Chapter 58
Chapter 58: The Fake Princess
Hua Qiyue’s words drew everyone’s attention to Qiuyun’s neck. There was a red hickie present.
Old Madame raged. Even though Zhou Zhicheng was a guest, all the evidence pointed to him molesting Qiuyun.
“Zhou Zhicheng! I treat you as a family but you took the chance to molest my servant? Come and drag this man out! Beat him 20 times before throwing him out of Hua’s Mansion!”
Old Madame cared a lot about her face and reputation. Even if Qiuyun was only the servant of Hua family, she had sold herself to Hua family and could be considered to be part of it.
Old Madame would never tolerate someone shaming a person of Hua’s Mansion.
Two buff male servants walked over and dragged Zhou Zhicheng out.
Zhou Zhicheng raged and shouted, “Old Madame, I’m innocent! I didn’t touch Qiuyun at all!”
Qiuyun, however, cried. Her tears fall down from her face like beads of pearls. He looked at Hua Qiyue with pitiful eyes as he passed by her.
Hua Qiyue turned away with disgust. Her love in her previous life seemed like a joke. However, she was indeed a genius in the art of business.
However, why was she so stupid in her relationship, not noticing Zhou Zhicheng’s affair at all?
Zhou Zhicheng’s cry of innocence came out continuously from outside but it was soon replaced by his screams. Hua Qiyue helped Old Madame to her seat. She then glanced at the huge boxes that Zhou Zhicheng had gifted, in which were the top grade silk, silver, gold and Jewelry
“Zhou Zhicheng is indeed generous. Unfortunately, he has no morals! The matter of him molesting servants will only shame Tianci. Let’s not spread it.” Old Madame sighed.
Hua Qiyue nodded obediently. “Don’t worry, Grandmother. I won’t let this rumor spread. Furthermore… after Mrs. Zhou passed away, Tianci was tortured to near death. That showed that Zhou Zhicheng barely cared about him.”
Old Madame nodded. “That’s right, if Zhou Zhicheng really did care for his son, he would not let his darling be bullied as such. This handsome man seemed to be useless.”
Hua Qiyue smiles lightly. “Grandma, there is no need to be angry over a bastard. Now that Tianci is my adopted son, he will have no ties with Zhou Zhicheng according to customs of Changjing. He is no longer Zhoucheng’s son.”
Old Madame nodded her head and sipped on her tea. Zhou Zhicheng was chased out of the mansion already.
However, he should have problem walking after his punishment. Hua Qiyue asked the servants to throw all his gifts out of the door.
The fraud between Hua’s Mansion and Zhou Zhicheng soon spread across the entire imperial city. After all, Hua Qiyue was the one who ordered Qiuyun to spread the rumors.
Zhou Zhicheng was not actually Tianci’s actually father. After his birth, he seldom cared for him, with only cold gaze and indifferent attitude left behind.
Hua Qiyue believed in Princess Huizhen. Even though she was not aware what happened during the night of marriage, she was sure that Tianci was not actually Zhou Zhicheng’s son… or he would not treat his son as such.
Changjing Kingdom had always valued male offsprings over female ones, and the birth of a boy should be a joyous occasion. However, the matter would be shameful to him regardless of the gender.
His intellect laid in the fact that he endured and waited for Hua Qiyue to boost his family before eliminating the entirety of Rong family.
However, that was only the beginning. The show had only begun.
On day 7, the day when the Princess was to be executed.
Deep at night, before midnight, the queen brought Nanny Cheng to the jail of imperial palace.
Nanny Cheng was holding on to a plate filled with meat and wine. That was Princess Huizhen’s last dinner.
Seeing that the queen had arrived, the Guards bowed and retreated. The Guards opened Princes Huizhen’s cell door before retreating respectfully to one side.
The queen walked slowly. Hearing her footsteps, Princess Huizhen crawled up and kneeled in front of the queens. “Mum, please save me, save me…”
The queen looked at Princess Huizhen with indifference and sighed. Suddenly, she slapped her daughter.
“B*tch! How can you do something so stupid and disappointing!”
Princess Huizhen fell down to the side after she was slapped. Nanny Cheng hurried and dropped the food to bring the princess up. “Queen, spare the princess; she is pitiful enough…”
Nanny Cheng and Nanny Shao were all nannies of Princess Huizhen. They had seen her grow up since young and thus had built a relationship with her.
Seeing that the princess ended up in jail, the kind-hearted Nanny Cheng was heart broken.
“Go away!” Princess Huizhen pushes Nanny Cheng away, tears still lingering in her eyes. She had no feelings towards these nannies as her rebellious behaviour made her lose her last bit of kindness.
Therefore, when she punished Nanny Shao to death, she was not guilty not upset at all.
“And you are still so rude!” The queen shouted and slapped Princess Huizhen once more.
Princess Huizhen was stunned by the beating. In her memories, the Queen had never been so fierce and strict before. She stared at her Mum’s cold and solemn pupils, and was afraid of the anger and disappointment hidden within. Thus, she sat there stunned, not saying anything.
Shivering, the Queen withdrew her hand, her eyes red with grief.
She knew the Emperor when they were on eighteen. She was as pretty as a flower while the Emperor was as handsome as a fairy then. However, the competition amongst the concubines was fierce and it took her long to secure her place as the queen. Despite that, her anxiety and worry caused her a mental breakdown that resulted in a miscarriage.
The doctors said that her womb was ill and it would be difficult for her to bear children again.
Even so, the Queen did give birth to Huizhen and Huiling. Even though they were only princesses, the Queen still treated them as her favourite.
That was because the Queen knew that it wasn’t easy for her to bear children. Only when she gave birth to First Prince did she reduce her attention on the two daughters.
However, this lack of attention turned the girls into tigers that acted according to whatever they wish, provoking everyone. Each time, she settled the matter for them.
However, she was unable to protect her daughter this time.
Seeing her two daughters turn on each other, she could do nothing but to spectate with anger and grief, viewing the downfall of the two princesses.
That’s the sadness of a mother, a desperate sadness!
The Queen was extremely surprised. Even though Huizhen and Huiling were unhappy with each other to begin with, they would never attempt to murder each other. However, the matter at Wuanyue Restaurant must be the triggering factor that resulted in the murderous intent of Huiling.
“Tell me, who else did y’all eat with in Wuanyue Restaurant?”
The Queen, with her cool gaze, whispered to the stunned Huizhen.
Huizhen regained consciousness and lowered her head with fear. “Mum… I was too agitated with my sister… which is why I’ll do something so stupid… There were many people around, Ji Feng, Ji Jing, Hua Qiyue, and Princess Mingzhu…”
“Hua Qiyue?” The Queen lowered her gaze on the ground. That woman was a famous figure now. She gave two Long Red to the Empress Dowager on her birthday party.
Long Red was a miraculous medicine that was extremely rare. It was abnormal for her to obtain it.
“In the future, stay away from her, and avoid her even if you see her… but you can’t get the chance now, Huizhen. Nanny, pass her the wine!”
In the Queen’s indifferent eyes, she quietly turned around and walked out.
Huizhen’s heart thumped as she shouted for help, “No, no… Mum! I don’t want to die! Save me! Save me!”
Princess Huizhen’s voice became more and more miserable and desperate as time went on. She did not want to drink the poisonous wine conferred by the emperor and two guards had to force it down her throat…
The Queen staggered a little as she walked. As she exited the prison, she stared deep into the nightsky with mysterious eyes. “Chongxiao, investigate Hua Qiyue for me.”
Chongxiao was a secret guard of the Queen, a Qi Artist of the Reach Cloud Level. That shadow appeared like a ghost and whispered, “Queen, Hua Qiyue is only a useless princess. Why the need to investigate her?”
“Don’t you think… the two princesses became much more miserable after she changed? Furthermore… she took the effort to adopt Zhou family’s child.”
The Queen calmly replied. The ghastly shadow was stunned before replying, “I understand.”
Behind the Queen, Princess Huizhen shrieked miserably. The Queen’s eyes were full of resolution and murderous intent as her long nail wrap broke off in the darkness.
“Come, bury the princess according to the customs of Changjing Kingdom. Make no mistakes!”
After the Queen ordered them, she left.
…
After poison was forced down on her, Princess Huizhen was buried as the First Princess.
The next morning, Princess Huizhen felt as if her whole throat was burning. Someone kept filling her up with water to soothe her dry throat.
Finally, Princess Huzhen opened her eyes. Surprisingly, she found herself sleeping on a clean bed. Two middle-aged women were looking at her with reverence.
“Princess, you’re awake? That’s great!” One middle-aged woman exclaimed joyously. “Hurry and reply to the Queen! Make sure no one discovers you.”
“Yes, Nanny Zhou.”
Another young girl replied. Confused, Princess Huizhen looked at her surroundings. Everything seemed foreign to her and thus she was sure that she was not in her residences. Where was she?
“Don’t be scared, Princess. This is a place that the Queen has secretly prepared for you, a few hundred miles away from the imperial city. No one will discover this obscure location,” Nanny Zhou whispered.
Stunned, Princess Huizhen stared at the curtain dancing in the wind. Now that she was supposed to be dead after sentencing to death by the Emperor, she could not appear in the public eye.
Thus, the Queen staged an act and found a replacement for her so that she could at least stay alive.
However, for Princess Huizhen, what was the joy of merely living? She was used to the extravagant lifestyle of the imperial family and would be unwilling to switch to live as a lowly peasant.
“Princess, the scenery here is nice and we will have enough for food and clothing. You need not to worry about the life here.” Nanny Zhou believed that Princess Huizhen was worried about her life here and thus answered respectfully.