A cool night breeze blew in from outside the palace. Emperor Xiaoxuan's face was cold and his eyes were sharp as he stared at Shen Jingchuan, who was kneeling on the ground. "What... what did you just say? You want me to make decisions for you?"
"Song Yuxiu is, after all, the heir of a marquis's family, and now your brother-in-law. To treat him like this, dragging him through the streets, is far too outrageous!"
Emperor Xiaoxuan glared at him, clearly enraged.
"Your Majesty, there must be something more to this than meets the eye. The young master is always very steady and reliable," Gao Daban advised.
"You'd better give me a reasonable reason."
Shen Jingchuan only looked at the person beside him, "Prince Song, you should explain this matter, so that His Majesty will not feel that I am speaking unfairly."
All eyes fell on Song Yuxiu.
His face was bruised and swollen, and his mouth was full of blood. When he spoke, he would wince in pain as soon as he tried to speak.
He stammered, his mind blank.
what to do?
How could he bring that up?
If I offend His Majesty's ears, my life is probably over.
Just then, a eunuch announced that Shen Zhiyi had arrived. She had just entered the hall to pay her respects to the Emperor when the Song family also arrived, all looking anxious and flustered.
Emperor Xiaoxuan's face turned completely black.
What are these two places doing so late at night?
Especially the Song family, the old lady looked at her grandson and instantly burst into tears, crying uncontrollably.
When Song Yuxiu was captured by Shen Jingchuan, his clothes were disheveled, he was dragged along by a horse, and his body was covered with bruises and welts, making it impossible to look closely.
"Young Master, even if Yuxiu did something wrong, you can't treat him like this!"
“Our Marquis’s Mansion has declined and is not as good as your Duke’s Mansion, but our ancestors were a meritorious family that made contributions to the Great Cause. Your humiliation of our Marquis’s heir is to trample on the face of our entire Marquis’s Mansion.”
"Are you trying to force us to our deaths by taking this matter to His Majesty's doorstep?"
...
The old lady was very capable.
As he spoke, he repeatedly kowtowed to the Emperor, stating that Song Yuxiu had indeed done wrong, but Shen Jingchuan's behavior was truly humiliating, and he begged the Emperor to make a decision.
Shen Jingchuan chuckled coldly: "So my sister married into this kind of family."
"No wonder there's an old saying..."
"To be old and not die is to be a thief!"
Upon hearing this, the old lady's face turned ashen with anger. "Shen Jingchuan, how dare you be so insolent before His Majesty!"
“I heard from the servants that the Marquis’s mansion sent someone to say that the old lady is unconscious and critically ill. She misses her younger sister, so she came back to the Marquis’s mansion today to visit her. But looking at you now, you are full of energy. How can you be sick?”
"Feigning illness? Feigning childlessness? Feigning deep affection?"
"Your Marquis's shameless and despicable behavior is truly passed down from generation to generation."
Shen Zhiyi pursed her lips.
She had never realized before that her older brother could be so sharp-tongued.
The faces of everyone in the Marquis's mansion turned ashen with anger. The younger generation dared not act presumptuously in front of the Emperor. Only Song Maozhang gritted his teeth and said, "Shen Jingchuan, you have become arrogant and domineering just because you have just made a contribution."
"Oh, right, I haven't congratulated you yet, Marquis." Shen Jingchuan chuckled. "Your wife committed a crime in the street, attempting to stab my younger sister."
“You haven’t visited her even once since she went to prison…”
"He even took her personal maid as a concubine?"
"As your in-law, it was my oversight that I didn't have time to give you a gift."
Song Maozhang's face turned deathly pale.
How could such a thing be discussed before the Emperor?
His old face was filled with shame and embarrassment.
Shen Jingchuan knew how to hit a nerve. The Song family felt they were in the wrong, so the old lady kept hugging Song Yuxiu and crying, saying that the Duke's Mansion was bullying them.
"Shut up, all of you!" Emperor Xiaoxuan had a headache from listening, and finally his gaze fell on Shen Zhiyi. "Zhiyi, what exactly is going on?"
"Your Majesty!" Shen Zhiyi knelt down immediately.
"You can just speak properly; there's no need to kneel."
"Zhiyi." Song Yuxiu forced back his trembling teeth and fear, his eyes pleading, hoping she would say a few words in his defense, "We...we're husband and wife..."
“Your Majesty, you are aware of what happened at the last family reunion banquet at the Marquis’s residence. You told me to carefully consider the matter of divorce. Although I am disappointed in Song Yuxiu, I still cherish our past relationship.”
"So when I heard that the old lady was unconscious, I went to the Marquis's residence to visit her."
“Song Yuxiu and I are husband and wife, and it is rare for us to be alone. Naturally, we have a lot to talk about. Before going to bed, he said he was going to take a bath, so I waited for him in the room.”
"Later, my brother came. Thinking that he hadn't returned for a long time, I was a little worried, so I went with my older brother to look for him, but what we found was..."
As Shen Zhiyi spoke, her eyes reddened.
"What did you find?" Emperor Xiaoxuan frowned.
"Zhiyi!" The old lady suddenly interrupted her, "You and Yuxiu are husband and wife, you should be careful what you say."
"Madam, are you threatening my sister in front of the Emperor?" Shen Jingchuan frowned.
"How dare I?"
Emperor Xiaoxuan remained silent, gesturing for Shen Zhiyi to continue.
"But it turned out that Song Yuxiu said he was going to take a bath, but he was actually in a side room with two women of unknown origin..." Shen Zhiyi stopped there, too embarrassed to speak, "Your Majesty, my brother was only angry for a moment, so he hit me. Please forgive him."
"What did you say?" Emperor Xiaoxuan felt a headache coming on. "How dare Song Yuxiu act like this while you were in your own residence?"
No wonder your clothes are disheveled!
"Your Majesty..." Song Yuxiu fell to his knees.
When he spoke, the wound on the corner of his mouth pulled at him, causing him to grimace in pain and making it difficult for him to even open his mouth.
"Song Yuxiu, you are utterly outrageous!"
Emperor Xiaoxuan picked up the teacup beside him and smashed it directly.
"Bang—"
It hit Song Yuxiu directly on the head, and blood flowed out instantly.
He was in so much pain that his head was spinning, but he could only grit his teeth and not even dare to beg loudly. The Song family members knelt on the ground, begging the emperor to calm his anger.
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