SBCEJM -Chapter 40 The Emperor and Empress Intend to Bestow the Third Princess in Marriage to Feng Zexuan!

In an instant, the entire garden fell deathly silent.

Every guest present, male or female, was completely stunned.

The wind swept past, stirring Feng Zexuan’s azure robes and lifting the loose strands of hair falling from the beauty in her arms.

Xiao Mingyue leaned against “his” firm and warm chest, her nose filled with the crisp, pleasant scent of soapberry.

Through the layers of clothing, she could hear the steady and powerful heartbeat.

Thump. Thump.

Each beat struck directly against her heart.

She raised her head and met a pair of bright eyes.

That incomparably handsome face was so close that she forgot everything around her.

Her heart pounded wildly.

Meanwhile, behind the artificial rock formation, Lin Yu stood frozen in place, his upper body half-naked and posed as though preparing to jump into the water.

The sinister grin on his face had not yet faded, making him look both ridiculous and horrifying.

For a moment, every gaze was locked onto Feng Zexuan and the Third Princess in her arms.

Admiration. Envy. Jealousy. Shock…

All kinds of emotions intertwined together, yet not a single person dared to speak.

No one wanted to break this overwhelmingly impactful scene.

Feng Zexuan lowered her head to look at the beauty in her arms.

Those watery phoenix eyes were veiled with a thin mist, so delicate and pitiful that one’s heart softened at the sight.

For some reason, her heartbeat skipped half a beat.

【Oh no, oh no! In broad daylight, I actually hugged the princess! I won’t be treated like some shameless rogue and beheaded, right?!】

【But… the princess is really soft and smells so nice… Bah! What kind of shameless nonsense am I even thinking?!】

Upon hearing these thoughts—

Xiao Mingyue’s face instantly flushed red, the heat rushing all the way to her ears.

She bit her lower lip lightly, and the emotion in her eyes shifted from panic to an indescribable bashfulness.

Feng Zexuan helped Xiao Mingyue steady herself before quickly retreating half a step to create distance.

Every movement was restrained and proper, as though the person with wandering thoughts just now had not been her at all.

“Third Princess, are you alright?”

Xiao Mingyue shook her head, yet her gaze never left Feng Zexuan’s face.

At that moment—

Two figures emerged from a pavilion draped with gauze ahead.

The leading man wore a bright yellow dragon robe and carried an imposing aura. It was none other than Emperor Xiao Juechen.

Beside him stood the graceful and elegant Empress Liu Mengli, her phoenix eyes carrying a faint smile.

“This subject, Feng Zekai, greets Your Majesty and greets Your Highness the Empress!”

Feng Zexuan hurriedly bowed.

Xiao Mingyue also quickly composed herself and curtsied.

“Your daughter greets Father Emperor and Mother Empress.”

The emperor waved a hand.

“You may rise.”

Empress Liu Mengli raised a brow, the corners of her lips curling with interest.

In a voice only the emperor could hear, she said:

“Your Majesty, it seems our Yue’er has already chosen her own prince consort.”

Xiao Juechen neither confirmed nor denied it. His deep gaze settled upon Feng Zexuan.

Feng Zexuan stepped forward and declared loudly:

“Your Majesty! The Third Princess did not accidentally fall into the water just now—someone deliberately plotted against her!”

Although the emperor already knew the truth, his expression still darkened sharply as he barked:

“Who dares to be so bold?!”

Feng Zexuan replied:

“This subject personally saw a young eunuch staggering toward the princess and deliberately crashing into her.

“This was absolutely no accident. Someone must have bribed him to intentionally push the princess into the water!”

The moment her words fell, her figure flashed.

She leapt behind the rock formation, followed immediately by a shrill scream.

In the next second, Feng Zexuan emerged gripping half-naked Lin Yu in one hand like a dead dog before heavily throwing him at the emperor’s feet.

Bang!

Lin Yu crashed to the ground, dizzy and utterly disheveled.

“Isn’t that the heir of the Annan Marquis Manor?”

“Heavens, why was he hiding half-naked behind the rocks?!”

The whispers of the crowd pierced Lin Yu like needles.

Others, having heard Feng Zexuan’s inner thoughts, looked at Lin Yu with undisguised contempt.

A chilling aura spread from Xiao Juechen as he coldly demanded:

“Lin Yu, do you know your crime?”

Lin Yu struggled to climb up and defended himself fiercely despite his fear.

“Your Majesty! You misunderstand! I saw the princess fall and, in my panic, removed my outer robe to prepare to jump in and save her!”

【Pah! Still trying to argue!】 Feng Zexuan sneered inwardly.

“Your Majesty, this subject requests a thorough investigation into this matter. If I am correct, there must have been an insider cooperating with him!” Feng Zexuan cupped her hands.

Xiao Juechen nodded and signaled the commander of the imperial guards.

Not long after, the guards dragged over a trembling young eunuch.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, this person was acting suspiciously and attempting to flee. We also found five hundred taels worth of banknotes on him!”

The moment the young eunuch saw Lin Yu, his soul nearly left his body. He desperately kowtowed to the emperor.

“Spare me, Your Majesty! It was Young Master Lin! He gave this servant five hundred taels to push the Third Princess into the water!”

With both witness testimony and physical evidence present, the truth was fully revealed.

Lin Yu’s face turned deathly pale, devoid even of blood in his lips.

His entire body went limp, and only one thought remained in his mind—

He was finished.

Feng Zexuan stepped forward once more, her clear voice striking like blades.

“Your Majesty, Lin Yu’s crimes are numerous! As far as this subject knows, he once abused and killed three concubines and forcibly violated more than a dozen innocent women!”

“He even secretly established underground dungeons outside the city, imprisoning innocent people with methods cruel beyond measure!”

“A scum like this actually dared covet a royal princess. His crimes deserve nothing less than death! I implore Your Majesty to punish him severely!”

The entire venue erupted in shock.

“Beast!” someone could not help cursing aloud.

Xiao Juechen looked at Lin Yu on the ground, his eyes icy to the extreme.

“Drag him away.”

Two guards stepped forward and hauled up Lin Yu, who resembled a puddle of mud.

Despair completely swallowed him whole.

He knew he was doomed to die.

Not long ago, his father had already planned to strip him of his heir position in favor of a favored illegitimate son.

Now, in order to protect the Annan Marquis Manor, sacrificing him—the legitimate eldest son—was inevitable.

And that bastard younger brother of his would surely inherit everything with a smile.

Why?

Why was he the only one who had to die?!

If he was going to die, then everyone could go to hell together!

A wave of frenzied hatred surged within him. Lin Yu suddenly struggled violently and burst into sharp, crazed laughter.

“Hahahaha… Killing me? What’s the use of killing just me?!”

He abruptly turned his head, bloodshot eyes glaring fixedly at Xiao Juechen.

“Dog Emperor! You probably don’t know this, do you? My dear father, Annan Marquis Lin Jianye—”

He hesitated briefly before deciding to completely smash the pot.

“He colluded with border general Wang Hu to illegally sell military weapons from the imperial court! He embezzled military funds and stuffed his own pockets!”

Xiao Juechen’s expression changed in shock.

“What did you say?” he asked coldly.

“Heh, if you don’t believe me, then investigate it yourself!” Lin Yu shouted impatiently.

“There’s a hidden tunnel in his study leading directly to the abandoned courtyard next door. The place is piled full of mountains of gold and silver!”

“Oh right, and my dear younger brother, Lin Feng!”

“That bastard secretly runs gambling dens in the western hills outside the capital. He lends usury money and has driven countless innocent people to death. Just last month, he forced a carpenter who borrowed only five taels to commit suicide!”

As though suddenly recalling something, Lin Yu laughed even more hysterically.

“No one gets to live! All of you will be buried with me! Hahahaha!”

The crowd collectively sucked in a breath of cold air.

Even at death’s door, this man still wanted to drag others down with him. His malice had reached an unimaginable level.

Xiao Juechen’s face darkened like still water.

Selling military weapons.

Those four words had touched his reverse scale.

【Holy crap! Is this gossip real? System, hurry and check!】 Feng Zexuan screamed inwardly.

【Reporting to Host, it’s absolutely true!】 the system replied firmly.

【All transaction records between Annan Marquis and Wang Hu are recorded in account books hidden inside the secret chamber of the neighboring courtyard!】

【Lin Feng’s gambling den is backed by the Annan Marquis Manor. The local authorities don’t even dare interfere!】

Xiao Juechen heard Feng Zexuan’s thoughts.

Killing intent surged within his deep eyes.

He exchanged a glance with the empress, and both saw towering fury reflected in each other’s gaze.

“Men,” the emperor’s voice was cold enough to freeze the air.

“Immediately raid the Annan Marquis Manor! Throw the entire Lin clan into the imperial prison and interrogate them thoroughly!”

“As for the gambling den in the western hills outside the capital—wipe it out as well! Arrest every person involved on the spot!”

“As you command!”

The guards dragged away the still-laughing Lin Yu.

Under the emperor’s thunderous decree, the farce ended with the destruction of a century-old marquis household.