Feeling wronged, Xinhe was not surprised at all. Through a trusted informant by Officer Lou’s side, Little Chaibi could easily get the information, which meant there were too many loopholes for the news to leak out.
Before this, Xinhe was skeptical whether the Great Prince was cunning or foolish. Now, she concluded that he was too foolish!
Such a hero-saving-beauty act was not that rare; who hasn’t had their romantic moments?
But he should have considered the feasibility of the situation and, most importantly, protected his own ass!
The Great Prince must have used his identity to pressure Officer Lou into handling this matter. However, Officer Lou was not entirely loyal to the Great Prince, so he wouldn’t have put much effort into it. Even if Officer Lou kept his mouth shut, those working under him wouldn’t necessarily be so loyal. Their words could easily be provoked and reveal everything.
In such a matter, even if he did it, he shouldn’t have exposed his tracks!
Now the news has leaked and it has spread across the city overnight. How long would it take for it to reach the capital city? When the Emperor finds out that his son was so angry for a courtesan, he probably won’t let him off the hook.
Not to mention, according to Mu Houchu, the Great Prince came to Yu State this time with the intention of marrying into the Song Family. With Song Ya Lan’s engagement undecided, news about her affair with the Great Prince has already been widely spread. How can the Song Family save face? 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
Perhaps the Great Prince doesn’t realize how beneficial it would be to marry the Song Family with their current power and influence.
However, there’s no point in discussing it further. The matter is what it is, and Ji Xinhe can only curse in her heart, it seemed that the reason the Emperor has not favored the Great Prince all these years was not only due to his birth mother but also his foolishness.
At this time, Madam Song had been planning to send Song Ya Lin to go boating by the lakeside, but she suddenly received this news.
Her face changed several times with shock before she shouted: "What did you say?"
The messenger was also indignant: "The whole city is talking about this. The Great Prince pressured the county magistrate for a courtesan, and now his deeds have almost been turned into a storybook!"
Madam Song became annoyed: "I heard that the Great Prince was upright and never engaged in dissolute behavior. Why does he have such an unclean relationship with a brothel woman now?"
They haven’t even gotten married!
Wasn’t this an obvious slap in her daughter’s face?
As for Song Ya Lin, her expression seemed normal, standing in place without any reaction, as if this matter was nothing to her.
"Lin Lin, don’t worry. I will not let the Great Prince get away with this, no matter what!" Madam Song lovingly held Song Ya Lin’s hand and instructed.
However, Song Ya Lin just smiled: "On what grounds can we demand an explanation? The marriage between our families has not yet been finalized. Let’s discuss this later. What’s more important now is whether this marriage can be settled. The Great Prince’s choice may not necessarily be our Song Family, but we have no other choice."
Or rather, she had no other choice.
As of now, there was only one prince of marriageable age - the Great Prince. The current crown prince was just an eight-year-old child, and the other two princes had not yet reached marriageable age either.
Seeing Song Ya Lin’s attitude, Madam Song suddenly felt uneasy and couldn’t help but tightly grip her hand: "Lin Lin, if you’re feeling upset, don’t keep it to yourself."
Song Ya Lin patiently smiled at Madam Song: "Mother, since the matter has come to this, do you want me to turn down this marriage? What’s most important now is not whether the Great Prince is involved with a brothel woman; after all, can a courtesan really stir up any significant trouble? The most important thing is to seize this opportunity and finalize this marriage. The current situation may not be a bad thing for us. The Great Prince’s actions might anger the Emperor, but if our Song Family still treats him well, our relationship with the Great Prince will become even closer in the future, and this marriage will be a done deal. Mother, don’t let some petty emotions get in the way of important matters."
Madam Song looked at Song Ya Lin blankly for a moment before realizing that her daughter was even more shrewd than herself. She felt a mix of emotions. It was a good thing that her daughter was so calm and composed because a clever person wouldn’t have too much trouble in the future. But seeing her so indifferent all the time seemed somewhat inappropriate.
In the end, she was just heartbroken.
Madam Song sighed softly. It was her fault for being too strict with her daughter and her father for treating her as a potential princess all her life. With that upbringing, her temperament probably wouldn’t change.
----
With a crisp slap, Yi Ling’s delicate figure was sent crashing to the ground.
Sun Yaowen’s eyes widened in anger as he scolded: "Useless thing! How much connections and silver coins were spent for this? Just with Zhou Shiye, I spent a whole thousand silver coins. You were confident in saying there would be no chance for Hua Man Lou to turn the tables or hope for the Yihong Courtyard to rise again. But now? Now?!"
Blood trickled from the corner of Yi Ling’s mouth, her cheek swollen, looking pitiable. The fierce look in her beautiful eyes was replaced by a pitiful and wronged expression, and she tearfully said:
"Everything was indeed going according to plan. Last night, when the chaos started, Hua Man Lou was about to collapse, and it seemed like a success was imminent. But who would have known that the county magistrate would suddenly step in? Zhou Shiye is Officer Lou’s confidant, and Officer Lou usually doesn’t interfere in his affairs. But who knew this time, such a significant disturbance would be caused? I heard that some nobility was involved in helping Hua Man Lou behind the scenes. As a mere concubine, there’s nothing I could do."
Yi Ling cried pitifully, still looking charming despite her swollen face, which made Sun Yaowen feel a little sorry for her.
However, he was still furious: "What nobility? You assured me that you could handle this situation, but now that you can’t, it just proves your incompetence! And you’re still trying to find excuses for yourself. What’s the point of having you?"
Feeling wronged, Yi Ling hurriedly explained: "I was curious too, but after some investigation, I found out that the noble person helping Hua Man Lou is none other than the Great Prince who was in disguise while visiting the town. With all my abilities, I dare not confront His Highness the Prince."
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