Everyone's mouths dropped open. Who would have thought that Su Wenyuan's first words after arriving were about whether Sheng Jingyu was cold?
Sheng Jingyu replied, "It's not good to clean up blood inside. I'll have Ye Shan bring the person outside. They're guests at the Duke of Wan's mansion, so let's not destroy their belongings."
"What's making you so angry?" Su Wenyuan reached out again and tightened his cloak.
Sheng Jingyu grasped her hand and asked, "Did anyone cause you any trouble just now?"
The elderly women who came with her narrowed their eyes, anxiously awaiting Su Wenyuan's answer.
Su Wenyuan laughed and said, "With you sitting here, who would dare to stand guard?"
The two of them flaunted their affection without a care for anyone else, completely disregarding the lives of the kneeling people.
The others didn't dare to disturb them, and just listened quietly from the side, while muttering to themselves that the rumors outside were true, and that Prince Chen really liked this princess.
Ye Shan handed over a new hand warmer, but Su Wenyuan didn't take it. She simply said, "People can be killed outside. You don't necessarily have to watch from the outside. Go inside."
With just one sentence, Sheng Jingyu and the others moved from outside to inside.
Once inside, Wan Guo publicly pleaded, "Young Master Qu was merely impulsive and reckless; he did not mean it. Please, Your Highness, show leniency."
Su Wenyuan asked, "What exactly happened? How did you act impulsively?"
It turned out that it wasn't a fight as the servant had described, but rather that the group of young gentlemen had gotten into an argument and even started fighting over something.
Just as the fight broke out, a wine jug landed on Sheng Jingyu.
Duke Wanguo quickly stopped the fight and made the men apologize, but Sheng Jingyu's anger had not subsided.
"To fight in front of me is to treat me as if I don't exist. Such arrogance is hardly unfair to them, is it? Besides, I'm not so heartless as to kill the one who threw the wine jug. Is there a problem with that?"
The one who threw the wine jug was Qu Mingzhi.
The Duke of Wan was taken aback by these remarks. His expression was complicated, and he hesitated several times, unsure of what to say.
Killing only one person is considered merciful?
Ultimately, he turned his attention to Su Wenyuan, hoping she would intercede on his behalf.
They shouldn't have argued and fought in front of Sheng Jingyu, but it wasn't a capital offense.
Su Wenyuan also cooperated and advised, "This is the Duke of Wan's mansion, not the Prince of Chen's mansion. Don't kill people so easily. If you're angry, just chop off a hand. Whichever hand threw it, chop off that one."
The whole thing seemed a bit strange to Su Wenyuan.
Sheng Jingyu's reaction was strange, and the commotion he caused was too great.
Even if they were deliberately testing her, Sheng Jingyu had no reason to do so; there must be another reason. But with so many people watching, it was inconvenient to say anything, so she could only play along.
Upon hearing Su Wenyuan's plea, Sheng Jingyu reluctantly said, "Alright, then bring her in and ask her which hand to chop off."
"This...this is absolutely impossible!" Duke Wan pleaded again.
Su Wenyuan glared and said, "His Highness has already shown mercy. Duke, please don't make things difficult for His Highness. Meng Qi, go and bring the person in."
Meng Qi stormed out, grabbed one of them by the collar, and dragged them back in.
The others scrambled and stumbled, looking utterly disheveled.
It was clear that Meng Qi was genuinely angry.
Su Wenyuan frowned and said, "You could have just passed on a message. Would they dare not come in? You've made such a mess of things..."
Meng Qi nodded, looking aggrieved, and said, "I understand."
After speaking, he retreated behind Sheng Jingyu, still glaring at the group with murderous intent.
Su Wenyuan looked him over, focusing on Qu Mingzhi in the middle, and asked, "You reek of alcohol, how much have you been drinking? The banquet hasn't even started yet."
"Qu Mingzhi was already drunk before he arrived, and he provoked us with many words, which is why we started fighting," a man next to him explained. His name was Lou Hui.
The others also rushed to explain that they hadn't been drinking and that Qu Mingzhi had deliberately caused trouble.
Faced with so many accusations, Qu Mingzhi was speechless and unable to defend himself.
Su Wenyuan cleared her throat and asked, "How did Young Master Qu provoke me?"
The group exchanged glances furtively, and then Lou Hui spoke up: "When Qu Mingzhi came in, he was drunk. I was afraid he would offend the prince, so I took him aside and had him sit with some of my friends."
Lou Hui's friends are quite influential; they all followed Sheng Yuanhe and worked for him.
Today, the Duke of Wanguo's mansion is hosting a banquet, and many people are afraid of offending Sheng Jingyu, so they dare not come.
They came to support the Duke of Wan, even though there weren't enough seats for them to sit here.
Qu Mingzhi hadn't planned to come at first. Even his father hadn't come. As someone without any official rank or title, he could only sit in a corner if he came.
But the thugs who were drinking with him were stirring things up, doubting that he could get in.
In a fit of anger, Qu Mingzhi came over to prove that he was eligible to participate in the first birthday celebration hosted by the Duke of Wanguo's mansion.
After entering, they were led to the table by Lou Hui and the others in a daze.
Lou Hui briefly glossed over what had been said earlier, but focused on reiterating the part about Qu Mingzhi's insults.
“He said we’ve followed the wrong person. Now that the Sixth Prince has been deposed, we’ve lost our backer.”
"They also said that it wouldn't be long before we were all going to suffer the same fate."
Qu Mingzhi was trembling, and it seemed that he had completely woken up.
Su Wenyuan frowned, still feeling that something was amiss. Judging from the current reactions of Lou Hui and the others, there was something wrong with this matter.
Before Su Wenyuan arrived, not only had the Duke of Wan pleaded for him, but others had also done so.
But now, upon hearing that Qu Mingzhi had insulted Sheng Yuanhe, these people reacted with surprising uniformity.
They agreed with Sheng Jingyu killing Qu Mingzhi, and some even added fuel to the fire.
"Knowing that His Highness is here, yet coming drunk, isn't that disrespectful to His Highness?"
"That wine jug is full, and the prince's health isn't good. If he gets hit like that and something happens, can you take responsibility?"
"You still speak so recklessly. I pleaded for you before, but if I had known you would say such things, I should have killed you for the prince."
This last sentence comes from Wan Chengren.
The Duke of Wanguo was pleading for mercy, but this brute insisted on taking action directly.
Su Wenyuan said with a smile, "Then come on over, the prince won't mind."
Wan Chengren was taken aback. He had only been stirring things up and had no intention of getting himself caught up in it.
Duke Wan glared at him fiercely, thinking to himself that he should stop talking.
Then he pleaded again, saying, "Please, Your Highness, release them. There was a reason for it, and... and it was all... an unintentional mistake..."
The Duke of Wan spoke haltingly, and Su Wenyuan felt that he wasn't pleading for mercy, but rather pretending to be a good person.
There's a reason for everything. It's because Qu Mingzhi spoke recklessly that all this trouble happened.
An unintentional mistake—this also applies to the other few people, excluding Qu Mingzhi.
The Duke of Wanguo was taking sides, wanting Sheng Jingyu to kill Qu Mingzhi, but letting the others go.
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