USWHC -Chapter 245 Why Is It You? (Part 5)

The luxurious carriage passed by, and on the curtain was the exaggerated emblem of the Princess Pingning. The moment Zhu Jie saw it, she couldn’t help but chuckle—Ji Mei must have returned.

She immediately ran a couple of steps and happily rushed into the Ji household.

“Father! Mother!”

The moment she entered, she saw Old Master Ji tremblingly stroking Ji Mei’s cheek. As he touched her face, he said with a choking voice, “How could this happen… Look how badly my daughter has been beaten!”

“Father… Mother…” Ji Mei was crying so hard she could barely speak. She threw herself straight into Old Master Ji’s arms.

Old Master Ji hurriedly said, “It’s good that you’re back. It’s good that you’re back!”

Seeing this, Zhu Jie couldn’t help but smile in relief. “That’s right—it’s good that you’re back, it’s good that you’re back!”

But the moment she spoke, she heard Old Madam Ji say, “This time it’s all thanks to our Erhan! If it weren’t for Erhan, who knows what would’ve happened to our Mei! Unlike some people who just run off without a trace. If you can’t do it, just say you can’t—why run off like that?”

Huh?

Hearing this, Zhu Jie froze on the spot.

Was she talking about her?

What did that mean? She clearly helped them handle the matter!

“That’s right, Erhan is reliable. He helped us save Mei!” Sister-in-law You chimed in as well, then turned to Zhu Jie and asked, “What were you doing just now?”

“Ah? I…” For a moment, Zhu Jie didn’t even know how to answer.

She had saved the person, yet somehow the credit had become Ji Yi’s. Had she missed something?

She couldn’t help glancing at Ji Yi beside her, only to see him calmly accepting it all—without the slightest hint of guilt.

“You found someone to rescue Ji Mei?” Zhu Jie asked softly.

Ji Yi actually nodded seriously. “I asked a friend from the Sun family to put in a word.”

Ah?

Why didn’t he say so earlier! Zhu Jie couldn’t help but feel annoyed. If she had known, she wouldn’t have gone herself—she had risked being caught and taken back when she went to find Princess Pingning!

“What? Are you unhappy that Erhan saved Mei?” Old Madam Ji immediately snapped unhappily.

“Happy! I’m very happy!” Zhu Jie quickly replied. “It’s all thanks to Ji Yi. I ran to the town earlier, but I couldn’t even see anyone from the Sun family!” she said with a deliberately disappointed expression.

“You really went?” Old Master Ji sounded rather grateful when he heard that. “Thank you. You really put your heart into it.”

Old Madam Ji, however, said bluntly, “Hmph! At least you still have a bit of conscience—you didn’t eat my sweet potatoes for nothing! But that’s about the extent of your ability. You can’t even get a simple thing done!”

Zhu Jie felt deeply wronged.

But she had no intention of exposing the truth. After all, it was better if they felt grateful to Ji Yi. She didn’t plan to live with them forever anyway—being wronged once was no big deal.

“Meizi, let Mother take a look at your face. You still need to get married in the future!” After muttering a few complaints, Old Madam Ji ignored Zhu Jie completely and began carefully examining her daughter again.

With Ji Mei back, the Ji household once again revolved entirely around her.

Ji Yi and Zhu Jie had both been busy all day and were somewhat exhausted. The two quietly slipped out together without a word.

By now, dusk had settled.

A gentle breeze brushed against their faces. The snow had already melted from the road, the willow trees along the path had begun sprouting fresh buds, and the ridges of the fields showed signs of newly turned soil.

Spring had truly arrived.

“They really didn’t see you?” Ji Yi asked hesitantly.

Zhu Jie only glanced at him and sighed faintly. “No.”

“Then why did it take you so long to come back?” Ji Yi continued.

“I rode Uncle Ge’s carriage. Naturally it couldn’t be as fast as Princess’s carriage,” Zhu Jie said with a smile. “Oh, and I ran into a friend there.”

“A friend? You have friends here?” Ji Yi frowned slightly.

“Someone from my old household,” Zhu Jie replied calmly. “She didn’t even know I had left. I thought my family would be searching everywhere for me… but apparently they’re not.”

“Really?” Hearing this, Ji Yi suddenly broke into a happy smile. “Then you don’t need to go to the State of Qi anymore, right? No one’s looking for you anyway!”

“Are they really not looking?” Zhu Jie sighed softly. “Let’s wait and see.”

Spring had arrived, the snow had melted—but she still hadn’t left.

Ji Yi suddenly laughed.

That smile seemed to scatter all worries away, joyful like that of a child.