After Disguising As A Woman To Marry The Foolish Prince, I Became Pregnant - Chapter 22

Before becoming the Princess Consort of Zhao, Zhu Man—or more accurately, Zhu Man’s sister—was no stranger to such incidents. Being quite experienced, he stepped forward without a word and delivered a sharp slap to the man’s face.

There had already been a bit of a commotion, and this crisp, loud “smack” attracted even more attention, causing a crowd to gather instantly.

Most were there just to watch the spectacle, but one of the bolder onlookers asked, “What happened?”

The man who had just been hit immediately spoke up: “I don’t know! The Prince suddenly came up and hit me, and then the Princess Consort did too.”

Hearing that Prince Zhao had struck first, nearly everyone sided with the man. However, they didn’t dare speak out; they only watched Zhu Man. After all, Prince Zhao was foolish, so it was normal for him to hit people suddenly, but the Princess Consort wasn’t foolish.

He Tianyun also felt the atmosphere shifting and said angrily, “He’s bad! He bullied the Princess Consort!”

The man looked terrified upon hearing this and said, “I wouldn’t dare do such a thing even if I had the courage of a lion.”

The person standing beside him chimed in: “The Princess Consort cannot slander people without any evidence.”

Zhu Man arched an eyebrow. Did these two really think he wouldn’t dare speak up?

Then again, a lady raised in the inner chambers would typically value her reputation and endure such things in silence. Unfortunately for them, he was not such a lady.

Zhu Man lowered his head, leaned toward He Tianyun, and cried out loudly and aggrievedly, “He touched my butt!”

The man’s expression instantly went blank.

The onlookers fell silent for a moment before a sudden wave of commotion broke out as people began whispering about the matter.

Why would the Princess Consort tarnish her own reputation with such a claim? This must be true. Look, aren’t the Princess Consort’s eyes already red?

The man’s face turned green with frustration as he shouted, “Stop talking nonsense! I never even touched you!”

Zhu Man didn’t say a word; he simply bit his lip and looked at the man with a wronged expression.

He was already beautiful, and with his eyes reddened and his fearful appearance, he looked all the more pitiable.

The chatter around them grew louder, even drawing over He Xiuxin and He Tianye.

He Xiuxin swept a cold gaze over the crowd and asked, “What happened here?”

Although Zhu Man was the Princess Consort, Prince Zhao wasn’t much of a backing for him. However, Princess Huining and Prince Cheng were different; these two could truly stand up for him, not to mention that the Imperial Noble Consort was also arriving today.

The man had only been making a casual remark; he thought the Princess Consort of Zhao would at most scold him a little. He never expected the Princess Consort to bite back like this. Knowing he couldn’t let this continue, he hurriedly explained: “I only said a word, I didn’t do anything!”

Zhu Man blinked, continuing his act of grievance: “You clearly did.”

He Xiuxin’s brow furrowed deeply, and He Tianye’s face darkened.

Seeing this, the man truly grew desperate: “You’re lying! I only said you had a good figure! When did I ever touch you?!”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Man immediately dropped his pitiable facade. He clicked his tongue and said, “As long as you admit it.” He looked at the onlookers and asked with a smile, “Does what he said mean I should hit him?”

The crowd went silent.

He Xiuxin understood now as well. She confirmed with Zhu Man once more: “He really didn’t touch you?”

Zhu Man smiled and shook his head: “This kind of lowlife only relies on his mouth; what would he dare to do? He just thought I’d be too afraid to speak up for the sake of my reputation, or perhaps… he thought my husband is foolish and wouldn’t cause him trouble?”

It was no secret in the capital that He Tianyun was close with his younger siblings and that they were very protective of him. People might talk behind his back, but no one dared to insult He Tianyun to their faces.

The man shook his head repeatedly, but seeing He Xiuxin’s mocking smile and He Tianye’s face as black as the bottom of a pot, his own face turned pale.

Neither of the two said much, however. He Xiuxin simply asked for his name and then called someone over to have him and his companion thrown out.

“Imperial Sister-in-law, if something like this happens again, come find me,” He Tianye advised Zhu Man. “You are a weak woman; what would you have done if you got hurt by charging in like that?”

Zhu Man gave him a rather complex look before shaking his head: “There are many people here, I wasn’t worried.”

He Tianye insisted, “Even so, you shouldn’t go in yourself.”

Zhu Man nodded. He didn’t necessarily want to do it himself; he was just used to it. In the past, when he stood up for Zhu Man’s sister, there wasn’t exactly a crowd of people willing to help.

After finishing with Zhu Man, He Tianye turned to lecture He Tianyun: “Brother, you too, you…”

He originally wanted to say not to act out if this happened again. But thinking about it, it would be stranger if his brother didn’t act when someone was harassing his sister-in-law. So, after his mouth hung open for a while, he finally managed to squeeze out: “Are you hurt?”

He Xiuxin gave him a look of disdain, then pulled Zhu Man aside. “Imperial Sister-in-law, don’t just stay cooped up here. Let me walk with you.”

“But your brother…”

“Let Tianye keep him company. I don’t think he has any intention of finding a wife anyway.” He Xiuxin glared at He Tianye. “Take Eldest Brother to rest.”

He Tianye shrugged and led He Tianyun away.

He Xiuxin then pulled Zhu Man away. She said they were going for a walk, but she actually took him to a quiet and elegant corner where several young ladies were already sitting, drinking tea and chatting. They greeted He Xiuxin warmly; it seemed she had been with them before coming to find them.

He Xiuxin brought Zhu Man over and introduced them one by one. These were all daughters of high-ranking officials and noble families in the capital, and they were all on good terms with He Xiuxin.

Zhu Man was a bit dazed at first, but when someone invited him to a gathering in a few days, he realized He Xiuxin was trying to help him integrate into this social circle.

He suddenly felt a bit of regret for not bringing his sister along. Zhu Man’s sister didn’t have many friends; it would have been nice for her to meet people in such a setting.

Just as he was thinking this, He Xiuxin tapped him lightly and whispered, “Imperial Sister-in-law, if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to.”

Zhu Man shook his head quickly and said, “I was just daydreaming for a moment. I’ll go.”

He Xiuxin smiled. “Were you thinking of Eldest Brother?”

She was just teasing, but she didn’t expect Zhu Man to ask back: “Is that not allowed?”

The woman sitting next to Zhu Man smiled upon hearing this. “It seems the Princess Consort and the Prince have a very good relationship.”

Zhu Man considered the tone and didn’t sense any ill intent, so he nodded. “He isn’t as difficult to get along with as the rumors say. He just has a childish temperament and is a bit rowdy; you just have to coax him a little.”

The woman gave an “Oh” in response, and for some reason, she began to giggle behind her hand.

Zhu Man was puzzled. “What is it?”

He Xiuxin whispered an explanation: “She has feelings for Tianye.”

Zhu Man understood. He Tianye and He Tianyun were close, so as his wife, she would inevitably have frequent contact with them. It was normal for her to be worried; his words had likely put her mind at ease.

The others clearly knew this as well and began teasing her. Slowly, the conversation shifted toward more private topics.

Being a man, sitting there was genuinely awkward for Zhu Man. Just as he was trying to think of an excuse to escape, a maid came over to announce that the Imperial Noble Consort had arrived.

Zhu Man used this as an excuse to flee and went to pay his respects to Imperial Noble Consort Yu.

He thought that since the Consort had arrived, He Tianyun would be there as well, but when he arrived, he only saw He Tianye.

Seeing him looking around, Imperial Noble Consort Yu smiled and explained, “His playmate has arrived, so the two of them went out.”

Zhu Man felt a bit embarrassed and paid his respects.

Imperial Noble Consort Yu waved her hand, telling him to go find He Tianyun.

Zhu Man went out and asked a maid where they had gone. The maid pointed in a direction, and Zhu Man went to search for him.

The path led toward the back courtyard, where there were no guests and seemingly nothing fun to do.

Zhu Man wandered around without finding them, so he had to ask the servants. After asking several people, he finally found them in a secluded corner.

He Tianyun was sitting under a tree with a handsome man, seemingly talking.

Zhu Man was curious and stepped lightly as he approached. As he got closer, he heard a familiar voice: “Find someone to give those two brats a beating so they can’t get out of bed for three months…”

The words stopped abruptly because the speaker’s mouth was covered.

He Tianyun realized someone was there and turned around to see Zhu Man standing there with a look of suspicion and shock.

He immediately put on a silly smile and dashed over to Zhu Man to hug him: “Princess Consort!”

Zhu Man stood dazed in the embrace for a while before pushing him away. He asked with a suspicious look, “Just now… was that you speaking?”