Ling Rui’er could not help but stand up and snapped, “Nonsense. How could I have an affair with you? With my status, how could I like someone like you? Who in the world are you? Why did you frame me? Do you want to die?”
Consort Su, who was seated beside the Empress, looked at Yan Miao suspiciously and a trace of gloomy look flashed across her eyes. Yan Miao had always been the Empress’ personal maid, and her reaction today was rather odd. Not only had she been hiding behind the Empress, but she was trembling slightly when Consort Su observed her carefully.
Hearing Ling Rui’er’s reprimand, Ma Er saw Ling Rui’er and was overjoyed. He finally found that beauty. He shook his head and struggled, hurriedly shouting at Ling Rui’er, “Rui’er, don’t worry. I know you’re afraid of that person. Don’t worry. I’ll take you away. I’ll be good to you for the rest of my life.”
Then, he tried to rush over and hug Ling Rui’er. Ling Rui’er was so frightened that she took a few steps back and almost hit a table by the side. Her hand was caught by someone in a cold manner. Ling Rui’er saw the emotionless look in Feng Yuxuan’s eyes, but she could still see the sharpness hidden in them.
Immediately, she trembled and cried, “Your Highness, I didn’t do that. I really didn’t.”
“How could that be? I’m telling the truth. I also know that you have a mole under your navel. If everyone doesn’t believe me, you can find someone to check it. Rui’er, how can you be so ruthless? Now that we’ve come to this point, do you want me to have another woman in my heart? Rui’er, just go with me. I’m serious. I promise, I will only be good to you in the future.”
Ma Er was no fool. When he saw the handsome Feng Yuxuan standing by Ling Rui’er’s side, he immediately analyzed that this was the young nobleman who was going to marry the beautiful woman. This time, he tried his best to defame Ling Rui’er so that the man would abandon Ling Rui’er and not marry her.
There was a mole under the navel? The people present burst into an uproar. It couldn’t be described as something that concerned an object like bellyband. If the man hadn’t really seen the woman’s body, how could he have said it so accurately? Was it possible that Consort Chu really had something to do with this man? What he said was well-grounded.
Judging by how sincerely he had spoken to Ling Rui’er and the mole under her navel, most of the people believed that it was true. Otherwise, who would say something like that? It was easy to verify whether Ling Rui’er had a mole under her navel or not. When they thought that Ling Rui’er, who had always been lofty and arrogant, would have an affair with such a man behind the gentle and elegant King Chu, everyone felt disgusted.
Feng Yuxuan’s face darkened. No man would not feel ashamed when he had been cuckolded by his own woman. It had nothing to do with love or dislike; it was a matter of dignity for a man, especially when he was a mighty prince.
Ling Rui’er was both angry and annoyed, but she could not explain why the man had her bellyband in his hands and why he knew the secret feature of her body. She could tell at a glance that the man was obscene. In any case, she would not have anything to do with him no matter how bad she was. However, everyone looked at her with disdain and suspicion.
“Your Highness, he was lying. It was all made up by him. Someone is framing me. Your Highness, you have to believe me. How could I do something like that? What’s more, how could you bring this person to the palace? Am I, I courting death? Your Highness, trust me.” Ling Rui’er clutched Feng Yuxuan’s hand and was very excited. As she spoke, a thought flashed through her mind and she suddenly understood. So there was some truth in her explanation.
Her statement did make sense. Even if Ling Rui’er had an affair with this man, she would not bring him into the palace especially when he said something like that in front of others. It was obvious that she was courting death. No matter what, it was not something that a normal person would do.
Feng Yuxuan’s face brightened slightly but he still shook off Ling Rui’er’s hand forcefully. He took two steps forward and stood in front of Ma Er. He looked down at the man coldly and a cold smile appeared on his lips. No matter what, Ling Rui’er was his wife. If something like this happened to her, he would be a cuckold. In that case, he would be ashamed to see other people.
Feng Yuxuan waved his hand, and several eunuchs who were holding Ma Er down moved aside. Someone had already moved a large nanmu wood chair for him. Feng Yuxuan lifted his robe, sat down, and asked coldly, “What’s your name?”
“I, I’m Ma Er.” Ma Er could sense that something was wrong. He looked at the eunuchs whose voice was just a croak around him and suddenly felt that things were a little different from what he had imagined. This man looked so frightening. Even the officer who had sentenced him to death did not have the imposing aura that the man in front of him had.
The Empress, who was sitting high, was shocked. She immediately turned around and looked at Yan Miao. Ma Er? Wasn’t it the name of the man whom Yan Miao had mentioned and brought into the palace?
Behind her, Yan Miao was already trembling. When she sensed that the Empress turned around to look at her, she raised her head and tried hard to wear a smile on her stiff face. However, the smile looked uglier than crying, making the Empress’ heart tremble when she saw it. The calmness and solemnity on her face were almost broken, and her hands clenched her sleeves…
“I am very curious. How did you get to know my wife? How did you have an affair with her? I would like to hear about it!” Feng Yuxuan’s eyes were filled with a cold smile. His lips curled and he looked sharply at Ma Er who was kneeling before him. “I am also curious about how you entered the palace. My Lady and I entered the palace together today and the guards were all my men.”
He had also awakened from his anger. He knew that Ling Rui’er had been framed. The appearance of this man was odd. The imperial palace was not a place that anyone could enter. He had entered the palace with Ling Rui’er early in the morning, which meant that the man did not come to the palace with Ling Rui’er.
But if he didn’t come with Ling Rui’er, then who did he come with?
Feng Yuxuan wanted to know who had framed Ling Rui’er over and over again, and wanted to ruin his reputation.
His Highness and his wife? Ma Er suddenly realized what was going on. He then looked at the Empress, who was sitting high and wore a sullen look. He remembered that someone just addressed her as the Empress. “Is this not an ordinary noble family, but the palace? The beauty is not an unmarried lady, but a prince’s wife. How, how could this be!”
“Whoever falsely accuses a member of the royal family will be hacked to death and their family of nine generations will be put to death.” Feng Yuxuan’s cold eyes were filled with sinister anger. Ma Er was so frightened that he knelt on the ground with a thud.
It, it seemed that the punishment was severer than being put to death with one stroke.
“Tell me, who asked you to frame me.” Ling Rui’er stood out and demanded Ma Er angrily. She hated the person in front of her. Of course, she hated the person who had asked the man to frame her even more. “As long as you tell me who the mastermind is, I might even ask His Highness to spare your life.”
“I, I…” Ma Er looked around anxiously for the noble. The noble said that as long as he made it big, the beauty and wealth would belong to him. But what was going on? Why was there a prince and his wife, as well as the Empress above?
This was a big sin that would cause his family of nine generations to be executed. Although Ma Er had no immediate family, he still had a few cousins, who had always been nice to him. He would cause them to die with him. Besides, he would be punished to be cut into pieces. He had witnessed a person being cut off piece by piece and cried for 10 whole days until he died. At the thought of that miserable scene, he felt trembling all over. He might as well be beheaded. At least it was fast.
Consort Su, who was sitting high on the seat, suddenly opened her mouth and asked, “Who are you looking for, Ma Er?”
Following her voice, Ma Er looked up and saw Yan Miao, who was being pulled to her side by Consort Su. He shouted hurriedly, “Miss, Miss, please save me quickly. You asked me to hide behind the screen over there and peep at Her Lady to change clothes. You also asked me to remember the features of her body and said that I could marry her in this way. Why don’t you come out and speak for me now? I did what you ordered.”
At the sight of Yan Miao, Ma Er seemed to have seen his lifesaver and immediately shouted loudly.
All of a sudden, everyone’s gaze fell on Yan Miao, who had been pulled out from behind the Empress by Consort Su. It turned out to be the Empress’ personal lead palace maid behind the scene. They were all stunned. How could it be the Empress? Was it the Empress who wanted to frame Ling Rui’er? It made no sense because they were both from Ding General Manor. How could the Empress hurt Ling Rui’er?
However, a few young ladies, who had always been bullied by Ling Rui’er, had sensed the key point of the matter. As a lady from Ding General Manor, Ling Rui’er had often bullied others; she once shocked the horse of a young lady and caused her to break her legs. A few of them murmured when they heard what Ma Er had said.
“She was really seen, and so clearly.”
“This time Consort Chu is really…”
“So there is a mole under Consort Chu’s navel. I thought he was talking nonsense.” Feng Yuxuan’s face darkened again when he heard their talk. He looked at the ladies sharply and they all lowered their heads and did not dare to say anything else. When a woman’s body had been seen by a man, it meant that she was no longer chaste.
Ling Rui’er shook in anger and clenched her fists tightly. However, instead of aimed at the young ladies who were gossiping, she was aimed at Yan Miao. She knew that Yan Miao was the main reason.
Yan Miao was pushed down by Consort Su and heavily fell on the ground in front of Feng Yuxuan and beside Ma Er. For a moment, she couldn’t even get up. The moment Ma Er showed up, she was in a panic. All kinds of fear welled up in her heart. She raised her head and looked at the Empress who was high above with imploring eyes, only to see the fierceness in the Empress’ eyes.
“Yan Miao, what’s wrong with you? Who asked you to frame Consort Chu? I always regarded you as my family and never doubted you. I didn’t expect that you dared to do such a vicious thing behind my back. You want to frame my niece. Do you know the penalty for that crime? Tell me the person behind the scene immediately so as not to suffer a lot of physical pain.”
Yan Miao looked at the Empress in despair, her fingers shaking so much that she could not calm down. How could she not understand the Empress’ intentions? She still had family outside the palace; they were still in Ding General Manor. She would definitely die this time, but she could not implicate her family. Furthermore, she knew very well the punishment in the palace, and the painful feeling could make life worse than death.
The Empress had pushed her out and asked her to bear all the consequences!
All kinds of emotions welled up in Yan Miao’s heart, but she knew that at the moment, she had to die.
“Miss, save me. Please save me.” Seeing Yan Miao, Ma Er quickly reached out to pull her. He held her hand and pulled her up while shaking her. When he saw that there was no vitality in her squinting eyes, he was even more flustered.
“Your Majesty, it’s all my fault. I did it alone because I was beaten by Consort Chu the last time she came to the palace. I bear a grudge against her, so…” Yan Miao answered with a bitter smile on her face when she was kowtowing to the Empress. She quickly took out a needle from the corner of her clothes and quietly removed the cover of it. Then she stuck it into Ma Er’s palm before she clenched it in her hand and let the needle pierce her palm…
It was a poisonous needle from the Southern Barbarian Lands!
