Chapter 114 Could it be that Empress Cheng wants to get rid of Qingqing?

At this moment, Su Tingwan seemed to be provoked and pointed at Jiang Fenghua's nose, cursing, "Jiang Fenghua, it was you, it was you who wanted to harm me. My face has become like this, it must be because of you. I have been going to you every day to learn etiquette, read and write, and I respect you as a princess, but why can't you tolerate me and even want to harm me?"

Jiang Fenghua was also bewildered, her face full of surprise. "What do you mean by 'concubine'? How could I possibly harm you?"

"It must be you. You always put on an act. You act all gentle and weak in front of the prince, but you're not like that at all. Jiang Fenghua, I've already humbled myself before you, why won't you let me go? Why did you have to hurt me and ruin my face?"

She had prepared meticulously for today for a long time. She practiced dancing and persevered no matter how tired she was. She had clearly succeeded, and Xie Shang had been successfully attracted to her. She never expected Jiang Fenghua's methods to be so insidious.

Jiang Fenghua stood there, staring innocently at Xie Shang, and explained, "Your Highness, I didn't."

Xie Shang looked doubtful. Wanwan wanted to make a good impression on this occasion, and she would never allow herself to harm herself.

He wondered: Could it be Jiang Fenghua?

He quickly dismissed the idea. Jiang Fenghua had never competed with Wanwan for anything. She had always taught Wanwan with all her heart. He had personally witnessed her teaching Wanwan like a teacher. She was kind-hearted. How could she possibly come up with such a vicious trick to disfigure someone?

"Wanwan, you need to provide evidence for your words. I believe the Princess Consort," Xie Shang affirmed.

“She knew before that the prince only liked me, so she plotted to replace me in the prince’s heart.” Su Tingwan then said loudly to Jiang Fenghua, “You’ve been like this from the beginning. You’ve always been pretending, acting weak and pitiful in front of the prince. The prince is soft-hearted and has really been deceived by you.”

Jiang Fenghua remained composed and assertive. "What the concubine means is that I schemed to marry the prince. The prince himself did not want to marry me. He has always loved you. I am not only the third party who interfered between you, but I also schemed to bewitch the prince. I caused the rash on your face, and I also caused you to fall from mid-air while dancing. From now on, no matter what happens to you, you will have to blame it on me, the princess."

“Who else hates me this much besides you?” Su Tingwan said directly.

Xie Shang, seeing Su Tingwan say these words, stopped her, saying, "Wanwan..."

"Let her speak." Jiang Fenghua seemed to be angry, but she suppressed her anger: "Today, in front of Father, Mother, and Old Madam Su, please let Consort Su make herself clear."

"See? That's just how she is. She's the one who hurt others first, but she's pretending to be innocent." Su Tingwan couldn't stand her acting like that. In front of Xie Shang, she pretended to have suffered a great injustice. Every time, she could provoke her and make Xie Shang think that she didn't know the rules.

Because of Su Qingqing's incident, the Emperor was still furious, and no one dared to say a word. Now that Su Tingwan had accused Jiang Fenghua, everyone was taking a wait-and-see approach.

Jiang Fenghua suddenly knelt down respectfully before the emperor. "When I married into the Heng Prince's mansion, it was by my father's personal decree. Consort Su accused me of interfering in her relationship with the prince, but I do not agree with that. I have not disgraced the Jiang family by stealing someone else's fiancé. I have never forgotten propriety, righteousness, integrity, or shame."

Empress Cheng said, "Ruan Ruan, get up. You are not wrong. It is she who is shameless and now she is turning the tables on you. It is truly laughable."

It was clearly Su Tingwan and Prince Heng who got together without any betrothal or marriage ceremony, and Jiang Fenghua's marriage to Prince Heng was also bestowed by the Emperor, with the wedding causing a sensation throughout the city. Now, her accusation that Princess Heng interfered is tantamount to accusing the Emperor of bestowing the marriage. Su Tingwan is truly shameless, daring to say anything.

Then Jiang Fenghua continued, "On the third day after Your Highness married me into the manor, Consort Su followed me in. I believe that I have never mistreated Consort Su since she entered the manor, nor have I ever had any disputes with her." This implied that Su Tingwan had been making trouble unreasonably all along, and Xie Shang had seen it all.

At this moment, Princess Yu suddenly knelt down, "Your Majesty, I know what happened that day. It was the day Princess Heng was to return to her parents' home, but Consort Su dragged His Highness Heng to the local temple outside the city to get married. This matter was not publicized, so no one knows about it. It is the first time that a prince of our Great Zhou Dynasty has married a consort in this way. Since Princess Heng was married by Your Majesty, isn't Consort Su deliberately slapping Your Majesty in the face? Yet Princess Heng didn't say anything and actually welcomed her into the mansion. Only Princess Heng is so accommodating. If it were me... In short, if this matter were to spread among the common people, I'm afraid the whole world would laugh at our royal family for not knowing the rules. I never thought that His Highness Heng would truly be the number one person to spoil his concubine and neglect his wife."

Princess Yu had heard Xie Yu talk about this before, so she knew very well that she had only taken it as a joke at the time. Later, she was tormented by Xie Yu and could no longer go on living. Xie Yu favored his concubine over his wife, and Xie Shang was the same.

Do they really think the royal men are easy to bully?

If she's going to make a scene, she might as well. She can't have children, so she's not afraid of anything. Anyway, she's disliked by her mother-in-law and unloved by her husband, and she'll end up alone in the end. She might even be beaten to death by Xie Yu.

Everyone was surprised to hear this, as they hadn't expected such a thing to happen.

The emperor was in the know, and although he scolded Xie Shang a few times, it didn't cause any trouble, so he let it go.

Xie Shang looked at Jiang Fenghua with increasing guilt, as it was Jiang Fenghua who had smoothed things over for them that day.

He said coldly to Su Tingwan, "Don't make up stories about the Princess Consort. I have always been with the Princess Consort. It's impossible that she wanted to harm you. Could it be that you ate something wrong?"

"Your Highness, it really is her. Believe me, she doesn't look like this at all. She even disguised herself as a man and went to a brothel to dance and compete for the title of courtesan. I saw it. I also saw her exchanging glances with the man surnamed Xiao."

These words caused an uproar, and everyone stared at Jiang Fenghua.

How come things are getting more and more outrageous? What's with this surname Xiao?

Su Tingwan was determined to expose Jiang Fenghua's true colors in public, and she pressed her aggressively, "Do you dare to admit that you ran away from the capital while the prince was away?"

Xie Shang was already bothered by Xiao Yu's feelings for Jiang Fenghua, and upon hearing that Jiang Fenghua had met with Xiao Yu again, he became extremely jealous and stared at her, asking, "Is it true?"

Jiang Fenghua remained calm and composed, but a hint of despair flashed in her eyes. "She insults people with empty words. Your Highness can assume that Consort Su is just being straightforward because of her ability to speak her mind. She doesn't hold back when it comes to smearing others, and Your Highness can also assume that she has no ill intentions. I have already experienced this firsthand. What is said without intention may be taken to heart by others. I'm afraid I will have no face to show in the future."

Seeing her cold gaze, Xie Shang quickly pulled her away, saying, "That's not what I meant."

Jiang Fenghua avoided his touch, "Just as Consort Su said, Your Highness and I had feelings for each other before we got married, and I am just a later person, so no matter how I explain it, it feels weak and powerless."

Who would believe that Jiang Shaofu's daughter would do such a thing? Everyone criticized Su Tingwan for saying whatever she wanted, saying that such a person who ruins a woman's reputation is the most despicable.

“Ruan Ruan,” Xie Shang said, feeling increasingly guilty, “I didn’t believe her.” He just regretted not having met Jiang Fenghua sooner.

"Your Highness, she really is having an affair with Xiao Yu. I saw it with my own eyes, right here at Yichun Pavilion..." Seeing Xie Shang's expression, Su Tingwan knew that Jiang Fenghua was faking it again, and that Xie Shang actually believed her.

"Slap." In front of everyone, Xie Shang slapped her across the face and said sternly, "I have already relieved you of your confinement out of respect for Old Madam Su. Why do you keep breaking the rules? In front of Old Madam Su, Father Emperor, and Mother Empress, if Consort Su does not wish to stay in the Heng Prince's residence, then please leave!"

Madam Su was already heartbroken by the tragic fate of her daughter, and now her granddaughter has been sent back as well.

Who orchestrated all of this tonight?

She looked in the direction of Empress Cheng and saw a smug smile on her lips.

Could it be that Empress Cheng wants to get rid of Qingqing?