Chang Momo immediately cried out in shock: “Your Highness! It’s the daughter of Second Master Shen, Shen Qingxi!”
“What?!” The Grand Princess’s brows instantly furrowed. The surrounding crowd erupted in gasps of surprise.
Seeing the truth exposed, Shen Mingxi’s legs gave way, and she fell to her knees with a “thump,” her entire body trembling like a sieve. She clutched the hem of her magnificent wedding dress tightly, and in her panic, instinctively cast a pleading look toward the Fourth Prince.
Though inwardly roiling with shock, the Fourth Prince feigned even greater astonishment than the onlookers. He stepped forward quickly and bowed deeply to the Grand Princess, his tone urgent and innocent:
“Aunt! How… how could the bride have become Shen Qingxi? Your nephew knows nothing about this! This is utterly absurd! I beg Aunt to uphold justice for me and investigate this matter strictly!” With a few words, he cleanly absolved himself of any involvement.
A cold sneer flickered in Shen Qingwu’s heart. Had her dreams not revealed the truth, she might have been fooled by the Fourth Prince’s act.
Shen Qingxi opened her mouth in disbelief, staring at the Fourth Prince who was so eager to distance himself. Overwhelming grievance and crushing fear intertwined, leaving her suffocated and unable to utter a single word.
“Your Highness, please see the truth!” Shen Wushi suddenly let out a piercing wail, scrambling forward on her hands and knees, successfully drawing everyone’s attention. “Your Highness! This subject… this subject’s actions were born of desperation, all for the sake of preserving the dignity of the Marquis Estate and the royal family!”
She beat her chest, tears and mucus streaming down her face: “The people we sent to fetch Qingwu reported finding only her empty carriage in the remote wilderness, surrounded by signs of struggle and bloodstains, but no trace of her! We searched for days but couldn’t find her, and assumed she had met with misfortune.”
Shen Wushi sobbed uncontrollably, pausing to catch her breath before continuing: “With the wedding date approaching and no one to present, we had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure, having Xi’er take her place!” After speaking, she kowtowed repeatedly, her forehead hitting the ground with loud thuds.
Her words were a mix of truth and falsehood—they had indeed sent people to search when the assassins failed to report back, but the result was that Shen Qingwu had vanished into thin air.
If only she had disappeared completely, instead of returning today to ruin their plans!
Shen Wencong immediately chimed in, putting on a show of heartbroken distress: “Your Highness, it has been so many years since I last saw Qingwu. In the urgency of the moment, this subject failed to recognize my true niece. I am guilty! I have wronged my elder brother’s spirit in heaven!”
He then turned to Shen Qingwu, his face plastered with false affection: “Qingwu, your safe return… your uncle is overjoyed! You’ve suffered greatly on your journey.”
“Rest assured, now that you’re back, even though Xi’er and the Fourth Prince have already performed the wedding rites, the marriage contract rightfully belongs to you! Your uncle will ensure you have a glorious wedding!”
Watching his hypocritical performance, Shen Qingwu’s mind flashed to the deranged expression he wore in her dreams as he shattered her bones with a hammer, making her stomach churn with nausea.
Marry after the wedding rites had already been performed? Wouldn’t that make her a laughingstock?
Shen Wencong immediately ordered: “Quickly take the Eldest Miss and Second Miss to change their clothes.”
The previously terrified Shen Qingxi, upon hearing this, tightened her grip on her wedding dress resentfully and shot a hateful glare at Shen Qingwu.
Shen Qingwu, meanwhile, retreated two steps like a frightened rabbit, hiding behind the Grand Princess.
The Grand Princess raised her hand to shield Shen Qingwu, finding the situation utterly absurd: “How could anyone change brides in the middle of the ceremony?! What kind of spectacle is this?!”
She sternly rebuked: “Minister Shen, you’ve truly committed a foolish blunder! You must be punished!”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Shen Wencong hurriedly bowed his head, though inwardly he felt a slight relief—the Grand Princess had believed their story, so he would accept whatever punishment came his way.
The Grand Princess no longer paid him any mind, turning her gaze to Shen Qingwu behind her. Her tone instantly softened, filled with deep compassion: “Poor child, you’ve been wronged today. Do not fear, as long as I am here, I will see justice done for you. Tell me, how would you like them to be punished?”
Shen Qingwu stood with her head slightly bowed, her slender and frail frame erect like a lone pine in the snow, both proud and vulnerable.
Her voice, though gentle, carried clearly to everyone present: “Second Uncle and Aunt… may have had good intentions, acting for the dignity of the Marquis Estate.”
These words of self-sacrifice and understanding made the Grand Princess’s heart ache with sympathy.
Shen Wencong and his wife inwardly rejoiced.
However, Shen Qingwu suddenly knelt to the ground. Lifting her head, her red-rimmed eyes welled with tears, her voice trembling with suppressed grief and indignation:
“But! Your Highness! Shen Qingxi repeatedly invoked the names of my deceased father and brother to boast and show off, her words full of disrespect and exploitation! My father and brother lived with utmost loyalty, sacrificing their lives for the country! How can their heroic spirits be so defiled and insulted?!”
“This, Qingwu cannot tolerate!”
Mentioning her father and brother, each word seemed to weep blood, resounding with solemn weight.
The Grand Princess’s expression darkened instantly. She personally bent down to help Shen Qingwu up, tightly grasping her ice-cold hands.
The Grand Princess’s voice turned icy: “Your father and brother were pillars of the state, their heroic spirits eternal between heaven and earth. They cannot be allowed to be wantonly disgraced!”
Her cold gaze shot like an arrow toward the terrified Shen Qingxi:
“Shen Qingxi, you impersonated others and disgraced the deceased! I sentence you to three months of confinement in the ancestral hall. Each day, you shall kneel and recite the ‘Rebirth Sutra’ ten times, personally copy it one hundred times, and devoutly offer it before the spirits of Yongyi Hou and the two generals to repent your wrongs! If you dare step even half a foot out of the ancestral hall before the term is complete, you will be severely punished without leniency!”
Three months of confinement in the ancestral hall, with daily kneeling, recitation, and sutra copying, was both a physical and mental torment for the spoiled Shen Qingxi.
Seeing that her parents dared not plead for her and the Fourth Prince avoided her entirely, she grew even more distraught. Losing all restraint, she cried out recklessly: “Why?! Why punish me?! It was clearly you—”
Her venomous gaze suddenly fixed on Shen Qingwu: “It’s all because of you, you consumptive wretch! Why aren’t you dead—”
“Outrageous!”
“Silence!”
The furious rebukes of the Grand Princess and Shen Wencong rang out simultaneously.
Following their voices came a swift movement!
Shen Qingwu took a sudden step forward! Her tear-filled eyes now sharp as blades, she raised her hand—”Smack!” A crisp, resounding slap landed hard on Shen Qingxi’s face!
The force was so great that Shen Qingxi’s head jerked to the side, hairpins scattering, her bun coming undone, and her cheek instantly swelling red.
“Ah—!” Shen Qingxi let out a pig-like squeal, “How dare you hit me!”
“I hit you, so what?” Shen Qingwu’s voice was icy as she backhanded—”Smack!”—another slap!
“This slap is for your vile words, cursing your own flesh and blood!”
“Smack!”
“This slap is for your impersonation and deception of the court!”
“Smack!”
“This slap is for disgracing the deceased, showing neither loyalty nor filial piety!”
The entire hall fell into dead silence, everyone stunned by this sudden, ruthless strike.
Was… was this still the same sickly person from just moments ago?