Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Crown Prince Crawls Through a Dog Hole

“My lord, I—I just, I…” Lin Feifei’s mind went completely blank, unable to come up with a single excuse.

Xiao Jingxuan didn’t give her any chance to explain; with a single palm strike, he sent her flying across the courtyard, crashing into the wooden gate, which splintered with a loud crack. Darkness swam before Lin Feifei’s eyes, and she nearly fainted.

Cuihong was so terrified that she dropped to her knees with a thud.

Had she not knelt, Xiao Jingxuan might not have noticed her, as all his attention was fixed on Su Jingluo. But now, seeing Cuihong’s disheveled hair and crooked clothing, together with Ruihuan who was sobbing in grievance much like the princess consort herself, his eyes blazed with fury.

“Find a broker and sell this treacherous wretch,” he ordered coldly.

“Please, my lord, have mercy! Spare me! I had no choice—it was my fault…” Cuihong never expected the prince to be so enraged, nor that the secondary consort would cast her into the depths of hell with a single move.

“Mercy? Let me make myself perfectly clear: even the lowest creature or dog by the princess consort’s side is more worthy than any of you. Make another sound, and you will die. Get out of my sight!” Xiao Jingxuan roared at the two trembling servants.

Cuihong hurried to the door, hauling Lin Feifei to her feet, and together they fled. At that moment, Lin Feifei was seized by terror, as if marrying Xiao Jingxuan had been a terrible mistake and her life was utterly ruined. She had never known the affection of a true husband, never earned real trust—it had all felt like a performance for others. Now that the curtain had fallen, she was left with nothing.

Yunbai saw Lin Feifei leave in dejection and, clutching her candied hawthorn, rushed into the courtyard. Her little heart was twisted with regret—if only she hadn’t gone out to buy the treat for her mother, she could have stayed and protected her, kept that wicked woman from bullying her.

When Yunbai saw her mother’s face streaked with dirty water and tears, she silently handed the candied hawthorn to the still-sobbing Su Jingluo. Seeing her mother smile at the treat, she breathed a sigh of relief. Then, turning around, she balled her tiny fists and started pummeling Xiao Jingxuan.

“Bad father! You let that nasty woman bully my mother every day!” Yunbai accused through tears, her little fists raining blows as she spoke.

Xiao Jingxuan endured it without a word.

His heart was boiling with anger. How had Lin Feifei learned of Su Jingluo’s childlike state? And who had harmed Su Jingluo like this? The hidden guards had failed to uncover anything, and Xiao Jingxuan was left feeling helpless and impotent.

“Push harder—come on, how can you be so stupid?” At that tense moment, a chubby face popped out of the dog hole in the corner overgrown with weeds.

It was the crown prince, Xiao Chengze!

As Xiao Chengze poked his head out, he saw everyone, and they saw him. Stunned silence fell; what on earth was the crown prince doing crawling through the dog hole of Prince Jing's residence?

“What are you all staring at? Help me! I’m stuck—really stuck!” Xiao Chengze’s round frame had gotten wedged fast; the hole was too small for him. Now he could neither squeeze in nor back out.

Xiao Jingxuan pressed his forehead in exasperation—yet another troublemaker had shown up.

“What are you doing here?” Yunbai wasn’t exactly thrilled to see the crown prince, who always made her a little self-conscious.

“Last time your mother saved me, so now I consider you my brother,” the crown prince declared earnestly, still stuck in the dog hole.

“Hmph, I don’t want to be your brother. You only want to steal my mother because you saw how capable she is,” Yunbai retorted, crouching beside the now childlike Su Jingluo and striking up a conversation with Xiao Chengze in the corner.