Chapter 169
Ji Lingxue looked sympathetic and pointed at the pillow in Xiao Yichen's hand and said, "Your Majesty, why don't you go back to accompany Concubine Yun?"
"Xue'er..."
Ji Lingxue bowed her head and said, "My Lord, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave."
Xiao Yichen felt like he had no way to defend himself. He opened his mouth to say something, but Ji Lingxue rolled her eyes and walked into Yilan Courtyard, slamming the door shut.
Xiao Yichen looked at the closed door and sighed. He rubbed his forehead with his hand and turned to walk towards the study. He still had a lot of things to deal with.
Ji Lingxue had just returned to the room when Mo Xiang walked in with a candle lit. She happily pulled Ji Lingxue around and said, "Master, you're back. It's great!" Ji Lingxue's eyes fell on Mo Xiang's cheek.
"Mo Xiang, what's wrong with your face?" Ji Lingxue raised her hand to touch Mo Xiang's face.
Mo Xiang nervously took a step back, "Master, my face is nothing..."
"The more you try to hide something, the more obvious it becomes?" Ji Lingxue raised her hand and wiped Mo Xiang's cheek with a handkerchief.
Although Mo Xiang covered it up with rouge and powder, she was still keenly aware that that area was different from the rest of her skin color.
"Mo Xiang, why is your face bruised? What happened?" Ji Lingxue frowned.
Mo Xiang covered her cheek and smiled: "I... accidentally fell while walking."
Ji Lingxue frowned even more tightly. This lie was too absurd. She didn't believe it. How could one fall down and get bruised while walking? Mo Xiang was not a careless person.
Ji Lingxue said: "Mo Xiang, you never lie to me. You and I have always grown up together. Is there anything you can't tell me? Who bullied you when I was away, Ji Yuqing or Yiyun?"
Mo Xiang lowered her head and didn't dare to look into Ji Lingxue's eyes. She didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but how could she escape her master's sharp eyes.
After a moment, Mo Xiang said, "It's the maidservant beside Concubine Yun..."
The story began yesterday morning. After Ji Lingxue and Xiao Yichen left the palace, Mo Xiang, who had just returned from her hometown after celebrating the New Year, was blocked at the backyard door by Concubine Yun's maid Linglan, who ridiculed her as soon as she got back to the palace.
During the Chinese New Year this year, only Mo Xiang and An Ge from Ji Lingxue's courtyard received big red envelopes and were allowed to go home to reunite with their families. There is no wall that is impenetrable in the world. The other maids and old women in the palace were envious and jealous of Mo Xiang. Many of them tried to bribe Mo Xiang and wanted to transfer her to Ji Lingxue's courtyard.
Unfortunately, Ji Lingxue liked quietness, so Mo Xiang naturally declined. In the eyes of other maids and servants, Mo Xiang was aloof, and looked down on others because her master was the princess. So a few jealous maids and servants surrounded Mo Xiang at the backyard door, taught her a lesson, and took away the change and cakes from her.
Mo Xiang originally wanted to find Ji Lingxue to complain, but when she returned to Yilan Courtyard, she found out that Ji Lingxue and Xiao Yichen had secretly left Beijing. She had to swallow this loss herself.
Ji Lingxue sneered, "How could a maid have the guts to bully me? It's obvious that the master is behind it." She didn't want to cause trouble for Yiyun, but she brought trouble upon herself.
The next morning, Ji Lingxue brought Mo Xiang to Yiyun's yard early. Hearing that Ji Lingxue was coming, Yiyun had to drag her sick body and let Linglan clean up for her before going out to greet her. This was the basic etiquette of a concubine to a wife.
Yiyun was supported and walked towards Ji Lingxue, "Greetings, Princess Sister... Ahem... Why are you here? I'm sorry for not welcoming you..."
Ji Lingxue let her sleeves hang down, and round soybeans fell from her sleeves. Yiyun didn't notice and stepped on the soybeans. She leaned forward and fell heavily to the ground, her knees and elbows hurting.
Yiyun's fall scared Linglan who was standing beside her and she screamed and hurried to help Yiyun.
Linglan: "Concubine Yun... are you okay?"
The yard had been cleaned early in the morning, so how could he have fallen? Linglan looked down, and the golden beans stung her eyes and caused a layer of cold sweat to appear on her back.
Ji Lingxue sneered, "What are you doing, Concubine Yun? You don't have to be so polite. You are still weak."
Yiyun's face was pale and she kept coughing, "It's only right for a sister to visit and show respect to a younger sister... cough cough..." She knew what was going on, but she could only follow Ji Lingxue's words. She was trying to establish her authority.
Ji Lingxue said, "Concubine Yun, I came here today to ask you if you know that my maid Mo Xiang was bullied by your personal maid Ling Lan?"
Yiyun turned her head to look at Linglan beside her. The master and servant exchanged glances. Yiyun said, "Sister, you don't know. Linglan has always been gentle. I'm afraid there are some misunderstandings..."
Ji Lingxue walked in front of Linglan. Linglan, who was already guilty, knelt down and confessed: "Princess...Princess...I didn't mean to bully Sister Moxiang. It was the old woman in the kitchen who instigated me...Princess, please forgive me, please forgive me."
Ji Lingxue raised her hand and a loud slap came down. Linglan covered her slapped cheek and looked at Ji Lingxue with red eyes. There was awe and fear in her eyes. This princess who usually had a low presence actually hit her.
Ji Lingxue said, "You slapped Mo Xiang, I'm going to get it back for her." Then she slapped her twice, "I don't know if you've heard of the saying that you have to look at the owner when you beat a dog. You bully my maid and you're bullying me. I'll teach you a lesson."
After three slaps, Linglan's face became red and swollen like a pig's head. She was no longer as pretty and charming as before. Her eyes were filled with tears and she looked at Ji Lingxue in panic.
"Princess, she's just a maid. She knows she's wrong. Can't you just forgive her?" Yiyun said.
Ji Lingxue turned her head and looked at Yiyun and sneered: "Concubine Yun, you are an ignorant maid. I will replace you with two obedient ones." After saying that, she turned and left, and Linglan was also dragged away.
Yiyun covered her chest with a pale face, coughed from time to time, and her eyes were full of unwillingness. Ji Lingxue, you actually ruined the maid you trained with so much effort
She was unwilling to give up, but she was helpless in the face of Linglan's cry for help.
Yiyun stood quietly in the wind, watching Linglan's voice and shadow gradually disappear.
After hearing about this, Ji Yuqing hurried to Yiyun's room to comfort her, "Sister Yiyun, you have to be more open-minded. Ji Lingxue used this trick on me before. Look, my current maid is much more obedient than before."
Yiyun coughed and said, "Ahem, Linglan is different. She and I grew up together... Ji Lingxue said she would transfer her away, and she acted like a princess..."
Ji Yuqing said: "That's because the prince spoiled her. We concubines all live by her will. Alas, you are the same. How did you spoil Linglan to be so arrogant and go looking for trouble with Mo Xiang?"
Yiyun sighed and said, forget it, there is no point blaming anyone now.
Xiao Yichen went out early to attend the morning court and did not come back until dark. As soon as he came back, he entered Ji Lingxue's yard.
Ji Lingxue couldn't help but frown after hearing what Xiao Yichen said, "The emperor doesn't want to reconcile with Dayan, why is that?"
The emperor doesn't want peace and prosperity for the country, so why is Xiao Yimo an exception
Xiao Yichen said, "At the end of last year, Yuchi Gongru caused a panic in Kyoto with the serial female corpse case, which offended the royal family. Now that Dayan has taken the initiative to make peace, my brother will naturally put on some airs."
Ji Lingxue lowered her eyes, "In this case, my brother's trip to Kyoto must be dangerous."
Yuchi Gong was afraid that the world would not be in chaos. He had intended to come to Dongqi again, so he would not let Yuchi Ruge come to Dongqi so smoothly. On the other hand, Xiao Yimo was not so eager to negotiate peace, so he naturally set up some obstacles for Ruge to stop him from coming to Dongqi.
Xiao Yichen nodded, "Also, there is something else I want to tell you..."
Ji Lingxue looked into Xiao Yichen's eyes seriously, waiting for him to continue speaking.
Xiao Yichen said: "Someone deliberately spread rumors about your identity. Now my brother has summoned Ji Baichuan into the palace. He has admitted that you are not his biological daughter. My brother summoned me into the palace today... just to ask me to appoint a new princess."
Ji Lingxue stared into Xiao Yichen's eyes and smiled coldly, "What do you mean, Your Majesty?"
Xiao Yichen opened his arms and embraced Ji Lingxue, "Xue'er... There are so many eyes watching outside, I have to pretend. I know that I will wrong you by doing this, but you believe me... I love you..."
Ji Lingxue gradually lowered her eyes and stopped talking. Xiao Yichen bent down to kiss her forehead, but she turned her head away.
Ji Lingxue smiled and said, "Xiao Yichen, should I believe you?"
Xiao Yichen held Ji Lingxue's hand tightly. The cold wind blew in through the window, and Ji Lingxue felt inexplicably chilled...
The next afternoon, Xiao Yichen summoned everyone in the palace and demoted Ji Lingxue to a concubine on the grounds that she had no children for three years.
Ji Lingxue kept her head down and remained silent until Xiao Yichen turned and left, until Ji Yuqing's cold laugh drifted into her ears: "Sister, are you okay?"
Ji Lingxue looked up at Ji Yuqing. She pulled a hairpin out of her hair and threw it on the ground, saying, "Ouch, why did my hairpin fall off? Sister, can you please help me pick it up?"
Ji Lingxue reached out to pick it up, and at this moment Ji Yuqing raised her foot and stepped on the back of Ji Lingxue's hand and crushed it hard, with a somewhat cold smile on her lips.
Ji Lingxue, you have come to this day. I have been waiting for this day for a long time. You were the one who was so arrogant before, but how does it feel to be stepped on by me now
Ji Lingxue couldn't pull her hand away, so she lowered her head and gritted her teeth in pain. It was not until Ji Yuqing moved her foot away that she rubbed the red back of her hand that was left by the muddy footprints.
Ji Yuqing was very satisfied with Ji Lingxue's attitude of not resisting or getting angry. She laughed twice and left.
Mo Xiang stumbled to Ji Lingxue and asked with red eyes: "Princess, are you okay?"
Ji Lingxue pouted and said, "I'm not a princess now, don't yell like that in the future."
Mo Xiang said: "Is status so important? Just because of the emperor's words, the three years of love between the prince and the princess are gone. How could he treat you like this... wuwu..."
Ji Lingxue slowly stood up, patted the wrinkles on her clothes and said, "Okay, don't be sad, let's go back."
Mo Xiang said with a sad face: "The housekeeper just kicked me out of Yilan Courtyard. He said we should move back to the side courtyard."
The side courtyard was naturally the courtyard where they lived before. It was later struck by lightning and was renovated.
(End of this chapter)