Little Sorcerer, Divine Doctor-Chapter 855 - 7: The Substitute Bride

Yun Sheng vowed that sooner or later she would make Dugu Xiu pay back for every bit of humiliation she suffered today.

"Guards, send the two ladies away and attend to them carefully," Dugu Xiu ordered, having the two of them taken away separately.

Seeing them being taken away, Lady Chi Bi approached, suppressing the envy in her heart, "Your Highness, what do you plan to do with those two women? Spies from the domestic front have reported that recently, there are rumors unfavorable to the Crown Prince emerging from Later Qin."

This time, Dugu Xiu’s arrest of Donghuang Lingling and trickery against Yun Sheng were all spur-of-the-moment decisions.

After returning from Taiyuan Mountain, he didn’t go back to Later Qin but instead went straight to Great Zhou, capturing Donghuang Lingling and Gu Feng.

As a Crown Prince, until he ascends the throne, he still has to endure the constraints of national public opinion; every word and action is under scrutiny.

The marriage between Dugu Xiu and Donghuang Lingling had been dragged on for years; in earlier times, Dugu Xiu had always used the excuse that the princess was ill. But about a month ago, an official from Later Qin claimed to have seen the "recuperating" Eastern Capital Princess at the border of Great Zhou.

The princess, who was supposed to be ill, was found living with a man.

Their behavior was intimate, just like a married couple.

To the people of Later Qin, the prospective Crown Princess was eloping with another man, an immeasurable scandal indeed.

As soon as the rumor spread, it circulated throughout Later Qin.

It eventually evolved into a tale that the Eastern Capital Princess despised the Later Qin Crown Prince Dugu Xiu for being violent and lacking romance, and because of extended military campaigns, he was an "incompetent person," which led her to elope with someone else.

Dugu Xiu received this news just after he had found Donghuang Lingling.

This completely disrupted Dugu Xiu’s plan.

He had intended to use Donghuang Lingling to capture Yun Sheng and then have Yun Sheng replace Lingling, disguising as Donghuang Lingling.

That way, he could control the Eastern Capital through Donghuang Lingling while also getting the beauty, a win-win situation.

But with these rumors, Donghuang Lingling could no longer proceed with the original plan to marry into the Eastern Capital.

Regardless of whether Donghuang Lingling remained pure or not, the people of Later Qin firmly believed she was a wanton woman. If the Crown Prince married her, it would be as if he adorned himself with a green hat, becoming a cuckold.

Lady Chi Bi subtly implied whether Dugu Xiu was planning to return to Later Qin as per the original plan, as he had been away from Later Qin for a while already; he ought to return promptly to prevent any court upheavals.

"Summon the Left Minister and tell him the Crown Prince has important matters to discuss," Dugu Xiu said, frowning as he pondered.

Inside the Eastern Imperial Palace, several palace maids were guarding a girl on a bed, whose appearance surpassed even Donghuang Lingling’s.

At this moment, the girl’s eyes were closed, her long lashes fluttering like butterfly wings with each breath.

Yun Sheng opened her eyes, greeted by the scene of the Eastern Imperial Palace.

Her mind was still a complete mess.

Instinctively, she looked at her arm; the mark of the Little Silver Snake was still there, and a trace of frustration flitted across her brows.

Failed again.

Ever since that day when Dugu Xiu left that inexplicable Soul Dreaming Snake on her, she had been forced to stay by his side.

What frustrated Yun Sheng was that Dugu Xiu actually separated her from Lingling.

He only allowed Lingling to spend an hour with her each day, teaching her about the customs and court etiquette of the Eastern Capital.

Yun Sheng berated Dugu Xiu for breaking his word; she had originally demanded that Dugu Xiu release Donghuang Lingling.

But Dugu Xiu, indifferent, argued that he only promised to rescue Donghuang Lingling, never saying he would release her.

The special combat skills on Lingling’s body had been released, but to prevent Donghuang Lingling from communicating and also to avoid Yun Sheng attempting an escape, he simply detained Donghuang Lingling as well.

He only promised that after Yun Sheng married him successfully, he would send Donghuang Lingling away.

Since Empress Dowager Situ and Emperor Dong’s whereabouts were unknown, the Eastern Capital had essentially fallen under the control of Dugu Xiu and the Eastern Capital Left Minister.

With the Soul Dreaming placed on her, assassination was out of the question for Yun Sheng, so she tried to escape instead.

But after a short distance, Yun Sheng felt dizzy and fainted.

When she awoke, she had been caught by Dugu Xiu once again.

Interestingly, Dugu Xiu seemed to enjoy this cat-and-mouse game, always personally chasing after her, able to find Yun Sheng with accuracy.

Only then did Yun Sheng despair, finally recognizing a fact: This damned Soul Dreaming had an even higher level of compulsion compared to the Tether Magic she had with Ye Beiming in the past.

Tether Magic required a certain range to be effective, but this Soul Dreaming depleted her physical strength, rendering her immobile.

Yet again, Yun Sheng’s sixth escape plan was forcibly interrupted, and she was carried back by Dugu Xiu.

"Crown Princess Consort, you’re awake. It’s time to bathe and dress," said the palace maids, who were brought by Dugu Xiu from Later Qin. All of them had some martial skills and were tasked to attend to Yun Sheng.

"Who’s your Crown Princess Consort?" Yun Sheng flared up at the mention of this title.

"Crown Princess Consort, have you forgotten? You were found by the Left Minister from the common people as the orphan of the late Emperor, recently returned to the Eastern Capital and fell in love at first sight with the Crown Prince. Since your elder sister Donghuang Lingling is ill, you voluntarily took her place to marry into Later Qin. The whole Eastern Capital knows about this."

What a ridiculous identity and reason.

Fall in love at first sight with Dugu Xiu?

Only a fool would fall in love with that turtle-bastard descendant at first sight.

Yun Sheng was frustrated with the absurd excuse conjured by Dugu Xiu’s weird mind, but aside from being frustrated, she had no other way at the moment.

The head palace maid had served Yun Sheng for a few days and already had some understanding of this "Second Princess’s" temper.

Unfazed by Yun Sheng’s anger, her brows didn’t even twitch; she signaled others to start grooming Yun Sheng.

These palace maids were meticulously chosen by Dugu Xiu. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Though palace maids, they were proficient in martial arts from a young age, capable both in literature and physical skills.

They were unaware of Yun Sheng’s true identity, but it was evident that the Crown Prince was attentive to this yet-to-be-married Crown Princess Consort.

Even the once-favored Lady Chi Bi never received this level of attention from the Crown Prince.

Yun Sheng had just learned from these palace maids that during Dugu Xiu’s trip to Taiyuan Mountain, some events unfolded within the Later Qin court as well.

A few princes, who were at odds with Dugu Xiu, picked up some information through the grapevine.

They had already spread rumors throughout Later Qin that the Eastern Capital Princess Donghuang Lingling did not leave because of illness, but had eloped with a Wild Man.

This news, convincingly detailed, had become widely known across Later Qin: Dugu Xiu, before even marrying, was already wearing a green hat.

To quell public opinion in Later Qin and to seamlessly marry the beauty, Dugu Xiu spared no effort.

Using the name of the Left Minister, he instructed two women to impersonate Empress Dowager Situ and Donghuang Lingling, saying they had found the late Emperor’s orphan in the common people, who is now Donghuang Sheng.

He ceremoniously held a grand ceremony for recognizing ancestors and returning to the ancestry.

Because of Lingling’s safety, Yun Sheng begrudgingly changed her surname to Donghuang, now with the new identity as the recently found Princess of the Eastern Capital, Donghuang Sheng.

~ What are you rushing for? Don’t forget, Little Wildcat is a timed bomb, Ye Hu is an atomic bomb, Later Qin hahahaha ~