After the Cold and Aloof Husband's Mask Falls - Chapter 68

Since Gu Wanlan had appeared, what was the deal with the “Ji Lin” he had subdued?!

The letter searched from Widow He’s home clearly described how He San had noticed Ji Lin’s abnormalities and gradually discovered “his” female identity. But why—

The Ji Lin before his eyes was flat-chested; the fact that he was a man could not be faked!

Where exactly had things gone wrong?!

Savoring the flicker of panic in the Prince of Huai’s eyes, Gu Wanlan lowered her eyelashes, a smile hooking at the corner of her mouth.

The story goes back to this morning.

After leaving the palace, Gu Wanlan headed straight for Akishiyama and changed into her Ji Lin attire. Since there was still time before her appointment with the Prince of Huai, she decided to approach Widow He first to draw out the person behind He San. When she found Widow He, she happened to see her from a distance, looking panicked as she fled back home.

Gu Wanlan felt then that the widow might know something, and it likely concerned “Ji Lin.”

Thus, she immediately had Tianquan keep watch outside while she snuck into Widow He’s home to wait. What she hadn’t expected was for the widow’s reaction to be so extreme—she fainted the moment she saw her.

Once the widow woke, Gu Wanlan needed only a bit of probing for her to spill everything through trembling lips, including He San’s untraceable banknotes and that one letter.

For the past six months, Widow He had been unable to sleep. She instinctively felt that the letter was related to the sinister words He San had once spoken—that it contained Ji Lin’s secret. Thus, she hadn’t dared to open it until now. She feared being unable to resist the temptation and feared being caught in the struggles of powerful figures; she only wanted to live out her remaining years in peace.

But now, with the “rightful owner” at her door, she felt panicked, yet also felt that this was as it should be. A great stone finally lifted from her heart.

Widow He let out a long sigh and fished out the unopened letter from the layers of her bedding, handing it to Gu Wanlan.

Before opening it, Gu Wanlan had many guesses about the contents. But when she read the beginning, she too froze in place.

The name “Ji Lin” she used belonged to the brother of Ji Yan, the girl she had rescued from a wealthy merchant’s estate years ago.

Back then, after she was separated from Cui Jue, she escorted Ji Yan back to her hometown and met Ji Lin. Ji Lin was naturally frail, and after the trauma of his younger sister being kidnapped, he became bedridden. However, as the only male in the Ji family, he was still required to fulfill military service. Since she happened to be there, Gu Wanlan proactively offered to take his place in the army.

Because Ji Lin had been bedridden and hadn’t seen outsiders for a long time, few people knew him. Gu Wanlan only had to modify her facial features slightly to pass for him.

She hadn’t expected that He San had actually met the real Ji Lin before joining the army, had received his kindness, and had remembered him ever since!

He San had probed carefully and finally confirmed that the Ji Lin before him was not his true benefactor. Seeing this “cuckoo in the nest” climb higher and higher using his benefactor’s identity—leaving him far behind—He San was resentful.

“…Mother, rest assured. I will surely achieve greater military merit in the next battle and pull that fake down completely. However, my collusion with others was discovered by that Army Supervisor Cui. Fortunately, Supervisor Cui and the fake have always been at odds in Changping Pass; I used the fake’s secret to trade for my life…”

Gu Wanlan’s eyelashes trembled.

As expected, Cui Jue had known her identity all along. His later “investigation” into Ji Lin’s identity was merely to force her to proactively retreat to Xijing.

“…However, it has been a long time since I told Supervisor Cui this secret, yet I haven’t seen him act on it. I feel an underlying unease. After much thought, I am telling this secret to Mother. If I die in the future… Mother can use this secret to threaten the fake; perhaps it can save your life.”

Following that was a large smudge of ink.

“…I was momentarily possessed by greed and plotted with a tiger; now there is no way back. I only wish Mother peace for the rest of her life. Your unfilial son kowtows.”

Gu Wanlan sighed and handed the letter back to Widow He.

Widow He looked up at her in disbelief. “Gen-General, can this humble woman read this?”

Gu Wanlan nodded. “Mhm. Read it. It’s no major matter.”

It truly wasn’t. She had thought He San discovered she was a woman in disguise, but if it was merely a matter of taking someone else’s identity for military service, such things were actually quite common at the border.

After taking the letter and reading it quickly, Widow He didn’t understand the matters between Ji Lin and He San, but upon seeing the final line, she burst into tears, clutching the letter and wailing, “Foolish! San-er! You were so foolish!”

Gu Wanlan was about to ask Widow He if she was willing to play along in a drama to draw out the mastermind behind He San, but Tianquan, who was keeping watch, hurried back. “General! People are approaching this place!!”

Gu Wanlan never hesitated to assume the worst. If she could notice Widow He because of the recent Old Mrs. Wang incident, then others could too!

She immediately found a similar piece of paper and wrote a new letter, modeling it after He San’s.

Now that Ji Yan and her brother were living stable lives, she didn’t want anyone disturbing them again. If the arrivals were coming for her, she might as well prepare a “grand gift” for them.

Thus, the core of the letter remained the same, but Gu Wanlan wiped out all mentions of Ji Yan’s brother. Instead, she vividly described how He San had discovered that Ji Lin was actually a woman.

In truth… proving an identity swap between two men would require significant effort to verify. But between a man and a woman, Gu Wanlan could already guess what kind of base tricks the mastermind would use. This way, though the risk was high, it was convenient for Gu Wanlan to clear all suspicion regarding “Ji Lin’s” identity in one fell swoop.

Then, she used her internal power to dry the new letter and handed it back to Widow He. As a precaution, she fed Widow He a “poison” pill and threatened her, making her pretend that Ji Lin had never visited this courtyard. If anyone came later, she was to confess everything according to the contents of the new letter.

Finally, she disguised Tianquan and Tianxuan, letting Tianquan play Ji Lin and Tianxuan play Tianquan to attend the Prince’s banquet, while she herself followed them silently into Wanxi Restaurant to prepare for any contingency.

Originally, in the play she directed, even without the Prince of Huai’s intervention, there would have been a story of “Ji Lin” getting drunk and accidentally baring his chest to stall the Prince and give Xiao Chen time to infiltrate the Prince’s Estate. She hadn’t expected the Prince himself to be the one who sent people to probe Widow He.

This was somewhat unexpected, as she hadn’t thought the conflict between her “Ji Lin” identity and this Prince had reached a life-and-death level.

But now, it had.

With a whoosh, Gu Wanlan untied her cloak and draped it over the bare-chested “Ji Lin.”

The aura that suddenly erupted from her made the Prince’s subordinates forget to react for a moment, allowing her to reclaim the young General from their hands. “Is General Ji alright?”

“Ji Lin” shook his head, his face pale. “Th—Thank you, Miss, for the assistance.”

“It’s a small matter. If it weren’t for General Ji back then, it would have been difficult for me to reach Xijing and find my biological parents on my own.”

Only then did the crowd realize that the Eldest Miss of the Protector State Duke’s Estate shared such a history with young General Ji Lin.

Gu Wanlan supported “Ji Lin” as they stood before the crowd. She lowered her eyes, her aura completely retracted, her face showing no expression. Only Tianquan, who was playing “Ji Lin,” could feel the strokes she was tracing into his palm.

The stubborn young General bit his lip until it bled, yet he kept his eyes fixed on the Prince of Huai. In a husky voice, he said word for word, “This General will remember the insult of being drugged and having my clothes torn today. However, this General is curious—does My Lord share the same unspeakable proclivities as the Heir?”

You wanted to step on me, Ji Lin, to let the Prince of Huai’s Estate escape this vortex? Then let’s see if your estate has the life left to do the stepping!

As the words fell, the crowd gasped in unison, immediately thinking of the various rumors surrounding the Prince’s heir.

That’s right—if you wanted to verify someone’s identity, couldn’t you find a secluded room? The Prince’s actions looked less like a verification and more like a deliberate public humiliation!

Could it be that even such heartless behavior was a case of “like father, like son”?!

Seeing the suspicious and avoiding gazes of those around him, the Prince of Huai was nearly struck with horror.

“Absurd!” the Prince barked. “If not for someone accusing you, General Ji, of being a woman in disguise, why would this Prince have acted so?”

“Is that so?” Gu Wanlan stepped forward, blocking “Ji Lin,” and let out a cold laugh. “Then if someone accuses you, Prince of Huai, of not being a man in the future, would My Lord be willing to take off your trousers in front of everyone to prove your identity?”

“Furthermore, even if General Ji were a woman, she is still a woman who slaughtered a Roulan commander on the battlefield! When Your Lordship’s sword flicked down just now, did you ever consider the consequences? If such a woman did not die on the battlefield but was instead driven to death by you, when the Roulan people attack tomorrow, can Your Lordship take her place to travel ten thousand miles and slay the foreign enemy?!”

“Or perhaps, you had already decided she was a woman. As long as she is a woman, all the merit she achieved before can be wiped away. As long as she is discovered to be a woman, whether it be a Prince of the realm like you or anyone else, you can bully her, insult her, and even kill her at will?!”

Of course! That is the natural order of ethics and status! As long as Ji Lin was found to be a woman, what did it matter how crude or over-the-top this trap was today? He would have won!

Under Gu Wanlan’s relentless questioning, the Prince nearly exposed his true thoughts.

But things were different now. The Prince took a deep breath, trying to steady his mind.

Thinking carefully, perhaps the purpose of today’s events was to force a confrontation between Ji Lin and himself. He San, Widow He, Ji Lin, and even himself had likely inadvertently entered a trap laid by someone else.

But who had the ability to start this back at Changping Pass…?

A guess suddenly flashed through the Prince’s mind—the Cui family!

Cui Qiong had been the Army Supervisor at Changping Pass, and it was common knowledge that he and Ji Lin were at odds. And that true Head of the Cui family was rumored to have been Gu Wanlan’s live-in husband for a time. Now, even Gu Wanlan’s appearance here was likely by design.

The Prince of Huai harbored deep hatred in his heart, yet he showed none of it on his face. He followed Gu Wanlan’s logic and said, “Miss Gu, your words are mistaken! this Prince has never believed that if Ji Lin were a woman, she should be insulted. On the contrary, if she were a woman, it would mean she achieved such merit as a female, which must have meant suffering far more than an ordinary man. How could this Prince do anything but admire such a legendary woman? Why would I deliberately humiliate her?!”

Gu Wanlan likely feels the sympathy of a kindred spirit, which is why she’s biting onto him and won’t let go. Since the tide has turned, why not use this to reclaim a good reputation?

“Today, this Prince was merely anxious to help General Ji prove his innocence. In my haste, I used the wrong method. However, now that the truth is out, the woman who accused the General—”

The Prince was about to order his men to seize Widow He, but unexpectedly, a trickle of black blood seeped from her lips, and she collapsed and died instantly!

“My Lord! The woman has committed suicide by poison!!”

The Prince was furious, feeling even more certain that this was a trap set by the Cui family!

Gu Wanlan was about to step forward when her ears twitched. Hearing a bird call, she stopped her pace, relaxed her body, and stood still with a smile at the Prince, beginning a silent countdown in her heart.

Five, four, three…

Before she could finish the count of five, hurried footsteps appeared at the gate of Wanxi Restaurant.

“It’s bad! My Lord, it’s bad! The Embroidery Guard has seized evidence and is leading a search of the estate!”

The Prince’s body swayed, nearly collapsing.

In an instant, he understood everything. The final result of today’s trap was a “luring the tiger away from the mountain” ploy!

Cui Jue!!

The Prince’s face began to contort with rage.

Even if I must die, I will drag you down to be buried with me!!