books44 Chapter 194: Exposure
Chapter 194: Exposure
Chapter 194: Exposure
The registrar had no choice but to return all the silver that had been delivered, which aroused the suspicion of the Ji family. He chuckled twice and explained, "My master practices integrity, so it's best to keep this."
"Everything was fine before, so what happened now?" The steward was also a bit embarrassed, and the silver in his hand felt hot to the touch.
The registrar hesitated for a moment before saying, "This is not something I can decide. The main thing is that you need to pay more attention to Ji Meiqing."
"What's up with her?"
The registrar leaned close to his ear and whispered a few words. The steward was immediately so astonished he couldn't close his mouth. He still couldn't quite believe it. "What you're saying, is it all true? That Ji Meiqing really is..."
"Ji Meiqing is quite capable. If you have the chance, you should quickly put in a good word for her. After all, you're family, why be at odds? It won't look good if word gets out, don't you think?"
He said a few kind words and then left, leaving the steward with a solemn expression. When he got back, he told Master Ji about the matter.
Master Ji also stood up from his chair, his face grave. Even the government officials dared not act rashly now; he had forgotten that Ji Meiqing was exceptionally popular.
Having overlooked this point, he gritted his teeth and turned to the steward, saying, "Go and find out immediately what important person has come to the city."
"It seems to be Prince Shangguan..." he said cautiously, then secretly glanced at the man's face. Seeing that his expression was not good, he immediately lowered his head.
"You've been so frightened by a leisurely prince? Make preparations immediately, I want to see this prince."
"Yes." The butler immediately left, and Ji Yangshan turned and walked out.
After seeing Lu Yu, she returned to Ji Meiqing's restaurant. As soon as she entered, she patted the snow off her clothes, stomped her feet, and then went inside.
The young page, who had been waiting, ran over as soon as he entered, saying, "Young master, you're finally back."
"What's wrong?" He glanced at him sideways, then went inside again. The young page followed behind him, complaining, "Young master has been gone for so long without a guard. I'm very worried."
"Don't worry, I am a prince."
"Precisely because you are a prince..."
He didn't want to waste any more time arguing with the young page, so he stopped the conversation and changed the subject, "And you, what's up?"
"Oh, the temporary residence has been arranged. Would Your Highness or Young Master like to take a look?"
"Then let's go." He didn't mind, but he lingered there for a while before leaving, then had someone take all the wine from the wine cabinet before leaving satisfied. When Ji Meiqing returned, she saw the empty wine cabinet and felt a headache coming on.
She was unaware that the prince had a habit of petty theft. The shopkeeper walked over, not daring to look at her expression.
Ji Meiqing said helplessly, "Have Li Ming bring some more wine, and leave the rest as usual."
"Yes..." The person in charge carefully returned to his position. Ji Meiqing looked around, tidied up, and went home.
Ji Yangshan arrived at the mansion with four men, carrying several jars of his treasured wine. The steward knocked on the door, which was opened shortly afterward. He presented a visiting card and identified himself.
"The Ji family? Please wait a moment." He took the visiting card and went inside, then closed the door again.
The person in charge retreated behind him again, secretly watching the door.
The visiting card was delivered directly to the pageboy's injured side. He then opened the paper inside, shook it, and finally unfolded it.
"I've heard... good wine... Hmph. Go and invite them in." He turned and dismissed everyone around him.
After the Ji family members were invited in, he stood aside and watched coldly.
"His Highness is taking a nap... Please wait a moment."
After he finished speaking, he floated away. The hall was unusually cold as there was no fireplace lit. The newly furnished house was still somewhat simple.
The Ji family stood in the hall, with nowhere to warm themselves. They had been sitting for so long that their legs had gone numb.
The young page told Shangguan Yuzhe about it, but he didn't react much, just grunted in acknowledgment.
"This matter...you..."
"Let's just leave them there. Perfect, we're tired enough today, we'll send them back when they're almost done."
He uttered a lazy sound and then turned his attention to the wine cup beside him, whereupon the maidservant poured him wine one cup after another as he requested.
She casually picked up a glass of wine from the side and handed it to him, saying, "Want to try this? It's strong, it'll warm you up."
The young page turned around immediately, ignoring the joking look on his master's face.
"You know perfectly well that your subordinate cannot drink alcohol."
Shangguan found it boring and took back his wine, drinking it by himself.
He conveyed Shangguan Yuzhe's meaning, albeit with slight modifications, before looking at them again.
"In that case, we won't disturb Your Highness's rest any longer. Consider these jars of wine a small token of our appreciation..."
He instructed the people behind him to place the wine jar on the table, then bowed and left. The young page looked at the wine on the table, waved slightly, and signaled someone to take it over.
Ji Yangshan's expression was not good as he did not see the prince today.
"Look at this prince..."
"He did this on purpose. He colluded with that bitch Ji Meiqing to frame us!"
The steward thought for a moment and could only agree twice; no one could know what the prince was thinking. He, however, was still somewhat puzzled about the second young lady and asked her about it.
"This second young lady..."
“Ji Meiqing has grown wings, daring to openly oppose us. For that Lu Yu, she even abandoned the Ji family…” As he spoke, his resentment grew even stronger. “Shangguan Yuzhe is just a leisurely prince; he doesn’t have any real power. As long as he doesn’t interfere in this matter, everything will be fine.”
"Then what does the master intend to do?"
"What else can we do? We can only deal with it like this for now and see how it goes tomorrow."
Ji Yangshan didn't know what to do either, so he could only deal with it like this for now. However, he couldn't keep Ji Meiqing around. Once they overturned the case, they would no longer be able to suppress Ji Meiqing.
"Tell the prefect that we should be more discreet these next few days, and also tell him where that servant is. It would be best to send someone to find him, and once found, get rid of him immediately!"
He gave the order before returning to the Ji residence. The steward immediately dispatched the others before eagerly following him back.
But people aren't so easy to find; even if they were, they would have been arrested by Ji Meiqing long ago.