"Look at what you're saying. Alas, your mother passed away so early!" The old lady patted Ji Wushang's hand, then took a handkerchief with her right hand and wiped Ji Wushang's tears from his face. "Don't cry."
"Thank you, Grandmother." Ji Wushang was so moved that he couldn't speak. "Thank you, Grandmother."
“Always so formal, sigh!” the matriarch sighed.
Ji Wushang pulled the matriarch of the Yuan family aside, and then took out a copy of a Buddhist scripture on Xuan paper, bound into the shape of a book, from his bosom. It was obvious at a glance that Ji Wushang had copied it onto Xuan paper and then bound it himself.
The matriarch stared in disbelief. "This...you made this yourself?"
"Grandmother, there's not much I can do. But seeing you smile is the happiest thing for me. I've copied several versions of these Buddhist scriptures, including the Diamond Sutra, the Ksitigarbha Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Heart Sutra, the Surangama Sutra, and the Lotus Sutra. I'll copy more later and bring them to you for your perusal." Ji Wushang presented the Buddhist text with both hands.
The matriarch nodded repeatedly, "Good. Good. Good! There will be a reward. Granny Guo, bring that bird's nest to the young lady. It's a rare treat for her."
"Grandmother, please keep the bird's nest for you! You need to nourish your body. Don't bestow anything upon Wushang this time; he's gotten so much from you!" Ji Wushang declined. Meanwhile, Aunt Nangong and the others were practically bursting with jealousy!
"Isn't that right! Grandmother is biased! She gave my eldest sister so many things!" Ji Meiyuan said in this direction.
Ji Wushang laughed and said, "That's right, Grandmother, you don't need to reward Wushang this time. As for the bird's nest, you can keep it for Grandmother. You should take care of your health."
The matriarch listened and nodded, but in her heart she had gained a deeper understanding of the two sisters.
He laughed and said, "Then we won't bestow any rewards this time."
"Thank you for your kindness, Grandmother." Ji Wushang smiled, then turned to Ji Meiyuan, "Second Sister, you haven't answered my question yet!"
"Huh? What is it you're asking, sister?" Ji Meiyuan was taken aback.
"How can you not listen to this person's questions properly? Yinxue, don't make that mistake!" Aunt Nangong said to Ji Yinxue in a shrill voice. In fact, everyone knew that she was making a veiled attack.
Ji Meiyuan's face turned pale. "Who said I wasn't listening carefully! I just... I just suddenly forgot and didn't react for a moment!" Ji Meiyuan retorted, her neck red.
This made everyone feel that it was not right.
Ji Wushang said with a forced smile, "Second Sister, why take it so seriously? Aunt Nangong is just teasing you!"
"Yes, yes, I was just teasing you!" Aunt Nangong was about to argue when she saw the look in Madam Yuan's eyes. The sharp gaze made Aunt Nangong feel uneasy, so she immediately took the opportunity Ji Wushang offered.
Ji Meiyuan glared at her.
"I'm asking you, what happened to Aunt Bai?" Ji Wushang asked, pursing his lips.
"Auntie is in good health and recovering well!" Ji Meiyuan said immediately, feeling happy at the thought.
Ji Wushang nodded, saying nothing more. The matter of the "lone star of misfortune" couldn't be spoken of by himself; it needed to be told to someone else. The truth would eventually come out.
The atmosphere was quite amicable, and the little incident earlier did not affect everyone's mood. They watched the play together before dispersing.
As soon as Ji Wushang returned to the courtyard, Xian'er came up to her with a joyful expression and said, "Miss, Miss, Zhu'er is back, and she's all better now!"
"Really?" Ji Wushang immediately stood up, put down the tea he was about to drink, and said, "Where is she? Where is she?"
After Zhu'er was beaten by Aunt Nangong, Ji Wushang took her back to the courtyard for treatment. However, he felt that she was not being taken care of properly, so he had someone send Zhu'er to his home to recuperate. He also gave her several months' salary and promised that she would return to the mansion to stay with Ji Wushang once she recovered.
Hearing that Zhu'er had returned, Ji Wushang felt much better. After all, in his previous life, she was the only person who would protect him to the death.
“Zhu’er is helping to clean in the yard right now. She said she doesn’t dare to come back and become a head maid directly,” Xian’er said. “She said she wants to start as a third-class maid.”
"What a silly girl! Bring her here to me," Ji Wushang said in a deep voice.
"Yes." Xian'er immediately ran off.
Taking advantage of this brief moment, Ji Wushang took a sip of Maojian tea. Then, as expected, he saw Xian'er leading Zhu'er over.
Ji Wushang stood up, while Zhu'er knelt at Ji Wushang's feet, "Miss."
"Get up!" Ji Wushang offered a helping hand, but Zhu'er dared not get up. "Miss, this servant dares not get up."
"I told you to get up, so get up. Why are you talking so much nonsense?" Ji Wushang frowned, but then looked Zhu'er up and down. Zhu'er was wearing a green silk robe, dressed like a third-class maid, and her shoes were tattered. Ji Wushang said, "Why are you dressed like this? Have you been bullied by your family or are you short of money?"
"Miss, I am fine." Zhu'er stood up and looked at Ji Wushang. "Thank you for your concern, Miss."
“You’ve changed.” Ji Wushang concluded decisively, his two sharp gazes fixed on Zhu’er’s face, but he couldn’t see anything different on her face! It was as if he had never known this person before, yet she was clearly in Zhu’er’s body.
Ji Wushang was puzzled.
“Miss, I am Zhu’er!” Zhu’er cried as she looked at her.
Xian'er was also puzzled. Why would the young lady say such a thing?
“Hmm,” Ji Wushang said, “Tell me about what happened around me, and also about what happened at home. I want to hear it.”
"Yes." Zhu'er listened and slowly began to speak. Ji Wushang felt it suited her; Zhu'er was indeed a good match. However, he felt her personality had changed somewhat. How could the once clever and quick-witted girl have become so forlorn? Had she been abused at home?
Sure enough, listening to what happened at home, it turned out that when Zhu'er returned home, her family thought she had been sent back to the mansion, so they all neglected her, often scolding and beating her. They didn't give her much food, almost only one meal a day, and she was so hungry that she was dizzy and weak. As soon as she recovered, she immediately bid farewell to her family and rushed back to the mansion.
The family members just thought they had lost a useless person and didn't bother to check on them.
Ji Wushang sighed, "You've suffered."
“Miss, I’m not suffering,” Zhu’er said, crying, while Xian’er was already wiping away tears on the side.
"Xian'er, take Zhu'er downstairs and change her clothes. She's still the head maid. After she's changed, Zhu'er should come to my room." Ji Wushang looked at the sky. "It's getting late. Go do what you need to do!"
"Yes." Xian'er wiped away her tears and pulled Zhu'er, who was also crying and snotting, down with her.
Before long, while Ji Wushang was reading, Zhu'er had changed her clothes, tidied herself up, and looked much more refreshed. Then she stood in front of Ji Wushang.
Ji Wushang looked at her and said, "This is the real you. Zhu'er, here, this is for you." As he spoke, Ji Wushang took out the green snake jade bracelet from his bosom.
Zhu'er was terrified when she saw it. "Miss, Miss, you mustn't!" she cried, backing away. "How can I accept such a precious gift?"
"I told you to accept it, so accept it." Ji Wushang looked at her. "You've been by my side for many years, I should at least give you something in return, right?"
"Miss...you are so kind to me." Zhu'er cried and dared not take the gift.
Ji Wushang stepped forward and placed the green snake jade bracelet in her hand. "Alright, go wash up and go to sleep! You can wear this jade bracelet."
"Yes," Pearl nodded.
Ji Wushang watched Zhu'er walk away, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Then he went to the window, looked at the night outside, and smiled slightly.
Whether it's true or false, we'll have to wait and see how things go!
As for Aunt Bai, she will soon suffer even more.
Waiting for tomorrow!
☆、082 Acting? Let's see who's more skillful!
Ji Wushang got up early that day, and Zhu'er served him very diligently, bringing him breakfast and tidying up the room. She was quite hardworking, and Ji Wushang didn't say anything.
While I was having breakfast, Yue'er rushed in, shouting, "Miss, Miss, something's happened!"
Ji Wushang put down his silver chopsticks and said calmly, "What happened?"
Yue'er composed herself before stepping forward and saying, "For some reason, the news that Aunt Bai is pregnant with the reincarnation of the Demon King has spread throughout the entire capital! Everyone is saying that Aunt Bai is carrying a cursed lone star!"
"Who spread it?" Ji Wushang frowned. "Didn't Father say not to spread it?"
"How would I know? When I passed by the kitchen, I heard the maids talking about it! So I went over to listen and found out that the whole capital is talking about it!" Yue'er seemed a little surprised.
"Well then, you'd better not spread this around, or Father will definitely be angry."
"yes."
"Go down!" Ji Wushang waved Yue'er away.
Ji Wushang continued eating, hoping everyone in the capital would know! How could Aunt Bai ever hold her head high in the capital again!
After finishing their meal, Ji Wushang, along with Xian'er and Zhu'er, went to Jingyuan to pay their respects to the matriarch of the family.
But before we even got to Jingyuan, we could feel that something was off about the atmosphere there.
There weren't many maids cleaning in Jingyuan. But Ji Wushang still went in; to be honest, he had already guessed what was going on.
Ji Wushang entered the courtyard, but there was no one there; everyone had probably gone inside. At this moment, Granny Guo came out, and upon seeing that it was Ji Wushang, immediately stepped forward and said, "Young Miss, please."
"Hmm," Ji Wushang said, "Are there many people inside?"
"Not many. It's just the master and madam talking. The second and third young ladies came earlier but left shortly after. The eldest young master, the fourth young lady, and the others didn't come," Granny Guo said in a low voice.
Ji Wushang nodded and led Xian'er and Zhu'er into the house. There he saw Ji Dingbei sitting there with a tense face, looking very displeased. When he saw Ji Wushang come in, his expression changed slightly, but he didn't say anything.
"Wu Shang greets Grandmother and Father." Ji Wu Shang bowed obediently. The Old Madam looked at Ji Wu Shang from the couch and said, "Hmm, sit to the side!"
"Young Miss, please have a seat here." Granny Guo immediately offered Ji Wushang a seat. Ji Wushang saw that the two of them did not ask her to leave, which meant that she could talk with them.
"Grandmother, Father, has something happened?" Ji Wushang asked cautiously, observing their expressions as they remained silent. "If there is anything, Grandmother and Father, please feel free to tell me. Although I may not be able to help much, at least I can listen to what you have to say."
Seeing Ji Wushang's words, the matriarch nodded and looked at Ji Dingbei. Ji Dingbei was also troubled by Bai Yiniang's matter and said, "Sigh, is it all because of Bai Yiniang?"
"Aunt Bai? Isn't she pregnant? Congratulations, Father! It's good news that our household will have another member. What's wrong?" Ji Wushang asked suspiciously.
Seeing that she didn't seem to dislike him, Ji Dingbei sighed inwardly. He had been worried that Ji Wushang, the eldest daughter of the main wife, wouldn't like other concubines carrying her children! But thankfully, his daughter didn't have such thoughts. Instead, she was thinking about adding another member to the household. Inevitably, Ji Wushang rose to a higher level in Ji Dingbei's heart.
Seeing the way he was scrutinizing him, Ji Wushang tentatively asked again, "Has something really happened?"
"It's not a big deal," Ji Dingbei sighed. "The other day, your mother passed away. Alas, didn't the monk who performed the ritual say that the child in Aunt Bai's womb was a demon king reincarnated, a cursed star? Your father originally ordered everyone in the manor not to talk about this, but now everyone in the capital is talking about it. I don't know where to put my face!"
"Who, who spread this information? How meddlesome! How is Aunt Bai now?" Ji Wushang asked, frowning.
"Aunt Bai is really upset! She just woke up not long ago. I don't know what that nightmare was about, it scared her half to death!"
"Your daughter is unfilial for failing to visit Aunt Bai in the East Garden. I am unfilial!" Ji Wushang said, wiping away her tears, and knelt on the ground, her eyes brimming with tears.
Seeing this, Madam Yuan immediately instructed Granny Guo to help Ji Wushang up, saying, "You silly girl, everyone in the family knows you're heartbroken. How can we force you to go to the East Garden to see Aunt Bai? If anyone criticizes you, this old woman won't let them off the hook!" Madam Yuan scolded.
Ji Wushang looked up at the matriarch, tears welling in his eyes, "Thank you for your kindness, Grandmother."
"If I don't pity you, who will?" the matriarch said tenderly. "Do you think I should expect anyone to take care of you?"
"Grandmother." Upon hearing this, Ji Wushang stepped forward and knelt before the matriarch. The matriarch stroked her head with extreme affection.
Ji Dingbei said, "Go see her again when you have time! I think Meiyuan and Wuxia are taking good care of Aunt Bai all day long. You were busy taking care of Luo'er the other day, which must have been hard work."
"It's not hard work." Ji Wushang shook his head gently, looking at Ji Dingbei with eyes full of love.
"Father, now, what do you think is the best way to quell this storm? After all, this is not good for Aunt Bai or you either, alas!" Ji Wushang sighed.
Ji Dingbei shook his head slightly. "In a few days, I will be going to the southeast coast. In the next few days, I can only take advantage of the time to have a high monk come to the mansion to perform a ritual, or send Aunt Bai to the Buddhist temple to see what the high monk has to say. If we are lucky, it would be best if we could meet the Taoist Taibai."
"Taoist Taibai? Is that the same person who suddenly appeared at the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion eighteen years ago?"