Chapter 487 He is Angry

"Didn't I tell you that as long as you follow my instructions, I'll ensure you and your young lady remain safe?"

Ming Xia's eyes brightened. "Are you serious, Princess Ye?"

"Of course." Ji Yuntang smiled slightly and leaned close to Ming Xia's ear to whisper a few words.

The more Ming Xia listened, the more her eyes sparkled, and she finally nodded repeatedly.

"Rest assured, Princess. I'll do exactly as you say and promise to put on a show even better than the real thing."

"Very well. I look forward to seeing what you can do."

After giving her instructions, Ji Yuntang left the Zhong residence together with Pei Zhiyi.

They came in silence and left the same way.

Once they reached a safe place, Ji Yuntang said to Pei Zhiyi, "Zhiyi, there's something I need your help with."

"Tangtang, we're good friends—no need to be so formal with each other. Just tell me what you need and I'll do it."

Ji Yuntang's heart warmed. She reached out and hugged Pei Zhiyi.

"Okay, I'll just come out and say it!"

"I want you to help me find Miss Zhong's sweetheart, Young Master He. I heard that Xu broke his legs and kicked him out back then. After that, he came to the house several times looking for Miss Zhong but never got to see her, and after that, no one knows where he went."

Pei Zhiyi patted her chest confidently. "Okay, I've got this covered. I'll head back now and get people on it right away."

It was already the middle of the night by the time Ji Yuntang got back to the Prince Ye Manor.

She'd planned to sneak in quietly so as not to disturb Luo Junhe's sleep, but then a deep, husky voice came from behind her.

"So you finally decided to come back, huh?"

Ji Yuntang turned around and saw Luo Junhe sitting three meters away, watching her with a dangerous look in his eyes.

Feeling a little guilty, she laughed nervously. "Haha, A He, you're still up this late?"

Luo Junhe looked up at her, his face slowly darkening. "You want to take a concubine for me—how am I supposed to sleep?"

Ji Yuntang was at a loss for words.

She knew it. This petty man still hadn't gotten past the whole concubine thing.

She walked over, pushed his wheelchair, and wheeled him into the room.

"A He, don't be mad. It's not like I actually got you a concubine, right?"

"Guess what I found out when I went out today?"

Luo Junhe pressed his lips together, saying nothing, waiting for Ji Yuntang to go on.

Then he heard her say, "I found out that the Miss Zhong who came was wearing a human skin mask—she's actually the maid who serves the real Miss Zhong."

"And the real Miss Zhong is so sick she can't even get out of bed. And her madness wasn't because of you—she was poisoned."

Luo Junhe's expression turned grim, and he said uncertainly, "A Tang, are you saying her madness is from poisoning?"

Ji Yuntang nodded. "I'm very sure. But as for who poisoned Miss Zhong, we'll have to ask her that ourselves."

"But I suspect that the reason Xu and Magistrate Zhong had Ming Xia pretend to be Miss Zhong for the marriage was because the Crown Prince put them up to it."

"Think about it—you and Miss Zhong are already divorced, so there's no relationship between you anymore. And we've been married for almost a year now. Why would he send her now, of all times, when Miss Zhong is about to die? And then claim you're the one who made his daughter like this, and demand you take responsibility? Does that make any sense?"

"It doesn't make sense, right? Magistrate Zhong is a nobody with a tiny official post. He can't even get a meeting with the Crown Prince on a normal day. This time, to suck up to the Crown Prince, he went so far as to have a maid pretend to be his daughter for the marriage. Why would he take such a big risk?"

After hearing Ji Yuntang's analysis, Luo Junhe's eyes grew even darker. "For the benefits."

Ji Yuntang said, "Exactly. It must be for the benefits—great wealth comes with great risk. Once the maid marries into the Prince Ye Manor, when the young lady gets a little better, they'll have her swap back with the maid, pulling off a seamless switch without anyone knowing."

"They'd use their daughter completely, suck up to the Crown Prince, and take over the Prince Ye Manor—what a perfect way to kill three birds with one stone!"

A faint sneer tugged at the corner of Luo Junhe's lips. He had to admit, this really was Luo Jingshen's way of doing things.

He probably never expected the Zhong family to send a fake young lady, did he?

Luo Junhe asked Ji Yuntang, "So, A Tang, have you figured out what to do?"

Ji Yuntang smiled at him. "I've decided to play along with their scheme and turn it into a way to kill two birds with one stone."

"A He, from now on, all you have to do is sit back and watch."

Luo Junhe nodded. "Alright, I trust you."

Early the next morning, Ji Yuntang picked out eighteen chests of betrothal gifts from the storeroom. She didn't pick the good ones—she filled them with the cheaper stuff.

They weren't worth much, but they were decent enough to show.

Chen Hu asked, puzzled, "Princess, are you really going to send betrothal gifts to the Zhong family?"

Ji Yuntang raised an eyebrow. "Of course. If we're getting a concubine for the Prince, we have to put on a proper show. We can't let people talk bad about the Prince Ye Manor."

Chen Hu's face went white. "Aren't you afraid that once Miss Zhong gets in, she'll turn the whole manor upside down?"

"I heard she's crazy..."

Ji Yuntang smiled lazily. "Don't worry, she's not getting in."

"All these betrothal gifts will come right back to me. The Zhong family won't get a single coin."

"Not only that, I'll make them bleed big time."

"Huh?" Chen Hu was confused. "Princess, what are you up to now?"

Ji Yuntang said, "You'll see tomorrow!"

Meanwhile, at the Zhong residence.

Xu was in high spirits that day. She sat in a recliner, lazily eating grapes.

"Once I kick that little tramp out of the house, the eighty thousand in dowry her dead mother left her will all be mine!"

Just thinking about it made her giddy.

Suddenly, a maid came rushing in, panicked. "Madam, madam! Something terrible happened—the young lady suddenly stopped breathing!"

Xu was so startled she sat bolt upright in her recliner. "What did you just say?"

The maid repeated, "After taking her medicine just now, the young lady collapsed to the ground, and no matter how we tried to wake her, she wouldn't come to."

"I reached out to check her, and only then did I realize she had stopped breathing—her heartbeat was gone too!"

Madam Xu was furious: "When the doctor came to see her yesterday, didn't he say she wasn't going to die anytime soon? How could she suddenly pass away like this?"

The maid kept her head lowered, trembling as she said, "This... I don't know either."

Madam Xu stood up, no longer in the mood for grapes. Her face cold, she said, "Let's go take a look."

They arrived at the woodshed, where Zhong Xinyu lay on the bed, pale-faced and motionless.

Meanwhile, Ming Xia knelt by the bedside, sobbing uncontrollably.

Seeing Madam Xu arrive, Ming Xia hurriedly rushed over and cried, "Madam, please, save the young lady!"

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