Over the next few days, public opinion shifted once again!
Someone outside the city discovered a woman who looked remarkably similar to Princess Rui. Some people were even bold enough to take the woman directly to Prince Rui’s Residence to confirm it.
The moment Xie Jin saw her, his face changed drastically. He pointed at the woman, unable to utter a word for a long time.
Soon afterward, a new story began spreading throughout the capital.
The rumors about Princess Rui’s infidelity had all been part of a deliberate scheme to frame and disgrace her. In reality, the woman people had seen was merely someone who closely resembled Princess Rui.
Worse still, the woman responsible for ruining Princess Rui’s reputation had already entered Prince Rui’s Residence and was on the verge of replacing her!
Unable to endure Prince Rui’s neglect and mistreatment any longer, Princess Rui had sought help from both the emperor and the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager had even reprimanded Prince Rui over the matter.
But Prince Rui stubbornly refused to listen, insisting that he had witnessed Princess Rui’s infidelity with his own eyes.
Then came the incident at Yuling Mountain.
Left with no other choice, Princess Rui had finally sought help from the Ninth Imperial Uncle.
And since the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s own reputation had also been dragged through the mud, he naturally stepped in to help clear both their names!
In short, truth and lies had become thoroughly intertwined.
Yet many details could be supported by evidence, and when the two versions of events were compared, the newer rumors were far more convincing.
After all, the woman who resembled Princess Rui admitted that people had mistaken her for someone else before. She simply hadn’t paid much attention to it.
As for what had happened at Yuling Mountain, plenty of people had witnessed the incident firsthand.
Before long, the new story completely overwhelmed the previous rumors and turned the entire situation around.
Gradually, no one continued slandering Xiao Yu or the Ninth Imperial Uncle.
Instead, everyone began condemning Xie Jin.
He had been deceived without even realizing it!
He had refused to trust the woman who had grown up by his side since childhood and had even helped an outsider bully his own wife!
Heartless, ungrateful, unworthy of trust…
Whatever insults people could think of, they hurled them at him.
Some people even threw rotten eggs and spoiled vegetables at the gates of Prince Rui’s Residence. Whenever certain women passed by, they would deliberately spit on the ground in disgust.
It was a spectacular reversal!
When Yingxiu vividly recounted everything happening outside, Xiao Yu was left dumbfounded.
Every single incident, every carefully crafted rumor—had Gu Jiuci really come up with all of this?
What exactly was that man’s brain made of?
He had fought rumors with rumors!
Without drawing a single blade, he had used words to wound his enemies invisibly.
Only now did Xiao Yu truly understand just how terrifying rumors could be.
She had learned something valuable!
After recuperating for several days at the Ninth Prince’s Residence, Xiao Yu had more or less recovered.
All she needed to do now was regularly take the antidote Fufeng had prepared for her.
Gu Jiuci told her that it was finally time for her to take the stage.
Xie Jin had only one path left.
He had to personally come and ask for her forgiveness, then bring her back to Prince Rui’s Residence.
At that moment, Xie Jin had locked himself inside his study with a gloomy expression.
The room was a complete mess.
A vicious aura surrounded him—one that no outsider had ever seen before.
Perhaps this was his true nature.
Every single person around him was useless.
And in the end, he was always the one forced to endure the humiliation.
This was already the second time he had suffered defeat at the hands of the Ninth Imperial Uncle.
This time, however, Xie Jin had come up with a new plan.
After composing himself, he opened the door.
Outside the study, Jinniang was kneeling silently in plain clothes.
She had already been kneeling for two hours, and her body was beginning to sway from exhaustion.
When she saw him emerge, tears immediately streamed down her pale face before she could even speak.
She slammed her forehead against the ground with several heavy thuds.
“Get up. Go change your clothes and come with me to the Ninth Prince’s Residence.”
Jinniang raised her head.
She did not believe that she had escaped punishment just yet.
Going to bring Xiao Yu back would be the true test.
This time, Xie Jin had learned his lesson.
He brought his Secondary Consort, a large entourage of servants, and an entire carriage filled with gifts as he headed grandly toward the Ninth Prince’s Residence.
“He really came!”
Fufeng shook his folding fan while checking Xiao Yu’s pulse once again.
“Take one antidote pill a day. Continue for another month or so, and you should be completely fine. When you run out, I’ll have someone send more to you.”
“Your dear husband has come to take you home. This time, he’s certainly given you plenty of face. What happens next is up to you!”
Everyone had assumed that the Ninth Imperial Uncle would personally appear.
Unexpectedly, only his guard, Gu Mo, came out to receive the guests.
“Prince Rui, ever since His Highness was attacked, he has left the residence and moved elsewhere to avoid further suspicion. He remains grateful to Princess Rui for saving his life and therefore owes Prince Rui’s Residence a favor. Should Prince Rui ever require assistance in the future, His Highness will naturally repay that debt.”
The crowd gathered outside the residence immediately began whispering among themselves again.
Xie Jin showed no emotion on his face and merely nodded.
He knew perfectly well that the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s supposed absence was merely an excuse.
Whether Gu Jiuci was truly there or not depended entirely on what he chose to say.
Still, publicly acknowledging that he owed Xie Jin a favor was something Xie Jin had not expected.
When Xiao Yu finally emerged from the residence with her maids, Jinniang immediately stepped forward and dropped to her knees.
“Princess, everything that happened before was this servant’s fault. I mistook someone else for Your Highness and caused a misunderstanding between you and the prince. It was all my fault. Please punish me, Princess.”
Since the woman who resembled Xiao Yu had never claimed that anyone had instructed her to do anything, Jinniang’s admission seemed reasonable enough.
However, there were plenty of clever people among the spectators.
“So that’s her! Maybe that woman who looked like Princess Rui was actually acting under her orders!”
“She looks rather honest, though. Does she really seem like the kind of person who would do something like that?”
“You can’t judge a person by appearances. Haven’t you heard that before?”
“Look at what she’s wearing. She’s a Secondary Consort! No wonder Princess Rui was driven into such a desperate situation. Isn’t she the woman His Majesty made an exception to promote last time? With the emperor backing her, what could Princess Rui possibly dare to do to her?”
Put that way, it almost sounded as though the emperor himself was partly to blame.
Xiao Yu was just considering how she should respond when a sharp, high-pitched voice rang out from the distance.
“An imperial decree has arrived!”
The crowd immediately parted to make way.
The eunuch delivering the decree did not even dismount from his horse. Instead, he directly announced the emperor’s verbal decree.
“His Majesty’s verbal decree: Madam Zhao, Secondary Consort of Prince Rui’s Residence, was exceptionally promoted by Us. Now that it has become clear that her intentions are improper and her virtue is unworthy of her position, We hereby withdraw Our previous favor and leave her punishment to Princess Rui.”
It was obvious that the emperor had also come to salvage his reputation.
His meaning could not have been clearer:
Your family affairs are yours to handle. The emperor wants nothing more to do with them!
Xiao Yu secretly sneered.
Emperor An certainly knew how to change direction quickly.
“Thank you for making the trip, Eunuch.”
Xiao Yu gave him a courteous bow.
The eunuch glanced around and merely said, “There are still matters awaiting me at the palace.”
He then turned his horse around and left as quickly as he had arrived.
With Emperor An’s decree and Jinniang’s admission of guilt, a perfect path had been laid out for Xie Jin to save face.
He stepped forward and took Xiao Yu’s hand, his expression sincere and his words earnest.
“Yu’er, I misunderstood you before. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I’ve come to take you home. From now on, I promise I won’t blindly believe what other people say anymore! Come back with me, all right? Without you there, the entire residence has fallen into chaos!”
Xiao Yu suppressed the disgust rising within her.
She forced a smile onto her face, gently withdrew her hand, and took a step back before giving him a perfectly proper bow.
“I am unworthy of such words, Your Highness. I have never blamed you. I was merely injured these past few days and unable to move around freely. That day, I was carrying out a task on Your Highness’s behalf and happened to be standing beside the Ninth Imperial Uncle. When I saw the danger, I instinctively moved to save him. I only ask that Your Highness not blame me for acting without permission.”
“How could I possibly blame you?”
The two reached for each other’s hands again.
Back and forth they went, their words seemingly affectionate yet concealing sharp blades beneath every sentence.
They performed the role of a loving couple who had finally resolved their misunderstandings.
To everyone watching, they appeared deeply devoted to one another.
In reality, both knew exactly what the other was thinking.
Still kneeling on the ground, Jinniang listened to their insincere exchange and felt a chill run through her heart.
She had long since realized how deep the rift between them had become.
Their marriage had already reached this point.
How could they possibly return to the way things once were?
Life truly was a stage, and everything depended on acting.
“Secondary Consort Jin, you may rise. Considering the contributions you have made to Prince Rui’s Residence, I will punish you with one month of confinement. I hope you will not make the same mistake again.”
“Thank you, Princess. This servant accepts the punishment.”
Even Jinniang had not expected Xiao Yu to raise the matter so severely only to punish her so lightly.
Xie Jin was equally surprised.
But after thinking about it, he quickly understood.
When Xiao Yu said Jinniang had “made contributions to Prince Rui’s Residence,” she clearly meant something else.
Most likely, she was referring to Jinniang’s methods of making money.