There was a sound of fabric tearing, and the commotion inside grew louder. The palace maids waiting outside couldn’t help but widen their smiles.
The guard, frustrated after struggling for so long without success, lost his patience and slapped Yan Jinsha across the face. Her cheek quickly swelled up.
The guard’s eyes gleamed with desire, and he unconsciously loosened his grip on her.
“Wait… wait… you… don’t be so hasty. I’ll do it myself.”
Continuing to resist would only lead to more harm, and escape seemed impossible.
Yan Jinsha forced a smile. “I’m willing, but I’m afraid of pain. Can you let me do it myself?”
The guard had come for pleasure, not for displeasure. It seemed Yan Jinsha had accepted her inevitable fate and was choosing to submit to minimize her suffering.
Hmph!
What nonsense was the Empress promoting about women standing on their own?
Women were meant to…
“Bang!”
“Ah!”
A scream rang out from the room. The guard fell off the bed, and Yan Jinsha, unwilling to take any chances, grabbed a jade pillow and lunged forward, striking his head while he was still disoriented.
The palace maid waiting outside was about to shout out when the guard collapsed, but she was swiftly knocked unconscious by a mysterious figure with a single chop.
Ye Ming caught the falling maid and tossed her to the side, hissing in disapproval. “Your Highness, this woman is truly vicious. She first arranged for someone to defile Yan Jinsha’s honor, then planned to call everyone to witness the scene, framing her as guilty of scandalous behavior. By then, Yan Jinsha would be doomed to a death sentence for violating palace decorum.”
Her intention wasn’t just to take Yan Jinsha’s life but to eliminate witnesses and the guard as well.
Utopian fantasies were rich, but reality was stark.
Before she could make a sound, Ye Ming’s swift action had silenced her.
“Bang!”
The door burst open from within, and Yan Jinsha spotted the Crown Prince standing gracefully under the moonlight.
In the depths of extreme fear, encountering someone she trusted and leaned upon gave her an inexplicable sense of reliance and confidence.
Yan Jinsha clutched her torn clothes, stumbling out and collapsing at Noble Consort’s feet. “Your Highness, save me!”
She had killed someone. Without the Crown Prince’s protection, she would soon be discovered, and then… her family’s name would remain unredeemed, and she would die.
Absolutely not!
Tears streamed down the girl’s face as her delicate, disheveled appearance evoked both pity and an almost bewitching allure.
Noble Consort showed no emotion. He gently but firmly pulled his hem from her grasp, shaking it clean before discarding it. “If you wish for my help, prove to me what you can offer in return. Tears won’t sway me. I need to see whether you are worthy of my assistance.”
Yan Jinsha’s tears halted abruptly. She lifted her garment to cover her shoulders and chest.
“Your Highness, haven’t you already seen my worth?”
If she had truly been defiled by the guard, the Crown Prince would have turned and left. But since she emerged and he remained, it signified that he had acknowledged her abilities.
Otherwise, he would have departed without hesitation.
Not entirely foolish, she didn’t try to manipulate him further.
Noble Consort smiled, his gaze shifting to the unconscious maid on the ground. “She instigated this plot against you and intended to gather a crowd to accuse you publicly. Now she’s unconscious. How you deal with her… that choice is yours.”
Yan Jinsha gazed with deep loathing, her lips nearly bleeding from biting down so hard. Finally, she took a deep breath. “Your Highness, I beseech your assistance.”
The first rays of morning sunlight bathed the palace as a terrified scream emanated from a small courtyard within the Internal Affairs Department.
“Ahhhhh… someone’s dead!”
“What’s going on?”
The deputy manager of the Internal Affairs Department exclaimed in shock, pushing through the crowd. “Dan’er! How… how did this happen?”
Chen Dan'er, the goddaughter of Yang Xin, the deputy manager of the Internal Affairs Department, like Yan Jinsha, had her own private room.
But now, Chen Dan'er was disheveled, huddled in the corner of her bed, while a guard, already lifeless, lay atop it.
It seemed the guard had attempted to rape Chen Dan'er but was killed in the process with a wooden pillow.
“It’s not me… it’s not me…”
She only remembered suddenly blacking out the previous night and awaking to this horrifying scene.
“Yan Jinsha… it was Yan Jinsha’s doing. It must have been!”
The guard had clearly entered Yan Jinsha’s room, and the two had engaged in a dispute. How could he suddenly appear in her room, in such a state?
“Were you looking for me?”
Yan Jinsha, with a swollen face, appeared. “Yesterday, you ordered me to wash all the clothes in the Internal Affairs Department. I worked until midnight, so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open, and accidentally ran into the pillar in front of Sister Hongliu’s door. My face swelled from the impact. Sister Hongliu treated my injury, and I slept in her room that night.”
“You accuse me of this, but where’s your evidence? I have an alibi; do you have proof I was ever present?”
Planning such a scheme, how could Chen Dan'er involve a second person?
Her eyes brimmed with hatred as she glared at Yan Jinsha. She wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.
Sister Hongliu furrowed her brows, glancing at Chen Dan'er and then the guard sprawled on the floor. “Dan’er, is this guard… surnamed Wang? I seem to recall seeing you conversing with him.”
Yan Jinsha had no allies in the Internal Affairs Department. Even the dogs shied away from her, fearing they might be roasted and eaten by Chen Dan'er. How could she have any friendly relations with a guard?
The surrounding palace maids began whispering amongst themselves. “Could this guard be Chen Dan'er’s lover?”
“If so, why did she kill him?”
“Chen Dan'er is Yang Xin’s goddaughter. She’s always acted arrogantly because of that connection. Maybe the guard had poor skills in bed and provoked her anger.”
Laughter spread as Chen Dan'er covered her ears and screamed. “It wasn’t me! Get out, all of you, get out!”
“Whether you order them out, you can’t decide that.” Manager Zhang, bent with age, waved his hand. “Take her away.”
Officials from the Investigative Bureau surged in, dragging the screaming Chen Dan'er out.
The incident had caught the attention of the Investigative Bureau, and Yang Xin could only watch in helpless frustration. Manager Zhang might be on his deathbed, but he hadn’t died yet.
Officially, Manager Zhang remained the head of the Internal Affairs Department, and Yang Xin couldn’t defy him by keeping Chen Dan'er.
“Fine, you win this round!”
Yang Xin shoved past Yan Jinsha and stormed off in fury.
He had to find a way to save his goddaughter, or else people would think he couldn’t outmaneuver the old man. Where would he be left standing then?
