Xiao came today to see Ye Zhen make a fool of himself, and she was also instructed by Li Heng to add fuel to the fire.

But she never expected that before she could even finish speaking, she would become a laughing stock.

She was stunned by Madam Shen's slap. Just as she realized who hit her, Madam Shen grabbed her hair and pressed her to the ground, raining down her fists.

"Ah, you shrew, you're crazy, let me go!"

Xiao cried out in surprise.

The Prime Minister explicitly forbade any internal power struggles from escalating outside the mansion. Even if she and Madam Shen harbored deep-seated hatred, they had to pretend to be amicable in public.

At most, her audacity was merely veiled praise and sarcasm in words; today, Shen dared to lay a hand on her in public.

They are the wives of the Prime Minister, representing the face of the Prime Minister's mansion. Isn't Madam Shen afraid that the Prime Minister will get angry and divorce her?

Would Madam Shen be afraid of being divorced?

She is now eager to sever ties with Li Heng as soon as possible.

Having witnessed the royal family's punishment of the Qin family in the palace, she was so frightened that she couldn't sleep all night after returning home.

The royal family only needed to capture Qin Xue to wipe out the entire Qin family without shedding a drop of blood.

Harvesting the Qin family was a preparation for dealing with the Li family. No matter how deeply entrenched a tree is, as long as its roots are cut off little by little, the tree will eventually wither and die.

In a short period of time, the Su family and the Qin family were completely destroyed. The speed was so fast that just thinking about it sent a chill down her spine.

How far is it from Li Heng's downfall?

She must find another way to make a living with her children as soon as possible.

The princess said that since Li Heng wanted to use her grandson, she would strike first.

The Crown Prince had just sent a message to her, and the time was ripe.

She sent someone to investigate and found that it was Xiao who was causing trouble for the princess. Wasn't this her chance?

Thinking of this, Madam Shen slapped Xiao's face several times in a row, "Pah! You beast who doesn't even spare my nine-year-old daughter, how dare you chant Amitabha? Aren't you afraid of defiling Buddha and incurring divine retribution?"

Xiao Shi had lived a respectable life; when had she ever been beaten to the ground? If she listened to Madam Shen's words again, she would go crazy.

"You madwoman, what nonsense are you spouting?"

That happened hundreds of years ago, why is the person surnamed Shen bringing it up again?

She harmed Li Shuyu, and didn't Madam Shen retaliate against Chenghai by cutting off her ability to have children?

Suddenly, she realized something was wrong. Shen hadn't mentioned Li Shuyu's matter for many years, but she brought it up at this time.

Could it be that he's deliberately helping Ye Zhen?

Yes, the Shen family and Ye Zhen are on good terms.

Thinking of this, she said righteously, "Sister, I know you have a good relationship with the princess and want to help her, so you deliberately came here to cause trouble to divert everyone's attention."

But princes are subject to the same laws as commoners. If the princess is wrong, she should correct her mistake in time, instead of shirking responsibility or covering it up..."

"I think you're just trying to change the subject."

Madam Shen slapped Xiao Shi across the face again, saying, "I am a mother, and I only want to seek justice for my daughter and grandson. I can't concern myself with anything else."

"Today you'd better explain yourself clearly: why did you let that old servant deceive me back then, saying he pushed my daughter into the well, when in reality he sold her to Pillow Moon Bay behind my back?"

Xiao panicked.

How could the Shen family know about Pillow Moon Bay?

Could it be Xie Jinyao who told her?

Just as I was thinking this, I heard Madam Shen say, "If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. There are always good people in this world."

"Mrs. Xiao, if you don't tell the truth today, I'll risk my life to kill you, as revenge for my daughter."

"What do I need to say about something that's completely baseless?"

Madam Xiao struggled; she could never admit it. "It was clearly your own cruelty towards the servants that earned their hatred, which then implicated your own daughter... Ah..."

Before she could finish speaking, Madam Shen pinched the soft flesh on her waist hard. "You can keep talking tough, I have plenty of strength. Let's see if your skin is tough enough."

Xiao was both in pain and ashamed, and could only hope that someone would report what had happened to Prime Minister Li so that he could come and rescue her.

Inside the Prime Minister's residence.

When Li Heng learned that Ye Zhen had incurred the wrath of the masses, his mood finally eased a bit. He picked up his tea and took a leisurely sip.

"Have someone incite the people to continue making trouble, do it discreetly, and keep a close eye on Lu Xiaocao."

The butler hurriedly replied, "They're keeping an eye on things, sir. Don't worry, Ye Zhen will be badly injured if he doesn't die this time."

Lu Xiaocao is a child from a poor family, a weak person, and is most capable of stirring up the hearts of the poor. No matter how powerful Ye Zhen is, or how many people she has behind her, it is useless.

The Crown Prince and the Marquis's residence couldn't very well arrest Lu Xiaocao, a victim, for interrogation; if they did, it would incur the wrath of the entire nation.

Ye Zhen has no way to prove his innocence.

Their men had already guided the people to block the officials from testifying on behalf of Ye Zhen.

The only person who can prove that this was not done by the charity hall is the surviving customer.

But that person wasn't a real martial arts expert at all; he was one of their people in disguise. Even if Ye Zhen had extraordinary abilities, he wouldn't be able to find that person.

As for Lu Xiaocao kneeling outside the charity hall, she is not the real Lu Xiaocao, but one of their people, and she is even less likely to help Ye Zhen.

Li Heng thought so too.

Recently, many things he's been working on have either been sabotaged halfway through or died in the womb, making him angry and somewhat uneasy.

Now that he was able to suppress Ye Zhen, his heart was somewhat at ease.

After finishing a cup of tea, a servant came to report, "Ye Zhen took out the receipts for anonymous donations over the years, trying to prove that he is not a greedy person."

The steward sneered, "It seems she's at her wit's end and is trying to play the emotional card. Don't worry, Your Majesty, with our people here, we won't let her succeed."

Anonymous donations do not mean she would not incite her child to become a prostitute.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!