The daughter of the Marquis is too delicate, the abstinent prince pinches her waist and loves her

Chapter 155 The Engagement is Cancelled
Sheng Yunqing frowned slightly and said, "Your Majesty, what have I done wrong? Why must I kneel?"

Seeing that Sheng Yunqing refused to kneel, the Empress Dowager's already simmering arrogance intensified. She glared at Sheng Yunqing and raised a trembling finger to point at Bai Muling.

“An hour ago, you and Ling’er had an argument, and then you went to the Imperial Garden one after the other. When you came back, she was like this. Do you dare to say…”

"As I said, when I arrived at the lotus pond, the Crown Princess was already dead," Sheng Yunqing argued, frowning.

Thinking of the array in the Imperial Garden, she suddenly turned her head and looked at the unfamiliar maid standing next to Ye Jingnian. She narrowed her suspicious eyes and said, "Your Highness, if I may be so bold as to ask, where has the all-powerful Zhixing gone?"

“Zhi Xing?” Ye Jingnian snorted coldly and said, “She offended me just now, so she’s being dragged back to be tortured.”

Sheng Yunqing's eyes sharpened, and mimicking his tone, she asked, "Is there any witness?"

Ye Jingnian glanced around, strode over to a kneeling, trembling palace maid, lifted her up, and said, "Speak!"

The palace maid in pink knelt down, trembling, and said, "This servant...this servant saw..."

"Speak!" The emperor slammed his hand on the dragon throne.

The palace maid trembled as she lay prostrate on the ground: "Not long ago, we were passing by the bamboo grove... when we saw His Highness the Crown Prince pinning a woman against the artificial hill... judging from her clothes... she seemed to be His Highness's personal maid..." Her voice trailed off, "...disheveled and crying uncontrollably..."

The whole hall was in an uproar.

Ye Jingnian's fingers tightened suddenly beneath his black python robe, but a carefree smile appeared on his face: "Father, you are wise. I was merely disciplining a disobedient servant."

"Slap!" The Empress Dowager stepped forward quickly and slapped Ye Jingnian hard across the face.

While Bai Muling was suffering in the lotus pond, he was having an affair with a maid in the Imperial Garden...

"Why! Why didn't you keep an eye on Ling'er!" When the Empress Dowager got closer, she smelled the strong smell of alcohol on him, and her deep voice was full of regret.

Ye Jingnian lowered his head, a sigh of relief in his heart: "Yes, grandson knows his mistake."

The Empress Dowager slowly turned around, looked at Sheng Yunqing, and said, "Do you have anything else to say?"

"absurd!"

Ye Jinchen's black iron wrist guard slammed heavily onto the table, the wine cup tipped over, and the fine wine spilled like blood over the brocade cloth.

He shielded Sheng Yunqing behind him, his eyes burning with terrifying rage: "Mother! Yunqing couldn't have killed anyone!"

"Prince Ye!" the emperor roared, "You dare to defy the Empress Dowager for a woman?! Guards..."

Ye Jinchen tightened his grip on Sheng Yunqing's wrist, glaring at him as he said, "Before the matter is fully investigated, does Your Majesty intend to subject Yunqing to imprisonment again?"

The Empress Dowager felt a headache coming on. She raised her hand and gently rubbed her temples. She waved for someone to cover her with a white cloth, leaned on her phoenix cane, and returned to her phoenix chair. She sighed and said, "Very well, let's not wrong anyone before the matter is thoroughly investigated."

She closed her eyes and recalled Bai Muling's gentle and flattering manner, and felt a pang of heartache.

As she opened her eyes, her gaze toward Sheng Yunqing was distant and unfamiliar: "By my decree, Sheng Yunqing of the Marquis family, your marriage to Prince Ye is hereby cancelled, effective immediately."

Sheng Yunqing was stunned, her head buzzing for a moment, and there was a lot of heated discussion around her.

"Mother! Why?" Ye Jinchen gritted his teeth, his face full of resentment.

"There's no reason why!" The Empress Dowager slapped the armrest.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!" The officials all knelt down.

A moment later, the Empress Dowager rose and waved her sleeves as she left, saying, "I'm not feeling well, everyone disperse!"

In the embassy's attic, a faint purple light seeped through a crack in the window. Mu Jiyue watched the Empress Dowager storm off in anger in the mirror, a light, playful smile appearing on her face. The black Gu worm in the wooden box in her hand gradually retracted its trembling wings.

With a "click," Mu Jiyue closed the wooden box, picked up the secret letter on the table, and smiled beautifully: "Ye Jingnian, you owe this princess a huge favor."

The birthday banquet was interrupted by Bai Muling's death. After the Empress Dowager and the Emperor left their seats, the officials also withdrew one after another.

The candlelight flickered inside the hall, and Sheng Yunqing remained standing in the same spot, her fingertips trembling slightly.

The echo of the Empress Dowager's words, "Cancel the marriage," still seemed to resonate in her ears, leaving her momentarily dazed.

"Sheng Yunqing!"

Suddenly, Duke Bai rushed forward, his eyes bloodshot, and grabbed her collar: "You killed my son, and now you've killed my daughter too! This will never end! My Bai family will make you pay for this in blood!"

Before Sheng Yunqing could speak, a deep, cold voice suddenly came from outside the hall—

"Duke Bai, please watch your words!"

Everyone turned around and saw Marquis Sheng Yukun of Zhenbei stride into the hall.

The spirited middle-aged man was dressed in a black outfit, with his sword still at his waist, clearly having come directly from the military camp.

I was busy with military affairs and had hoped to attend the birthday banquet to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday, but I never expected to learn of such a major incident after arriving in the capital.

He walked straight up to Duke Bai, grabbed the other's wrist with such force that Duke Bai had no choice but to release Sheng Yunqing.

"My daughter is not someone you can lay a hand on." Sheng Yukun's voice wasn't loud, but every word was icy. "To draw conclusions without clear evidence, does Duke Bai think my Sheng family has no one to rely on?!"

Duke Bai's face turned ashen: "Sheng Yukun! My daughter died!"

"So what?" Sheng Yukun sneered. "If it really was Yun Qing who did it, I'll be the first to tie her up and put her on the guillotine. But if someone deliberately framed her..." He glanced at everyone in the hall. "My Zhenbei Army's 100,000 iron cavalry are not to be trifled with."

Sheng Yunqing finally came to her senses and felt a warmth in her heart as she looked at her uncle's straight back.

She took a deep breath and said calmly, "I understand that Duke Bai is grieving the loss of his beloved daughter, but if you want to convict me, please provide solid evidence."

Before Duke Bai could say anything more, Sheng Yukun raised his hand to stop him: "Since His Majesty has already ordered a thorough investigation, Duke Bai should save his energy to catch the real culprit."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned to leave, but Duke Bai stepped forward and blocked his way.

Duke Bai narrowed his eyes slightly and whispered in his ear, "Sheng Yukun, your achievements overshadow the emperor. If I were to find a fault with you one day... humph!"

Sheng Yukun's expression was solemn. He ignored him and turned to Sheng Yunqing: "Yunqing, come back to the manor with your uncle."

The Crown Prince's Residence, Xingyue Pavilion.

The candlelight flickered, and the room was completely silent.

Ye Jingnian used cotton soaked in medicinal wine to wipe the mottled wounds on the girl's skin.

Some were left by Bai Muling, and some were left by him.

The scratches, abrasions, and abrasions, though he frequently bled, were a shocking sight for the first time when he saw the blood seeping out.

A hot tear fell onto his hand bone, but he only slightly darkened his eyes and did not look up at her.

As Zhi Xing gazed at Ye Jingnian silently applying medicine to her, a sense of emptiness welled up inside her.

She bit her lip, her voice hoarse with sobs, and said, "Your Highness, do you... no longer want Zhixing?"