Chapter IBMLS Ch.6 Gratitude (1)
Gratitude
“Dying?” Jiang Honghao frowned. “The Prince of Qiyang is merely in a coma. I heard that a few days ago, he was able to remain conscious at length, showing that the effectiveness of the treatment he is receiving. That is to say, the day the Prince of Qiyang recovers is almost upon us.”
Mu Mingtang couldn’t think of a retort to that. After all, she’d spent her entire first year in the Jiang Manor training behind closed doors, so her knowledge of the outside world was quite limited. As a former merchant’s daughter from Xiangyang, what could she possibly know about the circles of high-ranking officials in the capital city?
The Jiang family hadn’t bothered to teach her these things either, so while she had become their second young miss in name, she barely knew anyone in the capital. As a matter of fact, Jiang Honghao and Xie Xuanji were the only two men she knew.
However, even with her limited knowledge, she knew that becoming the Princess of Qiyang was not a good thing.
Although he was also a legitimate imperial prince, the Prince of Qiyang was not the son of the current emperor, but the late emperor.
He was an extremely bloodthirsty man who often drifted between the states of consciousness and unconsciousness and went on violent killing sprees whenever he was in the former. The man was so insane that even his own father was nearly killed by him.
Obviously, a prince like this could not inherit the throne. Thus, the late emperor passed it to his younger brother, the current emperor, before he died. Since then, the Prince of Qiyang’s illness had become progressively worse. It was said that on the day of the enthronement, he slaughtered every person in the Qiyang Manor, leaving no one alive.
After this incident, the servants of the Qiyang Manor were replaced with military men, but even then, the number of people in the manor had to be replaced from time to time.
According to the rumors, there was an unwritten rule in the military: Anyone who could survive in the Prince of Qiyang’s manor for six months would be promoted to a higher rank and be awarded five kilograms of gold upon their return. However, even with this generous reward, no one was willing to take care of—or rather, keep an eye on—the Prince of Qiyang.
Supposedly, he had been a part of the military and was known as the “God of War” on the battlefields. Eventually, he was driven insane by the evil that accumulated from the great number of lives he’d taken.
Mu Mingtang didn’t know how much of these rumors are true, but she did know that there was no trained soldier who could escape from the Prince of Qiyang’s hands, let alone her, a weak woman who’d almost failed to escape from Xiangyang. Did they plan to use her to test the waters inside?
It seemed that she would lose her life on the day of her marriage. At this thought, Mu Mingtang became a little restless. She could tolerate insults, cold treatment, and even harsh treatment, but not death. Never. As someone who had barely escaped from it, there was nothing she valued more than her own life.
She took a small step forward and said earnestly, “Father, I am endlessly grateful to you and Madam Jiang for saving me from the streets. I would like to repay my gratitude by dedicating the rest of my life to serving you both. I don’t wish to marry anyone, nor do I desire to be a princess. I am not worthy of such fortune. As long as you allow it, I am willing to stay in the manor and toil like a cow and a horse. I can even be a maidservant.”
“How could we let you do that?” Jiang Honghao refused. “You are my adopted daughter, the second young miss of the Jiang family, not a lowly maidservant. How could possibly we make you become one? Don’t worry, with your father here, you can rest assured when you marry the Prince of Qiyang. No one would dare to talk about you behind your back. Moreover, the Prince of Qiyang is a legitimate son of the late emperor. Before the incident happened, he was considered a great hero who had countless young ladies clamoring for him. In any case, marrying him would not serve a disgrace to you.”