Shen Ruixue felt a little embarrassed, but she still had to force a smile and obediently comply, "Ruixue understands."
Su Xuanmao bowed to the Emperor with a calm expression, his gentle and refined demeanor returning to normal. "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for the reward. May Your Majesty be well."
The Emperor was still very kind to the Crown Prince and did not dwell on the fact that he hadn't spoken earlier. He waved his hand, signaling the Crown Prince to get up.
Consort Shu gave Su Xuanmao a reproachful look, rose from her chair, and walked to the Emperor's side. "Your Majesty, I also thank you on behalf of Xuan'er. It's getting late. Why don't we let them stay in the palace for their meal? What do you think, Your Majesty and Empress?"
The Empress was just there to go through the motions. She glanced at Consort Shu and said gently, "I will obey the Emperor."
Consort Shu's smile froze for a moment, and she looked at the Emperor. "Your Majesty, what do you say?"
The Emperor waved his hand, "Arrange it as you see fit, I'm fine with anything."
Hearing this, Consort Shu nodded in satisfaction, then walked up to Chen Pingjin and Yan Jue. "Pingjin, would you like to dine with me here?"
Shen Pingjin didn't actually have a bad impression of Consort Shu, but she felt a little uncomfortable whenever she thought that she was Su Xuanmao's biological mother.
However, she didn't know what reason to use to refuse. Shen Pingjin pondered for a moment and was about to agree when the man beside her suddenly pulled her behind him.
Yan Jue used a lot of force, as if he was deliberately suppressing something.
Yan Jue looked at Consort Shu, who was trying to poach his wife, and tried to adjust his facial expression to make himself seem indifferent to the matter. "Consort Shu, before we have dinner, there is something I forgot to mention."
Consort Shu frowned. "What is it?"
Ye Ting had already investigated the matter thoroughly and relayed the information to him. Yan Jue glanced at Shen Ruixue, his gaze deep, "Then it's naturally still about the wrong marriage last night."
Shen Ruixue was startled. How did this matter, which was almost over, get dragged into again?
Just as everyone was waiting for Yan Jue to speak further, several sobbing sounds suddenly came from the doorway.
Dressed in black with a stern expression, Ye Ting held tightly to a middle-aged man dressed in coarse cloth. The man seemed to be in pain from the grip, and punched and kicked him as they walked, occasionally uttering angry curses and cries.
When Shen Ruixue saw the man's face, she was completely stunned.
Uncle Chen...is this man holding Uncle Chen?
Uncle Chen was also stunned when he saw Shen Ruixue. He asked incredulously, "Ruixue, what are you doing here?!"
Judging from their posture, the two must know each other.
The Emperor was caught off guard by this sudden turn of events. He knew that Ye Ting was someone close to Yan Jue. "Yan Jue, what is this...?"
Yan Jue casually said, "This humble subject only wishes to clear the name of my queen."
The Emperor frowned. "But what does this have to do with you arresting commoners and bringing them into the palace for no reason?"
“Your Majesty, the Crown Princess keeps saying that I and Shen Pingjin have long been secretly in love, and that yesterday’s events were just going with the flow. But even if I am a womanizer, I know that Shen Pingjin was the Crown Princess before. I cannot do such a thing as stealing a wife just because I am a womanizer.”
Yan Jue was furious at the thought of Consort Shu stealing his wife. "I may be a womanizer, but I'm not one to take the blame for others! Consort Shu, since Shen Ruixue can no longer be my princess, but the Crown Princess, and you are the Crown Prince's mother, I would appreciate it if you could teach her a lesson for her slanderous words."
Shen Ruixue hadn't expected Yan Jue to say such hurtful things. Always concerned about her image, she couldn't help but retort, "As the younger sister of the elder sister, how could Ruixue possibly slander the two of you! Even if you, Regent, think I'm smearing you two, why didn't you just explain for Shen Pingjin? And... what evidence do you have?"
Yan Jue really couldn't imagine what it would be like if he married Shen Ruixue. He snorted coldly, "I've already brought Uncle Chen here, and you're still being stubborn."
"Pfft—" A laugh suddenly came from behind.
Yan Jue was still wondering who dared to laugh at this time when he turned around and found that the person laughing was none other than his princess, Shen Pingjin.
Okay, then it's fine.
Yan Jue felt a pang of longing for the touch of her soft hands. He pulled the smirking Shen Pingjin to his side and then intertwined their fingers.
Seeing that Shen Pingjin didn't seem to mind, Yan Jue nodded in satisfaction.
Shen Pingjin knew exactly what Yan Jue was thinking. She was almost dying of laughter at this man. It was truly amazing how someone could be so stubborn and defiant towards a young woman.
Shen Ruixue thought Shen Pingjin was making fun of her, and her face turned pale and then purple. However, what worried her most right now was not Shen Pingjin's mockery, but whether Uncle Chen would betray her.
She looked at Uncle Chen and shook her head. When he saw Shen Ruixue looking at him, he sighed helplessly.
After listening to Yan Jue's words, the Emperor felt that what he said made sense. "Second Miss Shen, what exactly happened with this wrong marriage?"
Shen Ruixue would never let this matter be exposed on its own. She bent down and calmly said, "Your Majesty, everything Ruixue said before was true. However, Ruixue knows that words are not enough to prove anything. I beg Your Majesty to see the truth."
Yan Jue snorted coldly, "I know perfectly well that you don't want to marry me because I'm a womanizer. And since the Crown Prince and I are on the same wedding day, you've set your sights on your own sister. Although I am a playboy, I'm more than capable of investigating what happened last night."
Shen Ruixue calmly said, "If Your Majesty likes my sister, you can say so directly. There's no need to keep saying that I framed her. This damages a woman's reputation, and Your Majesty will probably become even more infamous."
Oh, so you're arguing with him? Yan Jue liked to tease people like this who wouldn't admit defeat until they were faced with a fatal mistake. He glanced at Ye Ting, then fixed his gaze on Uncle Chen. "I ask you, were you behind the scenes when the wrong marriage happened yesterday?"
Uncle Chen is in a terrible predicament. No matter which answer he gives, he will offend someone, but if he doesn't speak up, he might lose his life on the spot.
Seeing that Uncle Chen was stammering and not speaking, Ye Ting became ruthless, using his inner strength to knock him to the ground. "If you don't talk, it might implicate even more people. And who those more people are..."
Ye Ting lowered his voice, "I guess you should know."
Uncle Chen was startled. Since entering the Shen family, he had been doing his best to help Madam Shen and had received many benefits from Shen Ruixue. However, he was not stupid. He knew which was more important, family or future.
He glanced at Shen Ruixue, then knelt down on the ground with a thud. "Ruixue, thank you for your help over the years, but Uncle Chen has elderly parents and young children to support, so there's really no other way. Why don't you just confess?"
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