Chapter 37: "Have you ever thought about how you harmed the Crown Princess...?"
After waking up, Xiao Chongheng heard about Pei Chanlian's return to the manor. After thinking for a long time, he decided to go see her.
Pei Chanlian's residence, Jiayi Residence, was quite a distance from Xiao Chongheng's residence, Jiyue Pavilion. Xiao Chongheng had never set foot in her courtyard before; this was his first time.
Upon hearing that Xiao Chongheng had arrived, Pei Chanlian was overjoyed and hurriedly went out to greet him. However, when she arrived at the door, she saw Xiao Chongheng walking towards her with a gloomy expression.
But Pei Chanlian pretended nothing was wrong and said softly, "Husband, you've come. It's late and the dew is heavy. Please come inside."
Xiao Chongheng glanced at her coldly, ignored her, and walked straight into the house.
Despite being humiliated, Pei Chanlian pretended not to notice his annoyance and followed him into the house.
Before he could even sit down inside, and just as the maids were about to pour tea for Xiao Chongheng, they were all ushered out.
“I have something to say to Princess Roujia. You may all leave.”
Pei Chanlian looked around. One by one, the maids had no choice but to leave the room because of Xiao Chongheng's imposing presence, leaving Pei Chanlian and Xiao Chongheng alone.
"Alright, there's no one else here. I've been giving you enough face. Now, tell me, why did you try to harm the Crown Princess?"
The first thing he did was press her about the Crown Princess Xue Yingyue. Pei Chanlian gave a bitter smile, trying to act like it was none of her business, but she was powerless to do so.
"Hmph." Pei Chanlian's voice trembled slightly, her eyes still sharp. "This is my first time setting foot in Jiayi Residence, isn't it? You've come all this way for the Crown Princess's sake?"
Xiao Chongheng sneered: "Don't make it sound like I've wronged you. I've never owed you anything. If you don't want to talk about it, fine, then I think our marriage is off. Let's go to my mother tonight and annul this marriage. We're done."
"You dare! You dare!"
Pei Chanlian was furious. She took two steps forward and began to smash the teacups and tea bowls on the table.
"Why are you severing ties with me! Why! What have you done to me? Xue Yingyue, Xue Yingyue is the Crown Princess, and you want to break ties with me for her sake? What have I done to deserve this!"
Pei Chanlian smashed all the potted plants and lamps on the table, but Xiao Chongheng just watched without saying a word, completely ignoring it.
"Where am I inferior to Xue Yingyue? Where am I inferior to her? Why are you so blind to her and can't you see me?"
Xiao Chongheng watched Pei Chanlian go mad quietly, as if it were none of his business, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.
"Why aren't you saying a word! I'm in this state, I'm your wife, your wife is having a breakdown and going crazy, and you don't even offer a single word of comfort!"
Pei Chanlian couldn't bear his cold attitude. With tears streaming down her face, she grabbed his arm and shook it desperately, hoping he would respond and at least offer some comfort.
As a result, Xiao Chongheng became even more irritated by Pei Chanlian and pushed her away without any mercy.
"ah!"
Pei Chanlian lost her balance and fell to the ground, her hair disheveled in the process.
Looking at her disheveled state as she fell to the ground, and then at Xiao Chongheng's cold and aloof demeanor, she found it all laughable. Since Xiao Chongheng was heartless and ruthless, she couldn't be blamed.
"Xiao Chongheng, look, what is this..."
Pei Chanlian was extremely angry and aggrieved, crying and laughing at the same time. In a fit of rage, she took out the hairpin from her purse, her gaze provocative and deep as she stared at Xiao Chongheng.
Xiao Chongheng looked closely and saw only a hairpin. He couldn't make heads or tails of it, and just thought Pei Chanlian had gone mad and was talking nonsense.
"If you continue to act so erratically, I'll have no choice but to call the Prince of Shunyi to come and get you."
After saying that, Xiao Chongheng got up and was about to go out to call someone. He didn't want to waste any more words with Pei Chanlian. He just wanted to take her to see Pei Shen'ai as soon as possible and tell her that he wanted to sever ties with Pei Chanlian.
Pei Chanlian saw that he had no idea whose hairpin it was and was only focused on walking out, so she spoke up coldly to remind him.
"When you and the Crown Princess made love in the bed at Jiyue Pavilion, did you ever think about leaving evidence behind?"
Xiao Chongheng paused, stopped, and turned around.
As she spoke, Pei Chanlian shook the hairpin in her hand and provocatively stuck it into her hair bun.
Only then did Xiao Chongheng examine the hairpin closely, recalling that a hairpin had indeed fallen during his passionate encounter with Ling Zhenli earlier that day, but he hadn't paid much attention to it, thinking it was just a passing thing.
Even now, it's just a hairpin; it doesn't prove anything.
"It's just a hairpin. If you want to use it as evidence to accuse the Crown Princess in front of the Crown Prince, I can simply say that there is a similar hairpin in the mansion."
Xiao Chongheng dismissed it with disdain. There were far more ways to solve a problem than problems themselves, and Pei Chanlian's threats were completely ineffective.
"Xiao Chongheng, do you think I'm blind? The Crown Princess is now deeply in love with the Crown Prince, and you are just a mistake she made in the past. If I really hand the hairpin to the Crown Prince, do you think the Crown Princess will hate you even more and think that you can only bring her trouble?"
"Even if you hand it to the emperor, it's just a hairpin. What does that prove?" Xiao Chongheng sneered.
Pei Chanlian's smile was even colder than his: "Don't forget, she carried your child. When she miscarried, you still had the imperial physician examine her, right? If you had tortured her, do you think the physician would have told the truth?"
"Ha, Pei Zhuo, do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?"
At this moment, Xiao Chongheng truly harbored murderous intent. He and Ling Zhenli had been delayed by Pei Chanlian, and he could not tolerate Pei Chanlian interfering in his relationship with Ling Zhenli time and time again.
Pei Chanlian must be absolutely certain of success to dare to provoke Xiao Chongheng like this. She suppressed her smile and slowly got up from the ground.
"You wouldn't dare."
"So confident?" Xiao Chongheng raised an eyebrow, wanting to see what other tricks she had up her sleeve.
“I’m pregnant, with your brother’s child,” Pei Chanlian sneered.
"Alright, alright, you win."
Xiao Chongheng clapped his hands. Hearing this, he hardened his heart even more and pushed open the door without further hesitation.
"Prepare the carriage immediately! Princess Roujia and I are going to Princess Wuyang's residence. Send someone to inform the princess."
Upon hearing the name of Princess Wuyang, Pei Chanlian was instantly terrified and scrambled over to beg Xiao Chongheng:
"What are you going to the Princess for! You can't go! She knows your brother took the blame for me, she'll kill me!"
"Let go! This is your own doing, what does it have to do with me!"
"No! No, Chongheng, Brother Chongheng, please, please, the Princess will not forgive me."
Pei Chanlian knew how shrewd Pei Shen'ai was, and that while Pei Shen'ai outwardly disliked Yang Chongzheng, she actually cared deeply for her son. Pei Shen'ai must now know the truth and would definitely not let her go. She couldn't walk right into a trap.
"Now you're scared? Have you ever thought that when you harmed the Crown Princess, I was even more terrified than you? You think my mother didn't know the Crown Princess's true identity, is that right? She knew all along. Everyone knows I love her, and you are just someone I was forced to marry in name only because of pressure from my elder brother and mother. Now, it's time to put everything back in its proper place!"
Xiao Chongheng's eyes were firm, as if he had already made up his mind, and no matter how Pei Chanlian pleaded, it would be to no avail.
Pei Chanlian was filled with despair and could only watch helplessly as she was helped onto the carriage by the servants of the Duke's mansion.
*
Princess's Residence
After dinner, the night breeze was cool, and Xiao Yuzhen danced the newly learned Zhezhi dance for her father and mother in the courtyard.
"Why did Minmin suddenly learn to dance? She dances so well." Pei Shen'ai praised her daughter without reservation.
"I saw that the Crown Princess danced well, so I specially learned this dance. I think the Crown Princess is beautiful and easy to talk to, and I want to learn more from her."
As Xiao Yuzhen spoke, she ran to her mother's side and said coquettishly, "Mother, I also want to learn to play the pipa."
"Alright, alright, I'll go to the Shanggong Bureau and pick out a highly skilled person for you to teach properly."
During the conversation, a servant from the Duke of Yan's residence came to inform them that the Duke of Yan and Princess Roujia had important matters to discuss and would arrive soon.
Because of Yang Chongzheng, Pei Shen'ai now extremely dislikes Pei Chanlian and doesn't want to see her at all.
Seeing Pei Shen'ai's expression change, Xiao Yuzhen knew that Pei Shen'ai was angry, so she quickly tried to coax her, "Mother, don't be angry. Second Brother certainly didn't want things to turn out this way..."
“Minmin, you don’t need to plead with your second brother. Go inside and change your clothes first. After I’ve dealt with your second brother, I’ll have someone call you. Tonight we’re going to visit your eldest brother in jail. Be good and go back inside.”
Pei Shen'ai was too angry to listen to advice, so Xiao had no choice but to leave with his daughter.
Xiao Chongheng arrived very quickly.
The cool, refreshing night breeze, glistening with dew, swept across the treetops and gently caressed the skin, bringing a sense of tranquility.
Upon arriving at the mansion, Pei Chanlian had lost her previous hysteria, and her eyes appeared empty and numb.
Pei Shen'ai sat on the stone seat in the garden pavilion, her expression disdainful: "What are you two doing? What kind of behavior is this!"
“Your carefully chosen daughter-in-law, Pei, has the audacity to say that my relationship with the Crown Princess is improper, and she even wants to report this to the Emperor. How can I dare to keep her here any longer? Let her go to my brother’s Prince Gao’an’s residence. It just so happens that she is pregnant with my brother’s child.”
Xiao Chongheng's eyes were like a cold pool, his words like blades, each one piercing the heart. When he spoke, he was enveloped in an impenetrable chill, as if even his breath was filled with icy indifference.
Pei Chanlian was terrified and furious, but unfortunately, she didn't dare to utter a single word in rebuttal in front of Pei Shen'ai.
Pei Shen'ai turned her gaze to Pei Chanlian, staring intently at her: "You dare to speak so recklessly about the Duke of Yan and the Crown Princess? You've got some nerve."
Pei Chanlian first looked away in an attempt to avoid the situation, but she knew that she couldn't escape it, so she simply gave up and went all out.
“I’m not just making things up without evidence. The Crown Princess visited the Duke’s mansion during the day, and I found her hairpin by Xiao Chongheng’s bedside.”
As Pei Chanlian spoke, she took the gold-inlaid mandarin duck hairpin with a flower in its mouth from her hair and handed it to Pei Shen'ai.
After hearing these words, Pei Shen'ai knew without even looking that what Pei Chanlian said must be true.
Pei Shen'ai glanced at Xiao Chongheng first before taking the hairpin, pretending to play with it in her hand, glancing sideways, raising her chin slightly, and looking arrogant.
“Okay, what did Chongheng just say? Chanlian, you’re pregnant? That’s really good. Chongzheng has a successor.” Pei Shen’ai smiled subtly. “Chanlian, you should take it easy. Chongheng’s heart isn’t with you anyway, so who cares where it is? Don’t you think so?”
Pei Chanlian didn't want to say anything, and she didn't say anything at all.
Xiao Chongheng's gaze swept over Pei Chanlian, carrying a condescending and oppressive air, his eyes filled with obvious mockery, and his thin lips slightly upturned.
"Please let me sever ties with Pei, Mother. She is carrying my elder brother's child and should remarry him."
Pei Shenai glared at Xiao Chongheng: "Your older brother just had an accident, don't cause trouble for me here."
Ling Zhenli made her point very clearly: if he didn't break off his relationship with Pei Chanlian, she would no longer maintain a relationship with him. He was currently completely devoted to Ling Zhenli and was willing to risk everything for her, which was why he was so eager to sever ties with Pei Chanlian.
“My mind is made up. If I cannot break off all ties with this woman immediately, then let her return to the Shunyi Prince’s Mansion or the Duanhuai Prince’s Mansion. I do not want to have anything to do with her anymore.”
"We're in the eye of the storm right now, Chongheng. You have to wait and see. Once we get through this, the most important thing is to save your brother, not to break off your relationship with Chanlian. I'm already annoyed enough, so don't make things worse for me."
Under these circumstances, it is absolutely crucial to prevent Xiao Chongheng and Pei Chanlian from severing ties.
Pei Shen'ai's words were irrefutable, but Xiao Chongheng still had reasons.
"She is already pregnant, and her son is unwilling to be the father of the child in her womb."
"..."
Pei Shenai's head started to ache again: "I'll take Minmin to the jail to see your older brother in a bit and talk to him about it. Don't worry, I won't let you become a father by accident."
“I will return to the manor alone tonight. Pei Chanlian, you may go wherever you like.” Xiao Chongheng glanced at Pei Chanlian beside him.
Pei Chanlian replied expressionlessly, "Alright, then I'll see my husband off."
"Don't call me husband, it's disgusting."
Xiao Chongheng loathed Pei Chanlian so much that he found it annoying to say another word to her and didn't want to stay there any longer, so he turned and left.
Only Pei Chanlian and Pei Shenai remained.
Seeing that Xiao Chongheng had left, Pei Shenai finally looked at Pei Chanlian properly.
"Alright, come with me to the Heavenly Prison to see Prince Gao'an."
"My daughter-in-law knows."
Pei Shenai spoke, and Pei Chanlian, though unwilling, had no choice but to comply.
Author's Note: Tomorrow's Thursday, time for a short break~ Thanks everyone for keeping me company.
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