Chapter 2
Chu Miaomiao, whose good mood was inexplicably ruined, had to return home in disappointment. Unexpectedly, as soon as she stepped into the gate of the palace, Lian Yue, the maid who served her mother, came to greet her with a serious face.
Chu Miaomiao was very familiar with that expression. She thought something was wrong and turned around and ran away.
Lian Yue was quick to act and grabbed Chu Miaomiao's skirt. "If you're afraid of being punished by the princess, you should think twice before doing anything." As she spoke, she forcefully pulled Chu Miaomiao towards the inner courtyard. "Right now, the Second Young Master and Concubine Zhou are crying in front of the prince and princess."
"Complaining again." Chu Miaomiao muttered in dissatisfaction, "Besides complaining to father, what else can you do? You're such a snitch."
Lian Yue sighed: "My princess, please think carefully about how to explain it."
"There's nothing to explain." Chu Miaomiao lowered her head and played with the silk ribbon tied around her waist.
Lian Yue looked at Chu Miaomiao with a bit more pity in her eyes, and her tone softened a little: "Since you know that the Second Young Master only knows how to complain, why bother to provoke him?"
Chu Miaomiao threw the silk ribbon in her hand and remained silent.
The Yong Dynasty's Pingzhou Chu King was a descendant of a different surname, bestowed upon them since the founding of the nation by their meritorious service to the emperor. The title of Chu King had lasted four generations. The Chu princes had few heirs, with only two sons and one daughter.
The eldest son, Chu Canglang, had been canonized by the imperial court as the Crown Prince of Chu and had now married and started a family. However, he had been frail since childhood and had suffered from constant illness, making him not the most suitable heir for the King of Chu.
Because her eldest son was frail, Princess Chu was eager for a second child. However, things went against her will, and she gave birth to a daughter, Chu Miaomiao. Now seventeen years old, she has been granted the title of Princess Pingyang by the court. However, her behavior is still childish, and she often quarrels with the second son, Chu Xinxiu, born to Concubine Zhou.
The most favored concubine in the palace's backyard was Concubine Zhou, so the second son Chu Xinxiu, born to her, was also loved by the king. As a result, he developed a lawless and arrogant character. He liked to hang out with playboys all day long, bullying others and acting tyrannically in Pingzhou City, and was known as the bully of Pingzhou.
Among these three children, one took away almost all of his mother's energy due to his weak body, one was loved and valued by his father, and only Chu Miaomiao was like a weed in the wilderness, and no one cared about her.
Since no one cares, why should she care about others? She just doesn't like Chu Xinxiu, and she doesn't like Concubine Zhou's constant attempts to suppress her mother. Is there anything wrong with her expressing her dissatisfaction in her own way?
Chu Miaomiao had sorted out her thoughts, but in the eyes of her biased father, the problem was huge.
"You're always so competitive at home, and it's only because your brother doesn't bother with you. But you're so ungrateful, you even had the nerve to get someone to beat up Xin Xiu. Is there any sister in the world who disrespects her brother like you?!"
Every time the King of Chu spoke, a bamboo whip would fall heavily on Chu Miaomiao's back, causing her to grit her teeth in pain.
In the main hall, Princess Chu sat on a high chair with a stern face, and she remained silent as she watched her daughter being punished.
Chu Xinxiu, who was beaten black and blue, looked at Chu Miaomiao being punished with smugness, while Aunt Zhou burst into tears and cried incessantly.
Aunt Zhou knelt down in front of Chu Miaomiao with a plop, clutching her hands and pleading tearfully, "Princess, if you're angry with us mother and son, just vent it on me. I'm just a lowly concubine, and even if I die bearing your anger and resentment, it's not a pity. But the Second Young Master is your blood brother!"
Seeing his favorite woman grovelling like this, the King of Chu flew into a rage. He pulled Concubine Zhou up to protect him and lashed out with another fierce bamboo whip. Chu Miaomiao groaned, her body unsteady, and she nearly fell to the ground.
Princess Chu pursed her lips tightly and clenched her hands into fists unconsciously.
"Seeing your stepmother begging you so humbly, you feel very proud, don't you?!"
Hearing this, a sarcastic sneer appeared at the corner of Princess Chu's mouth.
A searing pain shot through her back, making Chu Miaomiao's heart tremble and beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Despite this, she refused to bow her head, glancing at Aunt Zhou and saying, "You and Chu Xinxiu are actually mother and son. Your biological mother is a lowly actress. No wonder Madam Zhang from the Lingyan Pavilion was so determined to take her in as a concubine."
As soon as Chu Miaomiao said this, the air in the entire hall froze.
Chu Xinxiu suddenly panicked, and Aunt Zhou was also stunned. Princess Chu glanced at the stunned King Chu and snorted coldly, "Like father, like son."
The King of Chu was so angry that he glared at Chu Xinxiu and swung his bamboo whip again: "Lingyan Pavilion is a place for a princess from a royal palace like you to go! Ridiculous!"
Chu Miaomiao's face was distorted in pain.
"It's absurd for a girl like her to go to a brothel, but isn't it absurd for Chu Xinxiu to take a prostitute as his concubine?" The princess said calmly, "Indeed, his father was so angry that he forced an actress into the family, so his son just wanting to take a concubine is nothing."
Every word the princess said pierced the heart of the King of Chu, and he was so angry that he turned the whip in his hand and pointed it at Chu Xinxiu. "You! You useless thing! I went to great lengths to arrange a marriage for you with a noble lady from a prominent family. Now that your bride is about to enter the house, how could you do such a ridiculous thing!"
The princess looked at her daughter and said, "Miao Miao, please explain the whole story of today's incident."
Chu Miaomiao wiped the sweat from her forehead and breathed a sigh of relief: "I just accompanied a friend to Lingyan Pavilion to ask Zhang Niang to play the pipa for a while. I don't know what happened after that."
"You're talking nonsense! That man said you deliberately let him meet Madam Zhang, and then secretly sent him away so that he could take the blame. I, your servant, know everything about your meeting with that man today!"
Hearing Chu Xinxiu say this, Chu Miaomiao suddenly realized what the victim had talked about with Chu Xinxiu at that time, and the purpose of Mo Ming looking for her to talk, which was to provide evidence for Chu Xinxiu!
Tsk, a mere outsider is meddling too much.
"What man?" The princess frowned slightly.
"He was a stranger. I originally thought he was the one who kidnapped Madam Zhang, so I went to argue with him, but…" Chu Xinxiu felt his cheek hurt even more when he recalled the beating he received. "He was the one who told me that we were both tricked by that stinky girl Chu Miaomiao!"
"Just because I said a few words to him, I'm plotting against you? Without any real evidence, I'm suing you for defamation!"
"That's enough—"
The King of Chu, already troubled by these chaotic events, could no longer tolerate the two men's quarrel and roared in anger, shocking them both. Although the brother and sister, Chu Xinxiu and Chu Miaomiao, had shut up, they continued to glare at each other without giving in.
The King of Chu took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and pointed at Chu Miaomiao: "You, not only are you disrespectful to your brother, but you also dare to go to a brothel. Go to the ancestral hall and kneel down to reflect on your sins! No one is allowed to let her out without my order!"
Hearing that Chu Miaomiao was being punished, Chu Xinxiu smiled at her provocatively.
"Miaomiao isn't the only one who did something ridiculous." The princess's gaze shifted to Chu Xinxiu. "Since both children have done something wrong, they should be treated equally."
The King of Chu was reluctant to let his beloved child suffer even a little, but since the princess had spoken, he felt guilty and could only glare at her. He gritted his teeth and said, "Xinxiu, Miaomiao, kneel together in the ancestral hall for three days and reflect on your mistakes in front of our ancestors!"
When Concubine Zhou heard about this punishment, her eyes rolled back and she fainted. The King of Chu and Chu Xinxiu rushed over and picked up Concubine Zhou, shouting for a doctor. The Princess of Chu didn't even give them a glance and walked past them leisurely.
Chu Miaomiao glanced at the three people and a sarcastic smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
Isn't it just kneeling in the ancestral hall for three days? Is that so serious? Every time she had an argument with Chu Xinxiu, she always ended up kneeling in the ancestral hall to reflect on her mistakes.
Supported by Chu He, Chu Miaomiao walked past the three people and said with disdain, "Pretentious."
No one knew what kind of magic potion Aunt Zhou had given her biased father after she woke up. She knelt in the ancestral hall for half the night but didn't see any trace of Chu Xinxiu.
"Tsk, what a coward."
Chu Miaomiao was disdainful and grabbed the chicken leg and took a big bite.
"It's all the fault of that unjust dog catching a rat and meddling in other people's business. Otherwise, with Chu Xinxiu's brain, I wouldn't have received this beating today."
Chu He's face was full of heartache: "Princess, why don't we stop messing with the Second Young Master in the future? The prince is so partial, it's always you who gets punished."
Chu Miaomiao just gnawed on the chicken leg without saying a word. Chu He also knew that her young lady was angry, so she said no more and poured some water into the cup and handed it over.
Early morning three days later.
Chu Miaomiao, who was kneeling alone in the ancestral hall to reflect, yawned and stepped out of the gate. Chu He slapped her face hard to make herself more awake and said, "Princess, please go back to the courtyard first. I will go to the kitchen to bring you breakfast."
Chu Miaomiao nodded and walked towards her own courtyard. But before she had taken a few steps, she ran into Lianyue.
Lian Yue smiled and lowered her head slightly, while Chu Miaomiao's face wrinkled.
"Can I go back and get some sleep before I go to pay my respects to my mother?"
"Don't worry, Princess." Lian Yue pursed her lips and smiled. "The princess just asked me to remind you that the orchid painting you asked me to embroider a few days ago should be completed."
"Ah...ah!" Oh no, I've been staring at Chu Xinxiu so much lately that I completely forgot about my mother asking her to embroider.
When Chu He entered the room with the food box, she found that the princess, who she had thought was catching up on her sleep, was now sitting in front of the embroidery frame, frantically threading the needle.
"I told you to start embroidering as soon as possible, otherwise you'll be in a hurry when the princess urges you to do it." Chu He scolded as she set the table. She had helped the princess embroider before, but the princess found out and both of them got a good scolding. Since then, she has done all the princess's embroidery work alone.
"If it weren't for that idiot's gossip, would I have been locked up in the ancestral hall for three days, and finally rushed to embroider before my whip wounds had healed?" Chu Miaomiao was so angry that she threw the silk thread in her hand, stood up and walked out from behind the screen. "That bastard, don't let me run into him again, or I'll beat him every time I see him!"
At the same time, Lianyue reported Chu Miaomiao's situation to Princess Chu who was having dinner.
"It's time for her to settle down." Princess Chu put down her chopsticks. "Let's invite the people from Quexian Tower over today and find a good marriage for the princess."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
