"Where on earth do you get the nerve to say such a thing?"
Yun Xi was so angry that she trembled, her fingernails almost digging into her flesh.
"Just to force me to marry you, you're trying to frame A Yuan like this?"
"Shen Zhou, I really misjudged you!"
The smile on Shen Zhou's face finally faded bit by bit. He walked towards Yun Xi slowly, and there was no trace of his former gentleness in his peach blossom eyes.
"You misjudged me?"
A hint of mockery appeared on Shen Zhou's face.
"Yi Yuan and I have been enemies from the very beginning. Don't you know that? It's you who were naive enough to think that I still had a conscience. But Yingying, I'm from the Shen family."
"Our family has never taught us to sacrifice ourselves to fulfill others. All I've learned since childhood is the truth that one should stop at nothing to achieve one's goals. Moreover, my goal is you."
"Why do you think I would just let you go to someone else?"
Yun Xi looked coldly at the suddenly unfamiliar face in front of her. She hated herself for not touching Shen Zhou to read his mind in order to avoid suspicion before.
"So you came here today just to laugh at my ignorance?"
The corners of her eyes were red with hatred. Yun Xi said coldly.
"To tell me that your kindness from the very beginning was just a scheme?"
Not wanting to listen to another word from Shen Zhou, Yun Xi turned around resolutely and only left him with a sentence:
"Even without A Yuan, Shen Zhou, I will never marry you. Never, never. Even if it means death, I won't marry you!"
"What if your family has to be buried with you!?"
The words that almost blurted out of Shen Zhou's mouth immediately stopped Yun Xi in her tracks.
"What do you mean!?"
Yun Xi whirled around suddenly. Her eyes were like sharp swords, stabbing fiercely at Shen Zhou as if she wanted to pierce several holes in him.
Shen Zhou laughed.
Softly, with a hint of certainty:
"What I mean is, you can choose to die rather than marry me. But Yi Yuan privately minted weapons with the intention of rebelling. He chose Shuozhou for two reasons. One was that the old princess's maternal family was there to help him. The other..."
As if in a very good mood, Shen Zhou's face returned to his former gentle and amiable appearance. But the smile in his peach blossom eyes inexplicably sent a chill down one's spine.
"If I remember correctly, Shuozhou seems to be the ancestral home of the Yun family. And you're engaged to Yi Yuan. The Yun family has always held heavy military power, and their relationship with the Prince of Yu'an's Mansion has always been unclear. Who can guarantee that the Yun family had nothing to do with this matter?"
"Yi Yuan's case has been handed over to the Ministry of Justice for investigation. As the first person who reported the case and made great contributions, I also have the right to assist in the investigation. You tell me, if I say a few words during the investigation, what will happen to the Yun family..."
"Slap!"
Yun Xi slapped Shen Zhou hard across the face, turning his head to the side and directly cutting off his unfinished words.
"You're shameless!"
Staring angrily at Shen Zhou, Yun Xi was so shocked and angry that her whole body trembled uncontrollably.
"My Yun family is full of loyal officials. For the peace of the Great Yin, we have volunteered to guard the border for decades. How many of our sons have died on the battlefield? No one can find any fault with us!"
"Moreover, long before I knew I was a daughter of the Yun family, I had fallen in love with A Yuan and we had decided to get married. The Yun family only started to have close contacts with the Prince of Yu'an's Mansion after I was recognized as a member of the Yun family. Before that, no one knew that I was the lost child of their family. So how can you say that we had colluded with A Yuan earlier?"
"You're trying to frame loyal officials and deceive the emperor. This is a capital crime! You even want to threaten me with the lives of my Yun family members to force me to marry you. You're just dreaming!"
"Snort—"
Raising his hand to touch the cheek that Yun Xi had slapped, Shen Zhou sneered contemptuously.
"Who can prove it?"
These four words, though light, weighed a thousand pounds in Yun Xi's ears, making it difficult for her to breathe.
But Shen Zhou continued:
"Who can prove that the Yun family didn't recognize you earlier? And who can prove that the Yun family only got too close to the Prince of Yu'an's Mansion after recognizing you?"
"Who can tell clearly about private contacts? The Yun family has held heavy military power for so many years and has always been entrenched in the southwest. Who knows if they have secretly hoarded troops behind the scenes? Or if they have communicated with Yi Yuan!"
"Yingying, you're so smart. I think you know how to choose."
Straightening his clothes, Shen Zhou's peach blossom eyes were filled with an indifferent look of nonchalance.
"My patience is limited. I'll only give you three days. All the things in the palace have already been prepared. Yi Zhen will marry Zongzheng Fengyi in a few days. I can't choose the day of Yi Zhen's wedding to marry you. So... you only have three days to think about it."
After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and turned around, leaving without any hesitation.
Yun Xi clenched her fists tightly. Her almond eyes stared deeply at Shen Zhou's back, filled with turbulent and unfathomable thoughts.
As soon as Shen Zhou left, Yun Qi and Yun Weisheng appeared at the door.
Yun Xi quickly stepped forward and asked hopefully:
"Dad, brother, how did it go?"
There was a thick and lingering gloom between the eyebrows of both of them. Yun Weisheng stroked Yun Xi's head and said in a low and helpless tone:
"You already know?"
Yun Xi nodded. Judging from their expressions, she had already anticipated the result. But until she heard it with her own ears, she still refused to believe it. So she asked again:
"Father, what did the emperor say?"
Yun Weisheng sighed deeply. He glanced at Yun Qi but didn't say a word. He just shook his head.
Knowing that his father was having trouble speaking, Yun Qi took over and said:
"The emperor didn't say anything. Because—we didn't even get to see the emperor's face."
"Only Eunuch Zhang came out to give us a few hints. He meant that since our family has a marriage alliance with the Prince of Yu'an and father has military power, at this time, we shouldn't come to plead for mercy. Instead, we should try our best to prove that we have nothing to do with this matter."
Suddenly, Yun Xi remembered what Shen Zhou had said. She asked in surprise and disbelief:
"So... does that mean that the emperor is suspicious of our family?"
The two of them looked at each other and didn't say a word.
That was a silent admission.
It seemed that Shen Zhou's words before were not groundless. On the contrary, that threat just now was actually because Shen Zhou had seen through Emperor Zhaohuan's intention, so he said those words.
That was not only a threat but also a warning.
Emperor Zhaohuan was already suspicious. All he needed was—just a spark.
And if she didn't agree to Shen Zhou, then Shen Zhou would be that spark.
Yun Xi gritted her teeth tightly. Her long eyelashes like butterfly wings covered the expression in her eyes tightly.
She remembered that when Yi Zhen had tried to harm her before, Emperor Zhaohuan had said that he would grant her one condition.
A promise from the emperor should be kept for generations.
It hadn't been that long. Emperor Zhaohuan couldn't just go back on his word, could he?
She could save the Yun family without marrying Shen Zhou.
But... what about Yi Yuan?
If she wanted to save Yi Yuan, what should she do about Emperor Zhaohuan's suspicion of the Yun family?
Her mind was in a complete mess. Yun Xi walked like a walking corpse. She only felt a buzzing in her ears. As the world spun around her, she could only hear the panicked and anxious cries of her father, brother, and Sai Xingyan.
Then she knew nothing more.