Chapter 24: (Twenty-Four) Rejected at the Door

"Second Mother is truly forgetful; have you forgotten Lingxue so soon? It is a pity that Lingxue still remembers Second Mother’s appearance. Thanks to Second Mother’s meticulous care back then, Lingxue dares not forget." As the noblewoman’s voice faded, Leng Lingxue’s voice slowly rose. The carriage curtain was lifted, and Leng Lingxue stood upon the carriage in all her peerless splendor, looking down at the noblewoman with a faint, wicked smile playing on her lips.

The surrounding crowd’s eyes flashed with astonishment, while the woman Leng Lingxue called "Second Mother" flickered her gaze, her eyes filled with intense loathing and malice as she looked at Leng Lingxue.

In the entire Lengning Prince’s Mansion, the only person who would call her "Second Mother" was Leng Lingxue. This was because Leng Lingxue was the true legitimate daughter of the Lengning Prince’s Mansion. However, this legitimate daughter had long since lost the Prince’s favor. Not only that, but after the death of the Princess Consort, she—who had originally been a concubine—was elevated to the position of the successor Princess Consort. She had whispered into the Prince’s ear, effectively turning this once high-status legitimate daughter into a wild girl.

Until that day of the blood test, when the two drops of blood failed to merge, this legitimate daughter was cruelly abandoned. The person who orchestrated all of this was none other than the elegant and luxurious successor Princess Consort of Lengning standing before her.

"Are you really Leng Lingxue?" the noblewoman asked, unable to believe her eyes as she gazed at the peerless, breathtaking beauty before her. However, those azure eyes did seem very much like that woman’s...

"Second Mother, what do you think?" Leng Lingxue asked with a smile.

"Hmph, even if you are the real Leng Lingxue, it only proves that you are lucky to be alive. Yet you dare to return now? This is the Lengning Prince’s Mansion, and you no longer have any blood relation to the Prince. You are nothing but a bastard," the noblewoman snorted, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"Hehe..." Leng Lingxue suddenly smiled brightly. "Is that so? But Second Mother should know the truth better than anyone."

"I... the fact that you are a bastard is known to everyone in the Lengning Prince’s Mansion; of course I know it." Facing Leng Lingxue’s eyes, which seemed to see right through her heart, the noblewoman felt a tremor of unease. The current Leng Lingxue had truly changed a great deal; compared to the timid and cowardly third young lady of the Lengning Prince’s Mansion from before, she was like heaven and earth.

"Oh? Is that so?" Leng Lingxue said softly, the smile on her lips widening slightly.

"Since Second Mother does not acknowledge Lingxue as the third young lady of the Lengning Prince’s Mansion, Lingxue cannot shamelessly linger here, can she? Sigh, when Lingxue was abandoned by Second Mother in the wilderness, I nearly lost my life. After surviving, I kept thinking that I must repay Second Mother well in the future.

However, since Second Mother has shut Lingxue out, Lingxue will have to go to the Imperial Palace to see Grandmother Empress Dowager. I wonder if Grandmother Empress Dowager was heartbroken when Lingxue was heartlessly abandoned by Second Mother to fend for herself. Lingxue misses Grandmother Empress Dowager so much." Leng Lingxue spoke with feigned helplessness, then raised her innocent and pitiful gaze to look directly at the noblewoman, continuing: "Don't worry, Second Mother. Once Lingxue sees Grandmother Empress Dowager, I will certainly tell her exactly how Lingxue went missing. I will make sure Grandmother Empress Dowager personally rewards Second Mother for your unwavering loyalty to the Lengning Prince’s Mansion."

Leng Lingxue turned to Zimei: "Zimei, let’s go." As she spoke, she turned to lift the carriage curtain, preparing to return inside. Hearing this, the noblewoman became frantic. After the news that Leng Lingxue was a bastard had spread, the Empress Dowager’s attitude toward her had not changed in the slightest, and when the news of Leng Lingxue’s death had returned, the Empress Dowager had not given the Prince of Lengning a single pleasant look.

If Leng Lingxue truly went to the palace to tell the Empress Dowager that she hadn't been kidnapped by bandits, but had been abandoned by her on the Prince’s behalf, it wouldn't just be her own downfall—the entire Lengning Prince’s Mansion would be plunged into an irredeemable abyss.