Chapter 100 - 99: The Substitute Eldest Miss 15

Chapter 100: Chapter 99: The Substitute Eldest Miss 15

Nanny Gui quickly had the Emperor and the Ji family summoned to the Imperial Palace.

The various ladies-in-waiting, who had been in the palace paying their respects to the Empress, now sat in their chairs, their hearts stirring with a thirst for gossip.

They signaled to each other with their eyes:

"Leave?"

"Don’t leave!"

"A chance to see some Ji family drama? How rare is that!"

"The Ji family is usually so harmonious. Who ever gets to see a scandal in the Prime Minister’s household?"

"The Lord Imperial Censor will have plenty to write about tomorrow."

They didn’t leave, and the Empress didn’t send them away, so everyone just continued to sit there.

...

The moment Mother Ji entered the palace, she instantly understood what had happened.

’I knew it. Back when Ji Xiaosong was born, I should have watched her get dashed to death with my own eyes!’

After Mr. Ji and Mother Ji paid their respects to the Emperor and Empress, they were not permitted to be seated.

"My dear minister, We have heard that early this morning, you sent a personal maid to the Eastern Palace to demand gifts. Is there any truth to this?"

The Emperor didn’t put on an imperious air. After all, they were the Crown Princess Consort’s birth family, and appearances had to be maintained.

"Your Majesty, that’s absolutely not true!"

Mr. Ji hadn’t even spoken, but Mother Ji was already proclaiming their innocence.

"Song is my daughter, too. How could I have the heart to treat her so..."

The Empress scoffed. ’I thought today’s affair would be a real struggle, but I never expected Mother Ji to fumble right at the beginning.’

"So, Mrs. Ji, are you saying that your personal maid, without your permission, took it upon herself to lead several hundred male servants to the Eastern Palace? Why bring so many people for no reason? What was she planning to do?"

Mr. Ji’s face went pale with rage. If not for the fear of losing his composure in the imperial hall, he would have loved to slap his ignorant wife.

’From our humble beginnings in Nanxing City to our current status, how has she failed to show any growth after all these years?’

’I should have left this wife of my youth and married a lady from a proper noble family.’

’Instead of dragging her along on my political career just to maintain a so-called reputation for being magnanimous.’

"Your Majesty, Your Highness the Empress, my wife’s maid was sent on my orders. My primary intention was to bolster the Crown Princess Consort’s prestige. When she married, her dowry was so vast that her retinue of maids and servants did not accompany her. Thus, I sent them to the Eastern Palace today to complete her wedding entourage."

The moment Mr. Ji finished speaking, Ji Xiaosong burst into tears again.

"That’s not what that maid, Chun Cui, said when she arrived! The moment Father shows up, everything gets turned upside down. Father, I know you dislike me. In eighteen years, you never raised me for a single day. You only gave me a dowry because you had no other choice. Now that my younger sister is getting married, I should have known Mother would send so many people to rob me of my dowry for her."

When she finished, she again threw herself onto the Empress’s lap, weeping.

"Mother, they’ve cast me aside! A married daughter is like water thrown from the basin—gone forever. A child you don’t raise yourself is treated differently from one you doted on your entire life. Since they don’t want me, I’ll just cut ties with them!"

Before the Empress could speak, Mother Ji spoke up indignantly.

"If you want to cut ties, then fine! Because of the strange omens at your birth, our Ji family has suffered endless criticism over the years. Since you want to disown us, then give back the entire dowry, and we’ll consider our relationship severed!"

Hearing Mother Ji’s words, Mr. Ji gritted his teeth so hard he nearly drew blood from his gums.

"Your Highness, my wife is spouting nonsense. Her words cannot be taken seriously..."

"Why can’t my words be taken seriously? Weren’t you thinking the same thing before? Now that we have such a good opportunity, why are you giving up?"

Mother Ji cut Mr. Ji off and performed a deep, graceful bow to the Empress.

"I implore Your Majesty and Your Highness to grant our request."

Mr. Ji wanted to argue further. ’How could she say such a thing at a time like this?’

But Mother Ji was resolute. ’If I lose this chance today, I might never get another. I have to seize it.’

’King Wu made a special trip just yesterday to say that if Ji Yan’s dowry is too small, she’ll be made a mere concubine!’

’All the princes of the Royal Family have already taken their main wives. Only this Vassal King, King Wu, is willing to give Ji Yan a respectable position. I can’t give up on this.’

’I can’t let the daughter I’ve doted on my entire life have a worse marriage than the one who grew up in the countryside, can I?’

The Emperor glanced at Mr. Ji, who looked about to faint from anger, and made a decision: "If that is the case, then We shall grant your wish. However, the dowry has already been given. If you were to demand all of it back now, would the sons of the Ji family be able to marry wives with dowries in the future?"

Mr. Ji wanted to refuse at once. ’We can’t cut ties. If we do this today, what family will be willing to marry their precious daughter into our household in the future?’

’Our two sons are almost of marriageable age. This is absolutely the worst time to be causing more trouble.’

But Mother Ji was faster, and she began to bargain:

"Then we won’t ask for all of it back. Just half. The other half... consider it a parting gift."

"Your Majesty, you mustn’t!"

Mr. Ji could no longer hold back. He berated Mother Ji, "You foolish woman, shut up!"

"My dear minister, it seems you and your wife disagree on this matter, but that’s unimportant. We need only look at the outcome. When the Crown Princess Consort was born, you tried to have her killed, but she was unexpectedly saved by a nanny who was leaving your mansion. That is what led to the events that followed."

The Empress chimed in to support the Emperor. "That’s right. When we first arranged the engagement, we were under the impression the Ji Mansion had only one daughter. If it weren’t for the Crown Prince... sigh! You only brought Song back because the wedding was imminent. Your motives... just because I don’t say it aloud doesn’t mean I don’t know what they are."

Sweat instantly dripped from Mr. Ji’s forehead. He pulled Mother Ji to the ground to kneel with him and said in a sorrowful tone:

"For a daughter of the Ji family to marry into the Royal Family is our greatest honor. Since ancient times, there has been no precedent for a bride’s family to reclaim a dowry while the daughter still lives. For the past eighteen years, my family was deluded and we acted wrongly. We can only find peace by compensating our eldest daughter. A rift has now grown between her and our family, and I suppose this relationship cannot be forced. In that case, let the ties be severed. The Ji family no longer has a daughter named Ji Xiaosong. She is simply the Crown Princess Consort of the Royal Family."

Ji Xiaosong stopped crying. The Emperor and Empress exchanged a glance, had everyone present act as witnesses, and drew up a document of severance on the spot.

The moment both parties pressed their thumbprints onto the document, an invisible restriction on Ji Xiaosong’s body was released.

She breathed a sigh of relief. ’This is most likely the severing of my karmic family ties in this world.’

The Empress addressed the assembled ladies, "The Ji family has now severed all ties with the Crown Princess Consort. Though she may no longer have her birth family to back her, she has married into the Royal Family. Our Royal Family has no tradition of taking concubines; she will be the Crown Prince’s only wife, and her new family will be her staunchest support. If, in the future, any unpleasant rumors about the Crown Princess Consort reach my ears, rest assured, I will see the matter through to the very end and hold the responsible parties accountable!"

The ladies present rose and curtsied gracefully. "We shall heed Her Majesty the Empress’s words."

The Emperor then took the opportunity to announce something else. "As I’m sure you are all aware, the Crown Prince was previously afflicted with a potent poison and a malady in his legs. The Imperial Physicians predicted he would not live for more than three years. However, now that we have the Crown Princess Consort, a disciple of Master Xuan Yuan, the Crown Prince’s legs have made a full recovery."

This news was undoubtedly more shocking than any piece of gossip. The rest of the crowd was stunned into silence, unable to process what they had just heard for a long moment.

Mr. Ji and Mother Ji, in particular, simply collapsed to the floor.