News of the events reached Ji Xingmi several days later, conveyed by Elder Ye. According to Elder Ye, after Old Master Luo was sentenced, his former rivals seized the opportunity to strike, sending both of Luo's elder and younger sons to prison. Others directly exiled the remaining members of the Luo family to the northwest.
Among them was Luo Zifeng. It was said that she tried to escape, but the remaining Luo family members watched her, offering no chance for her departure. Gu Jingyi had also sent people to monitor Luo Zifeng, anticipating her causing trouble later. However, seeing her being dragged to the northwest with the rest of the Luo family, he did not order anyone to intervene.
Naturally, Gu Zhonghua also did not help, although he too had people keeping watch. He learned of everything upon returning home. Gu Zhongli feared his elder brother might be angry, but after a conversation with Gu Jingyi, Gu Zhonghua did not mention the matter again.
In addition to this, Elder Ye brought another piece of news concerning Ji Xingmi: the engagement banquet for Gu Jingyi and Ji Xingmi was scheduled for National Day. Ji Xingmi had no objections; it was bound to happen eventually. It was Elder Hua who grumbled about the haste.
Ji Xingmi was not paying much attention to external affairs. Upon hearing the news, she entrusted Elder Ye with a letter to Gu Jingyi. After completing this, she returned to working on her blueprints.
After Ji Xingmi left, Elder Ye asked Hua, "How long has she been like this?"
"She's been like this since she returned. She doesn't pay much attention to the outside world, except for dabbling in the vegetable garden when she's tired."
"Her being like this..."
Elder Hua sighed, "It's better than her causing trouble outside!"
Elder Ye pondered for a moment, "Regarding the Luo family's situation, do you think she... was involved?"
Elder Hua gave him a look and then replied, "A mere engagement caused the Luo family's downfall. Quite remarkable!"
"So she was involved?"
"She likely provided the ideas. Whether it was acted upon, that's still in the hands of the Gu family, isn't it?"
"With someone under your nose, pulling off something like this, she's quite something! The future is bright for her!"
"We should be fortunate that the Ji family is not an enemy! Those people should be starting to fear now. With such an opponent, I suspect there will be more interesting developments."
"Indeed. That old fellow got off cheaply this time, picking up a treasure!"
The two chatted in the study for a while before parting. Some things were best left understood, without needing to be spoken aloud.
After Elder Ye returned, he arranged for the letter to be delivered. Gu Jingyi was quite surprised upon receiving it. However, after reading the letter, he fell silent for a long time. The letter contained only three words: "I'm sorry!"
Gu Jingyi understood Ji Xingmi's meaning after a moment's thought. A wry smile touched his lips, but it did not alter his inner conviction. This matter had not truly harmed him; as his father had said, even if not now, it would have erupted eventually! His mother was not innocent!
Instead, Gu Jingyi penned a lengthy reply to Ji Xingmi, making several requests. Since she felt guilty, it was not unreasonable to ask for some favors.
In truth, the entire incident could not be entirely attributed to Ji Xingmi's design, nor could she be considered innocent. She had calculated all the subsequent events. As for the Luo family, it was merely a warning, and perhaps a declaration of war.
Upon learning of her grandfather's misfortune, her sole thought was revenge. Since the cause could not be ascertained, any who had previously acted against them, or were rivals, could be the culprits. However, she could not act directly; Elder Hua would not permit it, and others, upon learning of her intentions, would likely dissuade her. It was at this opportune moment that Gu Jingyi sent word about the arranged marriage.
She knew a little about the Gu family's affairs. She sought out Secretary Sun and obtained documents on both the Gu and Luo families. After a night of research, she wrote to her father, Ji. She did not explicitly state her intention to deal with the Luo family, only that she accepted the marriage arrangement. The subsequent actions were implied. Given her father's affection for her, he would naturally make such demands. What she hadn't anticipated was Gu Jingyi's proactive involvement.
She had expected the Luo family to be severely crippled by this, as the younger generation lacked talent. If Old Master Luo fell, the Luo family would essentially be ruined. However, she had not expected the Luo family to be completely destroyed. Gu Jingyi's parents had also divorced, which was beyond her foresight; she had only anticipated restrictions.
This was the reason she wished to apologize to Gu Jingyi. She had indeed not intended to break up his parents; she had not foreseen Gu Jingyi's actions to such an extent. This was also why she wrote to him, as she had not initially taken the engagement seriously. It had served as a means of revenge. Now, she had to re-evaluate Gu Jingyi's feelings for her.
Upon reading Gu Jingyi's reply, Ji Xingmi smiled. She casually picked a lot of vegetables from the garden and asked Mantis to deliver them to Gu Jingyi, along with a message.
"Miss Xing'er said these vegetables were grown by her personally after many days of hard work, and they are a gift for you!"
Hearing this, Gu Jingyi chuckled. Her reaction was indeed quite endearing. Gu Jingyi asked Mantis to wait for him, and had him carry something back.
When Ji Xingmi received the gift, she opened it to find a silver bracelet. Something seemed to be engraved on the inside: was it a fox? Indeed, upon opening his letter, he mentioned two foxes and left it for her to ponder why there were two. He also mentioned that the fox on the bracelet was something he had carved himself after practicing for a long time.
Ji Xingmi raised an eyebrow and smiled. She put the bracelet on her wrist. It looked quite good and matched her red string perfectly.
The two used Mantis as a messenger pigeon, exchanging correspondence for a while, which officially concluded with Ji Xingmi receiving the bracelet. During her free time, Ji Xingmi pondered what gift she could give him in return, but she couldn't think of anything.
However, by this time, her blueprints were almost complete, with only minor organizing left. One morning, Ji Xingmi handed the organized blueprints directly to Elder Hua, along with a small medical kit containing various medicines, mostly for recuperation.
"You've given me the blueprints, but what about this box?"
"I'm asking you to pass it on to that troublesome old man of mine!"
Elder Hua paused upon hearing this, looked at the person before him, sighed, and then asked, "When did you find out?"
"On the day I received the news?"
"How did you know?"
"My troublesome old man told me himself."
"So your reaction that day?"
"Angry! Before I came, he told me not to act rashly and to discuss everything with him. He didn't consult me about this matter. It was like he acted first and reported later! The main thing is, I only found out after receiving the letter, and it implicated Gu Jingnian. If not for my medical skills, he would have been ruined!"
"Then why did you scheme against the Luo family?"
Ji Xingmi immediately denied it, "I didn't, it wasn't me, Grandpa Hua, don't talk nonsense!"
"Dare you say you didn't push things from behind?"