Chapter 156 I did it to protect you.
Shen Qingci slowly lifted the carriage curtain, and the cool moonlight shone on her calm and expressionless face, making her phoenix eyes appear even more unfathomable.
"My lord," she said indifferently, her voice revealing neither joy nor anger, "what do you intend to do by blocking my path in the middle of the night?"
"Shen Qingci!" Huo Yunzhan's eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at her, his voice filled with anger and resentment at being betrayed. "Why did you frame me?"
"Those...those so-called correspondence with the emperor of the enemy country, were they forged by you?"
“We’ve been childhood sweethearts, known each other since we were little, and have been husband and wife for almost a year. You know my handwriting like the back of your hand. You were able to imitate my handwriting perfectly a long time ago!”
"Why did you do this?" he almost roared, his eyes filled with hurt and pain. "Just because you think I've changed my mind and was with Liu Ruolan, you want to... you want to destroy me completely in this way?"
Shen Qingci looked at his seemingly insane appearance, but her face showed just the right amount of bewilderment and confusion.
"What is Your Excellency saying? This princess... I can't understand a word you say?"
She frowned, feigning ignorance, then suddenly seemed to remember something and exclaimed, "Oh, the Marquis is referring to the evidence of my crimes that I presented at the palace gates, isn't he?"
She gently shook her head, her voice tinged with sorrow and helplessness: "Those letters were not forged by me, the princess. Rather... they were evidence that my father and brothers had discovered before they died."
"Before the Shen family's downfall, they had a premonition that the family was about to collapse. They secretly investigated and found this evidence, but considering that you and I were about to get married, they entrusted this evidence concerning your crimes to Sheng Lingxue, who almost became my sister-in-law."
“They still care about me. They specifically instructed Sister Sheng that if I live a peaceful and prosperous life in the Huo family, she should keep this secret forever and pretend that nothing ever happened. But if I…” She paused, a chilling glint in her eyes, “she should hand over all this evidence to me intact.”
“Some time ago, I was missing my family and secretly sneaked back to the Shen residence to pay my respects. That's when I met Sister Sheng, who was also there to pay respects to my elder brother. It was at that time that she entrusted these things to me.”
"Huo Yunzhan," she called him by his full name for the first time, her voice filled with endless disappointment and mockery, "are you still going to try to deny it?"
Upon hearing this, Huo Yunzhan felt as if he had been struck by lightning!
Sheng Lingxue?!
How could it be her?
No wonder! No wonder he searched the entire Shen mansion from top to bottom but couldn't find a single clue!
So... so those two old foxes, Shen Jingxuan and Shen Qingfeng, actually handed the item over to that woman, Sheng Lingxue!
Why didn't he think of that?
That woman had already dissolved her engagement with Shen Qingfeng!
Huo Yunzhan's thoughts raced, but his expression instantly turned one of utter grievance and innocence.
He looked at Shen Qingci, his eyes filled with hurt and confusion, repeatedly protesting his innocence:
"Aci, I don't know! I really don't know where these letters came from! But I can swear to God that I didn't write these letters myself!"
"It must be...it must be that someone didn't want us to get married back then, didn't want to see the Shen and Huo families unite through marriage, so they deliberately used such despicable means to frame me!"
He stepped forward, his voice earnest: "Think about it carefully. If I were truly an enemy of your father, why would I marry you?"
"If I marry you, I will be General Shen's son-in-law. With General Shen as my backer, my future is limitless. Why would I... want to frame my own father-in-law?"
"I will definitely find out the truth and clear my name!"
He gazed at her with deep affection, his eyes filled with unbearable pain: "Aci...we've known each other for over a decade, do you really...not understand me at all, not believe me at all?"
"I trust you?"
Shen Qingci looked at him and finally couldn't help but let out a low chuckle.
“I once thought I knew you better than anyone else in the world.”
"But the Huo Yunzhan I know is upright, honest, and loyal. He... would never do something as shameless as murdering his own brother, impersonating him, and taking his brother's wife for himself!"
Huo Yunzhan's face turned deathly pale instantly. He hurriedly protested, "I...I admit I took my brother's place! But...he was definitely not murdered by me! It was...it was an accident!"
Shen Qingci simply watched his performance quietly, her eyes indifferent and unmoved.
Huo Yunzhan felt guilty under her all-seeing gaze and quickly looked away, his voice softening: "Now, Prime Minister Liu has joined forces with all the officials and is determined to bring down Chu Jichen completely! He... he won't be able to keep this up for long!"
"Chu Jichen is doomed!"
He looked at her again, that familiar, nauseating possessiveness rekindled in his eyes: "But don't worry. As long as you're willing to come back to me, I... I'm still willing to have you."
“I will never feel the slightest disgust or blame because you once married that cripple Chu Jichen.”
Seeing Shen Qingci remain silent, Huo Yunzhan assumed that she was moved by his deep affection and magnanimity, and he became even more smug.
He stepped forward, softening his voice, trying to use the tender approach he had long since exhausted to completely break down her defenses.
“Aci, listen to me,” he looked at her affectionately, his eyes full of sincerity, “with Chu Jichen down, Liu Wenyuan will surely be the one holding the reins of power in the court.”
"As long as my true identity isn't completely exposed, I can continue to be my 'Huo Yunting' and Liu Wenyuan's son-in-law. Only by using this identity can I... protect you."
He sighed, his face showing a look of enduring humiliation and painstaking effort for her sake: "I know you hate me for keeping this from you, hate me for impersonating your elder brother. But I... I had no choice! Everything I did was just to have a powerful enough identity to protect you and keep you safe!"
"Please stop being angry with me, okay?" His voice held a hint of pleading. "We should prioritize the bigger picture! Please stop targeting me again and again! Stop revealing my true identity, stop accusing me of killing my own brother, and stop accusing me of... being involved in the Shen family's affairs."
“Think about it carefully,” he tried to use the stakes to blackmail her, “If I really get into trouble because of these fabricated charges, then you… won’t even have a last resort!”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com