Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 25 - : Dreaming of the Prince’s Death
Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Dreaming of the Prince’s Death
“Uh, what I meant to say was, the Princess Consort is currently bathing, and it seems neither appropriate to use the main entrance nor to climb over the wall,”
the Hidden Guard replied.
Using the main entrance would mean standing at the door and eavesdropping, which might lead the maids to think the Prince creepy, wanting to sneak a peek.
But climbing over the wall and listening from the rooftop risked seeing something he shouldn’t, and wouldn’t the Prince then have to take responsibility?
The Hidden Guard was worried for his master.
Jun Yuyan paused while fastening his robe and turned to the Hidden Guard, “Zhou Chen, next time if you don’t make yourself clear, you can go guard the gate.”
“Not that, Master, I understand my mistake, I will definitely speak more clearly next time!”
Zhou Chen hurriedly said.
He did not want to guard the gate; after all, being a Hidden Guard and sent to guard the gate would be laughable among his peers!
Jun Yuyan took off his robe and waved Zhou Chen away.
Apart from Yang Shan, Zhou Chen had the best Qinggong skills; thus, he had Zhou Chen keep a close watch on Zhen Zhu at Qiyun Courtyard and, by extension, secretly protect Murong Jiu.
Murong Jiu had thwarted the Crown Prince’s schemes twice, and it was possible that the other party would act out of frustrated anger.
She had asked for two guards to come today, probably for that reason.
Although Zhou Chen’s thoughts were sometimes erratic, he was dependable in crucial moments; otherwise, Jun Yuyan would have replaced him already.
Enough, he should not be too curious about Murong Jiu. What she planned to do to the Second Prince could be observed later; there was no need to deliberately investigate.
…
After reading the letter from the Second Prince, Murong Jiu sneered repeatedly in her heart, yet her face showed no hint of her thoughts.
Zhen Zhu watched her face closely, trying to gauge her feelings.
She was no longer the naive, easily manipulated country miss she once was.
“Keep the letter safe for me.”
“Yes!”
Zhen Zhu felt a bit pleased, as if Murong Jiu wouldn’t hold onto a letter from the Second Prince if she had no feelings for him.
Previously, she would keep his letters in a box, treasuring them above all others.
After securing the letter, Zhen Zhu whispered,
“Miss, now that you carry the Second Prince’s child, you can’t be willful anymore. This substitute marriage happened so suddenly, I believe the Second Prince must be very anxious. He said he wants to marry you as his Principal Consort, he will surely do so.”
Murong Jiu, head bowed so her expression was unclear, heard Zhen Zhu hastily add, “The Second Prince will surely find a way. When the time comes, you just need to divorce Prince Ling. Since this marriage was a mistake from the beginning, the public will probably say nothing!”
In her previous life, Jun Haoze had painted such rosy pictures for her, letting her fill with hope.
And what happened?
Her belly grew, the child was born, and the promises Jun Haoze made to her were unfulfilled; her child was called a bastard by others.
Yet she hadn’t realized in time, was fooled by Jun Haoze’s sweet words, and willingly handed over the twin children she carried for ten months for him to raise.
She still remembered Jun Yuyan’s shocked and angry expression when he learned she had sent the children away, thinking even then that Jun Yuyan must have thought her incredibly foolish, only she was too naive to see it.
During the night, Murong Jiu had another lengthy dream.
In the dream, she saw Jun Haoze’s face and Jun Yuyan’s face repeatedly, along with the blurry forms of her twin children stumbling towards her, crying out in pain and calling for their mother.
Eventually, only Jun Yuyan’s face remained in the grey world.
He looked worn and his eyes were dead as he said to her, “I wish you happiness.”
This was during their divorce; she recalled in her dream that Jun Yuyan had indeed said such words, but maybe she was too happy at the time to notice his weariness.
She knew she was dreaming, yet she couldn’t find her way out of this dream world.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of horse hooves; a group of people on horseback passed through her transparent body, led by none other than Jun Yuyan!
In a fleeting moment, she seemed to see his anxious expression, a bluish stubble visible beneath his mask, as if he hadn’t had time to shave for days.
When was this? She had no recollection.
Her body seemed to float up and reach a mountain ahead, where she saw many people lying in ambush, with numerous traps on the ground and blades gleaming eerily in cold light.
Among the many figures clad in black, she saw Jun Haoze.
In a flash, she realized something and started shouting toward Jun Yuyan down the mountain, waving her arms: “Go, hurry, there’s an ambush! Don’t come here!”
No one could see her, no one could hear her shouting.
This mountain was called Minghua Mountain, a mandatory route back to the capital.
In his past life, Jun Yuyan had died at the hands of “Mountain Bandits” on Minghua Mountain.
But Murong Jiu couldn’t bear it—she didn’t want to watch Jun Yuyan die tragically. He should have been at the Frontier Pass; why would he knowingly head into an ambush and deliver himself to death?
The dream was intermittent and unclear; she could only see Jun Yuyan being struck by several arrows before tumbling down a cliff and landing in a pool of blood.
His eyes seemed to have seen her, reaching out toward her.
When she was awoken by the dream, it was still dark outside.
She nearly forgot the contents of the dream, but Jun Yuyan’s gaze seemed etched into her mind.
It was unbearable; why did her heart feel so achingly swollen, as if she was missing something?
She curled up under the covers, her hands on her abdomen, as if embracing her children, murmuring, “My darlings, in this life, your mother will not be foolish again. I will protect you all, and… Jun Yuyan, I don’t want him to die…”
The rain began to fall in a gentle patter.
As the temperature dropped, Chun Tao fetched a cloak from the wardrobe and draped it over Murong Jiu.
“Miss, with such heavy rain, are you sure you want to go out? Why not wait until it stops?”
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“I have urgent matters to attend to, and besides, this rain won’t stop for days.”
Off to the side, Zhen Zhu scoffed inwardly. The weather in summer was fickle; it could be raining here and sunny there. How could it possibly not stop for a few days? She was really naive.
Chun Tao said with a smile, “If that’s the case, then I need to prepare a few more pairs of rain boots for you.”
“I’ll take care of the preparations; Chun Tao, accompany the mistress outside,” Zhen Zhu said eagerly.
She still had to relay Murong Jiu’s reaction to the letter she had seen last night to the Second Prince. From her perspective, Murong Jiu probably felt quite smug, thinking that bearing the Second Prince’s child would ensure her a worry-free life.
Zhen Zhu sneered. Little did she know that the child she was carrying was from another man.
Zhen Zhu had no desire to head out in heavy rain with Murong Jiu seeking trouble.
Outside, the carriage was already prepared, along with two guards she had personally selected that morning, holding up the large black umbrellas of the Prince Mansion on either side.
“Princess Consort, where are you going?”
As she boarded the carriage, the Coachman asked.
“To the refugee residence.”
“What? Princess Consort, where are you going?”
The coachman thought he might have misheard due to the heavy rain.
“To the refugee quarter in Queer Alley.”
The coachman paused, wondering what the Princess Consort was doing visiting a refugee quarter on a rainy day. But he didn’t dare to ask more; Steward Lin had said that if the Prince Consort wished to go somewhere, he was to follow the arrangement.
But he was certainly curious.
Not just him, but the two guards also looked puzzled.
