The Miss Cao who had just spoken covered her mouth as if she had said something wrong.
"I just heard about this from my cousin. She said it wasn't a secret in Qingzhou. County Magistrate Lin met her when he went to the capital to take the imperial examination. Later, he came to Qingzhou to get married, and somehow, she became the young lady of the Xie family."
Someone immediately followed up, "Now that you mention it, it reminds me that at the beginning of the year, Madam Xie fell into the water, and a scholar rescued her. It was at... at Concubine Jiang's birthday party!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at Jiang Xuejun.
Jiang Xuejun's face was filled with embarrassment. "This... this really happened back then. That scholar rushed in to save her without hesitation. I thought they were in love..."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the people present changed, and there was a hint of sarcasm in their eyes when they looked at Wanruo.
Jiang Xuejun hurriedly said: "That must be a misunderstanding."
But she felt extremely happy in her heart. She glanced at Xie Xianyu's face, which had become extremely gloomy in just an instant.
How could she not know? During the months when Xu Wanruo disappeared from Yanjing City, she went to Qingzhou to get married!
Regardless of whether Xie Xianyu knew about this or not, it was definitely a thorn stuck in his heart, like a fishbone stuck in his throat, difficult to swallow.
Today he will take advantage of the situation to make this scandal public. With his temper and methods, he will definitely teach this bitch who made him lose face a lesson!
Wanruo's eyes paused slightly, and her hands hidden in her sleeves suddenly clenched. She glanced at Xie Xianyu's face and felt that she was afraid that she would die without a complete body today.
In that silent moment, everyone present had different thoughts in their minds, but the only thing they had in common was that they were all secretly watching Xie Xianyu's expression.
Even King Xuan didn't dare to speak.
After three breaths of silence, Xie Xianyu finally spoke slowly, "Who said that?"
His expression was calm and his voice was steady, but a murderous aura emanated from him invisibly, oppressing people's hearts.
Cao Man, who had just spoken first, said calmly, "I just heard from my cousin..."
"Which one?"
Cao Man's face turned pale. She never expected that Xie Xianyu would leave Xu Wanruo alone and come to find out which family her cousin came from.
This tone clearly means that they want to launch an attack to hold someone accountable.
Xie Xianyu's expression was calm, but his eyes were already slightly sharp.
Cao Man was panicked and at a loss. She stood up and said, "Yes, it's the Qingzhou governor..."
"Yao Guichang," Xie Xianyu said in a cold voice, like a lingchi knife, "As the governor of a prefecture, you don't do your job, but you're really good at spreading rumors."
"No, it's not!" Cao Man hurriedly defended herself.
Seeing this, Lord Cao hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over: "I am sorry that I have embarrassed Master Xie because of my poor parenting. She is talking nonsense. I will apologize to Master Xie..."
"Really? I think your Cao family is very brave." Xie Xianyu suddenly raised his eyes, with a sharp look in his eyes.
Lord Cao's face suddenly turned pale and he froze there.
King Xuan reacted immediately, slamming the table and cursing, "You bastard! How dare you fabricate rumors out of thin air! Do you disrespect Lord Xie, or do you disrespect me?!"
Lord Cao knelt on the ground with a plop, and the women of the Cao family also knelt down in panic out of fear.
"I dare not. This girl is talking nonsense. I will discipline her when I get there! She will never dare to talk nonsense again!"
Lord Cao repeatedly apologized, but Xie Xianyu never opened his mouth.
Lord Cao angrily slapped Cao Man in the face. "What nonsense are you talking about, you beast? Do you think you can fabricate Madam Xie's story? You're really bold to make up rumors based on fabricated stories! Why don't you apologize now?"
Cao Man was slapped and fell to the ground. She woke up in shock and knelt down to apologize: "I am talking nonsense. I spread rumors and caused trouble. I beg Madam Xie to show some leniency. I beg Master Xie to forgive me!"
Jiang Xuejun's face changed. He was willing to use force to suppress the rumors for that bitch?
Is this how he protects her?
King Xuan cursed, "You still have the nerve to apologize? I see your Cao family as lawless! Come, kick them out immediately! I will not tolerate people like you who fabricate rumors and stir up trouble!"
Lord Cao's face turned pale instantly, and he kowtowed repeatedly begging for mercy: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
The Cao family was dependent on King Xuan. Being kicked out today was a small matter of humiliation, but being kicked out by King Xuan meant they would lose their support forever. Wouldn't that mean the entire family's future would be ruined?!
King Xuan shouted angrily: "Come here! Get them out immediately!"
What was the tiny Cao family? He hadn't even been crowned Crown Prince yet, and Xie Xianyu was his most important trump card. How could he possibly offend Xie Xianyu for the sake of a tiny Cao family?
What the truth is doesn’t matter at all; what matters is what those in power think the truth is.
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