Chapter 11 — Sacrificed by the Heir: Reborn as Yue Zhaoyue to Avenge Sixteen Years of Injustice

Shen Phuc remained silent. The elderly maid tossed a bond of servitude before him.

The agents from the trade house have already confessed. Spring Blossom was sold to Willow Prefecture, and while attempting to escape along the way, she was recovered by the Prince's men.

My father’s expression finally fractured. I turned my gaze toward the Grand Princess. Spring Blossom had been found. This was happening three years earlier than it had in my nightmare. The Grand Princess clapped her hands, and a gaunt, frail maid was helped into the room. Her face was a canvas of bruises and cuts, and she limped with every step. The moment she caught sight of my father, she shrank back in terror.

Your servant, Spring Blossom, pays respects to Her Highness.

The Grand Princess asked, "That night, who told you to step forward and take the blame?"

Spring Blossom wept as she replied, "It was Perilla, the maid by the First Miss Shen's side. She gave me silver and ordered me to admit to placing the incense in the wine. When I refused, the Shen family steward struck me until I lost consciousness. By the time I awoke, I was already in a carriage leaving the capital."

My father roared, "Lies!"

Spring Blossom was so terrified that she collapsed to her knees. The Grand Princess looked toward Xie Linchu. "Do you still believe Shen Yuntang is innocent?"

From the moment he had entered, Xie Linchu had remained standing, refusing to sit. He studied Spring Blossom, then shifted his gaze to Perilla. Finally, he spoke, "Yuntang knows nothing of such matters; it must have been the servants acting on their own initiative."

I nearly laughed aloud. The Grand Princess stared at him intensely. "Servants acting on their own initiative to put incense in your wine, and then bringing you specifically to the Second Miss Shen's courtyard—for what purpose exactly?"

Xie Linchu had no answer. Shen Yuntang was helped into the room by Mother. As she crossed the threshold, Spring Blossom and Perilla simultaneously lowered their heads. She knelt, sobbing as she spoke, "Your Highness, Yuntang is willing to accept punishment. It is because I failed to discipline them strictly that my servants have committed such evil."

The Grand Princess asked, "Is it merely a matter of poor discipline?"

Shen Yuntang's tears flowed like rain. "If Your Highness does not believe me, Yuntang is willing to die to prove my innocence."

She snatched a hairpin from her hair and drove it toward her own throat. Xie Linchu instantly lunged to snatch it away. "Yuntang!"

Mother rushed forward to embrace her tightly. "My child, do not frighten your mother so."

My father was equally frantic. "Your Highness, my daughter was lost and wandering for years; her heart is fragile and she cannot bear such interrogation."

The Grand Princess surveyed their entire family, her expression ashen. I stood to the side, feeling like a redundant ghost. It was clear that I was the victim. It was clear that they had nearly destroyed my entire life. Yet, the moment Shen Yuntang threatened to take her own life, the scales in everyone’s hearts tilted instantly in her favor. Xie Linchu steadied Shen Yuntang and then raised his head to look at the Grand Princess.

"Mother, I am willing to marry Shen Zhaoyue."

The great hall fell into a sudden, stifling silence. I watched him. Xie Linchu looked as if he had just offered an immense concession. "Give her the title of legal wife. Let this matter end here."

Shen Yuntang's sobbing ceased instantly. Mother looked up at me, her eyes filled with a flicker of relief. My father echoed, "Zhaoyue, the Heir is willing to marry you; you should know when to be satisfied."

The Grand Princess did not speak immediately. She looked at me. Xie Linchu also looked at me. "Shen Zhaoyue, the status you desire, I am granting you."

I asked, "And then what?"

He furrowed his brow slightly. "And then what, you ask?"

"What about those who harmed me?"

A look of weariness crossed Xie Linchu's face. "Yuntang has agreed to apologize to you. After you marry into the Prince's estate, she will no longer contend with you."

Shen Yuntang let out a soft, choked sob. "Little sister, I wish you and Brother Linchu all the best."

I looked at Xie Linchu. "Does the Heir want me to marry the man who forced himself upon me, to watch my tormentors come and go from the estate every day, and to hear you tell me that she is a virtuous woman?"

Xie Linchu's tone turned cold. "Do not be ungrateful."

I nodded. "Then I suppose I am ungrateful."

The Grand Princess suddenly laughed. "Very well."

Xie Linchu looked at her in disbelief. "Mother?"

The Grand Princess rose to her feet. "Second Miss Shen, I ask you one more time: what is it that you want?"

I knelt down. "I want Shen Yuntang to face a formal inquiry, for Secretary Shen to reveal the source of the forbidden incense, and for Heir Xie to apologize to me."

Xie Linchu roared in anger, "You are dreaming!"

I raised my head to look at him. "Did the Heir not say that whatever I wanted, I should consider carefully? I have considered it."

He pointed a finger at me. "Shen Zhaoyue, do not force me to despise you."

I smiled. "Is it really so valuable that you despise me?"

The Grand Princess shouted, "Linchu, kneel!"

Xie Linchu remained standing, rigid. The Grand Princess spoke, her words slow and deliberate. "Apologize to the Second Miss Shen."

Shen Yuntang suddenly gripped his sleeve tightly. "Brother Linchu, do not."

Xie Linchu stared at the Grand Princess. "Does Mother wish for me to kneel before her?"

The Grand Princess replied, "You owe her this."

Xie Linchu's expression was ghastly. "I can offer her compensation, but I will not kneel before her."

I stated, "Then we shall take this to the magistrates."

My father cried out in a rage, "Shen Zhaoyue, do you truly wish to drag the Shen family through the public courts?"