Chapter 1541: Chapter 1548: Show off Affection (1)
The mansion of the Lord of Jingyang County was located on the eastern side of the Qing Luo Kingdom Palace, adjacent to the palace itself. It was once the residence of a prince. After the catastrophic coup and slaughter orchestrated by Wanyan Honglie, the Qing Luo royal family had lost nearly ninety percent of its members. Those remaining were all distant branches born of concubines. As a result, most of the Prince’s Mansions and Princess’s Houses in Qing Luo Kingdom stood empty. Out of affection for her niece, Queen Na Muhan bestowed upon her the mansion closest to the palace.
In fact, Queen Na Muhan pitied her for being orphaned and initially wanted to bring her into the palace to live. However, the Lord of Jingyang County wanted the freedom to venture outside, to host private banquets with the aristocratic young ladies, and to casually enjoy outings. So, she refused her aunt’s goodwill and insisted on establishing her own independent residence outside.
Queen Na Muhan, doting on her niece, assigned her the mansion nearest to the palace—the very best—and endowed her with abundant wealth and servants, enabling her to live a lavish royal-like lifestyle outside the palace.
The Lord of Jingyang County did not disappoint her. From being a countryside maiden who depended on others, she transformed into the most extravagant and haughty aristocratic lady in Qing Luo Kingdom.
She considered herself the rightful niece of the Empress Dowager, bearing parents who were tragically implicated by Queen Na Muhan and thus lost their lives. Having endured ten years of suffering in the countryside, she believed that her aunt’s kindness was entirely her due. In her view, Queen Na Muhan was obliged to give her the best of everything, including the cousin she adored, Wanyan Jingchen, and the position of Qing Luo Kingdom’s Crown Princess.
Unfortunately, though her aunt loved and indulged her, granting every request, she displayed resolute opposition in this matter. She refused to depose Xiang Yun and proclaim her as Crown Princess, and she wouldn’t even grant her the title of secondary consort.
Feeling disappointed, she nurtured a growing resentment toward her aunt. The Crown Prince cousin was not only handsome and refined, but remarkably talented—a true phoenix among men. In her own belief, only such a man could be worthy of her. She deemed herself superior to the Crown Princess in both appearance and demeanor. How, then, could such a jealous, unreasonable, and plain-featured woman become the Crown Princess while she could not?
Indignant, she disregarded her aunt’s warnings and boldly approached the Crown Prince cousin. Unexpectedly, that crazy Crown Princess not only refused to give her any face but also beat her black and blue, instructing her vile slaves to carry her out of the palace like a swine and toss her outside the palace gate.
In the six years since her aunt had taken her in, she had lived in unparalleled luxury and arrogance. Now, after such public humiliation, everyone in Qing Luo Kingdom knew of her disgrace. Her pride and dignity were utterly torn apart. In her fury, she wanted nothing more than to kill that shrew. So agitated was she that despair took root, leaving her unwilling to live.
What hurt her most was Jingchen, the cousin she yearned for so desperately. When she collided with him, he showed a look of disgust, as though avoiding something filthy. When his shrew of a Crown Princess struck her, he stood by coldly, merely reminding the shrew not to strain the child in her belly. He ignored her screams and cries for help altogether.
To be ignored was one thing. But when she tried to resist and grapple with that shrew, he narrowed his eyes in silent threat. His expression seemed to promise that if she dared to touch the Crown Princess, he would tear her into pieces.
His presence carried an overwhelming aura of intimidation that instinctively made people fearful. That commanding force cowed her into submission, leaving her utterly unable to fight back. She endured the full brunt of the shrew’s kicks and punches, beaten into a grotesque state like a pig’s head.
After being carried back to her mansion, the more she thought about it, the angrier and more wretched she felt. She simply could not swallow this humiliation. Determined to restore her lost dignity, she swore to herself she would resolve this—even if it meant refusing food and drink.