Reborn to marry, the short-lived prince lived a hundred years

Meng Tingyue listened to his words quietly, thinking to herself, if he didn't have a grudge, why would he take the risk to come find her.

Erquan was silent for a moment, as if he had finally made up his mind. "I do have a personal grudge against Steward Zheng, and I sincerely want to help the Crown Princess."

"Do you know Li Jiaoyu?"

Erquan paused slightly, then nodded slowly, with a barely perceptible hesitation in his movement.

When Meng Tingyue saw this, she suddenly understood something.

In this mansion, there are only a few people who can see through her thoughts, and Li Jiaoyu is one of them. Li Jiaoyu must have learned of her recent actions and sent this person to tip her off.

"Are you here to tip off just to bring down Butler Zheng?" Meng Tingyue continued to ask, with a barely perceptible sharpness in her tone.

Erquan lowered his head. Meng Tingyue couldn't see his eyes clearly, but could only hear his firm answer, "Yes."

Meng Tingyue didn't comment. Her voice was as cold and clear as a spring as she simply ordered, "Qingdian, send him away."

When Erquan heard this, a look of anxiety flashed across his face. He looked up, trying to catch even the slightest trace of emotion on Meng Tingyue's face.

"Princess, every word I said is true, and heaven and earth can bear witness to it."

Seeing Meng Tingyue's expression was calm and she seemed not interested in what he said, he gritted his teeth secretly, his eyes red, as if he had made up his mind.

"My relatives were once harmed by Butler Zheng."

After saying this, he seemed to have lost all his strength. His body trembled slightly, and a strong sense of anger and sadness emanated from his whole body.

Qing Dian caught Meng Tingyue's subtle eye signal and brought him back without making a sound.

"My uncle and his family died tragically. Everyone said they died because of a fire in their house in the middle of the night, but I know the truth is not that."

"My aunt had just given birth to a baby. I heard that babies sleep frequently and in short bursts, often needing to be fed in the middle of the night. It's impossible for my aunt to stay awake all night. It's impossible that the entire family didn't die in the fire, leaving no one alive."

Erquan's parents had both passed away, and his uncle's family had given him some silver to pay for his parents' medical treatment. Although the illness was not cured, he remembered the kindness and came specially to express his gratitude.

Unexpectedly, the entire uncle's family died tragically. After investigation, it was discovered that there was something wrong with Butler Zheng. After going through a lot of hardships to enter the mansion, he accidentally contacted Li Jiaoyu, and became more and more certain that it was Butler Zheng who did the evil.

Knowing that the prince was the light of the people and the god of war of the Great Zhou, he once thought of reporting the matter to the prince, but he learned about the relationship between Zheng Butler and the prince.

The anger of being unable to repay a favor and to seek revenge was intertwined in his heart until he learned that the Crown Princess and Butler Zheng were not getting along. When he knew that Butler Zheng had sent a letter into the palace, he came to inform them as soon as possible.

After sending Erquan away, Qinglan frowned slightly, a look of deep thought on her face. "Crown Princess, do you think what Erquan said is true?"

Meng Tingyue lowered her eyes slightly, her gaze falling on the account book in her hand. Her tone was calm, yet it revealed a vigilance that should not be underestimated. "Regardless of whether what he said is true or not, we must always be more careful, just in case."

If Housekeeper Zheng really passed the message to the palace secretly as Erquan said, whether it was because the Queen misunderstood her because of this, or Erquan deliberately made up a lie and used her for revenge, she had to get to the bottom of this matter.

"Send someone to secretly investigate the authenticity of this matter."

Upon hearing this, Qing Dian responded respectfully, "Yes, Crown Princess." Then she took the order and left.

Meng Tingyue lowered her eyes slightly and stared at the yellowed account book in her hand, but her mind involuntarily drifted to the hazy memory fragment of last night.

She slowly withdrew her gaze from the densely packed accounts, and with a hint of confusion and doubt in her voice, she asked softly, "Qinglan, do you remember ever meeting the Crown Prince before I married into the Eastern Palace?"

Qing Lan frowned slightly when she heard this, and thought carefully before shaking her head, "Since I've been serving the Crown Princess, I've never seen or heard of the Crown Princess and His Royal Highness having any interaction."

Meng Tingyue couldn't help but murmur when she heard this, a hint of confusion flashing across her brows: "That's strange."

Why did the prince say she hated him last night?

How could she hate the prince? The prince was the big tree that she would hold on to for shade in the future. She loved him so much that how could she hate him?

When Qinglan saw her talking to herself, she understood a little bit.

"Why should your princess be surprised by this? His Royal Highness returned to the capital only two months before the wedding. Before that, it would have been extremely difficult for your princess to see him even if she wanted to."

Meng Tingyue fell into deep thought upon hearing this: "So, have I ever said anything disrespectful to the Crown Prince in the past?"

Qing Lan said without hesitation: "Didn't the Crown Princess complain to me all day about this marriage?"

Meng Tingyue's face darkened, and she covered her head with her hands as if she had a headache. Those bad memories instantly came to her mind.

Indeed, during that period, she often confided her helplessness and dissatisfaction with this marriage to Qinglan and Qingdian.

It was because of the five years of exchanging tokens, during which the prince spent most of his time on the battlefield.

Even during the New Year holidays, he hurried back to the capital, but only briefly reunited with the emperor and empress for a few days before leaving in a hurry. He never set foot in the Meng Mansion, let alone meet her.

However, Meng Qingjiao often complained in her ear that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not care about her, and that she would naturally not be favored if she married into the Eastern Palace in the future.

Over time, she developed a certain resentment towards the prince.

"Have I ever complained to outsiders?"

Hearing this, Qinglan thought about it carefully and it really made her remember it.

"I remember that the Crown Princess attended a banquet with the Second Young Lady before she got married, and she complained at the banquet. However, she only complained in the garden, and the Second Young Lady was the only one around."

After Qinglan's reminder, she finally remembered.

"Just this once?"

"Just this once."

Meng Tingyue nodded slightly. She remembered that Meng Qingjiao seemed to have taken her to that banquet specially. Most of the people attending the banquet were already engaged, so they naturally talked about their expectations and dissatisfactions with their fiancés during the meal.

The most common voices were those of boasting, and the more she listened, the more uncomfortable she felt.

Finally, I left the party in a hurry and went for a walk in the garden.

Meng Qingjiao followed her out like a shadow. Although every word she said was full of concern, it seemed more like a carefully planned inducement, intended to make her more dissatisfied with this marriage.

She just complained regardless of the occasion.

But it was just that one time. Could it be such a coincidence that it fell into the ears of the prince?

The more Meng Tingyue thought about it, the more frightened she became.

She vaguely remembered that behind the pavilion where she had rested was a rockery. If someone who wanted to spy on her hid there and wanted to eavesdrop on her, it would be easy as pie.

Regret surged like a tide, and Meng Tingyue unconsciously hit her forehead with her hand, frowning.

Seeing this, Qinglan's heart suddenly tightened. She hurried forward and gently held her wrist, saying softly, "Princess Consort, please don't be like this. If you are angry, just vent it on me."

Meng Tingyue's face was miserable, and she looked at Qinglan with a helpless look in her eyes: "I'm afraid that the careless complaints I made that day have accidentally reached the ears of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Upon hearing this, Qinglan was also startled, and her face was filled with surprise. "I haven't heard that the prince attended that banquet. How could it be such a coincidence?"

Meng Tingyue was unwilling to believe such a coincidence, but when she thought about the prince's words and actions last night, perhaps there really were such coincidences in the world.

"Let's go to the kitchen. I want to personally prepare a table of delicious food to apologize to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

……

The prince's study.

"Your Highness, the Queen summons Your Highness to the palace."