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

Liu Yunze grabbed Liu Nianxi and slapped her again.

Liu Nianxi was slapped so hard that she staggered, and half of her face swelled up.

"Second Brother, you hit me?" She stared incredulously at Liu Yunze, who had always doted on her and helped her bully Liu Yuansheng, and said angrily, "Second Brother, Liu Yuansheng did something wrong, why did you hit me?"

"Shut up!" Liu Yunze reprimanded Liu Nianxi sternly. "You have a vicious heart. Because you resent your third sister marrying the prince, you've been secretly plotting against them, trying to drive a wedge between them so you could take her place and marry the prince!"

"Second Brother! What nonsense are you spouting!" Liu Nianxi exclaimed angrily, hastily defending herself, "I didn't try to sow discord between them! The Prince was forced to marry Liu Yuansheng; she's of low character and doesn't deserve him at all!"

"You didn't try to sow discord among them? Then why did you bring these three here?" Liu Yunze flicked his sleeves and walked up to Cao the Butcher and his two companions. "Do you think I don't know? You bribed them with a large sum of money so they would smear Third Sister, making everyone mistakenly believe that Third Sister had an affair with Cao Tong and his son, and that Third Sister was a promiscuous woman!"

"Second Brother, are you crazy?" Liu Nianxi strode up to Liu Yunze. "What do you mean I threw dirty water on her? That's just who she is! I didn't spread those rumors!"

"Speaking of rumors, I have something I'd like to ask Young Master Liu."

Xiao Jinghan, who had been watching the siblings' argument with great interest and treating the dispute as a spectacle, suddenly said, "I've heard that there's been a lot of gossip going around lately, saying that I fought with that Muktaiji for you, and we ended up with blood on our heads, making it seem like we both love you so much."

"And what did you say about how you were always infatuated with me, how you watched your sister marry me and were so traumatized that she went insane and indulged herself in frequenting brothels?"

Xiao Jinghan laughed as he spoke, "Young Master Liu, are these things true or false? When did you fall in love with me? Why didn't you tell me?"

Liu Yunze looked embarrassed and didn't dare to look at Xiao Jinghan. "I deliberately spread these things to embarrass you." Liu Yunze's eyes reddened as he said, "I will no longer bother you and your husband. I also ask that Your Highness be merciful and let me go."

He gave Xiao Jinghan a hasty bow, then grabbed Liu Nianxi's hand and led her outside. "Come back with me!"

"I'm not leaving!" Liu Nianxi struggled forcefully. "Let me go! Second brother, look at yourself! You have no masculinity whatsoever, you're like a walking corpse! I don't want to go with you!"

"You despise me?" Liu Yunze gripped Liu Nianxi's hand even tighter. "Don't forget, I became like this because of you! If I had known that offending them for your sake would lead to this, I would never have stood up for you!"

Liu Yunze forcefully dragged Liu Nianxi, determined to take her away from Qixiang Palace. Seeing this, Su Tinglan quickly stopped Liu Yunze, "Yunze, let go of your sister's hand!"

"Auntie!" Liu Nianxi seized the opportunity to throw herself into Su Tinglan's arms, looking extremely aggrieved. "Auntie, I don't want to go with Second Brother!"

Su Tinglan held Liu Nianxi protectively in her arms and said to Liu Yuansheng with a cold smile, "Yuansheng, you are the older sister, so don't be angry with Nianxi. She really meant well and wanted you to reconcile with your adoptive parents. After all, the kindness of raising someone is greater than the kindness of giving birth to them."

"Madam Su, you are mistaken. It is often said that the kindness of raising is greater than the kindness of giving birth, but this kindness ultimately depends on the intentions of the person who raised her. If her adoptive father and his family truly treated her well and raised her with care, then it is only natural to repay their kindness; but if they adopted her with wicked schemes and ulterior motives from beginning to end, what difference is there between such a family and an enemy?" Sun Zhiyao spoke out righteously.

Her words left Su Tinglan speechless, and the Cao butcher's family buried their faces in the ground, not daring to breathe loudly.

"Sun Zhiyao, why are you always speaking up for Liu Yuansheng?" Liu Nianxi was furious. She originally wanted to use the Cao family to make Liu Yuansheng lose face in front of Consort Xiao, and even suspect that she had an affair with Cao Tong, so that Xiao Jinghan would divorce her. Who would have thought that things would develop like this!

"Sun Zhiyao, when did you get together with Liu Yuansheng? What are your intentions in protecting her like this?"

"How dare you!"

Before Sun Zhiyao could speak, the old woman behind her sternly rebuked Liu Nianxi, "How dare you, a mere adopted daughter of unknown origin from the Prime Minister's mansion, offend my young lady?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Nianxi almost burst into tears.

She hated it most when people said she was the adopted daughter of the Prime Minister's family! That she wasn't Liu Jingyuan's biological daughter!

It's all Liu Yuansheng's fault. If she hadn't appeared with a face almost identical to her mother Bai Yinzhu, how could she have fallen from grace and become someone that everyone could easily trample on!

Liu Nianxi grew angrier the more she thought about it. Seeing Liu Yuansheng standing quietly beside Xiao Jinghan, seemingly unaffected, she finally lost her temper and lunged at Liu Yuansheng, yelling, "Liu Yuansheng, it's all your fault! It's all your fault!"

Seeing Liu Nianxi rushing towards her, Liu Yuansheng instinctively dodged backward, but Xiao Jinghan suddenly grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from dodging. Then, with a flick of his wide sleeve, he used force to send Liu Nianxi staggering away.

Liu Nianxi stumbled backward, bumping into Su Tinglan's arms. She looked at Xiao Jinghan with a wronged expression, "Young Master, you hit me for her sake?"

"Do you know that she seduced Butcher Cao and his son! Is such a shameless woman worth protecting?"

"How dare you arbitrarily smear her with baseless accusations? Without a shred of evidence, you wantonly fabricate stories to smear her innocence. Who is truly shameless? Her character is none of your business. I will protect her, and that is none of anyone else's concern."

A few words from him left Liu Nianxi utterly stunned and speechless.

Liu Yuansheng was even more shocked. She raised her head and stared blankly at Xiao Jinghan, tears welling up in her eyes.

Seeing this, Liu Nianxi took it as a blatant provocation. She clenched her fists tightly, her knuckles turning white, and was about to look again when a dignified and proper old nanny came out of Qixiang Palace and said, "Her Highness the Imperial Concubine sent me out to ask if you've finished arguing?"

Seeing that people from Qixiang Palace had finally arrived, everyone immediately made excuses to disperse. Liu Yunze seized the opportunity to grab Liu Nianxi's wrist, "Idiot, aren't you coming with me!"

Liu Nianxi reluctantly followed Liu Yunze away, but before leaving, she made sure to take Cao the butcher and the other two with her.

"He really didn't check the almanac before going out, and got bitten by a pack of mad dogs!" Xie Qinghe spat at Liu Yuansheng's back. "Whose child is this Liu Nianxi? How come she acts like a scoundrel? She doesn't resemble the young lady raised in the Prime Minister's mansion at all."

Liu Yuansheng was in a state of turmoil and just wanted to leave as soon as possible. Before leaving, she did not forget to express her gratitude to Sun Zhiyao and bowed to her.

Sun Zhiyao gave a slight bow as a return greeting, and then left with the nanny.

"Let's go too." Xiao Jinghan gently patted Liu Yuansheng's shoulder. "It's late, Grandmother will be worried."

Liu Yuansheng nodded and followed Xiao Jinghan away.

A red wall separates the inside from the outside, and nine layers of palaces separate the mortal world.

Jiang Zhihuan only withdrew his gaze from the distance after the carriage of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion had disappeared without a trace in front of the palace gate.

"Lord Jiang, the play is over, we should be leaving," Jin Gongzheng said. "Or, why don't you go after them and say hello to the young master Xiao's wife?"

"No need," Jiang Zhihuan turned around. "We'll see each other soon."