Chapter 426 – The wife that was with you during your tribulations (1)

Zhao Zhe looked at Kangyuan like she was crazy. Then, he turned around and left the prison cell.

He didn’t care if Wen Wan had genuinely lost her memories or not. She was just an abandoned pawn to him.

Kangyuan was still laughing. The echoes of her laughter spread further and further through the prison.

Taking Wu Yong along with him, Zhao Zhe hurriedly returned to the palace. In addition, he had a personal servant pass on Kangyuan’s message to Ji Man.

Ji Man was surprised when she heard this message. Wen Wan didn’t have amnesia? But, she had seen Wen Wan. If Wen Wan was only acting, then acting skills was really too high level. Wen Wan was the type of woman that wasn’t very smart. When had she transformed into someone that was this difficult to deal with?

In contrast, Marquis Moyu wasn’t surprised at all. After all, he knew Wen Wan much better than Ji Man did, so of course he knew that Wen Wan was pretending. It was only that he wanted to use Wen Wan to fake his loyalty to the deposed emperor, so that Zhao Li would believe him 100 percent. That was why he had allowed Wen Wan out of Qiangwei Courtyard and stay by his side.

But now, she was finally useless to him. His relationship with her had ended a long ago. Once the war with Zhangjun had started, he hadn’t seen her once, not even after he returned to the capital.

“Hey, if you’re a celestial immortal, can you see past people’s deceptions and to their real heart?” Ning Yuxuan suddenly turned his head to the side and asked her.

Ji Man stroked her chin and pretend to be solemn as she said, “A person’s heart is the most complicated thing. Even if I had a tool that allowed me to see through her deception, I won’t be able to understand it. It has to be personally experienced. Even if I’m a celestial immortal, I find the human heart unfathomable.”

Marquis Moyu nodded. That’s good.

It would be the best if she didn’t know about certain thoughts that he once had.

Inside the prison, there really wasn’t anything they couldn’t discuss. For Ji Man, it was simply because she was bored. But, for Ning Yuxuan, he was digging his heart out to share with her.

Except for that one last sentence to express his feelings.

From time to time, Ji Man would ask, “Marquis, do you love me?”

Ning Yuxuan shook his head. “I don’t love you. What about you?”

Ji Man let out a long sigh. “Me too.”

After that exchange, the two of them would fall into a long period of silence. Ji Man counted the time that had passed. She was probably going to be able to win the bet. Zhao Zhe wouldn’t keep them locked up for too long. And, she continued to not have any intentions of going to the inner palace.

This persisted until Wu Yong came to the prison one day and released Ning Yuxuan, then he turned his head and said to Ji Man, “The emperor has pardon Miss Nie’s crime. It turns out that someone else was responsible for the deposed emperor’s death.”

Ji Man was dumbstruck. Zhao Li had died by her hands. Now, they were saying that the murderer was someone else?

Who?

As she followed Wu Yong out of the prison, they passed Kangyuan Junzhu‘s prison cell. Someone was covering Kangyuan’s body with a white cloth.

Ji Man briefly froze in surprise.

“Marquis Yong’an’s daughter, Kangyuan Junzhu, killed the emperor’s brother. She deceived the emperor and his officials, turned her back on her country, and was an unfilial daughter. She poisoned the Yuzhen princess and killed the emperor’s younger brother with a blade. She is guilty of a most heinous crime, so much so that even her death can’t absolve her of her crime. She won’t be allowed to be buried with her ancestors and will be buried alone instead. Her relatives won’t be allowed to set up a memorial tablet or burn incense for her. May she reflect on her crimes in the afterlife and know filial piety in the next life…”

It was true that Kangyuan had poisoned Pengyue, but to push the crime of killing Zhao Li onto Kangyuan’s head, what a miserable ending. Ji Man gave a sigh of relief.

In the end, karma did its work. This woman had loved Zhao Li the most, and now they were saying she was the one that killed Zhao Li. Ji Man guessed that even in death, she wouldn’t be able to find peace.

Ji Man exited the imperial prison with Ning Yuxuan and Wu Yong, but then she was led away from Ning Yuxuan.

“Miss Ji, the emperor wants to see you,” Wu Yong said with a smile.

Ji Man slightly furrowed her brow, but then she knowingly smiled. “Sir Wu, this humble woman hasn’t even change my clothing or bathed…”

“That’s fine. You can freshen up in the palace.” Wu Yong made a “please come with me” gesture. The nearby carriages had already come to a stop.

Ji Man instinctively turned her head back to look at Ning Yuxuan. Someone else was leading him into another carriage. He seemed to have sense her gaze. He turned his head to look at her with a light smile and mouthed, “I won.”

Sure enough, the person on the throne had a follow up trick after letting them out of the imperial prison.

It was only to be expected that Marquis Moyu, who had been following after Zhao Zhe for the longest time, would know him the best. Ji Man finally realized that when they had made the bet, they never discussed what she would get if she won.

It was because Ning Yuxuan knew that it was futile to against go the emperor. It didn’t matter the exact method that Zhao Zhe would use, he would definitely find a way to get Ji Man to enter the palace.

He had only kept her company in prison for so long because he was worried that her days in the prison would be bad if she was left alone.

Ji Man sighed, turned her head back, and decided to board the carriage.

But then, she heard the man calling out from behind, “Wait for me.”

Yeah, right. Like she was going to wait for him to save her. She was better off figuring out a way to save herself instead. Going to the palace was the same as stepping into the enemies’ territory. She would be powerless there. If she didn’t have some awareness, who knows how she would die?

Why excuse would the emperor use to have her stay in the palace? Her crime had already been pushed onto Kangyuan. He wasn’t going to tell her to recite Buddhist scriptures in the palace for a year, right?

Ji Man considered this problem the entire way to the palace. When she arrived in Yushu Palace, a large group of palace servants came to help her bath and change into a new set of clothing. She had been locked up for over ten days, and her body was unbearably dirty. Ji Man had no qualms about enjoying this bath service. After that, she changed into the clothing they had brought her.

It was a light pinkish lavender palace dress that was paired with a greenish-blue shawl. No matter how she looked at it, it looked like something the emperor’s consort would wear.

Ji Man facepalmed and asked a nearby palace servant girl, “Where will I be going to see the emperor?”