অধ্যায় একশো তিপ্পান্ন: সবটাই আমার ভুল

চingshuang, listen to my order, go and prepare the clothes Chu Nanyue needs.

After Chu Nanyue changed into the new clothes and got into the carriage, she headed straight for the Prince Qi's Mansion.

Upon arriving at the gates of Prince Qi's Mansion, Chu Nanyue saw that Prince Qi's trusted men were on guard duty, which made her breathe a sigh of relief in advance as she walked towards the main hall.

It turned out that for today's affair, Chu Nanshan had ordered all her subordinates to guard her own courtyard, completely neglecting everything else in the estate.

Besides, according to the information Chu Nanshan had received, Chu Nanyue was already on the verge of death, so how could she suddenly show up at the mansion?

Prince Qi's guard first served good tea with an apologetic expression on his face: "Please bear with this, General Chu. My lord has not returned from going out, but someone has already been sent to invite him."

"This is not a matter of great urgency," Chu Nanyue said. "However, I heard someone mention just now that Lord Zhao from the Ministry of War has been here? I wonder where he is seated."

"Are you referring to Lord Zhao Jingyu?" the guard replied. "Lord Zhao was escorted out by the Princess's people just a moment ago. He should be on his way back to his residence."

Chu Nanyue nodded, but secretly she was observing the guard's expression.

Seeing that he showed no signs of tension or embarrassment, it seemed he was completely unaware.

Ultimately, Chu Nanyue guessed that Chu Nanshan had sneaked the man into her own courtyard.

After finishing a cup of tea, Chu Nanyue calculated the time that had passed, and the maid previously sent by Luqi to deliver a message to Dongling Yan had also returned.

"Sorry to have kept General Chu waiting for so long. My lord has returned," the maid announced.

With that, Dongling Yan leisurely walked in and said to Chu Nanyue, "It is rare for General Chu to visit the mansion. I have no idea what the Princess's people were up to. Thank goodness someone informed me, otherwise wouldn't General Chu have been kept waiting for me here indefinitely? General Chu was unwell previously; are you feeling better now?"

"It is nothing," Chu Nanyue smiled. "I made an abrupt visit, and the mansion has many matters to attend to. Moreover, the Princess of Qi is my sister, so I don't mind such trifles. I came today to discuss border trade matters with you. Since Your Highness Prince Qi has profound insights, I would also like to hear your perspective. As for my health, it is precisely because I am feeling much better today and thought that state affairs should not be delayed too much that I hurried to see Your Highness Prince Qi."

Hearing her flatter him—something she rarely did—Dongling Yan felt a surge of pride and began discussing the matter directly with Chu Nanyue.

The issue of border trade had already been largely resolved by the Ministry of Revenue. However, since it inevitably involved military affairs, Chu Nanyue and the officials from the Ministry of War needed to provide their input on the relevant phrasing.

After chatting for a while, Chu Nanyue spoke again: "I haven't informed the Princess of Qi yet that I've recovered somewhat. If Your Highness Prince Qi permits, would you allow me to go and check on her?"

"Very well," Dongling Yan said. "I was just thinking of checking on her health as well. Why don't we go together with General Chu?"

Chu Nanshan was three months pregnant, and Dongling Yan actually had his own plans in mind. The imperial physicians had stated that once three months were reached, they could carefully resume intimate relations. Chu Nanshan had previously harbored resentment toward him for resting in the quarters of other women; now that it was safe, Dongling Yan wished to lavish his affections on Chu Nanshan again for a few days to appease her mind.

The two of them walked together toward Chu Nanshan's courtyard.

However, Dongling Yan noticed many maids standing outside the courtyard, looking around anxiously. The moment one of the maids saw him, she was startled out of her wits, looking completely soul-seared: "Your Highness! Why has Your Highness returned so early?"

"Is there a problem with me returning early?" Dongling Yan asked suspiciously, looking at the maid. "Where is the Princess?"

"The Princess, she..." The maid collapsed to the ground in terror.

Dongling Yan's mind raced, suddenly realizing something. Disregarding Chu Nanyue standing right beside him, he angrily strode toward Chu Nanshan's bedchamber.

The maids outside only dared to block irrelevant servants, but seeing that it was Dongling Yan, none of them dared to stop him. Thus, Dongling Yan proceeded unimpeded all the way and directly pushed open the door to Chu Nanshan's bedchamber.

"Brother Yu..." Chu Nanshan called out infatuatedly.

Hearing these words, Dongling Yan instantly guessed who the person lying on the bed was. Glancing over, he saw that the upper half of Chu Nanshan's garments had mostly been shed as she draped over Zhao Jingyu's body, and a towering rage instantly ignited within him!

"You vile woman!" Dongling Yan grabbed Chu Nanshan from the bed with both hands and actually dragged her straight down onto the floor!

"Your... Your Highness?!" Chu Nanshan was jolted awake from the hazy depths of desire in an instant.

She had no idea why Dongling Yan had returned so suddenly.

She had calculated everything perfectly; Dongling Yan was out and shouldn't have returned until evening at the earliest. As for Zhao Jingyu, she had hosted him herself and simply used an excuse to trick him into the bedchamber.

Inside the bedchamber, Qingxing had already lit the aphrodisiac incense, which also possessed hallucinogenic properties. With just a few soft and seductive words from Chu Nanshan, Zhao Jingyu had been completely disoriented, mistaking the person before him for Chu Nanyue, and lost himself in passion.

Originally, everything should have progressed naturally, but Chu Nanshan had barely managed to shed half her clothes when she was startled by the abruptly returned Dongling Yan.

Recovering his wits, Dongling Yan then hurled Zhao Jingyu from the bed down to the floor as well.

Still trapped under the influence of the hallucination, Zhao Jingyu seemed to see only Chu Nanshan in his eyes and remained oblivious to Dongling Yan. Seeing Chu Nanshan suddenly move further away, he actually stumbled toward her step by step, attempting to embrace her once more.

Chu Nanshan was so frightened that her legs went weak. Unable to bear it any longer, Dongling Yan casually tossed a piece of clothing at Chu Nanshan and summoned several of his trusted guards inside.

Chu Nanyue, who had been waiting outside the door all along, followed the crowd inside and asked, "Your Highness Prince Qi, what has happened in this room?"

The timing was calculated to absolute perfection. Dongling Yan had arrived just in time to witness it, and she herself had seemingly happened to run into it by coincidence.

As soon as she stepped inside, Chu Nanyue stood frozen in place, acting as though she had been struck with terror.

"General Chu, such a scandalous spectacle has actually entered your eyes. It has truly polluted General Chu's sight," Dongling Yan said awkwardly.

Dongling Yan knew how disgraceful it was for such an affair to be witnessed by Chu Nanyue, but the greater the humiliation, the more he forced himself to remain calm, first ordering several guards to subdue Zhao Jingyu.

"You few, wake him up!" Dongling Yan commanded.

Several men tasked with searching the room had already discovered the aphrodisiac incense and presented it to Dongling Yan.

Seeing the item burning right there and noting Zhao Jingyu's lack of clear consciousness, Dongling Yan understood seven or eight parts of the truth.

Dongling Yan approached Chu Nanshan, clamped his hand around her neck, and asked coldly, "Since you have already married into my Prince Qi's Mansion, you still harbor lingering attachments to this childhood sweetheart of yours?"

Today he happened to return early, but if he hadn't, would these two people already have crossed the final line?

Zhao Jingyu was no fool and would never dare act so boldly within Prince Qi's Mansion, which left only one conclusion: Chu Nanshan had orchestrated the whole thing.

"It was all my fault!" Chu Nanshan wept as she said, "I beg Your Highness not to blame Lord Zhao."

"Lord Zhao?" Dongling Yan sneered. "Weren't you just calling him 'Brother Yu' a moment ago? Chu Nanshan, have your ambitions grown far too bold?"