Chapter 405 Going to Prince Ye’s Mansion

Chapter 405: The Trip to Prince Ye's Mansion

Ji Qingqing tilted her head slightly, inwardly amused by the absurdity of it all.

"I am indeed the Crown Princess, but what does that have to do with any of you?"

"Did you spend a dime on me? Did you clear the path for me? Or did you get the Crown Prince to pick me?"

"Everything I have today, I earned myself. The Wu family has nothing to do with it."

Wu Jinxi was livid, jabbing a trembling finger at Ji Qingqing as he accused her.

"You—you're an unfilial brat! You just look down on us 'cause we're low-class, not good enough next to your Marquis daddy."

"And what if I do?" Ji Qingqing turned to look at him coldly, disgust written on her face.

"For sixteen years, you never gave a damn about me. You shouldn't have shown up here at all. You're Ji Yuntang's parents, not mine."

With that, she sat down calmly on a chair, eyeing them with cold indifference.

"Now, here are your two options. Either go to Prince Ye's Mansion tomorrow morning and get Ji Yuntang to take you in."

"Or I'll give you some cash, and you go back to where you came from. But you better keep your mouths shut—don't say a word you shouldn't. Just pretend you never met me."

"You've got one night to think it over. I want your answer tomorrow morning."

With a sweep of her wide sleeves, Ji Qingqing stood up and walked off without a backward glance.

The four people in the room all wore grim expressions. Wu Shijie, his face set in a stern look, asked Chen Huaxiu and Wu Jinxi.

"Dad, Mom, Second Sister won't even acknowledge us. What do we do now? Are we just supposed to go back like this?"

Hearing that, Wu Chaoyang immediately burst into loud sobs.

"Waa—no, I don't wanna go back! I wanna stay here, eat good food, and be a young lord."

Wu Shijie also chimed in: "Dad, Mom, I don't wanna go back either. How can our hometown compare to the capital?"

After seeing the capital's hustle and bustle and eating the rich food at the Marquis's place, he couldn't stomach the thought of going back to that little mountain village and living on wild greens every day!

How could he just go back like that?

Wu Jinxi's brows were so furrowed they could kill a fly. He picked up his wine bowl, took a swig, then suddenly smashed the bowl on the ground.

Porcelain shards scattered everywhere, the candlelight flickered across his face, and Wu Jinxi's voice turned dark and grim.

"Of course we're not going back. How can a little mountain village beat the capital? We moved here as a family to live the good life. If we go back now, we get nothing out of it."

Chen Huaxiu chimed in: "Your father's right. Even renting an oil-cloth cart costs ten taels of silver, and we can't scrape together ten taels anymore. Why go back when we've got food and drink right here?"

"I think the reason Yueyue won't acknowledge us is that she's got her own problems. You all saw that Marquise today—all looks, no heart. Yueyue just doesn't dare to cross her. It's gotta be that woman who won't let us live with our own flesh and blood."

Chen Huaxiu gritted her teeth. "Fine, then let's just do what Yueyue says and head to Prince Ye's Mansion to find Ji Yuntang."

"Sure, Ji Yuntang isn't as impressive as our Yueyue, but she's been obedient and sensible since she was a kid—never fought back when hit, never talked back when scolded. All these years, whether we made her weed the fields, slop the pigs, cook, or do the laundry, she never once dared to talk back."

"So what if she's a Princess Consort now? Lowliness is baked into her bones. I refuse to believe she'd dare turn us away from Prince Ye's Mansion!"

No one noticed the faint sneer from the darkness above.

Hua Feixue, clad in black night gear, lounged lazily on the rooftop. She'd lifted a roof tile and was watching the scene below with keen interest.

When she heard Chen Huaxiu's spiel, she nearly cracked up.

Tsk tsk. Obedient and sensible? Never fights back? Never talks back? Doesn't dare to resist?

Do these people have Ji Yuntang all wrong?

I'm afraid all four of them put together wouldn't last a second against Ji Yuntang.

Hearing they'd be staying at Ji Yuntang's place, the youngest, Wu Chaoyang, was not happy!

He pouted and whined, "Mom, I don't wanna stay at that ugly woman's house. She's way too ugly, and she used to scare me all the time. I get nightmares just looking at her face at night."

"Second Sister is way prettier—prettier than the prettiest girl back in the village. I wanna stay with Second Sister."

"Yang Ge'er, quit being difficult," Chen Huaxiu scolded, but there wasn't a hint of real reproach on her face.

"Ji Yuntang's a bit ugly, sure, but she's still a Princess Consort. And I heard her husband's a blind cripple who can't even get out of bed. That's why he married that ugly thing—he just needed someone to wait on him."

"And on the flip side, if that crippled prince was desperate enough to marry trash like Ji Yuntang, he can't be in the Emperor's good graces either. Once we get there, won't Prince Ye's Mansion be ours to run?"

Chen Huaxiu then crouched down and ruffled her youngest son's hair.

"Yang Ge'er's scared of her face. When we get to Prince Ye's Mansion tomorrow, Mama'll make Ji Yuntang wrap her face in a cloth so you don't have to look at that ugly mug. How's that sound?"

Wu Chaoyang perked right up.

"Great! Mama always knows what to do."

Hua Feixue, perched up above, overheard this and nearly tumbled off the roof.

Ji Yuntang's ugly? Luo Junhe's a cripple?

Yep, confirmed—these people aren't just rotten to the core, they're also blind as bats.

Hua Feixue was at a loss for words. Seriously, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree—Ji Qingqing got all their stupidity and nastiness.

She was starting to regret it, wondering if calling the Wu family here had been a good idea after all.

She'd only meant to surprise Ji Qingqing and Ji Yuntang, but it had backfired into a shock instead.

Her regret didn't last long, though, because she heard Chen Huaxiu say: "Then it's settled. Tomorrow morning, we'll tell Yueyue we're willing to go to Ji Yuntang's, and we'll ask her not to kick us out."

Hua Feixue's eyes glinted, and a sudden idea crossed her mind.

With a flick of her lightness skill, she silently slipped away from the Marquis Yongning's estate.

At Prince Ye's Mansion, the corridor lights were all out, but a lamp still burned in the West Courtyard.

Ji Yuntang had just finished Luo Junhe's acupuncture session and was about to get undressed for bed when the alarm in her head started blaring.

She shot up in bed with a jolt. The alarm going off meant someone had broken into Prince Ye's Mansion.

Ji Yuntang mentally pulled up the surveillance feed and looked—sure enough, there was a black figure darting around the front courtyard of Prince Ye's Mansion.

Not only that, the intruder had swiped a dried persimmon she'd laid out to sun-dry, plus a whole pot of her homemade honey-grapefruit tea.

Ji Yuntang was speechless.

Since when did burglars get this bold?

She couldn't make out the face, but she could tell this person's lightness skill was top-notch.

And the way they were darting around like a headless chicken without grabbing anything valuable—Ji Yuntang couldn't figure out what they were after.

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