Chapter 478 Declaring Sovereignty

Chapter 478: Staking Her Claim

"But Magistrate Zhong felt that being divorced by her husband's family the very next day after the wedding night was a tremendous humiliation. He refused to let my third brother divorce her, but Miss Zhong flat-out refused to go back to the Prince Ye's residence."

"After this dragged on for three days, word of Miss Zhong running back home spread all over the capital. Everyone was saying that my third brother was jinxed when it came to wives—that he'd married four wives and couldn't hold on to a single one. My third brother took endless abuse and blame over this whole Zhong family mess."

"He hadn't done a thing wrong. Marrying Miss Zhong was never something he wanted, and he'd never harmed anyone. Yet everyone piled all the blame on him, saying he shouldn't even be alive—that if not for him, these women would never have married him in the first place."

"In the end, it was the Empress who felt sorry for my third brother. She stepped in and ordered Miss Zhong and my third brother to swap back their tokens and get an official divorce. Only then did this whole marriage finally come to a close."

"If you don't believe me, you can send anyone down to the government office to check. The divorce papers for my third brother and Miss Zhong were filed, stamped with the official seal, and approved."

"So there's no relationship whatsoever between Miss Zhong and my third brother. The betrothal gifts and dowry were all fully squared away and sent back at the time. Neither family owes the other a single thing."

The moment those words came out, a lot of people were shocked and started turning on Magistrate Zhong.

"This Magistrate Zhong is really out of line. Prince Ye has nothing to do with his daughter anymore, yet he still shows up to stir up trouble and demand accountability."

"Exactly. It was his daughter who ran off with some guy on her wedding day, then refused to even share a room with Prince Ye that night, and ran back home with her dowry maid the next day—totally humiliating Prince Ye. Not only did Prince Ye not hold it against her, he even gave her a letter of divorce and let her go."

"If this had been any other prince, with what Miss Zhong did, she'd have been dead a long time ago!"

Another older woman overheard them and butted in: "Even the divorce was already doing the Zhong family a solid. Just on the grounds of Miss Zhong eloping with a man, she should have been drowned in a pig cage for that alone."

"Prince Ye was kind-hearted and didn't want to kill her."

A man also said: "Those two have been divorced for almost a year now. It's only because his daughter is deathly ill that he comes knocking now. Could it be the Zhong family sees the Prince Ye's residence is loaded now and wants Prince Ye to support their daughter for free? You think Princess Ye would go along with that?"

Hearing this, Magistrate Zhong said, all flustered and angry: "I only have this one daughter. Even though she's already divorced Prince Ye, her illness still comes from him."

"If she'd never married Prince Ye, maybe she'd have married some suitable young man from a family of equal standing by now, had kids, and lived out her life in peace."

"But because of this arranged marriage, my daughter's life is ruined. Now I don't expect her to become Princess Ye anymore. I just hope the current Princess Ye can be generous and let Prince Ye take my daughter in as a concubine—even just the title of concubine would be fine."

"And what if this Princess says no?" A cold, clear female voice rang out as Ji Yuntang strolled out from the doorway.

She looked at Magistrate Zhong, then her gaze settled on the sedan chair draped in red silk at the entrance.

No doubt about it, the Zhong family's young miss was sitting right inside that sedan chair.

Xu stepped forward to challenge her: "On what grounds do you refuse? This Prince Ye's residence isn't run by you alone. The real authority lies with Prince Ye."

"He was willing to marry my Xinyu before, which shows they were destined to be husband and wife. Now taking her as a concubine is perfectly normal. Men should have three wives and four concubines. Princess Ye's jealousy is far too strong!"

Ji Yuntang glanced at her, her red lips parting slightly: "You're right. This Princess's jealousy is exactly that strong. My man is destined to have only me in this lifetime. What was given to you before, you failed to hold onto. Now it's too late to want it back. The Prince Ye's residence owes nothing to any of you."

Hearing this, Magistrate Zhong grew frantic. He had long heard that Princess Ye was a tough nut to crack, and now he saw it firsthand.

His purpose today was to get Zhong Xinyu into the residence. If she couldn't even see Prince Ye's face, how would he answer to the Crown Prince?

With this thought, Magistrate Zhong steeled himself and said: "Princess Ye, I address you as Princess Ye out of respect for your status as Prince Ye's lawful wife. But this matter is between the Zhong family and Prince Ye himself. Please do not interfere."

Ji Yuntang laughed coldly: "My lord's affairs are this Princess's affairs."

"Don't you know that everyone in the Prince Ye's residence answers to this Princess alone?"

"You want to arrange a concubine for my husband—do you not need the consent of this household's mistress?"

At this point, Pei Zhiyi stepped forward and said: "Tangtang, don't waste words with him. Just chase them away. If it's inconvenient for you to act, I'll do it."

"I guarantee I'll beat them until they run off with their tails between their legs and never dare trouble you again."

Ji Yuntang shook her head: "Zhi Yi, not everything can be solved with force. Don't get involved in this matter. I'll handle it myself."

The Zhong family showing up at this time was clearly not without purpose.

They couldn't possibly be unaware that Miss Zhong had already divorced Luo Junhe.

So there were only two possibilities.

Either they wanted to climb the ladder of power and wealth, seeking a connection with the Prince Ye's residence.

Or they deliberately wanted to send their daughter into the residence to spite her.

Of course, another possibility couldn't be ruled out—that someone was backing Magistrate Zhong.

By sending his daughter into the Prince Ye's residence, on one hand he wouldn't have to bother caring for her anymore, saving on medical expenses and a large sum of money.

On the other hand—and this was what Ji Yuntang least wanted—the Zhong family wanted to plant a spy in the Prince Ye's residence on someone else's behalf, to harm her and Luo Junhe.

Regardless of which it was, Ji Yuntang would never allow someone with ulterior motives into the residence. Otherwise, the consequences would be endless.

Magistrate Zhong had no way to deal with Ji Yuntang. Knowing he was in the wrong, he shot Xu a look, signaling her to step forward and reason with Ji Yuntang.

Receiving Magistrate Zhong's signal, Xu immediately began making a scene like a shrew.

"Princess Ye, whether you agree or not, my daughter must marry Prince Ye!"

"We've already had a fortune-teller pick an auspicious day, and today is the most suitable. We've already dressed her in her wedding clothes. All that's needed is to have someone carry her into the Prince Ye's residence. Prince Ye doesn't even need to come out to receive the bride."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yuntang laughed: "So you're saying this Princess should thank you on behalf of my lord?"

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