Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 384: The Princess Wants to be Loving with the Prince Consort

Chapter 384: Chapter 384: The Princess Wants to be Loving with the Prince Consort

The Empress was bound to act sooner or later.

Jun Yuyan told Murong Jiu that during the months the Empress was confined, her food had always been laced with "something."

Colorless and tasteless, yet it made the Empress irritable and unable to control herself.

It was not Jun Yuyan who had acted.

Over the years, the Empress had committed so many misdeeds that too many people wanted to strike her when she was down.

The Second Prince had his ankle broken, leaving him crippled and completely out of the succession line; the Empress was also despised by the Emperor and had been confined for many days. This was actually a signal from the Emperor to everyone in the harem.

The Emperor was merely using others to do his dirty work.

How could he elevate Consort Jing if the Empress were not dead?

If he wanted the Third Prince to rightfully become the Crown Prince, he first had to elevate Consort Jing’s status.

It must be said, the Emperor indeed had a "deep affection" for Consort Jing.

To clear the path for her, he was extremely ruthless towards others.

And over at the Fifth Princess’s side, due to the incident at her wedding, she had become the laughingstock of the Capital City. People made jokes behind her back about the Fifth Princess not being able to control her husband—how the valiant princess allowed the Prince Consort to impregnate another woman before their marriage, and it even blew up on the wedding day.

Of course, the Prince Consort’s reputation was also completely ruined; people knew that although he appeared upright and gentle, he was quite the playboy behind closed doors, particularly fond of those mature women in the brothels.

The two brothel women who caused the uproar at the Princess’s Mansion that day were in their thirties or forties, only somewhat charming, their figures almost gone.

But those were exactly the type the Prince Consort liked.

Compared to the voluptuous women from the brothels, the Fifth Princess was just like undeveloped bean sprouts.

No wonder the Prince Consort, even after getting engaged to the Fifth Princess, still went out for several affairs.

Inside the Princess’s Mansion, chaos reigned.

Prince Consort Ruan Hongwen knelt outside the princess’s chambers. The Fifth Princess resented him and was unwilling to forgive him. Seeing him kneel down to beg for forgiveness, she even had someone deliberately smash vases and porcelain, forcing Ruan Hongwen to kneel on them.

"Your Highness, the Prince Consort has bled a lot from his knees; if he continues to kneel like this, I’m afraid his legs will be ruined,"

the maid softly advised.

The Fifth Princess wished him dead; how could she care whether his legs would be ruined or not?

Upon hearing this, she scoffed coldly, "If you sympathize with him, then kneel beside him. Do not block my sight in front of me!"

The maids dared not say another word.

"Your Highness, please don’t be angry. Be careful not to hurt your body,"

a gentle voice came from outside.

The Fifth Princess looked up and saw Murong Man. She spoke coldly, "What are you doing here? Are you here to laugh at me as well?"

Murong Man spoke gently, "What is Your Highness saying? I am Your Highness’s sister-in-law; it is only right for me to care about you. Hearing that Your Highness has not been eating or sleeping well, I was so anxious at Prince Mansion, but since the Prince was being punished, I had to take care of him for a few days. As soon as Your Highness was better, I hurried over to see you."

The Fifth Princess bit her lip and asked, "How is my Imperial Brother?"

Because of her marriage issues, the Second Imperial Eldest Brother was punished by the Emperor again, receiving ten strikes with a heavy board, chastising him for his inefficiency, leaving the Fifth Princess feeling quite guilty inside.

Murong Man said, "Prince has improved a lot, and what he is most concerned about is Your Highness. You must cheer up quickly."

"With such a major incident occurring, everyone is laughing at me, how do you expect me to cheer up? I now dare not even step out of the Princess’s Mansion!"

"You are a Princess, if they dare to speak thoughtlessly, just cut out their tongues, and then no one will dare to speak ill again. Ultimately, it’s because those commoners do not respect you. If it were not for the malicious people behind the scenes who pushed the wave and deliberately embarrassed you during the grand wedding, how could the people have said nasty things?"

"Who did it!"

"Prince said that it must have been Prince Ling and Princess Consort Ling who did it, Murong Jiu is always scheming, repeatedly trying to separate you from Fu Heng, and also Lou Zixi. If it hadn’t been for her opposition, Lou Zixi might have married you already."

"What?" the Fifth Princess shrieked, "It was Murong Jiu who did this?"

"Of course it was her! Your Highness, do you not know that Murong Jiu once saved Lou Zixi? Lou Zixi regards her as his lifesaver, obeying her every command. If she says go east, Lou Zixi dare not go west! She told Lou Zixi to marry Sikong Wan to win over the Minister of Dali Temple Sikong Fu, and so Lou Zixi married Sikong Wan. In fact, Lou Zixi doesn’t like Sikong Wan at all!"

Upon hearing this, the Fifth Princess trembled with rage.

She knew that it was impossible for Lou Zixi not to have feelings for her!

It turned out to be Murong Jiu who was causing all the trouble!

"How despicable! She is so vicious! So at my grand wedding, those two old women, she deliberately brought them there just to make a fool of me! I once mocked her a few times, and she dares to hold such a grudge!"

The Fifth Princess was furious.

Murong Man advised, "Therefore, I implore Your Highness not to be angry. Getting angry is just falling into her trap. The Emperor does not wish for you to divorce, and if you continue causing disturbances, it will only make the Princess’s Mansion restless and let more people mock you, causing discord between you and the Prince Consort. Thus, the Prince Consort will also miss the chances of promotion."

"Then what do you suggest I do?"

"You should resolve the matter openly and must appear loving towards the Prince Consort in front of others. Most people are forgetful, they will only think you are magnanimous, and will remember only that you and the Prince Consort are very much in love. The malicious schemes of others will not succeed."

"You’re right! I should indeed cheer up! Not only that, but I will also make Murong Jiu pay the price she deserves!"

Hearing this last sentence, the corners of Murong Man’s mouth slowly curved upwards.

"Thinking this way is right. You are the only Princess of Great Yan, even if the Emperor gets angry, he treats you differently. If you apologize more, the Emperor will forgive you. Then, whatever you wish to do afterwards will be easier."

The Fifth Princess nodded, her spirits had been lifted.

The person she now despised the most was none other than Murong Jiu.

This grievance, she was definitely going to retaliate fiercely.

After sending Murong Man away, the Fifth Princess called Ruan Hongwen into the hall, and said haughtily:

"Prince Consort, regarding the past incidents, I will let bygones be bygones, as long as you promise me now that you will not go astray again, I am willing to give you one last chance!"

Recalling the look Murong Man gave him before she left, Ruan Hongwen humbled himself, and quickly said:

"Your Highness, I was deluded before, also because others deliberately set me up. Otherwise, how could I possibly have fancied those old women? Princess, you must believe me! The one I like the most is still you, Princess! They can’t be compared to you at all! Not even one of your fingers!"

"Really?"

The Fifth Princess felt that Ruan Hongwen’s words were sincere, recalling what Murong Man had mentioned, maybe it was indeed someone who deliberately lured Ruan Hongwen.

"Truer than real gold! Princess! I will deal with those two women right now!"