"Let's treat Miss Shen's arm first!" The Empress Dowager's gaze was kind, but her tone was somewhat cold, clearly displeased with Lei's actions.
"Thank you, Empress Dowager! Thank you, Emperor! Thank you, Physician Chen!" Lady Lei thanked them repeatedly, helping Shen Yingxue sit up.
Seeing the Empress Dowager's cold expression, Lady Lei was startled and hurriedly knelt down: "This humble woman deserves to die, for I have overstepped the bounds!" She had been too hasty and had almost disobeyed the Empress Dowager.
In broad daylight, Yingxue's innocent body was seen by many people. If she didn't explain herself, her life would be over. Lei was so anxious for her to clear her name that she lost her composure for a moment.
"It's alright. Madam Shen is only concerned for her daughter. I understand!" the Empress Dowager said calmly, her kind eyes revealing a hint of coldness.
The crowd looked at Lei Shi with a hint of mockery. You love your daughter so much, but the Empress Dowager also cares about Prince An. She even dared to snatch the imperial physician that the Empress Dowager summoned. You are really overestimating yourself.
Lei's well-maintained face flushed red and then turned pale, changing more than ten colors in an instant, making her extremely embarrassed...
Physician Chen half-squatted down, quickly unwrapped the white bandage on Shen Yingxue's arm, carefully examined her injury, and after a moment, delivered his diagnosis:
"Miss Shen only has superficial injuries, nothing serious. With a few more days of rest, she will recover completely. However..." Physician Chen hesitated before continuing.
"But what? Physician Chen, you say it's alright!" Lei's eyelids twitched, and a very bad premonition rose in her heart.
"Miss Shen's broken arm hasn't healed yet, and this time she broke it again. Some of the bones are fractured. Even if it's set, it won't be able to fully recover." Doctor Chen glanced at Shen Yingxue and sighed inwardly: It's such a pity that such a young and beautiful woman has been crippled.
What? My arm can't recover, I'm going to be crippled! Shen Yingxue felt a jolt, her mind went blank. She was the number one beauty in Qingyan, how could she become a useless cripple?
"Imperial Physician Chen, you are a medical administrator in the Imperial Hospital, and your medical skills are superb. You must have a way. Please think of a way to treat my arm..." Shen Yingxue grabbed Imperial Physician Chen's sleeve and pleaded bitterly. Two lines of clear tears slowly slid down her cheeks. She was weak, helpless, and pitiful.
"I'll do my best, I'll do my best!" Physician Chen was already over forty years old. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he was pulled like this by a teenage girl. He looked somewhat embarrassed and kept making excuses. He subtly pulled away from Shen Yingxue's hand, quickly stood up, and stood beside the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.
"Yingxue, what exactly happened?" Lei was the first to come to her senses. Yingxue's arm was broken and could not be restored. Her body had been seen and her innocence had been lost. If she didn't find out what happened today, her life would really be over.
“It’s…Prince An…” Shen Yingxue leaned into Lei’s arms, gently stroking her crippled arm, and burst into tears.
"Was it Prince An who kicked you out?" A hint of surprise flashed in Lei's surprised eyes.
"Yes!" Shen Yingxue nodded through her tears, her beautiful eyes filled with grievance.
Everyone's eyes were filled with surprise. They knew that Prince An was sobering up in the east wing, and that the Empress Dowager had come to see him. But didn't Shen Lixue say that Prince An's old injury had relapsed? How could he still have the leisure to play with Shen Yingxue?
"Yingxue!" Shen Minghui pushed through the crowd and strode over. Looking at the disheveled and heartbroken Shen Yingxue, and the Lei family member secretly shedding tears, his stern eyes were filled with anger:
He was discussing matters with some colleagues outside the banquet hall when he heard that Shen Yingxue was in trouble, so he rushed over. He thought it was just a quarrel between girls, crying and complaining, and that a little grievance would be enough. But he never expected that Yingxue would be lying naked on the ground, looking extremely disheveled. She had completely disgraced the Prime Minister's family: "What exactly happened?"
"I couldn't sleep in my room, so I came out for a walk. I passed by Chang Le Palace and, thinking that Prince An was drunk, I came to see him. Who would have thought that the Prince was so drunk that he tore my clothes and even..." Shen Yingxue's voice choked, and she couldn't finish her sentence, but everyone already understood what she meant: Prince An took advantage of his drunkenness to bully her and even beat her out...
Who is Prince An? He is the God of War of the Azure Flame, a scholar of high rank, noble, aloof, and ruthless. He would never bully a weak woman. Under normal circumstances, no one would believe Shen Yingxue's words. But now, Prince An is drunk and out of his mind. It's not impossible that he might do something outrageous...
The Empress Dowager and the Emperor both looked rather grim. Shen Yingxue accused Dongfang Heng with every word, as if all the men of their Dongfang royal family were lustful beasts who would bully people when drunk.
"Yingxue, shut up! How dare you slander Prince An..." Shen Minghui glanced at the emperor secretly, then glared at Shen Yingxue and angrily rebuked her.
"I did not slander Prince An, these are all facts, I swear to God!" Shen Yingxue cried, her face streaked with tears, a pitiful sight. Prince An was still unconscious and could not argue with her. She could say whatever she wanted, but by the time he woke up, the die was cast. Even if he vaguely remembered what happened while he was drunk, he wouldn't dare to do anything to her...
Shen Lixue's lips curled into a mocking smile. She retreated to gain the upper hand, shifting all the blame onto Dongfang Heng. She wanted to completely pin Shen Yingxue on him before Dongfang Heng sobered up. Shen Minghui's plan was truly brilliant: "Yingxue, you should think carefully before you speak. Don't spout nonsense. Slandering a royal prince is a capital offense!"
Shen Yingxue raised her head, her eyes brimming with tears, and looked at Shen Lixue: "This concerns my innocence, how could I lie? Prince An is not in his right mind, that's why... Waaah... He is my sister's fiancé, I should atone for my crime with my death, I would never let my sister down..."
As she spoke, Shen Yingxue staggered to her feet, looking aggrieved, and was about to crash into a large tree nearby. Lei Shi hurriedly grabbed her, crying, "Yingxue, how could you be so foolish... If you die, how will your mother live..."
Shen Minghui roared like thunder: "Die, die, die! All you know is death! Can death solve all the problems?"
"I don't want to let my sister down!"
Shen Yingxue nestled in Lei's arms, mother and daughter weeping bitterly. Shen Minghui glared at her fiercely, looking disappointed and sighing sadly.
Shen Lixue's sneer deepened. They were clearly the masterminds behind the conspiracy, trying to harm others, but their scheme failed, and they transformed themselves into victims, while the real victims became the perpetrators. This family of three, they really know how to act...
"Yingxue, are you saying that when you entered the room, Prince An was drunk and not in his right mind?" Shen Lixue looked at the shattered lattice window, a slight smile playing on her lips.
"Yes!" Shen Yingxue nodded through her tears, a hint of triumph in her misty eyes. It was confirmed that she was going to marry Prince An. The Qingyan royal family would not allow the princess to be disabled; they would definitely recruit renowned doctors to heal her arm.
“Yingxue, let me ask you again, when Prince An was mentally unstable and bullied you, did he ever call out a woman’s name?” Shen Lixue smiled faintly and spoke indifferently, but a strange glint appeared in the depths of her dark eyes.
When people are drunk, they are not in their right mind and may do things they would not dare to do when they are sober. It is possible that they might call out a woman's name or take advantage of her.
“Prince An… he kept calling my name…” Shen Yingxue said shyly, her voice tinged with embarrassment as she cried.
The crowd gasped in shock. Prince An, drunk, was calling out Shen Yingxue's name. Could it be that Prince An loved Shen Yingxue but had kept quiet because of his engagement to Shen Lixue...?
Shen Lixue suddenly looked at Shen Yingxue, her cold gaze like a sharp blade, capable of cutting through all falsehood and revealing the most truthful truth. Shen Yingxue felt a sudden pang of guilt, and as her body trembled, Shen Lixue uttered a chilling sentence: "The Prince of An's alcohol had already worn off in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, how could he be delirious? He wouldn't have bullied you, much less called your name. You've been lying all along!"
What? Prince An is conscious? Really? This completely contradicts what Shen Yingxue said. What's going on? The shocked and puzzled gazes of the crowd swept back and forth between Shen Yingxue and Shen Lixue. Which of these two sisters is telling the truth?
Shen Yingxue's gaze sharpened, and she sobbed weakly, "Sister, you can't bear to part with Prince An and want to exonerate him, but you can't wrong me like this. I said before that I wouldn't take Prince An away, and I will bear the consequences of today alone..."
When she entered the inner room, Prince An was still drunk. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's heavy footsteps waking him up, he wouldn't have knocked her out. Shen Lixue actually tried to trick her with words; she was really overestimating herself.
The crowd looked at Shen Yingxue with more sympathy. She didn't seem to be lying. Besides, why would a woman risk her innocence to falsely accuse someone else?
Shen Minghui frowned and said in a deep voice, "Li Xue, you don't know what happened, so don't make wild guesses. Let's find out what happened between Ying Xue and Prince An first. As for you and Prince An, we'll discuss that later."
Instantly, everyone looked at Shen Lixue with pity. Prince An was her fiancé, but after what happened today, it was highly likely that her younger sister would be the one to marry into the Holy Prince's Mansion.
A faint smile played on Shen Lixue's lips, yet it was tinged with boundless mockery, and a cold glint flickered deep within her dark eyes.
She knew Shen Minghui would help Shen Yingxue, so she had already prepared a plan: "I really don't know the real reason and details of why Yingxue fell to the ground. However, when I left Chang Le Palace, the Prince of Yunnan's heir had drunk too much and was not yet fully conscious, but the Prince of An had indeed woken up. He was resting in his room due to a relapse of his old illness. If you don't believe me, you can go into the east wing to check..."
Shen Minghui frowned deeply. Li Xue really had no sense of propriety at all, actually going against him in this situation. How could she only care about herself and not think about the reputation of the Prime Minister's Mansion at all?
With his sharp eyes narrowed, Shen Minghui was about to reprimand Shen Lixue when, with a creak, the tightly closed door opened, and a corner of white clothing fluttered out. White boots embroidered with intricate patterns stepped onto the bluestone ground, and the dark floral pattern of the clothing fluttered in the wind. The brocade belt at the waist was inlaid with gemstones. His young face was slightly pale, and his handsome features were so striking that it was impossible to look away. His dark eyes flashed with a sharp, cold light that made people afraid to look directly at him.