She hurriedly knelt down, grabbing onto Cheng Yong's sleeve. Crying and sniveling, she looked like an innocent girl who had suffered great injustice.
"My lord, I didn't do it on purpose. I just thought it would be too troublesome to open the main gate. Taking the side gate would be more convenient. I thought the eldest miss was well - behaved and understanding enough to know how hard it is for me to manage the household. Who would have thought that the eldest miss would be so particular and insist on taking the main gate? She even misinterpreted my good intentions..."
A sarcastic smile curled up on Cheng Simian's lips.
Over the years, Cheng Yong had been completely taken in by Yu Qiaor's tricks.
The corners of his eyes drooped, and it was obvious that he was softening.
The Crown Prince let out a cold sneer, and the entire hall fell silent. Everyone held their breath in fear.
"Marquis Wude truly has a fine family tradition. With the mistress of the household present, in this large marquis's mansion, a concubine has been allowed to take control. She shows no respect for the eldest legitimate daughter and has a malicious intention to trample on her. Clearly with impure motives, she still pretends to be a hard - working housekeeper who is misunderstood. Then she turns the tables and tries to make the right - minded person seem wrong."
As soon as he stood up, everyone in the room knelt down again.
The Crown Prince stared coldly at Cheng Yong, his eyes filled with disdain.
"No wonder the good son Marquis Wude raised was so shameless as to become a male favorite of the Princess Dowager and willing to be her lackey. He died without a good reputation."
Cheng Yong was hit where it hurt. His face turned ashen.
The half - softened heart in him hardened again.
Yu Qiaor covered her face and shed tears, sobbing softly. She looked extremely pitiful.
This kind of act might work in the inner chambers of the back house. Usually, he would fall for it.
But with the Crown Prince here, acting coy would only make the Crown Prince laugh at his poor management of the household!
Cheng Yong slapped Yu Qiaor hard across the face.
"You slut! Who gave you the right to act on your own? Hurry up and apologize to Mianmian!"
Yu Qiaor had been in the back house for many years and knew how to read the situation. She was spineless to begin with, and besides, saving her life was the most important thing.
She kowtowed three times in a row to Cheng Simian.
"Eldest miss, I overstepped my bounds. Please, eldest miss, be magnanimous and forgive me this once!"
Cheng Simian's eyes were clear. She was neither overbearing nor impatient. She didn't look at Yu Qiaor but stared into Cheng Yong's eyes.
"Father, do you still want to let such a person manage the back house?"
Cheng Yong was already sweating profusely. Hearing this, he got even angrier but didn't dare to show it.
He had underestimated his daughter.
She had deliberately put him in a difficult position in front of the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince had already labeled him as having "poor family ethics". If he didn't give in, the Crown Prince would surely find more faults with him.
"Your mother has been in poor health and has been devoted to Buddhism all these years, so I..."
The Crown Prince interrupted him impatiently. "Since the mistress is unable to manage the household, now that your eldest legitimate daughter has returned, there's no reason to let a concubine manage it!"
Cheng Yong quickly nodded and bowed. "Yes, yes, yes. Your Highness is right. I'll hand over the power of managing the household to Mianmian!"
Yu Qiaor and Cheng Siyi hugged each other, shivering. At the same time, they gritted their teeth in hatred.
"What will Marquis Wude do with the instigator?"
Cheng Yong was stunned again. Was the Crown Prince looking for trouble on purpose?
He felt a stifling anger in his chest but had no choice but to comply.
"Aunt Yu will be confined to her quarters for two months and have her monthly allowance deducted for a year. Steward Liu will be beaten with thirty strokes..."
The Crown Prince's face was cold and his eyes were filled with killing intent. "Steward Liu will be beaten to death!"
Cheng Yong shivered. A great sense of panic enveloped him from head to toe.
Before Steward Liu could even plead for mercy, he was dragged away by the Crown Prince's guards.
Shrill cries echoed through the marquis's mansion.
Before the thirty strokes were finished, the man was dead.
Cheng Yong was sweating profusely. He gasped for breath intermittently like a dying man.
On his first visit, the Crown Prince had shed blood in the marquis's mansion.
He wasn't just punishing Steward Liu. He was clearly making an example of him!
Yu Qiaor and Cheng Siyi turned pale with fright.
The Crown Prince disdained to give them a single look. He didn't want to lower himself to punish a woman.
Cheng Simian was quite capable. He might as well leave it to her.
Everyone in the marquis's mansion respectfully and fearfully escorted the Crown Prince out of the main gate.
Cheng Simian accompanied him for a while longer.
The two of them kept a distance. One walked with steady steps, and the other walked slowly.
The afternoon sun shone on them, and their shadows overlapped.
When the Crown Prince got into the carriage, just as she was about to kneel down, the Crown Prince suddenly turned around.
She had a beautiful face with red lips and white teeth. Her gaze on him was pure.
"I won't say words of thanks for such a great kindness. I'll always remember Your Highness's kindness."
If someone else had said this, it would have sounded overly flattering.
There was a touch of coldness between her eyebrows. She was elegant and noble, showing no trace of coquetry.
The Crown Prince looked at her. His face was still as cold as ice.
"I helped you because I appreciate your painting, not for any other reason. Now that you've achieved your goal, you'll have to walk your own path in the future. I don't have so much time to meddle in the affairs of the inner house."
Xiao Anzi listened carefully and frowned slightly.
It seemed that the Crown Prince was eager to clarify that he had no feelings for her and that she didn't need to try to get close to him.
They should go their separate ways from now on.
Cheng Simian frowned slightly and gracefully curtsied. "I'll keep it in mind."
The Crown Prince underestimated her too much.
Did he think that she had lured him to the marquis's mansion with a painting just to use his power to clean up the inner house?
Killing a chicken with a butcher's knife was unnecessary!
She would let him know slowly that they had the same ultimate goal!
When the Crown Prince returned to the Eastern Palace, he took out the "Picture of the Vast Land" again and admired it for a long time.
As he looked, Cheng Simian's stunning face appeared in front of his eyes.
He suddenly closed the scroll. For some inexplicable reason, a trace of restlessness welled up in his heart.
...
The first thing Cheng Simian did after getting the power to manage the household was to drive out the several old women who had joined Steward Liu in making things difficult for her at the gate.
These old women were all Yu Qiaor's confidants.
This move was not only to establish her authority but also to tell everyone in the marquis's mansion that the situation in the inner house had changed.
Yu Qiaor had angered Cheng Yong and was confined to her quarters.
She knew that Cheng Yong was still angry. Trying to act coquettishly and pitifully at this moment would only add fuel to the fire.
Cheng Siyi was both terrified and jealous. Her face, full of hatred, was distorted.
"Mother, how did that little slut Cheng Simian manage to hook up with the Crown Prince as soon as she entered the capital?"
She considered herself charming and alluring, capable of bewitching countless men. But she couldn't even touch the corner of the Crown Prince's clothes!
The Crown Prince didn't even give her a proper look!
She was five years younger than Cheng Simian. Since childhood, she had lived in Cheng Simian's shadow.
Cheng Simian was the eldest legitimate daughter, while she was a concubine's daughter, of a lower status.
Cheng Simian was beautiful and radiant. Wherever she went, there were countless admirers.
But she could only attract lecherous and incompetent men.
Cheng Simian was also more talented than her. She was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, making her look completely useless!
Yu Qiaor had suffered a great setback. It was as if there was a thick lump of phlegm stuck in her throat. She felt uncomfortable but couldn't say a word.
She had been very successful in the inner house of the marquis's mansion for eight years. But as soon as Cheng Simian returned, she ended up in such a situation!
She hated Cheng Simian to the core.
"Humph, how did she hook up with him? Of course, it was with her face! The Crown Prince entered the capital, and so did she. Who knows, maybe she had already climbed into the Crown Prince's bed on the way!"
Cheng Siyi was so jealous that it felt like her internal organs were on fire. "The Crown Prince stood up for her today. Will he take her to the Eastern Palace and give her a title tomorrow?"