Chapter 366: Kneel Down! You Scared Her
When Ji Qingrong saw the crowded room, she gasped softly and, despite her large belly, began to bow to the worried-looking Prince Yong and the fuming Princess Qingyun.
Ji Qingwu cleared her throat.
Prince Yong immediately stood up. "I have other matters to attend to, so I won’t stay long." He looked intently at Ji Qingwu and added, "If the Princess Consort needs anything, feel free to send someone to find me."
Qingyun also stood up and walked over with a show of great affection to help support Ji Qingrong.
"Cousin, there’s no need for such formalities between us. Quick, come sit down. Judging by the look of it, you must be due soon, right?"
Ji Qingrong had never received such an enthusiastic reception from Princess Qingyun. She suppressed her surprise and responded with a smile of her own.
"I still have a little over a month."
Ji Qingwu sat beside her older sister with a faint smile, her eyes shining as she gazed at Ji Qingrong, as if she couldn’t look at her enough.
If Qingyun and the others hadn’t been there, Ji Qingrong would have loved to reach out and caress her sister’s cheek.
Ji Qingwu asked, "Eldest Sister, did you need something from me?"
Her gaze fell to her sister’s belly, her eyes widening slightly. "Are you not feeling well?"
"I’m fine, everything is alright," Ji Qingrong said. She lowered her voice. "There’s trouble at home. Come back with me."
The moment she heard there was trouble at home, Ji Qingwu’s eyes flew wide, and she grew tense.
Ever since her last formal visit home, when Mrs. Qiao had thrown her out, she and her mother had not spoken.
"Did something happen to Mother?"
Otherwise, why would it have been serious enough to trouble her pregnant eldest sister, who had even come all the way to the Wei Family residence to find her?
"We’ll talk on the way home," Ji Qingrong said.
*
「The Ji Mansion.」
Ji Qingwu followed Ji Qingrong into the mansion, but they weren’t heading toward Mrs. Qiao’s Anju Garden.
Instead, they went toward Old Madam Ji’s Shou’an Hall.
At the entrance, Ji Qingrong seemed to come to her senses. Seeing her younger sister had paused at the foot of the stairs, she stopped and beckoned to Ji Qingwu.
"Don’t be nervous."
Ji Qingwu took a deep breath and nodded.
The scene inside Shou’an Hall was one of cheerful harmony.
Even before they entered, they could hear Old Madam Ji’s genuinely happy laughter.
Ms. Wu of the second branch and Ji Qingyuan were both present. This time, however, Ji Qingyuan was on her best behavior, sitting in the humblest seat rather than clinging to the old madam’s side.
Someone else was sitting beside Old Madam Ji.
Even the normally stern Mrs. Qiao had a smile on her face as she looked at the person in the seat of honor.
Just then, a servant came to announce that the eldest young miss had returned.
Mrs. Qiao smiled toward the door. "My lord, Qingrong has returned."
Ji Bo Lian nodded, his gaze landing on the entrance a short distance away.
Chun Xing helped Ji Qingrong through the door first. Duke Zhongyong’s Mansion had long since received news of her father’s impending return.
Ji Qingrong had clearly dressed for the occasion. She wore a magnificent brocade gown woven with a hundred colorful butterflies that complemented her excellent complexion. She looked healthy and radiant, and it was obvious at a glance that she was thriving in her marriage.
Behind his eldest daughter, Ji Bo Lian saw another young woman in a simple, plain, cyan-colored dress. Judging by her clothes alone, she wasn’t as well-dressed as a servant from the Marquis Mansion.
Ji Qingrong bowed first, paying her respects to her grandmother. Then, her gaze shifted to Ji Bo Lian, and with tears blurring her vision, she murmured, "Father."
Ji Bo Lian’s face was stern. "What are you crying for? Is that how an heir’s wife should behave?"
Mrs. Qiao tore her gaze away from the person behind Ji Qingrong and said, "Qingrong, you’re pregnant. Your father is only worried that crying will harm your health."
In a calmer tone, Ji Bo Lian said, "Sit down. We can talk."
Only Ji Qingwu remained standing in the room. With her view unobstructed, she lifted her head and stared directly at the middle-aged man sitting upright in the seat of honor.
Even with his beard, she could tell he must have had refined features in his youth. His face wasn’t exceptionally handsome, but his eyes lacked the murkiness that comes with age; they were still clear and sharp.
’So this is my father.’
Ji Qingwu observed him, captivated. He was nothing like the strange, old-fashioned man she had imagined—the staunch traditionalist, loyal to his emperor and country, who would gladly bankrupt his family and sacrifice his life for the nation.
At the same time, Ji Bo Lian was also watching her. His brow furrowed, and the corners of his mouth turned down in a visible frown.
The smile on Mrs. Qiao’s lips vanished. Though she and her husband had been apart for a long time, she knew that look on his face meant he was displeased.
She said, "My lord, this is Qingwu."
She then shot a meaningful look at Ji Qingwu. "Qingwu, go sit by your sister. Don’t just stand there."
But Ji Qingwu didn’t move, remaining rooted to the spot like a statue.
Ji Bo Lian showed none of the kindness he had for Ji Qingrong. Even though this was his youngest daughter, he opened his mouth only to reprimand her.
"Is this the proper attitude for a child to have when meeting her parents and elders?"
Mrs. Qiao tried to explain, "Xiao Wu is probably just overwhelmed. She has been away for so many years—"
"She may have been away for many years, but is she not back now?" Ji Bo Lian retorted. "Is this how you taught her her manners?"
His few words were enough to make Mrs. Qiao lower her head.
Ji Qingyuan chimed in placatingly, "First Uncle, please don’t be angry. Fifth Sister has always been this way. Why, she even..."
As she spoke, she covered her mouth with a handkerchief and lowered her head, as though she had said something improper.
"She even what? Say it." Ji Bo Lian’s face grew grim.
Feigning reluctance, Ji Qingyuan said, "She even angered Grandmother so much that she fell ill."
Old Madam Ji said nothing, but the long sigh from Nanny Feng at her side was enough to confirm that Ji Qingyuan’s words were true.
Ji Qingwu didn’t argue, nor did she spare a glance for the people putting on an act. She just kept her eyes fixed on him.
Ji Bo Lian was not a man who tolerated defiance. The thought that his youngest daughter had made his elderly mother fall ill from anger during his absence filled him with uncontrollable rage.
"Kneel down!"
A muscle in Ji Qingwu’s brow twitched.
She had never expected that after waiting so long, the first words her father would say to her would be those two.
’He wanted her to kneel down.’
The corner of Ji Qingwu’s mouth curved into a faint smile.
"My lord," Mrs. Qiao said anxiously.
Ji Qingrong chimed in, "Father, Fifth Sister came back just to see you. You’ll frighten her if you act like this."
Ji Bo Lian slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair. "Where did she just come from? The Wei Family residence?"
"The Fifth Missy of the Ji Mansion hasn’t just been making a scene in Lin’an, she’s become infamous throughout the entire land. I wouldn’t dare claim such a daughter."
Ji Qingwu lowered her eyes and shook her head slightly.
’Even without Ji Qingyuan’s meddling, his impression of me would have been terrible.’
"That’s all in the past," Mrs. Qiao said. "Xiao Wu already knows she was wrong."
Ji Bo Lian redirected his anger toward Mrs. Qiao. "A doting mother makes for a ruined child! She is the way she is because you spoiled her!"
Old Madam Ji stepped in to mediate. "Bo Lian, your wife has worked hard managing this household for all these years, allowing you to be at ease while away. You mustn’t make Ru Ying’s heart grow cold."
The old madam then skillfully redirected the conflict back toward Ji Qingwu. "It’s the child’s temper that’s too stubborn. No one can control her."
Hearing his mother speak, Ji Bo Lian turned his head away and took a sip of tea to compose himself.
Ji Qingwu, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke.