Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 16: Deep Sisterly Affection?

With one woman taking the lead and no one criticizing her, the remaining women all revealed Yu Lang's whereabouts.

"My concubine, Bihe, lives in Baiyun Hutong. Yu Lang hasn't come here for the past few days..."

“My name is Luo Chu. I live in Peach Blossom Lane. Yu Lang came by at noon the day before yesterday. He said he wanted me to make him a more exquisite purse to carry important things. However, before my purse was finished, he… he was gone.”

“I am An Ran, and I live in Sanliu Lane. Yu Lang came to my place three days ago. He was beaming with pride, saying that he had accomplished something great and that he would enjoy endless wealth and honor in the future. He told me to take good care of him and that if he married a woman from a prominent family, I should be allowed to come into the family as a proper concubine.”

“Yu Lang also said this! He also said that now that he is the top scholar in the imperial examination, his future marriage will naturally be even better, and that if he finds a suitable wife in the future, he will make me his concubine…”

Everyone was explaining their identities normally, but after hearing Yu Lang's usual rhetoric, they couldn't help but join in, and more and more information was revealed, which Jiu Que listened to with great interest.

But Yu Lang is a real scumbag. He's supporting nine beautiful older women, yet he's still eyeing the daughters of high-ranking officials and wealthy families. But if they come from good backgrounds, why would they choose someone as old as him? He's far too confident in himself.

Jiu Que thought this way and did this way, saying it directly, and the girl named Fu Liu cleared up his doubts.

"Once, Yu Lang got drunk and said that the women in the families of high-ranking officials and nobles were so pampered that they were naive and foolish. If they were even slightly nice to him, they would fall in love with him. Besides, he was the top scholar in the imperial examination. How could those women who had always stayed in their boudoirs resist him?"

"At worst..."

At this point, Fu Liu seemed to find it difficult to speak and hesitated. After all, the young lady in front of her appeared to come from a very good family, even being appointed by His Majesty to handle official cases—something that hadn't happened since the founding of the new dynasty! Those words were indeed a bit too much for a young lady.

Unexpectedly, Ying Jiuque remained quite calm.

"Didn't Yu Lang also say that, at the very least, he could use some tricks to deceive those innocent and naive girls into losing their virginity? For women from powerful and wealthy families, a clean reputation is extremely important. In order to avoid being purged, they will always try to force their families to agree to marry them?"

Nine women, each with their own unique charm, stared blankly at Jiu Que. This girl didn't look very old, so how could she see things so clearly? They were at a loss for words.

In the end, he could only nod.

"He did say something similar."

Fu Liu paused, not mentioning that she felt nauseous when she first heard those words. Yu Lang was handsome, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to win the trust of so many women. His literacy added a unique air of refinement. But even the best appearance becomes ruthless and vicious when it comes to such scheming.

It's chilling that a man in his forties would go to such lengths to scheme against girls in their teens and twenties.

What made Fuliu feel powerless was that she was just a concubine, unable to control her own destiny, let alone help others.

"Aside from that, he's nothing special. The truth is, Yu Lang usually doesn't tell us what he's doing when he goes out. Because he often says one thing..."

Jin Hua suddenly spoke up.

Did he say, "A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent"? And that we should stop asking questions?

"Yes! He always said that men should work hard outside, while women should stay at home, cook, serve their husbands, and be gentle and virtuous, which is the nature of women."

Ying Jiuque spat out a mouthful of dry saliva.

"I bother!"

"He dares to misinterpret the ancestor's meaning! And he's supposed to be a scholar! A top scholar at that!" Not only the old emperor, but even Jiu Que himself began to doubt whether Yu Lang's title of top scholar was legitimate. It's truly astonishing that someone of such character could become a top scholar.

However, no matter how careful the people in the Ministry of Rites are, you can only know a person's face but not their heart. Yu Lang is so good at pretending that even if he abandons his former lover, he can still portray himself as pure as a lotus flower. It would be easy for him to deceive others.
But it's no use saying all this now, so Jiu Que simply nodded.

"Have any of you sisters seen him taking any pills on a regular basis?"

The group looked at each other, then shook their heads in bewilderment. Before Jiu Que could even feel disappointed, he noticed Jin Hua's slight hesitation and immediately became interested.

"Has Sister Jin Hua discovered anything?"

“I did see him take medicine, but I don’t know if it was a pill, because he said it was a kind of herbal medicine to nourish the body. Since it was inconvenient to carry around, it was made into pills. I could smell that it did have a herbal scent.”

Xie Mingchen nodded almost imperceptibly.

"That pill did contain a lot of medicinal herbs to replenish qi and blood, but there were other things in it as well."

With so many people around, Xie Mingchen didn't say much, but Ying Jiuque instantly understood that something else deadly had been added. Could it really be cinnabar and mercury?

But where did this thing come from?

Just as Jiu Que was pondering, he suddenly heard a series of rapid coughs. It turned out that Fu Liu, who seemed to be in poor health, couldn't help but cough. Moreover, her originally fair face had turned red and congested, and she even had some difficulty breathing.

The girls gasped in surprise. Jin Hua and Yun Niang, who were closest, reached out to support the slender Fu Liu. One of them gently patted her back, while the other grabbed a cup of tea to help her catch her breath.

When she realized something was wrong, Yunniang stiffly turned her head and saw Ying Jiuque's curious gaze.

"You two seem to know each other quite well?"

Does Yu Lang have the ability to make his mistresses get along harmoniously? But didn't they say they weren't familiar with each other at all?

"We just saw that she was having a hard time, so we lent a hand."

“That’s right. No matter what, we were Yu Lang’s mistresses, so there’s always some bond between us. Now that he’s gone, we have no other relatives, so we’re each other’s closest family.”

Seeing Jin Hua's hurried explanation, Jiu Que smiled, looking rather dishonest.

"I know, I know, it's just sisterly affection. But Sister Fuliu, are you not feeling well? Would you like our Physician Xie to take a look at you? He comes from the Imperial Hospital, and although he's young, his medical skills are top-notch!"

After calming down, Fuliu shook her head.

"I've become a doctor through long illness. I've been in poor health since I was a child, a weakness I was born with. I've taken a lot of medicine in the past half of my life, but I'm still not better. Doctor Xie treats the imperial family and nobles. I'm just a lowly concubine. I shouldn't make things difficult for you."

Catching her breath, Fu Liu continued.

"It was just a sudden panic. I remembered that Yu Lang accidentally spilled one of his medicine at home when he was taking it, which is why he started coughing..."

(End of this chapter)