Chapter 255: She Can Only Ever Belong to This Prince

Facing Jiang Shuning's icy interrogation, Liu Ye kowtowed repeatedly on the ground, her voice choked with tears as she made a final desperate struggle:

"I... I don't know what Your Highness means? I swear to heaven, I only wish to remain in the manor, with no other intention! Please have mercy, Your Highness!"

"Is that right?"

Jiang Shuning's tone betrayed neither anger nor joy. She slowly knelt down, reached out, and grasped Liu Ye's wrist, which was adorned with a jade bracelet.

Liu Ye's body stiffened abruptly, instinctively trying to hide the bracelet, but it was already too late.

"This bracelet is clear in color, excellent in luster—top-quality Hetian jade. Let alone a second-rank maid like you, even my own first-class senior maid, saving up for years without eating or drinking, might not be able to afford it."

She lifted her eyes, her cold, clear gaze piercing straight into Liu Ye's panicked depths. Her tone shifted sharply, as sharp as a blade: "If someone didn't give it to you, then did you steal it? Shall I bring you before the Prince, or will you confess of your own accord?"

At the mere mention of "the Prince," Liu Ye fell into violent tremors.

She knew full well that if this matter reached Xiao Lingchuan, only death awaited her.

"Mercy, Your Highness! Mercy, Your Highness! I'll confess everything!" she cried out, breaking down in tears. "It was Concubine Cui who told me to come and beg Your Highness. She said Your Highness was kind-hearted and would surely not refuse to help. Then, I could stay in the manor and attend to Your Highness."

"Concubine Cui?" Jiang Shuning raised an eyebrow. "I have never met her. How does she know I am 'kind-hearted'?"

"I... I don't know either... Concubine Cui only said she has important matters to discuss. If you're willing to meet her, please come to the rockery in the West Garden at the Hour of Mao tomorrow. She will then reveal everything truthfully."

The Hour of Mao?

A stir passed through Jiang Shuning's heart.

That was the time when all officials attended court, and Xiao Lingchuan would already be gone from the manor.

A secondary consort, instead of scheming for favor and position after entering the manor, was avoiding the Prince and seeking to establish contact with her, a woman without official status. The scheme behind this was certainly intriguing.

"I understand. You may withdraw."

The next day at the Hour of Mao, Jiang Shuning arrived as promised.

Cui Zhilan was indeed waiting for her by the rockery. Upon seeing her, she bowed respectfully: "Greetings, Miss Ning!"

"Secondary Consort Cui, no need to be so formal." Jiang Shuning smiled bitterly, a hint of self-mockery in her tone. "You know I'm just a nobody in Prince Jing's manor. I don't deserve your courtesy."

Cui Zhilan straightened up, her gaze sweeping over Jiang Shuning's face. She cut straight to the chase: "I can see that Miss Ning does not wish to remain here. In that case, Miss Ning, do you wish to leave?"

Jiang Shuning's heart leaped, and she looked up at her in disbelief.

"What does Consort Cui mean?"

Cui Zhilan said nothing more. Slowly, she drew out a jade pendant from her sleeve.

The pendant was exquisitely crafted and unique. Jiang Shuning had seen Xiao Huaijin wear it before.

"Cousin sent me. Miss Jiang, he has been waiting for you." Cui Zhilan's voice was gentle yet firm, like spring rain on withered branches—gentle but with an undeniable force.

A pang of bitterness rose in Jiang Shuning's heart.

So Xiao Huaijin had never stopped trying to rescue her.

She lowered her eyes, concealing her emotions: "This matter is no easy task. Moreover, I do not wish to involve you."

Xiao Lingchuan was vengeful. If he discovered that Xiao Huaijin had planted someone in the manor to help her escape, he would surely take it out on Xiao Huaijin and Cui Zhilan.

She dared not imagine what cruel deeds that sinister man might commit when enraged.

"Miss Jiang need not worry. Cousin is, after all, a prince. No matter how great Prince Jing's power is, he wouldn't dare lay a hand on his own brother," Cui Zhilan reassured her.

Jiang Shuning's heart tightened. Memories of the shocking truth her aunt had revealed before her death surged back—Xiao Lingchuan was not the bloodline of the late emperor.

If this were true, Xiao Lingchuan wouldn't care about brotherhood. He wouldn't hesitate to kill Xiao Huaijin—or even Cui Zhilan, just a pawn.

"I appreciate your kindness, Secondary Consort Cui." Jiang Shuning took a deep breath, forcing down her inner turmoil. Her voice was low. "Even if the Prince wouldn't harm Prince Ning, you would still be implicated. I don't want to drag others down because of me."

Upon hearing this, Cui Zhilan smiled lightly, but a trace of determination flashed in her eyes: "Don't worry about me. As long as Miss Jiang successfully escapes from Prince Jing Manor, Cousin promised to take me away from the capital to live elsewhere."

Hearing this, Jiang Shuning was somewhat surprised: "Leave the capital? Will the Cui family agree?"

"Miss Jiang, you don't understand." A bitter smile crept across Cui Zhilan's face. "Although I am the legitimate daughter, my birth mother is dead. Now, Father's eyes are only on the children born to my stepmother; he doesn't care about me at all. Rather than remain a pawn of the family in this snake pit of Prince Jing's manor, I would rather take a gamble and leave this place!"

Jiang Shuning looked at her, her throat tightened.

Cui Zhilan's longing for freedom echoed her own.

But she dared not agree hastily, for the manor was riddled with Xiao Lingchuan's spies.

She bit her lip and said in a low voice: "Secondary Consort Cui, do you realize that if this plan gets exposed, your fate will be far worse than mine? Xiao Lingchuan is cruel and ruthless. He won't spare you just because you're his secondary consort."

Cui Zhilan's face paled a little, but she quickly composed herself: "I understand. But some things have to be tried. If I don't try, I'll just wait to die in this cage. Miss Jiang, don't you want to take this gamble?"

Jiang Shuning fell silent.

Of course she wanted to escape. But she was even more afraid of failing.

Xiao Lingchuan's feelings for her were complex—born maybe from a past-life debt, or from a deep, pathological obsession. His obsession made him unwilling to ever let go.

She dared not imagine, once she tried to break free and failed, being recaptured—what kind of bottomless pit of despair awaited her.

"Let me... think about it." After a long pause, Jiang Shuning forced the words from her throat, her voice so husky it seemed ready to be scattered by the wind.

"Very well." Cui Zhilan's tone was calm and unwavering. "Take your time to consider. When you have made a decision, just send Liu Ye to deliver word. I'll await your reply."

Neither Jiang Shuning nor Cui Zhilan noticed that behind the rockery at that moment lurked a pair of eyes that were spying.

Ling Wu's heart felt struck by a hammer, shaken to the core.

In the early morning, she saw the Princess leave her room wearing only a thin robe. Out of kindness, she wanted to catch up and offer a shawl. But instead, she had followed her all the way here and overheard this storm-provoking conversation.

The Prince treated the Princess so well, and yet she was conspiring to leave the manor with a pawn supposedly planted here by Prince Ning?

No! I have to tell the Prince!

But... her feet seemed nailed to the ground. The figure of Consort Cui surfaced in her mind.

This person was Prince Ning's agent, daring to openly incite the Princess to flee. When the Prince's fury fell, he would surely not spare her.

Ling Wu was caught in a brief and intense struggle.

In the end, her absolute loyalty to her master overcame all hesitation.

The Princess may be admonished, but my Prince must never be deceived or betrayed!

Xiao Lingchuan returned from court and had just settled in his study when Ling Wu, summoning the greatest courage of her life, knocked and requested an audience.

She recounted everything she had overheard from behind the rockery, word for word, holding nothing back.

"Your Highness," she said, lifting her head, her eyes brimming with anxiety, "the Princess... she has not yet agreed to Concubine Cui's proposal. There is still room for reconsideration! Let us take precautions first, and never let Prince Ning's people seize an opportunity!"

The air in the study froze into ice the moment Ling Wu finished speaking.

Xiao Lingchuan sat in the wide rosewood chair, his face expressionless, yet his entire aura instantly turned sinister and terrifying.

The warmth and light in those deep, peach blossom eyes had faded entirely, leaving only the cold, animalistic fury of being stabbed in the back by the one he trusted most.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice eerily calm:

"No rush."

"I shall give her time to think it through. If she truly wants to leave, then I shall allow her to succeed once..."

He paused slightly, an ice-cold, cruelly curled smile curving at the corners of his lips.

"Then, I will personally drag her back from that illusory dream."

"Only by letting her climb to the clouds of hope, and then ruthlessly hurling her into the mire of despair, will she fully understand that in this world, she has nowhere to go. She has always been, and can only ever be, mine."