novelraw Chapter 654 - 643: The Cuckolded Prince
Chapter 654 - 643: The Cuckolded Prince
"Prince, Prince." Lin Xianjing pushed Ye Qiu, and after finding him still motionless, she took a deep, suppressed breath, "Lin Zhong, Lin Cheng, help Prince to Qinghu Court to rest."
As soon as Ye Qiu heard this, he suddenly came to his senses and entwined, "I don’t want those servants, I only want Princess Consort to attend to me."
Lin Jingxian forced a stiff smile, speaking in a gentle tone, "Prince, I am not as good at serving you as these servants, why don’t we let them serve you, okay?"
"No, no, I just want you, Princess Consort," Ye Qiu acted helplessly. The surrounding servants were not surprised; basically, everyone in the capital knew that the Fifth Prince was extraordinarily fond of the Fifth Princess Consort, but he could not change his flirtatious nature, hence his reputation in the capital had always been poor.
Lin Xianjing always maintained an extremely gentle and virtuous demeanor in front of others and these servants. Seeing Ye Qiu acting this way, although she harbored thoughts of flaying him alive in her heart, she still appeared very helpless and generously accommodating, "Prince, please be good and go wash up first, okay? Ming’er and Lingling can’t do without me right now."
"Then I will go with you to Luoxia Courtyard." Ye Qiu clung to Lin Jingxian’s body, nearly making her lose her face as the number one beauty of the capital in front of these servants.
Lin Jingxian took another deep breath, trying to make her tone sound gentle and generous, "Prince, wouldn’t it be better to let the servants help you? This way, I can’t even walk properly."
"Then I’ll hold you as we walk." With that, Ye Qiu stood up straight, pulling at Lin Jingxian’s arm and striding forward.
Lin Jingxian stumbled, nearly tripping, which startled her personal maids Mu Jin and Furong.
Taking advantage of Ye Qiu’s drunken lack of awareness, Mu Jin squeezed herself between the two, speaking somewhat impulsively, "Prince, please be careful. Princess Consort was almost pulled down by you. How can you be so careless with the ladies?"
Seeing how brazen Mu Jin was, none of the surrounding servants dared to make a sound, just because she was the Princess Consort’s most favored maid, and the Prince respected and cherished the Princess Consort greatly. Whatever she said was never argued with; hence, even the steward of Prince Wang Mansion didn’t dare to offend the lead maid of the Princess Consort. Although the maid had acted this way before, the Prince had never taken issue with it, so what else could the other servants say?
But while the servants dared not speak up, Prince Ye Qiu cast a dark glance at her, and then kicked her in the back, sending her tumbling headlong.
"You undisciplined maid, didn’t you see that I was supporting the Princess Consort? You nearly caused her injury. Someone, drag her away to be sold. My Prince Wang Mansion has no need for such unruly servants," Ye Qiu slurred, still unsatisfied, and kicked her twice more.
His kicks were cleverly placed, and Mu Jin cried out in pain, "Lady, save me! Lady!"
"What’s all this shouting for! It’s giving me a headache," Ye Qiu snapped, landing another kick, by which time Mu Jin’s forehead had started to bleed, her normally proud and delicate face now twisted with humiliation.
"Prince, you’re drunk, Mu Jin didn’t mean to harm me, she was trying to help me," said Lin Jingxian, feeling a headache coming on. Why was Ye Qiu so difficult to deal with today?
Ye Qiu was relentless, kicking Mu Jin over once again, "Trying to help and nearly making you fall? It’s better to do without such a maid. I know you, Princess Consort, have a kind heart, but there’s no need to plead for her. Have her dragged away and sold."
"Prince," Lin Jingxian exerted her patience, trying her best not to lose her temper and instead spoke softly and persuasively, "Mu Jin has been with me since she was little, and I’m used to having her around. She wasn’t very careful today, but she will surely remember this lesson. Perhaps we can let it go this time."
"But she..."
"Prince," Lin Jingxian called out to Ye Qiu, still unwilling to give up, using her most charming voice, "Please spare her for my sake. After all, she is a maid I brought from Lin Mansion. If you punish her, what will others think of me?"
"You have a point," Ye Qiu said, looking troubled after hearing this, then he looked at Mu Jin with disdain, "But while the capital offense can be spared, lesser offenses cannot. Since she has failed to serve properly, let her go to the nanny to learn proper manners. Once she has learned them, she may return. Nanny Zhang, I’ll leave this matter to you. Make sure this maid learns her manners."
"Yes, this old servant obeys the order." A nanny with a sharp and acerbic look knelt down and said.
This Nanny Zhang was specifically bestowed by the Empress Dowager to her unprogressive grandson, Ye Qiu. Seventh Prince Manor had one just like her, someone who especially emphasized manners. Ye Qiu had been lectured and admonished by her as well. However, after the Empress Dowager’s passing, he became even less disciplined, and thus Nanny Zhang’s days in the Prince Wang Mansion became increasingly difficult. She had not expected that there would come a day when she would be needed again.
Mu Jin, hearing that Ye Qiu had let her off, immediately breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground, not realizing that being in Nanny Zhang’s hands was not much better than being sold off. Ye Qiu was a prince, and even he had been scolded by Nanny Zhang, let alone a maid like Mu Jin?
"Princess Consort, let’s go. I’m tired, and I want you to take care of me personally," Ye Qiu said, then he collapsed onto Lin Jingxian like a pile of mud.
Lin Jingxian took a deep breath and, without trying to get Ye Qiu to leave, simply gestured to a little eunuch who usually followed Ye Qiu to help support him from the other side.
It was not until they reached Luoxia Courtyard that Lin Jingxian finally felt completely drained, and just at that moment, the twins she had given birth to started crying loudly again.
"How are you taking care of them, letting the little prince and princess cry so terribly?" Lin Jingxian’s expression hardened as she reprimanded the wet nurses and maids taking care of the children.
"Princess Consort, please spare our lives. The little prince and princess just missed you, there is nothing we servants can do!" The wet nurses knelt down together, their faces filled with panic.
Lin Jingxian ignored them and picked up her daughter Ye Ling, who was closest to her: "Don’t cry, don’t cry, my good daughter doesn’t cry."
Perhaps the child truly missed her mother, for the two-month-old Ye Ling stopped crying, but her brother Ye Ming, who hadn’t enjoyed his mother’s embrace, was still crying loudly. Just as Lin Jingxian was about to switch Ye Ling for Ye Ming, Ye Qiu suddenly swept in and took him.
Ye Qiu’s action of holding the child was not exactly professional; the sudden motion startled both Lin Jingxian and the wet nurses.
"Father is holding you, no crying allowed," Ye Qiu said sternly.
Lin Jingxian handed her daughter to the wet nurse and then tentatively reached out to take Ye Ming from Ye Qiu’s arms: "Prince, Ming’er is too heavy; let me hold him instead."
Ye Qiu sidestepped her with a quick move, which scared Lin Jingxian enough to make her heart almost leap out.
"No, the child is so heavy; how can I let you hold him?" Saying so, he cracked a smile, "Look, he’s not crying anymore, it’s clear he likes his father. Ming’er is good, father will play with you."