Since Ji Zizhao became aware of the existence of the other side, she had been paying attention to it every few days.
She had never known that Ji Renran had a wet nurse.
As soon as the Fifth Prince left the city, something happened in the mansion. It was obvious that the Fifth Prince had put pressure on Ji Renran.
Upon reflection, it was not difficult to understand. No matter how Gu Peilan and her daughter colluded with the Fifth Prince, with his personality, he would never tolerate freeloaders under his nose.
It seemed that they killed Ji Ruyun to silence her and wanted to establish themselves firmly in the Ji family.
Ji Zizhao narrowed her eyes slightly.
She had not expected the Fifth Prince to give up on the Ji family.
Zhang Ji also seemed to have thought of something and asked softly, "Do you need me to find a way to get rid of wet nurse Song?"
"Uncle Ji, just keep a close watch." Since wet nurse Song was the link between Ji Renran and the Fifth Prince, Ji Zizhao certainly would not alert the enemy at this time.
Moreover, even without wet nurse Song, other wet nurses would appear in the future.
It would be better to keep this person around so that she could keep track of the Fifth Prince's movements at any time.
Shuiling, thinking about the rumors in the mansion, felt very uncomfortable. "Now everyone in the mansion is saying that the young lady is heartless, which drove the eldest grandaunt to despair. Does the young lady plan to prove her innocence?"
"No need. I'll go to sleep for a while longer. If someone comes from the main courtyard, call me." Ji Zizhao said, then got up and walked into the inner room first.
Shuiling saw this and, although she said nothing more, she remained uneasy.
The candles in the main courtyard burned all night, only dimming completely as dawn approached.
In Zhaoyuan, not only Shuiling had lost sleep all night, but wet nurse He had also gotten up.
The young lady might not say anything, but they could not remain silent. If someone dared to provoke Zhaoyuan and frame the young lady for forcing someone to their death, they would risk their lives to vindicate her.
But just as Shuiling and wet nurse He were rolling up their sleeves, ready for a great battle, they gradually realized that the voices questioning the young lady were suddenly growing fainter. By the time the sun rose, the rumors in the mansion had completely vanished without a trace.
When Ji Zizhao opened her eyes again, it was already the hour of Chen (7-9 AM).
The mansion was quiet. There were no rumors, not even any other disturbances.
While Ji Zizhao was having breakfast, Shuiling placed the fresh mushroom and vegetable soup on the table and could not help but say, "The young lady stands upright and walks with integrity. Even the most turbulent rumors will break themselves."
Ji Zizhao knew it well but remained silent.
She knew without thinking who it was that released such rumors to smear her.
Did they think they could do whatever they pleased just because of their grandmother's favoritism?
It was too naive.
It was true that their grandmother was biased, but she now held the seal of power of the Ji family. If her reputation was damaged, the entire Ji family would be disgraced.
So, why should she personally deal with the rumors in the mansion?
"Young lady, someone from the main courtyard has come to invite you." Wet nurse He lifted the curtain and entered, her expression not looking good.
Ji Zizhao was not surprised.
It seemed that her grandmother had made a decision.
After another sip of soup, Ji Zizhao slowly got up.
In the courtyard, wet nurse Xu saw the eldest young lady come out and quickly went to meet her. "Eldest young lady."
Since Ji Zizhao returned from Luoyi, wet nurse Xu had not come to Zhaoyuan. She knew she should have come to report the news to the eldest young lady, but considering the events unfolding in the mansion, she felt too ashamed to come.
Ji Zizhao saw wet nurse Xu's uncertain expression and did not make things difficult for her.
After all, wet nurse Xu served her grandmother, and it was natural for her to be biased towards her grandmother.
Ji Zizhao had secretly tried to win over wet nurse Xu, but she had not asked wet nurse Xu to betray her master. If wet nurse Xu were to betray her master, she would certainly not associate with her anymore.
Wet nurse Xu walked along, feeling anxious, afraid that the eldest young lady would question her.
But as they approached the main courtyard, she did not hear the eldest young lady say anything.
Thus, her initial guilt turned into remorse.
Standing at the door of the main house, wet nurse Xu suddenly lowered her voice and reminded, "Although the matter of the eldest grandaunt was sudden, this old servant sees that the old madam seems to have made a decision. The eldest young lady just needs to go with the flow."
These words not only reassured Ji Zizhao but also told her that there was no need to fall out with the old madam.
Ji Zizhao smiled faintly at wet nurse Xu and then stepped over the threshold.
In the main hall, it was already full of people.
The madams from each branch were seated below the old madam, and Gu Peilan was kneeling in the middle.
Ji Zizhao glanced at the still unhealed redness and swelling on Gu Peilan's face, suspecting that she had suffered a lot at the hands of her eldest aunt yesterday.
Ji Renran sat on the soft couch next to the old madam, talking about something with red eyes. As soon as she saw Ji Zizhao enter, she immediately got up and walked over.
"Eldest sister, you are finally here. Grandmother has not spoken, waiting for eldest sister's arrival." This seemed to imply Ji Zizhao's high status, but upon closer inspection, it had a different flavor.
Even though Ji Zizhao held the seal of power, there was still the old madam above her.
Now that the old madam was waiting for Ji Zizhao's arrival, was this not implying that Ji Zizhao was disrespectful to her elders?
Ji Zizhao did not dodge Ji Renran's intimate embrace of her arm, but looked at Ji Renran with surprise and said, "Knowing that grandmother was unwell, I have been waiting for grandmother's summons in the main courtyard. Although I don't know when the aunts from each branch received their summons, I only received the news just now."
Ji Renran: "..."
She felt as if Ji Zizhao had dug a pit for her.
But before Ji Renran could speak again, she heard the third madam, Yin Wenying, interject, "We all heard the news a quarter of an hour ago. Did Sister Zhao not?"
Ji Zizhao was even more surprised. "Of course not. I just saw wet nurse Xu."
The second madam, Yu Fenglan, put on a contrived smile. "That's strange. We all heard the summons from the main courtyard a quarter of an hour ago, but Sister Zhao only just now. Could it be because Sister Zhao's Zhaoyuan is particularly far away, so she was overlooked?"
Ji Renran merely wanted to use this opportunity to label Ji Zizhao as not respecting her grandmother, but she did not expect to be slapped in the face so quickly. Seeing the old madam's displeased expression on the soft couch, Ji Renran felt she should say something.
However, Ji Zizhao spoke before her. "Young lady Renran's intention to help grandmother share her burden is good, but being new, you are not yet capable of handling many things. You will have to pay more attention in the future."
Ji Renran: "..."
So, she was labeled as not being concerned about her grandmother's affairs!
Looking at Ji Zizhao's invulnerable demeanor, Ji Renran took a deep breath, her eyes welling up with tears. "Eldest sister is right. I know I am different from eldest sister. I was raised outside since childhood with a narrow perspective, unlike eldest sister who is so thoughtful in her actions."
When she couldn't win the argument, she resorted to playing the victim.
Look at her wronged little face. Anyone would think Ji Zizhao had bullied her.