Chapter 14

When Yingxin saw the Prince’s great anger, she lowered her head and reported…

It turned out that after Huo Bujue initially said she was going to find the Prince’s husband to raise money, she rested at home for four days due to being caned before starting to go out to raise funds.

She had originally planned to ask the Prince’s husband for money, but upon hearing that the Prince’s husband was now ‘reflecting on his mistakes’ in a Taoist temple.

It takes nearly two hours just to ride a horse to the temple in the city, so Huo Bujue gave up.

She started seeking funds from various friends, but how many people in this world can come up with 500,000 taels at once?

Especially since the Huo family had now displeased the Prince, and it was uncertain whether they could repay it now.

But Huo Bujue didn’t think so. She felt she had a wide circle of friends, gathering good friends from all directions.

So when Huo Bujue left the house full of new confidence, she ended up returning home with her tail between her legs.

It’s said that after she returned home, she even beat Ruan Shi badly for failing to raise money under pressure.

This was also the fundamental reason why Ruan Shi later made up his mind to find Jiang Lingyu to redeem himself.

The mountain road was difficult to travel. Huo Bujue had no choice but to ride a horse, bumping her bottom, to go to the Taoist temple to find the Prince’s husband.

When Jiang Lingyu heard this, she couldn’t help but recall that when she first came to this world, she also rode a horse from the Taoist temple to the city.

The various discomforts were beyond words.

Yingxin saw that the Prince actually revealed a strange smile, and was so frightened that she shuddered.

She immediately lowered her head obediently and continued to narrate…

In the inner chamber of the Prince’s husband’s sleeping quarters, there was a portrait of the Taoist ancestor, and the Prince’s husband was paying respects.

At this time, Chang Ping said in a somewhat wheezy voice:

“Male Empress, someone is requesting an audience.”

The man kneeling in worship was like a jade tree under the moonlight, with a pure and radiant glow.

He might not be stunningly beautiful at first glance, but as long as he was there, he had a magical quality that made it impossible to look away.

No wonder he became the man the Virtuous Prince insisted on marrying.

He seemed to still be silently reciting some scriptures. After hearing the announcement, he didn’t even open his eyes, just said faintly:

“Is it someone sent by the Prince? If it’s to take me back, then tell them I’m doing well here, no need to rush back.”

Chang Ping’s wealth and status in this life were all tied to the Prince’s husband. Hearing this now, he became anxious and added exaggeratedly:

“It’s the eldest young lady, not the Prince’s people.

Male Empress, you can’t be like this. While you’ve been away from the Prince’s mansion, the Prince has brought that little hussy from the brothel back to the mansion. That little hussy is quite good-looking and was bestowed by the Emperor. If she really captures the Prince’s heart, you won’t even have a place to stand…”

As soon as the Prince’s husband heard that Huo Bujue had come, his closed eyes immediately opened.

He didn’t have any extra energy to listen to Chang Ping’s words afterwards, and rushed out quickly.

When the Prince’s husband saw Huo Bujue, he was like a night-blooming cereus blooming under the moon, revealing the most beautiful smile possible:

“Elder sister, why did it take you so long to come see me?”

Huo Bujue only found out when she came to see her younger brother that he had been called to the Taoist temple to ‘reflect on his mistakes’. Now suddenly being asked, she couldn’t help but reveal a slightly guilty smile, then exaggeratedly cried out:

“Aya, it hurts, it hurts!”

When the Prince’s husband saw his elder sister cry out in pain, he forgot about his previous blame, stepped forward to support his elder sister and asked with concern:

“What’s wrong?”

Huo Bujue complained: “It’s all because of sister-in-law! You don’t know, she initially said she had no interest in the person bestowed by the Emperor, but then she turned around and ran to the brothel to snatch someone from me!

Not only did she snatch the person away, but she also harbored resentment, deliberately charged me with a crime and gave me twenty lashes, and said if I don’t gather 500,000 taels of silver within seven days, she’ll confiscate our Huo family’s property…

And she also wants to… execute me by lingchi!”

Huo Bujue’s words were a mix of truth and falsehood, making herself sound as pitiful as possible.

She made it sound like Jiang Lingyu was lustful and retaliating for a man.

Huo Zhengfu was not like the Huo family elders. He had grown up with Huo Bujue since childhood, and as soon as he heard Huo Bujue speak, he knew there were inaccuracies.

But what he cared more about was…

Huo Zhengfu frowned and asked in a low voice: “What do you mean by competing with elder sister for someone at the brothel?!

Initially, elder sister clearly told me that Mu Sheng was handsome and beautiful, and she was afraid he would steal the Prince’s heart, so she told me to send him directly to the brothel. But unexpectedly, elder sister actually went to the brothel herself.

Elder sister, when you initially insisted I send him to the brothel, was it for my sake or for your own?”

Seeing that her younger brother was truly angry, Huo Bujue laughed it off and said:

“Don’t be angry, little brother. What woman in this world doesn’t appreciate beauty? I just thought that since you had sent him to the brothel, you had one less threat, so if I went to the brothel, wouldn’t I gain a beautiful man?

We’ve grown up together since childhood. If I’m not thinking of you, who am I thinking of?”

Hearing Huo Bujue say this, Huo Zhengfu’s expression improved slightly.

He glanced sideways, his eyes like autumn water dripping with dew, seeming both resentful and coquettish:

“The Prince has a weak temperament. What exactly did elder brother do to make her so angry?”

Huo Bujue poured a cup of tea for Huo Zhengfu and said with an apologetic smile:

“It’s just that when helping sister-in-law with matters, there are always places that need to be smoothed over with expenses. I inadvertently used a bit too much, and now sister-in-law is demanding repayment. All the money was used to handle affairs for sister-in-law, where do I have extra to repay her?

She got angry and now wants my head.”

When Huo Zhengfu heard that someone wanted Huo Bujue’s head, he slammed his hand on the wooden table and shouted:

“She dares!”

Huo Bujue was startled by his reaction. She gently patted her brother’s back and started shamelessly flattering him:

“Hehe, I knew little brother cares for me the most. With just these words from little brother, I have nothing to fear!”

The look in Huo Zhengfu’s eyes was uncertain and finally settled into calmness.

After adjusting his emotions, he said: “To be honest, it’s actually my fault for implicating elder sister. In the year since our grand wedding, she has always granted my every request. That day, she actually argued with me over a mere man.

I was too angry and made her kneel for three days wearing thorns without food or water. It’s normal for her to be somewhat irritated.

She is the weakest person, even the biggest issue is just her hiding away to be angry for a while. Once she’s done being angry, it’ll be fine.”

Ever since marrying the original owner, Huo Zhengfu never looked at numbers when spending money, because no matter what he set his eyes on, the original owner would always pay for it.

As for the 500,000 taels of silver embezzled by Huo Bujue, in Huo Zhengfu’s view, it was just an excuse Jiang Lingyu deliberately brought up to argue, not worth taking seriously at all.

The original owner’s favoritism towards Huo Zhengfu was taken for granted by him as weakness.

The original owner kneeling for three days wearing thorns without food or water was brushed off lightly with a floating sentence about hiding away to be angry for a while over any big issue.

As for how much the original owner liked Huo Zhengfu, he himself didn’t care one bit.

He cared even less about whether there would be any problems with the original owner’s body, who had knelt for so long just to calm his anger, even though it wasn’t the original owner’s fault to begin with.

He only focused on comforting Huo Bujue: “Elder sister, don’t worry. As long as I’m here for one day, Jiang Lingyu won’t do anything to the Huo family. If she really punishes too harshly, just tell Jiang Lingyu that I will never forgive her in the future!”

These words were for Huo Bujue to hear, and also for Yingxin who was accompanying them to hear.

After hearing her brother’s guarantee, Huo Bujue returned home safely and steadily.

When Jiang Lingyu heard the attendant’s report, she widened her eyes in disbelief and asked:

“Their Huo family embezzled funds, they’re not rushing to raise money, not begging for forgiveness, but actually saying they won’t forgive me?!”

Yingxin was questioned until her face was covered in cold sweat. She fell to her knees with a thud and said:

“Prince, please quell your anger. What this servant said is the absolute truth. The other attendants who accompanied can all testify!”

“Is this also the Huo family’s intention?”

Yingxin stammered: “Yes.”

Jiang Lingyu was directly laughed at in anger: “Fine, since the Huo family doesn’t care about their own heads, this Prince will naturally oblige them. Pass down the order…”

Before Jiang Lingyu could finish her next words, a sharp pain came from her chest.

It was as if this body still had its own consciousness, and it was trying its utmost to prevent Jiang Lingyu from harming the Huo family… harming that man who kept saying she was weak.

This sharp pain came so suddenly that Jiang Lingyu couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan.

Her body weakly fell backwards.

As she was falling, she was still thinking in her mind… Fortunately there’s a screen behind… It shouldn’t hurt too much, right?

The expected pain didn’t come. It turned out she was supported by someone.

A man’s anxious voice also came to her ears: “Prince, are you alright?”

When Jiang Lingyu saw the big-tailed fox’s eyes full of concern, she suddenly felt that her chest didn’t hurt as much.

She smiled as if nothing had happened: “It’s nothing, I just slipped a little just now without paying attention.”

Jiang Lingyu’s face was calm and unperturbed, but the hand under her long robe was trembling from the spasms caused by the intense pain in her body.

Just standing up on her own had already drained all the strength from Jiang Lingyu’s body.

Just as she was struggling to suppress the abnormalities in her body, she found that a pair of warm and strong hands steadily supported her body.

A voice that only the two of them could hear came to her ears:

“I’m here.”

Jiang Lingyu heard these words and inexplicably felt at ease in her heart.

She tried her best to look unharmed while struggling against the pain in her body:

“Pass down my order, confiscate all property of the Huo family, the main culprits involved in embezzlement are to be heavily caned eighty times, accomplices are to be heavily caned fifty times, to serve as a warning to others.”

It wasn’t that Jiang Lingyu didn’t want to execute by lingchi, but she knew that if the punishment was any heavier, the intense pain in her body would intensify, and she might not be able to hold on to finish speaking.

“Understood!”

Jiang Lingyu said faintly: “I want to rest for a while. Without my order, do not disturb.”

“Understood.”

Jiang Lingyu watched everyone retreat, then softly collapsed into Yu Yi’s arms.

In just this brief moment, her back was already soaked with cold sweat from the pain.

She gently stroked Yu Yi’s eyes, which already had traces of tears, and smiled weakly:

“Don’t be afraid, I’m just… feeling unwell, need to rest…”

Before she could finish the rest of her words, Jiang Lingyu had completely fallen into unconsciousness.

Yu Yi, who hadn’t even furrowed his brow in the face of axes and knives for so many years, saw the Prince like a delicate doll fallen into deep sleep, and his entire being sank into endless heartache and worry.

Total word count of this book: 322,805