Shen Yu's eyes welled up with tears, and she shook her head slightly. Madam Jia had already said that the Gu family had agreed to marry Gu Xiaosi to Liu Yu, so why should she remain entangled with Liu Yu?
She turned away, tears streaming down her face, and coldly rejected Liu Yu, "Young Master Liu, I, Chenyu, am unwilling to marry. If this troublemaker can be eliminated, I, Chenyu, am willing to give you 100,000 taels of gold as a reward."
"I don't want to!" Liu Yu roared, tears streaming down his face. Through his blurred vision, he saw Shen Yu's receding figure.
------
The next day was the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Shen Yu was unable to accompany Madam Mu to offer incense. As agreed with Liu Yu, she brought the Emperor and Empress, who were dressed in plain clothes, to the villa in the west of the city. Pushing open the door, she saw Liu Yu standing in the courtyard waiting. "Liu Yu greets Master Huang and Madam Huang."
The Emperor and Empress nodded in acknowledgment and, led by Liu Yu, took their seats in the hall.
Shen Yu closed the door and stood guard outside, vaguely hearing Liu Yu recounting the old man's origins to the Emperor:
It turned out that the old man had once been a servant of the Gao family. Eighty years ago, the grandfather of Prime Minister Gao married the daughter of the former prime minister and moved to the capital. Fearing that his identity as a Japanese pirate would be exposed, he killed 206 servants of the Gao family. The old man, who was only a teenager at the time, was lucky enough to escape the massacre and became a beggar. Unexpectedly, he was found by Liu Yu.
The old man was willing to come forward to testify that the Gao family were Japanese pirates, in order to avenge the 205 servants who had died unjustly.
Shen Yu, who was outside the door, was also furious. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned around and saw Cui Wei rushing over to report, "Miss, General Bai has arrived. The palace guards are stopping him at the door and won't let him in."
Shen Yu asked疑惑地, "What's he doing here?"
"He said he was looking for his wife."
Shen Yu was suspicious. She knew that Bai Yehua was preoccupied with court affairs and only sought advancement in his career, so he would never care about her. This action was probably because Bai Yehua had found out that the Emperor and Empress were here and wanted to take the opportunity to show off their affection.
At this moment, Bai Yehua outside the door shouted loudly, "Mu Chenyu, come out here! I never expected you to commit adultery and bring shame upon me..."
Shen Yu was terrified. Had Prince Hong revealed that she had lost her virginity? She hurriedly got up and ran towards the main gate, but then she heard the Emperor's voice behind her, "Let General Bai in to speak."
The Emperor took the Empress's hand and they sat down together on a stone bench in the courtyard. Then, pointing to Eunuch Cai at the door, he instructed, "This matter concerns Mu Chenyu's reputation. All of you, step down."
Eunuch Cai accepted the order and led Liu Yu and Cuiwei away.
Shen Yu felt somewhat relieved; this was good. If Liu Yu had been present, she would have been even more embarrassed.
She stood with her head bowed before the Empress, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bai Yehua approaching menacingly. She then knelt down before the Emperor with a thud.
"Your Majesty, my wife, Mu Chenyu, has been having an affair, which has brought me great shame."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor and Empress looked at each other in silence.
Shen Yu was suspicious. Bai Yehua was not a stupid person, so why would he expose his family's dirty laundry? Little did she know that this was Bai Yehua's conspiracy to curry favor with the powerful.
The emperor remained silent for a long while before asking, "Is there any evidence?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, please take a look."
Bai Yehua presented a file.
Originally, Bai Yehua intended to go to the government office to find out who betrayed the Gao family and Liu Yao'er, but unexpectedly discovered a shocking secret. Prince Hong had actually reported to the government that Gao Ji had been kidnapped.
Prince Hong denounced his wife? Is this considered an act of upholding justice even at the cost of family ties?
In his astonishment, he discovered another shocking case: villains had broken into the western villa, kidnapped servants, and defiled the eldest daughter of the Bai family.
After reading the documents, the Emperor was at a loss for what to do, so he handed the documents over to the Empress for review.
The Empress was greatly shocked and looked at Chen Yu, asking, "Is...is this really true?"
Shen Yu was initially terrified, but seeing Bai Yehua disregard her reputation and report the matter to the Emperor, her resentment intensified. Now, however, she was no longer afraid, but instead focused on how to turn the tide and preserve her honor.
She knelt and kowtowed, slowly saying, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, this matter is entirely fabricated. That day, I was searching for witnesses when I was kidnapped by villains and imprisoned here. I was not defiled. If this were true, who was the one who defiled me? Could you ask him to come forward and identify me?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Yehua immediately retorted: "I have never consummated our marriage. A physical examination will tell you whether you have committed adultery."
Snap!
Shen Yu raised her hand and slapped Bai Yehua across the face, angrily rebuking him: "As the Great General who protects the country, you cannot protect your own wife and instead slander my innocence. I think you might as well quit being the General's wife."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor flew into a rage and shouted, "Nonsense!"
Bai Yehua was shocked. The reason he made such a scene was not because he wanted to be at odds with Chen Yu, but because he had other plans.
The Bai family is weak and isolated. Their only confidante, Aunt Bai, was implicated due to Master Bai's dereliction of duty and was sent to guard the border with her uncle. Now, the Gao family is in decline, and the Zuo family has lost the Crown Prince's support. He fears being assassinated by other military officers and being ostracized by civil officials, so he has no choice but to seek the protection of the He family.
It should be noted that after Liu Yu refused Princess Xinyue, the Emperor appointed He Shen's eldest son, He Man, as his son-in-law.
Just now, the Emperor ordered the arrest of Consort Gao, and the entire family of Prime Minister Gao had already been imprisoned.
The He family is currently highly regarded by the Emperor, and the position of Prime Minister will surely fall to Lord He.
Bai Yehua racked his brains all night, still unable to figure out how to establish a marriage alliance with the He family. Upon seeing the case file, he rushed to find the Emperor. Therefore, he used the incident of Chen Yu losing her virginity to plead his case to the Emperor:
"Your Majesty, Ye Hua's father died young, and his mother was murdered. Ye Hua is determined to revive the Bai family and serve the country loyally. Therefore, Ye Hua vows to never leave the Bai family. I humbly request Your Majesty to find Ye Hua another wife so that the Bai family line may continue..."
The Emperor realized that Bai's mother's death was indeed related to Prince Heng, and that Shen Yu had lost her virginity at Prince Hong's villa. To appease Bai Yehua, the Emperor could only nod and ask, "In this court, which young lady has reached marriageable age?"
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