The Sickly Regent Prince Who Was Abandoned as a Substitute Bride

Li Fu gave Dongfang Zheng a meaningful look before turning and leaving with his attendants. Dongfang Zheng stared at their receding figures until they completely disappeared from sight before letting out a sigh of relief.

However, when he returned to his room, his emotions suddenly erupted.

"My lord, spare my life!"

The two maids were terrified and kept kneeling and kowtowing, begging for mercy.

"Father, Aunt Liu has really fainted!" Dongfang Wan'er stepped out at just the right moment and explained to Dongfang Zheng.

At this moment, Dongfang Zheng was extremely agitated because the matter had become common knowledge.

"You idiots! How dare you spout such nonsense!" Dongfang Zheng was furious and scolded the two maids.

At this moment, he noticed that the person speaking was none other than Dongfang Wan'er, and questioned, "Why did you come out? Didn't I tell you to be confined and reflect on your actions...?"

"Father, have you forgotten? It was you who sent someone to tell me to come and receive the imperial decree..." Dongfang Wan'er replied innocently.

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Zheng was furious. He never imagined that one day his daughter would criticize him for having a bad memory.

"Dongfang Wan'er, how dare you be so rude? Don't you even see me as your father anymore?" Dongfang Zheng glared at his daughter.

“Father, my sister has always been like this…” Dongfang Mingzhu added fuel to the fire, her tone full of disdain and sarcasm.

Today, Dongfang Mingzhu noticed that Dongfang Wan'er seemed much fairer, and the birthmark on her face had faded, which must be due to the use of cosmetics. She thought to herself, "Dongfang Wan'er seems like a different person now, no longer dressed in such bright colors."

"Hmph, get back to your quarters and stay home..." Dongfang Zheng angrily rebuked Dongfang Wan'er, his face extremely ugly. This daughter of his was so insensible, actually embarrassing him in public.

Dongfang Wan'er glanced at Dongfang Mingzhu and then left.

Dongfang Zheng severely reprimanded the two talkative maids and warned the others not to discuss the matter further. However, the incident caused quite a stir in the mansion. Everyone was gossiping about it privately, and Dongfang Hou's reputation was affected as a result.

Upon learning this, Dongfang Wan'er was secretly delighted. She knew her plan was halfway to success. So, she summoned Qiuqin and whispered her instructions:

"Qiuqin, here are two hundred taels of silver. Take them and give them to those two maids. Tell them it's a reward from me, and tell them to keep their mouths shut in the future. Also, go out and do something for me..." Dongfang Wan'er whispered in Qiuqin's ear, her eyes gleaming with shrewdness.

"Yes, Miss!" Qiuqin replied and then turned to leave.

"My lord, the servants of the Duke of Zhenguo have brought the ingredients... but!" Steward Zhou looked hesitant to speak.

"Just say what you have to say, don't beat around the bush," Dongfang Zheng said, his brows furrowed and his tone somewhat displeased.

"That person said these things are only for the young lady, and he's already heading towards her courtyard..." Butler Zhou quickly replied.

Hearing this, Dongfang Zheng was slightly surprised. He had originally thought that Dongfang Wan'er had just said it casually, but he didn't expect that it was actually true.

"Come, come with me to take a look." Dongfang Zheng stood up, deciding to find out the situation himself.

Meanwhile, Dongfang Wan'er was sitting in the room. She knew that her second aunt had sent someone to deliver something. In her past life, every gift sent was always used up by this family of vampires, while she never even saw a trace of it. They claimed it was to help her maintain her figure, but in reality, they wanted to take advantage of her.

Just then, a shout came from outside the door: "Young Miss, Young Miss, people from the Duke's Mansion have arrived!"

Dongfang Wan'er knew that what was bound to happen had finally arrived. So she straightened her clothes, got up, and went out to greet them.

Standing before them was none other than Wang Bo, the old man from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, followed by several servants carrying some ingredients.

"Put all the ingredients in the small kitchen. Uncle Wang, why did you come all this way yourself?" Dongfang Wan'er said with a smile.

Old Wang replied with a smile, "Miss, you're too kind. These were all specially ordered by the Second Madam to be delivered to you. Rest assured, these ingredients are the freshest and will surely satisfy you."

"Uncle Wang, please convey my gratitude to my second aunt!" Dongfang Wan'er said softly.

However, at that very moment, Dongfang happened to witness this scene.

"Dongfang Wan'er, you disobedient and unfilial daughter!" Dongfang Zheng roared angrily.

As soon as he appeared, he reprimanded Dongfang Wan'er without any mercy: "How dare you embezzle these ingredients without offering them to your grandmother! She needs to enjoy bird's nest to nourish her body every day!"

Dongfang Wan'er's eyes welled up with tears of grievance, and she choked out as she explained, "Uncle Wang! Look, every time my second aunt sends me ingredients, I've never actually even seen them!"

"Dongfang Wan'er, you made that choice willingly back then!" Dongfang Zheng was utterly bewildered, as if the Dongfang Wan'er before him had become a completely different person.

"Father, this is what Aunt Liu said! She said that the manor is short of funds and does not have enough money to buy ingredients. It is not my own choice to do this!" Dongfang Wan'er argued.

"Young Miss, how could such a thing happen? This old servant will certainly go back and report it to the master." Upon hearing this, Old Wang bowed to Dongfang Zheng and then left with his entourage.

Watching the procession recede into the distance, Dongfang Zheng was filled with mixed emotions. He turned to look at Dongfang Wan'er, whose face was streaked with tears, and for a moment he was at a loss, not knowing how to react!

"Wan'er, this..."

"Father, I'm still under house arrest, so I'll go in now. Oh, and please tell my sister to return the things she borrowed from me, and also tell my aunt to return the dowry she was keeping for my mother." Dongfang Wan'er finished speaking and went back to her room.

Dongfang Wan'er remembered that in her previous life, her mother's dowry was nominally kept by Liu Qiqi, but was actually used without her consent. In this life, she wanted to get her mother's dowry back.

“It’s not right for your aunt to keep it for your mother…” Dongfang Zheng said.

“What’s wrong with that? It was originally Mother’s dowry. Is it that Aunt Liu doesn’t want to return it?” Dongfang Wan’er said.

"That's not true. I'll go talk to your aunt..." Dongfang Zheng said and left.

Dongfang Zheng arrived at Liu Qiqi's courtyard, where Liu Qiqi had already woken up.

The Oriental Pearl Tower was also there, and she was wearing a veil on her face…

"Qiqi, how are you..." Dongfang Zheng looked at Liu Qiqi with deep affection. Although the two of them had been drugged last night, they felt pretty good.