Chapter: 117 out of 513 – Sickness comes like a landslide, but goes slowly like spinning silk (2)
When Ji Man woke up the next day, she felt much better. Although she still felt slightly light-headed and stuffy, she felt much more energetic.
Ning Yuxuan had disappeared early in the morning and Ji Man didn’t care enough to ask the servants where he had gone. Instead, she had a little bit of millet congee with Errong.
“I heard that the emperor is handling Qin Province’s legal cases related to unjust and false charges.” Full of excitement, Errong said, “It’s quite interesting. Qin Province has always been known for having the most cases with unjust and false charges. The emperor had originally planned on only staying here for a day and a night, but a pile of cases attracted his interest. He told the first prince and third prince to go with him to solve these cases.”
Ji Man nodded. This wasn’t difficult to understand. During this entire journey, the emperor had been publicly and secretly testing these two princes and the third prince had been doing a cut better than the crown prince each time. Hearing that the crown prince would also be responsible for solving cases, Ji Man thought that it was about time for the crown prince to show his ability.
“The crown prince will be going to investigate a case of a headless murder victim this afternoon. The third prince’s case is about a missing young woman. Everyone is going to leave the residence today. It’s going to be so boring.” Errong sighed.
Nie Qingyun would also be leaving with the third prince. Originally, Ning Mingjie hadn’t been interested in participating. But for an unknown reason, he ended up perfectly willing to follow along with the third prince’s group today. As for the crown prince, he would only have Marquis Moyu helping him.
Ji Man wasn’t interested in these cases. It had taken her a huge amount of effort to improve Nie Sangyu’s sickly health, but this serious illness had ruined her efforts. Once she was feeling better, she had to figure out a way to recover her health again.
—
That afternoon, Ji Man took a nap after lunch with only Gancao and Dengxin keeping her company. Errong had left with Ning Mingjie to participate in the excitement. Ji Man’s health hadn’t recovered, so she naturally couldn’t go with them.
But, when she woke up, the room was quiet and peaceful. Gancao and Dengxin weren’t in the room, but Ji Man saw the crown prince as soon as she raised her eyes.
The psychological shadow was still in her heart, so Ji Man couldn’t present a pleasant expression. She could only calmly look at him. “Your Highness, do you still want Sangyu’s life?”
Zhao Zhe faintly smiled. “What are you thinking? Why would this prince want your life?”
There was no else in the room, so Ji Man felt slightly nervous. But, when she raised her eyes, she saw that the door hadn’t been closed. Gancao and Dengxin were probably standing right outside.
Her heart slightly relaxed and Ji Man was able to smile as she looked at Zhao Zhe.
“If you miss the first time, it’s going to be difficult to strike again. Although Sangyu hadn’t done anything to wrong the crown prince, if the crown prince really wants Sangyu’s life, it would be very easy for Your Highness to accomplish this. Sangyu still wants to live. If you’re going to kill Sangyu, don’t give Sangyu any chances to live. Otherwise, Sangyu will bite you.”
Zhao Zhe raised his eyebrows and couldn’t resist laughing. “Your words… Sangyu, you’re overthinking things. It’s said that people that are sick have heavy thoughts. You should properly rest. This prince’s investigation happened to lead me here, so I came by to see you in the passing.”
His expression looked so innocent as if he had nothing to do with the almost successful murder attempt. Even his words were watertight. Ji Man could only sigh with admiration. The crown prince was truly worthy of being the crown prince.
Zhao Zhe didn’t try to stay any longer. He stood up and left the room.
With lingering fear, Gancao and Dengxin entered the room. Both of them had their heads silently lowered.
“How long was he here?” Ji Man asked.
“To respond to master, an hour,” Gancao whispered, “As soon as the crown prince entered the room, he had us go outside and stand by the door. Then, he brought a stool over here and sat down. We didn’t dare to say anything…”
The two servant girls weren’t brave. Moreover, the other person was the crown prince. Ji Man understood their dilemma. But, what was wrong with Zhao Zhe? Did he have too much free time? Why did he sit here for an hour? Was he trying to kill her by staring at her? Ji Man couldn’t stop worrying. She didn’t peacefully lie back down until she had Gancao bring a doctor over here to examine her and confirm that she hadn’t been poisoned.
—
They had stayed in Qin Province for the past three days. Marquis Moyu left early and came back late each day. Ji Man was focused on recuperating during this period, so she slept early. And so, although the two of them were sharing a room, they didn’t see each other during this time.
Today, Ji Man had finally made a full recovery from her illness and Jinse came over to pay her respects.
While obediently massaging Nie Sangyu’s leg, Jinse said, “The marquis said that in half a month, the boats would be returning to the north by way of another river.”
“En.” Ji Man wasn’t concerned about the route they were traveling. Still, her life had been so comfortable during this trip. She didn’t have to pay respects to Wen Wan or have to attend to old madame every day. If someone hadn’t tried to harm her, this trip would have been a total relaxation for her body and mind.
Actually, she didn’t want to go back so soon.
Jinse gritted her teeth. It seemed as if there was something she wanted to say, but Ji Man pretended to not see. If Jinse was going to speak and stop, then start again, she wasn’t interested in listening.
“Madam… Do you think Jinse has been attentive enough?” Jinse finally asked.
Ji Man lightly smiled. “Whether or not you’ve been attentive enough, this is a question for the marquis. I can’t make that decision. While we’re outside, I can be called “Madam”. When we return to Marquis Moyu’s residence, I’ll only be person that can silently stand by the main wife’s side.”
Jinse knew that Nie Sangyu wasn’t the main wife. However, based on what she had observed during this journey, she thought that this woman’s words probably had some weight. Although Marquis Moyu had treated her well for a couple of days, he had already clearly told her that he wouldn’t be bringing her home.
She was somewhat unwilling. She had finally left that filthy and lowly place. It couldn’t be that she had to return, right?
She clenched her jaw and kneeled down in front of Nie Sangyu. She kowtowed and said, “Madam, please help me. If you plead with the marquis, he’ll definitely agree!”