Chapter 69 The Crown Prince Apologizes

"It's not like I did it for you; I did it for my third brother's sake, afraid that you, an ugly broad, would tarnish his reputation. Don't flatter yourself."

Ji Yuntang: "..."

This kid, with that nasty temper, is a lost cause!

She stopped paying attention to Luo Sinian and turned her head to look at Yaoniang, knowing the woman must be getting anxious.

"The surgery was very successful. As long as she recovers well in the later stages, your daughter's face won't scar."

Ji Yuntang handed the baby girl to Yaoniang. The infant neither cried nor fussed, her eyes like two black grapes, and when she saw Yaoniang, a little smile spread across her face.

The cleft in her lip was gone; it was now a seamless patch of skin, with some milky-white ointment smeared on it.

Yaoniang didn't know how Ji Yuntang had healed her daughter.

All she knew was that this woman had saved her daughter, making her a lifesaving benefactor.

She immediately dropped to her knees, kowtowing over and over in thanks. "Thank you, Princess Ye, for saving my daughter. If you don't mind, I, a humble woman, am willing to be your servant, working like an ox or horse for you."

She'd been kicked out by her in-laws with nowhere to go, and with a kid in tow, she couldn't find decent work, barely scraping by.

Now, meeting Ji Yuntang, she was genuinely grateful and full of admiration.

Ji Yuntang didn't say yes or no but asked, "What can you do?"

She didn't keep anyone useless around her.

"I can cook, embroider, sew, and weave brocade."

"Oh, and I can also handle account books."

Ji Yuntang's eyes brightened a little. It was already impressive for an ordinary woman to have one skill, but Yaoniang seemed like she came from a wealthy household, with an air of a proper lady.

Most importantly, these skills were right up her alley.

"Alright then, after the competition, you can come back to the mansion with me."

Yaoniang kowtowed again, thanking her profusely.

This scene made Luo Jingshen's face turn black.

What did she take the medical competition for? Her hiring fair?

"Princess Ye, what about the medicinal herbs?" Luo Jingshen stopped pretending, laying his cards on the table, staring her down and pressing her.

Ji Yuntang asked, puzzled, "What herbs?"

"Don't act like you don't know. The leftover herbs, obviously."

Ji Yuntang kept playing dumb. "The herbs were all used up, of course. What else do you think I was doing for so long?"

Luo Jingshen's face darkened, and he sneered repeatedly. "You think I'd believe that?"

"There's just a tiny bit of white stuff on that baby's face, nothing like the batch of herbs you took away."

"Spit it out, where did you hide the herbs?"

Ji Yuntang chuckled. "I told you, I used them, and that's that. Those twenty-plus herbs were mixed and refined into this tiny bit of white liquid, and it all went on the baby."

"If you don't believe me, go in and search yourself, see if I've stashed any herbs in this room."

What Ji Yuntang said was exactly what Luo Jingshen was itching to do.

Before she had taken the child inside, he had already ordered his men to surround the entire room, making sure Ji Yuntang couldn't escape even if she grew wings, or swap out the herbs.

So, he was dead sure the herbs were still in the room.

Luo Jingshen shot his men a look, and a dozen black-clad guards immediately stormed in, turning the room upside down.

Too bad, they turned the room inside out without finding a single trace of any herb.

Luo Jingshen's right-hand man came out to report, "Your Highness, we've searched the entire room and found no herbs."

"Useless! Did you check the windowsills, under the bed, and the rafters?"

The aide lowered his head further. "We've checked everywhere, even pried up the floorboards, but there's no sign of any herbs."

Luo Jingshen: "!!!!!"

How was this possible? Could the herbs have grown legs and flown away?

Ji Yuntang was laughing inside. The herbs were all in her space; how could they find them?

But on her face, she put on a hurt expression.

"I was eager to save the child, and Your Highness suspects I embezzled the herbs? Those were from the Imperial Pharmacy. Even if you gave me a hundred guts, I wouldn't dare!"

"With Your Highness doubting me so much and sending people to search the room, I might as well not participate in this medical competition!"

With that, Ji Yuntang pretended to leave angrily, but Luo Feizhou stopped her, smiling as he tried to soothe her.

"Third Sister-in-law, please calm down. His Highness didn't mean it that way. It's just that those herbs were too precious, and he was anxious, afraid you might accidentally waste them."

"Third Sister-in-law has healed the baby's cleft lip and proven her skills to everyone. You've successfully advanced to the third round. You can't drop out now."

Only Ji Yuntang had advanced to the third round.

Because of Luo Jingshen's recent inappropriate actions, murmurs of opposition and blame had already arisen among the crowd.

If this continued, it would only harm the royal family.

A small medical competition turning into an uncontrollable mess that lost public support was not something Luo Feizhou wanted to see.

In the third round, there was no way Ji Yuntang could pass!

Ji Yuntang, of course, had no intention of leaving. She had calculated that the commoners were speaking up for her, so she deliberately pretended to leave.

Luo Feizhou's intervention gave her a perfect way out.

"So, I'm just supposed to swallow this grievance? Wrongfully accused by the Crown Prince for no reason? Where does that leave the face of the Prince Ye's Mansion?"

After Ji Yuntang spoke, Luo Sinian also stepped forward. "She's right. My third brother is the War God Prince of the Dongchen Kingdom. His Highness the Crown Prince doesn't think that just because my third brother is paralyzed, he can bully his princess at will, does he? This will eventually disappoint Father Emperor."

Luo Jingshen: "..."

Damn it, is Luo Sinian out of his mind? He actually stepped forward to oppose him?

What’s even more infuriating is that Luo Sinian’s words truly stirred up the public sentiment.

Many people raised their hands and shouted in unison.

“Princess Ye has merit for saving lives; the Crown Prince must apologize to Princess Ye!”

“If you don’t apologize, we won’t leave. Today, we must seek justice for Princess Ye!”

“Without Prince Ye, we wouldn’t have the peaceful life we have now. Have some decency and repay kindness—you can’t bully Princess Ye.”

Luo Jingshen: “…”

He was so angry he could kill someone, but unfortunately, Luo Feizhou, who loved to watch the chaos, was still fanning the flames on the side.

“Second Brother, the people are right. Why don’t you just apologize to Third Sister-in-law? This matter will be over, and you don’t want it to reach Father and Mother’s ears, do you?”

Luo Jingshen shot him a cold glare, “Hah, where were you when she was looking for the herbs earlier? Now you come out playing the good guy—Fifth Brother, you’re such a schemer.”

------------