dtnovels Chapter 90 Recognition
Chapter 90 Recognition
Ali thought Ji Hua had suffered something, and she was a little angry. She turned Ji Hua's shoulders around so that they were facing each other, and Xia Li said to her seriously, "Sister, I know you have always protected me, but you are not that much older than me. I also want to be the one who can protect you... Please let me be needed by you!"
Zhao Jihua: "..."
Xia Li continued, "It really makes me sad that you don't need anything from me."
Zhao Jihua feigned nonchalance: "Oh, really, it's nothing. I've already broken off the engagement with him. The rest are minor matters."
"What annulment of the engagement?" Suddenly, Prince Jin stormed in, his face full of anger, and demanded sharply, "What exactly happened?"
Zhao Jihua first silently pulled Xia Li behind her, then bowed to her father: "News has come from the palace that His Majesty intends to betroth the second daughter of the Marquis of Dongping to the Third Prince, awaiting the imperial decree to be issued at the palace banquet at the end of the year. We cannot disobey the decree, nor can my daughter become a concubine! At this time, we cannot stand awkwardly between them. Besides, Her Majesty only mentioned it casually and did not take it to heart. Otherwise, I would have already come of age, so why did Her Majesty not request His Majesty to grant me the marriage? Although it was just a joke, I felt it was better to tell him to avoid giving others something to say. Therefore, today I dissolved the engagement with the Third Prince."
Xia Li then understood which suspicion Zhao Jihua meant when he said he wanted to avoid suspicion. She was engaged to the Third Prince, albeit verbally. But now that the Dongping Marquis's family was about to marry the Third Prince, wouldn't Zhao Jihua's presence be like... an ex-wife attending her fiancée's banquet?
As she was thinking, Xia Li suddenly felt her whole body stiffen, and she had a bad feeling.
Now let's talk about the Prince of Jin.
“You…sigh,” the Prince of Jin couldn’t refute his daughter’s words, which were perhaps too reasonable. But Xi Jue’s hopes were dashed, leaving him both angry and helpless.
Unable to find anyone to vent his anger on, the Prince of Jin saw Xia Li standing to the side and inexplicably berated him, which made him feel a little better.
Finally, he said, "You, go kneel in the ancestral hall." After saying this, he left without looking back.
Xia Li: "..."
Okay, so the clown was actually myself.
Ji Hua smiled and patted Ali's head: "Look, the matter has already been resolved."
Xia Li praised her without hesitation: "I didn't expect you to be so amazing, sister."
Watching the Prince of Jin's figure disappear completely, Ji Hua covered her mouth and chuckled: "Father says he doesn't acknowledge you, but not only have you never lacked anything, he even let you go to the ancestral hall. He's just stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside."
"But...but I was punished by kneeling!!!" If that's the kind of acceptance you're having, there's really no need for that!
"Even if it's a punishment of kneeling, if I didn't truly accept you from the bottom of my heart, why would I punish you by making you kneel in the ancestral hall?"
"...It seems there's some truth to it?"
"It's alright, Father is in a bad mood, you don't need to pay attention to him. You don't need to take what she said to heart either, just pretend she was never here."
That feeling... "Alright, then I'll head back to the Marquis of Beiliang's residence first."
Ji Hua was slightly taken aback: "Aren't you going to rest here?"
"No, I've already been here for a day and a night. There are still things waiting for me at the Marquis's residence. I can't delay any longer."
"Alright then." Zhao Jihua was reluctant, but in the end, he could only watch Xia Li leave.
Only after Xia Li disappeared from sight did she composed herself and turn to find Prince Jin.
"Father was angry just now. I forgot to mention that when you have time, Father should investigate this carefully. There may be a traitor in the Prince of Jin's residence."
"what happened?"
Zhao Jihua then relayed to the Prince of Jin exactly what Li Yutong had said at the tea party that day.
"My daughter is wondering how she knew about these things when they hadn't been leaked?"
Prince Jin flicked his sleeve and snorted coldly, "Hmph, a mere bookkeeper's hand is not enough to get in here."
"My daughter thinks so too; Li Yutong is probably being instructed by someone."
"Alright, I will investigate this matter personally. It's getting late, you should go back to your room and rest."
"Yes, Father. Your daughter takes her leave." Zhao Jihua bowed and gracefully withdrew.
Father, I hope that after you "find" these details, you will be able to completely shatter the illusions you have about the Third Prince's faction.
As for Xia Li, she didn't return to the Marquis of Beiliang's residence. Instead, she went directly to Jin Yu Man Tang, arranged everything, and then announced her departure.
"I need to leave for a while."
The shopkeeper hurriedly asked, "Where is the master going?"
"Let's go expand our territory!" Xia Li answered confidently.
"I still have things to do here. I'll come find you after I've finished what I need to do," Yu Yang said with some guilt.
Xia Li looked completely bewildered: "Who asked you to follow me?"
Yu Yang's eyes darkened, but the next second he smiled and said, "When a boss expands his territory, he always needs someone to help him out."
“No need. Unless…” Xia Li’s refusal took a turn, “Unless you’re willing to tell me how you replaced Mu Li at the banquet before.”
"Huh? I thought I hid it well! When did you find out?" Yu Yang was very surprised; he thought his boss hadn't noticed at all.
If the boss can recognize her, does that mean she's also paying attention to her?
Xia Li replied, "From the moment you started referring to yourself as 'I'. Besides, although Mu Li talks a lot, he's a simple and loyal little kid, unlike you who's so cynical."
Yu Yang was overjoyed, his mouth stretching to his ears. The boss had indeed noticed him!
He grinned like a goofball: "Oh dear, I really can't hide it from you. I was just worried about you, what if..."
"Worried about me?"
"Yeah...yes! What if something happens to you, boss? How am I supposed to make more money? I'm so poor, how can I live a carefree life without you?"
Xia Li glanced at him sideways: "If you were really poor, you wouldn't be able to just casually offer up such a well-located shop." Jin Yu Man Tang is a merger of several businesses, Xia Li had inquired and found out it was still operating before. He didn't know if it originally belonged to Yu Yang or if he had bought it, but in any case, this alone proved that Yu Yang was definitely not the poor guy he was talking about.
"Uh... this..." Yu Yang felt guilty, but he quickly made amends, "Yes! I do have a little money. But who would complain about having too much money, right? Plus, you're so smart, you're bound to be incredibly wealthy in the future. Following you will definitely be more rewarding than costly for me."
I really only have a little money, I'm not lying!
"Alright, I don't want to hear your flattery. If you really want to make some money, consider the liquor business. You saw it yesterday; this liquor is sure to sell well."
His fruit wine was brewed using modern techniques, which others didn't know, but Xia Li discovered it as soon as he tasted it.
Thinking of this, she said seriously, "In fact, I've always known you're not simple..."