MCSCPM -Chapter 251 Confrontation

“Lian’er, you’re a good girl. In the imperial palace, you must be careful in everything you do.”

Lian’er stood up and no longer cried. She forced a smile. “I’ll remember what you said, Miss Yin.”

“You must be careful yourself from now on. And the injury on your face—never forget it,” Yin Qingyue said pointedly, clearly reminding her to be extremely cautious when acting in the palace.

Lian’er nodded as if she half understood. She didn’t dare delay Yin Qingyue any longer and said, “Then I won’t see you off, Miss Yin. Please hurry and leave the palace.”

This girl had such a hard fate. Yin Qingyue could only feel pity for her. She smiled faintly, turned around, and left.

The emperor had already arranged escorts and prepared a carriage. Sitting inside, Yin Qingyue was frantic with anxiety, thinking only of finding Chu Jingcheng as soon as possible.

The carriage left the palace and passed through the capital. When they reached the city gate, Yin Qingyue suddenly heard the sound of galloping hooves behind them. She lifted the curtain and looked back—surprisingly, it was Ding Ying.

Ding Ying was riding hard toward them, looking extremely anxious.

Yin Qingyue hadn’t expected the delicate Ding Ying to know how to ride a horse—let alone ride so well. It was quite unexpected.

She ordered the carriage to stop and got down. Ding Ying reined in her horse, jumped off, and ran up to Yin Qingyue.

Yin Qingyue asked in surprise, “Ding Ying? Why are you here?”

Ding Ying was panting. “I… I slipped out secretly. Qingyue, are you going to look for Prince Jing? Take me with you. I’ve already prepared everything. I want to go with you—I’m worried about Leng Feng. I don’t know whether he’s safe.”

Hearing this, Yin Qingyue frowned. “Ding Ying, how can you go? You haven’t fully recovered yet. The journey will be rough—you won’t be able to endure it.”

Ding Ying shook her head desperately. “I’m not afraid. I can endure anything. Qingyue, I’m begging you—take me with you. I won’t be a burden.”

“But—”

“Don’t worry. I know my own body. I’ll be fine,” Ding Ying insisted.

Seeing how anxious she was, Yin Qingyue knew that if she refused, Ding Ying would probably ride off on her own anyway. Left with no choice, she finally agreed, holding Ding Ying’s hand and reminding her again, “I’ll take you with me, but Ding Ying—if you feel unwell anywhere, you must tell me immediately. Do you understand?”

“I promise. Then… you’ll really let me come with you?”

“Yes, I’ll let you come.”

Only then did Ding Ying relax, smiling in relief, her eyes full of gratitude.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Yin Qingyue pulled Ding Ying up into the carriage.

“Ding Ying, you slipped out secretly—what if your father comes looking for you?” Yin Qingyue asked worriedly.

“I already told Xiangxu to inform my father after I left. Once I’m gone, he can’t exactly drag me back. Besides, my father trusts you—if I’m with you, he won’t worry,” Ding Ying explained.

Yin Qingyue nodded. “That’s good.”

At this point, Ding Ying’s eyes suddenly reddened. Looking at Yin Qingyue, she asked anxiously, “Qingyue, will Prince Jing and Leng Feng be all right? I’ve been so worried these past few days—my heart hasn’t been at ease. I even heard that Prince Jing is still missing.”

“He’ll be fine. I believe in him—he’ll definitely be fine,” Yin Qingyue said softly. Her gaze was distant as she sighed inwardly countless times. She lifted the curtain and looked out—the dark clouds still lingered overhead.

“Chu Jingcheng… if something really happened to you, I’ll never forgive you for the rest of my life.”

The pain in her heart made it hard for her to breathe again.

Meanwhile, the General’s Residence was unusually lively.

Shangguan Jiaoran swung the whip in her hand, striking the thick tree again and again, stripping away its dead bark. Over the past few days, she didn’t know how many things she had smashed.

Yun’er stood to the side, not daring to speak, afraid of being struck by her mistress’s whip.

“Yin Qingyue, I hate you! I wish I could skin you alive and drink your blood! If anything happens to Prince Jing, I’ll kill you!”

She placed the entire blame for Prince Jing’s assassination attempt on Yin Qingyue. If Prince Jing died, she would definitely kill Yin Qingyue.

Such twisted logic was terrifying.

Perhaps exhausted from lashing out, she finally withdrew the whip and flung it to the ground. Burning with anger, she ordered Yun’er, “Yun’er, bring me a sword. I want to practice swordplay.”

Yun’er hesitated, stammering, “Miss… you should rest for a bit.”

Unexpectedly, Shangguan Jiaoran spun around and slapped Yun’er hard across the face, scolding, “Since when do you dare disobey me? Go get the sword—now!”

Yun’er’s face burned with pain, but she dared not cry out. Gritting her teeth, she went to fetch a sword.

Once Shangguan Jiaoran had it, she stabbed wildly at the flowers and plants in the courtyard.

Soon, leaves littered the ground, and the once-beautiful trees were reduced to bare trunks.

With such a terrible temper, it was no wonder everyone feared Shangguan Jiaoran.

At that moment, Shangguan Qingyun returned from the palace. Seeing the courtyard in ruins and then looking at his daughter, he felt both a headache and a surge of anger.

“Ran’er! Stop this nonsense at once! What do you think you’re doing?”

Hearing her father’s stern voice, Shangguan Jiaoran immediately sheathed her sword. She ran to him, clutching his arm anxiously. “Father, how is it? How is Prince Jing? Has he really not been found? What should we do?”

She fired off questions, but Shangguan Qingyun ignored them all. Suppressing his anger, he forcefully shook off her hand.

“Ran’er, you’re still behaving like this. I’m truly disappointed in you.”

“Father? Why would you say that?” Shangguan Jiaoran panicked.

Shangguan Qingyun looked utterly disheartened. He seemed to have no strength left to argue with her. Shaking his head, he went inside.

“Father, what’s going on? At least tell me!” Shangguan Jiaoran followed him in, still pressing for answers.

“The emperor has his own decision on this matter. As ministers, we are not to interfere. You should focus on managing yourself.”

“But—”

“That’s enough. How many times must I tell you? If you want to become Princess Jing, you must understand what a Princess Jing should be like. With your current behavior, let alone becoming Princess Jing—even being a concubine would be difficult.”

Those words made Shangguan Jiaoran stagger backward. This was the first time her father had spoken to her so harshly.

She asked in shock, “Father… what do you mean by that?”

Shangguan Qingyun sighed, took a sip of tea, and said, “The emperor has already sent Yin Qingyue to secretly search for Prince Jing with palace guards. From this, you can see that His Majesty may be considering whether Yin Qingyue is suitable to be Princess Jing.”

“What? Father, is that true? Impossible—impossible! The position of Princess Jing is mine! What is Yin Qingyue anyway? What right does she have to compete with me?” Shangguan Jiaoran panicked, feeling surrounded by threats.

“Ran’er, remember this: Father will always help you. But if you don’t help yourself, there’s nothing I can do. After all, that is the emperor. With a single word from him, anything can change—nothing is set in stone,” Shangguan Qingyun said gravely.

Shangguan Jiaoran regained some clarity. In the end, it was because she herself wasn’t good enough.

“So, Ran’er, stop making trouble. If you continue like this, the position of Princess Jing will truly have nothing to do with you.”

Shangguan Jiaoran was so frightened that she stumbled backward again and again, her face turning pale. She stared wide-eyed, unable to say a word.

Elsewhere, in the Noble Consort’s Palace—

Not long after Yin Qingyue left, Consort Liu arrived, wearing a smug smile.

As the saying goes, one revels in success and avoids others in failure. Consort Liu had clearly come to gloat.

“What brings Consort Liu here?” Lan Rao asked.

Liu Sishui smiled, glanced around the spacious palace, and said, “Miss Yin has left the palace, hasn’t she? No one knows whether Prince Jing is safe, so I came to take a look. Does the Noble Consort have any news?”

Lan Rao gave a faint, contemptuous smile. Her earlier guess had been right—she had deliberately leaked the news through a young eunuch to see who would come. And sure enough, Consort Liu did.

“Consort Liu, didn’t His Majesty already say that this matter will be decided by the emperor? You and I are women of the harem—it’s inappropriate for us to interfere.”

“Is that so? I imagine you must be very worried right now, Noble Consort. If Prince Jing meets with misfortune, your careful plans may fall apart.”

“Nonsense!” Lan Rao flared up.

But Consort Liu smiled brightly, coughed lightly, and stepped closer, staring at Lan Rao. “Noble Consort, don’t misunderstand me. I was just speaking casually. It’s just that you have no children of your own, and now Prince Jing is in trouble—of course you must be suffering. After all, you treat him like your own son.”

“Consort Liu, there’s no need for this. Even if you have Prince Jing, so what? An unambitious person whose title as Prince Ling was only obtained because you whispered sweet words at the emperor’s bedside—you and I aren’t all that different.”

“I’m not like you. No matter how unambitious my Ling’er is, he’s still the emperor’s son. I have something to rely on. And you? You have no son—and now even Prince Jing may be in trouble,” Liu Sishui’s words were sharp and barbed.

Lan Rao wished she could tear that woman’s mouth apart. But seeing her true colors was worth it. She smiled coldly and said, “Whether Prince Jing is in trouble or not is still unknown. Consort Liu is already cursing him—if His Majesty were to find out, that wouldn’t be very good, would it?”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

“Nonsense? Doesn’t Consort Liu mean exactly that?”

“Of course not!” Liu Sishui grew flustered.

Lan Rao pressed her advantage. “I heard you clearly just now. Between the lines, Consort Liu clearly hopes that something happens to Prince Jing. Such malice truly amazes me.”

“I—I—Noble Consort Lan, don’t misunderstand me. You can eat carelessly, but words—words must not be spoken carelessly,” Liu Sishui warned.

Lan Rao stepped closer, leaning toward her, and snorted. “Just as you said, I have no children. That means I have no worries. There’s nothing I can’t say—and nothing I can’t do.”