Your Highness, your wife has had her virginity mark applied and married someone else.

Wei Ziye disagreed: "Ah Fu might have been agitated and wanted to let her vent, but given Shen Mingshu's personality, once she finds her hand is healed, she'll just take advantage of the situation and kill Ah Fu."

"Having hurt Afu to this extent, she is not innocent."

"..." Liu Yi was a little confused by his best friend: "Ah Ye, you were willing to hide the handkerchief for Fifth Miss three years ago, so why are you targeting her like this now?"

"Let's stick to the facts. How is this targeting anyone?" Wei Ziye's dark eyes were deep and brooding. "Liu Yi, weren't you moved by her apparent harmlessness?"

"I—" Liu Yi stammered, then sighed softly, "I just felt that Fifth Miss wouldn't act so extremely. Even if she really killed Second Miss in front of us, she wouldn't be able to escape."

"She's about to become an official, why bother?"

Wei Ziye silently took a sip of water, concealing the dark glint in his eyes: "She was already engaged to me back then, but she still jumped off the building without warning, didn't she?"

"..."

No one knows what Shen Mingshu really wants.

……

With the help of medication, Shen Mingshu always slept very soundly.

She was completely unaware that she was already in prison when she woke up.

"You bastard!"

Shen Mingshu regained her composure, leaned against the wall, and cursed under her breath.

"Looks like he's got plenty of energy."

Wei Ziye's voice suddenly came from outside. Shen Mingshu looked up and saw his angry eyes.

"Insubordination and insulting an official of the imperial court is a crime punishable by double the penalty. Guards, drag him to the torture chamber for further treatment."

"yes!"

This sudden, additional charge seemed completely out of the blue. Shen Mingshu glared angrily at Wei Ziye: "What does it have to do with me if you take offense? Why are you saying I'm insulting you?!"

Wei Ziye curled his lips in a mocking smile: "If I say you've cursed, then you've cursed, understand?"

"you--!"

With her wrists bound by iron chains, Shen Mingshu was suspended from the torture device, her face icy cold.

Wei Ziye stepped forward with a short whip, lifted her chin, and breathed his warm breath all over her face: "You're not convinced?"

Shen Mingshu turned her face away in annoyance, looking at him with a stern gaze: "Wei Ziye, what benefits did the Shen family give you? They protected you in every way three years ago, and you're still so attentive three years later? What, are your tastes so strange that you still want to marry Shen Fu?"

"..."

Whenever the Shen family is mentioned, Shen Mingshu's gentle face immediately turns sharp, like a wolf cub baring its fangs, looking like she's ready to fight anyone, every word she utters is sarcastic and biting.

She had kept this face hidden for three years. If her mother hadn't disliked his exclusive favoritism towards one person and hadn't brought the eldest daughter of the Shen family into the family, Shen Mingshu's true face might have remained a secret from him for a lifetime.

"How many years have you been hiding this from Wei Yuan?"

Wei Ziye's tone was calm and even as the whip slid across her cheek, landing on her collarbone and gently poking her neck.

"Could it be that he discovered your affair after you arrived in the capital, and that's why he's punishing you by locking you in the tenement courtyard?"

Why deceive yourself like this?

Shen Mingshu smiled faintly: "He locked me up because he was afraid I'd leave him. Don't you know what it's like to fall for someone else?"

Wei Ziye frowned deeply: "You always say I don't trust you, but have you ever trusted me? I only have brotherly and sisterly feelings for Afu, yet you, out of jealousy, transferred the medicine to her cup, causing her to suffer this!"

"Shen Mingshu, have I wronged you in this matter?"

Shen Mingshu: "She was involved in drugging me! I was just giving her a taste of her own medicine, what's wrong with that!"

Wei Ziye: "If she were truly involved, why would she drink this wine with you without any precautions!"

"Because Shen Yangjue lied to her!"

Shen Mingshu's roar was deafening. She stared intently at the astonishment in Wei Ziye's eyes and spoke each word clearly.

"She treated the sugar pills Shen Yangjue gave her as an antidote, afraid I wouldn't fall for it!"

A shadow of malice flickered in Wei Ziye's eyes: "Shen Yangjue is her older sister!"

"So what?" The deeper the hatred in Shen Mingshu's eyes, the colder her smile became. "Don't forget, she's a ruthless killer who treats human life like dirt!"

"Besides, if we're really talking about innocence, Wei Ziye, how have you ever been innocent?"

Shen Mingshu sneered, her eyes red: "Your so-called brotherly and sisterly affection is giving her all your trust and favoritism. Do you think I'm the only one who hates it?"

"Ha—just think how pitiful Shen Yangjue is!"

"She acted so well, able to discuss the political situation in the capital with you, and also to talk about life ideals with you, wearing a mask of intellectual warmth for half a year. And what about you?"

Shen Mingshu's tearful eyes gleamed with a cold light: "The moment Shen Fu appeared, you acted like you'd lost your mind, protecting her at every turn. Do you think you're the only one who gets hurt every time?"

"Did you even see how cold and menacing her gaze was as she stood behind you, staring at Shen Fu?"

"..."

Wei Ziye stared blankly at the pain in Shen Mingshu's eyes: "Shen Mingshu, this is just a story you made up. It has no basis whatsoever. Even Afu doesn't believe it."

"She personally bailed Shen Yangjue out."

"Heh, believe it or not."

With her hands bound, Shen Mingshu couldn't wipe away her tears, so she could only shake them off forcefully, and in that instant, she completely lost her strength.

She sighed deeply, looked up at Wei Ziye again, and lost all patience.

"If you want to use me to exchange for Shen Yangjue, you'd better explain my physical condition to Lu Yanzhi more."

"The matter of the miracle doctor is not simple, and the Lu family will not let it go unchecked."

"That way, he'll get here faster."

Wei Ziye frowned: "Who said I was going to trade you for Shen Yangjue?"

Shen Mingshu's face stiffened. "What do you mean?"

Seeing the sudden wariness in Shen Mingshu's eyes, Wei Ziye's heart skipped a beat: "You think I arrested you to get Shen Yangjue released from prison?"

Shen Mingshu: "Otherwise what?"

Wei Ziye's hands, which had been hanging limply in his sleeves, suddenly tightened. Looking at Shen Mingshu's nonchalant expression, his jaw clenched: "Shen Mingshu! Don't you feel even a shred of guilt?!"

Seeing the disappointment on Wei Ziye's face, Shen Mingshu found it amusing: "You want me to feel guilty for killing my mother?"

Wei Ziye gritted his teeth and reminded her, "You hurt Afu! She knew nothing about what Shen Yangjue did. Even if she bullied you, she has received her due punishment. You went so far as to destroy her; shouldn't you repent?"

"..."

Looking into those deep, dark eyes filled with righteous indignation, how could Shen Mingshu not be disappointed?

Even though he knew that Shen Fu had humiliated her, he still wanted to love her.

He knew she had nothing left, yet he still chose to fall for someone who had wronged her in their past relationship when she loved him the most.

Shen Mingshu's eyes welled up with tears. Her lips moved slightly as if she wanted to say something, and a hoarse sound escaped her throat, but in the end she said nothing and gently closed her mouth.

"no."

"..."

Their eyes met, and only disappointment remained.

Wei Ziye lowered his head, his whole body felt cold, and his blood seemed to freeze instantly.

The last glimmer of hope in his heart collapsed with a deafening roar, and endless regret clung to his limbs, tightening like a sharp string, leaving him bleeding profusely, his back instantly bending into a powerless arc.

After a long silence, Wei Ziye finally spoke in a low voice.

"Liu Yicai, you and Afu both have Gu poison inside your abdomen."

"..."

Shen Mingshu's pupils trembled for a moment.

At that moment, she heard a silvery tinkling sound, coming from afar and growing closer, swirling around her ears, as if in a dream.

Wei Zichen raised his eyes to look at her, the expression on his face returned to the original: "What did you think of?"

Shen Mingshu lowered her gaze slightly: "So I'm going to become a monster too?"

Wei Ziye pinched her cheek and looked up: "Is this the lie you prepared?"

Shen Mingshu's eyes remained calm: "I don't know what you're talking about."