Chapter 76: The Jia Family

Tian Mi’s words made the crowd of onlookers burst into applause. She was absolutely right.

Miss Chen, flustered and angry, raised her head and pointed at Tian Mi, cursing, “Who do you think you are, to dare lecture the Chen family?”

A dignified voice came from a private room on the third floor, saying, “The eldest daughter of the Chen family, so bold, insulting the frontier soldiers in public and even disrespecting the princess of the current dynasty. Master Chen’s family education is truly eye-opening. Guards, take these young ladies to the palace for interrogation!”

The three young ladies immediately dropped to their knees, pleading for mercy.

Even the onlookers grew more respectful.

Tian Mi was still confused. Who was that? They were so powerful!

Xia Mei whispered, “The only man who can address himself as ‘this prince’ is the Crown Prince.”

Wow! A big shot! Was my performance just now impressive? Will my salary go up?

Sigh! After being a servant for so long, now I’m thinking about a salary increase. You’re a rich woman now, so you need to be aware of your own identity.

The Crown Prince and Bai Mucheng came down from the third floor, and everyone hurriedly bowed. The guards, ignoring the women begging for mercy, directly grabbed them.

The Crown Prince and Bai Mucheng looked up at Tian Mi at the second-floor window. Tian Mi politely gave a slight bow.

The Crown Prince smiled faintly, but Bai Mucheng gave her a deep look! His strange fate was with a person who respected soldiers, and she was certainly someone he valued.

In the carriage, the Crown Prince was in high spirits. It seemed that whenever he needed a pillow, someone would offer it. He and King Ding were thinking about putting King Ding in an important position in the court to break up the stagnant situation in the Six Ministries. However, they couldn’t just remove someone from such high positions without reason.

Among the six ministries, the Ministry of Justice had the most power to stir up trouble, and now the daughter of the Minister of Justice had personally delivered a compromising piece of evidence.

The words of the princess were enough to show that, no matter how much the civil officials tried to argue, they could never undermine the importance of the frontier soldiers.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t just be Miss Chen’s lack of upbringing at fault.

Jin Wenwen was seeking an ally—Jia Yuntang, the legitimate granddaughter of the powerful Jia family. The Jia family was one of the few in the capital that could influence the royal court’s decisions. Jia Yuntang liked King Ding, and she would certainly be able to deal with that widow.

Jin Wenwen had heard of King Ding’s strange fate many years ago and knew that it was impossible for her to become his wife. She had liked him for many years and only hoped for a concubine’s position. However, if King Ding married the widow he had been so fixated on, claiming her as his destined partner, how much favor could she expect as his concubine?

If she were to marry Jia Yuntang, where there was no love between them, that would give her the chance to stand out.

She could accept being beneath Jia Yuntang, but she could never accept being beneath a wild mountain widow.

Jia Yuntang was sixteen, born into the prestigious Jia family, a scholarly family renowned in the capital. She was both talented and beautiful and held herself in high regard, which is why she had yet to settle on a marriage. Her elder sister, who was the same age, had married a scholar from a humble background, though he was also talented and handsome, and she had boasted endlessly about his talents.

Her sister praised her husband’s talents and looks, saying there was no one better, and he listened to her every word, treating her with deep affection.

In most families, marrying someone from a humble background was considered shameful, but the Jia family was different. Their prestigious background valued talent above all else, and the scholar was someone her grandfather had personally chosen—indeed, he was both talented and handsome.

It wasn’t until Jia Yuntang met King Ding that she realized her sister’s shallowness. He was the first truly extraordinary man she had ever seen.

But King Ding was a man who was difficult to approach. Many young women had tried and failed. It was strange that the royal family had not yet chosen a wife for King Ding, even though he was already twenty-one. Her grandfather also hoped that she could marry into the royal family to secure a future for the Jia family.

She wasn’t in a hurry, though. After all, there were very few women in the capital who were more suited to be King Ding’s wife than she was. Once the royal family selected a consort, she was sure she would be chosen first.

In two days, there would be King Ding’s celebration feast, and the clothes she had ordered from Hua Feng Lou should be ready. She wanted to go and see if there was anything she didn’t like that could still be fixed.

Accompanied by two personal maids, she went out, but unexpectedly ran into Jin Wenwen. She was from the frontier and had reportedly grown up in the Jin Wangfu. Though she was quite old and still unmarried, her mother said that girls like her were often waiting for a position as a concubine to some nobleman. From her behavior, it was obvious that she was foolishly hoping to become King Ding’s concubine.

She didn’t even spare her a glance, completely dismissing her.

Jin Wenwen sneered, “Miss Jia is so confident she can marry into the Ding Wangfu? I’m afraid you can’t even compare to a widow.”

A widow? What widow?

Jia Yuntang stopped and looked at Jin Wenwen.

Jin Wenwen gave a smug smile.

In the afternoon, news spread throughout the capital that Minister Chen of the Ministry of Justice had been demoted, and that King Ding had appointed a new Minister of Justice.

Also demoted was the deputy minister of the Ministry of Justice, with two of the three young ladies involved being from the Chen family, and one from the Xu family. Left Zhengfeng’s position was also resolved.

The Chen family was allied through marriage with the Jia family, and the Ministry of Justice was a crucial position where one wrong move could shake the entire system. Anyone in high positions inevitably had their dirty secrets.

The Jia family, with its father and son, were all troubled by this. King Ding, a man forged on the battlefield, was sharp and decisive. With control over the military, once someone had a weakness exposed, he would enforce the law strictly, and it was difficult to oppose him.

Jia Taishi looked at his eldest son and asked, “How is Yuntang’s preparation coming along?”

Jia Taishi’s eldest son, Jia Mufeng, nodded and said, “Yuntang is well-prepared.”

Only through a royal marriage could things be calmed, and Jia’s daughters would not settle for becoming concubines. They had only one option—King Ding.

Tian Mi arrived at her house, where Tian Dabiao excitedly slapped his thigh and said, “Mi’er! The capital is a place full of golden opportunities! Our Lotus Society should set up a branch here, the brothers in the society will surely make much more money!”

Tian Mi smiled and said, “That’s guaranteed. Deep waters raise big fish, and there’s no deeper water than the capital.”

Tian Dabiao was thrilled. “Once I get things arranged, we’ll see what the Lotus Society can do next.”

Her second uncle added, “I’ll also contact some drug merchants, and we need to arrange for a place for the wonderful pharmacy in the capital.”

Tian Mi was confused. They had just arrived in the capital; wouldn’t it be better to relax for a few days first? Enjoy the city life!

“Second uncle, take a good rest. Let’s stroll around the capital, no need to rush.”

Second Uncle smiled and said, “Take your time to prepare! The renovations won’t be done in a day or two.”

Tian Mi took out the property deeds for the three shops and the estate in the capital, giving them to Qiu Yi to assess the situation.

The drug store, the bookstore, and the beauty shop could all be started gradually.

The bookstore would need to place orders with suppliers, but that was a bit of an unknown area.

Sigh! None of them were familiar with the capital, so they could prepare slowly and solve any problems as they arose.

The things they had bought in the afternoon arrived, and the wealthy woman now had a wardrobe befitting her status. So many gorgeous clothes, beautiful jewelry, and the lady’s battle robes were ready. But what about her battlefield?

Heh, no rush!

In the afternoon, Tian Mi rode a horse and, with Yanzu, toured her princess mansion to fully understand her territory and let Yanzu know the layout. After all, he was her secret guard.

The early autumn breeze was cool and refreshing! The ride was comfortable as they explored the garden.

The mansion was indeed quite large, with various courtyards full of flowers, trees, and plants. It was very beautiful, especially the osmanthus trees, though there were also many open spaces, particularly in the more remote areas, which were mostly abandoned.

This was a vast estate and could definitely be slowly developed over time.