"Did you listen to your mother and that's why you broke the lantern? And you want to put the blame on Duan and the fourth young lady of the Qu Mansion?" Pei Luoan said coldly, reaching out to take the lantern, his eyes falling on the obvious scratch on the bottom of the lantern.
“Your Highness… This, this must be an accident. Mother didn’t tell me before that the lantern was scratched. Your Highness, I know how you feel about the Crown Princess, and… How could I do such a thing and anger Your Highness, Your Highness!” Ji Youran’s face was pale and she was trembling.
She really didn't know about this scratch, and she hadn't heard Xiao mention it, but why was there a scratch on the lantern now
Pei Luoan looked at her and saw that she didn't seem to be faking it, so he ordered the guards, "Go and ask how she got scratched."
The guard retreated in response, and came back to report after a while: "Your Highness, the two maids said that it was broken when they got it, and they also said that they got it from Madam Duan in the Ling Anbo Mansion. They don't know anything else. They got it at Madam Xiao's instruction."
This was the confession that was originally arranged, but the situation is different now. If it is said again, it sounds more like a frame-up by the Xiao family.
As expected, he gave away his mother. Ji Youran was flustered and trembling with nervousness. The hall became quiet and she could even hear the silent breathing clearly. Ji Youran wanted to see the expression of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but she didn't dare to move, for fear of angering Pei Luoan.
"Ji Youran, how do you think we should do this in order to preserve the dignity of the Crown Princess?" Pei Luoan's cold and calm voice suddenly came to my ears.
Ji Youran couldn't help but shuddered, and said hurriedly: "Your Highness, you can punish mother by grounding her to house arrest and asking her to copy Buddhist scriptures, as long as Your Highness is satisfied."
Pei Luoan was angry, she had to say this.
"That's all? The Crown Princess's reputation was trampled on like this?" Pei Luoan's voice was still calm, but Ji Youran could hear the anger beneath his calmness. She glanced up and met a pair of cold and sharp eyes. Her heart began to panic, and she stuttered but couldn't utter a word.
If it concerns Ji Hanyue's reputation, then can mother's sin be forgiven? But mother is Ji Hanyue's elder after all. Before Ji Hanyue died, she would always bow to her mother. Moreover, now that Ji Hanyue is dead, she can't die any more. What does His Royal Highness want to do
But she didn't have the courage to refute, she gritted her teeth, lowered her head, and said, "Please punish me, Your Majesty."
She couldn't admit to this matter and could only blame it on her mother. Her mother was Ji Hanyue's elder. If the Crown Prince was considerate of Ji Hanyue, he would definitely not do anything to her mother. Besides, Grandmother He was still alive. Even if the Crown Prince didn't respect his mother, Grandmother was always Ji Hanyue's biological grandmother!
She would go to her grandmother to plead for her mother soon.
Ji Youran forced herself to think positively. It was just a scratch on a lantern. Ji Hanyue had so many things, so what if some of them were damaged? As for the dispute between her mother and the Duan family, it was actually just a dispute within the inner courtyard of the Ling'an Marquis's Mansion. How could the almighty prince pay attention to these things!
"Caning?" Pei Luoan asked.
Ji Youran suddenly widened his eyes and looked up in horror, "Your Highness..."
"What? Do you feel surprised? Or do you think the Crown Princess's face is not as important as your mother's caning?" Pei Luoan asked slowly.
Ji Youran's face turned even paler, and she was trembling all over. She crawled forward on her knees, put her hands on Pei Luoan's knees, and said in a sad voice: "Your Highness, she is my biological mother. How can I face others?"
No matter how many times she was beaten, it was not only Xiao's face that was hurt, but also Ji Youran's face. Ever since Ji Hanyue passed away, Ji Youran has always regarded herself as the woman Pei Luoan cares about the most. If Xiao was beaten in public by the prince, how could she face people in the future, and how could she face Liu Jingyu
"When your mother did this, did she ever think about the Crown Princess's face or my face?" Pei Luoan sneered.
"Your Highness, you can't do this!" Ji Youran was anxious, and she grabbed Pei Luoan's robe. She couldn't hold back her tears any longer, and they rolled down one by one. She cried and begged, "Your Highness, just this once, I won't do it again. I will tell my mother, and I will also let my grandmother punish my mother. I only hope that Your Highness will give me some face and let my grandmother go back to the mansion to punish me, even if it is..."
Having said this, I felt so distressed, but I had to continue, "Even if it means caning... I must... let mother go back home...!"
When Xiao returned home, she was embarrassed, but at least no one would think of her. Moreover, being beaten by her grandmother was just a violation of her grandmother's wishes, and she would not be implicated at all.
Ji Youran is only thinking about herself now, and she just wants to get herself out of this matter. As for Xiao, although she feels distressed, she can't do anything about it. She has to clear herself up first.
Pei Luoan leaned back and looked at her quietly. He didn't say anything for a long time, as if he was thinking about something. Gradually, his eyes were no longer so cold, and he calmly stretched out his hand to pull her up from the ground, "Then go back to the mansion to punish her, but she will stay here now..."
"I will let her go back now and punish her when grandma comes back." Ji Youran said hurriedly.
"Okay, you are indeed my concubine, who cares about me wholeheartedly." Pei Luoan was quite satisfied and smiled slightly, "My concubine cares about me so much, I will naturally feel distressed, which means that you still remember the promise you made to me. Similarly, I promise you that as long as you are wholeheartedly for me, I will naturally keep you in my heart and put you in the most important position in my heart."
Pei Luoan reached out and pinched Ji Youran's face gently, then suddenly increased his strength. Ji Youran almost screamed in pain, but seeing Pei Luoan's eyes that had almost no smile, she held back. Her eyes turned red and tears slowly rolled down her pretty face, sad and gentle.
Pei Luoan's anger subsided a little, his hands loosened, and he even rubbed her face gently: "Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt!" Ji Youran said hurriedly.
"I feel a little pain in my heart." Pei Luoan turned his gaze to the table on the side. There was a scratch on the lantern on it. "This lantern was originally made by Hanyue. In order to make this lantern, her hand was injured. She thought I didn't know, so she deliberately didn't reach out her hand, but how could I not see..."
Having said this, Pei Luoan stopped, turned around, picked up the lantern, looked at it carefully, but said nothing.
"Your Highness, why don't you take the lantern back and find a skilled craftsman to repair it? It should be able to be fixed." Ji Youran said hurriedly, regardless of the slight pain on his face.
"Is it okay?" Pei Luoan frowned.
"Of course you can. The scratch is not very big. It can be healed with a little touch-up." Ji Youran explained while apologizing for her mother.
As long as the problem can be fixed, the mother's punishment will be much lighter.
"It's fixed. Was it her who did it?" Pei Luoan snorted coldly.
Ji Youran didn't dare to respond. She gritted her teeth and looked at the lantern.
There was a hint of jealousy and mockery in her eyes. Why didn't she know before that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince valued Ji Hanyue so much
Why does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince miss Ji Hanyue so much after her death
Unfortunately, knowing the inside story, she just thought it was a joke. Is Ji Hanyue really the only woman the prince truly cares about
Some things seemed to be real as they were acted out, and she had to follow suit to show respect and respect for a dead person.
Ji Hanyue died under Linyuan Pavilion that day, and he probably would never have imagined this scene before his eyes...
"What, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to punish me, and... he wants to cane me too?" Xiao was so frightened that her face turned pale, her whole body was shaking, and she could hardly stand. She and Ji Youran were now on the small path where Ji Youran had talked to Qu Moying before. Ji Youran had called Xiao out on purpose.
"Mother, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has found out about this. He thought you were the one who deliberately scratched the lantern, and he's very angry." Ji Youran sighed.
"I didn't ask anyone to scratch the lantern. Why would I do that? Besides, this lantern was in the hands of Duan's people. My people just happened to see it and took it. Why are you blaming me for this?" Xiao was anxious and grabbed Ji Youran's hand. "Concubine, you know about this. Please explain it to the prince."
"Mother, I've explained it to you, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince won't listen. I can't do anything. I only ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to leave this matter to grandma, and let grandma punish you, and she should punish you when you go back. With me here, grandma won't do anything too excessive, so you can rest assured!" Ji Youran sighed again, reached out and patted Xiao's hand gently, comforting her.
"This... How can this be done? Even if your grandmother won't use all her strength, this caning, this... How can I control the people in the mansion in the future?" Xiao said anxiously.
"Mother, there's nothing we can do about it. It's because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince saw your people taking the lanterns. Didn't I tell you not to take the lanterns and not to take them out again? Things have changed." Ji Youran was unhappy and her face darkened. It was indeed Xiao's fault. She had clearly given hints before, but Xiao's people were still so stupid as to bump into them.
Even she was victimized and had no way to defend herself. Thinking of this, Ji Youran felt a little guilty for having pushed the whole thing onto Xiao. At this moment, she suddenly felt that it was Xiao's inability to do things that led to such a good thing and implicated her.
"That old woman is being taken care of by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's men..." Xiao felt very aggrieved. It was not that she didn't see the look in her daughter's eyes, but because of the situation at the time, the old woman could not leave, and no one went to stop her afterwards.
"So, I have no choice." Ji Youran said helplessly, "Mother, please go back first and don't let His Royal Highness the Crown Prince see you again. I will see if I can persuade His Royal Highness the Crown Prince again. Even if it is a punishment, let His Royal Highness the Crown Prince do less. Your face is also my face."
"Okay... okay!" Xiao didn't dare to say anything more. She wiped her tears and nodded. Then she went to apologize to the lady and left Qingyun Temple with her servants.
Ji Youran did not leave the path. She watched Xiao leave from afar, quietly, feeling hatred and anger, with mixed feelings in her heart.
However, what she didn't know was that in a slightly higher place in Qingyun Temple, there was another person who saw this scene. The Taoist nun standing in front of the window smiled slightly, turned around and walked deeper into the hall.
Someone from the Prince's Mansion? She just hopes that the situation gets more chaotic...