Chapter 7

Chapter Eight: The True Colors Revealed, a Shocking Revelation

The back garden of the Lu mansion is divided into two completely different worlds by a delicate cobblestone path. On one side are pavilions and terraces, peonies in full bloom, and a warm fragrance wafting through the air, a paradise of wealth and luxury; on the other side is a secluded courtyard leading to the servants' quarters, where the path narrows and the scenery becomes increasingly desolate.

Madam Lu walked at the front, each step feeling like walking on burning coals. Her back was soaked with cold sweat, and the forced composure on her face appeared exceptionally pale and fragile under the afternoon sun. She cursed Cui Yunshu a thousand times in her heart, yet dared not show it in the slightest. She only hoped that once they arrived at their destination, she could find some excuse to quickly send these troublemaking noblewomen away.

Following her was a group of noble ladies, led by the Cui sisters. They had long since lost any leisure for admiring the flowers; each one craned their necks, their eyes gleaming with gossip and curiosity. Whispers buzzed like mosquitoes in the procession.

"Judging from Madam Lu's face, something serious must have really happened?"

"Who can argue with that? If it were really just old women fighting, why would it have come to this?"

"Do you think it could be...something shameful and dirty that can't be brought to the light of day?"

Cui Yunshu, supporting her sister Cui Yunxi's arm, walked slowly at the front of the crowd. Her eyes were lowered, perfectly concealing all her emotions beneath a mask of innocence and worry. Her heart pounded, a mixture of excitement at the impending success of her plan and nervousness at the unknown. She knew the curtain was about to rise on the grand spectacle.

Cui Yunxi noticed the slight coolness in her younger sister's palm, gently took it in her hand, and whispered soothingly, "Don't be afraid, your older sister is here." She thought her younger sister was frightened by the oppressive atmosphere, but little did she know that the culprit behind this atmosphere was none other than her seemingly fragile younger sister in her arms.

The group eventually stopped in front of a secluded and dilapidated courtyard.

This courtyard seemed to be a forgotten corner of the entire Lu family estate. Withered vines climbed the walls, and large patches of plaster had peeled off, revealing the gray bricks underneath. The gate was ajar, its hinges long since rusted, creaking in the breeze as if telling of the desolation and wretchedness of the place.

"Ahem," Madam Lu cleared her throat, turned around, and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. "Look, everyone, this is the place. Just now... just now, two old women who were washing clothes got into an argument over a piece of soap. They've already been taken away by the supervisor for a talk. It's nothing serious, but it's really a sin that you've all made this trip for nothing."

As she spoke, she winked at the stewardess beside her, signaling her to quickly agree and smooth things over.

However, before she could finish speaking, a shrill female voice, filled with sobs, suddenly came from behind the half-closed courtyard gate!

"Ladies, please do justice for this woman!"

With this heart-wrenching cry, a disheveled figure staggered out of the courtyard and collapsed to his knees in the dust before everyone.

This sudden scene startled everyone present, causing them to gasp in shock. The chattering instantly ceased, and all eyes were fixed on the kneeling figure.

It was a woman dressed in a faded, coarse cloth dress, her hair disheveled, her clothes still stained with dirt, looking lifeless. She lay on the ground, her thin shoulders trembling violently, and suppressed sobs came from beneath her, filled with endless grievances and despair.

It was the same woman Cui Yunshu had seen at the wonton shop in the East Market!

Cui Yunshu's heart pounded. She instinctively gripped her sister's sleeve, shrinking back slightly, perfectly portraying the image of a terrified noblewoman. However, deep within her lowered eyes lay a chilling, ecstatic joy.

It's here! The moment of truth has finally arrived!

"You...you madwoman! Where did you come from? How dare you disturb our distinguished guests!" Madam Lu bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Her face turned deathly pale, and she shouted shrilly, "Guards! Throw this madwoman out of here right now!"

Several servants and guards who heard the commotion immediately stepped forward, intending to drag the woman away.

"Don't touch me!" The woman suddenly raised her head and screamed shrilly. She crawled forward a few steps on her hands and feet and clung tightly to a pillar beside her. No matter how the servants pulled her, she refused to let go.[1] It was as if she was not clinging to a cold pillar, but to the last straw that saved her life.

"If I leave today, I will have no way to live!" she cried, her voice hoarse and desperate. "I am a respectable woman from the east of the city. Last year, I delivered wontons to the girls in Zhongqu, but... but a nobleman mistook me for someone else after drinking and forcibly... forcibly defiled my innocence!"

"boom--"

These words immediately caused an uproar among the crowd.

To tarnish one's innocence!

These four words were utterly shocking to the unmarried noble ladies present! They all looked horrified, instinctively covering half their faces with fans or sleeves, revealing only pairs of eyes filled with shock and curiosity. The whispers among themselves rose again, louder than ever before.

"My God, is this really the case..."

"In broad daylight, under the clear sky, is there no law anymore?"

"Who is this important person? How dare they be so audacious?"

Madam Lu swayed, almost losing her balance. She knew it was over; things were completely out of control. Pointing at the woman, trembling with rage, she shouted, "Nonsense! You vile woman, don't you dare spew such slander and defame the nobleman! Do you know the gravity of your crime? Guards, gag her and beat her out of here!"

"If any of what I just said is false, may I be struck by lightning and fall into the deepest hell after death, never to be reborn!"

Faced with Lady Lu's threat, the woman not only did not back down, but instead uttered an even more venomous oath. She suddenly raised her hand and ripped off the veil covering her face.

A stunningly beautiful face, tear-streaked and pitiful, was suddenly exposed to everyone's eyes.

It was a face of utter simplicity, with skin as white as snow, and features as exquisite as a painting. Her almond-shaped eyes were brimming with tears, making her seem so fragile that she would shatter at the slightest touch. She wore no jewelry, yet she stirred a stronger protective instinct in people's hearts than any of the elaborately dressed noble ladies present.

“What a joke, how could someone like you possibly catch the eye of a nobleman…” Madam Lu subconsciously wanted to say, “How could you possibly catch the eye of a nobleman?” But when she looked at that face that could make any man’s heart flutter, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

"I am three months pregnant," the woman said, stroking her still-not-so-obvious belly, tears streaming down her face. "My in-laws despise my body and have driven me out of their home. My brother has tried to help me, but has been met with setbacks everywhere. Now we are desperate. Today I have dared to come here, not to seek wealth or status, but... but to ask for a way to save my unborn child!"

Her cries were heart-wrenching and deeply moving, and coupled with her stunningly beautiful face, they instantly won the sympathy of most of the people present. The noble ladies' gazes towards her gradually shifted from initial disdain and curiosity to pity.

The scene reached a stalemate. Madam Lu, though fierce in appearance, was too cowardly to order any further violence; the servants, fearing the consequences, dared not step forward; while the woman clung to a pillar, weeping bitterly.

Cui Yunshu knew that the most crucial moment had arrived. She needed someone to make this fire burn even brighter, so that it would reach the person she truly wanted to ignite.

Her gaze subtly drifted to a corner of the crowd.

Just then, a cool and somewhat arrogant voice rang out from the crowd, breaking the deadlock.

"You keep saying you were humiliated by a nobleman, and you mention the word 'Your Highness.' I wonder who this Your Highness you're referring to is?"

The speaker was a young girl dressed in a magnificent purple silk dress. She was Wang Shuyue, the legitimate daughter of the Wang family and the niece of Consort Wang, the birth mother of the Second Prince.

The Wang and Lu families both belonged to the Second Prince's faction, but the Wang family was an established noble family with deep roots, far superior to the newly noble Lu family. Therefore, when Wang Shuyue spoke, she didn't even glance at Madam Lu, maintaining an extremely high and mighty posture.

In a corner unnoticed by anyone, Cui Yunshu's lips curled into a slight smile.

Here they come; the "ally" she's been waiting for has arrived.

Wang Shuyue's question, seemingly an attempt to uncover the truth, was in reality a sharpening of the knife, aimed precisely at the Eastern Palace. Her question completely eliminated any possibility of the matter being obscured or downplayed.

Everyone's heart was in their throat. The entire courtyard fell silent. All eyes were on the woman, awaiting the earth-shattering answer.

Lady Lu's face was beyond pale; it was a deathly despair. Her mouth was open, but no sound came out. She could only watch helplessly as the banquet she had meticulously planned became the center of a political storm.

The woman slowly raised her head, her eyes blurry with tears, and looked around before her gaze finally settled on the future Crown Princess—Cui Yunxi. Her eyes held a complex mix of emotions: guilt, jealousy, but above all, a desperate madness driven to desperation.

She took a deep breath, and with all her might, tears streaming down her face, she uttered, word by word, the name that would shake the entire Qin Dynasty:

"Crown...Prince...Tang...Jing...Cheng".

The moment the words were spoken, time seemed to stand still.

The entire hall fell silent; it was as if a thunderbolt had struck.