Chapter 587: Regretting the Marriage Swap

Chapter 587: Regretting the Marriage Swap

At this moment, he was like a lifeless log.

There was a large hole in his chest. Although it had been wrapped in several layers of gauze, bright red blood was still seeping through.

The senior physician hurried forward, opened his medical box, and methodically stopped the bleeding and bandaged Ji Qingfeng's wound.

Basin after basin of bloody water was carried away, and bandage after bandage was swapped out one after another.

Zhao Chengjiu waited nearby, pacing back and forth, drenched in a cold sweat from anxiety.

Even though he knew nothing about medicine, he could tell that Ji Qingfeng was critically injured.

The knife had pierced through his back into his chest, stopping just a hair's breadth away from his heart.

A little further to the side, and it would have been fatal.

Clearly, Ji Qingqing had intended to kill him.

Zhao Chengjiu couldn't understand it. Weren't they family? Why would Ji Qingqing be so vicious toward Ji Qingfeng?

Could it be that just because he was unwilling to rescue her, she had turned murderous?

If so, then she was truly vicious at heart!

He wondered what the Marquis Yongning household would think when they learned of this.

They would probably despise Ji Qingqing.

Luo Jingshen was equally frustrated. He had finally uncovered a lead on the snowflake and was about to find Ji Qingfeng to question him.

Who would have thought Ji Qingqing would get to him first with a knife?

Now the man lay gravely wounded, unconscious, with no way to tell when he might wake up.

Luo Jingshen waited for a long time without seeing any sign of Ji Qingfeng regaining consciousness, and, furious, he stormed out of the yamen.

By the time Ji Nanchuan and Ji Huaiche received the news and rushed over, a full hour had already passed.

When they saw Ji Qingfeng lying motionless on the bed, barely breathing, they were both stunned.

At this moment, his face was deathly pale with a tinge of blue, his eyes tightly shut, and bloody foam trickled from his mouth, staining his collar crimson.

Seeing this, Ji Nanchuan felt his heart wrench, a sharp pain shooting through his chest.

Ji Qingfeng had been perfectly fine at the estate that morning, and now he had become like this—he'd be lying if he said he wasn't furious.

Flames of fury blazed in his eyes as he turned and demanded of Zhao Chengjiu.

"Lord Zhao, what is the meaning of this? How could my son end up so badly wounded all of a sudden? Who did this? Has the culprit been caught?"

He fired off question after question, and Zhao Chengjiu felt cold sweat run down his back.

If Ji Qingfeng hadn't been injured at the yamen, it might not have been a problem. But since it happened there, he, as the prefect, couldn't dodge the blame.

For a moment, he didn't know how to answer.

Meanwhile, Ji Huaiche naturally assumed that Ji Qingfeng had gotten into another fight outside.

Someone must have reported it to the authorities, which was why he was lying in the yamen. It never occurred to him that the incident had happened right there in the yamen.

Ji Huaiche's gaze turned icy as he asked, "Lord Zhao, who exactly injured my younger brother? Speak up, and don't hold back—I'll make sure justice is done for my brother."

Zhao Chengjiu swallowed hard, and only after a long pause did he say slowly, "Marquis, Heir, the person who wounded the Second Young Master... you both know the person too..."

"Know them?" Ji Nanchuan's brows furrowed tightly, his tone turning cold. "Since you know them, didn't they know that Qingfeng is my son? How dare they wound him like this?"

In his view, although the Marquis Yongning estate had declined, the emperor had not stripped them of their titles or ranks.

That meant the estate still held its ground, its status unshakable.

Who in the capital didn't know that Ji Nanchuan had three sons?

Since the culprit knew Ji Qingfeng and still wounded him like this, just how powerful must they be?

Under Ji Nanchuan's icy glare, Zhao Chengjiu quickly lowered his head and stammered, "The one who wounded the Second Young Master is... is... the Second Miss Ji..."

"What did you say?" Ji Nanchuan's eyes narrowed sharply as he grabbed Zhao Chengjiu by the collar.

"You're saying Qingqing wounded Qingfeng? That's impossible!"

Zhao Chengjiu's face was more miserable than a crying child's, but he dared not resist.

"It's absolutely true, Marquis! I wouldn't dare lie to you or the Heir!"

Seeing how agitated his father was, still gripping Zhao Chengjiu's collar, Ji Huaiche stepped in to persuade him, "Father, calm down first. Let's hear what Lord Zhao has to say."

He also found it strange. Ji Qingqing was still in the jail cell, and Ji Nanchuan had specifically ordered that no one from the estate was allowed to visit her.

So how had Ji Qingfeng ended up getting hurt by her?

When Ji Nanchuan let go of his collar, Zhao Chengjiu could finally breathe again. He shot Ji Huaiche a grateful look before telling them the truth.

"This is what happened. Half a month ago, the Second Miss Ji begged one of my constables to deliver a message to the Second Young Master, asking him to come to the yamen's prison for a visit, saying she had something she wanted to discuss with her second brother."

"I don't know the specifics of the matter. I only know that the constable delivered the message, but the Second Young Master didn't show up until today."

"Later, they talked in the cell. What they discussed, I don't know either. I only heard that when a constable went in, he saw the Second Young Master already lying on the ground, collapsed, with the Second Miss Ji holding a knife in her hand."

"After that, the Crown Prince arrived and spoke with the Second Miss Ji at length in the cell, before storming off in a rage."

"Before he left, the Crown Prince also came to see the Second Young Master and ordered the physician to do everything possible to save him."

Ji Nanchuan's face went completely dark. He had thought of every possible person in the capital who might have harmed Ji Qingfeng.

But Ji Qingqing was the last person he would have suspected.

For a moment, he could hardly believe it.

Over the years, Ji Qingfeng's kindness toward Ji Qingqing had been evident to all. Because of his business travels, he would always buy the finest gifts and send them to Ji Qingqing right away.

In contrast, Ji Huaiche and Ji Zihang had never been as thoughtful toward her.

Yet unexpectedly, Ji Qingqing had been the first to raise a blade against Ji Qingfeng, nearly costing him his life.

Ji Nanchuan's chest heaved violently, his entire body trembling with rage as he gasped, "Vicious girl! Vicious girl! I've lived my whole life, and how did I raise such an ungrateful daughter? What a misfortune for this family!"

"Heaven, have mercy on the Marquis estate! Have mercy on our whole family!"

If only he hadn't switched Ji Yuntang and Ji Qingqing back then.

Now he felt nothing but deep regret.

How could an adopted daughter ever compare to his own flesh and blood?

Why had he listened to that Taoist priest's nonsense, believing that Ji Yuntang wasn't even worth one of Ji Qingqing's fingers?

Ji Nanchuan felt as if he had been blinded by stupidity in the past.

After all that had happened, even back at home, he'd often think—if the two daughters had never been swapped, with Ji Yuntang's beauty and abilities, she'd probably be the Crown Princess by now, wouldn't she?

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