Chapter 386: Adopted Daughter

Chapter 386 The Adopted Daughter

The door swung open, and Madam Ji, propping herself up with her cane, was helped out by her attendant, tottering shakily from within.

The moment she saw Ji Zihang, she rushed forward and embraced him.

Madam Ji sobbed as if her heart were torn apart, "Hang'er, my good grandson, you've finally returned! You've suffered out there!"

"Look at you—just a few days in the Court of Judicial Review, and your face has gotten so thin from hunger. It just breaks your grandma's heart. Once we get back inside, you must drink plenty of chicken soup and nourish yourself properly."

Madam Meng, Ji Nanchuan, and Ji Qingqing followed behind. When they saw Ji Zihang, Madam Meng's eyes reddened as well!

She never imagined that in just half a month, the son she was most proud of would end up in such a state.

The Ji Zihang before them now bore no trace of his former refined and graceful demeanor; his face was covered in stubble.

Ji Nanchuan frowned as he watched the two women weeping at the doorstep.

"That's enough, Mother. Since Hang'er is back, let's go inside to talk—the doorway is no place for conversation."

Madam Meng did not object. She stepped forward, took Ji Zihang's hand, and led him back to the Ruyi Hall.

As soon as they stopped, Ji Zihang immediately knelt down, his voice choked with emotion.

"Grandmother, Father, Mother—I've been a bad son, for making you worry about me!"

Madam Ji's heart clenched, and she immediately said coldly, "This has nothing to do with you. You were framed by others."

She helped Ji Zihang to his feet, her anger simmering as she thought about it, and she began to curse openly in front of everyone.

"It's all that godforsaken Ji Yuntang's fault! To keep Hang'er from participating in the Canglang Poetry Talk, she stooped to such dirty, low-down tricks to knock him out of the running."

"If it weren't for Qing Qing becoming the Crown Princess and pleading with His Highness the Crown Prince for help, our Hang'er would have endured who knows how much hardship and torment in the Court of Judicial Review."

In truth, Ji Zihang had not suffered much in the Court of Judicial Review.

Aside from the rough living quarters, every meal he had there pretty much always included wine and meat.

Ji Huaiche wouldn't allow the jailers to mistreat him or resort to vigilante torture against Ji Zihang.

Thus, when he was released, Ji Zihang was merely disheveled, with hardly a scratch on him.

Despite this, Madam Ji still believed Ji Zihang had endured great hardship in the prison.

And all of it was thanks to Ji Yuntang.

"That ungrateful snake Ji Yuntang—no better than a beast! Our marquis's estate should never have brought her back to marry in Qing Qing's place. We should have let her be mistreated and tormented by her foster parents and die in that backwater mountain village."

"God in heaven, open your eyes and look! Ji Yuntang has done so many evil deeds—why don't you send a lightning bolt to strike her dead?"

Madam Ji's cursing got uglier and uglier, making everyone present knit their brows.

Madam Meng had never imagined that the usually benevolent-looking old lady, who fancied herself elegant and noble as the epitome of the capital's noble ladies, could utter such harsh words.

Ji Zihang, however, didn't mind. He harbored a deep hatred for Ji Yuntang, and no insult was too harsh for him—though his good breeding kept him from saying such things out loud.

He knew that his release was thanks to the Crown Prince's help.

While in prison, he had already learned that Ji Qingqing had received the imperial edict of betrothal and would soon enter the Eastern Palace!

Of course, the Crown Prince's assistance was all due to Ji Qingqing's influence.

Ji Zihang looked at Ji Qingqing, a flash of dejection flickering through his dark eyes.

He clenched his fists and said, "Qing Qing, your third brother's life has been ruined by Ji Yuntang. I underestimated her!"

"From now on, the hope of restoring the Marquis Yongning estate to glory rests on your shoulders. You must make Ji Yuntang pay—only then can you avenge your third brother."

Ji Zihang would be lying if he said he didn't hate her. He had been thrown into prison, branded as someone who hired a hitman.

Even now that he was out, the court would never dare employ him again—unless Luo Jingshen ascended the throne and, for Ji Qingqing's sake, arranged a fifth- or sixth-grade official position for him.

Beyond that, he could only live out his days as a leisured young gentleman, living out his days in a daze, never again setting foot through the gates of the Imperial Academy.

Ji Zihang had already been kicked out of the Imperial Academy by Cheng Rushan.

He was the first to be cast out like this.

The scholars and students who had once been close to him all distanced themselves, declaring they would no longer be friends with a two-faced hypocrite who tried to kill someone.

In a single night, he fell from heaven to hell, from a darling of the heavens to a despicable fraud scorned by all. The crushing psychological fall left Ji Zihang so devastated he couldn't even cry.

He knew that even killing Ji Yuntang wouldn't change any of it!

His life, his grand ambitions—they were essentially destroyed!

If he wanted to climb high again, he could only pin his hopes on Ji Qingqing.

Ji Qingqing had been getting whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted in the Marquis Yongning estate lately. Now, hearing Ji Zihang's words, she felt even more smug.

Who would have thought? In the end, everyone in the marquis's estate was counting on her.

After seventeen years of living under someone else's roof, she could finally have her moment of triumph!

Ji Qingqing sneered with a hint of mockery, "Third brother, don't worry. I'm not a cold-hearted ingrate like some people. The estate took me in, and that makes them my benefactors. I've 'taken note' of all the kindness you've shown me!"

"When I become the Crown Princess, I'll be sure to 'repay' you all well."

She stressed the words "remember" and "repay" with heavy emphasis, but Ji Zihang and Madam Meng didn't catch the implication—they only felt that Ji Qingqing had far more conscience than Ji Yuntang!

It wasn't in vain that they had brought her home and raised her as their own daughter for seventeen years.

Madam Meng and the others didn't notice, but that didn't mean no one else did.

Hua Feixue, in her red dress that stirred without wind, leaned against the wall outside the Ruyi Hall, a leaf between her lips and a glint of amusement in her eyes.

"An adopted daughter, huh? Now that's interesting."

Could this one be an ungrateful wolf too?

Lately, screams had been echoing from the woodshed in the back courtyard. Hua Feixue, unable to sleep from the noise, would sneak out to watch.

And every time, she saw Ji Qingqing wielding a whip, viciously striking a young woman locked inside.

The woman was beaten beyond recognition, her skin and flesh nearly destroyed.

Especially her face—bloodied and scarred, slashed dozens of times with a dagger, each wound deep enough to show bone.

And still, Ji Qingqing wouldn't let her die, forcibly using medicine to keep the woman alive.

Hua Feixue had encountered many people and dealt with women skilled in deep scheming before, but she had never seen a woman as rotten to the core as Ji Qingqing.

In public, she was a soft, innocent white lotus.

In private, she was a venomous black lotus.

Hua Feixue wanted to help tear off her mask and reveal Ji Qingqing's other side to others, but considering her own identity and circumstances, she decided to steer clear of that mess.

However, she did develop some interest in the real daughter of the Marquis Yongning's household.

For the entire Marquis Yongning family to hate her so much it made their teeth grind, that true daughter must be a formidable figure.

She couldn't help wondering when she'd get the chance to meet this true daughter.

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