NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 86: Kneel Here
Chapter 86: Kneel Here
Like being struck by lightning, they both withdrew their hands.
Jing Yan even stepped back three paces, his bronze-colored face flushing noticeably red.
Ning Shuang stood by, her eyes nearly popping out in surprise.
Qiao Nian, recalling her loss of composure yesterday, couldn’t help but show some shyness, momentarily at a loss for words.
The air inexplicably grew still. Though only a few breaths passed, it felt like an hour.
Jing Yan was the first to break the silence, “Well, I, I have urgent matters to attend to in the army, so I’ll take my leave now.”
With that, Jing Yan cupped his hands and bowed to Qiao Nian.
Qiao Nian returned the gesture, silently watching Jing Yan leave.
Unexpectedly, Ning Shuang suddenly leaned in, giggling, “Young Miss, look at Deputy Commander Jing’s ears, they’re as red as if they’re about to ripen!”
It was just a brief touch of hands with her young miss, yet he was so innocent!
Thinking this, Ning Shuang concluded, “He must like you, Young Miss!”
Qiao Nian, who had been secretly amused by Jing Yan’s ears along with Ning Shuang, suddenly darkened her face upon hearing Ning Shuang’s words, “Don’t speak nonsense!”
She was betrothed to Prince Ming, after all.
If a few casual words were to ruin the deputy commander position that Jing Yan had risked his life to earn, how could she face that?
Ning Shuang realized she had spoken out of turn and pretended to lightly slap her mouth twice. Then, as if remembering something, she asked, “By the way, Young Miss, how do you want to deal with Xiao Cui?”
At the mention of Xiao Cui, Qiao Nian’s expression darkened further, “Beat her mouth to a pulp, then expel her from the manor!”
Hearing this, Ning Shuang was shocked, “But Xiao Cui is now your sister, and the Second Young Miss will surely come crying again.”
Although Ning Shuang didn’t believe Xiao Cui was related to her young miss at all, others didn’t think so. Such a punishment would only make outsiders think her young miss was too cruel and ruthless.
Moreover, every time the Second Young Miss came crying to her young miss, it was always her young miss who ended up suffering. So Ning Shuang was very worried.
But Qiao Nian just snorted coldly, “Even if she were my sister, she should be punished for her wrongdoings. Merely expelling her from the manor is already letting her off easy!”
As she spoke, Qiao Nian turned and leaned close to Ning Shuang’s ear, lowering her voice, “After Xiao Cui leaves the manor, send someone clever to follow her. Who she meets, what she says, report everything back to me in detail.”
Only then did Ning Shuang realize that Qiao Nian’s expulsion of Xiao Cui was a strategic move. She immediately nodded and went to make arrangements.
Qiao Nian had originally planned to watch Xiao Cui’s punishment.
However, a sudden message came from the palace, saying that Noble Consort De wanted her to come to the palace.
Qiao Nian thought it must be about Prince Ming’s situation.
As Noble Consort De’s future daughter-in-law, it was appropriate for her to enter the palace at this time to accompany and comfort the Noble Consort.
So, without much thought, Qiao Nian went to the palace.
But unexpectedly, the moment she saw Noble Consort De, before Qiao Nian could even bow, a harsh slap landed on her cheek.
“Slap!”
The crisp sound was accompanied by Noble Consort De’s heart-wrenching cry, “It’s all because of you, you slut! You forced my son to leave the capital, you caused him to be captured by bandits. If anything happens to him, I’ll make sure you follow him to the grave!”
Qiao Nian stood there stunned, even forgetting to bow.
Prince Ming was clearly tricked by Lin Ye into going to Medicine King Valley, leading to his capture. What did it have to do with her?
But her dazed state only made Noble Consort De more agitated, “You slut, you dare not kneel!”
With that, another slap came down.
The force made Qiao Nian stagger.
She held her face, looking at Noble Consort De’s frantic and broken state. A thousand grievances and anger boiled within her heart.
But…
Qiao Nian lowered her gaze and slowly knelt down.
Noble Consort De’s emotions didn’t improve at all. She pointed at Qiao Nian’s nose and cursed, “You’re nothing but a lowborn brat from a slut! I took pity on you and reluctantly allowed you to marry Qi’er, but you, you dared to despise him! If it weren’t for you, how could he suddenly leave the capital for some Medicine King Valley!”
Qiao Nian’s brows furrowed tightly. She knew Noble Consort De must have learned about her threatening Prince Ming.
But her threats weren’t out of disdain, but purely for self-preservation, to prevent Prince Ming from beating her or other women so recklessly again!
She had no idea that Lin Ye would trick Prince Ming by saying Medicine King Valley had a method to regrow severed limbs, let alone imagine that Prince Ming would be captured by Yongbei bandits!
But she also knew that defending herself now would only add fuel to the fire, so she knelt on the ground, eyes lowered, saying nothing.
Seeing her show no resistance, Noble Consort De’s emotions calmed slightly, though her chest still heaved heavily, and tears never stopped flowing down her face.
Prince Ming was her only son. If anything happened to him, she feared she couldn’t go on living.
A nearby palace maid hurriedly supported Noble Consort De to sit down, “Your Highness, don’t be anxious. Take care of your health first. Prince Ming will surely return safe and sound!”
As she spoke, the maid offered a cup of hot tea to help Noble Consort De calm down.
Unexpectedly, Noble Consort De took the teacup and threw it at Qiao Nian.
The cup hit Qiao Nian’s shoulder hard, the scalding tea instantly soaking her clothes, causing her whole body to stiffen from the burn.
But Noble Consort De was clearly not appeased. She pointed at Qiao Nian and shouted, “Your life is worthless! So what if I beat you? Even if I beat you to death, what of it? Don’t forget, it was Qi’er who gave you the courage to stand up to those people in the Marquis’s manor! And you repay him like this, you dare to despise him! What? Can’t you live without that thing?”
Noble Consort De’s curses became increasingly vulgar.
The head palace maid nearby could hardly bear to listen and kept trying to persuade her, “Your Highness, don’t worry. The Prince will surely be blessed by heaven!”
But Noble Consort De knew that her Qi’er was not blessed at all.
Otherwise, how could he have injured his manhood back then?
Moreover, the ones who kidnapped Prince Ming this time were the Yongbei bandits, the very group that the imperial court had failed to eliminate after two years of military campaigns!
They dared to so brazenly kidnap Qi’er this time, even sending a message to the palace specifically to let the Emperor know. It was nothing short of contempt and a declaration of war against the entire imperial court!
How could they possibly let Qi’er go easily?
Just thinking about the inhuman tortures Prince Ming might suffer at the hands of those bandits made Noble Consort De feel like her heart was about to stop beating.
And the instigator of all this was Qiao Nian!
If only she could have endured a bit, if only she hadn’t used Qi’er’s disability to threaten him, how could Qi’er have been so desperate to leave the capital? How could he have been captured by those bandits?
Thinking of this, Noble Consort De’s tears flowed even more fiercely, her voice becoming increasingly torn and vicious, “You will kneel here today. You may only rise when there’s news of Qi’er!”