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Chapitre 83

Shi Nishang was a woman of large breasts but little brains, lacking any independent thought and always obedient to her scheming younger sister. Upon hearing the maid's report, although she was puzzled as to how Yu Yan, whom the Crown Prince had just found in the cave, had managed to slip out of the palace so quickly, this thought was fleeting. A moment later, consumed by the pent-up jealousy and resentment, she led her palace servants and headed straight for the Crown Prince's bedchamber without stopping. Her sister was right; to catch someone in the act, one must catch them in the act. Today, she was determined to make the Prince see the true face of this vixen, ideally catching them in bed, disheveled and making love, just as he arrived… The thought of that scene, the Crown Prince's fury, and Yu Yan's potential loss of favor or even death, filled her with excitement. She quickened her pace, rushing towards the Crown Prince's bedchamber…

"Your Highness, please wait, let this servant inform His Highness the Crown Prince..."

"Get out of my way! I have something to report to His Highness. If I delay you, can you afford the consequences?"

"Your Majesty..."

"Get out of here, you damned slave!"

Even with the substitute kicking, Shi Nishang pushed aside the eunuch on night watch outside the palace, stepped forward, and forcefully pounded on the solid and magnificent gate: "Your Highness, Your Highness!"

"Get out!" The angry roar echoed from the bedchamber through the gate and out of the palace.

Hearing Tuoba Ling's roar, Shi Ni Chang's heart trembled slightly. But in order not to miss the golden opportunity to bring down Yu Yan, she gritted her teeth and suppressed her fear, raising her hand to continue pounding on the door: "Your Highness! I have something important to report, please see me! Your Highness."

The incessant banging on the door reached Tuoba Ling's ears. Angrily, he scrambled off Yu Yan, grabbed his outer robe from the hanger, and strode towards the door.

"Your Highness, this matter concerns your reputation and even the reputation of the royal family! Your Highness, please listen to me... Ah, Your Highness!"

The door burst open, and Tuoba Ling stared at Shi Ni Chang with a gloomy expression: "Shi Ni Chang, you're getting more and more outrageous!"

"Your Highness, I have urgent business to attend to..."

"Important business? Another important business? You said you had important business before, but in the end you framed Xiao Yan for having an affair. Now you say you have important business again, Shi Nishang, what kind of trick are you trying to pull now?"

"Your Highness, this time it's absolutely true! Someone saw it with their own eyes, that vixen..."

"A vixen?" Tuoba Ling's eyes turned sinister.

Oblivious to Tuoba Ling's sinister gaze, Shi Nishang curled her lip in disdain and kept nagging, "It's that vixen! I heard that someone saw her with their own eyes just a few hours ago, that vixen drove to the Jian residence! Your Highness, that's a crime of lewdness, an unforgivable offense!"

"You said Xiao Yan is currently at the Jian residence?" Tuoba Ling's tone became strange and unpredictable.

Thinking that Tuoba Ling's strange tone stemmed from his anger at Yu Yan's infidelity, Shi Ni Chang's face lit up with joy, and she said gloatingly, "That's right! If Your Highness doesn't believe me, you can drive there now, and you might just see that adulterer..." With a muffled groan of unbearable discomfort, Shi Ni Chang's words were stuck in her throat.

Grabbing her slender neck, Tuoba Ling's eyes were filled with ruthlessness: "I'm warning you, if you dare to speak ill of Xiao Yan in front of me again, don't blame me for not giving your Shi family any face and kicking you out of the East Palace!"

With a cold snort, Tuoba Ling released Shi Nishang, flung his sleeves and entered the bedchamber, slamming the door shut with a bang.

Clutching her chest, Shi Nishang squatted on the cold stone slab, staring at the tightly closed bedroom door, breathing heavily...

Since the incident of her being taken away, the old emperor had been showering her with small gifts every three days and large gifts every five days. All sorts of rare antiques, glass jewelry, and fine silk fabrics were continuously sent to her residence, as if to compensate her for the pain of losing her wife. In court, the old emperor treated her even better each day. Rongyue knew that serving a ruler was like walking on thin ice. Although she was resentful in her heart, she never showed the slightest displeasure on her face, forcing a smile as she dealt with the old emperor's frequent inquiries about her well-being.

After court, before Rongyue could even board the carriage to return to her residence, Tuoba Chen intercepted her, forcefully pulling her onto his steed. He then whipped it eastward and galloped towards the largest restaurant in the capital...

"Shi Yuchou? Shi Nishang? One is the Crown Prince's concubine, and the other is the Second Prince's concubine. Moreover, she is the daughter of the renowned General Shi Luo... Ha, two women of high status are joining forces to attack a woman in the Eastern Palace who has no official title yet. Yu Yan's situation is truly worrying!" Rong Yue's calm tone was filled with barely suppressed mockery and resentment. She looked at the crowd coming and going downstairs, picked up her cup, and drank all the strong liquor in it. She let the spicy liquor slide down her throat, leaving a burning sensation.

With a stern expression, Tuoba Chen slammed his fist on the table several times: "I never expected Yu Chou to dare to do such a despicable thing behind my back! I am extremely disappointed and furious!"

Fiddled with the empty cup in her hand, Rongyue casually replied, "Women, once they feel jealousy or resentment, there's nothing they wouldn't dare to do."

Turning to look at the nonchalant Rongyue, Tuoba Chen felt both amused and annoyed: "You talk as if you're not a woman..." "Of course I am, it's just that I don't shy away from discussing women's narrow-mindedness in front of others. A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea; men can never fathom a woman's thoughts, so they can't understand or imagine the power of that jealousy buried deep in a woman's heart!" "Oh? Then tell me, just how powerful is a woman's jealousy?"

Brushing the wrinkles off her clothes, Rongyue stood up and walked to the table: "It varies from person to person. It's a long story, and I'm too lazy to explain it all. In short, as a woman myself, I can understand their actions, but that doesn't mean I can forgive them. Second Prince, do you understand what I'm saying?"

Tuoba Chen frowned: "Third Sister, I understand what you mean... Yesterday, Third Sister did indeed devise a clever plan, tricking Shi Yuchou and leading Shi Nishang astray. I heard from the eunuchs in the Eastern Palace that the Emperor was greatly angered by Shi Nishang's two false accusations against Yuyan. If it weren't for her father, who holds military power in the court..."

“Shi Luo…” Rongyue murmured, her eyes closed for a long while, trying to search her memory of this person. In her memory, Shi Luo, a high-ranking military officer, was over sixty years old, but still vigorous and spirited, with a face like a crab's shell, a thick beard on his cheeks, and a powerful, imposing physique that inspired awe at first glance…

Gazing at Rongyue, her almond-shaped eyes half-closed, holding a wine cup and lost in thought, Tuoba Chen felt a fleeting thought arise in his daze. He imagined Rongyue, draped in a wedding robe, sitting on a silk brocade embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water, holding a white jade cup close to his lips, her eyes half-closed, her red lips pouting as she gently inhaled his scent…

"This Shi Luo is a person..." Rong Yue said, raising her head. But when she saw Tuoba Chen with his dazed eyes and an unusual glow on his face, her heart sank and the words she was about to say were swallowed back down.

He slammed his knuckles heavily on the table: "Second Prince!"

After a long pause without seeing a response from Tuoba Chen, Rongyue raised her voice: "Your Highness, Second Prince!"

Tuoba Chen then pulled back from his galloping will and came to his senses: "What did you just say, Xiao San?"

Taking a deep breath, Rongyue looked directly into Tuoba Chen's bright eyes: "Second Prince, there is an old saying: 'The male rabbit's feet are twitching, the female rabbit's eyes are blurred; when two rabbits run side by side, how can one tell which is male and which is female!'"

Tuoba Chen's expression gradually darkened: "Mistress, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"Mistaking a female rabbit for a male rabbit—since it's a mistake, and since it's hard to tell the difference, why bother trying to figure it out? Why not just stay that way for the rest of your life?"

Tuoba Chen was horrified: "Jian Xiaosan! Do you know what you're saying?!"

Rongyue's face was as still as water: "In this life, I only wish to be that thrashing rabbit, and never change my mind until the end!"

"Jian Xiaosan, you'll regret this!"

Whether I regret it or not is my business, and has nothing to do with His Highness.

"None of my business? You..."

"Your Highness, remember my words today. It's getting late, I'll take my leave!" With a flick of her robe, Rongyue lifted the curtain and strode out of the private room without looking back.

Watching that pale green figure disappear beyond the curtain, Tuoba Chen felt a tightness in his chest, a suffocating feeling that made him extremely irritable...

Being a mistress is fine for a while, but being a mistress for life isn't as simple as you think. Mistress, you will definitely regret it, you definitely will...

Volume Two: The Resolute Heroines' Chronicle, Chapter Nineteen: Rongyue Becomes a General (Part One)

It's faintly the poignant glow of the fire, faintly the sparse stars of midnight, faintly that beautiful face that seems to have seen through life and death...

On the high platform, his mother lay with her arms outstretched, tightly bound to a wooden frame by chains. Flames raged beneath her feet, thick smoke billowing, and the fire seemed poised to spread upwards, mercilessly threatening to engulf her petite body…

Below the platform, an old eunuch, feigning pity and acting sullen, shouted in a effeminate, sarcastic tone towards the platform: "Your Highness, why are you doing this? Listen to this old servant's advice, don't be so stubborn. It's not too late to tell us the whereabouts of that wretched child!"