"Bold!"
In a fit of rage, the Queen slammed the teacup in her hand onto the ground. "A bunch of audacious and ignorant fools! How dare they oppose me at every turn!"
"Someone, immediately lead the imperial guards to raid the residence of the Grand State Preceptor! Kill everyone in the mansion without mercy. Spread my words. If those traitors don't show up, burn their lair to the ground!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After the guards left, the Queen still felt furious. She swept the porcelain on the table to the ground in a few strokes, and the floor was instantly in a mess.
"If it weren't for the Crown Prince's wedding today, I would surely arrest all these traitors and behead them in public at the market square. Hang their heads on the city gate as a warning!"
"Your Majesty, don't be angry. Take care of your health. Besides, today is a happy day for the Crown Prince. You should be happy for the Crown Prince's sake."
"How are the preparations on the Crown Prince's side?"
"Everything is in order."
"I'll go and have a look."
At this moment, the Queen was truly worried. Although Concubine Mu had saved the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince was now like a living dead. She didn't know how long this state could last. What if something went wrong suddenly?
Finally, the wedding procession arrived at the palace.
Feng Yunshu and Xiaoling had been following invisibly in the sky. After the wedding procession stopped, the Crown Prince in wedding clothes walked out.
Dongfang Qi's face was extremely pale and unnatural. Against the backdrop of the wedding clothes, he looked even paler. On closer inspection, one could find that there was not a trace of blood on his face, and his eyes were unfocused and dull.
Although everyone felt something was wrong, they didn't dare to say much. Dongfang Qi walked slowly like a puppet to the sedan chair and helped Feng Manshu out.
The moment she touched Dongfang Qi's palm, Feng Manshu felt a bone - chilling cold spreading from his palm. Her heart skipped a beat. What was going on...
Soon, the two started walking towards the main hall to start the wedding ceremony.
Feng Yunshu watched the two walking hand in hand up the steps. Although they were clearly wearing wedding clothes, she seemed to see them walking towards the endless darkness.
"Master, look! That Lord Wu is hiding there..."
Xiaoling pointed at the court officials and guests watching the wedding ceremony on both sides. Sure enough, as Xiaoling said, Lord Wu was hiding among them, his eyes fixed tightly on Feng Manshu on the stage.
Feng Yunshu curled her lips. She came here today just to watch this good show.
"The good show begins."
Over there, the Queen somehow managed to get the Emperor out of bed. But the Emperor didn't say a word throughout. The Queen spoke on his behalf.
"Dear ministers, today is the wedding day of the Crown Prince and the second daughter of the Feng family..."
There was a faint smile on the Queen's face. But before she could finish speaking, a man in a dark - blue robe suddenly rushed up from below.
"Wait! Your Majesty, Your Highness the Queen! I dare to say something!"
Everyone's eyes turned to the suddenly - appeared man. When they saw clearly what he looked like, they were even more shocked.
"Isn't this Lord Wu from the Duke of Dingguo's family?"
"Yes. What is he doing standing up at this time?"
"Who knows... Let's wait and see."
The Queen's eyes fell on Lord Wu. Frowning, she was a bit angry. "Lord Wu, can't you wait until the wedding ceremony is over to say what you want? Don't you even know such basic rules?"
"Your Highness the Queen, I must say it today. If I wait until the ceremony is over, it will be too late!"
At this time, hearing Lord Wu's voice, Feng Manshu under the red veil trembled all over. She couldn't help clenching her fists and trying to lift the veil to stop him. However, if she spoke first at this time, it would give others a handle.
It was inconvenient for her to step forward, but the Crown Prince could. After all, this was his wedding day. How could he allow others to cause trouble like this?
Thinking of this, Feng Manshu quietly reached out to tug at the Crown Prince's sleeve and whispered, "Brother Crown Prince, this man must be deliberately looking for trouble to disrupt our wedding ceremony. Hurry up and let the guards take this man away..."
However, no matter what Feng Manshu said or how she tugged at his sleeve, the Crown Prince beside her didn't respond at all. This made Feng Manshu feel extremely aggrieved, and she thought he was deliberately ignoring her.
"Brother Crown Prince, you've always been so kind to Manshu. Now that I'm about to become your Crown Princess, how can you be indifferent at this critical moment?"
Just as Feng Manshu was getting anxious, Lord Wu couldn't wait to expose the matter.
Pointing at Feng Manshu angrily, he said in front of everyone, "Your Highness the Queen, you must see clearly. Feng Manshu, the second daughter of the Feng family, is not a good girl at all! Before she was betrothed to the Crown Prince, she had an affair with me, and she has long lost her virginity!"
"What?!" Hearing this, the Queen slapped the table hard and stood up abruptly. "Lord Wu, if you're slandering someone, do you know this is a crime of deceiving the emperor? If there's even half a lie in your words, His Majesty will exterminate your family of the Duke of Dingguo!"
"Every word I said is true! I wouldn't dare to tell a single lie!"
Lord Wu took a few steps forward and then took out a few items from his sleeve.
"Your Highness, this jade pendant was the token of love I gave to Miss Feng back then. I split it into two. Not long ago, Miss Feng asked me out and returned this half of the jade pendant to me."
"This is the earring she left with me before. She should still have the other one."
As Lord Wu took out the evidence one by one, everyone's jaws were almost dropping in shock. The Queen's face was even scarier, turning black.
Finally, Feng Manshu couldn't bear it anymore. She lifted her veil and looked up at the Queen. "Your Highness the Queen, he's just slandering me and making things up out of nothing! These are all baseless accusations! He just wanted to court me before. Since I refused to agree to him, he harbored resentment, so he deliberately showed up here to disrupt my wedding with the Crown Prince!"
As soon as Feng Manshu finished speaking, Lord Wu immediately retorted, "No, you're lying! In order to become the Crown Princess, you kicked me away without hesitation. I begged you so humbly, but I couldn't get even a bit of your reluctance. Since you're so heartless, don't blame me for being unrighteous!"
After saying that, Lord Wu spoke again, "I have another piece of evidence to prove the relationship between Miss Feng and me! She has a red birthmark on her left waist. If you want to verify the truth, Your Highness the Queen can ask the maids to take Miss Feng down for a check, and then you'll know who's lying!"
"Lord Wu, you—"
Feng Manshu was shocked. She quickly tried to defend herself, but when she opened her mouth, she found she had no words to refute.
"Bold Feng Manshu!" The Queen was furious. "Someone, drag this audacious commoner girl down!"
"Your Highness the Queen, no, it's not like this! Your Highness the Queen, please listen to my explanation!"
In full view of everyone, Feng Manshu was dragged down by several guards who stepped forward. She immediately reached out to try to grab the Crown Prince. "Brother Crown Prince, you must believe Manshu. Manshu is really wronged!"
As a result, because of Feng Manshu's forceful tug, the Crown Prince, who was originally standing there like a puppet, fell to the ground. For a moment, everyone present was shocked again.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
Because of this tug, Feng Manshu was also shocked to find that the Crown Prince, Dongfang Qi, was like a living dead. There was no sign of life on him at all!