Chapter 78: Eunuch
But being disgraced is relative; is it disgracing Ji Sui, or disgracing Ling JinSui?
Without a doubt, Grandpa Ling chose the former.
He shot An an a warning glance. An an had initially thought Grandpa was going to reveal that his sister was a woman.
Therefore, neither the Lin Clan’s beautiful concubine nor the Yan Clan daughter could have anything with his sister.
But as Grandpa glared, An an flinched and understood that Grandpa still didn’t intend to reveal the truth.
The fact that his sister was a woman still couldn’t be told to Young Master Gu.
An an became curious. Then how did Grandpa plan to smooth things over?
Judging by the current rumors, my brother is truly a lecher. How can I make Young Master Gu believe that my brother won’t cheat on him?
Gu Changxiao was equally confused. He looked at Grandpa Ling and asked, “Because of what?”
Given Daoist Ji’s appearance and temperament, and being at an age of youthful vigor, Gu Changxiao truly didn’t believe he wasn’t interested in beauty.
Grandpa Ling looked as if he had something unspeakable to say, or perhaps like he had made up his mind to reveal a secret. He stamped his foot, stroked his beard, and sighed:
“Alas, this old Taoist will be frank with Young Master Gu. However, it concerns my grandson’s reputation, so I ask that you do not let others know.”
Gu Changxiao nodded heavily. Grandpa Ling then said, “Actually, when Sui Sui was young, my hometown suffered a disaster, and our family almost couldn’t survive.
“To ensure Sui Sui had food to eat, this old Taoist had her castrated and sent to the palace as an Inner Attendant. However, Sui Sui was in poor health, and the steward didn’t want her.”
Gu Changxiao himself didn’t realize his mouth was agape, remaining so for a long time.
It was An an who asked from the side, “What does castrated mean?”
Grandpa Ling waved his hand, “Go on, go on. Children shouldn’t ask such things.”
An an persisted, “Tell me, Grandpa. How was my brother castrated?”
Grandpa Ling reached out and grabbed his little private part, saying fiercely, “Cut off here, and sent to the palace to be a Eunuch.”
An an jumped three feet high, clutching his private parts tightly. After a long moment, he asked, “Is that true?”
Grandpa Ling didn’t react immediately. He wondered if it was Jin Sui or Ji Sui, but in front of Gu Changxiao, he could only nod and reply:
“Of course, it’s true! How could this old man joke about such a thing?
So, Young Master Gu, please rest assured. Even if a fairy were to appear before my grandson, she couldn’t make him a man.”
“Those who say he is fond of beauty are all rumors.”
Gu Changxiao’s mouth opened and closed, but before he could say anything, he heard An an wailing:
“My brother is so pitiful!”
Silly An an actually thought Jin Sui was a Eunuch.
No wonder his sister was so beautiful, yet her personality was nothing like a woman’s; she was bold, wild, and fierce.
So his sister’s poor health as a child was due to this reason!
I’m truly not a good younger brother. I knew nothing of my sister’s situation, didn’t listen to her, and only wanted to avenge my father to fulfill my mother’s regret.
I almost killed my sister.
The more he thought about it, the sadder he became, and the louder he cried.
This made Grandpa Ling and Gu Changxiao stop discussing the matter and try to comfort him.
To make Gu Changxiao believe him even more, Grandpa Ling told An an that since his brother couldn’t marry or have children like this, he would have to adopt one of An an’s children to care for him in his old age.
An an nodded repeatedly. He would adopt a son and a daughter for his brother and earn a lot of money for his brother to spend.
Gu Changxiao felt pity. He never expected the cheerful and carefree Daoist Ji to have such a tragic experience.
He quickly said that when he reached the Border City, he would reward Daoist Ji with a large piece of land, allowing the three members of the Ji Clan to live as wealthy and worry-free individuals.
Grandpa Ling’s face showed sorrow, but inwardly he was overjoyed. He had actually managed to fool them.
But Sui Sui! Please don’t cause any more trouble. Grandpa is afraid he won’t be able to make up any more lies!
As the saying goes, what you fear will come. Just as Grandpa Ling had finished fabricating the lie about the Li King’s lechery, another joke about the Li King spread within a few days.
This was a widely mocked joke, following the “Li, the Boundless King” incident.
That is, the Li King personally admitted that he was “impotent.”
“I heard that when he left Chang’an, the Empress and Prince Yu had him castrated, cutting off his lineage, before they felt at ease banishing him to Yandi.”
“How come I heard he was incapable since childhood? Otherwise, after being Crown Prince for so many years, why haven’t we heard of him taking concubines or secondary wives?”
“Miss Lin breaking off their engagement was also for this reason.”
“Alas, how pitiful!”
“Miss Yan was deeply in love with him, and he was quite a man to directly admit his impotence.”
…
Gu Changxiao’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, his hair standing on end as if struck by lightning.
An an kept trying to soothe him, but Gu Changxiao’s teeth were almost grinding to dust. He glared at Grandpa Ling and asked:
“Didn’t you say no one knew about this? Why did he publicly announce it?”
Grandpa Ling: …
How would I know! Should I just take An an and run?
If this continues, Gu Changxiao will surely lose his temper and kill the grandfather and grandson first to vent his anger.
At this moment, hearing the entire Yandi buzzing with discussions about the Li King’s impotence.
Gu Changxiao felt that he would rather Ji Sui admit to being the fake Li King, an imposter, than to be associated with such a reputation.
Ji Sui, oh Ji Sui, how much longer will you ruin this King’s reputation?
Ji Sui, no, Jin Sui didn’t want this either!
She was getting addicted to impersonating the Li King. The image of a brave and fearless man was so useful.
Now that she had admitted to being a Eunuch, people looked at her with pity wherever she went, which was too annoying.
But she couldn’t help it. As the saying goes, grandfather and granddaughter are of one mind. Between ruining Ji Sui’s reputation and ruining Ling JinSui’s reputation, the grandfather and granddaughter chose the former.
This matter began three days ago, when Miss Yan was brought back to the Yan Family by Yan Shiyi.
Jin Sui was busy rebuilding the Border City after the battle, supervising the Zheng Family captives at work, having the Zheng Family redeem the severely injured captives, receiving the first batch of salt from the salt fields, and transplanting tomatoes and potatoes…
There were so many things to do that it was a mess. She even had to get up twice in the middle of the night to stock up in her Space. Jin Sui had absolutely no free time and no time to think about Miss Yan.
It was Cheng Yu who reminded her that the Yan Family had helped, and the Prince should offer a gift in thanks afterward.
A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. It wasn’t that Jin Sui was timid, but rather that she would never give her enemies an opportunity, so she herself would not enter Yanzhou City.
She only prepared some gifts and had Cheng Yu arrange for someone to deliver them to the Yan Family.
Unexpectedly, the day after the gifts were delivered, the Yan Family members found their way to the Border City.
They said Miss Yan had run away from home and her whereabouts were unknown, suspecting she had been taken by the Black Feather Camp soldiers who entered the city yesterday.
Without a word, Jin Sui personally interrogated the group that entered the city yesterday and searched the Border City with her men.
Miss Yan was not found.
That day, Yan Shiyi Lang arrived. He started shouting, insisting that Jin Sui had hidden his sister.
Jin Sui, angered, shouted, “Hei Hu!”
Hei Hu clenched his fist and jumped in front of Yan Shiyi. Yan Shiyi quickly dodged behind his own bodyguards, and only then did he quiet down.
Jin Sui said sternly, “Your arguing with this King is a complete waste of time. What we need to do is find Miss Yan as soon as possible.”
