Chapter 201

Chapter 201 Xie Run hadn't expected that Jiang Baobao genuinely believed she was back in form. She had barely sent someone to find Prince Jing when Jiang Baobao dispatched a person to Fang Yuan'er's courtyard. Not to provoke Fang Yuan'er directly, but deliberately to spread a message. It disgusted Fang Yuan'er so much she didn't eat all day. She claimed not to care, but after agonizing for half the day, she still sent someone to keep watch on the path leading to the front courtyard. When she learned that Prince Jing had agreed to dine at Spring Mountain Courtyard that evening, Fang Yuan'er was so furious she smashed several sets of fine tea ware. Even Qiuxiang, who usually paid little attention to such things, winced at the sight. Yet she didn't dare step forward to offer comfort. Fang Yuan'er cursed angrily: "That bitch Xie Run, she's deliberately slapping my face!" "Before, she pretended to be all gentle and harmless, but now that I've fallen on hard times, she's starting to get cocky!" "Fine, fine, fine. You all want to trample me underfoot, is that it?" As she spoke, Fang Yuan'er casually smashed a celadon vase from the curio shelf. Seeing this, Qiuxiang hurried over to stop her. "Mistress, you can't smash that one—it's an imperial gift!" "If it's discovered that you broke it, it's an execution-worthy offense!" Fang Yuan'er sneered: "Execution?! The Emperor himself doesn't follow any rules, yet he imposes these feudal regulations on us. Smashing a broken vase and they want my life?!" That said, Fang Yuan'er didn't actually smash it. But all the maids in Songya Courtyard were so frightened by her words that they knelt on the ground, faces pale. Qiuxiang tugged at Fang Yuan'er's skirt. "Mistress, please watch your words!" Fang Yuan'er also realized she had misspoken and waved her hand. "I just spoke without thinking." Seeing that her anger had subsided, Qiuxiang quickly rose and sent the maids in the room out, then offered a long round of persuasion. But somehow, the news reached Prince Jing's ears. The moment he heard it, his expression turned cold and grim. "Showing contempt for the reigning sovereign—Lady Fang truly has nerves of steel!" Previously, Prince Jing had only known that Fang Yuan'er lacked reverence for imperial authority and always loved discussing inner palace affairs with him. Now he realized she lacked far more than reverence. She even dared to criticize the current Emperor! No matter how much Prince Jing disliked the Emperor, he wouldn't dare speak a single ill word about him. Yet a mere concubine dared to utter such reckless words! In that instant, Prince Jing somewhat regretted giving Fang Yuan'er too much power, and also regretted letting her know too much. But things were exactly as Xie Run had guessed. Prince Jing couldn't demote Fang Yuan'er for now. He cared too much about face. He had just scolded Prince An, and to slap his own face now would invite even more gossip. Prince Jing would be furious with himself. At that thought, Prince Jing felt a surge of anger building inside him. He set down the official documents in his hand and said to Eunuch Shian: "Didn't the palace send down a batch of jewelry?" Eunuch Shian quickly replied: "Yes, they did. But didn't you instruct the Princess Consort to keep them for now and distribute them to the various courtyards in a couple of days?" Prince Jing waved his hand. "No need." "Send two people to Spring Mountain Courtyard and let Consort Xie pick first." Though Eunuch Shian didn't understand why Prince Jing had changed his mind, he hurried off to arrange it. Prince Jing had already stood up. "I'll go along and take a look as well." Prince Jing had agreed to visit Xie Run that evening, but the sky hadn't even darkened yet and he was arriving early—surely many would be green with envy. But Eunuch Shian didn't care about any of that. He only concerned himself with serving the Prince well. On Xie Run's side, she had barely received word that Prince Jing was coming when she heard about Fang Yuan'er throwing a tantrum in her own courtyard. It wasn't that she was specifically keeping tabs on Fang Yuan'er—it was simply that the two courtyards were close together. At the slightest stir, people from both courtyards could immediately pass word along. Xie Run shook her head with some regret. "I'm still too soft-hearted." "Fang Yuan'er has schemed against me time and again, yet all I can do is irritate her with petty little tricks..." Sometimes, when she thought about it, Xie Run felt she wasn't being ambitious enough. But she couldn't take the initiative to scheme against Fang Yuan'er. If anything were discovered, the good impression she had built up with Prince Jing might be completely ruined. It wasn't worth it to deal with Fang Yuan'er. Dantao also comforted Xie Run: "Mistress, we don't do harm to others." "You've gained the advantage, and Side Consort Fang has been humiliated—that's the best retribution!" Xie Run smiled. "What you say is true." "Bullying the small fry isn't much fun—how about I teach you something bigger?" The mistress and maid had been chatting when Prince Jing's deep voice suddenly cut in. Both Dantao and Xie Run were startled and quickly rose to their feet. Dantao's face turned pale. "Your Highness, the mistress was only joking with us..." Xie Run reached out and pressed her hand down, signaling her not to panic, then calmly rose on her own. So what if she'd been caught talking behind someone's back? She was, after all, Prince Jing's favored concubine. If she didn't even have the right to speak her mind, then her favor was worthless. Prince Jing lowered his gaze. "Consort Xie grows bolder by the day. I haven't told you to rise, yet you rise on your own?" Xie Run asked softly: "Then does Your Highness not wish for me to rise?" Prince Jing raised an eyebrow. "You've learned to trap me with my own words?" Xie Run slowly stepped forward two paces and reached out to grasp Prince Jing's arm. "What did Your Highness mean by what you said just now?" A beauty throwing herself into his arms—Prince Jing naturally wouldn't refuse. He chuckled, "I heard you're angry at Side Consort Fang, so I came specifically to help you bully her." Xie Run glanced sideways at him, showing an interested expression: "Don't keep me in suspense, Prince. Do tell!" Prince Jing paused for a moment. He hadn't expected Xie Run to be so completely unguarded, eagerly asking him for a plan. It was quite different from her usual gentle and harmless demeanor. But Prince Jing knew well that Xie Run wasn't truly of a gentle and harmless nature. She too had fangs—she just rarely bared them to bite. Prince Jing smiled, "Did she offend you that badly?" Xie Run pressed her lips together, her eyes sweeping over Prince Jing as she said word by word, "Prince, what she tried to harm was your own son!" "If you won't feel for him, can't this concubine at least feel for him?" As she spoke, a hint of moisture seemed to gather in Xie Run's eyes, and her voice carried a slightly tearful tone. When she cast that glare at him, Prince Jing felt his heart soften. Seeing Xie Run turn to leave, Prince Jing took a few quick steps to catch up and grabbed her hand. "This is my fault, then." The maidservants nearby found it hard to hide their astonishment at seeing Prince Jing admit fault. Dantao quickly pulled the others out of the room. Xie Run, held in Prince Jing's embrace, clutched at his clothes with a serious demeanor: "Prince, whether you think this concubine petty or vicious-hearted, so be it." "This concubine will never forgive Side Consort Fang for the rest of her life!" "If I ever get the chance in the future, I will surely stomp on her hard and make her swallow back every word she said that day." Even while angry, Xie Run could still complain to Prince Jing in a soft, gentle voice. "That day she drugged Taotao—the evidence was conclusive—and yet she still dared to accuse me of not watching over the child properly?" "Where does she get the nerve to blame me?!" "She herself managed to look after the Third Young Master so well that he had diarrhea for days and she knew nothing about it." "When something happened, all she knew was to punish the wet nurse..." A crystalline teardrop slid from the corner of Xie Run's eye. "For the Third Young Master to have her as his mother—he must have been cursed with eight generations of bad luck!" It was also fortunate that Xie Run didn't want to jinx Prince Jing's fortune. Otherwise, she truly wanted to ask—what difference was there between Fang Yuan'er and Concubine An?