Ch. 506..510: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 506-510

Chapter 506: Chapter 506 A resounding slap (6)_1

"Yes, I understand, my lady." The maid stepped back respectfully. She has been by Consort Lin’s side since childhood and was a faithful servant sent by the Lin family to the northern land to protect Consort Lin; she wouldn’t dare to anger Consort Lin.

"I am curious about the beauty brought back by the Prince. How beautiful is she?" Consort Wang sipped slowly from her cup, in her voice laid an undercurrent of grinding teeth.

"With Consort’s unparalleled beauty, surely she will outshine any average folk?" The concubines in the room began to chatter, each trying to outdo the other with flattering words.

"She probably would be too embarrassed and start banging her head against the wall after seeing our Consort’s beauty."

...

Consort Wang kept a smile on her face throughout, but she found these women standing before her worthy of her scoff, and not even worth her attention. Did these women really think she was foolish? They spoke beautifully but their real intention was to encourage her to pay a visit to the prince and see the woman for herself.

No matter how beautiful she was, what’s the use when the Prince didn’t like or need her? This rendered her to be nothing more than a meaningless weed by the roadside.

It wasn’t until a candle was lit in the room that Lin Ziyin and Chu Suifeng sat down at the dining table.

The chef of Wang Residence was skilled, and everything he made was tailored to Lin Ziyin’s taste. After the meal, she was quite full.

"Drink some tea to help with digestion." Chu Suifeng handed her a cup of tea after seeing her put down the rice bowl, clearly pleased.

As soon as Lin Ziyin received the cup, she smelled the fragrance of the tea. "Good tea."

When she took a sip, the tea was indeed delicious and refreshing. It tasted just as it did when Chu Suifeng usually brought it to her.

"If you like it, I can send more home for you," said Chu Suifeng casually.

"No need, I still have plenty at home," Lin Ziyin answered with a smile.

A meal shared by two is filled with warmth, whereas a solitary meal is merely functional. The Wang Residence had only been home to Chu Suifeng alone for a long time; he probably couldn’t remember the last time he experienced such warmth while eating.

"I need to go back tomorrow," Lin Ziyin said. "I must make more crossbows while the Tatars are quiet."

"Don’t rush back tomorrow, let people see you here before you leave," Chu Suifeng advised her.

"Don’t they usually come over for meals?" Lin Ziyin asked in confusion. Perhaps her question was a bit abrupt, even unwelcoming, but somehow she couldn’t restrain herself from asking. Maybe that’s what it’s like to be a woman in love - she could not tolerate the smallest speck of dust in her eyes.

"They are all in the backyard and cannot leave the backyard on their own. There are people assigned to manage them," Chu Suifeng explained.

"Poor women." Lin Ziyin sighed. She thought about the women living in the back yard; they had not had an easy life over the years. Each one of them entered the Wang Residence with a mission, but Chu Suifeng rejected them. They had wasted their prime years in the back yard. Even though they lived a luxurious life, how could they be happy? Originally from noble families, they could have enjoyed a good marriage, yet they ended up in the Wang Residence.

To them, the Wang Residence must be no different from a prison.

"I have already sent someone to the village to tell them that you will stay in the Wang Residence for a few days before returning," Chu Suifeng said softly.

"Thank you, my prince." Lin Ziyin relaxed. She hadn’t planned to stay in the city overnight, but Chu Suifeng’s words eased her anxiety. She had been worried about her family waiting for her to come home, but it turned out Chu Suifeng had already thoughtfully informed them.

While it may seem like an insignificant concern, it truly revealed Chu Suifeng’s care for her.

Chapter 507: Chapter 507 A resounding slap (7)_1

"Release them tomorrow," Chu Suifeng said, his eyes were fixed unblinkingly on Lin Ziyin. "Leak some news out as well, the news of the autumn harvest will spread soon. The facade will eventually have to be torn off."

"The emperor will not agree to the Prince marrying a common girl as Princess." Lin Ziyin said indifferently.

"So what, it’s me who’s getting married, not him." Chu Suifeng also answered with a faint smile, "No one can dictate my marriage. After this period, I will personally bring the matchmakers to Shili Village. I promise that you will have a grand wedding."

"What if the emperor gets annoyed?"

"His annoyance is his problem, what has it got to do with me?" Chu Suifeng answered without a hint of concern.

"After we are betrothed, I will immediately marry you into the Wang Residence. There has never been a mistress in the Wang Residence, it’s too quiet." He paused, then added wistfully.

"Who is going to marry you? What thick skin you have." Talking about marriage, Lin Ziyin’s face turned slightly red.

The pace was too fast, even for her, a person from another time; it was hard to keep up.

Chu Suifeng burst out laughing, "Of course, you will marry me, I don’t want anyone else."

The people outside, such as Congyi, hearing the hearty laughter from inside the room, all felt happy at heart. At this moment, everyone was longing for Lin Ziyin to be married into the Wang Residence soon.

No one had heard the Prince’s laughter for many years, indeed it was the future princess who had the touch.

It is said that in a room where there is only a man and a woman, unless they are enemies, they are likely to grow close. Chu Suifeng and Lin Ziyin were just such a case. Although their conversation was merely about trivial things, their hearts inevitably grew closer.

In the courtyard, even the breeze carried a strong warmth.

Early the next morning, Lin Ziyin had just put down her rice bowl when the courtyard started becoming lively.

"Your servant greets the Prince." The spacious room seemed particularly crowded due to the added group of beauties.

Lin Ziyin sat next to Chu Suifeng at the top of the room, constantly sneezing from the strong smell of rouge and powder.

Chu Suifeng’s face immediately darkened, and his ruthless gaze swept over all the beauties.

The chirping beauties who wanted to please him immediately fell silent, and the room became so quiet that each other’s breathing could be heard.

The concubines such as the Consort lowered their eyelids, but they had already taken a good look at the woman sitting at the top of the room.

After seeing Lin Ziyin, they all sneered in their hearts. So, this is the type that the Prince likes, a girl still green with youth and, at best, a refreshing beauty, not even as rounded as the maids beside them.

Alas, they had misjudged, each one of them had tried to dress herself as beautifully as possible, without realizing that the Prince actually preferred the small and unassuming appearance of a girl. Many of the beauties immediately decided to dress themselves up as young girls once they returned.

"What are you here for?" Chu Suifeng asked coldly.

"Prince, hearing that there is a new sister in the Residence, your servant and the sisters came to see her, and we thought to ask the Prince if we could arrange a welcome feast for the new sister." the Consort replied meekly.

"Prince, the last time this servant did not know that this young lady was the Prince’s woman, so I offended her unintentionally. Sister, as they say, there are no strangers under fights, please forgive your elder sister’s unintentional mistake. In the future, if you need any help, your sister will definitely assist you, consider it as my apology." Qin Meiren felt dead inside from the moment she stepped into the room and saw Lin Ziyin.

She said it! Lin Ziyin was no good. She absolutely had bad karma with Lin Ziyin in this life. Thinking of her original status when she entered the Residence as a Consort, but now relegated to a beauty, she was forced down a peg by Prince Despicable Lin and Despicable Lin. She was ridiculed in the backyard for nothing.

All of this was caused by Lin Ziyin.

At this moment, Qin Meiren no longer blamed Li Yanran. She felt that Li Yanran was really helping her, giving her advance warning. Lin Ziyin was indeed trying every means to seduce the Prince. If she were harder to handle Lin Ziyin directly back then, she would not have the troubles of today. The shameless vixen, wait till she really enters the Wang Residence, then she will see how she deals with her.

Lin Ziyin looked indifferently at the people below, suddenly turned her head and looked at Chu Suifeng, "Prince, I remember that I only have one sister and one sister-in-law, only one cousin and if I count cousin sisters-in-law, there are only two more. How come some sisters popped out all of a sudden?"

"Drag them out and slap their mouths twenty times." Chu Suifeng gazed at Qin Meiren and the Consort, and coldly issued the order.

Bai Xian beckoned, and immediately four burly women came in from outside, they went up and grabbed the arms of the Consort and Qin Meiren, "Excuse us."

She apologized verbally, but there was no mercy in her actions. She grabbed the two beauties’ arms very hard.

"What did I do wrong, Prince?" The Consort was taken aback.

"Prince, forgive this servant. Why are you punishing this servant?" Qin Meiren was even more frightened, her face paled.

Chapter 508: Chapter 508: Really Ruthless(1)_1

"She is to be my future queen consort. You all disrespected her, don’t you think you should be punished?" Chu Suifeng, with his aggressive gaze, confronted the group of women before him.

Queen consort? The word sent shockwaves throughout all the women. Among the women in the back courtyard of the Wang Residence, whose status wasn’t noble? The young girl before them was nothing more than a peasant girl. How could she shoulder the responsibility of a queen consort?

Even though Chu Suifeng usually showed no emotions towards them, the women, being various informers, weren’t willing to accept their status in the Wang Residence being lower than that of the queen, while they nominally were the prince’s women.

According to the custom of Daqin, isn’t the queen appointed by the emperor? Among these beautiful women, the one with the highest status was the prince’s consort, who was the legitimate daughter of the Crown Prince. Normally, the rest of the women in the courtyard would follow her lead. Today, by publicly punishing her, everyone clearly understood that the prince was standing up for his future queen. As for the Maid Qin, instead of defending her, he was venting his anger.

Everyone present knew that Maid Qin had once slapped Lin Ziyin in front of Ding’an Temple. The Duke’s action today was self-explanatory. The act of making an example of her was even more apparent, at least the women in the room dared not look at Lin Ziyin with a provocative gaze anymore.

"Have you all finshed arguing?" Excluding when Chu Suifeng was dealing with Lin Ziyin, with his rarely seen gentleness, he showed the same cold attitude towards all others, regardless of gender or age.

With this deep voice, the room became quiet once again.

Lin Ziyin sat quietly beside Chu Suifeng, silently enduring the scrutinizing gaze of all the beauties. Faced with these complicated glances, she accepted each one, taking the opportunity to observe those people more closely.

"Prince, I don’t accept this," Maid Qin struggled forcefully, but she couldn’t escape from the grip of the old woman, whom she cursed even as she spoke in protest. "Prince, how could she be the queen consort?"

"Drag her away," Chu Suifeng, seeing her unrepentant appearance, became furious.

"Hold on," Lin Ziyin finally spoke up.

The gathered women couldn’t help but start to chuckle in anticipation. They all watched Lin Ziyin with schadenfreude, ready to see her embarrassment.

But Chu Suifeng’s reaction disappointed them.

"Yes?" His tone and attitude towards Lin Ziyin were remarkably tender compared to how he dealt with the others.

"I’d like to ask, why can’t I be the prince’s queen consort?" Lin Ziyin responded with a faint smile, her eyes glinting with amusement as she looked at the still struggling Qin.

The answer to that was surely clear! All the women thought to themselves.

Chu Suifeng then turned to Maid Qin, "Let her go."

Immediately, the two old women released their hold on her.

Seeing she was freed, Qin felt secretly pleased and scrambled to Chu Suifeng’s feet.

Chu Suifeng’s expression turned icy.

"Maid Qin, it would be better if you knelt and spoke." The woman, noticing the ruthlessness on his face, quickly stopped Qin.

Maid Qin internally berated the old woman, simply a slave, yet she dared to bully her. Once she regained the prince’s favor and turned the tables, she would see how she dealt with these unruly slaves.

"No need to say anything else. You are just a lowly peasant girl who is not worthy of the prince’s stature. Furthermore, as the queen, you will have to help the prince handle his worries in the future. Ask your self, are you capable enough to aid the prince?" Maid Qin sneered at Lin Ziyin, showing no respect in the least.

Noticing that Chu Suifeng had no intention to stop her, she added fuel to the fire, her face showing a hint of triumph, "You are not planning to rely on your petty accounting skills to help the prince manage this vast residence, are you? Do you know, among the sisters present, whose status isn’t higher than yours? Who isn’t proficient in all aspects, from zither to chess, calligraphy to painting? Ask yourself, are you worthy of the prince?"

Chapter 509: Chapter 509: Really Ruthless(2)_1

Qin Meiren grew more and more agitated, displaying an overt intention to drive Lin Ziyin out of the Wang Residence.

"The ladies present, can any of you really tolerate her?" Qin Meiren said arrogantly, "If you don’t believe me, ask them one by one."

While the ladies present were indeed pleased that Qin Meiren was disparaging Lin Ziyin, they were reluctant to be dragged into this by her. The smarter ones among them were so annoyed that they could hardly resist the urge to pitch this foolish woman out of the room. Some were even rethinking why the Prince hadn’t disciplined Qin Meiren first.

"Is that what you all think?" Lin Ziyin asked.

The room fell silent, even Chu Suifeng didn’t say a word, showing no sign of anger.

People outside the room like Congyi shook their heads secretly, shedding figurative tears of sympathy for the thoughtless Qin Meiren. These women, compared to the future Princess, are genuinely foolish. Why don’t they think about it? Didn’t the Prince’s defeat at the hands of Miss Lin say it all?

"While I have yet to officially enter, I’ve given you all the chance to express your thoughts. If you don’t speak up now, you had better be on your best behavior when you see me in the future." Lin Ziyin said lightly.

You’d think the woman was running a marathon the way she was panting. Qin Meiren glared at Lin Ziyin, fuming, then turned her wrathful gaze to the other women in the room and began to stoke the fire, "Aren’t you all brave when it comes to talking behind others’ backs? Now that the opportunity is before you, none of you dare to utter a word. Speak up while the Prince is still here."

Qin Meiren had believed that all the women in the backyard would side with her, she had been so confident earlier. But their collective reaction was utterly unexpected, leaving her lost and frustrated.

"Consort, Sister Shi, Sister Hua, didn’t all of you also say on the way here that Lin Ziyin is not worthy of the Prince?" Seeing no response from the crowd, Qin Meiren got desperate and started calling people out directly.

The ones called out blanched, mentally berating her. True, they had grumbled en route to the Residence, but that was private chatter - how could they repeat it in front of the Prince? This woman was a menace, the others were sure to die because of Qin Meiren.

"The Prince is the lord of the Wang Residence, it’s not our place to speak." Lady Hua reluctantly spoke up, trying to defuse the situation.

"But it seems someone has been talking behind my back. Why stay silent now, do you consider me a tiger?" Lin Ziyin retorted with a sarcastic laugh directed at Lady Hua.

Although Lin Ziyin did not know Lady Hua, she guessed that the woman must be one of those Qin Meiren had implicated.

"Speak." Chu Suifeng roared. "If you’re not willing, then you need not have a mouth."

"Mercy, my lord, I’ll speak," said Lady Shi, though she usually didn’t mince words, her courage crumbled under scrutiny, and she was quite spineless. When she heard Qin Meiren call her name, she nearly tore Qin Meiren’s mouth apart in fury.

However, she couldn’t display such audacity in front of Chu Suifeng, so she kept quiet and glared at Qin Meiren, hoping this mindless woman would stop dragging her in.

Distraught, and startled by Chu Suifeng’s threat, she immediately knelt down to ask for forgiveness, "I merely echoed a few words thoughtlessly, I meant nothing else by it."

Lin Ziyin sneered at the Consort, "Among us, it seems your status is the highest, isn’t it?"

Seeing her derisive gaze, Consort trembled in anger. If this were the Capital City, with her status in the Wang Family, she could easily destroy someone like Lin Ziyin.

Lin Ziyin was merely leveraging the Prince’s favor to act high-handedly in front of them.

Chapter 510: Chapter 510: Really Ruthless(3)_1

"Are you offended by our playful girlish bantering, Miss Lin?" She gritted her teeth as she stared at Lin Ziyin.

"Not offended per se," Lin Zhinyin’s smile turned into a faint one, "I just don’t want you guys to feel slighted. After all, it will be hard for you to speak so candidly in the future. If you worry about the Prince punishing you for speaking up, I can assure you that he won’t, no matter what you say."

Upon hearing this, the Consort’s eyes tightened.

The courtesans around began to whisper among themselves, and sure enough, as Lin Ziyin had predicted, Chu Suifeng remained silent.

"Alright, Miss Lin, you’re straightforward; let me be blunt too," Concubine Gao stepped forward. "The things I will say are not about me. They’re solely about the Prince and the welfare of the Northern Land."

"Sure, go ahead," Lin Ziyin nodded.

Hong Ying and Lun Luo were furious. These women were taking her for granted, being arrogant and outspoken. Clearly, they had no respect for her.

"The Northern Land has the Tartars on its border, and it’s suffering from famine. How much help can you provide to the Prince, Miss Lin?" Madame Gao pointedly glanced at Lin Ziyin with a tranquil expression, implying no malicious intent. "The Northern Land is vast but sparsely populated. The Prince is tied up with numerous responsibilities. If you, Miss Lin, cannot lend a helping hand, what’s the point of being the Princess?"

"That’s absolutely right. We sisters are all thinking about the Prince. You, Miss Lin, are neither capable of managing household affairs nor assisting the Prince. If you insist on occupying the position of the Princess, we won’t approve."

A few started to speak, and soon more voices joined in agreement.

"You?" After letting them speak, Lin Ziyin leaned forward, her face adorned with a sly smile. "So, you can all help the Prince?"

"Of course, our Zhang family is distinguished and deep-rooted; naturally, we can be of assistance to the Prince. We won’t be useless like you, who has no resources to help the Prince in a crisis," one of the courtesans retorted haughtily.

"Indeed, even the least influential among our kin are Fifth Rank officers in the court. If the Prince is in trouble, we can extend a helping hand."

...

"Looks like the Prince lives off women." Lin Ziyin gave a nonchalant comment after listening to them.

All the women suddenly blanched, anxiously looking towards Chu Suifeng.

Chu Suifeng wore the same dispassionate expression, and after a silent sweep of the room, the ladies turned even paler.

"You dare slander us. When did we ever say that the Prince lives off women?" Madame Qin huffed indignantly, accusing Lin Ziyin unambiguously.

"None of you said that, the Prince heard you too. I was the one who asked, and he certainly heard clearly," Lin Ziyin retorted, her face wreathed in a smile. "But wasn’t that the implication of your words?"

"Nonsense," Madame Hua glared at Lin Ziyin, "We simply wanted to say that we can assist the Prince. You’re trying to drive a wedge between us and it won’t work here."

After righteous criticism, Madame Hua sobbed a little as she looked at Chu Suifeng, "Prince, please do me justice."

"Do you wish the Prince to live off your family, Ziyin?" Chu Suifeng disregarded her and turned to Lin Ziyin with a smile instead. "If you wish so, I am willing to live on Lin family’s expense."

The courtesans gasped in surprise.

Chu Suifeng was acting very strange today. Usually cold-hearted and ruthless, he typically carried an air of menace, even in his own residence, with a deadpan face. But today, he was flirting with Lin Ziyin in public.