Chapter 2
Chapter 2
The girl’s hazy eyes cleared instantly.
She shoved me away.
“Are you crazy? This wasn’t the deal!”
“We agreed I was just supposed to pretend!”
“If you’re going to break your word, I’m leaving.”
I let out a sinister grin.
“What was the deal, exactly? This Pri- This young master can do whatever he wants. Don’t be ungrateful.”
“You-you liar! You clearly agreed that if I just put on an act and eventually said Eldest Young Master Wei put me up to it, that would be it. Why are you going back on your word? Move aside, let me go!”
Gathering her courage, she tried to bolt past me and the guards.
But the moment she rushed out, she froze.
The area outside the room was already crowded with people, including the very man she had just mentioned: Wei Xiao.
Everyone was looking at her with a mixture of surprise and disgust.
She turned back in shock and asked dryly, “Who… who exactly are you?”
Shuangwei had already thoughtfully ordered someone to bring a chair over.
I sat down with perfect composure.
Shuangwei took on the air of a head palace maid, looking proud and haughty.
“Princess Yongkang is here! Why have you not knelt yet?”
The woman’s knees went weak, and she collapsed into a kneel, her entire body trembling.
I gave a soft chuckle, my finger lightly tapping the armrest as I said warmly, “In light of your flower-like beauty, This Princess will give you one chance to atone for your crimes.”
“Tell the truth now, and This Princess might spare your life.”
“Otherwise, This Princess will have no choice but to charge you with the crime of deceiving the sovereign.”
The woman was terrified, the panic in her eyes impossible to hide.
Ultimately, she chose her life.
“Princess, spare me!”
“Someone found me and gave me a hundred taels of silver.”
“They said Second Young Master Wei would come in later, and I just had to embrace him. They said people would arrive soon after to catch us in the act.”
“When that happened, I was supposed to insist that Eldest Young Master Wei had instructed me to frame Second Young Master Wei.”
“I was just taking money to do a job. I never intended to insult the Princess. Please, Princess, spare my life!”
The crowd erupted into an uproar.
People whispered and discussed the revelation fervently.
Those who knew Wei Xiao looked at him with expressions of pity.
I raised my hand and ordered the woman to be taken away for further questioning.
Then, I turned a curious gaze toward Wei Xiao.
“Eldest Young Master Wei, it seems someone is trying to harm you!”
Wei Xiao looked thoughtful as he bowed deeply. “This humble one thanks the Princess for her life-saving grace.”
With the matter settled, I no longer had the heart for Buddhist prayers.
I summoned the Abbot and told him to conduct a thorough investigation.
“How has a fine Buddhist temple become a den of iniquity, allowing people to commit such scandalous acts here?”
“If the Abbot cannot manage the temple properly, it can certainly be handed over to someone who can.”
Beads of sweat poured down the old monk’s forehead.
After I left, he immediately announced the temple’s closure for a full investigation.
By the time I reached the foot of the mountain, news from the Guangping Marquis Manor had already arrived.
The Guangping Marquis had gone to the palace to beg for forgiveness.
His wife had anxiously gone to fetch a physician.
Wei He was crying about his innocence.
Meanwhile, Wei Xiao had been punished with kneeling in the ancestral hall.
When I heard this, my brows knitted together.
I didn’t understand.
I was utterly shocked.
Shuangwei whispered, “I heard that Lady Zhao of the Guangping Marquis Manor said Eldest Young Master failed to look after his younger brother, which led to the brother trespassing into the Forbidden Courtyard and being punished by the Princess. She also claimed he conspired with a woman of the streets to ruin his brother’s reputation, which is why he was ordered to kneel in the ancestral hall.”
Me: “…”
I asked with great difficulty, “Is that son actually hers?”
Or could Mind-Reading Art truly bewitch a person’s heart to such an extent?
Shuangwei looked thoughtful. “Your servant believes there is something very fishy about this.”
Xue Ling remained silent, keeping her head down and trying her best to diminish her presence.
Having shared a bond of master and servant with her for many years, I hadn’t expected her to be so tactful and aware of the situation.
I returned to the palace.
My Crown Prince Brother was waiting for me outside the gates.
Upon seeing me, he immediately strode forward.
His eyes swept over me with concern, and he only breathed a sigh of relief once he saw I was unharmed.
“Shu’an, are you alright?”