Chapter 368 - Haohao is the only reason (1)

Ning Yuxuan lowered his gaze and stayed silent.

Wen Wan was floundering as she lamented, “Wan-er asked you last time, who was more important, Teacher Ji or Wan-er. My lord, didn’t you answer that Wan-er is more important? Why are you siding with him now?”

It seemed as if the servants had just heard some unspeakable gossip. They were all seriously looking towards the inner part of the room to hear more.

Liu Hanyun cleared her throat with a cough and gestured at Chunpi to lead everyone else outside, then she closed the doors and locked it.

Ning Yuxuan let go of Wan Wan’s hand and finally spoke, “This isn’t an issue of taking sides. Why did you steal Teacher Ji’s painting?”

Wen Wan was flabbergasted. She looked just like a pig with her swollen face. After trying to stammer out a reply for a while, she regained the courage of her convictions and said, “My lord, you never gave me a painting like that one. Why did you give something like that to Teacher Ji? He’s a man! Is a man better than Wan-er?!”

Ji Man felt as if she was drunk. She had frequently seen men and women arguing. Every time, the woman would eventually find an issue and unreasonably blow it out of proportion. As soon as the woman started to cry, she would almost always win the argument without exception.

80% of men would be absolutely powerless when this womanly skill of crying was taken out. This skill could be considered a woman’s weapon under ordinary circumstances.

But, if a woman employed this type of act during a dire situation, it would only be seen as unreasonable, nonsensical, and brain-dead behavior.

Ji Man almost couldn’t resist going forward and slapping Wen Wan again. Now that she had experience it once, she knew that smacking Wen Wan was an excellent way of relieving discomfort and anger.

“What was the image on that painting?” Ning Yuxuan suddenly asked Wen Wan.

Wen Wan was stunned. When she thought of that painting, it felt as if her heart was being cut into pieces. “It was a painting of a family between my lord and... Nie Sangyu.”

At the mention of that name, Wen Wan’s tears fell. “It’s already been so long. Didn’t my lord say you would cherish the people in front of you? Why do you still miss her? In what way is she better than me?”

Liu Hanyun had quietly sat down on the side and was watching Wen Wan like she was only watching a play. From time to time, she would glance at Ji Man with her brow furrowed.

“She’s better than you in every way.” Ji Man continued, “If a man from a commoner family married you, he would still be able to be happy for a lifetime. But if someone with the marquis’s background marries you, it would truly be a lifetime of extremely bad luck for him.”

“What nonsense are you saying?” Wen Wan fiercely glared at Ji Man. “How can it be your place to talk? It can’t be that you think it would better for the marquis to marry a man like you, right? Although Wan-er doesn’t have the ability to accomplish great things, Wan-er is still knowledgeable and sensible enough!”

“En, it’s certainly true that you’re not capable of accomplishing great things.” Ji Man nodded without even looking at her and indifferently said, “Back when you were locked in the woodshed, you poisoned yourself and tried to lay the blame on me. The crown princess consort only needed to say a few words to pull you over to her side. After that, you were perfect willingly to act as her pawn. You keep saying that you love the marquis, but you ended up betraying him while trying to compete for favor. This man used to have so much affection for you, but you slowly grounded those feelings down to nothing. You’re such a failure as a woman. It would have been better if you had married Butcher Zhang back then.”

After saying all that in one breath, Ji Man picked up a nearby cup and took a sip of tea. She let out a long sigh and said, “The marquis might not miss me as much as you think he does, but I was more suitable at managing this aristocratic household than you. Besides, he naturally saw my good points since he had you to compare me with.”

Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow and slightly narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.

Ji Man had said those words with Nie Sangyu’s original voice instead of pretending to be someone else. After she finished talking, Wen Wan and Liu Hanyun were both dumbfounded.

“You...” Wen Wan was slightly trembling as she pointed at Ji Man.

“What about me?” Ji Man returned to using Teacher Ji’s voice. She laughed and said, “Don’t worry, I didn’t come back to seek your life.” Otherwise, you would have died a long time ago.

Wen Wan was so scared she stopped breathing for a moment and collapsed onto the ground. Liu Hanyun was also slightly trembling as she looked at Ji Man. She finally called out in low voice, “Madam?”

“Right now, you’re Madam.” Ji Man turned her head to the side to look at her and lightly smiled. “You don’t need anyone to protect you anymore or have to settle for only a tiny corner. You’re the madam of this household now and can prop up a stretch of clear sky for yourself.”

Liu Hanyun inexplicably felt an uncomfortable feeling in her heart. As she looked at the man’s face, her eyes surprisingly gradually reddened.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Ning Yuxuan was a bit displeased. He glanced at Ji Man and said, “Now that you’ve told them the truth, what if this news spreads to the palace later? Why are you so careless with your life?”

Ji Man was flabbergasted. She pointed at Wen Wan and said, “This person stabbed you in the back, but you’re planning on letting her live. Wow, she must really be your true love.”

Wen Wan finally couldn’t stop herself from shouting, “Ah, it’s a ghost!”

The servants that were waiting outside were shocked and wanted to rush inside to see for themselves. Unfortunately for them, the doors had already been locked from the inside.

While Liu Hanyun had already figured out the truth, Wen Wan was too stupid. She thought that Nie Sangyu’s ghost had possessed Teacher Ji. With a yelp, she retreated a few steps towards the wall.

Seeing that Wen Wan’s face had turned white in fright, Ji Man couldn’t resist darkly smiling. Every time Wen Wan took one step back, Ji Man would step forward to maintain their close distance. In Nie Sangyu’s original voice, she drawled out, “Wan-er, do you still remember me?”

Ji Man didn’t know how scared Wen Wan was, but Wen Wan fainted away after screaming one more time.

Marquis Moyu slightly furrowed his brow. He pulled Ji Man over to the side and carried Wen Wan to her bed.

Other than continuing to blankly look at Ji Man, Liu Hanyun didn’t show much reaction.