The Reborn Princess Has Turned Evil

Chapter 340 Her Plan

After the elaborate wedding ceremony, Jing Fengyao still followed ancestral tradition and held a banquet at the First Prince's residence.

Inside the hall, wine cups were clinked, and the sounds of stringed instruments and laughter blended into a lively atmosphere.

It was only afternoon, and although she was exhausted from the day, Jing Anle did not immediately return to Yongfu Palace. Instead, she went to Yunqing Palace wearing heavy headdresses. She knew in her heart that Consort Lin's absence meant that she had already taken action.

Yunqing Palace is remote, and the winter sun is not warm, making the whole palace seem to be filled with a dim yellow light, reflecting the sparse bamboo shadows in the courtyard, exuding a sense of tranquility that is isolated from the world.

When Jing Anle pushed open the door, she saw Consort Lin sitting on a soft couch by the window. The sleeves of her plain palace dress were slightly rolled up, revealing her slender and pale wrists. Her originally beautiful left cheek was noticeably red and swollen.

"Your Majesty!" Jing Anle exclaimed as she rushed forward, not even having time to remove her cloak. Her fingertips hovered beside her face, her voice filled with disbelief, "What happened?"

Consort Lin looked up and saw it was her. Her voice was weak but still gentle. "Princess, you've come?" she said, and then she was about to get up.

She knew Jing Anle would come, so her tone wasn't surprised.

"No need for formalities!" Jing Anle pressed down on her shoulder to prevent her from getting up. His gaze swept over the scars on her face, and his eyes darkened. He immediately guessed what was going on. "Is it Aunt Yongping?"

Consort Lin stiffened slightly, lowered her eyes, and gently gripped the hem of her skirt with her fingertips. After a moment of silence, she slowly nodded, "It is my own fault for being so weak, which angered the Duke of Yongping."

Jing Anle is not stupid, and Consort Lin is a smart woman who has been able to protect herself in the palace for many years. This is just a self-inflicted injury she deliberately staged.

Jing Anle's heart stirred. She had previously asked Consort Lin to stop Master Jiquan from helping Princess Yongping commit evil deeds, but she did not expect Consort Lin to use such a method.

One day ago.

Along the palace path, palace lanterns lit up one after another, casting a warm yellow glow.

Consort Lin was dressed in a moon-white palace gown embroidered with magnolia flowers, the hem of which trailed on the ground. She walked lightly on the cobblestone path. This gown was a style from many years ago that she had specially asked Dong Qing to find, and it was quite similar in color and style to the clothes that the late Empress often wore.

With her eyes lowered and her expression gentle, a hint of melancholy lingered between her brows. In the dim light, she bore a striking resemblance to the late Empress Dowager in her youth.

She had calculated the exact time, knowing that Princess Yongping would come out of the Empress Dowager's palace at this hour, and waited here on purpose.

Sure enough, not long after, a clear tinkling of jade pendants rang out, and Princess Yongping's entourage slowly approached. She was still wearing that bright red palace dress, surrounded by a group of palace servants, exuding an imposing aura.

Consort Lin's heart skipped a beat. After paying her respects to Princess Yongping according to the rules, she "accidentally" tripped, her body swayed slightly, and she cried out "Ouch!" as she fell forward. In the process, she pulled off the jade pendant from Princess Yongping's waist. One of the white jade pendants shattered on the ground with a "crack" and broke into two pieces.

"How dare you!" Princess Yongping looked down and saw the jade pendant broken in two on the ground. Her face instantly darkened. This jade pendant was personally chosen for her by Emperor Jing. The jade was lustrous and carved with her zodiac animal. It was her most cherished ornament, which she regarded as a treasure. Now it had been smashed in public. How could she not be angry?

Consort Lin immediately knelt down, her expression flustered. "Princess, please forgive me! I didn't mean to. I just slipped and accidentally bumped into you. Please forgive me!"

Although Yongping's birth mother was not of high status, she was a princess with a title and had the merit of being married off for political purposes. Apart from Emperor Jing, the Empress Dowager and the late Empress Dowager, everyone in the palace had to pay their respects to her.

Princess Yongping looked down at her, her gaze falling on the moon-white palace dress she was wearing. Her pupils suddenly contracted—the clothes, the expression, were so similar to that woman!

She already harbored deep hatred for the late Empress, and now, seeing Consort Lin in this state, and recalling her shattered jade pendant, her anger burned even more fiercely.

"Spare me?" Princess Yongping sneered, took a step forward, and grabbed Consort Lin's chin, forcing her to look up. "You dressed like this, deliberately waiting here, and deliberately smashing my jade pendant, you are clearly provoking me!"

A flicker of fear crossed Consort Lin's eyes, but she still insisted, "Your Highness, please understand, I did not do it on purpose! I only... I only wore this dress because I missed the late Empress, hoping to express my grief..."

"The late Empress?" Princess Yongping's voice suddenly rose, her eyes filled with disdain and resentment. "That vixen was nothing but a seductress. What right did she have to win my brother's favor? You dressed up like her, were you trying to imitate her and bewitch my brother?"

Consort Lin's chin ached from being pinched, but she still stubbornly said, "The late Empress was gentle and virtuous, deeply favored by His Majesty, and a model for women in the harem. I only admire her..."

"Shut up!" Princess Yongping could no longer hold back and slapped Consort Lin hard across the face. "You, the daughter of a lowly official, dare to speak up for that vile woman in front of me! I think you're tired of living!"

Lin Fei was knocked to the ground, her left cheek instantly swelling up and blood seeping from the corner of her mouth, but a glint of triumph flashed in her eyes.

She knew her plan had succeeded—Yongping's rage proved that her words had hit the nail on the head.

"Your Highness, spare me! I know I was wrong! I will never dare to do it again!" Consort Lin knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, looking utterly terrified.

Princess Yongping's chest heaved violently. Looking at Consort Lin trembling on the ground, her anger subsided slightly, but she was still furious. "You know you're wrong? Fine, then I'll give you a chance to know your mistake!"

"Go to Xuanyang Palace and kneel down to copy scriptures all night!"

After listening to Consort Lin's words, Jing Anle lowered her eyes and pondered deeply. She then asked, "So Jiquan saw the injured Empress in Xuanyang Palace?"

Consort Lin gave a bitter smile. She knelt in the Xuan Yang Palace in the latter half of the night and when she saw the soft mattress sent by Ji Quan, she knew that she had made the right bet.

She understood that Master Jiquan was still the same boy who had grown up with her, loved her, and protected her—Tang Yu!

"So Princess, you can rest assured that Jiquan will at least not do anything to harm His Majesty."

She knew Ji Quan too well; he couldn't bear to see her suffer even the slightest hardship or injustice. The first time she copied scriptures in Xuan Yang Palace, besides the items Jing Anle had given her, she also noticed the charcoal that Ji Quan had brought.

Now that Ji Quan has seen himself humiliated by Yong Ping, how could he possibly do anything for her anymore?

Looking at the calm woman before him, Jing Anle felt a mix of emotions. He had previously thought that Consort Lin was gentle, intelligent, calm, and self-possessed, but he had no idea that she was also cunning. It seemed that she was not without means, but she truly did not love her father and disdained to compete for his favor.