After a long mont, all he said was, "You are dismissed."
Hearing those three words, Ji Qingwu’s eyes instantly lit up.
’I’m going to live!’
She suppressed her inner joy, hunched her shoulders, bowed her waist, and quickly backed out of the Diligent Governance Hall.
What she didn’t know was that the mont her figure in green disappeared, the Emperor’s expression behind her changed in an instant.
His features turned to ice, chilling anyone who looked at him. Not a trace of his previous gentle deanor remained.
As Ji Qingwu walked out of the hall, she felt as if she had been given a new lease on life. Even the air seed to be filled with a sweet fragrance.
Outside the door, Li Yuzong and Little Dongzi saw her erge and imdiately bead at her like blooming flowers.
"Miss Ji, you’re out so soon. Please, take care on your way out."
Ji Qingwu thought about how she had nearly lost her life, but you don’t slap a smiling face. She could only grit her teeth and say, "I am truly grateful to you two gentlen."
It was almost ti for school to let out, so she went to the Upper Study Room and waited. A mont later, a delighted Jiu Jiu was the first to run out of the door.
Ji Qingwu quickly scooped the little milk dumpling into her arms and held her for a long ti before her heart finally settled.
"Mama, you sll so nice."
Jiu Jiu had a very keen nose. She rested on her mother’s shoulder and sniffed.
’Perhaps because I was too close to him just now in the Diligent Governance Hall, his incense scent has clung to my clothes.’
"It slls so good. Jiu Jiu wants to sll nice too."
Ji Qingwu sighed inwardly. ’This ambergris, reserved for the Emperor, is not sothing you can just ask for... Even if it cost my life, I couldn’t get it for you.’
This warm, happy scene of mother and daughter embracing also pierced soone’s eyes.
The door to the Diligent Governance Hall was still ajar.
Light and shadows flickered, but the tall figure was no longer at the desk.
Emperor Wu Su stood before the window with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the entrance to the Upper Study Room not far away. He commanded, "Soone."
A figure in black darted in from outside and knelt. "Your Majesty."
"Sanchuan, go investigate where the Ji Family’s Fifth Missy has lived all these years and who she has t."
Emperor Wu Su narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "And... whether she has ever had a husband."
"Yes, this subordinate will see to it at once." After accepting the order, the Hidden Guard, Sanchuan, vanished from the hall with a WHOOSH.
Even though he knew the Hidden Guards possessed superb martial arts, Li Yuzong still felt his vision blur as the dark figure disappeared before his very eyes.
’The Hidden Guards are the Emperor’s secret daggers, always ruthless in their thods. To think he’s now using a Hidden Guard to investigate Ji Qingwu.’
’But his words are strange. If Miss Ji never had a husband, where did her child co from? Isn’t that a contradiction?’
’He didn’t ask who the husband is, but whether she ever *had* one? Could it be the Holy Emperor already has a suspicion?’
Li Yuzong muttered to himself, unsure whether Emperor Wu Su liked this woman from the Ji Family or disliked her imnsely...
But one thing was certain: she had caught his attention.
*
After this, Jiu Jiu began attending school every day.
To reduce her chances of eting Emperor Wu Su, who could expose her identity at any mont, Ji Qingwu entrusted the task of picking up and dropping off Jiu Jiu to her elder brother, Ji Changlin.
She thought this would make her life much easier.
But unexpectedly, Mrs. Qiao hired several renowned teachers to instruct her at ho in the Six Arts expected of a noble lady from an aristocratic family: Rites, Music, Archery, Charioteering, Calligraphy, and Mathematics.
As for the last one, Mathematics, she mastered it after skimming through the *Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art* just once. It was clear who Jiu Jiu had inherited her talent from.
Music and dance, however, required training from a young age. Starting now, she could only learn the basics.
Therefore, Mrs. Qiao didn’t force her, instead hiring a top courtesan dancer to perform for her several tis, simply so she could learn to distinguish between good and bad dance.
Ji Qingwu, on the other hand, was quite interested in archery and horsemanship. Having practiced them in the army camps to chase people down, she found them easy to pick up again.
She learned these two subjects quickly, earning no shortage of praise from her teacher, but as a result, the lessons concluded swiftly.
The Qiao Family was most proficient in literature, and the entire family was filled with civil servants. Under Mrs. Qiao’s constant and direct supervision, she went on to learn the thods of character recognition and creation—ideogrammic compounds, phono-semantic compounds, derivative cognates, and phonetic loans—and could even recognize a few simple classical texts.
While Jiu Jiu went to school, she miserably attended her lessons at ho.
Ji Qingwu complained endlessly, but Mrs. Qiao showed no rcy and found a seamstress from the Music Bureau to teach her needlework.
Half a month went by, and she lost a fair bit of weight, making her eyes appear even more bright and spirited.
She did her best to flutter her large, watery eyes and said coquettishly, "Mother, I don’t have to be *that* outstanding."
Mrs. Qiao was demonstrating how to make incense, her hands moving with an elegant lift and fall. She said sternly, "I know it’s not easy for you, but these days, the great aristocratic families all value this. A woman must possess both virtue and talent to secure a good marriage."
"Mother, I’m not in a hurry. Look, elder brother isn’t married yet. I don’t want to get married; I just want to stay by your side for a few more years."
"Your elder brother, that’s..." Mrs. Qiao started to say, but trailed off.
She changed the subject. "Don’t compare yourself to him. A woman’s future is sothing she must earn for herself. It’s not like n, who have a natural advantage. Be born into a noble family, inherit a title, and everything is set for them."
Ji Qingwu fell silent.
’Mrs. Qiao was right. In this era, a woman’s "future" ant choosing a reliable husband’s family, supporting her husband, and raising her sons. If her husband and sons were successful, she could be granted the title of a commandery lady, and her life would be considered worthwhile.’
’But it still ant being confined to one’s own small world, a woman of the inner quarters.’
"Xiao Wu, these past few days, I’ve found a potential match for you."
Ji Qingwu let out a long "Ahhh" and said helplessly, "Mother, aren’t you being a little too hasty?"
"It’s not that I’m hasty, it’s that this man is simply too outstanding. Although his family background isn’t prominent, he’s already a Jinshi scholar. I heard from your maternal grandfather that he has the talent of a top scholar, just waiting to be chosen in the palace examination. His mother had asked soone to find a suitable girl for him, and the request eventually made its way to . You were the first person I thought of."
Ji Qingwu didn’t know Mrs. Qiao also enjoyed playing matchmaker. She smiled and said, "Mother, just how handso is this man that you took a liking to him at first sight?"
Mrs. Qiao poked her on the forehead. "You just wait and see."
A few days later, Mrs. Qiao took Ji Qingwu on a visit to her maternal ho.
The Qiao Family had nurous guests, all gathered in the front hall for discussions. Ji Qingwu accompanied Mrs. Qiao to Madam Qiao’s courtyard for a chat.
Madam Qiao was a lively old lady. The mont she saw Ji Qingwu, she pulled her into a hug and had her sit right beside her.
Her old face crinkled with a smile. "My granddaughter really looks like when I was young. Fair skin, bright and watery eyes... you could charm a whole crowd with a single blink."
Ji Qingwu couldn’t help but smile, but she didn’t dare to be presumptuous and tease her.
Mrs. Qiao put a hand to her forehead. "Mother, what are you saying in front of Xiao Wu?"
In any family with an overly lively and free-spirited mother, there was bound to be a mature, reserved, and worriso daughter.
Seeing the young girl, Madam Qiao began to reminisce about the past. "I had a long list of conquests when I was young. That fellow from the Lao family, the one who’s a Cabinet Scholar now? Why, back in the day, he even jumped into the West Pond for ."
Ji Qingwu’s eyes widened. "Grandmother, is that true? Back then, that must have caused a sensation throughout the entire city."
Mrs. Qiao pursed her lips and said, "A sensation? It was practically a riot. The banks were crowded with people, and even a troop of governnt soldiers showed up."
Thinking of the scene, Ji Qingwu burst out laughing, her smile radiant.
Just then, a servant boy’s urgent voice ca from outside the window. "The Old Master requests the Fifth Missy to co over at once."
Madam Qiao raised her voice. "Why the rush? I haven’t had my fill of talking yet."
"Miss Jiu Jiu got into a fight with soone at the Upper Study Room!"
Ji Qingwu shot to her feet and ran outside.
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