Her hair was cloud-like and beautiful! She opened her eyes and found herself back in the third year

When Qin Yizhen heard Fang Shixin's insults, she felt her blood run cold and her face turned deathly pale.

Her hand trembled, and she couldn't even hold the porcelain bowl.

Cheng Yan reached out and took it, his cold and stern face filled with worry: "Don't listen to her nonsense, she's gone mad."

After saying that, he placed the porcelain bowl on the table and was about to get up.

Qin Yizhen snapped out of her daze, reached out and grabbed his sleeve, preventing him from leaving.

Cheng Yan turned to look at her and saw that her complexion had eased slightly and was no longer as frighteningly pale as before. He breathed a sigh of relief and immediately blamed himself for being powerless to take her place.

Qin Yizhen's fingertips trembled slightly as she asked him in a low voice, "Where are you going?"

“I’m going to find her.” Cheng Yan squeezed her hand back, holding her cold fingers in his palm. “She’s spouting such nonsense to humiliate you, I will definitely not let her get away with it.”

"Don't go." Qin Yizhen opened her mouth, seemingly noticing the probing gazes cast her way, and felt somewhat uncomfortable.

"I'm scared to be alone, don't go."

“Okay, I won’t leave.” Cheng Yan, hearing her say that, naturally put her first and sat back down. However, his gaze swept over Fang Shixin, who had been knocked unconscious and taken away by the Imperial Guards, and his eyes were cold and intimidating, like an abyss.

He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, the deep darkness in his eyes had faded, leaving only a cold indifference.

He held Qin Yizhen's hand and advised her, "Don't take these people's words to heart. Even if these things are not without fault, they are not your fault. If you want to blame someone, blame me. Don't make things difficult for yourself."

"I understand." Qin Yizhen's eyelashes trembled, and she lowered her eyes.

Having faced life and death, she had long since become indifferent to these rumors and gossip. However, hearing them again now brought back that suffocating feeling, and it still made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

She'll be fine after a while.

Seeing her so fragile yet feigning strength, Cheng Yan's anger surged again: "I will definitely not let her go."

Qin Yizhen forced a smile: "Even if I don't talk about you, I'm afraid the Empress Dowager won't let her off the hook."

Cheng Yan was so important to Empress Dowager Cheng that even Emperor Jing'an and Princess Huizhen might not have been able to compare.

She had always hoped that Qin Yizhen could live a good life with Cheng Yan, but Fang Shixin's sudden outburst and these words were like touching her sore spot.

The dragon has reverse scales, which will kill you if you touch it.

Even if Fang Shi is determined to never give up, he'll still have to go through a lot.

And the Fang family might also be implicated and suffer misfortune.

As expected, the result was exactly what Qin Yizhen had predicted.

Empress Dowager Cheng was furious. No matter how much the Fang couple pleaded, she could not calm down. She immediately dismissed Fang Shaoqing from his post and ordered the Fang family to be taken away.

"Wait a minute."

Just then, someone suddenly spoke up to stop them.

Everyone looked up and saw a young official in a scarlet robe stride out from the crowd and step forward to pay his respects.

"Your subject, Song Ke of the Censorate, pays respects to Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager."

When Emperor Jing'an saw him come forward and kneel down beside the Fang family, his phoenix eyes, which were exactly like Empress Dowager Cheng's, narrowed, and then asked, "What does Imperial Censor Song have to say?"

Song Ke was a scholar who passed the imperial examination. Five years ago, he became the third-ranked scholar and entered the Hanlin Academy. Later, because of his quick wit, exceptional eloquence, and strong sense of justice, he was recruited by the Censor-in-Chief in less than two years.

Three years later, he had become a fifth-rank censor in the Censorate.

At this time, he was only twenty-two or twenty-three years old. He was young and promising, and his presence in the court was particularly outstanding. Many prominent families and high-ranking officials extended olive branches to him, wanting to marry their daughters to him.

Unfortunately, he refused them all.

However, Qin Yizhen knew the reason behind it. This Imperial Censor Song lived next door to the Fang family. He had already secretly fallen for Fang Shixin and was just waiting for her to agree before he went to propose marriage.

This time, he is probably speaking out for Fang Shixin and the Fang family.

Qin Yizhen's eyes flickered slightly, a hint of coldness appearing in them.

Speaking of which, Fang Shixin seems to have hooked up with quite a few young men in Qindu these past few years, and those men have taken a liking to her. It's just a mystery what she's thinking. She's coveting Cheng Yan and wants to enter the palace as a concubine. What is she trying to do?

Song Ke bowed respectfully and then said, "Your Majesty and Empress Dowager, I think that Miss Fang's sudden madness is not quite right. It would be inappropriate to deal with the Fang family so hastily."

"Oh? Does Imperial Censor Song think someone harmed the Fang family's daughter?" Emperor Jing'an raised an eyebrow.

“Exactly.” Song Ke’s voice was clear and resonant. “Miss Fang was perfectly fine before she suddenly went mad. She must have been murdered. This matter is really no one’s fault but Miss Fang and her family. If the Empress Dowager and His Majesty want to hold someone accountable, they should find the person behind it.”

"Furthermore, this person is incredibly audacious, daring to make a move at the palace banquet. Not only did he disrupt the banquet, but he also endangered the Empress Dowager and His Majesty. I urge the Empress Dowager and His Majesty to investigate thoroughly and bring this scoundrel to justice."

Qin Yizhen's gaze fell on the wine glass in front of her, and she blinked.

She began, “What Imperial Censor Song said is true. Disrupting the palace banquet is indeed a crime to be punished. However, there is something I do not understand and would like to ask Imperial Censor Song.”

"Please speak, Princess." Although Song Ke said this, he was very impatient.

He read the classics and considered himself a gentleman, and he was ashamed of Cheng Yan and Qin Yizhen, this "unethical" couple.

Moreover, he had previously heard Fang Shixin say that Princess Yizhen disliked Marquis Pingxi and lived a lonely life. When she learned that he was good at chess, she asked him if he would like to keep her company, which disgusted him.

However, since the other party was of noble status, he never revealed it.

Qin Yizhen asked him, "You keep saying that this matter is not Fang's fault, that she was harmed and went mad. Then let me ask you, were those insulting words she said to me her true intention?"

Song Ke paused, completely stumped by the question.

Qin Yizhen continued, "Even Imperial Censor Song had to admit that although she was framed and suddenly went mad, the words she shouted were her true intentions, what she thought in her heart, right?"

"If she truly respects me and has no such thoughts, I don't know what kind of miraculous medicine in the world could change her mind and even reverse her likes and dislikes?"

Princess Huizhen scoffed upon hearing this: "This is hardly a miraculous medicine; it must be the work of gods and Buddhas to produce it."

"I say, Third Sister, I really think your eyesight isn't very good."

"I remember you and this Miss Fang were quite close, weren't you? She often visited the Pingxi Marquis's residence and always called you 'Sister Yizhen' and referred to herself as 'elder sister'. But I never expected that behind her 'sister' facade, she actually thought so much about you."

"It's disgusting, and it's hard for her to endure the disgust and associate with you. I wonder if she will vomit when she turns her head away from you."

Qin Yizhen's expression turned sour when she heard what she said, "It seems that you can know a person's face but not their heart. I was wrong to trust you."