The bright moon hangs high, beckoning him down from his pedestal.

These words caused an uproar in the room.

All eyes, whether in astonishment, disdain, or curiosity, turned to that slender figure.

Shen Qingruo suddenly stood up, her fingertips gripping the hem of her skirt tightly, her voice trembling with disbelief:

"You...you're talking nonsense!"

The ladies around her began to whisper among themselves, their eyes darting over her figure and small face with a mixture of understanding and disdain.

"He doesn't seem like the type to stay put..."

"Words are meaningless without evidence; Young Master Sun's words are far too..."

"But looking at her, she really does have a seductive appearance..."

Xiao Yu stood not far away, his brows furrowed, looking at Shen Qingruo's swaying figure, a sense of disbelief rising in his heart.

Seeing her son's displeased expression, Lady Lin, the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, gently tugged at him, signaling him not to cause trouble.

Shen Jingyan felt a surge of satisfaction, but her face hardened as she rebuked, "Sun Hongwen! Slandering the princess's reputation is a serious crime! Do you have any evidence?"

Shen Yinian spoke up at the opportune moment, his tone calm yet carrying pressure: "Young Master Sun, accusing the princess requires solid evidence. Without evidence, it would be a frame-up."

As if he had been prepared, Sun Hongwen quickly pulled something from his robes and raised it above his head with both hands: "Yes! Your Majesty, I have evidence!"

"This is a personal item that Princess Qingruo left behind when she was with me!"

It was a red bib embroidered with lotus scroll patterns.

The audience erupted in gasps and gasps once again.

The unmarried noble ladies blushed, covering their faces with their sleeves, yet they couldn't help but peek through their fingers.

Shen Qingruo stared at the unfamiliar undergarment, her body trembling, her voice trembling with tears: "That's not mine! You're making false accusations!"

A young lady from an official family who was on good terms with Shen Jingyan chuckled softly, "Whether it's yours or not, why don't you produce some evidence to prove it? What's the use of just talking?"

Another person chimed in, "Exactly, she looks like she knows how to flirt with men, so it's not surprising that she'd send them personal items in private..."

Shen Qingruo stood there helplessly, enduring the contemptuous gazes cast from all directions. Her face grew paler, her lips bitten until they lost their color, and only her tearful eyes stubbornly stared at Sun Hongwen, repeating, "That's not mine..."

Just as the chaos and whispers reached their peak, a cold male voice rang out, "Insolence!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Shen Wangxi leading Wulan Yun at the entrance of the Imperial Garden.

His face was cold and stern, and he exuded a menacing aura.

Wu Lanyun's face also showed displeasure at this moment.

The arrival of the Emperor and Empress silenced the once bustling garden instantly.

Shen Wangxi's gaze swept over Sun Hongwen, who was holding up a bellyband, and then fell on the girl who had been falsely accused.

Shen Jingyan and Shen Yinian quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Father, Mother."

Shen Wangxi ignored them and kept looking at Shen Qingruo. Seeing her pitiful appearance as she tried to hold back her tears, an inexplicable fire rose in his chest, making his heart feel heavy.

He hadn't been watching him for a moment, and his Aruo had been bullied like this.

Shen Wangxi walked step by step into the arena, and with each step closer, the surrounding air became more and more icy.

He stopped in front of Sun Hongwen, looking down at him with a voice icy cold: "What did you just say you were holding?"

Sun Hongwen met those cold, emotionless eyes and was terrified. His hand, holding up the bodice, trembled violently, and he stammered, "Your Majesty...this is Princess Qingruo..."

Before Sun Hongwen could finish speaking, Shen Wangxi suddenly raised her foot and kicked him hard in the chest.

Sun Hongwen flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing to the ground. The undergarment in his hand also flew out of his grasp. He rolled several times in a disheveled manner before stopping, clutching his chest and coughing violently, unable to speak.

This kick was earth-shattering.

Everyone present was stunned, including Wulan Yun.

In her and everyone else's memory, Shen Wangxi was the cold moon hanging high in the sky, an emperor who held the power of life and death.

When he was angry, a single glance from him was enough to chill people to the bone. I had never seen him lose his composure like this, personally taking action against the son of a subject.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

With a whoosh, everyone in the garden, from Empress Wulanyun to Princess Shen Jingyan, Prince Shen Yinian, and all the noble sons and ladies of noble families, knelt down in unison, their foreheads touching the ground, their voices trembling.

Shen Qingruo was also taken aback by the sudden kneeling and, after a moment's hesitation, knelt down softly along with the others.

She didn't kowtow like the others; she just looked up at him, bewildered and helpless.

At that moment, they were the only two people in the entire room who were looking up.

Shen Wangxi looked at her with heartache. Seeing her kneeling on the ground, he felt even more reluctant. Normally, apart from occasionally posing in bed, he had never let her kneel again.

Shen Wangxi closed her eyes, suppressing the turbulent emotions in her chest, turned around, and walked step by step to sit down in the main seat: "Get up, everyone."

"Tell me, what happened?"

Everyone rose tremblingly, stood with their heads bowed, and dared not utter a word.

Shen Jingyan's heart pounded wildly. She steeled herself and stepped forward: "Father, it's Sun Hongwen. He's kneeling and crying, saying that my sister and I had a secret affair and made love many times, but now she's turned her back on me. He begs his daughter to stand up for him..."

Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, and under Shen Wangxi's unwavering gaze, she became increasingly less confident.

Shen Wangxi looked at her, the eldest daughter he had placed high hopes on and was proud of, and for the first time felt that she was so foolish.

No, perhaps it's not stupidity, but rather malicious intent.

Shen Jingyan felt flustered by his gaze and subconsciously avoided his eyes.

"An affair?" Shen Wangxi repeated the two words, a cold smile curving her lips. "Where's the evidence? Just that undergarment that came from who-knows-where?"

He turned his gaze to the head maid of the Imperial Wardrobe who had been hastily summoned: "Go, examine it carefully. Is that Princess Qingruo's attire?"

The head palace maid quickly picked up the red undergarment from the ground, examined it carefully for a moment, and respectfully reported back:

"Your Majesty, although the materials used in this item are acceptable, the stitching is rough, the embroidery pattern is not of the palace style, it is definitely not from the Imperial Wardrobe, and it is certainly not something used by Her Highness the Princess."

Shen Wangxi gave a knowing, cold laugh, looking at Sun Hongwen, whose face was ashen: "Sun Hongwen, you keep claiming to have an affair with the princess. I ask you, when did you see the princess? Where did you meet her?"

Sun Hongwen trembled violently, stammering, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... It was before... in the palace..."

"In the palace?" Shen Wangxi interrupted him, her voice rising and carrying an air of authority. "Princess Qingruo lives a secluded life, never stepping out of Qingyi Palace except for necessary palace banquets."

"You, the son of a mere sixth-rank official, have never had any other opportunities to enter the palace besides the two times you were summoned to attend banquets there last time and today? Hmm?"

With each question he asked, Sun Hongwen's face paled further, cold sweat poured down his back, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

"So, your claim of having met the princess is false, and the accusation of adultery is utterly baseless!" Shen Wangxi's voice was resolute. "Then the Sun family is guilty of deceiving the emperor!"

"Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me!" Sun Hongwen completely broke down, tears streaming down his face, kowtowing desperately. "It wasn't me, it was Her Highness the Princess who welcomed me in, it was Prince Xiaoyao..."