She glanced at the emperor's slightly stiff expression. Sigh... all your little schemes have been heard...

At this moment, Chaoyang had also changed his clothes and was called over for questioning.

Upon arrival, she immediately accused Chuanwen, saying that he pushed her into the lake while fishing.

Chuanwen was speechless. Chaoyang's actions were so obvious at the time, and the palace maids and eunuchs who were serving him all saw it, as well as Zheng Yan and her sister Yu, who could all come out and testify.

Palace Maid #1: "When the Second Miss Chuan's fish took the bait, Princess Chaoyang came over to help pull the fish in. I...I saw the Second Miss Chuan push Princess Chaoyang."

Chuanwen looked over in surprise, "What the heck? What's going on? Why are they blatantly lying?"

Palace Maid #2: "Princess Chaoyang was trying to help out of kindness, but the Second Miss Chuan not only didn't appreciate it, she even pushed Princess Chaoyang away!"

The messenger was initially expecting Palace Maid #2 to refute Palace Maid #1 and prove herself, but was shocked by the result: [What happened?!]

The emperor's stiff expression softened considerably, and a smile even appeared on his lips. "It's nothing serious, except that your first experience in palace intrigue might end in defeat because you underestimated your enemy, haha!"

Just now, when Chuanwen pretended to be wronged, the emperor felt like he had been tricked by the little girl. But now, looking at Chuanwen's incredulous expression, he felt a sense of satisfaction at getting his revenge.

To be honest, Princess Chaoyang was also a little confused. She thought she would be exposed, but she didn't expect that someone would stand on her side. After realizing what had happened, she was secretly delighted.

Fortunately, there were others who weren't blind and stepped forward to tell the truth.

Even though there are more people who support Chuanwen, as long as there are different opinions, it is hard to say who is telling the truth and who is lying. However, while Zheng Yan and the others were testifying for Chuanwen, Chuanwen was digging into why the two palace maids were lying.

Wow~, so this palace maid is a big fan of Zheng Yan!

Chuanwen glanced at Palace Maid No. 1, but then became even more curious. "You're Zheng Yan's fangirl, why are you framing me? I'm Zheng Yan's fangirl too! Shouldn't we be on the same side?!"

A fangirl?

The group was a bit confused, thinking that it probably meant she had taken a liking to Zheng Yan. But, Chuanwen had taken a liking to Zheng Yan? But, how could they be in a group if they both liked the same person? Shouldn't they be competitors?

The more they thought about it, the more confused they became, which shows that Chuanwen's thought process was absolutely unique.

Of the group, only Xu Yan truly understood her daughter. The "fangirl" her daughter mentioned was a younger sister who was infatuated with a certain trait of Zheng Yan. Looking at Zheng Yan, Xu Yan realized she didn't know him well enough to know what his personal charm was, or what trait the palace maid was attracted to. However, given her daughter's visual nature, it was clear she was only infatuated with Zheng Yan's looks. But her daughter's infatuation was different from others'. It seemed that to her daughter, Zheng Yan was just a pretty face; she could admire him, others could admire him, and she might even invite others to admire him too.

[Pfft—!]

Just as everyone was marveling that it turned out that the palace maid No. 1 was jealous of Zheng Yan being Chuanwen's bodyguard and had framed Chuanwen, Chuanwen was almost spat out by a gossip, but barely managed to hold it in.

[This one's even bolder! He actually had an affair with Princess Bao Hui's husband!]

While the other palace maids and eunuchs were still talking about what they had seen, those who could hear Chuanwen's thoughts unconsciously followed Chuanwen's gaze and looked at Palace Maid No. 2, opening their mouths in surprise.

Especially the county princess of Chaoyang, who didn't know how to hide her feelings, had just thanked the second palace maid for speaking up for her, but now she was staring at the little palace maid in disbelief. Fortunately, Chuanwen's attention was not on Chaoyang, and he was still cutting the melon.

[When Princess Bao Hui and her wretched husband were still in love, he visited the palace a few times and seduced more than a dozen palace maids, hahaha... After he couldn't come to the palace anymore, he made a schedule for himself, sneaking in through a dog hole every two days to meet with the palace maids in an abandoned, uninhabited palace, hahaha! Isn't he a master of time management!]

[Hooray! This palace maid had a secret rendezvous with the prince consort yesterday, and he ordered her to push the little princess into the lake while he was pushing me in the morning sun!]

Chuan Wen was surprised; how did this involve the little princess?

Chaoyang was also taken aback, unaware that her father had this plan.

However, the emperor and empress's faces darkened, it seemed that this matter did not directly offend Wen Yatou!

After the palace maids and eunuchs had finished speaking, the emperor's gaze fell on the two palace maids whose voices differed from the others. His face darkened. "Did you tell the truth?"

The two palace maids began to panic, but at this point they still harbored a glimmer of hope.

“Everything I said is true.”

The emperor sneered and ordered his men to drag the two out and beat them. The two palace maids were terrified when they heard this; one grabbed Zheng Yan's clothes, and the other grabbed Chao Yang's clothes.

"Lord Zheng! Please save me!"

"Princess Chaoyang! Save me!"

Zheng Yan frowned. If a man had grabbed him at that moment, he would have kicked him. But he didn't hit women; he simply pulled out his clothes without hesitation.

Several officials watched with a tsk-tsk-tsk, sighing that the officials had no sense of chivalry towards women!

Noticing the teasing looks from several officials, Zheng Yan felt embarrassed.

Two palace maids were dragged out crying and begging. The dull thud of sticks hitting their buttocks could be heard. Chuanwen's buttocks hurt from hearing it. Sure enough, the two palace maids couldn't hold out for long before crying and shouting that they wanted to tell the truth.

The two were dragged in again, and as the palace maid No. 1 spoke, she glared hatefully at Chuanwen, "Young Master Zheng rejected us all because of you!"

Chuanwen was at his wits' end. He glanced at Zheng Yan, who was utterly ashamed. Chuanwen then offered some psychological counseling to the palace maid: "Lord Zheng rejected you not because of me, but because of yourselves."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!