novelhk Chapter 168: Daddy
Chapter 168: Daddy
"Some suspicions are best kept to yourself; never reveal them to outsiders!" Madam Wen said sternly. "That's a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family! Don't forget, your aunt is still in the palace!"
Upon hearing this, Wen Yitong was shocked. How could she have forgotten about this?
But as Madam Wen spoke, she clenched her fists angrily: "But when you were imprisoned, my aunt didn't send a single letter. We sent dozens of letters to the palace, but they all disappeared without a trace!"
"Isn't Auntie afraid of hurting our feelings by doing this?"
She had been by Lady Wen's side since childhood and knew best the gold and silver treasures Lady Wen had given to Consort Zhang.
If the Duke of Wen pocketed most of the money from Baohua Pavilion, then the remaining money would all be sent to Consort Zhang.
Otherwise, with the meager resources of the Zhang family, how could they support Consort Zhang's extravagant lifestyle in the palace?
However, Madam Wen did not share the same thoughts as Wen Yitong; she knew her sister best.
In that cannibalistic place called Zhang's family, she was able to survive entirely thanks to her sister. The bond between the sisters could not be broken by such a small difficulty.
I'm afraid it's...
“Your aunt’s situation in the palace isn’t good either.” Madam Wen frowned. “If it weren’t for the accident, she would never have stood idly by.”
Thinking about it this way, Madam Wen became anxious again.
Wen Yitong rolled her eyes and sneered, "But your aunt is the most favored concubine in the harem, who could possibly make things difficult for her? In my opinion, she's just not as attentive to you as your father is!"
“I just begged my father,” she said, her voice brightening. “You were released in less than two days.”
Inside the swaying carriage, Wen Yitong's face shone with excitement.
Seeing her like this, Madam Wen sighed inwardly.
This is not good...
She desperately wanted to tell Wen Yitong that Prince Xin, her biological father, was no good person at all.
After a moment, she lowered her voice: "You must keep it to yourself! You absolutely cannot reveal anything to outsiders these days!"
Wen Yitong pouted, clearly annoyed by Madam Wen's words.
But after noticing Madam Wen's expression, she waved her hand after a moment of silence and said, "Don't worry, I understand and will keep your words in mind."
Just then, the carriage stopped.
Wen Yitong looked out through the carriage curtain and exclaimed happily, "Mother, we've arrived!"
The place they are staying at today is the house that Madam Wen gave to Wen Yitong when she got married.
The Chen family was poor and only owned a dilapidated two-courtyard house in the capital. Madam Wen could not bear to see her beloved daughter living in such a place, so she paid for the house herself.
The location and layout of this house are quite good. Although it only has three courtyards, it is still adequate for Wen Shuyao and her son Chen Che to live in.
The carriage stopped, and Wen Yitong carefully helped Madam Wen down from the carriage.
"Mother, this is the house you bought for me, it's yours!" Wen Yitong said, deliberately glancing at Chen Shi standing at the door. "If anyone gossips, just kick them out! This is your house!"
She repeatedly emphasized the ownership of the house, which made Chen's face turn very ugly.
"What do you mean 'your'?" Chen couldn't hold back her anger and immediately stepped forward to shout, "This is my son's house!"
"You jinx!" Madam Chen said, shoving Wen Yitong again. "If it weren't for you, how could my son still be trapped in the examination hall and unable to come back?"
The case of cheating in the imperial examinations has not yet been fully investigated, and those candidates are still being held in the examination hall.
Even though the top three scholars had all been selected, there was still no further news.
Chen Che's performance was extremely poor both times, and he failed to make the list. Even so, he was never released.
Whenever Chen thought about this incident, she felt extremely resentful towards Wen Yitong. She even thought that if Wen Yitong hadn't encouraged Chen Che to take the imperial examination, Chen Che wouldn't have been imprisoned in the examination hall.
The examination hall was such a cramped place, how could anyone stay there?
and……
She seemed to be thinking of something, and her eyes were filled with disdain as she looked at Madam Wen.
"This must be the Lady Wen, the one who was arrested and imprisoned in the Dali Temple," Madam Chen sneered, then covered her mouth and nose, fanning herself incessantly. "Your reputation is ruined, how dare you come out?"
"If I were you, locked in a cell with those prisoners, I would have hanged myself with a white silk ribbon long ago!"
Chen spoke extremely harshly, her beady eyes fixed on Madam Wen, just to see this once high and mighty noblewoman show the humiliating expression she desired.
As expected, when the topic of imprisonment came up, Mrs. Wen's well-maintained face revealed obvious anger.
She stared coldly at Chen: "If you utter another word, I will have your mouth smashed."
At first, Madam Chen panicked, but after seeing the dark circles under Madam Wen's eyes, she immediately regained her confidence and sneered, "You dare?"
"If you dare to hurt me, I'll report you to the Prefect of the Capital!" Madam Chen sneered. "Then, you'll probably be spending another day in jail!"
Upon hearing this word, Madam Wen's face visibly darkened.
The five days she spent in prison were the five days she least wanted to recall; she simply did not want to hear those words from anyone again.
But what Chen said made her wary.
Wen Shuyao is probably just waiting to find fault with her now!
After a moment, Madam Wen took a deep breath, stopped looking at Madam Chen, and walked straight into the courtyard.
Wen Yitong glared fiercely at Madam Chen, and then followed Madam Wen inside.
"Mother, please calm down. Don't stoop to the level of such a lowly person," Wen Yitong comforted her.
She made no attempt to hide the fact that Madam Chen was still standing there, and simply spoke her mind.
Now, Wen Yitong has more confidence than before. In her eyes, Chen, her so-called mother-in-law, is like a weed on the street, someone she can trample on at will.
Upon hearing her words, Chen immediately exploded.
"This is outrageous!" she cried, slapping her thigh. "What kind of daughter-in-law is this? Isn't this bullying?"
As she spoke, she kept glancing in the direction Wen Yitong had left.
In the past, if she had used this method, Wen Yitong would have come to coax her long ago.
Wen Yitong, this pampered young lady, has many flaws, but she has one good point—she admires Chen Che, and because of Chen Che, she has no choice but to listen to him.
However, Wen Yitong seemed like a different person after being away for a few days. No matter how loudly she cried, she did not waver in the slightest.
Seeing this, Chen's eyes darted around, and the sorrowful expression on her face gradually disappeared.
Something's wrong! Something's wrong!
She thought to herself, muttering to herself, "There's definitely something fishy going on here!"
"Could it be that someone else is seeing me?" Chen thought to herself, and immediately became terrified. She quickly got up from the ground and ran to the next room.
……
By this time, news of the Northern Di princess proposing to King Jing on the spot had already spread throughout the capital.
"If King Jing really marries the Northern Di princess, then... what will happen to our Great Li?"
"What? Could it be that Prince Jing is going to marry into the Northern Di tribe?"
A farsighted person sighed and, seeing those clueless young people, couldn't help but say, "But our Great Li and the Northern Di have been enemies for generations. If King Jing marries the Northern Di princess, there's no guarantee that something unexpected might happen in the war with the Northern Di later on."
Everyone knew perfectly well what this "accident" referred to.
Either the Northern Di princess would steal some maps or intelligence from King Jing, or King Jing would be seduced by beauty and do something detrimental to Dali.
Upon hearing this, the young people who had initially dismissed the matter all became serious.
Yes, what should we do?
"I've heard that the Northern Di princess is as beautiful as a fairy, not much less so than Princess Jing."
"They even claim she's the most beloved daughter of the Northern Di King. If that's true, wouldn't Princess Jing have no choice but to resign?"
While discussions raged outside the palace, those inside were equally heated.
As soon as Xie Jinghan came out of Wanchun Palace, he noticed many gazes.
Most of the gazes were cautiously probing from the palace servants, while the gazes of the officials behind them, whether inquiring or gloating, were even more noticeable.
His face grew increasingly grim. Although he had long known that the Northern Barbarians had ill intentions, the fact that they would resort to such a tactic was still beyond his expectations.
"King Jing!"
A sweet, charming female voice rang out, followed by a fragrant breeze.
Yelü Dan stood gracefully in front of Xie Jinghan, her eyes filled with the unique charm of a young girl, and it seemed that Xie Jinghan was the only one in her eyes.
"Why didn't Your Highness wait for me?" she asked, seemingly complaining, but the expression on her beautiful face only conveyed a cute, angry tone.
Unfortunately, Yelü Dan's move was destined to be a futile attempt to deceive the blind.
As soon as she reached Xie Jinghan, he took a large step back.
The fragrance emanating from Yelü Dan wafted over, and Xie Jinghan covered his nose, looking disgusted: "What's that smell?"
Seeing this, Si Qing almost burst out laughing.
He never expected his prince to be so disrespectful, showing no tenderness whatsoever towards a woman.
Such a gentle and beautiful woman was like a monster in the eyes of the prince, someone to be avoided at all costs.
Yelü Dan's smile froze. She seemed not to understand what Xie Jinghan meant by that, and tentatively asked, "Your Highness, are you talking about me?"
Before Xie Jinghan could speak, she had already skillfully put on a wronged expression, looking at him with teary eyes: "This is the secret incense of our Northern Di royal court, a fragrance that our Northern Di women use especially to see their beloved. How could you..."
“The Northern Barbarians and the Great Li are located in the west and the east, respectively, with vastly different climates and customs.” Xie Jinghan took a few steps back, avoiding Yelü Dan like the plague.
Even Yelü Dan's tearful eyes could not evoke any pity or tenderness in him.
His voice was icy and his tone impatient as he said, "The closer you get to me, the more disgusted I feel."
Yelü Dan's expression froze. Before she could come up with a solution, Xie Jinghan said coldly, "I have official business to attend to. Please make way, Princess."