The document is clear to the world

Chapter 16

Jihe smiled sadly, "I don't blame his mother for being harsh on me, I only blame myself for having the surname Rong. If I weren't Rong Jihe, my mother-in-law would definitely accept me as her daughter-in-law, and Hong wouldn't be caught in the middle."

“If you weren’t Rong Jihe, you wouldn’t have been able to marry the Crown Prince.” I smiled bitterly.

Jihe, trembling, reached out and grabbed my hand. "Sister, tell me, is Aunt disappointed in Hong?!"

There was a strange fear in her eyes, so I quickly turned away and avoided eye contact.

“Zhaozhi, the fact that you are marrying into this family means that your aunt wants to give up on Hong. That position is not one that Hong can hold onto.”

She smiled at me as she spoke, "You're all that's left in the Rong family... You're the only one who can support the Rong family. There's nothing more I can do for the Rong family."

"Sister, you mustn't let Aunt hear this," I quickly stopped her. "Otherwise, she'll be very sad."

I walked into the courtyard with a heavy heart, and looking at the noblewoman walking in the distance, I secretly guessed that she must be the Crown Prince's birth mother, Consort Xia, so I bowed my head and gave a curtsy.

"Which palace is this from?" she asked softly, touching her temple.

The palace maid beside her hurriedly said, "She is the seventh prince's legitimate wife."

"Seventh brother's?" Her words were clearly tinged with disgust. "Then you also have the surname Rong?"

I was just thinking about how to escape the past when her next sentence surprised me.

"What are the Empress's intentions in marrying you off? Does she have the audacity to want Consort Ding's son to compete with us? She shouldn't have chosen Consort Ding, who has no advantages whatsoever. People are born with the right fate and the right son. Her son, humph, is far from being good enough."

My chest tightened with indignation. "Your Majesty, you've gone astray. Our Prince Ning often receives praise from the Emperor in court. Besides, although neither is born of the principal wife, they are both raised by the principal wife, so there shouldn't be any difference. Both the Crown Prince and our Seventh Prince were raised by the Empress. Even the Empress said that both sons are equally precious. I imagine that in the Emperor's eyes, both sons are his pride. How can Your Majesty say that the Seventh Prince's life is cheap?"

"You scoundrel—" Consort Xia glared, "How can my son be compared to the offspring of that lowly wretch?"

"Your Highness, my mother-in-law is a dignified second-rank Consort Ding, not much lower than you, and certainly not a lowly person. My husband is the renowned Prince Ningshuo, though not as pampered as the Crown Prince's daughter, he is still quite noble. Isn't it beneath your dignity to speak like this? For a first-rank Imperial Consort to utter such vulgar words is truly an eye-opener. It's fine if you don't lose face, but it would be bad if it implicated the Crown Prince."

Before I could finish speaking, a slap landed heavily on half of my face.

I looked at her distorted and somewhat ferocious face. She pointed at me and said, "Guards, drag this little bitch to the back room. I want to teach her a lesson myself."

In the darkness, I heard a nanny lean over and whisper, "Your Highness, this is, after all, a princess, or rather, the Princess Consort of Ning."

"So what? The world will be in my son's hands in the future." She paused, then continued to instruct, "Do it cleanly, leave no survivors. No one is allowed to tell anyone. Anyone who gets in my son's way, I will kill them, no matter who they are or what their surname is."

When I discovered that this woman's intentions were far more sinister than I had imagined, I was already bound hand and foot. I recalled my father's repeated warnings to me before my marriage at the Prince of Huai's residence: never practice martial arts in the royal family, and never let anyone know about my travels in the martial world.

But if I don't act now, am I just going to watch this woman poison me? Father, you must teach your daughter how to protect herself.

A sharp pain shot through my shoulder, followed by an even more excruciating pain. In the darkness, I saw the gleaming needle approaching my chest. This kind of death would leave no trace to anyone else. They could just find a deserted place and dump the body there.

It will only be an unidentified female corpse, the cause of death is unknown, the time of death is unknown... all sorts of ominous things.

The needle pierced my heart without my awareness, causing a dull pain, followed by numbness and a blurry sensation; I couldn't feel the pain anymore.

I opened my eyes to the faint fragrance, looked at the unusual ceiling, frowned, and looked at the Queen, who was standing wearily by my bedside, with tears still on her cheeks.

“Auntie…” I called out.

She sighed, scooped a spoonful of herbal medicine and held it to my lips. "I have indeed disliked that woman all these years, but don't risk your life for her. You are my own niece."

I coughed. "Did my aunt save me?"

“It was Jihe who found out that you had been taken away by Consort Lin. Despite her still-unrecovered health, she ran out to find the Seventh Prince and beg the Emperor.”

I nodded.

The Empress wiped the medicine from my lips. "Consort Xia has been placed under house arrest. It seems the Emperor still respects our family's power, or perhaps he cares about you."

I struggled to sit up. "I still need to go back to the manor. Zhen'er still needs me to supervise her recitation."

"You've been unconscious for two days, it's not time to worry about this." The Empress quickly pressed me down. "This is the inner palace of the Empress, Lu Li can't stay here. I've had him wait in the outer room since yesterday. I'll have someone tell him in a bit so he can go back to his residence without worry. You can stay here with me to recover."

I nodded, and before long, the door to the inner palace was pushed open, and Lu Li strode in, bowing to the Empress. "Mother, I heard that the Princess has woken up, so I wanted to bring her back to the palace with me."

Before the Empress could refuse, Lu Li had already come up, taken off his robe and draped it over me, then gently carried me off the bed. I didn't struggle, and let him carry me step by step towards the outside of the palace. The wind and snow were heavy, but I didn't feel the cold.

Inside the carriage, Lu Li held me weakly in his arms. I struggled to open my eyes to look at him, and he suddenly frowned. "You really don't know what's good for you. You're willing to go through fire and water for your Rong family, risking your life just to bring down a mere concubine?! I think you're short-sighted. Women's vision is so narrow. You really don't know that you're losing big for small gains."

I smiled and said, "What do you mean by 'losing a great deal'? I don't know. I only know that my life belongs to the Rong family."

"Hmph, in short, your self-inflicted injury scheme has succeeded. The Xia family has fallen because of you this time, but I cannot keep such a scheming woman by my side. You'd better watch yourself from now on."

I gently pushed him away, leaned against the car, and fell into a deep sleep. I only vaguely remember saying, "I'll let you think what you want. It's my fault that my scheming has disappointed you..."

In my sleep, someone was walking back and forth in my ear. The deliberately light footsteps annoyed me, so I opened my eyes and saw Lu Li handing me the medicine with a dark face. "The imperial physician said that the medicine should be taken on time."

I pursed my lips, but simply took it.

Yu Guangli was already sitting on the edge of the bed, quietly watching me, seemingly lost in thought.

"From now on... you are not allowed to enter the palace without my permission." His face was ashen.

I didn't say a word, though I was inwardly opposed. I drank the medicine angrily, finishing it in one gulp.

"And... no matter who you meet, you're not allowed to say whatever you want, just because you feel like it."

My face already showed signs of displeasure.

"You should also avoid going to your sister's place as much as possible."

Just as I was getting drowsy, I suddenly felt his voice soften.

"No matter who says Mother is a lowly woman, or that I am a son... you are not allowed to utter a single word. You must shut up forever." His last few words were spoken as a command.