Old Fang felt uneasy in his heart, but he couldn’t prevent the Crown Prince from entering the palace. After all, the eunuch sent by the Emperor was still waiting, and it wouldn’t be good to delay too long. Old Fang could only instruct the Crown Prince: “Your Highness, if His Majesty asks how this matter should be handled, Your Highness must remember to play the role of a good elder brother before His Majesty. Say that Prince Liang was momentarily confused, and suggest to His Majesty… at this crucial moment when Great Liang and Jin are negotiating peace, this matter should be kept completely secret!”
“Old Fang, rest assured, I remember!” The Crown Prince straightened his sleeves and, supported by Quan Yu’s hand, boarded the carriage.
Seeing the Crown Prince leave, Old Fang immediately sent someone to the residence of Minister Wang of the Ministry of Rites to investigate the situation.
Dawn had already broken. Common people eating breakfast at street stalls gathered in groups of two or three, and in their mouths they were all discussing how someone had seen Prince Liang disheveled, being sent out from the side gate of Minister Wang’s residence by Princess Nandue Liu Ruofu, and it was said the two had been intimate at the gate.
“Is it true or false? Wasn’t that Princess Nandue Liu Ruofu courted by the Fourth Prince of Great Liang?”
“Hey! Great Liang has been beaten to such a state by our Princess Zhenguo that even their commander Xun Tianzhang is dead! How could Princess Nandue marry into Great Liang?!”
“That’s true…”
Not long after, Liu Ruofu awakened. When she saw herself in the mirror, she nearly collapsed.
Liu Ruofu’s cherished snow-white skin was covered with marks; there were glaring red stains on the bed, and her body ached as if it had been battered, the pain unbearable.
Liu Ruofu’s two personal maidservants awoke after hearing Liu Ruofu’s screams, only to discover they had been lying beneath the back window. The two rushed to the front courtyard in panic, and before they could enter the room, they saw Old Madam Wang and the three daughters-in-law of the Wang family hurrying over together.
Just as Old Madam Wang’s group crossed the courtyard gate, they heard Liu Ruofu’s continuous, piercing screams.
Old Madam Wang’s heart jumped with fright. She shook off her eldest daughter-in-law, who was supporting her, and ordered: “Quickly summon the Imperial Physician!”
Liu Ruofu’s two personal maidservants knelt in panic at the door, prostrating themselves without daring to raise their heads: “Greetings to Old Madam!”
“Baozhen… Baozhen!” Old Madam Wang, leaning on her walking stick, called Liu Ruofu’s childhood name while hurrying toward the main room.
The old nanny beside Old Madam Wang pushed open the door and quickly stepped around the screen. Seeing Liu Ruofu frantically wrapping herself in the quilt, with marks visible on her exposed neck, the nanny’s legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed.
Seeing this, Old Madam Wang directly fainted!
The Wang household was now in complete chaos, while Bai Qingyan and her group were leisurely heading toward Shouyang.
Dong Tingzhen lay crying on Bai Qingyan’s lap, soaking Bai Qingyan’s clothes with her tears.
She gently stroked Dong Tingzhen’s head, softly comforting her: “There now, Tingzhen, it’s not worth crying over a man who only wanted to use you. Go accompany my mother in Shouyang, relax your mind, and when the time comes… once the capital stabilizes, if the Chen family is still interested, you could consider discussing marriage with them. I’ve met Chen Zhaolu… he’s a young man of upright character!”
Bai Jinzhi looked at Dong Tingzhen, who was still crying incessantly, and gently patted her back: “Oh my! Sister Tingzhen! You should consider yourself lucky! Fortunately, your elder sister noticed in time, otherwise you would have been harmed by Prince Liang. You should be happy!”
Only then did Dong Tingzhen react. She quickly sat up, looking at Bai Qingyan through her tears, grasping Bai Qingyan’s hands: “Cousin! This time… It’s all thanks to you. You told me so much but couldn’t wake me up, so you worked hard to use such a method to let me see Prince Liang’s true face!”
“We are sisters, no need for such formalities!” Bai Qingyan smiled and squeezed Dong Tingzhen’s hands.
In her previous life, because of the Bai family’s affairs, even Dong Tingzhen had been implicated.
In this life, she was willing to use all her power to protect Dong Tingzhen and prevent her from repeating the same mistakes.
Dong Tingzhen leaned into Bai Qingyan’s embrace and cried until their group reached the post station to rest, and only then did her emotions somewhat calm.
Taking advantage of Dong Tingzhen redoing her makeup, Bai Jinzhi walked around the vicinity with Bai Qingyan.
“Elder sister… will Prince Liang enter the palace and falsely accuse the Crown Prince of orchestrating his affair with Princess Nandue Liu Ruofu?” Bai Jinzhi scratched her head, somewhat worried. “What if the Emperor doesn’t believe it?! If the Emperor believes it, wouldn’t the Crown Prince be in trouble, and Prince Liang would gain power!”
“The matter was indeed done by the Crown Prince. As long as someone has done something, evidence will be left behind. The Emperor will discover it with one investigation! The Crown Prince has always deeply feared the Emperor, so probably without the Emperor investigating, the Crown Prince will spill everything!”
“However, the Crown Prince’s original intention… was to make the Emperor see clearly that Prince Liang is not as weak as he appears, to make the Emperor see Prince Liang’s intention to interfere with military power through marriage connections. Besides, the Crown Prince isn’t stupid – letting Prince Liang marry Liu Ruofu would benefit the Crown Prince in no way! So… wouldn’t the Emperor understand this? The Emperor won’t do anything to the Crown Prince!”
Bai Qingyan turned back to look at the curious Bai Jinzhi: “If you’re curious, when news comes from the capital… You can listen alongside me.”
“Great!” Bai Jinzhi beamed with joy.
At this time, events in the capital were unfolding exactly as Bai Qingyan had predicted.
After the Emperor slightly pressured the Crown Prince, he knelt and spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube.
Including how his advisors had previously suggested using Princess Gaoyi, but he worried that Princess Zhenguo had a bad temper and would break Prince Liang’s legs, which is why he thought of Princess Nandue.
The Crown Prince claimed he only wanted the Emperor to understand that Prince Liang intended to interfere with military power, to make the Emperor cautious! He feared the Emperor would be blinded by emotion because Prince Liang was his son, which is why he resorted to this desperate measure.
The Emperor’s original intention was to cover up this matter, but who knew that just after the morning court ended, rumors about Prince Liang and Liu Ruofu’s romantic affair were spreading like wildfire outside the palace.
The Ministry of Rites Minister’s residence was also in complete chaos, with servants coming and going, everyone as if facing a great enemy.
The Wang residence had always been under Old Madam Wang’s complete control. Now that Old Madam Wang had fainted from anger, the eldest daughter-in-law ordered the entire household to keep their mouths shut, but her authority was not as commanding as Old Madam Wang’s, so some information still leaked from the Wang residence.
Minister Wang of the Ministry of Rites hurriedly entered the palace, begging the Emperor to summon Prince Liang for questioning, and honestly told the Emperor… Liu Ruofu had lost her virtue the previous night.
The Emperor was caught completely off guard – the affair between Prince Liang and Liu Ruofu was already spreading like wildfire outside.
Before he could react, the peace negotiation envoys sent by Great Liang came requesting an audience. The Emperor was so angry his headaches nearly flared up again.
As soon as Minister Wang withdrew, the Emperor furiously threw his teacup at the Crown Prince: “Look at the good deed you’ve done!”
“Father Emperor! Father Emperor, I never intended for this matter to become so big! Making it big… brings no benefit to our Jin nation!” The Crown Prince knelt before the Emperor. “Your son only wanted Father Emperor to see Prince Liang’s intentions, but never thought of actually letting Prince Liang marry Princess Liu Ruofu!”