Chapter 69: Who is the adulterer?!
These words came abruptly, yet they exploded in her ears like a thunderclap.
Fangru suppressed her shock and maintained her composure: "Your Majesty, what are you saying? I am not yet married, how could I..."
As soon as she said it, she was secretly annoyed.
Why should she explain all this to him? But then she thought, the man before her was the emperor, who held the power of life and death, and was a tyrannical and unpredictable man.
If you accidentally anger him, you might be beheaded in the next moment. It's better to explain yourself than to lose your life for no reason.
"So what if she's not married yet?"
His tone was casual, yet it sent a shiver down Fangru's spine.
She clearly heard the probing and warning in his words.
"Your Majesty, please understand," she knelt on the ground, her voice carrying just the right amount of fear, "I swear to Heaven that I have never tarnished my purity! My discomfort today is simply due to a cold I caught a few days ago that I have not yet recovered from, which is why I behaved improperly before Your Majesty."
She kept her head down, but she could feel that scrutinizing gaze always on her, as if weighing the truth of her words.
After a long silence, he clicked his tongue softly, his tone indifferent:
"Never mind."
He straightened up and dusted off non-existent dust from his sleeves, as if the intimate probing had never happened.
"Since you're not feeling well, you should go back to your residence and rest as soon as possible."
This sudden coldness startled Fangru slightly.
The madman who wouldn't even spare her corpse in her previous life now showed her undisguised aloofness.
She suddenly realized that Zhou Ling in this life seemed to really... have no interest in her.
This realization gave her a strange sense of relief, yet also a strange sense of unease.
By the time she came to her senses, Zhou Ling had already pushed open the door and left, leaving the untouched cup of poisoned wine still quietly on the table.
......
When they returned to the Shen residence, it was already late at night.
Fangru sat alone by the window, gazing at the crescent moon in the sky, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
It would be a real shame to miss this excellent opportunity.
But Zhou Ling's cold gaze as he left gave her a glimmer of hope that perhaps in this life, he would not have such an obsession with her again.
Since we can't kill him, we might as well cherish the people in front of us.
She recalled that in her previous life, her father had given up his official position and left for a distant place for her sake, even abandoning his newly acquired concubine.
At that moment, her father held her hand and said, "Ru'er, all I want is for you to be alright."
Thinking of this, she got up and went to the kitchen, where she personally brewed a cup of Longjing tea, her father's favorite.
"Father." She gently pushed open the study door. "Your daughter has made you some tea."
Father Shen was reviewing official documents by candlelight when he saw her enter. He immediately put down his pen and smiled affectionately, "Ru'er, why did you think of making tea for your father today? Sit down quickly and tell your father how the Xuanji Banquet went today? His Majesty..."
"I do not wish to enter the palace," Fangru said resolutely, gently placing the teacup beside her father.
Father Shen looked at her thoughtfully, the candlelight flickering in his eyes: "Then... are you still thinking about Gu Zhou?"
Upon hearing this familiar name, Fangru's lips curled into a barely perceptible cold smile.
Having gone through seven lifetimes, she had long seen through this man's true colors. He was a spy for the Baiyang Society, a hypocrite who deceived the world and stole fame. Three years ago, he had been keeping a mistress named Wang Yuan outside the marriage, and they even had a child named Gu Cheng.
"My daughter and he have long since severed all ties." Her voice was calm and undisturbed.
"Good, good, good!" Father Shen clapped his hands and laughed, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothing out. "That Gu Zhou is just a failed scholar who only got a minor official position because of my connections. He is not good enough for you. Now that you have thought it through, I will announce the news of your annulment today."
He picked up his teacup and took a sip, then said, "Tomorrow there's a flower-viewing banquet at the Princess's residence, and all the young talents in the capital will be there. Now that you've let go of Gu Zhou, you might as well go and clear your head. With Ru'er's looks and character," he looked at his daughter proudly, "how could we not find a good match?"
Upon hearing the words "flower appreciation banquet," Fangru felt a wave of weariness wash over her.
Having been reborn so many times, she has experienced too many romantic entanglements and is already tired of matters between men and women.
Those carefully planned encounters, subtly witty conversations, and back-and-forth probing all seemed utterly boring to her.
She gently shook her head: "Daughter wants to stay home with Father tomorrow..."
"Nonsense!" Father Shen said, feigning anger, but with a smile in his eyes. "Young people should get out and about. Besides," he paused meaningfully, "I've already agreed on your behalf."
Looking at her father's earnest yet unyielding expression, a helpless smile appeared on her lips.
Her father was indeed too impatient. The engagement was dissolved today, and he wanted her to go find a new suitor tomorrow. He was so eager, as if he was afraid she wouldn't be able to get married.
But when she recalled how her father, in order to make her happy, had even given up his most beloved concubine, Consort Liu, and was willing to resign from his official post to take her to a distant place, she couldn't refuse this kind of kinship.
She gently held her father's hand and said softly, "I understand, I will be at the banquet on time tomorrow."
The flower-viewing banquet the following day was held at Princess Anyang's villa.
Fangru deliberately chose an elegant moon-white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and only wore a white jade hairpin in her hair. She intended to keep a low profile, but she did not expect to feel several unfriendly gazes as soon as she entered the venue.
Lin Yueyao, daughter of the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, waved her round fan, exchanged glances with the noble ladies beside her, and deliberately raised her voice, "Isn't this Miss Shen who stole the show at the Xuanji Banquet yesterday? What, did the Emperor not keep you in the palace?"
Fangru's heart sank slightly, but she still maintained a proper smile.
Zhao Mingde, daughter of the Minister of War, immediately chimed in, her tone clearly sarcastic: "Perhaps His Majesty has seen through some people who are all show and no substance. After all, no matter how well a dance is performed, it cannot hide the vulgarity within."
Fangru calmly sat down, took the teacup offered by the maid, and gently stroked the warm porcelain wall with her fingertips.
She had to be careful, as any misbehavior could become a topic of gossip.
"You two ladies are too kind," she said, gently blowing away the foam in her teacup. "His Majesty is wise; how could he possibly decide a lifetime based on a single dance? It is you two ladies who are so concerned about His Majesty's feelings, perhaps..." She deliberately hesitated, her gaze shifting between the two women, which drew knowing chuckles from the gentlemen around them.
Lin Yueyao's face immediately turned ugly, and she waved her fan faster.
Zhao Mingde snorted coldly and turned his face away.
Just then, Fangru caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye, and her heart skipped a beat.
Zhou Ling sat upright in the main seat, his dark-colored robe with subtle patterns accentuating his slender figure. A golden crown bound his dark hair, and his profile appeared exceptionally handsome in the morning light.
He was speaking in hushed tones with the eldest princess, his slender fingers lightly tapping the armrest, his every gesture exuding imperial majesty.
Fangru hurriedly lowered her eyes, her fingertips unconsciously clenching her sleeves.
Fortunately, he never glanced at her, his gaze sweeping over the beautiful scenery of the garden, but ignoring the direction in which she was.
In this life, the obsession and fanaticism of his previous life were indeed gone from his eyes.
Fangru breathed a sigh of relief, her tense heartstrings finally easing slightly. This was good; she only wished that she could remain strangers to him for the rest of her life, never having to repeat those tumultuous experiences of love and hate.
Midway through the banquet, maids filed in, serving a variety of exquisite teas and snacks.
Fangru picked up a piece of hibiscus cake and took a small bite, but found it bitter and lost her appetite.
Just as she was about to find an excuse to leave, the nausea she had felt at Zuixianlou yesterday suddenly surged up into her throat again without warning.
She hurriedly took out a handkerchief to cover her lips, but still couldn't help letting out a soft gagging sound.
Just as Fangru was enduring her discomfort, Lin Yueyao suddenly stood up and approached her with feigned concern: "Miss Chen, are you feeling unwell?" Her voice was soft, yet clear enough for everyone to hear, "Judging from your symptoms, it seems like..."
She deliberately hesitated, drawing everyone's attention. The princess frowned slightly: "Like what?"
Lin Yueyao then curtsied and replied, her tone carrying just the right amount of hesitation: "Your Highness, I have noticed that Miss Chen is frequently vomiting and has a pale face. These symptoms... are very similar to those of my sister-in-law when she is pregnant."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Fangru's pale face, her voice gradually hardening: "But... Miss Shen only dissolved her engagement with Gu Zhou yesterday. If she really is pregnant, the timing is too coincidental. Unless..."
Fangru clenched the handkerchief in her sleeve, feeling the probing gazes from all around her.
She clearly saw the fleeting smugness in Lin Yueyao's eyes, but she had to maintain her composure: "Miss Lin is overthinking it. It was just that I accidentally ate something unclean yesterday."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yueyao not only did not back down, but took another half step forward, her voice becoming even more "concerned": "Miss Chen, please don't be stubborn. As I see it, your symptoms came on suddenly and severely, which doesn't seem like a common case of food poisoning."
She turned to the eldest princess, her words earnest: "Your Highness is wise. Ordinary stomach upsets usually involve abdominal pain and diarrhea. But Sister Chen's repeated vomiting seems more like... more like a sign of morning sickness."
At this point, she covered her mouth perfectly, as if realizing she had spoken out of turn, but a calculating glint flashed in her eyes.
A suppressed murmur arose from the room, and all eyes were on Fangru.
"Moreover," Lin Yueyao lowered her voice, making sure every word was clearly heard, "Miss Shen has been engaged to Gu Zhou for half a year. If she couldn't control her feelings for him... that's understandable. But now that Gu Zhou is in death row, if this child in her womb is truly his, then it's really..."
Her unfinished words lingered in the air, planting the most malicious speculations in everyone's hearts.
Fangru suppressed the discomfort in her throat. She and Gu Zhou always kept proper etiquette and never crossed the line.
But the repeated vomiting symptoms made her inexplicably panic.
"Miss Lin, please be careful with your words." She steadied her voice. "It's just that I accidentally ate something unclean yesterday, and I'm tired from traveling today, so I feel a little nauseous."
Lin Yueyao persisted, "Your Highness, look at Miss Shen's symptoms! She's clearly pregnant! If she's not pregnant with her fiancé who's about to be executed, she's having an affair!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Mingde immediately sneered: "Feeling unwell? Why did it have to happen at the flower viewing banquet? Could it be that you're trying to find a sucker to claim this ambiguous pregnancy? You failed to seduce the Emperor at the Xuanji Banquet yesterday, and now you're trying to harm other young masters?"
Fangru glanced at Zhou Ling, who was gazing casually at the flowers in the distance, his fingertips lightly tracing the rim of his cup, seemingly oblivious to the heated exchange taking place there.
This distance actually made her feel somewhat at ease; at least in this life, he had not yet shown the suffocating obsession he had in her previous life.
However, upon hearing the words "seduce the Emperor," the Princess's face immediately darkened, and she slammed her teacup down heavily: "Kneel down!"
Fangru remained silent and knelt on the bluestone slab as instructed.
The early autumn sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on her pale white skirt. She could feel the gazes of everyone present, some disdainful, some curious, and some gloating.
But she just knelt quietly, her back straight.
The princess pondered for a moment, just as she was about to speak, when Zhou Ling, who had been silent all along, suddenly stood up.
“I remember,” his voice was not loud, but it silenced the entire garden instantly, “that Miss Shen was also feeling unwell yesterday at Zuixianlou.”
He walked slowly to Fangru, his dark robes brushing against the fallen flowers on the ground, and looked down at her: "Could it be that Miss Chen feels unwell every time she sees me?"
Fangru slowly raised her head, her gaze calmly meeting Zhou Ling's eyes.
Her voice, though soft, carried clearly throughout the garden: "Your Majesty, I am indeed unwell, but it is not because of your presence."
She suddenly remembered that this inexplicable vomiting had indeed started when she met Zhou Ling at Zuixianlou yesterday.
Could it be... that she was poisoned when she met with Bai Yang yesterday? This thought sent a chill down her spine.
Seeing that Fangru still did not beg for mercy, the princess's expression softened slightly.
She had initially thought this woman was shameless, but seeing her kneeling upright with clear eyes, she looked as if she had been wronged.
Zhou Ling's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, and his originally cold eyes softened somewhat.
As the banquet gradually ended, Fangru remained kneeling in the same spot.
At this moment, a young man dressed in a dark blue brocade robe walked slowly over and bowed to the princess: "Aunt." It turned out to be Zhou Muchen, the heir of the Kang Prince's Mansion and the emperor's cousin.
He asked gently, "And who is this young lady?"
The eldest princess said calmly, "The daughter of Minister Shen has behaved improperly."
Zhou Muchen glanced thoughtfully at Fangru, then took a soft cushion and placed it beside her. He didn't sit down, but stood to the side, his tone gentle: "Yesterday at the Xuanji Banquet, Miss Chen's dance was unforgettable. And today...?"
Fangru lowered her eyes and remained silent.
Zhou Muchen then looked at Zhou Ling and smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, if Miss Shen is truly unwell, why not invite the imperial physician to take a look? Kneeling like this might cause her to develop a chronic illness."
Zhou Ling's eyes flickered slightly, but before he could speak, Fang Ru said softly, "I appreciate the young master's kindness. However, since the princess has already given the order, I dare not disobey."
Zhou Muchen leaned down and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "If Miss Chen needs any help, Muchen is willing to do his best."
Fangru recalled hearing in her previous life that although this prince appeared gentle, he was actually quite capable, so she said calmly, "Prince, you should take care of your own affairs first. I heard that the other day there was a fire in the backyard of the Prince's mansion, and your beloved collection of books was almost destroyed."
Zhou Muchen's expression hardened, then he revealed a meaningful smile: "Miss Chen is quite well-informed."
Fangru lowered her eyes and remained silent. Having experienced countless reincarnations, she already knew all the secrets, big and small, inside and outside the capital. However, this "insight" was bought with a painful price time and time again.
Zhou Ling stared at the two figures conversing from afar, his dark eyes gradually darkening like a deep, cold pool, and the aura around him slowly turning cold.
He walked forward slowly, the soft sound of his boots rolling over the bluestone particularly jarring in the silence, but he did not call Fangru to get up as everyone expected.
"Cousin, you seem to have some free time today." His gaze swept over Fangru, who was kneeling on the ground, and landed on Zhou Muchen. His tone was as indifferent as still water, but the force with which he rubbed the jade ring on his fingertip revealed a hint of suppressed displeasure.
Zhou Muchen bowed gracefully: "Your Majesty is too kind. I just felt sorry for the young lady as she had been kneeling for so long."
Fangru's knees pressed against the cold stone slab, the chill seeping through her clothes and into her bones, causing her fingertips to tremble with pain, yet she still forced her back to remain straight.
She was all too aware of the undercurrents between the two men. Zhou Ling's deliberate act of making her kneel was an insult, a warning, and a silent declaration of war against Zhou Muchen.
Seeing Zhou Muchen protecting Fangru, the eldest princess's face instantly darkened, and she slammed her hand on the table: "Shen Fangru! Since you won't admit to being pregnant, then explain clearly who the adulterer is!!"
Fangru's heart clenched, and she subconsciously looked up at Zhou Ling. If there truly was a child from her past life, the child was rightfully his, and through countless reincarnations, she had never let anyone else touch it. But the man before her held only indifference in his eyes; in this life, he had never felt love, nor knew of those entangled past events.
"I am not pregnant; I have simply ingested something unclean," she said through gritted teeth, her voice strained, but her fingertips trembled even more violently from the soreness and numbness of kneeling for so long.
The eldest princess sneered, "Stubborn to the end! Someone, go and invite Shen Wenzheng! I want to ask him how he raised his daughter!"
"No!" Fangru hurriedly stopped her. The image of her father, who had devoted himself to her in her previous life, flashed into her mind. In this life, she could not let him be disgraced again!
She straightened her back abruptly, her voice ringing out like a gleam: "If Your Highness does not believe me, I request a physical examination to prove my innocence!"
These words caused an uproar throughout the hall!
The noble ladies gasped in surprise, and even Zhou Muchen frowned, not expecting her to risk her reputation.
The eldest princess paused, then turned to look at Zhou Ling: "What does Your Majesty think?"
Zhou Ling's fingertips were still twirling on the jade thumb ring, seemingly nonchalant: "If she wants to test it herself, then so be it."
Seeing that the emperor had relented, Lin Yueyao immediately rushed forward and cried, "Your Highness, please understand! Shen Fangru performed a dance yesterday and behaved improperly today. If she has truly lost her chastity, she will be defiling the royal family! According to ancestral rules, she should be given a white silk noose!"
Zhao Mingde immediately knelt down: "Your Highness, please punish him severely! Such immoral and scandalous behavior cannot be corrected without punishment!"
The eldest princess glanced at Fangru, who was kneeling upright, and then at the silent Zhou Ling, before slowly nodding: "Very well. If it is verified that the jade is not intact, then proceed according to ancestral rules."
Fangru dug her nails into her palm, the pain instantly snapping her back to reality. She looked up at Zhou Ling, but he kept his eyes downcast, as if this life-or-death situation was nothing more than a farce.
Suddenly, she remembered that when she encountered Bai Yanghui's poison at Zuixianlou yesterday, she had personally broken open the powder. She must have been exposed to the poison at that time, which caused her morning sickness!
That must be it!
The huge weight lifted from her heart, and her confidence surged. She looked at Zhou Ling again, her voice filled with determination: "This humble woman is willing to undergo a physical examination to prove my innocence!"
A look of surprise flashed in Lin Yueyao's eyes, followed by a cold laugh: "Miss Chen, you have some nerve. Wait until the results are out, and then let's see how you try to argue!"
Soon, two expressionless old women stepped forward: "Please follow me, young lady."
There was only a hard couch in the side room, the smell of herbs mixed with the cold air, making it hard to breathe. The old woman closed the door behind her: "Take off your clothes." The crisp sound of metal utensils clattering together was particularly jarring in the silence.
"This old servant has served in the palace for twenty years and has examined countless noble ladies." The older nanny's tone was icy. "Confess now, and you might still be able to leave with a whole body."
Fangru was certain that the poison only mimicked the symptoms and could not change her innocence. She calmly undressed, even secretly thinking that once the test results came back, she would definitely sue Lin Yueyao for false accusation!
But when the old woman's rough fingers touched her, that skilled yet indifferent touch, like handling merchandise, tears of humiliation instantly welled up in her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut, biting her lip to keep herself from crying out loud.
"Get dressed," the old woman said coldly after a moment.
Fangru mechanically put on her dress and followed them back to the main hall. All eyes were on her, some with pity, some with mockery, and some with the smugness in Lin Yueyao's eyes.
“Your Highness, Your Majesty,” the old woman knelt, her voice firm and resolute, “Miss Shen… is no longer a virgin.”
With a "boom," Fangru's mind went completely blank!
"Impossible!" she screamed, her face ashen. "I didn't! I never..."
"The evidence is irrefutable, yet you still dare to argue!" Lin Yueyao shouted shrilly, "Your Highness, please execute me immediately!"
Zhao Mingde echoed, "Execute the bastard to rectify the social atmosphere!"
Fangru stood frozen in place, trembling all over. After her rebirth, she had always been cautious, so how could this have happened? She stared at Zhou Ling frantically, but he was still stroking his jade ring, not even giving her a glance, as if her life or death had nothing to do with him.
"Since that's the case..." the eldest princess slowly began, her majestic voice echoing in the hall, making it hard for people to breathe.
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