Zhu Qisheng gritted his teeth and recounted what had just happened, only omitting the part about ‘meeting’ Sheng Mingzhu.
“So, you’re saying, Your Highness, that you heard Sixth Miss Sheng’s screams from behind the rockery, and by the time you rushed over, she had already fallen into the water. You didn’t actually witness what happened between the two Sheng sisters…” A young lady quickly summarized.
Zhu Qisheng’s face darkened, and he fell silent.
“Now that the two Sheng sisters are giving conflicting accounts, it’s… really hard to know who to believe…” Another lady chimed in, receiving nods of agreement from many.
Sheng Mingzhu was so angry she saw black spots before her eyes and could only stand steadily by leaning on Xia Zhi…
She wanted to shout at everyone. If she hadn’t been beaten, would she have screamed for no reason? Fallen into the water? Was she crazy?
But just before she could scream the words, she remembered—hadn’t that little wench started by accusing her of ‘going crazy’? The little wench had planned it all from the start, calling white black, spouting lies, trying to wrong her to death!
Sheng Mingzhu glared venomously at Huang Yaning. Their gazes clashed in the air, almost seeming to crackle.
Besides anger, Sheng Mingzhu’s heart was filled with deep disappointment and sadness. Because just now, Brother Sheng had promised her that from now on, he would cherish her and never let anyone bully her…
Those promises were still ringing in her ears, yet in the blink of an eye, she had suffered a great injustice, and Brother Sheng wasn’t standing up for her—
Even if Brother Sheng couldn’t bring himself to perjure himself for her, for the sake of his princely dignity, couldn’t he at least use his authority to teach that little wench a lesson?
In that short span, Sheng Mingzhu’s mind raced. She thought that if her senior brother were here, he would definitely help her get justice. If not openly, he would stop at nothing to get revenge for her privately… And her eldest brother, if present, would also unconditionally side with her…
Unfortunately, her senior brother had been called out by their master, and her eldest brother was busy preparing for the upcoming provincial exams, so he hadn’t come today…
Today, she could only rely on Brother Sheng!
Among her eldest brother, senior brother, and Brother Sheng, Brother Sheng was the one she liked the most… She never expected Brother Sheng to be so unreliable…
But even if no one helped her, she would still make that little wench pay.
Meeting the crowd’s malicious or curious gazes, Sheng Mingzhu looked at the matriarch of the Dong Mansion and bowed. “Madam, I have injuries on my body. I would trouble you to invite a female physician to examine me. Also, please invite an imperial physician to determine whether it is I who have lost my mind, or my seventh sister who is suffering from delusions—”
The matriarch of the Dong family nodded and sent servants to make the arrangements.
What Sheng Mingzhu didn’t know was what the Princess Consort of Jing had said earlier, or the huge impact it had caused…
At this very moment, Zhu Qisheng had become a hot commodity in the eyes of many!
And these people weren’t blind; everyone could see that Prince Qi was concerned for Sheng Mingzhu. They all felt they had been deceived by Sheng Mingzhu over the past few years…
It turned out Prince Qi still liked Sheng Mingzhu as much as before. If Sheng Mingzhu hadn’t fallen into the water today, they might never have discovered it.
Therefore, they were both jealous and disgusted with Sheng Mingzhu, and sided with Huang Yaning. Even if it was ultimately proven that Sheng Mingzhu had injuries and was of sound mind, these people would still twist the facts to help Huang Yaning…
Huang Yaning watched the reactions of the young ladies and felt quite satisfied. Today, she wanted Sheng Mingzhu to taste what it felt like to be wronged, not only to avenge herself but also to avenge Minmin from their past life.
But she still felt it wasn’t enough and planned to fan the flames. She smiled and said, “Fine then—let’s wait for the female physician and the imperial doctor to arrive—”
“Speaking of which, Sixth Sister and His Highness the Prince really seem fated, don’t they? Sixth Sister and His Highness have known each other since childhood and are as close as siblings… That year after I returned to the mansion, His Highness even stepped in to plead for mercy and saved your birth mother… Later, His Highness also helped Sixth Sister find an opportunity to go to White Horse Temple—”
Many people only knew that Prince Qi had pleaded for Sheng Mingzhu’s wet nurse, but they didn’t know that Sheng Mingzhu’s ability to go to White Horse Temple was due to Prince Qi’s help—
First saving someone, then scheming for her future—this was far more than simple liking—
Prince Qi had practically placed Sheng Mingzhu at the very center of his heart—
The faces of several young ladies twisted with envy.
But Huang Yaning wasn’t finished yet.
“And just now, when Sixth Sister fell into the water, Prince Qi was able to appear from behind the rockery in an instant and dive in without a thought for his own safety to rescue her… If Sister Xia Zhi hadn’t held onto His Highness tightly, he would have carried Sixth Sister out himself—”
“Oh, right, Biaoxiaojie and I happened to run into Sixth Sister in front of the rockery, and His Highness was behind it… Could it be that you two had already met before she fell into the water?”
When the first group of onlookers arrived, Xia Zhi had already released Zhu Qisheng, so no one saw her holding onto him…
Later, although some suspected that Sheng Mingzhu had deliberately fallen in to trap Prince Qi, everyone’s attention was drawn away by the argument between Sheng Mingzhu and Huang Yaning about the fall itself…
Now, hearing Huang Yaning’s words, they realized that besides the possibility of Sheng Mingzhu having schemed for Prince Qi to rescue her and thus entangle him, there was another possibility: Sheng Mingzhu and Prince Qi had a secret rendezvous behind the rockery.
Based on the latest intelligence they had, this latter possibility seemed quite likely.
Instantly, the malice directed at Sheng Mingzhu skyrocketed!
They looked at Sheng Mingzhu and her servant as if they wanted to eat them alive.
“I don’t know if His… His Highness was behind the rockery… we didn’t meet…”
Sheng Mingzhu had no idea what was wrong with these people today. The way they looked at her made it seem like she had dug up their ancestral graves.
Bewildered, she didn’t dare admit to meeting Zhu Qisheng, not even daring to call out ‘Brother Sheng’.
Hearing Mingzhu’s words, Zhu Qisheng felt somewhat uncomfortable inside. But since the malice towards Mingzhu seemed about to materialize, he could only nod in agreement with her words.
“I see.”
Huang Yaning’s lips curled into a smile, her eyes glinting. Neither Zhu Qisheng nor Sheng Mingzhu had denied Xia Zhi’s actions. Perfect!
She suddenly looked at Xia Zhi and said, “Sister Xia Zhi, your actions today are truly admirable!”
Seeing Xia Zhi’s expression shift from confusion to a hint of unease, Huang Yaning smiled, revealing a row of white teeth. “At that time, His Highness was frantic to rescue someone and had lost his reason. If you hadn’t held onto him tightly, he might have made physical contact with Sixth Sister while trying to save her, which would have damaged both His Highness’s reputation and Sixth Sister’s honor, wouldn’t it?
“Thanks to you holding onto His Highness tightly, you brought him back to his senses, preserving both His Highness’s reputation and Sixth Sister’s honor!
“You also prevented the future consequence of His Highness being forced to take Sixth Sister into his household out of obligation…
“Sixth Sister was also rescued by you. Today, you are the benefactor of both Sixth Sister and His Highness—”
Sheng Mingzhu: “…”
So infuriating!
But she didn’t know how to refute it, and she felt deeply uneasy. What exactly did that little wench want?
Zhu Qisheng: “…”
The logic seemed sound, but why did it feel so wrong?
