Ji Anhou snapped awake from his indulgence, warm liquid dripping onto his head. "Your... Your Majesty..."
Ji Anhou's body froze as if encased in ice. How he wished this were all a dream.
But it was not a dream.
With a thud, Ji Anhou knelt on the ground. "This subject pays respects to Your Majesty."
"It has not been easy for Ji Anhou to meet you, Your Majesty. I have pursued you from the capital all the way to this Zhen Wuguan."
Ji Anhou felt cold sweat pouring down his face. "Your Majesty, forgive me!"
"Forgive you? Deceiving me, do you think Ji Anhou that it is as simple as forgiveness?"
Ji Anhou's scalp tingled. What did the Empress mean by her words? Did she know something?
Impossible, absolutely impossible. "Your Majesty, I do not understand what you are saying."
"You don't understand? Then let me say it more clearly. What is the relationship between the Young Prince of Nanping and Ji Wuran? Does Ji Anhou still not understand?"
Ji Anhou trembled violently and sat down heavily on the ground, a single thought in his mind: I've been found out, truly found out.
"Do you truly not understand, or are you deliberately pretending not to? Ji Anhou."
Ji Anhou's scalp turned cold. "Your Majesty, I truly do not understand what you are saying."
He felt the Empress crouch down, her clear eyes suddenly gaining a hint of sharpness. "Ji Anhou, do you genuinely not understand, or are you trying to stall for time with me?"
After saying this, the Empress stood up again and said coldly, "Young Master Zhao has confessed everything. Ji Anhou, do you think I would come to question you without knowing those matters?"
"Your Majesty, I am guilty!" At this point, he knew he could no longer hide anything.
"Whether you are guilty or not is for me to decide, not for you, Ji Anhou."
Ji Anhou trembled, his eyes involuntarily lifting. Zhao Yanluo, standing nearby, finally spoke, "Uncle Ji, Your Majesty has not come to punish you."
Ji Anhou was stunned. Not to punish him? Then why had the Empress traveled from the capital to Zhen Wuguan?
Seeing this, Xue Xingyue finally spoke, "I heard that the Young Prince of Nanping is suspected of killing the Second Prince. He has now been imprisoned by the Emperor of Qi, and his fate is unknown. Does Ji Anhou not worry about that?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Anhou felt like weeping without tears. It was precisely because of this matter that he could neither eat nor sleep well. Moreover, ever since his wife learned that Ji Wuran was not their child, he had been even more afraid to return home, lest his wife bring up Ji Wuran, leaving him with no answer.
"This subject can do nothing." Ji Anhou looked dejected. He was merely a Marquis; he could not rescue the Young Prince of Nanping. All he could do was numb himself with wine.
"And you do nothing but indulge in debauchery here?" Xue Xingyue asked coldly.
Ji Anhou was ashamed. "This subject admits his guilt!"
Xue Xingyue rose from her chair and walked before Ji Anhou. "I have not come to punish you. I want to save the Young Prince of Nanping."
Ji Anhou trembled. "Your Majesty, you..."
Seeing Ji Anhou's disbelieving gaze, she continued, "I am not deceiving you. I truly want to save the Young Prince of Nanping."
Ji Anhou felt he had misheard. How could the Empress possibly want to save the Young Prince of Nanping? Yet, the Empress's expression did not seem like she was lying.
"Uncle Ji, Your Majesty is not lying to you. Your Majesty truly wishes to save the Young Prince of Nanping."
"Your Majesty, you know this subject may not be able to help you in any way."
"I know. I cannot save him as the Empress of Xingjiu. Therefore, I have devised a plan."
"What plan?" Ji Anhou could not help but ask.
"From now on, I am the niece of Ji Anhou's wife's family, and I have been betrothed to Young Master Ji An since childhood."
Upon hearing this, Ji Anhou understood. The Empress intended to bind herself to the Ji Anhou Manor.
"Your Majesty, why do you inform this subject? Are you not afraid I will leak the news?" Ji Anhou was perplexed. If the Empress wanted to save someone, she could just do it. Why the long journey to Zhen Wuguan?
"Ji Anhou, once I go to Qi, someone will surely investigate my true identity. At that time, you will understand why I have gone to such great lengths."
Since she was to pose as the niece of Ji Anhou's wife, it was imperative that Ji Anhou's wife acknowledge her identity.
Although Ji Anhou did not want to return home, with the Empress present, he dared not refuse.
Returning to the study in the manor, before Ji Anhou could even send for his wife, he saw Ji Anhou's wife already seated in the study chair.
Ji Anhou's wife's complexion was grim. Ji Anhou could not help but twitch his lips. Years of marriage told him that his wife was very angry at this moment.
"My lady, why are you sitting here? The weather has been cold lately; do not catch a chill. Yueyuan, how are you serving your mistress?" Ji Anhou said coldly.
Ji Anhou's wife sneered. "My Lord is truly majestic, returning and immediately scolding the servants around me. My Lord is truly formidable."
Ji Anhou twitched his lips. "My lady, what are you saying? Am I that kind of person?"
Ji Anhou's wife sneered again. "I seem to have underestimated my Lord. This is a girl from Yanxiang, tsk tsk, such a beautiful one. No wonder she can captivate my Lord so much that he doesn't return home for days."
Seeing his wife vaguely abusing the Empress while pointing at her, Ji Anhou felt his heart leap into his throat. He quickly walked over and whispered, "What nonsense are you talking about? This is not a girl from Yanxiang; she is..."
"Already defending her so quickly? According to my Lord's logic, perhaps my niece is lodging at the Ji Manor?"
Xue Xingyue and Zhao Yanluo both trembled. Did this Ji Anhou's wife know something? How could she be so accurate?
"My lady, do not speak nonsense." Ji Anhou quickly tried to stop his wife, fearing that a wrong word could cost him his life at the Empress's hands.
"I speak nonsense? What nonsense have I spoken? Ji Anhou, I am telling you, the scenario of two cousins serving one person will not work for me. Stop dreaming, and don't even think about it."