Chapter 111 Adding insult to injury
Princess Ning'an returned to her residence and stayed alone in her room for a long time.
The thing I had suspected for a long time has finally been confirmed. Perhaps because I was mentally prepared, it wasn't so hard to accept.
This was thanks to the Empress Dowager's actions in protecting Wen Yishu over the past few days, which completely chilled her heart. So at this moment, she was able to calmly accept the fact that she was not the Empress Dowager's daughter.
Of course, digesting this doesn't take too long.
What she found even more unacceptable than the fact that the Empress Dowager indirectly caused the death of her birth mother was that she was not the Empress Dowager's biological daughter.
Princess Ning'an closed her eyes.
Wen Yishu was the son born from an affair with the Empress Dowager.
The thought of spending over a decade with someone like that disgusted her.
Take good care of them during their exile.
Ning An scoffed.
The road to exile is so long, and it's difficult to move an inch while wearing shackles. It would take several months to reach the destination. Why does the Empress Dowager think that the Emperor's special favor will guarantee their safe arrival?
That's a really naive idea.
She won't let them get away with it.
After lunch, Princess Ning'an changed into a narrow-sleeved, waist-cinching long dress, looking much more capable. Accompanied by several guards, she took a carriage to the Ministry of Justice prison.
Three days later, Wen Yishu and his family were exiled and imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice prison. They were dressed in prison clothes and shackled.
Wen Yishu and his two sons were imprisoned in a men's jail cell.
Princess Ning'an walked to the prison cell door.
Wen Yishu looked up at her, his face haggard and pale, his usually lustrous hair disheveled, and without the jade crown and brocade robe that signified his status, his prison clothes only highlighted his destitution and poverty.
After more than a decade of marriage, the harmonious days of their past are still vivid in their minds.
If their facade hadn't been exposed, they would still be a loving couple. But soon, she might die within this false and sweet illusion.
"Is Mother satisfied with this result?" Wen Shiyu looked at Princess Ning'an with a dark and hateful gaze. "After more than ten years of marriage, Mother has no regrets. All the good things Father did for you over the years have been wasted."
"Should I give my life to a husband who approaches me with ulterior motives, flatters me, and schemes against me, and be grateful to him?" Princess Ning'an sneered. "Wen Shiyu, you are nothing but a lowly thing born of a concubine. I have secured the position of heir apparent for you, provided you with a life of luxury, and made you members of the royal family. Yet you are still ungrateful and greedy?"
Wen Shiyu's face flushed red: "If you treat us like your own children, how could I—"
Princess Ning'an coldly said, "So you don't deserve to live a life of luxury. You only deserve to be whipped, scolded, humiliated, and beaten on the long road of exile. You only deserve to wear prison clothes, eat cold and spoiled food, and live as humbly as an ant!"
Wen Shiyu's face turned deathly pale, and he could no longer utter a word.
It seemed that only then did he realize what kind of punishment exile was; after falling from the clouds to hell, they had no chance to turn things around.
They once enjoyed wealth and luxury, surrounded by servants wherever they went, but now they will only suffer endless hardships and shed countless tears.
Wen Shiyu's lips trembled a few times: "Mother..."
"Mother!" Wen Shijie was the first to come to his senses, turning over and kneeling down. "Please, Mother, save us! We know we were wrong, we all know we were wrong. If Mother will lend a helping hand, if Mother is willing to forgive us, your son will definitely serve you well from now on and will never make you angry again, Mother—"
"Do you think I'd believe you?" Princess Ning'an smiled. "I'm here today to kick you when you're down and see your true colors. As for forgiveness, I'm afraid you'll poison my food while you're serving me."
After saying that, she turned and left.
...
Pei Yi'an was imprisoned in the imperial prison.
The entire Wen family was also imprisoned.
Prince Consort Wen has betrayed Princess Ning'an and is about to be exiled along with his mistress and children.
Even the Xiping Earl's family was demoted to commoners and expelled from the capital.
Within just a few days, the Jin Dynasty's central forces were almost completely stripped bare, leaving only a few insignificant soldiers who could do little to help.
After the imperial edict was issued, he locked himself in his room for three whole days, looking like a trapped beast in dire straits.
He vented his anger wildly behind the curtains, and there was an indescribable smell in the room.
Taozhi lay lifelessly on the bed like a broken doll, her face pale, her hair disheveled, and her body covered in bruises.
"I am a joke." The Prince of Jin lay on the bed, staring at the top of the tent. His face was weak and listless from excessive indulgence, and his voice was hoarse from exhaustion. "I am a joke... haha, a joke."
Years of meticulous planning were completely destroyed in just a few days.
Even the princess, whom they had married through proper channels, had disappeared without a trace.
For the past three days, he had been ravaging Taozhi, venting his frustrations wildly. But once he calmed down, he couldn't help but wonder if he was really a useless person.
Why did he lose so completely?
He didn't even... he didn't even know how he lost.
He lost without even formally declaring war on Yan Cang, and he was so unwilling to accept the defeat.
"Your Highness." A knock sounded at the door, followed by a guard's respectful and cautious report, "Consort Shu requests your presence in the palace."
The Prince of Jin's eyes were vacant, and it took him a while to belatedly realize what the guard had said.
His mother summoned him?
Why summon him at this time?
With the Prime Minister's residence gone, General Pei Yi'an is also doomed. He's been accused of treason and collusion with the enemy, and no one can protect him... No, who says no one can protect him?
Prince Jin slowly sat up from the bed. Suddenly thinking of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, a cold glint flashed in his slightly dark eyes.
He got up, put on his shoes, took the robe from the clothes rack, put it on, tied his belt, draped the outer robe over his shoulders, glanced at Taozhi lying on the bed like a dead fish, walked to the door, opened it, and went out.
"Is the Empress Dowager summoning you?"
"Yes." The guard bowed his head. "Is Your Highness going?"
Prince Jin shook his head: "Go and tell the messenger that I will go to the palace to pay my respects to my mother first thing tomorrow morning. I have important matters to attend to right now and do not have time to go to the palace."
"yes."
The Prince of Jin turned and ordered, "Prepare the carriage; we're going to the Duke of Dingguo's residence."
"yes."
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