Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Who Doesn't Want to Kick an Ugly Woman When She's Down? "What do you think you're doing? Don't you dare touch my young lady! When the Prince returns, he'll make you pay dearly!" Chunyan rushed forward to stop them, but Aunt Xiao merely found the girl ridiculous. The Prince? The Prince didn't care one bit about that ugly thing. If he did, why would he have spent the night in the study? In this Chu Wangfu, an unfavored Princess Consort held even less status than a lowly maidservant. Today, she would teach this ugly woman a lesson, and no one would dare stop her. "Pull this girl away!" "Young lady, young lady, say something!" "Aunt Xiao, I am the Princess Consort! You cannot treat me this way!" Jia Qingcheng hadn't expected there to be such an arrogant and domineering servant within the Prince's residence. It seemed the Prince was due for a housecleaning. Aunt Xiao had just returned from the palace and naturally knew nothing of what had happened in the bridal chamber last night. She simply assumed the Prince hadn't favored Jia Qingcheng—after all, who would fancy an ugly thing like that? "Princess Consort? Hmph, that's only if the Prince acknowledges you. The Prince never performed the wedding rites with you, nor did he leave any instructions. This old servant is merely following protocol. Men, seize her!" Jia Qingcheng was grabbed by two maidservants. Struggling or resisting was useless. Her lower abdomen ached dully and she felt terribly unwell, yet she was still being forced by these girls to kneel on a washboard... "Young lady!" "Aunt Xiao, you will regret this!" "Regret?" Aunt Xiao was accustomed to throwing her weight around the residence and feared nothing. After all, the Noble Consort didn't reside here, and Prince Chu's health was poor. Aside from the master himself, she was practically the one in charge of this household. She was going to teach this ugly girl a lesson, to make her understand what happened when she tried to use the Prince to intimidate her. "Then this old servant will give you a lesson today—let's see what regret really looks like!" "Don't treat my young lady like this! Don't!" Chunyan tried to speak up for Jia Qingcheng, but was pulled away by Aunt Xiao's people. Soon, Aunt Xiao had Jia Qingcheng brought to the cold pool to kneel as punishment. The area was surrounded by blocks of ice, and she shivered uncontrollably from the cold. "Young lady, are you alright?" Chunyan's heart ached at the sight, but she didn't know what to do. This was the Prince's residence, and the two of them were powerless. How could they save themselves? Jia Qingcheng knew Aunt Xiao was deliberately targeting her. This time, she would make her pay. She lowered her head, staring at the ground beneath her, until even her eyes were touched by the ice. She could no longer feel the cold... "Auntie, she seems to have frozen stiff!" "Excellent. From now on, let's see if she dares put on airs as Princess Consort with me. Just an ugly thing—does she even deserve to be Princess Consort of Chu?" Aunt Xiao was in a good mood, but just then, a servant came to report, "Auntie, the Prince has gone to the bridal chamber." The bridal chamber? Aunt Xiao frowned. "The Prince doesn't care about that ugly thing at all. Now that his health has just recovered, why would he go to the bridal chamber?" So Aunt Xiao hurriedly led her people toward the bridal chamber. No sooner had she arrived at the door than she saw the steward standing there with a look of extreme anxiety. "Steward, what's wrong? Why do you look so terrible?" "You're back! The Princess Consort is missing, and the Prince is furious!" The Princess Consort is missing? Aunt Xiao's heart skipped a beat. Strange—why would the Prince care about that ugly Princess Consort? "Steward, no need to be nervous. It's hardly a big deal." "Xiao Yu, what do you mean by that? Have you seen the Princess Consort?" Aunt Xiao ignored the steward and walked straight into the bridal chamber. When she saw that the Prince had indeed gotten up, she was even more delighted. "Your Highness, your injuries have healed?" Aunt Xiao had watched Xiao Zhiheng grow up and naturally held deep affection for him. That was why, upon learning that Jia Qingcheng was ugly, she had taken such a dim view of her. The Prince was heaven's favored son—how could an ugly thing like her be worthy of being his Princess Consort? That was precisely why she had come today to humiliate Jia Qingcheng. "Auntie, I'm fine now." "It's good that you're fine. The Noble Consort said she will leave the palace tomorrow to visit you and asked that you rest well." "How is Mother?" "She's well, very well—she just misses you, Your Highness. Now that I see you've recovered, this old servant's heart is truly overjoyed!" "I'm asking you—have you seen the Princess Consort Jia Qingcheng and her maidservant?" Jia Qingcheng... Aunt Xiao had indeed seen her. Not only had she seen her, she had taken her away and punished her. Still unaware of what was happening, she hurried forward and bowed. "Reporting to Your Highness, this old servant did see her. That ugly Princess Consort failed to follow the rules, so this old servant disciplined her on your behalf, to teach her to be cautious in word and deed within the residence and not to bring shame upon Chu Wangfu!" "What did you say?" Suddenly, Xiao Zhiheng's face darkened, veins bulging on his forehead. "Say that again—what did you do to her?" Aunt Xiao: "..." What was wrong with the Prince? She had merely disciplined an ugly girl—why was he so enraged? "Your Highness, this old servant disciplined her on your behalf—" "Where is she?" Xiao Zhiheng roared at Aunt Xiao in a frenzy, and then, overcome by acute emotional distress causing internal fire, he spat out a mouthful of black blood, terrifying Aunt Xiao and the others. "Your Highness, what's wrong? Please don't frighten this servant!" "If anything happens to Qingcheng, I'll kill you!" With these words, Xiao Zhiheng strode outside, and under Aunt Xiao's guidance, he quickly found Jia Qingcheng and her maid locked in the underground ice cellar... When he arrived, he saw Jia Qingcheng kneeling barefoot on the freezing ground, her long hair draped over her shoulders, her eyes lowered so he couldn't see her expression... And in that instant, his heart ached as if pierced by a knife! "Qingcheng!" The woman he had sworn to protect was now being held captive by wicked servants in this bitterly cold place. At that moment, remorse flooded him, and he rushed over at once... And Jia Qingcheng had finally endured long enough. When she looked up and saw Prince Chu's figure rushing toward her, she finally let go of all her pretenses. The Prince had come. "Your Highness!" Jia Qingcheng's hair was covered in frost, and even her eyelashes were laced with ice crystals. Though she wore a veil, Xiao Zhiheng could well imagine the magnitude of this humiliation. "Qingcheng, I'm sorry, this is all my fault!" Xiao Zhiheng embraced Jia Qingcheng tightly in front of everyone. She was nearly frozen stiff—thankfully Xiao Zhiheng had come, or she truly wouldn't have been able to hold on much longer... "Your Highness, I've finally waited for you." "Don't be afraid, I will seek justice for you!" Xiao Zhiheng held her tightly, then draped his own robe over her and scooped her up in his arms, carrying her out. This left Aunt Xiao, who had just arrived, utterly dumbfounded. Was she seeing things—was the Prince actually carrying that ugly woman? "Steward, what is the meaning of this? Didn't you say the ugly woman Jia Qingcheng..." "Aunt Xiao, how dare you! How could you treat the Princess Consort this way? The Princess Consort is the Prince's savior—do you know that?" Savior... Aunt Xiao instantly realized she had committed a grave mistake. Her legs gave way, and she fell to her knees with a thud before Xiao Zhiheng and Jia Qingcheng. "Your Highness, please calm your anger! This old servant knows she was wrong!"