“Your Excellency, this is all because of my granddaughter. She is the root cause of all this trouble. That Tan Weizhi is obsessed with her and wants to marry her. He did this insane and perverse thing because he learned that there was no hope of his marrying her. It was wishful thinking on his part. Fortunately, our Young Marquis is a blessed man. Otherwise, even if she were to die, my granddaughter wouldn’t be able to absolve herself from blame for everything.” The more he spoke, the more the prime minister blamed his granddaughter for everything. Turning to Ji Liruo, he shouted angrily, “Why are you not down on your knees by now? This is all because of the trouble you caused!”
After hearing this, Ji Liruo’s face was filled with guilt, and she immediately knelt down. With head lowered, she sobbed and said, “Your Excellency, this is all Liruo’s fault. If it hadn’t been for me, the Young Marquis wouldn’t have met with something so dangerous.”
The Duke looked at the frail and delicate Ji Liruo on her knees before him, and his heart couldn’t bear the sight. Strictly speaking, this matter and Ji Liruo were totally unrelated, and yet, she was implicated. It wasn’t her fault that someone liked her and had failed to get her upon pursuit.
The Duke sighed, and his tone softened as he said to Ji Liruo, “Get up. Actually, we can’t blame you for this matter.”
Ji Liruo didn’t move. She remained kneeling in place.
With a face filled with guilt, the prime minister spoke up and said, “Thank you for your benevolence and magnanimity. Liruo, hurry and get up and thank His Excellency.” Prime Minister Ji saw that the Duke was mellowing out and felt like a load had been lifted from his shoulders. This marriage was something he had gone to great lengths to get. If they had to give up on this marriage midway because of that fool, Tan Wizhi, he’d become so angry that he’d vomit up blood and die.
It was only then that Ji Liruo got up, but she didn’t dare to take a seat. Instead, she discreetly went to stand next to the prime minister. Seeing her thin and petite figure, the Duke simply didn’t have the heart to be so unfeeling.
“Take a seat,” the Duke spoke up to instruct her. “Have some tea.”
This made Prime Minister Ji feel a little more at ease, and he let out a sigh of relief.
Ji Liruo also lowered her head and quietly sat down.
“This matter with Tan Weizhi…” the Duke started to say, but he was hurriedly interrupted by Prime Minister Ji.
“Tan Weizhi must not be so easily pardoned. If Your Excellency trusts me enough to put your mind at ease, then leave this matter to me to deal with. I will also take care of things with the Tan family.” A cold glint flashed in Prime Minister Ji’s eyes. This situation had almost, just almost, been beyond redemption. Tan Weizhi, this fool, could go and die if that was what he wanted, but he’d almost implicated the entire Prime Minister’s residence.
The Duke nodded and agreed. Why was he able to put his mind at ease and allow Prime Minister Ji to handle everything? Because he very well knew the Prime Minister Ji’s methods. The prime minister had participated in the imperial examinations as a mere commoner and after coming in first, he had eagerly sought to gain fame and fortune, stopping at nothing to build various relationships and widen his social circle. He was a man without scruples, one who resorted to every expedient to get what he wanted, and that was how he’d made it to where he was today.
In terms of ruthlessness, there probably weren’t that many people out there who could match him. Since he wanted to get into the good books of the Duke and family, he would definitely escort Tan Weizhi to the Great Hall of Justice himself. And he would totally forsake consanguinity just to uphold justice and righteousness. As for the Tan family, to deal with them he would have to come up with a subtle way of killing them that didn’t involve spilling blood. That was the only way to satisfy the Duke and his family.
In the end, Prime Minister left the Duke’s residence with Ji Liruo in high spirits and returned home to get ready to deal with this matter. And as soon as Prime Minister Ji left, Tan Weizhi was escorted to his residence. The outcome of the trial was just as expected. It was really because Tan Weizhi was resentful and refused to accept the fact that his cousin was going to marry Xiao Anning that he’d come up with a plot to murder the Young Marquis.
The Duke told his long-time companion, Xiao Anning’s grandmother, about the outcome of his conversation with Prime Minister Ji. She didn’t say much, and after a long moment of silence, she said quietly, “For Ning’er to marry a woman with such a well-known reputation, I really don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse.”
It was the Prime Minister and his family who had proposed this marriage. The Duke and his family hadn’t been willing. But with the Empress involved as the matchmaker, the Duke had had no choice but to agree. Later on, taking into consideration the young lady’s reputation, and that the two sides would eventually become one family, it was decided that this marriage would be taken as the Duke Residence’s proposal. In retrospect, they wondered if this had been a good idea.
The Duke frowned and said, “If she isn’t suitable, then we should just break off this marriage engagement. Ning’er needs a gentle woman who can be his companion. The woman he marries doesn’t need to be someone so dazzling and eye-catching.”
Grandmother nodded. “Yes, that makes sense.”