"Hmm." Aunt Qin nodded in agreement before going to bed.
Before dawn, she heard a lot of noise. Ji Wushang didn't intend to stay asleep any longer, so she got out of bed, pushed open the door, and saw many servants running towards the courtyard. Ji Wushang pulled a maid aside and asked, "Miss, how is it? Has something happened at the manor?"
"Miss, I just heard that our sixth concubine was caught having an affair by the eldest and second young masters! Humph, the master is furious right now and is thinking about how to deal with this matter!"
Ji Wushang feigned surprise, "Then I won't disturb you, Miss, you can go ahead!"
Seeing the little maid run off into the distance, Ji Wushang immediately said to Aunt Qin, "Aunt, good news has arrived!"
"So fast?" Aunt Qin had already woken up and looked at Ji Wushang's vengeful expression. "Let's go and join in the fun."
“My aunt has become more lively too.” Ji Wushang glanced at her.
"It was the eldest young lady who brought them, that's a good thing," Aunt Qin said.
Ji Wushang smiled.
The two followed the maids towards the courtyard and, sure enough, saw a whole bunch of people standing around. The Right Chancellor's maternal grandfather, Bei Zhentang, was furious; his half-gray beard fluttered in the autumn wind. Kneeling at his feet were the wanton sixth concubine, Su Meier, and a man! Both were disheveled! It seemed Bei Luojun and Bei Juefeng were going to make sure their grandfather, Bei Zhentang, saw exactly what was going on!
Bei Zhentang, as a dignified Right Chancellor, was furious to have been cuckolded by a woman. "From this day forward, there will be no such person as Su Meier in our Right Chancellor's residence! That bitch, hmph!"
"Master, please spare my life! Spare my life!" Su Meier cried out, pulling her clothes back up and pointing at the man beside her. "It was him! He forced me! He's the one who should die, not me!"
"Hmph! You scoundrel, what other tricks are you trying to pull? With us brothers and so many people watching, you still think you can deny it? Hmph!" Bei Luojun was indeed a hot-blooded young man. Don't let his white robes and elegant demeanor fool you; he was a scholar of exceptional talent, yet the sharp blades he spat out were enough to make anyone lose face!
The man glared angrily at Su Meier, "You bitch, I didn't expect that even at the last moment, you wouldn't forget to climb over my dead body to get ahead? Humph! So be it, what more could you possibly want!"
"It's you, you're the one who ruined me! I told you to leave, why are you stubbornly refusing to go!" Su Meier cried and shouted, cursing at the man.
Ji Wushang and Aunt Qin watched from a distance behind the crowd, without asking any questions.
"Bring a pig cage! Parade him through the streets, then drown him in the river!" Bei Zhentang said coldly, then glanced at the man, "Chop him up and feed him to the dogs."
"Yes!" Immediately, someone stepped forward, and behind them, several strong men carried the pig cage together!
Ji Wushang was shocked. If he were to be paraded through the streets and then drowned in a pig cage in the river, he would rather just kill himself by hitting his head against a wall now!
However, Su Meier didn't even have a chance to hit the wall before she was herded into the pig cage! When the man heard that he was going to be fed to the dogs, he immediately tried to escape, but Bei Juefeng kicked him back, and several strong men stepped forward and immediately tied him up!
Ji Wushang glanced at Aunt Qin, who was standing to the side, and saw that she was covered in cold sweat. Ji Wushang quickly asked, "Aunt, are you feeling unwell?"
"No, I... I was scared when I saw this scene..." Aunt Qin shook her head.
Ji Wushang thought for a moment, perhaps it was because she had gotten married and then watched others being thrown into a pig cage to realize how serious things were! Oh well.
"Master, something terrible has happened! The Third Miss was found in the garden with... with a man..." The servant was initially quick to report, but when he got to the serious part, he hesitated, which only fueled everyone's speculation. Could it be that the Third Miss was having an affair with a man?
Did they all commit adultery at the same time?
This matter...
Bei Zhentang was so angry he was practically fuming. "Go and see!"
"yes!"
At this moment, Bei Zhentang coldly glanced at his eldest uncle, Bei Junfeng, who was completely stunned. What was wrong with Jing'er? Bei Juefeng and Bei Luojun looked at each other, wondering what was going on.
Ji Wushang smiled. He'd finally figured it out! He'd been worried he wouldn't have time to let his grandfather see this good show!
Just then, Ji Wushang turned around and saw Tie Feng standing behind him. Startled, he took a step back and exclaimed, "You scared me to death!"
"I meant no harm," Tie Feng immediately said, cupping his hands in greeting.
"Hmm, no need for formalities. Quickly, go and see." Ji Wushang glanced at Aunt Qin, who had only just recovered.
When everyone arrived, they found that Bei Jing'er had not yet woken up, and the man in black beside her was also lying on the side, with a letter exposed on his body.
Seeing this, Bei Zhentang immediately signaled to Bei Junfeng. Bei Junfeng, already furious at what his daughter had done, reached out and grabbed the envelope from the man in black's pocket. "Wake them up!"
"Yes!" Several servants immediately came up, carrying water, and splashed it all over the two of them!
Immediately, both of them coughed.
Bei Junfeng then took out the paper. "Abo, I intend to kill Miss Ji Wushang. You must come and deal with her for me! A generous reward will be given! Jing'er."
After reading it, Bei Junfeng was filled with anger and fury. Looking at the man in black, he suddenly stepped forward and kicked him several times. If Bei Luojun and Bei Juefeng hadn't stepped forward to stop him, he would have kicked the man to death on the spot!
Bei Zhentang sensed something was amiss and narrowed his cunning eyes. "What's going on? Let me see that letter!"
Bei Junfeng was still furious and handed the letter to Bei Zhentang.
When Bei Jing'er saw everyone surrounding her and the man named Abo, she immediately knew that things had gone wrong! But where were Ji Wushang and that Aunt Qin?
I thought I should move around a bit, but I found that my whole body ached, and it felt like several of my ribs were broken! Also, my legs felt weak!
"Ah!" Bei Jing'er burst into tears, "Waaah, Daddy, save me!"
"You still have the nerve to call for help!" Bei Junfeng slapped her across the face, and Bei Jing'er was knocked to the ground!
Bei Juefeng immediately stepped forward, "Father, we should ask first."
As he spoke, he looked around and realized that Ji Wushang and two others were standing behind him. Bei Juefeng then gestured to Bei Junfeng.
Bei Junfeng immediately looked over and saw Ji Wushang, Aunt Qin, and Tie Feng standing there. Ji Wushang looked at them and whispered, "Let's go. Don't look anymore. This is someone else's family matter. I'm just a cousin, so I'm still an outsider."
"Yes, let's go!" Aunt Qin nodded.
However, after reading the letter, Bei Zhentang looked at Bei Junfeng and saw that it was Ji Wushang. He said, "Quickly, invite Wushang and the others over here! I want to see what you, Third Sister, are thinking of killing Biao Wushang!"
Upon hearing this, Bei Jing'er was completely stunned. Abo immediately knelt on the ground, pleading, "Master! Spare me! Spare me! It was...it was the Third Miss who ordered me to do it. I disobeyed, and she wanted to punish me!"
Bei Jing'er snapped out of her daze. "What, what did you say?!" She tried to get up, but she couldn't muster any strength! She must have been beaten up last night! Damn it, that person even chose to hit her where no one could see!
"Father, Father, it hurts so much! I was beaten last night!" Bei Jing'er said, tears streaming down her face. "Father, I don't know what happened last night. I was tied up here and beaten. When I woke up, I saw you all. I was really tricked!"
Bei Junfeng coldly asked, "Then how do you explain this letter?"
At this moment, Ji Wushang, Aunt Qin, and Tie Feng all came over. Ji Wushang was surprised, "Grandfather, eldest uncle, eldest cousin, second cousin... third cousin... what's going on?"
"Hmph!" Bei Junfeng snorted coldly at Bei Jing'er, and then said to Ji Wushang, "Alas, it's my fault for not disciplining her properly. Alas, Jing'er actually wanted to send someone to assassinate you..." Bei Junfeng found it difficult to say, but he still finished speaking.
Ji Wushang was surprised. "Third, third cousin, I, Wushang... If third cousin doesn't like Wushang, Wushang can just leave the manor. Why, why..." Ji Wushang couldn't continue and covered her face with her sleeve to show her sadness.
Everyone hated Bei Jing'er. How kind that cousin was! She never yelled at the servants! And how always she spoke to her uncles, aunts, cousins, and other relatives with humility and kindness! This third young lady was not only arrogant and barbaric, but she also treated her cousin like this. She deserved to be severely punished!
Bei Zhentang looked at her and said, "Oh, Wushang, you've suffered a lot."
"I'm the one who caused trouble for your household," Ji Wushang cried.
Bei Zhentang sighed and shook his head. Just now there was the incident with the sixth concubine, Su Meier, and now Bei Jing'er wants to kill Ji Wushang!
This is a terrible thing!
"Guards, drag the Third Miss away and confine her to her quarters for a year until she gets married!" This was the order given by Bei Junfeng, after all, Bei Junfeng was her father.
Upon hearing this, Bei Jing'er immediately burst into tears, "Father, I, I, I don't want to be confined! I don't want to wait to get married! Father!"
"Hmph!" Bei Junfeng flicked his sleeve, his face cold and tense as he looked at Bei Jing'er. If he didn't punish her, it would be difficult to give Ji Wushang an explanation. Moreover, he would be letting down his deceased sister, Bei Luo'er—Ji Wushang's birth mother.
Ji Wushang was startled, "Uncle, this..."
"Wu Shang, don't plead for her. This girl needs to be punished!" Bei Junfeng stopped Ji Wu Shang from speaking. Ji Wu Shang actually knew that Bei Junfeng would definitely punish Bei Jing'er to give him an explanation, and that her plea was just for show.
As Bei Jing'er was being dragged away, she immediately cried out, "It hurts, Daddy, it hurts so much, it hurts so much!"
"You reap what you sow!" Bei Junfeng said coldly, ignoring Bei Jing'er's cries, and naturally no one paid any attention to her either.
Now they were facing the man in black who wanted to kill.
"Drag him away, chop him up, and feed him to the dogs!" Bei Junfeng had successfully learned this trick from his father, Bei Zhentang.
Bei Zhentang nodded.
The man desperately tried to beg for mercy, but he was quickly taken away by several burly men.
As Ji Wushang watched these people slowly disperse, he felt somewhat at a loss.
Bei Junfeng said, "Alas, what a misfortune for the family! Wushang, go back this afternoon! Sigh, take good care of yourself."
"Thank you, Uncle." Ji Wushang nodded with tears in his eyes.
Bei Zhentang glanced at Ji Wushang a few times, and Ji Wushang nodded and bowed.
The crowd dispersed, but Bei Luojun showed no signs of leaving. Seeing this, Ji Wushang led Aunt Qin and Tie Feng away.
Bei Luojun stepped forward.
"You two talk! Tie Feng and I will go down first." Aunt Qin glanced at Ji Wushang and Bei Luojun.
Ji Wushang nodded. Since he already knew he was engaged, and it was a marriage decree issued by the Emperor, he was sure he wouldn't act recklessly.
Bei Luojun watched as Aunt Qin and Tie Feng left before stepping forward and saying, "Cousin Wushang."
"Second cousin." Ji Wushang nodded, maintaining the proper politeness and distance.
"I... I heard you're engaged, and to the heir of the Marquis of Jinnan's family." Bei Luojun was somewhat nervous as he faced Ji Wushang.
Ji Wushang nodded, "Yes, it was a marriage bestowed by the Emperor."
“But, he, he has a leg ailment, I’m afraid he won’t be able to take good care of you for the rest of your life!” Bei Luojun expressed his concerns, his eyes filled with worry, hope, and affection.
Ji Wushang looked at him and smiled, "This... will take time to determine." She didn't dare to say anything too definitive to provoke the man in front of her, but her heart had already made up its mind about Nan Xuzong, and she would definitely believe that he could bring her happiness and joy!
"Time? Once you're married, you'll be stuck in the Jinan Marquis's mansion for the rest of your life!" Bei Luojun stepped forward, and Ji Wushang could only watch as he immediately retreated. Bei Luojun, seeing this, realized he had been impulsive and took a step back to show that he meant no harm.
“But what can we do? This is a marriage bestowed by the Emperor. I cannot disobey, nor is it possible for me to disobey. You must know that the lives of our General’s Mansion are tied to this.” Ji Wushang said earnestly.
“Cousin Wushang, then, then…” Bei Luojun didn’t know what to say. He also knew what the final result would be if he disobeyed the imperial decree.
"Second cousin, you don't need to worry about me. I'll be fine. If I weren't, I wouldn't be alive now, would I?" Ji Wushang looked at him. "I'm truly grateful to you for always caring about me, but I have no choice but to walk my own path. Sometimes, worrying is useless. We can only take it one step at a time, can't we?"
Bei Luojun listened and nodded, "Yes, then if you encounter any difficulties in the future, you must tell your second cousin."
"It definitely will." Ji Wushang nodded. "This is the place where I have always grown up and always cherished."
Upon hearing this, Bei Luojun's heart gradually brightened. "Yes."
"Then I won't disturb you any longer, Second Cousin. Goodbye." Ji Wushang bowed politely before disappearing into the depths of the forest.
Bei Luojun watched her retreating figure and sighed. What if she was unhappy marrying that Prince Nan? What could he do then? How could he help her?
Bei Luojun thought to himself, but he still had no choice but to go back.
In the afternoon, Ji Wushang bid farewell to everyone and returned to the mansion with Aunt Qin and Tie Feng. With the eyes closed off by Su Meier and Bei Jing'er, Ji Wushang couldn't be happier.
Sitting in the carriage, looking around at the people, as they passed through the street, Ji Wushang saw a large crowd gathered there. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was Su Meier crying and wailing in a pig cage, while the crowd was rushing towards the riverbank in the distance... All those people were scorning this woman.
Ji Wushang watched as the curtain was lowered. "Tiefeng, hurry back to the manor."