Chapter 404 Turning Hostile

Chapter 404: Turning Hostile

After speaking, she paused for two seconds, then continued, "But I've heard that when outsiders come to the city, they're supposed to register their household information at the government office first. May I ask if you all registered when you arrived?"

"If not, I can take you there—consider it my apology for my earlier rudeness!"

The moment she finished speaking, Wu Shijie stepped forward immediately, his eyes gleaming as he stared at Hua Feixue.

"Our whole family has already registered. May I ask the young lady's name, and which young miss of the marquis's household you are?"

Hua Feixue, having lived as a man, understood men very well.

One look at Wu Shijie's gaze told her that he had taken a liking to her and was thinking of making a move.

She sneered inwardly. A toad lusting after a swan's flesh?

In your dreams!

Hua Feixue's eyes were deep and unfathomable as she smirked slightly. "I'm not a young miss of the marquis's household. I'm the fiancée of the Second Young Master Ji."

The moment those words left her mouth, Wu Shijie's smile froze on his face, and he felt a pang of disappointment.

He had thought that such a beautiful woman must be one of the young misses of the marquis's household, and he could have asked Ji Qingqing to help arrange a match between them.

Little did he know that she was already spoken for!

The Second Young Master's woman—even if he had a hundred times more guts, he wouldn't dare touch her.

Wu Shijie's face fell and he said nothing, but Ji Qingqing felt a surge of resentment welling up inside her.

She didn't know whether Hua Feixue had brought up the matter of household registration on purpose or not, but mentioning it out of nowhere seemed like a warning directed at her.

She had originally planned to deal with the Wu family discreetly.

But she hadn't expected them to have already registered at the government office?

If that was the case, killing them was out of the question!

If four people suddenly went missing in the capital, the authorities would definitely launch an investigation.

Not to mention, Hua Feixue was still standing at the door, speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear, and many passersby had seen them.

If anything happened to the four members of the Wu family, the authorities would immediately suspect the Marquis Yongning's household.

If the trail led back to her, it wouldn't be worth the risk!

Ji Qingqing was furious, but the words had already been spoken. She had no choice but to invite them inside, albeit reluctantly.

No sooner had they entered the marquis's residence than Wu Chaoyang bolted off like a wild horse, tearing around with glee.

He looked here and there, reaching out to touch the towering red pillars, then crouching by the pond to bother the koi fish as they fed.

In the blink of an eye, he had charged into the small garden that Madam Meng carefully tended, picking several white flowers and bringing them to Chen Huaxiu.

"Mother, these flowers are so pretty. I picked them for you."

Chen Huaxiu had been marveling at the luxury and splendor of the marquis's residence, but when Wu Chaoyang suddenly thrust the flowers at her, her face broke into a delighted smile, and she gushed over her youngest son.

"Yang Geer is such a good son, knowing to pick flowers for your mother! I didn't raise you for nothing."

She held them up to look, then wrinkled her nose in disgust. "These flowers are pretty enough, but the color is too drab. Not as pretty as the red peonies back home."

With that, she tossed them aside and even stomped on them twice.

Madam Meng watched this scene and almost had a heart attack.

Her hands trembling, she pointed at Wu Chaoyang and Chen Huaxiu, and snapped, "How dare you! Do you have no manners at all? Who gave you permission to pick my flowers?"

Chen Huaxiu looked utterly bewildered, thinking Madam Meng was blowing things out of proportion!

"Madam Marquis, they're just a few flowers. Do you have to be so petty about it?"

"Besides, Yang Geer is still young. He doesn't understand the rules of noble households like yours. He just thought they were pretty and picked them for me. You can't blame a child for that, can you?"

Madam Meng saw that the woman showed no remorse whatsoever, and her anger only grew!

"Just a few flowers? Do you have any idea how much money these flowers are worth?"

"Even if you sold your whole family, you couldn't afford to pay for them!"

Her prized white jade flowers, worth a hundred taels of silver each, had been picked by a bunch of country hicks who then had the audacity to criticize them with disdain.

What nerve!

Madam Meng was furious. Country bumpkins, indeed—no class at all!

Seeing how furious Madam Meng was, Ji Qingqing quickly came over to calm her down. "Mother, you are the lady of the marquis's household. Why stoop to their level?"

"It's getting late. Why don't you go back to your room and rest? I'll handle their arrangements myself!"

Madam Meng's anger cooled down a bit at these words. She took Ji Qingqing's hand and whispered, "Qing Qing, the plan has changed. You must not do anything rash that would give others something to use against the marquis's household."

Ji Qingqing nodded. "Don't worry, Mother. I won't kill them."

Only then did Madam Meng relax. Supported by her maidservant, she headed back to her room.

Hua Feixue had slipped off at some point as well. Ji Qingqing led the group to the guest rooms and had a servant bring out a table laden with food.

The moment the food was set down, Wu Chaoyang pounced on it, tearing off a chicken leg and biting into it ravenously.

His mouth was shiny with grease. "Mmm, this is so good!"

"Father wasn't lying—sticking with Second Sister means good food."

Wu Jinxi and the others swallowed hard and sat down to eat as well.

They ate heartily, eating and drinking like there was no tomorrow.

Before long, the entire guest room was filled with the sounds of smacking lips and slurping, loud and obnoxious.

Ji Qingqing's brows were furrowed tightly as she watched them eat. It made her even more determined to get rid of them.

By the end of the meal, the table and floor were a complete mess, like a swarm of locusts had hit the place.

After eating their fill, Chen Huaxiu seized the chance and began questioning Ji Qingqing.

"Yueyue, tell Mother the truth—is it that woman who won't let you claim us as family?"

Ji Qingqing shot her a contemptuous look, a sneer tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"She is my mother. Who the hell do you think you are?"

"If there's no mirror at home, then take a piss and take a good look at yourselves. I was already doing you a favor by letting you set foot in the Marquis's residence. Do you really think you're the masters here?"

Her face changed so fast that Chen Huaxiu and Wu Jinxi didn't have time to react.

Wu Shijie looked at Ji Qingqing and put on an elder-brother, lecturing tone.

"Second sister, how can you talk to our parents like that?"

Ji Qingqing sneered, "Parents? Do they even deserve to be called that?"

"Or do you actually think I'd be happy to see you?"

Chen Huaxiu's face showed a hint of hurt. "Yueyue, back then, your father and I did you wrong. We shouldn't have swapped you with the Marquis's daughter. It's only natural for you to resent us..."

Before she could finish, Ji Qingqing cut her off.

"Wrong. You didn't do me any wrong. On the contrary, I should thank you for swapping me with Ji Yuntang, letting me become the young lady of this Marquis's household."

"If I had been born into your family, my life would have been nothing but disappointment."

Wu Jinxi, enraged, said, "Yueyue, you can't just climb the ladder and then turn your back on your own flesh and blood. If it weren't for your mother and me giving birth to you, how could you ever have become the Crown Princess?"

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