Yes, I Beat You

At these words, everyone wanted to laugh but couldn't. The First Prince of Chu was truly an eccentric, casually admitting to frequently being beaten black and blue! But speaking of which, Eastern Jin should not make a fuss anymore. How could a county princess be more noble than a prince? Furthermore, he was the First Prince of Chu!

Zhongli Cheng was once again left speechless by him! Only after a while did he stabilize himself. Facing everyone's "you shouldn't make a fuss" looks, he resolutely gritted his teeth. "The Prince of Chu is magnanimous, but the one beaten was County Princess Zhaohe. This prince must give an account to my imperial uncle upon my return! Moreover, my imperial sister's face was poisoned!"

This time, Huangfu Xuan's mood finally improved! Although he disliked Zhongli Cheng, it was a good thing to have someone help him deal with that damn woman! Poisoning a princess and beating a county princess were no small matters. In this kind of life-or-death situation, it felt great to watch her suffer misfortune!

However, before he could rejoice, a half-smiling voice rang out, "How strange. Since the Eldest Princess of Eastern Jin was poisoned, why didn't Dongling's imperial physicians notice it last night?"

The moment these words fell, Dantai Huang cast a strange glance at Jun Jinglan. Just now, she had also intended to say these words to drag Huangfu Xuan into the water. Because if spoken, Huangfu Xuan would either have to help her by stating that Zhongli Han was not poisoned last night—since it was his imperial physician who diagnosed her, and who would believe a physician failed to detect poison?—or he would have to admit she was poisoned, which was equivalent to admitting before the world that he was an accomplice who failed to have his physician treat her!

But the question was, why did Jun Jinglan help her say it? Was he trying to help her, or did he want to drag Huangfu Xuan into the water to watch the show? Given that man's malicious personality, the latter was highly likely. Sure enough, just as she thought this, Jun Jinglan glanced over, his eyes filled with the intent of watching a play.

Envoys from all over looked at Jun Jinglan with wary eyes. A single casual sentence had dragged Huangfu Xuan into the fray; this man was truly unfathomable! Upon their return, they must report to their sovereigns to be extremely cautious, preferably submitting a memorial requesting that he never be allowed to come again! Only Chu Changge remained casually fanning himself, seemingly completely blind to the undercurrents...

Huangfu Xuan's face instantly darkened as he saw everyone's eyes turn toward him, waiting for him to speak! He really wanted to roar, "What are you looking at me for?!" Coughing lightly, he said helplessly, "Someone, summon the imperial physician who treated the Eldest Princess of Eastern Jin last night!"

Now it was Zhongli Cheng's turn to frown. His target was Dantai Huang, not Huangfu Xuan! At this rate, not only would he fail to deal with Dantai Huang, but he might also clash with Dongling first! If he truly angered Huangfu Xuan, whether he could return to his country alive would be a question. Thinking of this, he could not help but glare at Jun Jinglan, who had meddled in others' business.

Being glared at, Jun Jinglan raised his eyebrows at him. After a moment, he suddenly smiled, his blood-red cinnabar mole looking breathtakingly beautiful. This smile made Zhongli Cheng's heart skip a beat, and he hurriedly averted his gaze.

"Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Li has arrived!" the young eunuch reported.

"Summon him!" The cold voice carried an anxiety, like the omen of an impending storm.

The old imperial physician had heard about the matter on his way over. He truly did not understand why he was so unlucky, receiving no reward for saving someone, yet bringing trouble upon himself! Arriving before Huangfu Xuan, he quickly expressed his grievance, "Reporting to Your Majesty, last night the Eastern Jin princess's face had only superficial wounds. This old official guarantees with his life that she was absolutely not poisoned! Someone must be trying to frame this old official!"

Having spoken, he glared fiercely at Zhongli Cheng and Zhongli Han! These ungrateful Eastern Jin people, instead of thanking him, had falsely accused him of being an accomplice to the Third Princess of Mabei! If he could survive this ordeal today, he would surely seek revenge!

"Eldest Prince of Eastern Jin, what do you say?" Huangfu Xuan looked at Zhongli Cheng with his golden eyes, a smile on his face, but his eyes were devoid of warmth, cold as ice and harboring a warning.

Zhongli Cheng was no fool either. He quickly spoke, "Since that is the case, perhaps my imperial sister contracted the poison after returning, which means we have misunderstood the Third Princess! But as for the matter of physical violence..."

Dantai Huang sneered, "Since the poisoning was fake, who knows how much of the other matters are true!"

At these words, the envoys clamored again. Indeed, Dantai Huang's greatest crime was poisoning Zhongli Han, but since this major accusation was false, the credibility of the other matters was highly questionable...

With that, Dantai Huang stood up again and cupped her hands to the crowd. "This princess has never had a good reputation, but I absolutely dare to admit what I have done! Eastern Jin falsely accused this princess of using poison to harm Zhongli Han and beating County Princess Zhaohe! Now that the poisoning is proven false, how trustworthy can their witnesses be? I hope you lords will see clearly! Please speak a word of justice for this princess and clear my name!"

She spoke with resounding eloquence, completely unlike the chaotic princess of rumors. Her demeanor was righteous and solemn, yet carried a hint of grievance, as if she had endured countless injustices. Thus, many lords with a sense of justice spoke up, "The Eldest Prince of Eastern Jin should still investigate this matter thoroughly!"

"A grown man, a prince of high standing, yet resorting to such petty and underhanded schemes to frame a woman. This prince feels ashamed on his behalf!" Chu Changge turned his head and spoke leisurely.

"Chu Changge, you..." Zhongli Cheng's face flushed red with anger. Everyone in the world knew Chu Changge was the shame of the imperial family, yet now he had the nerve to say he felt ashamed on his behalf. What did that make him?

Could you imagine the feeling of a phoenix being despised by a crow? Could you imagine the feeling of a dragon being looked down upon by an earthworm? Zhongli Cheng was currently experiencing exactly that!

Hearing this, Chu Changge fanned himself and cast a sidelong glance at him. "What? Not convinced? Want to have a match?"

Zhongli Cheng instantly fell silent! Although Chu Changge had a bad reputation, he frequently led young nobles to brawls, so his martial arts were good and his physique was sturdy. He himself was a man of letters who had never raised a hand against anyone; if they fought, he would surely disgrace the imperial family!

Meanwhile, Zhongli Han looked at Jun Jinglan in disbelief and disappointment. A single sentence from him had shattered the scheme they had prepared all night into dust! Over the past four years, she had met him several times, and this time she had come specifically to see him. In her impression, he always stood at the peak, capable of turning the tide with a single word and changing the world with a flip of his hand. She had always yearned for this man.

But then one day, she saw his eyes reflecting the beautiful figure of another. He had finally spoken a word of sincerity, even declaring that he would propose even if he had to roll through hardships ten thousand times, yet that person was not her. She could no longer hide her jealousy, which was why she dragged her imperial brother and cousin into this embarrassing situation. Yet, their scheme still lost to a single sentence of his!

"Since the Eldest Princess of Eastern Jin was poisoned, why didn't Dongling's imperial physicians notice it last night?"

She took a breath and was about to say something when County Princess Zhaohe frantically pointed at Dantai Huang. "This county princess doesn't care! She is the one who beat me! Cousin, if you cannot avenge me, I will tell my father when I return!"

With that, she glared fiercely at Zhongli Cheng. They were the ones who said this plan would definitely succeed, and after succeeding, she would be the future empress of Eastern Jin! But now that it was failing, she didn't care about being empress, but she refused to be beaten for nothing!

These words... caused another uproar!

Dantai Huang sneered. It seemed these people truly considered her a soft persimmon! If she only defended and didn't counterattack, they would keep coming! Thinking of this, she grabbed her chair and took a few steps toward County Princess Zhaohe.

Seeing this, a deep smile played on Jun Jinglan's lips. His jade-like fingers lightly tapped the table, the amusement in his eyes deepening. His intuition told him that this woman's performance would far exceed his expectations.

Chu Changge fanned himself, his expression indifferent but his smile growing more pronounced as he stared unblinkingly at Dantai Huang. Yes, Third Princess of Mabei, do not disappoint me after I spoke up for you today!

Huangfu Xuan also looked at Dantai Huang with his golden eyes. Why was this woman walking over there with a chair? Was she trying to scare her?!

In truth, except for Jun Jinglan, everyone thought so! Even Dantai Ji thought Dantai Huang was holding the chair just to intimidate her!

But Dantai Huang suddenly looked at County Princess Zhaohe's face, which had been beaten beyond recognition, and sneered, "County Princess Zhaohe, did I beat you?"

Zhaohe glanced at the chair in her hand, feeling a bit panicked, but still gritted her teeth. "Yes!"

"Good!" The moment her voice fell, with a loud "Crash!", Dantai Huang slammed the chair fiercely onto Zhaohe's body. After hitting her, she picked up the chair and slammed it down again!

"Ah!", "Ah!", "Help! Ah—" Zhaohe screamed in terror!

Only then did everyone react and rush forward to stop her. By the time they restrained Dantai Huang, Zhaohe lay on the ground, unable to move! Holding her head, her entire body trembled...

With a loud clatter, Dantai Huang threw the chair aside.

Pushing past the crowd, she stepped forward and stomped a foot heavily onto Zhaohe's face, saying coldly, "Didn't you say I beat you? Hmm! Yes, I beat you! Since you wanted to be beaten by me so badly, how could I not fulfill your wish, don't you agree?"