Chapter 206 He married me so that I could…
“Your marriage with your husband won’t last long. As for the war, that’s none of your business.” Bernard smiled and reached out to hug me, but I immediately avoided him. “At least my marriage is still going strong. The war started because of me, so how can I not care?”
“You don’t need to worry about your marriage right now,” he said, frowning. “The war is nominally because of you, but in reality it’s about seizing profits; it’s also an external manifestation of the civil war in the North.”
I couldn't quite understand what he was saying, so I pushed him out of the room. "I don't want to care about anything right now, I just want you to leave my room."
He smiled and took a few steps back. "I'll come find you later. I need to have a meeting right now."
He came only to have afternoon tea with me, but I unexpectedly set him up for a trap, arranging a "blind date." He left somewhat disheartened. I couldn't be bothered with him.
I didn't see him at dinner. I played with Yasmin for a while, then I went to take a bath. While soaking in the hot spring, someone handed me a note, which I tucked into my dry towel.
"Looking for an opportunity to leave the city. Mamboa."
I tore the note into pieces, soaked it in water, and let it flow down the drain and disappear.
"I don't know if it's true or not," I muttered. "What if it was written by a malicious conman?"
The battle was becoming increasingly fierce, with reports of defeats and victories coming in every few days, mostly defeats and very few victories. King Amur's face grew increasingly gloomy. At this time, he actually convened a "public trial" again, intending to publicly try the case of Prince Desen and the Queen.
Everyone was astonished, and the Duran family was furious. Anyone else would try to cover up such a scandal, but King Amur was going to hold a public trial—did he think the shame wasn't enough?
Perhaps King Amur wanted to embarrass the Duran family and prevent them from sending any more women. King Amur launched a "surprise attack," catching the nobles off guard. He brought Prince Desen and the Queen to the council chamber in the middle of the night, informing only a few high-ranking nobles. But the news spread like wildfire, and eventually more than a dozen or twenty nobles came, including many women from their families. Even those who crowded outside the chamber tried to eavesdrop through the door.
I was sleeping when I received the message. Helo and Aya hurriedly woke me up from my dream. I quickly washed up, put on my coat, and rushed to the council hall.
I was blocked outside the palace gates, listening to the chatter of a group of noblewomen, but because of my anxiety, I didn't hear a word they said.
The palace doors opened, and Bernard, clad in a black robe, appeared. He frowned at me, and then, in full view of everyone, removed his outer robe and draped it over my shoulders. The chatter ceased abruptly. I felt embarrassed and tried to remove the robe, but Bernard pulled me into the palace. The doors slammed shut again, leaving Hero, Aya, and the noblewomen outside.
I still wanted to take it off, but Bernard held my hand down. "Even if you take it off, I'll put it back on for you. You're wearing too little and you'll easily catch a cold, especially in the middle of the night."
King Amur's voice drifted from afar, "Do you plead guilty?"
At the time, a public trial was underway, and I did not want to argue with Bernard, so I gave up on taking off my robe.
“I do not plead guilty, Father. It was the Queen who seduced me.” Desen’s voice rang out resolutely. “That night, she instructed her maid to tell me that she had a secret to tell me. Out of caution, I brought two attendants with me, but when we arrived at the garden storeroom, she demanded that I send the two attendants away before she would tell me. After I sent the two attendants away, she suddenly stripped naked and pounced on me. Father, I am only an ordinary man. How could I resist a naked woman pouncing on me? I fell for her trick.”
A sharp, shrill woman's laughter pierced the air—it was the Queen's laughter. The Queen's laughter was grating. "Whatever you say, Prince Desen, I'm doomed anyway."
Desen's voice remained calm. "Mother, I am simply stating the facts."
"What a fine way to say it!" The Queen's laughter grew even more grating. "Then what about the gold and jewels you gave me?"
Desen remained expressionless. “Mother, when I sent this, I explained that it was my way of making amends to Father for the injustice he had done to you.”
"Nonsense! Your servants said it was a gift from you, not only to comfort a queen, but also to appreciate a strong woman."
The nobles were in an uproar.
“I never said that,” Desen vehemently denied.
I stood not far from them and saw the Queen laughing sharply: "Say whatever you want, it's all the same to me no matter what you say."
Desen remained expressionless, turning to King Amur on the throne, "Please investigate, Father. I was truly careless and fell into the pit."
King Amur chuckled strangely, “Bring all the witnesses here.”
A group of men and women, who had been beaten and were covered in bruises, were brought up. Among them were Desen's servants, the Queen's maids, the garden gatekeeper, the old woman cleaning the corridor, and several gardeners and servants who were in the garden at the time.
Their crying and shouting indicated their lowly status; although they saw the queen had set a trap, they dared not help, fearing retaliation.
The two nobles who were having an affair, and the direct witnesses who discovered the affair, also said that it seemed that the Queen was clinging to Prince Desen, "The Queen was naked and holding Prince Desen tightly, refusing to let go."
"Prince Desen looked like he was being forced; his face was flushed red, and he struggled desperately, but the Queen held him too tightly around the neck and he couldn't break free."
The nobles were once again in uproar.
Amur's laughter, however, became even more bizarre, leaving everyone puzzled.
The queen's sneer and tears had ceased, and she watched everything indifferently. Desen's expression remained largely unchanged.
After the witnesses finished speaking, King Amur asked Desen, "Did you go in?"
Desen paused, unsure of what he was asking.
"I asked you whether you entered her body?" King Amur raised his voice, "Did you penetrate her?"
The nobles chuckled and whispered among themselves. I found the question crude and frowned.
Desen immediately knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head, "Please forgive me, Father!"
"Have you gone in yet?" King Amur raised his voice again. "I'm asking you a question."
Derson was extremely embarrassed and had no choice but to say three words: "Go in."
King Amur waved his hand and shouted, "Take off that woman's clothes!"
Before anyone could react, several maids swiftly removed the Queen's dress. Under the bright, golden crystal chandelier, the Queen's scarred, snow-white body was shockingly visible, with almost no intact skin. Even more astonishing was the sight of a chastity belt around her waist—yes, an exquisitely crafted iron chastity belt worn like underwear.
"I'm asking you, how did you get in?" King Amur asked leisurely, then looked at the group of witnesses. "Are you all sure you saw the Queen naked?"
The witnesses fell to their knees with a thud, trembling with fear, and Desen's face was deathly pale.
"Desen, how did you get in?" King Amur slowly pulled out another gilded key from his pocket. "I have the lock-picking tools here. Without this, the Queen's trousers won't be easy to take off."
Desen's lips trembled, he closed his eyes, and could not utter a word.
I instantly understood. This was a conspiracy against Desen, revenge for his adultery with the former queen. King Amur didn't act while the former queen was in power, but after her downfall, precisely to make Desen's crime more serious. Adultery alone could absolve Desen of blame; he could claim he was seduced by a woman and lost control, committing a mistake that men across the continent all love to make.
In this continent, adultery is merely a scandalous affair for men, and it is always the women who are severely punished. The punishments for men can vary in severity, and given Derson's reputation and status in the East, it is unlikely that he will receive a very serious punishment.
Even if he had an affair with his stepmother, he could still pin the blame on her, claiming she seduced him. The nobles would plead for him, begging the king to let him off the hook—in reality, they were also pleading for themselves, so that if they made a similar mistake someday, they too could be let off lightly.
King Amur used this method precisely to prevent such a thing from happening. He must have discussed it with the Queen—the Queen successfully pretended to be framed, thus enticing Desen to confess firmly, which allowed his scheme to succeed.
Recalling the recent "torture" of the Queen by King Amur, it was likely to persuade her to frame Desen. The Queen, perhaps initially hesitant, only hardened her resolve after witnessing Desen's reaction in the council chamber, and put on a show.
Sure enough, King Amur looked leisurely at the Queen and laughed, "I told you, he would definitely pin all the blame on you. You didn't believe me then, how naive!"
The queen closed her eyes like Derson, her lips and body trembling violently.
The farce ended abruptly, catching the nobles off guard. King Amur, seizing the opportunity, punished both men. Although the Queen had not committed adultery with Desen, her secret rendezvous with a man was ultimately unfaithful. Her public trial, which required her to strip to prove her innocence, damaged her reputation. The King would soon formally divorce her, sending her back to her family, with all her dowry to be retained. Desen, on the other hand, had framed his stepmother, a morally reprehensible act that brought shame upon himself and the royal family, severely insulting the dignity of the nobility. He was sentenced to confiscation of all personal property and exile for ten years, during which time he was forbidden from returning to the capital even once.
Such a punishment was quite severe. King Amur imposed the harshest penalties, and he killed his sons one by one to prevent them from coveting his throne and eliminating him before he could abdicate.
He only needs one son. A son he will be satisfied with in the future, who may not even be born yet.
As Desen was being led away, he glanced at me almost imperceptibly, his eyes filled with pleading.
I stood silently in place, pretending not to see it.
Desen married me so that I could help him in a crucial moment. But now, I'm not sure if I can help him.
It's impossible to confirm.
Dragging my weary feet back to the small palace, I was startled, almost thinking I'd been robbed. All the valuable furnishings, including the originally expensive carpets and curtains, had been torn down and carried away by a group of strong servants.
“I’m sorry, Princess Lanna,” a head maid said politely to me, “the King has ordered the confiscation of all of Prince Desen’s property.”
A few hours later, I stood in the empty little palace, speechless for a moment. The corridors were empty, the bedrooms were empty, the dining room was empty, the reception room was empty; all the valuables had been taken away.
“I hope you won’t be too offended,” King Amur called me over at midnight. “Derson is very greedy. He’s the one who cheated me out of these things, or other nobles. We’re just taking them back now.”
I hummed in agreement twice, pretending not to care.
“I was right, you’re not the kind of woman who’s greedy for money.” King Amur laughed. “You didn’t fancy Desen either, you only married him to get the status of a legal wife. Only he is willing to marry you.”
I nodded again, still wondering what he was up to.
"I hope you won't interfere in his affairs. Your status as a princess remains unchanged. He has no more property, but you can use your status as a princess to make some money, from men or other places." King Amur smiled very kindly, as if he were a naturally benevolent person.
I remained obedient and nodded again, "Yes, I will try my best."
"I will no longer interfere in your affairs, and you'd better stay away from royal matters." King Amur's smile was extremely charming. "I'm doing this truly for your own good."
To put it bluntly, he was afraid that I would cause some trouble by using my superpowered identity, so he warned me both openly and secretly not to act rashly, and that he wouldn't deal with me easily.
“If your behavior conforms to royal protocol, I may return some of the property to you so that you can live like a dignified princess,” he said.
"Thank you!" I lowered my head.
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Author's Note: Please add "Animal Farm" to your favorites. Thank you so much!
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