Ji Yinxue trembled. Seeing that it was the man she had been longing for, wearing a silver mask, she was stunned for a long time before touching his face with her hand. "Is it really you?" she asked, tears streaming down her face.
The man wiped away her tears with his hand and said, "It's me."
"Didn't you say you weren't coming? Why are you here now?" Ji Yinxue said reproachfully.
"Because I missed you." His words were quite straightforward, making Ji Yinxue blush.
"What you just said, you want bayberries? You're really pregnant? Whose are they?" the man asked immediately.
"No, how could I get pregnant so easily?" Ji Yinxue said. "I want bayberries to... sigh, this is a matter for our household, you won't interfere." Ji Yinxue did not say what was on her mind.
"Really?" the man asked. "Didn't I help you before? It's just that Miss is really cunning."
"My target this time isn't her. Hmph, if I wanted to make her suffer, I should have gone after someone else. That way, she'd experience what it means to wish she were dead. She harmed me and my aunt; I should repay her with a great gift." Ji Yinxue's eyes were fierce at this moment.
"Didn't she help you get rid of Ji Meiyuan before?" the man chuckled.
"You know all this?" Ji Yinxue asked immediately. "Who exactly are you, and how do you know so much about our household?"
"Who I am isn't important, and besides, you'll definitely know who I am from now on." The man laughed again, his hands already starting to wander, reaching under Ji Yinxue's skirt. Ji Yinxue was wearing a nightgown, so naturally nothing escaped his clutches.
The moonlight was hazy, and the chill was growing stronger.
☆、122 The incident caused by Wu Zi's poisoning!
Ji Wushang was embroidering a pair of mandarin ducks, but something felt off; they just weren't quite there yet. Zhu'er stepped forward, put down the bird's nest, glanced at Ji Wushang's embroidery, and said, "Miss, you're really interested. The ducks you embroidered are so cute."
Upon hearing this, Ji Wushang felt like vomiting up her food. She pretended to be annoyed and said, "What kind of taste do you have, you maid? This is a pair of mandarin ducks."
"Um, mandarin ducks..." Pearl scratched her head sheepishly, "Pearl looks just like a duck..."
"Can't you just lie to me?" Ji Wushang put down the embroidery and looked at her. "You know perfectly well that your young lady's needlework is just this bad."
"Oh, aren't there nannies teaching them?" Zhu'er exclaimed. "It must be those nannies who refuse to teach. Zhu'er will have someone teach them a lesson another day."
"They did teach me, but I didn't quite understand it. Oh well, I just hope to get a good result in the competition, as long as I don't embarrass myself."
"Zhu'er, have Zhang Xiuniang come and teach Miss. She's been busy in the embroidery room all day; she should take a break," Zhu'er said, looking outside.
"I'm afraid that's not a good idea. The embroiderer is very busy. She has to teach the people in the embroidery workshop how to embroider clothes, and she also has to come here. Wouldn't that keep her extremely busy?"
“Miss is so kind to people. Oh, Miss, everyone in this manor is thinking of doing things for you. Zhang Xiuniang must be overjoyed. Just wait and see! Don’t worry, Miss, Zhu’er can talk to her tomorrow,” Zhu’er said with a smile.
Ji Wushang nodded, "Alright, but you mustn't force them."
"Yes," Pearl nodded.
Zhang Xiuniang was originally the foremost of the four great embroiderers in the capital. She used to run her own embroidery workshop. Her father, Zhang Junye, was a friend of Ji Dingbei, but he died young. Due to the decline of her family, she had no choice but to seek employment at General Ji's mansion. Ji Dingbei respected her and did not treat her like an ordinary servant, allowing her to run her own embroidery workshop in General Ji's mansion.
However, she is now over twenty-five years old and quite beautiful, yet she remains unmarried. This is a great headache for Madam Yuan, but Zhang Xiuniang declared that she would never marry, so Madam Yuan and Ji Dingbei and the others gave up.
Ji Wushang considered Zhang Xiu Niang's situation and gently shook his head. There must be a reason behind her insistence on marriage. If she liked a particular young man, why not be straightforward and let her grandmother or father make the decision? Even if she was shy, she could find a good family to marry into. But to just stay in this mansion… oh well, that's someone else's business; what does it have to do with me?
Ji Wushang put down the embroidery, then ate a few bites of bird's nest, tidied up for a while, and finally went to bed.
The next morning, as expected, Zhu'er arrived with Zhang Xiuniang. Ji Wushang looked Zhang Xiuniang up and down. She was said to be twenty-five years old, but she looked no more than twenty. She had soft skin, wore a pink rose-scented tight-fitting robe with long sleeves, and a green gauze skirt with scattered flowers. She had white teeth, arched eyebrows, a slender waist, a lotus-like face, red lips, and a rosy complexion. She smiled at everyone she met, and her voice was sweet and pleasant to the ear.
"Greetings, Miss." Zhang Xiuniang smiled and knelt before Ji Wushang.
Ji Wushang hurriedly stepped forward to help her up, saying, "Sister Zhang, you're making me feel too embarrassed by such a grand gesture."
"If it weren't for the care I've received from your family, I, Zhang Xiuniang, would probably be lying dead in the street by now. How could I possibly have the good food, drink, and life I enjoy today?"
"Sister Zhang, you really know how to talk. Please sit here, Sister Zhang." Ji Wushang invited her to sit next to him because she was so pleasant to talk to.
Zhang Xiuniang didn't refuse and sat down gracefully, saying, "Miss, please don't call me Sister Zhang, just call me Xiuniang. I've already heard about Miss's matter from Zhu'er. If Miss doesn't mind, Xiuniang will take a look at the embroidery Miss has made and then make a few pieces so that Miss can understand them."
"Thank you so much, embroiderer." Ji Wushang nodded and took out the mandarin duck embroidery he had just finished. Zhang the embroiderer looked at it and almost burst out laughing.
Ji Wushang pretended to be annoyed and said, "If you want to make fun of me, then go ahead and laugh."
"I just feel that Miss's idea is excellent. She might just win the Wenge Embroidery Competition," Zhang Xiuniang said with a smile.
Ji Wushang said, "It's already a favor that I haven't embarrassed the family. Why would I be thinking about winning the championship?"
“If Miss doesn’t believe me, then wait for the day to come and you’ll see.” Zhang Xiuniang said, bringing the mandarin duck embroidery over for Ji Wushang to see. “This stitch should be done like this. Come, Miss, watch me do it…”
For an entire afternoon, Ji Wushang listened attentively as Zhang Xiuniang made her embroidery.
Ji Yinxue waited in the courtyard for a long time before Feng Yun finally arrived.
"Have you found any bayberries?" Ji Yinxue immediately stepped forward.
“Yes, Miss, it’s true. It was brought from Jiangnan. Here you go.” Feng Yun said, opening the brocade box she was carrying and taking out a large plate of bayberries.
Ji Yinxue took one and put it in her mouth; the sour taste was just right.
"Okay, take these to the kitchen and have them make me some delicious snacks. Just tell them I like them." Ji Yinxue smiled.
"Yes." Feng Yun nodded. "Would you like me to bring it all over when it's ready?"
"Hmm, hurry up, Wu Zi is about to leave school." Ji Yinxue snorted.
Wu Zi? Isn't that the young master? Could this be for the young master to eat? But Feng Yun didn't dare to say anything more and quickly walked towards the kitchen.
Ji Yinxue smiled, realizing she should take a good look at her younger brother, Wu Zi, since she hadn't played with him in a long time.
But no, that won't work.
Ji Yinxue thought about it and rejected her idea. If she played with him, Wu Shang might definitely suspect her. This time, she had to do it perfectly!
Ji Yinxue smiled.
Taking out her embroidery, Ji Yinxue looked at the mandarin ducks she had embroidered and the peonies blooming beside them, and her heart filled with joy. Everyone knew that in General Ji's mansion, among all the arts—music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and needlework—she, the fourth young lady, was the only one who could truly excel. As for the eldest young lady, besides her pretty face and her beautiful singing and captivating dancing, she wasn't particularly skilled in anything else. This time, she was sure to be the winner of the Wen Ge embroidery competition!
——
Ji Wushang stretched, then looked at the chrysanthemum he was embroidering in front of him. He examined it from all angles, and it looked decent enough. He smiled and said, "Embroiderer, tell me, haven't I improved today?"
Zhang Xiuniang leaned closer to take a look and nodded, "Hmm, it looks like a chrysanthemum. Miss has made great progress."
"That's right, that's right." Ji Wushang nodded, beaming. He looked at the sky outside and saw that it was already past Shenshi (3 PM to 5 PM Beijing time). Wu Zi should have finished school by now.
"It's almost time, Xiu Niang. I need to go check on Wu Zi. It's been a bit cold these days, so I need to take care of him."
“Miss, the embroiderer said that the young master is already eight years old, and you are still watching him so nervously. The embroiderer is afraid that he will stick to you from now on!” Zhang Xiuniang said.
“I’ve thought about this, but I’m getting married soon, and if I don’t love him, no one will love him in the future. He’s not arrogant now, so I’m at ease. I’m just worried about something unexpected happening, after all, he’s still young.” Ji Wushang nodded, “Thank you for your words, Embroiderer.”
"Okay, I'll be going now. I'll come see you again tomorrow."
"Alright." Ji Wushang saw Zhang Xiuniang out and stood looking outside. Just as he was thinking of going inside to get a jacket to wear, he saw Yingsheng, Ji Wusi's head maid, running in.
Ying Sheng looked at Ji Wushang and immediately cried out, "Young Miss, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"
"What's wrong?" Ji Wushang immediately tensed up. Could it be that something had happened to Ji Wusi?
"Young Miss, the young master... he's foaming at the mouth..." Ying Sheng said quickly, "I don't know what happened, he came back like this..."
"Take me there quickly!" Ji Wushang was extremely anxious, and he grabbed her and immediately ran towards Ji Wusi's Siyuan Garden.
Ji Wushang could only pray that nothing bad would happen.
Upon entering Si Garden, Ji Wushang immediately looked into Ji Wusi's inner room and saw several doctors looking at Ji Wusi. Ji Wushang pulled one of them aside and asked, "How is Wuzi now?"
"Reporting to Miss, the young master has been poisoned and is currently being examined..."
"Poisoned? How could he be poisoned? Keep a close eye on him right now, or I'll make sure you all get out of here!" Ji Wushang practically roared.
The doctor nodded in agreement.
Ji Wushang looked at Ji Wusi, whose face was pale on the bed, and felt heartbroken. If anything happened to him, he would not be able to sleep peacefully for a whole night!
Finally, the doctors finished their examinations and prescribed a lot of medicine. After Ji Wushang looked at it, he asked Yan Yu to prepare the medicine and then asked Ying Sheng to stay behind. "Tell me what exactly happened." He was really scared to death just now.
“Miss, the young master has finished school and I brought him back immediately. When we entered Si Garden, I didn’t notice anything and went in to get some snacks for the young master. I didn’t expect that when I brought the bowl of porridge, the young master was already lying on the ground foaming at the mouth…” Ying Sheng said and immediately knelt down, “Please forgive me, Miss.”
"Did Wu Zi eat anything?" Ji Wushang asked, looking at her. "Otherwise, she would never have been poisoned for no reason!"
Ying Sheng didn't dare to speak, so Ji Wushang went out and looked at a plate of pastries on the table. "Ying Sheng, come out."
"This servant is here."
"Did you bring this over?" Ji Wushang asked, pointing to the plate of pastries on the table.
“No, Miss, I didn’t notice when it was placed here,” Ying Sheng said, frowning.
"Call all the servants working in the garden over here," Ji Wushang said sternly.
Soon the warbling of orioles drew everyone to the garden. Ji Wushang looked at them one by one, while Zhu'er followed behind carrying a plate of snacks.
Ji Wushang looked at the kneeling maids and servants and asked, "Did you bring these snacks in?" He then pointed to the snacks that Zhu'er was holding.
Pearl is presented.
“Speak one by one,” Ji Wushang said coldly.
"Reporting to Miss, this servant has not yet served it."
“This servant has been sweeping in the courtyard and has not gone inside the house.”
...
After everyone spoke, there was still no result.
Ji Wushang looked at them and said, "Zhu'er, bring it here."
"Yes." Zhu'er presented the pastries, and Ji Wushang picked one out and put it in his mouth to eat.
"Miss!" Pearl exclaimed immediately upon seeing this.
Ji Wushang covered her with his hand, preventing her from speaking.
All the people kneeling on the ground looked up at Ji Wushang and exclaimed, "Young Miss!"
Ji Wushang narrowed his eyes, observing their expressions. Seeing their unanimous agreement, he removed the pastry he was about to put in his mouth. "I believe you. You can all leave now! Do your jobs well and take good care of Wuzi. If anything really happens to him, you will all pay the price!"
"Yes." All the servants knelt down to pay their respects.
Ji Wushang went back into the house, sat on a chair, and looked at the pastries in his hand. The pastries were exquisitely made and pleasing to the eye. Based on his guess, Wu Zi must have been hungry. Seeing that Ying Sheng had not brought out anything, he must have assumed that the servants had prepared the pastries in advance and had taken them to eat.
After smelling it, Ji Wushang did not find anything wrong.