CMWKSD -Chapter 5 Might Determines Status

Jiu Yue stood up and kicked Ji Dajiang at her feet, clicking her tongue. Whenever she killed or injured someone, she always had a specialized team to handle the aftermath.

Now Ji Dajiang was blatantly lying there right under her nose, and the sight annoyed her. Her fingers itched—she thought that maybe she should just kill him and bury him somewhere at random. A flash of killing intent crossed her eyes.

Ji Yiqing suddenly stood up. Catching the killing intent in Jiu Yue’s gaze, he hurriedly dragged Ji Dajiang and stuffed him under the bed. “It’s fine. I’ll hide him.”

Though he had thought more than once about killing Ji Dajiang himself, considerations of filial piety—and the fact that he needed to study and enter officialdom—held him back. It wasn’t worth staining his hands with blood and ruining his future over such a piece of trash.

If he and Ji Chaomian hadn’t been busy studying and taking exams, everyone in this household—counting every single one—would already have been dealt with by the two brothers.

The reason they hadn’t acted wasn’t just fear of trouble afterward; it was also because scholars valued their reputation above all else.

With a dull thud, Ji Dajiang was shoved under the bed. Jiu Yue found the sight pleasing and felt that Ji Yiqing was quite teachable.

Ji Yiqing’s eyes flickered slightly. Now was not the time to kill anyone from the Ji family. As long as Ji Chaomian’s leg could be cured, there was still hope for him to enter officialdom. For scholars, reputation was paramount.

Otherwise, why would Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian have allowed the Ji family to jump around for so long?

After all, the two brothers weren’t exactly good people either.

Jiu Yue’s way of thinking was somewhat unexpected, but Ji Yiqing didn’t think she was a bad person.

Her eyes were simply too clear and pure, as if all darkness had nowhere to hide before her.

It somehow made Ji Yiqing himself seem less like a good person.

Moreover, they already had a marriage document. His strong sense of responsibility gave Ji Yiqing the awareness of being a husband.

He had to take responsibility for Jiu Yue.

No matter how Jiu Yue became his wife, women in Great Qi had low status. She had gone out last night and come back again—she likely had nowhere else to go.

Since it was his own parents who had picked her up, Ji Yiqing couldn’t just ignore her.

As he was lost in thought, noisy voices came from outside the courtyard. Ji Yiqing opened the door and walked out, only to see Ji Dahai and Su Ruo rushing in anxiously.

Behind them followed Hu Chunhua and Ji Dahu, both glaring with anger.

Hu Chunhua was tugging at Su Ruo, while Ji Dahu was pulling Ji Dahai. When the four of them looked up and saw Ji Yiqing and Jiu Yue behind him, they all froze for a moment.

Ji Dahai’s shock turned into joy. He hurried over to Ji Yiqing. “Yiqing, you’re finally awake! Who would’ve thought your grandma was right—this ‘bringing joy through marriage’ really works! Now both of you are awake. That’s wonderful, truly wonderful!”

Su Ruo burst into tears of joy.

As for Hu Chunhua and Ji Dahu, their faces were full of fear and panic. They rushed into the room, looking left and right, but couldn’t find anything unusual.

Seeing his stepmother and second brother searching around the room, Ji Dahai walked over.
“Mother, what are you looking for?”

Hu Chunhua felt guilty. Jiu Yue had been brought back by Ji Dahai and Su Ruo, and later they had even sold her off, already pocketing the deposit.

If things blew up now, it would be hard to say how it would end.

She shot Jiu Yue a sinister glance. This wild girl had been so badly injured, yet she had actually woken up. Hu Chunhua scanned the room again—there was no sign of Ji Dajiang. He must have gone out for something.

But those fifty taels absolutely had to be secured.

She exchanged a look with Ji Dahu. A flash of malice passed through the eyes of mother and son—they shared the same thought: kill Jiu Yue.

She was just some wild girl from who-knows-where. If anyone were going to come looking for her, they would have done so long ago.

“Nothing,” Hu Chunhua answered loudly, covering up her guilt.

Then she shoved Su Ruo. “What are you standing around for? Go cook! Are you trying to starve me to death?”

Ji Yiqing shot Hu Chunhua a cold glance. She shrank back slightly, thinking that Ji Yiqing wouldn’t dare hit her anyway. Besides, he had just woken up, and in this entire Ji household, aside from their branch, everyone else was on her side.

If he really dared to make a move, she wouldn’t be afraid either.

Seeing that Ji Yiqing was about to speak, Su Ruo quickly tugged at him. “Ah, I’ll go right away.”

Jiu Yue walked out of the room and gave Hu Chunhua and Ji Dahu a half-smiling look.

The two stared back at her viciously, clearly still thinking about marrying her off for a ghost marriage. Since they weren’t afraid of death, if Jiu Yue didn’t send them on their way, it would seem like she lacked basic consideration.

Ji Yiqing stepped sideways, blocking their line of sight. Hu Chunhua and Ji Dahu snorted and turned back to their room.

Jiu Yue looked at Ji Yiqing with slight confusion. Ji Yiqing met her gaze. “Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, they won’t dare touch you.”

Jiu Yue tilted her head. Who cared?

Still, she nodded—consider it accepting her cheap husband’s goodwill.

Jiu Yue slowly walked toward the courtyard gate. Ji Yiqing had originally planned to help in the kitchen, but seeing her go out, he remembered that she was unfamiliar with the place. After saying something to Ji Dahai, he hurried after her.

Ji Dahai naturally had no objections. In fact, he was grateful to Jiu Yue. After all, the wedding document had been drawn up yesterday for the sake of “bringing joy,” and today Ji Yiqing had woken up.

Clearly, the ritual had worked. He couldn’t thank Jiu Yue enough—why would he say anything bad? As long as his son was awake, there was hope.

Jiu Yue didn’t wander far. For one thing, the place was full of dirt roads. For another, she was still wearing the black combat uniform from her organization, which was vastly different from the short jackets and long robes worn by the people here.

Going out dressed like this, it would be hard not to be taken for a lunatic.

So she just stood at the courtyard gate and looked out.

Low courtyard walls were everywhere, and most of the houses were built from yellow earth. In the distance, there seemed to be houses with blue bricks and tiled roofs, but they didn’t belong to the Ji family.

Wildflowers and weeds lined the roadside. Looking up, she could see towering mountains piercing the clouds. A few villagers passed by, all with the weather-beaten faces of farmers.

Only now did Jiu Yue truly feel that she had really transmigrated.

She silently sighed. What kind of mess was this?

Seeing that Jiu Yue didn’t leave, Ji Yiqing simply started telling her about his family.

This place was called Ji Family Village. Most of the villagers shared the surname Ji. His father was Ji Dahai, his mother Su Ruo. They had three siblings in total: the eldest brother, Ji Chaomian, twenty-one this year; Ji Yiqing himself was nineteen; and they had a younger sister, twelve years old, named Ji Youqin.

Jiu Yue raised an eyebrow. “The three of your names all come from the same poem?”

Ji Yiqing looked at her in surprise.

Jiu Yue slowly recited, “I am drunk and wish to sleep—my lord, you may leave. Tomorrow, if you still care, come holding your qin.”

Ji Yiqing nodded. “Back then, my father specially sought a name for my eldest brother. The fortune-teller showed him those two lines. My father only recognizes a few characters in his whole life, all from that poem. Later, when my sister and I were born, he just picked names from it.”

Jiu Yue nodded in understanding. Otherwise, judging by the naming standards of this era, Ji Yiqing would most likely have been called something like Ji Gou Dan or Ji Gou Wa.

That was unacceptable. She couldn’t tolerate seeing her own name written on the same piece of paper as a man named Ji Gou Dan—especially when that paper was a marriage certificate.

She would lose her mind.

Ji Yiqing continued, “My eldest brother injured his leg. My little sister is taking care of him at the medical hall in town. They should be back in a day or two.”

When he mentioned Ji Chaomian, Ji Yiqing’s mood visibly dimmed.

Jiu Yue responded with a simple “oh,” not paying much attention. Whether curing illnesses or killing people, she charged for her services—and judging by this family’s situation, they couldn’t afford it.

Jiu Yue never did business without payment, so she neither offered treatment nor mentioned that she knew medicine.

“And you?” Ji Yiqing asked. “What’s your name?”

He knew Hu Chunhua had casually named her Jiu Yue, but he wanted to know her real name.

Jiu Yue lifted her gaze and looked at him. “My name is Jiu Yue.”

Ji Yiqing’s eyes widened in surprise. “That’s quite a coincidence.”

Ji Dahai was the son of Ji Shan and his first wife, Su Nian. Su Nian gave birth to Ji Dahai and then died of illness not long after. Ji Shan later married Hu Chunhua.

Hu Chunhua bore two sons, Ji Dahu and Ji Dajiang.

Ji Dahu had two sons and a daughter—the eldest was seventeen, the youngest fourteen, and the daughter ten this year.

Ji Dajiang had a son and a daughter—the older was thirteen, the younger six.

Jiu Yue didn’t remember a single name. She only thought: they really can give birth.

She glanced around the courtyard. It was quite large—the vegetable plot in the front yard alone looked to be at least three hundred square meters.

The houses all faced south, with more than ten rooms in total when you counted the storage rooms, latrine, and woodshed, arranged in a U-shape. The main hall, of course, belonged to Ji Shan and Hu Chunhua.

The east and west wings next to it were occupied by Ji Dajiang’s and Ji Dahu’s families.

Jiu Yue glanced casually and clicked her tongue.

It looked like Ji Yiqing’s family was living in the storage room and the woodshed.