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

The commotion downstairs piqued Jian Lecheng's curiosity.

He stood up again and saw Leng Yu Yan comforting a little girl who was crying her eyes out while the crowd around them applauded and cheered.

Ye Yiheng returned to his seat and leisurely sipped his wine.

Even if the lady of the Leng Family had a seemingly kind heart on the surface, it couldn't change the fact that the Emperor had forced her on him, nor could it change the fact that she was Consort Xian's spy!

However, to be able to rescue someone from a speeding horse carriage so swiftly, it seemed she did have some skills.

Ha, Consort Xian really was putting a lot of effort into this, sending someone skilled to be his spy as the Crown Princess Consort.

At that moment, a woman, wiping away her tears, picked up the little girl and profusely thanked Leng Yu Yan, "Thank you so much, miss, for saving my child!"

During the conversation, she insisted on taking Leng Yu Yan to her home for a meal.

"There's no need, it was just a helping hand," Leng Yu Yan nodded slightly and left the crowd.

After the spectacle ended, Jian Lecheng took his seat again, muttering, "To be honest, the Leng Family's daughter is not a bad person."

Ye Yiheng replied, "Then I might as well bestow her to you, to be your Heir's Wife. How about that?"

His voice was calm, cold, and steady, as if he were speaking of someone insignificant.

Knowing him well, Jian Lecheng shivered, sharply saying, "Please don't!"

--

Leng Yu Yan returned to the Leng Residence, her steps halted by her father's voice as she passed through the hall.

"You know to come back? How is it that I arrived home before you even though you left the palace earlier?"

"Master, please calm down. It's only natural for a young girl to want to play around. I too enjoyed strolling on the streets when I was young," Mrs. Feng consoled, then turned to inquire, "Yu Yan, have you had lunch outside?"

"Hmph, and you still speak in her defense! A girl of age to be married, strolling on the streets with pleasure?"

"Master, it has been five years since Yu Yan has been in the capital. The city's prosperity is naturally enticing."

The corners of Leng Yu Yan's lips twitched slightly. Although Mrs. Feng's surface attempt was to console, she was actually insinuating that she lacked experience and was far from a proper lady of nobility.

"Don't defend her!" Leng Zongfa turned his face away, angrily questioning, "I'll ask you, why did you refuse the marriage at the palace just now?"

"Father also saw how unattractive his daughter's face was. Even though the Crown Prince is blind, I knew I was not a match for him, so I asked the Emperor to retract the order."

"The Emperor issues a decree, and you think it's up for discussion? Once a gentleman speaks, even four horses cannot chase his words back. What you said just now was too rash, and as punishment, I order you to kneel in the ancestral hall for three days and three nights."

"How this marriage came to be, father knows full well. It wasn't meant to be mine, you had your daughter take her place. I merely spoke the truth; how is there fault in that?"

He must be afraid the Emperor will switch back to the original choice, Lai Manting, after all, she is his favorite.

Leng Yu Yan could strongly sense the disappointment and despair that the original person must have felt when she was cast aside five years ago. Back then, the original person was poisoned. Despite her young age, the pain must have been excruciating.

"Ridiculous child, off to the ancestral hall with you!" Leng Zongfa's face went through several shades of anger, obviously very irritated, and he called loudly to someone outside the door, "Someone, take the Fifth Miss to the ancestral hall for me!"

Robust maids immediately came over, attempting to take Leng Yu Yan away.

Miao Zhu quickly stepped in front of her mistress to protect her.

But what could Miao Zhu, with her small frame, do against those sturdy maids?

Lightly patting her shoulder, Leng Yu Yan turned to face Leng Zongfa, her smile cold beneath the veil, "I can walk on my own."

Her gaze swept past the pretentious Mrs. Feng. Leng Yu Yan lowered her eyelashes, concealing the flash of cold light in her eyes.

Mrs. Feng knew very well what Leng Yu Yan was like in the residence five years ago.

She was soft-spoken and timid, and with a good-looking face, she was promised early in marriage to the Wei Family. One must know that five years ago, the Leng Family wasn't yet a Marquis Mansion, whereas the Wei Family was already a Minister's Mansion.

The only time the little girl ever spoke harshly in my memory was the day she was driven out of the Marquis Mansion.

Now that her good looks are gone, she has become defiant.

Mrs. Feng's eyebrows furrowed as Leng Zongfa returned to the residence, telling her how ugly her daughter's face looked in the court.

Could it be that her ruined appearance has emboldened her?

Inside the ancestral hall, the elderly servants watched over the master and servant as they knelt properly before the tablet.

It was not until dusk that the old women left.

They hadn't eaten lunch and by now it was past dinner time. Miao Zhu's stomach rumbled ceaselessly.

"Miss, are you hungry?" Miao Zhu unfolded her legs, which had been kneeling, and took out quite a bit of food from her wallet and pouch.

"You've been carrying it all on you," Leng Yu Yan said with relieved laughter.

When they first arrived at the isolated ravine, the two of them hardly had enough to eat. Since then, Miao Zhu had developed a habit of not letting her go hungry, always hiding some food on her person.

"If the late Madam knew that Miss was bullied on her first day back in the capital, she surely would have been heartbroken," Miao Zhu said as she stuffed a piece of candied fruit into her mistress's mouth and took only a small bite of cake for herself before putting it back.

Leng Yu Yan put the cake back in her hand, "You eat more, I'm not very hungry."

"Miss!" Miao Zhu cried out, tears suddenly falling. She quickly sniffed, "We might not get any meals delivered in the next three days, so I'll just eat half."

"Just eat. If no one lets us out later, I'll take you out," Leng Yu Yan said and earnestly kneeled on the cushion, bowing her head several times towards her mother's tablet.

Seeing this, Miao Zhu followed suit and bowed her head as well.

As it neared midnight, footsteps approached from outside the ancestral hall. In the deep silence of the night, the footsteps grew nearer.

The master and servant hurriedly put away the food and knelt properly again.

It turned out to be Lai Manting leading people over.

"Little sister, please get up and return to your room to rest."

The voice was soft and gentle.

A maid by her side interjected, "It was our third young lady who begged the master to let the Fifth Miss out. Because of this, the third young lady was punished by the master."

"None of your business," Lai Manting reproached the maid with a turn of her head, then turned to Leng Yu Yan with a precisely measured look of concern in her eyes.

But the flash of spite in those eyes was caught in detail by Leng Yu Yan.

If they were going to pretend, she could too.

"Did third sister get hurt anywhere, or are you going to kneel for me?" With Miao Zhu's assistance, Leng Yu Yan rose, both of them swaying in unison as if from kneeling for too long.

Lai Manting smiled tenderly, "Not at all, father simply punished me to copy some writings."

"How can I accept this?"

"I practice calligraphy often, it's no bother. Miss has disliked reading and writing since childhood, and after five years in the mountains, I'm afraid her studies have fallen behind. It's good that I can shoulder some for her."

As she spoke, Lai Manting's "concerned" gaze stayed fixed on her face, as if trying to pierce through her veil.

With a smile playing on her lips, Leng Yu Yan replied, "Thank you, third sister."

After a few trivial exchanges, they went back to their respective courtyards.

In the Qingyu Residence, Mrs. Zhao sympathetically urged her young miss and Miao Zhu to eat more.

Leng Yu Yan ate some of the food, and then she softly said, "Mrs. Zhao, please do me a favor tomorrow morning and find someone in the East Palace Alley to have a chat and pass the time with, just mention that the Fifth Miss of Leng is delicate and weak, and couldn't handle kneeling in the ancestral hall for a night."