“Prince An…Prince An!” Shen Yingxue was so shocked she couldn’t speak: Wasn’t Prince An drunk and unconscious? How did he suddenly wake up?
"Heng'er, are you feeling any better?" The Empress Dowager looked at Dongfang Heng with kind eyes. His face was really pale, indicating that his old injury had relapsed. However, his eyes were clear, and he did not appear drunk at all.
"It's just a minor injury, nothing serious!" Dongfang Heng coughed a few times, his sexy thin lips instantly turning bloodless.
"What just happened?" The Empress Dowager and the Emperor were both very puzzled by what had just happened. Shen Yingxue was a girl who had lost her virginity. Shen Minghui and his family of three hugged each other and cried. They didn't say much. Dongfang Heng appeared, with a resolute expression, a righteous face, and sharp eyes. He had obviously been sober for a while. They knew that Shen Yingxue had lied and wanted to hear Dongfang Heng tell them the truth himself.
"I was resting in my room, waiting for the imperial physician to come and examine me. I didn't expect Miss Shen to walk into the inner room and take off her clothes on her own initiative..." Dongfang Heng's gaze was cold. He didn't even look at Shen Yingxue. He recounted everything that had just happened without any emotion.
In an instant, all the mocking and disdainful gazes of the crowd focused on Shen Yingxue. She was truly shameless to the extreme. She took off her clothes to seduce Prince An, and then falsely accused him of bullying her. Prince An had only kicked her out of the room, which was already too lenient for her...
Shen Minghui's face flushed red and then turned pale, looking extremely ugly. He glared coldly at Shen Yingxue, as if to say, "Look at what you've done! You've completely disgraced the Prime Minister's residence!"
"Waaaaah..." Shen Yingxue cried sadly and desperately: "Dongfang Heng, when you are sober, you wear a cold mask and look down on me. Only when you are drunk do you see my existence in your eyes and in your heart."
Shen Yingxue looked at Dongfang Heng, her eyes brimming with tears and filled with resentment: "For fifteen years, we didn't know of your existence. We both thought we would be each other's other half. If you didn't like me, how could you have let that marriage contract bind you for fifteen years? How could you have never even mentioned breaking off the engagement?"
Shen Yingxue spoke with force and conviction, each sentence accusing her relentlessly. She was the most beautiful woman in Qingyan, with unparalleled beauty. No man could resist such a beautiful woman. If it weren't for Shen Lixue's sudden appearance and seduction of Prince An, she would have been inseparable from Prince An long ago.
The reason why Prince An rejected her so ruthlessly must be because of that hateful marriage contract. He dared not break free from the constraints to marry her, so she would help him by giving him his freedom so that he could let go of everything and love her wholeheartedly.
The crowd's puzzled gazes also turned to Prince An. Everyone assumed that Shen Lixue had perished in the fire fifteen years ago, and the marriage agreement between the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Holy Prince's Mansion had become that between Prince An and Shen Yingxue. Over the years, Prince An had never mentioned the annulment of the engagement, which should indeed be as Shen Yingxue said, that he liked her.
"The marriage agreement from fifteen years ago was between the second son of the Holy King's Mansion and the granddaughter of the Duke of Wu's Mansion, who is also my daughter with Madam Qingzhu. Miss Shen, are you the granddaughter of the Duke of Wu and the daughter of Madam Qingzhu?"
Dongfang Heng's sharp gaze shot towards Shen Yingxue like a blade, startling her so much that she trembled all over. It took her a long time to react. She lowered her head slightly, her beautiful face full of embarrassment: "This... is not!" She was the granddaughter of the Grand Commandant's Mansion and the daughter of Lei Yarong. She had no relation whatsoever to the Duke of Wu's Mansion or Lin Qingzhu.
"Since that's not the case, there's no marriage agreement between you and me. If there's no marriage agreement, why cancel it?" Dongfang Heng's words were cold and ruthless.
Shen Yingxue was stunned and speechless after being refuted. She stared blankly at Dongfang Heng. He actually didn't mention annulmenting the engagement because of this? How could that be?
Shen Minghui's face was so black it looked like ink was about to drip out. Shen Lixue's surname was Shen, and she was his direct biological daughter. Everything she had was given to her by him. He controlled her destiny. Her relationship with her father, the Prime Minister, was much closer than with the Duke of Wu's mansion. When Shen Lixue went out, she also used his name, Prime Minister Shen.
But what did Dongfang Heng say? His fiancée was the granddaughter of the Duke of Wu's mansion, Lin Qingzhu's daughter. He didn't even mention that she was Shen Minghui's daughter, a woman of the Shen family. In Dongfang Heng's heart, this respected and powerful Prime Minister Qingyan was actually inferior to the Duke of Wu's mansion, which had been in decline for fifteen years, and even inferior to Lin Qingzhu, who had already passed away...
He realized that Dongfang Heng looked down on him. In Dongfang Heng's heart, Shen Lixue was not the eldest daughter of the Shen family, but the granddaughter of the Duke of Wu's mansion and the daughter of Lin Qingzhu.
If Shen Lixue is alive, Dongfang Heng will marry her. If Shen Lixue dies, her engagement with Dongfang Heng will be null and void. Even if Shen Minghui is the Prime Minister of Qingyan, none of his other daughters are qualified to replace Shen Lixue and marry into the Holy King's Mansion.
Everyone was stunned. They never expected that Dongfang Heng would say such heartless words to refute Shen Yingxue. In the eyes of Prince An, the dignified Prime Minister Qingyan was nothing and worthless.
Shen Lixue raised the corners of her mouth. Dongfang Heng's words were truly cold and ruthless. Shen Minghui had always been arrogant and self-important, and this time he must have been completely crushed. It was also because Shen Minghui was too stupid. Of all people to mess with, he had to mess with Dongfang Heng, and even conspired with his wife and daughter to put on a show and frame him. He had only made a few cold sarcastic remarks, which was already very polite...
"Ahem!" Dongfang Zhan coughed a few times, pulling people back from their reverie: "Let's put the engagement aside for now. Miss Shen is a girl, and it's really inappropriate for her to stand here so scantily clad!"
"Cough cough cough!" Dongfang Heng coughed softly a few times, his face growing paler.
Physician Chen hurriedly stepped forward to take the pulse, his gaze slightly narrowing: "Prince An does indeed show signs of a relapse of his old injury. This old minister will prescribe medicine immediately. As for Miss Shen... the superficial wounds are nothing serious. As for that arm, I will do my best..."
Dongfang Heng is the God of War of Azure Flame. He struck Shen Yingxue with a palm, yet she only suffered minor superficial injuries. It seems that Prince An's old injuries are quite serious. Shen Yingxue probably thought he was drunk and didn't use his full strength, which is why she dared to make such a blatant accusation. How shameless!
The emperor glanced coldly at the trembling Shen Yingxue: "Shen Yingxue has framed Prince An. Drag her out and behead her!" The Eastern royal family is the ruler of the Qingyan Kingdom. How dare a mere minister's daughter frame a royal prince? She is truly audacious.
Shen Yingxue felt a sudden thud, her mind went completely blank, and one sentence kept echoing in her head: "Shen Yingxue beheaded, Shen Yingxue beheaded..."
"Your Majesty, have mercy! Your Majesty, have mercy..." Lady Lei knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly. Yingxue was her own daughter, and she did not want to watch her beheaded.
Shen Minghui also knelt on the ground, pleading, "Yingxue is young and ignorant, please, Your Majesty, have mercy..."
The emperor snorted coldly: "If she can lie so much and frame royal princes at such a young age, what will she do if she becomes even bolder and starts framing princes and dukes?"
"I have failed to properly educate my daughter and I am willing to accept punishment!" Shen Minghui knelt on the ground, so low that he almost disappeared into the dust.
Shen Lixue frowned: Shen Minghui truly loves Shen Yingxue. To save her life, he humbled himself and begged the emperor for mercy. The emperor is the ruler, and he is the subject. Shen Yingxue's life is in the emperor's hands. Whether he can save her depends on Shen Minghui's ability!
Everyone turned their attention to one side, ignoring the tragic plight of Shen Minghui's family of three. The Emperor was in a rage, and they were trying to avoid him as much as possible. Why would they be so presumptuous as to step forward and provoke the Emperor?
"Sister Lixue, it's wrong of Yingxue to steal your fiancé, but she's still your own sister. Please plead for her. Look at Prime Minister Shen and his wife, how pitiful they are!" Zhuang Kexin stood next to Shen Lixue and whispered to her. Although it was a whisper, more than a dozen people nearby could hear it.
Shen Lixue sneered. Zhuang Kexin was forcing her to save Shen Yingxue. If she didn't, she would be considered narrow-minded and intolerant: "His Majesty is wise and mighty. He will not tolerate bad people, nor will he wrongly accuse good people. I believe that whether I plead for him or not, he will make the most correct judgment!" Zhuang Kexin had miscalculated in trying to force her to save someone.
"Sister Lixue is absolutely right, it was my oversight!" Zhuang Kexin gave an unnatural dry laugh. Shen Lixue praised the Emperor's wisdom, and if she said anything more, it would be as if she doubted the Emperor's intelligence. She was not a fool like Shen Yingxue and would not go against the royal family. So she immediately helped her maid and walked to the side at a distance.
Two guards stepped forward and tried to drag Shen Yingxue away. Lei Shi cried and held onto her daughter tightly. Shen Yingxue also clung to Lei Shi's arm and wouldn't let go. The whole scene was very chaotic.
Dongfang Zhan slowly walked to the emperor's side and whispered, "Father, today is the sixth imperial uncle's welcome-back banquet. It is not appropriate to see bloodshed!"
The emperor frowned, his majestic gaze darkening, and said coldly, "Shen Yingxue has falsely accused a prince of the royal family. She may be spared the death penalty, but she will not escape punishment. Drag her away and give her fifty strokes of the cane!"
Lei Shi and Shen Minghui were taken aback at first, then beamed with joy and kept kowtowing: "Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty, thank you..." Fifty strokes of the cane were neither too light nor too heavy. Shen Yingxue gritted her teeth and could still endure it. It was much better than beheading.
Physician Chen returned to the Imperial Hospital to prepare medicine for Dongfang Heng. After the medicine was brewed, the Empress Dowager, having stood for a long time, grew tired, so the Emperor helped her back to the palace to rest. The concubines and princes also left, and Chang Le Palace returned to its previous tranquility.
Shen Yingxue was pinned to the stool and beaten with a stick, the pain causing her to cry out in agony. Lei Shi and Shen Minghui watched anxiously from afar, but were helpless.
Supported by her maid, Zhuang Kexin slowly walked over. Looking at Shen Yingxue's badly injured arm, her tear-streaked face, and her swollen, red bottom, her expression was full of mockery and smugness.
"Yingxue, Yingxue, of all people to seduce, you had to go and seduce Prince An. He's the God of War of the Azure Flame, so arrogant. He wouldn't like cheap goods that come knocking on his door. Besides, he's your brother-in-law. If word gets out that your sister-in-law is sleeping with her brother-in-law, it'll be... tsk tsk..."
"Zhuang Kexin...don't be so smug!" Shen Yingxue glared at Zhuang Kexin hatefully, gritting her teeth. She was the one who got beaten, and Zhuang Kexin was actually gloating. What a bitch! Once she recovered, she would definitely make her pay.
“Shen Yingxue, I’m not smug, I’m just feeling sorry for you. If you were any more capable, and actually managed to get into Prince An’s bed, with your status as the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister’s family, even if you couldn’t become the principal wife, you could at least become a concubine. But now…”
Zhuang Kexin shook her head, looking regretful: "Not only did I get nothing, but many men also saw my body, and I was punished with a beating by the Emperor..."
"Zhuang Kexin!" Shen Yingxue's beautiful eyes were so angry they were almost spitting fire. What a bitch! She deliberately came to mock her.
"You're seriously injured, so please don't get agitated." Zhuang Kexin casually looked up at the sky. "It's getting late. I need to go back to the manor to rest my injured leg. After you've endured those fifty lashes, you should also go back. Remember to take good care of your arms and buttocks; if you have scars, those men won't like you..."