Chapter 169

Chapter 169 Bearing A Hidden Loss

The crowd witnessed the letter being taken out from the place where Earl Ling’an kept his private letters.

In an inconspicuous spot below the desk, a small box popped out. Ji Youran almost fainted. There was a secret mechanism for letter collection, which she did not know about.

Not only did she not know, but even the Crown Prince had not found it. Would there be anything shocking inside? Ji Youran was flustered. Things had already come to this point. Even though she was the Crown Prince’s Princess Ji, she could not stop it. She could only glance at the door from time to time, waiting for the Crown Prince to appear.

She had asked a maid to secretly invite Crown Prince over, but he had not come yet. She wondered if he had been held up by something.

If it was delayed any further, it would be too late!

What she was most afraid of now was not the “will” that Concubine Xiang had mentioned. She was afraid that something unexpected would come out of it.

The handkerchief in her hand had been crumpled into a ball, and her eyes were fixed on the few letters inside.

“Princess Ji…” Xiao suddenly tugged at her sleeve and said in a low voice.

Startled, Ji Youran glared at Xiao fiercely. Xiao was frightened and quickly shut her mouth.

Concubine Xiang took out the letter on the topmost part and handed it to an elder at the front. On the letter was Concubine Xiang’s name—Xiangyu. It was very clear that this was indeed a letter for her. Moreover, it was covered with a seal and it had not been opened before.

The elders looked at each other and then turned to Ji Hai, who was smiling as if he was watching the fun. The elder at the front then consciously took over the letter.

After opening it and glancing at it a few times, he then handed it to an elder next to him. After reading it, he passed it on. Every elder who saw the letter frowned tightly.

A eunuch, who was behind Ji Hai, stepped forward to take the letter from an elder and handed it to Ji Hai. Ji Hai took it and started to read it.

One of Ji Youran’s maids had to take a step back. Just now, Ji Youran impatiently sent the maid to get the letter, but it was snatched by the eunuch behind Ji Hai.

The two eunuchs looked gloomy. For some reason, it made people feel cold. Not to mention ordinary maids, even the elders were spooked when seeing them. They subconsciously moved away from the eunuchs.

“It does read that Earl Ling’an wants to have an heir. Everyone, do you see the private seal on it? Is it Earl Ling’an’s?” Ji Hai raised his hand and asked the elders.

“Yes, it is Earl Ling’an’s personal seal.”

“It is Earl Ling’an’s personal seal, and the handwriting is also his. This letter was indeed written by him.”

“Yes, exactly.” The elders nodded repeatedly. When they were reading the letter just now, they had specially examined it and thus came to this conclusion.

“If you don’t believe it, you can look at the other letters Earl Ling’an left.” Concubine Xiang wiped her tears and pointed at the rest of the letters in the drawer.

“No need. Uncle’s personal letters cannot be randomly touched. Since everyone thinks it is true, it must be true.” Ji Youran’s expression changed slightly. She hurriedly took two steps forward and walked to the drawer. She rejected the idea in a seemingly serious and impartial way.

The most important thing now was the other letters. If Uncle had really noticed something, he might leave some clues here. And if people found them out, a thousand times of executions would not be enough to punish her, a low-ranking Princess.

At a time like this, in order to prevent people from reading those letters and comparing the handwriting and seal, Ji Youran did not hesitate to agree with the others.

She had to bear this hidden loss. Compared to Uncle’s secret, the matter of finding an heir for him was a trivial matter.

Xiao was stunned and anxious. She opened her mouth to stop Ji Youran. This was related to the future of her son. How could she accept it so casually? “Princess Ji…”

“Mother, since it is checked by the elders, it is naturally true. Don’t worry, this letter will be shown to Grandmother later. If Grandmother feels that it is true, it is naturally true.” Ji Youran was afraid that Xiao would ruin her plan, so she interrupted Xiao and comforted Xiao.

This meant that if Old Lady Ji didn’t admit it, there was still room for negotiation. Moreover, the Crown Prince hadn’t appeared yet!

This was a move to delay the matter as much as possible.

Xiao calmed down a little after being comforted, and she didn’t say anything more.

“Since you all think this is truly his letter, then the words inside should not be taken lightly. It is Earl Ling’an’s last wish. It seems that Concubine Xiang is not crazy. I wonder what your family will do next.” Ji Hai knocked the letter twice in his hand but did not show it to others. He glanced at Ji Yong’an on the side and asked.

Ji Yong’an murmured a few times, and then looked at Xiao and his daughter. He was not a decisive person, especially at this time. His eyes were fleeting, and he felt inexplicably guilty.

“I… Well… Of course, I have to… show it to Mother.” Seeing Xiao glare at him fiercely, Ji Yong’an hurriedly said as he rubbed his hands.

“But this letter is not just a personal letter of Earl Ling’an. It is related to the last wish of a loyal and honest man. How about this? Don’t give this letter to the Old Lady of your mansion first. Ask the governor to come over and check it before finding out whether it is true or not,” Ji Hai suggested.

Originally, he could ignore this matter, but because this matter also involved Fourth Lady Qu, Ji Hai felt that it was better for him to intervene. After all, his Master, Lord Yun, treated the Fourth Lady differently.

He had never seen a woman who could win his Master’s attention. Ji Hai sensitively felt that this Fourth Lady Qu was different. At least when his Master saw this lady, he had vivid eyes instead of treating her as a lifeless object. No matter how beautiful a woman was, if she was treated as a lifeless object, how could she be attractive?

“This is a family matter in our mansion. If it is really Uncle’s last wish, we will naturally grant his wish. He is now dead, so there is no need to escalate this matter and make his family and relatives even sadder.” Ji Youran did not want to blow up this matter, so she thought for a while and said slowly with a serious expression.

“Okay, then I will leave this letter to you, Princess Ji.” Ji Hai smiled and extended his hand, passing the letter to Ji Youran.

This decisive action of Ji Hai’s stunned Ji Youran for a moment. She originally wanted to take a look at this letter but was afraid that Ji Hai would not be easy to deal with. Even though she was the Crown Prince’s Princess Ji, she might not be able to challenge the people around Pei Yuanjun. However, she did not expect that it would be so easy to get her hands on the letter. Stretching out her hand, she was about to take the letter, but Ji Hai withdrew his hand and took the letter back.

“Princess Ji, this matter is of great importance. If this letter is given to you, then I shall send Concubine Xiang to see the governor. Since the matter happened here, and I have seen it clearly, I can’t let this concubine be harmed by others! After all, this is also my Master’s duty.”

Ji Hai said with a smile. These words almost implied that the Ji Family would murder Concubine Xiang.

Xiao was so angry that she wanted to speak, but as soon as she saw the two gloomy-looking eunuchs standing behind the beaming Ji Hai, her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately shut her mouth.

Lord Yun was not just Lord Yun. He was also in charge of the West Prison, which meant that he was in charge of things related to laws and justice. Therefore, it was normal for Lord Yun Mansion to intervene in this matter.

The governor could also be considered a department under the jurisdiction of Lord Yun.

Which was more important between Concubine Xiang and this letter? Or which one was easier to get some information out of? Ji Youran thought for a while and understood immediately.

The letter was a lifeless object, and the elders had already seen it. Even if she looked at it again, she would not be able to get anything new from it.

“Eunuch Ji Hai, Concubine Xiang is the concubine of our mansion. We’ll have to ask her first before investigating this matter.” Ji Youran had already sorted out the main issue in her heart. With a smile on her face, she gently said to Ji Hai.

If she kept Concubine Xiang here, something else might happen. For example, if Concubine Xiang lost her life, there would be no witness for this matter, and thus she could deal with what was going to happen later. As for now, she could not let Ji Hai take Concubine Xiang away. Once Concubine Xiang fell into Lord Yun’s hands, even the Crown Prince would not be able to bring her out.

After weighing the pros and cons, Ji Youran felt that Concubine Xiang was more important. Moreover, there were also those private letters. There was guilt in Ji Youran’s heart, and she was always worried that there would be some traces of her killing Ji Yongming’s family being left behind. If this matter was exposed, it would be a fatal disaster for her. Compared to this, the other things were much more trivial.

“I see. So, Princess Ji, you mean to temporarily keep Concubine Xiang here?” Ji Hai’s smile remained unchanged as he continued to ask.

“Yes,” Ji Youran had to admit.

“Well, I shall go to the governor with the letter and ask him to check it out before reporting it, right?” Ji Hai seemed to want Ji Youran to speak. Although the smile on his face did not change, in fact, he wanted Ji Youran to show a clear attitude.

Ji Youran was frustrated and hated Ji Hai, but she had to suppress the anger in her heart. Even though Ji Hai was a eunuch, he was Lord Yun’s personal eunuch. He was no ordinary eunuch.

“Princess Ji, since you want me to do this, I will do as told.” Ji Hai withdrew his hand and put the letter in his pocket. He bowed to Ji Youran and then left.

As for Concubine Xiang, he naturally had nothing to do with her. He only intervened in this matter for the sake of Fourth Lady Qu.

Ji Youran was so angry that her face turned pale. Ji Hai sounded like she was the one who asked him to send the letter while the truth was that he had forced her to choose between the two. But now was not the time to pursue this further. Ji Youran looked at the elders and her face sank. She was now the Crown Prince’s Princess Ji, and she believed that these old people would not dare to offend her.

“My dear elders, what do you think?”

“Anything you wish, Princess Ji.” The elders eyed each other. For a moment, they did not know what to say. Only after a long time did an elder stand up to speak.

“Well then, let Grandmother handle and investigate this matter!” The elders’ words were exactly what Ji Youran was waiting for. As long as the elders did not intervene in this matter, this matter would only be the matter of the Ji Family. The decision would be in Old Lady Ji’s hands, and Ji Youran knew very well what kind of person Old Lady Ji was.

At such a time, the Old Lady could only stand on her side. So what if Uncle was the Old Lady’s biological son? Her father was, too.

When one of her sons was gone, she wouldn’t be willing to have the other son executed, would she?

Since Ji Youran had said so, the elders did not dare to say anything. They all nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. This matter was too serious, and they were not to make the decision. Right now, going against the Ji Family’s second branch would mean going against the Crown Prince, and they were not as bold as to go against the Crown Prince.

It would be best for the Ji Family to resolve this matter themselves.

“Elders, I’ll have to trouble you to take Concubine Xiang to Grandmother’s place first. I’ll help Uncle clean up and come over immediately.” After getting the elders’ consent, Ji Youran said as she pointed at the opened drawer.

Was there the need to clean things up? No, but she was worried about the other letters in the drawer…