"Since Your Highness is aware of your own bias, why not reprimand Ningshuang and confine her to her quarters for ten days or so? Wouldn't that be fair?"
Xiao Yunran was taken aback. He hadn't expected her to remain so unyielding.
Irritation began to creep into his tone.
"Ningshuang is delicate and frail. She cannot endure confinement."
"And where exactly is she 'frail,' Your Highness?" Zhou Ruoxi countered coolly. "The physician has declared her perfectly well, and I myself have examined her pulse. She is in excellent health—able to kneel for three days and nights without issue, let alone bear a brief confinement."
Zhou Ruoxi's mother was highly skilled in medicine and poisons. It was her mother's talent that had once saved the severely wounded Emperor, earning the General's household deep imperial trust and favor.
And Zhou Ruoxi had inherited her mother's gift perfectly.
Ningshuang had no ailment to speak of—she was simply playing the frail beauty, clutching her chest day after day in pretense.
And Xiao Yunran indulged that white lotus unconditionally.
His expression darkened further.
"Zhou Ruoxi, how dare you speak so insolently today? The position of principal wife will go to Ningshuang. Whether you yield it or not, it will be hers. If you continue to be so selfish, I will never set foot in your courtyard again!"
A look of sheer disdain crossed Zhou Ruoxi's face.
She couldn't care less about his visits.
Now, the very sight of him sickened her like the buzz of a fly.