Xie Lang had been keeping a close eye on Shen Mingzhu's expression. Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "What's wrong? Worried?" Shen Mingzhu nodded in response and instinctively glanced at Chen Yun beside her. She noticed that Chen Yun's face was a bit pale, but her gaze was much more determined than before. When Li Chengyu reached out to tuck the loose hair behind her ear, she even dodged and just pursed her lips and stared at him without saying a word.
After a moment of silence, Shen Mingzhu became even more worried. She lowered her voice and said to Xie Lang, "What should we do? I'm still worried."
But this was a family matter of the Li family. If she stayed here, it would seem a bit provocative. Moreover, she had just beaten these people up in front of everyone. Staying any longer would not be good for Chen Yun.
How annoying!
Shen Mingzhu pursed her lips, and a hint of annoyance flashed across her eyes.
"Don't worry. I'll figure something out." Xie Lang said, glanced at Shen Mingzhu, then turned to Li Chengyu and said loudly, "So, Young Master Li, are you just going to let Lady Li spread rumors about me like that?"
"If I hadn't come today, Your Highness might have been in trouble. Your Highness is kind - hearted and forgives her for the sake of the Young Mistress, but I'm not willing to let it go."
Xie Lang looked at Li Chengyu with a half - smile, half - leaning on Shen Mingzhu. His expression was mischievous, looking just like a dissolute playboy who had popped up out of nowhere.
Li Chengyu instinctively frowned. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "She is my mother. If you really want to blame someone, blame me."
Lady Li, with her mouth gagged and being held to one side, couldn't help showing a hint of relief in her eyes when she heard this. Then she looked at her youngest son with a pained expression, completely ignoring Li Chengyu's current predicament.
Chen Yun's eyes looked even more tired. She stood there blankly, wringing the handkerchief in her hands tightly.
Then, Shen Mingzhu gave Xie Lang a meaningful look. Seeing this, Xie Lang became even more overbearing. After saying that, he turned to look at Shen Mingzhu with a worried expression. When Shen Mingzhu looked back at him, she reached out and placed her hand on the back of his hand, patting it reassuringly.
Seeing this, the bitterness in Chen Yun's heart grew stronger. She even felt a tingling in her nose, and a few tears gradually welled up in her eyes.
"I'm fine."
Chen Yun calmly nodded slightly at Shen Mingzhu and said, "I've made up my mind."
She had to make a decision today. Otherwise, she would only let Shen Mingzhu's good intentions go to waste, and at the same time, make her mother - in - law look down on her even more.
If it came to the worst... she would just ask for a divorce!
Chen Yun used to be a fiery - tempered person. She had completely changed her personality to serve her in - laws after getting married. She never thought that this family would be so pushy, always taking advantage of her.
Li Chengyu and Xie Lang were at a standstill. Li Chengyu looked a bit tired and instinctively glanced at his wife, only to see the cold look on her face.
"What, Young Master Li, do you look down on me?" Xie Lang started to act tough. He raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms in front of his chest, saying, "If you don't give me an explanation today, I'm not leaving."
Li Chengyu finally understood what the person in front of him meant. He took a deep breath and suppressed his annoyance.
It turned out that Xie Lang had such a well - thought - out plan. He wanted to stay and watch the Li family's family affairs.
Presumably, this was for Shen Mingzhu's sake. It was Shen Mingzhu who wanted to stay, so Xie Lang acted so arrogantly, leaving people with no choice. After all, Xie Lang had a bad reputation. He used to be a well - known playboy in the capital.
Thinking like this, Li Chengyu took a deep breath and said helplessly to Xie Lang, "Fine. Then you and Your Highness can follow me."
No wonder Xie Lang could rely on his wife. Just based on his cooperation with Shen Mingzhu today, Li Chengyu could tell how well he knew Shen Mingzhu.
Sighing, Li Chengyu continued to look at his wife. Seeing that her expression had softened a bit, he felt relieved.
Thank goodness he still had Yunyun.
Thinking like this, when everyone arrived at the front hall, the Duke, with a gloomy face, was sitting in the main seat. When he saw Shen Mingzhu, he was startled and quickly got up to salute, saying, "Greetings to Your Highness."
Why did this troublesome Shen Mingzhu come?
He still remembered clearly how Shen Mingzhu had caused a stir in the court a few days ago. Now seeing her here, his heart sank.
Wasn't it said that there were some family problems and he was called here? How did this matter end up in front of the Princess?
"Why have you come, Your Highness?"
The Duke suppressed his respectful expression and invited Shen Mingzhu to the upper seat. Then he continued, "Did my son do something to displease you?"
Before Li Chengyu could say anything, Xie Lang beside Shen Mingzhu raised his eyebrows and said, "It's not just a problem with Young Master Li."
The Duke's eyebrows twitched, and a sense of unease welled up in his heart.
"Maybe Young Master Li can tell us."
Shen Mingzhu looked at him with a half - smile. Her imposing manner made everyone present instinctively take a deep breath.
The guards escorting Lady Li, the Second Young Master Li, and Mrs. Li arrived late.
On the way, Mrs. Li and the others finally realized how much trouble they had caused. They wanted to speak up in a hurry, but their mouths were gagged, and they could only make muffled sounds.
Li Chengyu frowned and recounted the whole thing. After hearing this, the Duke's face instantly changed. He looked at Shen Mingzhu in panic and said, "It's all because of my poor discipline. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."
How could these people be so bold! They had offended Shen Mingzhu so badly, and finally, it even involved Xie Lang.
The Duke had never thought that his wife, second son, and second daughter - in - law, who usually just seemed a bit flamboyant, would cause such a big disaster today. He suddenly felt cold all over.
Looking at the scene in front of her, Shen Mingzhu said calmly, "I don't mean to make things difficult on purpose. It's just that Lady Li and the other two's attitudes were really bad. I was still sitting there, and they just came over directly."
Sweat trickled down the Duke's forehead.
Seeing this, Xie Lang, who was originally standing behind Shen Mingzhu, changed his posture and leaned directly on the back of the chair where Shen Mingzhu was sitting, looking slovenly, completely out of place in the tense atmosphere.
"I'm just wondering how this matter will be handled?" Shen Mingzhu glanced at him with a half - smile and continued, "Originally, I had planned to leave and let this matter go, but Lady Li just wouldn't let it go. It's really..."
Shen Mingzhu didn't finish her sentence, but everyone present understood.
The people being held on the ground were already regretting so much that their eyes were blank. They didn't dare to say a word and endured the pain, throwing a pleading look at the Duke.
After a long moment of silence, the Duke said, "I hope Your Highness will give me a chance to discipline them. Such things will definitely not happen again in the future."
Shen Mingzhu nodded slightly.
Her intention was just to use this incident to put pressure on the people in front of her and incidentally lead to the next thing. Now seeing that he was already sweating on his forehead, Shen Mingzhu naturally wouldn't continue.
"However, I have something else to say."