Chapter 334: Cruel Parents

Moreover, Ji Yuntang had reduced her three sons to such a state, and for this, Meng Shi hated her to the very core.

No matter what, she could never forgive Ji Yuntang.

She suddenly thought of Ji Qingqing, still unconscious at home, and a vicious glint flashed in her eyes.

If it came down to only one of them surviving,

she'd pick Ji Qingqing without a second thought.

That being the case, why not be heartless and nip this in the bud?

"Marquis, have you come up with a plan?" Meng Shi tugged at Ji Nanchuan's sleeve and asked.

Ji Nanchuan's eyes were dark, with unreadable emotions flickering in them.

"Once the Canglang Poetry Talk wraps up tomorrow, the Emperor will throw a victory banquet in the palace for the winner. Then you go to Baiyun Temple and bring a Taoist priest back. I'll figure out a way to get him into the palace."

Meng Shi instantly caught Ji Nanchuan's hidden meaning—he wanted to use superstition to get rid of Ji Yuntang.

Meng Shi had a feeling this wasn't going to work, and she frowned as she asked, "Marquis, is this plan even going to work?"

"Why wouldn't it?" Ji Nanchuan said grimly. "The current Emperor is most devoted to Taoism. Besides going to court, he's obsessed with Taoist cultivation all day. To live longer and become immortal, he pours a fortune every year into building Taoist temples."

"The Emperor might not listen to just anyone, but whatever a Taoist master from Baiyun Temple says, he does it without question."

"The Marquis's household is already badly weakened and can't take any more trouble. Instead of getting our hands dirty, let's get the Emperor to do the dirty work for us."

"We just need to pull some strings in the middle, and we can redirect the feud between us and Ji Yuntang onto the royal family and Prince Ye's household. When they go head-to-head, who do you think wins—the Emperor or Ji Yuntang?"

It suddenly clicked for Meng Shi, and she thought the plan was vicious, sure, but damn it was clever.

Everyone has something they care about.

And all Emperor Jingyang cares about is living forever and keeping his throne.

Since he's into Taoism, they can use that against him and play to his interests.

At that point, all they need is for the Taoist master to whisper in Emperor Jingyang's ear, painting Ji Yuntang as a bad omen.

By then, the Emperor won't be able to stand Ji Yuntang, and they won't have to lift a finger.

Once she becomes a thorn in the Emperor's side, Ji Yuntang is as good as dead.

All they had to do was sit back and watch the fireworks!

Meng Shi beamed and said happily, "The Marquis's plan is truly brilliant. Then at dawn tomorrow, I'll head to Baiyun Temple myself and bring a Taoist priest down."

Ji Nanchuan gave a slight nod. "Mm, if you want something done right, you gotta spend money."

"Tomorrow, take my token to Jincheng Bank and withdraw a hundred thousand taels in silver notes. Money talks. This time, no matter what, we've got to get this done right!"

Meng Shi stepped up, poured him a cup of tea, and handed it to him with a sweet smile.

"We've been married all these years—surely you trust me to handle this, Marquis?"

Just the thought of getting rid of that thorn in her side, Ji Yuntang, made her giddy with joy.

Before Ji Yuntang came back, the whole household was happy and harmonious—parents loving, kids dutiful.

After Ji Yuntang came back, the old lady got sick, Ji Huaiche's reputation tanked, Ji Qingfeng stopped trying, and Ji Zihang lost all his dignity.

Even Ji Qingqing had been bullied by Ji Yuntang more than once, running back crying to Meng Shi every time.

Everyone in the household had changed because of Ji Yuntang, and Meng Shi saw it and fumed inside.

She figured that even if Ji Yuntang was her own flesh and blood, even if she owed her a ton of guilt,

watching her four kids get picked on by her, no matter how guilty she felt, it would turn into pure hatred.

She didn't owe Ji Yuntang a damn thing.

On the contrary, Ji Yuntang should be grateful that she gave her life.

But as it turned out, Ji Yuntang was nothing but an ungrateful snake. After coming back, she was dead set on revenge, even pretending to be weak and useless to let their guard down.

This bitch is way too cunning. Someone like her is better off dead!

All she needed was Ji Qingqing as her daughter!

With Ji Nanchuan's plan, Meng Shi was overjoyed and felt a huge weight off her shoulders.

But her joy didn't last long—the noise from the street below caught her eye again.

When Meng Shi saw what was happening, her eyes nearly popped out of her head—she wished she could charge down there and kill Ji Yuntang right then and there!

Out on the street, Ji Yuntang slapped Ji Zihang thirty times and forced him to apologize.

At first, Ji Zihang clamped his mouth shut and refused to say a word.

But every time he stayed quiet, Ji Yuntang would slap him again.

She beat Ji Zihang until he was spitting blood and had lost two teeth.

Ji Zihang didn't stand a chance against Ji Yuntang.

He shot a desperate look at Ji Huaiche, but Ji Huaiche was held back by Chen Hu and couldn't do anything either.

Ji Zihang broke down. In that moment, he realized that pride meant nothing against raw power.

Not to mention, he was the one who picked a fight with Ji Yuntang, so he had no leg to stand on.

Ji Yuntang outranked him, so all he could do was take the beating.

After finally getting through the apology and the beating, Ji Zihang thought he was finally done!

But to his surprise, Ji Yuntang stopped him again.

She said with a cold laugh, "The matter of you falsely accusing this Princess is settled, but the matter of Prince Ye's carriage going out of control and nearly running someone over isn't settled yet."

"If this Princess isn't wrong, you're the one who set up that accident, Ji Zihang, aren't you?"

Ji Zihang went pale, and his heart skipped a beat.

He thought he'd done it without leaving a trace—how did Ji Yuntang know?

Before Ji Zihang could figure it out, Ji Huaiche couldn't help but yell at her in fury:

Ji Yuntang, are you ever going to stop? You've already hit A Hang and made him apologize, and now you're accusing him of being involved in the carriage incident with Prince Ye's residence."

"Your carriage hit someone, and instead of punishing the servant who was leading the horse, you're targeting A Hang. What does this have to do with him? Don't bully others just because you're the Prince's consort!"

Ji Yuntang let out a cold snort and curled her lips contemptuously.

"Ridiculous, if you hadn't provoked me, would I have bullied you?"

"A wolf in sheep's clothing doesn't make it a goat—you're being way too hypocritical!"

Ji Huaiche clenched his fists, knowing he couldn't win against Ji Yuntang, so he gritted his teeth and asked her.

"You say the carriage incident is related to A Hang, what evidence do you have?"

Ji Yuntang smiled slightly, "Of course I have evidence. Let me, this princess, first point out a few suspicious points."

"After the competition today, Chen Hu came to pick me up. Our carriage was moving along fine when suddenly a small stone flew over and hit its backside, causing the horse to bolt in panic and knock over several vendors' stalls. Under normal circumstances, how could a stone fly in the street? That's the first suspicious point."

"I wasn't in the carriage at the time, so I saw clearly that there was no little girl on the street initially. But after the carriage lost control, a little girl holding a candied hawthorn skewer suddenly appeared. Where did she come from, and why was she standing in the middle of the road? That's the second suspicious point."

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