...
The eunuch who had previously suffered from diarrhea was now following closely behind Consort Cheng in her palanquin toward the Hundred Animal Garden, explaining all the way how Jingyi had been so cooperative.
Consort Cheng smiled dismissively after hearing this: "This girl has always been brainless, so my aunt has used her and doted on her all these years. But now, for the sake of my Shuo'er, I have no choice but to sacrifice her."
"Compared to that one in the Longevity Palace, Yu Chuxuan is young and a good match for Jingyi. Aunt has already done more than enough."
Empress Dowager Cheng did not appear directly because she wanted to play both the good cop and the bad cop with Consort Cheng.
First, wait for Consort Cheng to "accidentally" stumble upon the two's secret rendezvous, then question them. In her panic, Jingyi will surely take Yu Chuxuan to Yongshou Palace to plead for mercy.
Yu Chuxuan, being a hostage, could not bear the crime of abducting the princess of Jing Kingdom, so he would have to rack his brains to get the emperor of Yu Kingdom to propose marriage.
Once the marriage was arranged, all of Empress Dowager Zheng's efforts for Jing Lu were in vain.
The Jade Emperor had many children, but they all died young. Yu Chuxuan's health couldn't even withstand the illness on his first day in Jing.
Who knows if she might die young one day? The eunuchs dared not delve into the matter, and instead flattered her repeatedly, saying, "Your Highness is kind and benevolent."
Consort Cheng ignored the eunuchs; her purpose in coming here was more important.
Soon, the palanquin entered the animal park, and two obsequious palace maids approached and whispered to Consort Cheng.
"Your Highness, the princess and the Ninth Prince have entered a fake cave."
Consort Cheng's gaze darkened, her knuckles tightened and turned white as she gripped the handle, but her heart was filled with uncontrollable joy.
"Very well, the Ninth Prince of the Jade Kingdom dares to abduct my Princess of the Jing Kingdom in broad daylight. I'd like to see if you have anything to say in the cave."
The Yongshou Palace had taken care of this place, and the eunuchs in the Hundred Beasts Garden were ordered to keep an eye on Yu Chuxuan and Jing Yi's movements as they entered.
Before long she arrived at the place the eunuch had told her to be where the two of them were.
The cave is dark and narrow, with pavilions built on the side, which can easily block out the view. However, if someone is hiding in the pavilion, they can hear and see everything clearly.
Consort Cheng didn't have time to survey the terrain. She vaguely heard faint voices and hurriedly sent people in to check. Unexpectedly, someone came out of the room in a panic.
Consort Cheng called out, "Ninth Prince."
Yu Chuxuan's face was flushed, and he clutched a red sachet tightly in his hand. He felt extremely guilty about meeting Consort Cheng.
With the path difficult to traverse, they frequently looked back into the cave.
"Ninth Prince, what are you doing in this secluded little cave? Is there someone still waiting to come out?"
Consort Cheng paced back and forth in front of the cave, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the sachet of prayer in Yu Chuxuan's hand, her posture solemn.
Yu Chuxuan shook his head stiffly: "No."
As he spoke, he tried to stuff the sachet in his hand into his bosom, but Consort Cheng was one step ahead of him and immediately had someone snatch the sachet away.
Upon receiving it, Consort Cheng glanced at it briefly, and immediately feigned surprise.
"No, what is the Ninth Prince doing with Princess Jingyi's sachet?"
"Could it be Princess Jingyi inside? Humph, our Princess Jingyi is of noble birth, how could she possibly go into this filthy place with you? What did she do inside?"
Consort Cheng's words grew increasingly sharp, and she even shouted inside, "Jingyi, is that you? Don't be afraid. If the Ninth Prince has bullied you, I will immediately ask His Majesty to stand up for you!"
After a long while, Consort Cheng could not hear a sound. Realizing something was wrong, she immediately turned her head and signaled her personal attendant to go in and check.
Although Yu Chuxuan could block the cave entrance, he couldn't stop Consort Cheng from having him forcefully held down.
Soon, the person Consort Cheng had ordered to go in and check came out, shaking his head at her with a disappointed look.
Consort Cheng, realizing there was no one else around, narrowed her eyes, held up the sachet of prayer in her hand, and said angrily, "You are outrageous! The evidence is all there. After doing such a thing, do you still want to get rid of the responsibility?"
Yu Chuxuan asked angrily, "What is it? Who did Your Highness see? Just because of a sachet, Your Highness wants to implicate the princess? Are you trying to ruin her reputation?"
"Princess Jingyi trusted Yongshou Palace wholeheartedly. It turns out that these elders love Princess Jingyi so much. Your Highness, you are truly amazing."
Consort Cheng never expected that Yu Chuxuan, a sickly man, could have such a temper. His shouts lacked force but hit the nail on the head.
Today is an excellent opportunity. If Yu Chuxuan doesn't admit to having an affair with Jingyi, he will be on guard in the future.
Yu Chuxuan and Jingyi are both young and naive. If they were to meet in secret, even if Jingyi ran away first, she would surely be scared.
As long as Consort Cheng can keep Yu Chuxuan in check, Jingyi's situation will be fine.
"Ninth Prince, so what if you come from the Jade Kingdom? If you weren't disliked by the Jade Kingdom's emperor, how could we have allowed you to come here? And after you arrived, you even provoked my Jing Kingdom's princess."
“Jingyi is a willful and capricious girl who is good at making trouble. The reason she was willing to sneak around with you to this day is because she had just fallen in love and was listening to you.”
“If you still don’t take responsibility when she realizes what’s happening, she will never let you have a good life. Ninth Prince, Princess Jingyi is more than a match for you.”
Consort Cheng wanted to frighten Yu Chuxuan, but he showed fear at the right moment and forced a tough stance: "Your Highness, Princess Jingyi and I have not crossed the line. I went to Jingyi as a hostage, and I cannot behave improperly. I cannot admit it."
"Princess Jingyi is therefore to marry me. I can keep it a secret from the world, but I must tell the truth to my father. This will not only harm Princess Jingyi, but also Princess Jingning, who is about to marry my father."
"You and Empress Dowager Cheng are the elders Princess Jingyi respects most. How could Empress Dowager Cheng be so heartless?"
Consort Cheng sneered: "Empress Dowager Zheng can even send away her own daughter Jingning. Jingyi is not Empress Dowager Cheng's own granddaughter. What is it that Your Majesty is reluctant to do?"
"Does the Ninth Prince think he can easily settle things if he doesn't obediently marry Jingyi?"
"You vile woman, I'm going to depose you!"
The window in the attic suddenly opened, and Jing Huaixu, his face flushed with anger and his eyes wide open, looked down at Consort Cheng and berated her.
Consort Cheng was startled and looked up to see that besides His Majesty, there were many other people standing on the pavilion, including the Empress, the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, and Jingyi, whose brows were furrowed and who looked like she was about to breathe fire.
She was so frightened that her body went limp, and she stammered, "Your Majesty, Jingyi."
In the blink of an eye, Jing Huaixu turned and went downstairs. The clattering sound of the wooden planks on the stairs was very clear, as if it contained great anger.
Consort Cheng watched as the crowd above descended the stairs and walked toward her.
When she got up and tried to escape, Jing Huaixu was already standing in front of her. Jing Yi stared at her angrily, trembling with rage.
"Your Highness, so you dislike me so much? My grandmother treats me no differently than she does over there."
Consort Cheng was completely bewildered, unable to understand what had gone wrong, but she knew that Jingyi's questioning was no longer a big deal at this moment.
She reached out to pull Jing Huaixu's arm to explain, but before she could even touch a sleeve, Jing Huaixu slapped Consort Cheng.
Consort Cheng covered her burning face, tears streaming down her face: "Your Majesty, I didn't mean to."
Jing Huaixu had nothing more to say to Consort Cheng. He tossed a sentence to his attendant and turned away, saying, "Drag Cheng Wan to Yongshou Palace."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
