Though not as formidable as Ji Bozai, Zheng Tiao was known for his mysterious nature and exceptional bearing. He was the dream of many young ladies across the six cities. Rarely showed warmth towards women, there were even rumors of him preferring men. Now, he was volunteering to escort Mingyi back?
Xu Tianji automatically ignored Xiuyun, believing the little girl could not attract Zheng Tiao. It must be Mingyi who had used some tricks to make Zheng Tiao stay in the last row.
Compared to Zheng Tiao, Xu Tianji naturally preferred Ji Bozai, but she just couldn’t accept it. Mingyi was just an ordinary woman who only knew how to flatter people. Forget about Yuan Power, she probably didn’t even know what combat techniques were. How could she attract these fighters one after another?
It was simply corrupting morals.
“Miss Xu, the Consort requests your presence,” a palace servant bowed to her.
Xu Tianji snapped back to reality and stood up, saying to Xiuyun, “Don’t wander off. I’ll take you to meet someone later.”
Xiuyun’s eyebrows drooped, looking somewhat displeased, but knowing Tianji’s domineering nature, she didn’t dare talk back. She only glanced longingly in Mingyi’s direction.
Zheng Tiao was still trying to persuade Mingyi: “Two hundred taels, I can’t offer more.”
Mingyi had curled up entirely under the table, her face ashen: “Is this about money?”
Couldn’t he choose another time to discuss this?
Looking around, Zheng Tiao finally realized the impropriety and nodded: “I’ll come to find you after we return to the Ji mansion.”
A passing palace servant overheard and choked, coughing in shock.
Two hundred taels, returning to the Ji mansion? They were being too blatant!
“What are you doing?” Zheng Tiao looked at him, puzzled.
“This old servant… by order of the Consort, requests Miss Ming to go speak with her,” the servant wiped the sweat from his brow.
The Consort? Mingyi raised her head, covering her face, and glanced to the other side. The Consort was sitting with a group of noble ladies in a corner to the left of the Tage Platform, hidden by bamboo.
Her eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded: “I’ll go right away.”
Although she didn’t know the Consort or why she was being called, escaping from this attention-drawing last row was ideal.
Mingyi kept her head low and rushed over with the servant in just a few steps. Once past the bamboo grove, she relaxed, adjusted her hairpin and clothes, then entered with her hands folded to pay respects.
“Greetings to the Consort.”
The three-sided courtyard was full of people, the expensive fragrance of cosmetics heavy in the air. After her greeting, she didn’t immediately hear a response to rise, only the continuous whispers around her.
The situation was uncomfortable, but Mingyi maintained her smile. Dealing with these young ladies was much easier than facing those keen-eyed individuals outside. At least her life wasn’t in danger here.
“She’s quite composed,” the person in the main seat finally spoke after a while. “Sit down.”
Mingyi nodded in thanks, her eyes sweeping the room to find that all the chairs were occupied, and the servants showed no intention of adding more.
They were quite good at making things difficult.
“Miss Ming used to be a dancer, her skills are excellent. If you’re interested, Aunt, you could have her dance,” Xu Tianji suggested cheerfully, crouching on the footstool in front of the Consort.
Seeing Tianji, Mingyi knew trouble was coming. Hearing the form of address, she roughly understood what was about to happen.
The Consort’s niece wanted to marry into the Ji family, so she needed to get rid of Mingyi first.
But they were still hosting a welcoming banquet outside. Surely they wouldn’t do anything here, despite their high positions and power?
Mingyi clung to a glimmer of hope.
However, reality proved her wrong. They absolutely would.
Usually, no one could touch her in the Ji mansion. Now that Ji Bozai had seemingly grown tired of her, and she was within the Consort’s reach, killing her would both assert authority and warn the noble ladies present not to covet the Ji family. Two birds with one stone.
So just as Mingyi was about to walk to the center of the courtyard, the Consort’s face darkened as she spoke.
“She stepped with her left foot first. That’s too inauspicious.”
The nearby servants reacted swiftly, with two immediately rushing out to restrain her.
Mingyi: “…”
How was it that she wasn’t even worth finding a more appropriate excuse?
“Your Highness,” someone nearby advised uneasily, “she is, after all, brought here by Lord Ji. If we here—”
“Who knows if she was really brought by Lord Ji or if she just shamelessly followed him here?” Xu Tianji sneered. “She has no status, no title. Her contract is still in the inner court, unclaimed. Strictly speaking, she’s still under my aunt’s jurisdiction.”
Hearing this, the other ladies fell silent. After all, she was just a dancer. It wouldn’t matter if she disappeared. Even if Ji Bozai found out later, he probably wouldn’t question the Consort over her.
“Women should read more books,” the Consort said coolly. “Mere appearance can deceive for a moment, but not for a lifetime.”
“Your Highness speaks wisely,” everyone nodded.
And so, Mingyi was escorted away from the Tage Platform through a small path.
Xu Tianji’s face lit up with joy, and she immediately whispered to the Consort, “Please rest assured, Aunt. Tianji will not fail your trust.”
The Consort watched Mingyi leave, slightly puzzled: “She didn’t even beg for mercy.”
She had been taken away quietly, without even a struggle.
“Begging wouldn’t have helped,” Xu Tianji snorted. “This inner court is Aunt’s domain. If Aunt wants her dead, how could she take another breath?”
Thinking it made sense, the Consort withdrew her gaze and continued to have people inquire about the competition outside.
Luo Jiaoyang, Chu He, and others had taken the opportunity to compete, with mixed results. But Ji Bozai had moved three times, winning all three without any suspense, and his opponents were decisively defeated.
This gave the Grand Minister great confidence. He smiled at Bao Yuanqi, “Would you like to stretch your muscles, sir?”
Bao Yuanqi shook his head: “I’m fatigued from the journey. Let Master Shen go instead.”
The Grand Minister looked at Shen Tianlin, but Shen Tianlin was busy searching for Mingyi, absent-mindedly saying, “I’m too old to compete with the young. Let Zheng Tiao go.”
The Grand Minister then looked towards Zheng Tiao in the distance, but Zheng Tiao’s attention wasn’t on the arena either. He was scanning the surroundings, as if looking for something, showing no fighting spirit.
One after another, they all seemed to fear Ji Bozai this much.
The Grand Minister was even more pleased. He turned to Ji Bozai and said, “Would you like to choose another opponent, my lord?”
Ji Bozai glanced at the last row, his expression somewhat distracted: “There’s no one worth choosing anymore.”
“Good! Good!” The Grand Minister laughed heartily, waving over Si Tuling and speaking to him in a low voice, “Be careful, don’t harm our hope for Muxing City next year.”
He was referring to the matter of the poison.
Si Tuling listened and smiled, “Harming Lord Ji would be difficult, but harming the other mother parasite would be simple—may I request a token from Your Excellency, so I can go save the mother parasite?”
The Grand Minister was startled and quickly handed him a token: “Go quickly and return soon.”
“Yes, sir.”
They spoke very quietly, but Ji Bozai still heard them.