Xiao Li followed the eunuch to the Empress Dowager's Changchun Palace, where the room was already filled with people dressed in luxurious attire. The leading figure exuded immense dignity.
Having watched countless palace intrigue dramas, this scene couldn't intimidate her.
After glancing at the extravagantly decorated palace, she noticed everyone's faces darken the moment they saw her.
A triple interrogation.
The Emperor and Empress Dowager sat solemnly at the head, while the familiar faces on the left and right sides watched intently.
Before Xiao Li could carefully distinguish them, she spotted Lu Yanzhi with bandages wrapped around his head, his face pale and ghastly.
Among the crowd of lavishly dressed nobles, his white bandages stood out conspicuously. His face appeared even more handsome in daylight, especially with this pitiful, injured look—more attractive than ever.
Lu Yanzhi had never suffered such humiliation in his life. His usually aloof and indifferent expression instantly cracked: "I—"
"Imperial son-in-law, do you dare tell them what happened last night?"
"Empress Dowager, Emperor Brother."
They feared she might say something even more shocking.
"Xuan Yang!" Lu Yanzhi stood up in rage, his eyes no longer holding their usual detached indifference but filled with murderous intent.
Xiao Li laughed recklessly, her expression turning cold: "If you won't say it, I will! How dare you come to the palace to complain? I should be the one filing grievances!"
Lu Yanzhi maintained his aloof indifference, not even deigning to glance at her.
With that, she abruptly pushed up her sleeve: "Imperial son-in-law Lu Yanzhi is impotent! I want to divorce my husband!" While everyone was still stunned by Xiao Li's frenzied state, she dropped this bombshell, throwing the entire room into chaos.
Before Xiao Li could finish her ceremonial greetings, the Empress Dowager immediately lashed out: "Why did you attack the imperial son-in-law? And beat everyone? Where are your manners and upbringing? Is this how I taught you?"
"Taking it seriously?" Her tone shifted as she turned to Lord Lu: "Does Lord Lu know why this princess beat him?"
The Empress Dowager frowned and scolded angrily: "I'm asking you a question! Do you still hold any respect for me?"
"Yes, I hit you, but I won't apologize. I only regret not beating you to death last night!"
Despite his anxious sweating, all eyes shifted from shock to thoughtful contemplation, then sudden realization.
Looking at the Emperor, he wore bright yellow dragon robes—luxurious and noble but lacking dominance. Instead, he carried a scholarly demeanor, like a refined scholar, with narrow eyes that hinted at calculation.
Xiao Li had no feelings for Lu Yanzhi. Her words were delivered flatly without fluctuation, but those present had previously witnessed Princess Xuan Yang's fawning affection toward him. Now, her cold and sarcastic demeanor perfectly portrayed someone with a heart turned to ashes.
Without waiting for Lord Lu's response, she turned her sharp gaze to Lu Yanzhi.
The final word carried maximum destructive impact.
Xiao Li's icy voice rang out, instantly drawing all eyes to her as she slowly raised her head. She was actually smiling, but the smile was cold and deeply mocking.
Xiao Li felt extremely satisfied seeing this scene—someone had completely lost their composure.
"Guards, guards! Drag her away for me!"
Shougongsha! Proof of virginity.
She gazed in Lu Yanzhi's direction, calm and cold, each word piercing like a dagger: "No matter how inadequate I may be, I am still a dignified princess, of royal blood. After marrying me, you showed neither care nor concern. I exhausted myself trying to please you, yet for three years you maintained the same cold indifference—leaving early, returning late, wishing you never had to lay eyes on me."
Xiao Li glanced in Lu Yanzhi's direction twice, her expression a mix of confusion and mockery. "Lu Yanzhi, how dare you come to the palace to complain?"
If it didn't require seriousness, why bring it before the Emperor? Now you're pretending to be the reasonable one? Hypocrite.
Three years without consummating the marriage—that means impotence.
"I gave you my sincere heart, tolerated you, tried to please you, foolishly hoping to warm that cold heart of yours. Three years—even a stone would have shown some warmth by now. And here I was thinking I wasn't good enough, when you were just useless all along. And you still have the nerve to look down on me? Ha!"
"Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, let this matter rest here. The Princess likely didn't mean it intentionally. Matters between husband and wife shouldn't be taken so seriously—let them resolve it themselves. The injuries Yanzhi suffered are merely superficial; he'll recover in a few days." Exactly.
"Then what does Emperor Brother intend to do? Kill me?"
As Xiao Li's scornful voice faded, the entire hall fell into dead silence, so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
"Preposterous!" The Empress Dowager was the first to snap out of it, roaring angrily: "Xuan Yang, have you no sense of shame at all?"
Xiao Li withdrew her scrutinizing gaze and stepped forward gracefully.
Seeing this, a middle-aged man beside Lu Yanzhi stood up.
"I—" Lu Yanzhi rarely felt the need to defend himself, but now he tried: "I merely haven't consummated the marriage with the Princess, that's all. I'm not—"
Sure enough, they curse without even asking for the full story. So effortless.
Vice Minister Lu nearly stumbled.
Lu Yanzhi pressed his pale lips tightly together. He had indeed made a mistake last night, one that couldn't be revealed to the public. But wasn't Zhang Jing already dead? What was the Princess still making a fuss about? "Princess, you—"
His claim of not taking it seriously was mere humility—could the Emperor actually agree to it?
Xiao Li didn't resist being pulled along, but she wasn't about to let it go either.
This was the downside of being too aloof—usually silent, and now, even with a mouth, it was useless when it counted.
Xiao Li rose to her feet and looked at the Empress Dowager, who had been a shadow over her original self. Powerful, prestigious, and noble, the Empress Dowager was just over forty—not old—but her eyes were too sharp, her expression too unpleasant.
Xiao Li glanced at him, paused for a moment in silence, and recognized him: Lu Yanzhi's father. Lu Yanzhi's grandfather was the Chief Grand Secretary, head of the civil officials as the Minister of Personnel, and his father was no less, serving as Vice Minister of Rites.
How could he be impotent? He was perfectly healthy! But the section of Xiao Li's arm she revealed was as white as jade, her skin fairer than snow, and the bright red dot on it was strikingly conspicuous.
To accuse him of impotence—it was utterly insulting, downright disgraceful.
Though she disliked them, the power of life and death these two held was something she couldn't challenge for now.
Fine, she would endure it a little longer.
On the side, the brocade-robed youth Prince Wei spat out his tea in shock, utterly stunned: "Royal Sister, what are you saying?"
The Emperor immediately showed a face full of fury: "Lu Aiqing, you are truly magnanimous, but Xuan Yang's behavior is despicable. This matter cannot be let off so easily."
Lu Yanzhi and the Princess had been married for three years, yet the Princess's Shougongsha remained… No man could endure such humiliation, especially not in front of everyone.
She turned around, righteous and stern: "I accuse the Lu family of deceiving the throne, arranging for a physically incomplete man to marry the Princess."
Xiao Li's stunt left the Empress Dowager both shocked and furious, infuriated beyond measure.
Impotent, of course they couldn't consummate the marriage.
Poor Lu Yanzhi, a man of immense learning and extraordinary talent, had simply never learned how to defend himself against such slander.
Yet when his gaze fell upon that striking dot of crimson, his hand involuntarily rose to cover his mouth. He then cast a suspicious glance at Lu Yanzhi before lowering his eyes. Almost everyone present unconsciously mirrored Prince Wei’s actions.
"You don’t dare say it, do you!"
Of course not.
The Lu family was the largest lineage of civil officials, with over twenty members serving in court. This was precisely why the Emperor both feared and sought to win them over, treating them with a degree of reverence.
Lu Yanzhi’s persona was one of aloofness and purity, detached from worldly affairs. From beginning to end, he remained devoted to the female lead, preserving his chastity even when he knew a future with her was impossible—never having been with a woman in his lifetime.
Chastity was admirable, but wasn’t obscurity pitiable? How could she, his "deeply loving" wife, bear to let his sacrifices go unnoticed? Now, everyone knew their relationship was pure and would remain "untainted" forever.
She truly was a great benefactor.