Chapter 512: Chapter IF-11: No Heartache, Only an Aching Back

Zhao Mingyan raised his arms to help her down from the carriage.

But with so many onlookers, Ji Qingwu shyly brushed his hands aside and then jumped nimbly from the carriage.

A look of resignation flashed in Zhao Mingyan’s eyes. “Let’s go inside,” he said.

Ji Qingwu smiled, nodded, and walked into the Marquis Mansion at his side.

Everyone in the Marquis Mansion looked shocked.

The Young Master was known for being cold and aloof, accustomed to keeping to himself. The only person who attended him personally was the eunuch, Li Yuzong.

But now, a young woman had appeared at his side. And while they weren’t overly affectionate, it was the very casualness and lack of constraint between them that showed their relationship was anything but ordinary.

Ji Fangmin stared at Ji Qingwu’s retreating back and said to her matron, “Go and find out what family that woman comes from and how she managed to latch onto the Princely Heir.”

Then, something happened that shocked the entire Marquis Mansion even more.

The young woman the Princely Heir had brought back was staying in his personal chambers, while Zhao Mingyan himself slept alone in the study.

Moreover, all matters in the Princely Heir’s courtyard had to be run by Ji Qingwu first; even Li Yuzong had to obtain her approval before carrying out his duties.

Ji Fangmin sent people to investigate and learned that the woman was a physician who had been with the army. Seeing her acting for all the world like the Heir’s wife within the mansion, Ji Fangmin rushed back to the Ji family to discuss the matter with Old Madam Ji.

She returned to the Marquis Mansion later that day, bringing the Ji Family’s fourth young lady, Ji Qingyuan, with her.

Ever since returning to Lin’an, Zhao Mingyan had been so busy his feet barely touched the ground.

He was staying in the study, partly because he was swamped with work and didn’t want to disturb Ji Qingwu’s sleep, and partly because now that they were home, he had to be somewhat considerate of her reputation.

One day, while Zhao Mingyan was still in the front study discussing matters with his advisors, Ji Qingwu was in her room, poring over medicinal recipes.

Her table was covered in papers. She held a writing brush, occasionally frowning as she crossed out and revised her work.

The deadline the childbirth system had given her was only two months away. If she couldn’t get pregnant by then, she was in trouble.

‘Am I not trying hard enough? Don’t tell me I’ll have to redeem that childbearing pill?’

Ji Qingwu chewed on the end of her brush, worried. But the pill’s side effects were unknown. If anything went wrong, she would regret it forever.

Just then, two people suddenly entered, unannounced by the servants.

Ji Qingwu recognized the visitors. She set down her brush and rose to her feet. “Marchioness.”

Ji Fangmin adopted the air of the lady of the house, smiling as she said, “No need for such ceremony. Please, sit, let’s talk.”

Ji Qingyuan sat beside her aunt, chin up and chest out, looking down her nose at Ji Qingwu like a proud, pink peacock.

Ji Qingwu sensed the obvious hostility and could guess its cause. Over the past few days, plenty of rumors had reached her ears.

“Is there something I can help you with, Marchioness?” she asked.

Ji Fangmin tried to build a rapport. “Miss Ji, it’s quite a coincidence that we’re both named Ji. Perhaps we were part of the same family eight hundred years ago.”

She gestured to the young woman beside her. “This is my niece from my maiden family. She is well-bred and well-read, from a prestigious house, and since she was a child…”

The rest of her words were a litany of praise for her niece’s outstanding qualities.

Ji Qingwu wasn’t paying close attention; her mind was racing.

‘They both have the surname Ji? The system couldn’t be *that* coincidental, could it?!’

Seeing Ji Qingwu’s dazed expression, a flash of disdain crossed Ji Fangmin’s eyes. ‘She’s just a country girl,’ she thought. ‘She must feel ashamed of her own inferiority after meeting Qingyuan.’

She put on a smile and said, “Miss Ji, I see you’re close in age to my dear Qingyuan, so I consider you a junior in the family as well. The Princely Heir may dote on you now, but you still have no official title or status. I understand your heartache.”

‘My heart isn’t aching, but my lower back certainly is,’ Ji Qingwu thought.

She asked, “Marchioness, what are you implying?”

Ji Fangmin said with feigned reluctance, “I am quite fond of you myself, it’s just…”

She sighed. “Let’s be frank. Yanyan is still the Princely Heir for now, but in a month or so, he is set to ascend the throne.”

Ji Qingwu nodded. She knew even more than Ji Fangmin did, and she understood Zhao Mingyan’s intentions far better.

‘It won’t even take a month or so,’ she thought. ‘The realm cannot go a single day without a ruler, lest the people grow anxious. There will be a new emperor within a month, at the earliest.’

Ji Fangmin said, “How about this: I can make the decision right now to install you as a concubine. In the future, you would be a consort of some rank. If you’re lucky, you might even become the mistress of your own palace and enjoy a lifetime of wealth and splendor.”

At the mention of “mistress of your own palace,” Ji Qingyuan rolled her eyes.

That single, exaggerated eye-roll completely shattered her dignified, high-born posture.

Ji Qingwu couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She found this aunt and niece duo quite amusing.

She politely declined. “You needn’t trouble yourself on my account, Marchioness.”

Ji Fangmin was incensed by her refusal. She had come personally to lay out her terms, which she considered a great honor in itself.

She snapped, “Do you think that just because the Princely Heir broke off his engagement with the Commandery Princess, he’s going to marry you? A girl like Qingyuan is the one who deserves the title of Empress. You should stop dreaming!”

Ji Qingwu didn’t get angry. She replied nonchalantly, “Are you going to manage my dreams now, too? In any case, this isn’t for you to decide. You should worry less and perhaps take some more nourishing supplements. It seems to me the wrinkles at the corners of your eyes have deepened.”

Ji Fangmin froze, instinctively touching the corners of her eyes. “Sooner or later, you’ll get what’s coming to you! Qingyuan, we’re leaving!”

Ji Qingwu watched them leave with a faint smile.

But once they were gone, her smile vanished.

‘Zhao Mingyan broke off his engagement with the Commandery Princess? When did that happen? He never told me about it.’

‘And then there was Qingyuan… Ji Qingyuan…’

‘Our names are so alike.’

Ji Qingwu gazed out the window. ‘If I were also a daughter of the Ji Family, could I secure my claim to the Empress’s throne?’

‘Relying on his affection alone isn’t enough.’

After having someone inquire into the history of the Ji Family, Ji Qingwu went to the Ji Mansion the very next day.

The gatekeeper at the Ji Mansion announced a visitor. When Ji Fangmin, who had once again returned to her maiden home, heard who it was, she said furiously, “Mother, she followed me all the way here! I’ll go throw her out.”

Mrs. Qiao of the first branch and Ms. Wu of the second were also present, but neither of the two daughters-in-law dared to reason with their husband’s sister. Ji Fangmin’s status was rising with the tide; tomorrow she might well be the Empress Dowager.

Old Madam Ji said, “You? So you can get provoked by her again?”

Ji Fangmin sat back down, saying anxiously, “Mother, you have to help me. She’s a vixen who has the Princely Heir wrapped around her finger. If we can’t control her now, she’ll be walking all over us in the future.”

Previously, with no woman at Zhao Mingyan’s side, the Marquis Mansion had been entirely under her management. Ji Fangmin was accustomed to being in charge. Upon learning she might become the Empress Dowager, her ambitions had grown even greater.

The old matriarch said calmly, “Let her in.”

When Ji Qingwu entered Shou’an Hall, she first scanned the people in the room, her gaze quickly settling on a stern and dignified woman sitting in the seat of honor to the left.

Old Madam Ji spoke. “Which family’s girl is this? To enter my household without greeting your elders or even introducing yourself… so ill-mannered.”

Without a word, Ji Qingwu pulled the pair of Koi Carp Jade Pendants from her robes, catching everyone completely off guard.

Mrs. Qiao immediately shot up from her seat, unable to remain still. She took the pendants from Ji Qingwu’s hand, her own lips trembling.

“You…”

Mrs. Qiao looked at her, her vision blurred with tears. She wanted to reach out and touch her face but didn’t dare. “Are you… Xiao Wu?”

“I am Qingwu,” she said softly.

Mrs. Qiao pulled her into an embrace, calling her “my darling, my precious treasure,” in a choked voice that made Ji Qingwu’s own eyes sting with unshed tears.