Chapter 177 – Portraits Of Noble Ladies That Were Trampled Beneath His Feet
Chapter 177 Portraits of Noble Ladies That Were Trampled Beneath His Feet
“You feel sorry for him when you hear my words, don’t you?” Xiao sneered.
“This matter has nothing to do with him. It’s useless to blame him.” Ji Yong’an’s brow was tightly furrowed. “There’s nothing I can do, is there? If there is a way, won’t I want Yuanxing to inherit this title, or myself to take this title? But now that things have become like this, Lord Yun might intervene, so… no matter what we do, it’s useless.”
“I won’t agree,” Xiao said harshly. “I will not agree even if I die!”
“Then you might die for real!” It was rare for Ji Yong’an to have such an imposing tone. He slammed his hand hard on the table. “If the entire family is sentenced to death, what’s the use of a title?”
Both he and Xiao knew about this matter in their hearts. They could not let it be investigated. They definitely could not allow anyone to investigate it. Once others investigated it, something might happen.
As for the truth behind this, when Ji Yong’an thought about it, he felt a knife hanging over his head, and he did not know when it would fall. Recently, he had been living with trepidation. He was afraid that someone might find out something if he were not careful. And if that happened, there might not be trouble upon Crown Prince, but he would definitely be doomed.
It was not easy to wait until the funeral. He originally thought that this matter was finally over and that there was no more evidence. He did not expect that Concubine Xiang would show up and make things this way.
He felt that he was seriously about to go crazy.
Compared to his elder brother, Ji Yong’an knew that he was much weaker. In the past, he did not have any objection to his elder brother inheriting the title. It could be said that for him to reach this stage, Xiao and her daughter’s contributing force was not small. Almost all of this was thanks to Xiao and her daughter working hard behind the scenes, and that was why he came to this stage step by step.
At this time, he really regretted it. If he had not made a move at the beginning, had not delivered a message secretly, and had not listened to his daughter and Xiao, he would still be the Second Master in the Ji Family, who was safe and sound. With the reputation of his elder brother, even if he were a little foppish, others could not do anything to him, and they even had to respect him for the sake of his elder brother.
“Don’t worry. Let me think about it.” Seeing that Ji Yong’an looked like he was about to collapse, Xiao calmed down and said in a deep voice.
“What else can you think? What else do you want to think about? Hurry up and deal with this matter. If this goes on, no one will be able to live.” Ji Yong’an’s voice couldn’t help but become louder.
“Alright, stop messing around. If you keep messing around, our lives will really be gone,” Xiao shouted again.
This sentence scared Ji Yong’an so much that he lowered his head and thought about the consequences of this matter. The more he thought about it, the more panicked and scared he became. There was no color on his face at all. It seemed that he was about to faint.
Xiao glared at Ji Yong’an fiercely. It was not the first time she knew that he was useless. If she had known that the man she married would be such a useless man, she would never have married him.
“Go and deal with the funeral affairs of your elder brother. Have some people carry his coffin and bury it according to the original plan. It cannot be delayed any longer. No matter what happens, it cannot be delayed. And ask Yuanxing to follow you.” Xiao composed herself and tried her best to clear up the current mess.
“Alright, I’ll go now.” Seeing that Xiao’s reaction had returned to normal, Ji Yong’an seemed to have found a pillar of support. It was fine to make him do things, but it definitely would not work if he were to come up with a way. Since there was Xiao, he would let Xiao do the thinking, and he just had to do as Xiao said.
He turned around and strode outside. He went to find his son to deal with his elder brother’s funeral. Previously, Xiao had repeatedly told him what to do. Although he was flustered at this time, he still had some idea in his heart.
Seeing that Ji Yong’an hurried out to carry out their plan, Xiao took a deep breath and turned into the inner room. She spread a piece of paper and wrote a letter, and then asked someone to send it to Crown Prince’s Mansion.
There were some things that she didn’t dare to ask people to pass on in the form of oral messages too clearly. It was safer to write a letter. She always felt that it was not safe to send an oral message and that people would know something from it.
At present, the only person she could discuss with was her daughter, but when Crown Prince went out just now, his expression was very strange. Thus, Xiao did not dare to stop Ji Youran and chat.
“Sir, are you going to intervene in this matter?” Ji Hai had already returned to Lord Yun Mansion. He found his carefree Master in a pavilion. Lord Yun was dressed in a light purple brocade robe, and the corner of his robe had purple-colored iris flowers on it. However, the color of the flowers was a bit brighter than that of the robe, revealing a bit of enchanting charm.
In fact, it was stunning to have this kind of enchantment matched with Pei Yuanjun’s face, but when combined with his imposing manner, it could even make people ignore his face.
His handsome face revealed a hint of viciousness. Even at such a leisurely time, the people around him did not dare to breathe loudly. Especially a eunuch from the palace, who had his head lowered. He wished that he were not the one coming here at this time.
He really did not want to come to Lord Yun Mansion.
However, he had no choice but to come. He was given an order by the Empress. He had brought over some portraits of noble ladies and their information. Right now, these portraits had been thrown on the edge of the table casually. A few of them had even fallen to the ground. Two of the ladies’ beautiful faces were even imprinted with a footprint.
Lord Yun had trampled on the two portraits when he was casually strolling around.
One of these two was Minister Liu’s daughter, County Lady Jingyu. She was one of the few beauties in the capital and was also a famous noble lady. She was dignified.
Although she was not a descendant of the royal family, her status was not ordinary. County Lady Jingyu was considered to have a high status among the noble ladies.
However, the portrait of County Lady Jingyu, a dignified and beautiful lady, was laid on the ground, being stepped on by Lord Yun. The eunuch even saw with his sharp eyes that Lord Yun even stepped on it with disdain.
The eunuch lowered his head even more, pretending he did not see anything.
“Why should I intervene?” Pei Yuanjun said lazily.
“Concubine Xiang came out of Fourth Lady Qu’s carriage. I heard that she originally wanted to return to Earl Ling’an’s Mansion, but then she went to the governor’s office alone. About this matter…” Ji Hai answered.
The eunuch from the palace wished he could close his ears and let this Lord Yun know that he really did not intend to hear anything. However, if Lord Yun did not give an order, he could not leave on his own.
Shouldn’t they avoid him when talking about this kind of private matter? Why did they say it in front of him? Weren’t they making things difficult for him?
When the Empress asked him later, he would not dare to not tell the truth. But if Lord Yun got angry because of this, it would not be enough even if he were to be beheaded ten times.
“What does Fourth Lady Qu have to do with me?” Pei Yuanjun raised his handsome eyes and looked at Ji Hai with an insincere smile.
“Yes, yes, Sir. I know that this matter has nothing to do with you, so I have sent Earl Ling’an’s letter found in Earl Ling’an’s Mansion to the governor’s office. Now, this matter is being managed by the governor, and it has nothing to do with you.” Ji Hai said with a smile.
Seeing that he was still sensible, Pei Yuanjun snorted with an unknown expression. Then, he lazily said to the eunuch in the palace, “I won’t look at these portraits for now. Let the Emperor pick for himself first. I am not in a hurry to get married. I should let Crown Prince get married first, right?”
Crown Prince was in mourning. No matter how soon he got married, it was impossible to be within a year. That was to say, Lord Yun did not intend to get married within a year.
“My Lord, the Empress said that this is Emperor’s idea. He asked you to pick one or two first. You are a member of the elder generation, so you can’t let the younger generation pick first,” Eunuch said carefully.
Lord Yun was indeed younger than Crown Prince, but Crown Prince had already married and was a member of the younger generation. At this time, no matter how one looked at it, Lord Yun should be the one who picked first. The Empress did not hide anything and sent all the portraits of the ladies that she took a fancy to to Lord Yun Mansion, showing her selflessness.
“Thank the Empress for me. As for the matter of picking my Princess Consort, I am not in a hurry. Didn’t I choose one before? Let’s talk about it later. As for the already chosen one, I will still have to see how it goes. If she is not suitable, I won’t marry her, either.” Pei Yuanjun said impatiently.
“Yes, yes. I understand.” How could a eunuch dare to refute anything? The matter of Lord Yun being unwilling to marry was not a secret in the capital. Although now he was not so resolute as he had been before, it seemed that he was still dissatisfied with Fourth Lady Qu. He only kept her as backup and did not want the Empress to issue a decree.
After saying that, Pei Yuanjun narrowed his eyes and ignored the eunuch. However, Ji Hai walked over with a smile and said to the eunuch in a low voice. “Go back. Lord Yun is going to rest now!”
“Yes, yes. I will leave immediately!” As the eunuch spoke, he looked at the portraits on the ground. The Empress’ said that whether Lord Yun chose any of the ladies or not, the eunuch had to bring back the portraits. After all, she had to let the other Princes choose too, didn’t she?
“You want these portraits back?” Ji Hai was obviously a smart person, and he immediately understood what the eunuch wanted through his eyes.
The eunuch nodded excitedly. He wanted to leave, but he didn’t dare to leave without these portraits.
“Lord Yun, if you are tired, why don’t you go back and rest first?” Ji Hai smiled at Pei Yuanjun.
Pei Yuanjun’s eyes slightly lifted, but he didn’t mind. He actually stood up and strode away. Ji Hai hurriedly said to the eunuch, “Go pick them up and then go back!”
“Okay, thank you, Eunuch Ji Hai,” Eunuch said gratefully.
Those portraits were laid at Lord Yun’s feet. Even if the eunuch had ten thousand guts, he would not dare to pick them up. The eunuchs and palace maids who came to deliver messages from the palace were not always lucky. They would not necessarily go back safely every time.
There were a lot of rules in Lord Yun Mansion. Some of them were comparable to regulations in the military camps. If they carelessly made just one mistake, they would be likely to be executed. Besides, even if they died, they would die in vain. Even the Empress was wary of Lord Yun, but she could not do anything about him.
It was said that Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion’s Fourth Lady had been fancied by Lord Yun. He was willing to accept her as his Princess. It seemed that Lord Yun was just saying it casually and he did not mean it at all. It might be an excuse to temporize in the face of the Emperor. Otherwise, he would not say something like “see how it goes”.
It was said that Fourth Lady Qu’s engagement had just been called off, and now, she met Lord Yun. She was really unlucky!
The eunuch was frightened when he was in Lord Yun Mansion. He unconsciously put himself in Fourth Lady Qu’s shoes…
