Chapter 14 Anger.

That night, Qin Lie took the jewelry to the princess's residence.

The Prince Ding's residence is located slightly north of the central axis of Jizhou City, while the Princess's residence was deliberately chosen to be in the south. Even at night when there is no one on the street, it would take more than half an hour to ride across.

It was nearly dusk when Qin Lie returned to the palace. After taking care of some trivial matters, it was almost midnight when he stepped into the princess's bedroom.

Lingyi was already fast asleep. Jizhou was cold, and she was afraid of the cold, so she usually only moved around in her room. She was slightly plump, which made her skin appear even more radiant and smooth. Lying on her side, her dark eyelashes covered her eyelids, her nose was small and straight, and her red lips were full and slightly parted. She didn't need jewelry or makeup; her face was already a beauty that could rival the heavens.

With her mouth gagged, her tongue being sucked and licked, and her body feeling heavy and cumbersome, Lingyi would wake up even if she were fast asleep.

She opened her eyes in fright and instinctively slapped the thief across the face, but her wrist was grabbed and twisted behind her back before she could even get the hand to her. This forced her to straighten her chest and put the increasingly plump peach into her mouth.

Qin Lie covered her mouth, buried his face in her neck and chuckled: "It's only been a few days, but you've improved quite a bit."

After saying that, he picked a handful of trembling peaches to show his satisfaction.

Lingyi was played with by him for most of the night. She only remembered that as dawn approached, there was hardly any clean spot left on the canopy bed. He carried her to the heated couch. The heated couch was meant for one person to rest on, but the two of them were squeezed together. He was tall and strong, and she had to half-lie on his chest with him holding her waist to keep from falling off.

Despite feeling uncomfortable, I was so sleepy and tired that I quickly fell asleep.

When she woke up, the person was gone, and there were several bright yellow bracelets on her wrists, and several gold hairpins on the dressing table.

“The prince consort still thinks of the princess; he made up for it with a birthday gift as soon as he returned!” Mingzhu said with a smile as she did her hair.

Previously, on the princess's birthday, the prince consort not only did not return, but also did not utter a single word. They couldn't help but secretly speculate, but unexpectedly, the prince consort returned with these "generous gifts".

Indeed, gold is precious. In contrast to the noble ladies of the capital who favor pearls and jade, and do not value gold as much, gold jewelry is prized for its novel designs and exquisite craftsmanship. In the remote Ningzhou, however, gold is valued for its weight. Whether it's a bracelet or a hairpin, everything is heavy, and a single bracelet can cause wrist pain.

Lingyi, however, remained worried. News from the south had been coming in the past few days, saying that the Prince of Xiang had rebelled and that several rebels had declared themselves kings. She couldn't help but feel anxious after hearing this.

Knowing what was on her mind, Granny Zhao advised, "Even if the princess is worried, it won't help. Why not wait for the prince consort to arrive before asking? Even if those things are just rumors, they are just a small group of clowns. They won't shake the foundation of our Great Han."

If it were in the past, Lingyi would have thought the same way.

She had never read history books and knew nothing about court politics; she had only occasionally overheard snippets of conversation between the Crown Prince and others while she was in the Eastern Palace.

All she heard were songs of praise and flattery, which made her feel that the imperial family was glorious for thousands of years and that the supreme imperial power was unshakable.

However, everything she had seen along the way made her feel uneasy.

She had a lot of questions for Qin Lie, but she hadn't seen him for three days in a row. He only came over again before dinner on the fourth day.

Seeing that she wasn't wearing the jewelry he had given her, Qin Lie asked her if she didn't like it.

Zhao Mama hurriedly replied, "The princess loved it at first sight, but she asked us to put it away because it was time for her meal."

Even if her words might not be credible, Qin Lie didn't bother to care. He came here for pleasure, and seeing the princess's red lips, white teeth, and exquisite figure, he thought of the pleasure to come and couldn't help but smile and say, "If you like it, that's good. I'll find more to give you in the future."

The palace servants had already set out the meal, and the two of them sat down at the table.

Qin Lie ate a few bites and noticed that although Lingyi had picked up her chopsticks, she had lowered her eyes and looked unwell. He asked gently, "Did something happen to you outside?"

Aside from the lowly servants, the princess's household was filled with her maids and eunuchs; anyone who dared to offend her was an outsider. The princess was lazy and spoiled, but she wasn't one to cause trouble without reason. Qin Lie wanted to know who in Jizhou was so foolish as to provoke him.

Upon hearing this, Lingyi put down her silver chopsticks. "Prince Consort, it's said outside that the Prince of Xiang has rebelled, and that several groups of people performing corvée labor have also rebelled. Is that true?"

Qin Lie's expression softened. "Really."

Lingyi asked urgently, "Is the situation serious?"

Qin Lie slowly said, "Why doesn't the princess ask them why they want to rebel?"

Ling Yi replied matter-of-factly, "Traitors and rebels are nothing more than defying Heaven and reason, behaving like wolves and jackals. What reason could they possibly have?"

Qin Lie curled his lips into a blatant sneer: "Your father, the emperor, usurped the wife and nephew of his minister and disgraced his aunt, forcing the Prince of Xiang to rebel. The forced laborers in Jingzhou were even more pitiful, with countless deaths and injuries in the construction of the Tower of Babel. Unexpectedly, a dragon arose, and the tower was damaged due to the supervisors' shoddy workmanship. Unable to complete the project on time, they faced certain death and had no choice but to rise up and fight for their own survival. Your father wanted to build eighty-one Towers of Babel, and twenty-two are still under construction. Can you guess how many have been reversed?"

“You…” Lingyi wanted to retort, but the hand by the pot flashed in front of her eyes, and she couldn’t say a word for a moment.

Qin Lie's expression turned completely cold; he wouldn't look at her again and got up to leave.

Seeing this, Granny Zhao quickly said, "Your Highness, please calm down. This old servant advised the princess long ago that even if she were still in the palace, let alone now that she is married, she should not discuss state affairs. However, the princess is still young and it is understandable that she would be frightened upon hearing such news. I hope Your Highness will not hold it against her!"

Qin Lie had come with high hopes and did not want to leave disappointed. Seeing Ling Yi sitting there blankly, looking rather pitiful, his expression softened slightly, and he prepared to sit down.

After persuading Qin Lie, Zhao Mama's face grew even more beaming with smiles. She bowed and said, "This old servant knows that the Prince Consort is concerned for the Princess and is busy outside all day long, but he comes to the Princess's residence whenever he has a spare moment." She then changed the subject, "However... the Princess has been here for several days and has not yet met the Prince, Princess, and other elders. With the end of the year approaching, if she misses even the clan's ancestral rites, New Year's greetings, and New Year's Eve vigil, it might be criticized. Why not take advantage of the Prince Consort's presence and pick a day to bring the Princess to the Prince's residence for a visit? Even if the Prince Consort doesn't come in the future, the Princess and Princess can still visit each other more often."

Granny Zhao no longer dared to hope that the Prince of Dingbei and his wife would come to pay their respects to the princess; she only hoped that the princess would visit them at the Prince's residence. She felt that her words had been satisfactory, and she had gained some face in front of the prince consort, but she did not expect to receive a reply for a long time.

After a long while, Qin Lie chuckled softly, "Returning to the Prince's residence and keeping in touch frequently—is this your idea, or your master's?"

Granny Zhao said, "Naturally, it's because the princess is willing to be filial to her parents-in-law, this old servant..."

Before she could finish speaking, Qin Lie kicked her in the chest, sending her crashing into the screen behind her and falling to the ground along with it.

A gasp rang out from inside the room, and the palace servants immediately knelt down, trembling like leaves.

Although Lingyi had seen him kill someone, the person was still some distance away from her, and it was a fatal arrow to the throat; the killer was a bad guy.

Now, for no apparent reason, she was treating the people around her like this. She ran over to Granny Zhao and saw that her face was ashen, blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth, and she was barely breathing.

Qin Lie looked at Ling Yi, his eyes filled with icy shards that stung painfully.

"Is it really the princess who wants to go to the prince's palace?"

Lingyi mustered all her strength to answer, but her words were incoherent: "I...I..."

Seeing that her face was completely drained of color, her eyes were filled with fear, and her body was trembling uncontrollably, she was truly pitiful.

Qin Lie's anger subsided somewhat, and recalling her usual behavior, he realized that the old woman had acted on her own initiative. He coldly swept his gaze over the palace servants, finally settling on Granny Zhao: "You all live in luxury every day without thinking of repaying your kindness, instead harboring evil intentions to bewitch the princess! I think there's no need for you to stay in the princess's residence. Guards..." He summoned two guards, "Tie them all up and throw them into the woodshed, and replace them with a new batch of loyal and obedient ones."

Upon hearing this, Lingyi's anger outweighed her fear, and she retorted, "They are my dowry maids, who among you dares to do this!"

The two guards looked at Qin Lie, and seeing that he did not react, they continued to step forward, avoiding the princess, and pulled Mingzhu and Yuzhu up and held them in front of them. The two shouted, "Prince Consort, spare our lives!" and the other shouted, "Princess, save us!"

But she was still pulled down.

Ling Yi was extremely anxious, but Qin Lie remained calm and composed.

Seeing that Baozhu and Yuzhu were about to be captured, Lingyi said to Qin Lie, "What Zhao Mama said was my idea. Why take it out on them? Just kill me!"

Qin Lie beckoned, signaling the guards to temporarily release him, his gaze piercing Ling Yi like a sharp sword: "You said it was your idea?"

“Indeed!” Lingyi said, “I am a princess, while your parents are merely kings of a different surname, and there is still a distinction between ruler and subject between us. My marriage to the Qin family is already an act of imperial grace, and they should have come to pay their respects to me immediately. To avoid seeing me for several days is already disrespectful. Considering the great merits of the Prince of Dingbei in guarding the border, and the fact that they are elders, my willingness to pay them a visit is already a condescension. All the land under heaven belongs to the king, and all people under the heaven are his subjects. What? I cannot go to the royal palace?”

Granny Zhao repeated these words all day long; her ears were practically calloused from them, and she could recite them fluently in one breath.

"Very well! Very well!" Qin Lie sneered, "It seems the princess has indeed been plotting for a long time. However, the princess may not know that I once had a wife, Hui Niang. She bore me children and was filial to her elders. Now her memorial tablet is in my Qin family ancestral hall. Even if the princess is of noble birth, she is merely a second wife in the Qin family. If you want to step into my Qin family ancestral hall, you must first kneel and kowtow before my wife's memorial tablet. With her consent, I may one day send a sedan chair to bring the princess from the side gate to my mansion to be my second wife!"

Lingyi's face suddenly turned deathly pale.

I see.

She should have guessed it from the beginning.

From the day of their arranged marriage, she learned that her husband was named Qin Lie, the third son of the Prince of Dingbei, a third-rank general in the Northern Expedition, and twenty-three years old.

But no one ever told her anything else. She tried to inquire, but no one answered. Even the Crown Prince didn't reveal a single word.

She was like a fish trapped in dark water; without anyone opening the window, she couldn't see a glimpse of the light of day.

From that moment on, she knew it was definitely not a good marriage.

Later, after she got married, she attended a banquet and overheard people laughing and gossiping behind her back. They said that the Thirteenth Princess's husband had divorced his original wife and abandoned their child in order to arrange the marriage.

She then silently wondered if her husband was the same way.

In Da Han, noble ladies marry late, but men can't wait. Even though most of them marry older wives and younger husbands, the noble ladies marry husbands who are two or three years younger than them. The men still have concubines before marriage, and some less respectable families will even take concubines first.

Apart from Xie Yu, all the men whom Emperor Jiahe had betrothed this time were military generals with military achievements, the oldest of whom was already thirty years old.

At his age, and without any hidden illness, he wouldn't be unmarried.

Not all princesses are as lucky as the Sixteenth Princess, who met a virtuous and upright young man from the Xie family.

Such is fate; there's no point in dwelling on it.

There is no other way but to accept one's fate.

Lingyi knew she had no right to refuse. Compared to those princesses who were sent to marry foreign rulers, she was already considered lucky, as she was still within the territory of the Great Han Dynasty.

During the reign of the late emperor, a princess was sent to marry the Xiongnu, bringing more than twenty years of peace to Daqing. However, no one in Daqing praised her achievements; instead, they all slandered her behind her back. This was because the princess first married the old Chanyu, and after his death, she married his younger brother, and later his brother's son.

"Even an ordinary woman who serves two husbands should commit suicide to preserve her chastity. How much more so a woman who marries three times, thus tarnishing the imperial family's reputation!"

The old woman was talking about the princess, but her eyes were fixed on Lingyi.

That gaze was so numb and cold it was suffocating.

However, Lingyi was very grateful to that aunt, because this "□□" aunt saved Lingyi and her generation of princesses from the fate of being sent to marry foreign rulers.

Lingyi advised herself to be content; if she got married, she got married; if she returned to Jizhou, she returned to Jizhou.

The prince consort refused to take her back to the palace, never told her whereabouts, and never showed her any tenderness or affection.

He has a wife and children.

She was content with everything and accepted her fate.

But he shouldn't have trampled on her dignity like that, leaving her with nothing.

Besides that empty princess facade, what else does she have left?

Now that even the frame is gone, how is she any different from [the other woman]?

"Get out..." She clenched her hands several times before finally forcing the word out of her throat. At first, her voice was so soft that even she couldn't hear it.

Qin Lie moved closer, grabbed her chin, and looked up: "What else does the princess have to say?"

"I told you to get lost!" Lingyi finally shouted, her eyes shining as she looked at Qin Lie with a stubborn expression.

Qin Lie was taken aback for a moment, then laughed angrily: "This subordinate obeys!"

After saying that, he threw her to the ground and strode away.