The man's mouth reeked of alcohol, making Ye Xi almost vomit.
"How dare you!"
Sai Xing quickly reacted. Angry and anxious, she tried to pry the libertine's fingers off Ye Xi.
"Who are you? How dare you be so disrespectful to my young lady!"
Sai Xing used all her strength and almost broke the man's fingers. The man let out a scream and quickly let go.
In the chaos, there was a tearing sound. Ye Xi's outer robe was torn into pieces, and three or four shreds were left in the man's hand.
"Miss!"
"Miss!"
Two exclamations sounded at the same time. Ling Yan left the shadow and rushed over in a hurry. Filled with self - blame, she checked Ye Xi's safety.
Before she could say anything, the area around them suddenly lit up. Young ladies and gentlemen who heard the commotion in the distance rushed over to see what had happened.
Ye Xi's eyes suddenly turned cold. What a vicious scheme!
The robe seemed normal on the surface, but in fact, it was extremely fragile. If it were someone else, they would probably be overjoyed to wear such a special robe prepared for the palace. If that were the case, the consequences were simply unimaginable. Ye Xi was extremely grateful that she could read minds and had changed her clothes after realizing Yi Zhen's hypocrisy. Otherwise, she might be naked now!
Even so, when the young ladies and gentlemen saw Ye Xi's disheveled clothes and the man covering his hand, burying his face, and squatting on the ground howling in pain, their gazes immediately became meaningful.
"Xiao Xi! What happened?"
Qiao Yan was shocked. She quickly ran to Ye Xi's side to block some of the onlookers' gazes.
"Yu An,"
Yi Zhen followed the other young ladies and rushed over. At a glance, she saw that although Ye Xi's outer robe was torn, her inner clothes were still intact. Her eyes flashed for a moment. But on the surface, she said sternly:
"What's going on? Didn't I tell you to take Miss Ye to change her clothes!?"
"Your Highness,"
Yu An finally ran out from the corner. She knelt down quickly and pleaded guilty:
"I don't know either. I took Miss Ye to change her clothes and was about to return to our seats. When we walked to this garden, we suddenly heard a noise nearby. For Miss Ye's safety, I and one of Miss Ye's maids stayed here, while the other maid went to check the situation.
"Just as we were watching, that lecherous man suddenly ran out from somewhere. Drunk, he hugged Miss Ye and refused to let go. He even called out Miss Ye's name and said things like 'It's me. Keep quiet or we'll be discovered.' I thought he was someone Miss Ye knew. But before I could figure out the situation, their clothes somehow got torn while they were struggling."
Yu An quickly finished her words and kowtowed on the ground repeatedly to plead guilty.
Although these words were a statement of the facts, they naturally had another meaning in the ears of the onlookers. Especially those words that sounded like an affair. The noble ladies who had always looked down on Ye Xi immediately seemed to have caught hold of Ye Xi's handle. They started to slander her maliciously in a chorus.
"I knew she was no good. She has a seductive face. She's so bold as to have an affair at the Qionglin Banquet..."
"My goodness, her clothes are torn! She's so impatient. She really is a shameless thing without parents!"
"His Highness the Prince of Yu'an is such a noble and peerless person. How could he fall for such a promiscuous woman? She has an affair right under his nose. Who knows how many men she has been with secretly..."
Especially Yun Qianying, who suddenly popped up from somewhere. Her face looked innocent, but her eyes were full of malicious glee:
"Oh, I didn't expect Miss Ye to be so promiscuous. I'm really ashamed of myself."
"Liuyun, go and invite His Highness the Prince of Yu'an to come and see. Let's see if the person in his heart only has eyes for him."
"What are you talking nonsense about!"
Sai Xing blushed with anger and retorted:
"My young lady is innocent. She's not the kind of woman you're talking about! You're talking nonsense and slandering her. You, you..."
"Sai Xing,"
Yi Yuanhan's cold and indifferent voice suddenly sounded. For some reason, the crowd suddenly fell silent. But their various gazes were still not honest. They still watched the scene between Ye Xi and Yi Yuan with the curiosity of onlookers.
Yi Yuan strode over. He walked straight through the people who subconsciously made way for him and walked towards Ye Xi:
"What kind of grievance has your young lady suffered?"
"Your Highness..."
Finally finding a reliable person, Sai Xing angrily told Yi Yuan what had just happened in brief. Especially those ladies who had spoken ill of Ye Xi and Yun Qianying were all severely accused by Sai Xing.
Yi Yuan had already walked to Ye Xi's side. At a glance, he saw the bandage on Ye Xi's wound that had split open and was bleeding because of her struggling in fear.
A fierce killing intent suddenly flashed in his black eyes. Without thinking, Yi Yuan turned around and kicked.
The man who had covered his face and crouched on the ground, afraid to look up after his misdeed was exposed, was kicked more than ten feet away. He spat out a mouthful of blood.
Mian Xiao followed closely behind. He grabbed the dazed man and threw him heavily in front of Yi Yuan. But when he threw the man, there was a "small mistake". He didn't aim properly and almost hit Yun Qianying, who was watching the show. She let out a scream in horror.
"Sorry, sorry,"
Mian Xiao said with a smiling apology:
"I'm not skilled enough. My aim is a bit off."
Ling Yan cooperated tacitly. She flashed to Yun Qianying's side like a ghost. While saying coldly "Be careful, Miss Yun", she pushed Yun Qianying back forcefully with one hand and then kicked the man towards Yi Yuan with one foot. The man slid right under Yi Yuan's feet and was stepped on by him.
Ling Yan was angry for being tricked by such a simple scheme of luring the tiger away from the mountain, so she showed no mercy. Under her powerful push, not only Yun Qianying but also the other noble ladies who had been gossiping were knocked down in a heap.
Suddenly, there were cries of surprise.
"Uncle Wang,"
Yi Zhen's face turned green. She dodged to the side and barely avoided the series of falling ladies:
"They were just making some guesses. They didn't mean anything else. After all, Miss Ye's clothes are torn, and that lecherous man said such things. It really seems like they had an appointment. It's only natural for people to misunderstand."
But Yi Yuan didn't even give her a look. He waved his big hand and swept away all the shreds of Ye Xi's outer robe. He then tidied Ye Xi's hair and clothes and said tenderly:
"Let Ling Yan re - apply the medicine on your wound first. I'll ask some questions."
Ye Xi smiled brightly and replied:
"Okay."
"Your Highness the Prince of Yu'an!"
Unexpectedly, Yi Yuan didn't suspect Ye Xi at all even after such a thing. Yun Qianying was extremely angry. Supported by Liuyun, she got up with difficulty and shouted:
"It's obvious that she's having an affair. Why are you deceiving yourself? In my opinion, a promiscuous woman like her should be drowned in a pond!"
Yi Yuan didn't even lift his head. He just said two cold words:
"Slap her."
Since he didn't specify who, they all went for it.
Mian Xiao and Lin An didn't even look at each other. One on the left and one on the right, they slapped Yun Qianying's face with a loud "pop". She was stunned on the spot.
The other ladies who still wanted to fan the flames were so scared that they shrank back and immediately fell silent like cicadas in winter.