After getting married, she spent every night alone in her room; when she asked for a divorce, he kne

For a moment, the audience in the stands fell silent. The Wedge Tribe warriors who had just been raising their arms and shouting were dumbfounded, staring incredulously at Muktaiji lying on the ground.

On the arena, Xiao Jinghan calmly smoothed his robes, walked down the steps, touched a sika deer that passed by, and headed towards the stands.

The tortoise shell in Yan Ji's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

"You won?" He scratched his head. "Wait a minute, the divination says it's more bad than good!"

"Young Master Ji, my foot!" Feng Liangcai joined in the applause and cheers, "Lord Xiao is mighty! Lord Xiao is amazing!"

Muktaiji was carried off the stage, greatly boosting the morale of the Great Xia warriors. They took the initiative to go up on stage and challenge the Wedge Tribe warriors.

"Brilliant, brilliant!" Jin Gongzheng clapped his hands and stood up to greet Xiao Jinghan, who had returned victorious. "I knew Lord Xiao was highly skilled in martial arts and possessed extraordinary abilities! Sure enough, Lord Xiao defeated Muketaiji as soon as he made a move."

Xiao Jinghan climbed onto the platform and looked at Jin Gongzheng, saying, "Lord Jin, you flatter me. If Muketaiji hadn't been too weak, I would be the one being carried away right now."

After speaking, his gaze fell on Jiang Zhihuan, who was standing next to Jin Gongzheng.

"Who is this?"

Jiang Zhihuan slightly raised his eyes and looked at Xiao Jinghan.

Their eyes met, and both men's expressions darkened. Jiang Zhihuan lowered his eyelids, his gaze cold and undisguised, while Xiao Jinghan met his gaze calmly and openly, showing no sign of guilt or evasion.

The visitor is not good.

Xiao Jinghan thought this to himself and inexplicably became excited.

This person exuded an aura of illness, as if suffering from a serious ailment. He was handsome and refined, seemingly gentle and harmless, yet inexplicably instilled a chill that penetrated to the very marrow of one's bones.

Xiao Jinghan smiled and said, "This colleague looks unfamiliar. I suppose you've just been transferred from the local area to the capital?"

Jiang Zhihuan withdrew his gaze, curtsied, and said, "This humble official is Jiang Zhihuan. I previously served in the Yuzhou Prefecture government and now hold a minor post in the Ministry of Works."

"Jiang Zhihuan?" Xiao Jinghan's brows furrowed. "You're Jiang Zhihuan?"

"It is indeed your humble servant," Jiang Zhihuan replied.

Xiao Jinghan sized up Jiang Zhihuan, feeling that he had heard the name before, but he couldn't quite place it. He smiled and said, "I know you. In the Lu Wei case, it was Lord Jiang who found the key evidence and made the final decision. Lord Jiang is truly resourceful and capable."

"You flatter me, Lord Xiao," Jiang Zhihuan said. "I have been serving in other prefectures and have only recently been transferred to the capital. I am completely unfamiliar with the many rules and customs of the capital. If there are any omissions or misunderstandings in the future, I would be grateful if you would be so kind as to enlighten me."

Xiao Jinghan: "Of course, of course."

The two chatted amiably, unaware that Liu Yuansheng had encountered trouble.

Outside the gates of Qixiang Palace, Liu Yuansheng was deathly pale and trembling. She clutched the handkerchief in her hand, pressed it to her chest, and stared helplessly at the person kneeling before her. She just wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into, or sprout wings and fly over the palace walls to disappear without a trace.

The noble ladies and court ladies who came to attend the Hundred Flowers Banquet stood in front of the palace gate, watching with different expressions as Consort Xiao's younger brother and sister-in-law made a fool of themselves in front of the Consort's palace, waiting to see how she would clean up the mess.

Liu Nianxi, who had personally pushed Liu Yuansheng into the whirlpool of evil, covered her face and smiled, saying sarcastically to Liu Yuansheng, "Sister, what's with your reaction? Don't you remember the three of them?"

Liu Yuansheng's eyelashes trembled.

She certainly remembered.

The people kneeling in front of her were villagers from Xitou Village, the Cao family, including the butcher.

The short, stout man dressed in tattered clothes was Butcher Cao. Beside him, with a long face and triangular eyes, was his wife, He Manniang. The man kneeling behind He Manniang, secretly observing her, was Butcher Cao's son, Cao Tong.

Cao Tong was emaciated with sunken eyes. Even in his frail state, he still stared greedily at Liu Yuansheng and said, "Sister Yuansheng, please have pity on us and save me and my father."

"Our family suffered from a flood two years ago. The fields were completely destroyed, and all the pigs we raised died of disease. The local bullies took advantage of the situation and robbed us in every way. Years of crop failure have left us destitute, barely able to afford food. To make matters worse, my father is seriously ill and needs daily medicine to stay alive. We've borrowed money everywhere, and now we're heavily in debt. Creditors come knocking on our door every day, demanding payment. We're truly desperate and on the verge of collapse!"

Butcher Cao kowtowed several times, pleading, "Yuan Sheng, please have pity on us! We really can't go on living like this anymore!"

He Manniang kowtowed along with her, pleading, "Yuansheng, please have mercy and save us! You're rich now, and the money you make is enough for our whole family to live on!"

Liu Yuansheng felt a chill run through her body, as if she were being watched by three evil spirits. Liu Nianxi clung to her, relentlessly rubbing salt into her wounds. "Sister, I know you're married to Prince Xiao now and look down on that family of three. But they were your adoptive parents, who raised you. And this Young Master Cao is your... childhood sweetheart. You two shared a passionate time together. Now that he's in trouble, how can you bear to stand idly by?"

Liu Yuansheng was forced to listen to Liu Nianxi's words, and after listening, he trembled even more violently.

Those disgusting images and painful memories enveloped her like thick, dark fog.

"Yuansheng, be good, let Daddy see you, just one look. Let Daddy touch your body, you smell so good..."

"Yuansheng, can Daddy give you a hug? Daddy loves you so much."

"Yuansheng, I like you. Please give yourself to me, please?"

"I want you! Don't worry, I won't hurt you! Doing that is very pleasurable!"

"Yuan Sheng, don't be my sister anymore, be my wife, okay?"

"You shameless hussy! I raised you with so much care and love, and you actually seduced your father and brother! Have you no shame?!"

"I'll beat you to death, you shameless slut!"

"Everyone, come and see this slut who seduced her adoptive father and godfather! If I'd known, I would have sold you to a brothel! I would have let you seduce them to your heart's content!"

Rotten words swirled in Liu Yuansheng's mind.

What lingered in her mind was the horrific image of Butcher Cao and his son with their sinister smiles as they pinned her to the bed, intending to take turns humiliating her.

She's going crazy.

She never imagined that Liu Nianxi would go so far as to bring the Cao butcher's family to the palace just to humiliate her in front of everyone.

Liu Nianxi did indeed achieve her goal.

Feeling the contempt and disdain surging from all directions, Liu Yuansheng swayed her feet and glanced at Xie Qinghe beside her, signaling her to leave quickly.

Xie Qinghe had long since stopped watching.

She had planned to leave with Liu Yuansheng long ago, but Liu Nianxi insisted on bringing the three of them outside Qixiang Palace, making a big scene.

How hateful!

"What do you think the palace is? Is it a place where people like them can come in?" Xie Qinghe pointed at the three people and said, "Madam Su, Miss Liu, before the Imperial Concubine finds out about this, you'd better take these three people away quickly."

"Miss Xie, that's not how it works," Su Tinglan sneered. "If Yuan Sheng hadn't been so ruthless, we wouldn't have dared to bring her to the palace. We had no other choice."

"Yes, it's three lives at least, how can we stand idly by?"

Liu Nianxi, who was eager to cause a scene before the Imperial Concubine and make Liu Yuansheng lose face, said: "It is said that a person with a clear conscience has nothing to fear. If we really alarm the Imperial Concubine, then please let the Imperial Concubine judge the case and give the Cao butcher's family an explanation."

"Explain? Explain what?" Xie Qinghe said, "Since they've come to you, why don't you help them out? You're all from the Liu family anyway, what's wrong with relatives helping each other out?"

"Xie Qinghe, are you joking with me?" Liu Nianxi retorted. "They've come to our door time and again, pleading earnestly, but you refused to see them and ignored them. That's why they came to me. I went to all the trouble of bringing them here to meet you, and instead of being grateful, you want to blame me?"

"Thank you? Such a favor, do you expect me to prepare gifts and send servants to your door to properly repay you for repeatedly finding excuses to cause me trouble?"

No sooner had Liu Nianxi finished speaking than a chilling, oppressive voice suddenly entered their ears. Everyone present turned to look in the direction of the voice, a hint of surprise in their eyes. Xiao Jinghan had already stepped closer.

He walked with an air of composure, exuding a cold and imposing aura. As he passed, the noble ladies and wives on both sides of the road unconsciously stepped aside, subconsciously suppressing their earlier whispers. Xiao Jinghan's gaze swept lightly over the crowd, finally settling on Liu Nianxi. His brows furrowed slightly, revealing not a trace of warmth.

"I was only gone for a moment, what happened?"

He stood beside Liu Yuansheng, staring at Cao the Butcher and his two companions, and asked, "Who are they?"

Liu Yuansheng became increasingly nervous. She wanted to use sign language to tell Xiao Jinghan that they were not good people and to leave the palace quickly, but her body was stiff and she could not express her meaning even after gesturing for a long time.

Xiao Jinghan's gaze grew colder and colder as he looked at her. Xie Qinghe, seeing this, said, "They are Yuan Sheng's adoptive parents. I don't know where Miss Liu found them and brought them to the palace to deliberately make things difficult for Yuan Sheng."

Xie Qinghe cut to the chase, directly exposing Liu Nianxi's sinister intentions. Liu Nianxi hurriedly tried to cover for herself, saying, "I was just trying to help their family reunite, how is that making things difficult for Liu Yuansheng?"

"How dare you be so insolent before the Imperial Concubine's palace!" Xiao Jinghan waved his sleeve. "Take them away! Do not disturb the Imperial Concubine's peace."

"yes!"

The guards stepped forward and were about to take Cao the butcher and his family away when Cao, terrified, pleaded with Liu Yuansheng, "Yuansheng, you can't just stand by and watch them die!"

"Have you forgotten how our family treated you? Back then, you were bullied to the point of near death by those nuns at Shuiyue Nunnery, and it was our family that kindly took you in, raised you, and helped you get married. When you were little, there was a famine at home, and my son and I gave you all the little food we had. You can't forget that!"

"Also, when you were little, you had a high fever, and I carried you to the village doctor's house. All of these things really happened! Don't you remember?"

Liu Yuansheng closed his eyes upon hearing this.

"If you're really that good to Liu Yuansheng, why does she avoid you like the plague?"

Sun Zhiyao stood before the crowd and spoke with righteous indignation: "You reap what you sow; everything has a cause."

Upon hearing this, Butcher Cao immediately lowered his head, looking embarrassed, and dared not look at Liu Yuansheng again. Cao Tong blushed even more, his eyes darting around, revealing his guilty conscience.

Seeing this, Liu Nianxi stepped forward and righteously rebuked, "How much do you know about the inside story? Liu Yuansheng deliberately avoided her adoptive parents' family entirely because she was shameless. While living in their household, she secretly seduced the father and son, sowing discord and causing them to fall out and become estranged. In the end, she was driven out by the family, creating a deep-seated grudge between the two families. Naturally, she has no right to face them!"

After speaking, she walked up to Liu Yuansheng, staring intently at that pale face—a face so beautiful it made her jealous every night—and said, "Don't you think so, sister?"

Liu Yuansheng was breathing rapidly, wanting to explain herself but unable to speak. Sun Zhiyao couldn't bear to watch any longer and stepped forward to speak for her: "Miss Liu, how important is a young lady's reputation? Do you have any evidence to support your claim?"

"Those three are the evidence!" Liu Nianxi said. "Butcher Cao, Young Master Cao, tell me, is what I just said true?"

Butcher Cao hesitated, not daring to speak rashly. Xiao Jinghan's patience ran out, and he was about to explode when Liu Yunze suddenly appeared, his face cold as he approached Liu Nianxi and said, "Nianxi, what are you doing?"

"Second Brother, you're here?" Upon seeing Liu Yunze, Liu Nianxi became even more smug. "Second Brother, tell everyone just how lewd and shameless Liu Yuansheng is!"

"Snapped!"

Before Liu Nianxi could finish speaking, Liu Yunze slapped her hard across the face.

"Shut up!"

"If you dare to spout nonsense in front of the Imperial Concubine's palace again, I'll have my father send you to Youzhou!"

Liu Nian's eyes reddened, she breathed heavily, and suddenly lunged at Liu Yuansheng like a madwoman!