Disassemble!

Think of your daughter!

Wang Zengfu opened his eyes wide, straightened his slightly hunched back, stopped on Yang Cong, stared at him several times, his cloudy eyes filled with gloom, then looked at Qi Guanlan, head held high and chest out, with a clear conscience.

With red eyes and trembling hands, Wang Zengfu pointed at him and gritted his teeth, saying, "My lord, it was him who deceived Yu Niang. My lord, you must do justice for Yu Niang!"

"Blind old man, who are you calling a blind man!" Qi Guanlan cursed directly, "So, you were planning this from the beginning when you asked me to keep it a secret. A barking dog doesn't bite, but I underestimated you, Yang Cong. You actually dared to collude with your father-in-law to frame me."

The young master naturally couldn't stand this injustice. His anger surged through his chest and reached the corners of his eyes. A thin, scarlet line was instantly drawn under his thick, dark eyelashes. This was the first time he had ever suffered such a huge setback. The person was actually Yang Cong.

“Brother Qi, I truly do not know Yu Niang. I thought you were pursuing Miss Xi You and did not want to acknowledge her, so I pretended to be her for you.” Yang Cong shakily propped himself up, standing in the hall in a half-washed blue robe, his face full of sorrow. “It seems I am guilty, that I caused Yu Niang’s death.”

His face was covered in bruises and swelling, making him look extremely pitiful. His swollen eyelids were twitching, and the pain suppressed the corners of his mouth that were about to turn up, while smugness gradually welled up in his eyes.

"I can't do anything about it," Yang Cong walked up to him, seemingly defenseless, and offered his neck to him, provocatively saying, "Brother Qi, Yu Niang is definitely still alive. Why don't we find her? Once she appears, the truth will be clear."

Seeing this expression, Qi Guanlan could still tell that Yu Niang had been murdered. He was quite bold, even getting his hands dirty with human lives. He gritted his teeth, his fists cracking, and his voice was colder than ever before.

"Even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I will find Yu Niang and then I will tear you to pieces."

Only now did Yang Cong close his eyes, and in the brief moment when no one was paying attention, he couldn't help but smile.

“As long as Yu Niang can’t speak, he can say whatever he wants. No one can expose him, and he is still the innocent Young Master Qi.”

"It's a pity that Yang Cong is in such a bad situation. Not only was his engagement broken off, but he also got such a huge blame. He has to take the imperial examination again next spring. If he doesn't pass, the Yang family will probably give up on him."

"So what if they're royalty? Their reputations are still terrible. If anything happens to Young Master Yang, I'll be the first to attack the Princess's residence."

...

The feeling of victory was wonderful, especially since the loser was Qi Guanlan. After enjoying it for a moment, Yang Cong frowned even more deeply, and a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes. "It seems that Brother Qi doesn't recognize me as his brother anymore."

He bowed deeply to Zhou Chengnian with a sorrowful expression, and smiled bitterly, "Yu Niang was my lover. I killed Yu Niang and also caused Miss Wen Ruo to die unjustly. I, Yang, am guilty beyond redemption."

Is the person really dead?

Qi Guanlan was somewhat bewildered. Something inexplicably hit him, and he came to his senses. He looked at the group of people behind him, and they all had fallen for Yang Cong's trick. They wished he would be torn apart. Was he really that bad?

"The princess disregards human life and no one dares to intervene."

“Poor Miss Wen, in the prime of her youth, was beaten half to death and thrown out. I saw her like that once, and I had nightmares about it every night.”

Qi Guanlan felt a sharp pain in his head, his face instantly turning pale. His mouth was filled with the taste of earth. He stood there in a daze, the voice behind him like a thunderbolt, striking him so hard that he couldn't speak.

Did her mother kill someone for her? Is Xiaoqiang really dead?

"Sir, the witnesses have all arrived. Shall we bring them up?"

Qi Guanlan stood there like a wooden statue. Zhou Chengnian sighed. Now that things had come to this, even if the abbot and the entire temple vouched for her, it would be difficult to convince everyone. He looked towards the door, his face stiffening. "Nonsense! Who let her in?"

"Take him away now."

Zhou Xuanyan slapped the officer's hand away and raised her voice, saying, "I brought witnesses with me. You can see clearly that Yang Cong is a treacherous, hypocritical, and heartless man. Don't end up like Lord Zhou, who paired his daughter with the wrong person."

Everyone in the hall was startled. Qi Guanlan came to his senses, looked at the confident Zhou Xuanyan, and then at the group of fools behind him who believed everything they heard. He felt a little disgusted with himself. He had only gotten a little dust on his toes. What kind of man was he, hanging his head and acting so dejectedly? He would apologize on behalf of his mother after he had dealt with this matter.

What's going on? The onlookers were buzzing with discussion when Zhou Xuanyan knelt on the ground. "Yan'er has brought witnesses and evidence that he and Yu Niang spent the night at Hongshang Pavilion. Doesn't Lord Zhou want to hear it?"

Yang Cong's eyes turned cold. "I know I am foolish and unworthy of Miss Zhou. However, my family is forcing me, and I have no choice but to accept it. I only regret that Miss Zhou has to give up Brother Qi and marry me."

If it were the old her, upon hearing these words, she would have believed that her innocence was paramount, blushing and unable to defend herself. But now, Zhou Xuanyan smiled and said in a relaxed tone, "I think Young Master Yang is quite sharp-tongued, implying that I fabricated evidence for Young Master Qi."

Yang Cong said weakly, "That's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean? Are you trying to frame me out of thin air? I only spoke to Young Master Qi for the first time at Baihuayuan because of Young Master Yang. Did you have ulterior motives back then?"

Qi Guanlan raised an eyebrow. "Since I am so incompetent, why did you insist on bringing me along when you were choosing a partner, Yang Cong?" He raised his hands and cupped them, saying, "Lord Zhou has excellent taste. You have chosen someone who is such a good actor. Why bother with the imperial examinations? It would be a pity if he didn't become an actor."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuanyan became even more agitated and pressed on, saying aggressively, "This young lady doesn't like Qi Guanlan, but I certainly don't think much of you. If we're really going to form a marriage alliance with the Yang family, even your Yang Shen is a thousand times better than you, you hypocrite. I doubt Yang Shen knows how close you are to him as a brother."

She spoke louder and louder, startling everyone in the yamen. No one expected that Miss Zhou would like a servant from the Yang family. When did the two of them fall for each other? With family matters brought to court, Zhou Chengnian's face turned green. He slammed his fist on the table, panting, and shouted sternly, "Quiet down! What kind of behavior is this?"

Zhou Xuanyan lowered her head slightly and said with a smile, "Father, don't worry. Even though Yang Shen is handsome and talented, he is willing to submit to the Yang family and listens to Yang Cong. How could I like him for that alone?"

Zhou Chengnian breathed a sigh of relief, while Qi Guanlan clutched his stomach, overjoyed. Today had been quite a spectacle, and he had at least filled his stomach. He shook his head and sighed, "Yang Cong, Yang Cong, how did you end up like this? The only woman who loved you was abandoned by you. How pitiful."

Yang Cong stood in the center, his palms clenched so tightly they were almost raw. The chuckles in his ears and the probing and scheming behind him stung his eyes. He had suffered such a great humiliation today, and if he did not avenge it, he would not be a man.

Zhou Xuanyan stepped forward and said, "Tell Lord Zhou what happened that day."

"Reporting to Your Excellency, Young Master Qi caused a scene at the Red Robe Pavilion while drunk. I was there to receive a young lady disguised as a man who asked Xi You which room she was staying in," he said, glancing at Qi Guanlan before boldly continuing.

"There is no Miss Xiyou in the pavilion. I don't know where she came from, but since people have been looking for her several times, I've kept an eye on her."

She didn't leave the room after she went in. When I was cleaning the room at dawn, I found some unburnt incense in the ashes of the stove. It wasn't from our pavilion, and I kept it out of curiosity.

Qi Guanlan's brows were so furrowed they could almost trap a fly. No Xi You?

Zhou Xuanyan didn't care about that and asked Yang Cong directly, "What do you have to say? You're not going to try to argue that you slept alone all night, are you? With the aphrodisiac incense in the room, everyone be the judge, is it that Yang Cong is impotent or was there someone already in the room?"

"You originally planned to take Young Master Qi to the room where Xi Ruo was, right? I have the ladies in the pavilion to testify that the sounds in that room were quite pleasant that night, and I even heard you calling out 'Yu Niang' repeatedly. I asked all the maids, not just the ladies in the pavilion, but no one accompanied you."

After all this commotion, Qi Guanlan felt completely unfazed upon hearing the news, clearly having reached a state of utter indifference. He even had the leisure to tease the two of them: "So you and Yu Niang conspired to plot against me, Yang Cong. I had no idea you liked to cuckold yourself."

"Young Master Qi, it's not about being cuckolded, it's about taking advantage of your soft heart. The couple wants to control you." Zhou Xuanyan sneered. Fortunately, she was able to use her unreasonable behavior to keep Yang Cong from leaving the mansion with the betrothal gifts, leaving him no time to deal with the brothel.

Yang Cong suppressed the whispers and gritted his teeth, saying, "I admit there was someone in the room, but this Yu Niang is not that Yu Niang."

Zhou Xuanyan sneered: "So your name really is Yu Niang. You admitted it yourself. Everyone heard it clearly. Aren't you a respectable scholar? How could you take a girl to a brothel? What kind of perverse taste is that?"

"Will that Yu Niang still be willing to come forward and testify for you? All the Yu Niangs in the city are probably disgraced because of you, Yang Cong, you've done so much harm!"

"You tricked me! A young woman about to get married going to a brothel? Don't you know shame!" Yang Cong gritted his teeth. He never expected it to be Zhou Xuanyan. He was her future husband and support, yet she had forced him to this point.

"Aren't you turning the tables again? You think it's perfectly acceptable for a playboy to philander? A scholar who doesn't know propriety or shame, still cheating on his betrothed, you're shameless, so why should I be ashamed? Do you think it's shameful for me to suffer in silence when you bring someone into the manor later?"

Zhou Chengnian closed his eyes. How could he have chosen such a son-in-law? He originally thought that someone who followed Qi Guanlan must be good, but who would have thought?

"Father, do you still want your daughter to marry such a hypocritical liar?" Zhou Xuanyan's voice choked with sobs, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at him helplessly. "If Father is really so heartless, I would rather die in the hall."

Yang Cong: "My lord, please grant your daughter's request. I will not ask for anything in return. In court, please do not let my marriage interfere with Yu Niang's important business."

Zhou Chengnian had her taken away immediately. Qi Guanlan straightened his back, his lips curving into a smile again. His dusty, rumpled white robe stood out from the crowd, exuding an unexpected air of elegance. He clapped his hands in praise, seemingly oblivious to everyone else.

"Women are just as capable as men, Lord Zhou. Your daughter has far better judgment than you. You should be pleased."

Before Zhou Chengnian could speak, he bluntly stated, "Lord Zhou, why aren't you searching the whole city for Yu Niang? I want to see which Yu Niang he likes. Yang Cong, why is your face so pale? Why don't you invite the imperial physician to take a look at your rotten heart and see who exactly was married to Yu Niang for how many months?"

The abbot, who had been waiting for a long time, shook his head. "Youthful spirit, as I have said, I hope that Benefactor Qi will be careful with his words and deeds after returning. You have suffered today, do you have any regrets?"

Qi Guanlan snorted coldly, "This young master is upright and honorable. The one who should regret it is this despicable villain under your feet. Master Wu Hui, tell me, should Buddha accept such a monster or not?"

The abbot had no way to deal with him, and the gray-robed scholar next to him immediately knelt on the ground, "Your Excellency, he hired me. I was just passing by and never entered the manor."

Zhou Chengnian: "Yang Cong, do you have anything else to say?"

Yang Cong knelt on the ground with a thud, tears streaming down his face, his words filled with accusation: "Since the accusations against Yu Niang's father are useless, I can only speak my own words. Without Yu Niang, no one can clear my name. Young Master Qi has connections everywhere, I have nothing to say, I confess my guilt."

"You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin. Yu Niang came to my residence to request an audience, Yang Cong, what will you say then?"