Transmigrating into a book to save her best friend, her sickly husband vies for her affections every

As the rain gradually subsided, Zhao Sicong still did not appear. Jingzhe, who had gone to inquire, said that Zhang Zhan was accompanying Zhao Sicong to compose poetry. The matter was temporarily settled, so Tingyao took Ji Anzhi and left first, claiming that she was feeling unwell due to the cold.

Back at the Ji family home, Ji Anzhi was unwilling to return to her own courtyard and insisted on going back to Shi'anzhai with Tingyao.

Both of them knew that a tough battle would be fought when Sun returned, so they took a bath and then took a nap under the covers.

Finding that Ji Anzhi was sleeping restlessly, Tingyao reached out and gently patted her. "If you are scared, you can come closer to me. It's safe here, don't be afraid."

Her courtyard was right behind Old Madam Ji's courtyard; it only took five or six minutes to get there if you ran fast. Even if Madam Sun wanted to punish her, she wouldn't dare to do anything under Old Madam Ji's nose.

Ji Anzhi hesitated for a moment, "Sister, I can..."

“Yes, we can.” Tingyao pressed herself against her and gently embraced her. “Azhi, a girl’s innocence is not on her skin, nor on a few drops of blood on a white cloth. Our innocence is not in the words of men, but in our own hearts.”

In modern terms, this means fighting for one's rights to the end, resolutely refusing to reconcile, and safeguarding one's own interests.

However, this was an era of feudal dregs, and women's status declined further and further down the social class; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them worthless.

Ji Anzhi had never heard of such a principle before. She blinked, then buried her head in Tingyao's shoulder and nodded firmly, "Sister, you're right."

After sleeping for two hours, Madam Sun stormed back to the mansion and sent someone to invite Ji Anzhi to Old Madam Ji's courtyard to discuss the matter.

Ji Anzhi felt much better after a good night's sleep. She changed her clothes and shook her sleeves. "Sister, you don't need to stay with me. I have better ways of dealing with Mother than you do."

Tingyao watched her leave, and after waiting for half an hour, she started stomping her feet back and forth in the room, occasionally peeking out the window.

Shishi then said, "Should I go and secretly take a look?"

If we can take this opportunity to improve our relationship with the second young lady, then the eldest young lady will have someone she can talk to in the mansion, which would be a good thing.

Tingyao said there was no rush, but she was actually a little anxious. She stuck half her body out of the window and called out, "Jingzhe, Jingzhe, are you back?"

As she left the banquet, she had Jingzhe pass a note to Zhao Siwei.

Ask Zhao Siwei to get her something.

"It's still the Awakening of Insects, and you can't remember who your most loyal lackey is, can you?"

Tingyao looked up and saw Zhao Siwei jump down, holding a box in his hands. "You really know how to give me a hard time. It should be about time. What do you need these for? I remember you don't like these fancy jewelry."

When Shishi saw that it was the Ninth Prince, she didn't know where to look and hurriedly went out to close the door and act as a door god.

Tingyao opened the box, glanced at it, and nodded in satisfaction. "Thanks."

"You think you can just brush me off with two words?" Zhao Siwei leaned on his elbow by the window, his chin resting on the palm of his hand as he smiled at her, his eyes gentle. "You didn't even glance at me today. I was almost driven crazy by the Xu family father and daughter. Zhang Zhan even disappeared in the middle of the fight, and shamelessly asked me to fight for him. He even took the prize money to offer to the Crown Prince. The 'victim' you mentioned is me today."

"We've already seen it, haven't we?" Tingyao leaned in and kissed him on the forehead, then patted the ruffled puppy. "If you're not in a hurry, wait for me to come back so we can talk."

[Ding! Zhao Siwei's current mood is 100% joyful. Please maintain this level.]

Zhao Siwei smiled slightly, "I can't wait for you to come back. I have some things to take care of, so I stopped by to ask you for an imperial decree."

Tingyao gestured for him to speak.

Zhao Siwei's gaze held a hint of coldness. "Meng** trusted Zhang Zhan today without authorization. Although no serious consequences resulted, if she is not punished, she may act arbitrarily again in the future. I think she should be punished. What do you think?"

Tingyao neither said yes nor no, but said, "You'd better figure out whether it was ** who actively approached Zhang Zhan, or whether Zhang Zhan actively gave ** the opportunity to approach him. These are two different concepts, and the severity of the punishment will be different as well. You need to be careful with your approach."

Zhao Siwei nodded. "I understand." He called out to Jingzhe, "Your mission is to stay by the side of the eldest daughter of the Ji family at all times. The lives of the others are none of your concern, understand? If what happened today happens again, don't blame me for being impolite."

Jingzhe bowed his head, "This humble servant understands."

After Zhao Siwei left, Tingyao apologized to Jingzhe, saying, "I'm sorry I dragged you into this today."

Jingzhe shook her head. "It was indeed my fault. There were other sentries around at the time, and I should have had them keep an eye on Miss Meng."

It was clearly the master who should have been the hero who saved the damsel in distress, leaving a good impression on Ji Tingyao. It was all because Meng** was brainless, answering Zhang Zhan's questions without question, forcing the master to personally play polo in order to prevent Zhang Zhan from leaving and causing everyone to disperse and discover the affair. The torrential rain soaked the master to the bone.

When Tingyao arrived at Old Madam Ji's courtyard with the box, the servants were all waiting outside. The doors and windows of the main hall were tightly closed, which showed how serious the situation was.

Tingyao told Shishi and Ruyi not to come along, and knocked on the door herself, calling out "Grandmother." Only after hearing someone inside say "Come in" did she push the door open a crack and enter the room.

Inside the room, Madam Sun was so angry that she smashed cups and saucers and kept banging on the table to show her authority and anger.

Ji Anzhi stood to the side, her face flushed with anger, her heart pounding.

It seems the mother and daughter had a big argument.

Grandma Ji looked at Tingyao and said, "You've come at the right time. If you hadn't come, I would have sent someone to look for you. What exactly happened? Explain it clearly and in detail."

Tingyao said solemnly, "No matter what happened, it's great that Second Sister is safe and sound. If the Crown Prince were to make a fuss, the capital would be in an uproar. He probably feels he's in the wrong and won't escalate the matter. We can just swallow this bitter pill ourselves. Of course, if the Crown Prince suddenly makes a scene again, then he will be even less justifiable, daring to harass a high-ranking official's daughter in broad daylight."

Grandma Ji grasped the key point, "So, you saw with your own eyes today that your second sister was indeed molested by the Crown Prince?"

Before Tingyao could speak, Madam Sun became agitated. "Your body has been seen by men. How can we arrange a marriage in the future? The eldest daughter makes it sound nice that both families swallow their grievances. The Crown Prince only needs to quietly send out a message, and not only will your second sister be disgraced, but our Ji family's reputation will be ruined. The eldest daughter's marriage will also be delayed. And that's not all. How will the two boys of the family establish themselves in the capital in the future? They are the future pillars and hopes of the Ji family."

Tingyao thought to herself, "The whole thing before was all lies. Only the part about helping your two sons establish themselves in the capital is the truth."

Why should a perfectly good daughter be used as a stepping stone for your son?

Ji Anzhi asked coldly, "How do you establish yourself—"

Sun interrupted her, saying, "You are the older sister of two younger brothers and the younger sister of the eldest daughter. You can't just think of yourself. What wrong have they done? Why should they be dragged down by you and unable to hold their heads up in the capital?"

"In my opinion, the Crown Prince is so deeply in love with you that he acted so abruptly today. You should be more understanding. This actually shows that if you go to the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince will probably dote on you even more. As long as you are pregnant, you can hold your son next year."

"The Crown Prince has already sent you gifts, isn't that enough to prove his affection for you? Why don't you just obediently follow the Crown Prince? You won't lose out, don't you think, Grandmother?"

Ji Tingyao was Old Madam Ji's Achilles' heel. With Ji Anzhi's affair blown up, Ji Tingyao, who already had no suitors, would likely be even less desirable, becoming a woman despised by everyone in the capital.

As long as she can persuade Old Madam Ji to make the decision, Ji Anzhi will have no choice but to accept her fate. If she becomes the Crown Prince's concubine, her two sons' future paths will be much easier.

Ji Anzhi was so angry that she trembled all over.

What a wicked mother who sold her daughter for personal gain!