Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C032

[Let me out!] 

[What are you doing out here?]

Without needing an answer, Prince Wei, through that surge of violent intent, already knew what he wanted to do.

[The situation outside is still unknown. Do you think killing that person will solve the problem? Foolish!]

[Don't go too far. When it comes to leading troops into battle, you admit defeat and must rely on me. Your martial arts are also inferior to mine…]

[You are me.]

Afterward, the person in his mind chattered incessantly, sometimes threatening, sometimes acting fiercely, but received no response from Prince Wei. That person then fell silent, but Prince Wei's head began to ache. He pressed his forehead while summoning An Yi.

"Go and see what's happening outside."

***

Since Commandery Princess Minghui and Mei Wuxia had set this trap, they naturally wouldn't go to catch the adulterers themselves.

When Mei Wuxia learned that the man Commandery Princess Minghui had chosen for Mei Wushuang was actually the shizi of Marquis Wuxiang, her mind began to race. She told Commandery Princess Minghui that this 'discovery' could not be done by them personally, but rather they should find a suitable person.

To this end, they first had someone get Sun Shixian drunk, then had a servant help him down to rest and sober up. Then, they had another servant pretend to see a certain madam also enter that small building, and immediately had someone report to Steward Chen.

Upon hearing that it was the shizi of Marquis Wuxiang, Steward Chen immediately felt a terrible headache.

There was no other reason; everyone knew of Sun Shixian's reputation. He had been involved in scandals with married women more than once. Upon hearing this, Steward Chen immediately suspected that Sun Shixian was using Marquis Xuanping's mansion to have a secret rendezvous with a married woman.

Secret rendezvous were not their concern, but they shouldn't be happening in Marquis Xuanping's mansion. If the matter were discovered, Marquis Xuanping's mansion would be in a difficult position, and would also be blamed. Moreover, it was truly inauspicious. On Old Madam's birthday, they were having a secret rendezvous, wasn't that clearly a deliberate attempt to disgust people?

Steward Chen planned to send a servant over to cough a few times discreetly outside, as a reminder, so they would quickly disperse.

The idea was good, but they never expected that the 'certain madam's' husband would cause a scene.

Indeed, Mei Wuxia wanted to use this husband to make a big scene. Only by making a big scene could they achieve twice the result with half the effort. The person was provided by Commandery Princess Minghui. Because Sun Shixian had been pestering her, and out of consideration for Noble Consort Sun and Prince Qin, she couldn't openly lash out. However, she secretly had people investigate Sun Shixian's misdeeds and used them to file a complaint with the Empress Dowager.

It just so happened that they discovered Sun Shixian had recently become involved with another married woman. This woman's husband was a fourth-rank military general with a violent temper. Because his wife was beautiful, he was always wary of her being unfaithful. So, who could be more suitable than him?

This General Ma had long suspected that his wife was acting strangely, but he had never caught her in the act. This time, he came to Marquis Xuanping's mansion to offer birthday greetings. During the banquet, there were many colleagues, and they inevitably drank. After drinking too much, he thought of this matter, and his heart became even more depressed.

Just then, someone sent him a message, saying that his wife was having a secret rendezvous, describing it vividly, and even specifying the location. This general, his mind clouded by alcohol, immediately slammed the table and stood up, intending to catch the adulterers.

This also attracted several of his colleagues, who, not minding the commotion, said they would accompany him to bolster his courage and see just which scoundrel dared to do such a thing.

A large group of people went to the garden in a mighty procession, naturally alarming Steward Chen. He hurriedly tried to dissuade them while having someone report the matter to Marquis Xuanping.

In fact, by the time they reached the door, the general had sobered up by half, and a sense of regret arose in his heart. But at this point, he was already riding a tiger and couldn't dismount, so he had to put on a show of catching adulterers, and led the charge into the inner room.

Everyone thought the scene would be unsightly, and those who followed pushed and shoved to get inside. However, they never expected that upon entering, they would find a person lying in a pool of blood, and no one was seen having an affair.

Steward Chen hurriedly ordered people to help the person in the pool of blood up. Upon seeing who it was, he was shocked. It was actually the shizi of Marquis Wuxiang.

Given this situation, Steward Chen couldn't help but think of a conspiracy.

They all said it was an affair, but when they arrived, the shizi of Marquis Wuxiang was injured and lying on the ground. Whether Sun Shixian was dead or alive was unknown. If he really died in Marquis Xuanping's mansion, it would be a great disaster for Marquis Xuanping's mansion, if not a complete catastrophe, then a huge trouble.

Seeing that the back window was wide open, and there were signs of escape under the window, Steward Chen hurriedly ordered people to chase the villain, and also quickly sent the news to Marquis Xuanping.

On the other side, Commandery Princess Minghui's people were naturally watching the commotion. Who would have thought that instead of catching Mei Wushuang and Sun Shixian in an 'affair', Sun Shixian was injured and lying on the ground, his life hanging in the balance.

This dramatic turn of events left Commandery Princess Minghui at a loss. However, Mei Wuxia was still relatively calm, saying that they had sent people to lure them in, and the door was locked from the outside. Since Sun Shixian was injured, his life was uncertain, and the thief who injured him had escaped through the window, it must have been Mei Wushuang who did it.

Even if it was Mei Wushuang who did it, they all knew in their hearts that they could not accuse her. Otherwise, if they were asked how they knew, how would they answer? Would they say that this whole scheme was their design, and thus they naturally knew?

Helpless, Mei Wuxia could only have Commandery Princess Minghui keep watch on the movements here, while she returned from the other side. Mei Wushuang would certainly return after escaping, and then she would act according to the situation.

This was the only way for now.

Commandery Princess Minghui, however, was furious, exclaiming, "Even in this state, she could still run away?! If it were me, I certainly wouldn't be able to escape."

These words gave Mei Wuxia inspiration. Mei Wushuang was just a lady of the inner chambers. Even if she had escaped by luck, jumping from such a high window, she must have been injured.

The noble ladies came here for the banquet, all properly dressed. If you were inexplicably injured and soiled your clothes, it would naturally arouse suspicion. If they could take the opportunity to guide the conversation, linking the two matters together, even if everyone knew that Mei Wushuang had run away after injuring Sun Shixian, who knew what had happened before the injury? In any case, Mei Wushuang's reputation would certainly be ruined, and perhaps to cover it up, they would seize the opportunity to make a match between the two.

Upon hearing this, Commandery Princess Minghui repeatedly said it was brilliant.

Zhao Lanzhi, on the other hand, revealed a look of vigilance. This Mei Wuxia was nothing like a maiden of her age. Which young lady, facing such a calamity, would not be dispirited and dejected, but instead come up with poisonous schemes one after another? The depth of her thoughts and the viciousness of her plans made Zhao Lanzhi, a daughter from the Duke's mansion, marvel in admiration.

As for Commandery Princess Minghui, she was no match for her at all. Zhao Lanzhi had already decided that after this matter was over, she would make Minghui stay far away from this person.

At this time, they did not know that because they had sent people to watch Sun Shixian's movements, the hidden guard, An Yi, who had gone out to investigate, had only heard some superficial matters. However, seeing that this person's actions were strange, he had followed him on a whim, and thus heard this conversation.

It should be known that to be a hidden guard by Prince Wei's side, one did not only need to be skilled in martial arts; many times, they were more like a spy.

It was also when training these people that Prince Wei had intentionally leaned towards the spy aspect. And as a spy, the information they gathered was vast and complex, so the first thing they had to possess was the ability to extract useful information, filter out useless information, and then summarize and transmit this information to Prince Wei.

As expected, after the news was reported to Prince Wei, Prince Wei, based only on these useful pieces of information, reconstructed the matter to be nearly accurate.

***

The room was quiet, and Wushuang, who had been frightened and was extremely tired, was still in her dreams.

Yet, she did not sleep peacefully.

Prince Wei fell into deep thought, the person in his mind still clamoring to get out. After thinking for a while, Prince Wei gave An Yi some instructions, and An Yi nodded and went down.

Although Sun Shixian's injuries looked frightening, they were not serious, and certainly not fatal.

However, the Marquis Xuanping's mansion took it seriously, and the physician who was ordered to treat him did not dare to be careless, so he administered strong medicine and strong acupuncture.

The physician said that the person would probably wake up after a while. After hearing this, Steward Chen wiped away a cold sweat and hurriedly went out to report the news to Marquis Xuanping.

It was not that he was anxious, but rather that the Madam of Marquis Wuxiang had already received the news and had rushed over. She was now arguing with Marquis Xuanping and his Madam outside. This Madam of Marquis Wuxiang was extremely difficult to deal with. The first thing she did after arriving was to question Marquis Xuanping, and then she clamored that the real culprit must be caught.

Judging by her tone, if the culprit was not caught, the responsibility would fall on the Marquis Xuanping's mansion.

Sun Shixian woke up in a daze. After waking up, his mind was still a bit dizzy. After a long while, he remembered that he had been knocked unconscious by a young woman, and the key thing was that the young woman was quite beautiful.

He tried to get up, but as soon as he moved, he discovered that his head was splitting and his whole body was weak.

At this moment, an extremely ordinary face appeared before his eyes.

"Is the shizi feeling any better?"

Sun Shixian said, "What happened to me? I was knocked unconscious."

"The shizi was indeed knocked unconscious, and the person who knocked you unconscious was Commandery Princess Minghui."

Was it Minghui? Sun Shixian struggled to think, but he could not recall what she looked like, only vaguely remembering that she was an extremely beautiful young woman.

The person, dressed as a servant, continued, "Commandery Princess Minghui was annoyed that you were always pestering her, so she set up this scheme. She originally wanted to ruin your reputation in front of everyone, to dispel your intention to seek her hand in marriage. However, she did not expect an unexpected person to intrude, causing a flaw in this scheme."

"Now, the Madam of Marquis Wuxiang is making a big scene outside, but our Marquis has many concerns and cannot reveal this matter in public. He can only tell the shizi about this privately. We hope that the shizi will keep this in mind, and when the Madam of Marquis Wuxiang comes in later, the shizi can say a few good words for the Marquis Xuanping's mansion, and not wrongly accuse the wrong person."

"That's right, after Madam of Marquis Wuxiang enters, she will definitely ask who injured you. You had best think of someone to blame beforehand. Our Marquis is willing to cover for you and Commandery Princess Minghui, out of consideration for the reputations of several families, and also because he doesn't want to get involved in the matters between your two families. Whether it is right or wrong will still be judged by the shizi."

Sun Shixian was both furious and shocked upon hearing this. He was shocked that Commandery Princess Minghui would scheme against him in such a way, and furious that he had been trying to marry her, never expecting her to be so ruthless.

Sun Shixian had been spoiled since childhood and was used to being domineering. Although his reputation outside was not good, he was handsome and generous, and was particularly popular among women. He considered the women in brothels and pleasure houses to be dirty, and preferred to seduce respectable women.

The key was that he was always successful in seducing them. Even if they were unwilling at first, after following him, they would become so devoted that they would not allow him to abandon them. Therefore, Sun Shixian was quite arrogant. At one moment, he thought about how he had repeatedly sought her hand in marriage, yet she refused to give him face. At another moment, he thought that this woman was so bold and ruthless, which actually appealed to him. He also thought about how his Noble Consort aunt had told him to absolutely marry Commandery Princess Minghui, and with the Empress Dowager speaking on his behalf, his cousin Prince Qin's great cause would be just around the corner.

Therefore, when Madam of Marquis Wuxiang heard that her son had woken up, she rushed in, embracing him and crying out about her precious darling. When she asked which arrogant person had injured him, Sun Shixian immediately said it was Commandery Princess Minghui.

To corroborate his words, he even added a few more sentences, saying that he had privately arranged to meet Commandery Princess Minghui. Everything was fine at first, but who knew that Commandery Princess Minghui had listened to someone and said that he had recently been involved with other women, which angered her so much that she smashed him a few times with a vase.

No one had expected the matter to develop in this way.

Some people did notice that something was amiss, but the things that Madam of Marquis Wuxiang did next made people overlook the abnormality and only focus on watching her make a scene.

After hearing her son's words, she directly rushed to find Commandery Princess Minghui, publicly questioning, acting like a shrew, and crying and making a fuss.

One must know that Sun Shixian was the only son that Madam of Marquis Wuxiang had given birth to at her advanced age. She had given birth to several daughters before, but none were sons. Coincidentally, the Marquis Wuxiang also had other concubines, but none of them had given birth to sons, only daughters.

With only this one son, Madam of Marquis Wuxiang had always treated Sun Shixian as extremely precious since he was a child. So what if she was a commandery princess? Could a commandery princess just throw a tantrum and smash her son? Her Sun family also had a Noble Consort and a prince. What did a commandery princess count for?

Moreover, Madam of Marquis Wuxiang was not stupid. Her son had been trying to marry Commandery Princess Minghui without success, so it was impossible for them to have a private rendezvous. It was more likely that she had done something foolish and forced the other party, which was why she was beaten.

At this time, she wanted to cover for her son, so naturally she had to place all the blame on the other party, and the bigger the scene, the better. Even if Commandery Princess Minghui went back to complain to the Empress Dowager afterward, her family would also have grievances to voice. Had they not seen how badly her son was beaten? Had they not seen that they were having a private rendezvous?

So, the mother and son had both thought of the same thing.

Commandery Princess Minghui was caught off guard by this scene and could not react at all.

She thought that her plan had been exposed, and in her panic and confusion, she did not dare to refute. She only wanted to quickly leave and return to the palace. However, Madam of Marquis Wuxiang grabbed her and refused to let go, insisting that she give her son an explanation.

The scene was so embarrassing that the women of Marquis Xuanping's mansion and the people from Duke Zhao's mansion became anxious. They rushed forward to pull the Madam of Marquis Wuxiang away.

Seeing that there were many people watching the scene, Madam of Marquis Wuxiang knew that this matter had definitely blown up, so she took the opportunity to back down.

Commandery Princess Minghui saw many people watching from afar. Thinking about how these people usually flattered her, but now they had seen her make a fool of herself, she felt both anxious and angry, and extremely ashamed. She sobbed and cried as she ran away, demanding to return to the palace.

In the end, Commandery Princess Minghui did return to the palace, but her previous series of reactions had corroborated what Madam of Marquis Wuxiang had said. However, no one had expected that the person who had schemed behind the scenes and the person who had done the beating were actually two different people.

Only Zhao Lanzhi and Mei Wuxia knew the truth, but Zhao Lanzhi could not speak, and Mei Wuxia was eager for Commandery Princess Minghui to suffer.

Her compromising and pleading with Commandery Princess Minghui was not only to use her hand to scheme against Mei Wushuang, but also to deliberately make Commandery Princess Minghui make a big scene, in order to create a flaw. If Prince Wei were to investigate the truth afterward, he would naturally find out about Commandery Princess Minghui, and use this to kick her out of the game.

Now that the Madam of Marquis Wuxiang was entangled with the other party, Mei Wuxia could already see Commandery Princess Minghui's ending.

But at the same time, Mei Wuxia also had a chilling feeling.

The reason was that when she returned earlier and did not see Mei Wushuang, she had deliberately pretended to be worried and searched everywhere, but could not find her. She had originally wanted to take the opportunity to make a big scene, combining the matter of Sun Shixian being injured and Wushuang's disappearance. Just as she was discussing this with Commandery Princess Minghui, Madam of Marquis Wuxiang suddenly came to make trouble.

Mei Wuxia discovered that the person who was best hidden in the entire matter was Mei Wushuang.

Clearly, she was the one who had done the beating, but now it had become Commandery Princess Minghui who had done it. She also did not know what her fate would be, and was afraid that Commandery Princess Minghui would expose her afterward. However, she was not afraid, because it was Commandery Princess Minghui herself who had suggested scheming against Sun Shixian. At worst, her reputation would be even worse. She could also deny it and say that she was coerced by Commandery Princess Minghui.

But Mei Wushuang was truly hidden away, as if there was a large hand behind the scenes, understanding all of their schemes, easily overturning their plans, and even making the mastermind suffer the consequences.

In fact, Prince Wei did not want to take action against a woman, but he knew that if he did not act ruthlessly enough this time, Ji Yang would only act even more ruthlessly when he came out.

Therefore, rather than letting him act recklessly, it was better for him to do it himself, which could also be considered a temporary appeasement.