Chapter 257: Chapter 257

"Stop the carriage..." Jing Shu shouted.

She must question this talking maid properly. If she had experienced the terrible events her aunt went through, nearly losing her life several times, would she still envy her aunt for being a princess? Would she still think her aunt is fortunate?

But the person driving the carriage seemed to not hear Jing Shu’s words and continued forward without stopping at all.

Angry, Jing Shu stepped forward and lifted the curtain of the carriage, asking the person driving, "...What? Does the Commandery Princess’s words not work anymore?"

The young man driving the carriage turned his head to look at Jing Shu and responded with a forced laugh, "Oh, little princess, you just don’t know, once this carriage with four horses starts moving forward, it can’t stop easily. So it’s not that this servant doesn’t want to stop, but it’s impossible to stop."

This sounded like an excuse.

The young man driving the carriage just didn’t want to stop and was eager to return to the palace quickly.

Unfortunately, the gullible Jing Shu believed it, "I see! Well, then let’s keep going forward without stopping!"

Jun Ning shook her head as she watched the gullible Jing Shu being deceived.

Jing Shu saw her shaking her head and asked, "Aunt, why are you shaking your head?"

"Come here..." Jun Ning beckoned to Jing Shu.

Jing Shu walked over to Jun Ning, sat down next to her again, and leaned her head on Jun Ning’s shoulder, waiting for Jun Ning to speak to her.

Jun Ning sighed and said, "Jing Shu, the young man driving the carriage was just deceiving you into thinking the carriage couldn’t stop..." but you believed it.

Before Jun Ning could finish speaking, an indignant Jing Shu interrupted, "He deceived me?"

Jing Shu struggled to stand up, ready to go deal with the young man driving the carriage.

Huh, deceive her? He must be tired of living!

Jun Ning, however, pushed Jing Shu back down, "What’s the use of confronting him now? As long as you can’t learn to distinguish if others are deceiving you, you’ll always be lied to."

"Then how can I learn to distinguish if others are deceiving me?" Jing Shu asked.

"..." Jun Ning coughed twice, "Not deceiving me, but deceiving you."

"Oh, then how can I learn to distinguish if others are deceiving me?" Jing Shu scratched her head awkwardly.

"How about going to school and studying?" Education opens the mind.

"Will Aunt go to school too?" Jing Shu looked at Jun Ning eagerly, "If you go, I’ll go."

Jun Ning twitched her mouth, "What, so if I don’t go, you won’t either?"

"Yes!" Jing Shu nodded.

Jun Ning didn’t want to talk to her anymore.

At the National Guardian General Mansion.

Madam Qi had just sent off Jun Ning when the steward of the mansion came looking for her.

The steward produced two bags of silver coins for Madam Qi to see.

Shocked, Madam Qi asked, "Where did so much silver come from?" Madam Qi had a sense of the accounts in the mansion, so how could there be so much money?

It must have been given by someone.

"Who gave it?" Madam Qi asked.

The steward answered truthfully, "It was given by Princess Anle."

"Why did she suddenly give so much money?"

"It’s ..." The steward explained his earlier conjecture, "Perhaps someone in the mansion recently criticized Princess Anle, saying she lived in the National Guardian General Mansion, eating and drinking for free for so long. The princess might have overheard, which is why she gave me this money."

Charmed with anger, Madam Qi said, "That is Princess Anle, also my future daughter-in-law. So what if she eats for free in the mansion? Not to mention she hasn’t even been eating for a month; even if she ate for free for a lifetime, I would willingly support her."

"Hmm, daring to say such idle words, someone needs to keep them busy," Madam Qi instructed the steward sharply, "Take the people who said this and send them to work as farm laborers outside the city."

"If we don’t show them some discipline, they may not understand who’s in charge of this mansion."

No matter what Princess Anle did, as the head mistress, she said nothing herself!

Yet they have so much opinion, thinking too highly of themselves.

The steward, considering the maid’s many years of service in the mansion, pleaded for leniency, hoping Madam Qi would be less harsh, just teach them a lesson, without the need to banish them to the farm.

"No need to say more." Madam Qi was adamant about sending them away, leaving no room for negotiation.

The steward, seeing no way to persuade her, said, "I will go at once."

"Wait..." Madam Qi stopped the steward while looking at the two bags of silver coins in his hand, "Try to send these two bags of silver back to Princess Anle in the palace."

For a woman, childbirth is a walk through the gates of hell; is a miscarriage not the same?

Qiong Hua lost a great deal of blood this time due to her miscarriage and suffered immensely.

Now, she lay on the bed pale and with very weak breaths. Had the Imperial Physician not confirmed she was alive, Emperor Yongning might have suspected her ghastly pallor signaled death.

"Your Majesty, has Yi Yi returned?" Qiong Hua asked weakly.

From morning till now, despite the serious mishap of her miscarriage, what Qiong Hua worried about was not herself, but Jun Ning.

The little girl was born with a frail constitution; her tiny body needed careful nourishment.

Though the wife of the National Guardian General is a good person, understanding children’s needs, after all, Yi Yi is not her biological daughter. No matter how well she treats Yi Yi, it’s incomparable to Qiong Hua as her birth mother.

The little girl will only be secure by Qiong Hua’s side under her own care.

Emperor Yongning pulled up Qiong Hua’s quilt, "I’ve already sent someone to fetch her. She should be returning promptly, Qiong Hua, don’t overthink it, just try to sleep, alright?"

Hearing this, Qiong Hua closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Though she felt completely drained and found even the slightest movement exhausting, she still mustered enough strength to turn away, preventing herself from facing Emperor Yongning.

Her miscarriage couldn’t be separated from Emperor Yongning’s responsibility. How could she not resent, not hold grudges? Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹~𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮~𝚗𝚎𝚝

Seeing this, Emperor Yongning lowered his eyes, internally heaving a deep sigh, drowning in regret.

He prided himself on not treating his children poorly; nevertheless, the fault of losing Qiong Hua’s child lay solely with him. Why hadn’t he believed her then?

Now they were bereft of the child.

Guilt overwhelmed him!

"Qiong Hua, we’ll have more children in the future. Let’s not dwell on the bad but focus on recuperating..." Emperor Yongning said softly and then rose to walk outside.

His presence might discomfort Qiong Hua, preventing her from resting well, so it was better for him to leave!

At this moment, Xiao Lizi, guarding outside Weiyang Palace, came to report.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Princess has returned."