[They’ve all gone to the house at the end of the alley. I heard they’re catching an adulterer, and there are two children—a boy and a girl—who are the adulterer’s kids. Oh, and the one being caught is Lord Huang.]
[What?] Just yesterday she was eating melons about him, and today it’s already blown up? No way, she had to go see for herself.
Grabbing two steamed buns from the kitchen, she rushed out the door and ran over to eat melons.
[Host, why are you running so fast?]
[Those who aren’t enthusiastic about eating melons must have something wrong with their heads… With so many people gathered there, if there weren’t big melons to eat, they’d have to be crazy.]
Coincidentally, the Crown Prince was coming from that direction and wanted to greet her when he saw her, but Ji Yingying dashed past in a flash, completely oblivious to the Crown Prince.
There were too many people at the entrance. Ji Yingying was short and couldn’t see what was happening inside at all.
[Ugh, I suddenly realize how short I am. I can’t see what’s going on inside.]
The next second, the crowd actually parted to make a path for her. Some even craned their necks to look at her, making Ji Yingying feel quite embarrassed. Why was everyone turning to watch her eat steamed buns?
[Um… do I have food on my face?]
Immediately, everyone turned their attention back to the house. Seizing the opportunity, Ji Yingying made her way to the doorstep, squatting down to munch on her buns while eating melons and watching the drama unfold!
In the courtyard, Lord Huang was venting his rage by beating the adulterer. Who would have thought he’d investigate and find out everything in just one night? It really showed how blind he usually was.
Watching the trembling woman, the brutally beaten adulterer, and the two bewildered children, Ji Yingying couldn’t help but sigh: [Wow, it’s actually Lord Huang! He actually caught them in the act. I never expected Concubine Huang to be so bold, keeping her lover right under Lord Huang’s nose. I wonder if Lord Huang regrets it now?]
[Regret what? At least he found out. It’s better than being murdered after raising them for so long!]
[He regrets not taking good care of his own daughter. Now that his biological daughter has suffered so much, she definitely won’t forgive him. His old age will be pretty miserable, especially since he can’t have any more children—she’s his only daughter.]
[Ah~ so he became infertile because his first wife poisoned him. That toxic girl’s mother was something else. After discovering he was using her money to support his concubine, and when she found out she was pregnant herself, she poisoned him. Her goal was to make him take good care of their only child, since she already had a premonition she wouldn’t live much longer. But then, she probably never expected the man sleeping beside her to be such a wolf in sheep’s clothing.]
[All I want now is for that toxic girl to become stronger and seize Lord Huang’s family fortune. It rightfully belongs to her—or at least to her mother. And that scoundrel actually used his first wife’s wealth to support his concubine, her lover, and these two illegitimate children!]
Hearing that he had used his first wife’s property to support these people sent him into another fit of rage, and he nearly fainted.
In the end, the Chief of the Court of Revision intervened and took the whole family into custody, sending them directly to the Court of Revision’s prison. Only then did the drama come to an end.
As she was preparing to leave, Ji Yingying spotted the toxic girl. Seeing her red-eyed, gazing at her with intense emotion, Ji Yingying couldn’t help but shudder.
[She… she… what does she want? I don’t like women! And this one’s a rose with thorns—way out of my league.]
“The Poison Maiden named Huang Qimeng, referred to as ‘Little Lord Ji’, knelt with red-rimmed eyes and said: ‘Thank you, Little Lord Ji. I will forever remember your kindness. Should you ever need Qimeng in the future, whether it requires climbing mountains of blades or diving into seas of fire, Qimeng will never fail Little Lord Ji.’ After speaking, she kowtowed three times loudly before leaving.”
Leaving Ji Yingying alone in bewilderment, swept by the wind.
【Is she… is she… insane? Thanking me…】 Before she could finish her thought, Official Huang rushed out after her.
Seeing another drama unfolding, Ji Yingying immediately gave chase without another word, even forgetting the steamed bun in her hand.
“Mengmeng, it’s your father who failed you. Little Lord Ji is right – I’ll give you all my family assets, money, including the house. You move back in, I’ll move out.”
Official Huang planned to vacate the residence for the two of them to live in, deciding it no longer mattered whether there would be grandchildren or not.
Since Little Lord Ji said his daughter had been… turned into a Poison Maiden, and no one knew how long she had left to live, he wanted her to live comfortably during whatever time remained.
【Oh my, this Official Huang isn’t so bad after all. If it were me, I could accept this arrangement. One can do without a father, but not without money – that’s the foundation for survival!】
“Fine, you move out and find yourself another courtyard. Just keep one shop for yourself, the rest all belong to me.” Huang Qimeng didn’t stand on ceremony either. Little Lord Ji was right – that was the foundation for survival, how could she not take it?
“Good, good, good. You move back in today, and I’ll move out today.” Official Huang’s eyes reddened.
He bore no resentment, nor dared he. With Little Lord Ji still here, if the Emperor’s secret guards were to find out, his official career would be over.
As the crowd dispersed and Ji Yingying prepared to leave, she bumped into the Crown Prince who had come to apprehend her.
“Hehe, what brings Your Highness here?”
“Naturally to find you. Has Little Lord Ji not eaten lunch yet?”
【What a pointless question! I just crawled out of bed, when would I have had time? For this drama, my steamed bun got snatched too. Don’t know which wretched person stole my bun – and it was already half-eaten too! Did they want to taste my saliva? How disgusting!】
Crown Prince: …….. He felt exactly the helplessness Ji Yingying had described – like having a crow fly over one’s head with droppings!
“Yes, I haven’t eaten.”
“Then let’s go. I’ll treat you.”
“Really? Oh my, how embarrassing! Thank you, Your Highness! I want roast chicken, and I’d like some squab too.”
Where was the embarrassment in that? She was clearly quite comfortable with the idea, even ordering specific dishes.
“Shall we go?” Seeing her in male attire that was somewhat disheveled, with her hair poorly tied, Ning Qingran asked: “Do you need to go back and tidy up first?”
Ji Yingying looked down at her clothes, not understanding: 【I didn’t wear anything wrong, and it’s not messy either. Besides, it’s just a meal – do I need to dress up for it?】
“Then let’s go!”
The speechless Ning Qingran led the cheerful Ji Yingying to the market streets.
“Wow, this is the first time I’ve come out to see the streets at this hour! I never knew this street was so lively before!” Everything felt novel to Ji Yingying.
【Working every day, I never got to come out and stroll. That damned Emperor is inhuman! This won’t do – he doesn’t take care of me at all!】
Just as Ning Qingran was about to stop her from thinking such things, he noticed that the common people around them seemed unable to hear her.
While they were about to watch the flower balls, a woman was pushed out by a shop assistant from a store.
[“Is this… trouble? Oh my, I love this kind of thing. I’ve never encountered any trouble before, but now that I’ve come across it today, I must properly eat melons… no, properly be a hero.”]
Ning Qingran thought she was going to charge forward, never expecting she would just stand by and watch.
Ning Qingran: Is this how one becomes a hero? Sure enough, the next second he heard Ji Yingying’s Inner Thoughts: [“So salt is this expensive in this world!”]