The Prince Consort Is Also Pretending To Be Affectionate Today - Chapter 31

31

In fact, Little Ji was quite adept at handling awkward situations like this. She had her own way of dealing with them.

When she was young, just after her parents passed away, she was taken in by her uncle and aunt. While playing hide-and-seek with her cousins, she hid in the study and accidentally overheard her uncle and aunt discussing how they would send her to an orphanage once they got their hands on her inheritance.

She vaguely remembered how, at her parents’ funeral, her uncle and aunt had cried even harder than she did, loudly proclaiming they would raise her well. Back then, she believed them and chose them as her guardians from among all her relatives.

Unfortunately, that trust was shattered before it could fully form.

What did Little Ji do back then?

She rubbed her eyes, pretending she had just woken up, and said she had fallen asleep in the study while playing hide-and-seek.

Yes, Little Ji’s way of handling things was to avoid them.

Avoidance was shameful, but effective.

Later, her uncle and aunt didn’t send her away, and the words she overheard in the study were silently brushed aside, as if they had never been spoken.

Ji Rongjin always knew she was a burden, so when she realized she had transmigrated, her first thought was, Great, now my uncle and aunt are free of this burden.

Before coming here, she had lived carelessly, getting by day to day. After arriving, she continued in the same way.

Nothing much had changed. She seamlessly inherited the original owner’s friends, parents, status, wife, and everything else, but none of it truly belonged to her. She always felt like an outsider in this world.

Most of the time, she lived with the mindset of taking things one day at a time, letting events push her forward and making choices casually.

But occasionally, she would feel a spark of genuine emotion.

Little Ji never denied that she was someone with an overflow of sympathy. Having been caught in the rain herself, even if she only had a tattered umbrella, she would still hold it up for others, however imperfectly.

But people with overflowing sympathy are easily deceived and rarely meet good ends.

Take Ji Rongjin at this moment, for example.

She considered Shen Zhuwan to be the only person she truly cared for, so she always put her heart and soul into helping her. But after Shadow Two’s words flashed through her mind, she understood what had happened.

Shen Zhuwan had known from the start that the “incense burner” would fall, even calculating which way it would tip. As for the rumors, they were entirely under her control.

All the effort Ji Rongjin had poured in, all her dedication, had been unnecessary.

Looking at Shen Zhuwan across from her, Ji Rongjin clutched the pig mask in her hand. For a fleeting moment, she considered putting it on and pretending to be a pig that had wandered into the study, then scurrying out.

But that would be too humiliating. Little Ji might be casual, but she wasn’t that careless.

In the room with the three of them, the air was so still that Shadow Two felt suffocated.

After a long pause, Shen Zhuwan let out a resigned sigh. When she opened her eyes, her clear gaze carried a hint of coldness. “Shadow Two, go receive your punishment.”

Shadow Two, finally relieved, left eagerly. “…Yes.”

Ji Rongjin watched Shadow Two’s retreating figure, puzzled, thinking to herself how bizarre it was that someone could be so enthusiastic about receiving punishment.

Snapping back to reality, Ji Rongjin realized it was just her and the princess in the study now.

After a moment’s thought, she decided to take the initiative. With a playful grin, she put on the pig mask and walked over to Shen Zhuwan, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “Princess, what do you think of my mask? Isn’t it fun?”

Through the mask, Shen Zhuwan looked at her smiling eyes. After a pause, her fingers lightly tapped the table. “Did you hear everything just now?”

Ji Rongjin’s smile didn’t falter behind the mask. She blinked. “Hear what?”

Clearly, Little Ji had once again chosen to play dumb between knowing and not knowing.

Shen Zhuwan gazed at her steadily. “I did know about this matter in advance.”

“There’s no need for Your Highness to explain.” Ji Rongjin said, lowering her hand. The mask stayed firmly on her face, the chubby pig face looking somewhat comical. “There must be a reason you didn’t tell me, and I don’t need to know everything.”

She thought for a moment, still smiling. “Maybe you were worried I’d let something slip. Maybe it was for the greater good. Or maybe there’s some other reason. But to me, none of that matters.”

It didn’t matter because, no matter the reason, the outcome was the same: Shen Zhuwan didn’t trust her and was guarding against her.

Rather than humiliating herself, it was better to pretend nothing had happened.

Shen Zhuwan looked at her quietly, noting the calm undertone beneath her smile and hearing the forced lightness in her words. Her expression remained serene. “What if I said I didn’t tell you for your own sake?”

Ji Rongjin’s mind froze for a moment at those words. She repeated, stunned, “For my sake?”

“Not entirely,” Shen Zhuwan said, lowering her eyes. “It was also for my own selfish reasons.”

Ji Rongjin stared at her. Her instincts told her not to trust this fox-like woman, but she still perked up her ears.

“I never thought what you did was unnecessary.” Shen Zhuwan said, standing up to face her. Her voice was soft. “Nor did I ever make light of it to amuse myself.”

She reached out and touched the mask, her gaze distant but her voice gentle. “I was just thinking that, after losing my father and mother, it’s rare for someone to protect me like this.”

The comical pig mask was removed, revealing the young woman’s face. Shen Zhuwan looked into her eyes. “I cherished that feeling, so I didn’t tell you.”

The young woman wasn’t smiling, though her naturally upturned eyes gave the illusion of a smile when they squinted, making it easy for her to feign happiness.

But now, with the mask off, Shen Zhuwan could finally see the unease and sadness hidden beneath.

The young woman always assumed the worst, and Shen Zhuwan roughly understood why. Having rehearsed the worst possible outcomes in her mind, she could quickly accept whatever happened.

Looking at the young woman’s downcast eyes, Shen Zhuwan sighed softly. “Are you angry with me, my consort?”

Ji Rongjin shifted her gaze uncomfortably, staying silent.

Angry?

She wasn’t sure. There was probably some anger, but more than that, there was sadness.

Yes, the problems she deliberately avoided had been resolved at the time, but when they resurfaced in her memory later, they were like fine needles piercing her heart, spreading a dense, lingering pain.

Ji Rongjin had thought she was used to it, but now she realized she had only been habitually forgetting. When the memories returned, the pain came back in waves.

She didn’t share these thoughts with Shen Zhuwan, but Shen Zhuwan had already guessed them and firmly told her that she wasn’t distrusting her, nor were her actions unnecessary.

Little Ji was always easy to placate. When Shen Zhuwan said those words, her anger had already dissipated, and even the slight self-pitying sadness had faded.

But looking at the woman before her, she thought she couldn’t forgive her so easily, or this fox-like Shen Zhuwan would surely take advantage again.

She looked at the woman calmly, about to speak, when the woman turned her head slightly, slowly picking up the pig mask Ji Rongjin had left on the table and placing it on her own face.

The pig head was comical, but the beautiful phoenix-like eyes behind the mask carried a hint of coaxing as they gazed at her quietly.

Shen Zhuwan’s lashes fluttered slightly as she asked softly, “Are you still angry, my consort?”

Ji Rongjin tried to hold it in but couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

It was hard to imagine the princess wearing something so silly and playful.

But after laughing, her heart felt as if it had been soaked in warm water—soft and warm.

The princess treated her so well, even willing to coax her like this to make her happy.

Seeing Ji Rongjin laugh, Shen Zhuwan removed the mask, her eyes showing a hint of helplessness. “Not angry anymore?”

Ji Rongjin took the mask from her, put it back on her own face, and said quickly, “I was angry just now! But not anymore.”

After a pause, she added, “Actually, when Shadow Two caught me earlier, I did consider pretending to be a pig that accidentally wandered into the study and then scurrying out with a grunt.”

Shen Zhuwan’s eyes widened in surprise before she burst into laughter.

Shen Zhuwan didn’t laugh often, or rather, her smiles were usually proper, elegant, or didn’t reach her eyes. But this radiant, blooming smile—Ji Rongjin had only seen it once.

For a moment, she was mesmerized. When she came to, she let out a sigh of relief and joined in the laughter.

At that moment, Shadow Two, receiving punishment at Shadow One’s place, was still feeling guilty for speaking out of turn. She had no idea that the two women were laughing brightly, with no trace of the tension she had imagined.

After that day, the rumors in the capital suddenly shifted.

Some said the person killed during the sacrificial ceremony was someone who opposed the princess’s rule. Combined with the fish-belly prophecy, the talking ox, and the Buddha’s oracle, the capital’s rumors had completely turned into the narrative that the princess was heaven’s chosen, and anyone who disrespected her would face divine punishment.

Ji Rongjin’s efforts weren’t in vain after all. At least, combined with the rumors Shen Zhuwan had orchestrated, the effect was remarkable.

But someone had to take the fall for the incident at the ceremony.

The Minister of Rites, Chang Qingshan, became the scapegoat. Though his life was spared, he was stripped of his position and sent home to reflect in seclusion.

Ji Rongjin felt a pang of sympathy. Seeing the relieved smile on Chang Qingshan’s face, she felt even more reluctant to see him go.

On the day of his departure, Ji Rongjin’s eyes were filled with reluctance. “Lord Chang, I really can’t bear to see you leave.”

Though Chang Qingshan felt he had escaped a disaster, he was also reluctant. “Lord Ji, if I pass through here on my travels in the future, I’ll come find you.”

Ji Rongjin: “…Wait, don’t you have to go home and take over the family business?”

Chang Qingshan smiled. “No need. My elder brothers handle that. I’m just responsible for eating, drinking, and having fun.”

Ji Rongjin’s reluctance vanished. “…Farewell.”

This enviable wealth! Thinking of the fifteen thousand taels she still owed the princess, she felt even more unbalanced.

Chang Qingshan chuckled, then his face showed a hint of sadness. “Lord Ji, you don’t understand. Being too rich is also a kind of trouble.”

Ji Rongjin: “I’m willing to bear that kind of trouble for you.”

Chang Qingshan shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Ji Rongjin: “…” Fist clenched.

Back to the point. Before getting into the carriage, Chang Qingshan leaned in and whispered a secret to her. “One of the reasons I’ve never married is because I’ve long admired the princess. Unfortunately, unfortunately…”

He gave Ji Rongjin a meaningful look. “The money I donated to the Court of Judicial Review was actually to serve the princess through you.”

Ji Rongjin was stunned. “I thought we were friends!”

Chang Qingshan sighed. “We are.”

Ji Rongjin: “Don’t you know that a friend’s wife…”

Chang Qingshan finished her sentence: “…is not to be trifled with.”

Ji Rongjin: “…”

Who would’ve thought this refined-looking guy had such audacious, shameless ambitions!

Chang Qingshan finally got into the carriage, waving at her with a smile. “Lord Ji, may we meet again if fate allows.”

Ji Rongjin waved back, smiling. “When a friend comes from afar, even from a distance, they must be dealt with.”

Chang Qingshan: “…”

Easily placated Little Lord Ji: She was willing to wear that ugly pig mask to cheer me up. How could she possibly be wrong?