Enough Suffering in My Past Life—Not Marrying Again, No Matter What!

Shen An’an came from a prestigious family, blessed with both talent and beauty. As soon as she reached marriageable age, she was betrothed to the Fourth Prince, Xiao Yuan—a man of unparalleled ...

Chapter 274: Hard to Defend

Chapter 274: Hard to Defend

Shen Anan seemed to sigh, “In that case, then auntie can go.”

Aunt Yang bowed and turned to get off the carriage.

Shen Anan stared at her back for a long time before looking away.

At this time, the bell for court had already rung, and officials filed in. Before entering the Fengtian Hall, Xiao Yuan paused again and spoke calmly, "Aunt Yang, do you have anything else to say to me?"

"What I said...about the death of the Empress is absolutely true." Aunt Yang raised her eyes and stared at the Fengtian Palace, her eyes filled with overwhelming resentment.

Xiao Yuan nodded slightly and said no more. He just turned his head to look deeply at Aunt Yang, then walked into the Fengtian Hall.

A woman came into the Fengtian Hall, causing all officials to look at her sideways. It was against the rules for women to attend the court, but because the person who brought her was the unruly Xiao Yuan, the censor who usually loved to chatter just took a glance and looked away.

I can't say anything, and if I say something I'll probably get scolded. I don't dare to scold because I'll probably get beaten, so I just keep silent.

Aunt Yang stood behind Xiao Yuan with her head down, not looking around or saying anything. Some officials stretched their necks but could not see clearly what she looked like.

"What is the Fourth Prince up to?"

"It doesn't harm us anyway, so why bother with that?"

"That makes sense." After the officials talked in low voices, they didn't even turn their eyes in that direction.

Shen Yunbai narrowed his eyes and looked forward for a few times without saying anything.

"Boring," Li Huaiyan muttered quietly, "Do you feel that Xiao Yuan has become much quieter and less interesting since Xiao Ze left?"

Ling Chenyi glanced at Li Huaiyan but was in no mood to joke with him. Others could not recognize her, but he recognized at a glance that the woman was the palace maid who had served Concubine Shu before.

But isn't she dead? How come it suddenly appears again after several years?

I'm afraid today's morning court session will not go smoothly.

While he was thinking, the eunuch's sharp voice rang out, and as the voice fell, the emperor entered the Fengtian Hall amid the greetings of civil and military officials.

"Everyone, get up."

The emperor shook the sleeves of his dragon robe and fixed his eyes on the woman in the front row, "Who is she? Fourth Brother, did you bring her here?"

"yes."

"This is Fengtian Palace, not your Fourth Prince's residence. You are not allowed to bring all these messy people here."

Xiao Yuan looked calm, "Replying to Father, this person is an old acquaintance of Mother and Father, and he said he has something to say to Father in person."

Hearing this, the emperor frowned and looked at the woman who lowered her head.

At this moment, Aunt Yang slowly raised her head, revealing a sad and angry face, "Your Majesty, do you still remember me?"

The emperor was stunned for a moment, and then his expression became visibly ugly.

Aunt Yang raised her voice and repeated, "Your Majesty, I am the head maid of the late Concubine Shu. Yang Wen, do you still remember me?"

The emperor had calmed down and said coldly, "Aren't you dead?"

"Your Majesty, aren't you the one who knows best whether this servant is dead or not?"

"How outrageous." The eunuch beside the emperor glared at her and was about to slap her in the face.

"Your Majesty, in front of all the civil and military officials, are you going to silence me?" She roared, her eyes red.

"Wait." The emperor stopped the eunuch and asked him to step back.

"Since you are not dead, just live well. What are you doing in Fengtian Palace?"

Aunt Yang burst into tears, "I am here to seek justice for the death of Concubine Shu and give the young master an answer."

The emperor's pupils shrank slightly, and a warning flashed across his eyes as he stared at Aunt Yang.

Aunt Yang didn't care at all. She held her legs and stood up from the cold floor with difficulty. She looked at the civil and military officials and said in a sonorous and powerful voice, "In fact, the Concubine Shu didn't die of illness that year. She died of anger and anger!!"

There was an uproar in the hall.

The emperor said sternly, "Yang Wen, do you know what you are talking about? If you insult the royal family, you will be executed along with all your clans!"

Aunt Yang's expression paused, and she turned to look at Xiao Yuan, her eyes filled with pleading.

Xiao Yuan's eyes were cold and calm, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Aunt Yang smiled bitterly and looked away. "Your Highness treated me with great kindness and love, like a sister. I have served you closely for several years. How could I talk nonsense? Even though Your Highness was ill, it was not life-threatening. She was completely hopeless and determined to die. She died of anger."

All the officials dared not breathe as they listened to this shocking inside story.

The emperor had a bad feeling in his heart and quickly gave Shen Yunbai a look. The latter stepped out and was about to speak, but Xiao Yuan spoke first, "Whoever dares to gossip and talk nonsense, I will make him bleed in Fengtian Palace. If you don't accept it, you can give it a try."

Shen Yunbai choked and looked up at the emperor.

There was hidden anger in the emperor's eyes. He looked at Xiao Yuan coldly and silently asked Shen Yunbai to leave.

With Xiao Yuan's words, who would dare to speak nonsense?

As for the emperor, you are bold, you are presumptuous, and you dare. I'm tired of saying these words. Anyway, no one responds to them and I'm too lazy to say anything else.

Aunt Yang glanced at Xiao Yuan. There was a hint of pride and relief in her cloudy eyes, but also guilt and sadness.

The emperor said coldly, "Yang Wen, all the civil and military officials are waiting for you to continue speaking, what are you hesitating about?"

He just didn't believe that she didn't want the lives of her nine clans.

Aunt Yang retracted her gaze, her eyes had turned calm, "The culprits who caused the Empress Shu to die of anger are... this servant and the Emperor."

The officials in the palace thought they were deaf, and even Xiao Yuan frowned and turned his head to look at her.

Aunt Yang didn't look at these people, but stared straight at the emperor, and slowly said, "That day, the Concubine Shu was seriously ill and bedridden. The emperor went to visit the Concubine after getting drunk..."

"But... I ran into this servant girl arranging flowers in the palace. The emperor was drunk and wanted to... favor me. I was concerned about the queen and tried to resist desperately, but I was powerless and could only obey. The queen was in the inner hall and her ears were blocked during the whole process. She had a deep love for the emperor and could not accept it for a while. She vomited blood and fainted. She died that night."

Aunt Yang's words were like a bolt from the blue to everyone.

Even Xiao Yuan looked at Aunt Yang in disbelief.

The emperor's face was trembling. Facing the shocked glances of the officials, his expression was gloomier than ever before. "How dare you, in Fengtian Palace, you, you dare to talk nonsense..." You have wronged me!

He didn't say the last three words because they were too embarrassing.

"Is this servant talking nonsense?" Aunt Yang's eyes were filled with crazy joy. "After accepting the emperor's favor, I gave birth to a child. The emperor can call the person up and recognize the relationship with blood in the palace!"

When these words were spoken, the impact was no less than the previous heavy news.

The emperor has another child, and is he born to a palace maid? ? ?

The emperor clutched the edge of the dragon table tightly, his cold eyes looking as if he wished he could turn into a knife and skin Aunt Yang alive.

Aunt Yang smiled softly, "My son's name is Chen Tian. Your Majesty, do you dare to summon him to the palace for a test?"

Xiao Yuan, "..."

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his eyes were calm as he watched this play that seemed like a play but was not.

Shen Yunbai's eyes flickered slightly, his lips twitched coldly, and then he quickly recovered to normal. He took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty, what exactly happened? Please summon Chen Tian to the palace to drop blood to recognize the relationship."

He didn't care about the emperor's reputation or whether he would be cursed by thousands of people. That was the cause he had created several years ago. The woman risked her husband and son being killed and was determined to bite him hard before she died, which showed that she hated him so much.

For him, as long as Tian'er regains his status as a prince, he doesn't care about the process.

The emperor looked at Shen Yunbai solemnly. As an emperor, this was the first time he experienced what it meant to be speechless and unable to defend himself! !

But things have come to this point and he has no way out.

The emperor closed his eyes tightly and ordered the chief eunuch, "Please bring up the man she mentioned."

The officials were horrified again. Did the Emperor admit that he had visited the maids in Concubine Shu's palace, making Concubine Shu angry to death?

But at this moment, no one dared to say a word.

Led by the chief eunuch, Chen Tian went to the Fengtian Hall, knelt down and kowtowed, and performed the blood test to recognize his kinship.

The subsequent procedures had been arranged by the emperor long ago, so naturally it went very smoothly and proved Chen Tianlong's identity.

Except for the extremely angry emperor, no one spoke. Xiao Yuan looked solemnly at the judge of the Imperial Hospital who announced Chen Tian's identity, and just curled his lips coldly.

As for Shen Yunbai, he hated the emperor so much that he didn't even have time to speak up for the emperor and clear his name.

"My lady," Aunt Yang suddenly shouted, "I am sorry for you. I will go and apologize to you right now. In your next life, you must open your eyes and never trust others so easily again."

After saying that, she looked at Xiao Yuan deeply, smiled helplessly at him, said something silently, and suddenly bumped into the main pillar in the hall.

Blood was splattered all over the ground, and even the officials who were closer were not spared from having their robes soaked.

There was a bowl-sized hole on her forehead, and her face was covered in blood, but her eyes were fixed on the emperor sitting on the dragon throne, filled with resentment, despair and pain.

The hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

After a few moments of silence, Xiao Yuan walked towards her and looked down at her.

Aunt Yang used up all her strength and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Young, young master, I, your servant, am sorry, your Majesty."

Xiao Yuan was silent.

Aunt Yang felt that her vitality was fading at a very fast rate, her head was dark and dizzy, and suddenly, she heard the voice of the young master.

"From now on, serve your mother well."

My dear, please forgive her! Aunt Yang died before she could even say sorry.

The corners of her lips curled up into a happy smile.

Today's morning court was the quietest one among all the officials. Many people did not even dare to utter a syllable.

Xiao Yuan lowered his eyes, and after a few breaths, he turned around and looked at the emperor on the dragon throne, and curled his lips in a mocking tone, "I, your son, congratulate your father for finding the dragon son."

The emperor stared at him with extreme anger.

His good son was a good man, and he never left empty-handed. Anyone who tried to cheat him would end up paying a greater price.

He originally wanted to give Chen Tian a legitimate identity, but now, although he has been given the identity, he is worse than a rat in the gutter.

"My son is very smart, so amazing!"

Xiao Yuan curled his lips lightly, "Not as good as my father."

He usurped the minister's wife, forced the palace maids, and angered the concubines to death. Any one of these would be worthy of being recorded in history.

Visiting a palace maid was nothing, but when Yang Wen said it in this way, Chen Tian's existence became subtle and despicable.

At this time, no one would suggest that the emperor recognize Chen Tian's ancestry, write him into the royal jade book, and confer the title of the fifth prince. After all, the existence of Chen Tian was proof of the emperor's incompetence and a shame to the entire royal family and even Daliang.

The emperor flicked his sleeves and left in anger.

He valued his reputation the most in his life. Although he had done some absurd and unruly things, he thought he had hidden them well. But now, all his efforts have been wasted. After today, everyone will know how licentious, arrogant and debauched the monarch of Daliang was! !

And this is the price he has to pay for Chen Tian’s identity! …

Xiao Yuan stood there without moving, looking down at Aunt Yang lying in a pool of blood.

"Fourth Prince, good tricks. I admire you." The speaker was Shen Yunbai. He had walked behind Xiao Yuan at some point and followed his gaze to look at the bright red on the ground. His voice and expression were filled with unprecedented joy.

"If you and I had the same goal, I would definitely make friends with the Fourth Prince."

Looking at Daliang, he is the only person who can make the emperor speechless and unable to do anything.

Xiao Yuan, "I never get along with villains, especially those with the surname Shen."

He turned and left the Fengtian Hall.

Ling Chenyi and Li Huaiyan were waiting outside the palace gate, both with worried expressions on their faces, "Xiao Yuan..."

"Have her body carried out of the palace and sent back to her hometown."

Ling Chenyi nodded in agreement.

He was silent for a few breaths, then turned around and instructed Li Huaiyan, "Take some people to the outskirts of the city. Her husband and son have been captured. Rescue them."

Li Huaiyan frowned, "Did the emperor do it? I thought it was that bastard Shen Yunbai."

On second thought, if the emperor had not given the order, how could Shen Yunbai dare to find a mother for the prince at random?

Ling Chenyi was very angry, "He wanted to restore his identity as Chen Tian. He could have found anyone, a commoner, a palace maid, or a noble lady, but he chose to find the former maid of Concubine Shu."

Xiao Yuan, "Of course I have to take it through my hands and bring it to the court in person, so that I can gain the trust of all officials."

He raised his eyes to look at where the sun was rising. The sunlight was a little dazzling, so he narrowed his eyes slightly, making it impossible to see the expression in his eyes.

In the carriage, Shen Anan was waiting anxiously and wanted to get off to look for someone, but Qingfeng hurriedly said, "The master is back."

The master had already explained the situation of the princess, and he didn't dare let her out of his sight for even a moment.

Shen Anan jumped off the carriage. When Xiao Yuan saw her, he immediately stepped forward and hugged her in his arms. "Didn't you say you would wait in the carriage? Why are you coming down?"

"I'm worried about you." Shen Anan stepped out of his arms and looked him up and down, "Are you okay? Is everything going well?"

"Yeah." Xiao Yuan took her in his arms and put her in the carriage. Shen Anan suddenly saw something out of the corner of her eye and stopped.

Ling Chenyi's servant passed by carrying a stretcher covered with white cloth. The dripping sound, coupled with the bright red color on the ground, stung people's eardrums and eyes.

The pale arm slipped from the stretcher and swayed back and forth with the servant's movements.

Shen Anan was stunned for a moment, and a feeling of suffocation and nausea surged violently.