Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Xie Run stepped closer and saw Wan Linlang looking disheveled and harried, carefully applying acupuncture to Concubine Lian.

With each swift needle insertion, she was extremely focused, possessing a strikingly brisk and spirited beauty.

At that moment, a sudden thought crossed Xie Run's mind.

She felt Wan Linlang should never have entered the manor at all.

The world beyond the manor walls was vast and open, and with her considerable skills, she could easily have found a place to establish herself and shine brilliantly.

Wouldn't that be freer than being stuck in these inner quarters scheming and fighting?

However, such a thought lasted only a moment.

When she saw Shiqie Lian's state clearly, Xie Run froze. "What happened here?"

Two gashes about an inch and a half long had been carved across Shiqie Lian's fair, delicate face, covered with gauze and stained with fresh blood.

It looked like... she'd been disfigured.

The young maid waiting nearby sobbed quietly, "My mistress refused to drink the abortifacient, and during the shoving, the bowl was knocked over. Cefei Jiang got angry and stormed over to kick her, kicked my mistress so she fell into a pile of broken porcelain."

Xie Run gasped.

She could already imagine how much pain Shiqie Lian was in at that moment.

"Her face... can it be healed?"

The maid wiped her tears, her voice still choked with sobs: "The estate physician hasn't arrived yet, but Lady Wan said... even with the imperial palace's Heavenly Treasury Snow Jade Balm, it will still leave marks."

In other words, Shiqie Lian was effectively disfigured.

As a concubine, you rely on your looks to please your lord, to gain some favor and secure a stable life.

But Shiqie Lian hadn't even had a chance to properly serve Prince Jing before getting disfigured. Her life was basically over now.

Xie Run paused. "Is the baby in her belly okay?"

Even though she'd already asked the princess, as a Shu Fei she still had to show concern in front of the person involved.

The young maid finally managed a faint smile. "Thanks to Lady Wan, my mistress's pregnancy was barely saved. She just had a scare with the pregnancy, but she'll probably have to stay in bed for the rest of it."

Xie Run: "At least it was saved, that's what matters."

With that, she stepped forward two paces and softly comforted Shiqie Lian from a little ways away: "Sister Lian need not worry either. The princess is already at Songya Courtyard and will definitely get justice for you."

"All you need to do is take care of the pregnancy and give the prince a healthy child."

Shiqie Lian replied in a weak voice, "Thank you, Shu Fei, for your concern."

"Alright, I won't get in the way here. I'll just wait outside. If Sister Lian needs anything, just have someone call me."

Shiqie Lian murmured something in reply, but it was unclear what she said.

After finishing the formalities, Xie Run led her people out.

The room reeked of blood, and she found it hard to stomach.

Soon, Shufei Fang, Concubine Fang, and Concubine An all showed up, each going in to say a few words to Shiqie Lian.

No matter what they were scheming, they all had to come up and put on a show.

Xie Run drank tea for a bit, then quietly asked Xiaoshu: "Did you find out what's going on?"

Xiaoshu leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Cefei Jiang called Shiqie Lian to the courtyard alone today to mess with her."

"It seems Shiqie Lian and Shiqie Wan had set up some kind of signal. When Jiang's behavior got more and more out of line, Shiqie Wan stormed in with her people, sending someone to beg the princess for help while she treated Shiqie Lian."

"Thankfully, Shiqie Wan got there in time. Otherwise, Shiqie Lian might have died in Songya Courtyard today, and no one would've known even if they'd gotten rid of the body."

Xiaoshu's words were a bit exaggerated, but it wasn't entirely impossible.

Xie Run knew Jiang Baobao was daring, but she never imagined she could keep doing such jaw-dropping things, leaving everyone stunned again and again.

This time, with Shiqie Lian bleeding, Cefei Jiang might avoid the death penalty, but she definitely wouldn't escape punishment.

By the time everyone was there, the estate physician had already arrived.

With Shiqie Lian now in the physician's care, Wan Linlang finally had her hands free.

She stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the princess. "Cefei Jiang bullied a concubine, forced a pregnant concubine to drink an abortifacient, and disfigured her face. She's a jealous, venomous woman!"

"If this servant hadn't arrived in time, Sister Lian and the baby in her belly would both have died."

"Sister Lian is really pitiful. Please, princess, get justice for her!"

The princess sat high in the main seat, her eyes calm and unruffled. "That goes without saying."

"Bring Cefei Jiang up first."

The princess's people had no sooner arrived at Songya Courtyard than they had Cefei Jiang apprehended.

The servants of Songya Courtyard all had their contracts of sale in the princess's hands and knew full well who the true master of the manor was, so they behaved very obediently.

Soon, a somewhat disheveled Cefei Jiang was brought up under guard.

Nanny Huang beside her was not treated so well—she was bound with rope and shoved forward.

Even at this moment, Jiang Baobao remained utterly defiant, snapping at the matron escorting her, "How dare you!"

"I am the prince's Ce Fei, personally bestowed in marriage by the Emperor himself! How dare a filthy old hag like you lay a hand on me!"

Startled by her shout, the matron quickly bowed to the princess: "Reporting to the princess, Cefei Jiang has been brought up."

Cefei Jiang swept her gaze across the Shu Fei and concubines seated around her, a look of displeasure crossing her face.

Those her gaze passed over wore varied expressions.

Fang Yuaner raised a hand to cover her mouth, the jade bracelets on her wrist clinking crisply, but failing to hide the smile at the corners of her lips.

She presented the picture of a noble lady enjoying the spectacle without a care in the world.

Xie Run kept her eyes lowered, a faint smile on her face, her true feelings unreadable.

Shiqie Lu and Shiqie An kept their heads down—one feigning cowardice, the other genuinely terrified—while Shiqie Fang sat quietly in a corner.

To Cefei Jiang's eyes, the expressions on these people's faces all became malicious glances meant to harm her or revel in her downfall.

She was furious, her gaze sharpening as she glared at the Princess Consort and demanded, "What does the Princess Consort mean by this?!"

"Rushing into my courtyard without cause and having me bound—are you planning to interrogate me under torture next?"

"Has this Prince Jing's mansion become your personal torture chamber?!"

Mother Li had long disapproved of Consort Jiang, and naturally would not let the Princess Consort stoop to bickering with her.

As the mistress's right-hand woman, she knew to read the room.

She snapped, "Consort Jiang, have you forgotten your own status?!"

"You question the Princess Consort with such insolence, showing not a shred of decency—is this the discipline the Jiang family has taught you?!"

Jiang Baobao wasn't the least bit intimidated: "I, as Consort Jiang, remember perfectly well!"

"There are laws for the state and rules for the household. Even if the Princess Consort wishes to carry out underhanded schemes within the mansion, you should consider whether the Prince and His Majesty would approve!"

"You have me locked up without even asking what happened—do you have no regard for the Prince and His Majesty at all?!"

The Princess Consort looked at Jiang Baobao with amusement. "I am curious—has the Jiang family got a death wish, that they sent you here to serve the Prince?"

Sending such a vicious idiot—aren't they afraid of making Prince Jing sick?!

Jiang Baobao's expression shifted slightly, as if she'd caught on.

"You're threatening me with the Jiang family?!"

After saying this, she let out a cold snort, dismissing it with indifference.

The Princess Consort's status was indeed noble, but as a princess of the Xia Dynasty, she held no real power in the Great Yu Dynasty.

What power did she have to go up against the Jiang family?