Chapter 095
Chapter 95: To Live Well, First Cut Ties With the Heartless
Why was it another task related to Mo Yuan Hao?
And this time, it even came with a “favorability rating.” Favorability? Was she supposed to make Mo Yuan Hao like her?
Su Qian Xue clenched her teeth. This new task was clearly more difficult than before. Fortunately, the time limit had been extended considerably, giving her enough time to prepare thoroughly.
This time, she must do the task properly. She absolutely would not slack off again.
That wretched punishment was simply too much to bear.
The next day.
News spread across the city—Su Qian Xue had fainted outside Prince Qi’s residence while trying to crawl through a doghole to get close to him.
Just as Madam Su had feared, the Su family was once again nailed to the pillar of shame, mocked throughout the capital.
However, with both Su Jian and Su Qian Xue lying unconscious, the Su household was already in chaos and far too overwhelmed to bother with public gossip. That, at least, spared them some extra frustration.
As for Prince Qi’s estate, once the doghole’s location was exposed, the steward immediately called for the servants and had it sealed off that very night. He was terrified that in a few days, Su Qian Xue might once again be struck with a wild impulse and sneak in when no one was watching, disturbing their highness.
Their prince’s spotless reputation could not be ruined by that woman.
In Duke Ning’s manor, an honored guest had arrived.
Princess Consort Jing came personally once again, this time with the young prince in tow.
Seeing the elegant, radiant beauty before her, Madam Yun couldn’t help but feel inwardly startled.
It had only been a little over ten days since her last visit, yet this woman looked like an entirely different person.
Back then, she had been emaciated and haggard. But now, it was as if she had swallowed some divine elixir—her complexion was glowing with vitality.
Could it be that the matter of the concubine and the illegitimate child had been resolved?
“Sister Ye, I’ve come to bother you again today. I hope you won’t find me too troublesome. In this vast Haojing, besides you, there’s no one else I can truly talk to,” Princess Consort Jing said softly, her delicate fingers resting gently atop Madam Yun’s hand. A trace of sorrow glimmered in her gaze as she reached the final sentence.
“Princess Consort, what are you saying?” Madam Yun smiled faintly and patted the back of her hand. Her tone was gentle. “You came to talk with me and cheer me up—I couldn’t be happier. How could I possibly find you troublesome?”
“That’s a relief.” Princess Consort Jing lowered her head with a light smile, a hint of sadness lingering between her finely drawn brows. Madam Yun half-embraced her shoulders and led her to sit.
“You may not realize this, but you and I are actually in very similar situations. In Haojing, I too have no one else to confide in but you.”
She had once thought she had someone—Yang Xin’er—but ever since Little Fourth was born, she realized that the girl she had treated like a blood sister had harbored only malice toward her.
Now that woman had been driven out, their ties completely severed.
“It’s not the same,” Princess Consort Jing sighed and spoke with quiet envy, “His Grace the Duke is utterly loyal to you. His devotion could move the heavens. With a husband like that, what need have you for others?”
That was true.
At the mention of Yun Zheng, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Madam Yun’s lips.
“Auntie… Auntie… where… where’s Little Sister?” a soft, stammering child’s voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. Madam Yun blinked and looked down, meeting the dark, curious eyes of the young prince.
“That’s right, Sister Ye. Where is Fourth Young Miss? Why haven’t I seen her yet?” Princess Consort Jing placed a hand lightly on the child’s shoulder and laughed. “You wouldn’t believe it—Han’er’s always talking about Fourth Young Miss.”
“I wasn’t planning to bring him today, but he made such a fuss about wanting to see her that I had no choice but to bring him along.”
“Han’er came today just to see her.”
Madam Yun: “…”
The boy was only three years old. Was he already capable of missing someone he’d only met twice?
After a brief pause, she smiled and replied, “Little Fourth is with her nanny. I’ll have someone bring her over.”
“Then I’ll trouble you,” said Princess Consort Jing with a gentle nod.
Madam Yun summoned a maid, and soon Yun Wan Ning was carried into the room.
[Oh? We have guests today.]
[It’s Princess Consort Jing and the little prince.]
[Wow, why does the princess consort look so radiant? Did something wonderful happen?]
[The young prince is still just as adorable as last time.]
As soon as the maid carried her in, her babbling heart voice echoed out. Madam Yun chuckled quietly and reached out to take her into her arms.
Princess Consort Jing gently took one of Yun Wan Ning’s chubby little hands and slipped a jade bracelet onto her wrist.
Madam Yun froze slightly. Just as she was about to speak and refuse, she heard Princess Consort Jing laugh and say, “I was in such a rush last time that I forgot to bring a gift. This bracelet was specially made for Fourth Young Miss. I hope Sister Ye won’t mind.”
Madam Yun hesitated. “You visiting is enough. Bringing gifts is really unnecessary.”
“There’s no harm in it. It’s just a bracelet, nothing expensive.”
“…”
The quality of that jade certainly didn’t look like it was “nothing expensive.”
Yun Wan Ning was also stunned for a moment, then excitedly began to stroke the bracelet.
[Why does this bracelet carry the aura of a formation array?]
[Let me take a look—hmm? A spatial formation array? This is a storage-type spirit artifact?]
[Come on, that’s ridiculous. How could someone in this world know how to create a spatial formation? Where did the princess consort find someone to make this bracelet?]
[This world… it’s really breaking down badly.]
[First, there was the system. Now things that only exist in higher realms are appearing? What is going on here?]
[Come to think of it, does the princess consort even know what this bracelet does?]
Listening to her daughter’s thoughts, Madam Yun was completely bewildered. She had no idea what a spatial formation array or a storage spirit artifact was, let alone what a higher realm might mean—but she silently committed every word to memory.
Something about this bracelet… it wasn’t ordinary.
Meanwhile, the young prince, who could also hear heart voices, let a dark gleam flash across his eyes.
So it was true—she could recognize spatial formation arrays and knew about realms. That protective barrier over Duke Ning’s manor… there was a good chance it came from her hands as well.
The bracelet was indeed specially commissioned by his mother. But the formation inscribed on it? That had been secretly added by him alone, without anyone knowing.
The other day, he had sensed a surge of protective energy from Duke Ning’s manor and devised this plan to test her.
He hadn’t expected that in this tiny lower world, someone else would share an experience like his.
And that system she mentioned—what exactly was it?
Could the time reversal at the winter banquet a few days ago be related to that mysterious system?
After gifting the bracelet, Princess Consort Jing playfully teased Yun Wan Ning for a while before turning her attention back to Madam Yun. It was she who first brought up the matter of Prince Jing.
“Sister Ye, did you know? After I returned from your place last time, that illegitimate child was finally found.”
“Perhaps because his misdeeds had been exposed, Mo Ze couldn’t even be bothered to pretend anymore. He shamelessly flaunted his affair with that concubine and hasn’t come home since…”
[Ugh, what a scumbag.]
[Enjoying the privileges of royalty, yet trampling the imperial family’s dignity underfoot. Just how many scandals is this affair going to drag the royal house into?]
[If he likes her that much, then bring her in honorably! What does it mean to keep her hidden outside like some dirty little secret?]
[Clearly, it’s because he doesn’t want her as a concubine. He’s plotting to remove Princess Consort entirely, isn’t he?]
Having accepted the bracelet, Yun Wan Ning naturally stood firmly on the side of the princess consort. She furiously scolded the prince in her heart, and Madam Yun, listening to her daughter’s internal voice, nearly jumped out of her skin.
No matter how awful Mo Ze was, he was still an imperial prince. Such cursing could bring punishment. Thankfully, no one else could hear Little Fourth’s thoughts.
Madam Yun quickly composed herself and was about to offer some words of comfort, when to her surprise, Princess Consort Jing laughed. The sound was strange—soft, eerie, and filled with something sharp.
The fact that she could still laugh when speaking of this matter left Madam Yun both stunned and puzzled.
“I don’t know whether it was the heavens finding their shamelessness intolerable, but three days ago, Mo Ze was bitten by a massive venomous spider. He’s been incoherent ever since.”
“The imperial physician said the venom was extraordinarily potent. It’s already a miracle he survived. Even if he wakes, he’ll most likely be a cripple—unable to speak, barely able to move.”
Hearing this, Madam Yun froze in place, her mind reeling.
A spider like that… in Haojing?
She’d lived here her whole life and had never even heard of such a thing. It didn’t make sense. Something about this felt deeply wrong.
Just as confusion clouded her heart, Yun Wan Ning’s excited thoughts echoed in her mind.
[So that’s why Princess Consort looks so refreshed today. Now it all makes sense.]
[I’d bet my life that spider was no accident—it must have been brought in on her orders.]
[Haojing is in the central region, cold and temperate. It’s impossible for giant venomous spiders to thrive here.]
[Such creatures can only survive in tropical climates.]
[Clearly, the spider was intentionally procured.]
[That faint trace of darkness I sensed before—Princess Consort has truly embraced it.]
[Why am I so certain it was her doing? Simple.]
[The man lies poisoned and dying, while she blossoms with vitality. The whole business with the bastard child and the concubine must have broken her completely.]
[And after Mother’s pointed reminder last time, the princess consort must have realized Mo Ze had no intention of officially bringing the concubine into the household. He kept her outside, not because of affection, but because he coveted the princess consort’s title. He wanted to eliminate her.]
[So, she struck first.]
[Since divorce wasn’t an option, widowhood became the only path.]
[That concubine, nameless and statusless, has no strength without Mo Ze. Once he’s fallen, she’ll crumble like dead leaves in winter.]
[But the princess consort is different.]
[She is the official wife, the recognized lady of the manor. With both a commandery princess and young prince at her side, once Mo Ze falls, the entire royal manor will be under her command. The servants, guards, and stewards will all answer to her. She’ll reign like a queen.]
[Indeed—if a woman isn’t ruthless, her throne won’t last. To live well, you must sever the heartless man.]
[Well done, Princess Consort.]
[Strike first, or be struck later. For a venomous husband without affection or loyalty, this is the only fitting end.]
[Ahh… satisfying. Truly satisfying.]
As Yun Wan Ning mentally praised Princess Consort Jing, practically ready to burst into applause, Madam Yun finally snapped out of her daze. But inside, stormy waves churned, and her jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
Could this… could this truly be as Little Fourth described?
If so, then Princess Consort Jing was far bolder than anyone ever imagined. To plot against a prince—this was high treason, a crime that warranted the execution of nine generations.
And yet… if she hadn’t fought with all she had, what other path was there? Should she have waited quietly for that treacherous man to grow soft-hearted? That would only lead to death.
With things as they were, Madam Yun could only hope the princess consort would be protected by fate, and that her future would continue smoothly.
Still, she couldn’t help but wonder—Princess Consort Jing had always seemed gentle and virtuous. How could she do such a thing?
Madam Yun didn’t doubt her daughter, yet her heart still resisted believing that Princess Consort Jing was truly capable of such ruthless decisiveness.
Not far away, the young prince quietly pressed his lips together. His gaze fell deeply upon Yun Wan Ning, and a flicker of surprise flashed across his dark eyes.
This girl of the Yun family… not only was she skilled in formation barriers, but her mind was shockingly sharp. From just a few hints, she had deduced the truth behind what even the palace servants dared not question.
Not a soul, within or without the manor, suspected his mother.
Women were expected to revere their husbands, and his mother had spent over a decade nurturing a flawless reputation. Since her marriage, she had never committed the slightest infidelity. Who would imagine she’d orchestrate something like this?
And yet… this girl had seen through it all.
After the matter of Prince Jing was spoken of, Princess Consort Jing shifted to a lighter tone, chatting with Madam Yun about the gossip swirling among the capital’s noble lords.
Where she’d heard such tales, no one could guess, but even Yun Wan Ning couldn’t help exclaiming inwardly:
[Who would’ve thought? Princess Consort is quite the gossip.]
“Sister Ye, did you hear? That Lord Wang from the Court of Imperial Banquets had a stroke not long ago. The moment he fell ill, his wife, Madam Wang, started an affair with one of the household guards. She even beat a concubine to death.”
“Some say both of Madam Wang’s sons aren’t even Lord Wang’s, but belong to the guard. Now, she practically runs the entire Wang clan alone.”
“And then there’s Lord Zhang of the Imperial Household Department. Everyone always said his wife was a barren hen, cursed and childless. She was constantly humiliated, especially by her vile old mother-in-law.”
“But just the other day, word came out—turns out Lord Zhang keeps a beautiful male courtesan. He’s a sodomite, incapable of bedding women. Madam Zhang has remained a virgin to this day.”
“What’s worse, the ‘adopted’ son he gave her? He’s actually the child he fathered years ago with a widow. Afraid she’d resent it, he told her the boy came from the imperial clan.”
“No one knows who leaked the truth, but the Zhang household is in complete chaos. Madam Zhang wants a divorce, but Lord Zhang refuses.”
“With that entire selfish family, there’s bound to be more drama.”
“Poor Madam Zhang. All those years of loyalty and toil, working herself to the bone for a family that lied to her, bullied her, and now—what a cruel joke.”
As this cascade of gossip poured forth, Madam Yun’s expression grew more and more puzzled. She had a creeping sense that these tales sounded… oddly familiar.
[Wait a moment… how did the Zhang family’s secret get exposed?]
[The Wang clan’s arc followed the expected path, but the Zhang family’s unraveling? That wasn’t supposed to happen…]