Chapter 439 The King of Chu's Protection
Madam Min Qiao stared at Min Pan'er with chilling eyes, her tone filled with murderous intent.
If looks could kill, Min Pan'er would have been tortured to death a thousand times over.
"No! It wasn't me!" Min Pan'er shook her head frantically, waving her hands, on the verge of tears.
"I didn't mean to! I didn't want her to die! I was just too angry and too sad!"
“If she hadn’t abandoned me back then, I wouldn’t have fallen into the hands of the Da Le people, and I wouldn’t have been raped by so many of them.”
"So many damned soldiers... every single day... it never ends..."
"Waaaaah...I'm a victim too!"
"Madam..." Jiang Hongling stepped forward to try to ease the tension, but before she could finish speaking, she was rendered speechless by Min Qiaoshi's icy gaze.
She felt guilty towards Min Pan'er, but Ajiu owed Min Pan'er nothing! Nor did she owe her anything!
On the contrary, she and Min Pan'er owed Ajiu a great deal!
At this moment, the old lady only wanted to seek justice for Ajiu, so what right did she have to stop her?
Jiang Hongling, her eyes red, stepped aside.
Huanzhen, Wenxiu, Weijia, and Aqi all stood behind Min Qiaoshi, glaring fiercely at Min Pan'er.
Min Qiao scoffed: "So, you can inflict the harm you received on Ajiu?"
"A-Jiu abandoned you to save Jiang Hongling, who was critically injured and on the verge of death."
"But she was just desperate to save lives!"
"And what's more! Before that, Ajiu had saved you more than once!"
"If it weren't for A-Jiu protecting you, you would have died on the night the marriage procession was attacked!"
"Ask yourself honestly, has Ajiu really done anything to wrong you?"
Min Qiao's repeated questions caused the onlookers' expressions to change. Those who had initially sympathized with Min Pan'er because of her crying now looked at her with a different gaze.
Seeing this, Min Pan'er gritted her teeth, but tears streamed down her face as she trembled and said pitifully and helplessly, "I'm sorry! It's my fault! I shouldn't have taken my pain out on others! I shouldn't have hurt A-Jiu!"
"But who should be held responsible for my suffering?"
"I'm just an ordinary woman. All I want is to get married peacefully and smoothly, and to be a good wife and mother."
"Why did I have to take the place of the Seventh Princess? Why did I have to endure all this injustice?"
"I was wrong to hurt Ajiu, but wasn't I also innocent?"
“I have no argument with the old lady who wants to seek justice for Ajiu.”
"But to whom can I seek justice?"
Just then, a gentle voice broke in, "Miss Min, don't be sad. It's the royal family that has wronged you! I will give you the justice you deserve!"
“Your Highness, Prince Chu…” Min Pan’er looked at the Fifth Prince with tears in her eyes, her eyes filled with gratitude.
Madam Min Qiao frowned and glanced sideways, only to see Li Sanqi staring at Min Pan'er and the King of Chu with a complicated expression.
At this moment, Madam Min Qiao finally understood why Li Sanqi hadn't killed Min Pan'er the moment he returned to Dayan.
"Madam, I know you are heartbroken that your maid is dead. But since it has already happened, there's no point in making things difficult for Miss Min."
After comforting Min Pan'er, the King of Chu turned to Min Qiao and said politely, "Why don't you think about what kind of compensation you want? Whatever you ask for, as long as it's within my power, I will do it for you."
"I only hope that you can let this matter go and stop making things difficult for Miss Min."
After saying this, before Lady Min Qiao could speak, the King of Chu added, "On behalf of the King of Chu, I implore Lady Qinghe!"
Upon hearing this, Madam Min Qiao narrowed her eyes instantly.
Li Sanqi unconsciously tightened his grip on Min Qiaoshi's hand.
The King of Chu spoke politely, but the meaning behind his words was anything but polite!
"Your Highness, are you trying to threaten my grandmother?"
Just then, Earl Enping Yan Jin spoke up.
After seeing Min Qiaoshi and her entourage off to the inn, Yan Jin was preparing to return to the garrison headquarters. However, before he could leave, Min Qiaoshi and Min Pan'er got into an argument.
Having witnessed King Chu's protection of Min Pan'er in recent days, Yan Jin immediately decided to stay and see how things were going.
He witnessed firsthand how the King of Chu, in order to protect Min Pan'er, even relegated her own sister, the Seventh Princess, to a lower position.
He couldn't let Old Madam Qiao be wronged in front of him. Otherwise, who knew what kind of trouble she would cause if she found out!
When the Earl of Enping spoke, everyone was stunned.
It was only then that everyone suddenly remembered that the lady in the Earl of Enping's family had recognized Min Qiao as her grandmother.
Come to think of it, aren't these two family members?
“Earl of Enping has misunderstood.” The King of Chu twitched his lips, looking embarrassed. “I just wanted to make this a small matter and let it go. I didn’t mean to threaten Old Madam Qiao.”
The King of Chu was quite self-aware. Although he was a prince, he was unmarried, had not yet established his own household, and was not involved in court affairs. He had no official position, no power, and no influence. Someone like the Earl of Enping, who held an important position, wielded military power, and was highly regarded by Emperor Xiaozhao, was not someone he could easily offend.
Therefore, when faced with the questioning of the Earl of Enping, he rationally chose to back down.
As he spoke, he turned around and bowed deeply to Madam Min, sincerely apologizing, "Chengming was impetuous just now, please don't take it to heart, Madam."
Seeing the prince being so humble, Madam Min Qiao naturally dared not put on airs. She quickly curtsied in return and politely replied, "This old woman dares not."
Min Pan'er clenched her teeth and watched the situation unfold.
Seeing that the Fifth Prince dared not offend the Earl of Enping, and that the Fifth Prince had even suffered humiliation because of her, she was deeply moved.
She had no choice but to step forward and quell the situation, saying, "It all started because of me. Kill me or torture me, I'll do as you please."
"Please, Earl Enping and Madam Qiao, do not make things difficult for His Highness Prince Chu."
As he spoke, he glanced gratefully at the King of Chu, then raised his chin slightly, closed his eyes, and adopted an arrogant demeanor as if he were obediently accepting his death.
The King of Chu looked at Min Pan'er with pity, suppressed his emotions, and looked at Madam Min with a stern face: "Does the old lady really insist that Miss Min pay with her life?"
"Although your maid was injured by Miss Min, she wasn't killed by her!"
"Isn't it a bit excessive for you to demand Miss Min's life now?"
"Besides, no matter how close your maid is to you, she is still just a lowly servant."
"Miss Min is, after all, a daughter of the Min family, a noble family. In fact, she's your grandniece. Why must you be so determined to destroy her?"
Just then, Li Sanqi, who had been silent all along, finally couldn't help but speak up and retorted, "Fifth Brother, if Ajiu is a lowly servant, then what about me?"
"Min Pan'er scratched my face and even tried to have me raped. That's a fact, isn't it?"
"If Ah Jiu's life is worthless, then is the humiliation I suffered also insignificant?"
"Based on what Min Pan'er did to me, killing her a hundred times over would be enough!"
"Seventh Sister!" The King of Chu frowned and said in a deep voice, "Didn't we agree that we would never mention this matter again?"
Li Sanqi gritted his teeth.
Indeed! After Min Pan'er was sent back to Dayan by Da Xi, Li Sanqi wanted to kill her immediately.
Unfortunately, she was stopped by her fifth brother!
In fact, in order to protect Min Pan'er, her fifth brother even agreed to many of her conditions!
Upon hearing the King of Chu mention their agreement, Li Sanqi gritted her teeth and remained silent. However, a hint of guilt flickered in her eyes as she looked at Min Qiao.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com