“Green Branch’s eyes are not dim or blind, how could she not see who defiled her!” Consort Shu slowly sipped her tea, her red lips slightly parted, and together with Green Branch, she pointed the finger at Shen Lixue.
"Your Highness, I am an innocent young woman, and I only wanted to serve His Highness the Crown Prince. My innocence has been defiled, and I am already in unbearable pain. How could I possibly make false accusations against others!" Green Branch echoed Consort Shu's words, crying emotionally. Her voice was so sad and sorrowful that it was enough to make anyone who saw it feel heartbroken and bring tears to their eyes. Even Shen Lixue almost felt that she had truly been defiled by her.
The Prince of Yan looked at Shen Lixue without speaking, his gaze stern.
Shen Lixue smiled gently and looked at Lüzhi: "May I ask, Miss Lüzhi, when and where did I defile you?"
"Just now, on His Highness the Crown Prince's bed!" Green Branch glared hatefully at Shen Lixue, her eyes swollen like peaches from crying. Her pitiful appearance made people feel sorry for her, and no one would doubt her words.
Green Branch had an affair with a certain man and even rolled into Prince Ye Qianlong's bed. She was incredibly audacious and unscrupulous. Sleeping in the prince's bed is a serious crime.
"When Green Branch was raped, she must have struggled!" Shen Lixue's lips curled slightly, her gaze strange.
"Of course!" Green Branch's voice was shrill. If you don't struggle when you're being raped, then it's not rape.
“Look at Green Branch, your fingernails are long and have a little red on them. They must have been scratched on that person’s face or body when you were struggling. That person must have also left wounds on you in order to stop Green Branch from struggling.”
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow at Lüzhi, smiling brightly, but her voice was as cold as ice: "As long as you compare my handprint with the scars on Lüzhi's body to see if they match, and then check if I have any wounds, you can know whether Lüzhi was defiled by me..."
Green Branch was shocked, her small face instantly turning deathly pale. Looking down at the red spots on her fingernails, she knew that when she lost her virginity, the pain was excruciating, and she had indeed struggled desperately as if she had been raped. However, her fingernails had scratched the man who wanted her body, not Shen Li. If she were to undress and examine him, Shen Li would definitely not have any injuries, which would be enough to prove that Shen Li did not force himself on her. Wouldn't her lie then fall apart on its own?
"Why isn't Miss Green Branch speaking? Do you agree to my method?" Shen Lixue's smile was bright and dazzling, but Green Branch's eyes were filled with deep mockery and provocation: "He... forced himself on me from behind, and I didn't hurt him..."
"Since you took it from behind, how do you know that person was definitely me? And not someone else?" Shen Lixue's lips curled slightly, a smile that was neither a smile nor a frown.
“When you were abusing me, I turned around and saw you…” Green Branch’s eyes flickered as she tried to justify herself.
Shen Lixue snorted coldly and looked at Prince Yan: "Prince Yan, when a woman is forcibly taken, she is in unbearable pain. In addition, the pain of her first time will definitely make the bed extremely messy, and there will be signs of struggle on it. Why don't you ask an experienced nanny from the palace to examine it? Then you can know who is right and who is wrong between me and Lüzhi!"
The Prince of Yan lowered his eyelids and said coldly, "Someone, go and invite several of the old nannies from the palace to conduct the examination together!"
The guards obeyed and left. Green Branch felt a sudden jolt, and her mind went completely blank. The old women were experienced and knew that if she and other men were making love on Ye Qianlong's bed, the evidence on the bed would definitely point to another man.
The Prince of Yan has arrived, and Consort Shu's plan has failed. The evidence she left on the bed, originally intended to scheme against Shen Li, has unexpectedly become evidence of her wrongdoings. What to do? What to do?
Consort Shu looked at the panicked Green Branch, her face also pale, her slender hands clenched into fists, her long nails digging into her flesh. There must have been evidence left on the bed. What a bunch of fools, they can't even handle such a small matter.
Amidst their turmoil, the palace maids arrived at the Qianqing Palace. After carefully examining the bed, they concluded: "Your Highness, based on the marks left on the bed, it appears the woman lay face up during intercourse..."
Consort Shu's gaze sharpened: "Are you sure you haven't made a mistake, Granny?"
“Your Majesty, if the woman were face down, her hands should be placed in front of her or on her chest, and the scratches on the bed should be quite far forward. But now the fingernail scratches on the bed are closer to the middle, that is, at the waist. When a woman is in pain for the first time, she tightly grips the bed sheet under her during lovemaking, causing the scratches on the bed. This old servant would never be mistaken…”
Green Branch's body went limp, collapsing to the ground, her gaze blank. A single thought kept echoing in her mind: her lie had been exposed, she was finished…
"Check if Young Master Shen has any injuries!" Consort Shu glared at Green Branch, her eyebrows furrowed tightly. Useless thing, more trouble than good. She hoped that Shen Li had any injuries, big or small, as long as there were, she could use it as an excuse to cause trouble.
Shen Lixue glanced at Lüzhi and said arrogantly, "Your Highness, Lüzhi said the villain forced himself on her from behind, but the nanny's examination showed it was from the front. This is enough to prove that she is lying, and her words are no longer credible..."
"Young Master Shen is, after all, a suspect. It's always good to check and confirm." Consort Shu smiled gently, her manner kind and approachable. No matter what, she had to check Shen Li for any injuries.
Shen Lixue's skin was as delicate as porcelain, without a single scar, but she did not want to reveal her true gender and absolutely could not allow anyone to examine her body.
"Your Majesty, there's something I've always found strange!" Shen Lixue looked at Consort Shu, her eyes sparkling, her smile meaningful.
Looking at her bright smile, Consort Shu felt a bad premonition. Her gaze darkened, and she said indifferently, "What is it?"
"Changxin Palace is far from Qianqing Palace. How did Consort Shu know that something happened at Qianqing Palace, and how did she happen to bring it here and catch this humble subject red-handed?" Shen Lixue's voice was low and deep, and it was particularly clear in the quiet Qianqing Palace. If a smart person thought about it carefully, it would not be difficult to guess that there was something fishy about the matter.
The King of Yan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Consort Shu coughed a few times, feigning composure, and said, "Someone heard the screams of the palace maids in Qianqing Palace and reported it to me. I felt something was wrong, so I brought people here to investigate!"
"If I remember correctly, the management of the inner palace belongs to Consort De. When that palace servant heard the screams, she should have gone to Consort De, not Consort Shu." Shen Lixue frowned, indignant, and indirectly accused Consort Shu: "Which ignorant servant actually framed Consort Shu for overstepping her bounds?"
Consort Shu felt a surge of anger, stuck in her chest, unable to rise or fall, coughing repeatedly. Her beautiful eyes flashed with cold light. Shen Li actually took the opportunity to mock her. Good, very good.
Shen Lixue seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly turned around, looking at Consort Shu suspiciously: "Your Majesty, I remember that General Mu Tao injured his wrist and was applying medicine at your Chang Le Palace. He has not yet returned to his residence, is that right?"
"So what if it is?" Consort Shu replied to Shen Lixue in an annoyed tone. Shen Lixue's intelligence was beyond her expectations, and the appearance of the Prince of Yan was also outside her plans. These two variables led to her failure. How despicable!
"General Mu Tao is young and impetuous. His wrist was crippled, and he has a lot of pent-up frustration. He needs to do something to vent his anger..." Shen Lixue's cold gaze swept over the slumped Green Branch on the ground. The hidden meaning was self-evident: Mu Tao and Green Branch had committed an affair. To prevent being exposed and the matter from being revealed, Consort Shu rushed to Qianqing Palace to frame Shen Lixue in an attempt to quell the situation...
"Young Master Shen, don't make false accusations. I had no idea that His Highness the Crown Prince had invited you to the Qianqing Palace to frame you." Consort Shu's gaze was sharp as she stared coldly at Shen Lixue. Deep in her eyes, however, a strange light gleamed. Shen Lixue was indeed a formidable character; she had underestimated him.
Shen Lixue sneered: "This humble subject is new to the palace and does not know where the Qianqing Palace is. A young eunuch led this humble subject here. We walked very slowly and covered most of the inner palace. It is not surprising that Your Majesty's people saw this humble subject."
"If you want to know whether Her Majesty has framed me, it's very simple. Just summon General Mu Er and check if he has any fingernail marks on his body. Then the truth will be revealed..."
"What are you doing? What are you doing?" Before Shen Lixue could finish speaking, a loud and angry shout came over. Then, she saw Mu Tao, who was furious, struggling and being escorted into the Qianqing Palace by four guards.
Shen Lixue raised the corners of her mouth and looked at Prince Yan. This Prince Yan was shrewd and cunning. She had just mentioned that she suspected Mu Tao, and he had already ordered his men to bring Mu Tao over.
Consort Shu's face was deathly pale, devoid of any color. Her beautiful eyes darted around rapidly. She knew the truth perfectly well. She absolutely could not allow them to examine Mu Tao's body, but how could she stop them? She needed a very reasonable reason!
Mu Tao is the eldest son of the Duke of Mu's family, a man of noble status.
The Prince of Yan is a royal prince with an even more noble status, and it is an honor for him to see Mu Tao's injuries.
Mu Tao has a wrist injury? What does a wrist injury have to do with a medical checkup?
None of these reasons could stop others from inspecting Mu Tao. What to do? What to do? Consort Shu was like an ant on a hot pan, anxiously pacing back and forth.
Looking at Mu Tao again, his face was ashen. He, a dignified border general, was actually suppressed by four guards and had no power to resist. What a disgrace! It was all because of his hands. With his hands crippled, he would become a lung man!
He looked up and saw Shen Lixue. His anger flared up, his eyes turned bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth: "Shen Lixue, this is what you've done again!"
"General Mu, please don't be angry. I invited you here to prove your and Consort Shu's innocence!" Shen Lixue smiled slightly, her slender body instantly appearing in front of Mu Tao. Before Consort Shu's expression changed drastically and she could utter a word of protest, she forcefully tore open his shirt, revealing his bare upper body. His strong, tanned back was marked with numerous nail scratches, a shocking sight!