Seeing Ji Qing’s evasiveness, Ji Cheng immediately grew suspicious. It must have something to do with the concubines in the household. Recalling Concubine Xiang’s guilty demeanor earlier, there was certainly more to the story. However, her father favored Concubine Xiang, as Ji Cheng’s mother had long since lost her youthful allure.
A man’s heart was never constant, always drawn to youth. This was why Ji Cheng had given up on Ling Ziyun. Now, in her prime, love might be passionate, but what about when her beauty faded? Her father had once sworn eternal love to her mother, Madam Yun. Ji Cheng had known from a young age that a man’s heart couldn’t be relied upon, which was why she had gone to the capital to seek her fortune. Little did she know that fate was predetermined, no matter how hard one struggled.
Ji Cheng wiped her tears with a handkerchief and said, “Mother left us too early. We didn’t even have a chance to fulfill our filial duties, not even seeing her one last time.” She choked up, stood, and knelt before Ji Qing. “Mother lived a bitter life. I thought if I could marry well, she might find some happiness. I’ve been unfilial, failing to meet Mother’s expectations. After Mother is laid to rest, I’ll build a hut by her grave to mourn her. I couldn’t be filial while she was alive; I can’t let her suffer after death. As for the concubines at home, please send them to a nunnery to chant sutras for Mother’s blessings, hoping for a better rebirth.”
Ji Cheng’s words were loaded with hidden barbs, causing Ji Qing to cough repeatedly in anger. She first implied that Madam Yun’s untimely death was due to human malice, then spoke of her failure to fulfill filial duties. If she, the eldest daughter of the Ji family, was to mourn at a graveside hut, it was only fitting for the concubines to chant sutras at a temple. Ji Cheng knew her father would be displeased about moving against the concubines, so offering to mourn at a hut was a compromise.
Ji Qing was indeed unhappy. Ji Cheng’s remark about marrying well to make Madam Yun’s life more comfortable clearly expressed resentment towards him as a father. It was also a reminder that this prestigious marriage would have been settled if not for Madam Yun’s early demise.
Daughters, once grown, belong to other families. No matter how capable, their hearts turn outward. Ji Qing, displeased, considered for a moment before saying, “Can’t they chant sutras and pray for blessings at home?”
Ji Cheng replied, “How could that be the same? Given our household’s situation, how could they focus on chanting sutras? If Father is reluctant to part with them, wouldn’t it be better to arrange new marriages through matchmakers after the mourning period next year? With Mother gone, the house needs a mistress.”
Ji Cheng’s words struck a chord with Ji Qing. He wasn’t particularly old, and with Madam Yun gone, he would indeed need to remarry. “Very well. Though they’ll be at the temple, they’re still from our family. We mustn’t skimp on their annual allowances.”
“Of course,” Ji Cheng agreed.
Regardless of whether the concubines had played a role in her mother’s fall, Ji Cheng was in no mood to be generous. She decided to eliminate them all in one swift stroke.
Shortly after, as Ji Cheng was changing clothes to go mourn at the spirit hall, she heard Concubine Xiang leading the other concubines in a commotion in her courtyard, along with some of the illegitimate children jumping and cursing.
Ji Cheng frowned at the noise. Though she had been away from home for a long time, her influence remained. Moreover, the Ji family business was in her hands, so the servants obeyed her words as if they were imperial edicts.
Ji Cheng gave Liu Ye’er a look. “Have someone gag and bind the ringleaders and send them to the nunnery today. Tell the rest that if they behave, they can pack their belongings. If not, they’ll be sent away today. As for the children, if their mothers want to take them to the nunnery, let them. Does our family lack for mourners?”
Ji Cheng acted swiftly, but those shrews who thought of applying rouge even during the mourning period were not easy to deal with. Otherwise, Madam Yun, as the primary wife, wouldn’t have suffered from constant headaches due to their behavior.
Sure enough, as soon as the old women moved to bind Concubine Huo, Concubine Xiang began wailing, kneeling, and rolling on the ground, crying injustice. She shouted at the top of her lungs, “Young Miss, how cruel you are! You’ve returned and immediately set upon us poor souls without rhyme or reason. How are we to live? All these years we’ve served the Master and Madam diligently. Even if we have no merit, we’ve suffered hardships. To bully us like this… I’d rather die!” She made it as if to bash her head against the ground.
Ji Cheng walked to the doorway, her face stern. “Go ahead, no one will stop you. Since you claim to have suffered hardships in serving my mother, why don’t you continue to serve her in the netherworld? That would truly show your merit.”
Concubine Huo had no real intention of killing herself; she had merely been goaded into making a scene first. Seeing Ji Cheng’s delicate face filled with menace, she wilted. The eldest young miss of the Ji family had a fearsome reputation that was not built in a day or two.
“Young Miss, please calm down,” Concubine Xiang came forward, speaking softly and reasonably. “Regardless of the situation, there are many guests outside. It would be unsightly to cause a scene. The Master is ill in bed. Even if we don’t consider our reputation, we should think of the Master’s health.” She subtly hinted at whether Ji Cheng cared about their family’s reputation.
But Ji Cheng had never fallen for Concubine Xiang’s act. She signaled to Yu Qian’er, who immediately brought a chair for Ji Cheng to sit on in the corridor, then quietly left.
Ignoring Concubine Xiang, Ji Cheng glanced at the old woman standing nearby. “This household bears the Ji surname, not Xiang. I ordered you to gag and bind them, yet you’re all so well-fed that she could break free? You’ve been eating for nothing.” She turned to the maids and old women watching the commotion. “Whoever steps forward now to escort these women to pack their belongings can keep any extra items they find.”
This caused quite a stir. The servants had long envied those who had allied themselves with Concubine Xiang. Hearing they could claim their possessions, people immediately moved to drag them away.
The courtyard erupted in squeals like slaughtered pigs, but Ji Cheng didn’t even raise an eyebrow. When the courtyard quieted down and Yu Qian’er returned with the household guards she had summoned from the front courtyard, Ji Cheng finally turned her attention to Concubine Xiang and the others.
“Bind these women and send them to Pudu Temple immediately,” Ji Cheng ordered the guards. Concubine Xiang’s influence might extend throughout the inner courtyard, but Ji Cheng managed the entire Ji family business.
These guards were not soft-handed like the old women. They immediately seized Concubine Huo and Concubine Xiang. Now Concubine Xiang panicked, abandoning her facade of gentility. She cried out, “Young Miss, aren’t you afraid of breaking the Master’s heart by doing this? I know you’re angry about the Madam’s death and taking it out on us, but we’re innocent! No one wanted this to happen! Young Miss, you can’t act without investigating. Even the magistrate would need some explanation for his verdict!”
Ji Cheng didn’t even look at Concubine Xiang. She turned to the remaining people, holding the teacup Yu Qian’er had just brought her, slowly stirring the tea with the lid. “How does a person simply walking suddenly fall? My mother died under suspicious circumstances, her grievances unresolved. She can’t rest in peace in the netherworld, which is why I’m sending you filial ones to chant sutras and pray for blessings. If you don’t want to go chant and dispel misfortune, at least let my mother depart in peace. It doesn’t matter if I can’t find out who did it; I’ve decided it was you a lot, so it must have been you. This isn’t a court of law. You’ve eaten and used what belongs to the Ji family, so what’s wrong with asking you to chant sutras? Isn’t that appropriate?”
Ji Cheng had no interest in reasoning with these women. At times like these, might make right. “If you don’t want to go to Pudu Temple despite having done nothing wrong, those who know the truth should speak up quickly. I still need to go to the spirit hall; I don’t have time to waste here with you. Besides, do you think you can hide what happened in this courtyard from my father? It’s been so long without any reaction from him; you should understand his intentions by now.”
These words sent those still harboring hope and counting on Ji Qing to intervene into a panic. Concubine Du crawled forward, pointing at Concubine Xiang. “It was her! She came up with the idea. She said that with the young master about to take the autumn imperial examinations and the young miss about to be betrothed if you two gained power, we would never have a chance to rise again.”
Once Concubine Du spoke, it was like a dam breaking. The other concubines also came forward to accuse Concubine Xiang and Concubine Huo.
“So it was you, you black-hearted dog!” Fan Zengli, who had just arrived to see Ji Cheng, heard the concubines’ words. Thinking of how Ji Yuan would now have to wait three years for the next examination, she became furious and lunged at Concubine Xiang, scratching and hitting her.
Ji Cheng sighed and had someone pull Fan Zengli away. She swiftly dealt with Concubine Xiang and Concubine Huo. As for the others who knew but didn’t report, while they wouldn’t be sent to Pudu Temple, they certainly couldn’t stay in the Ji household. They would simply receive a larger severance payment.
When this news spread, Ji Qing’s illness worsened. Although he had suspected the concubines were behind it, he had clung to false hope, unwilling to investigate deeply. He had dismissed his suspicions as the paranoia of old age. After all, the dead were gone, and the living had to go on. It was easier to let things be.
But Ji Cheng’s return had torn through this thin veil of denial, leaving Ji Qing feeling ashamed and distressed. He mourned the loss of the coquettish Concubine Xiang and was embarrassed by his poor judgment of character.
In just half an hour after her return, Ji Cheng had unraveled the whole affair. This proved the saying that family harmony leads to success in all matters. With someone like Concubine Xiang around, who couldn’t bear to see the family prosper and used various methods to hinder progress, how could the household flourish? No wonder others looked down on them.
Ji Cheng felt deeply remorseful for not having protected Madam Yun. She kept vigil at the spirit hall with utmost sincerity, not even allowing herself a moment’s rest. Keeping vigil was physically demanding—the smoke and fire, kneeling for long periods and having to bow and kneel in gratitude to mourning friends and relatives. Ji Cheng, already guilt-ridden, had barely consumed any rice gruel for days, her face so gaunt it was barely recognizable.
On the third day after Ji Cheng’s return to Jin territory, the Shen family came to pay their respects. As relatives, it would have been improper not to come once they heard the news.
What Ji Cheng hadn’t expected was that Shen Che would accompany Ji Lan to represent the Shen family in offering condolences. The presence of the Second Young Master Shen truly brought honor to the Ji household. Even Ji Qing, despite his illness, rose to greet the guests.
Ji Cheng, along with her brother and sister-in-law, knelt expressionlessly before Shen Che to thank him. No words were exchanged between them. Ji Qing personally led Shen Che to the front courtyard to settle in.