Translated by: etvolare
She had been at the princeâs side for seventeen years and had never seen him treat anyone with such tenderness and careful attention. Even when sheâd been the youngest and most favored consort, the prince had always been a lofty and untouchable god that she didnât even dare look at directly. Despite having borne him children and living together for so long, she still never dared hint at anything that might anger him.
The second princess consort was just as startled, but only for a moment. She noticed the dazed expressions on the senior and third princess consortsâ faces with internal contempt and quietly took a few steps back.
Qin Yining rose and used her greeting curtsey to prevent Zhou Meng from drawing too close.
âYour Grace, what brings you personally here?â She paused. âI cannot thank Your Grace enough for saving me, but my health is far better now. I do not want to trouble Your Grace any further and itâd be much more convenient for me to stay with my people. As a gift of gratitude for saving me, I willââ
âWhere is this coming from?â The Xiyue prince anxiously interrupted Qin Yining before she could finish. âWasnât everything fine this afternoon? Werenât you quite happy that I allowed your clansmen to visit you in the palace every day? Why are you regretting it now?â
âNothingâs happened.â Qin Yining smiled. âItâs just not quite seemly for me to be living in the imperial harem.â
Zhou Meng knitted his brows together tightly as he studied Qin Yining, then turned and looked around the room. His face darkened ominously to see one of the goddessâ maids now with a bandaged head and clothes stained with blood. Noting the imperial physicianâs presence as well, his expression grew even more foreboding.
Everyone ducked their heads when his line of sight reached them, especially so for a maid standing in a corner, trembling so hard that it seemed as if the sky would cave in on her in the next second.
âYou, come over here and explain whatâs happened.â Zhou Meng growled as he pointed at the trembling maid, standing near the senior princess consort.
The maidâs heart skipped a beat as she dropped into a kowtow with an ashen face. âYour, Your Grace, please quell your anger. This maid didnât do it on purpose. I just slipped and accidentally pushed the goddessâ servant. She wasnât standing firmly in place, so she hurt her head. The goddess grew angry and quarrelled with my mistress. This, this maid was just eager to protect my mistress.â
A fine sheen of cold sweat covered her forehead. In the throes of desperation, she couldnât pay heed to how much of her words were true or if her logic made any sense. Right now, the only thing on her mind was to absolve herself of all blame. She didnât know if her mistress would protect her.
Hearing the incoherent order of her words and seeing the way her eyes darted around, Zhou Meng grew even more suspicious.
âA mere wretch of a maid having the guts to lie to this prince! You sure are brave, hmm?â He dragged the last word out, the threat clear.
A shuddering ball on the floor, the maid kowtowed madly. Tears she could no longer suppress mixed with the cold sweat dripping down her face. âThis maid was, was, f-following orders...â she choked out.
âShut up, bitch!â Seeing that the idiot was about to expose her, the senior princess consort charged up for a vicious stomp that landed right in the middle of the maidâs back, causing her to sprawl out on the floor with a cry of pain.
âYour Grace, donât listen to her nonsense. She clearly pushed Miss Pangâs maid on purpose. Perhaps they have some enmity with each other.â
Zhou Meng sneered coldly as he pointed at his temples. âWho do you take this prince for?â
A lost expression floating onto her face, the senior princess consort didnât understand the question. âYour Grace...â
âMy head isnât some empty shell! This is just a maid. Even if they hold a grudge against each other, she wouldnât have the courage to take revenge right in front of her mistress! How would she dare do anything unless she was ordered to! It looks like neither of you two plan on speaking the truth!â He pointed at the second princess consort. âYou, explain this!â
The second princess consort sighed to herself. It was one thing if this would dethrone the senior princess consort in one fell swoop. Otherwise, if she spoke the truth now, wouldnât that just irritate this mad dog and have it all bite her in the rear end later?
Zhou Meng grew angrier still when the second princess consort remained silent. He was about to point at someone else when the third princess consort piped up.
âYour Prince, things happened like this. The senior princess consort told us today that Your Grace had taken a fancy to a girl and wanted to make her the fifth princess consort. Us sisters were all very curious and came to have a chat with our new fifth sister. But who wouldâve known that she would have such a temper! She didnât respect the senior princess consort in the slightest and mouthed off with hurtful insults as quick as youâd like. Big sisterâs maid couldnât just stand by and watch, so she wanted to protect her mistressâ honor. Then she, she...â
She slowly swallowed the last of her words under Zhou Mengâs glare.
âIs that what happened?â The prince turned to Qin Yining.
She flashed him a mocking smile. âIt seems the prince treats his harem quite well.â
She meant that it was quite surprising that people here had the nerve to repeatedly try and fool their prince.
The first and third princess consorts lifted their heads incredulously. What was vicious and savage? This was vicious and savage! Just one sentence was enough to ruin them all!