Chapter 128

Chapter 128

[The Prince Consort Brought Home Another Woman – 3]

Princess Linchang knew her father’s temperament. She also knew the faithless pair would suffer once the affair came to light. Yet she had never imagined Imperial Father would act with such ruthless efficiency and simply bestow death upon them without another word!

That was far too… satisfying!

Princess Linchang had only been pretending to cry, but after hearing her father’s decree, the tears she shed came from genuine emotion. “Imperial Father, please reconsider. No matter how poorly Jiangyang has behaved, she remains an imperial princess. Shen Lin is also the young heir of the Shen Family and will inherit command of the northwestern army!”

Ying Zheng remained entirely unmoved. “Jiangyang is indeed an imperial princess, but that is precisely why We cannot tolerate her crimes! Had she merely kept a few male favorites after marriage, it would hardly matter. A degree of arrogance and willfulness could also be overlooked. But what has she done? First, she secretly plotted against her elder sister. Then she seduced her brother-in-law and conceived his child. Why should We keep alive such a shameless beast, devoid of all humanity?!”

“As for Shen Lin…”

His eyes narrowed, and a flash of ruthlessness crossed his face. “The Shen Family has controlled the northwestern army for generations. Perhaps they have forgotten that they are subjects of Great Qin. When We bestowed marriage upon you and Shen Lin, We intended to honor the Shen Family and grant them an opportunity. But how did they interpret it? Did they believe We feared them? What sort of thing is Shen Lin? He married the Grand Princess, yet still wishes to take the Third Princess as his concubine? Does he imagine Great Qin has fallen? We have no use for a man so faithless and disloyal!”

Princess Linchang had pleaded for the pair earlier not because her heart had softened, but because she wished to preserve the dignity of the imperial family and feared that Shen Lin’s death might provoke disorder within the Shen clan. Hearing her father speak this way, she naturally had no further objection. She immediately knelt, performed a grand obeisance, and thanked him with tears in her eyes.

“You are the one who suffered. You are also the one who endured humiliation for the greater good. Why should you kneel? The old saying claims that gold lies beneath a man’s knees. You are Our eldest daughter and the legitimate Grand Princess. What lies beneath your knees is worth far more than ten thousand pieces of gold.”

When Ying Zheng thought of the faithless pair who had become entangled, he sneered. “If anyone must kneel, those two should kneel before you!”

How could one permit another to snore beside one’s own bed?

Not long after Ying Zheng arrived in this world, he began rectifying the administration, transferring officials, and revising both the criminal code and official holidays. He did this not only to satisfy his own vision, but also to divide the old political factions and consolidate the power of the court anew.

Acting against the Shen Family now and bestowing death upon that idiot Shen Lin would be as easy as reaching into a bag. It could not possibly produce disorder.

He ordered the attendants to help Princess Linchang rise. “Shen Lin and Jiangyang have broken the law. We bestow poisoned wine upon them. Go with the eunuch and see them off on their final journey. Let it dispel the resentment in Our child’s heart!”

Princess Linchang’s heart overflowed with gratitude. Deeply moved, she replied, “Yes. Thank you, Imperial Father!”

The eunuch prepared poisoned wine, and a detachment of Imperial Guards accompanied him and Princess Linchang to the Princess Manor.

Since they carried an imperial decree, they proceeded directly to the front hall after entering the residence. The Imperial Guards were dispatched to the side chambers to summon the Prince Consort, Shen Lin, and Princess Jiangyang.

Shen Lin knew Princess Linchang had entered the palace, and he knew the Emperor would certainly be enraged. He had long since prepared himself for punishment. When the Imperial Guards came for him, he showed no surprise. After acknowledging the order, he left for the front hall.

He encountered Princess Jiangyang along the way. Apparently frightened, her delicate face was deathly pale, without the slightest trace of blood. She covered her still-flat belly with one frail hand, tears trembling in her eyes.

The moment she spotted him from afar, she seemed to find her pillar of support. She hurried toward him at a half run and asked in a trembling voice, “Brother Lin, isn’t this display a little too serious? I… I’m frightened!”

“Don’t be afraid, Huaiya.” Shen Lin sighed inwardly and gazed at her with tenderness. “I will protect you.”

Princess Jiangyang answered with a sobbing murmur. When she glanced at the Imperial Guards following her and Shen Lin without yielding a single step, her expression dimmed. She lamented self-pityingly, “It has always been like this. Imperial Father sees only Eldest Sister. As for me… perhaps he can no longer even remember my face. In Imperial Father’s heart, I will probably never compare to Eldest Sister. But that is only natural. Who could ever truly care about an ordinary woman like me?”

Seeing the desolation that seemed to envelop Princess Jiangyang, Shen Lin could not help revealing pity. “Huaiya, do not belittle yourself. You have virtues of your own.”

Even though the Emperor had ordered Princess Jiangyang’s death, she remained an imperial princess and could not be insulted by ordinary people. Princess Linchang had therefore sent two maids to guide the Imperial Guards and escort her to the front hall to receive the decree.

Both maids were Princess Linchang’s trusted confidantes. They detested that bastard Shen Lin and found Princess Jiangyang’s delicate-little-flower act equally nauseating. In the past, they had been forced to exchange hollow courtesies and maintain appearances. Now that the Emperor had issued a decree of death, what reason remained to pretend?
Princess Jiangyang had always favored insinuation. Her words were vague, suggestive, and carefully ambiguous. If they displeased someone enough to provoke an angry expression, she would shed a few aggrieved tears and claim that she had meant nothing of the sort and they had twisted her words. To outsiders, she would appear the injured party instead.

She had wound her way through life like this until today. It had not always been smooth sailing, but most matters had gone her way. Now someone abruptly confronted her head-on, tearing away her mask of hypocrisy and exposing the filthy, fetid corruption beneath it to the sunlight. How could she possibly preserve her dignity?

After hearing the maid mercilessly drag every one of her sordid deeds into the open, the pallor on Princess Jiangyang’s face became genuine. Her body began to sway and tremble.

Shen Lin felt both anger and pity. He turned a cold gaze upon the maid. “Insolence! Jiangyang is a princess. What right does a lowly servant like you have to criticize her? Is this how Linchang normally disciplines her maids?!”

The maid had accompanied Princess Linchang to the palace and already knew that Shen Lin and Princess Jiangyang were grasshoppers after autumn, with only a few final hops remaining. She had also accumulated years of resentment toward the pair. Why would she bow her head to them now?

“You-!” Shen Lin spluttered. Her tongue was razor-sharp, and she had struck him so precisely that he could offer no reply.

Of course she wanted to clap and cheer!

Princess Jiangyang swayed in humiliation, while Shen Lin’s face turned livid. The two maids watched with immense satisfaction. The maid who had not yet spoken smiled as well. “Princess Jiangyang possesses such an exquisitely clever heart. How could there be anything you fail to understand? You said His Majesty sees only our Princess and pays no attention to you. Do you resent His Majesty and believe he treats his daughters unjustly?”

“But there is nothing strange about it,” the maid continued cheerfully. “Our Princess was the late Empress’s legitimate daughter and His Majesty’s first child. The late Empress was virtuous, and our Princess is intelligent and perceptive. How could His Majesty not cherish such a daughter? Princess Jiangyang may also be noble, but you are neither legitimate nor the eldest, and your maternal family is powerless. It seems only natural that you cannot compare with our Princess in His Majesty’s eyes.”

Why did Princess Jiangyang hate her elder sister so bitterly?

First, she was less favored than Princess Linchang. Second, she was not the legitimate daughter of the Empress. Without ceaseless schemes and maneuvering, the Emperor would never notice her. Third, her birth mother came from humble origins, and her maternal family’s status was far too low.

Every word from the maid was a needle driven directly into her heart. The agony pierced her heart and scraped her bones. How could the simple word *pain* begin to describe it?!

Princess Jiangyang’s face turned deathly pale. Her lips trembled, and tears rolled down her cheeks. Whimpering like a wounded animal, she said, “Brother Lin, we are sisters of one family. I never knew Eldest Sister harbored such deep resentment toward me! Otherwise, how could these two maids humiliate me so fluently and mercilessly today?!”

Her body was frail, and her shoulders trembled, making her look desolate and pitiful beyond words.

Shen Lin inevitably softened at the sight. He also became displeased by Princess Linchang’s domineering behavior and her maids’ savagery. He was about to offer a few gentle words of comfort when the maid who had spoken earlier gave a disdainful sneer. “Princess Jiangyang should save those tears for the front hall. This servant may be lowly, but I have a few sincere words for you. If you hurry to cry now, what will you do if no tears remain when you need them later?”

Princess Jiangyang was not a fool. When she saw these two maids openly tear away all pretense before her and Shen Lin, she guessed that the Emperor’s punishment might be far more severe than she had imagined. Terror and alarm seized her, but so did even greater jealousy and grievance.

As expected, Imperial Father would only ever see Eldest Sister. His other daughters were invisible to him!

Her face pale, Princess Jiangyang lowered her head and silently wept. Anxiety also coiled within Shen Lin’s heart. He cast an irritated glance at the two maids but said nothing.

When the maids saw the pair fall silent, they sneered. Their mouths, however, showed no intention of stopping.

So what if people called them vicious and unreasonable for delivering a few cutting remarks?

If those two had any courage, they should not have committed such guilty deeds!

Their Princess had merely been betrayed by her husband and half sister, broken her leg, shattered her heart, and wasted several years of her youth. Meanwhile, that faithless pair had been insulted!

How terribly unfair!

If the maids did not curse them now, then when?

The pair would soon be dead. If they waited any longer, it would be too late!

An attendant outside announced the arrival of the Prince Consort and Princess Jiangyang. Nurse He stepped out to look and found the two maids Princess Linchang had sent standing with hands on their hips, enjoying themselves enormously as they cursed. Amusement briefly escaped her before she straightened her expression and invited the pair inside.

When Shen Lin and Princess Jiangyang saw the ranks of Imperial Guards and eunuchs outside the main hall, their expressions turned subtle. They exchanged an uneasy glance before entering together.

The eunuch charged with announcing the decree stood at the front. Princess Linchang sat to one side. When the two entered, a faint smile touched her lips. She even possessed enough leisure to incline her head in greeting.
Princess Jiangyang understood her elder sister’s temperament far too well. Linchang burned as fiercely as fire and repaid every grievance in full. Jiangyang had even prepared herself for a beating and drafted the words she would use to complain afterward. Yet when they met again, not a trace of anger appeared on her elder sister’s face. Linchang could even meet her gaze with a smile.

Was it because Eldest Sister no longer cared about Brother Lin and therefore took this affair lightly, or because…

A terrible premonition abruptly rose within Princess Jiangyang.

The eunuch unfurled the imperial decree and began to read. Princess Linchang had received the grace of an exemption from kneeling, but Princess Jiangyang and Shen Lin had not. After exchanging a glance, they knelt together and bowed their heads.

“…The Prince Consort, Shen Lin, and Princess Jiangyang have committed adultery, defiled the imperial clan, and brought disgrace upon the nation. Neither Heaven nor Earth can tolerate them, and the ancestral temple itself shares in the outrage. They are hereby bestowed poisoned wine and ordered to die, thereby correcting the morals of the realm and defending the reputation of Our imperial house!”

After reading the decree, the eunuch regarded them with a smile that was not quite a smile. “Prince Consort, Princess, give thanks for His Majesty’s grace.”

Princess Jiangyang’s bones had already turned to water halfway through the decree. Unable to remain kneeling, she collapsed to the floor, both legs trembling.

Shen Lin looked as though lightning had struck him. His face became the color of earth. “His… His Majesty ordered us to die?!”

The eunuch offered him the decree with both hands. “These are His Majesty’s own written words, and the imperial seal is affixed. This servant has always served within the palace, and only His Majesty can command the Imperial Guards outside. If someone had forged an imperial decree, how could every detail be so complete?”

Shen Lin accepted the decree and read it from beginning to end. He found no trace of forgery. Then he remembered the two maids’ extraordinary behavior and the smile upon his wife’s lips when he entered. How could any doubt remain?

Cold sweat poured down his back. He abruptly collapsed onto the floor.

A faint, satisfied smile lingered on Princess Linchang’s lips as she watched in silence.

No matter how eloquent Princess Jiangyang might be, words could no longer save her.

At the sight of the white jade wine cup, a sudden burst of strength entered Jiangyang’s limp body. She struggled upright and cried out in terror, “No! It wasn’t like that! Brother Lin and I… My eldest brother-in-law and I are innocent! Nothing ever happened between us!”

At last, she remembered that Princess Linchang was her elder sister. Humility covered her face as she shuffled forward on her knees, weeping bitterly. “Eldest Sister, you have misunderstood me and Eldest Brother-in-Law!”

Shen Lin finally recovered enough from his terror to force out his voice. “Huaiwan, Huaiya is right. Nothing truly happened between us!”

Princess Linchang laughed in fury. “Nothing happened? Do you think I am some drooling idiot capable of nothing but babbling nonsense?!”

She kicked Princess Jiangyang away when the woman tried to embrace her leg. Then she snatched up a teacup and smashed it against Shen Lin’s head, telling him to stay back. “Was it not the two of you who met in secret again and again?! Was it not you, Jiangyang, who hired people to harm me?! Was it not you, Shen Lin, who abandoned me and chose Jiangyang?!”

Frost covered Princess Linchang’s face, and her expression was merciless. “Jiangyang was the one who returned to the capital pregnant under her brother-in-law’s protection. Shen Lin was the one who brought his sister-in-law home before her husband’s bones were cold and supposedly put a child in her belly. You two are rotten fish paired with spoiled shrimp. Weren’t you always so close? What happened to birds of a feather? Now disaster has come, and each of you wants to fly away alone? Too late!”

“Huaiwan!”

Pain and conflict filled Shen Lin’s expression. “I told you long ago that matters were not as you imagined. Why would you not believe me? I truly had my difficulties. That was the only reason I could not tell you the truth!”

Princess Linchang smiled with perfect tranquility. “I can understand. Truly.”

She continued, “I do not wish to know your difficulties, nor will I force you to reveal them. You are a gentleman. Naturally, you must keep your mouth sealed and carry your secret into the grave. I understand completely. Can you die in peace now?”

Princess Linchang’s expression turned cold. “No, I cannot show understanding even once! I am a vicious, mean-spirited woman, after all. What kindness could anyone expect from me?”

Shen Lin became emotional. He breathed heavily and stared at her, his eyes reddening.

Princess Linchang behaved as though she had not noticed. With a wave of her hand, she signaled the eunuch to bring the wine forward.

Shen Lin said nothing, but Princess Jiangyang could not remain silent. Although Princess Linchang had kicked her aside, she stubbornly shuffled forward on her knees once more. Weeping, she said, “Eldest Sister, you truly misunderstood! The child in my belly really does not belong to Brother-in-Law! It belongs… It belongs…”

Her face alternated between green and white. Her hair tumbled loose, leaving her indescribably wretched. As though she had finally made a ruthless decision, she declared, “It belongs to that beast Mu Chang!”

Princess Linchang’s expression changed, and pity appeared in her eyes. She sighed, then instructed the eunuch, “Bring her the filled cup.”

Princess Jiangyang: “…”

Shen Lin stared at her in disbelief. “Linchang!”

He looked at Princess Linchang as though seeing her for the first time. “The child in Jiangyang’s belly is not mine!”
Princess Linchang replied indifferently, “Oh.”

Shen Lin clenched his fists. “Nothing ever happened between us! Mu Chang violated her and left her pregnant. The matter could never remain concealed. If I had not taken her away, how could she continue living?!”

Princess Linchang said “Oh” again and nodded. “How very kind of you.”

Shen Lin: “…”

Shen Lin drew a deep breath, pointed at Princess Jiangyang, and enunciated every word. “Even if Jiangyang and I are innocent, you still want her dead?!”

Princess Linchang laughed. She laughed as though she had heard something utterly absurd, until she could barely breathe.

Shen Lin’s expression changed. “What are you laughing at?”

“I am laughing because you are stupid! Because a donkey must have kicked you in the head! Because you and that wretched bitch are about to travel to the underworld together and die miserable deaths!”

“Shen Lin, do you think the problem between us is limited to Jiangyang and the child in her belly? Before I left for the palace today, you said our bond as husband and wife would end if I walked out the door. Don’t tell me you thought that bond had not already broken?!”

At the reminder of the past, guilt flashed through Shen Lin’s expression. His voice softened. “What happened that day was my fault. But I truly had no other choice…”

He glanced at Princess Jiangyang, who knelt nearby weeping miserably, and finally revealed the truth. “There is something I never told you. Jiangyang is actually my cousin.”

“It is true.” Shen Lin found the admission difficult, but at such a moment, he could no longer afford silence. “This was a scandal within the Shen Family and also involved people who have already died. I therefore buried it within my heart and never told anyone.”

“My great-aunt was once engaged to the son of an eminent family. However… however, she secretly entered into a relationship with a young scholar and conceived his child. When the affair came to light, my great-grandfather was furious. To preserve the family’s dignity, he announced that my great-aunt had died of illness, ended the engagement, and sent her to a convent. My great-aunt later gave birth to a daughter. Not long after the child’s birth, my great-grandfather ordered her sent away…”

Princess Jiangyang froze at the revelation. Princess Linchang, however, remained entirely unmoved.

Shen Lin gave a bitter smile and continued. “After my great-grandfather died, my great-grandmother could not bear to remain separated from her daughter. She changed my great-aunt’s identity and brought her home again as a widowed niece from a distant branch. My mother died when I was young, and my great-aunt did much to raise me. At the end of her life, she had no other concern except the daughter who had been sent away at birth. After many twists and turns, I investigated and discovered that this aunt of mine had entered the palace, gained imperial favor, and given birth to a princess…”

He swept aside his robe and knelt before Princess Linchang, guilt consuming him. “My great-aunt showed me immense kindness. Her only dying wish was that her daughter live well. Jiangyang is her granddaughter. I could not allow her to fall into danger… But Huaiwan, you are also the woman I love. Ever since that day, I have thought constantly of the way you looked at me. It cut like a knife and left me in such agony that I was too ashamed to face you.”

By this point, tears streamed down Princess Jiangyang’s face.

Princess Linchang’s expression did not soften in the slightest. She only asked Shen Lin, “Do you know who hired those bandits?”

Princess Jiangyang flinched violently and lowered her head in fear.

Conflict appeared on Shen Lin’s face. After hesitating for a long time, he finally nodded. “I know. I scolded her afterward, and you have already taken revenge. Huaiwan, grievances should be resolved, not deepened…”

Princess Linchang stared at him in silence. Then she abruptly raised her hand and slapped him viciously across the face!

“None of that has anything to do with me.”

Princess Linchang arched one brow indifferently. “Your great-aunt betrayed her engagement and committed adultery. Her own shamelessness and degradation have nothing to do with me. Your mother died young, and your great-aunt helped raise you, but I did not kill your mother. That has nothing to do with me either. Jiangyang is not favored because she is neither legitimate nor the eldest and because her maternal family is insignificant. That also has nothing to do with me.”

“But Shen Lin,” she continued, “you wish to repay a debt. You wish to protect Jiangyang. You wish to play the devoted elder brother in secret and fulfill your own image of a gentleman. Those are your desires. Why must every one of them be built upon my suffering? What obligation do I have to carve the flesh from my own body to help you?”

Every trace of blood vanished from Shen Lin’s face.

Princess Linchang snorted with contempt. “Do you imagine I will soften after learning Jiangyang was violated? That I will pity your great-aunt after hearing her story? What the fuck does any of that have to do with me?! I only think you are a bastard, your great-aunt was a shameless adulteress, and Jiangyang is a vicious bitch. You truly are one whole damned family of shameless trash!”