Listening to her daughter's heartfelt words, the pregnant Lady Hou went on a killing spree.

Shi Mo clearly hadn't expected the Crown Prince's reaction.

"Young Master, I am not lying. The Second Young Master really has never been to the Princess's residence."

"You still won't admit it."

"Guards! Beat him hard! Beat him until he confesses."

Soon, several servants stepped forward and placed Shi Mo on a bench. The boards fell on Shi Mo's body one after another, and the whole room was filled with Shi Mo's screams.

"Ah, Your Highness, I truly didn't lie! Ah, please, Your Highness, spare me! Ah…!"

"Eldest brother, did you really see second brother going to the princess's residence in Qixia?"

"Mother, how could I lie to you about such a thing? I would not say such a thing if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

The heir of the Marquis of Chengen had no idea, but he always felt that there was something fishy going on.

My second sister-in-law is not someone who makes things up out of thin air; how could she do this simply because she borrowed a carriage on the road?

He then thought of trying to trick Shi Mo. After all, it was just a servant, and he could just pay some money later if he had wronged him.

Shi Mo's screams gradually subsided, and after more than thirty strokes of the cane, he still couldn't utter a sound, only screaming in agony.

Lady Chengen couldn't bear to watch any longer; after all, he was her youngest son's personal servant, and she was about to tell him to stop hitting him.

"I'll talk, I'll talk."

The Marquis of Chengen waved his hand, and the men who were beating him with the cane stopped.

He didn't expect there to be something going on inside.

"Tell me, what exactly is going on between the Second Young Master and Qixia?"

Second Young Master, I'm so sorry. It's not that I couldn't keep my mouth shut, but if the beating continues, I'll be killed.

In Shi Mo's opinion, as long as he wasn't beaten to death right now, he would say whatever he wanted.

"The second young master and Qixia met a month ago, when Qixia was still a princess."

She took a liking to the second young master as soon as they met, and within a few days, she had completely captivated him.

Princess Qixia promised that if the Ye family fell and the second young mistress died, she would marry the second young master.

The heir of the Marquis of Chengen only intended to ask questions, but he did not expect to uncover so many inside stories.

Marquis Chengen's face turned ashen.

"What does this have to do with the Ye family?"

Having already spoken, Shi Mo became more and more fluent as he continued speaking.

"Princess Qixia gave me a letter, and I understand from the Second Young Master that it can prove the Ye family's crime of treason."

The second young master, under the pretext of seeking advice from Prime Minister Ye, left the letter in Prime Minister Ye's study.

Upon hearing this, Marquis Chengen slammed his fist on the table next to him.

How dare the second brother?

"My lord, my lady, my young master, that's all I know. I don't know anything else."

On the day that Prime Minister Ye apologized to the Emperor, Marquis Chengen happened to be unwell and did not attend the morning court session. He only heard about some of the things that happened from others.

Besides, the messenger wouldn't speak ill of Zhao Kuo in front of the Marquis of Chengen. To this day, the Marquis of Chengen's household is still in the dark, basking in their pride at having climbed up to Princess Chang'an.

Those who knew the inside story had long been watching the spectacle unfold.

The family members weren't fools. Combining Shi Mo's words with what had happened in the court these past few days, there was nothing they couldn't understand.

Prime Minister Ye is at the right time. After the matter of the woman swapping was clarified, Marquis Chengen had already thought about it. It was far from the point where Prime Minister Ye should abdicate, but now it is clear that the emperor intends to do so.

He hadn't expected that the second son was involved.

If Prime Minister Ye himself were to hand over the letter accusing him of treason, everything would make sense.

"That unfilial son, I'm going to beat him to death!"

As the Marquis of Chengen was speaking, he turned around to hit his youngest son, but was stopped by the Marquis's heir.

"Father, now is not the time to pursue the Second Prince's mistakes. We need to deal with the people sent by Princess Chang'an first."

Lady Chengen was so anxious she was about to cry.

"What exactly happened to the second brother? Doesn't he know what Qixia's temperament was like before?"

She'll fall for him, and he'll believe whatever she says, without even realizing she's using him.

Now things are really messed up; Chang'an wants a divorce from him, and this will drag our Cheng'en Marquis's mansion down with her.

"Mother, how come you still don't understand the situation? Princess Chang'an and my second brother's divorce is not the most important thing right now."

Most importantly, the second son actually wants the lives of the Ye family and Princess Chang'an. Do you think the Ye family and Princess Chang'an will easily let the second son go, and let our Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion go?

The Crown Princess was stunned; she truly hadn't realized her brother-in-law could be so vicious.

It's truly terrifying that someone would want to kill his pregnant wife for the sake of Qixia, and even harm his in-laws.

"My lord, what should we do now?"

Lady Chengen was truly at her wit's end and could only look to the Marquis of Chengen for advice.

"Madam, go see Green Bamboo first. Have the second son sign the divorce papers, and take all the dowry back to her. We'll discuss the rest when you return."

Lady Cheng'en wiped away her tears.

"I'll go right away."

The Crown Princess took advantage of the break and went out with him, leaving only the father and son in the room.

"Father, what are you planning to do about the second son's situation?"

"Boss, he's your own brother."

"But Father, do you really want to disregard the future of the Chengen Marquis's Mansion for the sake of the second son?"

Look at what the second brother has done; none of it is something a human being could do.

I'm genuinely afraid that if he stays by my side, he might stab me in the back one day.

He's the kind of person who can kill his pregnant wife without hesitation, and frame his in-laws without a second thought.

"Dad, how important do you think we are to him?"

Marquis Chengen remained silent.

After a long while, the voice of the Marquis of Chengen came from inside the house.

"I understand, you may leave."

On the other side, Green Bamboo arrived at the Marquis of Chengen's residence, but no one came after waiting for a long time.

I originally thought there would be a big fight, but to my surprise, the Lady of Chengen Marquis was very polite when she arrived.

The divorce papers were accepted, and the princess's dowry was inventoried and given to her to take with her.

After seeing the people off, Lady Chengenhou stood at the gate of the mansion as dusk fell.

It was because Princess Chang'an's dowry was all stored in the storeroom and didn't need much inventory, so she clearly already had the intention to leave.

Zhao Kuo took the medicine and slept. When he woke up, it was already dark, and the maidservant serving him was a stranger.

Zhao Kuo was taken aback.

"Where is the ink-servant?"

"Reporting to the Second Young Master, Shi Mo made a mistake and was beaten by the Marquis's men. He is currently recuperating in his room."

Zhao Kuo felt uneasy.

"What did he do to deserve being beaten by the Marquis?"

"This servant does not know."

After the maid finished speaking, she went out of the room to fetch the food. The entire courtyard was empty, and there were almost no servants in sight except for her.

The maid secretly thought to herself that she was unlucky to have been sent by the madam to serve the second young master.

Everyone in the manor knows that the Second Young Master is the Second Young Master today, but who knows if he will be tomorrow.

"Autumn moon, peony!"

Zhao Kuo, who was lying down, called out a familiar name several times towards the outside, but no one came in.

He also sensed something was wrong, and when he thought about how Shi Mo had been beaten, he couldn't even imagine what would happen to him if his family found out what he had done.

Deep within the palace, a melodious zither tune drifted from inside the palace walls to outside.

Not far from the palace gate, a person in a tree listened to the music coming from inside the palace, and their brows furrowed more and more tightly.