freenovelworld Chapter 415 Framed
Chapter 415 Framed
"What are you doing? My young lady is quietly praying to Buddha; you cannot enter!"
Chun Tao is Guan Guan's personal maid, protecting her mistress.
A woman with bright eyes and white teeth, possessing an exceptionally beautiful appearance, urged in a low voice: "The Crown Prince is here, you must hide quickly."
Shen Yao immediately used the divine-level Qi Concealment Technique to hide her form.
Tu Xiaoxiao transformed into a mini white fox, jumped onto the roof beam, and hid in a corner.
The beautiful woman hurriedly knelt before the offering table, clasped her hands together, and made a gesture of sincere prayer.
"His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived..."
A hoarse voice drifted in through the carved wooden door, gradually turning the once quiet environment into a noisy one.
The house was completely surrounded, and several figures could be seen through the closed windows.
An old nanny's voice came from outside the door: "Your Highness, Miss Qin is inside."
A male voice came from behind, his tone gloating: "Tsk tsk, the wedding is imminent, yet the Crown Princess is committing filthy acts in the Buddhist hall under the guise of praying for blessings. Your Majesty, she must be severely punished."
"Granny Li, break down the door."
"Yes, ma'am." Upon receiving the instruction, Granny Li curtsied and prepared to storm the door.
The richly dressed man, wearing a golden crown, shouted, "Wait!"
Upon hearing this, Granny Li stopped what she was doing. The man who had been gloating earlier said, "Brother, are you trying to protect her? No matter how much you like Miss Qin, the royal family will not tolerate her behavior."
The Crown Prince suppressed his rage: "The matter is not yet clear, yet Ninth Brother is in such a hurry to convict my future Crown Princess. Could it be that he has some kind of conspiracy?"
The Ninth Prince smiled knowingly: "Look at what you're saying, Your Majesty. Whether there's a conspiracy or not, you'll know once you see it for yourself."
"Hmph, get out of here, I'll open the door myself." The Crown Prince stepped up the stairs, paused for a few breaths with his hand on the door, and finally made up his mind to push the door open forcefully.
The door was pushed open with a bang, and the light from outside shone in, instantly brightening the room.
Guan Guan was startled and stood up from the prayer mat, turning to look at the doorway.
"His Royal Highness."
Her voice was at least 80% husky, completely different from the mature, sophisticated tone she used when speaking to Shen Yao earlier.
Her brows furrowed slightly, her chin tucked in a little, and she stood before the offering table like a slender willow in the breeze, feigning a puzzled expression: "Why is Your Highness so angry?"
This time, however, Murong Xu did not soften his expression despite being captivated by her beauty. He simply ordered coldly, "Search!"
Two teams of guards rushed in and searched the house thoroughly, even looking behind the Buddha statue.
Guan Guan retreated in a panic, clutching the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand tightly: "Brother Xu, what happened?"
Murong Xu stared at her coldly, gritting his teeth and remaining silent.
The guards searched the room and then reported in formation, "Your Highness, there is no one in the room."
Murong Xu took two steps into the house and looked up at the roof: "Search the beams."
"Yes!" The guards flew up to the roof beams, leaving no corner of the roof unchecked.
A moment later, a guard shouted, "Southwest corner!"
Murong Xu's face twisted in pain as he strode up to Guan Guan and grabbed her by the neck, yelling, "You slut..."
Guan Guan pried his hands away, suppressing the urge to cough and vomit, sobbing softly, "Xu...Brother Xu... Waaah..."
Her eyebrows were beautifully arched, and glistening tears streamed down her cheeks, making her look pitiful and wronged.
"We've caught it!" A guard flew down carrying a small white fox and knelt beside the prince to present the fox: "Your Highness, there was no one on the beam, only this white fox."
Murong Xu glanced at the little white fox, then at the beauty whose tears were streaming down her face from being pinched.
He hurriedly let go and hugged Guan Guan tightly: "Guan Guan, I misunderstood you! Guards, bring the old woman who brought the news to me."
"How could this be!" The Ninth Prince, who was watching the show from the doorway, had a gloomy face: "Where is the adulterer? Qin Guanguan, where did you hide the adulterer?"
Guan Guan leaned softly against Murong Xu's shoulder, sobbing, "Waaah... Brother Xu... I don't know what His Highness Prince Xuan is talking about..."
"Don't be afraid." Murong Xu hugged her tightly and patted her back to comfort her, "I will stand up for you."
The guards brought over a fragrant chair for the Crown Prince to sit down. Murong Xu lifted his robe and sat down. Thinking of the beautiful woman beside him who had been wronged, he reached out and pulled Guan Guan into his arms, holding her on his lap.
Guan Guan's ears turned bright red, and she covered her face, feigning shyness: "Your Highness, this is against the rules."
Everyone in the room, except for the Ninth Prince, lowered their eyes and dared not look directly at him.
The beauty blushed, and Murong Xu felt even more heartache: "Here, I am the rule."
"Watch your tongues." He looked up and glanced at the crowd, wanting to kick Granny Li, but then thought it would dirty his shoes: "Interrogate."
"Yes, Your Highness." The eunuch with the hoarse voice, holding a whisk, stepped forward and kicked Granny Li on behalf of the Crown Prince: "You audacious servant! Who gave you the right to frame the future Crown Princess?"
Granny Li rose from her knees and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "This old servant dares not, this old servant dares not."
Her eyes darted left and right, and suddenly she saw the little white fox that the guard was holding. As if she had found a savior, she pointed at the little white fox and said, "It's it, Your Highness. This old servant heard some noise in the room and thought that Miss Qin had done something foolish. Now that I think about it, it must have been this fox that made the noise!"
"Your Highness, please spare my life! This old servant was only thinking of Your Highness!"
Tu Xiaoxiao glanced at her sideways with her fox-like eyes, quietly watching the old woman frame her.
"Thinking of me?" Murong Xu sneered, looking at the Ninth Prince: "Full of lies, riddled with loopholes. Ninth Brother, do you think this kind of treacherous servant can still be kept alive?"
Prince Xuan's gaze lingered on Guan Guan, the fourth legitimate daughter of the General of the State's mansion. She was indeed not as simple as she appeared. The lover he had arranged had vanished into thin air, his fate unknown.
Murong Xu lifted his outer robe to cover Guan Guan: "Where are your eyes looking, Ninth Brother? Could it be that your leg injury has just healed, and you don't want your eyes anymore?"
Prince Xuan withdrew his gaze and defiantly looked Murong Xu in the eye: "Miss Guan Guan is not only exceptionally beautiful, but also incredibly meticulous."
He curled his lips into a smirk and arrogantly uttered the immoral words: "Your subject is quite interested in your future sister-in-law."
Murong Xu's face darkened. If it weren't for his status, he would have loved to slap the Ninth Prince a few times.
Prince Xuan quickly composed himself: "Granny Li is old and deaf, and she has made baseless accusations against the eldest daughter of the General's Mansion. Such a wicked servant cannot be allowed to live. However, bloodshed is not appropriate in this Buddhist place. Your Majesty, may I take her back to deal with her?"
What an old, deaf man! Making wild accusations and using a single sentence to completely absolve everyone else of any responsibility.
Relying on the power of his maternal clan, Prince Xuan increasingly disregarded the Crown Prince.
Today's events were clearly a deliberate attempt to harm Guan Guan, sabotage Murong Xu and Guan Guan's marriage, and sow discord between the Crown Prince's residence and the General's residence.
However, Murong Xu's mother, the late Empress, has died, and the Emperor now favors Consort Rong, the mother of Prince Xuan.
The emperor needed the Changrong Marquis's Mansion to balance the influence of the Qi State Duke's Mansion, the maternal family of the late empress.
Even if the truth of this matter is thoroughly investigated, Prince Xuan will not be punished; in the end, only his servants will take the blame.
Moreover, this concerns Guan Guan's reputation; if it gets out, it will ultimately be a stain on her name.
Guan Guan was brought by the Crown Prince to worship Buddha. If the matter blows up, the General's Mansion will not say it openly, but they will blame him in private for not taking it seriously.
“Ninth Brother is right. It is not appropriate to kill in a Buddhist temple. So, let’s give Granny Li the punishment of having her tongue pulled out and being flogged forty times. Since she is a servant of the Prince Xuan’s mansion, Ninth Brother shall personally supervise the punishment.”
After Murong Xu finished speaking, he helped Guan Guan up and pulled her away, saying, "Zhou Quan, you accompany Prince Xuan to supervise the execution."
Eunuch Zhou bowed and accepted the order: "This servant obeys."
"Farewell to His Highness the Crown Prince."