The next day.
Jingrong and his party rushed back to the capital at full speed.
Because the letter delivered yesterday not only informed them about the replacement of court officials up and down the court, but also… the death of Qin Shiyu!
It was said that while resigning and returning home, he suddenly encountered mountain bandits on the road.
He was killed!
The truth of the matter was unknown.
In addition, there was also the matter of Minister Yu being imprisoned.
All these signs, like rolling clouds.
Shrouded the entire capital.
At this time, they had to return.
At the same time, in Jinjiang.
The Ji Residence.
The Ji residence, which in former days had been glorious and prosperous with a constant stream of visitors—ever since Ji Li’s rebellion and Ji Shuhan’s suicide, the Ji family had been branded with the crime of treason. Overnight they had fallen from grace, with everyone avoiding them from afar, afraid of catching even half a bit of bad luck.
At this moment, the main gate of the residence was tightly closed. A layer of dust had settled on the rusty iron ring, and even the plaque on top was covered in spider webs, appearing desolate and defeated.
Occasional passersby would also comment from time to time.
But mostly there were sighs.
After all, the Ji family was a noble house. For generations they had been glorious, producing countless worthy officials and military generals who had made outstanding contributions to the Great Lin. But in this generation, they had produced the treasonous official Ji Li. A once famous noble house had thus fallen, its glory no longer existing.
In the rear courtyard of the residence.
A woman dressed in plain clothing was constantly circling around a large tree in the courtyard, her gaze wandering, her expression blank. She muttered something unintelligible under her breath, from time to time picking up stones from the ground and throwing them at the tree.
Over and over again, tirelessly.
A young maid stood nearby, watching with concern.
After a long while, the maid stepped forward to dissuade her. “Eldest Miss, let’s stop walking and rest for a while?”
Ji Muqing paid no attention and continued walking.
“Eldest Miss?” The maid could only follow behind her, walking together.
After walking several circles—
Ji Muqing suddenly stopped.
She turned and grabbed the maid’s hand, pointing at the tree and asking, “Did you hear it? Did you hear it?”
“Hear what?”
“There’s a sound in the tree.”
“Ah? This servant… this servant didn’t hear anything.”
“There is, there is. There’s someone in the tree. I heard it.”
“Eldest Miss, please don’t scare this servant.” The maid hunched her neck, feeling a chill run down her back.
Ji Muqing gripped her arm tightly, her eyes somewhat panicked and anxious, asking again, “You truly didn’t hear it?”
“No…”
She pushed the maid away again.
Then continued walking around the tree without stopping.
She also muttered, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid…”
That little maid was truly frightened, her face pale. Ever since the eldest miss had gone mad, she had been acting crazy all day long. If she wasn’t saying she saw ghosts, she was saying she saw the shadow of Prince Yi wandering by her bed, or saying she saw Prince Yi’s secondary consort Chen Xiang looking at her through the window, her eyes filled with blood, her whole body burned black by fire. She would even sometimes wake up in the middle of the night to sing, or run around everywhere saying someone was trying to harm her. Over time, the maids around her all avoided her from afar—they were nearly mentally disturbed themselves.
In the distance.
Ji Wanxin stood in the corridor. She had been there for quite a while.
Seeing her eldest sister in such a state now, she felt somewhat sad inside.
Her hands inside her sleeves couldn’t help but clench tightly.
The maid following at her side said, “The eldest miss has been like this for several days in a row, constantly circling the tree and throwing stones at it, saying there’s someone inside calling her name. She won’t say who it is. Everyone around her is scared to death. If the eldest miss continues being crazy like this, who knows what will happen in the future?”
Ji Wanxin glanced at her.
That look was particularly stern.
The maid immediately fell silent.
She retreated to the side.
Ji Wanxin reprimanded, “She is the eldest miss of the residence and was once Princess Yi. No matter what, she is your master. Even if she’s crazy for a lifetime, you cannot gossip about her.”
“This servant knows her wrong.”
“Good that you know.”
With that said, she waved her sleeve and left.
The maid hurried to follow behind.
Ji Wanxin went directly to the Buddhist hall in the residence.
Before even entering, she smelled the scent of alcohol coming from inside.
Pungent and unpleasant, but she had already grown accustomed to it.
She instructed the maid to wait outside while she went in herself.
Her foot had just stepped inside when a wine bottle rolled to her feet, with some wine still flowing out of it. She looked over and saw Ji Huan leaning against the Buddha statue inside, dead drunk, his clothes disheveled, his face covered in stubble, looking like a complete drunkard. All around him were empty wine bottles, toppled over in disarray, a complete mess. He leaned there weakly and powerlessly, his face bright red, eyes squinted. He reached out to randomly grab a wine bottle and poured it into his mouth. He tilted it back, but only a few drops remained.
He immediately flew into a rage.
He threw the wine bottle away.
It smashed against the door frame with a “bang” and shattered.
Fragments flew everywhere. One piece cut Ji Wanxin’s face, leaving a thin bloody mark.
The pain made her brow furrow, and the red mole on her forehead appeared even more prominent.
She immediately took a handkerchief and pressed it against the wound. She didn’t pay it much attention but just walked toward Ji Huan and crouched beside him.
She called out softly, “Second Brother.”
Ji Huan remained unmoved.
Her eyes reddened. “Ever since returning from the capital, you’ve been like this. Our Ji family is in such a state now. Second Brother, you should pull yourself together. The Ji family’s future depends entirely on you.”
Her voice was gentle and pained.
But Ji Huan just twisted his body and said, “Wine, my wine, bring me wine.”
Shouting loudly.
As he spoke, he reached for a wine bottle at his side. Just as he grabbed one, Ji Wanxin snatched it away and threw it hard to the ground.
With a “bang.”
It shattered completely.
This sound seemed to wake Ji Huan.
He opened his eyes and vaguely saw Ji Wanxin before him.
He opened his mouth but said nothing.
Ji Wanxin cried softly, grabbing his arm and shaking it vigorously. She said, “Second Brother, how long are you going to keep this up? Father is dead, eldest brother is dead too. Everyone in our Ji family up and down has become criminals. But if you continue like this, the Ji family will truly have no hope at all. Wake up, stop this. Otherwise, Father won’t be able to rest in peace even in the underworld.”
Ji Wanxin didn’t know how many times she had said these words.
Each time, Ji Huan wouldn’t listen and continued drinking, continued living like a walking corpse.
This time was no exception.
Ji Huan only wanted wine, only wanted to be drunk!
He crawled on the ground, searching for wine to drink among the pile of empty bottles.
Ji Wanxin’s eyes filled with tears, utterly disappointed.
She wiped her tears and looked at the somewhat cracked Buddha statue before her, finally unable to hold back her tears.
After all, she was still a woman. No matter how capable, she couldn’t hold up this household!
At this moment—
The maid at the door hurried over to report, “Second Miss, someone… someone has come.”
She immediately wiped away her tears and composed her emotions.
She asked expressionlessly, “What do you mean someone has come?”
“The capital, someone from the capital has come.”
The capital?
She was suddenly stunned, her palm clenching.
Finally, they had finally come.
She immediately ordered, “Take care of the second young master.”
“Yes.”
Then she hurried to the front hall.