The Obsessive Crown Prince Can't Let Me Go-Chapter 473 - 471 I Marry You

Xue Ling irritably ruffled his messy hair and recounted the events.

In the end, his voice turned grim: "It’s likely the tea is the problem."

Mentioning the tea in the Pavilion, Huo Mingyan and Guan Songyuan exchanged a furtive glance, their bodies uncomfortably weakening.

Shen Yinning laughed in exasperation: "The Imperial Palace, a place of utmost security, and yet someone dares to blatantly use a drug like this in the tea under broad daylight! Today it’s an aphrodisiac, tomorrow it will be poison. The Empress oversees the palace, is she incapable of even disciplining her attendants?!"

Huo Mingyan reduced the palace staff by half.

Every palace was short-handed; palace maids and eunuchs, still receiving the same monthly stipend as before, found themselves with double the workload. Naturally, many areas were neglected.

Confronted by Shen Yinning’s direct questioning, Huo Mingyan’s face turned unsightly. Before she could retort, Guan Songyuan spoke in a heavy tone: "Commandery Princess, watch your words! The Empress works tirelessly to oversee the harem. It is inevitable that certain trivialities might be overlooked! The Empress is, after all, flesh and blood, not omnipotent!"

Huo Mingyan, hearing this, cast Guan Songyuan a grateful glance.

Shen Yinning sneered coldly: "One must fulfill one’s responsibilities in their position. If the harem cannot even be managed properly, perhaps it’s time to appoint someone else! A woman’s virtue is of utmost importance—if the Empress’s negligence leads to Mianmian’s reputation being destroyed, who will bear the consequences?!"

Huo Mingyan gripped her hands tightly.

Her hatred for Shen Yinning deepened further.

The women of the Central Plains are mostly reserved and gentle. She had never encountered such an aggressive woman before!

Utterly unreasonable, a true shrew!

Who knows how her parents even raised her!

At that moment, Lu Qianqian suddenly burst forth, shouting: "It must have been Xue Mianmian herself who wanted to seduce Xue Ling! That’s why she secretly drugged the tea! Xue Mianmian has no shame—why blame others?!" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"My wife is guilty!" Guan Songyuan’s face was filled with pain as he took the blame on behalf of Xue Mianmian. "My wife is unprincipled and has disgraced herself by committing the act of seducing her brother-in-law. Her actions have brought shame to both the Guan Family and the Xue Family! However, as we are husband and wife, I am willing to give her a chance to turn over a new leaf. Once home, both my mother and I will teach her what propriety and virtue truly mean so she can reform herself and start anew."

"I didn’t do it!"

Xue Mianmian reappeared in the crowd, having changed into fresh clothes with Haitang’s help.

Her eyes were red and swollen as she tried her best to argue in a hoarse voice: "I didn’t drug the tea! I didn’t seduce anyone! When I was in the Pavilion waiting for Zhaozhao, the teapot was just sitting there—I never touched it!"

"Who would believe that?!" Lu Qianqian folded her arms and scoffed. "You definitely saw Xue Ling achieve military success and envied that he has a brighter future compared to your husband, so you threw yourself at him! Xue Mianmian, you always looked so honest, but turns out you’re so calculating, even climbing the higher branch when given the chance!"

"I—"

Xue Mianmian was so infuriated her chest ached, clinging to Haitang’s hand in grievance but unable to form a coherent response.

"Everyone stop talking!" Guan Songyuan stepped forward resolutely. "Though this is Mianmian’s fault, I do not blame her. The fault lies in my own inadequacy and inability to satisfy her. After all, I’ve loved her deeply for years. Today’s matter, let it be as though it never happened!"

Shen Yinning shook her small folding fan and couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

She remarked faintly: "You think the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Justice officials are mere decorations? They were present at the palace banquet after all. If the truth is in doubt, we can simply request them to investigate!"

"No way!"

Lu Qianqian panicked.

"Why not?!" Shen Yinning’s cold gaze fixed upon her. "Could it be that today’s incident is connected to the Ninth Princess? Come to think of it, at the banquet, I noticed the Ninth Princess eyeing Xue Ling with envy. Perhaps the aphrodisiac was meant for Xue Ling, placed in the tea by the Ninth Princess herself?"

Xue Ling had already calmed down.

His gaze swept across the crowd before he suddenly spoke: "The palace maid who invited me to sit in the Pavilion was indeed one of the Ninth Princess’s attendants!"

The crowd exploded with murmurs.

Someone had deduced the truth: "So all along, the Ninth Princess intended to drug Minister Xue, but the tea was mistakenly consumed by the Young Madam from the Guan Family?"

"It wasn’t me! I didn’t do it!" Lu Qianqian shouted indignantly, her face reddening with anger.

Shen Yinning responded crisply: "Then let’s have it investigated!"

"No!" Lu Qianqian stomped her foot fiercely. "Shen Yinning, do you have to oppose me in everything?!"

Lu Ying remained expressionless: "Return to the palace and reflect."

"Royal Brother—"

Lu Ying cast her a cold glance.

The Emperor’s authority was unmistakable, and Lu Qianqian retreated in fear.

Realizing her dream of marrying a powerful minister was shattered, she reluctantly gritted her teeth and withdrew.

Lu Ying swept his sleeves and departed.

The others, satisfied by the day’s drama, followed suit and dispersed.

Shen Yinning grasped Xue Mianmian’s hand. Despite offering no words of comfort, she conveyed a measure of warmth through her palm.

Xue Ling rubbed his temples.

A moment later, he raised his eyes to stare at Xue Mianmian: "I’ll marry you."

Shen Yinning: "..."

His aggressive tone felt more like a challenge than a proposal.

Mianmian, timid since childhood and intimidated by him for three years, would never recognize his affection—the notion would be absurd.

Indeed, Xue Mianmian shrank behind Shen Yinning, choking as she said: "Don’t come looking for me!"

"Damn it..." Xue Ling gritted his teeth, kicking aside a table and chair in fury. "Xue Mianmian, have I been too lenient with you?! If you don’t marry me, then what else?!"

The loud crash frightened Xue Mianmian, who covered her ears.

It seemed as though she had returned to that time when Xue Ling first took her captive.

"Minister Xue seems to forget that Mianmian is my lawfully wedded wife." Guan Songyuan interjected unhappily, "We are still husband and wife, so who exactly are you marrying?"

Xue Ling laughed dryly in anger.

He impatiently tugged at his collar, raising his fist, but Shen Yinning stepped in to block him.

Xue Ling raised an eyebrow: "You’re helping him?"

Shen Yinning smiled: "If you don’t mind being charged with assaulting a court official, then by all means, continue."

After speaking, she glanced at Xue Mianmian subtly.

Xue Ling narrowed his alluring eyes, realizing Shen Yinning was hinting that he should stop scaring Mianmian and avoid further ruining his image.

Snorting coldly, he dropped his fist, looked at Xue Mianmian one last time, and left in anger.

Guan Songyuan took Xue Mianmian’s hand: "Let’s go home."

Xue Mianmian hesitated for a moment. Seeing Shen Yinning silent, she nodded lightly.

The two walked through the Imperial Garden. Guan Songyuan said: "I don’t want a repeat of today’s incident."

Xue Mianmian softly protested in grievance: "It was because someone drugged the tea—"

"And what difference does that make? You still lost your purity!" Guan Songyuan interrupted her impatiently. "Ultimately, it’s your fault. If you were more cautious, would you have fallen for it? You losing your chastity is a fact, and bringing disgrace to both Guan Family and Xue Family is also a fact. Female virtue is so important, yet in this entire world, only I am willing to disregard the past and still let you be the Young Madam."

Xue Mianmian was already distraught, and his words caused her face to redden with shame as she lowered her head deeply.

"I may not care, but Father and Mother won’t be so forgiving," Guan Songyuan continued. "When we return home, kneel in the ancestral hall and reflect. When they’re ready to forgive you, you may rise. Understood?"

Xue Mianmian bowed her head, her tears falling heavily, choking on her words: "Understood..."

Only then did Guan Songyuan smile faintly.

His gaze fell on the distant corridor.

Huo Mingyan was speaking with Han Sang.

He watched Huo Mingyan from afar, his eyes involuntarily softening.

Although he and the Empress had shared tea and intimacy, it was entirely different from Xue Ling and Xue Mianmian.

Even with skin-to-skin contact, their relationship remained pure friendship.

What transpired between them was an act of necessity, meant to detoxify each other—entirely distinct in nature from Xue Ling and Xue Mianmian!