The Ji Family had an ancestor during the previous dynasty who was known for his ruthlessness as a minor official.
At that ti, a tyrant rose to power, and the ancestor caught the tyrant’s eye, who promoted him to inflict wrongful imprisonnts on a large scale. The number of people he had killed was beyond tally.
Of course, this ancestor t with no good end.
However, he did manage to save his two sons and recorded his extensive experience in running prisons over the years for his sons to take when they fled.
These two sons lived incognito in the countryside. After the passing of the tyrant and the arrival of peaceful tis, they ca out and beca secretaries who managed various types of cases.
The Eldest of the two brothers was extrely intelligent; after becoming a steward, he trained his son in literacy and eventually sent him to beco a scholar. Using his connections, he secured an official position for his son, who later beca Minister of the Ministry of Justice, responsible for criminal justice.
With the notes from their ancestor, the Ji Family ancestor who beca Minister of the Ministry of Justice also prospered significantly.
Afterward, for several generations, the Ji Family had been involved in criminal justice, either managing the Heavenly Prison or the Ministry of Justice, or being sent out as officials to preside over trials. The Ji Family was adept at these.
When unrest occurred in the previous dynasty, the Ji Family saw trouble ahead and retreated to the countryside. When Grand Ancestor rose in rebellion, the Ji Family donated a significant amount of silver, and by the ti of Mr. Ji’s generation, they joined Grand Ancestor in conquering the realm.
While others fought on horseback, not only was Mr. Ji adept in martial arts on the battlefield, but he also managed resources such as food and silver off the battlefield. Most importantly, Mr. Ji also trained a squad of Hidden Guards for Grand Ancestor. These Hidden Guards were skilled in all forms of covert operations, including assassinations and entrapnts, greatly easing Grand Ancestor’s military campaigns.
Once peace was restored and the Jing Dynasty established, Mr. Ji knew that Grand Ancestor would be wary of him, being quite adept at judging the tis, he quickly surrendered his military power and retired at ho for several years before passing away.
After Mr. Ji’s death, out of rembrance for his forr assistance, Grand Ancestor granted the Ji Family a lucrative post.
At that ti, the mariti ban was being lifted, and Grand Ancestor assigned Anning’s grandfather—Young Master Ji—as the first Customs Director.
The revenue from customs was substantial. Even if Young Master Ji wasn’t corrupt, the amount of silver that passed through his hands each year was imnse, not to ntion the treasures from international trade, which in the eyes of the Ji Family at the ti were nothing remarkable.
It is said that during Anning’s father’s pri, the Ji Family was at its most splendid. Anning’s father even played with pearls the size of thumb pads as marbles during his childhood, which shows how wealthy the Ji Family was at the ti.
It was only after the passing of Young Master Ji and then Anning’s father that the Ji Family began to fade.
However, Mr. Ji was quite shrewd; in his ti not only did he lead troops but he also managed the Hidden Guard, amassing warti wealth wherever he went, resulting in far more earnings than other generals could claim.
No one knew how much he had amassed, not even Master Cui of The Cuis, who was very close to Mr. Ji.
After the establishnt of the Jing Dynasty, Mr. Ji hid so of the treasures and exchanged the rest for silver, then bought land and shops to conduct trade and business.
There was a shrewdness inherent in the Ji Family; under Mr. Ji’s managent, the capital doubled in a few years.
By the ti of Young Master Ji, he was even shrewder, marrying his eldest daughter to The Cuis and his second daughter to the imperial rchant, the Tang Family.
By marrying a Ji daughter, the Tang Family was very considerate of the Ji Family in business matters. Having served as the Customs Director for many years, Young Master Ji had accumulated so much silver that even he himself didn’t know the exact amount.
So of this silver was used by the Tang Family to invest in various businesses.
He managed customs and dealt with foreign rchants. Later, he even partnered with the Tang Family to run ships specifically for mariti trade—a very lucrative business indeed. One can imagine how much wealth Young Master Ji accumulated over the years.
Even though the Ji Family experienced so decline later on, they never really lacked money. By the ti of Mr. Ji, he managed the Personal Guard Camp, exclusively serving Emperor Shengyuan. From the offerings during various festivities to bribes from officials seeking to grease the wheels, just these were enough for the Ji Family’s expenses.
The wealth that the Ji Family had saved up earlier had hardly been touched.
The most crucial point is that the Ji Family has very few mbers; with fewer people, even extravagant spending has its limits.
Mr. Ji thought of the heirlooms left by the ancestors and their generations of notes, his laughter tinged with a sinister viciousness.
Cui Yiran thought himself clever, believing that his sches against Anning would remain unknown?
Does he not realize that there are no walls in this world that do not leak? Whatever is done will certainly leave a trail.
Did he not consider that the Ji Family specializes in investigation, and that they would certainly have people working discreetly for them?
The Cui lad is still too green.
Mr. Ji and Mrs. Ji were discussing matters regarding Cui Yiran.
Anning was also pondering over Cui Yiran.
Today, Anning gave Chuntao half a day off because Chuntao’s mother fell early in the morning and seed to have hurt her leg. Anning let Chuntao go ho to check on her parents.
Chuntao returned in the afternoon, her face full of anger.
Moli saw that her face was upset and asked, "What’s wrong with you? How is your mother’s leg?"
Anning also inquired, "How is your mother? If she’s not well, we should call a good doctor. If you’re short on cash right now, don’t worry. I have so silver here, you can take it for ergencies."
Chuntao waved her hand, "It’s not about my mother. She’s fine, just took a heavy fall. But the doctor said she will be fine after two months of rest. With the weather getting colder, it’s actually a blessing that my mother can recuperate indoors. I’m angry because of what happened to Miss."
"What happened to ?"
Anning was taken aback.
Chuntao said quietly, "Miss and the other sisters haven’t gone out, so they don’t know, but I heard so gossip when I was outside. They say that the incident of Miss falling into the water was a sche by Master Cui. Master Cui didn’t want to marry Miss and was afraid of offending our family by calling off the engagent, so he plotted to have Miss drown..."
"Who told you this?"
Before Anning could react, Moli was already alard.
"Everyone outside is talking about it."
Chuntao hurriedly said, "My brother also heard about it and told ."
Moli’s face darkened, "How ridiculous! Our Miss has never offended that Cui family. How could he harbor such malice? Not to ntion anything else, just considering the bond they had growing up together since childhood, he should not have done such a thing."
Anning thought it through, "There is so sense in what you say. I rember when I fell into the water, it felt like soone pushed from behind, but I can’t quite rember the details."
This was Anning acknowledging that Cui Yiran had indeed hard her.
Moli grew even angrier after hearing this, "Miss has had the misfortune to recognize that Cui for eight lifetis... It’s infuriating! This can’t just be let go, Miss, you must tell Aunt about this and let her make a decision for you."
Anning smiled and waved her hand, "Let’s leave this matter for now. I’m about to get married soon, and I can’t keep harping on this. We’ll talk about it after the wedding. Moreover, if you’ve all heard about it, how could Lord and Lady not know? How could they let suffer a loss?"
Moli thought about it and laughed along, "You’re right, Miss. We were just being too impatient."
User Comments
0 comments from readers