After giving her contraceptives, she went mad, criticizing the prince for turning white-haired overn

In an instant, everyone's eyes turned to Shen Ning, who was seated in the women's section.

A murmur rippled through the hall; though the voices were low, each word was clear.

"These two young ladies from the Shen family will do anything to climb the social ladder..."

"Back then, Prince Ming almost fought with His Majesty for the sake of the Ye family. Now, the Ye family's daughter is trying every means to enter Prince Ming's mansion. It's truly a case of the daughter following in her mother's footsteps."

"Looking at Miss Shen, who is so beautiful, I never expected her to be this kind of person."

"You're desperate to climb the social ladder..."

Shen Ning sat upright in her chair, listening to the harsh words around her, but her face remained calm.

Her gaze fell on the hunchbacked, one-eyed old man opposite her, and she gave a cold smile to herself.

That handkerchief... it wasn't hers.

It belongs to his niece.

In her past life, the handkerchief in the Ming King's hand was indeed hers.

When the Empress Dowager questioned her in public, she was speechless and was eventually betrothed.

At that time, Prince Chen intervened and said that the two of them had been intimate, which saved her from disaster.

Because of this, they were deeply grateful to Prince Chen and had unwavering faith in him.

In this lifetime...

Never again.

She is the daughter of the General Who Protects the Nation. As long as she is unwilling to marry the King of Ming, the King of Ming will not dare to forcibly take her away.

But if it is said that she and he were mutually in love, then the situation is different.

Shen Ning remained expressionless, and when she looked up, she met Xie Linyuan's gaze from his high position.

He did not attend the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet in his previous life.

I've come into this life.

However... Xie Linyuan was aware of her plan.

On her high throne, the Empress Dowager, dressed in a magnificent phoenix crown and robes, slightly furrowed her brows.

"Your Majesty, tell me you've secretly pledged your life to someone?"

The Prince of Ming bowed, his voice carrying a hint of disgust: "Your Majesty, it is the second daughter of the Shen family, Shen Ning."

"This handkerchief is the token of love that Miss Shen gave to me."

Following everyone's gaze, the Empress Dowager looked at Shen Ning, who was seated among the women.

The girl was dressed in a light purple dress with cloud patterns, her face serene and calm.

She has a delicate oval face with bright and beautiful features. Although she is still young, her eyebrows and eyes already reveal a touch of charm.

It is indeed very similar to the Ye family of that year.

But Shen Ning's appearance seems to be even more beautiful than Ye Shi's.

Twenty years ago, Prince Ming had a disagreement with His Majesty because of Lady Ye.

She went to great lengths to ease the tension between the two brothers.

Seeing Shen Ning's face, which resembled Ye Shi's, the Empress Dowager felt a surge of anger rising in her heart.

However, King Ming was always lustful and searched everywhere for women to enjoy himself, not even sparing the palace maids who were somewhat attractive.

Over the years, the Empress Dowager has turned a blind eye to this.

After all, the Ming King had once shielded her from an arrow, thus losing an eye in the process.

She always felt indebted to him, so she indulged him a lot.

"Shen Ning, come forward and let me take a closer look."

"I'd like to see how you caught the eye of the King of Ming."

Shen Ning clenched her hands tightly and slowly rose from the chair.

"Sister..." Shen Wan, standing beside her, had red eyes and gently tugged at her skirt.

She lowered her voice and choked out, "What should I do... If I'm really forced into marriage, then I'm doomed."

"What if the girls who enter the Prince Ming's mansion don't live more than two months...?"

Shen Ning held her breath and whispered, "Sister is alright, don't be afraid."

She looked up and caught Shen Rou's gaze out of the corner of her eye.

Shen Rou smiled, a hint of smugness in her eyes.

On the opposite side of the male seating area, Su Mingfeng, the young master of the Su family, and Prince Chen were also looking at her.

Even Emperor Wuzong, seated high on his throne, cast a scrutinizing glance his way.

Everyone in the hall seemed to be waiting to see this show.

Shen Ning slowly walked to the center of the hall and immediately knelt down.

"Your humble servant Shen Ning greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."

"May Your Majesty the Empress Dowager enjoy peace and prosperity."

The Empress Dowager scrutinized her, her tone meaningful: "Her appearance is indeed strikingly similar to that of Lady Ye from back then."

"No wonder he caught the eye of the Wing King."

"Are you and King Ming mutually in love and have secretly pledged your lives to each other?"

Shen Ning raised her head, her gaze firm: "Your Majesty, never."

"The handkerchief in the Ming King's hand did not belong to me, your subject."

"Your Highness Prince Ming is of noble birth, and I dare not presume to be worthy of such a position. I humbly beg Your Majesty the Empress Dowager to make the best of a decision and not let Your Highness make a mistake."

"Here is my own handkerchief."

As she spoke, she took out a pale purple handkerchief from her sleeve. The fabric of the handkerchief was very common, and the embroidery pattern was also very simple.

Prince Ming's face darkened, and he said coldly, "Shen Ning, this handkerchief in my hand was clearly a gift from you."

"You said you were willing to marry into my Prince Ming's household as a concubine, but now you've gone back on your word before the Empress Dowager, deceiving her. What should your punishment be?"

Shen Ning chuckled softly, "Please be careful with your words, Your Highness."

"The material of the handkerchief Your Highness is holding is completely different from the material of the handkerchief in my hand."

"Although I am the legitimate daughter of the General's Mansion, my monthly allowance is limited, and I cannot afford such expensive fabrics."

After saying that, she bent down and knocked her to the ground.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty, please grant me justice!"

"This humble woman has never been engaged to His Highness Prince Ming, and there is no question of mutual affection between us."

The Prince Ming said urgently, "Mother, this Miss Shen is clearly lying! I beg you, Mother, to grant us this marriage, so that I may fulfill my wishes!"

"Brother Emperor," a deep, magnetic voice suddenly rang out.

The voice was neither hurried nor slow, yet it carried an air of authority.

"This matter concerns the woman's reputation and the dignity of the royal family; it would be best to investigate it thoroughly."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xie Linyuan, the regent below Emperor Wuzong, slowly speaking.

The man's eyes were deep and dark, and he exuded a distant yet dangerous aura.

"It would be inappropriate to draw conclusions based solely on a handkerchief."

"Since the Emperor insists that the handkerchief belongs to Miss Shen, and Miss Shen vehemently denies it, there may be another hidden story."

"Perhaps... the one who secretly pledged her life to the Emperor was not Miss Shen."

"How about this, send someone to carefully examine the origin of that handkerchief, compare the embroidery thread, spices, and stitches, and the truth may come to light."

As soon as he finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

No one expected that this usually aloof regent would suddenly speak.

The Empress Dowager pondered for a moment, then sighed, "Very well, let's do as Lin Yuan says."

"General Shen is still defending the border against the enemy. If we wrong his daughter, wouldn't that chill the hearts of loyal ministers?"

"Someone, bring me the handkerchief from Prince Ming's hand and Miss Shen's handkerchief together."

"Immediately summon the head embroiderer from the Imperial Stud Bureau to compare the embroidery thread, stitches, and fabric."

"As you command." A palace attendant hurriedly left the hall.

The atmosphere inside the hall grew increasingly subtle.

Shen Ning knelt in the center, secretly raising her eyes, and met Xie Linyuan's deep gaze.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly lowered her head.

Before long, Fang Zhangzhen from the Bureau of Clothing and Stitching entered the inner hall with the eunuchs and bowed to the guests.

"Your humble servant pays respects to Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress."

Emperor Wuzong raised his hand: "Rise."

"I would like to trouble you, Master Fang, to carefully examine these two handkerchiefs."

"Yes." Fang Zhangzhen stood up and took two handkerchiefs from the eunuch.

One is a white brocade handkerchief held by Prince Ming, embroidered with exquisite lotus patterns;

The other one was the light purple cotton handkerchief that Shen Ning had just taken out, embroidered with only a few simple orchid leaves.

She placed the handkerchief in her palm, first rubbing the fabric between her fingers, then leaning closer to examine the embroidery thread and stitches.

When the gaze fell upon the dark pattern on the edge of the white brocade handkerchief, a tiny embroidered character could be vaguely discerned.

Fang Zhangzhen's heart skipped a beat.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager,"

"These two handkerchiefs are completely different in terms of materials, embroidery thread, and stitching."

She pointed to the white brocade handkerchief: "The fabric used for this handkerchief is Song brocade, a new tribute from Jiangnan this year. It is smooth, delicate, and extremely precious."

These words immediately sparked a low murmur of discussion within the hall.

The newly produced Song brocade from Jiangnan was traditionally only bestowed upon the imperial concubines and princesses.

How could the King of Light have such a handkerchief in his possession?

"As for Miss Shen's handkerchief,"

"It is ordinary Songjiang cotton cloth, commonly seen in the market. The embroidery thread is also ordinary colored cotton thread, and the stitching is simple."

"Therefore, these two handkerchiefs were definitely not made by the same person, and moreover..."

The Empress Dowager frowned more and more deeply, and gave Prince Ming a disgruntled look.

This bastard... could he even dare to seduce the concubines in the harem?

"And what?" the Empress Dowager said in a deep voice.

Fang Zhangzhen paused for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Moreover... based on what I have seen over the years, that white brocade handkerchief should have come from the inner palace."