"Mother, I will never take her as a concubine."
Ji Lingchuan's words were like stones cast into a once - calm lake, stirring up waves again.
The Princess of Ningqin immediately looked at him, her brows knitted tightly. "Now that things have come to this, if you don't take her as a concubine, do you want the heir of the Ningqin Prince's Mansion to be left wandering outside?"
The Princess of Ningqin suddenly paused, as if seeing through his intention, and her tone grew harsher.
"Although the Crown Princess did something foolish, there were reasons behind it. The Ningqin Prince's Mansion is not so heartless as to strike someone when they're down at this moment."
"Even if you have no feelings for the Crown Princess and want a divorce, you still need the imperial edict from the Empress Dowager. Moreover..."
Glancing at Song Yihuan, the Princess of Ningqin showed no emotion on her face.
"Not just anyone can be the Crown Princess of the Ningqin Prince."
Ji Lingchuan's words were instantly blocked in his throat by the Princess of Ningqin.
He would never allow Song Yihuan to be a concubine.
He originally wanted to expose the fact that Song Nanxin had asked Song Yihuan to take her place in the Imperial College, so that the Princess of Ningqin would know that Song Nanxin's achievements in the Imperial College were actually obtained by Song Yihuan. He had sufficient evidence at hand.
However, he now understood.
Even if the matter of Song Nanxin finding someone to attend classes in the Imperial College for her was exposed and the Princess of Ningqin knew that the truly intelligent and talented one was Song Yihuan and that the one who should have been betrothed was also Song Yihuan, the Princess of Ningqin probably would not agree to let Song Yihuan be his wife.
Family status and birth were still the unbreakable shackles between them.
Song Yihuan was very intelligent and naturally understood the hidden meaning in the Princess of Ningqin's words.
She had already guessed this outcome. She bowed deeply, showing her attitude clearly:
"Song Yihuan has never dared to covet the position of the Crown Princess of the Ningqin Prince, nor has she ever hoped to stay in the Ningqin Prince's Mansion. I saw everything the Crown Prince did last night to find Xuan'er. I am very grateful to the Crown Prince in my heart. In the future, if I can stay by the Crown Prince's side as a concubine, Song Yihuan will be content."
By now, the Princess of Ningqin couldn't help but feel regretful.
Song Yihuan was smart, knew when to advance and when to retreat, and was very much to her liking. If it weren't for this incident, she would be willing to adopt this girl as her god - daughter and find a good marriage for her so that she could be the mistress of an official's family.
But unfortunately, she had had a physical relationship with Ji Lingchuan.
She had been on guard, both openly and secretly, and had hinted and admonished them many times, but unexpectedly, she still couldn't prevent this from happening.
Now Ji Lingchuan even wanted to ruin this marriage for her. This concubine daughter of the Marquis's Mansion actually had such great influence that she could affect Ji Lingchuan's calm and judgment. She would never allow her to be the mistress of the Ningqin Prince's Mansion.
Being a concubine was already the greatest favor.
Ji Lingchuan's hands at his sides clenched into fists. He forced himself to look cold and heartless. "It seems that both Mother and Miss Song have misunderstood."
The Princess of Ningqin frowned. "What do you mean?"
Ji Lingchuan stood up, walked in front of Song Yihuan, and pinched her chin.
"Song Yihuan, I gave you several chances to be honest with me, but you chose to hide the truth and continued to help your elder sister deceive and make a fool of me. In your eyes, do you think I'm easy to deceive? Do you think that as long as you hook your finger, I'll be completely infatuated with you?"
Song Yihuan's eyes widened slightly. She only felt that the usually dark phoenix eyes that sometimes showed a bit of tenderness were now completely cold.
"I've said before. Your tricks are useless to me. You say you want to be my concubine? You want to cling to me?
"But a woman as scheming and calculating as you is not even worthy of being my concubine."
The Princess of Ningqin snapped out of her shock. Hearing his cold words, she subconsciously called out, "Chuan'er!"
There was an heir of the Ningqin Prince's Mansion in her belly!
Ji Lingchuan said without looking back:
"Mother, don't worry. I won't let the heir of the Ningqin Prince's Mansion be left wandering outside. The child she gives birth to will naturally belong to the Ningqin Prince's Mansion, but I will never take her as a concubine."
His cold eyes swept towards Song Nanxin beside him, showing no concealment of his coldness and disgust.
"I hate liars the most in my life. Song Nanxin, you said you had reasons for what you did, but from the moment you plotted to let your own younger sister sleep with me, you were no longer worthy of being my wife."
"Since this marriage was bestowed by the Empress Dowager, I will only ask the Empress Dowager for an imperial edict to divorce you. But before that, I don't want to see you in the Ningqin Prince's Mansion. There is a villa on the outskirts of the capital for the Ningqin Prince's Mansion. After we return to the capital, you will move there. Without my permission, you are not allowed to return to the Ningqin Prince's Mansion."
"Crown Prince!" Song Nanxin cried out in disbelief. She had told her miserable experience in enough detail. Even a heart of stone should have softened, but why was he still so heartless?
He even wanted to ask the Empress Dowager for an imperial edict to divorce her!
The Princess of Ningqin stood up in shock. "Chuan'er!"
The man turned around and looked at his mother. The armor on his body made a harsh sound when it rubbed, and the cold light flashed on it. Coupled with the man's cold and solemn face, it made people shiver.
"Mother. You're tired. You should rest."
The Princess of Ningqin tightened the Buddhist beads in her hand, knowing that he resented her for interfering too much.
She knew that he originally disagreed with this marriage. It was she who, taking advantage of his absence from the capital, asked the Empress Dowager for this marriage for the sake of the heirs of the Ningqin Prince's Mansion. Now that these things had happened and such absurd jokes had been made, his dissatisfaction grew even more.
Well, let it be.
Letting out a soft sigh, the Princess of Ningqin supported her forehead and said, "I'm tired. Let's just end the matter of the Crown Princess and Yihuan here."
Ji Lingchuan then looked at Marquis Ding'an and Lady Meng, who were as timid as quails, and said coldly, "Do you, Marquis and the Marchioness, have any objections to the handling of the Ningqin Prince's Mansion?"
At this moment, how could Marquis Ding'an and Lady Meng have any objections? This way of handling had already minimized the losses for their Marquis's Mansion.
It was just moving to the villa. It was almost the New Year soon. They could think of a way to regain Ji Lingchuan's heart and return to the Ningqin Prince's Mansion.
Marquis Ding'an said with a smiling face, "The handling of the Princess and the Crown Prince is extremely fair. I have no objections."
Lady Meng echoed, "Yes, we have no objections."
With everything settled, Lady Meng had something to say to Song Nanxin and took her away on the pretext.
Ji Lingchuan then said to the Princess of Ningqin, "I'll go continue to look for Xuan'er's whereabouts."
After saying that, without even looking at Song Yihuan who was still kneeling on the ground, he stepped out. If one looked closely, they could find that the hand holding the saber at his waist was so tight that the knuckles were turning white.
For a moment, only the Princess of Ningqin and Song Yihuan were left in the room.
Seeing that Song Yihuan was still kneeling on the ground, the Princess of Ningqin softened her heart a little and said, "You're pregnant. Get up and sit over there. Don't hurt the child in your belly."
Song Yihuan nodded. "Thank you, Princess."