Chapter 285

Chapter 285: Divorce You When Prince Rong finally saw his daughter, before he could even speak, County Princess Rongjia threw herself at him, sobbing, "Father, you must help me. That wretch Mei—she deserved to die. What does that have to do with me?" County Princess Rongjia had been detained at the government office. Though she wasn't locked in the prison cells, the rooms at the office were crude and smelled foul. She couldn't bear another moment there. "Quiet down!" Prince Rong didn't want to hear any of that. "Tell me—what exactly happened?" County Princess Rongjia didn't want to speak, so she shot a look at Wang Hechun's Wife. Wang Hechun's Wife stepped forward and recounted everything—the full sequence of events and the evidence Mei Qiusheng had produced—for Prince Rong. "Your Highness, that's everything. Do you... do you have a way out?" "A way out, my ass!" Prince Rong was nearly faint with rage. "I told you back then—do things cleanly. You should have let Mei enter the household as a concubine. Once she was a concubine, you could have handled her however you pleased. But no, you had to bring people to force poison down her throat, killing both mother and child!" If she had become a concubine, the principal wife could arrange anything for a concubine—torment her however she wished—and the child in Mei's womb would have been lost anyway. Moreover, in that scenario, the Du family could still have accepted it, and things wouldn't have spiraled so far out of control afterward. But Mei never entered the Du household as a concubine—she was an ordinary law-abiding citizen. For County Princess Rongjia to force poison on her was persecution of a commoner, not to mention the subsequent murder of the entire Mei family. Prince Rong couldn't help but think of the question Cui Zeyu had asked him. It seemed he truly had reached the point where he needed to protect himself. "Is Father saying I did wrong?" County Princess Rongjia's eyes went wide. "It was Mei and Du Shibei who were shameless. What's wrong with me poisoning them to death?" In recent days, County Princess Rongjia had even considered making a move against Song Shulan. She had feelings for Song Shulan, but after two years of grinding misery, and since Song Shulan couldn't function as a man, and the Rong Prince Mansion would never permit her a mutual divorce, she had wanted Song Shulan dead. She just hadn't expected that bastard Cui Zeyu to find Mei Qiusheng. "My little ancestor, keep your voice down!" Prince Rong was so frantic he pounded the wall. "If you weren't my daughter, you'd have died eight hundred times over, and you still ask what's wrong? Your mistake isn't poisoning Mei, nor is it hunting down the Mei family—it's that you didn't wipe your own ass clean!" Du Shibei keeping a concubine's hidden residence was indeed outrageous and deserving of death. What Prince Rong cared about was that the matter had been exposed and blown up beyond repair. County Princess Rongjia withdrew her tears, sat down, and sniffled. "Well, things are already like this. If Father won't save me, are you saying I'll end up like Second Brother—on the execution block?" All along, County Princess Rongjia had dared to act willfully because she believed the Rong Prince Mansion was her backing. No matter what she did wrong, or what crime she committed, nothing would happen to her. Even now, County Princess Rongjia still believed the Rong Prince Mansion could protect her. "Stop bringing up your Second Brother!" Prince Rong roared. "Why can't I mention him?" County Princess Rongjia demanded. "If you hadn't failed to act early, why would Second Brother have died?" "You—!" Prince Rong never imagined that one day his own daughter would enrage him to this extent. Just then, Princess Consort Rong arrived upon hearing the news. County Princess Rongjia tearfully complained to her mother, "Mother, you've finally come. If you hadn't, Father would have abandoned me!" "What's going on?" Princess Consort Rong had been restless at the mansion, and upon learning that Prince Rong had come to the government office after leaving the palace, she came too. "What's happened between you two? Is this matter really so hard to resolve?" Prince Rong took a deep breath and stepped out of the cramped room. County Princess Rongjia couldn't leave, so Princess Consort Rong comforted her daughter. "Don't worry. We're here for everything. You're our daughter—there's no way we'd abandon you." "But Mother, Father said this time I might..." County Princess Rongjia began crying from grievance. "I... I won't end up like Second Brother, will I?" At the mention of her second son, a flicker of grief passed through Princess Consort Rong's eyes. She couldn't bear the thought of burying a child before herself. Stepping out of the room, Princess Consort Rong demanded a definitive answer from Prince Rong. Prince Rong looked at his wife and said he had no solution either. "Cui Zeyu came prepared. He caught us off guard. All we can do now is find a way to keep the prefect who handled the case back then from betraying us. That's our only thread of hope." At the words "thread of hope," Princess Consort Rong nearly fainted. But at that moment, Cui Zeyu arrived. Seeing the prince and princess consort, he raised an eyebrow. "Your Highness and Your Highness are here to see County Princess Rongjia? If you have anything to say, say it now—who knows if you'll get another chance." "Cui Zeyu, what are you being so arrogant about?" Princess Consort Rong gritted her teeth. "Do you think Lu Zhong can protect you forever?" "That, I truly can't guarantee. But what I can guarantee is that you can no longer protect County Princess Rongjia." Cui Zeyu dropped those words and took Mei Qiusheng away. Afterward, he went to the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion to see his sister. When Song Shulan learned Cui Zeyu had arrived, he came running over. Upon learning it was Cui Zeyu who had brought Mei Qiusheng to the government office, Song Shulan immediately understood—this was all orchestrated by the Cui Lingrong siblings. He flew into a rage. "Cui, you... do you just want to see our marquis mansion ruined?" "What nonsense is the Marquis speaking? I am helping you rid yourself of the bad people around you. Otherwise, sooner or later, our marquis mansion will be dragged down to ruin by County Princess Rongjia." Cui Lingrong saw no need to hide her intentions. "Does the Marquis still wish to protect County Princess Rongjia?" Without County Princess Rongjia, Song Shulan would lose his connection to the Rong Prince Mansion. Song Shulan had seen things clearly lately—without the support of the Rong Prince Mansion, he would find it difficult to rise in rank again for the rest of his life. "Do you realize that the marquis mansion has everything it has today entirely because of the Rong Prince Mansion?" Song Shulan instructed Cui Zeyu to take Mei Qiusheng away. "The marquis mansion raised you, and while we don't ask for your gratitude, you can't be an ungrateful wolf, can you?" Cui Zeyu sneered. "Marquis Song, if the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion has what it has today, you should be thanking my sister. If not for my sister and me holding up the family's reputation, do you think County Princess Rongjia would have married a poor, talentless marquis like you?" At this point, the three of them had completely fallen out. Song Shulan looked at Cui Zeyu in shock, then turned to Cui Lingrong. "You... you're just going to stand there and watch your brother insult me?" "Marquis, I have done so much for this mansion. When have you ever once appreciated my efforts?" Cui Lingrong's gaze at Song Shulan grew more and more disappointed. "You only ever say that your promotion depends on the Rong Prince Mansion. What about me? I bore your children and managed your household affairs. Do I deserve no credit at all?" Cui Lingrong took a deep breath. "Marquis, I told you long ago—between County Princess Rongjia and me, it's either her death or mine. If you have a way to save her, then go find it. Don't come here to vent your anger at me." Cui Zeyu made a gesture of invitation, signaling Song Shulan to leave quickly. Song Shulan looked at the siblings Cui Lingrong and Cui Zeyu, as if he were the outsider. "Fine, Cui Lingrong. You show no regard for our marital bond. If the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion is implicated because of this, just see if I dare to divorce you!" Did they think he had no temper just because he hadn't lost it?