Chapter 79: Coercion
Baodi was the farthest from Shian. By the time the Ji family received Madam Ji’s funeral announcement, it was already the morning of the second day. Ji Wu Shi was both shocked and grief-stricken, immediately arranging to take a carriage to Shian herself. Accompanying her were her eldest daughter-in-law, Song Shi, and Ji Yun’s wife, Liu Shi.
Upon hearing of her grandmother’s arrival, Jinchao went to the Chuihua Gate to greet her.
Her grandmother stepped down from the carriage, not even waiting for the footstool, and strode straight to Jinchao, demanding, “What exactly happened to your mother?”
Her gaze was stern, but it couldn’t conceal her sorrow.
Seeing her grandmother’s worried expression, Jinchao could no longer suppress the emotions she had been holding back these past days. She threw herself into her grandmother’s arms and burst into tears.
She didn’t know how to explain her mother’s death to her grandmother. Should she say she was driven to it by her father and his concubine? That she had hanged herself? Her grandmother was old—how could she bear to hear such things?
Ji Wu Shi patted Jinchao’s back to comfort her. Seeing her granddaughter so heartbroken, the woman who hadn’t shed tears in decades also began to cry.
But the truth couldn’t be hidden. Jinchao led her grandmother toward Xiexiao Courtyard and recounted her mother’s death as calmly as possible. After hearing Jinchao’s words, Ji Wu Shi narrowed her eyes slightly, her voice cold as a blade: “Chaojie, where is your father?”
When Gu Dezhao heard that Ji Wu Shi had arrived, he hurriedly rose from the heated kang. Before Li Guanshi, who had come to inform him, could finish speaking, a young maid entered.
“Master, the Tai Furen of the Ji family has already arrived and is waiting for you in the reception hall.”
Gu Dezhao hastily straightened his complete mourning attire and hurried to the reception hall.
As he approached, Ji Wu Shi stepped forward. Before Gu Dezhao could even call out “Mother,” she raised her hand and slapped him.
Gu Dezhao was stunned, clutching his face in disbelief.
He was a dignified fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue—who would dare strike him, let alone slap his face? But under Ji Wu Shi’s furious and grief-stricken gaze, he found himself unable to utter a single word.
Ji Wu Shi pointed at his face and scolded, “You promised to take good care of Han’er—is this how you kept your word? Favoring a concubine over your wife! Why hasn’t any censor impeached you for this? How dare you stand before me now? Letting Chaojie suffer is one thing, but you actually drove Han’er to suicide… What were you thinking? Were all those promises you made when you married her just lies? All those years of studying the classics—did you just feed them to the dogs?”
Gu Dezhao couldn’t muster a single word in response. Seeing his daughter standing behind Ji Wu Shi, watching him, his face turned ashen. “Mother… You can hit me all you want—it’s my fault! I favored a concubine over my wife, I… I failed Xiangjun…”
Ji Wu Shi sneered. “Oh, now you’re being clever? You think a few words will make up for it? I won’t even bother asking about that concubine of yours. If it weren’t for your indulgence, how could she have grown so brazen? Just making her copy scriptures is enough? If it were up to me, I’d shave her head and send her to a nunnery!”
Gu Dezhao remained silent. After a long pause, he suddenly crouched on the ground, weeping uncontrollably, his entire body trembling.
“I don’t know what to do… how to make up for Xiangjun’s death… Mother, if it pleases you, kick me a few times…”
Like a child who had done wrong, he looked utterly wretched and lost.
Jinchao couldn’t bear to watch and closed her eyes with a sigh. Her father’s temperament… No wonder he remained a mere Langzhong until his death! If not for Lin Xianzong and the Ji family, he probably wouldn’t even have held onto that position.Ji Wu Shi said coldly, "Why would I kick you! Han'er is already gone. Listen to this old woman today—if you dare let those concubines and illegitimate daughters so much as touch a hair on Chaojie's head again, my Ji family will fight you to the death, even if it means mutual destruction!"
Gu Dezhao trembled as he nodded, "You have my word... If that day ever comes again, I wouldn't spare myself either..."
Ji Wu Shi left the Chrysanthemum Willow Pavilion with Jinchao.
She lit incense before Madam Ji's spirit tablet, then took Jinchao into the inner chamber. Holding her hand, she said, "...Today's outcome isn't entirely your father's fault. My scolding was merely to wake him up. Your mother's nature was always thus, and I blame myself—had I personally raised her instead of letting your great-grandmother teach her to be so meek..."
"Don't hate your father too much. After all, he gave you life. That concubine reaching this point shows your father still has some conscience... If Chaojie is ever unhappy, come to Tongzhou to find your grandmother. I'll never let anyone bully you."
Listening to Ji Wu Shi's words, Jinchao couldn't help but gently rest her head on her grandmother's lap, closing her eyes as she breathed in the faint sandalwood scent. No matter what, her grandmother was the one who cared for her most, who planned most thoroughly for her. She understood everything her grandmother said—her mother was gone, but she and her younger brother still had to live on. They couldn't truly cut ties with their father forever.
For a moment, Ji Wu Shi said nothing, simply stroking Jinchao's hair with loving eyes. To lose one's mother at barely over ten years old—this child had suffered...
Thinking of Jinchao's hardships, she couldn't help but want to shelter the girl under her wing, to protect her properly. After all, she'd watched this child grow up. But after Madam Ji's death, if she wanted Yao'er to marry Jinchao, they'd have to wait until the year of mourning passed...
"That concubine—Song Miaohua, is it? Where does she live now?" Ji Wu Shi asked Jinchao calmly.
Seeing the cold severity in her grandmother's gaze, Jinchao suddenly realized she meant to help eliminate Concubine Song. Smiling, she squeezed Ji Wu Shi's hand. "Grandmother needn't worry about her. I'll never let her off!"
Ji Wu Shi chuckled. "I prefer decisive actions—no need to leave such eyesores alive! What I told your father was meant to ensure she never resurfaces. Shaving her head and sending her to a nunnery wasn't just to scare Gu Dezhao!"
Jinchao believed torment should be slow, the suffering prolonged. But her grandmother was different—she acted with thunderous resolve.
Her grandmother tightened her grip, voice sorrowful yet resolute. "...No matter what, I must avenge your mother! Leave Concubine Song to me. You just keep an eye on Gu Lan—that one's no easy mark either."
Jinchao said no more. Her grandmother had cherished Madam Ji deeply. With her mother gone like this, she needed to do something.
As they spoke in the inner chamber, Caifu came to report: "...Concubine Du has fainted from weeping before Madam's spirit tablet. Should the young mistress go see?"
Her grandmother raised an eyebrow. "This Concubine Du is so devoted?"
Jinchao found it strange. Concubine Du usually curried favor with everyone—why would she grieve so intensely over Madam Ji's death?
After a moment's thought, Jinchao said, "Let's go see. These years, both concubines have been well-behaved."Ji Wu Shi nodded and accompanied Jinchao to the side chamber to see Concubine Du.
Concubine Du lay on a blue stone-colored cushion embroidered with gold thread and lozenge patterns, her face pale and utterly drained. Concubine Guo was by her side and bowed upon seeing Jinchao and Ji Wu Shi enter. "...Concubine Du has been keeping vigil for a full day and night, and with the recent heat, she may have suffered from heatstroke."
Jinchao noticed Concubine Du staring blankly at the ceiling, unable to speak. She instructed the maids to prepare a cooling soup for her and said that if she showed no improvement soon, they would summon Liu Daifu.
After visiting Concubine Du, she left the western side chamber with her grandmother.
The mourning hall was still crowded with visitors offering incense, with Fifth Madam attending to them. Gu Jinrong and her younger sisters knelt before the altar burning paper offerings, while two male cousins burned paper horses on either side. A young man in a moon-white overgown stood before the altar with his hands behind his back, his dark sash hanging at his side. His expression was indifferent, his jade-like features exquisitely handsome, his bearing peerless.
Her grandmother remarked, "Who is this young man? If he’s a relative of the Gu family, why isn’t he wearing mourning attire?"
Jinchao had been so busy these past two days, barely sleeping two hours the night before, that she had completely forgotten Ye Xian was also present. There was no need to invite Mr. Xiao now, but she still needed to inform him. After a moment’s thought, she explained to her grandmother, "That’s Changxing Marquis's Heir... Fifth Uncle married the Marquis’s legitimate daughter, so he is of the same generation as Mother. I should address him as Uncle."
Her grandmother studied him for a long while before saying quietly, "This man... is truly not to be underestimated!"
Jinchao, of course, knew Ye Xian was formidable, but she wondered how her grandmother had discerned it so quickly. Curious, she asked, "How can you tell, Grandmother?"
Her grandmother replied, "Look at all these people coming and going—every single one glances at him, yet he doesn’t react at all, his gaze never straying. He shows no discomfort or self-consciousness... Either he’s accustomed to it, or he simply doesn’t care what others think. Both are terrifying in their own way."
As they spoke, Qingpu approached and whispered to Jinchao, "...The maids from Waterside Pavilion came to report. The master has taken two women there to shave Concubine Song’s head and send her to Jingmiao Nunnery... Concubine Song refuses and has smashed many things in protest!"
Jinchao exchanged a glance with her grandmother. Ji Wu Shi smiled coldly and said, "Your father is consumed by guilt, acting so rashly. If we let her defy him like this, I’d be ashamed to have been the Tai Furen of the Ji family for so many years!"
She took Jinchao’s hand and led the way to Waterside Pavilion, accompanied by Mama Song and several sturdy maids. Jinchao, after a moment’s thought, instructed Qingpu to summon Xiuqu. If they were settling accounts, they might as well tally up both old and new grievances against Concubine Song, ensuring she would never rise again.
When they arrived at Waterside Pavilion, the place was indeed in shambles, with shattered objects strewn everywhere. Concubine Song was pinned to the heated brick bed by two maids, looking like a madwoman as she shrieked, "How dare you treat me like this—let go! Master, how could you be so heartless! Madam Ji did those things—I didn’t lie! You’re the one with a guilty conscience, trying to make me take the blame for your mistakes... Don’t even think it! I won’t go to Jingmiao Nunnery!"
Gu Dezhao’s face flushed and paled by turns at her words. What nonsense was Song Miaohua spouting? Yet, deep down, he felt a pang of guilt—he couldn’t deny that some of her accusations struck uncomfortably close to the truth.Without the master's order, the two maids dared not use force. Seeing Concubine Song break free from their grasp, she threw herself at Gu Dezhao, weeping, "Master, Pinshou has served you for sixteen years! Just because of a minor mistake, must you be so heartless? You've already been heartless to Madam, must you be the same to Pinshou as well?"
Ji Wu Shi stepped through the door just in time to hear this and sneered, "How clever of you to twist words! Being heartless to you is showing tenderness to Han'er! If your sixteen years of service to Gu Dezhao count as deep affection, then what of my Han Er's twenty years of serving Physician Gu?"
Gu Dezhao waved his hand, signaling the maids to drag Concubine Song away. Song Miaohua wailed bitterly—she refused to spend her life with ancient Buddha and dim lamps in Jingmiao Nunnery! She refused to leave this life of luxury! And she absolutely would not let Lan Er be separated from her mother!
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