For a moment, Ming Yi thought it was all over. She had been discovered by Ji Bozai, and surely she would be trapped in his Underworld and subjected to severe torture.
However, after a while, Ji Bozai made no move. He only expressed curiosity about the undisguisable panic on her face. “What are you afraid of?”
“This servant… this servant is naturally afraid of bad people in the manor,” she offered weakly.
“The bad person in this manor isn’t it you—”
Ming Yi’s hair stood on end with fright. “Wh-what is the master saying?”
He paused, then finished his sentence with a half-smile, “—who brought them in?”
Her heart skipped a beat, then began to race. Ming Yi pressed her hand to her chest, caught between laughter and tears. “What do you mean, brought in?”
“Earlier, in the ruins of the storehouse, I detected a trace of Yuan Power,” Ji Bozai said slowly. “It was unfamiliar to me, so I had Bu Xiu investigate all the newcomers in the manor. As a result, we caught someone who possesses Yuan Power, yet chose to work as an ordinary servant in my residence.”
He wasn’t talking about her.
The tight grip on her heart gradually loosened. Ming Yi took a couple of breaths. “What… what does this have to do with this servant?”
“Last time, you said you saw a thief in the manor and insisted on hiring more guards,” Ji Bozai caressed her face. “That person mixed into my manor at that time. Isn’t that bringing them in?”
She drew in a sharp breath, grabbing his sleeve and shaking it. “How can this be blamed on me? This servant came out from the inner courtyard with you, master. I don’t know anyone from outside.”
He knew this and was only trying to scare her. But he didn’t expect her reaction to be so interesting, as guilty as if she were truly hiding something from him.
Ji Bozai scrutinized her. “If you don’t know him, how did you get him to burn the storehouse?”
Ming Yi lowered her eyes, thinking to herself that she never outsourced such simple tasks. It would take less time for her to do it herself than to find someone else to start the fire.
However, since he asked, she went along with it. “How could this servant know he had Yuan Power? I only thought of a stupid method, just asking him to start a fire.”
Ji Bozai fell silent, his eyes glimmering darkly as he stared at her. Ming Yi felt she couldn’t bear it anymore and let out a long sigh. “If the master likes gentle and delicate women, why bother asking this servant so much?”
“I do like gentle and delicate women,” he said. “But I should know what the woman in my bed is thinking.”
Ming Yi tilted her head, her bright phoenix eyes staring at him for a moment, as if weighing the pros and cons. But soon, her shoulders relaxed, and she let out a long sigh. “Well, this servant’s survival depends on you, master. It’s no harm to tell you these little thoughts.”
Ji Bozai didn’t think she would be candid, but her expression seemed genuinely sincere and relaxed. Her phoenix eyes looked up at him, unwavering. “When this servant received that mulan green dress, I thought, although the master is romantic, he’s ultimately a martial artist. How could his taste align so well with a woman’s heart? Could it be that it was left over from another girl and given to me?”
“So, after the banquet, this servant asked Nanny Xun where the fabric came from. Nanny Xun said it was fine fabric gifted by Duke Gong, and I remembered that. So when I heard the Justice Department was visiting, the first thing I thought of was to burn the boxes in the storehouse to prevent them from finding anything.”
“The task was given to that person to carry out. As for how he did it, this servant knows nothing.”
After recounting every detail, Ming Yi sighed softly. “This servant has had a hard life since childhood, so I’m naturally cautious about everything and always thinking ahead. Fearing that the master wouldn’t like it, I was reluctant to explain clearly to you.”
As she spoke, her eyes blinked as she observed him, her expression careful and somewhat vulnerable.
Ji Bozai listened in silence for a moment, finding her explanation somewhat plausible.
He turned to ask Bu Xiu, who was standing outside the door, “Has the background of the one called Twenty-seven been cleared up?”
Bu Xiu turned half his body towards the door and respectfully answered, “Yes, it has been cleared up. He’s a cultivator who escaped from Chaoyang City, hiding his identity just to make a living. He bears no grudge against the master.”
Someone who could use Yuan Power to create fire was indeed formidable. It was surprising that such a person would be willing to be a mere servant.
Ji Bozai didn’t quite believe it, but having such a person in his manor wasn’t a bad thing.
“Keep a close eye on him.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ming Yi kept her eyes lowered, thinking to herself that it was better for him than for her. Twenty-seven was tough; it wouldn’t hurt for him to suffer a bit.
“Besides him, there was another person who snuck in at that time,” Ji Bozai continued. “It was he who led Zhang Tai out of the manor, allowing her to expose Xu Lan’s lies.”
Ming Yi was stunned. “Are the master’s procurement staff so unreliable?”
Although it was precisely because of this unreliability that Twenty-seven had been able to sneak in and help her pass messages, it shouldn’t be so easy for just anyone to infiltrate.
Seeing her sincere and slightly annoyed reaction, Ji Bozai’s expression relaxed a bit more. He said calmly, “You were in a hurry to get people at that time, so the procurement staff could only hastily choose a few from the slave market. Who knew someone would have such long-term intentions?”
“Has that person been caught?”
“No, he disappeared after leading Zhang Tai out of the manor. It was only when the other servants in his quarters reported it that Bu Xiu noticed.”
Ming Yi thought for a moment. “He only led Zhang Tai to expose Xu Lan, without any other malicious intent. Rather than framing you, master, it seems more like he was investigating the case…”
She stopped mid-sentence.
Ji Bozai glanced at her sideways. “Why didn’t you finish?”
“The master is so perceptive, how could this servant dare to show off in front of you?” She grinned foolishly, trying to gloss over it again.
He reached out and turned her face towards him, his eyes half-closed as he looked at her. “Stupid women certainly have their merits, but you’re clever and quick-witted. Don’t play dumb with me.”
Her cheeks hurt from his grip. Ming Yi grumbled, “Clever people don’t live long.”
“Liars are even less likely to live long.”
“…” Either way, she wouldn’t live long.
Ming Yi broke free from his grasp and pouted. “This servant was thinking, perhaps the Justice Department has suspected you all along, master, so they sent someone to the manor.”
Ji Bozai thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Judge Zhao is old and no longer lives up to his title. As for those under him, they’re still wet behind the ears. Who among them could have such schemes?”
He suspected the inner court more than the Justice Department.
But it didn’t matter. The case of Prince Ping ultimately didn’t implicate him, and that person had already left the Ji manor. From now on, he just needed to be more careful.
Helping Ming Yi sit up straight, Ji Bozai said, “I’ll stay at Hua Man Lou for half a month to dispel their last doubts. You stay in the manor and continue your grand act. When the play is over, your reward will be on your pillow.”
Ming Yi finally showed a genuine smile. “Thank you, master.”
Ji Bozai stood up and was about to leave when he stopped, saying somewhat stiffly, “Qing Li is bland and tasteless. I didn’t touch her.”