Su Xuening's words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky, and everyone turned to look at the Zhong mother and her two daughters.
Zhong originally thought that Su Xuening came to file a complaint with the emperor simply because she had touched Mu Junyu's dowry, or perhaps because of the fire at Lingxiao Pavilion.
She had already prepared her explanation for these things while waiting for Su Xuening to arrive, but she never expected that Su Xuening would come to complain to the emperor because of Yuan'er!
She said that Yuan'er had made a lewd move on her!
The worst part is that she doesn't know if it's true, nor does she know what happened between Yuan'er and her. Now she's truly in a passive position.
Upon hearing that it was Su Linyuan who caused the trouble, Consort Su frowned and glared at Madam Zhong with displeasure.
Xuan Yuan Yu reacted the most. Upon hearing that Su Xue Ning had been harassed by Su Lin Yuan, and seeing that Su Xue Ning's clothes were disheveled and her hair was messy, he instantly flew into a rage: "Damn it! How dare he! I'll go kill him!"
Enraged, Xuanyuan Yu turned around and angrily went to kill Su Linyuan.
"Yu'er!" Consort Su immediately shouted coldly upon seeing this.
Xuanyuan Yu stopped in his tracks, but his fists were clenched tightly, and the killing intent emanating from him could not be dispelled.
Xuanyuan Peng ignored his enraged son and looked only at Su Xuening. He saw that half of her face was severely burned, but it did not seem to affect her stunning beauty. At least his son still treated her the same as always.
Xuanyuan Peng snapped out of his thoughts and asked, "Tell me how he made inappropriate advances on you?"
Su Xuening bowed slightly: "This morning, before I had even gotten up, Su Linyuan suddenly barged into my room drunkenly, attempting to do something indecent to me. Fortunately, my maid Bihe was there to protect me, and that beast did not succeed!"
Upon hearing Su Xuening call Su Linyuan a beast, the faces of the Zhong mother and her two daughters instantly turned ugly.
Su Muyao was the most impulsive. Pointing at Su Xuening, she angrily shouted, "Su Xuening, who are you calling a beast? My brother would never do such a thing!"
"Insolence!" As soon as Su Muyao opened her mouth, Zong Jiu, the chief eunuch beside Xuan Yuanpeng, sneered at her.
Seeing that Xuan Yuanpeng was looking at her with displeasure, Su Muyao was so frightened that she knelt down before him and dared not say another word.
Xuanyuan Peng looked at Su Xuening again: "What evidence do you have?"
“The wounds on my body are proof.” Su Xuening slightly pulled open her collar, and the three bloody marks on her neck were instantly revealed.
Xuanyuan Peng frowned when he saw the three scratch marks, and glanced at Su Fei with displeasure.
When Su Fei saw the scratch marks, she panicked and realized she had already believed Su Xuening's words.
Xuanyuan Yu had noticed the three scratch marks long ago, and he hated Su Linyuan even more.
The others below couldn't see the scars on Su Xuening's neck because her back was to them, but judging from the Emperor and Consort Su's expressions, they knew that Su Xuening did indeed have scars on her neck.
Su Xuening: "Your Majesty, besides the injuries on my body, I also have witnesses who are currently outside the palace."
Xuanyuan Peng gestured to Zong Jiu, who then called out, "Summon the witness."
Soon, Bihe was brought in.
Bihe walked to the Emperor's side, knelt down, and kowtowed: "This servant greets Your Majesty and Consort Su."
"Who are you?" Xuanyuan Peng asked.
"This servant is the maid of the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Yong'an's mansion." Although Bihe remained prostrate on the ground, her voice was neither humble nor arrogant.
"Tell me what happened this morning?"
Bihe continued, prostrate on the ground, "Last night I was on night watch. This morning, before Miss got up, I went to fetch water to prepare for Miss's wake-up so I could help her wash up. When I returned with the water, I saw the eldest son of the second branch in Miss's room, trying to do something indecent to her. I went to stop him, but the eldest son's servant, Moqi, blocked me. So I splashed water and knocked Moqi unconscious with a copper basin. Then I went to save Miss, and again with the copper basin, I knocked...knocked the eldest son on the head, and he...knocked out."
Once Bihe gave her testimony, the noble ladies and young women on both sides were convinced that the matter was true, because the maid's account was so detailed that it didn't seem like she was lying.
Consort Su stared at Bihe, narrowed her eyes slightly, and said, "It's just the word of a maid, not enough to prove anything. Besides, this maid is Su Xuening's personal maid, so she can't be a witness."
Xuanyuan Peng actually believed Su Xuening, but he was unwilling to sentence Su Linyuan in public. However, since Su Xuening had filed a complaint with the emperor, this matter could not be easily covered up.
Just as Xuanyuan Peng was struggling with his decision, Lady Zhong suddenly came out and knelt down below the jade steps: "Your Majesty, I have something to say."
"speak."
“Your Majesty, our Yuan’er spent the entire day yesterday studying in his study. He didn’t go out at all. How could he be drunk and barge into Su Xuening’s room? She must be framing our Yuan’er.” Madam Zhong glared angrily at Su Xuening.
Ignoring Madam Zhong's anger, Su Xuening remained composed and dignified: "This humble woman does not know why Su Linyuan is drunk, but he was drunk when he entered this humble woman's room. This humble woman dares not utter a single false statement."
Madam Zhong glared at Su Xuening but dared not lash out. She could only plead her innocence to Emperor Xuanyuan Peng: "Your Majesty, it's truly an injustice! Su Xuening is Yuan'er's cousin. How could Yuan'er possibly do such a thing to her?"
Before Xuan Yuanpeng could speak, Su Xuening sneered: "From the time Su Linyuan learned about human affairs in the tenth year of Jianzhang, how many maids in the mansion has he slept with? In the thirteenth year of Jianzhang, he forcibly abducted a girl on the street when he was only fifteen years old. In the fifteenth year of Jianzhang, he assaulted a girl. If that girl hadn't died mysteriously, he would probably still be in prison now. Haven't he done enough outrageous things over the years?"
Seeing that she dared to say such things in public, Madam Zhong became completely enraged and couldn't help but blurt out, "You shameless hussy, how dare you slander Yuan'er here!"
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