On Our Wedding Night, I Discovered the Crown Prince's Hidden Illness

Ye Yiheng left, and Leng Yu Yan also wanted to leave.

But the wall was hung with numerous calligraphies and paintings of great value, all stamped with the Empress's seal, which caught her eye, so she unconsciously lingered for a moment longer.

When the Mountain Master came in, he didn't see Ye Yiheng and asked in surprise, "Where is the Crown Prince?"

"The Crown Prince has left."

The Mountain Master looked up, his gaze fixing on the calligraphies and paintings and murmuring, "In my old age, I have seen countless intelligent people, yet I have never seen someone as highly astute as the Crown Prince."

Describing Ye Yiheng in such a way, Leng Yu Yan's eyes flashed with astonishment.

The Mountain Master before her, with his white beard and likely over sixty years of age, was one of the few kindly elders she had met at the academy.

"Back then, the Empress personally visited and asked me to leave my seclusion to become the academy's Mountain Master. I will forever remember the Empress's kindness and opportunity given. The Empress has a heart as splendid as a brocade, and her son, born of such brilliance, is bright as morning. It's a pity that the Crown Prince now..."

Blind and weak.

After a long sigh, he added, "Now that you are the designated Crown Prince Consort, you should be diligent. Beauty and ugliness are just superficial; beneath the skin, three inches down are all white bones. Leng Yu Yan, do you understand what I mean?"

Upon hearing this, Leng Yu Yan was moved and quickly bowed deeply, "This student thanks the Mountain Master for your guidance!"

What the Mountain Master said warmed her heart.

If the original owner from five years ago could hear such heartfelt words, she wouldn't have felt so lonely back then.

After bidding farewell to the Mountain Master, Leng Yu Yan returned to the teaching building.

Lai Jiajia saw her come back and whispered, "Xinmei took leave to go home; she will not come back for several days."

Leng Yu Yan remained silent; to not be bullied by others, one must become strong oneself.

No matter how others try to comfort, it's mostly futile.

--

After classes dismissed, the sisters left the teaching building together.

As they walked, the surrounding gossip had diminished significantly, yet some persisted.

Passing by Class A's building, Leng Yu Yan clearly heard a lot of idle talk.

"Man Ting, this morning at the Mountain Master's study, the Crown Prince left in a huff, leaving the ugly girl alone, and it is said that for this, the Mountain Master lectured her," said one person, covering their mouth with a light laugh, "If you were the designated Crown Prince Consort, the Crown Prince would certainly not treat you like this."

Lai Manting's aspiration was not just the empty title of being the designated Crown Prince Consort; she wanted to be the true wife of the Crown Prince. Ye Yiheng was not long for this world, and she had no regard for him.

She found such comments particularly gratifying to hear at the moment.

"Fifth Sister was extremely beautiful as a child, and it is indeed hard to accept her present appearance. For my sake, please refrain from mentioning 'ugly girl' in front of my Fifth Sister in the future."

"Man Ting, you really are foolish. You're so considerate of her, but does she appreciate you? That day you advised her to study diligently to get out of Class D, she said she doesn't need it."

"I am her sister after all; even if she treats me coldly, I cannot harbor such disloyalty toward her."

Lai Manting's tone became even more graceful, and to the ignorant, it might sound like she was mindful of the bigger picture, the epitome of a noble family's daughter.

Martial arts practitioners, whose agility matched their hearing, could pick up on idle talk from within Class A's building. While Lai Jiajia didn't catch it clearly, Leng Yu Yan heard every single word without miss.

Lai Manting's character, she had long seen clearly, was the same as their grandmother's, their father's, and Mrs. Feng's.

"Little Sister, since class has ended, why are there still quite a few students in Class A and Class B?"

Lai Jiajia seemed somewhat distracted, "They just want to appear eager and studious."

The usually chatty Lai Jiajia, now silent after class dismissal, seemed deflated.

Returning to the Leng Residence, Leng Jiajia dashed straight to her parents' courtyard.

The grievances she had been holding back couldn't be contained anymore upon seeing Ms. He, and tears fell like broken beads, pattering down.

Ms. He was genuinely alarmed by this sight, "What's made you cry so? Who has bullied you?"

Leng Jiajia smeared her tears and snot all over Ms. He, "Xu Yaxiang said my father is only registered under my grandmother's name, that my father's birth mother was a lowly servant woman..."

Lai Zonghui, who had just returned from court, frowned deeply upon hearing this.

Ms. He was shocked; although she had heard rumors, she had never confirmed them and she dared not ask her husband for fear of damaging his pride.

While consoling her daughter, Ms. He caught sight of her husband's return out of the corner of her eye, "Zonghui..."

"It is indeed true."

Others were already spreading the word; as a dignified man, he had nothing to be ashamed of to acknowledge it.

After pulling her daughter to her feet, Ms. He stood up, "We need to think of something, for if this continues, it will certainly affect our children's lifelong prospects."

"The Crown Prince's rumors are countless, have you seen him suppress them?" Lai Zonghui sat down opposite Leng Jiajia, "Stop crying now."

"I'm not crying anymore." Leng Jiajia immediately wiped her tears away, "Today, Fifth Sister stood up for me. In front of all the teachers and students in the academy, in the presence of the Crown Prince and the Young Master, Fifth Sister slapped Miss Xu four times."

Lai Zonghui and Ms. He looked at each other, both seeing surprise in the other's eyes.

"Miss Xu's mouth was bleeding, and she even lost a tooth. Fifth Sister truly avenged me; otherwise, I would have cried at the academy."

She wouldn't have waited to cry until she got home.

Lai Zonghui pushed one of the two boxes of pastries he had bought on the way home from court in front of his daughter, "Take them to Yu Yan."

"Okay!" Leng Jiajia sniffled happily, stood up, and hurried straight to Qingyu Residence with the pastries.

Watching her daughter's cheerful demeanor, Ms. He softly asked, "Husband, who do you think spread the word about your origins?"

"My elder brother is ten years my senior; by the time I was born, he already understood how things worked." Lai Zonghui snorted softly, "The servant woman managing our household would never risk her livelihood in the Leng Residence by indulging in idle gossip. Who else do you think it could be?"

Ms. He broke out in a cold sweat, "But why bring it up now when Jiajia is about to engage in marriage talks?"

"The limited view of a woman!" Lai Zonghui sighed, "It's been five years since Yi passed in battle. If Yi were still with us, such a secret might never have been revealed..."

If Leng Yi were still alive, he would have been the heir to Marquis Ningyuan's Mansion. Even if Lai Hao wished to replace him, his first target would have been Leng Yi, and they would not have turned their hostility towards the second branch of the family yet.

Now that Leng Yi was gone, Lai Hao became Leng Zongfa's only son, and his succession to the title of Marquis Ningyuan was legitimate.

But there would always be narrow-minded people who would expose Lai Zonghui's origins so that even if Lai Hao later encountered problems, the title would definitely not fall into the hands of the second branch.

They had effectively blocked off the second branch's path completely.

Ms. He, already astute, suddenly grasped the intricate implications upon this hint.

"Husband, do you suspect foul play in Yi's death on the battlefield?"

"Do you mean to suggest that Mrs. Feng's influence could extend to the battlefield?" Lai Zonghui shook his head, "Mrs. Feng doesn't have that capacity."

While the couple was deep in their astonishing conversation, Leng Jiajia, carrying the pastries, stepped into Qingyu Residence.

"Sister, Father asked me to bring these pastries for you to try."

Hearing the noise, Leng Yu Yan stepped out of the house and saw the shiny streaks beside Leng Jiajia's nose.

Despite her usual grace, she couldn't help but laugh, "Did a snail crawl across Little Sister's face?"

Realizing what she meant, Leng Jiajia wasn't annoyed and laughed heartily, before promptly shoving the pastries into Miao Zhu's arms.

"I need to wash my face here at Sister's place. No wonder I felt my face crinkling up when the breeze hit me on the way over."