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Ji Muqing's smiling face was as beautiful as a painting, personable and guileless. However, the light in her eyes turned dark in an instant as she focused her gaze on that woman in front of her. Her smile had vanished without a trace.
Chen Xiang's heart lurched and she moved back an inch.
Ji Muqing curled her lip. "What would happen to you if Prince Yi ascends to the throne in future?" Her tone was dark and chilling.
Chen Xiang's teeth tingled as she bit down. "When Prince Yi ascends to the throne, I will be Empress."
"Empress?" How laughable! This woman was such a joke.
Ji Muqing kneeled on the ground, her two hands resting on the damp hay at her sides as she crept forward. Her eyes shone with a wild expression as she fixed her gaze on that woman.
"What is your status? What qualifies you to sit on the Empress's throne? Prince Yi wants power and to consolidate his position. The candidate for Empress would be the daughter of either a general or an influential courtier. And you would only end up in the same state as me, merely a chess piece he keeps by his side. No, you would only be considered half a chess piece. When you have exhausted your usefulness, you will also taste my pain or experience even more pain than I do." Ji Muqing eked out each word, one by one, between clenched teeth.
Chen Xiang was furious and grabbed her shoulders. "Look at yourself, how disgusting! I'm different from you; I'm carrying Prince Yi's child, the future crown prince. But you are only fit to spend your whole life in a place like this until snakes and vermin have completely gnawed away every scrap of skin and muscle clean from your body. You can never be compared to me!" As she finished speaking, she flung Ji Muqing aside.
Ji Muqing fell heavily backwards, her back hitting the wall with a thud. However, she threw back her head and chuckled, the sound reverberating through the damp woodshed and striking a chill through people's hearts. She repeated, "You will all get your just desserts, you will all get your just desserts!"
Chen Xiang stood up and looked down at the crazed woman, then flung her sleeves in anger and left. Ji Muqing’s eerie laughter could still be heard from a distance…
When she returned to her courtyard, Chen Xiang remained uneasy. Those words kept ringing in her head…
"What is your status? What qualifies you to sit on the Empress's throne? Prince Yi wants power and to consolidate his position. The candidate for Empress would be the daughter of either a general or an influential courtier. And you would only end up in the same state as me, merely a chess piece he keeps by his side. No, you would only be considered half a chess piece. When you have exhausted your usefulness, you will also taste my pain or experience even more pain than I do."
Yes, she is a chess piece. One that could be discarded at any time after being used!
Besides, the one who held all the pieces was Jing Yi. She was neither the daughter of a general nor an influential courtier. She wouldn’t be able to sit on the Empress’s throne.
When Chen Xiang’s thoughts reached that point, she rubbed her still-flat stomach apprehensively. She hoped that her pregnancy would progress smoothly and she would be able to give birth safely to the little heir, reliving her of all her misgivings about the many ways it could go wrong.
She further wished that as his mother, she would also prosper on the merits of her son.
…
Meanwhile, Jing Yi received a piece of news. Dou Quan reported, “Prince Rong and his group suddenly changed directions on their way back to the capital, and went to Marquis Kang’s estate in Jingzhou.”
“Marquis Kang?”
“Moreover, Marquis Kang had sent people to fetch them and invite them to his estate. Logically, Prince Rong should head to the capital immediately instead of going to Jingzhou.”
This… Jing Yi paced, muttering to himself. “They went to Marquis Kang? There aren’t many people that know about the secret decree. How would Marquis Kang know that Jing Rong has returned to the capital? What on earth is that old fellow up to?”
“Your Highness, why don’t this subordinate send someone to investigate?”
“No.” He immediately denied it. “Jingzhou is Marquis Kang’s territory. Don’t think that that old fellow is merely idle all day long; his eyes are extremely shrewd instead. He will detect us the minute our men step into the city.”
“What should we do now then?”
“This prince doesn’t believe that Jing Rong and Marquis Kang could come up with any useful tricks!” A person who had long lost their influence in court, blustering around in Jingzhou city on the influence of a few thousand estate soldiers and some powerful connections; what kind of capability could he have?
Jing Yi didn’t feel the need to guard against him at all! A thought suddenly crossed his mind, directing his attention to another matter. It should already have been three days. He summoned a little maid and asked, “How is the princess consort now?”
The little maid cowered a little. “In reply to Your Highness, the consort hasn’t made any noise or fuss the past few days.”
Has she turned sensible? Jing Yi considered the matter. Chen Xiang had mostly recovered and his heir in her stomach was not seriously affected. Thus, he instructed, “Bring the consort here.”
“Yes.”
Ji Muqing was soon dragged there and tossed carelessly onto the ground. Her stick-thin figure leaned weakly against the cold and hard floor, her bony limbs aching painfully.
An unspeakable stench emmated from the body of that woman. Her hair was dishevelled and had several pieces of straw sticking out of it. Her luxurious robes were utterly filthy and torn. Did she rip them herself or were the holes bitten through by mice? Jing Yi’s eyes were filled with disgust.
After a long time, the person on the ground finally started moving. Her ten fingers curled and pressed forcefully against the ground, until the filthy nails turned white from the pressure. Ji Muqing lifted her head and met the gaze filled with disgust and a desire to kill.
Did he really hate her so much? Haha. She grinned, showing the whites of her teeth as she propped herself half-upright. “Are you going to kill me or let me go?” Her tone was calm.
“This prince will not kill you.”
“Then are you going to let me go?”
“Your Eldest brother is working for this prince. Why would I treat you unfairly? Besides, you’re now the princess consort, someone with an honorable status.”
Haha! Ji Muqing laughed in her heart. She dearly wished that she could stand up and tear apart this man’s face, to take a look under that hypocritical skin. Just how grand his desires and selfish motives were, that they could make a person so perverted?
However, she could only crawl and pull herself to sit upright on the ground and smile sinisterly at Jing Yi. “In these three days, I finally have thought clearly about one thing.” Her lacquered nails scratched against the ground again and again, making a hair-raising sound.
Jing Yi narrowed his cold and treacherous eyes without interrupting her actions. He wanted to hear what else she had to say.
The corners of her lips curled up as she tilted her head and said humorously, “That night in the palace I received that note from the Crown Prince, inviting me to meet at the side door of the Eastern Palace. However, since I’m already the prospective crown princess, what harm would there be for the Crown Prince to wait a few more days?
“It just had to be so coincidental that someone knocked me unconscious not long after I had just gone out. When I came to, I was already lying in the same bed as that man. Even more coincidentally, a bunch of eunuchs rushed into the room right after I opened my eyes, and brought me in front of Concubine Xiao.” She questioned, “Why would there be so many coincidences that night?”
Of course those weren’t coincidences.
She smiled self-deprecatingly, with a flash of understanding in her eyes. “How could there be such coincidences in this world?! It was actually all part of a plot laid down by you and Concubine Xiao, in order to obtain the power and influence of my two brothers. You did everything you could to ensure that I would be unable to participate in the crown princess selection, so that I would marry you and become your chess piece!”
Ji Muqing shouted the last sentence. Her bloodshot eyes carried hate and killing intent.
After Jing Yi listened to her rant, he lifted a graceful eyebrow. “It’s still not late for you to understand that now.”
Not late? It’s too late! If she had understood this earlier, she would not have played right into this man’s hand, and even have to kowtow in gratitude that he was willing to marry her “unclean” self.
She could only blame her past self for being too foolish!
