Chapter 60: Cruel Prince 9

“What matter?” the emperor immediately asked.

Feng Qitong replied calmly, “What happened last night has somehow already spread outside. It will inevitably damage Wanwan’s reputation, so I believe... Father Emperor and Grandfather should publicly announce before the ministers that I acted recklessly and forcibly took Miss Tang away from the banquet.”

“In this way, Wanwan’s reputation can still be preserved.”

Hearing this, Elder Tang couldn’t help revealing a complicated expression.

A young lady’s reputation was naturally extremely important.

But similarly, the reputation of the Crown Prince was just as important.

The emperor also looked at Feng Qitong in surprise, clearly not expecting that, with his personality, he would willingly shoulder such blame for a woman.

“I see... so that’s your intention.”

But Elder Tang hurriedly knelt down.

“Your Majesty, absolutely not! Wanwan’s reputation is important, but the Crown Prince’s reputation matters too!”

Truthfully, as long as the prince had this intention, Elder Tang was already satisfied.

Seeing this, Feng Qitong curled his lips into a careless smile.

“Grandfather need not worry about this prince’s reputation. Everyone already knows I’m not a good person anyway. One more crime makes no difference.”

“That settles it.”

The emperor nodded after hearing this.

Elder Tang had originally arrived filled with anger and resentment, but by the time he left, most of his fury had disappeared.

...

After Elder Tang departed, the emperor looked seriously at Feng Qitong.

“Tong’er, you are not someone who acts recklessly without reason. What exactly happened last night?”

Although the entire world believed the Crown Prince to be cold-blooded and ruthless, the emperor knew very well that Feng Qitong was not someone who would casually ruin a woman’s innocence without cause.

Feng Qitong raised his brows slightly before saying solemnly, “Last night, someone schemed against both this son and Tang Wan...”

The emperor immediately became furious upon hearing this.

Seeing that, Feng Qitong motioned for him to calm down before continuing with a faintly mocking smile:

“But the mastermind behind the scenes never expected... that instead of harming me, they actually gifted me a treasure.”

“Oh?”

“Father Emperor already knows this son despises women approaching me. Yet strangely enough, Tang Wan can suppress the violent impulses inside me whenever she’s near.”

“Physician Li once said that if this son’s illness could ever be cured, it would depend entirely on fate.”

“This son believes Tang Wan is precisely the cure Physician Li spoke of.”

The emperor instantly revealed an ecstatic expression.

“Really?!”

Among all his sons, the one he valued most was Feng Qitong.

Not merely because he was the legitimate heir—

but because he was genuinely the most capable.

If the Great Tang Empire were handed to him, he would not only preserve the glory left by their ancestors, but perhaps elevate the empire to even greater heights.

The other princes were not untalented, but compared to the Crown Prince, they still fell short.

Unfortunately, Feng Qitong suffered from a strange illness that caused uncontrollable violent urges and bloodlust. Because of this, his reputation for cruelty and ruthlessness had gradually spread throughout the empire.

Now that there was finally hope for a cure—

this Tang Wan absolutely had to enter the Crown Prince’s residence.

No one else would be allowed to take her.

Thus, the emperor immediately issued a decree ordering officials to calculate the soonest auspicious wedding date for Tang Wan and the Crown Prince.

In the end, the wedding was scheduled for the fifteenth of this very month.

When the news spread, the entire capital was thrown into an uproar.

Wasn’t this far too rushed?

...

Soon afterward, another rumor quietly spread through the city— the reason the wedding was happening so quickly was because the cruel Crown Prince had used his authority to force the marriage.

Elder Tang had even publicly scolded the prince in court, calling him shameless.

For a time, nearly everyone sympathized deeply with Tang Wan, the other party involved in the scandal.

So what if she was the capital’s number one talented woman?

Even with Elder Tang backing her, she still couldn’t resist the fierce and brutal Crown Prince.

How pitiful.

Who knew how the Crown Prince would torment her after she married into the residence?

Whether she could even survive the wedding night was uncertain.