Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play
Chapter 100 The Concubine

Chapter 100: Chapter 100 The Concubine

"When the Emperor asked, why didn’t you tell the truth?"

"A daughter’s reputation is the most important. If word gets out, Ayu will have no way to live. Dead either way, I could only take a gamble. Besides, no one else saw." Fengyu’s expression faltered, hesitation crossing her face, as though she’d seen something yet feared it. "But..."

"But what?" The Third Prince asked urgently.

"Ayu’s parents are stationed at the frontier, and by rights, I didn’t qualify to attend the banquet at the palace. But the Crown Princess Consort singled me out by name to invite me. I don’t even know her. That day, after I jumped out of the window, my mind was in disarray, and Ayu... may have seen the Crown Prince outside the hall..." Fengyu raised her eyes just slightly, glancing at the Third Prince’s face and, startled, covered her mouth as if frightened.

"What did you say? Brother was outside the hall?" The Third Prince narrowed his eyes. "Are you certain?"

"Not certain, not certain. Ayu knows nothing, Ayu saw nothing..." Fengyu seemed terrified, covering her ears, her tears falling like raindrops, trembling with dread.

The Third Prince’s expression darkened. His elder brother—the Crown Prince—framed him, but why? Though he was a legitimate son, he posed no threat. The Crown Prince’s foundation was solid, unshakable. Since childhood, he’d been unruly and punished countless times by the Emperor and Empress, only to have his brother mediate each time. Were those gestures all fake? He had always shown deference to his brother, harboring no disloyalty. Why would his brother still fear him?

Fengyu watched the Third Prince even as tears rolled down her cheeks, feeling her tightly strung nerves finally ease. Fang Lingjun’s assessment of the Third Prince was that he was courageous but lacked cunning—mischievous but not irreparably vile. Fengyu’s attempt to sow discord was merely a trial, yet she unexpectedly struck his sore spot.

She sneered inwardly: Royal power knows no brotherhood; suspicion is a blade that will someday draw blood.

Fengyu overplayed her performance, coughing amid sobs. The Third Prince snapped out of his thoughts, his tone impatient: "Enough, stop crying."

"Brother Azao, you’re so kind." Fengyu raised her aggrieved, deer-like eyes toward him, filled with trust and admiration. "After all these years apart, you’re still willing to believe Ayu."

She had struck at the Third Prince’s weakness precisely. A young girl’s admiration and trust warmed the heart of the adolescent. Feeling uneasy, he coughed lightly, and his lingering irritation dissipated entirely.

"That night... I didn’t harm you, did I?" The Third Prince asked, guilt showing in his tone.

Fengyu shook her head with obedience, a grateful smile breaking through her tears. "No, just a few superficial wounds. I ran away quickly."

"It was the forbidden incense’s fault, not my intention. I didn’t mean to humiliate you."

"I know, I know..." Fengyu’s reddened eyes glistened as she looked at him. "Brother Azao treats Ayu best. If you’d been clear-headed, you’d never have hurt Ayu."

Fengyu was compliant and soft in demeanor, her gaze filled with trust, neutralizing the Third Prince’s anxiety and anger bit by bit. His impression of Fengyu still lingered in their childhood—a quiet and adorable little sister. People’s preconceived views are hard to shift, and the Third Prince, in earnest, believed her, considering her timid and harmless.

"Do not tell anyone about tonight matters!" The Third Prince warned sharply, but softened his tone upon realizing it might scare her. "Understand?"

"Alright, Ayu won’t tell anyone." Fengyu’s voice was childlike, though the corners of her mouth curled into a trace of mocking. When the Third Prince glanced back, Fengyu asked pitifully, "Brother Azao, could you keep that night’s events a secret for Ayu? Should my reputation be ruined, I could only end my life."

"What nonsense about ending your life. If word gets out, so what? You can marry me."

Fengyu froze momentarily—marry him? Such naive thinking. Yet she quickly reacted. "But if the Crown Prince learns Ayu saw him, Ayu wouldn’t survive either."

The Third Prince fell silent, and this matter became a thorn in his heart. Fengyu being inexplicably summoned by the Crown Princess to the palace and then encountering trouble—there was no plausible explanation on his part. If trouble were to arise, who stood to benefit most? Clearly the Crown Prince. But what baffled him was that he posed no threat to his brother’s status, so why target him?

He had sought Fengyu out to exact vengeance, merely seeking the truth. He wanted to prove to Emperor Jianming and the Empress that he was not the cruel person capable of assaulting a palace maid to death.

Now he doubted whether, if the Crown Prince had indeed framed him, the Emperor and Empress would uphold justice for him. The matter had concluded, and they were desperate to seal everyone’s lips. Whatever the truth was—who cared?

The Third Prince gave Fengyu no promises, and Fengyu showed no urgency. The seed of suspicion had been planted. He had no leverage to compete with the Crown Prince and would not engage in outright confrontation.

On the river, countless pleasure boats lit with resplendent, colorful lanterns illuminated the water. The Third Prince and Fengyu’s vessel was inconspicuous amidst the vibrancy. Distant notes of flutes and strings echoed, as women danced and sang onboard the Mudan Building’s boats. Over a dozen pleasure boats lined the vicinity, with nobles and young heirs flocking aboard to witness the spectacle. Fengyu couldn’t help but think of Lady Thirteen and worried whether they had already left Dragon Boat.

"Fengyu, I will soon be bestowed a title and leave the palace. If you deceive me..." The Third Prince’s voice dropped coldly, "I despise liars the most. If you utter a single false word, don’t blame me for being merciless."

"I vow on the heavens—should I speak a single falsehood, may the heavens strike me down with thunder, and let me die a miserable death!" Fengyu raised her hand solemnly. Her oath was serious, resolute, and venomous.

The Third Prince furrowed his brows. "It better be true."

Her curse was harsh enough to suggest sincerity. He couldn’t help but glance at Fengyu. Though he hadn’t violated her that night, he had torn her clothes and kissed her; her innocence was as good as gone now.

He looked at Fengyu haughtily, as if evaluating a possession. With her extraordinary beauty, though her rank was too low to be his main consort, she could barely qualify as a secondary consort. The Third Prince declared with arrogance, "Fengyu, rest assured. I am not a frivolous man. Since I tarnished your honor, I will ensure you a proper resolution. Once I am titled, I will find a suitable time to take you into my household as my secondary consort."

"What?" Fengyu suddenly gripped the railing tightly, her nails nearly breaking. Images flashed in her mind as she contemplated whether to kill both the Third Prince and the boatman and sink them into the river.

Who wants his secondary consort?

Seeing her shock, the Third Prince mistook it for joy. "Given your status, being taken as a Prince’s secondary consort is already a step up. It won’t disgrace your peerless beauty."

Fengyu gazed at his smug expression, feeling as though her insides churned in fury. Were it not for her lifelong practice of restraint, she would have already cursed him outright. As the cold wind blew and snow settled on her shoulders, Fengyu felt an icy chill pierce to her core. If she had truly wanted to be a secondary consort, why had she gone to such lengths to escape the palace?

"I, a daughter of the Feng Family, will never be a concubine!" Fengyu raised her head high. Though battered, her demeanor was steely with pride. "That is our family creed."

"The mere daughter of a fifth-ranked General, and you dream of being my primary consort?" The Third Prince sneered, "How absurd. Let me tell you this—you are already mine, and this is the only path available to you."