Prince Chen soon entered the palace.
Seeing Emperor Cheng'an's piercing gaze, he braced himself and stepped forward to bow: "Father."
"You unfilial son!" Emperor Cheng'an grabbed a paperweight and threw it at him. "Is what the Prince of Qin said true?"
Pretending to be confused at this point was useless. Chen Wang remained motionless for a moment, having already prepared his explanation. He bowed to Xue Shen and Shen Youying with a face full of shame: "That day I really drank too much. When my sister-in-law came to visit, I mistook her for Madam Yu, which almost led to a serious mistake."
He lifted his robe and knelt before Emperor Cheng'an, looking as if he were pleading guilty: "I know I almost made a grave mistake, and I am willing to accept punishment."
Emperor Cheng'an looked at him with a cold gaze, knowing full well what kind of person his son was. But regardless of the truth, now that Prince Chen had a plausible explanation, he was naturally unwilling to blame his own son too much for Xue Shen's sake.
Although he was still angry, when he looked at Xue Shenshi, he took on the role of peacemaker, sighing, "Your brother is indeed foolish, but fortunately he didn't cause a serious mistake..."
Xue Shen listened and sneered, even clapping his hands twice, looking at Prince Chen with a mocking expression: "Let's not even talk about how my princess consort and Lady Yu don't look alike, but you got drunk in your own mansion and took advantage of the lady, so why did you send four strong old women to knock out and lock up the lady's maid, and then force-feed the lady aphrodisiacs?"
This clearly touched a nerve, and Xue Shen showed no mercy to Emperor Cheng'an and Prince Chen, speaking frankly without any restraint: "Prince Chen is, after all, His Majesty's own son. I can tell who is closer and who is less close. If His Majesty is unwilling to uphold justice, then I will have no choice but to beat the Dengwen Drum and call on the people of the world to judge this case."
"presumptuous!"
Emperor Cheng'an shouted angrily, but seeing the prince's reckless and desperate expression, which seemed to wish to perish together with the Prince of Chen, his expression softened.
He believed he understood the King of Qin's temperament and knew that the King had recently been very fond of his queen. Now, the King of Chen was trying to do something improper, not only to steal his woman but also to humiliate him.
With both new and old grudges, let alone the tyrannical and ruthless King Qin, probably no man with any sense of justice in this world could tolerate it.
Emperor Cheng'an gave Prince Chen a cold look and said soothingly, "I know you are aggrieved and angry, but this matter concerns the dignity of the royal family. How can it be spread?"
He then pointed at Shen Youying, who was hanging her head and remaining silent: "Moreover, if this matter gets out, how will the world view Princess Qin? Will she even have a chance to live?"
Emperor Cheng'an earnestly advised, "Please control your temper. Although you are not my biological son, I have always treated you as my own child. Both are my flesh and blood, so how could I favor one over the other?"
Xue Shen glanced at Shen Youying with a sullen face, then looked at Prince Chen and said sinisterly, "The princess almost lost her chastity. If it weren't for the fact that she was still relatively obedient, she should have been made to end her own life long ago. As for Prince Chen..." He stared at Xue Zhan like a vulture feeding on carrion, "If Your Majesty cannot handle this fairly, then I will fight him to the death."
Emperor Cheng'an's eyelids twitched, and his anger burned fiercely.
Xue Shen dared to be so presumptuous in front of him, but no matter how unhappy he was, he couldn't lash out. He could only suppress his anger and impatiently reassure him, "Don't worry, I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."
Xue Shen then reluctantly nodded.
As the three were talking, Empress Zhou, having received the news, finally found an opportunity to hurriedly come to see him.
Emperor Cheng'an was exhausted from dealing with Xue Shen alone, so he immediately summoned the Empress.
This was originally the trouble caused by her son, and it was her responsibility to deal with it.
Empress Zhou entered the palace, first bowed to Emperor Cheng'an to apologize, then scolded Prince Chen, before turning to Shen Youying's hand and saying with tears in her eyes, "It is my fault for not raising Prince Chen well, which has led him to do such a foolish thing."
“It is the mother’s fault if the son is not taught properly. I should apologize to you on behalf of King Chen.”
As she spoke, Empress Zhou actually took off her phoenix crown to apologize to Shen Youying.
The conflict with Prince Chen was merely a dispute between juniors, but if Empress Zhou were truly involved, then making the mother of the nation remove her crown and apologize would be a grave mistake on Shen Youying's part.
Shen Youying's faults are naturally also the faults of the King of Qin.
Upon seeing this, Shen Youying suddenly opened her hands, prostrated herself in a deep bow, and cried out in a mournful voice, "Please, Your Majesty, grant me death. If I die, the King of Qin and the King of Chen will no longer quarrel."
Before Empress Zhou could even remove her phoenix crown, she was outmaneuvered.
The laws of this dynasty state: Those who are strong and wicked shall be exiled three thousand li away to a remote and evil prefecture; those who fail to commit their crimes shall be exiled five hundred li away; those who break or injure shall be hanged.
The women who were raped were innocent.
Logically and emotionally, this matter could not possibly implicate Shen Youying. Even if she and the Emperor wanted to, the Prince of Qin would not allow it. It wasn't necessarily because he particularly liked or protected this princess, but rather for the sake of his own reputation.
Empress Zhou awkwardly withdrew her hand and went to help Shen Youying, who was lying on the ground: "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Shen Youying was helped up by her, and she cried uncontrollably, almost fainting: "If the prince had arrived any later that day... I... I would rather have hanged myself at the gate of Prince Chen's mansion with a white silk ribbon!"
Empress Zhou's face twitched as she listened, and Emperor Cheng'an's expression also turned ugly. He then glared at the kneeling Prince Chen.
King Chen gritted his teeth, thinking to himself that it would be a lie to say he didn't regret it.
He was determined to have Shen Youying, partly because she was indeed beautiful and his unrequited love had almost become his obsession; and partly because she was Xue Shen's queen.
He had long coveted a woman he was determined to have, but she married his mortal enemy. How could he not be jealous and resentful?
He originally thought that as long as he imprisoned the person in the mansion, it would be a good thing. Given Xue Shen's temper, if Shen Youying wanted to live, she would definitely not dare to tell Xue Shen the truth, and would even have to help him cover it up.
In this way, if he can control this point in the future, he can naturally make Shen Youying obedient and do whatever he wants.
Unexpectedly, things went wrong, and Xue Shen actually came to look for the person himself with his guards.
Thinking of this, Chen Wang felt a dull pain three inches below his navel again, and his face contorted in pain.
That day, he was knocked unconscious by Xue Shen's guards, and he didn't know who had secretly stepped on him, injuring his vital area. Although the doctor said he would be fine after a period of rest, he always felt that area was in excruciating pain, and he had no reaction at all every morning.
This matter was of great importance, and he didn't even dare to let his mother know. He even controlled the doctor he had invited from outside to examine the injuries.
The thought that he hadn't even touched Shen Youying's finger yet had suffered such a huge loss made him grit his teeth in hatred.
He quietly looked up at the emperor sitting at the head of the table, but was intimidated by the coldness in his eyes, and hurriedly looked at Empress Zhou.
Empress Zhou's expression wasn't much better; she understood the Emperor's temperament better than her son. The Emperor's face had changed immediately after Shen Youying's words, clearly indicating that she had hit a nerve.
If Princess Qin hanged herself at the gate of Prince Chen's residence, it would be enough for civil officials to condemn her and for ordinary people to drown her in their spittle.
Emperor Cheng'an may not believe that Shen Youying would actually hang herself, but he does believe in the madness of the Prince of Qin.
If he cannot provide a solution that satisfies the King of Qin, he may very well have the Queen Consort of Qin hanged at the gate of the Prince of Chen's residence.
If such a scandal were to actually occur, this emperor would likely be remembered in history!
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