Chapter 395 Who’s Going to Deal Whom a Head-on Blow?
Commandery Princess Xianyun had no choice but to come, because this trouble-causing cousin was her grandfather’s favorite grandson.
If such a thing happened, he would die for sure. Although the imperial concubine in the palace was not favored, the emperor frequently asked for her. She was not like the beauties in the cold palace, whom no one cared about.
How could she let her grandfather’s most beloved grandson be executed? And the key to this matter was Prince Yi, Ao Chenyi. After all, her cousin relied on Prince Yi’s authority. If Prince Yi supported him, the imperial concubine would not be a problem. However, the problem was that Ao Chenyi did not seem to be a person who was fond of meddling in others’ business.
It created a tremendous uproar in the palace and the emperor immediately summoned the people from the two families, as well as Prince Yi. However, Prince Yi did not appear. Perhaps Prince Yi was busy, as they could not find him for a while. At the same time, it also indicated that he did not want to intervene in this matter.
The Lord Peace’s Manor was the Empress Dowager’s parental family. However, the Empress Dowager was not Prince Yi’s biological Mother. It could be said that it had nothing to do with Prince Yi. Although the two manors were talking about marriage, they were not properly related yet. Besides, with Prince Yi’s temper, even if Commandery Princess Xianyun married into the Prince Yi’s Manor, he might not even intervene in this matter.
Therefore, Princess Xianyun had to be shameless and secretly came to Prince Yi’s Manor to ask for an audience with him.
Hearing that the Matriarch-to-be had asked to see their master, the people in the manor were quite polite. They asked someone to take her to the living room and asked her to wait there. They said that the prince was not in the manor and might come back in a while.
She waited for about four hours. Commandery Princess Xianyun sat quietly in the hall. First, she felt her legs and feet go weak, and then, she felt as if her whole body was going limp.
“Commandery Princess, move and take a rest.” The personal maid, Xiangrong, saw her stiffness and whispered with concern.
“It’s alright. I’ll wait a little longer.” Commandery Princess Xianyun’s lips lifted, as a bitter smile emerged on her face.
Even though it was not breaking the rules for her to come here now, she was still the matriarch. However, there was nothing other than the fruits, snacks, and tea that they had brought in earlier. Later, there was no one else who came. Only two maids were standing outside the hall. She did not summon them, nor did they come in. They stood outside in a daze.
She told herself to sit upright. She could not let others look down on her because she did not come here per etiquette. Prince Yi was busy with his business. But since he had not left the capital city, there could not have been any news yet. He had been summoned to the imperial court. Anyway, he had already known about it.
However, he was still not back yet.
She remembered his warning to her on that day.
He needed a dignified female master in his mansion.
He hated jealousy the most. In that case, the whole manor would be in chaos, and his family would be in turmoil.
If she could not do that, he had no qualms in replacing her with another princess…
She was not married to him yet. No, at that time, the emperor had not issued an imperial edict, but he showed no mercy in front of her. The vicious look told her that what he said was true. However, faced with his overbearing manner, she was speechless.
He had never been moved by her, even though she had won all the praises in the city. Prince Yi was well-known for his ruthlessness. His former fiancée died of illness before they officially got married. It was said that he loved the woman so deeply that he had not married anyone else. However, she did not think so.
If he was affectionate, why had she not heard that he had worshipped her? And when she was a child, she had seen the woman several times. She could not remember her clearly. The woman did not seem to be stunningly beautiful, so how could she be a perfect match for him?
“Young Lady, let me ma.s.sage your neck. You’re so stiff. When Prince Yi comes back later, he may blame me for not serving you well.” Xiangrong suggested again. It seemed that Prince Yi cared about her. Although she knew it was meant to comfort her, it also made her feel a little relieved.
Perhaps he did not know that she had been waiting for so long, or maybe the servants in the mansion were lazy and had informed him late.
“Commandery Princess, isn’t that Prince Yi who is over there?” Another maid, Qiuhuan, suddenly pointed to the outside of the hall and said in surprise. Looking over from a distance, she saw a group of people coming over. Among them, the handsome and cold person was none other than Prince Yi.
She moved her stiff neck slightly, then her legs, and stood up. Somehow, there was a glimmer of hope.
Ao Chenyi came to the living room with a large group of people, leaving most of the people outside. He took only two eunuchs and came in with Ning Xueyan. They sat down on the big chair in the middle of the hall. Ning Xueyan seemed to struggle a little, but he still held her in his arms.
“Greetings, Prince Yi.” Commandery Princess Xianyun lowered her head and came over to greet him. She tried hard not to focus on the woman in Prince Yi’s arms. Unlike last time, she and Prince Yi were now engaged, but he did not show her any affection. In front of her, he flirted with a woman who did not even have a status.
Ao Chenyi waved his hand, indicating that she did not have to be so polite. He asked rudely, “Why are you here?”
Realizing that she was in need of Prince Yi’s help, Commandery Princess Xianyun breathed a sigh of relief and said softly, “Please save my brother’s life, Your Highness!”
She did not say anything just now, but when she spoke, she remained silent for a while.
“Your brother? Does your brother have anything to do with me?” Ao Chenyi stared at Commandery Princess Xianyun and suddenly smiled coldly.
His words made Commandery Princess Xianyun blush. Everyone knew that they were a couple-to-be, but she, an unmarried young lady, could not say it. She was stunned by the question and clenched her teeth, not knowing how to explain the relationship between them.
“Your Highness, you… you’re still saying that you don’t know?” A grumble broke the silence in the room. It sounded hoa.r.s.e as well, but it was more like the sound of crying. Coupled with the beautiful eyes that she had seen earlier, it was evident that this splendid concubine had been crying before.
Commandery Princess Xianyun’s heart skipped a beat. Was it because of Prince Yi’s marriage? A hint of mockery flashed in her eyes. A concubine dared to obstruct Prince Yi’s wedding. She was reckless.
“All right, all right. I know. Be a good girl. It’s not that I want to marry a consort and a co-consort. I’ll marry two easy-going women, and no one will bully you.” Ao Chenyi’s cold face became gentle all of a sudden. He even coaxed his beautiful concubine in his arms.
However, his words made Commandery Princess Xianyun tremble with anger. She took a deep breath to calm herself down.
“But when you keep getting married, I… feel very uncomfortable.” The delicate voice filled with some pretentious pity was heard. It could be said that she did it on purpose, especially in front of Commandery Princess Xianyun. Commandery Princess Xianyun’s two maids felt sorry for their master.
Their master was not only beautiful, but also gentle. Such a humble woman could not be compared with her. But why didn’t Prince Yi see that? Instead, he seemed to be fascinated by this woman. He did not care about the dignity of Commandery Princess at all. It was too much for her to behave like this in front of the Commandery Princess.
“Well, I promise you that I’ll marry the consort and the co-consort at the same time, so as not to make you sad. I feel bad to see you so distressed.” Ao Chenyi did not seem to see the expressions of the several people standing below. He coaxed the Beautiful Lady in his arms and ignored Commandery Princess Xianyun, in front of him. As for what she said, he seemed not to have heard her at all.
Commandery Princess Xianyun still lowered her head and stood respectfully, as if she had not seen everything in front of her. Although the two maids were filled with anger, they did not dare to move because their master did not say anything.
“You’ll marry the consort and the co-consort together?” It seemed that Ao Chenyi’s words worked. His favorite concubine no longer cried. She wiped her tears with a handkerchief and asked, “Can you do that?”
“Of course, I can. I’ll go to the imperial palace and tell my brother that I’ll marry them at the same time. I can’t let my Beautiful Lady feel sad for me, time and again,” Ao Chenyi said. He raised his charming eyes and turned to Commandery Princess Xianyun gracefully. A smile appeared on his delicate lips. “Commandery Princess, what do you think of my proposal?”
He looked at Princess Xianyun so calmly. From time to time, a cold smile appeared on his handsome face. One could not tell if he was happy or angry. He casually asked as if he was asking Commandery Princess Xianyun if she wanted to go out for a walk with him. His tone was light and ruthless.
He had asked her for her opinion. He wanted to marry the consort and the co-consort together. It would be a dishonor for the legal princess. How could he ask her that? It seemed that the whole room was on fire. She felt bitterness in her mouth. She looked up at the woman in Ao Chenyi’s arms. The veil was fluttering in the air, and she could only see a pair of red eyes. The favorite concubine glanced at her with a hint of ridicule.
The beautiful concubine was putting on a show today, to deal her with a head-on blow.
She looked back at Ao Chenyi’s face again, which was extremely handsome, but extremely cold. Even though he had spoken tenderly, he still looked ruthless, when she looked at him carefully. His hand, which was around the beautiful concubine’s body, did not tremble at all. Not only was there not a trace of softness, but it even made people feel a bit stiff.
He did not like jealousy, which would cause a scene in the manor! His words suddenly appeared in her mind, and a glimmer of light flashed in her eyes. But then, she raised her head with a slight smile on her face. She said politely and implicitly, “I’m at your command, Your Highness!”
Since this humble woman dared to say that, she did not believe that people like Ao Chenyi could not hear the provocation in her words. This kind of woman abounded in the imperial palace. He was used to the ups and downs in the imperial palace and had killed many of these women. How could Ao Chenyi care about this kind of woman?
She was a plaything for the time being.
Since this woman had cried and screamed so that she and Ning Xueyan would marry into the manor together, it was fine. She did not believe that they were not able to deal with such a low-ranking woman like her. The most important thing was that she was begging for Prince Yi’s help now, so she could not go against his will.