So, at the Crown Prince's insistence, the two doctors took him to a room and conducted a test.

The others remained in the main hall, waiting awkwardly.

Half an hour later, the doctor invited Marquis Anning in.

A little while later, the group came out of the room.

Marquis Anning's expression was complex, showing both relief and a sense of guilt and remorse.

Bai Qingzhou's fair face was flushed red. His features were already delicate, and with his pink cheeks, he looked like a porcelain doll. Even his small earlobes were completely red.

Shen Mianmian secretly glanced at him several more times, and for the first time she realized how good this type of handsome boy was, although... it still didn't suit her taste. She still preferred muscular men with eight-pack abs.

The main hall was deathly silent.

Ding asked anxiously, "My lord, what was the result...?"

Marquis Anning's eyes flickered for a moment, then he said in a deep voice, "Qingzhou is indeed innocent."

Ding breathed a sigh of relief, then, as if remembering something, glared fiercely at the courtesan, "You prostitute, why did you frame my son?"

The maid, Hua Niang, turned pale with fright. "Madam...please calm down. Last night...I also drank too much. This morning I found myself sleeping with the young master, and then...I thought...something had happened..."

Chen Mianmian whispered, "How strange. When did the young master redeem a prostitute? Did he go to redeem her himself? He was so drunk that he couldn't even have sex with her, how could he go to redeem a prostitute? This doesn't make logical sense."

The woman's voice was soft, almost like she was talking to herself, but the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; everyone could hear her clearly.

However, the woman, seemingly oblivious to the fact that her mutterings had been overheard, continued to mutter with her head down, "From the unfamiliar Young Master Lin dragging the young master out, to getting him drunk, and then writing an IOU to redeem the prostitute while he was unconscious, what is Young Master Lin after? Does he want to profit from this? Does he have a grudge against the young master?"

As she was talking, she looked up and suddenly realized that everyone was looking at her.

She panicked and cried out, "I deserve to die! I shouldn't have made a sound!"

Jiang Yinjin looked coldly at Chen Mianmian, her eyes seemingly venomous—Hmph, what are you pretending for? Do you really think outsiders can't see through your little tricks?

Shen Mianmian's eyes instantly reddened. "Young Madam, I've already admitted my mistake. Why are you still staring at me with such frightening eyes? I'm so scared. I... I promise I won't talk nonsense next time."

Jiang Yinjin was taken aback, and anger welled up inside her, but she still managed a smile. "Aunt Chen, are you sure you're not mistaken? What's so scary about me?"

"...I'm sorry, young mistress, I was indeed mistaken." She said, lowering her head in "shame."

Shen Mianmian didn't intend to break ties with Jiang Yinjin, because if they did, she would be the one who suffers.

In the adult world, there is no black and white, no right or wrong, only the gain and loss of interests.

Jiang Yinjin is the principal wife, the daughter of a vice minister, a young lady from a scholarly family, and the face of the Marquis of Anning's mansion; while she is just a lowly concubine. If the two of them had a conflict, anyone with a toe would know whose side the Marquis's wife would take.

She didn't want to be enemies with the female protagonist; she just wanted to survive until the novel ended.

As long as the female lead doesn't go too far, she doesn't want to take any extreme measures.

Jiang Yinjin smiled, looked away, and thought to herself—although she has been reborn, this bitch seems to be a little smarter than before, but she still has to die.

Madam Ding said to Marquis Anning, "My lord, now that I think about it, this matter is indeed suspicious in many ways. Don't you think we should investigate it? It might be targeting our Marquis's mansion. We can't just sit here and wait to be destroyed!"

Marquis Anning nodded slowly, then stared at the kneeling courtesan with his cold, hawk-like eyes. "Whether Qingzhou is innocent or not, the IOU has been written and she has been redeemed. There is no turning back now. You should have someone keep a close watch on this woman. We'll discuss how to deal with her after the investigation is complete."

"Yes, Your Excellency." Madam Ding glared fiercely at the courtesan.

then,

The matter of redeeming the courtesan from the brothel has now come to a temporary end.

After all that fuss, it was already afternoon.

Lady Ding wanted the young master to stay for lunch, but Bai Qingzhou refused, as he had no appetite.

Ding didn't force her—not to mention Qingzhou had no appetite, she had none either. She was too angry to eat anything.

And so the crowd dispersed.

.

The two remained silent throughout the journey.

When they arrived at Mingyue Courtyard and were about to go in, Chen Mianmian grabbed Bai Qingzhou's arm, saying, "Wait, don't go in yet."

Bai Qingzhou's face showed panic. She bit her lip secretly, turning her pink lips white and blue.

Chen Mianmian said, "Hanrong, go find a brazier first. The young master was framed and went to such a filthy place. He must step over a brazier to get rid of the bad luck."

"Yes, Aunt."

Without saying a word, Hanrong ran inside to find the brazier.

Bai Qingzhou then released his pitiful lips, her voice trembling as she asked, "You... let me come back?"

Chen Mianmian chuckled, "Isn't that obvious?"

She paused, realizing she might be getting a little carried away and risking ruining her image, and quickly changed her tone, saying softly, "This is the young master's home, how could I not let him return home?"

Bai Qingzhou stared at her, his throat suddenly choked up—back then, when his father broke his ribs, he didn't shed a single tear, so why did he feel like crying so often today?

Home?

Yes, this is his home.

Actually, Bai Qingzhou misunderstood. What Chen Mianmian meant was—you are the heir, the Anning Marquis's mansion will be yours sooner or later, the entire Anning Marquis's mansion is your home, let alone a small Mingyue Courtyard inside.

At that moment, Hanrong came out carrying a red clay porcelain basin, inside which were several sheets of paper.

"Please forgive me, Madam. I'm useless; I couldn't find a brazier. Could... I use this instead?"

Chenmian Mianliao—Mingyueyuan has no small kitchen, so there's no fire. It's summer now, so there's no need for a brazier for warmth. Therefore, unless you go to the kitchen, you won't find a brazier.

"Okay, this will do." Without saying another word, Chen Mianmian squatted down to light the fire, only to find that the paper inside was blank. "Wait, how can I use good paper to light a fire? What happened to all the papers I wrote on before?"

"Auntie, the young master has kept them all."

"..." Shen Mianmian looked up, speechless, at the person, "Wait, why are you collecting waste paper?"

Bai Qingzhou pursed her lips and remained silent.

Unfortunately, it was her idea to burn the brazier, and the young master had been standing outside the courtyard for a long time. The waste paper had also been collected, so they could only burn the good paper.

"Let's start a fire."

"Yes, Aunt." Hanrong picked up the flint and struck it to start a fire.

Before long, a small stack of papers was set on fire.

Chen Mianmian took Fengchu's hand and said, "Your Highness, please step forward quickly."

"Okay." Bai Qingzhou didn't hesitate and stepped over. "You step over too."

“No problem.” Chen Mianmian lifted her skirt and stepped over. “Hanrong, it’s your turn. You also went to the main courtyard and got involved with that bitch. Hurry up and step over.”

"Yes, Auntie." Hanrong lifted her skirt and stepped over.

Chen Mianmian looked up. "Guan Shui, what are you daydreaming about? Aren't you going to step over?"

"..." Guan Shui—no, he also has to cross over?

Finally, even Guan Shui, the servant boy beside the prince, stepped over the fire pit.

After the four of them finished stepping over the wall, the paper in the basin was burned out. Chen Mianmian was amused by Guan Shui's speechless expression. Han Rong thought her aunt's laughter was very pleasant to hear, as clear as a bell, and it seemed to be contagious, making her feel happy as well.

Shen Mianmian's hand was still tightly held by the young man. She tilted her head and asked, "Is Your Highness hungry?"

"Um."

"I'm hungry too, Hanrong. Go tell the kitchen to prepare some food. It doesn't have to be fancy, just quick."

"Yes, Auntie." Hanrong accepted the order and ran to the kitchen.

Chen Mianmian tried to shake off the boy's hand a few times, but couldn't, so she had to give up.

The two of them entered the room hand in hand.

Seeing that there was no one else in the room, Chen Mianmian blinked and asked softly, "Young Master, just now you... did it twice by yourself?"

"Huh?" Bai Qingzhou didn't understand at first, but then she realized what was going on, and her fair face turned bright red again. "You...you don't ask."

"Oh~" Shen Mianmian drawled, looking at Fengchu's rosy little face, she wanted to tease him even more, "Could it be that the two old doctors helped? Tsk, no wonder doctors have the hearts of parents."

Bai Qingzhou's face turned even redder. "Don't talk nonsense! I...I myself..."

Seeing that the boy's face was so red it looked like it was about to bleed, Chen Mianmian stopped teasing him and said seriously, "I see, I understand."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, as if he wanted to meld her into his chest.

Her face was pressed tightly against the boy's clothes; she could hear his rapid heartbeat and smell his scent...

Shen Mianmian frowned because the pleasant, clean scent emanating from him was masked by the strong fragrance of cosmetics.

She didn't dislike the cosmetics, but she felt the scent was unworthy of Fengchu.

Although the young phoenix is ​​useless and incompetent, he is pure, genuine, and clean.

Bai Qingzhou held the woman for a while before letting out a long breath. "I never thought I would come back. I thought... I was going to die this time. When Father was about to carry out the family punishment just now, I felt that he was going to kill me."

Even now, when Shen Mianmian recalls that scene, she is filled with dread.

Actually, she made a mistake today too.

She shouldn't have stepped forward rashly and attracted Jiang Yinjin's attention.

From today onwards, she's unlikely to have a peaceful day; Jiang Yinjin will definitely go all out to mess with her.

He sighed deeply. "I could tell too. Before... never mind, I don't want to ask."

She wanted to ask if the Marquis of Anning had ever beaten the Phoenix Chick. But then she thought about it and realized she was just asking a pointless question. Wasn't it obvious? He definitely had.

Bai Qingzhou lowered her eyes and did not respond to her words.

As clever as Chen Mianmian was, she instantly understood that he didn't want to say it either.

...

The investigation results were released in just one day.

The mastermind behind it all was Huo Rang, the young master of the Xuanping Marquis's mansion. Lin Boyan was instructed by Huo Rang to invite the young master Bai out and frame him.

That night.

Jiang Mansion.

Jiang Yinjin used the excuse of returning to her parents' home to meet her elder brother.

In Jiang Shenyan's study, Jiang Yinjin's eyes were red. "Big brother, thanks to you, if it weren't for you, I'm afraid... the investigation would have turned to me?"

Then he recounted the events that had occurred at the Marquis of Anning's residence in detail.

Jiang Shenyan listened with furrowed brows, his cold lips slightly parted, "Skinny horse? Chen Mianmian?"