I just want to be a princess, no, you want to be a queen

"Brother Yuanrui, why are you so nice to me?" Lu Mingyang asked.

Song Wei said, "Zi Shen and I are close friends, so naturally I have to help him take good care of his sister."

For some reason, Lu Mingyang felt a sense of loss in his heart.

Remembering the two jailers' words, she looked at the blurry figure behind the screen and mustered up the courage to ask, "Brother Yuanrui, will I be thrown into a pig cage tomorrow?"

"Fourth sister, fourth sister..."

After calling out countless times, Song Wei walked around the screen and stared closely at the woman on the bed. His voice was trembling and hoarse, "Fourth sister, I want to take care of you on behalf of Zishen, not as a brother, but as a husband."

"Yang'er, will you marry me?"

He changed his address, and his affectionate words penetrated the hazy bed curtains and entered the woman's heart. Lu Mingyang looked at the man who proposed to marry her in astonishment.

"I am now plagued by stigma and am at the crossroads of life and death..."

"That's not Yang'er's fault. I won't let you belittle yourself." Song Wei stopped her sternly. He opened the bed curtain and sat down beside it without regard for etiquette, his eyes burning. "I only ask you, are you willing to be my wife?"

"Brother Yuanrui!" Lu Mingyang threw himself into Song Wei's arms, tears streaming down his face.

Through the black cloak, Song Wei hugged the trembling woman tightly and said softly, "Yang'er, before I met you, I never believed in love at first sight. Just now, do you know how scared I was that you wouldn't want to marry me?"

Lu Mingyang turned his head to look at the man's profile. "Brother Yuanrui, I don't know if I can leave Jingzhao Prefecture safely tomorrow. Besides, the Queen Mother said she would marry me to Prince Ningyuan."

"The Queen Mother is just trying to trick you into taking the blame for her grandson." Song Wei snorted coldly. Seeing the time was right, he slowly guided the woman in his arms: "Now that someone has died, you must not take the blame for Prince Ningyuan again, or your life will be in danger."

"But, but how can I afford to offend Prince Ningyuan and the Queen Mother?"

"That's why I want you to marry me." Song Wei hugged the woman tightly in his arms. "From now on, you will be my wife, and I will protect you forever. Even if the Queen Mother wants to punish you, she should also consider the weight of my Song family."

"Brother Yuanrui!"

"Stop talking. It's so late. Go to sleep!" Song Wei helped the woman in his arms lie down and considerately pulled the quilt over her.

"Give me the cloak!"

He begged softly, and Lu Mingyang shyly shook her head and whispered, "This is a quilt that someone else has used before, and I don't want to get it on me. I feel at ease covering myself with Brother Yuanrui's cloak."

"Okay!" Song Wei smiled dotingly, kissed her shy cheek, and stood up to leave.

"Hey, where are you going?" Lu Mingyang grabbed his hand.

Song Wei said, "I won't leave. I'll be guarding you outside the door."

"It's so cold outside, just stay inside!"

"No!" Song Wei refused. "I don't want you to be criticized."

"Then, put on your cloak!"

Lu Mingyang reached for her cloak, and a large hand grasped hers through the quilt. Song Wei smiled and said, "Cover yourself with it. I don't want you to be covered with a quilt that has been used by another man. It'd make you jealous."

The moonlight tonight was exceptionally bright. Lu Mingyang gazed at the tall figure outside the window and gradually fell asleep. When she opened her eyes, she saw a brand new set of clothes lying beside her pillow, exactly the same as the one she had worn yesterday.

Lu Mingyang looked at it and his face gradually turned red.

While washing, she looked at the ordinary face in the water and felt it was unreal.

What do I have that deserves the love of a handsome man like Brother Yuanrui?

As she stepped out of the house, the court attendant who was guarding the courtyard trotted in and took away the cloak that had protected her all night. Lu Mingyang felt a moment of loss, but fortunately, before going to court, she saw Song Wei at the back of the hall.

"Yang'er, don't be afraid, I'll be here."

"Ok!"

Lu Mingyang mustered up his courage and walked into the lobby with his head held high, where a bright mirror hung high.

At dawn, drums beat.

The vermilion gate of the Jingzhao government office slowly opened.

The matter was related to the rumors flying around in the capital and the most talked-about matter between men and women. Early in the morning, the outside of the Jingzhao government office was filled with onlookers.

Seeing the gate open, the fish jumped in.

The body of a woman who died from domestic violence was carried up. Her husband was kneeling on the ground with his hands handcuffed; her brother stood behind him, furious, and kicked him from time to time.

Lu Mingyang stood on the other side, far away from them, and closest to Song Wei at the back of the hall.

A quarter of an hour later, the Jingzhao Yin sat high in the Mingtang and the interrogation began.

"Daughter of the Lu family, why did you seduce Prince Ningyuan and cause such public outrage? Tell the truth!"

Lu Mingyang looked at the Jingzhao Yin and said slowly, "Sir, I didn't kill them, and I have no grudge against them. What's wrong with that?"

Brother Yuanrui said that even if he wanted to expose Prince Ningyuan, he had to do enough foreplay. That way, the rest of his words would be more credible and his guilt would be lessened.

"Because of your own immoral behavior, countless lives have been lost, and yet you still dare to claim innocence!"

The Jingzhao Yin rebuked him angrily and ordered his men to bring up all the people from the Chengyang Marquis' Mansion, including Nian'er, Zhongbo, Aunt Liu, and Lu Mingqin.

Lu Mingqin was nominally the daughter of a marquis, so she didn't need to kneel. She stood at the front, with everyone from the Chengyang Marquisate kneeling behind her.

In a rare moment, she began to defend Lu Mingyang with great emotion, choking with sobs as she spoke, "Sir, Fourth Sister was forced to obey under the tyranny of King Ningyuan."

"How can others know what happens in the boudoir?"

A resounding voice echoed through the room, and a path opened in the crowded courtyard. Chu Mingzheng entered the hall, his gaze passing over Lu Mingyang before resting on the speaker's face. He sternly demanded, "Slandering the prince, do you know what your crime is?"

"I, I..." Lu Mingqin knelt on the ground in fear. If she were to be found out for spreading rumors, she would be dead. She pointed at Lu Mingyang tremblingly, "Yes, it was my fourth sister who told me!"

"Really?" Chu Mingzheng looked at Lu Mingyang, clenching his fists.

Facing the burning gaze, Lu Mingyang lowered his head guiltily, but when he thought that it was his revenge that led to the rumors and caused a loss of life, he met his gaze calmly.

He was the mastermind, and at most he would be imprisoned by His Majesty, but I was the mastermind, and I would die. Sorry, so I'll just be sorry. Composing himself, Lu Mingyang backed away in fear, "I dare not, I dare not, Your Highness, please let me go."

But it was clear that he was under the tyranny of power and dared not tell the truth. He only needed the Jingzhao Yin to ask one more question before he burst into tears and complained about his grievances.

What a great show.

But it’s not worth saying how disappointed he is. Chu Mingzheng turned his gaze away and sneered.

After all, he was a general who had fought in battles for many years. Even though he was now a sickly man, the biting coldness he had emitted throughout his life still made Jingzhao Yin shiver.

He stood up hurriedly: "Your Highness, please take a seat!"

"No need!" Chu Mingzheng refused coldly.

Jingzhao Yin sat back, leaning back in his chair. He glanced at the back of the hall from the corner of his eye and banged the gavel with feigned composure: "You have something else to hide, confess it!"