Seeing Shen Mingzhu in a daze, as if she had completely forgotten how she had reached out and tightly grabbed onto him, Xie Lang was too lazy to pretend any longer. He let out a sneer and stared intently at Shen Mingzhu, saying, "Last night, when the princess grabbed the corner of my robe and pulled me onto the bed, refusing to let me go, she didn't say things like this."
【I'm so angry! Shen Mingzhu slept with me but refuses to admit it!】
Recalling everything she had consumed, Shen Mingzhu was certain that it was that glass of water.
Xie Lang had also drunk that tea, and last night he had seemed completely defenseless.
Perhaps, just as he had thought, it was really Liu Shi who had done this?
"The tea we drank last night was spiked. Before I left, only your good sister, Xie Fangfei, came." As she said this, thinking of the passion of last night, Shen Mingzhu's eyes were filled with coldness. She looked up at him and said, "But this is the Xie Mansion. Xie Lang, I'm waiting for your explanation."
The woman in front of him had clear black-and-white eyes and was calmly looking at him, as if everything that had happened last night was just a spring dream. After waking up, the two of them were still the fake strangers posing as husband and wife.
Xie Lang was speechless. Looking at Shen Mingzhu, who had turned around and was no longer looking at him, there were several deep fingerprints on her smooth, fair back, which were extremely eye-catching.
He was silent for a moment, then sighed. Rarely seriously, he said, "I'll get up first. Let the maids come in to serve you."
Shen Mingzhu didn't turn around to look at him. Her voice was slightly hoarse as she coldly said, "Then hurry up and get out. I need to undress."
Xie Lang couldn't tell what he was feeling inside. He just silently looked at Shen Mingzhu's graceful back. After a long time, he responded sullenly, put on his clothes, and rushed out the door to tend to the wound that had split open again because of last night's passion.
After washing up, she had to go to the front hall.
All brides had to offer tea to the elders, but because of Shen Mingzhu's special status, as she was marrying down, she only needed to go through the motions.
Ignoring the man beside her who seemed to have something to say but hesitated, Shen Mingzhu quickened her pace. Soon, they arrived at the front hall.
The whole family had been waiting there early. When they saw Shen Mingzhu coming, a beautiful woman smiled and said, "Your Highness and the eldest young master have finally come. Newlyweds are really..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the beautiful woman was startled by Shen Mingzhu's cold stare and shut her mouth tightly, her face turning slightly purple from holding back.
Seeing this, Mrs. Xie, who was sitting in the upper seat, frowned and looked at Shen Mingzhu with some displeasure.
There was something fishy about the emperor's bestowal of marriage this time. Although the Xie family had vaguely guessed that he intended to humiliate the princess, recalling the deep affection between the siblings in the past, they still didn't dare to really take action.
But this good-for-nothing, Xie Lang, had actually married the princess. Wouldn't her own son be overshadowed by him!
Shen Mingzhu saw Xie Fangfei hiding behind the beautiful woman. She gave her a cold look and then stepped forward to bow with Xie Lang.
"Good," Mrs. Xie said in a soft voice. It was hard to tell whether she was happy or angry. "Get up."
"This is an heirloom of the Xie family for the new daughter-in-law." As she said this, Mrs. Xie took a box and gave it to the nanny beside her, motioning for her to take it and then pass it to Shen Mingzhu. "Your Highness, please take it."
Although the Xie family had received the new emperor's order to monitor the eldest princess, they still had to maintain a good facade.
Xie Fangfei looked at the extremely valuable jade bracelet and couldn't help clenching her teeth. A hint of jealousy that was hard to conceal flashed in her eyes.
The atmosphere at the scene was a bit cold.
The Xie Mansion wasn't very bustling. There were only two branches in total. Xie Lang's second uncle from the second branch had been in poor health recently, so he had gone out to seek medical treatment.
Only the people from the first branch were present.
General Xie had one wife and two concubines. The current Liu Shi was his second wife, and she had a son and a daughter. Xie Lang wasn't her biological son, but he held the title of the eldest legitimate son, so naturally, he was resented by Liu Shi, who hated him for taking the position that should have belonged to her son. The two concubines had each given birth to a daughter for him.
Xie Fangfei held her breath and wanted to say something, but then she caught a glimpse of the faint red mark on the corner of Xie Lang's mouth. Immediately, a smug look appeared on her face.
Thinking of the promise the person had made to her when she got the medicine, Xie Fangfei couldn't help but curl the corner of her mouth slightly and lowered her head to hide the gloating look in her eyes.
Xie Lang led Shen Mingzhu to sit down. Only then did Mrs. Xie, who was sitting in the upper seat, say, "Xie Lang was absurd last night, but after all, he is a man and your husband. Your Highness still needs to give him some face."
Hearing this, the anger in Shen Mingzhu's heart flared up again. Before she could say anything, she saw the man beside her, as if he was afraid, slightly raised his head and quickly glanced at her. Then he hesitated and said, "Mother, this is a matter between me and Your Highness. I... I will naturally listen to her."
As he spoke, Xie Lang still looked like a henpecked husband, constantly looking in Shen Mingzhu's direction.
"Moreover... Your Highness is of noble birth. How can you say such things about her!"
Their sleeves brushed against each other.
【Haha, it seems that Shen Mingzhu is not completely useless. I really like to see Liu Shi being speechless with anger】
Mrs. Xie was taken aback. Looking at Xie Lang's cowardly appearance, she felt a bit better. She also didn't want to make things difficult for Shen Mingzhu, so she suppressed her inner dissatisfaction, slightly frowned, and looked at the two of them without saying anything else.
Before Shen Mingzhu could give gifts to the younger generation, Xie Fangfei, who was sitting in the lower seat, was not willing to let this matter go so easily. She spoke up as if joking, "But I heard last night that Your Highness actually pointed the imperial sword directly at the eldest young master."
"This... this is too much, Your Highness..."
Seeing the undisguised smugness on her face, Shen Mingzhu curled the corner of her mouth into a cold arc.
Xie Fangfei, a young lady who never left the mansion, actually had such good information. She even knew what had happened yesterday.
Seeing her expose her weakness, Xie Lang and Shen Mingzhu glanced at each other and unexpectedly had a strange understanding.
"What!" Mrs. Xie naturally didn't want to miss this good opportunity to assert her authority. She was just about to question Shen Mingzhu when...
Shen Mingzhu took the lead. A look of confusion appeared on her face as she said, "Where did you hear such things? Are you just repeating what outsiders say?"
"I just waited in the room for a long time but didn't see anyone, so I went to look for my husband and then brought him back to the mansion."
"How could I point a sword at him?"
【Shen Mingzhu! You definitely pointed the sword at me】
Hearing this, Xie Lang also chimed in. A look of dissatisfaction appeared on his face. "That's right! Your Highness is right!"
Mrs. Xie gritted her teeth. Her hand hidden in her sleeve tightly grasped the handkerchief, wishing she could crush it.
Xie Lang was such a good-for-nothing. He bullied the weak and feared the strong, and was actually henpecked. He was really a good-for-nothing playboy. How could he compare to her own son?
At this point, Xie Lang changed the subject. His eyes were as sharp as knives as he stared intently at Xie Fangfei and complained dissatisfiedly, "I didn't know that Third Sister was so dissatisfied with me and Your Highness that she would slander us with outsiders."
"Third Sister's behavior today. Could it be that she is dissatisfied with the happy and harmonious relationship between me and Your Highness?"
【Xie Fangfei is really a fool. She doesn't even know that she's being used as a puppet】
Xie Fangfei didn't expect that the two people who had been at odds last night would now unite against her and direct all their firepower at her. Unfortunately, she had no evidence. She could only clench her teeth and lower her head.
"What's going on!"
General Xie had just had an urgent matter and had to leave for a while. Now that he was back and saw the tense atmosphere in the room, he frowned and asked, "What's all this about so early in the morning?"