The New Year is supposed to be a joyous occasion for family reunions, but everyone in the Duke's mansion looked gloomy.

Xie Linzhou was still lying in bed, seriously injured and unconscious.

The government had tried its best to suppress the news, but secrets always have a way of keeping things quiet, and the news still quietly spread throughout the capital.

Xie Linzhou got drunk on New Year's Eve and tried to take advantage of the daughter of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, but he was injured by her and is still bedridden.

Although Xie Linzhou may seem unapproachable at times, he has a positive reputation throughout the Jin Dynasty.

When this news came out, no one believed it.

But gossip is a powerful force; once the rumors spread, even those who didn't believe them started to believe them.

It is said that he is about to get married to a girl from the countryside, and he is depressed. That's why he drank a few more cups at the palace banquet. When he got drunk, he started to act recklessly. He happened to meet the Cao family girl who was passing by on the road and had lustful thoughts about her.

However, the daughter of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was not weak and helpless. In addition, Xie Linzhou was drunk and unable to move around, which gave the Cao family's daughter an opportunity to take advantage of him.

Whether he succeeded or not is unknown, but he was stabbed by the girl and fell into a coma.

Outsiders may not know, but those in the manor certainly do. The imperial physician had already come and found that Xie Linzhou wasn't drunk at all, but rather had been drugged.

He was mentally unstable and easily manipulated.

Given Xie Linzhou's fondness for Song Ning, let alone being drunk, even if a girl stood naked in front of him, he wouldn't give her a second glance.

Furthermore, the injuries on Xie Linzhou's body were not something a young girl could have sustained.

Each move was fatal. How could a young lady from a secluded family possibly achieve such a feat?

I wonder who did this, that they could come up with such a stupid trick.

Princess Jianing's face darkened as she asked, "What about the Cao family girl?"

"She's being held captive in the manor. Does Your Highness wish to see her?"

Princess Jianing snorted coldly: "Since you have the audacity to come here, I will naturally have to see you."

The Cao family girl was quickly brought up, and as soon as she entered, she knelt down and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness."

"I heard that my son made inappropriate advances towards you a few days ago. Tell me, how did he do it?"

Cao Wan'er knelt on the ground, trembling with fear, and said, "Yesterday, on my way home, I happened to run into the General. He asked me to get into his carriage, and I dared not disobey, so I could only comply. And then..."

"And then what?"

"After that... the general attempted to take advantage of my daughter..."

"So, did he succeed?"

Cao Wan'er nodded.

Snap!

Princess Jianing slammed her hand on the table and said coldly, "Cao Wan'er, do you know what the consequences will be for slandering the only son of the Duke's mansion, the General Weiyuan personally appointed by His Majesty?"

Cao Wan'er immediately kowtowed and admitted her mistake: "Your Highness, please forgive me. Everything I said is true. There is not a single lie. It was indeed the general who took me away yesterday."

"Hmph, you've got some nerve. So, you're saying you were the one who injured my son?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Is that so? How did you, a young lady from a respectable family, manage to kill with every blow, and how did you escape from him? Don't think that just because you said these things you've wronged my son. You may be promiscuous, but my son is not that kind of person."

Cao Wan'er's eyes instantly reddened at Princess Jianing's insult, and she said unwillingly, "Your Highness, am I, an unmarried girl, supposed to use my reputation to frame General Xie? I used to admire General Xie, but I never imagined he would be such a beast."

"Guards, slap him!"

The old woman stepped forward and slapped Cao Wan'er twice across the face. The strength of the old women in the manor was far beyond that of a delicate girl. After the two slaps, blood instantly seeped from the corner of Cao Wan'er's mouth.

"How dare you utter such arrogant words in my Duke's mansion! Do you think you can leave once you've entered? Even if you die in my mansion, no one will dare say a word!"

Cao Wan'er wasn't stupid either, and she immediately stood up: "I originally thought that the Duke's Mansion had always been strict in its family discipline and had done a good job in educating its children and grandchildren. I didn't expect that they would bully others like this now. Xie Linzhou is a hypocrite. Since you don't want to take this responsibility, I'll leave."

With that, he turned to leave.

Princess Jianing sneered, "You think you can leave now?"

Whether this matter is true or false, Cao Wan'er will never be able to leave the Duke's mansion in her lifetime. Since she dared to come, she must be prepared for this.

"Take her away and keep a close watch on her."

"yes."

After the person left, Princess Jianing rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

The old woman quickly stepped forward and rubbed her temples.

"Your Highness, please don't worry. Everyone knows what kind of person our young master is. This isn't the first time he's done something like this, but everything always turned out fine in the end. Just relax, everything will be resolved."

"I naturally trust Lin Zhou's character; what I'm worried about now is Er Ya's side."

I haven't told her about this yet, because I'm afraid she'll misunderstand.

The two were originally supposed to get married after the Lunar New Year, but with this incident, it seems they won't be able to get married after the New Year.

“Miss Song is sensible and intelligent. This is clearly a setup. Even this old servant can see it. How could Miss Song not see it?”

"Then...then how about sending someone to deliver a message? Lin Zhou said he would visit on the first day of the new year, but now that he has broken his promise, we need to give an explanation."

"Perhaps... we should invite Miss Song over; we should discuss this matter with her."

"Alright."

Meanwhile, in Xie Linzhou's courtyard, the eldest and second young ladies of the Xie family were wiping away tears, feeling deeply distressed that their younger brother remained unconscious.

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