Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved

Chapter 79: Chapter 79 Jun Yuyan, How Dare You Treat Me Like This
 

Murong Jiu nodded at Jun Yuyan.

“Prince is busy with a myriad of state affairs, please go ahead as political matters are important.”

“Very well, I will come back later to pick you up.”

After Jun Yuyan nodded, he strode away.

Once he had left the flower hall, Murong Man seemed to suddenly remember something important and hurriedly said:

“Right, father has a message for the Prince, I will go tell him! Ninth Sister, you have a good chat with mother and grandmother.”

Having said that, she quickly followed after lifting her skirt.

Murong Jiu’s lips curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

If Murong Man thought of Jun Yuyan as an ordinary man, she was sorely mistaken.

“Xiao Jiu, I heard your morning sickness has been quite severe. Mother has personally prepared pickled plums and plum sauce for you. When you feel unwell, just have some. When Mother was pregnant with you, she liked to eat sour things.”

Lady Wang squeezed a kindly smile onto her face and took two jars from the maid’s hands to pass to Murong Jiu.

Murong Jiu glanced indifferently at Zhen Zhu; Lady Wang was never someone who cared about her. It must have been Zhen Zhu who revealed her fondness for sour tastes, prompting Lady Wang to bring these things in an attempt to bridge the gap between mother and daughter.

It definitely wasn’t something Lady Wang had pickled herself.

In her previous life, hadn’t she been moved by these small favors, thinking her parents cared deeply for her? In the end, she naively handed over all her possessions to them willingly.

She didn’t reach out to take them, just said flatly, “Thank you, Mother.”

Lady Wang’s hand froze mid-air, and eventually, it was Zhen Zhu who noticed something was amiss and took the jars of plum.

Old Madam frowned, “Xiao Jiu, how can you treat your mother like this? She painstakingly pickled these for you!”

“Grandmother, didn’t I thank her? Should I be so moved by pickled plums that I burst into tears?”

Lady Wang hadn’t forgotten her purpose for coming. She chuckled awkwardly to defuse the tension, “Xiao Jiu is pregnant and shouldn’t get too emotional. Besides, they are just plums, whether Xiao Jiu likes them or not is still uncertain.”

“Miss will definitely like them. Miss loves to eat sour things now. Madam, the other day when Miss learned that you had caught a cold, she was very concerned about you. Miss just doesn’t like to talk much, she keeps her feelings inside. Please don’t overthink it,” Zhen Zhu said cheerfully.

She felt that Murong Jiu was just too proud to show her true feelings, but they all understood how starved for affection she really was.

Otherwise, why would she be reluctant to leave when Prince Ling was only slightly kind to her?

Furthermore, Madam was her biological mother; she just needed an excuse to step down gracefully.

Murong Jiu glanced at Zhen Zhu and her lips curled into a faint smile.

Lady Wang took this smile as an acknowledgment of Zhen Zhu’s words.

She hurriedly responded, “I won’t overthink it, Xiao Jiu is my flesh and blood. There are no overnight grudges between mother and daughter. I was superstitious in the past and didn’t treat her well. If Xiao Jiu is willing, I hope we can make up for it from now on.”

Elsewhere.

Murong Man caught up with Jun Yuyan.

“Prince, wait up!”

Jun Yuyan came to a halt and turned around, his eyes coldly fixed on Murong Man.

“Isn’t Miss Murong having a heart-to-heart with my Princess Consort? Why have you come out again?”

Murong Man showed an embarrassed expression and said softly, “Actually, actually the reason for Manman’s visit today was not only to see Ninth Sister but also to plea to Your Grace.”

She got straight to the point with her purpose, as Jun Yuyan was different from other men and might not be swayed by hesitant, coquettish behavior.

Sure enough, at her words, Jun Yuyan stopped completely to listen to what she had to say.

She continued, “About the substitution in marriage, Manman truly had no knowledge of it. No matter what Your Grace thinks, Manman has always been an outsider. Long before, Manman has admired Your Grace, and I have treated the Noble Concubine as family, so how could I have resisted marrying Your Grace? But let it be, Ninth Sister has now become the Princess Consort, and it’s no longer appropriate for me to speak of such things. All I wanted is for Your Grace to know that Manman never expected such an event to happen.”

Jun Yuyan spoke in a faint voice, “So what?”

Murong Man could not read any expression on his face, only the same indifference that kept people at a thousand miles’ distance.

She was somewhat unwilling to accept it. Her charm was hard for even the Second Prince to resist, so why, when she humbled herself to explain, did she not receive the response she desired?

But she was afraid that Jun Yuyan was losing patience, so she had no choice but to say with some grievance,

“Manman only wishes to say that Prince should not resent Manman because of the marriage in her stead. Manman does not wish it either.”

“Resent? You think too much. Ah Jiu is many times better than you. Her marrying in your place is my good fortune.”

“What, what?”

This statement left Murong Man utterly astonished; she even doubted whether she had heard correctly.

He said Murong Jiu was many times better than her?

How ludicrous!

What does Murong Jiu have to compare with her? No looks, no learning, and she’s even carrying a bastard child.

No, she must not get angry; the Prince is surely doing this to provoke her.

The more he cares about her, the more he will want to upset her.

After all, she is the one he cannot have.

In truth, it is certain that the Prince could not possibly like Murong Jiu.

Jun Yuyan looked at her with dancing eyes as if watching a clown, “Do you have anything else to say? If not, I have matters to attend to.”

“Wait, Prince, can you speak to Ninth Sister, asking her not to force me to marry the Eldest Son of the Minister’s family?”

“Force?”

Jun Yuyan’s deep gaze narrowed slightly, “As far as I know, this marriage was carefully chosen by your parents for you; how has it become force in your words? Could it be that the Princess Consort is holding a knife to your throat, forcing you to marry? Or is it that you have some dirt on your hands, in the Princess Consort’s possession?”

“No, no such thing!”

Murong Man looked embarrassed; she had not expected Jun Yuyan to be so aggressive.

He clearly knew the reason; wasn’t he the one who plotted and advised Murong Jiu from behind?

She lowered her head, her expression sorrowful, “Prince, Manman knows that you have grievances and dissatisfaction in your heart. My parents also had no choice, and Manman dares not defy them, but now that Ninth Sister has just married, Manman still wants to stay at home for a while longer. Can you, Prince, tell Ninth Sister to let me marry later?”

After speaking, she waited for Jun Yuyan’s reply.

But no voice came.

She hurriedly looked up, only to find that Jun Yuyan had walked away while she had been looking down!

Murong Man’s expression stiffened as her fingers clenched tightly together.

Jun Yuyan, how could you treat me like this!

When the day comes that His Highness the Second Prince ascends the throne, I will make sure you live a life worse than death! You will regret what you did today!

Grinding her teeth, she turned and went back to the flower hall.

The flower hall was very quiet; the faces of Old Madam and Lady Wang were unsightly.

And Murong Jiu was leisurely sipping her hot tea.

She raised an eyebrow and asked, “Grandmother, Mother, what happened?”

Old Madam angrily said, “You ask your good sister what she just said!”

Murong Jiu saw that Murong Man’s face was upset. She put down her teacup, curled her lips slightly, and asked, “Big Sister, why were you gone so long? Did you speak well of me to the Prince?”