Wang Baochai kicked the door hard, followed by heart-wrenching cries, "Sister, why are you so weak and confused? Could someone have drugged you...?"
The crowd crowded at the doorway, eager to see what was happening, when suddenly a sword was drawn with a 'whoosh!', startling everyone into retreating.
The sixth prince, sword in hand, tried to rush into the guest room, but was stopped by the Prince of Xiang and Mu Nanfeng.
The Prince of Xiang gripped the Sixth Prince's right arm tightly with both hands and whispered, "This is the Prince of Xiang's residence. The Prince of Guhuai cannot die here. I beg the Sixth Prince to give me a way out."
The Sixth Prince shoved the Prince of Xiang aside and retorted coldly, "Give you a way out? Baozhu is still an unmarried girl, who's going to give her a way out?"
King Xiang was speechless.
Song Hua sauntered forward, a disdainful smile on his face. "Ha! What a way out! King Guhuai came to the capital for a marriage alliance. Miss Baozhu is still unmarried. Wouldn't it be perfect for her to marry King Guhuai?"
These words were exactly what the Sixth Prince wanted to hear, and everyone nodded in agreement.
However, Consort Kong harbored even greater resentment towards Hongyu. Upon returning to the palace, she reported to the Emperor that Hongyu had disobeyed the imperial decree and attempted to escape a marriage alliance.
Neither Prime Minister Kong nor King Xiang wanted Songhua to marry a woman of questionable virtue, so they jointly accused Hongyu of plotting against the Wang family's precious pearl, causing her to lose her virginity.
In the end, Hongyu was imprisoned in Dali Temple.
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Hongyu caused Wang Baozhu to lose her virginity, and soon the case spread throughout the capital.
After settling Old Man Li and the cripple in Qinghe County, Chen Yu hurriedly returned to the capital. Her first stop was Bao Qianshan, who was in charge of the case. Bao Qianshan refused to see her, citing his busy schedule, but allowed her to visit Hongyu in prison.
Hongyu huddled in the corner, silently weeping. Last night, she had agreed to help the Sixth Prince win over the Prince of Guhuai, hoping to extricate herself from the situation. But she never imagined that the Kong family and the Prince of Xiang's mansion would try to kill her.
Upon seeing Chen Yu, tears streamed down her face. She reached through the cold iron cage and tightly grasped Chen Yu's hand, sobbing softly.
“Sister Yu, I fear I was used by Prince Yan. I thought that this time, I could bet on the right horse and rise to a high position, no longer being bullied. However, Prince Yan abandoned my Zhang family for the sake of succeeding to the throne, choosing the powerful Qiu family instead. This time, my marriage alliance is also for Prince Yan's sake…”
"I'm going to find King Yan."
“No need,” Hongyu said, tears streaming down her face. Prince Yan had already moved back to the capital from Dongsheng Village; if he wanted to save her, he should have intervened long ago. It must be that Prince Yan harbored suspicions about her, suspecting her of secretly helping the Sixth Prince win over Prince Guhuai, which is why he refused to help her in her time of need.
Shen Yu noticed something amiss and asked in a low voice, "Are you working for the Sixth Prince this time?"
Hongyu nodded and sobbed, "I did it to save myself. I don't want to be married off, I don't want to leave the capital, and I don't want to never see Kang'er again..."
“Alright, I’ll go to the Wang family. As long as Wang Baozhu is willing to marry the Ancient Locust King and the case is dropped, you’ll be fine.” After saying that, Chen Yu hurriedly left.
It was already late afternoon when they arrived at the Wang family's house, but the gates were tightly shut.
Shen Yu naturally knew the reason: the Wang family was the sixth prince's father-in-law's family. If Wang Baozhu admitted that she served the Ancient Locust King voluntarily, the emperor would definitely suspect that the sixth prince was trying to win over the Ancient Locust King. Therefore, the Wang family kept their doors tightly shut and refused to testify for Hongyu.
Shen Yu was anxious. Hong Yu's case was to be heard tomorrow. If she didn't persuade Wang Baozhu to testify, Hong Yu would likely be convicted and unable to escape punishment.
So she crawled through the dog hole and quietly slipped into the courtyard of the Heyuan Garden.
He Yuan was in a difficult position. She pulled her aside to talk to her, saying, "Sister must have come to see Baozhu. I must remind you that this matter involves the struggle between the princes. Sister, do not get involved, lest you bring trouble upon yourself."
Where is the precious pearl?
"Actually, Baozhu is no longer with the Wang family. Sister, you should leave quickly."
Shen Yu hurriedly went to the Prince of Lu's mansion to see Wang Baochai.
Although Wang Baochai treated Chen Yu to fine tea, she refused to say a word.
Chen Yu stood up and knelt down with a thud. "Princess Lu, please let Baozhu testify. Baozhu is already King Guhuai's woman. Isn't marrying King Guhuai a good thing? Even if the Emperor suspects that the Sixth Prince is trying to win over King Guhuai, so what? Compared with the struggle for power, Baozhu's marriage and Hongyu's life are more important."
Wang Baochai looked embarrassed. When she and the Sixth Prince plotted this, they never expected that the Prince of Xiang and Prime Minister Kong would report it to the Emperor. Strangely enough, the Prince of Xiang never participated in the struggles between the princes, and Prime Minister Kong, having just arrived in the capital, did not support any of the princes. It seemed that these two had a grudge against Hongyu and were determined to kill her.
Now, even if Baozhu were willing to marry King Guhuai, they wouldn't dare to interfere.
Faced with Chen Yu's repeated kowtowing, she had no choice but to tell the truth, "Miss Chen Yu, Hong Yu offended someone she shouldn't have, it's not that our Wang family refused to help her in her time of need."
"As long as Baozhu intervenes, she can clear Hongyu's name."
“I am willing to testify.” Wang Baozhu broke free from the pull of a maid, rushed into the hall, and knelt before Wang Baochai.
Snap!
Wang Baochai grabbed a teacup and smashed it against the maid, angrily scolding, "You lowly servant! I entrusted you with looking after the Second Young Lady, and you can't even do this little thing right. What use are you?"
The maidservant knelt down with a thud and said in a trembling voice, "Princess Lu, please forgive me, Yinxing knows she was wrong."
The maidservant hurriedly began cleaning up the broken teacup pieces.
Seeing this, Shen Yu couldn't help but feel pity. This maid was petite, with only three fingers on each hand; how could she possibly hold up the voluptuous Wang Baozhu?
Wang Baozhu knelt down and hugged Wang Baochai's legs, weeping bitterly. "Elder sister, I want to marry the King of the Ancient Locust Tree. He said he would definitely take me to Guli and make me his concubine. If I don't marry him, my reputation will be ruined, and my two younger sisters will never be able to marry..."
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