Chapter 40: Uncle
But he couldn’t completely lose his princely dignity under the gaze of so many people. Helpless, he could only swallow this bitter, silent loss. In reality, his mind was already racing, planning to find the right opportunity to escape the Phoenix Clan and make Li Qinghe pay a terrible price.
On the surface, Li Qinghe seemed to be the winner of this affair. But in the end, she had still taken thirty heavy strokes and earned Jun Mo’s undying hatred. When calculated closely, she hadn’t won at all. On the contrary, she had just created a dangerous, hidden threat for herself.
Of course, that was all a matter for later.
The others didn’t care whether Jun Mo stayed or not. Their purpose was to visit family, and now that the visit was over, they naturally wouldn’t be staying long in the Phoenix Clan. After exchanging a few final words, they departed.
This, however, did not include Lang Hua’s aunt, Shufen, and Yaoguang’s aunt, Teng Luo. The two women flanked Li Xuanyue, one holding her left hand, the other her right, their faces etched with earnest concern.
“Princess, we’re entrusting Lang’er to you now,” Shufen pleaded.
“Yes, Princess, you mustn’t let us down. That child, Yaoguang, his health has been poor since he was little.” Teng Luo wiped at her tears as she spoke. “We were so reluctant to send him here. If the clan truly had any other children of a suitable age, Yaoguang would never have been sent for this marriage alliance. Speaking of which, Yaoguang is such a pitiful child. His father never doted on him, and his mother never loved him. If it weren’t for me, his aunt, looking out for him… he might have been gone long ago.”
“Aunt, what are you saying!” Lang Hua, trailing behind, wanted to disappear on the spot. He was a grown man, yet his aunt Shufen was talking about him as if he were some delicate maiden. If he ever returned to the Fox Clan, who knew how others would look at him?
Li Xuanyue’s lips curved into a smile. “Aunt Shufen, Aunt Teng Luo, please rest assured. I will take good care of them. You don’t need to worry.”
“Good, good, good.” With Li Xuanyue’s promise, Shufen and Teng Luo finally felt at ease.
In contrast, Zhong He’s father and Yu Sheng, being men, naturally didn’t have much to say to Li Xuanyue. They each spoke briefly with Zhong He and Yu Mian, then offered Li Xuanyue a formal clasp of their hands in farewell before departing.
…
Meanwhile, Li Qinghe, having endured the thirty strokes, returned to Chaoren Hall, her back a mess of blood and wounds.
While the thirty strokes themselves weren’t enough to cause her serious harm, they had been enhanced with magic, and the impact still left her internal organs aching.
But she felt no regret.
Even if she could do it all over again, she would make the same choice.
At her side, Ruyue watched her mistress sit silently on the couch, tears streaming down her own face. “Princess, why must you go this far!”
Ruyue’s heart ached as she gently lifted the fabric of Li Qinghe’s inner robe to apply medicine. “That Second Prince of the Snake Clan… one look and you can tell he’s no good. I saw him clearly from outside the hall just now, the way he was shouting… He doesn’t look like someone who intends to settle down and live a good life with you, Princess. Who knows what kind of trouble he’ll cause in the future.”
“What do you know?” The pain in her back was sharp, making her feel distant, but her mind was perfectly clear. “Jun Mo is the Second Prince of the Snake Clan. He has his mother, Empress Lin, backing him. If I don’t secure him this time, how can I possibly fight my ‘good sister’ for the throne? I didn’t do this for Jun Mo himself. I did it for the power and influence he has behind him.”
“But… won’t the Second Prince hate you for this?” Ruyue asked, confused. “Will he still be willing to help you then?”
“Heh. At this point, do you think I care?” Li Qinghe shot her a mocking sideways glance. “I knew this would happen from the moment I decided to plot against him. So what if he hates me? In the end, isn’t he still carrying my child in his belly?”
Ruyue finally understood. Li Qinghe was planning to use the child to control Jun Mo. But… would a man like the Second Prince really be constrained by such a tactic? Ruyue couldn’t help but worry.
Soon, the news of the impending marriage alliance between the Phoenix Clan and the Snake Clan spread once again throughout the Hundred Clans.
At first, everyone was baffled.
It wasn’t until people heard from the returning visitors what had happened—that Jun Mo had been tricked and was now pregnant with the Second Princess of the Phoenix Clan’s child—that everyone finally understood the reason for the marriage. The discussions exploded.
“The Snake Clan really dropped a watermelon to pick up a sesame seed. A perfectly good visit, and they ended up losing another son.”
“Who do you think was behind this? To come up with such a sinister, dirty trick… what a piece of work.”
However, when these rumors reached the Snake Clan, they ignited a different kind of firestorm.
Empress Lin exploded with fury in her palace. “Didn’t you promise me you would take good care of Mo’er?” The woman’s reddened eyes looked demonic, causing the palace maids to tremble in terror. “What in the world is going on?”
Empress Lin had only ever had one son, Jun Mo. She once had a daughter, but the child had died before the age of three. Because of this, she had poured all her hopes and expectations into Jun Mo.
When Jun Mo had proposed going to the Phoenix Clan for the visit, Empress Lin had been vehemently against it. She only relented after Jun Mo’s repeated assurances. But who could have imagined that he would go and never return? And the messengers who came back claimed he was pregnant with that Second Princess’s child. How could Empress Lin possibly accept this?
“My Lady, please don’t be angry just yet.” Her attendant, Cheng Momo, quickly poured a cup of tea and handed it to her. “This might all be a misunderstanding,” she soothed. “The Second Prince is brilliant; he understands the weight of his responsibilities. In this old servant’s opinion, it’s highly likely this was a deliberate setup.”
“Why don’t we go and ask His Majesty? See if he has a solution?”
“Do you think the Snake King cares about me at all right now?” Empress Lin cried, verging on collapse. “He’s probably in that vixen’s bed as we speak!”
Just thinking about it sent her into a rage. She had thought that after she plotted to kill that Noble Consort Liu and sent her son away, no other woman would ever be able to steal the Snake King’s favor. She thought no one could challenge her son’s position as Crown Prince.
But she had been wrong. After that bitch Liu Zhaohui died, the Snake King simply brought in a whole new batch of consorts. He didn’t care about her, his Empress, or her son at all.
“My Lady, you mustn’t say that,” Cheng Momo placated her. “His Majesty is the monarch of the Snake Clan. It is his duty to favor consorts and produce more heirs for the clan. The Second Prince is his own flesh and blood. The Snake King cannot possibly sit by and do nothing.”
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