The little princess was torn, and the demon emperor patched her up

Chapter 55 Right and Wrong

Warm blood gushed out from the neck, causing the officials to scream in fear.

Ji Wen narrowed his eyes.

The visitor is not good.

The guards of the Ji family took a look at his expression and immediately slashed at Shang Bingjiu with their swords.

Shang Bingjiu didn't even raise his head as he took out red cloth and wooden frame from his basket and set up an exquisite glove puppet stage in the middle of the street.

Just as the guards rushed over, the huge guillotine that had been suspended in mid-air suddenly changed direction and slashed towards them!

The guards who rushed in the front were instantly turned into a pool of meat paste.

The smell of blood permeated the river breeze.

Xiao Baojing covered his mouth in horror.

Princess Wumian frowned and stroked her head soothingly with her wide sleeves.

Shang Bingjiu had already set up the stage and asked again with a smile: "Does anyone want to watch the puppet show?"

The river breeze is rustling.

The surroundings were almost eerie in silence.

Shang Bingjiu picked up a black-faced glove puppet dressed as a poor scholar.

The puppet is moved by strings.

The puppet stood on the stage with a sad face, and spoke vividly: "Xiangshui County has been flooded for years. If this continues, the entire county will be flooded."

Forty years ago, Xiangshui County.

It rained continuously.

Ji Wen frowned, "Xiangshui County has been flooded for years. If this continues, the entire county will be flooded."

The young advisor beside him twirled his beard and said, "Over the years, the court has sent many officials to dredge floods and control water, but to no avail. Every year, countless amounts of money are spent on flood and disaster relief. If you can cure the floods, you will surely impress the emperor, and maybe even rise to a high position in the court."

Ji Wen stared at the endless rain and said, "Xiangshui County is my hometown. Even if I don't want to be promoted, I want to restore this land to its former prosperity and peace. However, even the imperial envoy with rich experience in flood control is helpless. What should I do?"

The master lowered his voice and said, "I heard that Princess Wumian in the royal family has been weak and sick since childhood. For her, the emperor and empress specially sent envoys to the sea to the secret land of Penglai to ask for a Pisces bronze mirror for her. There is a fairyland in the bronze mirror, and the hot springs in the realm can warm her body and prolong her life. It is a rare magic weapon in the world.

"The two green fish inlaid on the back of the bronze mirror are the incarnations of ancient mythical beasts that can control water and suppress disasters, and turn misfortune into fortune. If we set up a water control formation at the highest point in Xiangshui County, with the two green fish as the center of the formation, we may be able to alleviate floods and make Xiangshui County a prosperous place."

Ji Wen frowned, "But Princess Wumian is the most beloved youngest daughter of the current emperor and empress. If we take Qingyu away, the hot spring wonderland in the mirror will also collapse, right? In the eyes of the royal family, how can the millions of people in Xiangshui County be more valuable than the life of Princess Wumian?"

The master smiled meaningfully: "If forcing it doesn't work, can't you use your wits to get it? You are a handsome man, which girl would not like you?"

The scene changes.

Ji Wen went to the capital to take the imperial examination and won the third place. At the Qionglin Banquet, he picked up the kite of Princess Wumian.

Princess Wumian has been frail and bedridden since childhood, and the Emperor and Empress love her like a treasure. Although she is already nineteen years old, she has never been betrothed. She has been raised in the deep palace and is innocent and naive. Today, she was persuaded by her personal maid to come out wrapped in a cloak to fly a kite.

Ji Wen personally returned the kite to Di Ji.

Just like other stories of talented men and beautiful women, the young and beautiful princess was curious about the newly crowned scholar and fell in love with him at first sight.

Some people in the palace said that Ji Wen deliberately set up the trap to seduce people in an attempt to get close to the rich and powerful.

However, Ji Wen's subsequent avoidance made the little princess believe that Ji Wen was definitely not the kind of vain person.

She was troubled by Ji Wen's estrangement, and her already frail body became even more fragile.

She originally thought that this was an unrequited love in the spring, but she accidentally learned from her personal maid that Ji Wen had secretly sketched her portrait in private and inscribed the poem "The Yuan River has orchids and the Li River has orchids, I miss you, young master, but dare not say it."

She excitedly found Ji Wen to ask, and Ji Wen blushed and said: "I am of humble origin, and my status is very different from that of the princess, so I dare not express my true feelings."

"What's the big deal about being born in a humble family?" The little princess said innocently, "A person's status should not be determined by his birth. Ji Lang is knowledgeable and talented, and is better than those sons of famous families in the capital. I am pleased with him..." "If I can win the favor of the princess," Ji Wen clenched his hands, his ears reddening to his neck, "Ji Wen will live up to her in this life! I will treat the princess well and regard you as my most precious treasure. I will never take a concubine or a maid, and I will protect the princess with my life! If I break this oath, Ji Wen will not die well, and the Ji family will be extinct—"

Little Princess stretched out her hand to cover his mouth: "Don't talk nonsense! I believe you!"

She begged the emperor and empress to allow her to marry Ji Wen.

When the emperor and empress refused, she protested by going on a hunger strike until they finally agreed out of helplessness.

She accompanied Ji Wen to Xiangshui County to worship their ancestors, dressed as Madam Xiang, and accompanied him to pray for the Xiangshui County gods.

But after praying, I found that Ji Wen had changed.

He took away the Pisces bronze mirror that she depended on for survival, and placed her under house arrest deep in the backyard.

Ignoring her pleas, he ordered the demon hunter to dig out the green fish embedded behind the double fish bronze mirror and take them to the waterfall in the back mountain to use as the center of the formation, successfully alleviating the repeated floods in Xiangshui County.

It was not until then that she realized that Ji Wen approached her with a purpose.

When he first arrived in Yejing, he had already bribed her personal maid. Things like flying kites and drawing portraits were all planned in advance!
This man had never loved her.

What he loves is his hometown.

But what about her?
What is she going to do?
Without the warmth of the secret hot spring, her condition worsened day by day.

She missed her parents very much, and she cried and begged Ji Wen to take her home, but he refused.

She died of illness in Xiangshui County.

Ji Wen ordered the demon hunter to cut off her tongue, chop off her hands, and cast a curse on her corpse.

He wanted her to be unable to speak, unable to write, and unable to tell the secrets of Xiangshui County to the world forever.

Her body was hastily stuffed into a coffin and buried far away in the wilderness.

Ji Wen asked her personal maid to wear a human skin mask and pretend to be her and live in the Ji family's ancestral home. She claimed that the soil and water of Xiangshui County were good for health and that her health had improved greatly. She also forged Xiao Wumian's handwriting and wrote a letter back to the capital, telling the emperor and empress that she wanted to use the Pisces bronze mirror to save the millions of people in Xiangshui County.

The palace maid had originally intended to bring her own princess together with the newly crowned top scholar, but she had not expected that Ji Wen was actually a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Not long after she gave birth to Ji Huaisheng and Ji Shu, she died of heart palpitations and regret.

After the palace maid died, she was buried in the Ji family's ancestral tomb. It was the corpse that Xiao Baojing dug out.

Princess Wumian wandered around the coffin day and night, living in resentment towards Ji Wen and longing for her parents day and night, until Xiao Baojing moved away the coffin where she lived, and then she followed him back to Xiangshui County.

On the stage, snow is falling in May.

It was like the tear of blood that the princess shed before her death, accusing God of her grievances.

The glove puppet wearing an ice-blue brocade palace skirt curled up in the coffin.

That face gradually overlapped with Princess Wumian.

The street was silent for a long time.

Ji Wen's gray hair fluttered in the river breeze, and his dark face was covered with wrinkles.

After an unknown amount of time, he slowly said, "The Pisces Bronze Mirror is the greatest treasure in the world. How can it be wasted on one person? In the past, Xiangshui County suffered tens of thousands of casualties due to floods. The royal family clearly had a way to dredge the flood, but they kept it secret and only used it selfishly on their daughter!

"Between saving one person and saving the people of the entire county, I chose to save the people of the entire county. I joined the bureau and I am clearly a rare good official in the world. What have I done wrong?! Fellow villagers present here, do you think Ji did anything wrong?!"

The old man's voice was as loud as a bell, full of questions.

There was no regret in his eyes.

As firm and solemn as when he was young.

　Thank you for the reward from Xingxing, and thank you for your monthly votes and recommendation votes!!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)