Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 325: You Eloped with Someone, and I Came to Rescue You

Chapter 325: Chapter 325: You Eloped with Someone, and I Came to Rescue You

Brother?

Ridiculous.

What kind of brothers were those cousins of hers from the Marquis Mansion?

Listening to Na Kesi, she seemed to rely a lot on that brother.

Is this some kind of joke?

Other than asking her for silver, those cousins from the Marquis Mansion never showed up before her unless it was to engage in constant cockfights and nocturnal revelries. Had it not been for her parents and grandmother, she would never have shown them a sliver of politeness.

Remembering her parents and grandmother, Murong Jiu frowned again.

Strange, she used to care so much about them, why does remembering them now feel so emotionless?

Someone was guarding outside the door.

Murong Jiu lay motionless on the bed.

But this was better than last night’s situation. At least, Granny Cui wasn’t staring at her beside the bed.

As for that one-eyed woman in black named Mo Yu, she also truly displeased her. Her instinctive repulsion towards this woman was a relief since Na Kesi also seemed to dislike the person, sending her further away which should be beneficial for her.

Thoughts filled her mind, feeling an eerie undertone to everything. She was notoriously known as the ugly woman of the Capital City, so why did Na Kesi’s gaze hold a hint of astonishment when looking at her?

Today, nobody who saw her face showed the familiar expressions of disgust and contempt.

Pity there wasn’t even a bronze mirror in the room.

Also, why did she keep thinking about Prince Ling?

She and Prince Ling hardly knew each other, having only sparingly exchanged distant glances. Having been bizarrely swapped during the marriage arrangement, she was full of grievances, and she hadn’t even seen Prince Ling before waking up in this dreadful place.

Trying to think too hard made her head ache terribly.

She subconsciously reached for her wrist but felt nothing. An expression of astonishment appeared on her face as though she had once worn something on her wrist.

Sighing internally, she stopped pursuing those baffling thoughts and started contemplating how to extricate herself from Na Kesi and his entourage.

Escaping tonight was definitely impossible. Even though Na Kesi might have lowered his guard because of her amnesia, there would still be many people patrolling since his identity was not that of a mere leader of a merchant convoy but a prince from the Western Regions.

So, the best course of action was to follow them on the road and look for an opportunity to escape en route.

She closed her eyes, letting herself drift to sleep.

However, before her plan could be initiated, the door suddenly opened from the outside. Her light sleep had her sitting up from the bed instantly.

The outside was serenely moonlit, and a tall figure swiftly entered, then gripped her hand tightly, "Ah Jiu, your brother has come. Don’t be afraid, your brother has come to get you."

Murong Jiu stared at him, dumbfounded.

The Fourth Prince?

What is going on?

Wait, could it be that she was not a child of the Marquis Mansion but the Emperor’s illegitimate daughter?

She quickly denied this thought.

Of course not.

If she really were the Emperor’s illegitimate daughter, could the Marquis Mansion have treated her so coldly?

And, subconsciously, she disliked The Fourth Prince as well.

However, despite the myriad of thoughts spinning inside her, her expression remained blank, puzzled as she looked at him, "You, you are my brother?"

"Ah Jiu, have you forgotten your brother too?"

The Fourth Prince looked into her eyes, his expression worried, "The leader of the merchant convoy outside told me you’ve lost your memory. Your brother genuinely feels guilty. If it hadn’t been to stop your elopement, you wouldn’t have been kidnapped by the mountain bandits..."

Murong Jiu’s mouth fell open, "Elope?"

What nonsense is The Fourth Prince fabricating!

Wasn’t she his eldest Imperial sister-in-law? At least nominally, even if she was a substitute bride, she was already Princess Consort Ling!

She widened her eyes and asked, "Did I, did I really elope with someone? I can’t remember anything, brother, please tell me, who am I really, and what has happened to me?"

Without expression, she withdrew her hands from the Fourth Prince’s tight grip and instead grabbed his sleeve.

Touching him, Murong Jiu felt only disgust.

She wanted to see how the Fourth Prince would fabricate his story.

The Fourth Prince’s eyes even reddened, "It’s all brother’s fault. Although you and I have different fathers and mothers, I am just your nominal brother, and I really have no right to control you, but I can’t stand to see you deceived and led astray..."

Murong Jiu listened dully.

Essentially, she had been deceived by a man who already had a family, who had secretly eloped with her, but along the way, his principal wife had sent people to kill her, and the mountain bandits were actually assassins who wanted to put her to death.

And she was the cherished eldest daughter of the Murong Family in Capital City, and the Fourth Prince was her foster brother, adopted by her father.

Murong Jiu was so distracted by the story. It was so cliché. All the storybooks she read were much more interesting than this; couldn’t he come up with something fresher?

Did the Fourth Prince mean that he, her adopted brother, had developed feelings for his adopted sister?

What did he really want to do?

Just as she was thinking this, the Fourth Prince looked at her passionately, "Ah Jiu, it’s already the talk of Capital City. It’s actually good that you’ve lost your memory, so you need not worry about these matters. I, I don’t mind being deceived, and if you don’t want to marry in the future, your brother will always protect you."

Murong Jiu: ...

Did he mean that she had already lost her virtue to the man she eloped with?

And the Fourth Prince didn’t mind that she had lost her virtue and indirectly expressed his love for her.

Murong Jiu pretended not to understand the implication of his words and showed a touched expression, "Thank you, brother. Even though I can’t remember anything, I know you must be my most important relative."

The Fourth Prince lifted his head, intending to touch her face.

Murong Jiu controlled herself not to dodge, but suddenly grabbed his hand and pointed to the Buddha beads on his wrist, "This bracelet..."

"Ah Jiu, you gave this to your brother," he said.

The Fourth Prince’s smile was gentle, his fingers tenderly sliding and turning over each bead, "Brother will always wear it."

Only at that moment did Murong Jiu feel a chill in her heart.

She couldn’t specify why, but seeing the Buddhist bead bracelet had suddenly brought a surge of unease.

She knew why her wrist felt too empty before; that bracelet must be hers.

"May I see it?"

She pointed at the bracelet.

The Fourth Prince smiled and nodded, "Of course."

Though he said so, he did not take it off but rather held up his hand for her to see, joking, "Ah Jiu, you can’t take this away. It’s the only gift you gave to your brother."

Murong Jiu actually wanted to ask for it, but she feared it might arouse the Fourth Prince’s suspicion.

Murong Jiu touched the beads and with a surprised tone, said, "Even though I can’t remember anything, it seems I still remember these beads. Our relationship must have been very close. It would be even better if I could remember something."

The Fourth Prince said, "You will, brother will find the best court physician to treat you, and make you better soon."

Murong Jiu also smiled, showing concern, "Brother, you must be tired from the journey, you should rest..."

"There’s no time for rest now, Ah Jiu. I encountered assassins on my way here, we can’t stay here long."

Saying so, he seemed to have pulled at a wound, and he hissed lightly.

Murong Jiu smelled a faint scent of blood.

Assassins?

Were they really assassins, or someone else?

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