Chapter 476 Trouble Returns

Chapter 476: Trouble Strikes Again

Yet, what Ji Nanchuan hadn't anticipated was Luo Jingshen's ruthlessness.

He wouldn't even spare his own flesh and blood.

With Ji Qingqing's child gone, Ji Nanchuan could never hope to latch onto the Crown Prince's coattails again.

Ji Nanchuan collapsed to the ground, as if all the strength had been drained from his body. He hung his head in despair and said, "It's over, it's over. Heaven is determined to destroy my Yongning Marquis Manor!"

Hua Feixue stood outside the door, coldly watching the scene, a smirk curling at her lips.

Serves them right! This is what they get for digging their own graves.

They thought Luo Jingshen was the best patron they could find, little knowing he was narrow-minded, selfish, and self-serving.

The moment this matter threatened his own interests, Luo Jingshen would cast the person aside without hesitation.

Ji Nanchuan had tried to scheme with a tiger, and in the end, it only backfired on himself.

Hua Feixue couldn't help but think that if Ji Yuntang knew about this, she would probably be quite pleased!

Ji Nanchuan returned to the Yongning Marquis Manor with a gloomy face. As soon as he entered, Meng Shi rushed up to him and eagerly asked, "Marquis, you're back. Has Qing Qing been rescued by the Crown Prince?"

She shouldn't have brought it up. The mere mention of it ignited Ji Nanchuan's fury. He raised his hand and slapped Meng Shi across the face.

"You have the nerve to bring that up! If you hadn't told me that Qing Qing was carrying the Crown Prince's child, would I have rashly gone to beg him to release her?"

Meng Shi had no idea why Ji Nanchuan had struck her. She covered her face and said with a pained expression, "Marquis, on the night before the betrothal banquet, Qing Qing only slept with the Crown Prince. The child she carries is his!"

Ji Nanchuan's face turned ashen with rage. "The Crown Prince refuses to acknowledge it! They never married, never bowed to heaven and earth. A child just appears out of nowhere—how can the royal family acknowledge her? And what will outsiders think of our Yongning Marquis Manor?"

"Now look what's happened! The Crown Prince had the imperial physician brew a bowl of abortifacient and force it down Qing Qing's throat. The child is gone. This is all because of the foolish idea you, her mother, came up with!"

Ji Nanchuan still couldn't forget the scene when he went to see Ji Qingqing in the prison cell earlier.

She lay unconscious on the ground, filthy and disheveled, blood pooling beneath her. Her once beautiful face was unrecognizable, like a beggar on the street.

If Ji Qingqing's case hadn't been unresolved, Luo Jingshen probably wouldn't have cared whether she lived or died.

In the end, it was only out of respect for Ji Nanchuan that Zhao Chengjiu had a physician brought in to treat Ji Qingqing in the cell.

As for Luo Jingshen, he didn't even spare Ji Qingqing a single glance before leaving the yamen.

It was said that as he left, he had a stunning woman in red by his side, and the two seemed quite intimate.

What Ji Nanchuan didn't know was that the woman was none other than Hua Feixue. Because he had been in the prison cell at the time, he missed the chance to cross paths with her.

Meng Shi looked utterly incredulous. She furrowed her brows and said, "That's impossible. Qing Qing told me that the Crown Prince was frightened by the explosion that night and became impotent. The imperial physicians examined him but couldn't cure him. Logically, he should have kept this child!"

"Hmph, that's just your own speculation. The Crown Prince has long since recovered. They say when he went to the yamen today, he had a beauty in red by his side—a concubine he just bought out from the Huamanlou brothel."

"Among the women he's had before, has any ever been taken out in public like that? Now he's flaunting this woman so openly—isn't he just trying to dispel the rumors of his impotence?"

"I think the Crown Prince is healthier than anyone."

Ji Nanchuan grew angrier as he spoke, and he kicked Meng Shi again.

"Meng Shi, you and your daughter have ruined me!"

Finally, he issued an order: "I don't want to see Meng Shi's repulsive face anymore. Lock her in the back courtyard room. No one is to release her without my permission."

Unfortunately, Meng Shi had only been free for a day before being locked up again.

No matter how she pleaded, Ji Nanchuan showed not a shred of mercy.

When Ji Yuntang learned of this, she inwardly praised Hua Feixue's cunning.

With her own efforts alone, she had caused Ji Qingqing's child to be aborted, driven a permanent wedge between Ji Nanchuan and Luo Jingshen, and forced the Yongning Marquis Manor into a dead end.

Without Luo Jingshen's protection, Ji Nanchuan would surely be ostracized everywhere in court.

Previously, with the Crown Prince's backing and Ji Qingqing as the prospective Crown Princess, countless people had flocked to curry favor with him.

Now, with the Crown Prince cutting ties and Ji Qingqing stripped of her status as prospective Crown Princess, those who once fawned over him now cursed and mocked him behind his back, saying he had no discernment and failed to raise his daughter properly.

In time, Ji Nanchuan would surely lose credibility in front of Emperor Jingyang.

Ji Yuntang felt immensely grateful that she had been wise enough to ally with Hua Feixue, ensuring the woman was on her side.

Otherwise, given Hua Feixue's vindictive nature, if she truly set her sights on revenge, she would have caused Ji Yuntang no small amount of trouble.

Just as Ji Yuntang was thinking this, trouble indeed came knocking at her door.

The next day, while she was reading in the courtyard, Tao Zhi suddenly rushed in breathlessly and reported, "Princess, something's wrong! A middle-aged couple has arrived outside, claiming to be Prince Ye's in-laws. They want to enter the manor to see Prince Ye."

"The guards recognized they weren't Marquis Ji and Meng Shi, nor Duke Rong and Madam Cai, so they blocked them from entering. But the woman has refused to leave the gates of our Prince Ye Manor!"

"With so many people passing by on the street, the guards couldn't very well drive them away by force, so they sent me to ask what should be done."

Ji Yuntang was momentarily taken aback. People claiming to be Luo Junhe's in-laws, yet the guards didn't recognize them.

Her first thought was—could the Wu family have returned?

However, she quickly dismissed that idea.

Wu Jinxi was dead, and Chen Huaxiu was currently busy with that case. She wouldn't have the leisure to come to the Prince Ye Manor to see Luo Junhe.

Moreover, if it really were Chen Huaxiu and Wu Shijie, Tao Zhi would certainly recognize them.

With that thought, Ji Yuntang rose to her feet. She set down her book and said casually, "Come, I have nothing better to do anyway. Let's go see what this is about."

She was curious to see who would be bold enough to impersonate Prince Ye's in-laws.

Ji Yuntang followed Tao Zhi toward the manor gates. Before she even reached the entrance, she heard a woman's shrill voice cursing.

"Those who say we're impersonating Prince Ye's in-laws, open your dog eyes and look carefully! We are the Zhong family from the southern part of the city."

"My daughter was married to Prince Ye a year ago with full ceremony—three betrothals, eight sedan chairs, and they bowed to heaven and earth! How can she not be considered Prince Ye's princess?"

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