"Come, close the mansion gates!" Third Mistress Yin Wenying ordered directly.
Madam Ren hurriedly used her body to block the entrance, prostrating herself on the threshold of the Ji family mansion.
The nannies and maids following behind her cried out, "The Ji family wants to kill people! How can the Ji family, having just become a Marquis's residence, be so cold-blooded and merciless!"
Third Mistress Yin Wenying's face turned pale with anger. "No wonder your Ren family could raise Ren Jun, that ungrateful wretch. Look at your behavior, you have not an ounce of shame!"
"How our Ren family is raised is not for others to criticize. Is the Ji family, who turns their back on people, so well-raised?" A steady voice slowly sounded from the carriage below the steps.
As the carriage door was opened by the driver, assisted by the nannies, the Elder Madam Ren descended from the carriage unhurriedly, leaning on her walking stick. Facing the Ji family members inside the gate, her weathered face showed no trace of guilt or indebtedness.
"When my grandson was five years old, he was sent to the army. It was the Ji family who saw my grandson's extraordinary potential back then, and thus forcibly kept him by their side for strict training. Unfortunately, my grandson was too honest. Over the years, he has rendered countless military achievements for the Ji family, but in the end, all of it was pocketed by the Ji family." Sudancollection.com
Elder Madam Ren struck the ground forcefully with her walking stick, each strike filled with indignation and grievance.
"Now my grandson merely wishes to find a way to survive, and was forced to return to the imperial city with the Second Prince. Your Ji family has occupied my grandson's merits, used my grandson to fight for you for so many years. Now, our Ren family merely asks the Ji family to do a small favor, is that not acceptable?"
Such a distortion of facts and shameless words caused not only Third Mistress Yin Wenying but also the usually well-mannered and composed First Mistress Lin Wanyun to frown.
The men of the Ji family had taken Ren Jun in initially out of pity, seeing as he was young and alone. In the brutal, unforgiving military world, had it not been for the care and promotion provided by the Ji family over the years, Ren Jun would have been devoured long ago, leaving not even a trace of bone.
And now the Ren family was biting the hand that fed them?
How dare they!
Elder Madam Ren knew that her grandson had betrayed them. But now, with the safety of her grandson and the entire Ren family at stake, she could only insist that the Ji family was entirely in the wrong.
Ultimately, the men of the Ji family were all dead. So now, no matter what was said, there were no witnesses.
Seeing this, Madam Ren cried out again, "My son is only eighteen this year! For years he followed the old General Ji into battle, he hasn't even taken a wife. Are you Ji family truly so heartless that you wish my son to have no descendants?"
First Mistress Lin Wanyun said coldly, "Your Ren family only cares about your son having no descendants, but have you ever thought that all the men of my Ji family died in Luoyi, and even now their bones lie exposed in the wilderness!"
Comparing suffering?
Who could suffer more than her innocent Ji family!
Madam Ren was unfazed. "How the Ji family is is not for my son to decide. But my son was raised and guided by your Ji family all along. Even now, my son will not say a word in the Dali Temple, which shows that my son's mind was already problematic before he returned to the capital with the Second Prince!"
First Mistress Lin Wanyun took a step back, her vision darkening with anger.
This was utter sophistry.
Ji Zizhao's calm heart, however, trembled at this statement.
Ji Zixiu looked at the selfish faces of the Ren family and felt a surge of anger. "The world is in chaos, and there are many shameless people. You don't even ask how your good son betrayed us, yet you push the blame for your Ren family's son onto my Ji family. You simply want to threaten my Ji family into rescuing your son, don't you? Dream on! Even if my Ji family is truly accused of being unrighteous and unjust for this matter, we will still watch Ren Jun die in the Dali Temple!"
Elder Madam Ren's face turned ashen. "How can a daughter of the Ji family be so ill-bred!"
Ji Zixiu smiled coldly. "You think this is ill-bred? Elder Madam Ren, you truly have no idea what the world is like."
The old madam choked, not yet understanding the meaning of her words. She saw Ji Zixiu with her hands on her hips, looking at her and saying, "Go look in the mirror! Your wrinkled face is so full of creases it could trap mosquitoes. And you have the nerve to extort my Ji family under the broad daylight and blue sky. I advise you, at your age, to accumulate some virtue. If not for your family's good fortune, at least accumulate some good karma for yourself. Be careful, lest the heavens strike you down with lightning, you old hag! You old crone! You old fossil! You old geezer!"
When it came to wielding a whip or spewing insults, Ji Zixiu had never been defeated.
Elder Madam Ren clutched her chest, her eyes rolling back. "You, you, you..."
Elder Madam Ren choked.
Elder Madam Ren began to have a heart attack.
Madam Ren did not expect her mother-in-law to be rendered speechless by a few words from the Ji family. Having been certain that the Ji family would save her son, she now began to panic.
A figure silently approached Madam Ren.
Madam Ren looked up and saw an exceptionally beautiful face shining brilliantly in the sunlight.
Ji Zizhao looked down from above, her calm expression making it impossible to guess her thoughts. "Do you want to live?"
In her panic, Madam Ren quickly said, "If your Ji family dares to be ungrateful, even as ghosts, our Ren family will not..."
Before she could finish speaking, Ji Zizhao interrupted coldly, "I asked you a question. You only need to nod or shake your head. There is no need for any other nonsense. My Ji family, let alone being a Marquis's residence now, even as a General's mansion back then, it was not for your Ren family to smear with dirt."
Madam Ren had come prepared for a protracted struggle, but now, facing that expressionless yet chillingly cold face, for some reason, she involuntarily nodded.
If it weren't for her desire to save her life, why would she come to embarrass herself like this?
Ji Zizhao spoke again, "Come in and talk."
Madam Ren thought she must have misheard something and stared blankly at Ji Zizhao for a long time. Seeing that she had no intention of changing her mind, she quickly got up and helped her mother-in-law up the steps.
The Ji family's women looked at the Ren family members being invited in by Ji Zizhao with disbelief, silently unsure of what to say.
Ji Zixiu couldn't help but want to speak, but Ji Ziyan pulled her arm. "This matter should be left to elder sister to handle. I believe elder sister will not let our enemies rejoice."
Ji Zixiu nodded. Although she wished to kick the Ren family out, she trusted her elder sister.
Although the Ji family's women did not know what Sister Zhao was planning to do, they also believed that Sister Zhao would never do anything that would bring shame upon the Ji family or disappoint them.
Madam Ren looked at the reaction of the Ji family's women in surprise. She knew that the person in charge of the Ji family now was this young lady. But this young lady looked so young, and considering the poor reputation she had in the capital back then, how could she command such unquestioning trust?
As the matriarch of the Ren family, Madam Ren knew better than anyone how difficult it was to earn trust.
Elder Madam Ren, having regained her senses, raised her eyebrows triumphantly as she approached the threshold of the Ji family mansion.
Pretending to be a noble residence, yet in the end they still invited them in out of fear of gossip.
Ji Zixiu, seeing Elder Madam Ren's smug expression, gritted her teeth. "Elder Madam Ren, you are truly forgetful. Do you need me to repeat what I just said? Or perhaps... shall I say something new? I guarantee it will make Elder Madam Ren unforgettable for a lifetime."
Elder Madam Ren: "..."
Her clear vision began to darken again.