Chapter 50 Dispelling Suspicions

Seeing an unfamiliar girl block her path, Ji Shulan burned with rage.

"Get out of my way! What kind of thing are you to dare stop me?"

Xia Zhi frowned slightly and turned back to ask, "My lady, shall I have her thrown out?"

Ji Shulan widened her eyes.

Ji Hua, however, smiled and patted Xia Zhi's shoulder. "No need. Step back. She is merely a foul-mouthed little girl, hardly worth your effort."

Her tone was dripping with disdain for Ji Shulan.

Still shocked by the audacity of this stranger, Ji Shulan was so enraged by Ji Hua's contemptuous words that her face turned red. Yet, having managed to use a sliver of sense for once, she seized upon the crucial point, pointed at Xia Zhi through gritted teeth, and demanded, "Who is she? Ji Hua, how can you casually bring people into the Prime Minister's Estate?"

It was bad enough that her mother had personally failed to drive that wretched Liu Yiyi out earlier. Now that another strange girl had appeared by Ji Hua's side, Ji Shulan felt she could not let this opportunity slip by.

Xia Zhi had already stepped back. Ji Hua raised her chin slightly, her gaze cold and tinged with scorn as she looked at Ji Shulan. "My sister certainly likes to mind other people's business. Since she is in my courtyard, she is naturally my person."

Ji Hua's attitude was far too arrogant.

Losing a fraction of her reason, and having forgotten the sting of past punishments now that her wounds had healed, Ji Shulan directly invoked her mother's authority to press down on her.

"It is not that I like to mind other people's business, but the backgrounds of everyone in the Prime Minister's Estate must be thoroughly investigated. This person does not look like any decent sort. Does my mother know of her existence?"

As she spoke, Ji Shulan looked Xia Zhi up and down, a look of confusion gradually dawning in her eyes.

In her past life, this girl had never been by Ji Hua's side. Exactly what had gone wrong?

Vaguely sensing that something was amiss, Ji Shulan shifted her suspicious gaze from Xia Zhi to Ji Hua's face.

Meeting Ji Shulan's suspicious and scrutinizing gaze, Ji Hua felt her heart skip a beat; she had almost forgotten about this loophole.

In her previous life, she had never seen Xia Zhi either, but she was actively changing things precisely to alter the tragedy of her past. Therefore, it was hardly surprising for new people and events to appear around her, though it would inevitably seem strange in Ji Shulan's eyes.

She could not let Ji Shulan grow suspicious of her so soon!

Her thoughts raced. Ji Hua quickly came up with a plausible explanation.

She gave a light cold snort. "There is no need to trouble yourself over it. Weren't there assassins at the banquet last time? Father was concerned for my safety and wanted to assign guards to me, but the guards he arranged were all men, and propriety between men and women made that inconvenient.

"So I thought of finding a female guard for myself. Xia Zhi has fine martial arts skills and an unblemished background; Father has already agreed, so there is no need to trouble the Mistress, nor is there any need for you to worry about it."

Hearing Ji Hua's explanation, Ji Shulan's doubts were somewhat allayed, and her expression relaxed slightly. However—

Before Ji Shulan could continue questioning, Ji Hua suddenly curled her lips into a mocking smile.

"Right, since the Mistress dotes on you so much, did she not arrange one for you? Are you upset because I have one and you do not, and now you want to compete with me again?

"It is merely a guard; perhaps the Mistress was too busy to attend to it. Sister, you should be more sensible and stop obsessing over such trivial matters like a child; it is truly petty!"

True to form, these words instantly provoked Ji Shulan.

To be looked down upon by Ji Hua, whom she always despised, naturally enraged Ji Shulan. She immediately lifted her chin and retorted, "You are the petty one! You and I are quite different. My mother is still sitting securely in the position of Mistress, while your mother—heaven knows which layer of the underworld she is drifting in!

"My mother and father are deeply affectionate. Whatever I want, my mother arranges for me properly—"

At this point, Ji Shulan slanted a glance at Xia Zhi and said with sarcasm, "As for you, Sister, your taste in choosing guards is truly abyssal. Who knows what stray cats and dogs you picked up from where? They reek of rustic commonality, certainly incomparable to the ones my mother carefully selected for me!"

Ji Shulan was simply talking nonsense with her eyes wide open.

Xia Zhi indeed possessed a heroic and uninhibited aura that set her apart from ordinary maidens, but it was a dashing and pure sort of grace. How could it possibly be associated with rustic commonality?

Ji Shulan said this purely to disparage Xia Zhi, primarily to demean Ji Hua.

To summarize—completely lacking in real bite!

Listening to Ji Shulan, Ji Hua realized she had successfully diverted her attention. She breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, though her expression remained composed.

Regardless, it was better to dispatch this pest early. The real spectacle today was not at home, but at the racecourse; arguing here was completely meaningless.

Therefore, Ji Hua stepped forward and suddenly reached out to tug at Ji Shulan's sleeve.

Recovering from her shock, Ji Shulan immediately jerked her arm back and said through gritted teeth, "What are you doing? Who gave you permission to touch my clothes?"

With that, she smoothed out the wrinkles on her sleeve with an expression of intense disgust.

Ji Hua clicked her tongue twice, her tone dripping with mockery.

"Does Sister still have business? You came all this way specifically to warn me not to get close to Prince Xuan, and I can certainly feel how much you care about him.

"Yet... can you direct your thoughts to proper matters instead? What on earth are you wearing?"

Ji Hua's tone was full of ridicule.

"Prince Xuan prefers a refined and ethereal style. Look at what you have on—reds and greens, a riot of colors. Are you wearing a patch of wildflowers?"

"You—you're talking nonsense! Prince Xuan, Prince Xuan likes my style! You're just green with envy because you can't have him!"

Despite saying this, Ji Shulan had already begun searching her memory—had Prince Xuan ever hinted at any such preference?

Ji Hua was not angry. She crossed her arms and waited leisurely.

"If Sister doesn't believe me, then pretend you never heard it. After all, Prince Xuan is not my fiancé; I was merely offering a kind warning.

"My heart is set on His Highness the Crown Prince; I am to be the future Crown Princess. I merely thought that since we are sisters after all and are going out together, if Sister dresses like a jumble of rags, it won't just make Prince Xuan lose face—it will embarrass me as well.

"Still... if Sister is not afraid of losing face herself, there is nothing I, as an elder sister, can do to manage you."

With that, she glanced at the sky outside.

"My! It is getting late, we must hurry and set off. If Sister does not wish to change her clothes, then hurry back and prepare your things to go out."

Hearing this, Ji Shulan felt a stirring of anxiety, but she could only put on a brave front in front of Ji Hua.

"You! I won't argue with you, what do you know?"

With that, she gathered up her skirts and ran off, her personal maid hurriedly chasing after her.

Once out of Ji Hua's courtyard, Ji Shulan couldn't wait any longer and instructed the maid beside her, "Hurry back and get that pale green dress ready for me! I must change into it immediately!"

Though she talked tough, Ji Shulan had clearly taken Ji Hua's words to heart.

Because upon reflection, while she didn't know what kind of women Prince Xuan favored, Prince Xuan's own attire seemed rarely flashy, mostly consisting of plain colors.

She truly had dressed far too ostentatiously...