As night fell over Mu Xing City, stars dotted the sky like a sea of lights. Inside Hua Man Lou, the sounds of merriment filled the air, while outside the Ji residence, not far away, a beautiful woman stood alone, tears in her eyes and her willow-like waist trembling slightly.
“Miss, shall we go back?” Nun Xun gently supported her. “The master won’t be returning tonight.”
“I don’t believe it. He said he’d come back every night to keep me company,” Ming Yi whimpered, wiping her tears. “This is his main residence. Where else would he go?”
From a distance, some nosy servants from other official residences chimed in: “He’s at Hua Man Lou. He just won over that flower girl and handed out several bags of celebratory money to people on the street.”
Ming Yi froze, quickly turning to look at the speaker. Nun Xun couldn’t stop her as she loudly asked, “Which Hua Man Lou?”
The servant shrank back, somewhat afraid of trouble, but still muttered, “There’s only one Hua Man Lou in the main city.”
With small flames igniting in her eyes, Ming Yi grabbed Nun Xun. “Take me to that place.”
Nun Xun frowned repeatedly. “That’s a place of ill repute. How could you go there, Miss?”
“We who were dancers are no different from those women in origin. What’s there to stop me?” Ming Yi said angrily, raising her voice. “I want to see what Vixen has kept him from coming home even when his house caught fire!”
“Miss, Miss!” Nun Xun tried to dissuade her to no avail, watching helplessly as she went to mount a horse. Quickly, Nun Xun exchanged it for a more stable beast-drawn carriage and accompanied her.
This only drew more onlookers, with several gossip-loving servants following behind the carriage, laughing and joking all the way, piquing the curiosity of people along the road.
At midnight, outside Hua Man Lou, things had quieted down. Ji Bozai was about to fall asleep in the guest room when a loud voice pierced the night: “Ji Bozai, you heartless man!”
He sat up, silent for a moment, thinking he had misheard. In all his years of gallivanting, he had always treated these girls well and had never been cursed like this.
But the ensuing commotion outside brought him back to reality. He quickly got up, using the cover of darkness to switch places with the resting flower girl next door, before standing by the window to look down.
Ming Yi stood atop the beast-drawn carriage in the middle of the road. Seeing him, her eyes reddened. “How could you treat your servant like this, my lord?”
Still groggy from sleep, he couldn’t quite catch up with this act. Then he saw her sit down on the carriage roof, crying heartbrokenly: “When you took me in, you said you only wanted me. How long has it been, and now you’ve bought a flower girl!”
The flower girl Qing Li was startled awake. She put on some clothes and came to the window, clinging to Ji Bozai’s arm as she looked down.
Her appearance only upset Ming Yi more. She cried so hard her vocal cords were visible: “My lord doesn’t want me anymore…”
It took Ji Bozai a while to react before he coldly slapped the windowsill. “Where are your manners!”
Ming Yi flinched at his shout, collapsing sideways onto the carriage roof, whimpering pitifully: “My lord promised me, he promised me.”
The scene was so spectacular that not only those still awake in the brothels and taverns but even those who had been asleep in the surrounding area were shaken awake by others to watch the drama unfold.
Thus, an entire wall of windows opened one after another, like firecrackers going off.
Encouraged by this, Ming Yi cried even more emotionally: “When the house caught fire today, I was so frightened. I was hoping my lord would come back to comfort me. Who knew my lord had already found a new love? I should have just burned to death in the house, rather than suffer like this now!”
“Nun Xun!” Ji Bozai roared in anger. “Take her back for me!”
Nun Xun responded repeatedly, but as soon as she moved the carriage, Ming Yi on the roof stumbled and began to slide towards the edge.
His heart tightened at the sight. He wanted to reach out to steady her but forcibly suppressed the urge, his body stiffening slightly.
“My lord?” Qing Li looked at him questioningly.
“Out of sight, out of mind.” He closed the window and led her back to sit by the bed. “Go rest.”
“But causing such a scene in the street, I fear tomorrow’s gossip will be unbearable,” Qing Li said tearfully. “I’ll bring trouble to my lord.”
Ji Bozai shook his head, suppressing his anger: “It’s not your fault.”
He glanced out the window resentfully again: “I despise unreasonable people the most.”
“My lord~” Qing Li leaned against him pitifully.
There were still sobs from outside, but they gradually faded. Ji Bozai gently told her to sleep first, while he, appearing angry, went to sit quietly by the table.
Qing Li, afraid of irritating him further, didn’t dare move. She just watched his back until she fell asleep.
As dawn broke, news of last night’s commotion had already spread throughout the main city. By the time Ji Bozai entered the inner court, Liang Xiuyuan, Shu Zhonglin, and others had already gathered around him worriedly.
“Are you alright, Bozai? I heard it was quite a scene last night.”
Ji Bozai found it amusing: “She may have caused a scene, but how could that affect me?”
“You don’t know,” Liang Xiuyuan shook his head. “Wasn’t it Xu Lan who was exposed by his woman catching him with a new love, angering him into going to the Office of Judgement to make revelations?”
“That would require having something to reveal.” Glancing at Judge Zhao, who was eavesdropping nearby, Ji Bozai snorted lightly. “My conscience is clear.”
Hearing this, everyone relaxed and began to tease: “Who knew Miss Ming was such a passionate person.”
“Bozai, you were too cruel. How could you let Miss Ming know about your dalliances? You were so good to her before but suddenly changed your heart. Who could bear that?”
“Hey, isn’t this how Bozai always is? He gets bored after half a month. It was about time.”
Judge Zhao watched from the side, thinking Ji Bozai truly had a heart of iron. He laughed and joked, showing no concern for Ming Yi at all, even less than Xu Lan.
At least Xu Lan was in the Office of Judgement begging Zhang Tai to forgive him and change her testimony. Despite his high position and great power, Ji Bozai seemed utterly unconcerned.
Could it be that the matter of Prince Ping truly had nothing to do with him?
Full of doubts, he turned and hurried towards the Office of Judgement.
Ming Yi was already seated in the Office of Judgement. Before her sat Zhang Tai with swollen red eyes, and beside Zhang Tai knelt Xu Lan.
As if she had cried all night, Zhang Tai’s tears had dried up. She just sat there blankly, not speaking. Xu Lan, however, was talking incessantly: “It was my mother who insisted I marry that distant relative. My heart only belongs to you. Once the child in your belly is born, I’ll give you proper status. Didn’t we agree on this?”