The concubine was charming and alluring, and the ruthless prince coaxed her day and night.

Chapter 53: reaping the benefits

Inside Mingkun Courtyard.

The princess stared thoughtfully at the confession, remaining motionless for a long time.

Wang Mama stepped forward worriedly and took away the confession, asking cautiously, "Your Highness, according to this confession, you could have convicted Concubine Xu and had her beaten to death. Why did you only humiliate her?"

The princess came to her senses, lazily changed her posture, and continued to lean against the soft footstool: "Xu can die, but she cannot die at my hands. Although the prince will not do anything to me, as long as I am in this Prince Chen's mansion, it is ultimately unwise to oppose him."

Seeing that Granny Wang seemed to understand but not quite, the princess slightly raised her hand, dismissing the servants from the room, and continued, "This frame-up is full of mistakes. Someone wanted to kill Xu Jiaojiao while the prince was away, but I will not let her have her way."

As long as Xu Jiaojiao doesn't die, she'll definitely be anxious. Before the prince returns, she'll surely strike again. I only need to capture her after she succeeds, and I can easily kill two birds with one stone.

After a moment's thought, Granny Wang suddenly realized: "By using the person who framed Xu to get rid of her, and then taking down the person who framed her, the Prince's anger will only be vented on the person who framed him. Not only can Your Highness reap the benefits, but you can also extricate yourself from the situation. Brilliant! Your Highness's move of 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind' is truly brilliant!"

The princess smiled but remained silent.

She looked up at the sky outside the window, secretly calculating in her mind: At this hour, some people are probably starting to get restless…

……

Millennium House.

Zheng Antong threw the teacup filled with scalding hot tea at Tian Chunhua, who was kneeling on the ground, his brows furrowed and his tone harsh.

"Useless! You can't even do this simple thing right! I should never have made you a concubine in the first place!"

The scalding tea splashed onto her body, burning Tian Chunhua's skin red through her thin summer clothes.

She gritted her teeth and endured it, almost crying out.

Zheng Antong was furious and dared not utter a sound, fearing that the other party would do something even more outrageous.

Tian Chunhua knelt with her head bowed, looking weak and submissive. Zheng Antong was furious at the sight: "You stupid thing! You haven't even done your job properly, and you still have the nerve to come see me! If you're so stupid, why don't you just die of stupidity?"

Even though Zheng Antong's insults were so harsh, Tian Chunhua remained silent with her eyes lowered.

Zheng Antong cursed a few more times, feeling like he had punched cotton, bored and uncomfortable.

She calmed her anger, softened her tone, and said calmly, "You know the consequences of not completing the mission, right?"

A slight ripple finally appeared in Tian Chunhua's eyes, which had been as calm as still water.

She trembled, looked up at Zheng Antong with unease, and then kowtowed heavily: "Your Highness, please spare my life! Although the Princess Consort did not order Xu's death, it is a fact that she used witchcraft to frame the Prince. Once the Prince returns, she will surely die!"

Zheng Antong narrowed his eyes slightly and shook his head in disagreement: "This vixen is very powerful. If we wait until the prince returns to deal with her, it will only backfire. We must kill her before the prince returns!"

The wet nurse frowned slightly, pondering, "Hanging someone upside down in front of everyone, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to make a move..."

Zheng Antong has always been dull-witted and dislikes thinking.

She thought for a moment, then looked down at Tian Chunhua kneeling on the ground, her smile vicious and tyrannical: "Why don't you just stab her to death and say it's to avenge the prince?"

Tian Chunhua's face turned pale.

Zheng Antong is basically sending her to her death!

She quickly kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Your Highness, I have some ideas that we might try!"

"What good ideas could this stupid thing possibly have?" Zheng Antong curled his lip in disinterest and snorted, "What idea?"

Tian Chunhua hurriedly said, "When someone is hanging upside down, their blood flows backward. If you provoke them to anger at this time, it is very likely that they will have a stroke, which could lead to unconsciousness or even sudden death. That's one reason."

Secondly, the remaining wood from carving the witchcraft figure was secretly placed in Yuhua Courtyard, providing more evidence of Xu's witchcraft practices. This would surely cause the prince to despise Xu and execute her!

Thirdly…

Tian Chunhua paused, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.

Zheng Antong, however, had no patience whatsoever: "Thirdly what?"

Tian Chunhua glanced discreetly at Zheng Antong's expression, then cautiously continued, "Your Highness, perhaps you could use the power of the Yongkang Marquis's residence to stop the Prince on his way, preventing him from returning home smoothly tonight. You know, many things become much easier when it's dark..."

Zheng Antong's eyes flickered, and he gave Tian Chunhua a meaningful look: "I didn't realize you'd already planned your escape route."

Tian Chunhua gave a forced smile and said, "It's all thanks to the concubine's excellent teaching."

No one dislikes being flattered, Zheng Antong chuckled twice but didn't say anything.

She turned to look at the wet nurse, who nodded slightly.

Zheng Antong then sat up straight and looked at Tian Chunhua seriously.

To ensure everything went smoothly, she planned to send people to do all three: "In that case, let's do it your way. I'll have someone secretly put the leftover wood from carving the wooden figure into Yuhua Courtyard. I'll also write to Mother about the Prince. As for angering Xu Jiaojiao..."

She raised her finger, painted with bright red nail polish, and pointed it menacingly at Tian Chunhua: "This is your last chance. If you fail again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Tian Chunhua repeatedly kowtowed to express her gratitude.

Leaving Millennium Garden, Tian Chunhua finally felt some relief from the gloom in her heart.

She let out a long sigh of relief, composed herself, and walked toward the garden.

Since discovering the witch doctor this morning, her heart had been on edge. She hadn't eaten or drunk anything. Now that she was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, she felt dizzy and lightheaded, as if she might collapse at any moment.

Tian Chunhua instinctively raised her hand to steady herself on the artificial rockery by the roadside, but the maid behind her coughed twice in a warning tone, urging her to hurry.

She silently tugged at the corner of her mouth, her eyes filled with bitterness.

For a fleeting moment, she even considered taking Zheng Antong down with her.

But when she thought of her mother and younger brother, Tian Chunhua gritted her teeth and continued walking towards the garden.

At that time, Xu Jiaojiao had already been hung up.

The servants passing by all turned their heads and began to whisper among themselves.

Upon hearing the news, Lianye was both angry and heartbroken, tears streaming down her face.

She wanted to feed her master, but since he was hanging upside down, she didn't dare to.

Xu Jiaojiao's face was flushed from the blood rushing back to the head. She looked at Lianye with comforting words: "Don't be anxious or panicked. Go back to Yuhua Courtyard and wait for the Prince to return to the manor."

It was just being hung up and humiliated; as long as you have thick skin, this kind of punishment is nothing to you.

Moreover, she will repay the humiliation she has suffered at this moment, one by one, through the prince's hand, once he returns!

Lianye knew that her mistress always had her own ideas, so she would never act on her own or go against her mistress's wishes.

Her master told her to go back, and although she was very reluctant to leave, she still turned back every few steps.

Shortly after Lianye left, Tian Chunhua arrived with her maid...