Chapter 59: Argument

"Jing Hu, what are you doing?" Jing Xun strode into the room and pulled Jing Hu to his side. "How can you, a young lady from a good family, do such a thing to an unrelated man? Is this really how your Consort mother taught you?"

Taken by surprise by his sudden intrusion and yanked backward, Jing Hu hadn't even processed what was happening before his words insulted her mother. Any fleeting sense of guilt she might have felt instantly vanished.

"What? Whenever I do something imperfectly, it simply must be the teachings of my mother. Your reasoning is identical to that of the Princess Consort."

"Third Brother, since you are the son of the Princess Consort, you spent your early years frequenting brothels and consorting with famous courtesans and dancers. Was that also taught by the Princess Consort?"

The absurdities in his own past far exceeded hers, yet here he stood, righteous and ready to accuse her.

Jing Xun looked thoroughly incensed, though when it came to sharpness of tongue, he had never been her match. "My behavior was improper, that was indeed my own fault, but can you really claim your mother and your elder brother are completely without blame?"

Jing Hu found this utterly baffling. Did her eldest brother somehow force him to frequent pleasure quarters and pay his tabs for him?

"What do you mean by that?"

"What do I mean? Jing Hu, don't you know well enough in your heart?"

Seeing the siblings on the verge of a quarrel, Ke Mingxu hurriedly stepped in to mediate. "Your Highness has misunderstood. The little Princess's actions just now had no other meaning. I was merely drafting a medical prescription, which required a general idea of the patient's build, and she was simply helping with that."

Jing Xun cupped his hands in a salute to him. "Elder Brother Ke, I know this has nothing to do with you; it is simply Jing Hu who lacks propriety."

"Her illness was cured long ago, yet all day long she whines about boredom in her own chambers, and today she has come again to fake illness and deceive Elder Brother Ke."

As he spoke, he glared at Jing Hu. "If she truly needed to know her build, Elder Brother Ke carried her a long distance on his back at the beginning of the month. Could it be that after just a few days, he has completely forgotten?"

The moment Jing Xun mentioned faking an illness, Jing Hu instinctively felt he was subtly attacking her mother, which only made her even more unyielding.

"I wonder who the Heir is trying to put on a show for with this pretense of being a deeply caring brother? Even Elder Brother Ke understood that my poor health and susceptibility to fainting are due to a weak constitution, which is why he thoughtfully drafted a prescription for me to take back and have an eminent physician review."

"Yet the Heir insists on declaring that I am in the peak of health and that my illness was cured long ago. It seems the Heir possesses eyes even sharper than those of a famous physician—a single glance at me is all it takes to know I am completely well."

Her words grew increasingly biting. "Playing the part of the devoted brother comes so cheaply; simply dropping by my chambers every day to check in and exchange a few words is enough to crown him the greatest brother in the world, giving him full justification to lecture me like this."

Jing Xun was evidently provoked to the utmost limit by her words. "You—"

"Little Princess," Ke Mingxu said, frowning slightly. "The Heir is your elder brother; you should not speak to him in this manner. He genuinely cares for you, and there is no need to utter such piercing words simply to overpower him."

Jing Hu glanced at Ke Mingxu. Having their quarrel erupt here in his presence certainly made him the most uncomfortable person in the room.

She reined in her indignant expression. "I shouldn't have spoken to my brother that way, but my brother shouldn't have casually insulted my biological mother."

"It is true she is a secondary consort, but back then, it was the Prince who chose her and demanded she become his secondary consort; she had no choice in the matter. Given a choice, which woman would ever willingly be a secondary wife?"

To say nothing of a secondary consort, even the primary Princess Consort in the Prince of Yongning’s estate likely found little joy in her position. Her mother was indeed the most favored, but the very presence of that word "most" implied there were other women in the household cherished by her father.

Otherwise, where on earth did all her half-siblings come from?

Had she been in her mother's place, she would never have accepted it; she would have rather fought to the death than remain with such a man.

Jing Xun said nothing.

Jing Hu fell silent as well.

Ke Mingxu had no choice but to interject, "The hour is growing late. Perhaps the Heir and I should accompany the little Princess back. Since I spent the afternoon discussing matters at the Chongming Hall and then visited Yuanfang, I've been feeling somewhat stifled myself, so a stroll will do me good."

Jing Xun asked him, "I've just come off duty as well. Is he any better today? And how is the Fifth Cousin?"

Ke Mingxu's expression faded slightly. "Still hasn't woken up. I noticed Peiniang has lost a good deal of weight these past few days, yet she refuses to properly treat her own injuries. We can only wait and see what tomorrow brings. I only exchanged a few words with her before leaving, but her situation does not look good."

By "wait and see what tomorrow brings," surely he didn't mean they might only have until tomorrow?

Earlier, Jing Hu had been nursing jealousy over his words regarding the Lady of Huaiyi, but hearing this, a chill ran through her heart.

She suddenly recalled seeing him covered in blood that day, and a wave of dizziness washed over her, making her legs nearly give out. It was Jing Xun who reached out to steady her.

"What is it? Feeling dizzy again?" Despite having just quarreled with her, his tone carried an awkward concern. Jing Hu looked down and noticed he was still wearing the sachet she had previously embroidered for him.

If you hate her so much, give the sachet back first.

Seeing her discomfort, Ke Mingxu reached out to check her pulse. His fingertips held a faint chill, and the moment they touched her wrist, a strange tension gripped her, slowing her breath.

"Are you remembering the events of that day again? Perhaps your fainting spell wasn't caused by fright after all, but rather a fear of seeing blood. If that is the case, there is no real cure for it; you can only try not to dwell on it."

Jing Xun scoffed with disdain. "Afraid? The deer I hunted last time was bigger than you are, and it was covered in fresh blood, yet you just stood around staring at it without stopping, and I certainly didn't see you faint then."

The fraction of goodwill she had just managed to recover toward him vanished instantly. Ke Mingxu surely disliked hearing such remarks. Between him and Douluü, they seemed born solely to antagonize her.

If they pushed her too far, she would simply send Douluü over to wait on him and let the two of them figure out how to drive each other crazy.

"The little Princess is quite courageous," he said with a faint smile, turning to Jing Xun. "Heir, shall we go?"

Before they knew it, the moon had climbed to the center of the sky. The moon had already completed its full phase earlier in the month, leaving only a dim, subdued glow at the month's end.

The three of them walked forward through the moonlight. Jing Hu had nothing to say, merely listening to the two of them converse in a bland, indifferent manner.

In the presence of Ke Mingxu, Jing Xun seemed devoid of the haughty, arrogant demeanor of a dissolute young noble, displaying instead a measure of respect—though the reason remained a mystery.

When they finally reached the outer courtyard of her residence, Ke Mingxu announced his departure, leaving the feuding siblings behind with neither willing to acknowledge the other.

Jing Hu stepped into the inner hall ahead of them, only to discover her third sister-in-law was already waiting inside.

Jianye was wonderful in every way, especially since it allowed her to see Ke Mingxu. The only truly dreadful part of it was being constantly surrounded by this married couple.