Ah—
Wei Qingge quickly looked down, her face instantly becoming unnatural.
The dress he had given her was too cumbersome, layered three times over.
She usually wore light riding attire, and only changed into such clothes for palace banquets, with maids to assist her.
She complained inwardly a few times and began fumbling with her outer robe.
“I’ll help you with it.”
Li Qiongyu walked over, his slender fingers pressing her down as he slowly and methodically tidied her clothes.
Wei Qingge didn’t want to accept his gesture, but she couldn’t help it; she couldn’t tie the sash at the back herself.
“Hurry up.”
She turned her face away and urged him.
Li Qiongyu ignored her, slowly half-embracing her as he fastened her clothing.
They were too close, and she could even smell the alcohol on him.
Wei Qingge couldn’t stand his unrestrained gaze any longer, so she lowered her head, snatched the belt, tied it casually, and turned to leave.
Li Qiongyu followed, “I’ll see you back.”
“No need, stay away from me.”
She held up her skirt and walked away quickly.
Just as Li Qiongyu was about to grab her, Eunuch Xu’s voice sounded from not far away.
“Young Marquis, the Imperial Consort requests your presence.”
Li Qiongyu stopped, a flicker of impatience barely visible in his eyes, but his expression remained unchanged, his alluring peach blossom eyes filled with a smile.
“Auntie needs me for something?”
Eunuch Xu, holding a whisk, walked swiftly past the corridor below the hall. As he passed Wei Qingge, he discreetly glanced at her a few times.
Although he quickly withdrew his gaze, Wei Qingge still noticed it and knitted her brows.
She didn’t listen to whatever was being said behind her and quickened her pace. kanδん
After leaving Langyuan, she walked around the Imperial Garden.
In the garden, lotus flowers were in full bloom, releasing bursts of fresh fragrance.
Wei Qingge’s hand idly plucked a flower and fiddled with it.
Annoying.
Li Qiongyu, that scheming dog, was about to drive her mad.
As she was cursing under her breath.
Suddenly, a killing intent struck her from behind. Greatly alarmed, she immediately drew her whip.
But the attacker was too fast, swiftly covering her mouth and nose, striking her unconscious, and dragging her behind the rockery.
Damn it, what kind of dog was that, sneaking an attack.
She fainted, unwillingly.
When she woke up again, she was in a dark room.
Wei Qingge moved uncomfortably, only to find herself sitting on a chair, completely bound.
“Oh, you’re awake?!”
She was startled and quickly looked up.
“It’s you!”
Wei Qingge’s heart filled with anger. She suppressed her temper and coldly warned, “Li Yan, my father is a great general guarding the border. If you dare to lay hands on me, you will not come to a good end.”
That’s right, sitting on the stool not far away was Li Yan, dressed in a magnificent robe.
She slowly sipped the hot tea in her hand, and when her delicately made-up face cast a sidelong glance at her, it was filled with a malicious smile.
“I am a princess of the royal family. Can I not punish a lowly court lady?”
Wei Qingge desperately wanted to curse, but she wasn’t foolish. This Li Yan was clearly looking for trouble, and might even want to kill her secretly.
She frowned slightly and carefully surveyed her surroundings.
It was a small, dark room, surrounded by torture instruments and branding irons.
Through a small iron window in front, she could see the golden tiled eaves carved with phoenixes, adorned with bright yellow lanterns.
The emblem of the palace.
She clenched her fists, her teeth grinding audibly.
She had been locked in a secret room in the palace.
“Wei Qingge, it’s time we settled our score.”
Li Yan held a whip and slowly walked towards her, her eyes filled with such sinister intent that her face seemed somewhat grotesque.
“You—what are you going to do?”
Seeing the fear flickering in her eyes, Li Yan chuckled.
“Wei Qingge, you’re scared too. Heh, can a rabbit with its teeth pulled still bite?”
As she spoke, she let go of the whip with a swish.
“When you helped that bitch deal with me, did you ever think you’d face my revenge?”
Wei Qingge glared at her, remaining silent.
Li Yan sneered, stepped onto the stool she was sitting on, grabbed her hair, and pulled it back forcefully.
“Ah—”
Wei Qingge’s face instantly turned pale from the pain.
“If I can’t deal with that bitch, can’t I deal with you?”
If it weren’t for that bitch Lan Murou, she wouldn’t have had her engagement broken off and become a laughingstock in Shangjing.
Hahaha, Tantai Ye actually abandoned her to marry someone who courted death.
Hate.
She hated it so much.
“As the legitimate daughter of a general, you insist on associating with such an unsavory civilian woman and repeatedly oppose this princess.”
She gritted her teeth and said fiercely, “Today, you must pay a heavy price for your foolishness.”
The General’s Mansion was heavily guarded; she couldn’t kill that bitch.
So, she could only let the foolish Wei Qingge suffer in place of that bitch.
Wei Qingge’s scalp ached terribly from her rough handling, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.
“Li Yan, don’t be foolish.”
“Hahaha, I’m foolish.”
Li Yan burst into loud laughter and yanked her hair again.
“My greatest regret in this life is that when she came to Shangjing back then, I didn’t nip the bud and kill her.”
If Lan Murou had been killed then, she wouldn’t have suffered such humiliation, had her engagement broken off by the current court, and brought shame to the Duan Prince’s mansion.
What use was bestowing the title of princess upon her? She didn’t care for it!
Why.
Why did Tantai Ye abandon her for a bitch?
Wei Qingge knew she couldn’t escape this ordeal and no longer bothered to give Li Yan a good face.
She sneered, “A vicious person like you, Tantai Ye would have to be blind to fancy you. You’ll never be as good as my Rou’er.”
“You—”
Li Yan glared at her furiously, the malice in her eyes almost spilling out.
“You fool, what benefits could a civilian woman like her possibly give you to make you help her like this?”
During the years that bitch had been in Shangjing, Wei Qingge had helped her time and again and repeatedly opposed her. She should have acted sooner.
If these two people had been killed, there wouldn’t be this situation today.
Wei Qingge saw the malevolent killing intent in her eyes and trembled slightly. She couldn’t help but say,
“Li Yan, you are now a princess, a daughter of the imperial family. As long as you don’t act foolishly, countless men are available for you to choose from. Why do you have to make yourself like this for Tantai Ye?”
Li Yan’s face turned green and then purple upon hearing her words, and she roared furiously.
“I am a daughter of the imperial clan, born noble. From childhood, I was cultivated to be the principal wife of the Tantai clan. How am I inferior to that bitch? Why should she take everything from me and make me a laughingstock of Shangjing’s nobility? I am not reconciled!”
Wei Qingge looked at her in fury, the pain in her scalp from being torn made her face frighteningly pale, and the sneer on her lips grew even more pronounced.
“What’s with that look on your face? Mocking me?”
She roared and slapped her viciously.
Wei Qingge’s face was immediately swollen on one side, burning with pain.
She suppressed her anger and spoke, piercing through her inner shame.
“Li Yan, don’t deceive yourself.”
“The Duan Prince’s mansion has no real power. Your father, in order to climb onto the Tantai clan, secretly cultivated you as the principal wife of the Tantai clan from a young age.”
“But Tantai Ye has never acknowledged you, and before the alliance of the two families, the Tantai clan also did not acknowledge you.”