Cui Mingyue’s sudden outburst of tears caught everyone off guard.
She hadn’t cried when cornered in the room, nor when forcibly brought to the groom’s house. Why was she crying now? Had she only just realized the embarrassment of the situation?
Everyone had their thoughts, but with Princess Rongyang present, no one dared to press for answers.
Princess Rongyang was no ordinary person. Despite her daughter being in such a predicament, her face remained calm, with only a slight furrow of her long eyebrows revealing traces of age at the corners of her eyes.
It must be said that Princess Rongyang was a beautiful woman. Cui Mingyue’s appearance was no less striking than her mother’s.
Jiang Si watched coldly as Cui Mingyue wept, covering her face. She recalled the three words uttered coolly by the beautiful young girl at Lu Shengxiang: “He’s not worthy!”
Suddenly, Jiang Si became curious. Cui Mingyue held no genuine feelings for Zhu Ziyu. So when she had pushed these two into their current situation, was Cui Mingyue simply going along with it, or did she have other plans?
Cui Mingyue’s crying intensified, eventually becoming so severe that she could barely catch her breath. Leaning against Princess Rongyang, she spoke incoherently, “Mother, your daughter… has been deceived…”
Princess Rongyang’s expression changed slightly as she gripped Cui Mingyue’s hand tightly. “What?”
“Your daughter knows she was wrong… I was confused for a moment…” Cui Mingyue spoke brokenly, her body trembling as she leaned against Princess Rongyang.
Zhu Ziyu looked at Cui Mingyue in disbelief. “Mingyue, what are you saying?”
Cui Mingyue kept her eyes lowered as she cried, her tears concealing the coldness and disdain in her gaze.
Zhu Ziyu took a step forward, instinctively reaching out his hand. “Mingyue—”
Cui Mingyue seemed suddenly startled, retreating behind Princess Rongyang.
Zhu Ziyu appeared as if he had been struck by a heavy blow, momentarily unable to speak.
Cui Mingyue buried her face in Princess Rongyang’s shoulder, crying miserably, a fleeting sneer passing across her lips.
What did Zhu Ziyu have to be shocked about?
Her actions towards him were merely a game, a ploy to bring misfortune upon the Jiang family. How could his feelings for her be genuine? He was simply eyeing her noble background, hoping to climb the social ladder.
Unfortunately, men were far more foolish than women. What she saw clearly, he mistook for the naivety of a young girl, believing her to be utterly devoted.
How laughable! Even if she were blind, she would never marry a man who could plot against his lawful wife.
Her mother was her father’s lawful wife, yet her father always had another woman in his heart, treating her mother with extreme coldness. Such a man was already detestable enough, let alone someone like Zhu Ziyu.
Cui Mingyue certainly wouldn’t allow herself to be trapped in the Zhu family’s quagmire, spending a lifetime with a man like Zhu Ziyu.
Fortunately, her mother was a princess, highly favored. Even if she had momentarily fallen into such a predicament, one claim of youthful ignorance and deception would surely gain her mother’s help.
Jiang Si watched Cui Mingyue’s reaction coldly, almost unable to suppress a laugh.
This Miss Cui had truly given her a big surprise.
To think there could be a woman in this world so heartless, so decisive, so thick-skinned!
Glancing at Zhu Ziyu from the corner of her eye, Jiang Si felt utterly delighted.
Zhu Ziyu’s feelings must be extremely complicated at this moment. She wanted to ask him about it.
Having witnessed this farce firsthand, Jiang Si finally understood why in her previous life, Zhu Ziyu had only taken an ordinary official’s daughter as his second wife after three years.
He had been played by Cui Mingyue and could only swallow this bitter pill in silence.
Of course, this didn’t make Jiang Si feel any fondness towards Cui Mingyue.
While Cui Mingyue had indeed toyed with Zhu Ziyu, the greatest victim was her elder sister, Jiang Yi.
Her sister had paid with her life for these two people’s acts!
Jiang Si turned her gaze back to the young woman crying against her mother, a chill suddenly rising from her heart.
No, this wasn’t just an act between Zhu Ziyu and Cui Mingyue.
There were many men of good looks and status in the capital. Why had Cui Mingyue specifically chosen Zhu Ziyu?
Her true target was her elder sister!
Or rather, her target was the Jiang family…
In that instant, Jiang Si suddenly thought of Jiang Zhan’s death in her previous life. A startling idea surfaced in her mind: In her previous life, her second brother had died tragically in the Jinshui River because he caught the eye of Yang Shengcai, who had a penchant for handsome men. In this life, things were developing along the same trajectory as before, with only her intervention changing her second brother’s fate.
So, was her second brother’s encounter with Yang Shengcai and the others just a coincidence? Or—
Jiang Si stared at Cui Mingyue for a long time.
Or had Cui Mingyue played a role in orchestrating it?
If a young woman could feign affection for a married man to scheme against her elder sister, what wouldn’t she be capable of doing?
Jiang Si thought she probably couldn’t verify this guess because even if it were true, Cui Mingyue would never admit it.
But she now had a new goal: she had to eliminate Cui Mingyue.
With such a person targeting the Jiang family, or more precisely, the main branch of the Jiang family, shouldn’t she find a way to eliminate the threat rather than wait to be eliminated?
Jiang Si slowly withdrew her gaze, lowering her eyelids.
Zhu Ziyu still couldn’t believe Cui Mingyue would say such things. After the initial shock, his face flushed with extreme agitation. “Mingyue, are you frightened? I—”
Seeing her daughter desperately trying to retreat, Princess Rongyang shouted, “Enough!”
Zhu Ziyu froze.
Princess Rongyang slowly swept her gaze over Mr. and Mrs. Zhu, her lips tightly pressed together. “Children don’t understand things. I’ll take my daughter back to educate her properly. I also ask that you two discipline your son well. Take care!”
With that, Princess Rongyang left with Cui Mingyue in tow.
Princess Rongyang’s carriage was parked just outside the back gate of the Zhu residence, looking like any ordinary carriage on the street.
Once inside the carriage, Princess Rongyang slapped Cui Mingyue across the face.
“Fool!”
Cui Mingyue’s maid watched helplessly as her mistress was struck, cowering in the corner, hardly daring to breathe.
When Cui Mingyue was caught in a private meeting with Zhu Ziyu, the maid who went back for help naturally didn’t dare speak out of turn. Thus, the princess truly believed her daughter had developed feelings for Zhu Ziyu.
It was also for this reason that when Princess Rongyang saw Cui Mingyue not insisting on marrying Zhu Ziyu, she breathed a huge sigh of relief and hastily left.
Cui Mingyue’s fair cheek quickly reddened.
“Tell me, how were you deceived?” Princess Rongyang demanded.
Cui Mingyue lowered her gaze, her long, thick eyelashes casting a shadow under her eyes. “At first, your daughter didn’t know his identity. I thought he was just a poor scholar who hadn’t married because he was focused on the imperial exams… Later, when I found out, I was already too attached… But your daughter knows she was wrong now. No matter what, I shouldn’t have gotten involved with a married man. Mother, please forgive your daughter and help me…”
Princess Rongyang remained silent for a long time, leaning against the carriage wall and closing her eyes.
Back in the Zhu family’s reception hall, the atmosphere turned awkwardly tense following Princess Rongyang’s departure.
Madam Zhu clung to the edge of the table, swaying unsteadily.
Could the truth be even more unsavory? Had her son deceived an unmarried young lady?
“Si’er, take your elder sister and leave!” Jiang Ancheng roared.