"Yongming, there is nothing we can do about this. You were a filial son before you died, and you always listened to your mother. Now... now you have to protect your brother... He... he can't do anything about it... This is all your fault. If you... why would it have come to this..."
As Mrs. Ji spoke, tears fell from her eyes. She inserted the incense stick in her hand into the incense burner in the middle and began to mutter to herself.
Aunt Xiang looked up at the eternal lamp above and tears immediately fell to her eyes. She was speechless and choked with emotion. She thought about how great a hero the uncle was in the past, but now there was only a lonely eternal lamp left. It made her sad to see it.
Kneeling on the cushion in the middle, Aunt Xiang picked up the paper thread at hand and burned it, tears streaming down her face, feeling extremely sad and miserable.
Hanging next to Ling Anbo was Ling Anbo's wife, Yue. Aunt Xiang was kneeling on a cushion between them, sobbing and unable to speak.
The maid brought by the old lady was burning paper money for Ling Anbo. The old lady herself was talking softly to Ling Anbo's incense burner. Her voice was very soft, but Qu Moying heard it all.
She came in through the side door.
Yudong sneaked in first, turned to the side door, opened the side door for Qu Moying, led her in, and then waited behind the gate. When he saw Madam Ji coming, he lit the sachet, and then Qu Moying retreated to the gauze curtain behind.
The side door happened to be facing this side, and the door was slightly open. A light breeze blew over, blowing back all the smoke from the burning, causing the gauze curtain to sway slowly.
Not very big, not noticeable.
"Yongming, your niece is now the concubine of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace. Please bless her to reach a higher level, and also bless our Ji Mansion to be more prosperous and flourish..." Madam Ji muttered to herself. After saying a few words, she thought for a while and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. "Your brother even gave his son to you, fearing that no one would worship you in the future. Now you can rest assured. Your brother is thinking of you after all."
She was a little tired of talking, so she took a cushion and sat down in front of her son's eternal lamp, muttering again. Things had been going wrong recently, making Madam Ji very frightened, especially after what happened last night. This reminded her of what happened when Ji Hanyue entered the East Palace, and she felt scared.
After saying this to my son, I felt a little comforted and not so panicked anymore.
A hint of cruelty and anger flashed in Qu Moying's eyes. Even at this time, Madam Ji still thought that her second son was a good person and was wholeheartedly praying for Ji Youran's safety.
Daddy has died a long time ago, and Madam Ji knew it, but she still worked with the second wife to whitewash the situation, making it seem as if Daddy had really died of illness not long ago. Such behavior is outrageous, and yet she still has the nerve to beg Daddy to bless the second wife with safety and Ji Youran with wealth.
"Grandma..." After calculating the time, Qu Moying lowered his voice.
Madam Ji reached out and touched her forehead, feeling more and more weak. She seemed to have heard the voice of her second granddaughter just now. The second granddaughter was the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace. She also lit a perpetual lamp inside, but it was lit in a small room at the innermost part. Not everyone could go to worship, even her, could not enter, and could only worship outside at most.
"Grandma..." Another voice seemed to come faintly, this time closer. Was it Han Yue's voice? Compared to the other granddaughters, Han Yue's voice was much more dignified and gentle, with a unique charm, completely different from the others. Even if it was just a voice, Mrs. Ji was
Can taste some differences.
"Did you hear anything?" Madam Ji asked in panic. She moved her hands but became increasingly powerless.
Aunt Xiang knelt on the ground, motionless, as if she had fainted from crying.
The old woman next to her raised her eyes to look at Madam Ji and said in a stammering voice, "Madam... this old servant... seems to have heard the Crown Princess' voice."
"Grandma... you are finally here..." The vague voice came again. Mrs. Ji's face was pale and she was trembling all over.
The old woman at the side also made a clattering sound, which was the sound of her upper and lower gums fighting. The paper money in her hand fell, and the old woman stepped back, huddled into a ball. She was the old lady's confidant and knew some things. She just felt that at this moment, the whole hall was cold and gloomy, and she was powerless to move.
It's like... the kind called... sleep paralysis, right
“Han... Hanyue, is it Hanyue...?” Madam Ji was equally panicked and powerless. She almost collapsed on the futon. She tried hard to wake herself up, but she had to exert more strength to move even a little. All her strength was almost lost in this voice.
“Grandma… I died so unjustly… Daddy also died unjustly… We must seek justice for you…” The vague voice came from nowhere. Mrs. Ji was dizzy and everything was messy. She seemed to see Ji Hanyue vaguely, with blood on her face.
Not only Ji Hanyue, but also Ji Yongming, who was also covered in blood, but smiled at her gently, just like the day he was alive.
“No… no… no, don’t look for me. It’s not me… it’s not me… I… I can’t help it…” Mrs. Ji was trembling. She felt that she had exhausted all her strength, but her voice was not loud. “It was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince… It was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s intention. Who told you… Who told you…”
Having said this, Mrs. Ji shuddered and quickly stopped talking, shaking her head vigorously. The figures of her granddaughter and son seemed to fade away a little.
This is the main hall, the Buddhist temple, where the eternal lamps are lit. There are no concubines and no sons here.
She is here to pay tribute to them today, it's okay, it's okay!
"Grandma..." This time the faint voice seemed to be right next to her ear. Madam Ji felt a faint cold air blowing towards her neck. She saw a strand of her hair being blown in front of her eyes, and the cold air was still on her neck.
"Ah!" Mrs. Ji screamed.
But the voice still sounded very low to outsiders. Qu Moying stood behind Madam Ji, looking at her fearful expression as she almost fainted, and the corners of his lips curled up silently.
On the other side, the old woman from the Ji Mansion was so scared that she closed her eyes and kept shivering on the ground, not daring to look outside.
“Grandma… I died so tragically. I’m here to claim my life now. I want to find Ji Youran… Daddy has already gone to find Second Uncle…” Qu Moying lowered his voice and whispered in Madam Ji’s ear.
“Don’t… don’t… don’t be like this…” Madam Ji felt like she was about to collapse. She stared straight ahead and could only beg subconsciously.
“Grandmother, Ji Youran harmed me... and wanted to take my position as Crown Princess. Second Uncle harmed Dad and wanted to take his title... Grandmother... Do you think we should kill them all? Not just them, but also Xiao and Ji Yuanxing..." Qu Moying said with a sinister smile
, with a cold look in his eyes.
She would even do it herself if she could.
"No, Hanyue, no, really no, everything is yours, they can't take it away, they have no choice, the prince's intention is the prince's intention... Hanyue... Hanyue, it's really not what you think... Hanyue, I... I don't know either, really, your second uncle said that he will... will find out clearly."
Madam Ji cried incoherently. At this moment, she said whatever she wanted to say and dared not hide anything.
"Ji Youran will never get my position... But what about Second Uncle... I heard that Second Uncle wants to deal with the First House... He wants to cut off everything in the First House and deal with Aunt Xiang and Ji Yuanhai..."
The sound, accompanied by the cold wind that came and went, made the lady feel terrified.
"No, they don't want to deal with Xiang Yi Niang and Yuan Hai. There are still people in the first house. With Xiang Yi Niang and Yuan Hai, no one will snatch them away."
"Madam Xiang is just a concubine, and Yuan Hai is just a prince..." The floating voice was getting closer and closer. Madam Ji almost saw a vague shadow in front of her, as if it was Ji Hanyue, stretching out her long and sharp claws, ready to grab her. She hurriedly shouted, "Madam Xiang can be promoted to a co-wife. Wait a few more years, and I will submit a memorial to request a title."
Madam Ji was almost fainting. She agreed to everything at this point and dared not say "no". As a lady of the first rank, she could also submit a memorial directly.
"Please confer a title on me? Grandmother... do you think your words... count..."
"Yes...Yes, I will do what I say. You...you and your father must let You Ran and the others go. They didn't mean to do this. They had no choice. It was the prince's intention. You...don't blame them. They didn't intend to take your place..."
The lady broke down and burst into tears.
"Really?"
"Really, really, I promise, I promise it must be true." The lady nodded repeatedly.
"Then I'll wait... and watch Grandmother carry Concubine Xiang up... and protect Ji Yuanhai... our eldest wife... last night... Ji Youran... was waiting to die... I also brought offerings here to worship my father and mother..."
The sound became more and more erratic, and there was even a faint sound of wind.
No matter what Madam Ji heard or not, she kept nodding, fearing that if she nodded too slowly, Ji Hanyue would take her life, and then the entire Ji family would die in the revenge of this father and daughter.
Both the eldest son and granddaughter died on that day. The second son said that the eldest son had the intention of treason and that the crown prince had ordered the action. If she did not cooperate, the entire Ji family would be destroyed. She really had no choice. Wasn’t the eldest son her son? Wasn’t he the son she was most proud of
But for the sake of the entire Ji Mansion, she couldn't say anything. It really wasn't her fault. It couldn't be her fault...
His consciousness gradually blurred, and he could only mutter a few words, "Madam Xiang, take it up... Protect Yuan Hai..."
She was old, anxious and scared, and almost fainted at this time, with her head drooping and falling on the mat.
Qu Moying looked coldly at Madam Ji lying listlessly on the ground, glanced at the incense sachets that had been burnt, asked Yudong and Yuchun to put down part of the offerings, turned around and left, and after going out through the side door, he took Yuchun and Yudong into the front door of the main hall.
Qu Qiuyan, who had been watching this place from a distance, was overjoyed and waved her hand. Qing Ju hurried out to find Aunt Qing...