Chapter 25: The Palace Banquet

The sound of slaps finally ceased. Concubine Qin took one look at her daughter’s disfigured face, and her vision went black—she fainted on the spot.

The little princess acted as if she hadn’t noticed and simply gave an indifferent order. “Take Concubine Qin back to her chambers and summon an imperial physician to check on her. On such a joyous day, let’s not have her dying—it would be too unlucky.”

Everyone: …

The legitimate princess was truly spoiled beyond reason by the Emperor and Empress. In front of the only imperial concubine of the Dayan Dynasty… she merely said that her death would be unlucky?

Jun Wanqing, you dare hit me?! Are you not afraid of Father’s punishment?” The eldest princess, her face now swollen like a pig’s head, was completely dumbfounded. She had never imagined that one day, the little princess would have her slapped in public—right in front of the court officials and their families!

The little princess spread her hands innocently. “Didn’t you say you wanted to take the punishment on Mu Fuxing’s behalf? Why are you blaming me now? But…”

She turned to Mu Fuxing with a curious expression, clicking her tongue. “Didn’t you claim to be the ‘Fortune Star’ of the Dayan Dynasty? Why does everyone around you seem to have such bad luck? If I recall correctly, your brother and that so-called mother of yours were also beaten because of your loose mouth, weren’t they? Tsk, tsk. Could it be that your so-called ‘fortune’… is actually built on others suffering in your place?”

Hearing this, the crowd instinctively took a step back, as if fearing that staying too close to Mu Fuxing would bring them bad luck too.

Mu Fuxing snapped out of her shock. No—she couldn’t let her identity as the ‘Fortune Star’ collapse! She quickly waved her hands, anxiously trying to explain. “Your Highness, it’s not like that! I… I…” But she had no idea how to argue against the princess’s words.

She could only turn pleadingly to Su San. “Mother, the princess has misunderstood me! I didn’t—”

Su San’s heart ached for her daughter. She stepped forward and hugged Mu Fuxing, gently comforting her. “It’s alright, my precious Fubao. Don’t be afraid, Mother is here. I won’t let anyone bully you, don’t be scared…”

Seeing Su San like this, the little princess felt a pang of pity for her royal sister-in-law. With such a foolish mother, her sister-in-law truly had terrible luck. But since this foolish woman adored Mu Fuxing so much, the little princess decided to grant her wish. She was curious—just how deep was this mother-daughter bond?

“Oh? what do you mean by that? Are you saying… I bullied your daughter?”

The moment Su San realized the princess was turning the situation onto her, she broke out in cold sweat. She had misspoken! Instinctively shrinking back, she stammered, “N-no, Your Highness, I misspoke! That’s not what I meant…”

“Oh? That’s not what you meant?” The little princess’s gaze turned sharp. “Then what did you mean? Madam Susan, in all my years, you’re the first person bold enough to speak to me like this. It seems I should settle both new and old grudges with you properly!”

Su San’s legs gave out, and with a thud, she collapsed to her knees. “No, no, Your Highness! I was wrong! It was my fault! Please, have mercy!”

Before the little princess could speak, the spectators had already begun whispering among themselves.

“She’s right, you know… Look, Madam Su San just got close to Mu Fuxing, and she’s already angered the princess!”

“Hmph! Fortune Star? More like a disaster star!”

“If she’s considered a Fortune Star, then I’d rather not have any ‘fortune’ at all.”

“Fortune Star? That’s just something the Marquis’s household made up. Only they believe it!”

Everyone’s murmurs reached the ears of Mu Fuxing, Su San, the Marquis Mu, and even the members of the Yoangan family.

Marquis Mu clenched his fists as he felt the judgmental stares of the crowd. Internally, he cursed Mu Fuxing—this fool! Why did she always stir up trouble? Did she even realize where they were? For years, he had carefully woven a web of lies to maintain her image, and now… she had ruined it all with her own hands!

The little princess smirked and spoke again. “Madam Su San, first your daughter slandered the Crown Princess, and now you dare to speak out against me, the legitimate princess. Tell me… what punishment should befall your household? How should I deal with you?”

Su San was truly terrified now. She collapsed entirely, sitting on the ground as she frantically begged for mercy. “Your Highness, I was wrong! I was wrong! I’ll never dare to do it again! Please, have mercy!”

“Mercy?” The little princess’s voice turned icy. “Then what happens to the dignity of the royal family? If I forgive you, does that mean anyone can slander the royals as they please?”

Marquis Mu knew that if he didn’t intervene now, this little devil might actually destroy their entire household.

“Your Highness, today is a joyous occasion with the palace banquet. Please be magnanimous and spare these two fools. Rest assured, once I return to the manor, I will severely punish them,” Mu Hou pleaded.

The little princess glanced at him sideways and said indifferently, “Since you’ve spoken, I suppose I should give you some face and let them off for now. However, Lord Hou, I still expect you to give me an explanation in the end.”

Mu Hou finally breathed a sigh of relief—at least the Mu family was safe for now. “Your Highness, rest assured, I know what to do.”

The little princess nodded. “Very well, I’ll leave this matter to you. I still have to visit the Empress Mother, so I won’t waste time here.”

With that, she left with her palace attendants in a grand procession, leaving behind Jun Wanting with her swollen, pig-like face, the Mu family barely escaping disaster, and the rest of the guests who had been so caught up in the spectacle that they felt their hearts pounding.

Given the little princess’s temperament, she truly wished she could execute the Mu family on the spot to vent her anger for her sister-in-law. But thinking about her sister-in-law’s plans for today, she had no choice but to let these pests go for now.

---

“Mother, are you alright? Let me help you up.” Seeing that the princess had left, Mu Fuxing quickly reached out to support Su San, playing the role of a dutiful daughter.

“Mother, the Crown Princess and the little princess are very close. She hates me because—”

“Shut your mouth!” Mu Hou glared at her furiously. “If you want to die, go ahead, but stop dragging the Mu Family down with you!”

At this moment, he was livid. Did she not understand the situation? If she kept running her mouth, would she only be satisfied once the little princess wiped out their entire family?

“Father—” Mu Fuxing’s eyes brimmed with tears. She had only wanted to shift the blame onto Mu Ling to protect her reputation as a “blessed star.” How could her father say such cruel things to her?

Mu Hou waved his hand impatiently. “Enough, stop talking. Go back to your seat and don’t cause any more trouble.”

Meanwhile, the maid beside the eldest princess, Jun Wanting, looked at her master’s swollen face and wept. “Princess, let this servant take you to Consort Qin. A physician must treat you properly.”

Jun Wanting clenched her fists tightly, her eyes filled with murderous intent as she gritted her teeth. “Jun Wanqing, you wretched girl, one day, I will make you pay with your life!”

“Princess, mind your words!” The maid paled with fear. If the little princess overheard this, whether or not the eldest princess would be punished was uncertain, but she, as a servant, would definitely not survive.

“Come, let’s go see Father. He must uphold justice for me!” Jun Wanting couldn’t wait any longer—she had to let Emperor Jun see her pitiful state. No matter how much he favored that wretched girl, he wouldn’t possibly let her off after seeing his own daughter beaten so miserably.

However, just as she stepped out of Fengxi  Hall, the sharp voice of Eunuch Ming echoed through the air.

“His Majesty has arrived! The Empress has arrived! The Prince of Zhen Nanwang has arrived! The Crown Prince has arrived! Prince Jing has arrived! The Little Princess has arrived! The First Prince has arrived!”

As Eunuch Ming’s string of announcements ended, everyone froze for a moment.

The Crown Prince has arrived?

Wasn’t he critically ill? Wasn’t he supposed to die within the next few days?

How could he have possibly “arrived”?

There was no time to think—the entire hall dropped to their knees.

“Long live His Majesty! Long live the Empress! Long live, long live, long live!”

“Rise, this is a palace banquet; there’s no need for such formalities,” Emperor Jun said, his voice filled with delight.

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

As everyone stood, the first thing they all did—almost instinctively—was turn to look at the Crown Prince.

They were all too curious—how had a dying man managed to “arrive” so grandly?