Chapter 379 A person like you, do you even know what reputation is?
The words spoken at the door just now reminded the Ji Prince's Mansion that even though Shen Lanxi is a woman, she was still sent by His Majesty.
Even though they disliked the person who had dragged their family into this mess, they had to be patient.
“Your Highness, we know why you’ve come. Not only in the court, but even the people of the capital are talking about our Prince Ji’s Mansion. Because of Yun Xue, our Mansion has been disgraced, yet those behind the scenes have profited from it. We will not bear such infamy.” The current Prince Ji, Zhou Qinian, finished speaking and glared angrily at Shen Lanxi.
Shen Lanxi: "When Your Highness says such things, are you criticizing His Majesty's arrangements, or accusing the First Prince of stirring things up behind the scenes?"
Zhou Rulin froze.
Zhou Qinian realized he had misspoke and immediately corrected himself, saying apologetically to Zhou Rulin, "Your Highness, I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about someone else." He then glared angrily at Shen Lanxi.
“Oh, you mean me!” Shen Lanxi didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
Now that Shen Lanxi had already found someone herself, Zhou Qinian didn't keep it a secret anymore.
"Yunxue's matter happened so long ago, and she is now dead. Some people still want to use her name to make a name for themselves. They are simply not worthy of being human."
Shen Lanxi: "I don't know if this is referring to me or the First Prince?"
Zhou Qinian immediately pointed at Shen Lanxi and angrily scolded, "If you hadn't caused trouble in the palace, why would His Majesty have sent people to investigate what happened back then?"
“Your Highness, I absolutely did not mean to slander you. Shen Lanxi just wants to use my son’s reputation to establish her own reputation for benevolence in the capital. Then she will be seen by the people of the capital as a great person who cleared the name of her friend, while my son will become a woman who is criticized by everyone. At that time, our entire Ji Prince’s Mansion will become a stepping stone for her to make a good name for herself.”
"I'd like to ask you, what kind of grudge did Yunxue have against you that you wouldn't let her go even after she died?"
Everyone in the Prince Ji's mansion glared angrily at Shen Lanxi, their eyes filled with a desire that they wished they could rush up and stab her.
Zhou Rulin quickly smoothed things over: "It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. There's no stepping stone involved. Lanxi just wanted to seek justice for Yunxue."
Although Zhao Zheng also despised Shen Lanxi for using Zhou Yunxue's reputation to spread rumors, he also hoped that the truth of what happened back then would come to light so that justice could be served for Zhou Yunxue.
"Rest assured, Prince Ji, I will oversee this matter to the very end and will absolutely not allow Shen Lanxi to do anything that would damage the reputation of Prince Ji's mansion!" Zhao Zheng assured Zhou Qinian.
Unfortunately, Zhou Qinian didn't appreciate it at all.
“Now the people in the capital have spread rumors that Yunxue is a promiscuous woman who sleeps with anyone. How can I, as her father, just ignore this?”
Shen Lanxi retorted, "Your indifference is shown in how you hastily married Zhou Yunxue off after the drowning incident. Your indifference is shown in how you allowed the people of the capital to slander and trample on Yunxue after the incident at Xishan. Don't tell me that you did it for Yunxue's reputation or for your Ji Prince's Mansion."
“If you truly care about Yunxue and your royal family, you should stand up and refute those rumors at this time. Unfortunately, several days have passed since then, and I have not seen any movement from your royal family or from you as her father.”
Zhou Qinian pointed angrily at Shen Lanxi, his fingers trembling uncontrollably.
"You're just being unreasonable. Do you know that a woman's reputation is more important than anything else? I've forgotten that someone like you doesn't know what reputation is. You're capable of anything to get back to the capital."
Shen Lanxi stared at Zhou Qinian with a gloomy gaze: "Just because of something like reputation, you married your own daughter to a beast, causing her to lose her life in Xishan, and even after death, she can't return to the place of her birth?"
Zhou Qinian avoided Shen Lanxi's gaze, but his tone remained resolute.
"Back then, she fell into the water and was rescued by that Fang from Xishan. In front of so many people, they saw the two of them embracing. What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do about the daughter of the Prince Ji's mansion who is about to be married?"
Shen Lanxi pressed on, "So you're going to sacrifice Yunxue to secure marriages for the other daughters of the Ji Prince's Mansion, and to preserve the pure and virtuous reputation of your Ji Prince's Mansion?"
Zhou Qinian was so angry at Shen Lanxi that he was out of breath and had no power to refute her words.
"Shen Lanxi, how dare you pressure my father like this? You have no respect for our Prince Ji's Mansion! Get out! We don't welcome you here!" Zhou Qinian's son, Zhou Zhuangyun, pointed towards the door with an angry face.
Shen Lanxi's eyes flickered: "I'm merely acting on the Emperor's orders to investigate the case. If you have any doubts about His Majesty's decree, you can go to the palace and speak with him."
Zhou Zhuangyun looked at his father, who was being helped to sit down, and glared at Shen Lanxi: "Don't use His Majesty to pressure me. Since you came in, you have been provoking me three times and making accusations at every step. Every word you say is an accusation against our Prince's Mansion. You know nothing, so what right do you have to make unwarranted accusations against our Prince's Mansion? You are abusing your power and oppressing the good."
Zhou Rulin stepped forward to offer advice at the opportune moment.
"I know you all mean well for Yunxue. According to seniority, we are all Yunxue's family."
"Lanxi doesn't want Yunxue to bear the blame, and the Ji Prince's Mansion also doesn't want Yunxue to be criticized anymore. It's just that you two are using different methods, which is why you're having this argument now."
"Why don't you both give me some face and sit down and have a calm and peaceful talk?"
Zhou Rulin looked at Zhao Zheng, hoping he could help persuade them.
Zhao Zheng naturally sided with the Prince Ji's Mansion, but since the First Prince had said so, he had to give him face.
"The Crown Prince is right. Why don't you all recall your tone just now? Even I, an outsider, could tell that you were all saying you were speaking up for Yun Xue. You were all doing it for Yun Xue's own good,"
Zhou Rulin: "You are family on one hand and friends on the other, so naturally you all want Yunxue to be well."
"Since Father has already issued the imperial decree, it certainly cannot be changed. Why don't we sit down and calmly discuss what to do next?"
Zhou Zhuangyun nodded to Zhou Rulin and went to persuade his father.
Zhou Rulin also began to comfort Shen Lanxi: "I know you are someone who values relationships, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten involved in this matter."
Shen Lanxi sneered: "What use is sentiment? In the end, people will say that I only dug up Yunxue, who is already dead, to use for my reputation."
Zhou Rulin was taken aback by her directness and, feeling awkward, continued to persuade her, "After all, the Ji Prince's Mansion is Yunxue's family. Even in ordinary cases, there's a saying in the government that 'if the people don't report it, the officials won't investigate.' If the Ji Prince's Mansion doesn't want to pursue this matter, it will be really difficult for us to investigate further!"
Shen Lanxi thought for a moment and reluctantly nodded.
Meanwhile, Zhou Zhuangyun had already persuaded his father to calm down. However, Zhou Qinian excused himself by saying he was feeling unwell and went inside to rest, entrusting the matter entirely to his son, Zhou Zhuangyun.
Zhou Rulin continued to act as peacemaker. He glanced at Zhao Zheng, and seeing that he wasn't leaving, he had no choice but to continue.
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