Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

"Please let go, Your Highness! Our concubine is pregnant!"

The maid screamed and made a move to go forward and help.

"What are you doing?"

A cold, harsh rebuke came from behind her. Before Ling Xi could turn around, a sharp pain shot through her arm. A powerful force suddenly gripped her wrist, so strong it almost crushed her joints. She lost her balance and fell backward uncontrollably.

In the chaos, Ling Xi fell heavily to the ground, a burning pain instantly shooting through her elbow.

"Princess!"

Pei Lan felt a pang of panic and stepped forward to help Ling Xi up.

Ling Xi looked up in a disheveled state, her face, which already looked sickly due to her illness, became even paler.

Xiao Ce held Mu Wanning firmly to his side, and the coldness in his eyes as he glanced at her was chilling.

"Are you alright?"

His soft voice was directed at Mu Wanning, as if he had become a different person in an instant, completely devoid of the indifference he had shown just moments before.

Ling Xi was surprised to see Mu Wanning shake her head. She had thought that Mu Wanning might put on an act in front of Xiao Ce, so that Xiao Ce would punish her severely.

But Mu Wanning didn't pretend, and Xiao Ce didn't let her off the hook either.

"Lu Ming! Lock the Crown Princess in the dungeon and keep her under strict guard. No one is allowed to visit her without my order!"

"yes!"

Ling Xi stared blankly at the man in front of her, who was still a relative stranger. Even though she knew his heart was definitely biased, she couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness.

As the guard named Lu Ming reached out to take her away, Ling Xi suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with an unyielding coldness.

"Don't touch me."

Lu Ming paused, frozen in place, caught in a dilemma.

Although Ling Xi was spoiled since childhood, she rarely got truly angry. Because of her family's meticulous care and indulgence, she had almost no chance to be angry or sad from childhood to adulthood.

"She started it, so why should I be locked up?"

Ling Xi looked directly at Xiao Ce, speaking each word with neither arrogance nor servility.

Xiao Ce frowned slightly, but his cold gaze remained fixed on her.

"As the Crown Prince's consort, you are narrow-minded, jealous, and wicked. Confining you for two days today is already a lenient punishment. If anything were to happen to the child in Wan Ning's womb, it wouldn't be so easily resolved."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word he uttered carried a chilling warmth.

Looking at his protective manner, Ling Xi felt her blood and energy completely blocked. He was truly a person who couldn't distinguish right from wrong!

In the vast Prince Rui's mansion, she, a princess from the Chu Kingdom, had no use in explaining herself or revealing the truth; everything she said was a waste of effort.

After a moment of silence, Ling Xi finally straightened her back, no longer looking at Xiao Ce, but turning to look at Pei Lan behind her, who was bowing her head and weeping.

"Go back and tell Granny Qi not to worry, to take good care of Wushuang, and that I will be back in two days."

"Princess..."

Pei Lan's eyes were already red, but under Xiao Ce's immense pressure, she dared not speak. Seeing the still unrecovered princess about to be imprisoned in the dungeon, even though she was trembling with fear, she still knelt down with a thud, crying and kowtowing frantically.

"Please, Your Highness, spare my Princess! My Princess has been suffering from acclimatization issues since arriving in Daliang. She has barely eaten anything these past few days, and her health is still not fully recovered. The dungeon is dark and damp; her body cannot withstand it! Please, Your Highness, have mercy! Please, Your Highness, have mercy..."

"Perrin! Get up, do not beg him."

Ling Xi quickly stepped forward, knelt down, reached out and helped Pei Lan up, gently wiping away the tears on her face with her fingertips.

"Don't cry, dear Perrin, I'm alright now, don't worry, just go back and wait."

Perrin shook his head desperately, tears streaming down his face.

"Princess...Princess, you've never been separated from Peilan for a single day in all these years...How have you managed to endure these past two days alone..."

"Don't cry."

Ling Xi's face suddenly darkened, and he coldly rebuked her. As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Lan pursed her lips tightly, looking aggrieved, and the curve of her lips gradually became distorted as she tried her best to restrain herself.

"Tears are the most useless thing, especially in front of the enemy."

Ling Xi lowered her voice, and after speaking, she looked up at the unfamiliar eaves and corners outside the courtyard. A bitter feeling suddenly arose in her heart. This was no longer her homeland.

Xiao Ce frowned slightly upon hearing her words, but silently agreed in his heart. Yes, they were enemies, enemies with a blood feud.

Ling Xi slowly turned around, her gaze sweeping over Mu Wanning, whose expression was even colder than before, her eyes filled with undisguised contempt.

"You know perfectly well that you struck first, and I was merely defending myself. Even if anything happens to the child in your womb today, don't even think about pinning the blame on me."

Then, she turned to look at Xiao Ce, who was supporting Mu Wanning, her eyes showing no fear, only disdain.

"I accept the punishment today not because I did anything wrong. The only reason you can bully me like this is because I am in your Liang Kingdom, weak and alone, with no one to rely on..."

Ling Xi didn't glance at the two of them again, resolutely turned around, and calmly instructed Lu Ming beside her:

"lead the way."

The body, thinned by illness, suddenly straightened up a bit in the wind.

"Princess! Princess!"

Perrin stopped crying, but the sobs in her voice were involuntary.

Watching that resolute figure disappear step by step down the steps, Xiao Ce's eyebrows twitched slightly, and a strange tremor rose in his heart.

"She's right, I started it."

Mu Wanning looked up at him, but her eyes were completely unmoved, and her tone was as indifferent as if she were talking about something unimportant.

Xiao Ce frowned slightly, his gaze falling on her, a hint of doubt rising within him.

Mu Wanning's hands, hanging by his sides, clenched slightly, but there was still no hesitation in his eyes.

"She said she had no intention of vying for the position of Crown Princess and wanted to live peacefully with me, but she is from Chu. Why should I live peacefully with her?"

Xiao Ce remained silent for a moment, the strange feeling he had felt from that figure completely disappeared, and his gaze towards her softened again.

"Wan Ning, in the Prince Rui's mansion, you can do whatever you want without having to consider anyone else."

Throughout the journey, Ling Xi kept her eyes down and remained silent, never uttering a single word to Lu Ming.

As they were led to the dungeon entrance, the cold, damp air hit them in the face. Perrin, who was following behind, finally couldn't hold back and burst into tears again. Her suppressed sobs were heartbreaking to hear.

Ling Xi couldn't persuade her to stop, so she simply let her cry, since Xiao Ce wasn't there anyway.

For some reason, a stubborn streak suddenly arose in her heart, and she absolutely could not show weakness in front of Xiao Ce.

It was as if, if she lowered her head, if she became weak, it wouldn't just be her who collapsed, but the entire Chu Kingdom behind her. If she weakened even a little, the Chu Kingdom would weaken even a little.