Sheng Jinyu looked up at him coldly. "Are you that idle?"
Sheng Songyan was about to take a sip of tea when he was choked by her words. He quickly waved his hand. "Come on. You know how tough my situation is. There are so many admirers. Can I handle it all?"
Sheng Jinyu dusted off her hands before getting up. "Don't worry about the Crown Prince. Father won't dispel his doubts just because of this. He might even think the Crown Prince did it on purpose."
After a moment of thought, she added, "But, Nanfeng, you'd better keep an eye on your cousin. Make sure she doesn't cause any trouble. If He Wenbo looks into it carefully, he'll surely find out it was her."
He Nanfeng frowned, understanding her meaning. He nodded and immediately went out to spread the news about He Wenbo's injury, trying to shift the blame to the Prince of Qing.
The Duke of Fuguo's Mansion was no longer the He family with shallow roots. How could they bear such a thing happening to their son? The Duke of He himself went to the Prince of Qing to seek justice for his son.
Unable to argue with the Duke of He, the Prince of Qing immediately knelt on the ground in the grand court session and cried bitterly. "Your Majesty, you must stand up for me! Although I was dissolute when I was young, I've reformed. My princess has been dead for three years, and I haven't taken a new wife. I heard that Miss Shi was extremely beautiful and talented, so I just wanted to take a look. I had no other intentions. But that stinky boy from the He family scolded me without any respect and said I was an ugly toad trying to eat swan meat... Your Majesty, I'm your cousin. How could I be an ugly toad?"
There were many concubines in the Prince of Qing's Mansion. It was true that his princess had passed away, but there were still a large number of concubines. He never lacked women. Besides, considering his age in his fifties and his appearance, and then looking at Shi Aohan in her blooming years, it was indeed like an ugly toad trying to eat swan meat.
But when the Prince of Qing said this, it became He Wenbo's great disrespect.
The Duke of He was extremely angry and argued with him. "What do you mean? My niece is not even seventeen yet. Do you still want to marry her?"
The Prince of Qing rolled his eyes. "Am I not good enough for her?"
The Duke of He was so angry that he choked. He continued, "Even if you want to marry her, you should go through proper match - making procedures. Whether it works out or not is another matter. Why did you summon her when you were out playing? Flirting with her privately. What kind of logic is that?"
The Prince of Qing looked like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water. "If I don't take a look at her first, how can I be sure if she's worthy of being my princess? I heard that she was the most beautiful and talented girl in the capital, so I just wanted to take a look. But when I saw her, I wondered if just anyone could be the first now? With that appearance, even the low - class dancers in my mansion are much prettier than her! And she was wearing all white, looking like she was in mourning. It was so inauspicious. Her face looked as bitter as a bitter melon. Does she think she can marry me? Bah!"
The Duke of He was stunned by the Prince of Qing's ability to shift the blame. He was even more surprised that the prince had no shame and compared Shi Aohan to a low - class dancer in front of so many people. And he said she was inauspicious. This was clearly an attempt to ruin her reputation.
The emperor rubbed his temples and scolded, "Enough! Is this what the court is for, discussing such useless things? If you have nothing else to say, get out of here!"
The Duke of He knelt down to plead for forgiveness and said, "It's just that my son was beaten so badly that he can't get out of bed. He's been lying in bed for three days."
The Prince of Qing quickly defended himself. "Your Majesty, this has nothing to do with me. Although that stinky boy insulted me as an ugly toad, I've lived this long. How could I argue with a stinky boy? If I was angry, I would have retaliated on the spot. Why would I use such underhanded methods? Besides, a person like him who never watches his mouth probably has many enemies. They might be taking advantage of this incident to retaliate against him and then frame me."
The Duke of He couldn't win the argument. He wanted to say that they had investigated and all the clues pointed to the Prince of Qing's Mansion. But when he looked up and saw the reproachful look from the Crown Prince, he endured it and lowered his head, saying nothing more.
This matter was settled like this. The Duke of He's Mansion had to swallow this bitter pill.
The biggest loser was Shi Aohan. The story about her spread all over the capital. It was said that she was favored by a prince and then despised by him, who thought she was not even as good as a low - class dancer. The story was told vividly. After all, the prince was well - known for his lust. Any woman he took a fancy to couldn't escape.
How did this Miss Shi manage to escape? Just thinking about the steamy scene inside was thought - provoking.
Moreover, it was almost certain that the title of the most talented girl in the capital didn't match her.
Shi Aohan cried her heart out. He Wenbo, who came over on crutches, comforted her.
"Don't worry, cousin. In my heart, you'll always be the most wonderful one."
Shi Aohan originally wanted to show her weak and pitiful side. But when she turned around and saw He Wenbo's swollen face like a pig's head, and thought of the day when she saw him covered in feces and smelling terrible, she felt disgusted. How could she even want to say a word to him?
He Wenbo didn't know that his beloved cousin disliked him. Instead, he thought his cousin was just too sad. He comforted her for a long time before leaving.
Shi Aohan sat in her room in a daze, really unable to understand how things had turned out like this. She had planned everything step by step. She would be a pawn of the Crown Prince, help her beloved Young Master Fu marry Lu Wanning, and then try to anger Lu Wanning so that Lu Wanning's reputation would gradually get worse.
When the Lu family fell, the truth would come out. Her identity would be recognized, and she would be the rightful wife of Young Master Fu.
But now everything had changed. Lu Wanning's personality remained the same, but suddenly she didn't like Young Master Fu anymore. Because of this, Shi Aohan was disliked by Lady Fu and couldn't be a concubine of the young master. What could she do?
Young Master Fu hadn't paid any attention to her for half a month, always saying that he was too busy. She didn't even know if he was really busy or not.
He Wenbo. Yes, she could hold on to He Wenbo. Her aunt loved her, and He Chan liked her. As for Jiang Shishi, that sickly girl, she was not a threat at all.
But He Wenbo was not a young master. In the future, when the family split up, he wouldn't inherit the title of the duke. And she was a proud daughter of heaven. She couldn't just marry an ordinary person.
It seemed that she still had to plan carefully.
Just as she was thinking, her personal maid came over and whispered, "Miss, Miss Lu is here to visit."
Shi Aohan's eyes flashed. She frowned and asked, "What does she want?"
The maid whispered, "I don't know, but Miss Lu seems to be in a very bad mood. Her maid is also... not as enthusiastic as before."
Shi Aohan rolled her eyes. Had Lu Yingshuang discovered that she had done it on purpose last time? The matter of drugging Lu Yingshuang had been covered up that day. Others didn't know, but Lu Yingshuang couldn't have not noticed.
"I'll go and greet her myself."