After a moment, he finally spoke in a deep voice:
"I will take care of you."
Upon hearing his answer, Ling Mo felt a sharp pain in his heart.
She bit her lower lip tightly, trying hard not to let the tears spill out.
Seeing her like this, Qin Beiming felt a pang of pity.
He intended to explain things to her, but because the area was full of spies sent by the palace, he ultimately did not go to find her.
She only instructed her personal guards to keep a close watch on her.
They call it guarding, but it's actually house arrest.
He was certain that, given her personality, she would never stay in the Prince of Qin's residence after learning that he was about to take a wife and concubine.
At the same time, he also knew that if she stepped out of the Qin Prince's mansion, she would be hacked to death by the people sent by the court.
Left with no other option, he had to protect her by placing her under house arrest...
On the day the princess entered the household, he also took the opportunity to take seven concubines.
On their wedding night, whether it was because the princess was delicate and frail, or because she was heartbroken by his actions, she fell seriously ill.
He, however, nonchalantly chose a concubine and sat in her room for a while.
As midnight approached, his concubine was so sleepy she could only doze off, but he remained seated at the table, pouring himself a drink.
After his concubine had fallen into a deep sleep, he got up and strode to the backyard pavilion.
In the attic, Ling Mo was engrossed in reading files, completely unaware of his arrival.
Qin Beiming leaned closer and saw that she was still fixated on the Zhan family's treason case, and said in a deep voice:
"Stop investigating, there are no results."
"How do you know there won't be any results if you don't try? My father was framed."
"What if the person who framed your father is the current emperor? Have you thought about how to avenge your father?"
"You mean, His Majesty cannot tolerate the Zhan family?"
Upon hearing Qin Beiming's words, Ling Mo understood that there was no possibility of overturning the Zhan family's wrongful conviction.
The glimmer of light in his eyes vanished in an instant.
"Let's not talk about those troublesome things tonight. Help me change my clothes."
Unable to bear seeing Ling Mo's dejected and utterly hopeless state, Qin Beiming quickly changed the subject.
"What clothes are you changing? Why are you here instead of in the princess's room?" Ling Mo retorted.
The thought of him marrying eight wives in one go made her feel very uncomfortable.
She wanted a lifelong, monogamous relationship, not to share her husband with so many other people.
"Fine. I'll do it myself."
Qin Beiming noticed her resistance, but this time he didn't give in to her too much.
He knew that if things continued like this, she would leave him one day.
Under these circumstances, the only way to keep her is to get her pregnant.
As he thought about it, he loosened his belt.
Although I felt sorry for her, I still lifted her onto the bed, even though she looked completely bewildered.
"I promise you, I will clear the Zhan family's name. One day, I will marry you properly and bring you into my home."
Qin Beiming did not tell her that, for her sake, he had already harbored thoughts of rebellion.
The "proper marriage" he spoke of meant abolishing the six harems after usurping the throne and allowing her to be the only one...
The next day, when Ling Mo woke up, Qin Beiming was nowhere to be found.
She stared blankly at the sky-blue curtain above, unable to describe her feelings.
However, she never complained that he didn't give her a formal title.
After the Zhan family fell from grace, who would dare to grant her, the daughter of a disgraced official, the title of a noblewoman?
Furthermore, he also gave her a chance to refuse last night.
She was so bewildered by his phrase "a proper marriage" that by the time she wanted to refuse, it was too late.
Recalling everything that happened last night, Ling Mojun's handsome brows furrowed again.
When her maidservant saw that she had woken up, she leaned closer, looking rather mysterious, and said:
"Miss, something terrible has happened."
"What's up?"
"It is said that the prince did not go to the princess's room last night, but went to Madam Liu's. After the princess learned of this, she directly had Madam Liu, who was given to her by the Right Chancellor, beaten to death. The princess's methods are really ruthless. That Madam Liu was actually the Right Chancellor's illegitimate daughter, not an ordinary maid, yet she was beaten to death for no reason."
After hearing what the maid said, Ling Mo finally understood why Qin Beiming wanted to take so many concubines.
Firstly, it was because most of those concubines were gifts from officials in the court who wanted to win him over, and he couldn't refuse them politely.
Furthermore, having more women vying for her attention in the backyard seems to be more beneficial for her protection.
Six months later.
Qin Beiming's seven concubines either died or fell ill, leaving only one, Lady Zhang.
Zhang was intelligent, unlike women in the old days who believed that a lack of talent was a virtue.
In order to protect herself, she tried her best to please the princess, and even repeatedly claimed to be ill to keep Qin Beiming out of the house.
Qin Beiming frowned. He noticed that only the woman sent by Minister Zhang was still alive. In order to get rid of this spy as soon as possible, he disregarded whether she was truly sick or not and stayed in her room every night for dozens of days.
The so-called overnight stay was nothing more than a charade.
Every night, after Madam Zhang drank the stew laced with sleeping potion and fell unconscious, Qin Beiming would climb out the window and go straight to the attic.
Unbeknownst to him, the moment he stepped out the window, Madam Zhang opened her eyes.
To find out Qin Beiming's intentions, she did not drink the soup today and remained sober.
Upon learning that Qin Beiming had hidden a woman in the attic, Madam Zhang immediately informed the princess of this secret.
The princess was furious, but took no further action.
Only when Qin Beiming was dispatched out of the city on business did they use the pretext of finding a witchcraft doll in the attic to openly send Ling Mo, the daughter of a disgraced official, to the gallows.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
