Chapter 383: Chapter 382: Dying for the Princess Is Your Honor 2

Knowing well that going to Bei Qi was a dead end, he was a loyal minister, believing that having his daughter die in place of the Princess was an honor.

But he feared his daughter’s temperament might spoil things, so he dared not tell her the truth, which led to the events that followed.

The Commissioner later went to Bei Qi, and indeed suffered immensely. The Monarch King of Bei Qi was tyrannical, and the Imperial Family treated people as less than human. The people in the Imperial Palace seemed to find pleasure in degrading others. They were particularly abusive towards the Nan Qi Princess, and no one would think the Nan Qi Princess deserved pity.

This all traces back to the enmity between the two Princes during the split of Da Qi.

In short, ever since Da Qi split into Bei Qi and Nan Qi, for some unknown reason, a treaty was signed secretly between the two nations, requiring Nan Qi to send a Princess to Bei Qi as a Hostage every ten to fifteen years, and the person must be chosen by the Bei Qi Emperor.

Otherwise, Bei Qi would attack Nan Qi.

Bei Qi naturally wanted to annex Nan Qi, but failed. Initially, success eluded them, and it became even more difficult later, especially with the uprisings in the east. Bei Qi feared being taken advantage of by the rebels in the event of conflict, not to mention the neighboring states and the Barbarian Tribes.

But a minor assault on Nan Qi by Bei Qi to instill fear was still possible.

Nan Qi was even weaker, fearing a war would break out. Sending a Princess was not seen as a big deal; so far, quite a few Princesses have been sent, none returning alive.

The Commissioner was probably the only one to return alive, but alas, she was not truly a Princess.

At the time, the Bei Qi Emperor suddenly died, the Barbarian Tribe invaded, and the rebels further muddied the waters. The newly appointed Bei Qi Emperor planned to ally with Nan Qi, first to eradicate the unruly Barbarian Tribe, then to deal with the rebels. Thus, the tormented Commissioner was sent back.

On the surface, she was adorned in gold and silver, seemingly grand, yet in reality, her body, mind, and spirit were riddled with scars.

But thinking everything was over, she could now live well; she was a Princess, an accomplished person, seemingly having endured hardship for a sweet ending.

However, after returning, the Emperor unexpectedly adopted a foster daughter and conferred her the title of Princess, none other than Cui Jing.

The Commissioner couldn’t accept this and stirred up trouble, resorting to various means to secretly harm Cui Jing, questioning why the latter could easily obtain everything? She suffered so much for this, why Cui Jing?

She became increasingly excessive, causing the Emperor considerable displeasure.

Upon realizing the Emperor and Consort Li disliked her, even favoring Cui Jing, she nearly lost her mind. She could let the Cui couple be, after all, she didn’t know the truth; on the surface, they were Cui Jing’s parents, naturally supposed to treat her well. But why were the Emperor and Consort Li, her biological parents, also biased towards Cui Jing? Eventually, she decided to eliminate Cui Jing and the Cui Family, though unsuccessful.

Ultimately, she was informed she was not of Princess status at all.

Yet she had no chance to inform the outside world; the Emperor bestowed upon her a cup of poisoned wine and declared externally that the Ninth Princess had a malicious nature, repeatedly harmed the innocent, and took lives recklessly, thus being imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison. Due to her weak constitution, she couldn’t survive and died of illness.

What happened to Bei Qi and Nan Qi afterward, what became of Cui Jing, what happened to the Cui Family, the Commissioner was left in the dark.

She was unwilling to accept this.

Feeling that her life was like a joke, seemingly manipulated since birth, yet with no ability to escape fate.

Her first wish was for revenge, to not let anyone who wronged her go unpunished.

Her second wish was to become someone of high status, forcing those who toyed with her to bow down.

Her third wish was to give the Emperor of Nan Qi and Consort Li a cup of poisoned wine, letting them taste the agony of excruciating pain.

Her fourth wish was to ensure the Cui Family did not live comfortably. They enjoyed such comfort at her expense, why should they live so well when she was the only one unfortunate?

The fifth wish was concerning Cui Jing! How to proceed was left for Ah Chen to decide.

She was unwilling!

The amount of suffering and humiliation she endured in Bei Qi, they didn’t know; those memories made her body tremble uncontrollably upon reflection.

The Bei Qi Royal Family were not human at all, they were maniacs, lunatics.

Regarding some embarrassing and private memories, if the Commissioner chose not to share them, Ah Chen couldn’t see them and wouldn’t forcefully watch.

Yet, to clarify certain matters, with the Commissioner’s consent, they would be documented.

Ning Family saw Ah Chen just give simple instructions, not wanting much involvement, and left sadly.

Clearly Chenchen was her daughter, how come she couldn’t develop a closeness with her?

Even if she is now the Ninth Princess, she raised her for twelve years, yet her attitude now clearly showed she wanted to distance herself.

Arriving at her room door, awaiting her was a gracefully poised young lady, Cui Jing.

Cui Jing saw Ning Family emerging, eyes reddened, and hurriedly went up to support her: “Mother, did the Ninth Princess trouble you?”

“She didn’t really, just didn’t pay much attention to me.” Ning Family sighed, feeling somewhat comforted by Cui Jing’s caring demeanor, often wishing Jing’er was truly her daughter since Chenchen really seemed different. When young, they even resembled each other slightly, but her competitive nature made her entire demeanor seem unruly.

“Mother, don’t be upset anymore,” Cui Jing whispered, “since my sister is the Ninth Princess, she belongs to the lofty Imperial Family. How could we associate with such a family, we probably won’t meet much in the future. Mother, you still have a daughter, I will be good to you and Father.”

Ning Family was no longer upset, feeling gratified for raising such a grateful Jing’er.

As for Chenchen, given she would be sent to Bei Qi and likely never return, she considered herself as having no daughter.

While Bei Qi exists, Jing’er’s identity wouldn’t be revealed, she would still be her daughter.

During dinner, Ah Chen arrived late.

Now that she was the Ninth Princess, the Cui Family naturally had to wait for her, showing her respect. Originally, the Commissioner might have been very happy, feeling she had finally achieved something. But knowing the truth later, in retrospect, she realized she might have looked like a clown. The noble status she achieved required a trade of life for life.

But at this point, only Cui Yu and Ning Family were aware of the truth, others were not.

Seeing Ah Chen so slow and with grand airs, the Commissioner’s two brothers, Cui Zhao and Cui Chen, were visibly dissatisfied, yet dared not voice it because she was the Ninth Princess.

Ah Chen at this point didn’t bother with them, she still had to make a trip to Bei Qi to deal with the Commissioner’s enemies there.

Ah Chen sat down, and the others had to start dining.

She glanced up, her tone arrogant: “This Princess doesn’t like dining with others, wait till I’ve finished before you eat.”

Since they were sending her to die, what good could they be, leftover meals seemed more fitting.

Back then Cui Zhao and Cui Chen weren’t aware of the situation, later they surely would be. Given the family environment, the Commissioner only felt wronged, unable to console others, only causing trouble. Her brothers, having never suffered mistreatment, naturally felt she was being unreasonable each time and grew increasingly annoyed with her.

Instantly, the Cui Family’s expressions became particularly unpleasant, yet they dared not sit at the table, only able to watch her eat.

Ah Chen, with a smile on her lips, slowly ate, putting her chopsticks down after the dishes cooled, barely having eaten a few bites.

“I’ve left it for you.”

Could they afford to tear off the mask at this time? Certainly not.

The Cui Family felt greatly humiliated, and the irritable Cui Chen was barely able to contain himself, only stopped by a glance from Cui Yu.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep