The room was filled with people, stunned and dazed, as if in a dream.
How could something that even the doctors could not help be accomplished by a mere good-for-nothing?
Ji Zizhao’s dark eyes were calm. Under everyone’s gaze, she opened her medicine box and began bandaging her grandmother.
Her movements were skilled and methodical.
The old madam’s eyes fluttered open, and she felt as if she had died and come back to life.
Her blurry vision gradually cleared. When she finally saw the red figure busily attending to her, a flicker of surprise appeared in her weathered eyes.
Her eldest granddaughter had always loved fiddling with various bottles and jars in her courtyard since she was young. Her room was also filled with unknown plants and flowers.
The old madam had always disdained this. She had even ordered people to smash and burn everything in the courtyard in an attempt to force her granddaughter to study military strategy and martial arts.
The Ji family was a military household. To be without the strength to even lift a chicken was to be a failure!
Yet today, as she was teetering on the brink of death, it was this eldest granddaughter, whom she had always considered useless, who pulled her back.
Ji Zizhao tied off the bandaged cloth and then sat by the bedside. “Grandmother, how are you feeling?” Su Dan Novel Network
The old madam nodded, then furrowed her brow slightly and said, “I was going to leave sooner or later, why did you come back?”
Once married, a woman was like spilled water, how could she still worry and work for the Ji family?
Ji Zizhao smiled as if coaxing a child. “Now that I’m back, I’m not leaving.”
Even without asking, the old madam knew that today was Ji Zizhao’s wedding day.
Now that she had returned, there were only two possible outcomes: either divorced or separated.
After a long silence, she said to Granny Xu, who was standing by her side, “Go and fetch the Ji family’s official seal.”
This eldest granddaughter had grown up by the side of the old master.
The old master had even said that if anything happened to the Ji family, Zhaojie would be the one to take charge.
With the Ji family in its current state, she naturally hoped for someone to quickly tidy up this mess.
Lin Wanyun, clutching a handkerchief, hesitated several times.
Seeing Granny Xu bring over the Ji family’s seal, she could no longer hold back and said, “Old madam, please reconsider!”
Whether divorced or separated, Zha’er’s reputation would be ruined.
She was her daughter, how could she not be heartbroken!
The old madam frowned and looked displeasuredly at Lin Wanyun. “The Ji family is in trouble, and as the eldest daughter of the Ji family, she has a responsibility to return. Even if her reputation is important, how can it be more important than the future of the entire Ji family?”
Lin Wanyun’s tears instantly welled up. Looking at the old madam’s utter selfishness, she was rendered speechless.
Were the older ones meant to die for nothing?!
“Mother, don’t cry. This is what I should do and what I am willing to do.” Ji Zizhao turned to her mother and smiled, then solemnly took the Ji family’s seal from Granny Xu.
Having been in a daze for so many years, she had always gone with the flow.
If it weren’t for her grandfather and uncles getting into trouble this time, she might have followed her grandfather’s arrangements and gotten married.
Because she did not wish to disappoint her grandfather, who had loved her so deeply.
Now that the Ji family was in decline, it was time for her to step forward.
Only then…
Would she not have failed her grandfather’s kindness and care for her until now!
After the old madam recounted the old master’s instructions, she wearily waved her hand at everyone.
However, after everyone had left, she suddenly turned to Granny Xu beside her and said, “Go and send someone to inquire about whether they and their mother have been affected by anything. Also, send them extra monthly wages and tell them to prepare a few courtyards for me in advance.”
Granny Xu was taken aback by her words. “Old madam, do you not trust the eldest young lady?”
“The Ji family is in turmoil now. If the Emperor truly condemns the Ji family, someone must step forward to resist. Since the old master thought highly of Zhaojie, she must bear the burden for the Ji family. The Ji family cannot do without anyone, but she is the most dispensable,” the old madam calculated clearly and logically.
The Ji family had been a military household for a hundred years. Even if the Emperor was truly angry, at most it would be a warning.
At that time, she would let the most useless Zhaojie take the blame, and then she would take the others to seek refuge elsewhere.
In this way, the entire Ji family would be preserved.
Ji Zizhao walked out with the others, her mind filled with the military report of the day.
She knew the character of her grandfather and uncles and was more certain than ever that the so-called stubbornness and arbitrary actions were nothing more than false charges.
However, once these charges were established, the Ji family would face anything from confiscation of property and exile to, at worst, the execution of the entire clan.
Therefore, she had to find out the truth and clear the Ji family’s name before the Second Prince returned to the imperial city to mourn.
“I wonder what the old madam was thinking, handing the Ji family over to the most useless person,” the third daughter-in-law, Yin Wenying, muttered sarcastically.
If her own daughter hadn’t married out so early, how could this family’s leadership have fallen to such a good-for-nothing?
Hearing the third madam’s words, the others remained silent.
In their hearts, who could look up to this eldest young lady who had barely spoken a few words since childhood?
Ji Zizhao looked up as if following the sound. She could also see the doubt and contempt in everyone’s eyes.
She knew that her years of obscurity had made her voice insignificant in the mansion. She also knew that her past complacency had led everyone to believe she was simple and easily bullied.
Internal strife must be quelled, and external threats must be removed.
Take it slowly, no rush.
Things must be done one by one.
Lin Wanyun looked at everyone’s resentful, unwilling expressions. She took her daughter’s hand and quickly walked towards Zhaoyuan.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, Lin Wanyun anxiously said, “Zha’er, listen to your mother and quickly return to the Fifth Prince’s mansion. Although the Ji family seems to be living under one roof now, everyone has their own intentions. Moreover, if the Ji family is convicted, how will you bear it?”
Ji Zizhao smiled calmly, her eyes filled with mockery. “Mother, do you know that the Fifth Prince demoted me to a concubine, and his steward made me crawl into the side gate on my knees?”
Lin Wanyun’s pupils trembled.
Even now, she remembered the Fifth Prince’s earnest pleas before the old master.
How could things change so drastically?
“The Fifth Prince is naturally timid and might have listened to slander from others. Zha’er, this marriage was personally decided by your grandfather before he left. Do you really want to leave him restless in the netherworld?” Lin Wanyun felt that no matter what, they should return to the Fifth Prince’s mansion first, even if it meant lowering herself.
“My grandfather arranged this marriage for me to live a life of comfort, not to be humiliated. If grandfather knew about this today, he would definitely agree with my choice.”
The thought of her grandfather made Ji Zizhao’s heart ache as if it were being gouged.
In this world, perhaps no one could be as tolerant of her, indulge her completely, as her grandfather.
“Zha’er’s mind is made up, Mother need not persuade me further.”
“But can you bear the current Ji family?”
“If the Ji family falls, I will support it! If the Ji family collapses, I will carry it! Even if I am destined to be called a discarded wife by everyone in the imperial city, I will never allow the Ji family to become a chopping block, trampled into the mud!”
Lin Wanyun’s eyes widened. She saw her daughter standing before her with a solemn expression, her backbone as strong as steel, and her demeanor reserved and resolute.
Where was the timid, silent, and withdrawn daughter she once knew?
Such a daughter made her feel a strange sense of shock.
Xinlan rushed into the courtyard, her breathing unsteady, and called out, “Eldest young lady, something has happened!”