Chapter 115: Not Everyone Has a Brain

Jun Buwen sneered coldly at Mother Chun’s words. "Servants these days are truly bold. To be so rude upon seeing the Prince and Princess is beyond belief. I wonder if it is Princess Anya who is too indulgent, or if you servants have simply become lawless."

Mother Chun broke into a cold sweat and knelt on the ground, trembling. "It is not... this old servant... I did not expect Prince Jin and Princess Jin to be here, so I spoke out of turn... I spoke out of turn."

She knelt there, shivering, completely unable to fathom how things had turned out this way. Should Xia Jiujiang not have been in the last room? Should Jun Buwen not have been with Princess Anya? Why were Xia Jiujiang and Jun Buwen together, and why did both of them look so perfectly composed?

Jun Buwen retorted, "If I am not here with my Princess, where else should I be?"

Mother Chun stammered, "This old servant thought Prince Jin was inside the room..."

Jun Buwen let out a cold laugh. "I have never been here. I do not know which of your eyes is blind, Mother Chun, that you claim to have seen me enter this side hall?"

His tone was sinister, and the icy murderous aura that washed over her made Mother Chun feel that if she said one wrong word—regardless of which eye she named—Jun Buwen might well ensure that eye truly went blind.

Xia Jiujiang chuckled. "Mother Chun’s words are quite strange. First you said Princess Anya was in the room, and now you say you saw Prince Jin enter. Are you suggesting that Princess Anya and Prince Jin ought to have been in there together?"

The Fifth Prince, Jun Yixuan, asked with a look of confusion, "If Prince Jin has never been here, then where was he? And why would Mother Chun claim he was in the room? I suspect she wouldn't tell such an obvious lie without reason."

Jun Buwen said indifferently, "After I left the council hall to find my Princess, I happened to run into her, as she had lost her way in the Yueque Palace. Since it was her first time here, I took her for a stroll. We were just about to head to the main hall when we heard the noise and saw the commotion, so we came over to see what was happening. Does that answer satisfy you, Fifth Prince?"

Jun Yixuan replied with a mischievous grin, "Satisfied, naturally satisfied. The affection between Prince Jin and his Princess is truly enough to make one envious."

This Jun Yixuan was the son of Consort Mei and a man of considerable cunning within the palace. Despite lacking a powerful maternal clan, he navigated the court with ease, managing to stand as a rival to the Grand Secretary’s faction. He preferred to mask his nature with a cynical, playboy attitude, much like a cold-blooded viper flicking its tongue.

As Jun Buwen and Xia Jiujiang were confronting Mother Chun at the entrance, a roar erupted from within the room: "Each and every one of you is doing nothing but making a spectacle of yourselves!"

Hearing the outburst, Xia Jiujiang’s face lit up with delight. She excitedly grabbed Jun Buwen and walked into the room, while Mother Chun felt as though her heart had plunged into a frozen cellar.

Emperor Zongkang’s face turned as black as charcoal as he looked at Princess Anya and Xia Mingxuan lying on the bed. He could not help but cast several glances at Ming Ze beside him. Ming Ze had declared in the council hall that he wished to marry Princess Anya, yet here she was, caught in such a scandalous act with Xia Mingxuan. This was a disgrace that reached all the way to the Southern Kingdom!

Ming Ze, the Third Prince of the Southern Kingdom, had been the first to rush in. Expecting to find 'Princess Anya' in danger, he had instead been met with this blood-boiling scene. Moreover, the woman on the bed was not 'Princess Anya'—at least, not the 'Princess Anya' he had in mind.

As Xia Jiujiang and Jun Buwen entered, Ming Ze turned his head, and upon seeing them, both he and Xia Jiujiang widened their eyes in shock, exclaiming in unison, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Xia Jiujiang had come to witness the spectacle of Princess Anya and Xia Mingxuan; she had not expected to see Ming Ze. Ming Ze, for his part, was stunned—was it not said that 'Princess Anya' was in the room? Why was she with Jun Buwen?

Seeing Xia Jiujiang, Ming Ze curled his lips in a smug expression. "I am the Third Prince of the Southern Kingdom; what is so strange about my presence here as part of the diplomatic mission?"

Xia Jiujiang rolled her eyes. A Southern Kingdom envoy—was that supposed to be impressive? She hadn't even started showing off the fact that her husband was Prince Jin.

Ming Ze stepped up to Xia Jiujiang and said, "You dare roll your eyes at me? Perhaps you don't know yet, but I have already asked the Emperor for your hand in marriage, so you had best think about how to please me."

Emperor Zongkang was completely bewildered by the Southern Prince’s behavior. The woman he had asked to marry was Princess Anya; why did he show no reaction to finding her in bed with Xia Mingxuan, instead running over to Xia Jiujiang?

Xia Jiujiang laughed as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world. "You say you asked the Emperor for my hand?"

Xia Jiujiang was the Princess of Jin; there was no way Emperor Zongkang would ever agree to such a request.

The Emperor frowned. "What is the meaning of this, Third Prince of the Southern Kingdom? When did you ask me for..."

Ming Ze looked at Emperor Zongkang in shock, not expecting the first person to publicly humiliate him to be the Emperor himself.

Ming Ze scowled. "A gentleman’s word is his bond, and surely an Emperor is a man of his word. I clearly asked to marry Princess Anya in the council hall, and you personally promised that you would announce the marriage at the Yueque Palace banquet. How can you turn around and forget? Is this the hospitality of the Li Kingdom?"

Emperor Zongkang grew furious. "Third Prince of the Southern Kingdom, do not push your luck! To uphold the etiquette of a civilized nation and ensure the prosperity of my people, I am willing to maintain an alliance with the Southern Kingdom. But if you slander me, do you have any regard for the Li Kingdom at all?"

Prince Anbei hurriedly bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive us. The Third Prince is accustomed to speaking his mind in the Southern Kingdom; he meant no offense."

Prince Anbei was equally confused. Why had Emperor Zongkang suddenly turned against them and flown into a rage?

A murderous glint flashed in Emperor Zongkang’s eyes. "This attitude of yours makes me highly suspicious. Did the Southern Kingdom really come here for the sake of an alliance?"

The tension between the Emperor and the Southern envoys was thick enough to cut with a knife, until a sudden burst of laughter shattered the deadlock.

Xia Jiujiang laughed inappropriately. "I finally understand. The Emperor didn't go back on his word; it’s just... you misunderstood the situation yourself. Truly, intelligence is not something everyone possesses."

Ming Ningzi said with displeasure, "Who do you think you are to speak to my Third Brother like that?"

Who was this woman? Ming Ningzi had finally found a handsome man in the council hall, and she couldn't stand how this woman kept clinging to Jun Buwen.

Seeing the Southern Princess, Ningzi, pipe up, Xia Jiujiang could no longer hold back and doubled over in laughter.

Ming Ze stomped his feet in anger. "You’re laughing? You still dare to laugh! Once you are married to me, let’s see if you can still laugh then!" What was wrong with everyone? Emperor Zongkang was denying his own words, and 'Princess Anya' was mocking him?

Jun Buwen added, "He did indeed ask to marry... Princess Anya."

Xia Jiujiang suppressed her laughter and looked at the figures on the bed. "The Princess Anya you asked to marry is right there."