"Won't?"
Ji Huai'an's voice suddenly rose, his eyebrows furrowing in anger.
"What wouldn't she do for the King of Qin? She initially said three months, but look how many months it's been! How many letters have I written, how many times have I urged her, and has she returned yet?"
Since his daughter left the capital, she has been like a bird released from its cage, no longer under his control.
Cao pursed her lips and muttered under her breath, "Isn't it because you promised her you'd go to Hucheng?"
She didn't even know about this at the time; Ji Yunwan and Ji Huai'an had discussed it before telling her. It was too late for her to dissuade them, as Ji Huai'an would never change his mind based on her opinion.
Ji Huai'an choked: "What's the use of talking about this now? Bringing Wan'er back is the most important thing!"
So the Ji family sent another group of people to pick up Ji Yunwan, even more urgently than before.
However, a few days later, Ji Huai'an changed his mind and no longer intended to bring Ji Yunwan back.
After the grand court assembly that day, as he was preparing to go home, he was bumped into by a eunuch hurrying along the way in the palace.
The eunuch apologized to him repeatedly and chatted with him casually for a few minutes. He mentioned that he had been ordered to go to Hu City some time ago to deliver a reward to the Princess of Qin, and there he had unintentionally seen someone who looked somewhat like Miss Ji.
"I almost mistook you for someone else! I thought you were going to send Miss Ji to the King of Qin as a concubine."
"Upon closer inspection, I realized it wasn't her. It turned out to be a concubine of His Highness Prince Qin, who looked remarkably like Miss Ji and only somewhat resembled the Second Miss. That's why I was mistaken!"
As he spoke, the eunuch lightly slapped himself across the face.
"Look at my petty mind, I actually suspected you, Lord Ji, of having dealings with the Prince of Qin behind His Majesty's back just because I was momentarily blinded."
"But the Ji family is a scholarly family. Even if they really wanted to arrange a marriage, why would they send their daughter to be someone's concubine?"
"Besides, the marriage between Prince Qin and Miss Ji was originally arranged by Emperor Gaozong, and it had nothing to do with you, Lord Ji. It wasn't your own idea to marry him, right?"
The eunuch's voice was already high-pitched, and he deliberately dragged out the last two words, making them sound like the stinger of a scorpion's tail, piercing Ji Huai'an's ears.
He shuddered at the poisonous sting, his face turned pale and his legs went weak. His clothes were soaked in a short time, and a layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
The eunuch seemed oblivious, still smiling at him.
Ji Huai'an nodded stiffly: "Yes, the marriage back then... was all decided by Emperor Gaozong."
The eunuch chuckled and nodded: "I knew it. Lord Ji has always been loyal to His Majesty and would never do such a disloyal thing."
After saying that, she bowed to Ji Huai'an and said, "In that case, this servant will take her leave now. Please take care, sir."
Only after the eunuch had gone far away did Ji Huai'an come to his senses in the cold wind and drag his heavy legs back to the Ji residence.
...
"What did you say?"
Cao suddenly stood up from her chair.
"They're holding a funeral for Wan'er and saying she's dead? But she's clearly still alive!"
“She’s still alive now,” Ji Huai’an said, “but she must die.”
"Why!"
Cao was no longer calm as before, and she screamed loudly.
"Just because that eunuch said he saw someone who looked like Wan'er? But he also said that she was the King of Qin's concubine, and the King of Qin does indeed have such a concubine. Wan'er even wrote a letter mentioning it!"
"Maybe...maybe what he saw really was that person!"
"Don't you really know who he saw?"
Ji Huai'an punctured her self-comfort.
"In my decades of service as an official, this is the first time a eunuch has accidentally bumped into me, and coincidentally, this person has been to Hu City and even met a woman who resembles Wan'er there! Is everything just a coincidence?"
Cao's lips trembled, and she remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, her voice choked with emotion.
"But that doesn't necessarily mean Wan'er has to die. We can... we can secretly hide her away!"
She nodded to herself, "Yes, hide her! As long as we don't let her appear in the capital again, and keep her far away from here, that's fine!"
She could change her identity, get married and have children elsewhere, and even if she and her daughter could never see each other again in this life, as long as she knew she was still alive, that would be enough!
"It can't be hidden..."
When Ji Huai'an said those words, he looked dejected, and it seemed like he had a few more gray hairs on his head.
"Now that His Majesty has discovered Wan'er, he will certainly not let her go easily. If he were willing to let her go, he would not have sent someone to warn me on purpose."
“Our Ji family and Hu Cheng’s side must have been guarded. No matter what we do, they will know.”
"He's forcing us to make a choice: whether to give up this daughter to avenge him, or to ruin the entire Ji family."
Cao burst into tears: "Then why not just tell everyone that she is dead? Even if we let her fend for herself outside... there is still hope for her to live on."
"Please, sir, please spare Wan'er's life! I've already lost one daughter, I can't lose another!"
Ji Huai'an's eyes also reddened, but he still slowly shook his head and did not back down.
"Wan'er is on the list of this selection, which has greatly enhanced His Majesty's reputation. Even for this reason, he will not touch our Ji family for the time being, but the premise is that Wan'er's matter must be handled to his satisfaction."
Otherwise, if he were to publicize Ji Yunwan's affairs in Shangchuan, the Ji family's reputation would be completely ruined. Even if he were to take action against the Ji family, no one would say he was narrow-minded and intolerant; they would only say that the Ji family was two-faced and deserved to suffer.
But how exactly can we satisfy Wei Chi?
"He will only be satisfied when Wan'er is dead."
Otherwise, if Ji Yunwan were to return, he would select her to enter the palace.
However, his purpose in putting Ji Yunwan on the list was not for this. If the Ji family wanted to take the opportunity to send their daughter in, they would not only gain no benefit, but also create huge hidden dangers for the future.
Therefore, Ji Yunwan must not return to the capital.
However, for such a major event as the talent show, one must participate unless one is dead, injured, or disabled.
Is it enough that he is only injured and disabled but can still be well taken care of by the Ji family for the rest of his life to quell Wei Chi's anger?
cannot.
From the very beginning of the talent show, Wei Chi intended to trap the Ji family in their own trap, preventing them from climbing the social ladder to the King of Qin and forcing them to kill their own daughter.
This emperor, from beginning to end, never lifted a finger himself, yet he still won widespread praise from the court and the public.
That's such a kind idea...
Ji Huai'an's face was somber, while Cao Shi, completely losing her composure, rushed over and grabbed his collar.
"I don't care! I don't care! You were the one who arranged for Shu'er to marry the King of Qin, and you're the one who sent Wan'er to Shangchuan to find the King of Qin! It's all your fault as her father, why should my daughter die!"
"Give Wan'er back to me! Give my Wan'er back to me!"
Ji Huai'an was being pulled and shaken back and forth, his explanations and attempts to comfort her completely drowned out. Finally, he grabbed her wrist and shouted, "What about after I give Wan'er back to you? What about the Ji family? What about Jiaqi? Are we all going to die together?"
Ji Jiaqi is Cao's son and Ji Huai'an's eldest son. He is fourteen years old this year and has been intelligent since childhood. He is already capable of supporting the family.
Cao paused, a few strands of hair fell down, and her makeup became blurred with tears, making her look particularly disheveled.
Ji Huai'an shook off her hand and said in a deep voice, "Jiaqi or Wan'er, you choose one."
Cao stood there stunned for a moment, then suddenly turned around and rushed into the inner room, where she collapsed onto the bed, wailing.
"My Wan'er..."
...
There is no curfew in Cangcheng, and it remains very lively even at night.
Wei Hong knew that Yao Youqing was very curious about this town, just like when she first arrived in Hucheng, so whenever he had free time, he would often take her to stroll around the streets.
He brought her out that evening, and they happened to come across a juggling performance. Yao Youqing watched in amazement and praised the performer for his skill.
The juggler was a handsome young man of about seventeen or eighteen, with a charming face and a sweet tongue, which made him especially popular with the women and he always received a lot of tips.
Yao Youqing was simple-minded and her attention was completely focused on the other person's juggling skills, so she didn't even notice what the person looked like.
But Wei Hong didn't think so. Seeing that she had been standing there for a long time without leaving, his expression gradually darkened. When Yao Youqing clapped and cheered with the crowd again, he frowned and said, "The people who are really good at this kind of acrobatics all come out during the day. Only those who are afraid of being discovered will come out at night because it is dark and they can't see clearly at night."
Yao Youqing's eyes widened: "Really? I thought this person was already amazing, but there are even more amazing ones!"
She couldn't tell where the silk flowers and handkerchiefs came from at all; they seemed to appear out of thin air.
Wei Hong's expression darkened further when he heard her praise the other person again.
"What's so great about that? You're so ignorant."
After speaking, he realized his tone was inappropriate, his face stiffened slightly, and he wanted to explain but didn't know how to begin.
Just as I was worried that Yao Youqing would be angry, I heard her say, "I just haven't seen it before."
Although there were such acrobatic performances in the entertainment districts of the capital, she had only heard her brothers talk about them and had never seen them in person, because her father forbade her to go to those places, and even more so, he forbade her to go out at night.
Yao Youqing was overjoyed to finally see something she had heard of before but never seen. She tugged at Wei Hong's sleeve and added with a smile, "Thank you, Your Highness, for bringing me out to broaden my horizons!"
When he spoke, his eyes curved into crescents, reflecting the candlelight on the street, clear yet dazzling.
Wei Hong's heart skipped a beat, as if a person walking in the winter night suddenly encountered a bright fire, and was accidentally burned when he rushed closer, but the burning pain quickly disappeared, replaced by a soothing and warm feeling.
He stared at the girl in a daze, while she turned her head to look at the juggling act, her profile reflected in his eyes, as beautiful as a poem or a painting.
After that day, Wei Hong would learn some acrobatics in his spare time and then tell Yao Youqing how those people on the street did it.
At first, Yao Youqing thought it was amazing, but later she gradually stopped laughing.
Because these things are novel when you don't know them, but once you know them, they become boring, and when you look at them again, they just seem so ordinary, not as fun as they were at the beginning.
"I don't dare say anything more about how amazing it is."
When Wei Hong was away, Yao Youqing complained to Zhou's mother.
"The prince is too competitive. He will learn whatever I say is good. Now he can speak almost everything except those foreign languages."
From weaving rabbits and butterflies to various acrobatic tricks, Wei Hong can now do them with ease.
This indeed confirms what he said before: he learns things very quickly.
Mrs. Zhou chuckled softly beside her, unsure of what to say.
Rather than saying the prince was competitive, it would be more accurate to say he was petty and couldn't stand the princess praising others for being smart and capable.
Yao Youqing sighed, resting her head on her hands. When Wei Hong wanted to take her shopping again, she didn't really want to go.
But there was nothing to do at home, so she eventually went out with Wei Hong.