"But this prince dared to lay a hand on Princess Consort Chen; he has absolutely no respect for the law."

She speaks very gently, seemingly without the slightest hint of aggression, yet her voice is as clear as a spring, making her truly endearing.

It's the kind of voice that soothes the soul.

"That's true. I originally had no intention of reducing the power of the princes, but what difference is there between his crime and treason?"

Yu Shuo presented all the evidence, and Emperor Mingyang said in a deep voice: "Except for the servants in the mansion, all the masters shall be executed."

Emperor Mingyang considered himself to be relatively lenient towards their lineage, and even though the current Prince of Minzhou was truly incompetent, he never considered killing him.

Unfortunately, even fools have their hateful aspects.

Yu Shuo agreed expressionlessly.

Before Deng Quan even arrived, the Prince's residence was already in complete chaos. The Princess Consort, upon regaining her senses and recalling the events of the past, went mad. She attempted suicide several times, but was stopped each time by the Prince of Minzhou.

They were a young couple, having grown up together since childhood, so this was truly heartbreaking. However, he never considered divorcing her. They might not be able to stay in the capital, but they could return to their fiefdom, where hardly anyone would know.

He hugged his wife tightly and told her his thoughts.

"But...but how can I face you? My husband, it's all my fault, it's all my fault!" Tears streamed down her face, and she looked utterly disheveled.

"Let me die! Please let me die, my husband, I beg you."

"I have no face to live on."

The Prince of Minzhou was also in a very bad situation. His wife was framed and his daughter was brutally murdered by others. All of this was overwhelming him.

But how could he not calm down when facing his wife?

“He Niang, it’s alright, I don’t care. I really don’t care. Let’s go back to our fiefdom, everything will be alright.”

Unfortunately, the princess was not listening to anything at the moment; she felt like the sky had fallen.

She wasn't from a commoner background before she got married; she was born into nobility. How could she possibly be defiled by a few servants?

She couldn't go on living; she simply had no will to live.

The Prince of Minzhou knew everything, but he couldn't just let it go unchecked.

"He Niang, calm down, please calm down! We can't let our loved ones suffer while our enemies rejoice." He tried to soothe his wife, but his eyes flashed with malice as he said, "We should kill that bitch!"

He shouldn't have used their daughter to upset his wife, but he felt that she had no will to live, so he simply told her about their daughter.

"Actually, our daughter has already been murdered."

His heart ached terribly as he said those words. He had originally intended to keep it a secret from his wife, but he simply had no other choice.

As expected, the Princess Consort was stunned when she heard this.

"What did my husband say? What do you mean? Isn't our daughter playing outside?" She had asked the servants before, and they said that their daughter had gone out to play and hadn't returned yet.

My daughter is naturally playful, which is perfectly normal.

She can tolerate it.

“Qin Su killed our daughter. Her body, her body is in the ice cellar. So we must live well, we must live well to avenge our daughter.” He lovingly helped tidy the stray hairs at his wife’s temples and said gently, “Do you want to go see our daughter? I plan to bury her there when we return to our fiefdom.”

"Look!" She didn't care about her husband anymore and rushed towards the ice cellar without even putting on her shoes.

What strange looks were they giving her? She didn't care at all; all she wanted to know was whether her daughter was really in trouble.

Just a few days ago, my daughter was perfectly healthy and lively.

How could this have happened?

Stumbling and staggering, she arrived at the ice cellar, ignoring the pain in her feet from the cold, and quickly ran to the center. There, an ice coffin had been built, and inside lay her daughter, whom she hadn't seen for a day.

The prince put the shoes on his wife, and then she lay down on the ice coffin and wailed.

"Jiaojiao—Mother will definitely avenge you! She will definitely avenge you!"

She would rather die than lose her reputation than allow her enemies to remain alive after her death.

She was unwilling to accept it!

"Alright, we'll kill her. He Niang, take care of yourself."

In any case, the wife has finally stopped trying to kill herself, which is a good thing.

A commotion arose outside, and the steward rushed in, "Your Highness, Eunuch Deng from the palace has arrived."

The Prince of Minzhou felt a sudden unease.

Deng Quan?

What is he here for?

Did Prince Chen report this matter to His Majesty?

"Husband?" the princess asked tremulously, hugging her husband with some fear.

"They should be fine. Go out and take a look." The founding emperor said that as long as their family did not rebel, he would not harm them, nor would he strip them of their titles.

This is why his grandfather and father, who were such scoundrels, were only demoted in rank.

"Madam, please go back and rest. We can discuss this further when you're rested," he said gently to his wife.

The steward said, "Chief Steward Deng said that the Prince and the Prince are both present."

"Then, then I'll go wash up first."

"Okay, all dressed up nicely." He gently kissed his wife's forehead, as if what she had done before had never happened.

Putting aside his vicious and foolish deeds, he was indeed a good husband.

Unfortunately, without a clever mind, one cannot raise a family to survive.

He patted his robes and followed the steward.

Deng Quan had no kind face to anyone who harmed members of the royal family. He had followed the emperor and Prince Chen for so many years and had long regarded them as brothers, although he could not say it out loud.

How could he allow others to harm his family like this?

"I wonder what brings Steward Deng here so suddenly?" The prince's hair was still a little disheveled, which somewhat detracted from his good looks, but his demeanor was indeed quite refined. He possessed an elegant and graceful air.

But none of that matters anymore, since they're practically dead anyway.

Deng Quan's not-so-large eyes were full of coldness. He said, "The Prince of Minzhou and his wife intended to murder the Princess Consort of Chen. The evidence is already on His Majesty's desk."

“This is a frame-up. How could I, the Prince, do such a thing?” he retorted immediately, almost without thinking.

Deng Quan sneered, "Your Highness should go down to the underworld and explain to your ancestors."

"Poisoned wine or white silk, choose one."

Then Deng Quan added, "However, I still recommend the white silk ribbon, since poisoned wine doesn't necessarily kill you immediately."

The pain might last for several hours. They'll be watching; there's no escaping it.

"This is a show of leniency towards the Prince's Mansion; ordinary people don't have the option of wearing white silk."

The method of dying with a white silk ribbon was generally prepared for imperial concubines, so that they could die with some dignity.

Isn't this also a way of clinging to a bit of "old feelings"?

“There must be some misunderstanding in this matter.” The Prince of Minzhou still wanted to try to salvage the situation.