Gu Peilan hadn't expected her daughter to be so heartless at such a critical moment. No amount of weeping and pleading worked, and she finally had to get into a carriage alone and set off overnight to visit her son.
Although Gu Peilan had told Ji Zongyou everything, Ji Zongyou was not a fool. If even one member of the Ji family still cared about him, he wouldn't have reached the point of his wife and children leaving him.
That evening, after Gu Peilan returned to the Ji family, Ji Zongyou also arrived at the Ji family's gates. Although Zhang Ji blocked Ji Zongyou outside, his curses and insults continuously drifted into the Ji family's courtyard.
All sorts of unpleasant words could be heard. Ji Renran was so scolded that she buried her head and wept, and the old madam trembled with anger.
Ji Zizhao sat in her room, listening to the curses outside, as if listening to a joke. "It's really lively, isn't it?"
Jian Qiu said softly, "In this way, Young Master Zongyou will not only alienate himself from the old madam, but I'm afraid he'll also create a rift with Miss Renran..."
"I'm afraid there isn't a rift, and it would be better if there were one," Ji Zizhao said with a cold laugh.
Ji Zongyou was, after all, Ji Renran's biological brother. If something happened to Ji Zongyou, Ji Renran would only need to whisper a few words into the Fifth Prince's ear, and the matter would be amplified indefinitely. Ji Zizhao certainly didn't want to get herself into trouble because of Ji Zongyou.
But things were different now. Perhaps the current Ji Renran would rather Ji Zongyou never appear again than Ji Zizhao.
Ji Zizhao summoned Mo Hen and instructed him, "Go and quietly send some bank notes to our Young Master Zongyou. There's no need to be stingy with money; give him plenty."
After Mo Hen left, Ji Zizhao called for Fu Bao. "Go and follow Ji Zongyou, and see where he goes."
Fu Bao nodded quickly and went out. When he returned, it was already an hour later.
"Miss, this servant personally saw Young Master Zongyou go to the pleasure district with the money, and he's staying in one of the establishments. This servant quietly went in to investigate and heard that Young Master Zongyou has booked a private room for a month. He even boasted that he is the younger brother of the Fourth Prince's Consort, and anyone who slights him is an enemy of the Fourth Prince."
When Fu Bao reported back, his face was extremely unsightly.
Now, everyone in the entire pleasure district knew about this matter, and he couldn't imagine how they would gossip about his young lady behind her back.
Ji Zizhao did not seem angry. She got up and walked to the desk, picked up her brush, and wrote down dozens of menus. She then handed them to Fu Bao and said, "Memorize the menus on this list. Every day, go to the brothel where Ji Zongyou is staying for the three meals. There's no need to worry about the cost; have the kitchen prepare the food according to this list."
Fu Bao nodded and left with the menu.
Jian Qiu sighed, "Why does Miss have to waste money on someone like that?"
Ji Zizhao said with a cold laugh, "Consider it a toll to send him on his way."
Jian Qiu looked at the coldness on her young lady's face and felt a tremor in her heart. "Miss, please reconsider!"
Reconsider?
Ji Zizhao didn't feel there was anything to hesitate about.
She had meticulously planned everything up to this point, all for the sake of making those who owed her mother's life pay their blood debts.
When the Ji family learned that Ji Zongyou had left, they all breathed a sigh of relief. The old madam was so angered by Ji Zongyou's scolding that she lay in bed for three days. After she recovered, to prevent Ji Zongyou from returning to cause trouble, she directly had Gu Peilan placed under house arrest within the manor.
When Ji Renran learned of this, she still maintained an attitude of standing by and watching. Especially after knowing that Ji Zongyou was using Ji Zizhao's status as the Fourth Prince's Consort's brother to flaunt his power outside, her heart grew colder. Not only did she not stop him, but she had her trusted servant, Madam Song, fuel the gossip.
Madam Song certainly didn't want Ji Zongyou to tarnish the Fifth Prince's reputation. Upon hearing Ji Renran's instructions, she spent several days running around, subtly spreading rumors, saying how close Ji Zongyou and Ji Zizhao were.
For a time, the common people in the imperial city spread rumors, and those who didn't know would have thought Ji Zongyou and Ji Zizhao were biological siblings.
"Is the imperial city really spreading such rumors?" Ji Zizhao asked after hearing about it. She wasn't angry but rather very calm.
Shui Ling was furious. "Isn't it? Now the people in the imperial city all believe that Young Master Zongyou has a good relationship with Miss, and some even say that it's precisely because Miss indulged him that Young Master Zongyou has become so lawless."
Ji Zizhao smiled faintly. "Then let them continue to spread it."
No matter how Ji Zongyou used her name, it was all talk without proof. Now that the common people in the imperial city were spreading rumors, someone must be secretly fanning the flames.
And the one who could make the common people so quickly believe this must be from the Ji family.
As for who that person was, Ji Zizhao knew without even thinking.
It was obvious that Ji Renran wanted to take this opportunity to weaken her relationship with Ji Zongyou and, at the same time, pin the blame on Ji Zizhao. However, Ji Renran had no idea that everything was unfolding exactly as Ji Zizhao had planned.
However, Ji Zongyou's affairs did not affect the matter of Ji Zimo being praised by the Emperor. For some time afterward, suitors continued to flock to her door.
But compared to the bustling Ji family, the Jiang family was not faring as well.
The Emperor had ordered medicine to be transported to Tonglin. As the largest medicine merchant in the imperial city, the Jiang family was naturally the first to be implicated. However, due to the long-standing cooperation and good reputation of the Four Great Medical Halls with the imperial court, the Emperor decided to share the task of escorting the medicine between the Jiang family and the Four Great Medical Halls.
In the beginning, the Jiang family naturally didn't take this seriously. They thought that once the Four Great Medical Halls heard that the Jiang family had come to discuss cooperation, they would be warmly welcomed. Who knew that when several shopkeepers brazenly went to the medical halls to find someone to discuss matters, they were directly blocked at the door?
The attitude of the people from the Four Great Medical Halls was clear: Didn't they see that they were still treating patients here? If they wanted to discuss matters, it wasn't impossible, but only when they weren't busy.
Chen Gang had a businesslike attitude, but everyone in the imperial city knew that the Four Great Medical Halls had an endless stream of patients. As long as the Four Great Medical Halls were open, there were always patients.
From dawn till dusk, the Jiang family's shopkeepers were no longer arrogant.
They could barely stand!
Finally, when the Four Great Medical Halls closed, the Jiang family's shopkeepers thought they could finally talk. Who knew that the Four Great Medical Halls simply closed for the night?!
The Jiang family's shopkeepers were speechless.
This was completely treating them like dirt!
The Jiang family's shopkeepers, who had waited all day, couldn't just leave. They immediately went to argue with the Four Great Medical Halls, but compared to Chen Gang, Xin Bi and Wang Can didn't have such good tempers.
Argue?
Argue about what!
Should they argue about why your Jiang family unreasonably raised drug prices in the past, or should they argue about why your Jiang family crossed our employers?
To put it bluntly, crossing our employers is the same as crossing us. We were already looking for a reason to deal with you, and now you've come knocking on our door. What else is this but asking for a beating!