The Ji Family still ignored Ji Yunkai. After opening the door to allow her in, no one came forward to say a word to her, nor did anyone care whether she was hungry, thirsty, or not.
It was better to not interfere with each other and to be able to live in peace than to face a group of family members secretly plotting against each other every day.
After tidying herself up, Ji Yunkai was very tired and went straight to bed. As for the gossip outside?
Not long after Ji Yunkai fell asleep, the dark guard, who had been secretly "monitoring" her all this while, stealthily left the Ji Manor and returned to Prince Yanbei's Mansion.
Without alerting anyone, the dark guard quietly went to Prince Yanbei, Xiao Jiu'an's room and knelt on one knee, "My prince, Miss Ji was ordered to enter the palace today and seems to have had trouble from the Emperor today. When she was leaving the palace, she met Infanta Tao'an of Prince Duan's Mansion, but Miss Ji did not suffer any losses."
Unlike the others, the people of Prince Yanbei's Mansion would never call Ji Yunkai "Miss Yunkai".
"The Ji Family's attitude toward Miss Ji remains the same as ever. It hasn't changed."
After the dark guard finished speaking, he lowered his head. He did not dare to even breathe.
A moment later, a low and cold male voice came from behind the curtains, "She and the Son of Prince Duan are close as if there's no one else on the streets?"
"Yes." Said the dark guard and braced himself. He had originally wanted to hide this part, but too many people had witnessed this scene. If he were to hide it, that would be courting death.
"Very good, This King's consort is worthy of being called the number one beauty in Revelation. Her charm will not decrease!" Xiao Jiu'an said in a low voice, no emotions could be heard, but as Xiao Jiu'an's trusted aide, the dark guard still knew that his master was unhappy.
"Didn't the Son of Prince Duan want to join the army? Arrange for him to go to the Southern Wilderness." Xiao Jiu'an ordered coldly and without any hesitation.
Of course, he did not do this because he liked Ji Yunkai. He just did not like her being close to other men. He had never seen Ji Yunkai before, so how could he like her?
He did this, naturally, because she was Xiao Jiu'an's woman. Even if she was his wife only in name, she had to be obedient and not get involved with other men.
As for the marriage betrothal between Ji Yunkai and the Emperor? He might not care much about this before their marriage, but if Ji Yunkai entangled herself with the Emperor again in the future... don't blame him for being ruthless and merciless!
No matter how much he hated his woman, he could not allow other men to covet her. Otherwise, he would rather destroy her.
"Yes, Your Highness." The dark guard did not dare to say anything unnecessary and nodded.
Xiao Jiu'an said, "Continue watching Ji Yunkai. There's no need to worry about her life and death." No matter how disgusted he was with marrying Ji Yunkai, or how disgusted he was with her, he had never thought of killing Ji Yunkai.
Whether Ji Yunkai committed suicide or was killed by someone else, it happened because she was incapable. He would not stop her and he would not sympathize with her. But, he would not kill her either.
Ji Yunkai was just a woman. Dealing with her was as easy as a raise of his hand. If she married into his family, so what?
If Ji Yunkai was honest, he would let Ji Yunkai live for a few more years since she still had some use. But if she was dishonest, it would only be a loss of life due to her beauty.
At this time, in a remote teahouse in the west side of the capital, a black-clothed man was kneeling in front of a desk and begging for forgiveness, "My Lord, My Lord, please spare my life! My Lord, I really drugged her. There's no reason for her to still be alive!"
"Hmph." A person wearing a black cloak sat in a dark corner, their back facing the black-clothed man. The person lowered their voice and said, "She's been drugged, but she's still alive? She can even hit someone? Do you think This Lord is a fool?"
The voice of the speaker was low and indistinguishable, making it impossible to distinguish if they were a man or a woman.
"No, no... My Lord, she knows medicine. Yes, she knows medicine." The man suddenly thought of it and spoke his guess aloud.
"My Lord, My Lord! have mercy! Have mercy!" The man was so scared that he kowtowed repeatedly. The ground was covered with his blood, but his Lord did not even raise his eyes as he ordered in a low voice, "Drag him out."
"Yes." Within the room, two men in black appeared out of nowhere. They quickly moved forward and covered the man's mouth, then dragged him away. From afar, they could still hear the man's low cry for help.
After the man was dragged down, the master covered himself completely with a black cloak. With his back facing the crowd, he asked, "Are the people from Prince Yanbei's Mansion still tracking down the whereabouts of the Phoenix Pendant?"
"They've been keeping an eye on us, so...." They did not dare to attack Ji Yunkai again, as they were afraid that the people from Prince Yanbei's Mansion would grab hold of some clues and come forward.
"Does that mean Prince Yanbei is awake?" The mysterious master's words seemed to be asking himself, but it also seemed like he was asking the people under him. The black-clothed man did not dare to randomly reply and only lowered his head in silence.
"Whether he is or not, we'll know once we try." The mysterious master maliciously asked, "Did Ji Yunkai cause a ruckus on the street today?"
The mysterious master continued, "Did the black spots on her face show up? Does anyone know her identity?"
"No!"
"Since nobody knows, let's give her a hand. Do you understand?" The mysterious master's deep voice was filled with a bloodthirsty coldness.
"Yes." The mysterious master nodded his head in satisfaction and said, "Those who are keeping watch on Ji Yunkai, return all of them. I do not want the people from Prince Yanbei's Mansion to find out about us."
Compared to the Phoenix Pendant, Ji Yunkai's life was not really that important. So what if he allowed her to marry Prince Yanbei alive?
Did she really think that by marrying Prince Yanbei, she would be able to stabilize her position?