Ji Zizhao also learned on the day the errand boy returned from delivering a letter to the Yang family that Sun Zhiting had deliberately led Xin Bi and Wang Can to block the Marquis Xuanping on his way out of the palace, slandering Ji Ruyun.
Of course, even without this incident, she would have found a way to leave Ji Ruyun speechless.
As for the errand boy who returned from delivering the letter to the Yang family, Ji Zizhao was even less afraid.
Those trusted by her grandmother were all household servants.
To put it plainly, the lives of the entire family were in their grandmother's hands.
Now, the entire imperial city knew that the heir of Marquis Xuanping had returned home safely. Unless the errand boy had water in his head, he would not tell the truth to his grandmother.
Come to think of it, it had been several days since the Second Prince returned to the capital.
Although the Emperor had not severely punished the Ji family, the officials in the court had been standing from morning till night for several consecutive days, and some important officials were even accommodated in the palace overnight.
It was also heard that even the princes, who had not yet been ennobled and involved in state affairs, had been summoned to the palace.
Ji Zizhao narrowed her eyes, absentmindedly stroking the teacup in her hand.
She suspected that everything happening now was merely a smoke screen created by the Emperor.
Regardless of what was written on the military record of the Battle of Luoyi, the Ji family's contribution to Yulin was witnessed by all the people of the imperial city.
The Emperor's intention in winning over the court officials, and even including the princes, was to disperse the people's hatred after the severe punishment of the Ji family, making them mistakenly believe that the civil officials who opposed the military officials, or the military officials who wanted to be promoted, or some scheming prince might have instigated the Emperor to severely punish the Ji family.
Ji Zizhao's heart sank.
She knew that the more the Emperor tried to cover up, the heavier the punishment for the Ji family would be.
Only in this way would the Emperor be afraid of inciting public anger.
"Swoosh—!"
Something suddenly broke through the wind.
Qing Zhu and Lian Ju, who were standing beside Ji Zizhao, acted simultaneously.
While Qing Zhu protected her young lady behind her, she caught the dart that was rushing towards them with her bare hand.
Lian Ju had already chased in the direction from which the dart came.
Qing Zhu carefully untied the note tied to the dart and said softly, "This dart was not aimed at a person; it seems to be just for delivering a message."
Ji Zizhao took the note and opened it. The handwriting was bold and vigorous, and each character was strong and firm.
Hold your breath.
With just four simple characters, Ji Zizhao's body trembled.
Just then, Lian Ju landed in front of Ji Zizhao, "This subordinate personally saw that person sneak into the Fourth Prince's mansion. To avoid complications, this subordinate did not pursue further."
Ji Zizhao held the note in her hand, her thoughts racing.
Someone whom even Lian Ju could not catch clearly had unfathomable martial arts skills.
It was obvious that the person was not trying to shake off Lian Ju but deliberately let Lian Ju follow behind.
This being the case...
This letter was personally written by the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince sending a letter at this time likely meant that a decision had already been made in the palace.
What's more!
Someone would likely come to deliver an imperial decree soon.
"Go and invite the Fourth Miss over."
Hold your breath.
Seemingly obscure, yet not difficult to understand.
It was clear that the Emperor intended to deal with the Ji family quietly.
Once the entire Ji family was condemned, what if some people thought the punishment was too severe?
Let alone the Emperor's meticulous preparations to avoid public anger, even if there was public anger, what good would it do for the stagnant Ji family?
Ji Zibi came very quickly, but her expression was extremely grave.
"Eldest Sister, those commoners from Luoyi are still tight-lipped about the Luoyi incident."
During this period, in order to observe these refugees from Luoyi, she shuttled through the four major medical halls during the day and simply found a medical hall to stay overnight, hoping to see these commoners speak up for the Ji family.
To her extreme disappointment, these refugees from Luoyi continued to receive treatment at the medical halls and obediently sat there all day, but they were extremely evasive about the Luoyi incident.
Ji Zizhao asked, "Are there any among them who still insult the Ji family?"
Ji Zibi thought for a moment and said, "There haven't been any since the Second Prince returned."
Since there weren't any, it meant there had been some effect.
Although it was minimal, it was enough.
Ji Zizhao paused and then said, "Go to the four major medical halls now and inform Chen Gang and the others to decoct tonight's medicine early and give it to those Luoyi commoners. And also..."
Ji Zizhao suddenly held Ji Zibi's hand. "Go and return quickly. Do not be absent when the imperial decree arrives."
Ji Zibi trembled, "Eldest Sister, you mean... the Emperor's verdict has been handed down?"
Ji Zizhao nodded, "It should be soon."
Ji Zibi was not unafraid of the Emperor's punishment, but she felt more wronged!
"The Battle of Luoyi had nothing to do with the Ji family. How could the Emperor be so foolish!"
Ji Zizhao gently patted Ji Zibi's hand. "There are too many eyes and mouths between the Emperor and us. Perhaps the Emperor is not foolish, but simply unaware. You do not need to worry about this matter; just do as I command. Don't be afraid; I am here for you."
Feeling the warmth from her elder sister's palm, Ji Zibi gradually calmed down, knowing that time was of the essence and she didn't even have time to comfort her mother. She left Zhaoyuan and galloped towards the four major medical halls.
As soon as Ji Zibi left, Yong Mei hurried into the courtyard.
"Miss, Miss, it's not good. Hurry to Yunyuan and take a look!"
Xin Lan, who was carrying tea and entering the room, reprimanded, "You've been recuperating for so long and have only just returned to serve Miss. How can you be so flustered?"
Yong Mei didn't have time to bicker with Xin Lan. She knelt before Ji Zizhao and said urgently, "The eldest master of the Yang family suddenly rushed into Yunyuan, insisting on taking the Madam back to the Yang family. He also said that he would come to take Miss to Bianjing later!"
Yong Mei was waiting for Ji Zizhao to return to the Fifth Prince's mansion and naturally did not want Ji Zizhao to go to Bianjing.
Ji Zizhao suddenly remembered her maternal uncle saying at Chunyuan that he would ensure she lived a good life.
She suspected that her uncle had planned to take her and her mother back to Bianjing at that time.
Seeing that her young lady remained standing still, Yong Mei cried out urgently, "This matter has even alarmed the Old Madam. When I came, I heard that the Old Madam was already rushing to Yunyuan!"
Ji Zizhao knew that her grandmother was an unreasonable person and could do anything if pushed too far.
In the Ji family, Ji Zizhao certainly could not let her maternal uncle suffer a loss.
Stabilizing her mind, Ji Zizhao walked towards Yunyuan.
As Ji Zizhao had imagined, the errand boy sent to deliver the letter to the Yang family in Bianjing had not dared to tell the Old Madam the truth.
To make the act even more convincing, even though the letter was snatched in the city, he still traveled to Bianjing overnight. When he returned, he heard that the heir of Marquis Xuanping had already returned to his mansion, so he went along with the flow and said that he had delivered the letter to the Yang family.
It was precisely because of this that Yang Lang, upon hearing the news, went to Yunyuan immediately.
The Yang family had taken a liking to the Ji family because the men of the Ji family were upright and honorable. They had not expected that the Old Madam of the Ji family would be so partial. In that case, why should he stand by and watch his sister and niece suffer here?
"Little sister, you must already know the truth about the Ji family. If the Ji family were truly worthy of your trust, it would be one thing. But now, the Old Madam of the Ji family has no thought for Zizhao and you. Why do you continue to suffer here? Listen to your elder brother's advice. While the Emperor has not yet passed a severe sentence, the best course of action is for you to get a divorce letter and leave this place of strife!"
In the main hall of Yunyuan, Yang Lang poured out all the words he had planned in his heart.