Chapter 184: Ji Huan Is Unworthy

Chapter 184: Chapter 184: Ji Huan Is Unworthy

After Ji Xiu’e returned, she carefully mulled over Ji Huan’s every word and action. The more she thought, the more alarmed she became.

That she could speak so flawlessly at such a young age was one thing, but the main point was that Ji Huan had let out a dry "heh" at her several times that day.

You could call it a laugh, but there was something strange about it, and it was inexplicably unsettling to hear.

She suspected that Ji Huan knew something.

Mrs. Zhu froze. "How could Ji Huan possibly know!"

She would gossip with anyone but Ji Huan. How could the two of them ever have a friendly chat?

Ji Xiu’e’s heart settled. It was good that Ji Huan didn’t know.

Before, she wouldn’t have cared if these trivial details reached Ji Huan’s ears, but facing the Ji Huan of today, her intuition told her it was better to be cautious.

After the two exchanged reassurances and felt a bit more at ease, they heard Aunt Kang calling them for dinner from the front courtyard.

Just as they were walking out of the vegetable garden, Ji Xiu’e suddenly remembered something else.

She stopped Mrs. Zhu and asked, "Did Ji Huan really add that little monster to her household registration?"

At the mention of this, Mrs. Zhu seethed with anger.

"Isn’t that just the truth? That wretched girl has a wretched temper. She actually treats that little monster like a treasure, doting on him like the apple of her eye. She can’t even stand to hear anyone say a single bad word about him! Hmph, no matter how much she treasures him, he’s still a fake brother!"

Seeking validation, Mrs. Zhu nudged Ji Xiu’e.

"Eldest Sister, you saw that little monster today, didn’t you? I wasn’t lying, was I? Tsk tsk, dressed so neatly and kept so fair and clean, just like a little young master!"

Ji Xiu’e had only caught a fleeting glimpse of Dabao when the big yellow dog, Dahuang, lunged at Ma Liugun.

Just as Mrs. Zhu had said, he was an exceptionally delicate and handsome boy, not at all like the grubby village kids who ran wild with their bottoms bare.

That included Ji Huan; Ji Huan’s transformation was also astonishing.

Mrs. Wei had been beautiful, and as her daughter, Ji Huan was never going to be plain.

But what shocked Ji Xiu’e, with her half-a-lifetime’s experience in judging people, was that once Ji Huan fully blossomed, her looks would likely surpass even Mrs. Wei’s.

At first glance, Ji Huan resembled Mrs. Wei, but it was really just her aura. Upon closer inspection, their facial features weren’t very similar.

If a daughter doesn’t resemble her mother, she must resemble her father.

Ji Xiu’e didn’t even consider her second brother, Ji Lianbai.

Ji Lianbai wasn’t ugly, but at best, he could only be described as plain and proper. How could he possibly father a child like Ji Huan?

Yet he had been utterly bewitched, dead set on having that Mrs. Wei! He’d just handed over twenty taels of silver to human traffickers!

If not for that... if not for that...

Ji Xiu’e clenched her jaw, her eyes slowly turning bloodshot.

’Serves him right!’

’Serves Ji Lianbai right for being cuckolded, for being an unwitting father to someone else’s child all these years!’

’Serves him right for dying young! Serves Mrs. Wei right for dying young!’

’And their two children from the second branch deserve to meet a terrible end too!’

’Weren’t they always worried about their younger son’s whereabouts? Too bad they’ll never see Ji Mu, even in death. They’ll never find Ji Mu.’

’And Ji Huan... just wait and see. She won’t have a good end either.’

Mrs. Zhu didn’t notice Ji Xiu’e’s strange demeanor and continued speaking sourly, her tone growing more jealous with every word.

"What is she thinking? She has money to buy food and clothes for a fake brother, but her own cousin doesn’t see a single cent of it. If she doted on Mingmao a little more, spent all her silver on him, maybe when Mingmao becomes an official in the future, he might take pity on her. I think she’s just muddle-headed, can’t even tell who’s family and who’s not!"

Ji Xiu’e, lost in some thought, said in a sinister tone, "No matter how fake, once he’s on the household registration, he becomes real..."

’But Ji Huan doesn’t deserve it.’

’She doesn’t deserve family, doesn’t deserve a new house. She should have nothing, and then she should die.’

Mrs. Zhu pouted. "Being on the household registration doesn’t make it real. Bloodlines are something the officials at the government office don’t have the final say on."

Ji Xiu’e was utterly exasperated with this blockhead.

"Who cares about bloodlines? They are now legally family on the same household registration. It’s perfectly reasonable for Ji Huan to dote on him. If something were to happen to Ji Huan one day, it would be perfectly reasonable for that big house to go to the little monster. In any case, it would never fall to your Mingmao."

The homestead land itself wasn’t that rare, but that big house was!

That wasn’t a house an ordinary family could just build. In the countryside, it was no exaggeration to say that several generations could live together under its roof, and it could be passed down for generations without any problem.

"Eldest Sister, what... what are you trying to say?"

Weren’t they just talking about the fake brother? How did it get to the big house and Mingmao?

"Don’t tell me you don’t want that house?" Ji Xiu’e said with an expression that showed she had already seen right through her. "Let me ask you, if there were no little monster, and if some... accident... were to happen to Ji Huan, who would get the house?"

Her words were full of insinuation and suggestion.

Mrs. Zhu’s mind might have been slow, but her greedy heart began to race.

"But... but it still wouldn’t be my turn..."

Ji Xiu’e pulled her back into the corner and berated her, frustrated by her lack of ambition.

"Why don’t you use your brain? The eldest brother has already branched off from the family. The only ones left at home are your branch and the fourth brother. The fourth brother is set on an official career; he couldn’t care less about Ji Huan’s meager belongings, or even the family’s fields. After our parents pass away, won’t all of this belong to you, the third branch?"

Mrs. Zhu swallowed hard, her breathing quickening and her eyes gleaming.

It was as if all those things were already as good as hers.

But she didn’t remain lost in her daydream for long before cruel reality pulled her back.

"Eldest Sister, you have no idea how formidable that wretched girl is now! I don’t dare to plot against her anymore. I’m afraid I won’t get the house and will just end up getting another beating from her."

’It probably wouldn’t be as simple as just a beating,’ she thought. ’After all, this time it’s about the house. She might even kill me!’

The mere thought made Mrs. Zhu’s heart pound with fear.

’No, no way. The house is important, but staying alive is more important.’

"I’m not telling you to deal with Ji Huan, I’m telling you to deal with that little monster!"

"What’s the difference? After dealing with the little monster, don’t I still have to deal with Ji Huan?"

’I can’t just sit around and wait for that wretched girl to run into some disaster, can I?’

’If she lives a long, peaceful life to seventy or eighty without any accidents, wouldn’t all the effort be wasted!’

Seeing her being so greedy yet so cowardly, Ji Xiu’e was about to explode with rage.

"And you have the nerve to say you’d do anything for Mingmao. All talk and no action, I see. You don’t plan for his future at all."

Mrs. Zhu was instantly indignant. She would risk her life for her son!

"What do you mean I don’t plan for him?"

"Even if the fourth brother passes the exam to become a Scholar this year, he can’t become an official right away. After that, he still has to test to be a scholar, then an Advanced Scholar. The money that will cost will only increase year by year."

’What? Becoming a Scholar doesn’t make you an official?’

Mrs. Zhu, who knew nothing about the imperial examinations, had fully believed that once her brother-in-law became a Scholar, the whole family’s good days would begin.

Who would have thought that becoming a Scholar was just the first step through the door, and there was still a long road ahead!

Mrs. Zhu’s heart sank.

Seeing this, Ji Xiu’e immediately followed up with a stronger dose of reality.

"To save money for the fourth brother, our parents keep putting off sending Mingmao to study in town. At first, they just let him run wild at home, with Father personally teaching him his first characters. You know as well as I do, how many years did Father even study? Later, they sent him to the village school next door, but can the learning from a village school teacher compare to a master in town? Even if Mingmao were the reincarnation of the Scholar, he can’t afford to waste away year after year like this..."

It had to be said, Ji Xiu’e had struck a raw nerve.