MCSCPM -Chapter 38 Proving Her Innocence

Nangong Lin frowned, his face full of disbelief. “Xiao’er, is this the unchaste woman you spoke of?”

Nangong Xiao relaxed his brows and smiled faintly, looking calm and unconcerned. “That’s right.”

“Imperial Brother, you didn’t just find some random woman to make up the numbers, did you?” Nangong Chen’s brows knotted tightly. To say this woman was unchaste—he himself found it hard to believe, let alone Nangong Lin.

“Third Brother, are you implying that I deliberately deceived Father Emperor?” Nangong Xiao’s expression instantly turned cold.

His face darkened as he shot Nangong Chen a frosty glance. “Third Brother personally claimed that the unchaste woman was the ugly girl Yin Qingyue. Now I’ve brought her here, yet you no longer believe it. I truly don’t understand what Third Brother is thinking—do you really believe I would do such a thing? Would I commit the grave crime of deceiving the emperor, of betraying both father and sovereign, just for the sake of a woman?”

Left with no choice, Nangong Chen turned toward Yin Qingyue instead. “You ugly girl, ugly to such an extent—being allowed into the Falling Dust Courtyard is already a blessing from your ancestors. Not only are you ungrateful, you even dared to seduce a guard. This is simply outrageous!”

Before Nangong Lin could react to Nangong Chen’s words, Yin Qingyue smiled lightly. “Since Third Prince knows that Qingyue is ugly beyond bearing, Your Highness should understand that today’s matter was deliberately orchestrated by someone with ulterior motives. They intended to anger the gods through such means, thereby bringing heavenly punishment upon Xize.”

After saying this, without giving Nangong Chen any chance to retort, she turned to Nangong Lin, dropped to her knees, and kowtowed. “Qingyue was originally the daughter of a merchant. To be able to enter the Falling Dust Courtyard and pray for Xize is already an immense blessing to me—how could I possibly commit any unchaste act? The so-called impurity is nothing more than a scheme deliberately set up by someone else. Since Qingyue entered the Falling Dust Courtyard, I have already placed life and death aside. Though my death would be of little consequence, this matter concerns the very lifeline of Xize. Your Majesty must not be careless!”

Seeing that Nangong Lin was clearly moved by her words, Yin Qingyue smiled slightly, a faint, shadow flickering in her eyes. “If sacrificing myself can benefit Xize, Qingyue is willing to die. And since a subject must die if the sovereign commands it, should Your Majesty give the order, Qingyue would face death with generosity.”

Hearing this, Nangong Lin’s impression of the ugly young girl changed somewhat. He had not expected that though she was unattractive, she was well-read, reasonable, and understood the greater picture. A woman chosen by Heaven was indeed extraordinary!

At this point, Yin Qingyue suddenly changed her tone. “But if Qingyue were to die unjustly, and Heaven were to punish Xize as a result, what then? Qingyue cares deeply for our dynasty and truly cannot accept such a death! The ancients said: all men must die—some deaths are heavier than Mount Tai, others lighter than a feather. Qingyue would rather sacrifice herself for Xize than die wronged, causing turmoil in the realm and instability in the state!”

Nangong Chen widened his eyes. If Yin Qingyue were not the woman he was determined to kill, just based on this speech alone, he would have wanted to praise her properly!

Every word she spoke deliberately lowered herself, claiming not to care about life or death, yet constantly tying her own fate to the fate of Xize. This made Nangong Lin lower his guard while simultaneously forcing him to take her life seriously.

Her words carried such power—it was practically bewitching!

Nangong Chen looked at Yin Qingyue with a complicated expression. This woman was certainly not simple. Ugly as she was, she could still make Nangong Xiao protect her so firmly, and now she had delivered such a speech.

Who exactly was this ugly girl?

After pondering for a moment, Nangong Chen let it go. Why waste effort on her? After the body inspection, this ugly girl would not survive anyway!

Thinking this, Nangong Chen smiled darkly. “No matter how well you speak, it’s still only one side of the story. Since you keep insisting someone is trying to frame you, do you dare submit to a body inspection?”

Yin Qingyue smiled and turned her gaze toward him. “Your Highness is mistaken. Qingyue is but a small woman—what is there worth harming me for? What I fear is someone using Qingyue’s matter to plot against Xize. As for the inspection, I conduct myself uprightly and have nothing to fear.”

“Enough. In that case, hurry and proceed with the inspection!” Nangong Lin coughed and waved his hand. Eunuch Li, who was attending him, immediately presented a bowl of snow-pear soup. Nangong Lin took a sip, his expression finally easing.

At this moment, two elderly matrons stepped forward to escort Yin Qingyue to the dark chamber for inspection. Yin Qingyue stood up but did not follow them. Instead, she stopped and looked at Nangong Lin.

She gently rolled up her sleeve, revealing her fair, lotus-like arm. Against her delicate skin, a single dot of vermilion stood out glaringly.

The guardian virgin mark!

Everyone in the hall was shocked. Nangong Xiao glanced indifferently at Nangong Chen, a hint of satisfaction flashing between his brows.

In order to curry favor with Nangong Lin, Nangong Chen had believed only Zhao Nanny’s one-sided account and reported it without any investigation. Now that such a farce had unfolded, Nangong Xiao was curious to see how Nangong Chen would clean up this mess!

Nangong Chen’s face went pale. He stared at that dot of vermilion as if he had seen a ghost, as though it were a spark burning his eyes with pain!

Yin Qingyue lowered her sleeve and smiled at Nangong Lin. “Qingyue has already proven her innocence to Your Majesty in advance. If the inspection results later do not match the truth, I ask that Your Majesty uphold justice for Qingyue.”

Now the two matrons were put in a difficult position. According to the Third Prince’s instructions, regardless of the inspection result, they were supposed to declare this ugly girl unchaste. But after Yin Qingyue’s move, it was no longer easy to act.

If they claimed she was unchaste, the guardian mark was plainly visible—His Majesty would certainly know they were lying. But if they said she was still a virgin, they would be disobeying the Third Prince’s orders.

Among the two, Nanny Wang was more experienced. She tilted her head and shot Nanny Wu a sharp look, making a swift hand gesture.

Nanny Wu immediately understood—Nanny Wang meant to ruin Yin Qingyue during the inspection and make the charge of impurity irrefutable. At that point, they could simply claim the guardian mark had been forged!

Nanny Wang smiled slightly at Yin Qingyue. “Miss, please follow this old servant.”

Yin Qingyue curled her lips. She wanted to see exactly what these two old women planned to do to her.

Nanny Wang led Yin Qingyue into the dark chamber, instructed her to remove her skirt and lie on the couch, then turned back to fetch the inspection tools.

As she prepared slowly, she gave Nanny Wu a meaningful look.

Nanny Wu nodded, smiling smugly and inscrutably.

The two quickly turned around and moved toward Yin Qingyue by the bed.

Yin Qingyue, who had been resting with her eyes closed, sensed that something was wrong and opened her eyes. What she saw shocked her, and her eyes widened involuntarily.

Everyone in the main hall waited anxiously, though each looked different. Nangong Lin was simply anxious, coughing from time to time and sipping his snow-pear soup. Nangong Xiao was anxious yet calm. Nangong Chen, however, was restless, unable to sit still.

Amid this tense atmosphere, an elderly matron calmly walked out of the dark chamber. She went to the center of the hall, knelt down, and kowtowed. “Reporting to Your Majesty, the inspection results are out.”

Nangong Lin slammed the table and stood up. “What is the result? Speak quickly!”

The gazes of both Nangong Xiao and Nangong Chen converged on the matron, making her the focus of the entire hall.

Nangong Chen frowned, sensing that something was not quite right, though he could not pinpoint what.

The matron smiled faintly, raised her head, and said unhurriedly, “In reply to Your Majesty, that Miss Yin is still a virgin.”

“What!?” In shock, Nangong Chen jumped up from his chair and finally realized what was wrong.

He strode forward and grabbed the matron, demanding fiercely, “Who are you? Where are Nanny Wang and Nanny Wu who performed the inspection?”

“Chen’er, let go!” Nangong Lin coughed and scolded him.

“This is an old matron who once served by your imperial grandmother’s side. After your grandmother passed away, she has long lived in the Buddhist hall praying for the Empress Dowager. She is a virtuous elder blessed with long life. You must not be rude to her!”

Hearing this, Nangong Chen could only suppress his doubts. Unwillingly, he released his grip and returned to his seat.

Nangong Lin also frowned and looked at the matron with confusion. “Nanny, why have you come here at this time?”

Nanny Lai narrowed her eyes with a smile. “This old servant has long resided in the Buddhist hall and knows little of worldly affairs. Today, on a whim, I went to pay respects to the Empress, and heard her mention that Your Majesty has not been in good health lately. I thought to come see Your Majesty. I did not expect that I would arrive at such a fortuitous moment.”

Nangong Lin nodded and smiled. “Nanny is thoughtful. You pray daily for the Empress Dowager and still worry about my health—truly a person of virtue!”

Nanny Lai smiled, her face wrinkling as she revealed somewhat missing teeth. “Your Majesty overpraises me. This is all what this old servant should do.”

“But how did Nanny Lai come to be involved in the body inspection?” Nangong Chen asked coldly, his sharp gaze fixed on her frail figure.

Nanny Lai smiled again. “It was simply a matter of good timing. When this old servant came to pay respects just now, I happened to see the two matrons preparing to inspect that young lady. Your Majesty knows that I once oversaw the verification of palace maidens entering the harem, so I have some experience with this task. I thought to go over and offer some guidance.”

As she spoke, Nanny Lai shook her head in disapproval. “Speaking of it, those two matrons were still too young, their hands lacking precision. Their movements—tsk, tsk.”

She clicked her tongue and frowned. “With that level of force—those who know might say it was an inspection; those who don’t might think it was private punishment. Watching in private, I feared that if they continued like that, the girl’s innocence would have been ruined by those two!”

At this point, Nangong Chen understood everything. This Nanny Lai had clearly been invited by someone to deliberately sabotage his plan! Thinking of this, the smile on his face grew increasingly sinister, his hands clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

So, Empress… All because he had taken a single night of pleasure from her, she had laid such a massive trap for him?

He would remember this debt well.