jdhmnovel Chapter 127 The Imperial Concubine's Adultery
Chapter 127 The Imperial Concubine's Adultery
Lu Nianqiu arrived at the place she had agreed to meet Pei Shangdao, but she hadn't recovered yet.
Prince Jing is actually related to the Duke. Do members of the royal family have a penchant for this kind of thing?
But such a secret...
"Nian Qiu."
Pei Shangdao's voice came from behind.
Lu Nianqiu turned around and saw Pei Shangdao walking towards her with a radiant smile.
Lu Nianqiu composed herself, tilted her head, and gave a slight smile as she looked back.
Their gazes met in mid-air, and although there was no force involved, it seemed as if they collided and sparked.
Pei Shangdao noticed the fine beads of sweat on her forehead, lowered his head, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Why are you in such a panic?
He noticed something was wrong with her and stared intently at her. "Nianqiu, don't be afraid. I'll protect you. Don't be afraid."
“Let’s leave here first,” Lu Nianqiu said, her eyes darting around. “If you don’t want to be silenced, you should leave now.”
She was still afraid; after all, it was such a big secret, and she really didn't dare to stay here any longer.
Pei Shangdao's eyes flickered as he followed her gaze downwards.
His palm covered her cheek, and the warm touch made her shiver again.
He chuckled softly. "Okay."
She dared not linger in his arms and escaped, grabbing Pei Shangdao's sleeve and walking into the dense forest on the other side.
After a moment, the two stopped.
But she still couldn't calm down.
Pei Shangdao's gaze fell on Lu Nianqiu, and after a long while, he finally spoke, "Nianqiu, I want to marry you."
Lu Nianqiu was stunned by his words before she could calm down.
She said "Ah".
“I’m serious,” Pei Shangdao said gently. “I will personally come to propose marriage on a chosen day.”
"Is it in such a hurry?" Lu Nianqiu asked.
Pei Shangdao sighed softly, his tone slightly pitiful, "I'm afraid you'll be easily deceived by some complete strangers with just a few words."
He was referring to those lecherous men who always went to Junkangtang under the guise of seeking medical treatment, but in reality, they were just there to catch a glimpse of Lu Nianqiu's beautiful face.
Lu Nianqiu laughed heartily, "So you're jealous."
Pei Shangdao stared at her intently for a moment, then suddenly leaned closer, "Yes, she's jealous, so naturally she's anxious."
His words captivated her, and he gently kissed her. Just as he opened his lips to kiss her, she pushed him away.
He was confused; had he crossed the line?
Lu Nianqiu looked up at him, but her mind was still preoccupied with what she had just witnessed. She was afraid that this matter would implicate Zhizhi.
After all, Zhizhi is now the Princess Consort of Liang.
"I...I..." Lu Nianqiu stammered, her eyelashes drooping slightly. "I have something to do first, I'll be going now."
Pei Shangdao watched her fleeing figure and only said, "You had no choice."
She seemed not to hear.
On the stone benches outside the Buddhist hall of Baima Temple.
Her hair was a little messy from the wind, and a strand of hair slipped down, which she reached out and tucked back.
As soon as I looked up, I saw Lu Nianqiu rushing over.
"Cousin," Jiang Zhi stood up, "Are you done chatting?"
Ignoring her teasing, Lu Nianqiu said, "We need to leave here quickly and never come back again."
Jiang Zhi looked at her expression and felt strange. "Cousin, what happened?"
"Is there something important?"
Lu Nianqiu didn't know how to describe what she had seen; she felt ashamed no matter how she thought about it.
She looked at Jiang Zhi and said, "This place isn't clean. Let's not come here again, okay?"
Hearing this, Jiang Zhi felt even more puzzled.
Could it be that she saw something she shouldn't have seen in the north?
Could it be that the Imperial Noble Consort did something sordid that someone saw her?
She pulled her to a secluded place.
"Cousin, what's wrong?" Jiang Zhi asked.
"It's just...it's just..."
Seeing Lu Nianqiu hesitate like this, Jiang Zhi said loudly, "Then I'll go see what's going on."
She lifted her skirt to leave, but was pulled back.
Jiang Zhi stared at her.
Seeing Jiang Zhi's expression, she knew there was no need to hide it from her. She just found it a little difficult to speak, after all, she was not yet married.
“I…I saw Duke Liu and the Imperial Noble Consort together…” Lu Nianqiu glanced at Jiang Zhi and said, “Say Gu Yuan isn’t…”
She didn't dare to finish her sentence, but Jiang Zhi understood the second half of it.
“Cousin,” Jiang Zhi said, holding Lu Nianqiu’s hand, “you must keep this a secret and not let anyone else know about it.”
Jiang Zhi's gaze darkened.
No wonder, so that's why the Imperial Noble Consort had the guards stationed in the woods.
No wonder she always felt that Gu Yuan's eyebrows and eyes were very similar to those of Duke Liu. Could it be that Gu Yuan wanted to kill her uncle for this reason?
Does your uncle know this secret?
However, now that we know this secret, it will be even easier to bring them down.
“Cousin,” Jiang Zhi’s eyes shifted slightly, “do you know which palace those two are in?”
Lu Nianqiu frowned.
"What does Zhizhi want to do?" Lu Nianqiu said, "Don't hurt yourself."
"I know, cousin," Jiang Zhi replied. "Go ahead and tell me, I'll be careful."
Hearing Lu Nianqiu's answer, and looking at the pilgrims coming and going, she suddenly had an idea.
Since they're the only ones who like to stay in the shadows, let her shine a little.
She turned to Chenxi and instructed, "You take my cousin down the mountain first. I'll say something to Wushi and then come along."
Chenxi nodded in understanding and escorted Lu Nianqiu down the mountain.
After taking only two steps, Lu Nianqiu turned back to remind Jiang Zhi, "Zhizhi, be careful."
Jiang Zhi smiled and said, "Cousin, you can rest assured."
Jiang Zhi turned his head and leaned close to Wu Shi's ear, "I have a good way to start a fire. There's a lot of sesame oil in the side hall of Baima Temple. Let's wait a bit..."
After listening to Jiang Zhi's explanation at noon, she nodded approvingly, "Your Highness, this is quite a bold approach."
Jiang Zhi's eyes gleamed. "Isn't this something he learned from His Highness?"
"Are you sure you didn't see anyone when you went out just now?" The Imperial Noble Consort was still worried.
Duke Liu nodded calmly, "No one is here."
The Imperial Noble Consort's eyes turned slightly cold. "If anyone knows my secret, I will make them wish they were dead."
Duke Liu helped the Imperial Noble Consort up and said with a smile, "It's getting late, the one in the palace, please don't be angry."
The Imperial Noble Consort felt somewhat displeased. "He was just pretending. He loved me, but only because I kept his secret. Besides that Prince Liang, his only other offspring is our Yuan'er."
"Although he has many concubines in his harem, they are all princesses." The Imperial Noble Consort stroked the Duke of Liu's cheek, her eyes full of meaning. "Back then, we should have let the Prince of Liang die in the Northern Di, and let him live by chance to compete with my Yuan'er for the throne."
Suddenly, her gaze changed.
“Actually, Your Majesty should have had another child,” she said coldly, “but I will not allow it. Anyone who tries to take Yuan’er from me will not be let off.”
“Back then, the late Empress confronted me. If she hadn’t been so determined to kill me, I wouldn’t have gone so far as to harm my newborn child.”
The Imperial Noble Consort rose, bent down to pick up her clothes, but the child had already been strangled to death.