Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 199 - Lost the Holy Favor

Chapter 199: Chapter 199 Lost the Holy Favor

Chapter 199 -199 Lost the Holy Favor

By the time he returned to the Prince Mansion, it was already midnight.

Once a prince came of age, he would establish his own mansion outside the palace, and unless the Emperor stayed overnight in the palace, he had to leave with a palace pass, no matter how late it was.

In this regard, the Second Prince was indeed in an awkward position.

In the past, only the Eldest Prince had been granted a title, being named Prince Ling. Prince Ling was renowned for his military achievements, and as the eldest among the princes, the exclusivity of his title didn’t seem too jarring.

Yet, the Emperor, in front of all the civil and military officials, suddenly conferred the title of Prince Rui solely on the Third Prince, placing the Second Prince in an embarrassing predicament. The people of Capital City whispered amongst themselves, suspecting that the Second Prince must have done something to deeply disappoint the Emperor and incur his disfavor.

After all, the commoners didn’t know about the undercurrents between the Emperor and the princes; they only knew that the Second Prince was born of the Empress, a legitimate son, and was the most likely candidate for Crown Prince after Prince Ling had been injured and left disabled.

However, with the Emperor suddenly conferring a title on the Third Prince and leaving the Second Prince out in the cold, suspicions arose that the Second Prince might have done something wrong.

In the eyes of the commoners, the Son of Heaven was beyond reproach, but the Second Prince was not the Son of Heaven and thus could be discussed.

When Murong Jiu woke up, it was already noon the next day.

Jun Yuyan had left the mansion for some business.

After finishing her meal, she listened as Chun Tao colorfully recounted the latest happenings in Capital City.

The first major issue was, of course, the Emperor’s decision to confer a title on the Third Prince while bypassing the Second Prince.

Outside, there was much speculation with many feeling that the Second Prince had fallen out of favor, and some even suspected that the Empress had done something to make the Emperor take his anger out on the Second Prince.

In any case, there were all sorts of guesses.

But the gist of it all was—one way or another—the Second Prince had lost favor.

This was certainly a signal from the Emperor to everyone, and it proved that the Emperor had a knack for striking without bloodshed.

After this incident, those who were like the grass on the top of a wall would definitely not side with the Second Prince anymore.

Never underestimate the influence of these turncoats; sometimes they can play a significant role and are enough to deeply vex the Second Prince.

The second major issue wasn’t exactly a big deal, but it was the recent laughingstock of Capital City.

It involved Wang Baozhu.

It turned out that Wang Baozhu had once run to the front of the Prince Mansion, willing to be a servant or even a horse for Murong Jiu just to get away from Niu Tianbao, but she never even saw Murong Jiu and was sent back by the guards.

Niu Tianbao, a coward at heart, started to exploit Wang Baozhu ruthlessly after that. Unexpectedly, one day a young master took a fancy to Wang Baozhu and wanted to buy her.

The silver offered was substantial, and Niu Tianbao, who had been looking to get rid of this trouble, agreed to the sale once he saw the money.

This young master was the son of a wealthy merchant with some bizarre preferences; he kept many courtesans in his backyard. Initially, he also doted on Wang Baozhu and even took her out to social gatherings.

Wang Baozhu, after all, had been the daughter of the General’s Mansion for sixteen years, and she didn’t disgrace herself when taken out. However, many men at the event had previously visited Niu Tianbao’s place, and a few of the more libertine ones openly discussed the moles on Wang Baozhu’s body. Surprisingly, the young master was not annoyed but joined in the laughter.

When the wine was flowing and spirits were high, he even ordered someone to strip Wang Baozhu’s clothes and show her moles to everyone.

Wang Baozhu thought she had escaped a life of misery, but she had not anticipated that this young master would be even more perverse.

He reveled in the sight of his woman being ogled and toyed with by other men, finding the stimulus titillating, so much so that it invoked uproarious laughter from him.

When Wang Baozhu first reached the age of marriage, countless matchmakers visited the General’s Mansion, and among them were people present at this very banquet.

Being stared at by those men whom she once looked down upon, whether they were mocking, disdainful, contemptuous, or ridiculing, made Wang Baozhu feel even worse than the gloomy days spent with Niu Tianbao.

Although she wanted to resist, the wine was laced with a drug that sapped her strength, leaving her utterly powerless.

And after that scion had his fun, he brought Wang Baozhu along to several subsequent banquets.

The reason this was considered a significant event was that the Capital City was rife with gossiping women. Although there were more men at the banquets, the occurrences were not concealed and quickly spread.

Men have their flaws, and they like seeking thrills outside, especially since Wang Baozhu’s reputation was not insignificant. More and more men were eager to attend such banquets, naturally causing discontent among the women of their households.

So, this matter was not considered major, but it was not insignificant either; it was not something one could easily bring to light.

Chun Tao was talking animatedly; she had heard these stories from the gossip-loving women in the mansion, and she too enjoyed prying into such matters.

Murong Jiu laughed and said, “You’re just a young girl, you’re quite excited talking about these things. Be careful, or you might have trouble getting married in the future.”

“Miss! I don’t want to marry anyone in the future! I want to serve you forever!”

Chun Tao’s face instantly blushed a deep red.

Murong Jiu laughed softly, looking at Chun Tao’s face, already considering starting to look for suitable matches for Chun Tao.

Chun Tao was about the same age as she was and was just a lowly maid in the Marquis Mansion, casually allocated to her by Lady Wang, with dark skin and emaciated from neglect, having been sold to the Marquis Mansion by an aunt from her family.

Her parents made their living on the canal, owning a small boat, and she too had grown up on the water, which was why her skin was so tanned.

But even though life back then was poor, it was still happy; nothing could be more blissful than being together with one’s family.

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Unfortunately, fate was not kind, and her parents both suffered accidents on the water. But before they were cold in their graves, her second uncle and his family took over their boat and sold her into servitude.

Once Murong Jiu received Chun Tao as her maidservant, she asked Lady Wang for the deed of sale. Lady Wang took advantage of the situation and extorted a large sum of money before handing over Chun Tao’s deed of sale to her.

She gave the deed of sale back to Chun Tao. Chun Tao, somewhere learning that her mistress had spent a lot of silver for it, adamantly refused to accept it, prompting Murong Jiu to tear up the deed and then go to the Government Office to have Chun Tao’s servitude annulled.

This was the reason for Chun Tao’s unwavering loyalty to her.

But Murong Jiu also gave a large sum of silver to Zhen Zhu and Cai Yun. She wanted them to spend the money to buy their parents’ freedom from servitude, since both were born servants in the Marquis Mansion, to parents who were servants themselves.

If their parents were emancipated, the children could be too, but it’s possible that Lady Wang and Murong Man had better future prospects in mind for them, which is why they had not sought emancipation.

Despite receiving so much silver from Murong Jiu, Zhen Zhu and Cai Yun were not only ungrateful, but actually repaid her kindness with betrayal. Their attitude was worlds apart from Chun Tao’s.

However, things have improved now. Under her care, Chun Tao has grown taller and her complexion has lightened, her features becoming more delicate, not much inferior to the daughters of common households.

Murong Jiu intended to find Chun Tao a suitable family to marry into; she couldn’t just keep her by her side for life just because Chun Tao was devoted to her.

Furthermore, after marriage, if Chun Tao wished to stay, she could remain in the Prince Mansion, and all she needed was to be granted more rest.

As they were chatting, Murong Jiu looked up to see her three brothers striding over with their long legs, each carrying a gift, and marching towards her.