Yu Sangning's fear of Shen Xihe had reached its peak back at the detached palace when Shen Xihe hung her over a cliff.
Previously, she had only thought Shen Xihe was sharp-witted and intelligent, yet willful and self-assured. But Shen Xihe's status was noble, and her actions were meticulous—she even dared to hang the Emperor's Shu Fei on a tree in the outskirts of the capital. Afterward, neither the Emperor nor Shu Fei could do anything but let the matter pass.
What was she compared to that?
To avoid confronting Shen Xihe directly, she had tried her best to steer clear and no longer sought to marry into the imperial family. Unfortunately, heaven had other plans. She failed to win over Xun Wang, and Yu Sangzi's marriage to Zhao Wang was already on the horizon. Now, she had no choice but to take this path.
Fortunately, she had never intended for Yu Sangzi to marry Zhao Wang, and Yu Sangzi herself had no desire to become a stepmother. Moreover, Yu Sangzi had already found someone she loved. Under Yu Sangning's schemes, the two had already been intimate. Yu Sangzi had been in a daze these past few days, and today, the imperial betrothal gifts would arrive...
Some things simply couldn't be accomplished alone; she needed the entire Yu family's assistance.
After all, Yu Sangzi was the legitimate daughter of a marquis household. Marrying a prince as a second wife, especially when the prince already had a legitimate son, was no small matter. Out of regard for the Pingyao Marquis, the Youning Emperor had arranged for Yu Sangzi's betrothal gifts to match the standards set for the previous Princess Consort Zhao, with no reduction whatsoever.
The entire Yu household was overjoyed, except for Yu Sangzi, whose face was deathly pale.
Madam Yu noticed something amiss with her daughter and pressed her repeatedly until she finally revealed that she was no longer a virgin. Madam Yu fainted on the spot. The shrewd Old Madam Yu also sensed something unusual and directly confronted Yu Sangning. Since the two sisters were almost always together, it was impossible for Yu Sangning not to know what had happened to Yu Sangzi.
But Yu Sangning stubbornly refused to speak, even when Old Madam Yu punished her by making her kneel in the courtyard. She would not utter a single word.
Though she refused to speak, Old Madam Yu had her own ways. She discovered that Yu Sangzi had been closely involved with a destitute scholar and assumed Yu Sangzi had merely fallen in love with an ordinary man. Furious, she summoned Yu Sangzi and intended to reason with her, appealing to her emotions. She wanted to make it clear that this was not an ordinary engagement that could be easily broken by humbling themselves and apologizing.
"Grandmother!" Yu Sangzi fell to her knees with a thud, her face pale as she trembled and said, "I... I am no longer chaste..."
In this dynasty, remarriage for widows was quite liberal. Even if a widow's in-laws prevented her from remarrying, they could be punished. But that applied only to legitimate widows, not to young women who engaged in illicit affairs without proper arrangements, lacking self-respect and chastity.
Old Madam Yu's mind buzzed upon hearing this, and for a moment, her thoughts went blank. Unlike Madam Yu, she did not faint, but her finger trembled as she pointed at Yu Sangzi, unable to speak. After a long while, she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Go, summon the Marquis and the Eldest Young Master!"
When the Pingyao Marquis arrived with his legitimate eldest son, Old Madam Yu's courtyard was eerily quiet. Yu Sangzi knelt there with her head bowed, silent, and even Madam Yu knelt beside her. The Pingyao Marquis felt a pang of distress at the sight and hurried forward, saying, "Mother, if A-Yun has done something wrong, just tell me. I will discipline her properly. After all, she is the Marquess. If others see her kneeling here, they might think I cannot manage my own wife.""You not only fail to teach your wife properly? You also fail to educate your daughter! Your daughter is shameless and indecent, engaging in illicit relations without a matchmaker. Our Marquis household faces imminent disaster, yet you still shield them!" The hall had long been cleared of servants as Old Madam Yu sneered coldly.
Pingyao Marquis and his heir both changed expressions abruptly, their gazes snapping toward Madam Yu and Yu Sangzi kneeling in the center. The Marquis immediately burned with rage: "You disgraceful girl!"
The heir stopped the Marquis from striking out, saying respectfully: "Father, please calm your anger. We must first devise a way to survive this crisis. If this matter isn't handled properly, it truly constitutes the grave crime of deceiving the sovereign!"
The imperial prince's betrothed losing her virginity before marriage - making Your Majesty's son a cuckold! If this were discovered by Your Majesty,
even if they weren't executed to the last relative, their entire household would face exile! "Handle it properly?"Pingyao Marquis stared at his son with bloodshot eyes, his paternal affection diminished by the entanglement of his mother and sister." "How would you handle it? Even if I gave her poisoned wine now to die suddenly, the palace would still send investigators to examine the corpse!"
The status of a royal prince's betrothed was no trivial matter. While the autopsy wouldn't violate the body to check virginity, whether she was poisoned or died naturally would be immediately apparent. They couldn't imitate Northwest King's feat of feigning death to deceive all the doctors in the city!
The room fell into heavy silence, every heart consumed with anxiety. Yu Sangzi was filled with both shame and regret.
She truly hadn't wanted to marry Prince Zhao, but she also knew imperial decrees couldn't be defied. Though she admired Scholar Wen in her heart, she had always kept her feelings within proper bounds. That day, for some unknown reason, she had momentarily lost control and committed this foolish act.
If she could dash her head against something and die to atone for her crime, she wouldn't hesitate. But if she took her own life now, it would only give Yu household's political enemies leverage to accuse the Yu family of opposing the imperial marriage arrangement, completely making her the Yu household's sinner.
"What if... what if we tamper with the Virginity Cloth?" Madam Yu suggested, having heard of such methods.
Pingyao Marquis shot her a cold glance: "Do you take Prince Zhao for a fool?"
Prince Zhao had been with numerous women - he would know whether she was a virgin during consummation. This method was nothing but the wishful thinking of ignorant women, like the ostrich hiding its head in sand!
Now Yu Sangzi could neither marry nor flee nor die. The slightest misstep would implicate their entire clan.
"Perhaps we should confess directly to Prince Zhao. He doesn't strike me as content with mediocrity. You..." The old madam looked at Pingyao Marquis, "...could discuss with him. Our Pingyao Marquis household would follow his lead hereafter..."
Pingyao Marquis was Your Majesty's man, deeply trusted by the emperor. The slightest revelation would be enough for Prince Zhao to cover up this matter. But thereafter, Pingyao Marquis would no longer be a pure subject, but rather driven by Prince Zhao.
"Inform Prince Zhao?" Though the emperor had arranged the marriage, Pingyao Marquis had never intended to align with any imperial prince. The emperor's intentions were unfathomable - the future successor might not be Prince Zhao. He had to keep escape routes open. "What man could tolerate this? If Prince Zhao endures this humiliation today for benefits, won't he exterminate our clan when he gains power? If he never gains power, our early allegiance would only lead us to share his downfall!"After another stretch of oppressive silence, the heir Yu Sangbai suddenly raised his head and looked at his father: "Father, I received news the day before yesterday that the eldest son of the Yu family's main branch intends to assassinate Prince Zhao after he pays tribute to the late Princess Consort Zhao."
Due to the machinations of Prince Zhao and Shen Xihe, Yu Zao had become a false Yu Zao. While this indeed preserved the Yu family, Yu Zao's wife and children became the ones to suffer. Especially those unaware of the truth called them bastards, and since Yu Zao's death, they had lived a life of constant bullying.
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