She clutched Ye Tinglan's robe tightly, her steps faltering. Ye Tinglan frowned, immediately raising his foot to kick her away.
This kick, delivered in a fit of rage, held no restraint. Feng Yinwan fell back to the ground, her vision blurring.
"If you knew this day would come, why did you do it in the first place!"
Ye Tinglan looked at her coldly, uttered these words, and continued on his way out. Feng Yinwan gritted her teeth, resorting to words to provoke him.
"Your Highness, I thought you possessed some intelligence, different from other dissolute nobles. I never expected you to be all brawn and no brain, easily deceived by a few words!"
Seeing her dare to insult him without fear, Ye Tinglan's face darkened considerably, and he stopped in his tracks.
"What did you say about this prince?"
"Your Highness, I say you are a fool being played, possessing only brute strength and a negative IQ. This title of God of War must have been obtained through underhanded means; you are truly a brute who cannot tolerate the truth!"
Seeing herself belittled to worthlessness in just a few sentences, Ye Tinglan's veins throbbed on his forehead, his handsome face as dark as ink.
"Feng Yinwan, you are audacious!"
Feng Yinwan pushed herself up, her beautiful eyes calm.
"Has Your Highness's defense been breached?"
"I know Your Highness does not wish to hear it, but this is the truth. Even as a prince, you cannot silence others, can you? Even if you can silence this one mouth, can you silence the murmurs of the entire realm?"
"Silence, I say!"
Ye Tinglan roared and slammed his palm onto a pillar.
The round log, half a meter thick, immediately snapped in half with a "crack." Feng Yinwan watched, her heart involuntarily trembling.
With that palm strike, she might have been turned into a meat patty.
Compared to that, his kick just now seemed relatively light.
Seeing her wisely shut her mouth, Ye Tinglan, highly satisfied with the effect of this intimidation, withdrew his hand with a stern expression.
"You have a narrow perspective and a venomous heart, naturally unable to see the virtues and strengths of others. This prince will not stoop to the level of a wicked woman like you, and you should not mistake others for blind fools unable to distinguish right from wrong!"
Feng Yinwan raised an eyebrow, "Your Highness is noble, Your Highness is remarkable. Then why did you just strike that pillar?"
"That pillar stood there perfectly fine, what wrong did it commit?"
"Your Highness, could it be that I've struck a nerve, and in your anger, unable to simply strike me dead, you are taking it out on the pillar?"
Ye Tinglan was left speechless by her barrage of questions, lips twitching but no words emerging. He could only glare at her in exasperation.
"You wicked woman are skilled at sophistry! To condemn someone, you need no reason!"
He should have just killed this woman with a palm strike earlier!
Feng Yinwan tidied her clothes and slowly got to her feet.
"This concubine dares not, I am merely using your own methods against you."
She glanced at the sachet that had fallen aside, stooped to pick it up, "Your Highness judged this concubine's guilt based solely on a sachet just now, did you not ask for the sachet's and my opinion?"
Hearing this, Ye Tinglan's face flushed with anger again.
"Ridiculous! You have already personally admitted that this sachet belongs to you. How else am I to ask for your opinion! Do you expect me to ask if you intended to frame Miss Ru Lian? Would you admit to that?!"
Feng Yinwan nodded seriously, "This sachet is indeed mine, but I never admitted that it was related to Miss Qin."
She had worn this sachet that day, but so much had happened that she hadn't paid attention. If Ye Tinglan hadn't produced it today, she probably wouldn't even have known she lost her sachet.
He had said earlier that this sachet was found on Zhao Si's body. Did she accidentally drop it when she escaped that day?
Suppressing her thoughts, Feng Yinwan looked up, "A sachet proves nothing. If my memory serves me correctly, Miss Qin also lost her sachet that day."
"If we follow Your Highness's logic, and if Miss Qin's sachet were found on that thief, wouldn't that imply Miss Qin had long been colluding with him, having a secret affair?"
"Absolutely impossible!"
Ye Tinglan rejected it outright with a somber face.
"If that is the case, then why did Your Highness conclude this concubine's guilt because of it?"
"Naturally because..."
You have been infatuated with this prince for years, loving him from afar but unable to attain him, hence the resentment. Seeing how much care he lavishes on her, you became jealous!
Pressing his lips together, Ye Tinglan finally realized he had lost control for a moment. He glanced at Feng Yinwan and sneered.
"Naturally because you are jealous of her!"
Feng Yinwan felt her head spin, indicating she was utterly speechless.
"Where did Your Highness see that this concubine is jealous of her?"
"Am I envious of her status as an orphan? Her skills comparable to a performer? Or her ability to cry within three seconds?"
She, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhen Guo's mansion, the Prince of Mo bestowed by the Emperor, would envy a damsel in distress?
Was she out of her mind!
Seeing that she said nothing about herself, Ye Tinglan frowned, "Enough nonsense. No matter how eloquent you are, this sachet is still implicated!"
"If I can discover this, the Empress certainly can. I advise you to confess honestly and not harbor any wicked thoughts."
Feng Yinwan's beautiful eyes deepened, and she nodded, "Please grant this concubine a three-day deadline. Within three days, I will have a result."
Realizing his loss of control, Ye Tinglan had already reined in his emotions. Now, listening to Feng Yinwan speak, most of his anger had subsided.
"What if there is no result?"
"Your Highness wishes to divorce this concubine before the Emperor. This concubine will confess her guilt before His Majesty and voluntarily relinquish the title of Princess of Mo, without needing Your Highness to speak."
"Good!"
Ye Tinglan's dark eyes lowered, and he looked at her intently, "This prince will grant you three days. If you cannot find a result, not only will your position as princess be precarious, but you will also suffer the consequences!"
With that, he strode out of the main hall. Seeing this, Feng Yinwan finally let out a breath and sank to the ground, utterly drained.
The matter of the sachet today was very peculiar. Now that Zhao Si was dead, it would be difficult for her to take further action.
With a sigh, she tucked the sachet into her embrace. Yu Ping immediately rushed in and, seeing her state, her eyes reddened.
"Miss, what happened..."
Feng Yinwan shook her head, "Help me up."
She had originally intended to return to the Duke's mansion, but after this incident, it was naturally impossible.
Feng Yinwan, supported by Yu Ping, returned to Lan Qing Yuan. Not long after, she ran into Qin Ru Lian, who was emerging from the garden.
The damsel in distress seemed to have timed her appearance perfectly. Yesterday, she had injured her knee, and now she was being carried out in a soft sedan chair to admire flowers, displaying considerable airs.
Seeing Feng Yinwan, she immediately gestured for her attendants to stop.
"Sister Wang Fei, what is wrong? Your dress is disheveled, and your neck is red. You look as if you've been bullied."
Feng Yinwan raised her eyes, her gaze sweeping over the still-reddened tear tracks around Qin Ru Lian's eyes, and sneered, "And Miss Qin, are your tear stains not yet dry?"
Looking at her, she had likely been fanning the flames with Ye Tinglan, no wonder the Prince of Mo had targeted her immediately.
She glanced indifferently at the soft sedan chair beneath Qin Ru Lian and Feng Yinwan curled her lips, "From afar, I thought it was a noble consort from the palace gracing us with her presence. I didn't expect it to be you."
"Unable to enter the palace as a noble consort, yet you're throwing your weight around in the Prince of Mo's mansion. You have quite an appetite for power."