I Was Supposed to Be the Villainous Consort

Even if Madam Ji considered the Song Family shallow upstarts, Song Nanzhen had genuinely earned his promotion through his own merits this time, leaving her with nothing to say. Apart from muttering that he was just lucky, she didn’t know what else to add.

She was already displeased with her son’s insistence on marrying Miss Xie. Now, hearing that Wang Yunhua was requesting an audience, Madam Ji grew even more furious. Her face fell, and the rage was practically erupting from her.

Ji Yunting sat calmly to the side, observing his mother’s expression. He spoke placidly, "Mother, I don’t need to tell you why Miss Wang has come. I wouldn’t dare marry a wife like her."

Madam Ji felt her cheeks burn with shame. It was she who had chosen Wang Yunhua. But when her son had his accident, the girl had clamored to break off the engagement. Now that the Wang Family had fallen, she was crawling back. Never mind her son—even Madam Ji herself wouldn’t spare her a second glance.

’What did that Wang Yunhua think her son was?’

’Someone she could have when she wanted and discard when she didn’t?’

Madam Ji had been a refined lady her entire life, but right now, she had to fight the urge to curse.

"But you can’t be so insistent on marrying Miss Xie! The Xie family are merely merchants. If you truly bring her into our family, you’ll be a laughingstock for the rest of your life." Madam Ji refused to compromise. The mere thought of her daughter-in-law being from a lowly merchant family made her feel too ashamed to face anyone.

Ji Yunting’s expression remained unchanged at his mother’s words. He lowered his gaze and, after a long moment, sighed softly. "With an injury like mine, tell me, which well-born lady in the Capital City would be willing to marry me? As for those families who would agree, what sort of people would they be? What schemes would they be hatching? If such a woman married into our family, do you think she would treat me with any sincerity? Mother, a way of thinking like Miss Xie’s is what is truly human. No young woman would want to spend her life as a virtual widow, married to a half-crippled man like me."

"What nonsense are you spouting? The Imperial Physician said that as long as you’re treated properly, there’s still hope!" Madam Ji couldn’t bear to hear such things. She practically jumped to her feet as tears streamed down her face.

’Her son was so wonderful; how could the heavens be so blind? He was doing a good deed, saving someone, yet he had to suffer such a terrible fate.’

’If she could trade places with him, she would suffer this torment in his stead without a second thought.’

"There is hope, but how long will that take? A year? Two? Or perhaps ten, even twenty? A woman forced by her family to marry me for personal gain—don’t you think she would grow to hate me in her heart?"

Madam Ji’s expression faltered.

A trace of dejection crossed Ji Yunting’s face as he began to speak again, slowly and softly. "Mother, my decision to choose Miss Xie was made after careful consideration. I saved her life; if she marries me, she is certain to treat me sincerely. I’ve been reduced to this state. As long as Miss Xie does not find me repulsive, what right do I have to be picky about her family background?"

"And how would you know she’ll treat you sincerely?" Madam Ji asked, unconvinced.

"After my accident, I wrote her a letter asking if she would still marry me. She wrote back that she would."

Madam Ji was stunned.

"Mother, even if Miss Xie is willing to marry me to repay me for saving her life, I fear her family won’t be."

"The Xie family dares to find fault with you?" Madam Ji’s face paled and flushed in turns.

"Any family that cherishes its daughter would be unwilling to marry her to me. Mother, if I had a younger sister, would you be willing for her to marry a man in my condition?"

Madam Ji’s heart seized. ’Of course... I wouldn’t be,’ she thought.

At this realization, Madam Ji’s face turned livid.

"Actually, there’s something I haven’t told you. While it’s true I saved Miss Xie that day, if she hadn’t yanked me back, I would have smashed my head against a rock. You would be planning my funeral by now."

Madam Ji couldn’t bear to hear it. She clutched her chest, nearly fainting. "Are you determined to anger me to death?"

"Mother, pressuring Miss Xie to marry me to repay a life debt is already a despicable thing to do. If you continue to oppose this, I would rather remain unmarried for life. It’s better than failing to find a bride, only to bring an enemy into the house and make everyone miserable."

"She really yanked you back?"

"I have never spoken a false word."

Madam Ji said, still trying to sound tough, "Well, you saved her first. It was only right for her to pull you back."

"What you say is true," Ji Yunting conceded. "But in such a critical moment, for a young woman to still have the presence of mind to save me—don’t you think that shows she is bold, meticulous, and resourceful? Her humble birth is a fact, but her full brother has already become a scholar. When he passes the next imperial examinations with flying colors, the Xie family’s entire social standing will be transformed. When that time comes, who would dare laugh at your daughter-in-law’s origins? Instead, they will only praise you for your loyalty and integrity, and for having the foresight to recognize a diamond in the rough."

Flustered by her son’s flattery, Madam Ji’s head spun. ’He does have a point,’ she thought.

Still, she wasn’t ready to concede just like that. She lifted her chin and said, "Let me think about it some more."

Ji Yunting nodded slightly. "Take your time, Mother. There’s no rush."

Madam Ji grumbled to herself, ’How can there not be a rush? The business with the Ministry of Revenue is already concluding, which means my husband and I will have to meet with the Xie family soon.’

At that thought, Madam Ji’s expression froze. That’s right. The Xie family hadn’t even agreed to let their daughter marry him. They were simply coming to thank him for saving her life.

Madam Ji: ...

The tables had turned in an instant. She had gone from being the one petitioned to the one doing the petitioning. The feeling was a little hard to bear.

Ji Yunting hobbled out, leaning on his crutch one step at a time. Watching her son’s retreating figure, Madam Ji felt a sting in her nose. Her son had truly suffered one calamity after another these past two years. All at once, her heart softened.

Meanwhile, Wang Yunhua waited for a long time without being summoned to see Madam Ji. Her face grew pale. She alighted from her carriage and went to the gatehouse to inquire in person, but the gatekeeper’s response left her utterly mortified.

"Miss Wang, just a few days ago you were crying and begging our madam to let you go. The marriage negotiations were called off, just as you wished. You looked down on our own young master, so what are you doing here now? You had best hurry on back. Our humble residence cannot hope to associate with an Honorable Lady like you."

Everyone knew the Wang Family was finished. Those words, "Honorable Lady," felt like a sharp, stinging slap across her face.

Wang Yunhua had never suffered such humiliation. To be verbally assaulted by a mere gatekeeper... She covered her face with her hands, scrambled back into the carriage, and ordered the driver to leave immediately.

The Wang Family’s carriage had not gone far when the gatekeeper spat on the ground and yelled after them, "What a piece of trash! Acting like she’s a goddess from the heavens. She should take a good look in the mirror! Now that the Wang Family is collapsing, she suddenly remembers our young master. The nerve! What a black heart!"

Inside the carriage, Wang Yunhua heard every word with perfect clarity. She collapsed onto the soft cushions, muffling her sobs with her hands. She had never been so humiliated in her entire life.

When Wang Yunhua returned to the Wang Family estate, she saw numerous servants leaving with their belongings bundled up. She hurried inside. ’What’s going on?’

She ran all the way to the main courtyard, pushed open the doors, and burst inside. Seeing her mother sitting there rigidly, she immediately blurted out, "Mother, what’s happened? Why are so many servants leaving?"

Mrs. Wang looked up at her younger daughter, her face wooden and devoid of expression. "We don’t even know if your father will escape with his life," she said. "How could the family possibly afford to keep so many people? Of course, they had to be let go."