Ji Yunxi listened to her somewhat sarcastic words. Suddenly, she felt that the tone was a bit familiar. When she looked at the woman's face, this sense of familiarity became even stronger.
It was as if they had known each other for a long time.
But Ji Yunxi was very clear that she had never seen this woman in her memory.
Seeing that Ji Yunxi didn't reply, Jiang Yaoji sized her up maliciously, speculating in her mind what kind of answer she would give.
Unexpectedly, before she could get a reply, she heard Feng Xingzhi say, "Indeed. Whether it's in terms of talent or appearance, Xixi is truly extraordinary. It's really hard to describe her merits with mere words."
Ji Yunxi looked at Feng Xingzhi in slight surprise and found that he truly thought so. For a moment, she felt a bit shy and secretly tugged at Feng Xingzhi's sleeve, signaling him to stop talking.
Jiang Yaoji wasn't annoyed after hearing this. Seeing their little interaction, her expression remained unchanged. She smiled and said, "Since Miss Ji has come here specifically, why don't we go inside and have a chat?"
The joy in Ji Yunxi's eyes dimmed instantly. Jiang Yaoji's words made it seem as if she was just a visitor, while Jiang Yaoji herself was the mistress of the prince's mansion.
She, Ji Yunxi, was the prospective princess appointed by the emperor of Nanyan. Who was this woman anyway?
Chunyuan, who was following Ji Yunxi, whispered indignantly, "Miss, she's not the mistress of the prince's mansion. What does she mean by saying that! If Ji Yuyan had half of her scheming, she wouldn't have been rejected by General Su."
Chunyuan's voice was not very loud, just loud enough to be barely heard.
Ji Yunxi didn't refute. She just said coldly to Chunyuan, "We are a family with rules. Don't talk nonsense."
Jiang Yaoji's expression froze. Ji Yunxi wasn't really scolding her maid. It was clearly a jab at her, implying that she had no sense of propriety to act as the mistress of the prince's mansion.
Jiang Yaoji's phoenix - like eyes darkened. She squinted slightly, glaring at Ji Yunxi with hostility.
The sparks between the two women instantly collided.
Feng Xingzhi saw all of Jiang Yaoji's looks. Without hesitation, he stepped in front of Ji Yunxi, blocking Jiang Yaoji's gaze.
"Xixi, let's go inside first," Feng Xingzhi said to Ji Yunxi in a voice as gentle and warm as a spring breeze.
Jiang Yaoji was just about to call out to him when she heard his tone change. He said coldly and stiffly, "Feng Qi, attend to Miss Jiang."
Feng Xingzhi didn't give her any face at all. Jiang Yaoji's hand clenched tightly instantly. Her fingernails dug into her palm, but the pain in her heart was even more unbearable.
The three of them entered the main hall. As soon as they sat down, Ji Yunxi saw a letter fall out of Jiang Yaoji's sleeve pocket.
Taking a closer look, she was shocked to find that it was the tribute paper of the Nanyan royal family, sprinkled with gold powder to show the royal dignity.
Ji Yunxi was able to recognize this paper because not long ago, when Ji Qilin passed away, Feng Jiangming had someone send this kind of paper to console the Ji Mansion!
But why would Jiang Yaoji, a woman from Xirong, have such a thing?
It was impossible for her to have obtained it by chance. So there must be someone who had written a letter to her.
Could it be Feng Xingzhi?
As if thinking of something, Ji Yunxi noticed that Jiang Yaoji had been acting like the mistress of the mansion just now. And the appearance of this letter seemed rather deliberate. After all, it wasn't easy for something in the sleeve pocket to fall out.
Ji Yunxi scoffed in her heart. This kind of behavior of a woman in the inner courtyard was really boring.
Jiang Yaoji had clearly done this on purpose for her to see. If she got angry and made a fuss, she would create a rift with Feng Xingzhi. What a clever plan!
After figuring this out, Ji Yunxi reached out to pick up the teacup, pretending not to care. Only the tea leaves in the cup were swirling in an abnormal way.
Seeing this, Jiang Yaoji nonchalantly picked up the letter and put it back into her sleeve pocket. As she picked it up, she casually said, "Miss Ji, when did you first meet Xingzhi? Xingzhi and I have known each other since childhood. People used to joke that we were childhood sweethearts."
Ji Yunxi raised her eyebrows. "Oh - really?"
As she said this, Ji Yunxi turned to look at Feng Xingzhi. She saw that his fist on the table was slightly clenched, looking nervous. The look in his eyes when he looked at Jiang Yaoji was as if he wanted to throw her out immediately.
Seeing Xixi looking at him, Feng Xingzhi immediately said bluntly, "No. It's just that I was in poor health when I was a child. The Jiang family is a well - known medical family, so the emperor and the crown prince sent me to stay there for a few days. There should be a proper distance between men and women. Naturally, I don't have any special relationship with Miss Jiang. We rarely saw each other in the Jiang Mansion."
Hearing this, Ji Yunxi felt a bit amused in her heart. Jiang Yaoji had been trying hard to imply a close relationship with Feng Xingzhi, but Feng Xingzhi didn't give her any face with just a few words.
Jiang Yaoji felt heart - broken. She looked at Feng Xingzhi with a hurt expression.
He just couldn't wait to push her away, but she just wouldn't let him have his way!
"Xingzhi and I lived together when we were kids. We saw each other every day. He's just too shy to admit it. I came to Nanyan this time because I hadn't seen him for a long time and was worried about him. This guy doesn't even come to see me. He's so annoying. After all, we're childhood sweethearts. I'm really worried about Xingzhi. Yunxi, don't you think so?"
Ji Yunxi had been smiling all the time. All of Jiang Yaoji's words seemed to hit a cotton wall.
"It's your fault, Azhi. Even though Nanyan and Xirong have always been on good terms, you still need to keep a proper distance. After all, you're a prince. If someone with bad intentions finds out about this, they might report you."
With just a few light words, Ji Yunxi turned Jiang Yaoji from a childhood sweetheart into a schemer who wanted to harm Feng Xingzhi.
Jiang Yaoji didn't realize this yet. Then she heard Ji Yunxi say affectionately to Feng Xingzhi, "You should have at least told the crown prince or me about this."
Feng Xingzhi immediately nodded. "Xixi is right. I didn't think it through."
Ji Yunxi looked at Jiang Yaoji with satisfaction. "But I really haven't heard Azhi mention you. How about I invite you to the prime minister's mansion? A young lady's reputation is very important."
The smug smile on Jiang Yaoji's face froze. Her arrogance just now disappeared in an instant. She also realized what Ji Yunxi meant. She didn't expect this Ji Yunxi to be so hard to deal with.
Before coming here, Jiang Yaoji had, of course, learned something about the woman who had bypassed her and become engaged to Feng Xingzhi.
Ji Yunxi was the legitimate daughter of the prime minister's mansion and was well - known. Not only was she extremely talented in spiritual power cultivation, but she was also very beautiful and highly favored at home.
Jiang Yaoji had thought that she was a spoiled and naive woman, but she didn't expect her to react so quickly.
Moreover, the relationship between Feng Xingzhi and her seemed like an impregnable wall. Her words didn't cause any rift between them at all.
Maybe she was uncomfortable in her heart but could hold it in and say nothing.
Ji Yunxi had thought this girl was some kind of formidable character, but it turned out that she could only act pretentiously and say some ambiguous things.
At this time, Feng Xingzhi spoke, his tone full of coldness.
"Thank you for your concern, Miss Jiang. I'm in good health."
"I'll invite you to attend the ceremony then."