Chapter 758: Great wisdom is not like foolishness, if one is being unreasonable

She thought she had done all this without anyone knowing, that absolutely no one had discovered it, yet she did not know that a pair of eyes had been watching her the whole time; everything she did had not escaped those eyes.

……

The next day.

The sky was bright.

It was a rare, beautiful day for the Ji Family; after nearly half a month of gloom, the sky had suddenly cleared.

The sky was clear for ten thousand miles, the azure blue was spotless, and the sun hung brightly in the heavens.

The commoners walked out of their homes one after another to air out their quilts and air out themselves!

People sat in groups of three or five in the sunlight, holding small stools, chatting and gossiping about daily life.

Of course, they would also take advantage of the times when the Guards were not around to quietly discuss matters of the upper echelons.

"Elder Nianyin was really driven away? Then who will be the Clan Leader in the future?"

"Pfft, who else could it be? It's bound to be that ugly freak who just arrived."

The "ugly freak who just arrived" referred to Han Yao.

Although no one had ever seen her face, people just felt that she was very ugly, and the reason was simple.

The women of the Ji Family never hid their beauty; those who looked good were naturally not afraid to be seen, and only those who were hideously ugly were afraid of being seen.

Nianyin, Nianci, and quite a few Elders had already left the Ji Family for over ten days.

Although the remaining Elders had not left, they had all claimed illness one after another and did not participate in clan affairs.

The person currently riding the crest of the wave in the clan was that woman who had just arrived—Han Yao!

"Sigh, when will Elder Nianyin come back? She wouldn't have left for good, would she?"

"Who knows? Tsk tsk, even someone as good as Elder Nianyin was driven away by the Clan Leader. Don't you think the Clan Leader has become senile?"

"Shh! Don't talk nonsense; if the people above hear you, you'll be thrown into the Dungeon."

"Let them throw me in; life these days is not fit for humans. Being stifled like this is better than being locked up."

"Who's to say it isn't? If it weren't for the fact that I have many children at home, I would have wanted to escape too..."

The people were full of grievances, most of which were dissatisfaction with Ji Yingjie.

Last time, it was because she listened to the wrong people and trusted the wrong people; not only was her own life nearly harmed, but the foundation of the Ji Family, built over thousands of years, was also nearly destroyed in one fell swoop.

And yet, the Clan Leader had not learned her lesson, remembering the eating but forgetting the beating.

How long had it been since the last tragic lesson?

Now, she was easily trusting an outsider again.

The commoners dared to be angry but dared not speak out loud, only quietly whispering to vent their dissatisfaction.

Suddenly, a commotion came from ahead.

Many people were crowding around a group of people, coming this way in high spirits.

"What's going on?"

"What is the situation here?"

People were curious at first, but soon they all became excited.

"Miss Xuanxuan is back!"

"The future Clan Leader is back!"

"That's great, Miss Xuanxuan came back at just the right time; now that woman will have to get lost."

Shi Youxuan's return was like a shot of adrenaline to the commoners; their gloomy faces instantly turned joyful.

Ji Yingjie soon learned that her niece had arrived.

She said to Han Yao: "Let's go, accompany me out to see my niece. You two will hit it off immediately; she is a very easy person to talk to and very amiable."

"She must be just like you."

Han Yao smiled brightly, holding Ji Yingjie's hand, and followed obediently by her side to welcome Shi Youxuan.

At the entrance, the two sides met.

Shi Youxuan smiled brightly and performed a grand Ji Family bow to Ji Yingjie: "Hello, Auntie. Your complexion is getting better and better; you could live to be nine hundred years old." This was a typical case of telling a lie with one's eyes open; technology had not yet reached the level where people could live to such an old age.

However, whether it was true or false did not matter; it was enough that Auntie loved to hear it.

Ji Yingjie smiled until her eyes curved, but she chided: "Nonsense, if I lived to be nine hundred, I'd be a tortoise."

Shi Youxuan replied instantly: "A thousand years makes a tortoise; you don't count, you are nine hundred."

Ji Yingjie then laughed even more happily, poked Shi Youxuan on the forehead with her finger, and said dotingly: "You, you only know how to coax me into being happy, but you're not ambiguous when it comes to making me angry either."

Shi Youxuan acted spoiled, holding her aunt's arm and shaking it: "I know I was wrong, didn't I? I traveled thousands of miles to apologize; my sincerity is very genuine, so please don't dwell on those little things..."

"Silly child, if I were angry with you, you wouldn't have been able to get in at all!" Ji Yingjie laughed.

Han Yao's figure swayed for a moment.

But it was only for a brief moment, and she quickly regained control.

No one else noticed, but it did not escape Shi Youxuan's eyes!

Although she was talking to her aunt, her peripheral vision had never stopped observing this woman.

A long white dress outlined Han Yao's graceful waist; she was tall, and while she looked thin, she had meat in all the right places.

However, her face could not be seen clearly.

Her face was blocked by a veil.

The white veil covered her features, hidden under a bamboo hat, hanging down over her chest.

Shi Youxuan sized her up calmly, and the woman was also sizing up Shi Youxuan from behind the veil—she was even more beautiful!

Damn it.

It was as if time had forgotten Shi Youxuan, leaving no traces on her at all.

Even though she is already a mother of two children, she still looks like an unmarried young girl!

She hated her to the core, but she did not show it.

She took the initiative to step forward and bowed gracefully: "This subordinate pays respects to Miss. Han Yao was very happy to hear that Miss has arrived. You and your husband must stay for a few more days this time; the Clan Leader misses you very much."

The words were appropriate and flawless.

However, Shi Youxuan did not acknowledge her at all.

She acted as if she had not heard her, continued to affectionately hold her aunt's arm, and acted spoiled: "You are not telling the truth. Last time in Jiangzhou, you were angry with me."

"I don't care, you are not allowed to be angry. My mother is gone, and Wan'er and I are your closest relatives."

"You said that blood is thicker than water, and even if bones are broken, the tendons are still connected. You must love me, just love me."

These words were willful, unreasonable, and overbearing, but they were filled with deep affection.

Ji Yingjie fell for this.

She smiled and chided: "You, you only know how to bully me."

"Last time in Jiangzhou, you played dumb and pretended not to see when others bullied me. Now that you have traveled all this way, just say what you have to say; don't beat around the bush with me."

The two stood at the entrance chatting affectionately, as if no one else were around.

This scene was seen by everyone, and Han Yao was left standing on the side; even if one could not see her face clearly, one could feel her embarrassment!

Shi Youxuan was not annoyed even after being exposed.

She said with a grin: "There are outsiders here. I don't want to talk in front of outsiders; let's go inside to talk."

If she had not mentioned "outsiders," Ji Yingjie would not have even thought to introduce her.

"Look at my memory?"

Ji Yingjie slapped her forehead: "I am truly old now and useless."

She pulled over the woman who had been left standing for a long time and said to her niece: "Xuanxuan, come and meet her. This is Han Yao, the Military Advisor of the Ji Family, and also a distinguished guest of our Ji Family."

"Han Yao, this is my niece. You should call her Miss Xuanxuan."

Shi Youxuan was a relative of the Clan Leader, but she held no position in the clan, so she could only be addressed as "Miss."

Han Yao had been left standing for a long time and was finally formally introduced; she had long been impatient, but it could not be seen on the surface.

"Hello, Miss Xuanxuan." She curtsied and performed a standard Ji Family grand salute.

"Pfft—"

Shi Youxuan did not return the salute but covered her mouth and chuckled: "What is your name? Say it again."

Han Yao did not know why Shi Youxuan was laughing, but she knew it certainly was not anything good, yet she still answered honestly: "This subordinate is named Han Yao."

"Han as in Han Xin, Yao as in Jade Pool."

"Oh—"

Shi Youxuan deliberately drew out the sound and acted as if she had suddenly realized: "So it is this Han Yao."

"Military Advisor, don't take offense, but I want to laugh whenever I hear this name. When I was a child, there was a woman near my home who was also called 'Han Yao' 【sounds like 'holding and shaking'】, isn't that a coincidence?"

"But although your names sound the same, the characters are different. She used to hold a coin in her mouth and always shook a key tied to a string in her hand, so everyone called her 'Han Yao'."