Inside, Qian Lianxue was crying and smiling. Her gaze was full of affectionate and loving feelings as she looked at Ning Yuxuan. “Lianxue has been sickly since childhood, didn’t have a parents’ protection, and still needed to take care of my younger brother. It was my lord that took Lianxue out of that helpless circumstance. My lord, it was at that moment that Lianxue fell in love with you.” 

  Marquis Moyu silently sat by her bedside. 

  Qian Lianxue continued to sob as she said, “When I was a child and saw Yingchen being bullied, as his older sister, I couldn’t help him. Instead, he was the one that protected me. I’m a useless older sister, that’s why I wanted to do my utmost to win over a little bit of something for Yingchen.” 

  Looking at her, Ning Yuxuan finally said, “I brought you into my home because I thought you were a person that needed care. You say that you want to live a good life where other people don’t bully you. I haven’t treated you unfairly in this aspect. Why did you interfere in so many things and use your utmost effort for someone else? Lianxue, you’re only a woman.” 

  Qian Lianxue shook her head. “I’m Yingchen’s only sister. When he later couldn’t understand my feelings, I didn’t have anything to say. But, he followed after my lord and did the tasks you gave him. Lianxue couldn’t understand my lord’s strategies. I was afraid that once the imperial court falls into chaos, Yingchen would become involved. So I……” 

  Ning Yuxuan lightly concluded, “You overestimated your intelligence.” 

  Qian Lianxue bit her lip and coughed a few times before saying, “Qian Lianxue never thought about harming my lord or your heir. My lord, your harem is too chaotic. Lianxue just wanted it to be more balanced.” 

  Really, she was concerning herself with things that she shouldn’t. 

  Ning Yuxuan knew that Qian Lianxue was just shifting the point from the main issue and trying to gain his sympathy. But, between them, there was Qian Yingchen, so it wouldn’t be good for him to say too much. He could only listen to her speak. 

  With tears in her eyes, Qian Lianxue said, “My lord, can you stay the night and keep Lianxue company? Lianxue has been dreaming about my lord every night.” 

  Standing outside, by the doorway, Ji Man thought; Qian Lianxue really didn’t know when to stop. She was already this sickly, but she still wanted the marquis to stay overnight. It couldn’t be that she wanted to use this opportunity to fake a pregnancy, so that she could change her fortune and return to the marquis’s estate, right? 

  Dream on. 

  After pushing the doors open, Ji Man walked to the bedside. Pretending that she hadn’t heard Qian Lianxue’s previous words, she anxiously said, “My lord, someone from the estate just came by and said that Old Madame’s illness is getting worse.” 

  Marquis Moyu had a good point; no matter what other women did, his mother was still the most important person. 

  As a result, Ning Yuxuan didn’t say another word before standing up and pulling her with him as he walked out of the room. 

  “My lord……” Qian Lianxue weakly called out. But, Marquis Moyu didn’t turn back. 

  Ji Man didn’t make a false report. Old Madame’s illness was getting more and more serious each day. Today, she hadn’t woken up even once. 

  — 

  Ning Mingjie was currently staying by Old Madame’s bedside and watching over her. Hearing the sound of people coming inside, he turned his head to look. 

  The imperial physician was on the side. After checking Old Madame’s pulse, he shook his head. “She won’t last past the next two days.” The mood in the room immediately became sorrowful. 

  Ji Man was stunned. Looking at Old Madame’s wan and sallow face, she pursed her lips. 

  Marquis Moyu’s expression wasn’t good either. He went straight to asking the imperial physician if there were any other methods. 

  Danggui and Shouwu were gritting their teeth, as they silently crying while the concubines remained quiet. 

  If Old Madame really passed, Ji Man was the only woman in the harem that would genuinely feel upset and pained. After all, the other women hadn’t received Old Madame’s protection and favoritism. Wen Wan would probably feel elated when the time came. The great mountain that loomed over her was finally falling. 

  As Wen Wan waited for Old Madame to die, she pondered who she should send over to chat with the empress. She had already given birth to the marquis’s child. At the very least, the emperor should take back his punishment. She also had to take back her child from Nie Sangyu. 

  Nie Sangyu didn’t have her own child. Once Old Madame was gone, Nie Sangyu’s position as the main wife wouldn’t be stable for long. Wen Wan still had hope that she would be able to regain everything. 

  When Ji Man turned her head, she saw Wen Wan’s curved up lips and felt a burst of loathing. Her eyes were icy cold as she looked at her. 

  After being momentarily startled by this cold gaze, Wen Wan asked with a very innocent expression, “Madam?” 

  Ji Man turned her head away. Wen Wan was such a small-minded woman. It was only with the invincible halo given by the author that she was able to be the female lead. Otherwise, she wasn’t even good enough to play the secondary female character. 

  Wen Wan’s only advantage was that the author had decided that Marquis Moyu would fall in love with her. 

  Was love enough for her to do nothing while the male lead always saved her? Could she just walk down the path to a happily ever after unimpeded? 

  Ji Man refused to acknowledge this system of value that would reward someone for doing nothing. 

  — 

  During the next two days, Ji Man stayed in Old Madame’s courtyard to watch after her. Ning Mingjie and Ning Yuxuan also stayed there to watch Old Madame as well, but Ning Yuxuan would occasionally have to leave because of work. 

  On the second day, in the afternoon, when Ning Yuxuan had left the estate, a death bell rang. 

  In the end, Old Madame’s spirit departed. 

  Sitting by the bedside and looking at Old Madame’s smile that appeared as if she was freeing herself, Ji Man blankly asked, “Why does dying feel like freedom to you?” 

  — 

  An imperial decree came from the palace. Old Madame was conferred a posthumous title, Lady Protector of the Nation, and would be buried in a manner befitting a noble consort. Her grave would be next to Marquis Pingnan’s. One grave was old and the other one was new, but they would be right next to each other. 

  On the day of the funeral procession, Ji Man didn’t cry. She stayed silent during the entire procession. 

  The only person in this dynasty that whole-heartedly protected her was gone. Ji Man suddenly realized; she had thought that she was just a bystander that was indifferently observing everything. But, she was wrong. She had already become involved with these people.

  Chapter 246 – If you play around too much, it will end up ruining your relationship with the person that you love (1) 

  Even if this was just a dream, these people had genuinely treated her well. Ji Man realized that she didn’t have the ability to remain aloof. 

  — 

  Marquis Moyu would be observing the mourning period for his mother for the next three years. This meant that during the next three years, the marquis would definitely not welcome any new concubines into the household. All of the women let out sighs of relief when they found out. Xia-shi was especially fortunate. She had made it just in time for the last bus. Although she had a dubious background, she had Marquis Moyu’s protection and was able to peacefully settle into the household. 

  — 

  The mourning period for Old Madame hadn’t passed yet, so the imperial noble consort was planning a simple birthday celebration for her son. She had been best friends with Old Madame since childhood, but she hadn’t been able to get permission to leave the palace in time to see Old Madame one last time before she passed. Because of this, the imperial consort cried for a very long time. This was why the emperor had posthumously bestowed Old Madame the title, Lady Protector of the Nation. 

  — 

  Ji Man had thought the empress would be too busy working on getting her son out of house arrest. And so, she was somewhat surprised when she heard that the empress had found the free time to say a few words to the emperor to help Wen Wan. Comparing Wen Wan’s baby to the imperial noble consort’s baby, the empress said that Wen Wan had already devoted herself to motherhood and deserved a second chance. 

  Ji Man didn’t understand why this dynasty’s emperor liked to meddle in other people’s household affairs so much. It had been a while since the almost divorce between Prince Huainan’s heir and his heir’s wife. It was said that this aging emperor felt softhearted and actually took back his earlier words that Wen Wan had to stay a servant for the rest of her life. He even praised Wen Wan in front of Marquis Moyu by saying that he heard Wen Wan had given birth to a son. This wasn’t an easy accomplishment. 

  Muxu had also given birth to a son. Old man, why aren’t you also praising Muxu for accomplishing this difficult task too? 

  As expected, the female lead was the strangest type of creature. If she fell off a cliff, she wouldn’t die and would even have a fortuitous meeting. Any notable man in the novel would fall in love with her at first sight. Even if she didn’t do anything, the male lead would still be head-over-heels in love with her. Even if she was placed on the field of death, she would still inexplicably be reborn. 

  Such a strong female lead halo was strong enough to blind Ji Man, but nothing could be done about this. She could only stand to the side and watch Tanxiang walking down the path in high spirits. Tanxiang was carrying a new bolt of silk fabric. As Tanxiang walked, she joyfully said to the other servant girl by her side, “Our master’s fortune is finally turning around for the better.” 

  Since the emperor had already relaxed his position, it was naturally very easy for Marquis Moyu to raise Wen Wan’s position. Even Ji Man felt that this great lord was going to run to her courtyard tonight and tell her to give Wen Wan the position of the secondary wife. 

  — 

  Wen Wan was naturally the happiest. Since early in the morning, she had been trying out different outfits. She had been living in Qiangwei Courtyard without any rank or status. She didn’t even have the right to take care of her own son. But, everything was good now. With the empress supporting her, she would be able to get back her status and her son as well. 

  — 

  However, everyone was taken aback when Ning Yuxuan didn’t say a single word about raising Wen Wan’s status after returning from the palace. He only told Nie Sangyu to prepare for a palace banquet that was celebrating the imperial noble consort’s younger son’s one month birthday. 

  The prince’s one-month-old birthday banquet would naturally be an opportunity for unmarried women to display their talents. After all, it would soon be time for the drafting of new beauties into the palace. 

  Ning Yuxuan wanted her to prepare because each noble household would be performing some sort of act during the banquet in attempt to gain the emperor’s favor. 

  “This servant understands.” Ji Man nodded. 

  The prince’s one-month-old birthday banquet would naturally be an opportunity for unmarried women to display their talents. After all, it would soon be time for the drafting of new beauties into the palace. 

  If there was an young, unmarried woman in the household, then this young woman would naturally be brought along to display her artistic skills. Unfortunately, all of the women in the marquis’s household were married women. There weren’t any young, unmarried women. The only girl in this household was an infant girl that was still being wrapped up in swaddling clothes. 

  Ji Man thought about just finding a song and dance troupe among the commonfolk, but that wouldn’t be showing enough sincerity. After all, this was her younger cousin’s one month birthday. 

  Just as she was worrying about this matter, Wen Wan came over. 

  This had to be mentioned. Although Wen Wan wasn’t very clever and didn’t have many skills, she knew how to dance. Back then, it was exactly one dance on a stage that had hooked the marquis’s heart. And now, Wen Wan had come over here while holding a long dress to plead with her. 

  “This servant wants to offer up a dance for the little prince’s one month birthday. It can be the marquis’s household gift to the little prince.” 

  Ji Man looked at Wen Wan’s lowered head. Was Wen Wan scared that she had lost her position in Ning Yuxuan’s heart? So she had anxiously and hastily thought of way to push herself into the limelight in order to seize a favorable impression? 

  However, at the moment, it was true that only Wen Wan’s status was suitable. She was neither a true concubine nor a true servant. Everyone still had to address her as Miss. If Wen Wan wanted to give a performance, then this would be a load off her mind. 

  After thinking this over, Ji Man agreed to her request. 

  “Madam, please hide this matter from the marquis.” Wen Wan shyly smiled. “Wan-er wants to surprise him.” 

  Looking at Wen Wan’s face, Ji Man stiffly nodded. 

  Several scenes of a female lead creating a stir at a banquet had already flashed through Ji Man’s mind. Wen Wan would either be singing a song, playing a stringed instrument, or performing a feitian dance. There would definitely be one option that was suitable for her. And then, the audience’s reaction would always be the same. There would be absolute silence followed by overwhelming applause. 

  (T/N: Click here for a video of feitian dance.) 

  However, she felt that Ning Yuxuan was the type of person that didn’t like his lovers stepping into the limelight. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked her to interfere in the matter with Tonghua Poetry Association and ruin Wen Wan’s sweet dreams. 

  Wen Wan obviously hadn’t noticed this aspect about Ning Yuxuan. 

  — 

  After returning to Qiangwei Courtyard, Wen Wan painstakingly practiced dancing. She would perform this dance for the little prince’s birthday banquet, and Ning Yuxuan would sit up and take notice of her improved performance……

  Chapter 247 – If you play around too much, it will end up ruining your relationship with the person that you love (2) 

  Recently, Xi-er‘s health hadn’t been good. He would frequently become feverish and throw up milk. The wet nurse had said that perhaps it was because he had been prematurely born, so Ji Man had Doctor Li come over from time to time to check up Xi-er diet. After he said there was nothing wrong with it, Ji Man stopped worrying. 

  — 

  On the day of the little prince’s one month birthday, Wen Wan truly made a spectacle of herself. Wearing a dancer’s outfit, Wen Wan performed a xianyue dance. It could be considered a completely unprecedented act. 

  Among the commoners, xianyue was a very famous dance that would attract the eyes of all men. During the performance, the dancer’s elegant movements and postures would be brimming with seduction. 

  (T/N: xianyue means celestial/heavenly music) 

  However, while Wen Wan was beside herself with joy, she had forgotten that this banquet was for celebrating the little prince’s one month birthday. The person that should be in the limelight wasn’t her. Moreover, although men like to look at alluring and charming women, there was no man that liked to look at his own woman being alluring and charming in front of a large group of men. 

  Ning Yuxuan’s expression was very ugly. Because the emperor and the imperial noble consort were present, he didn’t erupt in fury. He only lowered his head and drank more wine. 

  Holding the little prince, the imperial noble consort sneered, “A few days ago Her Majesty said that Miss Wen Wan had wholeheartedly devoted herself to motherhood. It’s such a surprise to see your performance today. Even this consort’s heart is stirred up by looking at your womanly physique and posture on the stage.” 

  In contrast, sitting at the table, the emperor was actually faintly smiling. “It can’t be helped that Yuxuan likes her so much. Wen family’s daughter is truly a stunning beauty.” 

  There were many members of the imperial family attending this banquet. The men were all repeatedly praising Wen Wan, and the women were all wearing mocking expressions. 

  After Wen Wan finished her dance, she inwardly encouraged herself with the thoughts that the women disliked her because they were jealous of her. This meant that she had done very well. 

  She glanced at Ning Yuxuan and saw that he hadn’t raised his head to look at her. Wen Wan felt a bit distressed. However, after thinking it over, she asked herself. Hadn’t Yuxuan’s personality always been like this? The more he liked someone, the more he wouldn’t look at that person. Thus, she treated it as him being very happy with her performance too. 

  After the performance section was over, Wen Wan left the hall to change her clothes. However, a lot of the guests didn’t know about the marquis’s household special situation and thought that Wen Wan was just a servant. And so, after she had changed her clothes, several sons of nobility and distant descendants of the imperial family surrounded her. 

  “Beautiful Miss, may this one ask for your name?” 

  Wen Wan bashfully smiled. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, “Wen-shi is just a lowly one. My name isn’t worth mentioning.” 

  Her smile gave off the impression of a timid, pretty daughter from a humble family. This very easily stirred up these men’s hormones. And so, the female lead captured the hearts of most of the men today. During the entire way back to the banquet hall, Wen Wan was lightly smiling. 

  When Wen Wan returned to stand by Nie Sangyu’s side, Ji Man looked at Ning Yuxuan, who was seated at the side, and fake smiled as she reminded Wen Wan, “Since you’re already the marquis’s person, it’ll be the best if you clearly refuse those men that are interested in you.” 

  With an innocent expression, Wen Wan asked, “Madam, what are you saying? Who’s interested in Wan-er?” 

  There wasn’t any benefit to reminding this person. Besides Wen Wan didn’t even appreciate her advice. Ji Man shook her head. A lot of women liked to play games of ambiguous love. Even if the woman already had a partner, she wouldn’t clearly reject the other person and would just fake obliviousness as an excuse so that she could enjoy the feeling of another person liking her. 

  If you play around too much, it will end up ruining your relationship with the person that you love. 

  However, Ji Man wouldn’t share this high-level modern romance theory with Wen Wan. Watching as Wen Wan walk down the path to ruin was pretty fun too. 

  The imperial noble consort pulled Nie Sangyu to her side, and they talked for a while. The imperial noble consort also called Nie Chenyu over and bestowed her several items. 

  Looking at her older niece, the imperial noble consort gently said, “You’re both daughters from the main wife. Chenyu must be feeling a bit wronged.” 

  Ji Man pursed her lips. “Sangyu understands.” 

  Nie Chenyu was the daughter of the main wife, but she had entered the marquis’s household as only a concubine. From Chen-shi‘s perspective, her daughter was being horribly wronged, so she frequently went to the palace to cry in front of the imperial noble consort. This must be why the imperial noble consort was suggesting this to her. But, Ji Man wasn’t the female lead. She wouldn’t go the male lead and ask him to favor another woman while feeling aggrieved herself. And so, this was just an empty acknowledgement. 

  — 

  When they returned to the estate that night, contrary to Wen Wan’s expectations, Ning Yuxuan didn’t come over to favor her. He didn’t even come to Qiangwei Courtyard. Instead, he went to Feiwan Courtyard. 

  Tanxiang comforted Wen Wan by saying, “This servant thinks that the only reason the marquis frequently goes to Feiwan Courtyard is because Young Master Xi is there. You still have a place in the marquis’s heart.” 

  Wen Wan was sitting at the table with red eyes. “He’s my child. How can I be willing to accept that he was taken from me and being used by that woman to gain favor?” 

  Tanxiang considered her words before saying, “Master, you can take Young Master Xi back.” 

  “Right now, I don’t have any status. How can I take him back?” At the mention of this, Wen Wan’s eyes turned redder. “The emperor has already relaxed his position. Why hasn’t Yuxuan returned me to my original position?” 

  Tanxiang lowered her head. She really didn’t have any words to comfort her master. She could only say, “It’s probably because Madam is pressuring him not to.” 

  Wen Wan paused. She clenched her fist. Her eyes darkened and brightened. “Where’s the item that Her Majesty gave me?” 

  — 

  Feiwan Courtyard. 

  Seeing that Marquis Moyu was in a bad mood tonight, Ji Man stayed silent. After helping him change his clothes, she obediently lied down to sleep. The wet nurse had already fed Xi-er and taken him out of the room. Surprisingly, he hadn’t fussed or cried tonight. 

  After sleeping to the middle of the night, Ji Man kept feeling uneasy. She got up, draped an outer robe over herself, pushed opened the doors, and went to neighboring room to look. 

  Xi-er was quietly lying on the bed. His little face was red. 

  Had she just gotten used to being woken up by Xi-er’s cries? Now that this baby was quiet, she actually felt a sense of unease. 

  From the doorway behind her, she suddenly heard the voice of the wet nurse asking, “Madam?”


  Chapter 248 – An upright official that fell from the sky (1) 

  Ji Man turned her head and saw the soft-spoken and timid wet nurse fidgeting her hands. 

  The wet nurse somewhat helplessly said, “Madam, why did you come over here? Were you worried about Young Master Xi?” 

  An older servant had recommended this dependable wet nurse. She had recently given birth to a baby and had an ample supple of milk. She always attentively kept close to Xi-er, and Ji Man felt very reassured by her. 

  “I was just feeling restless tonight, so I came over to look,” Ji Man said, “This child usually always cries in the middle of the night. It’s surprising that he hasn’t fussed at all tonight.” 

  The wet nurse paused, then she walked over and stroked Xi-er‘s cheeks. She frowned and said, “Young Master Xi is feeling feverish again. This servant had only briefly gone out to use the bathroom. How come…… Oh, this servant will go fetch a doctor.” 

  Hearing these words, Ji Man felt alarmed and checked Xi-er‘s temperature too. He was only a young child. Why was he being punished like this? 

  By the time Doctor Li came over, Marquis Moyu had already been awakened by the noise. The group of people waited by the cradle to hear Doctor Li’s diagnosis. 

  Li Zixue frowned and said, “Has Young Master eaten something unclean recently? This warm room is at a good temperature. If he’s being properly taken care of, he shouldn’t be sick.” 

  Ning Yuxuan glanced at Nie Sangyu, and she looked at the wet nurse in turn. 

  The wet nurse hurriedly shook her head and said, “This servant only feeds Young Master Xi milk every day. He shouldn’t have eaten anything else.” 

  “It’s true. Xi-er normally only drinks the wet nurse’s milk. He hasn’t been exposed to other food.” Frowning, Ji Man said, “Could it just be a problem from the changing of seasons…… I mean did he just catch a cold?” 

  “It doesn’t seem like he’s feverish from catching a cold.” Doctor Li shook his head. 

  Ning Yuxuan took the child into his arms and touched Xi-er‘s face that was as red as an apple. He didn’t say a word. 

  Dengxin rushed inside and reported, “Master, Miss Wen Wan is outside. She’s requesting to see you.” 

  Right now, the moon was at the tip of the willow branch. It was very late at night. Why would Wen Wan come over? Ji Man raised her eyebrow, glanced at Ning Yuxuan, and said in a low voice, “Let her come in.” 

  With disheveled hair, Wen Wan ran into the room. She only had a cloak over her sleeping garments. It seemed that she wasn’t scared of the cold either. As soon as she entered the room, she took the baby from Marquis Moyu. With tears in her eyes, “I woke up in the middle of the night because I dreamed that Xi-er was crying. What’s wrong with him? Why is his face so hot?” 

  On the side, Doctor Li said in a neutral tone, “Young Master has a fever. Miss Wan, you should put him back in his cradle. It won’t be good if you hold him so unsteadily.” 

  The tears immediately fell from Wen Wan’s eyes. She clearly wasn’t listening to Li Zixiu’s words. Holding the baby, she fell to the floor on her knees with a loud sound. “My lord, Xi-er is Wan-er‘s flesh and blood. How can you be so heartless as to allow Wan-er‘s flesh and blood to be kept in someone else’s place and suffer such rough hardship?” 

  Her cries sounded very miserable. Really, it sounded quite genuine. Looking at this sight, even Ji Man felt slightly moved by her tears. Moreover, Marquis Moyu had always had Wen Wan in his heart. 

  “Stand up first. It’s unavoidable for children to get sick. You’re making such a scene by crying and fussing like this.” 

  Holding back her tears, Wen Wan pitifully said, “Yuxuan, the child is already like this. Don’t you feel bad for him at all? I’m his biological mother. I would never harm him. Why won’t you let me raise him?” 

  If Ning Yuxuan answered that her status wasn’t high enough, then Wen Wan would definitely respond by asking, why won’t you raise my status? Old Madame was already gone. He was in charge of this household! 

  But Marquis Moyu, this skillful fox, wouldn’t answer her question that way. He only gently tried to help Wen Wan stand up, wiped away her tears, and said, “I’m doing this for Xi-er‘s benefit. He wouldn’t suffer any grievances while he’s with Sangyu.” 

  “He’s already sick to this point, and you’re saying that he’s not suffering?” With reddened eyes, Wen Wan held the baby tighter. She wouldn’t let him go. Xi-er was probably feeling too uncomfortable, so he finally started crying even though he was feeling feverish. 

  It immediately became a scene of Nie Sangyu and Marquis Moyu trying to separate a mother from her flesh and blood. 

  Ji Man stepped forward, sighed, and pulled back Marquis Moyu’s hand that was pulling Wen Wan up. She gently said, “My lord, younger sister Wen Wan’s crying truly looks quite pitiful. How about just giving Xi-er to her? This way, she’ll stop resenting this servant for taking her child.” 

  Wen Wan’s gaze was venomous and hateful when she looked at Nie Sangyu. 

  Ning Yuxuan paused before shaking his head and saying, “Dengxin, leave first. Go and prepare medicine. Doctor Li, follow her and watch her prepare the medicinal herbs. After Young Master Xi has drunk the medicine, the wet nurse will stay here to take care of him. 

  “Yuxuan!” Wen Wan widened her eyes to stare at him. “I’ve already knelt down and begged you. You still won’t return my child to me?” 

  Marquis Moyu had a slight headache. Feeling frustrated, he finally pulled Wen Wan to a standing position and handed the baby over to Nie Sangyu, then he led Wen Wan to the side of the room and whispered, “Why are you so stupid?” 

  Wen Wan looked at him with reddened eyes. 

  Ning Yuxuan deeply looked at her and asked, “Don’t you know that your child is this household’s third young master? How can there be any disadvantage to him being raised by the matriarch of the family?” 

  Wen Wan was stumped for words. Looking at Ning Yuxuan’s gaze, she seemed to have suddenly understood something 

  He still loved her, right? He was just planning out Xi-er‘s future prospects, so he wanted to Xi-er to stay with the main wife, right? 

  But, she still felt unwilling to accept this. It hadn’t been easy to get this child, and now she had to submissively hand him over to Nie Sangyu…… 

  Marquis Moyu patted her shoulder. Wen Wan sighed; she felt that she understood Yuxuan’s good intentions now. She shouldn’t continue to fuss. It wasn’t that Yuxuan didn’t love her. He was just showing his care for her in a different way…… 

  Translator Ramblings: Opps, I realized that it’s not explicitly said that Wen Wan is behind Xi-er’s sickness. That was just my assumption because we’re told the empress gave Wen Wan something at the birthday banquet, and then Wen Wan suddenly appears in Feiwan Courtyard in the middle of the night. If she didn’t poison Xi-er, how could she have known he would be sick right now?

  Chapter 249 – An upright official that fell from the sky (2) 

  Sometimes, women were like animals that would self-comfort themselves. Ning Yuxuan had only stated two facts, and Wen Wan had supplemented everything else in her imagination. 

  And so, this female lead that whole-heartedly believed the male lead was in love with herself, foolishly allowed herself to be persuaded by these words. She never considered what would happen to her child if Nie Sangyu had a child of her own in the future. 

  After making such a big scene, Wen Wan left without obtaining anything and even sent a message to the empress to say good things about Ning Yuxuan. 

  Marquis Moyu liked foolishly cute women. In contrast, a woman like Nie Sangyu was too difficult to deal with. 

  — 

  Wen Wan had stopped making a fuss, but poor Xi-er was very sick for several days. He almost didn’t recover. During this time, Ji Man was very busy with taking care of him. 

  When she was finally able to take a rest, Ning Mingjie came to Feiwan Courtyard with Jinse. They also brought the news of someone’s death. 

  Qian Lianxue had died. 

  Ji Man’s first reaction was that Qian Lianxue had to be pretending. How could this be possible? Qian Lianxue had countless hidden secrets. She had even deliberately made herself sick in order to turn around her fortune. How could she have died so quietly? 

  With an indifferent expression, Jinse said, “She committed suicide by drinking poison. Just as the cases had been figured out and before she could be confronted, this servant went to her courtyard. She died in her bed with a bottle of poison in her hand. Danzhu had disappeared.” 

  For a while, Ji Man couldn’t digest this information. 

  Ning Mingjie cupped his hands and said, “This one didn’t live up to your expectations, but the cases were solved by another official in the Ministry of Justice. The whole truth has been revealed.” 

  What was the real truth? 

  — 

  Ji Man blankly followed them to Qian Residence. Qian Yingchen was currently kneeling in front of Qian Lianxue’s room. Inside the room, there were people here to prepare Qian Lianxue’s body for the funeral. They were currently at the stage of doing her make up. The burial would happen three days later. 

  The doors were open, but most people wouldn’t have dared to go inside. Ji Man wasn’t even scared of ghosts, and she didn’t care if she saw another corpse. And so, she followed Ning Mingjie inside. 

  She asked, “Why did they say she committed suicide?” 

  Qian Lianxue was lying on the bed, and her clothes were tidy without any sign of being moved. 

  “There weren’t any traces of a struggle. Also, according to what the servants said, Qian Lianxue hadn’t been wearing an outer garment while she was recuperating from her illness. But, when she died, she was nicely dressed up. The bottle of poison was also found in her hand. So, they determined that she had committed suicide.” 

  Ji Man cast her gaze across Qian Lianxue. When Qian Lianxue had been alive, due to her poor health, she couldn’t use rouge and could only use cold cream on her face. And now that she was no longer alive, the servants were applying a thick layer of makeup for her. Her face looked very glamorous. 

  There were also servants that were slowly sorting out the jewelry that would be buried with her. Ji Man cursorily looked in that direction. She absently noticed that there was a dragon-shaped jade accessory among the other items. 

  She didn’t pay any extra attention to it. The mood in the room wasn’t good, so Ji Man didn’t dare to linger in this room for too long. She left the room right after saluting Qian Lianxue. 

  The dead should be respected. 

  After walking to the courtyard, Ji Man saw the official that Ning Mingjie had mentioned earlier. He had written down all of Qiannxue’s crimes and was currently showing the paper to Marquis Moyu so that he could look it over. 

  Ning Yuxuan’s expression was especially ugly. It was so ugly that Ji Man was extremely curious about what was written on that paper. 

  He glanced at her, then handed the paper over to her. “Here, you can look.” 

  Ji Man hurriedly took the paper. 

  The words were densely packed together, and there were also several traditional Chinese words that she couldn’t read. However, she was able to read enough of the words to grasp the general meaning. After she finished reading the paper, her mood was also very heavy. 

  Should she praise this official for being a teenage Bao Qingtian? He had been able to find all of the evidence for the three cases in such a short time. Not only did he find witnesses and material evidence, he had also found a few of the servant girls that had attended to her when she was giving birth. The witnesses had testified that Qian Lianxue had been the one responsible for everything. 

  (T/N: Bao Qingtian is a fictional nickname of Bao Zheng, a Nothern Song official renowned for his honesty. He’s honored as a cultural symbol of justice.) 

  According to this paper, Qian Lianxue had been responsible for the ghost baby and the multiple miscarriages in the marquis’s estate, even the crime of kidnapping her baby was being placed at Qian Lianxue’s feet. 

  Other people had thought these three cases were impossible to solve, but he had found overwhelming evidence by sheer coincidence and neatly resolved them. 

  This person’s last name was Fan. Henceforth, everyone called him Fan Qingtian. 

  (T/N: Fan means pattern, model, rule, law. Qingtian can mean clear sky as well as upright and honorable when used to describe an official.) 

  Ji Man thought the whole thing felt kind of fake. 

  A person with many secrets had inexplicably died. All of the crimes had fallen onto her head. If she was watching this as TV show in the modern times, she would definitely think Qian Lianxue was a scapegoat. 

  Reading this report that very reasonably wrote out all of the evidence and concluded Qian Lianxue as the culprit, Ji Man suddenly really wanted to know; who was Qian Lianxue’s other master? Did she have more than one? 

  Although the case had been solved, her child still remained missing. Since Qian Lianxue had died, no one knew where she had sent her child. 

  Ning Yuxuan was silent for a long time, before he held her hand and led them out of Qian Residence. 

  “Is Sir Fan one of your men?” Ji Man quietly asked. 

  Marquis Moyu lightly said, “What do you mean by one of my men? He’s an official of the court.” 

  Until now, he hadn’t noticed Fan Tianxiang’s quiet, nobody existence in the Ministry of Justice. But now, he had suddenly appeared like someone that had fallen from the sky and solved a difficult problem. 

  — 

  Qian Yingchen was affected by his older sister’s crimes; the emperor demoted his rank and dispatched him to Xu Province.