"Hmph! As if she were willing to serve that old pervert Jing Dehai. If it weren't for him being able to support my elder brother's ascension to the throne, she wouldn't even bother with anyone from the Duke Jing's manor.
'County Princess Duoduo, it is late tonight. I must return to the Princess's manor. I am in no mood to squabble with you,' Murong Shaolan said expressionlessly.
'You shameless woman! You commit such disgraceful acts and yet speak so righteously. Watch as I rip your face apart!'
Jing Duoduo gritted her teeth, her fists clenched within her sleeves, her slender fingertips digging deep into her palms.
Unable to contain her anger any longer, she lunged towards Murong Shaolan. However, Murong Shaolan quickly dodged, causing Jing Duoduo to fall face-first, her forehead scraping open.
'Duoduo, are you alright!'
Seeing his sister fall, Jing Taikang immediately rushed over to help her up.
'Ah... Brother, my forehead and my wrists hurt so much! Wuwu...' Jing Duoduo cried uncontrollably.
'Don't be afraid, Duoduo. Brother will have someone fetch a doctor to tend to your wounds immediately,' Jing Taikang reassured her patiently.
Duoduo was Jing Taikang's only sister. His mother had entrusted him with her care before her death, to protect her from any harm. Yet, he felt he had let Duoduo down recently.
'Brother, it's all this woman's fault I fell,' Jing Duoduo falsely accused.
'County Princess, Young Master Jing's eyes are not blind. He saw what just happened. I suspect Young Master Jing already knows who is in the wrong,' Murong Shaolan said sarcastically.
Indeed, she sometimes envied Jing Duoduo for having a brother who was fiercely protective of her. No matter what mistakes Jing Duoduo made, her brother would always help her 'clean up the mess.'
As for herself, Murong Shaolan was merely a shadow of the former Empress's biological daughter, without parents or sisters, a pawn that could be discarded at any time. To make matters worse, she had been violated by a man she had called uncle for over a decade. Now, she felt so soiled that she disgusted herself. But before Murong Qiansong could ascend the throne, she, Murong Shaolan, had to choose to live on, to endure. Since she couldn't resist, she might as well enjoy it, treating Jing Dehai as a male consort she kept in her princess's manor and indulging in him.
Hmph!
A wicked smile curved Murong Shaolan's lips as she thought this.
This scene was perfectly caught by Jing Taikang.
This Murong Shaolan was truly disgusting. Just as Duoduo had said, her father was her uncle. Even wanting to seduce her uncle, wasn't she afraid of being laughed at by the world?
'Murong Shaolan, get out of Duke Jing's manor immediately. You are not welcome here. Do not come again,' Jing Taikang said with disgust in his voice.
Hearing this, Murong Shaolan let out a laugh. Just as she was about to speak, a voice from inside the room interrupted her.
'Taikang, don't be rude. Why are you two arguing with the Princess again?'
Jing Dehai, awakened by the commotion outside the door, furrowed his brows slightly and stepped out, reprimanding Jing Taikang and Jing Duoduo sternly.
'Father, you are doing such things with this woman in the house. Aren't you afraid of being ridiculed by the world if this gets out?' Jing Duoduo spoke before her brother.
'Duoduo, what wrong has Father done? The Princess and I were just in the room, and nothing happened. The Princess was merely giving Father a massage, massaging his back and legs,' Jing Dehai, accustomed to lying, blurted out whatever came to his mind.
'Father, you are trying to fool my brother and me like children again. But Brother is already twenty-two this year, and I am seventeen. We are no longer the children who could be easily deceived by your words. Since Father dares not admit it, I, as his daughter, must present evidence to prove what transpired in the room.'
As Jing Duoduo spoke, she quickly stood up from Jing Taikang's embrace and walked back to Murong Shaolan's side. This time, Murong Shaolan did not dodge. She had already guessed Jing Duoduo's intention, maintaining a dazed appearance as she stood aside, ready to enjoy the ensuing spectacle.
As expected, Jing Duoduo did not disappoint Murong Shaolan. She quickly tore off Murong Shaolan's thin long skirt. Murong Shaolan feigned resistance a few times, but eventually, all her clothes were ripped off by Jing Duoduo. Immediately, various hickeys and love bites, remnants of their recent intimacy, were exposed to the three of them.
This scene made Jing Dehai and Jing Taikang extremely awkward. Even Jing Duoduo hadn't expected her own father to have tormented the woman so severely. She was rendered speechless.
Seeing the three different expressions of astonishment on their faces, Murong Shaolan felt her objective had been achieved. She then slowly picked up the chest wrap and outer skirt that Jing Duoduo had thrown to the ground, piece by piece, and slowly put them back on. She seemed to feel a chill. After she was fully dressed, she left Duke Jing's manor with elegant, small steps.
Long after Murong Shaolan had left, Jing Duoduo and Jing Taikang finally came back to their senses. They dazedly returned to their respective courtyards. Neither sibling had expected their father to be so perverse, tormenting a perfectly fine young woman into such a state.
Meanwhile, Jing Dehai also felt a bit awkward. It wasn't good for his children to witness such a brutal side of him.
However, the four of them were unaware that the scene unfolding in Jing Dehai's courtyard was being observed by the Cold King and his consort, along with Murong Lichén.
The spectacle immediately shattered Murong Lichén's worldview. He could never have dreamed that Jing Dehai and his niece, Murong Shaolan, would engage in such an act.
As for the Cold King and his consort, they didn't find it surprising that someone like Jing Dehai would commit such an unethical act. What did surprise them, however, was that Jing Taikang and Jing Duoduo, whom they had met at the inn in Kadami Duo Mi City, were Jing Dehai's children. It was no wonder Jing Duoduo was so arrogant.
Tonight, the Cold King and his consort, along with Murong Lichén, had infiltrated Duke Jing's manor with the objective of stealing the Tiger Tally from Jing Dehai's possession. The three of them were hiding in the shadows, awaiting their opportunity.
They waited outside Jing Dehai's backyard for over an hour. Only then did they hear his loud snoring from outside his window, one snore after another, uninterrupted. Leng Ruoli confirmed that Jing Dehai was sound asleep before tossing a dose of her specially formulated sleeping powder into his room. They then took three antidotes, consumed them, and slipped into Jing Dehai's room through the window.
Jing Dehai's room was incredibly spacious, comparable to the imperial chambers of the Emperor of Beichen. The room was adorned with various coral stones and gemstones of unknown origins. Numerous exquisite paintings by the renowned artist Jing Fan were neatly hung on the walls, leaving onlookers in awe."