Chapter 2 Past Events

Lu Zhaoxue was so frightened that her whole body went cold, and she quickly grabbed the clothes next to her to try to cover herself.

Her voice trembled violently: "No... Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am innocent! His Highness the Crown Prince and I are innocent! We... we were framed..."

"Innocence?" Consort Rong suddenly raised her head, her tear-filled face full of sarcasm.

Do you think I and all the palace servants in this hall are blind?

"You two, a man and a woman, were found naked in bed together. The evidence is irrefutable, and you still dare to deny it! Your illicit affair with the Crown Prince is a disgrace to the purity of the Eastern Palace!"

"I didn't!" Lu Zhaoxue shook her head desperately, tears blurring her vision.

"Someone has framed us. We beg Your Majesty to investigate!"

Consort Rong sneered, her gaze sharp as a knife: "Hmph! What a silver-tongued vixen!"

"Since you keep insisting that you are innocent, do you dare to show your virginity mark in front of His Majesty and everyone else to prove your innocence?"

The cinnabar mark... Lu Zhaoxue's heart sank suddenly.

She gritted her teeth and said, "Your Majesty, I... I have actually been Huaiyu's person for a long time."

"That is precisely why I have no way of having an affair with His Highness the Crown Prince. This is clearly a deliberate attempt to frame us and sow discord between us!"

"You vixen, stop spouting nonsense!" Consort Rong shouted sternly, her tone becoming increasingly fierce.

"Huaiyu has always been a man of propriety and law, how dare you slander him like this!"

"I didn't lie!" Lu Zhaoxue bit her lower lip hard, a metallic taste of blood spreading in her mouth.

"I have told you the truth, Your Majesty, please believe me!"

"Good! All is well!" Emperor Mingwu's face was ashen, clearly burning with rage.

"Since that's your explanation, then I will immediately summon Huaiyu to confront you face to face!"

"If you dare utter even the slightest lie, I will not let you off easily!"

Lu Zhaoxue huddled in the cold corner of the bed, trembling all over, as fear overwhelmed her like a tidal wave.

She knew that her explanations were weak and powerless at this moment, and her only hope was Chu Huaiyu.

Lu Zhaoxue stared intently at the direction outside the palace gate with bloodshot eyes, all her hopes turning into a ray of light, which she placed on Chu Huaiyu.

She longed for him to come and save her from her predicament.

The palace doors were pushed open again, and Chu Huaiyu, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, walked in with a tall and steady gait.

Chu Huaiyu's expression was calm, and his eyes were indifferent, as if everything happening before him had nothing to do with him.

Emperor Mingwu said in a deep voice, "Huaiyu, you tell me, is what Lu Zhaoxue just said true?"

All eyes were on Chu Huaiyu, but Chu Huaiyu simply bowed slowly.

His voice was clear yet firm, leaving no room for doubt: “Your Majesty, I have always followed your teachings and adhered to ethical principles for many years, never daring to overstep the bounds.”

"Men and women should not touch each other. Although I am engaged to Miss Lu, I have always kept my distance and have never crossed the line."

"What Miss Lu said is completely unfounded."

A few words, spoken lightly, struck Lu Zhaoxue's heart like a heavy hammer, shattering her last hope.

Instead of defending her, Chu Huaiyu pushed all the blame onto her, personally plunging her and Chu Siheng into an abyss.

Emperor Mingwu was furious after hearing Chu Huaiyu's words and sternly rebuked Chu Siheng, who was kneeling to the side.

"Siheng, I am truly disappointed in you! As the crown prince, instead of setting a good example, you have committed such immoral acts, which is unbecoming of a crown prince!"

"Effective immediately, Chu Siheng is hereby deposed as Crown Prince and placed under house arrest in the Eastern Palace to await my judgment!"

Chu Siheng's face was ashen, and he kowtowed silently to admit his guilt.

The imperial edict that deposed him from his position as crown prince severed all his future glory like a sharp blade.

Immediately afterwards, Emperor Mingwu's cold gaze suddenly turned to Lu Zhaoxue, his eyes devoid of any pity.

"Lu Zhaoxue! As an unmarried young lady from a respectable family, you should uphold the virtues of womanhood and maintain your integrity, yet you are so shameless!"

"You have not only disgraced the Lu family, but also stirred up royal disputes and caused chaos in the Eastern Palace! According to the official laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, you will be punished in the palace and the punishment will be carried out in court as a warning to others!"

...

When the whip lashed Lu Zhaoxue, she was in so much pain that she became delirious and fainted several times, but she still fantasized that Chu Huaiyu would come to save her.

He had once made a promise to her that was as deep as the sea.

He had said that he had long harbored feelings for her, and he would never stand by and watch her suffer such torture.

But all they got in return was the undisguised ridicule and sharp insults from the palace servants.

"What a shameless vixen! You deserve to suffer this!"

"He ruined the Crown Prince and still wants to curry favor with the Fourth Prince. Doesn't he even know what kind of person he is!"

Those vicious words were like silver needles, piercing deeply into Lu Zhaoxue's already wounded heart.

But at that time, she still harbored a sliver of humble hope for Chu Huaiyu.

Perhaps... perhaps he has some unspeakable difficulties?

Perhaps he was forced by the emperor and had no choice in the matter?

Little did Lu Zhaoxue know that she and Chu Siheng were merely stepping stones to pave the way for his imperial power...

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Zhaoxue fainted from the excruciating pain.

It wasn't until three days later that Lu Zhaoxue slowly woke up.

Her wounds were painful to the touch, but Lu Zhaoxue didn't care about that. She struggled to get up and find Chu Huaiyu to ask him what was going on.

But as soon as she stepped out of the room, she bumped into Lu's mother, whose face was covered in tears.

Seeing that she was awake, Lu's mother quickly reached out to support the swaying Lu Zhaoxue, and choked out a piece of news that struck her like a thunderbolt:

"Zhaoxue, you'd better not go... Today is the Fourth Prince's wedding day."

"A grand wedding?"

Lu Zhaoxue shook her head blankly, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably, and said sharply, "Impossible... This is absolutely impossible!"

"The bride he's going to marry is clearly me! He said it himself! He only has eyes for me, so who is he going to marry now?"

Mother Lu covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face, and said in a trembling voice, "It is...it is the daughter of the Protector General, Du Xianyue."

"After you fell into a coma, Chu Huaiyu personally went to plead with His Majesty to change the marriage decree and marry Du Xianyue as his princess."

The vows we made back then still ring in my ears.

Chu Huaiyu told her, "I've had you in my heart for a long time," and said, "Huaiyu will not marry anyone but Zhaoxue in this life."

But in the blink of an eye, he was to marry another woman... and just a few days after she had been tortured, he was to hold a grand wedding ceremony with her!

How callous! How heartless!

Overwhelmed by immense betrayal and despair, Lu Zhaoxue could no longer bear it. She frantically broke free from her mother's restraints and staggered toward the Fourth Prince's mansion.

At this time, the Prince's mansion was decorated with lanterns and colorful banners, with red silk ribbons everywhere and festive drum music filling the air.

This formed a stark contrast to Lu Zhaoxue's disheveled appearance and the blood and tears in her heart.

Just as Lu Zhaoxue was about to rush in, she was stopped by the gatekeeper.

The servant's tone was contemptuous and cold: "Where did this crazy woman come from? Today is our prince's wedding day, how dare you cause trouble here!"

"Let me in! I want to see Chu Huaiyu!" Lu Zhaoxue roared, her voice hoarse.

The servants, however, held her tightly.

One of them sneered, "The prince said he won't see you! You've done such a shameless thing, and you still have the nerve to come here?"

"If you know what's good for you, get out of here! Don't make a fool of yourself! If you have any sense of propriety or shame, you shouldn't be showing your face in front of our Prince!"

"He won't see me..."

Lu Zhaoxue felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and all her strength was instantly drained.

She never imagined that the man who had once been so tender and affectionate towards her would treat her so cruelly.

Lu Zhaoxue's heart suddenly churned, and then her vision went black as she collapsed outside the vermilion gates of the Fourth Prince's mansion.

After that, Lu Zhaoxue fell seriously ill and lay in bed all day in a daze.

She was sometimes conscious and sometimes unconscious, tormented day and night by the pain of her wounds and the pain in her heart.