Chen Banjun walked up to Qin Xue and said, "Starving to death is a small matter, but losing one's chastity is a big deal. Although you are not very virtuous as a woman, you are pregnant."

But what bad luck that you ran into us! From now on, you're our wife. If you ever dare to go out and flirt again, we'll break your legs.

Once Qin Xue entered his house, she could forget about ever having any further contact with the Li family.

"don't want."

Qin Xue exclaimed, "I don't want to be your wife, I want to marry Li Shuhuai!"

Chen Banjun frowned. "You really don't want to?"

Qin Xue shook her head so hard it was almost a blur.

"Fine, we don't even want you. You've defiled our family, it's attempted rape. You'll get thirty strokes of the cane or be drowned. Choose for yourself."

His face darkened, and his eyes flashed with murderous intent.

As the chief steward in His Majesty's court, he could marry not only the daughters of merchants, but also the daughters of ordinary officials.

It's just that he knows he has a disability and doesn't want to harm others.

In addition, since His Majesty was unwilling to fill the harem, some people wanted to place women around him to get closer to him. He found this troublesome, so he never considered getting married.

But having reached his current position, how could he not want to have an heir, even if it's just a girl, to carry on the family line?

Several of the stewards in the palace who were of lower rank than him had married and had children outside the palace.

Unexpectedly, this merchant's daughter, who was not of good character herself, actually despised him.

Seeing his imposing aura, Qin Xue became frightened and cried out to Li Shuhuai for help, "Cousin, save me."

She was pregnant, and whether she was flogged or drowned, she would only face certain death.

Li Shuhuai didn't even have an official position; he was nothing in front of Chen Banjun, so what could he do?

The rest of Li Xiangguo's faction wanted to say a few words in support, but fearing that Su Luoqing might reveal something else, they all remained silent.

They were just waiting for Prime Minister Li to arrive in time to resolve the current predicament.

Unbeknownst to them, Prime Minister Li was being summoned to the palace by the emperor for a meeting, and the messenger was pacing anxiously at the palace gate.

Qin Xue was devastated. Before coming to the capital, her mother had clearly said that with her uncle around, she could live a carefree life in the capital.

But why did it turn out like this?

Li Shiling hadn't expected her niece to provoke Chen Banjun. Without Prime Minister Li's intervention, even if he went, it wouldn't make any difference and might even worsen the situation.

I could only worry at home, and blisters appeared in my mouth in no time.

Unable to find any help, Qin Xue finally placed her hopes on Ye Zhen, saying, "Princess, please help me, and I will repay you."

Ye Zhen said regretfully, "Miss Qin, it is a fact that you have taken Chen Gonggong's place, and this princess is powerless to change it."

You should thank Eunuch Chen for being a good person; otherwise, you would already be beheaded.

Those officials' dirt was something she and Xie Tingzhou had worked hard to find, all in order to sow discord within the Prime Minister's faction.

Even if Li Heng knows Qin Xue is innocent, his followers may not believe it.

If Qin Xue were to return to the Li family, wouldn't that give them a chance to explain themselves?

Qin Xue then looked at Xie Tingzhou and pleaded, "Your Highness, please save me. My father is wealthy and will repay you."

With no one to help her, she had no choice but to save herself with money.

Xie Tingzhou asked with interest, "You'd rather pay money than marry Eunuch Chen? I'm curious how much you're planning to pay?"

Qin Xue thought that this money was to save her life, and Xie Tingzhou was the Crown Prince. If she lost it, she would seem worthless, and the Crown Prince would not care about her.

He shouted, "Five hundred thousand taels! My father is the richest man in Jiangnan and loves me the most. He can definitely afford it."

"Five hundred thousand taels is indeed a lot."

Xie Tingzhou pondered for a moment and said, "This year there has been a drought and the harvest is poor. I'm afraid many people will go hungry this winter. Your 500,000 taels can solve the immediate problem."

But, you're just a young woman, how can you make decisions for your father?

Seeing that things had taken a turn for the better, Qin Xue quickly said, "I am willing to write an IOU. With my IOU, Father will surely give it to you."

Xie Tingzhou nodded, and someone quickly went to get paper and pen.

So, everyone saw Qin Xue happily write down the IOU, each with their own thoughts.

The people in the Prime Minister's faction began to doubt whether it was right for them to follow the Prime Minister. They wondered if their secrets had been carelessly leaked and if they had brought such a simple-minded woman to the capital to act as a money-spending angel. Could their great cause really succeed?

Those who were not affiliated with the Prime Minister's faction were amazed by the wealth of Jiangnan, where even ordinary merchants could easily spend hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

There were also those who were even more astute, who vaguely sensed that today's events might be a setup, but since it concerned the Crown Prince, they dared not think too deeply about it.

Ye Zhen wondered if Li Heng knew how brainless Qin Xue was. Given his cautious nature, he probably did.

If they already knew this, yet still allowed Qin Xue to enter the capital and become a link between the Qin and Li families, then the relationship between Qin Xue's mother and Li Heng must be extraordinary.

Unaware of what others were thinking, Qin Xue asked with delight, "Your Highness, may I leave now?"

Xie Tingzhou looked at Chen Banjun, "For my sake, spare her life, how about it?"

Chen Banjun hurriedly knelt down, "Your Highness is too kind to this servant. This servant will take her back to the manor immediately."

Qin Xue was stunned.

“I want to go back to the Li family, not to go back to the Chen family with you.”

Chen Banjun slapped her across the face. "Ignorant and stupid woman, if it weren't for His Highness, you would either be dead from being beaten or drowning."

"Your Highness has spoken, and we will spare your life, but you have tarnished our reputation. Even if you are one of our people, do you intend to seduce another man and make us cuckolds?"

He pulled Qin Xue up and pushed her toward a nearby eunuch, saying, "You're a disgrace, take her away."

Fearing that Qin Xue would make a fuss again, the eunuch quickly dislocated her jaw and took her into the palace.

Chen Banjun had a residence outside the palace, but he was worried that it was not safe to leave Qin Xue outside the palace, so he simply brought her into the palace.

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