When Song Yue saw the Princess of Zhennan again, she almost didn't recognize her. She was wearing a black night-clothes covered in whip marks, with bloodstains clinging tightly to her clothes and wounds. Some of the wounds were so deep that the bone was visible, which looked quite frightening.
When Princess Zhennan, who had not seen the light of day for a long time, was brought up from underground, she was still a little unaccustomed to it. She squinted her eyes, gritted her teeth, and raised her head to look at the mother and daughter in front of her.
"Jiahua!" Princess Zhennan gritted her teeth, looking as if she wanted to rush forward and tear the two of them to pieces.
Princess Jia Hua personally untied the shackles on Princess Zhennan's hands and feet: "You still have the same temper. Even after being kidnapped and losing your innocence, you still insist on being strong."
Princess Zhennan frowned.
"Yu Yan, for the sake of our past, I will spare your life."
One hour later
Princess Zhennan, who had disappeared for nearly a month, reappeared at the gates of the capital city, and passersby stared at the woman who looked like a beggar.
It was so strange that a female beggar was dressed in the attire of a princess, which attracted a lot of attention and criticism.
"This, isn't this the Princess Consort of Zhennan?"
"Nonsense, aren't they all dead? The Prince of Zhennan's mansion is even setting up a mourning hall now."
"I'm not mistaken, this is the Princess Consort of Zhennan!"
Those who have seen her are certain that she is the Princess Consort of Zhennan.
Princess Zhennan was in a daze, her consciousness still somewhat unclear. She only remembered being knocked unconscious after her shackles were removed, and then being abandoned near the city gate when she woke up again.
As the crowd grew larger, the Princess of Zhennan became enraged and shouted, "Get out of my way! Get out of my way!"
The phrase "This concubine" completely exposed her identity.
"It really is the Princess Consort of Zhennan!"
In an instant, the news of the Princess Consort of Zhennan returning alive overshadowed the Eighth Prince's wedding the next day, and the people were talking about it with great interest.
"This Princess Zhennan was probably abandoned and returned in disgrace. Judging from the injuries on her body, she must have been tortured quite badly."
"How could such a perfectly good princess have to suffer like this?"
Every word reached the ears of the Princess of Zhennan. The scene seemed familiar, just like four years ago when the third daughter of the Duke of Jingguo's mansion returned to the capital for the first time.
He was the subject of much gossip and lost his innocence.
Hearing the harsh accusations, Princess Zhennan turned pale and bit her lip, tasting the blood in her mouth before finally regaining her senses.
Jiahua!
She will repay today's grudge a hundredfold.
Princess Zhennan was surrounded by onlookers, but she was too weak to move and had no strength to fight back.
At that moment, she wished she could faint.
"If Your Highness doesn't mind, I can take you back in an oxcart," someone suggested.
Princess Zhennan had never suffered such humiliation. She even felt that it would have been better to die in the dungeon than to be judged in broad daylight.
...
"What? Mother has appeared at the city gate?" Pei Zhao was kneeling on the prayer mat, wearing a mourning cap on his head and holding paper money in his hand.
The flames suddenly licked the yellow paper, the heat causing Pei Zhao to instantly let go and hurriedly stand up. Zhao Qingyan, who was beside him, grabbed Pei Zhao and said, "Cousin, don't you think it's too coincidental that Mother appeared? Could this be a trap, deliberately luring us here? If this happens, our family's funeral will become a joke."
Previously, the Zhennan Prince's Mansion sent someone to impersonate the Zhennan Princess, but the impersonation was exposed at the city gate, which has become a joke.
It's clear that the person behind this is deliberately trying to embarrass the Zhennan Prince's Mansion.
Xu Qing'er nodded: "Husband, the funeral has been held. If the person comes back alive, how are we going to explain it to the world?"
They never found the person, but they still held a funeral for them.
Now that he's back, isn't he contradicting himself?
Pei Zhao didn't care about any of that. He looked down at Zhao Qingyan and said, "Are you asking me to abandon even my mother?"
"Cousin, cousin, that's not what I meant." Zhao Qingyan panicked.
Pei Zhao gave a cold snort, then left everyone behind and turned away.
When Pei Zhao arrived at the city gate at top speed, he saw a crowd surging in the distance, and some people were talking about the princess.
His blood ran cold, and he instantly flew into a rage.
"Zhao'er!"
The Prince of Zhennan, sitting on his horse with his hand tightly gripping the reins, stopped Pei Zhao: "Go back!"
“Father, that’s Mother.” Pei Zhao’s eyes were red.
The Prince of Zhennan's face was equally grim. How could he not know that the person surrounded in the crowd was the Princess of Zhennan? He took a deep breath and said, "Your mother is dead."
The word "death" was emphasized very closely.
Pei Zhao stubbornly refused to leave, and he simply couldn't bring himself to abandon his mother.
“Zhao’er, now that the funeral has been held, there is no turning back. This is your mother’s final resting place. For the sake of the Zhennan Prince’s Mansion, you must remain calm.”
“If you save her now, you can’t stop the gossip and rumors. Your mother will still die anyway. If you don’t admit it, your mother can still be buried with the title of Princess Zhennan. Your mother is such a proud person, she would rather you choose the latter.”
Under the persuasion of the Prince of Zhennan, Pei Zhao hesitated.
The Prince of Zhennan's mansion went to great lengths to fabricate a lie, proving that the Princess of Zhennan had taken the wrong path while going out to pray for blessings, and that her carriage had fallen off a cliff.
By the time they found him, he had already passed away.
At that moment, someone at the city gate shouted, "The princess once rewarded ten thousand taels of silver for finding the whereabouts of the Princess of Zhennan. Now that she has been found, I wonder if it counts?"
The reward of ten thousand taels of silver immediately excited the people.
"Quickly, go and fetch the princess!" someone shouted at the top of their lungs.
The Prince of Zhennan's expression changed. He gripped the longbow on his horse, his eyes sharp. But before he could make a move, the Prefect of Jingzhao appeared.
"Isn't this the Prince of Zhennan? What a coincidence!" the Prefect of the Capital greeted him.
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