Chapter 99 Opening of the Court

After hearing this, everyone pointed and whispered about Xie Wulu. No one could look down on someone who sold out his sister for personal gain.

For the first time, Xie Wulu's face showed panic.

But Xie Wuyou's attack on him wasn't over yet: "All these years, you've played the good guy! You've secretly instigated me, made me jealous of Xie Sangning, made me confused about my own position, and made me target Xie Sangning! You've been reaping the benefits behind my back! Do you know how hateful you are!"

"I was stupid! Stupid enough to be used by you, but I've already been punished! As for you, your punishment is only just beginning! I'm going to let everyone know what kind of scum you, Xie Wulu, really are!"

Every word of these words struck Xie Wulu so hard that he felt dizzy and cold sweat instantly soaked his back!

"Selling out your sister for personal gain! You're worse than an animal!"

"Instigating and sowing discord! Reaping the benefits without lifting a finger!"

"A wolf in sheep's clothing!"

The spittle of the onlookers nearly drowned Xie Wulu.

His carefully cultivated image as an ambitious and talented man, and his long-cherished dream of achieving great success, completely collapsed at this moment, accompanied by Xie Wuyou's heart-wrenching accusations!

"No...that's not how it is...you're making false accusations!"

Xie Wulu's face turned pale, his lips trembled as he tried to refute, but his voice was so weak that even he could not hear it.

He tried to rush up and cover Xie Wuyou's incessantly talking mouth, but was held down firmly by the iron-like constables behind him!

It's all over...it's all over! Xie Wuyou, that idiot! A madwoman! She's really dragging herself into hell!

From this day forward, let alone achieving success, Xie Wulu's name will become synonymous with a rat crossing the street in Jinling City!

Wei Zikai, standing to the side, also looked extremely grim.

Cold sweat trickled down my temples, and my back felt icy cold.

This crazy woman, Xie Wuyou, not only tore off Xie Wulu's disguise, but also put him and the Yongning Marquis's mansion on the brink of disaster!

Once the charge of "conspiring to frame his fiancée" is proven, Wei Zikai's carefully cultivated image of a loyal and brave general will vanish instantly!

The century-old reputation of the Yongning Marquis's Mansion has been ruined in an instant!

His father would skin him alive!

Fear overwhelmed reason; Wei Zikai abruptly took a step forward, his face instantly contorted with shock, heartache, and grievance, his voice rising:

“Sister Wuyou! How could you wrong me like this?! Heaven and earth bear witness! My sincerity towards you is as clear as the sun and moon! Today’s events were all the work of that treacherous Xie Wulu. He has wolfish ambitions, has deceived you, and even attempted to deceive my Yongning Marquis’s mansion! I knew nothing about it beforehand! If I utter a single falsehood, may I be struck by lightning!”

He swore to the heavens, his emotions running high, as if he had suffered a great injustice and was eager to distance himself from the situation.

Ah... a sincere heart?

Xie Wuyou sneered inwardly, looking at Wei Zikai's anxious explanations, yet unable to conceal the panic in his eyes, and felt utterly ironic.

If I hadn't stormed into this courtroom today with irrefutable evidence, tearing away this fig leaf, he wouldn't know how long he would have continued to put on airs!

If there were no benefit to be gained, would Xie Wulu, that scoundrel who only acts for personal gain, go to such lengths to scheme against his own sister? Does he really think she's a three-year-old?

But Xie Wuyou was not blinded by anger.

She kept Xie Sangning's advice firmly in mind—her ultimate goal was to marry into the Marquis's family!

Now, the time is right!

Tears streamed down her face like beads from a broken string, flowing out in an instant.

She raised her pale, fragile face and looked at Wei Zikai, her voice choked with heartbreaking emotion:

"Brother Wei... Wuyou... Wuyou's love for you is unwavering, heaven and earth can bear witness! I truly wish to grow old with you and spend this life together!"

She sobbed uncontrollably, as if she were about to faint at any moment. "If...if you no longer have me in your heart and don't want to marry me...I...I will never pester you! You only need to say one word, and I, Xie Wuyou, will never bother you! But...but why...why did you allow others to use such despicable means to ruin my reputation?! To destroy my life?!"

She pointed sharply at Xie Wulu and Zhou Quan beside her, her voice shrill, "If... if I hadn't been lucky enough to be rescued... if that filthy man hadn't touched my body today... I... I would have rather died by crashing my head against the shore of Luoxia Lake to prove my innocence! Brother Wei! Tell me! Tell me why this happened?!"

These words of tearful accusation, each sentence piercing the heart, were like a small knife, stabbing precisely into the hearts of everyone present!

The gaze directed at Wei Zikai was filled with suspicion, scrutiny, and silent condemnation!

Even if he wasn't the mastermind, what kind of person is he who knew about it but didn't report it and tacitly allowed his fiancée to be so cruelly harmed?!

Wei Zikai felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!

Xie Wuyou's words, seemingly gentle and sorrowful, actually put him and the Marquis's mansion on the hot seat!

If he doesn't promise to marry her, he will be guilty of being unfaithful, heartless, and condoning persecution!

Could he marry her? Marry this woman who publicly humiliated the Marquis's mansion and whom he loathed to the core?!

He stood frozen in place, caught between a rock and a hard place, his face turning pale and then flushed, and the veins on his forehead throbbing.

"Zikai!"

A low, warning shout came from behind!

She pinched her son's arm hard.

Fool! Agree now! Gag this madwoman first! Preserving the Marquis's reputation is paramount! Marry her? We'll have plenty of ways to torment her later!

Wei Zikai suddenly jolted awake!

The immense humiliation almost tore him apart!

His hands, hidden in his sleeves, were clenched tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms, causing excruciating pain.

He forced himself to force a smile that was worse than a grimace:

“Sister Wuyou! You…you mustn’t say such foolish things! We were betrothed since childhood, childhood sweethearts, our love is stronger than gold! Heaven and earth can bear witness to my feelings for you! How could such a petty person’s slanderous words possibly sow discord?”

He took a deep breath, as if swallowing a live fly:

"Today's events were all the work of treacherous people! I'm sorry you were frightened! Don't worry! I, Wei Zikai, hereby swear! I will go back and inform my parents, and immediately prepare the six rites! I will use the most grand eight-bearer sedan chair to welcome you into the Marquis's mansion in style! I will marry you! I will make you the dignified general's wife of the Yongning Marquis's mansion! I will never betray your deep affection!"

Upon hearing this promise, Xie Wuyou finally broke into a smile on her tear-streaked face.

General's wife!

She's finally going to get her!

No matter how humiliating the process, no matter how thorny the future may be, at least for this moment, she has won!

“Brother Wei…” She gazed at Wei Zikai intently, tears welling in her eyes, as if deeply moved. “Wuyou…I believe in you!”

This scene was utterly hypocritical and disgusting, yet it was performed with genuine emotion in front of everyone.

The prefect, seated upright in the main hall, already knew the truth.

The indictment and the two letters in his hands provided irrefutable evidence of Xie Wulu's crimes.

As for General Wei... since the aggrieved party forgave him in court and was even eager to marry him, why should he investigate further and stir up a hornet's nest in the Marquis's mansion?

The gavel slammed down!

"quiet!"

The Prefect's authoritative voice resounded throughout the hall:

"Upon investigation, it has been found that Xie Wulu, the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), is of despicable character and utterly depraved! For personal gain, he plotted to frame his own sister, intending to ruin her reputation and sell her into marriage as a concubine! The evidence is conclusive, and his crimes are unforgivable! He is hereby stripped of his Jinshi title, his official rank is revoked, and he is demoted to a commoner! Effective immediately!"

Xie Wulu's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud, his eyes unfocused and his face ashen!

It's over! It's completely over!

More than a decade of hard study and scheming have all vanished in an instant!

Xie Wulu, once an envied young scholar, has been utterly reduced to a despised prisoner and a lowly commoner!

The prefect's gaze shifted to Wei Zikai, who was kneeling on the ground, his face deathly pale. His voice softened slightly, carrying a barely perceptible hint of reprimand:

"As for Wei Zikai, the heir of the Marquis of Yongning... although there is no evidence of his direct involvement in the murder, as the fiancé of the victim, he failed to detect the villain's plot in time, causing his fiancée to be in danger, and he is also at fault! Considering his great sense of righteousness, his promise in court to marry the Xie woman to preserve his reputation, and the fact that the victim pleaded for forgiveness on his behalf... this official will show leniency and not punish him!"

He paused, then his voice suddenly turned stern:

"Indeed! To uphold justice and uphold human relations, this official hereby decrees: The Yongning Marquis's residence must, within five days, fulfill its promise and formally marry Xie Wuyou with the proper rites for a principal wife, welcoming her into its household! Any delay or further trouble will be severely punished by this official! Court adjourned—!"

"mighty--!"

Xie Wulu was dragged away like a dead dog, letting out desperate and unwilling sobs.

Amidst a chorus of complex and unspoken gazes, Wei Zikai and his wife rose with ashen faces, as if they had swallowed ten pounds of bitter herbs.

Wei Zikai forced himself to walk to Xie Wuyou's side, extending his stiff arm in a gesture of support, his voice sounding like it was being forced out of his throat: "...Sister Wuyou, let me see you off..."

"Okay, Brother Wei..."

She won the lawsuit, gained the title, and finally stepped into the Yongning Marquis's mansion as she had wished.

However, where does this unhappy couple, forced together, find their happy ending?

It's clearly a cage!

Xie Wuyou's "good days" have only just begun.