Chapter 180: Let’s Talk After They’re All Dead

Chapter 180: Chapter 180: Let’s Talk After They’re All Dead

"I didn’t come for any particular reason, just to see how you were doing. I never thought I’d find you in such a grand house. It seems you’re doing quite well for yourself."

"Thanks to the blessings of the Ji Family’s ancestors, I didn’t quite die. I managed to pull through. Life is... passable, I suppose. At least I haven’t been reduced to begging on the streets."

The aunt and niece traded barbs—one with veiled sarcasm, the other with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. The others didn’t know whether to agree or disagree, making the atmosphere unbearably awkward.

The only exception was Ma Liugun, whose eyes were wide as she eagerly looked for a chance to find fault with Ji Huan.

There was also the meddlesome Aunt Qi, who hadn’t said much until now.

"Wuan, that’s not a nice thing to say. As for what happened between you and the old residence, it’s hard to say who was right and who was wrong. But no matter what, that’s the place that raised you. It’s fine to be angry for a while, but how can you still hold such a grudge in your heart? And even if you do, you shouldn’t take it out on your aunt. She’s been nothing but concerned for you."

This was how most people saw it.

The Ji Family had given birth to and raised Ji Huan, so no matter how cruelly or ruthlessly they treated her, she was allowed to be angry, but not resentful.

This was why she had always tried to handle matters concerning the Ji Family within reasonable limits.

Whether it was teaching Ji Mingmao or Mrs. Zhu a lesson, she always had just cause and chose to do so in public. This was all to avoid direct conflict with Ji Qingshan and Granny Kang as much as possible.

Because in this era, "filial piety reigned supreme." Even if those two had indirectly caused the deaths of their own son and daughter-in-law, a single phrase—"no parent is ever in the wrong"—could absolve them of their sins.

Let alone a minor transgression like selling off a grandchild like Ji Huan.

She despised this brand of blind filial piety, but to survive in this world, she had to maneuver within its framework. If she stepped outside it, she would face imprisonment at best, and at worst, be ostracized by society.

That was why Aunt Qi had spoken those words, which sounded like comfort but were, in fact, a warning.

No matter what, Ji Xiu’e was this body’s aunt. The Ji Family’s dirty laundry, at least on the surface, had nothing to do with her. Ji Huan had no reason to take her anger out on her, and thus, couldn’t be disrespectful.

Ji Huan was naturally aware of this, but she had no intention of making herself suffer for it.

’The grudge is already set, and it’s clearly an unresolvable one. I’m already doing my best not to lash out. You can’t possibly expect me to venerate her, can you?’

’Ji Xiu’e hasn’t earned that much face.’

"Listening to you, Aunt Qi, it sounds like it’s my fault? Where did I go wrong? Was I wrong to resist when my grandparents tried to sell me, time and again? Was I wrong to try and kill myself when they tried to marry me off to a dead man in a ghost wedding? Or perhaps, when they saw I was on my last breath, refused to call a doctor, and cast me out of the Ji Family, I’m not only forbidden from feeling resentment, but I should also be grateful?"

Aunt Qi’s eyes flickered. "Well, you can’t put it that way..."

Ji Huan held up a finger and wagged it at her.

"Aunt Qi, you have daughters and granddaughters of your own. I’m not asking for your empathy, but I do hope you won’t force your wishful thinking on others. When you, or your daughter, or your granddaughter have gone through what I have, then you can come and lecture me about right and wrong."

Even for someone as slow to anger as Aunt Qi, her words left her feeling choked and uncomfortable.

’Isn’t she cursing my family to have something bad happen to them?’

Ji Huan glanced at the woman’s repressed anger and shook her head inwardly.

’She has no idea what the original owner of this body went through, yet she has the gall to accuse me of holding a grudge. Now she can’t even take being talked back to a little?’

’It just goes to show there’s no such thing as true empathy in this world. You never know the pain until the needle pricks your own skin.’

Ji Xiu’e lifted her eyelids slightly.

"Wuan, why must you be so unforgiving when you have the upper hand? Seventh Sister-in-law here was only hoping for our family to be harmonious and prosperous."

Ji Huan gave a slight, derisive laugh.

"Actually, just like Aunt Qi, I also hope for the Ji Family to be harmonious and prosperous. Even though... I’ve already been cast out of it."

’I’m not even part of the Ji Family anymore, so what does their harmony have to do with me?’

Ji Xiu’e caught the subtext in her words, and her tone grew heavy.

"From the sound of it, now that you’ve been cast out, you want nothing more to do with the Ji Family? You’re not even going to concern yourself with your grandparents’ affairs?"

Ma Liugun immediately jumped in, her voice sharp and shrill. "Of course not! It might be excusable if she disowned the rest of the Ji Family, but how dare she disown her own grandparents? Not only must she acknowledge them, she has to be properly filial... Building such a big house and not even thinking to invite her grandparents to live here. That’s inexcusable no matter who you ask!"

Ji Xiu’e neither stopped her nor spoke.

Every pair of eyes in the room was fixed on Ji Huan, as if waiting for her to make a declaration.

Ji Huan finally understood Ji Xiu’e’s goal.

Things between her and the Ji Family were already so hostile. Even if she invited Ji Qingshan and Granny Kang to come live with her, would they have the face to accept?

’And even if they were completely shameless, wouldn’t they be afraid I’d poison them in their sleep?’

No matter how much Granny Kang coveted this house, she would fear entering with her life but never leaving with it. And that was to say nothing of the eccentric and suspicious Ji Qingshan.

Therefore, Ji Xiu’e’s real intention wasn’t to get Ji Qingshan and Granny Kang to move in. It was to force Ji Huan to state her position, and to do it in front of so many people.

Once Ji Huan agreed, it would mean she would be saddled with the duty of supporting them and performing her filial piety for the rest of her life. As for all the things the Ji Family had done to her before, that Chapter would naturally be closed.

With that, all the sordid history would become a mere family matter. The Ji Family would not only clear its name but could also use the pretense of filial piety to endlessly extort and demand things from her.

At that point, everything Ji Huan owned would have to be handed over obediently. What was a single house in comparison?

’What a brilliant scheme.’

If it were the original owner of this body, a mix of coaxing and threats, topped off with playing the family card, might have actually worked.

Unfortunately for them, she was Ji Huan.

And she knew with absolute clarity that this was a door she could not open.

"What? Did something happen to Third Uncle and Fourth Uncle?" Ji Huan sat up straight, feigning shock. "Are they crippled? Dead? Or have all the men in the Ji Family died out? How could this be..."

"Wuan!" Ji Xiu’e slammed her hand on the table and snapped, "What nonsense are you spouting! Everyone in the family is fine, nothing has happened! Don’t you dare..."

"Oh, that’s good, that’s good!" Ji Huan put on a look of immense relief. "My mistake."

"What did you mistake?" Ji Xiu’e suppressed her anger, but her heaving chest showed it was rapidly rising.

Ji Huan blinked. "My grandparents have several sons and daughters. If they weren’t all dead, how could it possibly be my turn—a granddaughter’s turn—to be responsible for their affairs? A granddaughter who’s been cast out, at that."

These people were always ignoring the fact that she had been cast out of the Ji Family, so she made a point to emphasize that last part.

Ji Xiu’e’s face went dark.

But she couldn’t find a single word in rebuttal, because she knew that what Ji Huan said was the truth.

In any family, as long as there were sons and grandsons, there was no reason to have a granddaughter fulfill the duties of filial piety.

The Ji Family had already drawn considerable criticism for disinheriting the main branch. If they then bypassed their other children and grandchildren to have Ji Huan support the elders, wouldn’t they become a complete laughingstock if word got out?

Who would do such a thing, unless they were a family with no heirs?