"Ze... Brother Ze, why are you being so fierce?"
Gu Ruoxi shrank back, startled, her body instinctively taking a step back, but her wrist was firmly grabbed by Xuantian Ze.
Looking at her reddened wrist, she thought nervously:
*No! I must absolutely not offend him!*
*Even if he is a cripple, he is still a legitimate prince.*
*If the body-swap marriage is exposed, wouldn't I be done for?*
*The only thing to do right now is to pin the blame on the female protagonist first. Anyway, she is a tragic heroine in a romance novel, she won't die...*
With this thought, Gu Ruoxi rolled her eyes, bit her lower lip with a wronged expression, and said:
"Brother Ze, it's not what she said, it's not... The truth is... it's..."
She feigned fear as she glanced at Yun Feiwan, then quickly lowered her gaze, putting on a hesitant and suggestive look.
"Ruoxi, don't worry, I'm here. Go ahead and tell the truth, there's no need to be afraid!"
Xuantian Ze loosened his grip a little, casting a pointed look at Yun Feiwan. In his heart, he already believed this statement by three parts.
Hearing this, Gu Ruoxi cautiously raised her head, continuing to bite her lower lip with an apologetic expression:
"I'm sorry, Sister. Elder sister didn't want to say this either, but... how could you slander me?"
With tear-filled eyes, she looked exactly like a good sister who was forced into helplessness and heartbreak by betrayal, saying in deep distress:
"You liked Brother Ze and begged me to let you have the position of the prince's primary wife. Considering that you are my younger sister, and on top of that, you threatened to die for it, Elder sister had no choice but to give in and fulfill your wish. As long as I could see the two of you happy, my own heartbreak didn't matter. But..."
At this point, Gu Ruoxi suddenly burst into tears:
"You clearly said that as long as you married Brother Ze, you would be a qualified wife. How could you disregard Brother Ze's dignity the very next day and dress like this? Where does this leave Father and Mother? And where does it leave Brother Ze's face? I could endure being wronged, but how can you be so ungrateful and slander me, and slander Brother Ze's affection for me?"
At the height of her emotion, Gu Ruoxi's body trembled violently and she swayed right into Xuantian Ze's arms.
She instantly raised her head with a blushing face, her head accidentally resting against Xuantian Ze's arm, tears still hanging at the corners of her eyes:
"Th... Thank you, Brother Ze..."
Ignoring everyone else, the two of them just hugged each other right there in their own little world!
Ah, wait — who on earth is the legitimate wife here?
"Clap, clap, clap!"
Wiping away her tears while applauding, Yun Feiwan blurted out her inner thoughts:
"Goodness, I am truly so touched! What a magnificent scene of star-crossed lovers reuniting and clearing up misunderstandings. I really am the outsider here after all, boo-hoo-hoo~!"
"Anyone who didn't know better would think Elder sister you are the Third Prince's wife, and that I'm the wicked homewrecker!"
"If I weren't the actual party who was forced into this marriage, I'd want to build a grand temple for Elder sister's touching sacrifice!"
Though she looked gentle and helpless on the surface, that mouth of hers was not resting for even a single second!
Playing mute was out of the question; if they had the nerve, they could all humiliate themselves together. Why should she be the only one taking the heat?
She was no pushover!
However, after a brief moment of shock, Gu Ruoxi quickly recovered. Cradled in Xuantian Ze's arms, her tears fell drop by drop:
"Sister, why won't you admit it? I believe that as long as you are willing to tell the truth, Brother Ze won't blame you. But if you stubbornly cover up your own mistakes out of selfishness, wouldn't that make Brother Ze blame Father and Mother, and the entire Minister's Estate? *Cough, cough...*"
"Xier, Xier, are you alright?!"
Mother Gu anxiously stepped forward to gently stroke Gu Ruoxi's forehead, then turned to shake her head in disapproval at Yun Feiwan:
"Wanwan, I know you feel aggrieved in your heart, and you can blame Xier for speaking out loud. But you've always been a sensible child; your sister's health is poor, can't you be more accommodating and yield to her? Don't make the Third Prince laugh at our family anymore. Besides, today is your newlywed homecoming day, let's not speak of these unpleasant things."
It looked like a gentle defense for her own daughter, giving her a way out, but in reality, every single sentence was a knife, cementing Gu Ruoxi's words as absolute truth.
She was tying the future fate of the parents and the family entirely to Yun Feiwan alone, trying to use moral blackmail to force her into accepting this fabricated charge.
What a joke. Would she ever admit to it?
Putting on a deeply wounded expression, Yun Feiwan took two steps back, clutching her chest in agony:
"Mother, why should I confess to something I never did?"
"Elder sister has long harbored an admiration for the Crown Prince — this is common knowledge. We must absolutely not let her future be ruined because of me!"
With that, before anyone could react, she suddenly dashed toward the front doors behind her, and under the guise of heartbreak, slammed them wide open—
"Husband, if you don't believe me, you can go right ahead to the gazebo and ask! On that day, many attendants saw Elder sister and the Crown Prince chatting happily. Where did any falling into the water ever come from? I will never allow you to ruin Elder sister's dream!"
Yun Feiwan pointed her delicate hand outside the door, her voice neither loud nor soft, yet just loud enough for the surrounding people to hear.
The area outside the Minister's Estate was bustling with foot traffic, and the instant the doors were pushed open, countless passersby peered into the courtyard.
As it happened, Xuantian Ze and Gu Ruoxi were still embracing at that exact moment, their ambiguous behavior witnessed by many.
"Yun! Fei! Wan! Stop going crazy! Close the door right now! Do you want to implicate the entire Minister's Estate in your scheme to force your elder sister?"
Xuantian Ze instinctively shielded Gu Ruoxi behind him, the veins on his forehead bulging as if he were ready to devour someone.
Yet Yun Feiwan, possessed by the spirit of a drama queen, wiped away her tears and went on a wild spree of speaking her inner truth:
"You sent me off to a brothel on my wedding night — Husband, is this something a human being would do?"
"Not only do you now insult my purity, but you also try to use fabricated charges to have the entire Minister's Estate punished alongside us! Under the emperor's feet, is there still any justice or law left in this world?"
Who could have imagined that the fragile and kind-hearted little white flower would show zero mercy with her words? This was practically a suicide bombing attack!
Seeing the group fuming with rage yet utterly helpless, Yun Feiwan kept up her frantic output:
"If anyone is to be implicated, the blame rests entirely on Father, Mother, and Elder sister. It has nothing whatsoever to do with me, a forced concubine-born daughter~!"
"Third Prince, if you report them to the authorities, you won't be able to report me, okay?"
"You... you! Unfilial wretch! What a misfortune to the family, what a misfortune!"
"Today I am going to purge the family! The Minister's Estate cannot tolerate someone so devoid of respect for superiors and utterly lacking in manners! I suppose all those female academy lessons of yours went straight to the dogs!"
"Someone come, get my... *cough, cough...*"
Father Gu was choked by a fit of rage; unable to catch his breath, he clutched his chest and fell backward directly!
"Master! Master! Someone come quickly, fetch a doctor! The master's heart condition has flared up!"
"Father! Father, are you alright?"
In an instant, the scene descended into total chaos. It was doubtful that tomorrow's rumors would take long to fly everywhere.
Yun Feiwan looked at the chaotic crowd with a beaming smile, feeling utterly delighted!
After all, she was already married off, but Gu Ruoxi was still an unmarried maiden waiting in her boudoir.
She wanted to see whose reputation mattered more in the end!