As Shen Che left Jiangnan Tower and boarded his carriage, the driver used the opportunity to help him up to slip a rolled message from his spies into Shen Che’s hand.
It turned out that the Wang family wanted to marry Wang Yueniang to Chen Bin, but Wang Yueniang refused. Her parents had already decided to marry her off to a distant family who didn’t know about her situation. They planned to use secret medicines to get through the wedding night, and with the Wang family’s protection, Wang Yueniang’s future wouldn’t be too bad.
But if Wang Yueniang married Chen Bin, not only was he now crippled, but even if he wasn’t, his family knew about Wang Yueniang’s situation. Since she had also brought misfortune to Chen Bin, her life after marriage would certainly be miserable.
The message also said this plan was proposed by Fourth Miss Wang.
Shen Che shook his head as he read. Wang Shu was regressing – he couldn’t even see through Fourth Miss Wang’s malicious intentions, pushing Wang Yueniang onto this path.
Now with two Wang beauties vying for favor in the palace, there would be quite a show to watch. After reading, Shen Che lightly crushed the paper in his palm, turning it to ash.
Meanwhile, Ji Cheng was shocked that Wang Yueniang had entered the palace. She pondered all night but couldn’t figure out why. Wang Yueniang had pretended nothing was wrong in public that day, and people only knew rumors about the incident. She certainly wouldn’t have been desperate enough to enter the palace to serve the old emperor and compete with Consort Wang for favor – wouldn’t that be challenging the main branch of the Wang family?
It couldn’t be that Wang Yueniang entered the palace to assist Consort Wang, could it? Consort Wang was currently favored and had the Crown Prince’s support; she didn’t need Wang Yueniang in the palace at all.
As Ji Cheng went to pay respects to Ji Lan in the morning, she was still pondering when suddenly it dawned on her – if this was about challenging the main branch, then the main branch must have done something to greatly displease the second branch, prompting Wang Yueniang to take such drastic action.
Even with her intelligence, Ji Cheng couldn’t guess that Fourth Miss Wang would cruelly persuade her father to marry Wang Yueniang to Chen Bin. However, she had deduced that the main and second branches of the Wang family were now at odds, which put her mind somewhat at ease.
When Ji Cheng entered, Ji Lan and Shen Cui were having breakfast. Seeing her come in, Ji Lan noticed the dark circles under Ji Cheng’s eyes and smiled, “Didn’t sleep well last night?”
Ji Cheng remained silent. Shen Cui glanced at her and grumbled, “What’s the use of not sleeping now? Wang Yueniang has already entered the palace. Once she becomes a consort, none of us will have a way out. My mother kindly arranged an opportunity for you, but you turned around and went against her. You’re truly ungrateful.”
It seemed Ji Lan had selectively told Shen Cui about her plans. Though Shen Cui initially felt sending Ji Cheng to the palace was a bit inhumane, she soon thought of Qi Zheng and felt it might be for the best. Moreover, Wang Yueniang already hated them, and they were now isolated. If Ji Cheng entered the palace, they could all live better lives. She didn’t know what was good for her.
“It’s not that I’m ungrateful, I truly don’t have that ability,” Ji Cheng replied.
“How can you say you don’t have the ability? At Tianxiang Tower, you killed without even blinking. I’ve never seen anyone as cruel as you,” Shen Cui exclaimed. “I still have nightmares about it.”
“So I shouldn’t have knocked them out then? Should I have let you and me both experience what Wang Yueniang went through? Maybe then we could team up to serve the old emperor in the palace,” Ji Cheng said sarcastically. She found Shen Cui utterly unreasonable – even a Buddha would lose patience.
“You…” Shen Cui was so angered by Ji Cheng that she pushed away her bowl and said, “I’m not eating anymore.” Then she got up and walked out.
Although Ji Lan was displeased with how Ji Cheng spoke to Shen Cui, she knew Shen Cui’s words had gone too far. “She’s your sister. Even if she says something wrong, you should be more tolerant.”
“If Ah Cui wasn’t my sister, I wouldn’t bother saying anything to her,” Ji Cheng said, lowering her eyes slightly.
This was indeed true. If Ji Cheng didn’t care for Shen Cui’s well-being, she would have just agreed with her, inflating her ego until she didn’t know her limits. That would only lead to greater suffering in the future. Even so, Shen Cui would likely have to experience some hardships before she learned how to conduct herself properly.
“Have you had breakfast?” Ji Lan asked Ji Cheng.
Ji Cheng had already eaten, but hearing Ji Lan ask this way, she knew she wanted to talk. So she shook her head. The astute Lingrong quickly set out a bowl and chopsticks for Ji Cheng and brought her a bowl of red date and Job’s tears porridge.
Ji Lan waved her hand, dismissing the attendants. She took a spoonful of porridge and blew on it slowly, but didn’t eat. After putting on this show, she finally spoke, “Ah Cheng, do you intend to fight my shops to the bitter end?”
Ji Cheng smiled. She and Ji Lan were laying their cards on the table now. Backing down at this point wouldn’t gain her any benefits and would only offend Ji Lan for nothing.
“How could that be? We’re all in business. Those head shopkeepers’ monthly profits don’t look good, and they can’t give a satisfactory explanation to Father. We’re not specifically targeting Aunt’s shops,” Ji Cheng said, mimicking Ji Lan’s action of blowing on her porridge.
Ji Lan frowned and set her bowl down heavily. “Then I can only have your father bring you back home.”
Ji Cheng looked up and said, “There’s no need for such trouble. I can move to Orchid Lane. My sister-in-law is coming to the capital to accompany my eldest brother anyway. I can keep her company.”
Ji Lan sneered, “Oh? Then wouldn’t your plans for coming to the capital be completely ruined?”
“Even if I don’t move out, aren’t my plans ruined anyway? I was almost sold off by Aunt. I didn’t tell Father because I didn’t want to break his heart. I didn’t tell the Old Madam either. After all, Aunt helped me back then, and I’ve always respected you. But I can’t blindly follow your arrangements without limits.”
“Are you threatening me?” Ji Lan’s eyes were bulging.
“I wouldn’t dare. You’re my aunt. No matter what, we’re on the same side. We can’t let others laugh at us. If you lose face, people will think of me as your niece and lose face too,” Ji Cheng said, speaking the plain truth.
Ji Lan’s face had turned as black as it could get. “Your father has raised a sharp-tongued daughter.”
Ji Cheng put down her spoon, slumped her shoulders, and looked at Ji Lan. “Aunt, you and I are both from the Ji family. We both know that people like us won’t tear into each other unless necessary. Harmony brings wealth. If it wasn’t necessary, I would never resort to such tactics and make you dislike me. But I don’t understand why you insist on sending me to the palace. I came to the capital to help Father, to help my eldest brother, to help the Ji family, and to help myself – for a better life. The palace might look prosperous, but it’s certainly not a place that brings happiness.”
Ji Cheng was young after all. She had too many expectations for life and was still dreaming of future happiness. So of course, she wasn’t willing to enter the palace, even if the emperor was as handsome and young as Shen Che – it would never be within her consideration.
“So if I enter the palace, either I die, or I’ll take down those who sent me there with me,” Ji Cheng said, looking into Ji Lan’s eyes.
Ji Lan wanted to say that Ji Cheng was too young to understand life and death, and when the time came, she might not be so willing to die. But looking into Ji Cheng’s eyes, she felt that the girl was serious.
In fact, after being tricked last time, Ji Lan had more or less given up on the idea of sending Ji Cheng to the palace.
“I no longer have such intentions. If your will is so strong, why didn’t you tell me these things before? Why did you have to resort to such underhanded tactics to threaten me?” Ji Lan said.
“I did talk to you, Aunt, but you wouldn’t listen to me. So I had no choice but to take this approach. Aunt, you’ve been kind to me, and I’ve always remembered that,” Ji Cheng said.
Ji Cheng repeatedly emphasized that she wasn’t an ungrateful person, just to let Ji Lan understand that she truly didn’t want to go against her.
“If you remember my kindness, then return the shops to me the same way you took them,” Ji Lan said.
“I will certainly return the shops to you, Aunt. But it depends on whether you show sincerity,” Ji Cheng said, not avoiding Ji Lan’s gaze at all.
Ji Lan laughed coldly several times. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell your father?”
“My father won’t interfere,” Ji Cheng replied.
Indeed, Ji Qing wouldn’t interfere. Ji Lan had written several letters to Ji Qing, but he always had only one response: children grow up and make their own decisions; everything is up to Ji Cheng.
Ji Lan said coldly, “Now it’s not a question of whether I help you or not. Our common enemies are the Wang family and Wang Yueniang. Do you think Wang Yueniang will let things go after suffering such a great injustice? The reason she’s willing to submit herself to the emperor must be for revenge. You should first think about how to deal with her retaliation.”
Ji Cheng picked up her spoon again and took a sip of porridge. The temperature was just right, making her feel comfortable all over. “Wang Yueniang originally wanted to deal with Ah Cui, after all, it was Ah Cui who stole her spotlight at the Mid-Altar performance. I was only caught up in it because I helped Ah Cui. After all, the Ji family is insignificant in the Wang family’s eyes. Later, when Wang Yueniang got into trouble, she knew very well it was the Shen family’s doing. The one facing her revenge is the entire Shen family. I’m just an insignificant pawn.”
Ji Cheng saw through it. Ji Lan wanted to use this to scare her, but she had miscalculated.
Ji Lan finally had to fully admit that she had underestimated Ji Cheng all along.
“Yes, she wants revenge on the Shen family, on our third branch. If the Shen family falls, how can the eggs remain unbroken when the nest is overturned? The reason I wanted you to enter the palace was for your Third Uncle. As long as your Third Uncle can become a cabinet minister, even Wang Yueniang would have to rely on him,” Ji Lan changed her strategy and patiently explained. “Last time when the position of Minister of War was vacant, it was because I didn’t have enough silver on hand that your uncle couldn’t get promoted.”
It all came down to money again. Ji Cheng thought this move wasn’t bad; at least she now had some leverage to negotiate with Ji Lan.
“Although I’m an outsider, I know that for Uncle to advance further would be harder than ascending to heaven,” Ji Cheng said.
Ji Lan glared at Ji Cheng. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Whether it’s nonsense or not, Aunt knows in her heart. Although the Emperor is frail, his mind isn’t ill. He’s been on the throne for so many years and is well-versed in the art of ruling. He certainly won’t allow the Shen family’s second branch to control the military outside while the third branch holds power inside,” Ji Cheng said.
“What do you know? Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Ji Lan said.
Ji Cheng replied, “I don’t see it that way. If Uncle wants to rise unless the Earl gives up his military power and returns to the capital. But the Western Regions have been eyeing us covetously for years, and it’s only the Earl’s reputation that keeps them from making rash moves. Without the Earl guarding the borders, Great Qin would face border troubles, and the common people wouldn’t be able to live in peace.”
Ji Lan remained silent. She had to admit that what Ji Cheng said was true. She just hadn’t expected that such a young girl could have such insight.