Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 395: Manman, This is Our Child

Chapter 395: Chapter 395: Manman, This is Our Child

The Fifth Princess met with misfortune, and the Second Prince was enraged. He went to the Princess’s Mansion, beat the Prince Consort savagely, and then ordered his men to use torture to extract a confession, revealing the Prince Consort’s collusion with the Third Prince.

By this time, Ruan Hongwen’s face was swollen like a pig’s head, lyin on the ground wailing, unable to even stand up.

If he did not confess, the very root of his manhood would be severed right there.

He had no offspring yet, and the child purportedly conceived by the courtesan wasn’t his at all.

Now that the Fifth Princess surely could no longer bear children, if the root of his manhood were to be cut off, he would be without descendants forever.

So he sold out the Third Prince, claiming that the Third Prince wanted to buy his loyalty, and had sent this female assassin to stay by his side.

In short, he tried his best to sever ties with the Third Prince, insisting that it was the Third Prince who tempted him, and the relations with the female assassin were because she had drugged him; he was utterly blameless.

"The Third Prince! Again, the Third Prince!"

The Second Prince’s face was iron blue, veins throbbing on his forehead.

Suddenly, he snatched a sword from the guard beside him, and a scream like that of a pig being slaughtered startled countless birds into flight.

Ruan Hongwen, clutching his bloody groin, passed out.

"No one is to bandage him. I want to see if he’s lucky enough to survive!"

If Ruan Hongwen couldn’t control his lower half, then he might as well be made into an eunuch!

The Imperial Physician claimed that Leyang had lost her ability to conceive, and he certainly couldn’t let the Prince Consort father any more illegitimate children!

Having slashed off Ruan Hongwen’s root, he dropped the sword and went to see the Fifth Princess again.

The Fifth Princess had again passed out. He saw Murong Man using a damp cloth to wipe down Leyang as she sat in the wheelchair, and he approached, saying:

"This is something the servants can do, you don’t need to."

Murong Man shook her head, "Your Highness, I’m worried that others might be too rough. Leyang is already in so much pain. I don’t want her to suffer even the slightest bit more. I can’t help much, and seeing Leyang like this really hurts me."

She sniffled, her eyes reddening, filled with heartache.

The Second Prince’s heart warmed, as the vicious air caused by Leyang’s incident was soothed quite a bit by Murong Man.

"Manman, having you is my greatest honor. I’ve wronged you in the past. From now on, I will treat you and our child well."

He reached for Murong Man’s belly.

Murong Man, shy and nervous, covered his mouth, "Your Highness, don’t let Leyang hear that. She just lost her child, and knowing this will only add to her pain."

"Right, you’re right. We’ll talk about it after the baby is secure, after three months have passed. Manman, thank you for your efforts. You don’t know how much I look forward to our child," he said, holding Murong Man’s hand tightly and speaking tenderly.

After so much ordeal, only Murong Man has stayed true to him, never wavering. He felt too much regret for his past behavior toward her.

Back then, he was the proud son of the Empress from the Central Palace, believing that his lineage should not come from the likes of a woman such as Murong Man. He was not in a rush to have an heir then, with many ministers’ daughters available. Even if Yun Weiwei couldn’t bear children then, he could take other concubines.

Who would have thought that the Murong Family would be raided, and such a scandal would erupt, shaming him. If he had really let Murong Man bear his first son at that time, the laughter it would have brought could hardly be imagined.

Now he realizes it was a grave mistake. Who would have guessed that the least remarkable son, the Third Prince, would be the Emperor’s favorite? And that there was a Consort Jing well-protected by the Emperor?

No matter how good his reputation, the Emperor wouldn’t allow him to be the Crown Prince, just as Jun Yuyan, although a War God, ended up disabled.

Ultimately, the Emperor’s favor was a hundred times more crucial than any so-called reputation or accomplishment.

Later, when he wanted to leave an heir, he allowed many women to receive his favor, yet none conceived. The Imperial Physician said his potency was weak, and whether he could father a child was a matter of fate.

The Second Prince had originally held no hopes for Murong Man.

Initially, when Murong Man had a miscarriage, it was because he made her kneel as punishment. It was only after Murong Man regained favor that he found out, an old matron by Yun Weiwei’s side had used a long needle to pierce her stomach. During the miscarriage, she bled a lot and was also fed medicine by that matron that harmed her body.

The Second Prince had already executed those cruelly heartless matrons and used the best medicine to help Murong Man recover her health.

However, over the past few months, there was still no news of any kind from her belly.

The Second Prince held no hope and would often visit a young woman of humble official rank, a new concubine he had brought in, as it was said that the women in her family were all fertile.

Unexpectedly, his fertile concubine did not conceive, while Murong Man did.

By the time they discovered it, she was already one month pregnant.

The Second Prince valued this child highly.

Having known the difficulty of having offspring, his mindset had naturally changed from before.

"Your Highness, you are so good to Manman."

Murong Man said, her face full of gratitude, when suddenly she coughed twice.

The Second Prince immediately showed his concern, "Did you catch a chill from the cold wind? Don’t take care of Leyang anymore, look after yourself and our child first."

"Maybe I was in too much of a hurry coming here and caught a bit of cold wind, it’s no big deal, Your Highness."

"No, don’t take care of her yourself anymore. Let the servants do it. If you’re really worried, just supervise them from the side."

Under the insistence of the Second Prince, Murong Man finally sat down on the Noble Consort’s couch and called in a maid to attend to her.

"This matter is too vile. I shall go to the Central Palace now and will come back here to pick you up after leaving the palace."

"Go slowly on the road, Your Highness. Manman will be waiting for you."

Murong Man saw the Second Prince out of the palace.

Once he was far away, her expression gradually darkened as she turned and entered Leyang’s chamber.

All the servants were bowing their heads and carefully going about their tasks. She stood by the bed, staring expressionlessly at the Fifth Princess, and inwardly cursed her for a fool.

Nothing went wrong in Prince Ling’s Mansion, but the Fifth Princess herself got into trouble. Murong Man didn’t believe for a second that it wasn’t related to Prince Ling’s Mansion.

She had underestimated the guards of Prince Ling’s Mansion.

But the Fifth Princess was really too foolish, even leaving behind evidence that led people to trace it back to the Princess’s Mansion, resulting in her current miserable state.

Of course, Murong Man felt somewhat satisfied. The Fifth Princess had always been so proud in front of her, treating her like a maidservant, and never showed any respect. Seeing her in such a state, one could even say it delighted everyone.

She rested on the Noble Consort’s couch for a while until she heard the Fifth Princess waking up.

"Princess, you’re awake! Thank heavens, the Imperial Physician said as long as you wake up, you can get through the critical period."

Murong Man quickly covered the distance in two strides and tightly grasped the Fifth Princess’s hand.

The Fifth Princess had awakened once before and knew what had been discovered. She was in so much pain she couldn’t move; every time she got angry, her lower abdomen felt as if someone was stabbing her with arrows again, so she didn’t dare move recklessly for fear of aggravating her wounds.

"Where is the Prince Consort?"

She asked through gritted teeth.

"The Prince Consort, he..."

Murong Man hesitated, her words faltering.

The Fifth Princess grew anxious, "Speak up, tell him to roll over here!"

Her anger caused her to break into a cold sweat from the pain.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.