Chapter 46 Exposing Their Secret Affair
Pei Siyan, with his dignified bearing, calmly entered the hall.
He was dressed in an ordinary round-necked robe, with a jade belt around his waist, from which hung jade pendants, sachets, and other items. He exuded an aura of decisiveness and authority from the inside out.
Xie Guidu's gaze inadvertently fell on his waist, where a delicate sachet hung. From a distance, the pattern on the sachet looked strangely similar to the one on his own waist.
Dou Mingyan panicked, her eyes welling with tears, and she called out softly, "Your Highness—"
Seeing his brows furrow slightly, she forced back her tears. Pei Siyan was cold and ruthless, and he disliked women crying and acting weak the most.
Pei Siyan took his seat leisurely, raised his hand to dismiss the palace servants in the hall, and a smile played on his lips, giving people the illusion of being bathed in a spring breeze.
"Are you talking about something private?"
No, we're talking about the incident of a horse injuring someone, why bring up 'personal feelings'!
Dou Mingyan cried out in her heart, "This man is a dragon among men, capricious and ruthless. The calmer he appears on the surface, the more furious he is inside."
No one dared to take any chances or try to deceive him.
Dou Mingyan felt a bitter taste in her mouth, as if facing a formidable enemy. Afraid of saying anything more and making a mistake, she dared not utter another word.
Xie Guidu hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, "Your Highness, Mingxiu was in a moment of panic and spoke nonsense, losing his composure. I hope Your Highness will not take it to heart. Mingxiu is foolish, and there are many suspicious points regarding the matter of him injuring Prince Duan on horseback. I hope Your Highness will have someone investigate carefully."
In any case, we must change the subject and not continue to waste time on this 'personal affair'.
Dou Mingxiu was drenched in a cold sweat, clearly realizing he had made a terrible mistake, and hurriedly nodded, trying to make amends.
He spoke with utmost sincerity, “Your Highness, I acted on impulse and only wanted the falcon to scare my fourth sister. I was not involved in anything else. Your Highness, please understand!”
Dou Mingyan felt extremely uncomfortable and unconsciously rubbed her hands together, her palms becoming sticky with sweat.
Pei Siyan leaned back in his chair and glanced coolly at Dou Wenyi. "Is that so?"
Their eyes met, and Dou Wenyi was suddenly startled.
The meaning in his eyes was crystal clear: if she didn't seize this opportunity, he planned to turn a blind eye and never interfere again.
Before entering the hall, Pei Siyan's guard, Chiyan, secretly handed her a painting box. She didn't know what was inside, and she didn't even have time to open it before entering.
But her intuition told her that this was a golden opportunity that would not come again.
Pei Siyan's seductive words still echoed in her ears. She had no idea whether he would help her or side with Dou Mingyan like everyone else.
However, she had already presumptuously thought about it, and there was no room for her to back down.
Let's take a gamble!
Pei Siyan may also want to use her to expose the affair between Dou Mingyan and Xie Guidu.
After all, no man can tolerate being cuckolded, especially not the unparalleled Pei Siyan. Only by exposing their affair can she take the opportunity to break off the engagement.
She was determined to break off the engagement; her wish was that simple.
As for what conditions to exchange with Pei Siyan, she'll figure that out slowly after she gets through this hurdle.
Xie Guidu dared to covet Pei Siyan's woman; hopefully, he will have the courage to face his wrath.
She hesitated for a moment, then finally mustered her courage, rose, knelt down, clasped her hands together on her forehead, and performed a deep bow.
"Your Highness, it is indeed true!"
The three of them turned to look at her simultaneously and said in unison, "Shut up!"
Pei Siyan casually fiddled with the jade thumb ring on his hand, and in the blink of an eye, his eyes met those of Dou Wenyi, who was kneeling on the ground.
Those clear eyes held a hint of trepidation, a do-or-die courage, and a yearning for a fair judgment.
Like a weed in the wind and rain, full of vitality yet vulnerable to being slaughtered, it inexplicably reminded him of himself when his mother had just had her accident and he was imprisoned in the Eastern Palace, feeling like he was rotting away.
"It seems you knew about this!"
Pei Siyan looked at her straight back and smiled. At least his efforts hadn't been in vain.
Let her kneel for a while, but teach her to stand for a lifetime.
I wonder if she'd be willing to kneel on the bed...
How could he possibly have the thought of flirting with her in such a situation?
That's so out of place!
A fleeting hint of embarrassment crossed Pei Siyan's eyes, but he said with interest, "I wonder if it's mutual affection, or if he's interested but she's not?"
Dou Mingyan was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat and knelt down on the ground in a panic, her lips trembling. "Si Yan, it has nothing to do with me. My sincerity towards you is as clear as day!"
With the label of "mutual affection" attached to her, how could she possibly remain the Crown Princess?
Xie Guidu took a deep breath and almost lost his composure as he spoke, “My fiancée is unruly and has been throwing a tantrum over some trivial matter. I beg Your Highness to forgive her and not listen to her nonsense.”
Dou Mingxiu angrily rebuked, "Dou Wenyi, are you crazy? How dare you spout nonsense in front of His Highness the Crown Prince? If you have any grievances, take them out on me. Don't bully my third sister. You are a daughter of the Dou family. Are you trying to ruin the Dou family's reputation by saying such baseless things? Father, Mother, and Grandmother will never forgive you."
"You've ruined the Dou family, you're a sinner against them, Dou Wenyi, you can't be so heartless!"
Outside the palace, dark clouds filled the sky, and the air was thick with the oppressive feeling of an impending downpour.
Pei Siyan laughed, "Stand up and talk, everyone. This is just an elegant affair about romance and nature, why be so nervous?"
Dou Mingyan glanced at him timidly, a warm feeling rising in her heart, always feeling that Pei Siyan was still on her side.
If she keeps kneeling, doesn't that mean she's wrong and really has an affair?
Just as she was struggling with whether or not to get up, she suddenly saw Dou Wenyi standing up beside her.
Dou Mingyan felt a chill and hurriedly got up as well.
Dou Wenyi's voice was like the first snow of winter, "Young Master Xie, you have waited for your third sister for so many years without even a chance to confess your feelings. Don't you feel wronged?"
"Third sister, I'm just wondering, Prince Xie treats you with such sincerity, can't you feel his burning affection at all?"
"Dou Wenyi, that's enough!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Xie Guidu stepped forward and forcefully grabbed her arm, intending to drag her away from the scene.
"Your jealousy has its limits! Who is Miss Dou the Third? How dare you slander her like this! Your Highness, Miss Dou the Fourth has suffered from delusions and her behavior is erratic and incoherent. Please allow me to take her away first!"
Dou Mingxiu suddenly realized and chimed in, "Yes, my fourth sister went to Yuqing Temple for treatment; she has mental problems. If Your Highness doesn't believe me, you can summon my father for questioning."
Xie Guidu seemed to remember something, and said firmly, "Your Highness, Yi'er's words are unsubstantiated. You cannot believe her one-sided account. Besides, I truly love Yi'er, and I have a clear conscience. Her suspicion of me is truly disheartening—"
A white light suddenly streaked across the sky, followed by a thunderous roar. Then, with a loud crack, a large tree outside the door was struck and snapped in half with a snap.
Dou Mingyan screamed, her teeth chattering with fear. Never before had lightning been so close to her.
Xie Guidu's face turned pale and then flushed, and he couldn't finish his sentence.
Dou Mingxiu was taken aback, clearly startled as well.
On the contrary, Dou Wenyi remained surprisingly calm, completely undisturbed by the thunder. She simply stared blankly at the torrential rain outside!
Pei Siyan barely managed to suppress his laughter. He strolled leisurely to the window, staring intently at the charred piece of wood: "Thunderbolt the heartless man."
Ha! How interesting!
Pei Siyan flicked his wide sleeves and brushed past Dou Wenyi. "Where's your evidence?"
A familiar medicinal scent wafted into her nostrils, and Dou Wenyi's pupils contracted as she suddenly remembered the painting box he had sent. "Young Master Xie wants evidence, and coincidentally, I do have some."
Dou Wenyi took a painting out of the painting box on the table.
Xie Guidu's eyelids twitched suddenly. The pattern on the scroll was too familiar; it was his usual style. How could she know it?
A strong sense of unease washed over him. "Yi'er, don't be like this—"
The next moment, a portrait of a beautiful woman slowly unfolded before everyone's eyes. The woman in the painting seemed to leap off the paper, lifelike and vivid.
Without a doubt, it was the flawless-looking Dou Mingyan.
What's even more shocking is that it also includes a sensual love poem called "Tea Smoke on the Lips"!
The tea foam lingers on the lips and tongue, leaving a pleasant fragrance.
A veil half-covered her ears, which were scalded with smoke.
Upon returning home, he suddenly complained that the porcelain cup was too small.
Ferry me across, greedily savoring even a sliver of light.
"......"
"......"
"......"
In the deathly silence, the scroll fell straight to the ground.
Dou Wenyi hurriedly picked them up, quickly glanced at the poems, and felt goosebumps all over; they were just too blatant.
Xie Guidu is too audacious! He even dares to fantasize about Dou Mingyan under the guise of a teacup?
She already knew the most difficult conclusion, so piecing together the intermediate process was a piece of cake.
What puzzled her was why Pei Siyan suspected them.
Why did this thing end up in his hands?
Dou Mingyan didn't dare to look closely. She collapsed, kneeling on the ground again, tears streaming down her face.
"Your Highness, I'm innocent! Mingyan has absolutely no romantic feelings for Prince Xie. This... it must be Fourth Sister deliberately framing me. This painting definitely wasn't done by Prince Xie."
"Dou Wenyi, how dare you try to deceive me with a fake painting!" Pei Siyan's eyes turned icy as he suddenly shouted.
Dou Wenyi lowered her eyes, pretending not to see his anger, but secretly cheered in her heart.
His acting was absolutely superb!
Unlike her composure, Xie Guidu's face was deathly pale, his body was almost unsteady, and his hands under his sleeves trembled incessantly.
Even with just a fleeting glance, he knew the painting was undoubtedly his own work.
However, he never drew eyebrows or eyes on his portraits of beauties, precisely because he was afraid of causing trouble for Dou Mingyan. The eyebrows and eyes were definitely added by someone else, but the brushstrokes depicting the body outlines were all drawn by him personally.
And that love poem—he has a secret collection of poems, but he would never mention the poem on a picture.
He must be insane to be so stupid.
At this moment, he was utterly speechless, unable to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
Pei Siyan's eyes flashed with a chilling coldness, and his tone was unfriendly, "Young Master Xie, is this your painting?"
Meeting his sharp gaze, Xie Guidu felt as if he had been driven into a corner...
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