After the marriage, the abstinent prince turned me on

"Cousin, Ze'er grew up under your care, how can you say that to him?" Shang Yong's face darkened, with a hint of displeasure in his tone.

The Queen smiled contemptuously, her eyes and eyebrows revealing undisguised sarcasm. "Am I wrong? As a father, don't you know how many absurd things Shang Zhize has done? He spends his days drinking and carousing, bullying men and women in Dongcheng District. Although he does these things very covertly, if he harms enough people, there will surely be brave people who will stand up and accuse him. You will completely disgrace me!"

"Yes, yes, my cousin is right. I was negligent in discipline..." Shang Yong quickly bowed and nodded, a humble smile on his face, but there was a subtle stiffness in that smile. "But I have also been working hard in the court to consolidate your and the prince's status. I can't just sit there and complain when the rabbit is gone."

"You work so hard and never complain?" The Queen interrupted him sharply, as if she had heard something funny. "Isn't it because the Emperor gave you your current position out of respect for the Crown Prince? To put it bluntly, we're just using each other. I became Queen back then because of my own abilities. What does that have to do with you?"

"I'm not happy when you say that," Shang Yong's smile finally faded. He straightened his back and spoke in a firmer tone. "Without my full support, you would have no backing or support in the capital. You'd be easily pushed out of your current position by Concubine Wen's followers at any time."

"So?" The Queen looked at him coldly, her eyes full of mockery. "You want to use what happened back then to threaten me?"

"I dare not, I dare not." Shang Yong waved his hands quickly, his tone softening again, "Cousin, for the sake of our relationship, please ask the prince to release Ze'er."

"The prince has dispatched the imperial guards this time. Even Your Majesty has no power to control me. What can I do?" The queen sighed, with a hint of helplessness in her tone.

"What? The Imperial Guard?" Shang Yong's eyes widened in surprise. "Cousin, you are the Crown Prince's mother. He will definitely listen to you."

The queen shook her head, a bitter smile on her face. "Haven't you heard the saying? When you get a wife, you forget your mother."

"Cousin, you..." Shang Yong wanted to say something else, but was interrupted impatiently by the Queen, "I am tired, Lord Shang, please go back."

Seeing that the Queen did not help him to get the Prince to release the people, Shang Yong had to leave angrily.

In fact, just as he walked out of Shang Mansion, Li Zhong rushed into Shang Mansion with a team of guards in a menacing manner.

"What are you doing?" The Shang Mansion's housekeeper rushed forward in a panic, but was pushed away by Li Zhong. "Get out of here! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to search the Shang Mansion. Who dares to stop him?!"

"How dare you!" The butler shouted angrily and was about to step forward to stop him, but was frightened by the prince's cold eyes and stepped back repeatedly.

"Search!" Li Zhong gave an order, and the guards rushed into Shang's mansion like wolves and tigers and began to search through all the drawers and cabinets.

The Shang family guards all went to look for Shang Zhize. At this time, the entire Shang Mansion was like an empty house, which gave the prince's guards an opportunity to take advantage of.

"Commander Li, we found it!" a guard shouted excitedly. Li Zhong hurried over and saw the guard pointing to a hidden basement entrance.

Li Zhong kicked open the basement door without any hesitation. A rotten smell hit him in the face, making him feel sick.

The basement was dark and damp, with only a dim oil lamp emitting a faint light.

With the dim light, Li Zhong saw the scene inside clearly and was immediately furious.

There were more than a dozen ragged girls imprisoned in the basement. They were skinny, pale, and had empty eyes, as if they had lost their souls.

Each of these girls looked like a beauty, but the clothes they wore looked like those in the Customs Hall, and some of them were pregnant. When Li Zhong saw these girls, his heart trembled, and he finally understood why the prince had forced his way in.

"Beast! Worse than an animal!" Li Zhong cursed with gritted teeth, wishing he could tear Shang Zhize into pieces.

"Quick, take these children out!" Li Zhongqiang suppressed the anger in his heart and ordered the guards to take these girls out.

Li Zhong specially arranged these girls in a house, where Xie Mishuang was waiting.

"Miss, these are the children rescued from the Shang Mansion." Li Zhong said to Xie Mishuang.

Xie Mishuang nodded, walked up to the girls, and said gently, "Children, don't be afraid, I will take you home."

The girls looked at Xie Mishuang with eyes full of fear and anxiety. They didn't know what was waiting for them.

Xie Mishuang immediately found the little girl who was in front of the Shuangnu Hall that day. The difference from last time was that her face was thinner and she looked like she would fall down if blown. She submissively let the guards bring her here. She thought that Shang Zhize had moved them to another place. Unexpectedly, she saw the beautiful sister who was at the door of the clinic that day.

"Sister, why are you here?" the little girl asked timidly, her voice as thin as a mosquito.

"It's me." Xie Mishuang touched the girl's head and asked softly, "How are you? Are you feeling unwell?"

The little girl hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Sister, my stomach hurts a little. Can you help me take a look? But I don't have any money. Can I pay you back when I have money in the future?"

Xie Mishuang looked at her sensible appearance, and felt a pang of sadness in her heart. That beast Shang Zhize must have done many unknown things to these girls. She said softly: "I'll help you take a look, but are you hungry? Do you want to eat something first?"

"I want to eat!" Before the little girl could say anything, an older girl next to her rushed to say it. She was so hungry that her stomach was sticking to her back.

"Okay, I'll have someone prepare food for you right away." After Xie Mishuang finished speaking, he ordered someone to prepare food.

"Sister, we really... really don't have any money..." The little girl spoke timidly, her big watery eyes full of desire and anxiety, her little hands tightly grasping the corner of her clothes, as if that was her last resort.

She was so hungry that her stomach was rumbling, but she was even more afraid that the beautiful sister in front of her would refuse her alms because they had no money.

Xie Mishuang looked at her pitiful appearance, and felt even more distressed. She said softly, "Silly children, I didn't save you for money. From now on, you just follow me, and I will take care of you."

When the little girl heard this, she was so excited that tears welled up in her eyes. She knelt down in front of Xie Mishuang with a plop. Her childish voice was full of gratitude and determination: "Sister, you saved my life. You are my savior! My mother said that the grace of saving a life should be repaid with a spring. I am willing to serve you for the rest of my life!"