At a quarter past the hour of You, the Fifth Prince's carriage departed his residence, parading through the city and drawing the attention of the imperial capital's citizens. An incense stick later, it stopped openly before the Ji family's gate.
On the steps, the Ji family's main gate was shut tight, presenting a clear sign of refusal to receive guests.
Seeing this, Luo Hong, who followed the carriage, frowned and grumbled, "The Ji family truly grows more presumptuous by the day."
Xie Jingzhou rebuked sharply, "Luo Hong, mind your tongue."
Luo Hong trembled all over, daring not to speak further.
Soon, the carriage door opened, and Xie Jingzhou shakily stepped out. At this moment, he had lost all his earlier sternness, replaced by eyes full of timidity and cowardice.
Under the gaze of the passing citizens, Xie Jingzhou personally walked up the steps and raised his hand to knock on the grand door before him.
"Knock, knock, knock… Knock, knock, knock…"
The knocking continued, but there was no response for a long time.
Luo Hong clenched her hands beneath her sleeves and feigned concern as she looked at the Fifth Prince. "Perhaps Consort Ji is still sulking with Your Highness. Why don't I stay here and continue knocking, and Your Highness can return to the carriage first?"
Xie Jingzhou shook his head, his face filled with helplessness and grievance. "I will wait here for Zi Zhao. I know she's still upset with me, but the matter of Luo Yi was not something a mere prince could decide. I wanted to speak up for the Ji family, but… but I truly don't dare to face Father Emperor…"
"Your Highness, you shouldn't dote on Consort Ji so much."
"But since she married me, she is my woman. Father Emperor and Mother Consort both said that people like us cannot achieve monogamy, but we must cherish those around us. I… I truly want to be with Zi Zhao properly…"
The surrounding citizens, hearing these words, while not exactly enraged, still harbored resentment towards Ji Zi Zhao for being unappreciative. Especially those proud and arrogant men, some of whom audibly scoffed.
Yulin was, after all, a land that revered men. The Fifth Prince's spectacle was bound to resonate with the public.
Some citizens even felt that although the Fifth Prince had demoted the eldest daughter of the Ji family to the rank of consort, there were reasons for it. But the eldest daughter of the Ji family, by refusing the sedan and leaving a prince out in the cold, was perhaps being too spoiled.
Meanwhile, Lin Wanyun, who was sitting in the main hall, turned pale with anger upon hearing the report from the servant.
If she hadn't fully believed her daughter when Ji Zi Zhao revealed the Fifth Prince's treachery, then this stunt pulled by the Fifth Prince now truly made her believe her daughter completely.
If the Fifth Prince truly cared about Ji Zi Zhao, he could have chosen a time to visit personally. Instead, he used the excuse of the Empress Dowager's birthday to block the Ji family's gate and put on a show of deep affection and pitiful suffering. Where did this leave the Ji family?
And where did it leave her daughter!
Lin Wanyun could never have imagined that the Fifth Prince could be so shamelessly brazen.
"Madam, more and more citizens are gathering outside the mansion. What should we do?" The wet nurse from Yun Yuan looked extremely anxious. The old madam was sleeping and unaware of this matter. But if this commotion continued and woke the old madam, things would truly spiral out of control.
Lin Wanyun's face darkened, and she stood up, walking directly out of the hall. "I will go and see the Fifth Prince myself."
The wet nurse from Yun Yuan, fearing something might happen, followed the Madam closely while busily instructing the servants in the courtyard to keep watch near the old madam's residence, reporting immediately if the old madam woke up.
Outside the Ji family's gate, the Fifth Prince's voice could be heard through the door.
"Zi Zhao, I know you are angry that I couldn't speak up for the Ji family before Father Emperor. But the Ji family's affairs are matters of the court. Since I haven't been enfeoffed as a prince, I dare not make idle comments about court affairs before Father Emperor. However, Zi Zhao, rest assured, even as a consort, I will cherish you dearly. If you don't wish to return with me for now, I won't force you. I only hope you can accompany me to the palace today to celebrate Empress Dowager's birthday."
Lin Wanyun stopped at the gate, listening to these insincere words that pricked her ears until they ached.
The Fifth Prince was truly intending to disregard her daughter's reputation, to brand her daughter as selfish and arrogant, a person who threatened and toyed with a prince's affections!
Since that was the case, she no longer needed to maintain appearances.
Lin Wanyun forced herself to calm down and instructed the wet nurse beside her, "Open the door!"
Outside the Ji family's gate, the crowd of onlookers grew larger.
Tears streamed down Xie Jingzhou's face, and he sobbed pitifully. If not for Luo Hong's firm support, he might have cried himself unconscious.
"Creak…"
The heavy mansion gate was opened from the inside.
Through his tear-blurred vision, Xie Jingzhou stepped forward and grasped the fair, soft hand that reached out from the doorway. "Zi Zhao, have you finally decided to come out and see me?"
"Whether it is to return to the residence or to accompany me to the palace, as a devoted suitor, my Ji family is indeed unworthy. However, I implore Your Highness to calm yourself. Today, you mistook my hand for Zi'er's. If, in the future, you mistake other women's hands for Zhao'er's, then it will be hard to explain." Lin Wanyun, holding her own hand that was being grasped, did not struggle. Instead, she seized the opportunity to step out of the threshold.
She wanted all the onlookers outside to see how a man who claimed to be deeply in love with her daughter could not even remember what her daughter's hand looked like! Su Dan Novel Network
Lin Wanyun's words struck Xie Jingzhou like a bolt from the blue.
For a moment, Xie Jingzhou stared at Lin Wanyun's face, genuinely stunned.
The surrounding citizens, hearing the words of the Ji family's Madam, were jolted out of their shared sentiment with the Fifth Prince.
If the Fifth Prince truly loved the eldest daughter of the Ji family to the bone, as he claimed, how could he not recognize something as obvious as a hand? Yulin was a land where men were revered. It was normal for ordinary men to have multiple wives and concubines, let alone a prince.
Sensing the shift in the gaze of the crowd, the lines of Xie Jingzhou's profile tightened with gritted teeth.
The spectacle he staged at the Ji family's gate was intended to force Ji Zi Zhao to accompany him to the palace, even if she had to force herself. But why had the Ji family's Madam come out instead of her?
Where was Ji Zi Zhao!!
Lin Wanyun looked at her hand that was still being tightly held and said calmly, "May I ask how long Your Highness intends to hold this subject's hand?"
Luo Hong's expression turned completely grim. It was just a Ji family on the verge of collapse. How dare they be so arrogant before her master?
But before she could speak, Xie Jingzhou released Lin Wanyun's hand as if he had committed a grave error. With tear-filled eyes, he said apologetically, "Mother-in-law, please do not be angry. It is all my fault. It is because I miss Zi Zhao dearly. Today is the Empress Dowager's birthday, and Father Emperor specifically sent an invitation for me to escort Zi Zhao to the palace. I implore Mother-in-law to be accommodating and allow me to take Zi Zhao to visit our grandmother."
As he spoke, Xie Jingzhou bent his knees and knelt towards the ground.
The wet nurse from Yun Yuan was quick-witted and grabbed Xie Jingzhou, saying, "Fifth Prince, you must not do this."
If he were to kneel, wouldn't her Madam become a cruel person who troubled a prince?
If the Emperor were to investigate this matter later, her Madam would have no way to explain herself!