1723 His Majesty No Longer Loves The Empress
At this point, Ji Qingyuan took a step back; his heart was filled with shock and fear.

Ji Xiu and Madam Guo fell silent.

Even though Ji Lingxiu did not talk about it, they understood that Ji Linghui must have done something to enrage the imperial family. Otherwise, she would not have been executed so quickly in secret.

The husband and wife pair were relieved when they heard Ji Lingxiu’s words.

Ji Linghui had been nothing but trouble. Just as Ji Lingxiu said, she could easily have ended up destroying their families at any time. It was just as well that she was dead. Otherwise, whatever she did might implicate everyone else.

“Father, no matter what, the dead cannot be revived. Don’t keep thinking about it.” Ji Xiu sighed and looked at his father, who seemed to have aged terribly, while giving consoling words.

Ji Qingyuan closed his eyes and sighed, saying nothing.

…

At a small, rural town.

Ji’er had caught some prey this day and as usual. She brought along the three beggars to sell them in town.

The four of them had familiarized themselves with the small town during this time.

It was mainly because Ji’er had always hunted prey of greater quality and her selling price was cheaper compared to others.

What they were not aware of was that their actions had attracted the jealousy of others in the same line of work.

After they were done selling everything they hunted, all four of them packed up to return home.

When they walked past the notice board, they noticed it was crowded with people.

Lil Tian was curious and asked, “What are they all looking at?”

Ji’er was not as interested and continued moving forward.

Lil Tian slipped into the crowd to take a glance but he did not know how to read. He vaguely heard someone mention that the Empress was seriously ill.

When he heard this, he quickly returned to Ji’er’s side and told her about it as though he had just discovered some incredible news. “Young Master, it seems the Empress is seriously ill…”

Ji’er paused in her steps and turned to look at him. “What did you say?”

Ji’er pursed her lips and turned back to squeeze into the front of the crowd.

This was especially when she read the part about how the Empress had become ill from worry, and no amount of treatment helped her. She clenched her fists.
“…Why would she suddenly become seriously ill when she was always healthy?” some commoners mumbled to themselves at the side.

“Exactly. I heard the Empress is cared for a lot by the imperial family and she is quite young as well. Why would she fall ill without warning?”

“How can we know for sure what happens within their family? The Emperor’s family must be the most heartless of them all. She might be pampered one second, and thrown into the Cold Palace the next.” Some of the commoners commented as if they knew a lot about it.

“Are you implying that His Majesty no longer loves the Empress and this is just the given excuse?”

“I didn’t say that, but there are many things that aren’t what we imagine them to be. It’s just so strange that the Empress would suddenly be seriously ill.”

“That’s nonsense!” Ji’er could no longer take it and shouted coldly.

His father’s love for her mother would never change.

These people did not know anything, yet they were spouting such ridiculous things and making random guesses.

Did they really believe that her mother had lost her father’s love, so he had come up with a random excuse to get rid of her?

How dare they say such things?

Ji’er was furious.

“Where did you come from, rascal? We’re just talking amongst ourselves. If you don’t like it, you can just walk away. Why did you shout at us?” The commoners that Ji’er shouted at recovered from their shock and were not happy.