Chapter 449 – A woman’s principles (2)
Ji Man pinched Ning Yuxuan’s waist before helping him up and supporting him as they walked outside.
The temperature was comfortably warm. Ning Yuxuan and Ji Man were sitting on one side of the garden while Haohao was frolicking with a group of young servant girls. They felt quite fortunate as they watched this scene.
“If I hadn’t entered Nie Sangyu’s body, would it be Wen Wan that’s sitting here instead?” Ji Man suddenly asked.
Ning Yuxuan slightly furrowed his brow. “Why mention something that’s already in the past?”
“That’s true.” Ji Man closed her eyes.
On the path to here, she hadn’t deliberately harmed anyone. She only used things that she knew about human nature that wasn’t known to people in ancient times to her advantage and improved Nie Sangyu’s overall character. Perhaps, she has used some tricks to get Ning Yuxuan, however, her tricks was simply making Nie Sangyu into a better person.
It was only by improving herself and becoming more suitable to him that she was able to fully steal this man back.
By lucky coincidence, she was quite compatible with this man.
Although she hadn’t gone out of her way to get revenge, Qian Lianxue and Wen Wan were both dead. It was probably because her arrival had broken some sort of equilibrium? She felt as if Nie Sangyu was the one that had gotten her great revenge, and she was the one with a clear conscience.
There couldn’t be a better ending.
Lightly leaning against Ning Yuxuan’s shoulder, Ji Man watched Haohao from a distance. She would probably spend the rest of her life here.
On the other side of the garden, Liu Hanyun, who was wearing a cloak, was holding Xi-er‘s hand and standing at the entrance. Watching that dazzlingly and picture perfect scene from a distance, her eyes reddened.
Xi-er was nestled by her side. He timidly said, “Mom, Xi-er wants to go back. I don’t like coming out.”
Liu Hanyun closed her eyes and nodded. “Okay, mom will take you back.”
Compared to Haohao, who was extroverted and loved by everyone, Xi-er was timid and scared to speak in front of strangers. Other than his mom, he wouldn’t answer questions when anyone else spoke to him.
Last time, when Liu Hanyun thought she was going to die from her illness, she thought that this was for the best. This way, she would be able to entrust Xi-er to the marquis, and his father would show him a bit more affection.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t died, and Haohao was brought back to the estate. Liu Hanyun wryly smiled. This was simply the will of the Heavens.
—
Several days later, Ning Yuxuan went over to the other estate to check on the court ladies-in-training. Soon, it would be the next round of selection for the imperial harem. Last round, Zhao Zhe hadn’t chosen many women to formally enter his harem, so there naturally had to be another round. Qian Yingchen had personally selected the women that were currently residing in the other estate. These women were slender and elegant with attractive faces and figures. Some were gentle, and some were spirited. They were all well versed in zither, Chinese chess, calligraphy, and painting.
When these women saw Marquis Moyu, many hearts wavered. They immediately passed on tokens of their love in the form of scented sachets. When Ning Yuxuan returned home, he deliberately went over to see Ji Man while he was coated with a myriad of perfume.
Ji Man’s expression didn’t change when she ushered him inside and changed the medicine on his injury. It looked as if it was almost fully heated. Afterwards, she attended to him while he had dinner.
He had originally thought she was going to say a few words of reproach and ask questions, so he was surprised that she hadn’t reacted at all and was behaving so gently too. Ning Yuxuan relaxed, but he still thought her lack of response was odd. During the dinner, he couldn’t resist asking her, “If I bring home a concubine, what will you do?”
Ji Man raised her head to look at him. “My lord, Sangyu is only a commoner without status or rank. Isn’t it weird for you to ask Sangyu this question? It wouldn’t be Sangyu’s place to worry about this.”
“Don’t you like men that whole-heartedly devote themselves to one woman?” Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrows.
Ji Man nodded. “My lord, aren’t you the one that likes a magnanimous main wife that can tolerate sharing her husband with several other women?”
Marquis Moyu coughed to clear his throat. He looked at her several times before saying, “Are you planning on becoming that type of woman?”
“No.” Ji Man slightly smiled. “Sangyu hasn’t married yet and has the power to choose whether to leave or stay. When the day comes that Sangyu has lost all hope in the marquis, Sangyu will leave.”
Ning Yuxuan froze in surprise for a moment. Soon after, his expression turned ugly. “You’re still thinking of leaving?”
“Of course, Sangyu has already said that Sangyu will only like a man who devote himself to one woman.”
“If I can’t do that, you’re going to leave?”
“What would be the point in staying?” Ji Man was smiling as she looked at him. “Life is better in the Heavens. My lord, do you not understand why I chose to stay here? If that reason disappears, why would I remain here? I might as well go back. As for Haohao, I might be able to bring him back with me.”
“Don’t you dare!” Ning Yuxuan angrily shouted.
Ji Man respectfully stood up and saluted. “My lord, please calm down.”
It felt as if they had gone back to the beginning. He was ready to throw a fit in anger while she remained unperturbed.
This was a tug-of-war over different ideals. Should they satisfy the other party or themselves?
Whoever loved more would lose.
Ning Yuxuan helplessly sighed. He pulled her over to sit down and forced himself to explain, “The court ladies-in-training in the other estate gave these sachets to me. These scents are supposed to be able to soothe people’s spirits. Didn’t you say that you haven’t been able to sleep well recently? I brought these back for you.”
“Thank you, my lord.” Ji Man brightly smiled as she took all of the sachets from him.
A woman needed to have principles. Moreover, she needed to let him know that if these principles were ever broken, then it was bye-bye. She had to mean what she said, so that he wouldn’t dare to repeatedly make mistakes.
Translator Ramblings: I like how the author shifts from Ji Man’s narration that she’s arrived at her perfect ending to Liu Hanyun’s very tragic point of view. She literally thinks it’s a worthwhile trade to die in exchange for Xi-er getting some love and affection from his father. It feels like Ji Man, Ning Yuxuan, and Haohao are in a bubble of joy and oblivious to everyone else while Liu Hanyun and Xi-er are left standing at the outskirts. I like the juxtaposition imagery of how their halo happiness is so bright that it makes everything else dark in comparison. And, just because Ning Yuxuan and Ji Man have forgotten/would like to forget about Li Hanyun and Xi-er’s existence, the author hasn’t forgotten.
On a lighter note, I don’t think Ning Yuxuan seriously wants to add anyone to his harem. He’s already experienced firsthand the chaos of having a harem full of woman plotting and competing for his attention. He starts off just wanting to tease her, and then he couldn’t help himself when he saw her unexpected response. He wants to test what her bottom line is. Then, Ji Man smacks him down XD.