In the room, Ji Renran was leaning against the bedside, gazing blankly at the frost-covered windowpane.
Scattered hair fell to her sides, obscuring her swollen half-face, but failing to hide the emptiness in her eyes.
Ji Zizhao surveyed the disheveled Ji Renran, having never expected her to fare well, but now seeing her more miserably than she had anticipated.
Hearing footsteps, Ji Renran belatedly turned her head towards the sound.
Upon seeing Ji Zizhao standing beside her, she quickly regained her composure and straightened her back, saying, "I'm not feeling well right now. Eldest Sister, whatever matter you have, it can wait."
After Ji Renran finished speaking, she heard footsteps.
However, the footsteps did not move away but lingered beside her.
Ji Renran looked again and saw Ji Zizhao helping herself to a chair and sitting down by the bedside.
Ji Renran: "..."
Was this person so thick-skinned?
"I do have something to find Sister Renran about, but it cannot be delayed," Ji Zizhao said, sitting down in the chair under Ji Renran's shocked and resistant gaze.
Ji Renran looked at Ji Zizhao, who sat before her with perfect poise and calm demeanor. She felt an urge to kick her out. "I'm not in the mood to talk with Eldest Sister right now. Or perhaps Eldest Sister, like those servants outside, thinks I'm going to be a concubine and has come to bully me?"
Ji Renran was Ji Renran, and even at this point, she couldn't resist pinning labels on Ji Zizhao.
"When Sister Renran returned to the mansion, it was your own doing. Now I'm merely returning the favor. How is that going too far?" Ji Zizhao countered with a half-smile.
Ji Renran: "..."
As expected, Ji Zizhao always found a way to make people grit their teeth in hatred.
Ji Renran knew that she had lost everything today.
Grandmother had been willing to lay hands on her, disregarding their past affections. It would be too difficult for her to hold her head high in this mansion any longer.
Now, Ji Renran only wished she could be married off quickly.
Even a concubine, she could accept.
After all, it would be a royal prince's consort.
Seeing that Ji Renran had fallen silent, Ji Zizhao paused and then continued, "Sister Renran must have heard about Grandmother's wish for Brother Zongyou to leave the Ji family. I hope Sister Renran can help me persuade Brother Zongyou to leave willingly."
Ji Renran was taken aback and looked at Ji Zizhao with confusion.
After a long moment, seeing that she hadn't misheard, she said with a cold laugh, "Eldest Sister, you might be asking the wrong person."
That was her own brother!
Ji Zizhao, however, said, "It's not a plea, it's a transaction."
Hearing this, Ji Renran frowned.
"Sister Renran, you must be well aware of your current predicament. Grandmother is extremely disappointed, and the Madam of the Reconstituted Household has lost face. Sister Renran, let alone marrying with splendor, it might not even be possible to leave with dignity."
If it were before, Ji Renran would have scoffed.
Grandmother doted on her so much, how could she abandon her?
But now, Ji Renran couldn't bring herself to say that.
The thought of her grandmother's furious expression, as if she wanted to swallow her alive, filled her with dread.
Ji Zizhao, seeing Ji Renran's speechless state, her smile deepened.
People like Grandmother, selfish and cold-hearted, gave everything with calculation.
And when the so-called returns did not match the effort, Grandmother would inevitably turn her back.
Without Ji Zongyou's hereditary position, Grandmother had pinned her hopes on Ji Renran marrying into a high-ranking family.
Now that Ji Renran had met such an end...
In Ji Zizhao's understanding, the only reason Grandmother hadn't killed Ji Renran outright was due to the existence of the Fifth Prince.
"After all, Sister Renran and I are sisters. I would not wish to see Sister Renran marry as a concubine with nothing. However, the mansion truly has no spare funds to prepare a dowry for Sister Renran. But if Sister Renran can get Brother Zongyou to move out willingly, the household expenses will surely be halved. I can advance a year's remaining expenses, which can be used as part of Sister Renran's trousseau."
Ji Zizhao was reluctant to give Ji Renran money.
But if she could spend money to make someone who should leave, leave, she was willing to spend it.
Once the Seventh Prince returned to the city, the princes would begin to marry one after another.
At that time, Ji Zizhao would also have to move to the Fourth Prince's mansion.
Therefore, before then, Ji Zizhao had to clear the house.
When only Gu Peilan remained in the mansion, it would not be too difficult for Third Sister to handle.
Ji Renran was unaware that Ji Zizhao was the designated Fourth Prince's consort. In her eyes, Ji Zizhao's efforts to drive away her brother were simply due to their long-standing animosity.
"My brother and I, and Eldest Sister, share the closest blood relations. Why must Eldest Sister push us so hard? In this world, shouldn't we be the closest people?"
"Could it be that Sister Renran has forgotten how you entered the Ji family?"
Ji Renran stiffened. "Iā¦ I don't understand what Eldest Sister means."
Ji Zizhao sneered, "From the moment Sister Renran stepped into the Ji family on the bones of my mother, you and I could never be family. Sister Renran, you didn't truly believe that your actions were flawless just because they weren't exposed, did you?"
Hearing this, Ji Renran felt her limbs turn ice-cold beneath the quilt, yet her throat felt inexplicably dry.
"My Eldest Sister's mother's death was just an accident. Why must Eldest Sister dwell on it? People must look forward..." Ji Renran would, of course, never admit it.
Ji Zizhao was unconcerned. "People indeed must look forward, but only after those who owe blood debts have paid with their lives."
In the room, the charcoal in the brazier crackled as it burned.
Ji Zizhao sat in her chair, gazing at Ji Renran with a smile, her eyes never leaving her.
Despite being in a warm and dry room, Ji Renran shivered with cold.
For a moment, Ji Renran truly felt as if Ji Zizhao knew everything.
But Ji Renran dared not even lift her head, let alone ask.
What Ji Zizhao had said in the main hall earlier had left her utterly unable to cope.
If Ji Zizhao were to settle all past and present scores, what could she possibly use to confront her now?
"So, Sister Renran, what do you think of my proposal?" Ji Zizhao was not here to settle scores with Ji Renran today.
Her feud with Ji Renran would be settled, but not now.
Ji Zizhao dared to fall out with Ji Renran, so she was not afraid of Ji Renran relaying their conversation to the Fifth Prince.
After all, no matter how the words were framed, they would only be suspicions.
If it truly made the Fifth Prince uneasy, Ji Zizhao would be delighted to see him like an ant on a hot pan.
But if something were to happen to Ji Renran in the Ji family at this juncture, the Fifth Prince might stir up trouble again.