Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 404: Rival Takes Delight in Misfortune

Chapter 404: Chapter 404: Rival Takes Delight in Misfortune

Guard Shi was so anxious that the veins on his forehead bulged, and a hoarse sound came from his throat.

Had Murong Man come back to finish the job?

Why was he locked in here, forced to watch helplessly as the woman he loved most killed his mother!

His eyes were blood-red with hatred for Murong Man and a profound sense of powerlessness.

Just then, he saw clearly the person pushing the door open, and it seemed, it seemed to be Princess Consort Ling!

Having been with the Second Prince, Guard Shi of course recognized Murong Jiu!

Even before Murong Jiu’s appearance had been restored, he had already been a guard at the Second Prince’s Mansion.

What was she trying to do?

Guard Shi’s eyes were on the verge of bursting. In his view, Prince Ling’s Mansion was the enemy of the Second Prince, so he naturally considered Princess Consort Ling an enemy, especially since he was planning to assassinate her.

Why was Princess Consort Ling here?

Guard Shi didn’t believe this incident was unrelated to her!

While Guard Shi was filled with panic and rage, he saw Princess Consort Ling lay his mother on the ground and perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, followed by chest compressions and acupuncture. He didn’t know if she was trying to save his mother or to torture her.

Suddenly, he heard several bouts of urgent coughing.

Guard Shi held his breath abruptly, his eyes widened in disbelief because he saw his mother, whom Murong Man had declared dead, sitting up from the ground!

That’s right, Princess Consort Ling was a Divine Doctor!

While he was overjoyed, the door opened from the outside, someone came in to untie him, and stuffed an antidote into his mouth. Then he was lifted out and dumped not far from Murong Jiu’s feet.

Guard Shi didn’t know what was happening, but he didn’t care, his mind was solely on his mother, rolling and crawling over to her, "Mother, Mother, how are you?"

"I, I’m okay."

Mother Shi’s voice was extremely hoarse, and her throat still hurt when she spoke.

Murong Jiu said, "It’s fortunate that Murong Man is a woman and didn’t apply enough force to break your mother’s throat bone, otherwise even a deity couldn’t have saved her. However, she should speak less in the coming days and eat a liquid diet for a while."

Guard Shi breathed a long sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground.

Murong Jiu looked at him and said, "Indeed, it was I who arranged for the people to bind you and bring you here. I won’t deny what I’ve done, but we did not harm you in the slightest. The purpose was for you to see Murong Man’s true face. What you choose to do next is up to you, we won’t intervene."

After speaking, Murong Jiu got up and walked outside.

"Wait! Princess Consort Ling!"

Guard Shi called out to her.

"Thank you for saving my mother!"

He knelt on the ground and gave Murong Jiu several deep kowtows.

He already understood Murong Jiu’s purpose for coming here. She could have done nothing and waited for his mother to die before untying him. That way, he would have hated Murong Man even more.

But Murong Jiu did not choose to do that. She rushed in to save his mother, undisturbed by his mother’s low status, as if she regarded everyone equally in her eyes.

Having received his gratitude, Murong Jiu then turned and left.

As for what Guard Shi was to do, it was no longer her concern.

She hadn’t been gone long when Xiao Hong, the maid who had gone to buy vegetables, returned to the small courtyard.

She saw Guard Shi standing in the courtyard, dazed and emotionless, and felt afraid, "Sir, how have you returned?"

She was a young maid bought from elsewhere, still young and more fearful of the tall and muscular Guard Shi.

"Xiao Hong, the old lady is sick again. Go hire a carriage; we need to leave the city to find the Divine Doctor,"

Upon hearing the old lady was ill, Xiao Hong quickly set down the vegetables she was handling, took some silver from Guard Shi, and went to hire a carriage.

After sending the old lady out of the city, Guard Shi spent some silver to settle the two of them at an inn outside the city. After giving Xiao Hong multiple instructions, he rushed back to the Princess’s Mansion before nightfall.

He had to see Murong Man.

He couldn’t understand why Murong Man was so cruel to him.

He had never wronged her and had even helped her a lot. Even if he was guilty of anything, his elderly mother was innocent, wasn’t she?

Guard Shi was out on an errand arranged by Murong Man, and going back to report to her was only reasonable.

But when Murong Man saw him, she stared intently at him, "Guard Shi, what’s happened to you? Why do you look so dispirited and distraught? What happened?"

Under normal circumstances, Guard Shi would have felt that she was showing concern for him. Even in the presence of other servants, Murong Man could detect that something was off with him, treating him differently from the others.

But now he just felt ridiculous.

He bowed his head and said, "I failed to complete the task arranged by the Concubine. My family came looking for me... My mother, she’s had an accident."

"An accident? What kind of accident? Are you short of silver? Failing to complete the task for me is a small matter. Your family’s well-being is more important!"

Murong Man’s tone was full of concern and urgency, her voice as gentle as ever.

"There might have been a thief at home. My mother... she was strangled by a villain and nearly suffocated to death. Fortunately, a Court Physician was passing by and saved my mother."

At those words, Murong Man’s face changed drastically.

It was only then that Guard Shi looked up, and naturally, he caught the fleeting panic on Murong Man’s face.

Murong Man was indeed panicked. At the time, Mother Shi had stopped breathing; how could she have been revived?

Damn it, all because someone had spoken outside and caused her to panic in her movements!

How could this old woman be so lucky to survive?

"How could your home be burgled? Could it be someone seeking revenge?" Murong Man stared into Guard Shi’s eyes, "Guard Shi, how is your mother feeling now?"

Guard Shi was extremely disappointed. He knew Murong Man was probing him, testing whether he already knew the truth.

He was dying to confront her loudly, but remembering that his mother still relied on him, he said with a frown and a touch of sadness, "My mother has not regained consciousness. I have consulted several Court Physicians, but none could help. I have left a maid to attend to her and came back to report."

Murong Man finally breathed a sigh of relief. So, Mother Shi was still comatose, probably hanging on by a thread and unlikely to wake up. It seemed Guard Shi surely didn’t know the truth yet.

Moreover, even if Mother Shi claimed that she was the one who tried to kill her, Guard Shi wouldn’t believe it.

Murong Man was very confident in her ability to manipulate men.

Still, to prevent any more issues, she needed to find a way to keep Guard Shi here, to prevent him from contacting his mother.

She also needed to divert the blame for his mother’s incident towards Prince Ling’s Mansion, to deepen Guard Shi’s resentment towards Murong Jiu and the others.

Who knew that the next day, when she sent a maid to call for Guard Shi, no trace of him could be found.

Murong Man had an ominous feeling in her heart.

Had Guard Shi run away? But why would he run? Even if he knew that his mother had been attacked, he should have come to confront her.

But soon enough, she understood why.

Because there sat the Second Prince in his wheelchair, and behind him was Yun Weiwei pushing it. The Second Prince had a grave look of anger on his face, and Yun Weiwei, who had fallen out of favor, revealed a barely concealed Schadenfreude towards her!