The carriage traveled for over ten days before finally stopping at an unknown location.
Xue Niang had no idea where she was. The courtyard was vast, with winding corridors, ponds, and pavilions. Well-trained guards and orderly maids were everywhere. She guessed this must be the First Prince’s private villa.
Liu Zhi never reappeared, and new maids quickly took her place.
Xue Niang was utterly exhausted, having been unable to sleep for days and nights. Her small face had visibly thinned.
“Miss, what would you like to eat? This servant will instruct the kitchen to prepare it.”
The new maid by her side was named Yu Liu. Seeing her new mistress growing more haggard by the day, Yu Liu was terrified of being punished by the master upon their return. However, having been trained, she dared not show it on her face.
“I want to eat egg pancakes.”
Xue Niang’s voice was somewhat ethereal. She was like a flower starved of nutrients, slowly withering away.
She had never been separated from Xiao Shan for so long. She missed him, constantly. Even the marks he’d left on her body had vanished.
How long had it been?
She didn’t know. The physical and psychological pressure made her days a blur.
She wanted to pull herself together, to be brave, sharp, and fight like a fearless warrior.
But in reality, without Xiao Shan, she felt like a fish out of water, all her strength drained away, leaving only a struggle for survival.
Yu Liu soon brought the egg pancakes. They were golden yellow, fragrant, and evenly sprinkled with white sesame seeds, looking delicious.
Xue Niang took a bite, but then vomited.
They were too soft. Xiao Shan’s were not like this.
But she had to eat, for the child.
“Miss…” Yu Liu was in a panic.
Watching her eat and then vomit, with even bloodstains appearing on the vomited egg pancakes, Yu Liu was terrified.
“Don’t eat anymore, Miss, don’t eat! I’ll go find a doctor, a doctor!”
“No!” Xue Niang wiped the tears from her eyes, her eyes red as she reprimanded.
“But Miss…”
If the master found out, she would be beaten to death!
“What is going on?”
What she feared most had come to pass. After a defiant and gloomy voice, the First Prince, clad in black brocade, strode into the room.
Yu Liu trembled and knelt on the ground.
Seeing the mess all over the floor, the First Prince’s devilishly handsome phoenix eyes narrowed, his thin lips tightening into a frightening curve. The anger radiating from his body was like a brewing storm, sending chills down one’s spine.
After not seeing her for days, she had become this way. Pampered and raised in luxury, yet not as well-kept as a village bumpkin!
“You feed her this rubbish? How do you serve her?” He picked up an egg pancake and threw it to the ground with a *slap*. “Don’t eat it! Look at the state you’re in! Have you no dignity left? When have you ever eaten such coarse food? You’re just like your useless second brother, a coward!”
Despite her fear, Yu Liu still trembled and explained, “Miss has been vomiting everything she eats these past few days. The doctor said it’s indigestion. Miss wanted egg pancakes just now, so I had the kitchen make them. Perhaps they weren’t made well. Please punish me, master.”
“Even an egg pancake can’t be made properly? Drag her out and give her ten strokes!”
Yu Liu was shocked that her words had led to the cook being punished and looked at Xue Niang in surprise.
Xue Niang wiped her mouth. Their conversation seemed irrelevant to her, and the fate of others was also irrelevant, even though she was the cause of it.
Yu Liu’s heart sank. During these past few days, she had thought the young lady was easy to serve, not speaking much, having few demands. Apart from her poor health, she was almost trouble-free. Yu Liu thought she had a good temper.
But it turned out that was not the case.
The First Prince also squinted and observed Xue Niang.
She seemed to have changed.
Before, no matter who made a mistake, she would plead for them. Her temper was as good as that of a Guanyin Bodhisattva.
If not for the Emperor’s protection, how could someone with such a temperament survive in the palace? She would have been devoured, leaving no bones behind.
“So Ling Yao is not that kind-hearted after all.” His sinister and mocking tone returned.
Ling Yao.
She hadn’t heard that name in a long time.
Xue Niang froze for a moment, feeling a sense of unfamiliarity.
The First Prince waved his hand, dismissing Yu Liu.
His phoenix eyes were filled with a cold indifference. Not minding the mess on the floor, he pulled up a stool and sat opposite Xue Niang.
“I never expected that the嫡公主, once revered as a goddess, would debase herself for a coarse man just to survive. You’ve truly disgraced the royal family.”
He was surrounded by many women and could tell at a glance that Ling Yao was no longer a virgin. The damned scoundrel, where did he get the audacity to defile a royal princess?
“You know about the goddess?” Xue Niang asked, surprised.
Few people knew she was a goddess. Her father had told everyone that she was in poor health, and it was only known within the family. The First Prince was not favored and usually didn’t even have the right to enter Feng Que Tower. Who had told him?
“Tch! A lie, still kept hidden, afraid to let others know. How ridiculous.” He mocked freely, a look of disdain on his face.
“What nonsense about a goddess! You’re fake, Ling Xi is fake too. People actually believe such baseless talk. And the Great Yao Divine Lord? Heh, only that fool from the Song family would believe it. Utterly foolish!”
“Didn’t you have to marry the Great Yao Divine Lord? Is any random man the Great Yao Divine Lord? You are, after all, a royal princess. How can you debase yourself by submitting to someone else!”
Xue Niang was shocked by how detailed his knowledge was, and his increasingly harsh and venomous words ignited her anger.
She would not allow him to speak about Xiao Shan like that!
What did he know? He knew nothing!
“From the day I was born, I was confined to Feng Que Tower. I did not proclaim myself a goddess. Forced into a political marriage, falling into the hands of villains – it was all caused by my own relatives! The royal family abandoned me. The one who saved me was the ‘wild man’ you speak of. What royal princess? Being associated with your royal family is my disgrace. The most lowly in the world are the royals!”
The First Prince’s gloomy brows slowly relaxed. His phoenix eyes, filled with mockery, stared blankly at his suddenly sharp-tongued sister.
Was this the soft rabbit?
“How did you end up so far away? What exactly happened?”
Fallen into the hands of villains? Didn’t she run away from the marriage procession herself?
At that time, his subordinate discovered a string of pearls, a tribute from the Southern Kingdom, appearing in the common market. He was suspicious and investigated. Upon investigation, he learned that Ling Yao had worn them on her wedding day. Later, he found some clues, but they disappeared in Dong Lin.
In her anger, Xue Niang felt the blockage in her chest dissipate, and her body regained some strength. Her expression was cool and clear, and she looked at the First Prince with distance and wariness.
“Speak! What exactly do you want by capturing me, First Brother? Do you want to claim credit from the Emperor, or escort me to the Turks? Escorting me to the Turks is fine, but I fear it will not achieve the goal of marital alliance and peace. Instead, it will accelerate the demise of Jing Kingdom! After all, I hate Jing Kingdom to the bone!”
The First Prince’s mouth parted slightly.
His handsome phoenix eyes seemed to want to see through her.
From childhood, wasn’t she dedicated to the safety of Jing Kingdom and the compassion of all living beings?
After disappearing for a year, what had she experienced to harbor such great hatred?
If it weren’t for this appearance, he would have truly doubted if she was Ling Yao.