Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The crowd scrambled to chase after Kangle.

The lead matron stared at me, her face grim.

“What did you say to the Princess?”

I smiled. “With that tone of yours, are you expecting me to kneel before I speak to you?”

I leaned forward slightly.

The matron looked as if she had seen a ghost. Her face filled with terror, and she actually beat me to it, dropping to her knees on the ground.

“This servant wouldn’t dare!”

A look of deep humiliation washed over her face. She was likely ashamed of herself for kneeling to a commoner, yet she truly didn’t dare to cross me.

After all, bloodline is a mysterious thing.

She stood up with a cold expression and spoke quickly. “By order of the Empress: Her Majesty wishes for this servant to tell you to keep a close eye on your husband. This time was merely a small lesson; next time, he will be executed by a thousand cuts.”

Having finished her message, she tried to regain some face by adding, “A day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of grace. This time, Princess Kangle pleaded for Wei Zhao’s life. Next time, there won’t be such good fortune. Princess Kangle is to be married into the Wuling Prince’s Mansion; do not let this scoundrel harass Her Highness again.”

I arched an eyebrow, a faint, mocking smile touching my lips.

A day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of grace?

What a joke.

The ones who shared the grace of marriage were Kangle and Wei Zhao, or the Empress Mother and the Late Emperor.

Not me!

Wei Zhao was carried in, his entire body a gruesome sight.

I learned through Matron Zhang that when Wei Zhao arrived at the palace that day, he knelt for two days without seeing Kangle. Instead, he was met with a brutal beating from the palace guards.

The title of Huaijing’s Top Noble Son was far less useful than the authority of a palace gate guard.

I summoned a physician to treat him.

Three days later, Wei Zhao woke up. Those eyes, which had once been so full of spirit, were now completely dull.

“Has my father abandoned me?” His voice was hoarse.

I remained silent.

His head had finally cleared for once.

“You saw it coming long ago, didn’t you?” he asked, his expression wooden.

His countenance was one of utter despair, reminiscent of the moment Ah Ze was on the verge of death.

My heart softened slightly. I pushed open the window to let the smell of medicine dissipate more quickly.

“Just focus on recovering. You’re only alive thanks to Kangle.”

Wei Zhao’s body jolted, but he was left speechless.

“Is that so?”

It was a long time before he spoke again.

As soon as he felt slightly better, he buried himself in a mountain of books, reading so intensely that he forgot to eat or sleep. I was so busy I barely had time to worry about him.

The news of my title being stripped and my demotion to a commoner had caused quite a stir among the people.

Unlike before, the infamy this time fell upon Wei Zhao and Kangle.

Everyone said Wei Zhao was like a snake trying to swallow an elephant-his greed for two princesses had incurred the Imperial wrath.

As for Princess Kangle, they said she was spoiled and willful; not only had she stolen my husband, but she had also spread rumors and instigated the Emperor to demote me to a commoner.

In the midst of the folk gossip, I finally got to play the role of a weak, pitiful, and innocent little flower.

And just then, news of Kangle’s marriage into the Wuling Prince’s Mansion broke, and the voices of sympathy and pity shifted toward the Heir of Wuling Prince…