Chapter 202 Conspiring with Prince Yong, Getting a Good Night's Sleep

The light in Prince Yong's eyes vanished instantly.

Seeing his listless demeanor and the absence of any malevolent glint in his eyes, Ji Qingwu began to find him somewhat pleasing to the eye.

However, she attributed it to the fact that Zhao Minghong and Emperor Wusu were brothers, and that they could still see a resemblance in appearance.

Thanks to this slight resemblance, Ji Qingwu's tone softened somewhat.

"The princess's health is severely depleted. Although the pregnancy is unstable, it can still be remedied."

Prince Yong's eyes were bloodshot: "But the imperial physician said that the child cannot be saved."

Ji Qingwu asked, "Do you trust the imperial physician or me?"

Prince Yong recalled that "immoral" prescription. His body had not yet recovered, so he naturally trusted Ji Qingwu more.

“I certainly believe you, otherwise I wouldn’t have come all this way to find you.” He pressed on, “Did she say anything?”

Ji Qingwu asked, "What do you want to hear her say?"

Did they mention me?

Ji Qingwu remembered the Princess Yong's shouts earlier and nodded, "Yes, she mentioned it."

The embers in Prince Yong's eyes began to reignite.

"What did she say? Was she worried that I wasn't eating well or staying warm, just like she always does—"

"No, not at all."

Hearing his wildly imaginative words, Ji Qingwu said, "What exactly did the prince force the princess to do that has kept her resentful until now, almost driving her crazy?"

Prince Yong said, "How could I force her to do...?"

He realized halfway through his sentence that he had done some good deeds in the past.

But she was in the wrong first.

Ji Qingwu looked at the Prince Yong's clenched fist and gritted teeth, and thought of Tao Wanyin's pale face as she cried until she fainted. His eyes flickered.

The rift between these two is like an insurmountable chasm, which can only be repaired by Nuwa's mending stone.

It's unclear what exactly happened to cause their relationship to fall apart to this point.

Prince Yong quickly detached himself from his emotions and said, "Fifth Cousin, please take care of Wanyin's health. If you want anything, just tell me, and I will give you anything I have."

Ji Qingwu said, "There's nothing on Your Highness that catches my eye."

Prince Yong clenched his fist again.

Ji Qingwu's gaze fell on his hand, and Prince Yong quickly let go.

Even when he was beaten by his elder brother, he had never felt so humiliated.

Ji Qingwu thought for a moment and realized there was something Prince Yong could do for her: "There is something Your Highness can help with."

Prince Yong hurriedly asked, "What is it?"

"How is Your Highness at fighting?" Ji Qingwu sized up his figure, compared him to that man, and stroked his chin, saying, "He's not good at fighting, but he can take a beating."

Prince Yong thought to himself, "We've found the right person."

He said confidently, "I've been fighting since I was a child, so fighting is no problem for me."

So, the two of them, separated by the stone lions at the entrance of Anle Hall, hastily devised a plan that was not very thorough and a bit leaky.

*

Ji Qingwu and Prince Yong entered the Cining Palace together.

After the Empress Dowager and Madam Ji finished their discussion, Qiao's expression seemed a little off.

The people in the hall were all surprised to see the two of them appear together.

Ji Qingwu went to the Imperial Garden for so long, could it be that the Prince Yong went to bother her as soon as the Tao family had their accident?

The Empress Dowager said, "Minghong, come here to your mother. I have something to say to you."

Prince Yong walked to the throne, and the Empress Dowager said, "Those sitting here are not outsiders."

She glanced at Ji Qingwu again and said to Prince Yong, "Minghong, these are all your relatives."

Prince Yong instantly understood the Empress Dowager's meaning. His gaze drifted to Ji Qingwu, only to be met with a disdainful look from her.

Qiao also looked over at Ji Qingwu, and seeing that Xiao Wu shook his head at her, she felt relieved.

The Empress Dowager continued, "Grand Secretary Tao has committed a serious crime. Although the Emperor is tight-lipped, we can still get some information. A large portion of the disaster relief funds went into his and his cronies' pockets. Such an unfaithful and unjust family is not worthy of being related to the royal family by marriage."

Prince Yong nodded and said, "Your subject knows, so today in court, when Your Majesty was dealing with the matter, your subject stayed far away and did not offer any advice. Grand Secretary Tao deserves his punishment."

The Empress Dowager sighed and said, "Minghong, there's no need to protect the Tao family anymore."

With the Tao family, the maternal family that could provide assistance to Prince Yong, the Empress Dowager tacitly approved of Prince Yong's many actions.

But now that the Tao family has fallen, Tao Wanyin can no longer occupy the position of Princess Yong.

The Empress Dowager said, "I will discuss this with the Emperor another day and issue an imperial edict to remove Tao from her position as Princess Consort of Yong."

Prince Yong frowned and said, "But Lady Tao is carrying my child, my legitimate son."

The Empress Dowager scrutinized his expression and said, "Minghong, you can still give birth to a legitimate son by changing your wife. Tao is the daughter of a disgraced official, and her child cannot inherit the title of prince. Have you even forgotten this?"

Prince Yong said, "Mother, have you found a noble lady for me again? You don't need to bother anymore. Mother knows my temperament. When I wanted to marry Lady Tao, I went to my brother for permission myself. Now that you want to depose a concubine, you have to give my permission first."

Ji Qingwu looked up and stared directly at Prince Yong, a rare sight of such an arrogant yet serious expression on his face.

He finally started to look somewhat like a member of the royal family.

Prince Yong stood up and declared loudly, "No one can touch Tao's position as Princess Yong!"

Then he said, "Your subject takes his leave and will not disturb Your Majesty's conversation with your family any longer."

Watching Prince Yong stride away, the Empress Dowager sighed repeatedly, "That wretched child, he was truly born to torment me..."

On the carriage home.

The way Madam Ji looked at Ji Qingwu was strange; it seemed like she was pleased, but also like she was somewhat dissatisfied.

Ji Qingwu moved closer to Qiao Shi and whispered, "Mother, what did you discuss in the Empress Dowager's palace?"

Qiao said, "We didn't discuss anything, we just talked for a while. I heard that the Wei family is in turmoil, and the old lady of the Wei family has stopped eating and drinking these past few days."

Ji Qingwu thought about how the old lady Wei, who was so rigid and dignified and could take charge of the household, would resist her grandson's hunger strike, and found that she could not imagine it.

Qiao said, "Wei Ting's determination to marry you is beyond everyone's expectations."

Originally, the whole city was watching the Ji family make a fool of themselves.

Now the tables have turned. Wei Ting's marriage proposal was rejected, but he still insists on it. The old lady threatens suicide, causing chaos in the family.

The Empress Dowager and Madam Ji were both very pleased to have managed to bring the proud and arrogant Wei clan to such a state.

Back home, Ji Qingwu accompanied Qiuqiu to draw, while Chunhua, who was by Qiao's side, brought good news.

"Fifth Miss, the First Madam sent me to deliver a message. A letter from Huainan says that the Master has been released from prison."

Ji Qingwu did the math in his mind, and it really was three hours.

Now everyone in the manor can get a good night's sleep.

At night, Ji Qingwu felt a sense of anticipation as she thought about what would happen the next morning, and a smile appeared on her lips as she fell asleep.