Caught off guard, Xi Lingche instinctively reached out to steady her! A soft, warm body instantly enveloped him! Lianxing's delicate, boneless body pressed tightly against him; through the thin fabric of her clothes, he could even feel her astonishing curves and burning heat! A strong, exotic fragrance filled his nostrils!

"Second Prince..." Lianxing raised her face in his arms, her eyes hazy, her breath sweet and fragrant, with a deadly allure, her red lips almost touching his chin!

"Boom—!" Xi Lingche felt as if his head had exploded! A huge sense of fear and shame overwhelmed him instantly! As if he had been branded with a hot iron, he pushed the person in his arms away with such force that Lianxing cried out and fell to the ground!

"Outrageous!" Startled by this sudden turn of events, Xi Linghao slammed his fist on the table and stood up! What he saw was his beloved concubine being roughly pushed to the ground by his son!

"Father! Your son... Your son didn't mean it! It was her..." Xi Lingche's face was pale, and he was incoherent. Looking at Lianxing, who had fallen to the ground with tears in her eyes and seemed to have suffered a great injustice, and then at his father's furious face, he was speechless. The great fear and humiliation made him tremble all over.

"Enough!" Xi Linghao roared, looking at his son's panicked and irresponsible appearance, and then at the pitiful Lianxing on the ground, his disappointment and anger towards his son instantly reached their peak! "Get out! Get out of my palace! Without my decree, you are not allowed to step out of your palace gates!"

Like a frightened bird, Xi Lingche rushed out of the imperial study, utterly distraught, and ran aimlessly down the cold palace path. The cold wind whipped at his face, but it couldn't dispel the fear, humiliation, and chill in his heart. He dared not return to his own palace, much less go to Kunning Palace to find Empress Lin.

At this moment, the only person he could think of who might understand him and be willing to help him was his elder sister, Xi Lingyuan!

He stumbled and rushed to Qiwu Palace, ignoring the palace servants' attempts to stop him, and barged inside!

"Royal sister! Royal sister, save me!" Xi Lingche cried out, her voice hoarse, and she knelt down in front of A Yuan with a thud, her whole body trembling like a leaf in the autumn wind.

Ah Yuan and Xiao Chengkang, who were discussing matters, were both startled by his appearance.

"Che'er? What's wrong with you? Get up quickly!" A Yuan rushed forward to help him up.

Xi Lingche clung tightly to A Yuan's sleeve as if grasping at a lifeline, stammering and sobbing, "Royal sister! That Lianxing! She...she's a witch! She harmed me! She tried to kill me!"

He recounted his several "chance encounters" and the terrifying scene in the Imperial Study in a jumbled mess, focusing on how Lianxing "threw herself into his arms," ​​how he panicked and pushed her away, and how his father was furious and confined him to his quarters.

His eyes were filled with fear and lingering dread: "Royal sister! I didn't do anything! It was her! She deliberately pounced on me! The smell on her body... is so strange... Father... Father doesn't believe me at all! The way he looks at me... is like he's looking at something dirty! Royal sister! What should I do? Mother... if Mother finds out..." He thought of Empress Lin, and his fear became even more overwhelming.

As Ah Yuan and Xiao Chengkang listened to Xi Lingche's tearful account, their expressions grew increasingly grim. Especially after hearing about the scene in the Imperial Study, they exchanged a glance, both seeing the solemnity and icy anger in each other's eyes!

"What a vicious tactic!" Xiao Chengkang's voice was icy cold. "A double kill! She has sown discord between His Majesty and the Second Prince, and planted seeds of suspicion in the Empress's heart! If the Second Prince is convicted as a result, or turns against the Empress... she will reap the benefits! This woman's wickedness far surpasses that of the Lin family!"