At that time, Zhao Zhe really had someone hand her a brush and paper so that she could paint. With her lips twitching, it took Ji Man a long time to explain that a blueprint wasn’t a type of painting. 

  There was no one with the surname Nie anymore, so she was no longer a threat to Zhao Zhe. On the contrary, Zhao Zhe had repeatedly wanted to kill her because he thought she was too clever. But now, her intelligences could be used for his benefit. Why wouldn’t Zhao Zhe accept her offer to help him? 

  Ji Man had been dressing as a man this entire time since it was much easier to do business this way. She had also especially purchased a very expensive face mask that looked just like human skin. The only problem was that it was difficult to put on and take off. Still, it was worth the cost, only Zhao Zhe knew her real identity. Everyone else had been fooled into thinking she was a man. 

  Anyhow, Ji Man really had returned to the capital to sell rice. 

  Right now, she wasn’t an official, and Zhangjun was also a place that produced rice in abundance. And so, Ji Man continued doing her business while suggesting little ideas to Zhao Zhe. During this time, when there weren’t turbulent changes, there was no need for her to do anything. She just needed to happily focus on selling rice. Right now, the titled princes were coming to pay respect to the emperor, so it was a good opportunity for her to expand her business to the capital. 

  She did have a faint desire to see how Ning Yuxuan had been living during the year she had been gone. If he had completely forgotten her, that wouldn’t be good. It meant that she had overplayed her cards. 

  Smiling, Zhao Zhe asked, “Do you want the carriage to stop at Marquis Moyu’s entrance for a little bit?” 

  The carriage had already entered the capital. As the carriage passed through the streets, some of the places still looked very familiar to her. Ji Man sniffled and shook her head. “No need. There will be other chances later.” 

  There’ll definitely be a more opportune day for them to meet again. 

  — 

  The carriage stopped in front of an inn. Right after Ji Man jumped down, she saw that Shen Youqing had arrived a little bit before them. 

  “Your Highness.” 

  Shen Youqing showed a superficial smile as she accepted Ji Man’s respectful greeting, then she turned around and entered the inn. 

  Ji Man thought that the princess consort was probably felling a bit angry because Zhangjun Prince would rather share a carriage with another man than her. 

  Shrugging her shoulders, Ji Man went to look for her own room. After putting away her luggage, she went out to make contact with the capital’s grain retailer association. 

  — 

  Ning Yuxuan was holding Haohao and playfully teasing him. Xia-shi was by his side. She was wearing a soft green gauzy dress with her half of soft bosom exposed. Leaning against him, she said, “My lord, look. Haohao looks so much like you.” 

  Xia-shi lowered her head. Holding onto his arm, she lightly rubbed against him. “Unfortunately, he wasn’t born from the main wife, and now Liu-shi has become Madam. She must be feeling so dissatisfied that her son isn’t the heir.” 

  Haohao opened his eyes and blankly looked around. 

  Ning Yuxuan nodded. “Yes, the heir should be raised by the main wife.” 

  Delighted, Xia-shi grasped his belt as she said, “Then…… It’s been so long. My lord, why won’t you look at this servant?” 

  Holding Haohao, Ning Yuxuan seriously said, “Because you don’t look as good as his biological mother. 

  The smile on Xia-shi‘s face stiffened. She paused for a long time before asking, “What did you say?” 

  “Haohao has reached the age where he should be learning how to talk,” Marquis Moyu said as he stood up. “Since he’s already old enough to have been weaned off milk, then he doesn’t need you to care for him. I’ll find a suitable scholar to come here to be his live-in tutor.” 

  “My lord!” Panicking, Xia-shi stood up too. Grabbing his sleeve to stop him, she said, “What has this servant done wrong? Last time’s quarrel with Madam was because she started it. She wanted to prick Haohao with a needle. This servant has been doing her best to protect Haohao. Why……” 

  “Hanyun doesn’t have that type of temperament.” Ning Yuxuan glanced at her and indifferently said, “I’ll give you enough money to support you for the rest of your life. Haohao will be given to someone else to teach.” 

  Xia-shi took a deep breath. “My lord, you can’t turn your back on me after I helped you. I’m Haohao’s……” 

  “You’re not his real mother.” Ning Yuxuan pushed her hand off his sleeve. “Take the things that you should take and go back to look at your own children. The carriage is already waiting for you outside.” 

  It felt as if lightning had struck Xia-shi. Left feeling stunned, she continued to stand in the same spot. Marquis Moyu had already past the doorway while carrying Haohao. 

  Haohao had become increasingly clingy towards him. It was to the point where Ning Yuxuan would bring him along even when he was going to the Six Ministries to work. The sight of him wearing his dark blue official’s attire while holding a baby attracted a lot of laughter from the other officials. 

  “It’s about time for your mom to come home.” He asked Haohao, “Do you miss her?” 

  Haohao just blankly looked at him while blowing little saliva bubbles. He twisted over, and his plump body nestled closer to Ning Yuxuan’s chest. 

  — 

  Bringing along her proof of credentials, Ji Man was planning on going to the grain retailer association. She needed to get a permit before she could sell rice in the capital. However, when she had only reached halfway, a carriage horse actually got startled and was galloping towards her direction. 

  There was no scene of a hero saving a beauty this time. Heavily falling onto the ground to avoid being trampled by the horse, Ji Man’s hands and legs were bloody from being rubbed against the ground. 

  “Sorry!” The wild horse was finally stopped, and the carriage driver jumped down. He walked to Ji Man’s side and said, “Little brother, pardon me. Do you want me to take you to a nearby doctor?” 

  Hearing this familiar voice, Ji Man paused. When she raised her head, she saw Guibai’s honest-looking face. 

  The passenger in the carriage had also come down. Clutching the carriage and not having fully recovered from her earlier panicky state, Xia-shi cried, “What have I done to deserve such bad karma?”


  Chapter 320 – He had been lying to her this entire time (1) 

  Time hadn’t been able to rub away Xia-shi‘s innate rustic demeanor. After taking a few breaths to calm herself, Ji Man looked at Guibai and made her voice lower-pitched as she said, “I’ll have to rely on you to help me to a nearby doctor’s clinic then.” 

  Guibai nodded and supported Ji Man into the carriage. Then, he went to work on removing the nails from the horse’s horseshoes. 

  Carrying her wrapped cloth bundle and weeping endlessly, Xia-shi also boarded the carriage and sat back down. In the passing, she cast a scrutinizing gaze at Ji Man. 

  Ji Man reflexively touched her face. The fake skin face mask hadn’t come off. She still had the face of a rather attractive man. 

  Keeping her voice rough, Ji Man asked, “Madam, why are you crying so wretchedly?” 

  Xia-shi wiped her nose and said, “I worked so hard to serve someone for almost two years, and now I’ve been abruptly tossed out. Tell me, do you think I should cry or not?” 

  Ji Man couldn’t figure it out. Wasn’t Xia-shi Haohao’s biological mother? Why would Ning Yuxuan kick her out? What would happen to Haohao? 

  “That’s really pitiful.” Looking at Xia-shi, Ji Man spoke, “Based on your fancy clothing, you’re probably a madam from a wealthy family. Did you make a mistake?” 

  “I haven’t done anything wrong!” Wringing her hands, Xia-shi‘s gaze looked a bit vicious. However, she quickly remembered that there was an unfamiliar young man sitting in front of her and softened her expression. In a quiet voice, she said, “It’s that man. His heart is too cruel. I thought by caring for his child as he grew up, he would gradually have some sort of affection toward me. How could I have known that he’s been regarding me as only a wet nurse the entire time?” 

  The carriage had reached a doctor’s clinic. Guibai pulled the reins to stop the horse and pulled the curtain back. “Little brother, you can come down.” 

  Ji Man couldn’t continue to ask questions. Nodding her head, she left the carriage and followed Guibai. 

  Surprisingly, Xia-shi also came out of the carriage while holding onto her cloth bundle. “Seeing how serious your injuries look, I’ll come too.” 

  Guibai glanced at Xia-shi, but didn’t say anything. After leading Ji Man to get checked over by a doctor and having a shop assistant wrap up the prescribed medicine, he offered her a ride to where she wanted to go next. 

  Ji Man gave him the address for the grain retailer association, and he had them board the carriage again. However, when they were getting into the carriage, he warningly looked at Xia-shi. 

  Xia-shi was much quieter the rest of the ride and didn’t continue to idly chat with Ji Man. Seeing this change, Ji Man acted very affectionately and asked her where her home was. 

  Blushing, Xia-shi answered in quiet voice, “I’m from a large fishing village that’s far from here.” 

  Ji Man was a bit stunned by her words. Hadn’t Ning Yuxuan said that he had met Xia-shi during the Southern Journey? No matter what, shouldn’t she have come from somewhere near Jiangnan? Why was it a fishing village? 

  Something flashed through her mind. Smiling, Ji Man stretched her hand out and gently held Xia-shi‘s hand. In an equally quiet voice, she said, “I want to visit your home and see what it’s like. I’ve been staying in cities for too long. I’ve never been to a fishing village before.” 

  “Young lord, you must be ridiculing me.” Xia-shi embarrassedly smoothed her hair. “Anyways, my home isn’t that far. Don’t you still have business to attend to? Once you’re done with your work, you can come visit me then. I live at the end of the village. When I go back this time, I want to builder a bigger house to live in, and I happen to not have anyone to help me with ideas.” 

  The implied suggestion was certainly clear enough. Seeing Xia-shi‘s glimmering eyes, Ji Man couldn’t resist touching her face. It couldn’t be that she was quite suitable with pretending to be a man, right? 

  The carriage stopped. Guibai said, “Little brother, I can only take you this far. You only need to walk a little further, and you’ll reach the grain retailer association.” 

  “Alright, thank you.” As Ji Man got up, she tucked the bamboo fan that she had brought along into the crook of Xia-shi‘s arm and winked at her. 

  With a blushing face, Xia-shi tightly gripped the fan and waved good-bye. 

  After leaving the carriage, Ji Man entered the grain retailer association and attended to her business. Using a letter from Zhangjun Prince, she successfully gained a business permit. After that, she hurriedly went back to the inn, changed into a nicer set of clothing, checked that fake skin face mask was firmly in place, and hired a carriage to take her to that fishing village. By the looks of the sky, it wasn’t early anymore. 

  There was only one fishing village outside the capital. By the time that Ji Man arrived, it was already the middle of the night. At the end of the village, there was still a home that hadn’t extinguished its candles yet. 

  Ji Man went forward and knocked on the door. 

  Xia-shi opened the door with a smile. Not showing any sign of avoiding her, she directly welcomed her guest inside. 

  The narrow house had three children inside. The oldest one looked to be around seven or eight years old, and the youngest one appeared to be around two years old. They were all staring at her in a daze. 

  “My home isn’t big. I’ll go buy stuff to rebuild my house tomorrow. Fortunately, that person was generous. I won’t have to worry about money for the rest of my life,” Xia-shi nattered. Stuffing a bundle into a wardrobe, she turned her head and said to the oldest child. “Take your younger brother and sister away to rest. Have you gotten stupid from your book learning?” 

  The seven to eight year old child hurriedly picked up his youngest sibling, then held his five-year-old sister’s hand and scurried to the neighboring room. 

  “This…… did you give birth to all these children?” Ji Man was a bit stunned. 

  “I’m a widow. It’s not big deal if I have more children.” Xia-shi‘s eyes reddened. “Anyways, men never treat me sincerely. If I raise more children, some of them might pay me filial respect when they grow up.” 

  Ji Man coughed to clear her throat. “Do you only have three? Or, do you have other children?” 

  Xia-shi shot a glance at Ji Man. With a harrumph, she sat down in Ji Man’s lap. “You came from so far away to come to my place. Why put on this pretense of being proper? Why ask about my children? Didn’t you come here because you want to do that with me……” 

  Feeling that a hand was sliding down on her body, Ji Man jumped up and grabbed Xia-shi‘s shoulder. “You’re misunderstanding. I just wanted to ask for lodging and see how a sunrise looks like from a fishing village and what not.” 

  After she said those words, even Ji Man wouldn’t believe herself! Looking at Xia-shi‘s slightly scornful gaze, Ji Man thought; this woman was really too open-minded. Back then, why had Ning Yuxuan been attracted to her?

  Chapter 321 – He had been lying to her this entire time (2) 

  “You’ve already followed me here. Why are you saying this now?” Xia-shi coquettishly pouted. Tugging on the lapel of Ji Man’s robe, she said, “I’m a widow, and I don’t care about my reputation. When I was at that rich person’s place, I didn’t dare to make a wrong move, so it’s been so long since I had a taste of being ravished.” 

  Ji Man grabbed her hand and nervously laughed. “Older sister, there’s no need to hurry. I’m kind of curious. What kind of place did you go to? Since it was a rich household, what caused you to become so upset over it?” 

  Xia-shi harrumphed. At the mention of this topic, she still felt somewhat indignant. “I had originally thought it was a boon from the Heavens. Someone appeared out of the blue, gave me a child, and wanted me to go to his household to be a mother for his child. But, as it turned out, he just wanted me to be a milk mother. He even said that I didn’t look as good as the child’s biological mother. I felt so mad today.” 

  Ji Man was stunned. It took a long time before she found her voice again. “Haohao isn’t your son?” 

  “Of course not.” Xia-shi blurted out. A moment later, her entire body stiffened as she looked at Ji Man. “You……” 

  After Ji Man had taken a deep breath, she suddenly burst out in laughter. 

  If Haohao wasn’t Xia-shi‘s son, then who were his parents? Since Ning Yuxuan had announced Haohao as his heir, Haohao had to be Ning Yuxuan’s biological son. When would he have gotten a son that appeared out of nowhere and needed a fake mother? 

  Thinking it over, it had to be her child that had disappeared back then. Haohao was the child that had been replaced with a toddy kitten. Ning Yuxuan had felt it was safe to bring Haohao back into the household by saying he was another woman’s son. 

  Ning Yuxuan, ah, Ning Yuxuan, you played such an underhanded trick. By keeping her in the dark, he had caused her so much pain. 

  Slowly standing up and heading towards the door, Ji Man almost couldn’t stop her hysterical laughter. Her son had been right in front of her, and she had even seen his birthday grab, but she hadn’t known that he was her child. 

  “Who are you?” Xia-shi returned to her senses and grabbed Ji Man’s arm. Xia-shi‘s pull was so forceful that Ji Man almost fell to the ground. But, suddenly, someone had grabbed her other arm and stopped her from falling. 

  Xia-shi shrieked. Ji Man didn’t see who was behind her and didn’t know what had happened. Before she could come to her senses, the other person had already taken her outside and towards a carriage. 

  There was the sound of children crying in the fishing village, as well as a woman swearing. Ji Man blankly raised her head and saw the face that she wanted to smack the most right now. 

  Ning Yuxuan was holding Haohao and quietly looking at her. 

  Ji Man clenched her hands. She really wanted to hit him, but she didn’t dare to strike down. In this society where men had all the power, if a woman slapped a man and offended his sense of dignity, then there was no use in even discussing if there was love between the two of you. Anyways, a woman wouldn’t have a good end. 

  “This face looks really ugly,” Ning Yuxuan lightly said. 

  With her attention focused on the child that he was holding, she absent-mindedly asked, “How do you know that it’s me?” 

  “Just trying my luck. They said there was an advisor named Ji Man by Zhangjun Prince’s side.” Ning Yuxuan lowered his gaze. “Didn’t you say that you’re called Ji Man. Hearing that same name, I tested to see if it was you, and you really did come here.” 

  The corners of Ji Man’s lips twitched. It couldn’t be that this person had been testing every single person with the same name as her, right? 

  Haohao opened his eyes and sucked on his finger. Marquis Moyu turned him around to face Ji Man. He took Haohao’s little finger out of his mouth and pointed at Ji Man. He said, “Mom.” 

  Eyes slightly reddening, Ji Man pressed her lips together. Looking at her son, whom she had always thought was someone else’s child, she didn’t know what to say. 

  Haohao blew a few saliva bubbles. He looked at Ning Yuxuan with a pitiful gaze and silently pouted. 

  Stretching her arms out, she took the young child into her arms. Burying her head in between that little shoulder, she said in a muffled voice, “Marquis, your heart is really too cruel.” 

  Ning Yuxuan chuckled. “You say that as if your own heart isn’t the same.” 

  Ji Man stayed silent for a while before saying, “I don’t want to be protected by someone in that way. I want to be able to protect myself instead of staying behind you while living in ignorance and having no idea what you’re doing.” 

  Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips and lowly laughed. “So, it’s better for you to be Zhangjun Prince’s advisor instead? Sangyu, you’re a woman. It’s not your place to do these things, and you won’t be able to do it successfully either.” 

  “I’m Ji Man, not Sangyu.” Ji Man raised her head and continued to hold Haohao as she looked at Ning Yuxuan. “You haven’t seen what women are capable of. I’ll show you through my actions.” 

  “What about Haohao?” Marquis Moyu slightly furrowed his brow. “Do you not want Haohao anymore?” 

  Slightly stunned, Ji Man drew her hands closer to herself. The little fellow in her arms rubbed against her chest. 

  She was already working under Zhangjun Prince. She refused to give up on her plan halfway. But, what about Haohao? She had already missed so much time with Haohao. And now, she had to leave him again. Was she going to miss the rest of his childhood little by little? 

  Although she had repeatedly told herself that this was Nie Sangyu’s child, her heart stilled melted into mush as she held Haohao. 

  “Can you give Haohao to me?” 

  Ning Yuxuan chuckled. “You’re holding my heir. Do you think a heir is someone that can be casually given away?” 

  “Then……” Ji Man frowned. 

  “Haohao needs a teacher,” Marquis Moyu lightly said, “But, based on your status, I’m afraid that you wouldn’t be suitable. You’ll have to figure out a way by yourself.”