Chapter 979: 458 Arrogance (Third Update) Chapter 979: 458 Arrogance (Third Update) The verdict on Prince Ning came down in September, stripping him of his royal status and demoting him to a commoner, yet he was spared exile. Instead, a residence outside the Capital City was found for him, effectively placing him under disguised house arrest.

This was the outcome after Empress Dowager Zhuang showed mercy. If Grand Tutor Zhuang truly missed him, he could still visit him often.

If Grand Tutor Zhuang still harbored hope at this point and continued to incite Prince Ning, the shadow guards sent by Empress Dowager Zhuang would not spare him.

Traditionally, when a prince was demoted, his family in the residence would not be spared either; however, to everyone’s surprise, Prince Ning actually granted his wife a letter of divorce.

The letter of divorce was delivered to her by the Duke of Rui and his wife.

The Duke of Rui, being a straightforward man, didn’t know how to broach the subject with Princess Ning, much less how to console her.

The Duchess of Rui simply told him to wait outside while she talked to her elder sister-in-law.

“Elder sister-in-law.”

She entered the room.

Princess Ning was sitting by the window, reading.

Her elder sister-in-law had the habit of reading, so the Duchess of Rui was not surprised, but she suspected that her elder sister-in-law might be in a bad mood at the moment and did not dare to approach her as usual. Instead, she quietly stood at the door, waiting for her elder sister-in-law to acknowledge her.

Princess Ning’s response was rather delayed today. After a moment, she turned her head and saw it was the Duchess of Rui. She wasn’t too surprised and said, “You’ve come. Please have a seat.”

The Duchess of Rui sat down opposite Princess Ning.

After a long while, no servants came to serve tea.

It was then that Princess Ning realized something and laughed at herself, “I forgot that all the servants at the residence had been dismissed.” As she spoke, she personally picked up the teapot to pour tea for the Duchess of Rui.

“Let me do it, elder sister-in-law!” The Duchess of Rui quickly stood up to take the teapot from her hands.

“No need, I can pour a cup of tea.” Princess Ning pushed her hand away and poured a cup of tea that had already lost its heat. “Never mind, don’t drink it, it’s cold.”

“It doesn’t matter, elder sister-in-law.” The Duchess of Rui blocked Princess Ning from taking her cup, “I don’t like it hot.”

It wasn’t to comfort Princess Ning; since becoming pregnant, she really did start to feel too warm, but in the residence, the wet nurses did not allow her to drink anything cold, though occasionally, the Duke would sneak her a few sips to satisfy her cravings.

“Some things truly are destiny.” Princess Ning forced a bitter smile and withdrew her hand.

The Duchess of Rui felt a chill for a moment, then realized she was referring to the matters of pregnancy. Having been extremely careful since Princess Ning’s first pregnancy, she followed the imperial physicians and wet nurses’ strict diet and lifestyle.

However, the result was that none of the three children were saved.

“Elder sister-in-law, was it… related to elder brother?” The Duchess of Rui knew everything by now; she had no energy left to scold Wo Linlang. She could never have imagined that her brother would be such a person, capable of doing what he did.

The Duke of Rui was also shocked.

He locked himself in the Study Room for three days and nights, his shock hardly less than that of the Crown Prince.

Everyone has their faith, and without a doubt, Prince Ning was the Duke of Rui’s faith.

Now, that faith had collapsed in an instant.

Princess Ning shook her head, “If by related you mean that he drugged me to cause a miscarriage, then no, that didn’t happen. It’s just…”
The Duchess of Rui could guess the rest; she knew about Prince Ning and Wo Linlang’s affair. Enduring their relationship while pregnant, her severe depression ultimately led to preterm labor.

“Elder sister-in-law, don’t be sad. You are still young, and there’s a long road ahead of you.” The Duchess of Rui took out a letter of divorce from her wide sleeve and placed it in front of Princess Ning, “This is what elder brother asked us to deliver to you. Once you sign it, you will no longer be Princess Ning and won’t have to be implicated in his affairs anymore.”

As she mentioned this, the Duchess of Rui’s heart was filled with mixed feelings.

She felt that her elder brother had truly done wrong, but she regarded his decision to grant her freedom as praiseworthy.

Deep down, her brother must have had feelings for his wife. He was just blinded by hatred and self-interest, unable to see his true heart.

He thought he was merely paying his wife formal respect, not realizing she had long since entered the depths of his heart.

On the contrary, that woman Wo Linlang was simply a lingering frustration from his youth, a testament to his drive to conquer.

Princess Ning looked at the folded divorce letter, a faint smile on her face. She did not open it immediately but said, “Qianqian, do you know? I was attracted to him by his appearance and demeanor when I first saw him at thirteen. I’ve loved this man for eleven years. He favors women who are cultured and articulate, so no matter how much I disliked reading, I always pretended to be the way he liked. I used to think that I could never compete with Wo Linlang in looks, but at least in terms of learning, if I worked harder, I wouldn’t lose by too much.”

The Duchess of Rui angrily said, “Elder sister-in-law, that woman is not worthy to be compared with you!”

“Talking about it now is meaningless.” Princess Ning smiled and said to the Duchess of Rui, “Don’t call me elder sister-in-law anymore; I’m no longer a member of the royal family.”

It wasn’t because of the letter of divorce, but because Qin Chuhan was no longer a prince.

“Elder sister-in-law…” The Duchess of Rui let it slip out before she could catch herself.

She should now be addressed as Chu Yue.

Chu Yue told the Duchess of Rui, “You should go back. This place is inauspicious.”

The Duchess of Rui looked at her with pity, “Father said you could stay longer.”

Chu Yue smiled nonchalantly, “It’s not like I have nowhere else to go.”

The Duchess of Rui opened her mouth, “Elder sister-in-law… no, Chu sister… ah, that’s not right, not calling you elder sister-in-law feels awkward.”

Chu Yue said, “Just call it then, it’s only a title after all.”

“Why don’t you move into the Duke of Rui Residence?” the Duchess of Rui suggested.

On the way here, she had mentioned this matter to the prince, and he had had no objections.

But the prince had actually guessed that Chu Yue wouldn’t agree. He didn’t say anything in front of his wife, worrying she would think him stingy.

Chu Yue shook her head, “Thank you for your kindness, I have a place to go. Ah, right, your timing is perfect. Gu Jiao gave me a consultation last time and left something at my place. Please return it to her for me.”

“Sure.”

After leaving the house, the prince’s consort’s eyes were red-rimmed.

The prince felt pained but didn’t know how to console her.

The blow he had received was significant. However, fortunately, he had Qianqian and the child in her belly by his side; otherwise, he might not have known how to carry on.

The two made a trip to the Medical Hall, where the prince’s consort personally delivered the brocade box that Chu Yue had asked her to convey to Gu Jiao.

“Your sister-in-law said it was something you accidentally left behind after giving her a consultation.”

Gu Jiao understood: “I see, thank you.”

After the two left, Gu Jiao opened the brocade box.

Inside was a golden token granting immunity from death.

In the matter of the exiled prince, Gu Jiao had prepared for the worst. She gave the golden token to the prince’s wife, hoping to save her from the whirlpool.

Of course, Gu Jiao had also considered that the prince’s wife might use this token to save the prince himself.

In the end, she chose neither path.

Whether the prince’s wife had signed the divorce papers or not was unclear to anyone. On the second day of the prince’s confinement, she too had disappeared from Capital City.

…

“Let me go! Let me go! I want to see the Crown Prince!”

“You still want to see the Crown Prince? Gag her!”

At Eunuch Su’s command, two strong maids immediately pinned Wo Linlang to the ground and stuffed a cloth into her mouth.

She could no longer cry out, only letting out weak moans.

Eunuch Su raised his whisk and said, “The Empress has decreed that the Crown Princess, afflicted with a vile illness, must immediately go to the summer palace for recuperation.”

Wo Linlang shook her head desperately.

She wasn’t sick!

She didn’t want to go to the summer palace for recuperation!

Everyone understood what ‘recuperation’ meant – it was a death sentence!

In less than a year, she would die of a serious illness in the summer palace!

Empress Xiao, intent on covering up the Crown Prince’s disgrace, had truly outdone herself. The prince had just been demoted, and if the Crown Princess were to be punished under some pretext at this juncture, it would easily lead to speculation.

But the excuse of recuperating due to illness was flawless.

Wo Linlang was dragged onto the carriage roughly.

Just as she was leaving the palace, Gu Jiao happened to be coming out of the Imperial Palace, and Eunuch Su and the others hurriedly bowed to her respectfully: “Doctor Gu!”

Wo Linlang, pressed disgracefully to the ground, where was any of the former glory to be seen?

She glared fiercely at Gu Jiao.

Are you satisfied?

You’ve destroyed everything I carefully built. You’ve achieved your goal!

However, Gu Jiao merely glanced at her indifferently, recognizing her but showing no trace of triumph in her eyes.

She looked at her calmly, as though she were looking at an unrelated passerby, as if the details of her past provocations against Gu Jiao had long been discarded from Gu Jiao’s memory.

It was at this moment that Wo Linlang finally realized in a daze that Gu Jiao was not pretending to be above it all; she had truly never taken her to heart.

This was not due to Gu Jiao’s kindness or her tolerance; it was purely because she had not caught Gu Jiao’s eye.

Gu Jiao had long stood at a height she could not reach, like an eagle staring at the sky – why would it notice if there were any little insects biting at its feet?

While this metaphor might be an exaggeration, it was true that Gu Jiao had never cared about Wo Linlang.

Wo Linlang couldn’t understand, where was she lacking compared to Gu Jiao?

Apart from not knowing medical practice, in what other way was she inferior to Gu Jiao?

Not to mention her beauty that could topple cities, whereas Gu Jiao had such an unsightly face…

Wasn’t Gu Jiao even a little bit intimidated?

The way Gu Jiao walked out of the Imperial Palace, she was far from intimidated; instead, she seemed somewhat – arrogant.