âYou can see that I am nowhere near as beautiful as the Princess Consort. The Crown Prince will not be attracted to me. Even if he did, I would only be a concubine,â Princess Zhenming said softly, âDidnât we bring Jin Man with us? Her beauty can be compared with the Crown Princeâs wife.â
Prince Xinhai coldly said, âJin Man is for the Emperor!â
Princess Zhenming frowned, âButâ¦.â
Prince Xinhai seemed to think of something and slowly said, âIf we give Jin Man to the Crown Prince, you⦠you will have to serve the Emperor.â
Princess Zhenming didnât say a word, silent tears fell.
Prince Xinhai stood up, âEven though we have not met the emperor yet, I have heard that he is only in his fifties, in his prime. If you could become the Emperorâs wife, you wouldnât suffer.â
Princess Zhenming said, âAre you sacrificing me to get the Princess Consort?â
âSister, youâre being too harsh,â Prince Xinhai gently stroked her cheek, âYou mean the world to me. As long as you are well, I will be content.â
Princess Zhenming slightly turned away, seemingly repulsed by his touch.
Prince Xinhai grabbed her cheek, his voice turning frosty, âWhether you marry the Emperor or the Crown Prince, it is your duty as a princess of Silla. Such is expected of you, right?â
Princess Zhenming lowered her head.
âIn the next few days, it will be the grandest banquet of the year in Great Sheng. I hope you can take care of your health, dress up and attend, and win the emperorâs heart in one fell swoop.â
âXinhai, I will offer myself to the Emperor. But⦠let me advise you one last time, give up on the idea of the Princess Consort. Youâve already paid a price for it, if you continueâ¦â
âShut up, donât say anything more!â
Prince Xinhai became agitated, pacing back and forth, his forehead throbbing, his expression grim, as if he was doing his utmost best to repress his violence.
Unfortunately, self-restraint had never been his strong suit.
Therefore, he ripped open Princess Zhenmingâs clothing, revealing her skin.
A tear silently slid down Princess Zhenmingâs cheek.
After scrutinizing her for a moment, Prince Xinhai said, âEven though Sister isnât the most beautiful woman, your figure is exceptionally rare. I thought Li Hongyuan might enjoy it, but it turns out he isnât so fortunate. The Old Emperor Li Changgeng will have to be the lucky one!â
Princess Zhenmingâs body trembled slightly, her white skin began to grow goosebumps.
Prince Xinhai leaned close to her, deeply inhaling, he sighed deeply, âSis, you smell wonderful. But you will be the emperorâs wife soon, so rest well.â
He left the room, dragging Xuanâer into the adjacent room on his way out.
Xuanâer didnât dare to resist, she endured in silence.
â¦
Once when Jinâer resisted, he stripped her naked and threw her into the snow. After she froze, he shattered her body with a small hammer piece by piece.
Xuanâer who witnessed this was terrified, from then on she didnât dare to have any thoughts of defiance.
In the eyes of those high and mighty nobles, a slave girl like her is even less significant than a speck of dust underfoot.
â¦
The day after the snow stopped, Jiang Ning personally cooked several dishes and visited Princess Zhenming in the Traveling Palace via carriage.
Princess Zhenming looked somewhat better, but her face was still pale and she seemed frail.
After dressing and freshening up, she sat against the headboard. When she saw Jiang Ning, she tried to get up to show respect.