These words might have worked on Zhang Tai before, but now as she listened, she only wanted to laugh. If he truly cared for her in his heart, why would she need to bear a child just to gain status?
She withdrew her hand from his grasp and turned her head away in disgust.
When Si Tuling entered, Ming Yi was still staring at Zhang Tai. Her eyes were also red, her expression dejected, but she seemed more spirited compared to Zhang Tai. Upon seeing him arrive, she rose to her feet. As soon as she began to curtsy, tears threatened to fall again.
“Don’t cry, Sister Ming,” Si Tuling consoled her. “Men are often fickle.”
Ming Yi, who had been trying to hold back her emotions, almost laughed at his words. “Is the young master not a man himself?”
“In Mu Xing City, over a thousand women take their own lives each year due to matters of the heart,” Si Tuling sighed. “When I grow up, I will never become such a man.”
As he spoke, Ming Yi realized that this person was merely a half-grown child, yet he was already out in official robes handling cases.
Feeling sympathetic, she softened her tone. “Has the young master summoned this servant early for any particular instructions?”
Si Tuling had no real instructions. He had merely heard about last night’s events and thought Ming Yi’s situation was similar to Zhang Tai’s. He wanted to see if she had anything to say. Although Ming Yi was heartbroken, she wasn’t as distraught as Zhang Tai.
After a brief contemplation, he said, “I wanted to ask Sister Ming about her plans going forward.”
Ji Bozai was a prominent figure. After causing such a scene and displeasing him, it was unlikely she could return.
Ming Yi tossed her handkerchief aside and immediately burst into tears. “This servant doesn’t know what to do. Ji Bozai… he’s so cruel, oh, oh, oh!”
Zhang Tai stirred, finally coming to her senses. Seeing Ming Yi cry, she gave a bitter smile. “I thought you were the fortunate one, but it turns out you’re as pitiful as I am.”
She turned to Xu Lan, who was still beside her, incessantly criticizing her. “You can leave now.”
“Leave? Where am I supposed to go?” Xu Lan frowned. “Those things you said could send me to prison. How can I leave without clearing my name in front of the young master?”
Zhang Tai sneered, “Which of my accusations wronged you? Wasn’t it you who privately extorted the dancing girls? Wasn’t it you who forced us into improper acts? Wasn’t it you who took bribes to choose which dancing girls would perform in the center?”
Xu Lan grew anxious. He glanced at Si Tuling and then glared at her. “What nonsense are you spouting? I did no such things!”
He grabbed her arm and whispered angrily, “You’re carrying my child. How does it benefit you if I lose my position?”
“You won’t take me back anyway, so what does it matter if you lose your position or not?” Zhang Tai laughed coldly. “The child? I took medicine and got rid of it. Go find someone else to bear your children.”
Xu Lan was stunned, his face slowly contorting with anger. “You selfish whore!”
As his emotions flared, Ming Yi quickly stepped forward to separate them, frowning at Si Tuling. “Young master, shouldn’t you protect the witness?”
Si Tuling hastily ordered someone to take Xu Lan away, explaining awkwardly, “He hasn’t been convicted yet, so he has visitation rights.”
“Even so, they should be kept apart. What if he suddenly turns violent?” Ming Yi chided.
Zhang Tai looked at her and suddenly asked, “Did you know Xu Lan was this kind of person all along?”
Here it was, a question that could be fatal if not answered correctly.
Without hesitation, Ming Yi replied, “I didn’t know. I only just saw his true colors. If you, who were so close to him, couldn’t see through him, how could I, who rarely met him, have known?”
When a sister is deceived, the last thing she needs is an “I knew it all along.” It’s useless and only angers them. The best approach is to share her anger and resentment at the same moment.
Although Ming Yi was also annoyed that Zhang Tai had implicated her because of a man, seeing that it wasn’t an intentional betrayal and that Zhang Tai looked pitiful, she let it go. She consoled her softly, “You’re beautiful and still young. You won’t lack for opportunities.”
Zhang Tai’s dry eyes moistened again. She sobbed a couple of times, then addressed Si Tuling, “That day at the inner banquet, it was just me asking Ming Yi to substitute for me. She didn’t wear the mulan green dress, and she left right after the dance. She had no interaction with Prince Ping.”
Upon hearing this, Si Tuling looked at Ming Yi.
Ming Yi pressed the corners of her eyes and cried, “In any case, Master Ji won’t want this servant anymore. I have no other concerns. Young master, you can investigate freely. Aside from those jealous dancing girls whose words can’t be trusted, all the clan members and officials at the banquet saw that it was Rong Xin wearing the Mulan green that day.”
“Sister Ming didn’t exchange clothes with her?”
“If such a beautiful Mulan green color belonged to me, why would I exchange it with her?” Ming Yi widened her eyes.
Her acting was so superb, her expression so natural and lively, that Si Tuling thought perhaps it was Rong Xin and the others framing her.
He made a couple of notes in his book, planning to investigate around Rong Xin. If there was no conflict with Prince Ping, then the case could be ruled as an accident.
A gut feeling told him something was off about Ming Yi, but Si Tuling didn’t want to acknowledge it.
He was intelligent and talented, but he had one weakness: he was prone to first impressions. From the beginning, he had thought Ming Yi was capable and good, so he was disinclined to consider her as the culprit.
Moreover, Prince Ping had it coming anyway.
Before closing his notebook, Si Tuling asked one last question: “Is there nothing related to Master Ji that you want to say?”
Ming Yi sobbed, her eyes flashing with hatred: “This servant wishes she could denounce him as frankly as Zhang Tai did, but although Master Ji favored me for a time, he never revealed much of his private affairs to me. I have nothing to tell.”
Si Tuling nodded.
Ji Bozai was indeed a man of deep schemes. Among all the nobles in Mu Xing City, only he remained inscrutable. This was why Si Tuling suspected him. However, if he was so guarded against Ming Yi, it was unlikely they had conspired to harm anyone together. Sister Ming was completely innocent, and as for Ji Bozai…
Without witness testimony or physical evidence, it wasn’t possible to even interrogate him at present.
Sighing lightly, Si Tuling said, “I’ve just arrived in the main city and am still living in the plain residence assigned by the Justice Department. If Sister Ming has nowhere to go, I could offer you shelter.”
Ming Yi smiled bitterly, “I still have to wait for Master Ji to return and decide my fate.”
Although he had wronged her first, given the disparity in their status, she had to remain in the Ji household until Ji Bozai allowed her to leave.
Zhang Tai squeezed her hand and asked Si Tuling, “What punishment will I face?”
“As a dancing girl who avoided the inner banquet, you should receive thirty lashes. However, considering your merit in coming forward first, your merits and faults cancel each other out. You’ll only need to pay a fine,” he replied.
Zhang Tai breathed a sigh of relief but then became worried. Having left Xu Lan, she was penniless.
“I’ll pay it for you,” Ming Yi said generously.
Everyone was stunned and looked at her, making her feel a bit uneasy. She added, “How much is it?”
“Two thousand bei coins,” Si Tuling blinked.
Drawing in a sharp breath, Ming Yi pinched the bridge of her nose and rolled her eyes at Zhang Tai. “You’d better find a way to pay me back later!”
Zhang Tai laughed through her tears. “You…”
“My money is for emergencies, in case Ji Bozai decides he doesn’t want me one day. I’ll need it to buy a place to live,” she pouted. “These days, men are unreliable. Money is the only thing you can count on.”