After her mind was read, the spoiled brat became the darling of the whole group.

The carriage gradually drove into the palace.

Jun Lanjin led his men directly into the Empress Dowager's palace, leaving Xie Xing feeling extremely uneasy.

Disguising himself as a woman and sneaking out of the palace should be considered a capital offense, right?

Xie Xing followed nervously behind Jun Lanjin, exchanging glances with Luo Mengfei, both of them noticing Luo Mengfei's unease.

Sneaking out of the palace is not a big deal, but sneaking out to visit brothels and find male prostitutes is a serious crime.

Following behind the group, Yin Ruyu had tears welling up in her eyes, looking aggrieved as if she had suffered a great injustice.

Generally, daughters of prominent families would not want to expose such matters for the sake of their reputation.

However, Yin Ruyu was different. The Yin family was large and powerful, and even the emperor had to be wary of the four great clans. Therefore, there was no way she would marry a villain to preserve her innocence.

To protect the daughter's innocence, the perpetrator must be killed.

Therefore, Yin Ruyu's purpose in making a scene was not to punish Xie Xing, but to kill him.

To vent her anger.

Yin Ruyu arrived at the Empress Dowager's palace in tears.

Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager was deep in thought in the palace when she heard a servant's voice: "Your Majesty, the daughter of the Yin family has entered the palace and is now waiting outside to pay her respects."

"Hmm?" The Empress Dowager gradually opened her eyes, sat up slowly, and raised her hand, saying, "In that case, let her in."

The servant hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Your Highness, those who came with you include His Highness Prince Jin, the Fifth Princess, and the Fifth Miss of the Xie family."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's expression cleared considerably.

"What's going on here?"

The palace servant shook his head and said, "We saw that the young lady from the Yin family was crying and looking very aggrieved, and the Fifth Princess and the others..."

The palace servant hesitated, unsure of what to say.

The Empress Dowager frowned and said impatiently, "Speak when I tell you to."

The palace attendant then said, "The Fifth Princess and the Fifth Miss Xie were dressed in strange clothes, like men's clothes. It seems they have done something wrong and were following behind Prince Jin."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager immediately sat up from the soft couch.

She raised her hands to signal the servants beside her to undress, then said, "Summon them in and have them wait outside the hall."

After the Empress Dowager finished dressing, she entered the palace.

Yin Ruyu was seen standing alone on one side, while Jun Lanjin, Xie Xing, and the Fifth Princess stood on the other side. The two sides were clearly separated, indicating a conflict between them.

The Empress Dowager frowned slightly. She walked to the center of the palace, sat on the phoenix chair, and looked down with her other six eyes. She asked, "What's wrong with you looking like this?"

"What's with your attire, you two?"

The Empress Dowager turned to look at Luo Mengfei and Xie Xing.

Luo Mengfei stammered.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." Before they could speak, Yin Ruyu had already knelt down. "Your subject Yin Ruyu greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's grace in allowing me to enter the palace."

"I never expected that I would encounter trouble so soon after meeting the Empress Dowager. I beg Your Majesty to help me!"

The Empress Dowager looked at Yin Ruyu with a puzzled expression.

With a kind face and gentle voice, she said, "What happened? You've suffered such a great injustice since you first entered the palace, and you're crying like a baby. Tell me about it, and I will definitely stand up for you."

Yin Ruyu wiped away her tears and then slowly said, "It was my bad luck. As soon as I entered the capital, my horse suddenly seemed to be startled and rushed straight into the crowd."

"Fortunately, the prince saved the horse and calmed it down."

The Empress Dowager glanced at Jun Lanjin, "Isn't this a good thing?"

As Yin Ruyu spoke, she started crying again.

She was indeed a beauty; when she cried, her eyes filled with tears, and she looked so aggrieved that everyone wanted to hug her and feel sorry for her.

Yin Ruyu said, "I am deeply grateful for the Prince's life-saving grace and wanted to step forward to express my gratitude, but I never expected that the man beside the Prince would be so outrageous. He...he...insulted me!"

Xie Xing listened from the front, and the more he listened, the more uneasy he felt.

She looked at Yin Ruyu.

【No, why isn't this person telling the whole story? She accidentally fell, and I kindly helped her up, and now it's like I took advantage of her?】

Xie Xing frowned.

The Empress Dowager, however, was puzzled. She frowned and asked, "The man beside the Prince? To insult you?"

The Empress Dowager looked at Jun Lanjin: "Jin'er, is this true?"

Where is that man now?

Jun Lanjin replied, "Your Majesty, the man is right here."

He pointed at Xie Xing.

Queen Mother:?

The Empress Dowager's expression turned serious. Her imposing gaze fell on Xie Xing, and she asked, "Xie Xing, why did you insult Yin Ruyu?"

Could it be that Xie Xing found out about her plan to matchmake Jun Lanjin and Yin Ruyu, and thus began to target Yin Ruyu?

But that doesn't make sense either.

Only the nanny who served the Empress Dowager knew about this. How could she possibly know?

Is it possible that women are naturally more sensitive to their enemies?

Isn't Xie Xing far too jealous?

The Empress Dowager looked at Xie Xing with displeasure. She had thought Xie Xing was a simple and obedient child, but it turned out that his intentions were not pure.

Xie Xing: "..."

She looked completely bewildered, her face contorted with utter injustice.

She stepped forward, knelt in the hall, and cried out, "Your Majesty, this is truly a great injustice! I did not humiliate Miss Yin!"

Luo Mengfei also stepped forward at this moment and said, "Yes, Grandmother, I can testify that Xie Xing did nothing!"

Yin Ruyu glanced at Luo Mengfei.

This person is called the Empress Dowager, could she be one of the princes?

No wonder Prince Jin refused to attack Xie Xing; it turns out he's a close friend of the prince, so his status must be quite different.

Since we can't kill him, we should at least make him suffer.

Otherwise, Yin Ruyu wouldn't be able to calm down from feeling taken advantage of.

With a sob in her voice, she looked pitifully at the Empress Dowager: "Your Majesty, this prince is in cahoots with him. I have just entered Shengjing and this villain has ruined my innocence."

"This humble woman does not wish to live."

The Empress Dowager was even more confused. She looked at Yin Ruyu blankly and asked, "Ruined your reputation?"

Yin Ruyu said, "I accidentally fell. This thief saw me fall and, taking advantage of helping me up, reached out his evil hand to my...my..."

As Yin Ruyu spoke, her face flushed red with embarrassment, wishing she could just run into a pillar on the spot.

Xie Xing cried out, "I'm innocent, Your Majesty! I didn't mean to, I just bumped into you by accident!"

Queen Mother: "..."

After listening for so long, the Empress Dowager finally understood what was going on.

She was speechless, then looked at Xie Xing with a blank expression: "Xie Xing, what do you look like dressed like today?"

"Wearing men's clothes and dressed as a man, even I wouldn't recognize you!"