Chapter 418 Beauty Without Fault
"What happened?"
Seeing that Jixiang was panting heavily as she ran back, Murong Yuanzhou asked.
"Today, those Jin people openly harassed a woman on the street. The woman, unable to bear the humiliation, bit one of the Jin people and was slapped twice and had her outer garment torn off. Fortunately, the woman's brother arrived in time and protected her."
"But the woman's brother was in a much worse situation; he had his ribs broken. If the patrol hadn't arrived in time, he might have..."
People were about to be beaten to death.
Upon hearing this, Ye Wan's temper flared up immediately, even more so than before.
"When you're on someone else's turf, you don't even lower your head and behave yourself. How arrogant!"
Openly harassing women in the street—what do they take the women of Xia Kingdom for?
"Those men can't control their lust! Guards, castrate them! Strip them naked and hang them upside down at the city gate!"
"Sister-in-law, please don't be angry. I'll go and see what's going on," Murong Yuanzhou said.
Given what has happened, it is both reasonable and morally right for him, as the crown prince, to go and see what's going on.
Ye Wan took a deep breath and said, "Bring a few more people and be careful."
She needs to calm down right now. If she goes there, she'll probably really castrate him, strip him naked, and hang him at the city gate.
The Crown Prince has grown up now, and there are some things we need to let him handle on his own.
This is a great opportunity to practice.
Murong Yuanzhou left the palace with his men. Ye Wan was in a bad mood, so she simply went to review the memorials.
The fish that the prince caught is being kept in the kitchen after school; we'll deal with it when he gets back.
...
...
In a small courtyard on the western outskirts of Beijing, a gloomy atmosphere prevailed.
"My daughter, why is your life so miserable? You just went out to buy something and this tragedy happened!"
"If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred to have slashed your face at birth, so you wouldn't have to suffer this kind of humiliation."
Mother Shen sat on the edge of the bed, wiping away tears with a handkerchief in her hand. Her son, Shen Sihao, lay on the bed.
A young woman next to him was also crying; she was Chen Sixu, who had been harassed by the Jin people that day.
“If your father comes back and finds out about this, he’ll probably be so angry he’ll vomit blood,” Mother Shen cried.
My son and daughter went out for a walk and my son was beaten and his ribs were broken. Now he's bedridden and can't move. Even worse is my daughter. What will become of her from now on?
"I'm back, and I also called the doctor."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a middle-aged scholar entered, accompanied by a doctor with a gray beard.
"Father." Upon seeing her father, Shen Sixu quickly wiped away her tears.
Shen's father was serving as the Grand Master of Ceremonies in the government office. When he heard the news today, it was like a bolt from the blue.
Looking at his daughter, Shen Zhanshi couldn't help but sigh. His daughter had been beautiful since she was a child, and now that she was growing up, her figure was becoming more and more exquisite. She basically stayed at home and rarely went out.
Only in the last two years have things improved, with soldiers patrolling everywhere. When I go out, I'm just watched by a lot of people, but I've never encountered anyone harassing women, so I only go out occasionally.
In the past two years, more and more families have wanted to propose marriage. The Shen family thought that if all else failed, they should just get the marriage arranged, and then fewer people would be interested in it.
But Chen Sihao felt that the families who proposed marriage were not very good; they were too ordinary and wouldn't be able to protect his sister in the future, while he was afraid that if they married above his station, his sister would suffer. He thought he should postpone it for now, and that he could support his sister after he achieved some success in his career.
As a result, the brother and sister went out today, and Shen Sihao left for a while, and unexpectedly this happened.
The Jin man named Xiong Yi, seeing that Shen Sixu was truly beautiful, harbored thoughts of harassing her.
After examining the young master, the doctor said, "You're lucky, young master. Your ribs were just a hair's breadth away from piercing your lung. You'll need to rest at home and won't be able to move around for the next six months."
Upon hearing this, Mother Shen burst into tears again, “What kind of trouble is this? What about this year’s autumn examination? I always said that for families like ours, appearance doesn’t matter, at least we won’t encounter such a disaster.”
Chen Sixu's face was pale, and she couldn't even cry out.
It was indeed her fault that brought this trouble upon herself; otherwise, her brother wouldn't have been so badly injured while standing up for her.
Mr. Shen also looked distressed, realizing that he, as a father, was incompetent and had caused his daughter to suffer such a great injustice for no reason.
He struggled to speak from the bed, “Mother, what nonsense are you talking about? My sister is beautiful, is that her fault? Blame those beasts, they’re not even human!”
Shen Sihao clenched his fists, his eyes turning red.
Chen's mother couldn't stop crying. "I know I'm talking nonsense, but this matter has spread like wildfire. How will your sister ever be able to go out and face people again?"
But for a woman, such a thing is like the sky falling down.
Especially for beautiful women, rumors can be deadly!
With great effort, Shen Sihao spoke, "How is it something that can't be shown to others? It's the fault of those Jin people, not my sister's."
"It is certainly not the fault of the women of my Xia Kingdom! Why can't they go out and meet people?"
A group of people suddenly appeared at the door, and Shen Sihao's eyes widened when he saw the boy at the front.
He had seen Murong Yuanzhou from afar when he was in school, and he was so excited that he tried to get up.
"Student Shen Sihao greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"Lie still and don't get up." As soon as Murong Yuanzhou spoke, the people around him went to comfort Shen Sihao.
Mr. and Mrs. Shen were stunned. When they came to their senses, they hurriedly tried to bow, "Your humble servant greets Your Highness the Crown Prince..."
"No need for formalities. Your family has suffered such an undeserved calamity, so I came to see you in person."
"This is the imperial physician who was brought out from the isolated palace."
At Murong Yuanzhou's signal, the imperial physician was already taking Shen Sihao's pulse.
The Shen family was flattered and didn't know what to do with themselves.
The imperial physician adjusted Shen Sixu's ribs and left behind some good medicine. After taking the medicine, Shen Sihao immediately felt less pain and breathed a sigh of relief.
Murong Yuanzhou looked at Madam Shen and said, "Madam Shen, your thinking is wrong. The daughters of the Shen family are innocent and upright. What is there to be ashamed of?"
"The women of the Shen family have integrity; in my opinion, they should be rewarded!"
It was just that her outer clothes were taken off in the street; she was still wearing her inner clothes. How could that be considered a loss of innocence?
In his view, even if he lost his innocence, he should still live well, because nothing is more important than life.
Mother Shen was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.
"This humble woman thanks Your Highness the Crown Prince. Thank you very much, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Mrs. Shen was both crying and laughing. Thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince's grace, her daughter finally had a way to survive.
Murong Yuanzhou looked at Shen Sixu and thought to himself that the daughter of the Shen family was really good-looking. She was already very alluring at such a young age, even if she was deliberately trying to look ugly.
Chen Sixu was being watched, and nervously bit her lip, when she heard the person opposite her speak.
"Your beauty is not your fault; it is the wickedness of those people. If anyone dares to bully you, report it to the authorities. If the authorities dare not help you, come to the Eastern Palace, and I will personally stand up for you."
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