxin was a bit startled out her wits. She hurriedly voiced her assent and brought over the nearby scissors.

    And then, she saw the marquis, who had seemed like a god when she saw him in the streets, quietly sitting on the bed and lowering his head to trim her master¡¯s nails. As he carefully did his task, he muttered, ¡°Why do women like to grow such long nails? Be careful, you might end up scratching yourself. For now, I¡¯ll keep them trimmed for you. We can revisit this topic after you give birth.¡±

    As Ji Man quietly sat there and obediently allowed him to cut her nails, she winked at Dengxin.

    This sight dumbfounded Dengxin.

    Scenes from the past seem to have appeared in front of her. The marquis didn¡¯t like her master and wasn¡¯t close with her master. He would frequently show her master either an unsmiling face, or a face that had be livid in anger.

    She would have never expected there would be a day when the marquis would so gently sit by her master¡¯s side. Although his expression was still a bit hard, she felt...

    So wonderful.

    Dengxin¡¯s eyes slightly reddened. She suddenly thought of Gancao. She really wished that Gancao could be here to see this too. Gancao,e look, we used to have to work so hard to not be harmed by others in order to help our master keep living. Now, the marquis has already learned to cherish our master.

    She wondered; how tall were the grasses on Gancao¡¯s grave?

    After turning around and wiping her tears, Dengxin brought over the bowl of medicine. ¡°My lord, please let my master drink this first.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan nodded. After he finished trimming, he took the bowl. But, he felt a bit embarrassed to spoon-feed Ji Man in front of Dengxin. He pursed his lips and said to Ji Man, ¡°Drink it yourself.¡±

    It was no big deal to drink the soup herself. It wasn¡¯t like she was an invalid. Ji Man twitched her lips. She took the bowl and slowly drank the medicine.

    Ning Yuxuan couldn¡¯t resist the impulse to take the bowl from her once she was done. He handed the bowl to Dengxin and dryly coughed once before saying to her, ¡°Dengxin, stay here to keep Madampany. I still have work to do.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Dengxin nodded.

 Chapter 468 - The finale of the spring boudoir dream (1)

    Chapter 468 ¨C The finale of the spring boudoir dream (1)

    It was a wrinkled face, and he couldn¡¯t see any hint of whom his daughter resembled. Ning Yuxuan nkly looked at her. After using all of her strength, she finally lifted up those thin eyelids. Her ck, limpid eyes seemed to glow when she looked at him.

    His face was reflected in her eyes.

    The surrounding people had thought the marquis¡¯s reaction was because he was unhappy that the baby was a girl.

    When Zhu Yurun came out, she looked at Ning Yuxuan¡¯s eyes and asked in surprise, ¡°Marquis, why are you crying?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t that bad to have a daughter. It wasn¡¯t worth crying over. Besides, there was already a son in this household.

    Hearing Zhu Yurun¡¯s question, Ning Yuxuan returned to his senses and wiped his face. There really were tears. Why had he cried?

    Holding his daughter, Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t think dwell on those thoughts any further. He wanted to go into the birthing room. ¡°Midwife, you can withdraw to collect your reward. I¡¯m going inside to check on Man-<i>er</i>.¡±

    Dengxin hastily stopped him. ¡°My lord! The room hasn¡¯t been cleaned up yet. It reeks of blood. You can¡¯t go inside.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrows. ¡°Why did you leave Madam there if the room is reeking of blood? If she¡¯s not afraid of it, then why would I be afraid?¡±

    While everyone was speechless, Ning Yuxuan went around Dengxin and entered the room.

    ¡ª

    The doctor hadn¡¯t lied to her. The birthing process really had gone smoothly this time. And so, Ji Man¡¯s energy level was in an okay state. She was still awake.

    However, as she looked around, she felt a bit dazed. It felt as if she was in a dream. If she struggled a little bit more, she would wake up in modern-day. It felt as if the cracks in her surrounding were continuing to expand.

    As soon as Ji Man thought that everything in front of her was only a blissful dream, her eyes reddened.

    The room was filled with the raw scent of blood. The servant girls were currently busily tidying up the room. Holding the baby, Ning Yuxuan sat down on the bed and reached out to wipe the tears at the corners of her eyes. Somewhat anxious, he asked, ¡°Does it hurt?¡±

    Ji Man returned to her senses and looked at him. She mustered up a smile. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Why are you crying then? Look, she¡¯s so cute.¡± cing their daughter down on the side of the pillow, Ning Yuxuan said, ¡°Let¡¯s give her a nickname for now. I¡¯ll give her a formal name when she turns one.¡±

    As soon as the baby girl left her father¡¯s arms, she resumed wailing. Ji Man was a bit taken aback. Hearing the baby¡¯s heartbreaking cries, she couldn¡¯t help thinking of Nie Sangyu.

    In the past, she would hear Nie Sangyu heartbreaking cries. Her crying really didn¡¯t sound any different from a baby¡¯s unbridled crying. Just like a newborn, she was uncaring about anything else except her own unhappiness.

    ¡°Can we call her... Sangyu?¡± Ji Man quietly asked.

    She had once read in an entric book that daughters were their fathers¡¯ lovers from a past life. Ji Man didn¡¯t think there was anything bad if Nie Sangyu had had entered the cycle of reincarnation and was reborn as her daughter. If that silly girl became her daughter, she would teach her from childhood how to properly love someone.

    As for Marquis Moyu, he could finally repaid the feelings that he owed her, even if it wasn¡¯t in the form that she had originally wanted.

    ¡°Our daughter can¡¯t have the same name as you.¡± Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow. ¡°That would be going against the rules.¡±

    Ji Man raised her eyebrows and asked, ¡°Is Zhao Zhe dead?¡±

    Ning Yuxuan nodded.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡°Can you give me the name ¡®Ji Man¡¯ and give the name ¡®Sangyu¡¯ to our daughter then?¡± Ji Man slightly smiled. ¡°This way, there won¡¯t be any repeated name.¡±

    She didn¡¯t want to be called Nie Sangyu for the rest of her life. Nie Sangyu had her story. As for herself, she was just Ji Man.

    It seemed as if Ning Yuxuan was finally reminded of something. His eyes brightened. He stood up and said, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Nowadays, he had final say in all the important and unimportant things in the imperial court. It was only a name. How could he not give it to her? Even more importantly, after Ji Man changed her name, the previous emperor¡¯s imperial edict would no longer be valid.

    Which meant that he could give Ji Man a formal status.

    ¡ª

    During her one-month resting period after childbirth, Ji Man yed with little Sangyu every day. Little Sangyu showed signs of being clever like her older brother. When she smiled, she was quite cute too and very well-liked by the people in the estate.

    ¡ª

    After Xi-<i>er</i> had been given to Mu Shuiqing to raise, he gradually became more cheerful and carefree. From time to time, they woulde over to pay respects to Ji Man. Xi-<i>er</i> seemed a lot livelier than before. When all was said and done, he was Ning Yuxuan¡¯s child, and his birth mother had died. Ji Man felt that she could let go of some of her grievances. There was no benefit to herself to focus excessively on the past. And so, she became more caring towards Xi-<i>er</i>.

    ¡ª

    There were countless women that wanted to enter Marquis Moyu¡¯s vast estate.

    Zhu Yurun very curiously asked Ji Man, ¡°Mister Ji, what did you do to get the marquis to agree to not marry another woman? Even if its only for the opportunity to be his bed servant, there would be enough women for a line to stretch all the way from here to capital¡¯s southern gate.¡±

    Ji Man shrugged. She very innocently blinked. ¡°He¡¯s the one that doesn¡¯t want to. Who am I to argue?¡±

    Even during her one-month recovery period, he only spent his nights coaxing their daughter to sleep. They would sleep in the same room together, but in separate beds. Ji Man honestly didn¡¯t know where his motivation hade from for him to achieve such high-level enlightenment and keep to a one-woman diet.

    Ji Man didn¡¯t expect that there would be no other woman in his courtyard. On the contrary, she could be considered to have indirectly promoted Mu Shuiqing. A man that was never tempted to stray simply wasn¡¯t human. She wasn¡¯t going to unyielding insist that Ning Yuxuan could only look at her for the rest of his life.

    However, Ning Yuxuan never entered Mu Shuiqing¡¯s courtyard. Mu Shuiqing didn¡¯tpete for his favor either. Instead, she raised Xi-<i>er</i> and peacefully lived her life.

    Finally, Ji Man couldn¡¯t resist asking Ning Yuxuan. ¡°You spent the first half of your life being a Casanova. Why won¡¯t you even nce at another woman now?¡±

 Chapter 471 - I offer you my heart (2)

    Chapter 471 ¨C I offer you my heart (2)

    When it was time for dinner, Ning Mingjie led her out of the tent. They were going to eat dinner with a group of military officers that had gathered over a boiling pot/fire

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you themander?¡± Pengxin leaned close to him. She felt a bit afraid because there were so many people nearby. ¡°Why don¡¯t you eat alone?¡±

    ¡°When the army is outside, why would there be special exceptions?¡± Ning Mingjie got her portion of the food. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s more lively when there¡¯s more people.¡±

    Pengxin wanted to say, lively your ass. How can she eat when everyone was looking at her with ill-intentioned gazes?

    @@novelbin@@

    However, out of habit, she still thanked Ning Mingjie when he hand her a bowl. She still had a princess¡¯s good manners.

    Ning Mingjie nced at her and slightly raised his eyebrows.

    ¡ª

    What would Yuzhen do after they found out their princess had been kidnapped? Her king father only wished for her to be safe and sound and sent over ambassadors for peace talks. Once the talks began, itsted for several days and there was an armistice.

    Every day, Pengxin closely followed Ning Mingjie. She watched him practice martial arts, read war reports, and write.

    The words that he wrote were especially beautiful. Pengxin only knew how to fight, so she admired his calligraphy skills a lot.

    However, her martial art skills weren¡¯t as good Ning Mingjie¡¯s either. When he was practicing martial arts, she said that she wanted a rematch to get over her previous humiliating defeat, but she ended up losing miserably.

    Ning Mingjie said, ¡°A woman shouldn¡¯t try to fight and kill. It¡¯s better if she¡¯s gentle and educated.¡±

    Pengxin pouted. If she was gentle and educated, what would she do if someone bullied her?

    ¡ª

    Once the peace talks were concluded, an ambassador came to bring her back to Yuzhen. On the way out, Pengxin turned her head back to look several times, but Ning Mingjie wasn¡¯t here to send her off. Furious, she rushed back to his tent. He was still looking at his reports.

    ¡°I¡¯m going home,¡± she said.

    ¡°This one respectfully bids Your Highness farewell.¡± Ning Mingjie put down the report and looked at her.

    Pengxin was almost angered to death. ¡°Can¡¯t you make an attempt to keep me here longer?¡±

    ¡°Why would I keep you?¡± Ning Mingjie didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Your Highness, you belong to Yuzhen.¡±

    Pengxin clenched her jaw. She stood in the same spot for a long time thinking before she finally asked, ¡°Where¡¯s my sword?¡±

    Ning Mingjie was frozen in surprise for a moment. He had forgotten to give her back her sword. He took out the sword that he had hidden under his desk. ¡°Your Highness, please excuse my actions. Please don¡¯t take offense.¡±

    Pengyue took the sword from him and immediately swung the sword into his desk. Extremely angry, she asked, ¡°Ning Mingjie, I want to stay here. Can I?¡±

    What?

    Ning Mingjie nkly stared at her. Yuzhen had paid a heavy price to ransom this princess. And now, this foolish girl was saying she wanted to stay here?

    ¡°I want to stay here.¡± Pengxin seemed as if she had made a resolute decision. Her cheeks were a bit flushed. She pulled the sword out of the desk and rested it on her shoulder. ¡°Wait here.¡±

    After going outside and one-sidedly whispering to the ambassador for a period of time, Pengxin waved her hand, and the ambassador boarded the carriage by himself. Shepletely disregarded the ambassador¡¯s shocked gaze and went back into the tent. She excitedly said, ¡°Ning Mingjie, let¡¯s fight again. If I lose, I¡¯ll marry you!¡±

    Shocked, Ning Mingjie dropped the brush he was holding, and itnded on the ground. His brow was furrowed as he looked at her excited appearance. He was considered what effect this would have on his n and country.

    It was rumored that women from Yuzhen were somewhat foolish. As soon as they saw a man that caught their interest, they would relentless pursue their love interests without any second thoughts, that was why Pengyue¡¯s ending had been so miserable. Clearly, Princess Pengxin was also one of those fools. Just because she liked him, she wanted to marry him and didn¡¯t even consider how this would affect Yuzhen.

    Ning Mingjie lowered his eyes. He didn¡¯t throw the match and easily won.

    ¡ª

    Soon after, a letter from Yuzhen¡¯s king arrived. It said that as long as he was willing to marry Pengxin, Yuzhen would be willing to cooperate in all aspects.

    After reading the letter, Ning Mingjie looked at Pengxin as he said, ¡°This one has a concubine as well as a child. Your Highness, if you marry me, it won¡¯t be as wonderful as what you¡¯re imagining.¡±

    Pengxin¡¯s expression stiffened. ¡°You have a concubine and a child?¡±

    ¡°En.¡± The child that he had with Luoqi was already four-year-old.

    Pengxin¡¯s face was deathly pale. She floated out of the tent like a ghost.

    Ning Mingjie thought that she probably wouldn¡¯t be able to ept this. However, an hourter, she floated back in. Pouting and looking very wronged, she said, ¡°What should I do... I still want to marry you...¡±

    Ning Mingjie couldn¡¯t refrain fromughing.

    Once Pengxin was secretly brought to the capital, this engagement would be cemented. He was just waiting for the final part of Ning Yuxuan¡¯s n to be concluded. After that, he would return to the capital and get married.

    ¡ª

    Sangyu was pregnant again, and Ning Yuxuan took advantage of this opportunity to meet up with him by saying he was taking her on sightseeing trip. Ning Mingjie also took Pengxin west to meet them partway.

    When he was almost about to meet Sangyu again, Ning Mingjie felt especially nervous, so much so that he couldn¡¯t even sleep. He climbed onto the roof and looked at the moon.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± Pengxin couldn¡¯t resist asking Ning Mingjie¡¯s personal servant, Changshan.

    Changshan was someone that knew everything. Being forced at sword point by the princess, he told a partial truth, ¡°My master is going to meet someone important tomorrow. It¡¯s not unusual that he can¡¯t sleep well.¡±

    ¡°Why is that person important?¡± Pengxin narrowed her eyes. Intuition told her that the other party was a woman.

    Changshan halting answered, ¡°My master¡¯s study used to be filled with paintings of that woman. Later, they were all taken down. In the end, they were two people that could never be together. Your Highness, you don¡¯t need to brood over this.¡±

    It really was a woman. Pengxin harrumphed. She tossed away her sword and picked up a wine jar, then she climbed onto the roof to keep Ning Mingjiepany.

    ¡°You¡¯re not sleeping?¡± Ning Mingjie turned his head to the side to nce at her.

    ¡°En.¡±Pengxin felt gloomy. Holding the wine jar, she took a sip and lightly said, ¡°I¡¯ll stay here and keep youpany for a bit.¡±

    Ning Mingjie nodded and sank back into his thoughts. Pengxin looked at him from her peripheral vision. This man truly looked very good. But, the sight of him illuminated by the fallen moonlight looked extremely lonely and deste.

    How hard would she have to work to step into this person¡¯s heart? Pengxin thought; would it work if I raise my martial art skills by one level?

    Trantor Ramblings: I wish Pengxin had given up on Ning Mingjie when he said that he already had a son. What happen to feeling guilty about taking away part of her father¡¯s affection and time from her half-sister? Is there any difference between her and Wen Wan? I think it¡¯s worse because she¡¯s from a country where monogamy is the norm and at least there was no child involved at that time of Wen Wan¡¯s marriage to Ning Yuxuan.

    It¡¯s been over year since I read this story, so I don¡¯t remember the story that well. I¡¯m curious how the author is going to resolve Pengxin and Mingjie¡¯s story. I think Pengxin is delusion in her belief that Mingjie is someone that needs to be saved from his loneliness. We can see that Mingjie is already doing the same thing to Pengxin that Ning Yuxuan did with Wen Wan to ¡°tame¡± her.

    What do you guys think?

 Chapter 474 - Give me back my sword (1)

    Chapter 474 ¨C Give me back my sword (1)

    Pengxin sheepishly raised her hand and greeted, ¡°Madam.¡±

    Ji Man was somewhat surprised. This young woman looked very different from her previous impression of her when they had briefly met on the boat. This young woman was no longer equipped with arge sword. Today, she was dressed in a beautifully colored silk outfit. Pengxin had approached her cautiously and greeted her with a soft voice too.

    ¡°Cousin-inw, let¡¯s go inside to talk.¡± Smiling, Ji Man weed her. As soon as she touched Pengxin¡¯s hand to lead her inside, she noticed that her hand was as cold as ice. ¡°Cousin-inw, did youe here on a sedan?¡±

    ¡°No, I rode here on a horse.¡± Pengxin sat down, took the tea that Ji Man offered her, and wrapped her hands around the cup to warm herself up. Once the chill finally started to dissipate from her hands, she said, ¡°I¡¯ve been married for a few months already. I thought it was about time for me toe back here to pay a visit.¡±

    Ji Man looked at her from top to bottom. She smiled as she said, ¡°Princess, you¡¯ve seem very different from before. You used to be more at ease. But now, it¡¯s as if you¡¯re tied up by something.¡±

    Pengxin was stunned. She lowered her head and looked at herself. There was rm in her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t scare me. What¡¯s tying me up?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean something supernatural.¡± Ji Man didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. ¡°Never mind, cousin-inw, why did youe here sote? Did something happen?¡±

    Ji Man thought; this young woman¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t hide anything. All her feelings were inly written on her face. Something must have happened in Ning Mingjie¡¯s household for her toe over here sote.

    Pengxin hesitated for a while. Great Song¡¯s people liked to euphemistically, so she should trying do the same.

    And so, she deliberated her words before finallying up with, ¡°Does the general still like you?¡±

    Ji Man, ¡°...¡±

    Nearby, Dengxin was shocked by this princess¡¯s bold words. She hurriedly went over to the courtyard¡¯s entrance to closed the doors, but she ended up almost screaming when she got to the entrance.

    Marquis Moyu had arrived here without them being aware. Noticing that there was a guest in the courtyard, he hadn¡¯t gone inside and was leaning against the entrance while he waited. He had probably overheard the princess¡¯s recent words. Otherwise, his expression wouldn¡¯t look so ugly.

    Ji Man coughed to clear her throat and sighed. ¡°Princess, you¡¯re probably just misunderstanding. The general has probably never even thought about me that way, so how could there even be a question of him still liking me?¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Pengxin frowned. ¡°That¡¯s what everyone says. They say that you¡¯re the bright moon in his heart...¡±

    ¡°Who are they?¡± Ji Man curiously asked.

    Pengxin curled her lip. ¡°The people in his household.¡±

    His household? She didn¡¯t need to ask anything else. Only Ning Mingjie¡¯s honored concubines would dare to say these words to Princess Pengxin. Ji Man sighed. Looking at this innocent young woman, who clearly wasn¡¯t high-leveled enough, Ji Man taught her the easiest way to judge other people¡¯s intentions.

    ¡°Cousin-inw, you have to understand that the people here areplicated. You can¡¯t just listen to anyone¡¯s words. There are people that won¡¯t have any conflicts of interest with you. Those people¡¯s words will help you. But, there are also people, whose interest will be in conflict with yours. You can¡¯t blindly listen to their words.¡±

    ¡°For example, me and you, we don¡¯t have any conflicts of interest. It¡¯s because my heart only has the marquis and cousin-inw¡¯s heart has older cousin. Thus, I wouldn¡¯t want to harm you, and you can believe in my words. As for the women in your household, they share the same man with you. Since they¡¯re in the same position as you, they¡¯llpete with you and won¡¯t wholeheartedly help you. When they tell you something, you should carefully consider whether or not you should believe them.¡±

    Pengxin was left feeling dazed for a long time.

    @@novelbin@@

    Helpless, Ji Man added, ¡°Cousin-inw, don¡¯t worry. Older cousin isn¡¯t a muddled-headed person. He should probably know how to cherish his people. It¡¯ll be fine as long as you don¡¯t let yourself be used by other people and do something stupid.

    Nodding her head, Pengxin seemed to have figured things out. Then, she quietly asked, ¡°So, what kind of woman does the general like? I¡¯ve thought about this for a long time, but I still haven¡¯t figured it out. If it¡¯s a woman like you, I don¡¯t think I can ever learn to be like you...¡±

    Ji Manughed. ¡°It would be too boring if everyone was like me. Cousin-inw, just be yourself.¡±

    Be herself? Pengxin was perplexed. Holding the cup of warm tea, she sat there in a daze.

    ¡ª

    Ning Mingjie hastily rushed over here, but he hadn¡¯t caught up to Pengxin before she arrived at the marquis¡¯s estate. After asking the estate¡¯s servants, he headed over to the western courtyard. When he arrived near the vicinity of the western courtyard, he saw that Ning Yuxuan was leaning against the entrance and listening to the conversation inside. His cousin¡¯s expression didn¡¯t look good.

    He didn¡¯t need to ask. Pengxin was definitely inside and talking.

    Ning Mingjie felt somewhat nervous. With Pengxin¡¯s temperament, it was very likely for her to offend someone. Many people in his household didn¡¯t like her very much. He didn¡¯t have much free time and hadn¡¯t been able to teach her much. If she ended up offending Marquis Moyu, it wouldn¡¯t be good even if they were rtives.

    He anxiously headed towards the courtyard¡¯s entrance to bring Pengxin back home. He ended up hearing Ji Man¡¯s voice.

    ¡°... Because my heart only has the marquis...¡±

    Coming to a stop, Ning Mingjie was a bit taken aback. Soon after, he heard the rest of Pengxin¡¯s question and felt a bit annoyed. Did Pengxin not have a brain? How could shee here and say whatever she wanted? What kind of of woman did he like? And she wanted to learn to be like someone else?

    Fuming with aggravation, Ning Mingjie approached Ning Yuxuan with a livid face and called out, ¡°Yuxuan.¡±

    The conversation inside abruptly came to an end. Ning Yuxuan¡¯s previous ckened expression had been swept away. He turned his head and looked at his older cousin with a smiling face. Howver, he looked as if he was ming Ning Mingjie for interrupting the conversation that was happening inside. ¡°Older cousin, you¡¯re here.¡±

    If Mingjie hadn¡¯t interrupted them, he might have been able to hear Ji Man say more heartfelt words that she normally wouldn¡¯t say.

    Ning Mingjie saluted him with his hands. Soon after, he asked, ¡°Did my wifee here? It¡¯s sote in the night, so I was worried and came here to pick her up.¡±

 Chapter 477 - Why did you have to change? (2)

    Chapter 477 ¨C Why did you have to change? (2)

    Zhu Yurun looked at Pengxin and nodded. ¡°There are many times when I have that same thought too, but Mister Ji said that if you want too many things in this world, you¡¯ll only end up making yourself feel worse. It¡¯s normal for men to have a harem. Not everyone will be like the current marquis, who wholeheartedly wants to spend his life with just one person. It¡¯ll be worth it if you¡¯re the most important person in his heart.¡±

    Pengxin considered this advice for a long time before nodding.

    But, she wasn¡¯t even able to grasp that position in his heart. She wasn¡¯t the most important person to him.

    ¡ª

    Normally, a servant girl would bring over tea after the meal was finished. However, after Pengxin took the offered cup of tea, she didn¡¯t drink it today. Her mind was too upied with thoughts of Ning Mingjie. To her surprise, he actually appeared in front of her after she had been thinking about him for a while.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Ning Mingjie raised his eyebrows as he looked at her. He took a seat next to her.

    ¡°You...¡± Pengxin looked at him. Soon after, she realized her answer wasn¡¯t right. She pursed her lips and said, ¡°We¡¯ve been married for so long, so I was wondering why I still haven¡¯t gotten pregnant. When I see Xing-<i>er</i>, I truly feel a bit envious.¡±

    Ning Mingjie chuckled. ¡°You were thinking about that issue for that long of a time?¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Pengxin blushed and nodded.

    Ning Mingjieughed in spite of himself. Sometimes, this Yuzhen Princess, who didn¡¯t know propriety, was quite cute.

    ¡°You can¡¯t get a child just by thinking about it,¡± he said.

    When the bed curtain fell down, Pengxin¡¯s eyes widened. As it turned, when a woman asked a man this question, it meant that she was asking for his favor? Did this mean that in the future she didn¡¯t need to act coy to seduce him? She could just directly ask him for a child?

    Princess Pengxin thought that she had discovered a great secret. She felt immeasurably satisfied with herself.

    It seemed that her rtionship with Ning Mingjie was gradually improving. She learned the skills that a woman from Great Song would have: embroidery and cooking. Even the thing that she hated the most before, poetry and songs, she patiently learned them because he liked them.

    The formerly unruly princess that only knew how to y around with weapons now wished to be an able and virtuous wife.

    ¡ª

    Luoqi said, ¡°The general is usually away on military campaigns for years on end. His body has many old injuries. This servant heard that one-hundred-year-old ginseng was recently discovered on Fu Mountain. It¡¯s the type that can move around. Only a person with a sincere heart would be able to find it. It can cure a person¡¯s old injuries and all illnesses. This servant wants to go and find this for the general.¡±

    Pengxin was guarded against her. Ji-<i>shi</i> had said that she couldn¡¯t believe Luoqi¡¯s words, so Pengxin¡¯s only response was nodding and saying, ¡°Alright, you can go.¡±

    Ning Mingjie had once received an injury on his leg. The wound had reached all the way to his bone. On rainy days, this injury would ache. She had heard from a doctor that his leg would hurt more as he aged.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡ª

    Pengxin was slightly tempted and wanted to go to Fu Mountain to dig up that ginseng too. However, after she told Zhu Yurun about this, Zhu Yurun shook her head. ¡°What ginseng? I haven¡¯t heard anything about this. She¡¯s definitely lying to you. Look, she definitely won¡¯t be able to bring anything back. Don¡¯t be fooled by her!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m such a smart person. I won¡¯t be fooled!¡± Pengxin solemnly vowed.

    ¡ª

    Sure enough, Luoqi didn¡¯t bring back any ginseng. She cried and said that she wasn¡¯t able to find it. She also said things like the general must be feeling awful since the weather hadn¡¯t been goodtely.

    Zhu Yurun said, ¡°She looks like she wants to trick you into hunting for that ginseng. At worst, she has a trap set up to harm you.¡±

    Pengxin scoffed, ¡°Only a pig would get duped.¡±

    However, a dayter, a pig-headed person was walking on Fu Mountain¡¯s paths.

    It would soon be Ning Mingjie¡¯s birthday. Although it wasn¡¯t a milestone birthday, so there wouldn¡¯t be a grand feast, she still thought that there was no harm in trying her luck. If she really was able to find it, it could be used as gift.

    She wasn¡¯t stupid, really. She knew that Luoqi didn¡¯t have good intentions, so she told Ning Mingjie that she was going to Fu Mountain to pray for blessings and would return home in a few days. She had even brought along a dagger for self-protection. If someone dared to attack her, she would teach that person why the flowers were so red.

    Because they¡¯re stained by blood!

    (T/N: This phrase/question is the title of a Chinese folk song. The answer is because the flowers are watered by the blood of youths.)

    Baring her teeth to show a ferocious expression, Pengxin was full of confidence as she walked down the path.

    Of course, there wasn¡¯t any one-hundred-year old ginseng, but, she wasn¡¯t willing to easily give up. She practically scoured the entire mountain and ended up wasting a lot of time.

    However, during Pengxin¡¯s three-day absence, Luoqi had acted as matckmaker for Ning Mingjie. Li Xiann, the Minister of Revenue¡¯s concubine-born daughter, had married into the household as a concubine.

    Normally, this was something that required the main wife¡¯s approval, but since the main wife was gone during this time, Luoqi had acted as the person in charge. Since Luoqi and Xiann had a good rtionship, they were naturally very close once Xiann entered the household.

    Moreover, Ning Mingjie hadn¡¯t objected. To him, it was only adding another person to his estate. Since his birthday was approaching, he treated this woman as a gift from the Li n.

    When Pengxin returned to the general¡¯s estate in disappointment, she saw Ning Mingjie with a woman that she hadn¡¯t seen before. They were heading towards the main courtyard.

    Seeing Pengxin, Ning Mingjie stopped walking and said, ¡°You¡¯re back? You¡¯ve been praying for blessing for three days. There must be a mountain¡¯s worth of blessings on my body now. This is Xiann. She recently entered the household.¡±

    Seeing the smile on his face, Pengxin suddenly realized something. She realized that she had made things worse for herself after all. She had been telling herself not to want too much, but when she saw the current scene, her eyes still felt as if they were being stabbed.

    ¡°Your new mistress?¡± She asked.

    Ning Mingjie¡¯s smile dimmed. ¡°Pengxin, think before you speak.¡±

    Pengxin smiled. She waved her hand and strode away with a domineering presence.

    What was she doing here? She had turned herself into a different person, but had only received a small portion of his heart in return.

    Pengxin felt a bit tired. Her hands were full of bruises and so was her heart.

    Why did you have to change yourself for the person that you love?

 Chapter 479 - Theres another way to accompany you (2)

    Chapter 479 ¨C There¡¯s another way to apany you (2)

    Pengxin looked up. Her tender little face looked especially small inside the helmet.

    Even the horse was startled and came to a quick halt. Ning Mingjie looked around, coughed to clear his throat, and pulled on her horse¡¯s reins to lead her to the side to talk. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Pengxin blinked. Swish. She pulled out her three-ring sword from the scabbard that was on her horse¡¯s back. ¡°I¡¯m going with you to fight, ah.¡±

    ¡°Outrageous!¡± Ning Mingjie¡¯s face had changed colors. ¡°Is war a child¡¯s game? You¡¯re a mere woman...¡±

    ¡°We met on the battlefield.¡± Pengxin cleaned her ears and harrumphed. ¡°My sword has killed countless enemies. Even if I spent thest year embroidering for you, I still know how to use my sword!¡±

    Seeing that he was going say more, Pengxin took out a yellow cloth scroll. ¡°Oh yeah, the emperor appointment me toe along. Here¡¯s the imperial edict. Do you want to take a look?¡±

    Ning Mingjie was stunned. He took the imperial edict from her. It really did have the emperor¡¯s seal. The emperor was allowing Yuzhen¡¯s princess, Pengxin, to follow the army.

    ¡°This...¡± After thinking it over, Ning Mingjie understood.

    Who had possession of the emperor¡¯s seal? Ning Yuxuan.

    Who did Ning Yuxuan listen to? Ji-<i>shi</i>.

    These cousin-inws were like actual sisters, ah. She even helped Pengxin to this degree. Ning Mingjie sighed. He let go of her horse¡¯s reins. ¡°Why are youing with me to battle? It¡¯ll be very hard and tiring.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not scared of hard work,¡± Pengxin said, ¡°Someone told me that it¡¯s better for me to be myself. I thought it over. I have to go with you to fight. When you charge ahead, I¡¯ll help you chop down your enemies. When you capture a city, I¡¯ll guard your back. That¡¯s what the real me would do. I¡¯m not suitable for staying at home to embroider and plotting out schemes against them, really.

    Ning Mingjie couldn¡¯t help it; his heart felt warm. ¡°Alright, you have to do a good job with protecting me then.¡±

    ¡°En!¡± Pengxin ced her sword onto her shoulder and took a long breath. ¡°It feels much better to speak loudly like this.¡±

    Ning Mingjie¡¯s heart felt a bit distressed. It seemed that this Yuzhen Princess had felt horribly stifled in his inner court.

    ¡ª

    ¡°I still feel really worried about Pengxin following the general to the battlefield.¡± Zhu Yurun said to Ji Man while cracking melon seeds between her teeth. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it unfairly help those wretched women in the general¡¯s household if she dies on the battlefield?¡±

    Ji Man thought that Zhu Yurun must have suffered a shock recently. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have said words like wretched women.

    ¡°That¡¯s alright. Pengxin still has a big move that she hasn¡¯t used yet. Once she uses it, she¡¯ll be arranged inside the camps and won¡¯t even have to lift a finger.¡± Ji Man spat out a melon seed¡¯s shell. She narrowed her eyes as if she was focused on looking at a goal. ¡°Pengxin actually has a very likable personality. It¡¯s only that other people take Ning Mingjie¡¯s attention away, so he can¡¯t properly spend time with her and get to know her. They¡¯ll be staying in Jiangxi for three years. By the time theye back, they¡¯ll have a child together. Their feelings will have had time to grow. While they¡¯re away in the military camps, no one will be scheming or bullying Pengxin. Her life couldn¡¯t be better.¡±

    Zhu Yurun doubtfully looked at her. ¡°How can you know the war willst three years?¡±

    Ji Man coughed. She didn¡¯t feel right pointing out to this fool that she had an inside source for the imperial court matters. She went to sleep hearing all sorts of national secrets, so how could it be possible for her to not know something minor like this?

    She had originally only wanted to help Pengxin a little bit, but once Ning Yuxuan found out that she wanted to develop the rtionship between Ning Mingjie and his wife, he didn¡¯t say another word before getting an imperial edict and sending Pengxin off to join the army.

    That¡¯s why she had felt okay with divulging a spoiler in advance by telling Zhu Yurun that she could tell Pengxin her good days weren¡¯t far.

    It would be so pointless just to change yourself. While you were striving to change yourself, you might as well change him too.

    Ji Man felt that it was easy for people to feel sympathetic for foolish, young women. It was unlikely that she would ever change into a foolish, sweet person herself, so she would dote on these foolish, young women. She would teach them how to live properly and get people to believe that true love was invincible.

    ¡ª

    @@novelbin@@

    Pengxin had blocked an attack for Ning Mingjie, and there was a wound on her arm as a result. Furious, Ning Mingjie was about to go after the scattered remains of the enemy army to get revenge for her. Unexpectedly, Pengxin, who should be feeling weak and lying down, acted as if she was perfectly fine. She raised herrge sword and ran quicker than anyone else to cut off the enemy¡¯s hand.

    Ning Mingjie, ¡°...¡±

    His anger was gone, but he felt a bit distressed.

    Pengxin sucked in a breath of cold air, Looking at him, she said, ¡°I¡¯m going to head back to the tent first.¡±

    The enemy soldiers were pretty much wiped out. Seeing that her expression looked pained, Ning Mingjie went back to the camp with her to check on her injury.

    As a result, he heard an army doctor saying she was in her third month of pregnancy!

    Ning Mingjie immediately flipped the table. Three months! This girl hade along with him into the battlefield, protected him, and taken a wound meant for him when she was three months pregnant? Was she Yuzhen¡¯s princess, or the Monkey King? How could she be so lively?

    He was speechless with anger. It was only when he saw that Pengxin¡¯splexion had changed that he anxiously asked the doctor what to do.

    The army doctor hadn¡¯t treated a woman before. He sighed and said, ¡°Prepare medicine to help stabilize her condition.¡±

    And so, the dignified, great general of the nation sat outside the tent and earnestly cooked medicine. His expression was stern, and the soldiers that passed by him saluted and stopped by the side to see what he was out here doing.

    More and more people came to watch this spectacle. When Ning Mingjie returned to his senses, his surrounding was already a solid nket of ck. The pot of medicine was bubbling over.

    Trantor Ramblings: It¡¯s strange that Ji Man can find stupidity cute. Isn¡¯t that Wen Wan¡¯s defining character trait?

 Chapter 482 - As round as pearls and smooth as jade (1)

    Chapter 482 ¨C As round as pearls and smooth as jade (1)

    (T/N: Just in case this is confusing, this chapter is taking ce shortly after Zhu Yurun miscarries off-screen in chapter 354. And, based on this chapter, I¡¯m assuming no one told Zhu Yurun about Qing Yingchen¡¯s visit in chapter 355.)

    Zhu Yurun was bashfully standing below a tree. She was wearing a beautiful sky blue dress, and there was a backdrop of pink clouds. In the distance, Qian Yingchen was carrying a big bag of stuff. He approached her with a smile.

    ¡°I bought the braised meat from East Street, snacks from Fuman Restaurant, twisted steamed rolls from a street stall, and your favorite food, candied hawthorn.¡± His voice was very gentle, and his eyes were full of tender sentiments as he looked at her.

    Zhu Yurun felt that she was too blessed. She shyly reached out to ept the food, but Qian Yingchen had already brought a piece of osmanthus cake to her lips. ¡°Here, open your mouth.¡±

    (T/N: Below are pictures of various osmanthus cakes.)

    ¡°You...¡± Zhu Yurun was so touched that her eyes got teary. ¡°Have you stopped hating me?¡±

    She had forced herself on him, and their child was gone. Had he stopped hating her?

    Qian Yingchen lightly shook his head. ¡°Silly girl, how could I hate you?¡±

    This definitely wasn¡¯t a dream. Zhu Yurun tearfully took a bite of the osmanthus cake. She kept thinking; this definitely wasn¡¯t a dream! Yingchen had finally forgiven her. They could happily spend their days together now. This definitely wasn¡¯t a dream!

    ¡°Miss, are you having a nightmare?¡± Standing nearby, Zhuer looked at her in concern.

    Sure enough, it was only a dream. Zhu Yurun looked at the ceiling of her bed for a while before tugging her quilt over her head. She felt so resentful and bitter. Oh, why couldn¡¯t she have stayed in her dream for a bit longer? Just let her see Qian Yingchen being gentle for an extra moment.

    ¡°Your body is still weak from the miscarriage. Old Master has already ordered the kitchen servants to prepare whatever food you want to eat,¡± Zhuer bbed on, ¡°It¡¯s fine if Sir Qian doesn¡¯t want to marry you. Old Master has already discussed the matter with Mister Ji. Once you¡¯re recovered, he¡¯ll still marry you.¡±

    Zhu Yurun groaned and rolled away in her bed to face the wall. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about thister.¡±

    The dream had been beautiful, but in reality, Qian Yingchen still hated her guts. Her child was gone, which meant herst connection with him was gone too.

    What a pity. That little life had been in her body for so long, but now it was gone, just like that.

    ¡°Zhuer, Mister Ji is actually a pretty good person, right?¡± Zhu Yurun decided tofort herself. ¡°His family has a prosperous business, and he has an attractive face. He doesn¡¯t have a wife or concubines, and he¡¯s a good person.¡±

    Zhuer quickly nodded. ¡°Miss, have you finallye around?¡±

    She hadn¡¯te around. She was just epting her fate? Zhu Yurun felt discouraged and deted. Her miscarriage happened several days ago, but Qian Yingchen hadn¡¯te here to see her. What was there left to hope for?

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll follow dad¡¯s arrangements. Yingchen probably feels exhausted from me pestering him day after day. He¡¯s getting married soon,¡± said Zhu Yurun spiritlessly. She felt worse after saying these words aloud.

    Someone had stood in the doorway for a long time. Hearing these words, he couldn¡¯t resist coldly snorting. He slowly entered the room and said, ¡°I suppose I have to thank you for your support.¡±

    Startled, Zhu Yurun quickly rolled back to her original position, straightened her quilt, and looked out.

    Qian Yingchen hade! The little ember in her heart that had almost burnt out seemed as if it was being doused by alcohol. It went back to burning brightly again! Zhu Yurun¡¯s cheeks flushed. Looking at him, she stuttered, ¡°Y-you... Why are you...¡±

    ¡°Why did Ie here?¡± Qian Yingchen sneered. ¡°Miss, don¡¯t worry. This one doesn¡¯t have other intentions. It¡¯s just that it was this one¡¯s fault for causing your miscarriage. This one feels apologetic towards your esteemed father, so the marquis told this one to pay Miss a visit an apology.¡±

    He had heard that she hade around and was going to marry Teacher Ji. So, what was the point in himing here to see her? Wouldn¡¯t it be fine for Teacher Ji toe here in his ce to see her instead?

    However, Zhu Yurun only foolishly giggled. She waved her hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. No big deal. I¡¯ll go tell my dad that it had nothing to do with you. I fell down by myself. Didn¡¯t you reach out to save me? Unfortunately, I was too heavy, so you weren¡¯t able to pull me up.¡±

    Qian Yingchen slightly froze in surprise.

    It was said that a woman would lose her mind after losing her child. She would hate whoever harmed her child. Before he hade here, he had already prepared himself to be yelled at. He didn¡¯t expect that Zhu Yurun would say this matter had nothing to do with him.

    How could this have nothing to do with him? The child was his. It was also his fault for bumping into her and causing her to fall down. Was this person a fool? She could obviously use this matter to threaten him into marrying her. But, she nned on speaking on his behalf instead.

    Yes, that was exactly right. Chubby Miss Zhu was a fool. She had originally decided to give up on Qian Yingchen out of anger, but her dreams were full of him. Seeing him after waking him, her previous annoyance went unimaginably far away. The only thought that remained was: I like him, I like him, I like him.

    ¡°Since Miss doesn¡¯t me me, then this one will leave.¡± Qian Yingchen felt an inexplicable fidgetiness as he got up. He had always treated other people politely and with grace. But, whenever he met Zhu Yurun, his mind would turn into a big mess. He couldn¡¯t resist exposing his rudest and most ferocious self in front of her.

    Ning Yuxuan had said he dared to act so unbridled towards her because he knew how much his young woman liked him. But, who would want to be the recipient of her affections? As the assistant minister¡¯s daughter, she should be a dignified youngdy. Why didn¡¯t she learn good things? Why was she so infatuated towards a man...

    T/N: Zhu Yurun and Qian Yingchen¡¯s story arc is from chapter 482 to 489.

    Trantor Ramblings: It¡¯s been over a year since I read DSB for the second time, so I forgot until now that I skimmed past Pengxin and Zhu Yurun¡¯s story arc both times ^^;;. I wish the author had spent less time on them, or only wrote about one foolish, infatuated girl and her happy ending instead of having two in a row. I think Pengxin could have been a much more interesting character if the author wrote about her growing up as the daughter of a mistress and how that shaped her character.

    Anyways, until I tranted up to this point, I only remembered that the extras contained Pengyue¡¯s POV as her rtionship with Zhao Li goes downhill, Nie Qingyun¡¯s POV, Haohao¡¯s storyline when hees back at 16 years old, Guibai¡¯s POV for a chapter, epilogue of Ji Man and Ning Yuxuan¡¯s story, and the author¡¯s note.

    @@novelbin@@

    How do you guys feel? What do you wish the author had written about in the extras?

    P.S. ¡°Qian Yingchen chased after her and grabbed her wrist, but she forcefully pushed him away. The forceful momentum caused her to lose bnce, and she fell down the restaurant¡¯s stairs.¡± ¨C from chapter 357.

    I wonder if the author meant to rewrite that scene and forgot to do it? In the original scene, Zhu Yurun falls down because of her recklessness and impulsiveness. There¡¯s no mention of bumping.

 Chapter 485 - A happy, chubby girl (2)

    Chapter 485 ¨C A happy, chubby girl (2)

    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± The door guard made a gesture for him to leave. ¡°Walk slowly.¡±

    Qian Yingchen brushed off his sleeve as he left. He thought; such a clever door guard should go over to the main entrance and guard that instead!

    ¡ª

    During the next few days, Qian Yingchen didn¡¯t visit Zhu Yurun. That girl didn¡¯t have self-control. She would definitelye over to look for him.

    Ah no, he didn¡¯t mean that he was looking forward to her visit, it was only... He just found it strange. Why had she left without saying a word that day? He had thought that when he turned around he would see her nkly staring at him and looking stupid, but he had only seen an empty street.

    It wasn¡¯t that he was unwilling. He was just curious what Zhu Yurun was thinking.

    However, she didn¡¯t appear before him. Qian Yingchen felt very disappointed.

    Should he take the initiative by going to Zhu Residence? She was already done with her one-month recovery period, so he was done with his assigned work. For what reason would he be going there for?

    Qian Yingchen coldly harrumphed. Turning his head, he went back to preparing his own wedding. After his marriage to Miss Sun, he probably wouldn¡¯t think about these messy thoughts. A woman like Zhu Yurun, it would be better if she stayed far away from him.

    But then, Ji Man, that wretched person, set his wedding date with Zhu Yurun to match his wedding with Miss Sun.

    ¡ª

    Dressed in wedding clothes and riding a horse, he thought that a handsome and tall person like himself couldn¡¯t possibly be inferior to that Ji Man, who only had a rice store. Behind him, there was a parade of women in splendid red clothing and the sounds of wind instruments. It was very lively.

    He didn¡¯t know why, even though his surroundings were very noisy, there was silence in his mind.

    After the wedding procession had reached halfway, he really did encountered Ji Family¡¯s marriage sedan chair. Ji Man was truly a stingy merchant. At the very least, he was marrying the assistant minister¡¯s daughter, so why was he making such a poor showing? Although Qian Yingchen knew that he had specially ordered his servants early in the morning that his wedding procession couldn¡¯t lose to Ji Man¡¯s, his heart started to feel unhappy when he saw how badly he had beaten Ji Man.

    The red bridal sedan chair contained a chubby girl, so as it was being carried forward, it looked heavier than a usual one. When the two wedding processions met, Qian Yingchen suddenly had an impulse.

    Why not marry that chubby girl? He could support her on his official¡¯s sry.

    He must have gone crazy to have such an idea. Grand Tutor Sun¡¯s side already had an agreement with the marquis, and he was perfectly willing to marry Miss Sun. How could he have such an idea at this juncture?

    Shaking his head, Qian Yingchen closed his eyes. Clutching the reins, he stopped looking at the neighboring wedding procession.

    Wasn¡¯t it a match made in heaven for a chubby girl to marry a rich merchant? Why should he stop them? He didn¡¯t like her.

    Qian Yingchen scoffed. Just as he was going to continue going forward, he heard someone behind him shouting, ¡°Stop the bridal sedan chair!¡±

    Miss Sun had run away from her wedding. At the moment when that sedan chair was passing by Zhu Yurun¡¯s sedan chair, someone had shouted this.

    Qian Yingchen couldn¡¯t quite return to his senses. He slightly furrowed his brow.

    As usual, the chubby girl acted without regard for consequences. Hearing this news, she got out of her sedan chair and sat down in his.

    ¡°Since this happened, Sir Qian, you should marry Yurun.¡± She rascally stayed in the sedan chair and wouldn¡¯te out.

    This was simply a joke. How could the bride be changed? Qian Yingchen¡¯s expression was very ugly. Mister Ji had alreadye over here to snatch the chubby girl back.

    ¡°I¡¯ll marry her.¡± He didn¡¯t know who called out those words. The surrounding people looked as if they had been relieved from a burden. Mister Ji also moved aside. The heavy bridal sedan chair was lifted up and the wedding procession continued down the road.

    Who agreed to marry her? Qian Yingchen pursed his lips. Anyways, it wasn¡¯t him.

    When Ning Yuxuan hatched a plot, the people that he schemed against usually weren¡¯t even aware of his involvement. This time, Qian Yingchen realized that he had been schemed against along with the others. Since it had been Miss Sun that ran away from the marriage, it was her side that was in the wrong. Grand Tutor Sun was sure to feel extremely guilty towards Marquis Moyu and help him out with many things in the future. As for himself, he would actually have to go through with marrying Zhu Yurun.

    Not only that, in the eyes of the public, he was perfectly willing.

    Qian Yingchen couldn¡¯t resist the urge to cover his eyes. In this lifetime, he had truly chosen poorly when making friends.

    He had tried to avoid this, but he still ended up bringing that chubby girl to his estate, past thenterns and red banners and into the bridal room.

    ¡ª

    What was even more horrifying was this chubby girl was now his main wife, and she didn¡¯t know how to control his concubines. They had already bullied her to such an extent, but she only knew how to stupidlyugh.

    ¡°Honored Concubine Feng took all of the new silk that entered the estate and only gave two bolts to you. Why didn¡¯t you tell me this?¡± Qian Yingchen red at the person in front of him.

    Zhu Yurun blinked. ¡°I didn¡¯t know about that. How did you find out?¡±

    She thought that this estate would be like Zhu Residence. The honored concubines would deliver everything to her courtyard, and she didn¡¯t need to manage anything.

    Qian Yingchen was going to be angered to death by her. ¡°Learn how to manage the household!¡±

    ¡ª

    And so, Zhu Yurun tried her best. While holding a meat-filled pastry in her mouth and with lit candles in the room, she would look at the ount books. But, every time she looked at the ount books, she would end up falling asleep at the table.

    When Qian Yingchen came home each evening, he would have to suffer through with carrying her to the bed. And so, after a few days of this, he gave up on having her manage the household. She really was too heavy for him to keep moving.

    ¡ª

    Everyone in the householdughed at Zhu Yurun behind her back about her weight. In this ce, beauty required thinness. And so, Qian Yingchen said to Zhu Yurun, ¡°You should try to think of a way to lose some weight.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Sure enough, this idiot didn¡¯t eat for the next three days and fainted in her room out of hunger. When he went over and picked her up, she opened her eyes, pressed her lips together, and said, ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡±

    She looked really pitiful. Qian Yingchen didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. He felt a bit bad for her, so he simply gave up on having her lose weight. Anyways, he didn¡¯t like her. It didn¡¯t matter if she was fat or thin. He would just keep raising her.

 Chapter 486 - Too heavy, cant let go after picking up (1)

    Chapter 486 ¨C Too heavy, can¡¯t let go after picking up (1)

    Everyone knew that he had married a foolish wife. Today, he was was sitting with a group of good friends and drinking. Halfway through the gathering, someone stood up and said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. My wife is probably going toin when this one gets back. This one will penalize myself with a cup of wine and leave first.¡±

    Another person stood up and said, ¡°My Yn is very petty. If I got back with the scent of rouge on me, she¡¯ll definitely throw a fit for at least half a month. This one will drink a cup of wine as penalty and say my goodbyes too.¡±

    Qian Yingchen sulky drank and thought; these two were really sesses. Their wives controlled them so stringently.

    But then, an obtuse fool, who wanted to curry favor with him, raised a cup to toast him and said, ¡°It¡¯s Sir Qian that¡¯s the best. You¡¯re fine with staying out all night.¡±

    Qian Yingchen was somewhat unhappy, but he raised his chin and thought; that was because he managed his wife in the correct manner. If Zhu Yurun dared to make a fuss, he would go over to one of his concubine¡¯s courtyards and not go over to see her. After two days of this treatment, she would naturallye looking for him while crying and sniffling.

    However, another nearby person said, ¡°Brother Zhang, you don¡¯t know this, but the two people that recently left, their wives have deep affection and love for them. That¡¯s why they¡¯re so controlling toward their husbands. Haha.¡±

    Qian Yingchen¡¯s expression had ckened. Instead of swallowing the wine in his mouth, he spat it out on the ground.

    @@novelbin@@

    Their wifes were controlling because of deep love? It had been half a month since he married Zhu Yurun, but she didn¡¯t show any care about his life of debauchery. It couldn¡¯t be that she wasn¡¯t in love with him, right? What a joke. Who was the one that had pestered him day in and day out asking him to marry her and acting as if she would die if he didn¡¯t?

    He sprinkled some of the wine from his cup onto his body, embraced a musician girl, and rubbed her body all over. Then, Qian Yingchen stood up and said, ¡°Yingchen will also take my leave earlier. Everyone, enjoy yourselves to the fullest.¡±

    ¡°Ai, Sir Qian, why are you leaving so early?¡± The person that was rushing to curry favor with him was unhappy. ¡°Your honorable wife isn¡¯t controlling. You can stay here longer.¡±

    ¡°Who said she isn¡¯t controlling?¡± With an unhappy face, Qian Yingchen said, ¡°She¡¯s definitely staying up and waiting for me toe home with lit candles. Goodbye!¡±

    Rather childishly mming the door on his way out, Qian Yingchen boarded his carriage and returned to his estate. He didn¡¯t know what he was feeling unhappy about. When he walked back to Zhu Yurun¡¯s courtyard, it was the same as usual. He hadn¡¯te home on time, so she had extinguished themps and went to sleep by herself. The courtyard was very dark. Don¡¯t even mention a lit candle in the room, there was nothing waiting for him at the door.

    Fuming with anger, Qian Yingchen went forward and kicked the doors to Zhu Yurun¡¯s room, then he turned around and went to Honored Concubine Feng¡¯s courtyard.

    Zhu Yurun was woken up by this noise. When she got up and looked at the doorway, there was no one there. Murmuring to herself that it was probably because the wind was too strong, the chubby girl closed the doors and waddled back to her bed to continue sleeping.

    As Qian Yingchen walked down the path, he kept kicking the ground and grumbling: that fat idiot!

    Although it was true that he had previously said he didn¡¯t want her to concern herself with his life, but wasn¡¯t Zhu Yurun being too free and easy by not showing any concern at all? Why had she wanted to marry him? She didn¡¯t show any concern when he went out indulging in sensual pleasures. When he favored an honored concubine more frequently than he favored her, she didn¡¯t throw a tantrum. She was like a soft persimmon. How could someone not want to pinch her and bully her

    He really wanted to squeeze her until she was a ball of cotton wadding and stuff her into a quilt!

    As Qian Yingchen walked, he kept cursing her. When he reached Honored Concubine Feng¡¯s courtyard, he was still grumbling.

    ¡°Sir Qian, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Honored Concubine Feng gently took off his outeryer of clothing for him. ¡°Has Madam angered you?¡±

    Qian Yingchen sneered. It could be considered tacitly assenting.

    Honored Concubine Feng¡¯s eyes turned. She sweetly smiled and said, ¡°Sir Qian, don¡¯t be angry. Everyone knows that Madam isn¡¯t that bright in the head. She speaks without considering propriety. If she¡¯s done anything wrong, just treat it as if a child has done something wrong and forgive her.¡±

    These words sounded like she was pleading for Zhu Yurun, but when he thought about it again, he realized it was wrong. Qian Yingchen narrowed his eyes. ¡°A child?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the right description for her? Madam is just like a child. She doesn¡¯t know anything. She only knows how to eat.¡± Honored Concubine Feng hanged his outeryer on a room divider, then carelessly said, ¡°Everyone has been saying why is Sir Qian is so unlucky to have married her.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± His hand stretched out and grabbed the outeryer of clothing that she had just hung up. Honored Concubine Feng froze in surprise for a moment. When she turned her head, she saw Qian Yingchen¡¯s expressionless face.

    ¡°Sir Qian? Has this servant said something wrong?¡± Honored Concubine Feng felt somewhat panicky. ¡°You just came here...¡±

    ¡°You can think for yourself what you did wrong. Starting from tomorrow, your monthly allowance will be cut in half.¡± Qian Yingchen finished putting on his clothes and lightly said, ¡°I¡¯m going back to care for that child.¡±

    Honored Concubine Feng was stunned. Qian Yingchen left her courtyard and took the return path.

    Zhu Yurun was very stupid. She didn¡¯t know how to shrewdly scheme orpete for favor. She only knew how to eat. He didn¡¯t like her; he thought she was stupid and fat.

    But, even if he didn¡¯t like her, it was only okay if he was the one feeling this way. If someone said a single bad word about her, then it was the same as hitting his face too.

    Right now, he was Zhu Yurun¡¯s husband.

    After returning to the main courtyard, he took off his outeryer of clothing and lied down on the bed. Zhu Yurun was sleeping very sweetly. Sensing a source of warmth nearby, the chubby girl rolled over to rub against the warmth. However, as soon as she smelled the stench of alcohol on that body, Zhu Yurun rolled back to the inner part of the bed and kept her distance from him. There was the slightest sound of snoringing from her.

    Qian Yingchen didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. This chubby girl was actually finding him disdainful?

    After changing into sleeping clothes and bringing her over to hug, Qian Yingchen murmured, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to press me down at night. I¡¯ll have a nightmare.¡±

    Zhu Yurun sleepily assented and really did follow his order in sleeping properly.

    Trantor Ramblings: ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to press me down <strong>at night</strong>.¡± I thought Qian Yingchen¡¯s wording was so weird and funny. Does that mean he doesn¡¯t want to forbid her from pressing him down in the daytime?

    How lucky to be Zhu Yurun. She doesn¡¯t have to do basic work like manage the household¡¯s finances. All she does is eat, but Qian Yingchen will protect her from being bullied without her lifting a finger or using a brain cell. Because he knows she¡¯s stupid, he¡¯ll protect her and automatically judge the other women in his harem as crafty and maniptive (which admittedly they are).

 Chapter 490 - Id pluck the moon from the sky to give to you (2)

    Chapter 490 ¨C I¡¯d pluck the moon from the sky to give to you (2)

    Since Pengyue was a child, she had been like the moon that was surrounded by the stars. Her chin was always raised arrogantly raised up, and she carried her long, red whip everywhere.

    Once, when she was a child, her king father had lifted her onto his knee and asked her, ¡°Yue-<i>er</i>, what kind of husband do you want in the future?¡±

    The little her had held her head high as she said, ¡°My husband has to be someone with an indomitable spirit and be very strong physically. He has to be able to defeat me in armedbat!¡±

    She had always thought that only someone who could defeat her inbat was capable of conquering her and bing her husband.

    Yuzhen was a monogamous country. Life was prosperous and peaceful here. However, their neighboring country, the powerful Great Song, covetously eyed Yuzhen.

    The day finally came when her king father summoned her and very apologetically said, ¡°You might have to marry someone in Great Song.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to!¡± Pengyue pouted. The men in Great Song had multiple wives and concubines. How could they bepared to the men in Yuzhen that wholeheartedly loved their wives? Besides, she didn¡¯t want to go somewhere that was so far from her home.

    However, her king father said, ¡°You¡¯re Yuzhen¡¯s princess. You¡¯re the only option.¡±

    Born to a life of luxury, it was only right that she made a sacrifice for her country. Pengyue cried for a long time before apromise was made. Taking along her long whip, she went away to the distant Great Song¡£

    On the way there, she thought about the types of men that she would meet. She would probably have to marry a reserved prince. He would probably be the graceful, mature, and reserved type? She had heard although there were plenty of men in Great Song that knew martial arts, Great Song¡¯s princes were refined and only knew Chinese boxing. Pengyue felt somewhat unhappy, and she was in low spirits during the entire journey.

    ¡ª

    Great Song¡¯s pce was bustling, and there were many women living there. When these women smiled, it looked very fake. Noble Consort Nie assigned two married women to be herpanions. They would take her out for sightseeing.

    She would probably look like these women in the future? Pengyue stealthily scrutinized them. The woman named Errong was livelier, but for some unknown reason, her face looked a bit sorrowful. She was probably worrying over her husband being snatched away by someone concubine? Next to her, the woman named Sangyu looked stylish and dignified. She secretly tried to mimic her mannerism, but she wasn¡¯t able to sessfully copy it.

    Great Song had three princes she could marry. Two of them already had main wives, so there was no way she would marry either of them and be a little concubine. There was one more prince left that she hadn¡¯t seen, but no one had mentioned him to her.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the second prince?¡± She couldn¡¯t resist asking one of the attendants.

    The attendant shook her head. ¡°We¡¯ve made discreet inquiries about him, but no one knows about the second prince. It seems that he has no ns of meeting with Your Highness.¡±

    He was the rare prince that remained unmarried, and he wasn¡¯t going to see her? Pengyue felt somewhat curious. What kind of person was he?

    Later on, when they went to the military training field in the afternoon, she saw him. They had said he hadn¡¯t wanted to meet her, but he was sitting there in his wheelchair and wearing a beautiful dark-colored robe that marked him as a prince. From a distance, he observed her.

    @@novelbin@@

    Pengyue noticed him, and her heart immediately felt a bit strange. That person was actually a cripple, but he had appeared on the military training field. His face looked a bit mncholy. She had only gotten one nce of him before he turned to leave.

    Was he ying hard to get to catch her interest? Pengyue sneered. She wouldn¡¯t fall for that trick. All of these princes wanted to marry her in order to get Yuzhen¡¯s assistance. This person clearly wanted that too, but he hadn¡¯t shown any sincerity. He hadn¡¯t even bothered to approach her to properly exchange greetings with her.

    If he didn¡¯t take the initiative, she wouldn¡¯t either.

    After looking in the direction that he had left several times, Pengyue angrily swung her whip and left.

    Anyways, how could that person be suitable to be her husband? He didn¡¯t even have the strength to truss up a chicken, and there was no possibility that he would ever be able to stand.

    ¡ª

    A servant girl that had found out some information came over to report to her, ¡°The emperor has never attached any importance to the second prince. Even though he¡¯s a prince in name, he can¡¯t even bepared to the averagemoner. Your Highness, you mustn¡¯t choose the second prince. It would be awful luck to marry him. You can choose any random person, and that person would at least have use of his legs.¡±

    Pengyue slightly furrowed her brow. ¡°He¡¯s been ignored just because his legs aren¡¯t good?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± the young servant girl quietly said, ¡°This servant heard that he¡¯s been harmed by others since he was young, but the emperor doesn¡¯t care.¡±

    Pengyue nodded. ¡°Alright then, there¡¯s no need to consider him.¡±

    ¡ª

    Nie Sangyu continued bringing her out to see other talented youths, but halfway to their destination, someone intercepted them and invited them to an empty tea house.

    ¡°Princess Pengyue.¡± The person sitting in the wheelchair faintly smiled at her. ¡°Excuse this one¡¯s presumptuousness. This one wishes to discuss with Your Highness and make a deal.¡±

    He was a weak-looking schr type. Pengyue furrowed her brow. She should outright refuse. What was there for them to discuss? However, as she looked at his gentle eyes, she couldn¡¯t say words of rejection. After considering for a bit, she still nodded.

    Her entanglement with him started from this deal.

    He promised her that after he became emperor, he would keep his harem empty, facilitate the exchange of goods in the bordends by Yuzhen as well as reducing the associated taxes on those goods. People from Yuzhen would be able to freely cross Great Song¡¯s border.

    Pengyue was somewhat moved, and yet, she found his promises somewhat unbelievable. This man couldn¡¯t even stand up. Could he really ascend the throne?

    Zhao Li looked into her eyes. She didn¡¯t know what kind of witchcraft he used, but she was mesmerized by his gaze. When she returned to her senses, she actually ended up agreeing.

    Perhaps, she had been looking for excuses for herself this entire time. She must have already made her decision the first time she saw him. Otherwise, the things that happenedter wouldn¡¯t have gone so smoothly and easily.

    A single nce, and she went down the wrong path forever.

    ¡ª

    She had specially brought her whip with her to use to select her husband, but now, she was standing next to Zhao Li, who had no possible chance of defeating her. She was perfectly willing to dere, ¡°From now on, he¡¯s my husband! If anyone dares to bully him, it¡¯ll be the same as bullying me!¡±

 Chapter 494 - Nie Qingyunâ€™s POV (1)

    <strong>Chapter 494 ¨C Nie Qingyun¡¯s POV (1)</strong>

    Men naturally had protective tendencies, and one was duty-bound to protect one¡¯s younger sisters. At first, Nie Qingyun wasn¡¯t very close to Nie Sangyu until he identally overheard a conversation between his mother and a servant girl.

    Chen Suqin was shaking in anger in her room as she said, ¡°That woman is already dead, but Old Master still longs for her. Does he need to go that far? She just had a slightly more seductive appearance.

    The servant girl tried to persuade her, ¡°You¡¯re already the main wife now. It doesn¡¯t matter if the Old Master misses her.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand.¡± Chen Suqin was somewhat hysterical. ¡°I¡¯ve beenpeting with her for half of my life. I finally killed her off, but she still lives on in Xiangyuan¡¯s heart... This type of feeling... It¡¯s as if I can never win against her.¡±

    ¡°Madam...¡± The servant girl lowered her voice as if to signal her master to keep her voice down.

    Chen Suqin paused before sneering. ¡°So what if I say that aloud? I was the one that killed Chen Suxin with a bottle of poison. My only regret is that I couldn¡¯t grind down her bones and scatter her ashes. And that Xiangyuan still remembers her and thinks of her!¡±

    The servant girl sighed and quietly said, ¡°You and Old Master still have the rest of your lives together while the previous madam can only watch the two of you from the underworld. If you think of it that way, you¡¯ll feel more at ease.¡±

    Nie Qingyun widened his eyes. At that time, he was only a child, but he understood the meaning of these words and ran away.

    His mother was a murderer. She killed his maternal aunt just for his father¡¯s heart?

    A young child wasn¡¯t that good with distinguishing between right and wrong, but his heart was very clean. He knew that killing someone meant you were a bad person. His mother was a bad person.

    After running to the garden, he saw Nie Sangyu crying behind a rock. She had only recently learned how to speak, but because she couldn¡¯t find her mother, she would frequently pitifully cry.

    Nie Qingyun ran over to her and pulled her up.

    ¡°My mother did something unforgivable to your mother, so I¡¯ll do my best to protect you in the future,¡± said the little boy, ¡°I¡¯ll return everything that¡¯s owed to you.¡±

    Since that day, Nie Sangyu gained a small shadow.

    ¡ª

    Nie Qingyun was the only boy in the household, and he was now the son of the main wife. With Chen-shi sheltering him and Old Master Nie could be considered to like him, no one dared to deceive or take unfair advantage of him. Some of his concubine-born sisters tried to bully Nie Sangyu after she lost her mother, but Nie Qingyun always stood behind her and supported her.

    ¡°You can regard me as your mother,¡± said Nie Qingyun with a serious expression, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely be the same as your mother.¡±

    Nie Sangyu grabbed the edge of his clothes and happily pped.

    Nie Sangyu no longer had a mother, but she was safely protected by her older brother. Nie Qingyun really did perform his role as her mother perfectly. He didn¡¯t give anyone even the slightest chance to harm her. If she wanted something, he would ask his father for it. Even if Chen-shi asionally attempted to give Nie Sangyu a hard time, Nie Sangyu still grew up carefree and without worries.

    That¡¯s why she still ended up being spoiled rotten.

    ¡ª

    Nie Sangyu wasn¡¯t favored by the marquis, so Nie Qingyun repeatedly went over there to stick his head out for her. Even if other people said his actions were inappropriate and even though he was only a few years older than her, he felt that Sangyu was still the child that he had raised. He couldn¡¯t bear to see her hurt, thus Nie Qingyun ignored what other people said about him.

    ¡ª

    However,ter on, Nie Sangyu changed in a sensible woman that didn¡¯t need his protection. Nie Qingyun felt somewhat lost, but he was happy. If she could happily live her life, then he could feel a bit more at ease.

    After he had apanied Sangyu in growing up for the past many years, his mother¡¯s sin could be considered paid off. And yet, he had the lingering mindset of a parent, he couldn¡¯t help but continue to worry about Sangyu.

    Anyone would feel uneasy about her entanglement with Marquis Moyu. Ning Yuxuan didn¡¯t like her. It was pointless for her to forcibly keep him in a marriage, but because of the rtionship between their families, their marriage couldn¡¯t be broken off.

    At this time, Sangyu said to him, ¡°Errong is actually a very good girl.¡±

    Ning Errong, he had known about this person before. She was Marquis Jingwen¡¯s junzhu daughter. He could see that Sangyu wanted to matchmake them, but he hadn¡¯t made any significant achievements yet. For him to marry a titleddy, he didn¡¯t have the confidence.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Qingyun wants to establish my career first, then start a family,¡± he answered.

    @@novelbin@@

    The faintly blushing young woman¡¯s eyes dimmed. She silently left. Nie Qingyun watched her back figure and had a tiny impulse to ask her to stay. He sighed. After all, he was already at this age.

    However, he felt it wouldn¡¯t be right to call out to stop her. Even though everyone knew there would be many benefits to marry Ning Errong, he didn¡¯t want to rely on a woman.

    ¡ª

    As a result, Sangyu came over to act as the go-between. Nie Qingyun felt he was truly too shameless. Even though he had already assented a hundred times in his mind, he still showed a calm expression and hesitated. Finally, he used the excuse that he was doing this for Sangyu¡¯s well-being and agreed.

    Too shameless.

    ¡ª

    Errong was so happy. Circling around him and smiling happily like a child, she asked him, ¡°You won¡¯t go back on your word, right?¡±

    ¡°This one won¡¯t. This one is willing to marry the junzhu,¡± he answered.

    Errong gigled. She stuffed a handkerchief into his hand and scurried away. He calmly put the handkerchief away. Since that time, he always kept that handkerchief on him.

    If they were together, it could be considered a good match? Nie Qingyun thought; it would be fine. He would work hard and rise to a fourth-rank official this year in order to not be a disappointment to the junzhu and her choice.

    However, it seemed that Errong had misunderstood many things.

 Chapter 496 - The world of feelings inside the metal can (1)

    Chapter 496 ¨C The world of feelings inside the metal can (1)

    There was no one more terrifying than Ning Yuxuan. He clearly only had the title of marquis, but he had control of the Six Ministries. He looked like a weak schr, but his martial art skills were better than the average warrior. If you asked him if there was anything he didn¡¯t know about the imperial court, he could even tell you what day and which estate someone went up.

    Nie Qingyun wished that he could doubt that Ning Yuxuan and think that he was only trying to trick him, but there was no benefit to Ning Yuxuan if he divorced Errong. On the contrary, once Nie n became the dominant power, it would actually be a lossl to Marquis Moyu if the connection between him and Errong was gone.

    He wanted more time to consider. After all, there was peace and prosperity right now without any news of change.

    And so, during the next few days, he didn¡¯t go home. Ning Yuxuan reserved this room for him. In the passing, he pointed out a dancer named Geshan.

    Geshan looked very simr to Sangyu. There was a light mark between her eyebrows, her lips were red, and her waist was soft. However, she didn¡¯t enter Nie Qingyun¡¯s eyes.

    He was worried about Errong. He didn¡¯t know what she was doing while he had been away from home. When he went home three days ago, he left right after getting a change of clothes. He hadn¡¯t been able to resist looking at her from his peripheral vision. Seeing that her face had be wan and sallow, he felt slightly distressed.

    Still, it was better for him to leave. If he did get news of a change, he could use the excuse that his feelings for her had faded to divorce her.

    Faded, his ass! He liked Errong. Every day, he liked her a little bit more. He wanted nothing more than to hug her and not leave her side.

    However, what if Yuxuan had told him the truth?

    ¡ª

    Chen-<i>shi</i> stopped him as he was leaving the estate. With an unsmiling face, she said, ¡°Since Ning Errong is unable to keep you at home, why won¡¯t you hurry up with taking a concubine? She¡¯s been married to you for so long, and she still hasn¡¯t gotten pregnant. You should be making other arrangements.¡±

    @@novelbin@@

    Nie Qingyun felt a bit cranky. He nodded and left.

    Take a concubine? This idea had never urred to him. Errong was enough.

    ¡ª

    However, the news that Nie Xiangyuan was going to be removed from his position came out of the imperial court. The army had lost a battle because there was a problem with the weaponry. The emperor was furious, and someone naturally had to bear the brunt of the emperor¡¯s anger.

    Before the news had spread, Ning Yuxuan gave him advance notice. And so, with a pale face, Nie Qingyun brought Geshan home with him.

    He saw the surprised look in everyone¡¯s eyes and even saw an incredulity in his most beloved sister¡¯s eyes.

    In actuality, they were overthinking things. Errong was the only woman he romantically loved. He wasn¡¯t a beast that would have such ideas about his own sister.

    He didn¡¯t know why Ning Yuxuan would find a dancer that looked like his younger sister. What a twisted person.

    ¡ª

    After he took Geshan as his concubine, Errong hid in her room. He stood outside her room scratching at the wall. He wanted to exin himself, but he couldn¡¯t. He couldn¡¯t even go inside and offer her a word offort.

    Ning Yuxuan better not have lied to him. Otherwise, it didn¡¯t matter if he was a marquis, he was going to punch him in the face.

    ¡ª

    Nie Xiangyuan was removed from his position. This happened within two days of him bringing Geshan back. Ning Yuxuan hadn¡¯t lied to him. After the pir of Nie n was lost, it¡¯s formerly stable position slowly crumbled.

    ¡°What will happen next?¡± He asked Marquis Moyu with a pale face.

    ¡°Save yourself. If you can¡¯t abandon your family, then just wait for death with them.¡± It was as if Ning Yuxuan was ying aplicated chess game. There were so many pieces on the board that it was impossible to determine the battlefield situation.

    Nie Qingyun couldn¡¯t figure it out. This person had the talent of predicting the future, and he was straightforwardly telling him without reservation.

    Still, even if Ning Yuxuan told him this, there was no way he could change anything. He couldn¡¯t give up on his family. No matter what, he wanted to hold up his family and keep it from falling.

    ¡ª

    When he divorced Errong, everyone thought he was calm and heartless. Only he knew that he had bitten down on the handkerchief as he cried while writing out the divorce letter.

    That was too embarrassing. He wouldn¡¯t tell anyone about that.

    Nie n¡¯s situation was too unstable. He would rather divorce her now than drag her down with him in the future. Nie Qingyun looked up at the blue sky and though he was truly a good man that had made a sacrifice for love.

    However, when he looked at the empty room at the top of the building, he couldn¡¯t resist turning around to cry and snivel.

    ¡ª

    When he was sending his father off, Errong also came, but she remained sitting inside her carriage. Chen-<i>shi</i> had cursed her by saying Errong was a wife that would only be with him in fortune and wouldn¡¯t stay with him during difficult times.

    Nie Qingyun lowered his eyes. Actually, he was the most selfish one. He hadn¡¯t even given Errong a reason for divorcing her. Who knows how awful Errong must be feeling? Even if she found out the truth, she probably wouldn¡¯t forgive him.

    However, after she left, he didn¡¯t have any lingering apprehensions about his choice. He did his best to save Nie n. Once the emperor died, he naturally had to help the third prince in hispetition with the first prince for the throne.

    Even though Ning Yuxuan had already warned him that the second prince¡¯s hidden power and influence couldn¡¯t be underestimated, it didn¡¯t matter. There was only one path that he could take, helping the third prince.

    ¡ª

    When Zhao Jue ascended the throne, Nie Qingyun exhaled a long sigh of relief. He could probably bring Errong back now?

    But, Ning Yuxuan shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s better if you don¡¯t think about Errong. Nie n¡¯s cmity is approaching.¡±

    If Ning Yuxuan set up a stand as a fortune teller, his business would definitely be very good. Nie Qingyun looked at Marquis Moyu. He wished that he could choke him to death.

    Sure enough, his prediction came true. The second prince¡¯s army surrounded the capital. Since the third prince hadn¡¯t guarded against this enemy at all, it was only a matter of time before he would lose. However, Ning Yuxuan urately appraised the situation and took this opportunity to open the capital¡¯s gate for the second prince.

 Chapter 498 - - Haohaos story (1)

    Chapter 498 ¨C Haohao¡¯s story (1)

    Once upon a time, there was a mountain. On that mountain, there was a temple. The temple had an old monk that was telling a story to a young monk.

    ¡°You have an innate talent for cultivation. If you properly cultivate, you¡¯ll definitely be great,¡± Monk Xuwu sincerely and earnestly said to the teenager.

    ¡°This disciple understands the meaning of <i>Shifu</i>¡®s words, but this disciple wishes to go down the mountain to earn money.¡± The elegant teenager¡¯s inky ck hair was tied up high. When he raised his face, his radiance made everything around him pale inparison. His thin lips were slightly raised as he extremely seriously said, ¡°If this disciple doesn¡¯t leave the mountain to earn money soon, this temple is going to copse.¡±

    A gust of wind blew by, and some of the straw on the temple¡¯s roof was blown away. Monk Xuwu sighed. ¡°This ce is the closest spot to Heavens. It doesn¡¯t matter if its broken down or not. You¡¯ve already been studying Buddhism for eleven years. After a few more years of cultivating, you¡¯ll definitely surpass me.¡±

    ¡°And then?¡± The teenager tilted his head. ¡°Does attaining enlightenment bring joy? Why do people feel sorrow? Humans are the mayflies of the world. Buddhism is detaching oneself from the world. To attain enlightenment and leave behind human society, there would be no meaning. Why not stay in this world and live a natural and unconventional life for a while?¡±

    Ning Jinchen had been kidnapped by Monk Xuwu as a child under the excuse of detoxifying. But, after the poison was removed, he didn¡¯t let him go. He said Ning Jinchen had amazing innate talent, and it would be best for him to stay with him to study Buddhism.

    Having left home so young, Ning Jinchen only vaguely remembered that he had a dad. He seemed to have a mom and a teacher too. He had originally been fine with wholeheartedly learning Buddhism from Monk Xuwu, but recently, he kept dreaming about his mother that he had no impression of. He thought it would be immoral to not show any filial piety. How could he ascend to an immortal before repaying his parents?

    Monk Xuwu sighed. He recited a prayer, ¡°Amitabha. This old one knew you have unfinished business in earthly world so you¡¯re reluctant to leave it. That¡¯s why this old one hasn¡¯t shaved your head. That¡¯s alright. Go on then. Once you¡¯ve gained understanding of the earthly world, that will be the best time for you tomit to converting.¡±

    Ning Jinchen nodded. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be leaving, <i>Shifu</i>.¡±

    ¡°En.¡± Monk Xuwu magnanimously nodded.

    Raising his foot to go down the mountain, Ning Jinchen ended up having to stop his steps. He looked down at the old monk that was hugging his thigh. ¡°<i>Shifu</i>, you¡¯ve already agreed. Shouldn¡¯t you let go of me then?¡±

    Monk Xuwu looked up with a face full of tears. ¡°It was so hard for me to swindle you from Marquis Moyu. I truly feel reluctant to let you go. Just let me hug you a while longer. Wahhh...¡±

    Ning Jinchen: ¡°...¡±

    With pants that were wet with tears and snot, wearing a monk¡¯s attire and a wooden hairpin, Ning Jinchen finally left the mountain at sixteen.

    ¡ª

    He brought along a token that would confirm his identity when he went back to look for his parents, but actually, there was no need to bring that token. As soon as he stepped into Marquis Moyu¡¯s estate, he was directly invited to the main hall. Everyone was pointing at his face and stuttering.

    They acted as if they were seeing a ghost. Ning Jinchen hadn¡¯t seen this many people before. His childhood memories had already been blurred by time. He couldn¡¯t recognize anyone.

    Until a woman came inside.

    ¡°Haohao!¡± Ji Man was so excited that she was shaking. As soon as she reached him, she hugged him. Her warm breath blew over him.

    Having lived on the mountain for so long, he naturally hadn¡¯t seen a woman there, much less experienced being hugged by one. Ning Jinchen was in a daze for a long time before seeing this woman raising her head. Her beautiful face looked somewhat familiar.

    It looked somewhat simr to the face he had seen in the pond a few days ago aftering down from the mountain.

    ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± A man stepped through the doorway. His appearance and aura felt very familiar too. Ning Jinchen tilted his head and carefully looked at him. He finally came to a sudden realization.

    @@novelbin@@

    His face looked very simr to these two people, as if he was abination of them.

    Lifting up his robe, he knelt down. Ning Jinchen bowed to them. Naturally, his parents¡¯ kindness was the first thing he should express gratitude towards.

    Ji Man and Ning Yuxuan felt moved.

    ¡ª

    A weing banquet was held for him in the estate. A table of food, none of it look familiar. One by one, Ning Jinchen tasted everything. Although the food was tasty, he didn¡¯t overeat.

    This estate could be considered his home, but his father¡¯s body held a lot of blood debt, and there seemed to be the remnants of spirits tethered to his mother¡¯s body. His younger sister was cute and lively, and his second brother was somewhat taciturn.

    ¡ª

    The earthly world and the world where one sought enlightenment through Buddhism; these were twopletely different worlds. Ning Jinchen set up Buddha statues in his room. He continued seeking enlightenment while interacting with people in the earthly world.

    However, he had grown up only interacting with an old monk that spent most of his time reciting Buddhist prayers, so there were naturally many things he didn¡¯t understand about the earthly world. His mother came over to chat with him for a long time about this.

    Ji Man asked, ¡°What did the old monk teach you?¡±

    He answered, ¡°He taught me how to practice Buddhism, to work towards ascending to the Heavens.¡±

    The woman¡¯s gaze turned extremely strange. After a long period of silence, she said, ¡°Mom will bring you to the rice store tomorrow so you can see the joys of the world.¡±

    ¡ª

    Actually, not only did Ning Jinchen have an affinity for Buddhism, he had a greater affinity with money. After Ji Man tossed him to the rice store for only two days, this mere sixteen-year-old teenager understood basic ounting and how to use an abacus. He even figured out how to y a few clever, but minor tricks in business.

    ¡ª

    Shopkeeper Yan Buba, who managed Ji Man¡¯s rice business, had married a long time ago. His daughter was already ten years old. However, his wife¡¯s favorite activity was to spend money. After so many years of marriage, their pattern of behavior never changed. As they passed through a street, Madam Yan was full of enthusiasm in buying stuff. Yan Buba would follow behind her with an abacus in hand. As he calcted her spending on his abacus, he would murmur, ¡°This trip cost three taels and seven coins. I¡¯ll have to work two more days for the boss...¡±

 Chapter 502 - Love me (1)

    Chapter 502 ¨C Love me (1)

    Ning Jinchen didn¡¯t move. The snow slid down into his robe from his cor, and he suddenly felt a slight chill. Monk Xuwu had told him that if he was devoted to the task at hand when he recited scriptures, then he wouldn¡¯t notice anything else. It seemed that he wasn¡¯t devoted today.

    Sighing, he raised his head to look at Yan Shengqian and said, ¡°Miss Yen, you¡¯re a person that belongs to the secr world. Please follow your secr world¡¯s etiquette rules and keep your distance from this one.

    Qian-<i>er</i> sneered. ¡°Are you a person from the secr world?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Why are you following the secr world¡¯s rules then?¡± Qian-<i>er</i> raised her eyebrows. Standing in the distance, she had her hands on her hips. She found his logic ridiculous. ¡°If you uphold the rules of the secr world, doesn¡¯t that make you a person from the secr world?¡±

    Ning Jinchen froze in surprise. He lowered his head to contemte.

    Qian-<i>er</i>, who was standing more than three steps away from him, smiled and said, ¡°In the secr world, men and women have to keep a distance of three steps from each other. If I take the initiative to keep a three-steps distance from you, could you stop hiding from me?¡±

    Ning Jinchen slightly furrowed his brow. ¡°Miss Yan, why must you be so persistent?¡±

    ¡°Why does that have anything to do with you?¡± Qian-<i>er</i>¡®s eyes slightly reddened. ¡°Go read your Buddhist scriptures!¡±

    ¡ª

    Seeing that she really did adhere to keeping a distance of three steps between them, he didn¡¯t have anything left to say. The two of them went back to their previous routine. While he sat there in meditation, she would stand by his side to keep himpany. It was only that she was standing a little farther away now.

    ¡ª

    During the Chinese Valentine Festival, Qian-<i>er</i> insistently pulled him out to see festivities. The streets were lively, and the stalls lining the streets were doing exceptionally good business in selling jewelry and jade ornaments. Many young men easily brought an item to give to the girl in their heart for a smile.

    When Qian-<i>er</i> and Ning Jinchen passed by, there was only one item left, a wooden hairpin. It was probably because the material was too cheap, so no one was interested in it. However, the carved plum blossom on it looked pretty good and paired well with a certain someone¡¯s facial features.

    After looking at it for a while, Qian-<i>er </i>took out a small bag and brought the hairpin.

    ¡°Oh, Miss is quite special. Are you buying it for that young man?¡± The old grandmother was in an especially good mood as she packed up her stall. ¡°It¡¯s usually young men thate here to buy something to give to a girl. You¡¯re thest one toe here today, and you¡¯re doing things in reverse.¡±

    Qian-<i>er </i>blew out her cheeks. ¡°Why? Am I not allowed?¡±

    ¡°Haha, there¡¯s nothing that¡¯s not allowed. If you like someone, you should go ask him how he feels. This hairpin is simple yet elegant. Men can wear this too. It¡¯s quite suitable for the young man over there. May you achieve your heart¡¯s desire.¡± The old grandmother put her bag over her shoulder and smiled as she left.

    Qian-<i>er</i> blushed. Clutching the hairpin, she stopped three steps away from Ning Jinchen and called out, ¡°Hey!¡±

    Illuminated by the colorednterns on the riverside, Ning Jinchen turned to look at her. There was an endless stream of people walking between them.

    Qian-<i>er</i>, who was three steps away from, held her hand out. ¡°This is for you...¡±

    A passing person bumped into her hand, and the unremarkable wooden plum blossom hairpin fell into the crowd. Greatly rmed, Qian-<i>er</i> lowered her head and was about to crouch down to look for it, but Ning Jinchen frowned.

    ¡°Stand up straight. There¡¯s a lot of people here. You¡¯re going to get stepped on.¡±

    Qian-<i>er</i> froze in surprise. She regrettably looked at the crowd. She was so unlucky, ah. She liked a person that was devoted to Buddha, and she couldn¡¯t even seed in giving him a hairpin.

    ¡°What was that?¡± asked Ning Jinchen.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just a trinket¡± Qian-<i>er</i> waved her hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go somewhere else to look around.¡±

    Ning Jinchen nodded. He quietly walked through the crowd, but after a few steps, he turned to look at the ce they had been standing for a moment.

    As they released colorednterns, guessedntern riddles, and tried their luck in picking fortune sticks at the temple, the three step distance was maintained the entire time. When they were done, Ning Jinchen escorted her back to the rice shop.

    In a calm voice, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t stay up toote.¡±

    When Qian-<i>er </i>had gotten a fortune stick that foretold poor fortune earlier, her face had crumpled, so she had dejectedly agreed to cut their outing short.

    Ning Jinchen watched as she went inside, then he turned around and retraced their path to the spot they had been standing before. He found the wooden hairpin that had already been trodden.

    ¡°Is it this?¡± He picked it up to look, then washed it in the nearby river and looked at it again before tucking it inside his clothes.

    He was still holding the fortune stick he had chosen earlier. Qian-<i>er</i> had really wanted to see it, but he hadn¡¯t let her.

    While her fortune stick had the words, ¡°Unobtainable wishes, ipatibilitepanion¡±, his fortune stick was nk.

    The possibility of a rtionship between them had been hopeless from the start.

    @@novelbin@@

    ¡ª

    He knew that there would be one more great cmity in Ji Man¡¯s future. It would happen in three more years. She would fall gravely sick and almost die. Ning Jinchen hading here to wait for that day. After he helped her get through that cmity, it would be time for him to go back to the mountain.

    Would his cultivation really improve to the level that Monk Xuwu had spoken of by staying in the mortal world for six years? Ning Jinchen didn¡¯t believe his <i>shifu</i>, but he continued to stay focused on reciting Buddhist scriptures the rest of his time here.

    Qian-<i>er</i> continued to stay by his side.

    ¡ª

    Arge tree in courtyard went from green to yellow to white. After three cycles of this, three more years had passed. Standing in front of him, the little girl of the past had finally grown up into a lovely young woman. The sorrow between her brow had also increased.

    ¡°Dad has arranged a marriage for me. The other party is the son of an official. I heard that he doesn¡¯t have a main wife yet. I¡¯ll be marrying him as a wife.¡± Qian-<i>er</i> was sitting three steps away from him. She hollowlyughed and said, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that sound pretty good?¡±

    He stopped moving the prayer beads in his hand and opened his eyes to look at her. ¡°That is pretty good.¡±

    Smiling, Qian-<i>er</i> nodded. ¡°Yeah. I heard that young master has a good temperament too. I¡¯ll only need to be a good housewife.¡±

    Ning Jinchen nodded.

 Chapter 506 - A family of three (1)

    Chapter 506 ¨C A family of three (1)

    Miss Shui and Guibai sighed in relief. Caught holding so many items, it felt as if they were thieves with their stolen goods. It was naturally the best if the marquis was willing to let them off.

    But, as she turned to send them off, Miss Shui couldn¡¯t resist taking another look at the marquis and madam.

    A long time ago, when she had first started working for madam to sell snow cream, she asked in curiosity. Since madam lived in the Marquis Moyu¡¯s estate, why did she need to go out to do business?

    At that time, madam had said, ¡°You can¡¯t rely on anyone. You can only rely on yourself. I can¡¯t think I won¡¯t have to fret about basic necessities just because I married a rich man. The money is his, not mine.¡±

    When Miss Shui had heard those words, she had been extremely shocked. At that time, there hadn¡¯t been any emotion in Ji Man¡¯s eyes. Miss Shui felt as if she was looking at Guanyin statue at a temple, possessing great wisdom and knowledge, but it was also aloof and heartless.

    But, as she watched the two people slowly walking out the main hall and towards a covered corridor right now, she saw that they weren¡¯t holding hands or hugging. They were walking side-by-side. When madam turned her head to the side to look at the marquis when they were speaking to each other, the side profile of her face looked as gentle as person in the mortal world.

    She had thought a woman like madam, who was capable of scheming, resolute, and clever, wouldn¡¯t be moved by feelings.

    Guibai coughed to get her attention and said, ¡°Miss Shui, please follow this one. This one will lead to you to a guest room to rest.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Miss Shui returned to her senses. Slightly smiling, she nodded.

    At the doorway, a servant that had been waiting there to lead the guest over, foolishly stood in ce. The servant watched as the marquis¡¯s favorite attendant personally lead the guest towards the back of the estate. Guibai¡¯s hand, which was behind his back, made a gesture at the servant.

    The gesture meant the servant should act tactfully and not bother them.

    The servant¡¯s lips twitched. After standing there for a moment longer, the servant went off to sleep.

    ¡ª

    Miss Shui stayed in the estate for less than half a month. Ji Man opened up another rouge store for her, and made arrangements for Miss Shui¡¯s rtives that still lived in the capital.

    ¡°It was my fault that you got dragged into that mess back then.¡± Ji Man sighed. ¡°Those ount books were in my possession when they were taken. If that hadn¡¯t happened, you wouldn¡¯t have lost the store you¡¯ve been running for such a long time.¡±

    Miss Shui slightly smiled. ¡°Madam, it should be the other way around. Without Madam, I would have never reached great wealth. Isn¡¯t everything fine now? I still have to thank Madam for that.¡±

    Miss Shui was a woman that knew how to be grateful. She wouldn¡¯t think that other people should give her anything in the future, but she always remembered what they had already given her. She was the type to pay back a kindness a hundred fold, like giving a gushing spring back for a trickle of water.

    Ji Man smiled. She hadn¡¯t misjudged Miss Shu.

    She had been here for so long, and Muxu was probably the only one she misjudged. It was because Muxu was the first person she had met here as well as her personal servant girl, that¡¯s why she hadn¡¯t been guarded against her. She hadn¡¯t expected that after being betrayed once by Muxu, she still ended up being thoroughly betrayed in the end.

    After that great cmity passed, she finally had time to think. Before Muxu died, she had threatened that she wouldn¡¯t have a good life either. Muxu had probably been the one that gave Qi Siling those ount books and told Qi Siling about the cold cream. That¡¯s why, at thest juncture, Qi Siling had been able to push Nie n to the guillotine.

    There was no point in focusing excessively on the dead. It was just a pity that her discerning eyes had lost to a servant girl, who was outwardly devoted to her, but inwardly opposed her.

    It wasn¡¯t worth it, ah. This had caused Miss Shui to suffer for so long too.

    Miss Shui suddenly thought of something and asked Ji Man, ¡°There¡¯s something I want to ask Madam. The stuff that you had me bury. Is it still useful?¡±

    Ji Man froze in surprise.

    @@novelbin@@

    A long time ago, when she had earned enough money, she asked Miss Shui to bury a box of gold taels. At that time, she had thought if she couldn¡¯t go back, she would figure out a way to slip away from here. With that box of gold taels, it would be enough money tost her for the rest of her life. That money was her insurance, so that she could guarantee herself a path to escape.

    But now...

    ¡°Just leave it there.¡± Ji Man sighed and helplessly said, ¡°I used to think that I could only depend on myself, but now, there¡¯s someone standing next to me, who will retreat and advance with me. So, I¡¯m not worried that I won¡¯t have a way to retreat. The things in the world are truly impermanence. What I used to distrust the most has be the thing that I depend on the most now.¡±

    Distrust the most? Miss Shui froze in surprise. What did madam distrust the most? She remembered madam once saying, ¡°You can never believe in a merchant¡¯s words or a man¡¯s heart. Those two things are the most untrustworthy.¡±

    Then the thing she most relied on... Miss Shui sunk into contemtion.

    ¡°You¡¯re still not done talking?¡± A person walked over to the doorway. He was wearing a silver robe embroidered in blue. He looked peerlessly noble, and yet, he wasn¡¯t putting on any airs. He was holding a child in one arm, and looking somewhat displeased as he looked inside and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to take Sangyu out for a stroll today?¡±

    Ji Man returned to her senses. She looked at the sky to check the time, then patted her head. ¡°Oh, I lost track of time. Let¡¯s stop our discussion here for now. I¡±m going out for a walk first.¡±

    Miss Shui blinked. There was a little girl hanging off the marquis¡¯s waist and making sounds of excitement. There was a rope ced around Marquis Moyu¡¯s neck, and he was holding the little girl by the waist to keep her from falling as she crawled over his body.

    Ah, they already had a daughter. Miss Shui touched the fine lines at the corners of her eyes. Time truly passed by quickly. She should find someone to spend her life with too.

    Ji Man walked over to them. She picked Sangyu off of Marquis Moyu, and the family of three went out.

    Miss Shui heard Marquis Moyu grumbling, ¡°Does this girl have enmity against me from a past life? She wiped her saliva and snot all over my new robe again, but she never does it towards my old clothing.¡±

 Chapter 508 - Everyone deserves a sincere love (1)

    Chapter 508 ¨C Everyone deserves a sincere love (1)

    Miss Shui¡¯s rouge store opened, so she naturally moved out of the estate. Recently, Ning Yuxuan would be unable to find Guibai. Guibai¡¯s disappearances increased over time.

    ¡°Strange, where is he?¡± Standing at the study¡¯s doorway, the marquis was slightly at a loss.

    Ji Man came over to him with snacks. Raising her eyebrows, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Guibai usually stays by my side, buttely, there are many times when I don¡¯t see him. I end up having to assign other people to do tasks that would usually be done by him,¡± said Ning Yuxuan gloomily, ¡°He requested time off the day before yesterday. I thought he would be back by today, but it seems he hasn¡¯t yet.¡±

    Ji Man thought it over as she pulled him into the study and put down a te of snacks. ¡°He¡¯s probably busy with something and got dyed. You don¡¯t need to worry too much. He¡¯s served you for so many years.¡±

    Ning Yuxuan sat down and considered for a while before asking, ¡°Did he go see Miss Shui?¡±

    The corners of Ji Man¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Didn¡¯t we already noticed this when he brought her back? It¡¯s really obvious that Guibai is interested in Miss Shui.¡±

    Although Miss Shui was a widow, she was a virtuous person and also good at managing a household. She had suffered a lot in the past years. It would be pretty good if there was a good man to cherish her.

    ¡°It¡¯s like that, huh.¡± Having figured things out, Marquis Moyu¡¯s forehead rxed. ¡°Then, he should just go over to her home and propose. He¡¯s been dawdling around her for so long, and he still hasn¡¯t seeded in winning her over?¡±

    Ji Man nodded too. Guibai seemed like a stupidly cute person. In addition, he frequently looked at himself in the mirror. He had probably already gotten adled from doing that too much. If they could help him out with this matter, they should.

    ¡°My lord.¡±

    Just as they were thinking about him, he had already returned on his own. His expression looked slightly grave.

    ¡°Guibai,e over here.¡± Ning Yuxuan looked very amicable. He looked a lot like the aunties in neighbourhoodmittees. He looked at Guibai very gently and said, ¡°Is something bothering you?¡±

    Guibai wasn¡¯t used to Marquis Moyu acting this way. He froze in surprise for a long time before finally answering, ¡°This subordinate is fine. It¡¯s only... this servant wishes to take a few more days off.¡±

    ¡°To do what?¡± Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrows.

    Guibai paused for a moment. ¡°To get married.¡±

    What? The other people in the room were stunned. They had still been thinking about helping him, but he had already progressed to the point of getting married?

    ¡°This subordinate proposed to Miss Shui, and she agreed. The wedding ceremony will be simple.¡± Embarrassed, Guibai said, ¡°We¡¯re already gotten to this old age.¡±

    His words stifled Ji Man for a long time. She blinked and repeated his words, ¡°You propose to Miss Shui, and she agreed?¡±

    Guibai nodded.

    ¡°Why do you have such a grave expression then?¡± Ji Man didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. ¡°I thought something bad had happened.

    Guibai wryly smiled. It really couldn¡¯t be considered a super happy event, ah. They were just two people looking for someone to spend their life with. He had smoothly said his proposal, and she had agreed without showing any strong emotion.

    @@novelbin@@

    There really hadn¡¯t been any feeling of excitement, ah.

    Following after the marquis and madam every day and seeing their daily disys of conjugal love until he had gotten used to it, Guibai also desired a deep love. Even though not everyone could have such an ardent love like the marquis and madam, there should still be a mutually good impression and caring adoration between two people in a rtionship.

    However, his conversation with Miss Shui went like this:

    ¡°This one isn¡¯t young anymore. It¡¯s about time for this one to get married.¡±

    ¡°En.¡±

    ¡°Miss Shui, would you be willing to spend your life with this one?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    During this exchange, the two people¡¯s expressions resembled sculptures. After they hade to an agreement, he went to look for a matchmaker to write a marriage document, set a date for the wedding, and came back to ask for time off and prepared to get married.

    ¡°This one doesn¡¯t know if Miss Shui agreed out of impulse.¡± Guiba sighed. ¡°Still, no matter what, we¡¯ll get married anyways.¡±

    Ji Man raised her eyebrows. These two people were clearly interested in each other. Why was he still showing such an unhappy face after getting engaged?

    Ning Yuxuan looked at Guibai for a while, then he said, ¡°You¡¯ve been following me for many years. I¡¯ll naturally pay for the betrothal gifts. You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, my lord.¡± Guibai bowed,

    ¡°You can leave to go and get prepared.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    Ji Man propped up her chin in her hand and watched as Guibai took two steps before turning to look at them.

    Marquis Moyu and Ji Man were sitting next to each other. Even though they weren¡¯t doing anything special, it still felt like a scene of conjugal love.

    Guibai sighed. He was truly worried that Miss Shui didn¡¯t like him and that what little feelings she had for him now would dim further when they spent more time together.

    If she liked him, then she should act like madam, ah. Although madam wasn¡¯t wouldn¡¯t say anything, she clearly knew the marquis¡¯s favorite foods and where he would be at certain times of the day. Moreover, she would appear whenever he needed her. Those two looked well-matched when they were standing together.

    And, a man should act like the marquis. Cold and calm on the outside, but full of emotions and thoughts inside. He frequently bickered with madam, but on the way back from the imperial court, he never forgot to buy trinkets for her. He also tolerated Young Miss¡¯s various destructive behaviors.

    Guibai felt that he had already been ruined by watching their interactions. He now felt that a rtionship would be intolerable if it wasn¡¯t ardent.

    ¡ª

    Full of apprehension, he got married and had his wedding night. Afterwards, he called Miss Shui by her first name, Huayue. They lived in the marquis¡¯s estate. Miss Shui employed people to manage the rouge shop, and the two of them embarked on a dull, ordinary life. It truly was very dull without even the slightest ups or downs. Their life was like a calm ocean without any waves.