Chapter 62 Punishment
Princess Ning'an had just returned to her residence from the palace.
Prince Consort Wen personally went to pick him up.
Back at the main courtyard of the Princess's residence, it was still dark, but Wen Jingyi, who had been kneeling and copying the Classic of Filial Piety under the eaves, had disappeared without a trace.
Princess Ning'an looked around and frowned, asking, "Where did Jingyi go? Has she finished copying the Classic of Filial Piety that I asked her to copy?"
Prince Consort Wen's smile froze: "I sent her back to her room."
"Nonsense." Princess Ning'an frowned. "She made such a big mistake today. If I don't teach her a lesson, she'll do it again next time."
Princess Ning'an said, then turned to the nanny and instructed, "Have Jingyi come to my room to copy. I'm going to keep an eye on her tonight. Let her try to slack off."
The old woman nodded: "Yes."
Prince Consort Wen's expression was somewhat displeased, but he still maintained his usual elegant demeanor: "She is our daughter, Your Highness, can you really bear to punish her like this?"
Princess Ning'an stepped into the room, walked to the brocade couch and lay down, gently stroking her belly: "Spoiling a child is like killing a child. I used to be too indulgent with her, which led to her not knowing the difference between superiors and inferiors, acting arrogantly, and daring to ridicule and talk back to even the princesses and princes."
Prince Consort Wen sat down beside her, about to say something more, when Princess Ning'an raised her hand to stop him, giving him a playful glare: "You are not allowed to plead for her anymore, or I will punish you as well."
Prince Consort Wen quickly begged for forgiveness: "I was wrong."
“Jingyi is getting older and has reached the age for marriage. We can’t let her act recklessly, or she’ll cause trouble sooner or later,” Princess Ning’an sighed. “A new emperor brings a new court. We can protect her while we’re alive, but who knows what will happen in twenty or thirty years? Even if we don’t think that far ahead, right now, the Prince of Yan has military power. Offending his wife and sister will only do Jingyi harm.”
Prince Consort Wen nodded: "Your Highness is right."
"Father, Mother." Wen Jingyi stepped into the room, biting her lip, and bowed uneasily. "Your daughter knows she was wrong..."
"If you know you're wrong, then obediently accept your punishment." Princess Ning'an's expression turned cold. "Without rules, there can be no order. I spoiled you too much before, which is why you became so lawless."
After saying that, he instructed, "Granny An, bring a table over for the princess and have her kneel down to copy the text."
"yes."
Granny An, accompanied by two maids, brought out a low table from the inner room, just the right height for kneeling to copy books.
Wen Jingyi's face turned pale, and she felt waves of resentment in her heart.
She had only been kneeling and copying in the corridor for less than half an hour today, and her knees felt like knives were gouging out the bones, causing unbearable pain. Taking advantage of the opportunity when the eldest princess went to the palace to see the Empress Dowager, her father quickly told her to get up and rest.
She thought she could escape this predicament once all the guests left, but she never expected her mother to be so serious today.
“Father.” Wen Jingyi turned to look at Prince Consort Wen, her face pale and her eyes filled with helplessness, “I…”
"Don't beg your father. Even if the Empress Dowager and the Emperor come, you still have to finish copying everything that needs to be copied tonight." Princess Ning'an's voice turned cold. "Stubbornly resisting will only waste time and will not do you any good."
Wen Jingyi burst into tears: "But Mother, it was clearly the Princess Consort of Yan who slapped me today. Was I just beaten for nothing?"
"The Princess Consort of Yan hit you, wasn't it because you spoke rudely to her?" Princess Ning'an glared at her. "Although you are a princess of the Princess's Mansion, you should know the difference between you and a proper royal princess. I made an exception to see the Emperor and obtained the title of princess for you because you were always insecure. But you, relying on my favor, are arrogant and disdainful of everyone. Is this how I taught you?"
Wen Jingyi choked up as she said, "No matter what, my mother still thinks I have a lowly status."
"Your status is lowly?" Princess Ning'an sneered. "Am I lowly or not? When I stand before the Emperor, I must kneel and bow my head as required. Do you think I can challenge the Emperor just because I am of noble birth?"
"I……"
“If you feel that the status of a princess in the Ning’an Princess’s residence is too low, I will not force you. You should go back to the Wen family.” The Ning’an Princess said wearily, “My place is too small to accommodate someone as great as you.”
The air suddenly froze upon hearing this.
Wen Jingyi's face turned pale: "Mother?"
"Your Highness." The Imperial Son-in-Law's expression stiffened almost imperceptibly, clearly not expecting her to say such a thing. However, he quickly composed himself and gently advised, "Jingyi is indeed a bit spoiled. You can teach her properly in the future. She is already insecure. If Your Highness threatens to send her back to the Wen family, wouldn't that make her even more uneasy?"
Princess Ning'an coldly replied, "If you are truly insecure, you should cultivate your character instead of being arrogant and domineering because of your status."
"Jingyi." Prince Consort Wen turned to look at his daughter, frowning as he scolded, "Aren't you going to apologize to your mother? You're getting more and more outrageous as you get older."
Wen Jingyi bit her lip, not daring to cry anymore: "Daughter knows she was wrong, please calm down, Mother. Daughter will go and copy it now."
With that, he obediently turned around, walked behind the low table, knelt down, endured the sharp pain in his knees, unfolded the Xuan paper, and began to copy.
The personal maid knelt beside him, grinding ink, and the two remained silent.
Princess Ning'an withdrew her gaze, closed her eyes, and sighed softly: "None of them give me any peace of mind."
Prince Consort Wen gently squeezed her leg, soothing her with a low voice, then asked seemingly unconcerned, "Did the imperial physicians take her pulse? What did they say?"
"No." Princess Ning'an frowned slightly. "When I saw my mother, I told her about my pregnancy. My mother was worried about my health and didn't want me to give birth to this child. I argued with her for a few words and then lost interest in calling the imperial physician."
She smiled wryly as she spoke, "It's really unbelievable that I'm having a child at my age, isn't it?"
Prince Consort Wen hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
“It is said that a woman’s pregnancy and childbirth is like walking through the gates of hell.” Princess Ning’an’s gaze fell on the face of the Imperial Son-in-Law Wen, carefully examining his handsome and gentle face, as if she were speaking from the heart. “If I were just a mistress of a high-ranking family, or if I had no feelings for the Imperial Son-in-Law, I would not care whether I experienced pregnancy and childbirth or not. I would rather never have children in my life than lose my life and wealth… But Yi Shu, we love each other and our love is stronger than gold. I have always regretted not being able to have your child all these years.”
She held his hand, her voice tinged with melancholy: "This regret has lingered in my heart for over a decade, Yishu, you can understand me, can't you?"
When Wen, the Imperial Son-in-Law, met her deep and unwavering eyes, all the words of persuasion stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.
He didn't want her to have this child at all; he didn't need any more children and didn't care about this one.
All these years, he has been submissive and obedient to her, putting on a gentle and affectionate facade, all for the sake of his family and children's future, not because of her haughty and aloof princess demeanor.
He has his own children.
The biggest reason he didn't want Princess Ning'an to have a child was that he didn't want to face the possibility of being stopped or resented by the child when he tried to eliminate her in the future. He also didn't want to kill his own child.
Therefore, not having children is the best decision.
But where exactly did things go wrong? Why did she still get pregnant?
Prince Consort Wen lowered his eyes, his voice as gentle as water as ever: "If you are determined to have this child, I will naturally respect your decision."
"That's wonderful." Princess Ning'an smiled. "I knew you wouldn't stop me."
Prince Consort Wen held her hand, but smiled without saying a word.
But if you look closely, you can see that his smile didn't reach even a little bit in his eyes.
Prince Consort Wen lowered his eyes to hide the indifference in them. No matter how the child was conceived, this child would never have the chance to be born.
The Princess's household already has three children, so one more won't make a difference.
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