It turned out to be the Seventh Prince, Feng Zihe. Yesterday, his elder brother had ordered him to stay in the palace and not leave, so he came out early this morning. He saw the women from the Crown Prince's residence bullying Hai Ling and wanted to help, but Hai Ling dismissed the women with just a few words. She was indeed worthy of being his friend.
But seeing the scene before her, the Seventh Prince was furious.
As soon as Rouge saw the Seventh Prince, she seemed to see a savior and immediately complained, "Seventh Prince, look at how the Crown Prince humiliated Miss yesterday. He was nowhere to be seen at the wedding and even left the two of us in this place. Do you think this is where the Crown Princess lives?"
Feng Zihe glanced at the residence in front of him, his face turning cold: "I'm going to find my royal brother."
He was about to leave after he finished speaking, but Hailin quickly grabbed his hand.
"Zihe is unacceptable."
If the Seventh Prince Feng Zihe were to go and find Feng Zixiao now, it would not only be of no use, but would also incur the Crown Prince's displeasure.
It's fine if he dislikes her, since she doesn't plan to stay in the Crown Prince's residence anyway. But if he dislikes the Seventh Prince, how will the Seventh Prince have an easy time in the future? Since he considers her a friend, she can't harm him. However, Feng Zihe doesn't understand what she means and looks up at her.
"Come in first and we'll talk. We can't go to the Crown Prince about this rashly, or it will only arouse his displeasure. I do have a solution, but I need Zihe's help."
Hai Ling led Feng Zihe into the hall, which was quite simple, but fortunately it had been cleaned up by the servants. The reason why weeds were left outside was simply to embarrass her.
The people in the mansion all act according to the Crown Prince's wishes. Since the Crown Prince dislikes her, they simply do what he wants to deal with her.
"You said that I would definitely help you if it was something I could do."
Inside the hall, the two sat down casually. Rouge went out, rummaged through her dowry and found some tea leaves, then came back to brew tea and serve it.
"Zihe certainly knows the Crown Prince's personality. The more others go against his wishes, the more determined he becomes. So if you go, you'll only get a scolding from him. Therefore, Zihe, you can help me spread some rumors, saying how badly I am in the Crown Prince's residence, making me sound like I'm in a terrible situation like no other before or since. Once this reaches the Empress's ears, I believe the Crown Prince will definitely have someone make arrangements for me. Then, won't I be in a better position?"
Upon hearing this, the Seventh Prince, Feng Zihe, realized that it made perfect sense.
My elder brother has always been autocratic. Once he has made up his mind about something, he will only become more disgusted if others try to persuade him to do so.
"Okay, I'll go and send you the message right now."
Feng Zihe got up anxiously. Seeing that Hailing was not having a good time in the Crown Prince's residence, he felt very uncomfortable, so he had to get this matter done as soon as possible.
Hai Ling watched Feng Zihe walk out before realizing that she must look terrible with her disheveled hair and fat appearance. Fortunately, Zihe didn't seem disgusted and was even worried about her.
It's a pity she doesn't like people from the royal family, and Zihe is too young, otherwise she could have developed a relationship with this guy.
When Rouge saw that the Seventh Prince had stood up for them, she finally felt relieved and stopped crying. She reached out to help Hailing up and said, "Miss, let's go do our hair and makeup. I'll cook some food for you later."
The people in the Crown Prince's residence don't care about them; they can't just starve to death. Besides, they've always lived like this before. At least there's no shortage of food here, so they can manage to get by.
However, they did not stay there for long.
The news about Feng Zihe spread, and soon the story changed throughout the capital.
The Crown Princess's life in the Crown Prince's residence was miserable. Not only was she disliked by the Crown Prince, but she was also bullied by the other women in the residence. In the end, she was even relegated to live in the woodshed behind the Crown Prince's residence.
Yesterday was the day of the Crown Prince's wedding, and Hai Ling was supposed to be the subject of ridicule. But now everyone feels sorry for the Crown Princess.
There's nothing wrong with her being plump, so how could the Crown Prince treat her like this? Besides, she's a talented woman, yet she's been treated this way by the Crown Prince.
It seems the Crown Prince is a narrow-minded person. If such a person were to become emperor in the future, it's hard to say whether it would be a blessing or a curse for the Great Zhou.
In no time, the whole capital was abuzz with the news.
Within half a day, the news reached the ears of the Empress in the palace.
The Empress immediately summoned Crown Prince Feng Zixiao to the palace and gave him a good scolding. The Emperor was seriously ill and on the verge of death. Their first priority was to deal with the Jiang family, as well as the important matter of the marriage alliance between the two countries. They needed to maintain internal stability and deal with external threats. How could the Crown Prince of a country treat his newlywed wife in such a way? What would the people say?
Inside the palace, the Empress unleashed a furious tirade, while Crown Prince Feng Zixiao remained silent, his face grim.
Upon leaving the palace, he went straight back to the Crown Prince's residence and ordered Steward Xia to quickly move the Crown Princess to a different courtyard. He also ordered that the woman be treated well, and that if any more rumors were to spread, he would not let the person who caused the trouble off the hook.
evening.
Steward Xia led several servants from the Crown Prince's residence to the small courtyard where Hai Ling lived.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Princess."
Steward Xia was much more polite than before. Although there was still disdain in his eyes, he dared not be careless. The Crown Prince had given the order, and he could not bear the responsibility if anything else happened.
"Oh, it's Butler Xia. I'm truly flattered."
Hailin stood up, paced back and forth around Xia Cheng, and then said coolly, "What brings Butler Xia here?"
"This servant requests that Your Highness the Crown Princess move to Linxiang Courtyard."
"Why have you moved to Linxiang Courtyard?"
Hai Ling looked completely bewildered, but she knew in her heart that it must have been the Seventh Prince who leaked the news, which was why it reached the Empress's ears. The Empress must be furious. With the Emperor seriously ill and beset by internal and external troubles, such a thing had still managed to spread. Without a doubt, the Empress would reprimand Feng Zixiao. Just thinking about that man being scolded made Hai Ling feel much better, but getting her to move out wouldn't be so easy.
Since they've let her stay here, it won't be so easy for them to get her out.
"I'm quite happy living here. It's very quiet. I've always liked peace and quiet. Butler Xia, you can go back now."
Hailin waved her hand and instructed Xia Cheng.
Steward Xia's old face darkened, but he was helpless. This woman's status was what it was. Even the Crown Prince was reprimanded by the Empress. What could an old servant like him do?
"The Linxiang Courtyard is the Crown Princess's residence."
Linxiang Courtyard was the best courtyard in the Crown Prince's residence. It was originally the residence of the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace. However, before the wedding, the Crown Prince ordered that the Crown Princess was not allowed to live in Linxiang Courtyard. He told her to live far away from him, out of sight and out of mind.
That's why he arranged for the Crown Princess to come here. Although the inside was tidied up simply, no one was hired to clean the outside. He originally wanted to give this woman a hard time, but unexpectedly, they were the ones who ended up being scolded.
"Hmm, really? Then who brought me here yesterday? Well, since I'm here, I might as well stay. Let's just leave it at that."