The concubine was charming and alluring, and the ruthless prince coaxed her day and night.

Chapter 28 Demoted to a Concubine

Although Xu Jiaojiao had seen dragon boat races before she transmigrated, they were nowhere near as spectacular and awe-inspiring as the dragon boat races on Taiping Lake now.

Perhaps because people in ancient times didn't have many forms of entertainment, there were a huge number of spectators.

Fortunately, Prince Chen held a high position and great power, and used some unconventional means to obtain this pavilion with a beautiful view.

Xu Jiaojiao was leaning against the pavilion, intently watching the dragon boat race, when suddenly someone pushed her hard from behind during the intense competition.

Xu Jiaojiao was shocked.

She frantically reached out and grabbed the pillar beside her, but the pillar was smooth and slippery, and she couldn't hold on to it at all.

Before falling into the water, she glanced back at the culprit behind her.

A girl dressed as a maid in a royal palace, wearing a veil, with a red mole on her left ear, looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place her.

However, Xu Jiaojiao didn't have the time or energy to think about it in detail.

because……

She can't swim!

In the pavilion, Zhao Yunzheng, who had heard the exclamation, looked over.

When he saw Xu Jiaojiao fall into the water like a stone falling into water and then remain motionless, his heart suddenly panicked.

"Jiaojiao!" Zhao Yunzheng got up from his seat and ran to where Xu Jiaojiao had fallen into the water, glancing at the surface with a worried look.

Just as he was about to take off his cumbersome outer robe and jump into the water to save the person, Shadow One beside him had already jumped in.

Yingyi was extremely skilled and quickly pulled Xu Jiaojiao, who was sinking, to the surface.

The onlookers made way for Yingyi, allowing him to take Xu Jiaojiao ashore.

Xu Jiaojiao choked on a lot of water and lay on the ground coughing violently.

Lianye's eyes reddened with anxiety. She rushed forward, took off her outer robe, and wrapped it around Xu Jiaojiao.

Zhao Yunzheng followed closely behind, his eyes filled with heartache.

Catching her breath, Xu Jiaojiao stood up with Lianye's help. Seeing the worried Prince Chen beside her, her eyes reddened: "Your Highness, someone pushed me!"

Zhao Yunzheng narrowed his eyes and looked at the spot where Xu Jiaojiao had just been standing.

Although the spot was close to the edge of the pavilion, there were waist-high railings on both sides, so it was unlikely that she would fall off. Therefore, Xu Jiaojiao was probably not lying.

His sharp gaze swept over the group of people nearby, and most of them instinctively looked away when their eyes met his.

But one person's evasive posture was very obvious.

Zhao Yunzheng frowned and pointed at him: "You, come here!"

The veiled maid trembled, instinctively trying to hide behind someone, hoping to take advantage of the situation.

But everyone is not stupid, and they naturally kept their distance from her.

Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, the maid dragged her feet and walked forward slowly, trembling with fear.

Zhao Yunzheng sneered, "I called you here to ask if you saw who did it. Why are you hiding? Are you feeling guilty?"

The maidservant immediately knelt down: "Your Highness, spare my life! This servant will never dare to do it again!"

Seeing that the maid had already admitted it, Xu Jiaojiao looked closely and indeed saw a red mole on the maid's left ear.

Why did this maid admit it so quickly?

Xu Jiaojiao sensed something was wrong: "Take off your veil?"

Although the maid was trembling with fear, she removed her veil very decisively.

It felt like having made up your mind to die.

"Hibiscus?!"

The veil was removed, and everyone could see the maid's face clearly.

Before Xu Jiaojiao and Zhao Yunzheng could react, Bai Yiru stepped forward first.

She looked at Mu Jin in disbelief: "Weren't you in the manor? How did you end up here?"

Mu Jin kowtowed repeatedly, her face streaked with tears, "Your Highness, I'm so sorry! I failed to carry out your orders! I deserve to die!"

After saying that, Mu Jin turned around and ran towards Taiping Lake.

Caught off guard, everyone watched as Mu Jin jumped into the lake.

Yingyi, who had just wiped the water droplets from her hair, asked, "?"

After a brief moment of stunned disbelief, he turned around and kicked his accomplice down into the water: "I want to see him alive or dead! Get him out of there right now!"

Xu Jiaojiao had already noticed something amiss.

It seems someone is trying to kill two birds with one stone.

Zhao Yunzheng didn't care about the life or death of a maid. He looked coldly at Bai Yiru and said with a slight parting of his thin lips, "Why?"

Everything happened so suddenly that Bai Yiru was dumbfounded.

Hearing the question, she suddenly came to her senses.

When she met Prince Chen's icy gaze, her heart trembled, and she felt a suffocating sensation, as if she couldn't breathe: "Your Highness, this was not something I instructed. I knew nothing about it."

Zhao Yunzheng frowned slightly, his eyes filled with disgust: "Mu Jin has already admitted it, do you still want to argue?"

Bai Yiru burst into tears, speechless for a moment: "Your Highness, I did not take Mu Jin out of the manor today. Who instructed her? I truly do not know!"

At this moment, the shadow guards pulled Mu Jin out of the water, but while she was in the water, Mu Jin had stabbed her neck with a hairpin, and she was already dead.

She was still clutching a jade pendant tightly in her hand, with the character "白" (white) engraved on it.

Zhao Yunzheng, who had originally wanted to give Bai Yiru a chance to defend herself, saw this and snorted coldly as he turned and left with Xu Jiaojiao in his arms: "Concubine Bai is ruthless and violates the virtues of a woman. Therefore, she is demoted to a concubine and confined to Qingxue Courtyard to copy two hundred volumes of scriptures to reflect on her mistakes."

Bai Yiru collapsed to the ground, staring blankly as Zhao Yunzheng's figure walked away.

Seeing that Prince Chen had left, the other women all got up and followed him.

The princess walked last.

As she passed Bai Yiru, who was collapsing and crying on the ground, she stopped, gave her a meaningful look, and then walked away.

Sensing the princess's silent mockery, Bai Yiru felt resentment rising in her heart.

She did nothing wrong, yet she has to suffer such an undeserved disaster!

Since marrying into the Prince's mansion, she has never received the Prince's favor.

She used to be a concubine, a high-ranking woman, and could live comfortably in the Prince's mansion. Now, she has been demoted to a concubine and is disliked by the Prince. Her future days will probably be extremely difficult.

Her family background was not as good as Zheng Antong's, and her maternal family could not provide much help. If she wanted to live well in the Prince's Mansion, she had to rely on her own efforts.

She didn't fight or compete in the past because she didn't want to disrupt her peaceful life. Now that she's been framed like this, if she doesn't fight back, she'll really die without a burial place!

She had to find a way to gain the Prince's favor; only then could she avenge herself for today's humiliation!

If Xu Jiaojiao, a maid who was promoted to a concubine, could win the favor of Prince Chen, how could she, the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Rites, be inferior to Xu Jiaojiao?

With this thought in mind, Bai Yiru, supported by her maid, rose and followed the others step by step…

A premeditated accident spoiled everyone's enjoyment of the trip, bringing the Dragon Boat Festival outing to an abrupt end. The group boarded their carriages for the return journey.

On the way back, everyone avoided Bai Yiru like the plague, unwilling to ride in the same carriage with her.

Bai Yiru's gaze was somber as she silently followed the group back to the Prince's residence...