Chapter 97 -097 Innocence
“In this vast universe, what are you all doing?”
He Ying asked angrily.
Sang Yan then helped the girl to her feet, shielding her behind him, and whispered soothingly, “Don’t be afraid. With us here, we won’t let them hurt you.”
With tears falling, the girl murmured softly, “Thank you, miss, thank you, young master.”
Everyone looked on at this scene, exchanging glances without a word.
Until a man past his fifties emerged.
...
He was decked in gold and silver, plump and radiating the air of a wealthy merchant, appearing to have considerable influence.
“Who are you? I advise you not to meddle in others’ affairs!”
He said this, then looking towards the girl behind Sang Yan, he exclaimed angrily, “She is my daughter! Young and reckless, she has committed unspeakable dishonor! I have the right to punish her!”
“I didn’t do it! Father, I really didn’t, please believe me?”
The girl vehemently shook her head, crying miserably.
Seeing this, Sang Yan seemed to understand the cause of the incident, and asked, “How do you know your daughter committed such dishonor? Do you have any proof?”
The man replied, “I certainly have proof. Otherwise, could I unjustly accuse my own daughter for no reason? It’s just that family disgrace should not be publicized. Hand her over to me! Once I root out the scoundrel and send her to the temple, it will be fulfilling father-daughter love!”
“No! Don’t! I did nothing! Miss, young master, believe me! I beg you, save me!”
The girl clutched Sang Yan’s arm, trembling and pleading through her tears.
Sang Yan patted her hand and nodded, “Rest assured. I will get to the bottom of this.”
After consoling the girl, she continued questioning the man, “Cut the nonsense. What proof do you have that your daughter committed such an act?”
Seeing this, the man clenched his teeth and said, “Since you are shameless enough to ask, I have no qualms saying it again. The Palace Guarding Moles are gone.”
Sang Yan was entirely shocked, “What? Palace Guarding Moles?”
The ancient method for testing a woman’s chastity?
Ridiculous!
To think they used such a foolish method to assess a woman’s purity!
She immediately concluded that the girl had been wronged!
But she nevertheless asked, “Apart from that, do you have any other evidence?”
The man countered, “What other evidence is needed?”
Sang Yan was speechless.
Ignorance!
Utter ignorance!
“Have you not considered that the Palace Guarding Moles might be at fault?”
“How could that be? How could something handed down from our ancestors be in error? It must be because she has been promiscuous, deceived into losing her virtue early on by some scoundrel. If it weren’t for her sister informing me, I would still be in the dark. Alas, why couldn’t she just show restraint? I was arranging such a good marriage for her! But now, this disgrace! How can I show my face to others?”
“What sort of good marriage? Can you elaborate?”
Sang Yan keenly sensed the conspiracy.
He Ying felt the same.
The two exchanged knowing looks.
Then the man revealed, “To not keep you in suspense, I’m a merchant who gained Mr. Sang, the Vice Minister of Ministry of Revenue’s favor due to the locust extermination case in Wuzhou. He agreed to take this daughter as a concubine for his son. How noble and prestigious is the Sang Family, their daughters serving as ladies in the palace!”
Sang Yan was speechless.
Great, the drama involves my own family now.
The man, driven by excitement, started to beat his chest and stomp his feet, “But now, alas! Such a wonderful marriage opportunity, yet such misfortune befalls my household!”
Sang Yan summed it up, “In the end, it still comes down to the issue of the Palace Guarding Moles.”
The man nodded, “Exactly! Those Palace Guarding Moles have always been fine, so why did they suddenly disappear?”
Sang Yan thought to herself: There are many reasons for their disappearance: carelessness during a bath, scrubbing too hard, or using some particular toiletry product. Anyway, disappearing certainly doesn’t mean she had relations with a man.
Considering this, she inquired further, “You said the person who told you was her sister? Is that her full sister, or a concubine’s daughter?”
The likelihood of true siblings sabotaging each other for a good marriage prospect is small.
But if it’s a half-sister’s daughter?
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The likelihood is pretty high.
She was also a reader of stories about intrigue within households.
“Of course, she is my sister by blood.”
The man’s answer made Sang Yan hesitate—could she have guessed wrong?
“No, you’re lying!”
The girl cried, “You favor concubines over your wife! As your legitimate daughter, I am living worse than a concubine!”
She had been enlightened by Sang Yan’s guidance, “It must be Lan Yue who is jealous of the marriage arrangement you spoke of for me, wanting to harm me!”
“Nonsense! You don’t follow the rules yourself, and now you’re dragging your sister down with you! Truly incorrigible! Someone, beat her to death and be done with it!”
He coldly ordered, showing no regard for either of them, “If you insist on meddling, don’t blame me for being impolite.”
Dozens of his men behind him, brandishing knives and clubs, advanced, slowly tightening the encirclement.
Sang Yan trusted in He Ying’s martial ability and was not worried, continuing to ask, “Are you feeling guilty? Are you trying to silence us by killing? Actually, do you also want to give this advantageous marriage to your concubine daughter?”
“Utter nonsense! Attack!”
At his command, the men swarmed forward.
“Slap!”
“Bang!”
“Thud!”
One after another, the thugs were hit in the forehead or chest and fell to the ground.
It turns out He Ying had picked up some fruit from the ground and used them as hidden weapons.
The man realized that He Ying was somewhat skilled and didn’t want to escalate things further.
He signaled for his men to stop and asked again, “Who exactly are you? What are you trying to do? Are you actually defending a woman of ill repute?”
“Watch your words!”
He Ying said sternly, “Who exactly is of ill repute remains to be verified!”
The man exclaimed angrily, “What is there to investigate? Would I falsely accuse my own daughter?”
Sang Yan scoffed, “Indeed. You’ve beaten her to such a state, what does falsely accusing her count for? Oh, and you also said you would send her to the temple, right? To treat your own daughter this way, do you even have the face to call yourself her father?”
The man was left speechless by the retort.
Sang Yan didn’t waste further words with him and said directly, “If you’re not guilty, then allow us to verify!”
The man sneered, “What right do you have to verify anything? Do you think you are some high official?”
“You’re right, he is indeed an official!”
Sang Yan looked at He Ying and smiled, “Emperor, given the special circumstances, please don’t stay low-key. Have your men come out.”
He Ying nodded and snapped his fingers in mid-air.
The next moment, over a dozen black-clad men dropped from the sky.
They kneeled on the ground in unison, “At your command, Emperor.”
Six words stunned everyone present.
Including that man.
His face registered shock, his lips trembling: The, the Emperor? What had he just said to the Emperor?
His legs gave way.
He knelt on the ground, trembling like his men behind him.
Yu Huai De arrived at that moment with a large group of palace maids, eunuchs, and guards, “Emperor, what, what has happened here?”
He Ying said, “Take them all back. This matter of the Palace Guarding Moles is suspicious, and I entrust Xie Sui to deal with it.”
“Yes.”
Yu Huai De didn’t know the details, but that didn’t stop him from giving the order, “Quick, take them all away!”
The guards surrounded them with drawn swords and herded them down the mountain.
He Ying also parted ways with Sang Yan, “Rest assured, I will investigate this thoroughly to clear her name.”
Sang Yan had to continue her prayers and couldn’t follow, so she reminded him, “The Palace Guarding Moles’ test for a woman’s purity is unreliable. Tell Xie Sui to find a method to remove the marking. That will break the case.”
He Ying nodded, “I understand. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
He climbed into his carriage and headed down the mountain.
The girl was carried away in a small sedan by the guards.
Qiuzhi watched the procession move majestically down the mountain and whispered, “Miss, are you sure we shouldn’t follow? With that girl with the Emperor, could she be a danger to him?”
It would be terrible to save someone only to have them turn into an ingrate!