Chapter 14: The Bellyband Thief
Feng Ruonan reached out and touched his beard, secretly breathing a sigh of relief, feeling lucky that he had escaped.
The two soldiers guarding outside the Zhenghe Hall rushed into the hall together and were about to capture Shen Tingyu.
Her back was almost stared through by the cold eyes, but Shen Tingyu remained motionless, calm and composed, with an upright and proud posture, without a trace of panic.
Because she knew that the tyrant would definitely protect her.
Xin Hongying, who had been sitting on the wall watching, said coldly, "Wait!"
"Retreat quickly." Gao Tang screamed and ordered the soldiers who had entered the hall to retreat.
Xin Hongying placed one hand on the armrest of the dragon throne, supporting his forehead. His slender white fingers kept tapping his forehead, and his drooping eyebrows outlined the delicate contours of his face.
"Father, don't be impatient. The Imperial Master hasn't explained clearly yet. What exactly does this hexagram mean?"
"Male with female features?" Xin Hongying yawned sleepily, chuckled softly, and a cold look flashed in his eyes. "I see, this hexagram is really interesting!"
When the tyrant smiled, all the ministers fell silent, even lowering their heads. They were just like students who were afraid of being called by the teacher in class. The difference was that those who were called might lose their lives.
Shen Tingyu took a step forward, with an elegant and ironic cold smile on the corner of her lips, her glassy eyes staring straight at Feng Ruonan, her red lips slightly parted.
"With a man's body and a woman's heart, Lord Feng might have been born into the wrong family. Moreover, Lord Feng's aura is black with red. Not only does he have ill-gotten wealth, he is also responsible for human lives."
Every word she said hit him right between the eyebrows. Feng Ruonan's body trembled slightly, and he broke out in a cold sweat. His heart sank. He forced a smile and scolded in shame and anger: "It's really ridiculous."
"I am upright and honest. Your Majesty, please do not listen to this witch's lies and mislead the people."
Feng Ruonan knelt upright on the ground, squeezing out two lines of tears: "Your Majesty, please understand."
"Whether it's true or not, we'll know once we test it." Shen Tingyu's eyebrows curved, and when he thought of what he was about to say, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth to smile.
Test!
What does she want to test?
How to test?
Two lines of hot tears froze on Feng Ruonan's face, his fingers clenched suddenly, and an ominous premonition surged into his heart again.
Shen Tingyu said slowly: "Lord Feng has a man's body and a full beard, but he actually hides a woman's heart. He likes to wear women's bellybands, and he only wears bellybands worn by beautiful women. In order to satisfy his quirks, he often sneaks into women's boudoirs and steals bellybands!"
"And every day when he went to court, he would wear a woman's bellyband."
The temperature on Feng Ruonan's cheeks suddenly rose. This was his biggest secret, which he was usually cautious about and tried to hide.
She had actually revealed it right in front of him. Feng Ruonan's face flushed red, and he silently shouted in his heart: Shut up! Shut up!
Shut up! Ahh ...
All the civil and military officials in the court were stunned by her words, whispering to each other in disbelief. Some of them couldn't hold back their laughter and laughed out loud in the court, laughing so hard that they fell forward and backward, without giving anyone any face at all.
"You can only know a person's face but not his heart. I never thought that Lord Feng would be such a person!"
"Master Feng's reaction doesn't seem fake. It's really disgusting that I serve in the same court as such a person."
"He was the one who stole my wife's bellyband... Damn Feng Ruonan! Don't let him fall into my hands, otherwise... Ha!"
"Isn't this the case the Dali Temple is investigating recently? I thought it was just a petty thief with audacity, but I didn't expect the pervert who stole the bellyband to be Feng... Lord Feng!"
“…”
He heard all the noises around him, and his reputation was completely ruined.
He's finished!
Feng Ruonan's flushed face turned pale in an instant, his legs became weak and he could no longer kneel, and collapsed to the ground.
Shen Tingyu chuckled, leaned down slightly, and said in his ear: "Master Feng! Do you dare to verify your identity?"
"Come here, take the Minister of Rites down to investigate!" Xin Hongying was afraid that the world would be in chaos, so he waved his hand. Gao Tang accepted the order and nodded with a smile.
Feng Ruonan's eyes were red, and he looked up at her with great resentment, but was forcibly suppressed by Gao Tang and several young eunuchs.
Not long after, Gao Tang returned to the main hall, holding a pearwood box. "Your Majesty, I have verified that this is the woman's bellyband that Lord Feng is wearing."
The ministers thought: This outrageous thing is actually true!
Xin Hongying clapped her hands, no longer sleepy at all. She was a little excited and said, "This scene of the Imperial Master is good and interesting!"
"Someone come!"
"Your Majesty," a minister stood up and argued, "Even if the Imperial Master's calculations about Feng Ruonan's secret affairs are true, that doesn't prove her claim of falsely reporting secrets is true."
"The two cannot be confused. Whether or not a secret letter was falsely transmitted is a serious matter and will require time to investigate. I am willing to help Your Majesty by thoroughly investigating the secret reports from the border."
The Regent suddenly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Sun is absolutely right. We should thoroughly investigate everything before making a decision. We should not listen to the words of this witch alone."
All the ministers knelt down and said in unison: "Your Majesty, please reconsider."
Xin Hongying kicked the ball to her, "National Master, what do you think?"
Among the kneeling ministers, Shen Tingyu stood upright, instantly standing out like a crane among chickens. She shook her head and said firmly, "Your Majesty, the border is in danger. Time is running out. Every day of delay means one more soldier guarding the border will die."
She turned to look at Lord Sun. Shen Tingyu had a deep impression of him because among all the civil and military officials in the court, he was the only one who laughed the loudest and felt the most relieved about Feng Ruonan wearing a bellyband day and night. It was obvious that he had a grudge against him for a long time.
She asked doubtfully, "Sir, who are you?"
Lord Sun said with some arrogance: "The Minister of War, Sun Wangqian."
Shen Tingyu said meaningfully, his eyes filled with a playful smile, "So it's Master Sun~"
If she remembered correctly, in the novel, the person Feng Ruonan hated the most was Sun Wangqian, the Minister of War.
Therefore, Feng Ruonan's favorite bellyband is the one that belongs to his beloved wife. Whenever he fails to get what he deserves from the Minister of War, Feng Ruonan will put on his wife's bellyband to satisfy his own twisted quirks and strange psychological pleasure.
"I'd like to ask Lord Sun." She approached, her voice strong and powerful. "If the reinforcements were delayed, resulting in General Luo's death and the border being accidentally breached by the enemy, would you be able to bear the responsibility?"
Sun Wangqian was silent for a while: "This..."
Shen Tingyu said again: "Master Sun, if you don't believe me, go and see if the bellyband in the box is your wife's. Then you will know whether I can predict the secrets of heaven."
Sun Wangqian's expression changed slightly, and he subconsciously said, "Impossible!"
"My house is heavily guarded, and my wife has no clothes missing. It is impossible that it is my wife's bellyband." His tone was particularly firm.
In fact, Shen Tingyu was not very clear whether Feng Ruonan was wearing the bellyband of Lord Sun’s beloved wife today, and she felt a little uneasy.
She won't flip over, right?
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