Chapter 110: Reflection

A co-wife?!

These two words were like two loud slaps in the face of the empress dowager!

It was a slap in the face of the entire royal family!

The Queen Mother's face instantly turned from ashen blue to as dark as the bottom of a pot!

Her chest heaved violently, and her fingers pointing at Xiao Jingren trembled so much that she could hardly hold them.

"You...you evil creature!"

She was so angry that she could hardly utter complete sentences and felt dizzy!

The palace maids and ladies around were even more silent, with their heads lowered even lower, wishing that a crack would appear in the ground immediately so that they could crawl into it!

This, this is no longer a scandal, this is going to burst the sky!

Taking his future brother's wife, who was already engaged, as his co-wife? If this were to get out, would the royal family still have any dignity?!

The Queen Mother took a deep breath and suppressed the anger that was about to burst out.

Her sharp eyes swept over the ladies and palace maids who were watching the fun but trying hard to pretend to be indifferent.

There are too many people here, this is not the place to deal with family scandals!

“That’s enough!”

The Queen Mother shouted in a stern voice, with unquestionable authority in her voice.

"Isn't this embarrassing enough?!"

Her sharp eyes swept over Chen He, who was kneeling on the ground and shedding tears, and then she glared fiercely at Xiao Jingren, who was pale, frightened and angry.

"Someone come!"

"Bring the Third Prince and Miss Shen back to the Cining Palace for me!"

"Everyone else, disperse!"

The Queen Mother's voice was cold, without a trace of warmth.

Everyone was as if pardoned, and hurriedly bowed and took their leave. No one dared to look at him for fear of being caught up in this royal storm.

In a flash, only the Queen Mother, Chen He, Xiao Jingren and a few personal palace maids and eunuchs were left in this secluded corner of the Imperial Garden.

The atmosphere was so oppressive that it was almost suffocating.

Chen He was helped up by the palace maid, her head still lowered, her shoulders trembling slightly, and she looked pitiful, frightened and about to cry.

Xiao Jingren's face turned ashen, his fists clenched, his eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness, but he was intimidated by the empress dowager's majesty and dared not say anything more.

The group walked towards the Cining Palace in silence.

***

In the side hall of Cining Palace.

The scent of agarwood lingered, but it could not dispel the solemn atmosphere in the hall.

The Queen Mother sat on the phoenix throne at the top, her face still extremely ugly, rubbing her throbbing forehead.

Chen He and Xiao Jingren knelt on the left and right in the center of the hall, one with his head down and tears in his eyes, the other with his neck stiff, the red marks on his face still lingering, full of humiliation.

Just then—

"The Emperor has arrived—!"

A shrill voice of a eunuch was heard from outside the hall.

The Queen Mother suddenly opened her eyes!

Chen He's heart skipped a beat. Here it comes!

Xiao Jingren's body stiffened, and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes.

A bright yellow figure walked into the hall with the gait of a dragon and a tiger. It was the current emperor!

His face was as gloomy as water and his eyes were as sharp as lightning. As soon as he entered the room, he glanced at the situation in the hall.

When he saw Chen He kneeling on the ground with her clothes disheveled and her hair scattered, and then saw the clear slap mark on Xiao Jingren's face, the emperor's brows instantly twisted into a "川" shape!

"Greetings, Father!" Xiao Jingren kowtowed quickly.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" Chen He also bowed, her voice still crying, but with just the right amount of fear in it.

The emperor did not immediately call them up. Instead, he walked to the empress dowager and asked in a deep voice, "Mother, what's going on?"

His voice was not loud, but it carried a sense of oppression that was intimidating without even being angry.

Xiao Jingren was anxious and rushed to speak: "Father! I am innocent! It's this bitch..."

"presumptuous!"

The emperor suddenly turned around, his eyes as cold as a knife, shooting straight at Xiao Jingren!

"Is this how you speak in front of me and the Queen Mother?!"

Xiao Jingren was so frightened by the harsh shout that the rest of his words were choked in his throat and his face turned pale in an instant.

Only then did he realize that his father's expression was even uglier than he had imagined!

Seeing this, Chen He knew that the time had come!

She raised her head suddenly, tears rolling down her cheeks like beads from a broken string, her voice trembling, filled with fear and despair:

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty the Queen Mother! Please help me!"

She took two steps on her knees, raised the jade belt with coiled dragon pattern and the lake blue hairband that Xiao Jingren had grasped high in her hands, and cried uncontrollably:

"Third Prince... not only did he speak frivolously, he even said he wanted to take me as his concubine..."

"He...he was just in the Imperial Garden, and seeing no one around, he actually...actually tried to forcibly take my clothes!"

"He wants to destroy my innocence, Your Majesty!"

This statement was even more shocking than the previous statement about "equal wife"!

Stealing a dress?! Destroying someone's innocence?!

This crime is much more serious than molesting or forcibly taking a concubine's wife!

Xiao Jingren looked up suddenly as if struck by lightning, his eyes widening: "You are slandering me!"

The emperor's eyes suddenly became extremely sharp, locking onto the evidence in Shen He's hand like a hawk.

His gaze lingered on the jade belt and hairband for a moment, and his voice expressed no emotion.

"Send it to Zhou Yan'an, the head of the Ministry of Justice."

***

Soon, Zhou Yan'an, dressed in a brand new official uniform, was led in by the eunuch.

He looked straight ahead and bowed respectfully, "Your Majesty, I am Zhou Yan'an, Director of the Ministry of Justice. I pay my respects to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager."

The emperor raised his chin and motioned him to look at what was in Shen He's hand.

Zhou Yan'an stepped forward as instructed and took the jade belt and hairband from Chen He's trembling hands.

He first carefully examined the jade belt, then replied in a calm tone, "Your Majesty, this jade belt with coiled dragon pattern was indeed made for the prince. It is of high quality and has no damage. However..."

He paused slightly, picked up the lake blue hairband and took a closer look.

The hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone's eyes were on him.

After a moment, Zhou Yan'an raised his head and spoke clearly:

"It's just that the edge of this headband shows signs of being torn forcefully, and the fibers are uneven at the break. It's not like it fell off or untied naturally."

He paused and added, "There seems to be some traces of dirt and grass on the headband, which is somewhat consistent with the environment of the rockery in the Imperial Garden."

"Also," Zhou Yan'an's eyes swept over Chen He's scattered hair, "the material and color of the headband, as well as the headband remaining in Miss Shen's bun and the few strands of broken hair scattered on her temples, should be the same."

His words did not directly condemn anyone, but every word pointed to a terrible truth:

What Shen He said is very likely to be true!

Xiao Jingren's face turned as pale as paper in an instant!

How is that even possible?! He clearly just grabbed her hairband, but how did that become forceful pulling, and even got it stained with dirt?! What on earth did this woman do?!

"No! It's not like that! Father! Grandmother! She is pretending! She is framing me!" Xiao Jingren couldn't hold back any longer and started to defend himself excitedly.

"shut up!"

The emperor slammed the armrest beside him, making a loud "bang" sound!

The entire side hall was shocked!

"You still have the nerve to argue?!"

The emperor's voice was like the cold wind in December, which made people's bones ache!

He pointed at Xiao Jingren, his eyes filled with undisguised disappointment and anger!

"In broad daylight! In the Imperial Garden! I'm tangling with my future sister-in-law!"

"Look at you now! Where's the demeanor of a prince?!"

"The royal family's dignity! The honor of our ancestors! You have completely disgraced us!"

The emperor's voice became louder and louder, filled with thunderous rage!

The emperor's eyes quickly swept over Chen He, who lowered her head and shed tears, looking extremely weak. The emperor was thinking about how to take the opportunity to warn Xiao Jingren, and Chen He gave him such a handle.

"Xiao Jingren!"

He spoke coldly, his voice brooking no doubt.

"As a prince, you have no self-control, your words and actions are inappropriate, and you are insulting the dignity of the royal family!"

"From now on, you are confined to the Third Prince's residence! Reflect on your mistakes behind closed doors!"