Chapter 496 Deaths of the Previous Princesses

Chapter 496: The Deaths of the Previous Princesses

"The Crown Prince and Zhenglang share a deep father-son bond, which is a good thing. I was previously worried that they might not get along, but it seems I was overthinking it!"

After speaking, she paused and set down the teacup in her hand.

"However, that Zhong girl really is dead—have you seen the corpse?"

Jian Lan said, "It's absolutely true; the coffin has already been carried out!"

"If she weren't dead, Magistrate Zhong wouldn't have sent a maidservant to be the substitute bride."

Consort Li's gaze gradually turned cold, a hint of blatant malice lurking in her eyes.

"None of the four princesses amounted to anything, letting Zhong Xinyu die just like that—it's letting her off too easily!"

Jian Lan was briefly startled and asked tentatively, "Consort Li, could it be that the deaths of Prince Ye's previous three princesses were not accidents?"

Consort Li glanced at her and said in a sinister tone, "I never claimed they were accidents, but do you know why they died on their wedding nights?"

Jian Lan kept her head lowered, "This servant does not know; please enlighten me."

Consort Li slammed her hand on the table, anger flaring on her perfectly made-up face.

"Because they were cowardly, spineless, and stupid. I chose them as princesses to do my bidding, to slowly torment Luo Junhe, but they actually told me they were too young to be widows, and certainly didn't want to be buried alive with Prince Ye."

"Even worse, some tried to play the mother-son bond card, asking me to have a heart and spare Prince Ye?"

"What a joke! That wolf cub Luo Junhe—I can't wait for him to drop dead. Why would I feel any motherly love for him?"

"What's even funnier, the third princess even tried to turn around and threaten me, shamelessly making demands, insisting I give her one hundred fifty thousand taels of silver, or else she'd go to the Emperor and rat me out for mistreating the War God Prince of the Dongchen Kingdom."

Consort Li clenched her fists, narrowed her eyes, and sneered, "He's my son, so I'll treat him however I damn well please. Since when do a bunch of snot-nosed girls get to tell me what to do?"

Jian Lan's breath hitched, "So, you had someone get rid of them?"

A smile slowly spread across Consort Li's lips, a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "I pretended to go along with them, let them play Princess Ye for a day. Wouldn't you say I'm being very understanding?"

Jian Lan was silent, at a loss for words. She was learning about this for the first time.

Previously, Consort Li had other trusted aides, but they'd all ended up dead at Ji Yuntang's hands.

Now, she was the only one Consort Li trusted.

Consort Li knew Jian Lan's nature and didn't take offense, continuing on as if talking to herself, "Since those three princesses knew my secret and wouldn't do my bidding, they had to die!"

"Once they were dead, I had people spread the word that Luo Junhe had scared them to death on their wedding night."

"In that way, he went from being the renowned War God Prince of the Dongchen Kingdom to a jinxed stray dog cursed to outlive his wives. From then on, which court official would dare back him or work for him?"

Jian Lan's expression subtly shifted as she concealed the tears welling in her eyes, and asked, curious, "So why didn't Miss Zhong die?"

Consort Li let out a cold laugh, tapping her fingers on the teacup, and snapped, "Because she fled the marriage, running off with some man on her wedding day. At that time, I thought to myself, this time I've definitely found the right person!"

"She married Luo Junhe, who stole her away and broke up a pair of lovers. Zhong Xinyu and her sweetheart loved each other but couldn't be together—wouldn't she hate Luo Junhe in her heart?"

"If she hated him, wouldn't she take it out on him and make his life miserable?"

"I thought this time my wish would finally come true, but it turned out Zhong Xinyu was a complete idiot. She gave up a perfectly good princess position to run back to that poor boy."

"And Luo Junhe was even more ridiculous—he was willing to give her a divorce letter, letting her go back to be with her sweetheart. How could I possibly let them have their way?"

"I can't be with the man I love, so why should they get to? I just can't stand to see lovers end up together. I want to split them up, make them suffer, and never let them see each other again."

"So I gave her a madness-inducing poison. If she dared to run from the marriage, she had to face the consequences. I wanted to torment them out in the open, making them love each other but never able to be together."

The more Consort Li talked, the more unhinged she looked, and she burst out laughing like a madwoman.

"But now, I've gotten what I wanted. I tormented Zhong Xinyu for a year until she finally died!"

"If she wants to hate someone, she can hate Luo Junhe. Why couldn't he have died earlier? If he'd died, so many innocent girls wouldn't have lost their lives because of him."

"So their tragedies are all Luo Junhe's fault, and I had nothing to do with it."

Jian Lan was used to Consort Li's manic outbursts by now!

Before, she'd at least try to hold it in, but ever since Emperor Jingyang had slept with her a few times, she'd have these crazy episodes every now and then.

Jian Lan knew it was out of jealousy.

She was jealous that Zhong Xinyu could be with the man she loved, couldn't stand seeing others happy and content, so she ruthlessly tore them apart.

Seeing that Jian Lan's mood was off, Consort Li noticed her troubled expression, and Jian Lan hurried over to support her.

"Your Ladyship, now that the Crown Prince and the Prince have recognized each other as family, there's no need for you to concern yourself with many things anymore. Why don't you go to your room and rest for a bit?"

Consort Li pursed her lips, her eyes dark and venomous, "As long as those three—the Empress, Luo Junhe, and Ji Yuntang—don't die, I can't rest easy."

However, she also knew this wasn't the time to go picking a fight with Ji Yuntang.

The truth was, the Crown Prince's last two moves had been way too risky!

Though the results weren't ideal, at least nothing went wrong in the end—it was a blessing in disguise, I suppose!

At Prince Ye's residence.

After hearing Ji Yuntang's plan, Luo Sinian thought her move was truly brilliant.

"Third Sister-in-law, you're incredible! You not only helped Miss Zhong and her beloved get what they wanted, but also made the Zhong family get what they deserved, and on top of that, you got a load of dowry for free. That's absolutely genius!"

He gave Ji Yuntang a big thumbs up, while Luo Junhe arched an eyebrow and teased, "Well, of course—just look whose princess your third sister-in-law is."

A soft smile played on Ji Yuntang's lips as she rolled her eyes at Luo Junhe.

"Alright, you two brothers, quit your teasing. The food's going to get cold."

After they all finished eating, Ji Yuntang told Luo Sinian, "Prince Chen, I'll be going on a long trip tomorrow, so there's something I need to ask you to do."

Luo Sinian was a bit surprised and asked, "Third Sister-in-law, where are you headed?"

Ji Yuntang glanced at Luo Junhe, a soft smile playing on her lips, and reached out to gently take the man's hand.

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