The crowd gasped in disbelief.
"My God, Gu Jiangli has been seen completely naked by other men. Doesn't General Xie feel disgusted?"
"There's no man who wouldn't feel disgusted."
"I heard that the two are not officially married yet. It should still be possible to reject the marriage now."
......
Princess Jinghe could hardly contain her smugness.
"Gu Jiangli, what you did not only tarnished Brother Ayan's reputation, but also offended Vice General Li's eyes. It's disgusting."
Gu Jiangli scoffed, "Why is the princess in such a hurry?"
“My memory of what Vice General Li just said is quite different.”
"But Lieutenant General Li spoke with great conviction that I had examined his body, and he also said that he was an upright person and would not lie."
"Words alone are not enough to know the truth, so let's verify it."
Princess Jinghe frowned. "Test? How do we test?"
Gu Jiangli said nonchalantly, "Of course I'll find two old women to check if my wounds, my birthmark, and my mole are the same as what Vice General Li said."
"Give Lieutenant General a piece of paper and pen. He can draw the location and approximate shape of the wounds on my body, and then the nanny can compare them one by one."
"Since Lieutenant General Li spoke with such certainty and was so confident that he had seen my body, surely he wouldn't forget such a conspicuous insignia?"
Lieutenant General Li was stunned for a moment.
He didn't expect Gu Jiangli to come up with this idea.
With her head spinning and provoked by Gu Jiangli, she blurted out, "Of course I remember! But... it's been too long, and I can't quite recall the general shape."
“Then mark the approximate location,” Gu Jiangli said, then turned to the princess and said, “Princess, giving Vice General Li a drawing with a portrait shouldn’t be difficult, right?”
Princess Jinghe reluctantly agreed, "Of course it's not difficult."
She hadn't expected Gu Jiangli to be so calm and composed.
His calm demeanor made her seem completely fearless, which made her somewhat doubt whether it was true that Deputy General Li had seen her body.
But since things had come to this point, in order to verify Li's words and confirm Gu Jiangli's despicable character, this was the only way to proceed.
She gave the order.
Before long, several nannies and maids entered from outside the Imperial Garden.
They handed paper and pen to Vice General Li, and then Gu Jiangli was led away from the banquet.
Before leaving, Gu Jiangli frantically twitched her eyebrows at Xie Shiyan, mouthing the message: It's time to call for help.
Xie Shiyan did not give a clear response, but Gu Jiangli understood that Xie Shiyan knew what to do.
He left peacefully with the help of several nannies.
In the very center of the Imperial Garden, Vice General Li held a brush, staring at a simple portrait of humanity on a blank sheet of paper, unsure of where to begin.
Xie Shiyan sneered: "Wasn't Vice General Li just full of confidence? Now he doesn't remember anything?"
Lieutenant Li coughed twice, trying to cover up his inner panic, "No... so much time has passed, I'm trying hard to remember."
"Does Vice General Li know what crime it is in Northern Qi to falsely accuse a woman of being innocent?"
Lieutenant Li's hand holding the brush began to tremble, and two drops of ink fell onto the blank space of the paper.
He had spent a long time in the military camp and only knew how to march and fight. He knew nothing about the laws of Northern Qi, especially those concerning women.
"I......"
After a moment's hesitation, Xie Shiyan rested his chin on his hand and reminded him:
“To defame a woman’s reputation by spreading rumors is punishable by having her tongue cut out, according to the laws of Northern Qi.”
Upon hearing the words "tongue amputation," Lieutenant General Li panicked so much that he almost knelt down.
Seeing his fear, the princess immediately spoke:
“Deputy General Li, if what you say is true, then you are not slandering her innocence out of thin air. What are you afraid of?”
"Brother Ayan, please don't deliberately scare Vice General Li just to protect Gu Jiangli, okay?"
Xie Shiyan glanced at the princess, his eyes full of disdain.
"As the Emperor's most beloved daughter, the princess should be even more familiar with the laws of Northern Qi."
"If anyone tries to sow discord by threatening, intimidating, or bribing others to give false testimony and slander someone's innocence, they will be severely punished and sentenced to two years in prison."
Xie Shiyan's pointed remark made Princess Jinghe stiffen, and she began to stammer:
"Brother Ayan... after saying all this, you still insist that Gu Jiangli is innocent?"
Xie Shiyan smiled and said, "Whether Jiang Li is innocent or not, I know it in my heart, and I believe Vice General Li should also know it in his heart."
Having said that, his sinister gaze shot straight at Lieutenant General Li like a cold sword.
Even though Lieutenant General Li didn't make eye contact with Xie Shiyan, he could still feel the chilling killing intent enveloping his entire body.
That kind of fear, which arises from within, is simply impossible to control.
This made his hand holding the pen tremble even more.
After a long while, he finally made a circle on a certain spot on the right leg of the statue.
Meanwhile, in the side rooms of the inner palace...
Gu Jiangli was surrounded by several nannies and maids, ready for a physical examination.
An old nanny spoke up:
"I apologize for my rudeness, Miss Gu. I was just following orders. Please forgive me."
Gu Jiangli generously took off his outer garment.
"It's alright, I was the one who suggested the physical examination, so please take a good look, nannies."
Gu Jiangli didn't feel shy at all.
There's no need for her to strip completely naked.
All that remained was a bellyband to cover her stomach and a long pair of underpants.
The head nanny said, "Miss Gu, we only need to look at your back, abdomen, and right thigh."
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