My stepsister tried to steal the prince's hand in marriage, but little did she know I had been

Lady Wen was enjoying her tea when the Duchess of Su suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her hair tightly before she could react.

What followed was a heavy slap.

"You shameless woman!" The Duchess of Su's face was full of anger, her eyes filled with both jealousy and disgust. "How dare you seduce the Duke!"

There were quite a few people present, almost all of whom were prominent figures in the capital.

No one expected that the Duchess of Su would suddenly pull this stunt.

This slap stunned Madam Wen. She covered her face and instinctively fell to the ground.

However, seeing her frail appearance, the Duchess of Su seemed to be even more provoked. She directly pressed her to the ground and slapped her face with both hands.

Lady Wen usually only handled mundane affairs at home, and was no match for the wife of the Duke of Su, who came from a military family. She was pinned to the ground and had no power to fight back, and could only let out a pitiful scream.

Those present then seemed to realize what was happening and stepped forward to dissuade him.

"Let's talk things out. Why resort to violence? What if it's a misunderstanding?"

At this moment, Duke Wen strode forward. Seeing Madam Wen being beaten on the ground, he was furious: "Stop! Do you have any respect for the Duke Wen's mansion?"

Lin Mama, who was standing outside the hall, also rushed in and shielded Madam Wen behind her.

"Madam, are you alright?" Lin Mama asked tenderly, wiping the dust off Madam Wen's face.

However, Madam Wen's face was covered with handprints and red marks. As soon as Lin Mama wiped them, she kept gasping for breath.

However, even now, she still doesn't understand why the Duchess of Su's anger is directed at her.

Shouldn't she have torn Wen Shuyao apart?

"Where is Wen Shuyao?" Madam Wen suddenly realized something was wrong. Ignoring the pain on her face, she grabbed Lin Mama.

Upon hearing this, Granny Lin was completely bewildered: "I didn't see the young lady..."

Beside her, the Duchess of Su sneered a few times and threw a handkerchief at the Duke of Wen.

Duke Wen took the handkerchief, and after seeing the pattern on it clearly, his expression froze.

Madam Wen looked at the handkerchief and a sense of foreboding arose in her heart.

Lady Su said sternly, "This is a handkerchief found on my husband. I would like to ask Duke Wen to take a look and see if this is Lady Wen's embroidery."

Before Duke Wen could speak, Lady Wen snatched the handkerchief from him, her pupils widening in that instant.

She certainly wouldn't mistake her own embroidery skills; this handkerchief... was indeed hers!

Thinking of this, she felt uneasy and looked at Duke Wen with unease.

In this situation, even if she had a mouth, she couldn't explain herself. The only one who could shield her from all of this was Duke Wen.

Everyone inside the palace was paying close attention to what was happening here, and even the Empress sent someone over to inquire.

Duke Wen remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he had already clenched his fists.

“You’ve made a mistake,” Duke Wen said in a deep voice. “This embroidery technique was not done by my wife.”

"Is that so?" Lady Su sneered. "Could it be that Duke Wen is deliberately covering up her family scandal? This was said by one of your maids..."

She wanted to find the maid from earlier, but after looking around, she couldn't find her anywhere. Besides, the maid kept her head down, so she couldn't make out her appearance.

Seizing this opportunity, Duke Wen turned to her and said coldly, "The humiliation of today will never be forgotten by the Duke Wen family. As for right and wrong, His Majesty and Empress will decide!"

On such important matters, Duke Wen has always been clear-headed.

If such a scandal were to reach the ears of the Emperor and Empress, as long as he insisted that the handkerchief was not embroidered by Madam Wen, it would not have much impact on the Duke of Wen's mansion, but it would have a much greater impact on the Duke of Su...

His Majesty has long harbored resentment towards the Duke of Su, and with such a commotion today, the Duke of Su will be the one to suffer.

Clearly, the Duchess of Su was also well aware of this.

Her face was icy cold, but Duke Wen was relentless: "Since you say that it was a maid from my Duke Wen's mansion who identified her, where is that maid?"

"Or... is this all just your conjecture?" Duke Wen stared intently at Lady Su, his eyes gleaming.

Lady Su Guoguo was unable to answer for a long time, her face was extremely ugly, and the maid had disappeared without a trace.

A moment later, she snorted coldly, "I won't let this go so easily. You just wait and see!"

"You two adulterers, sooner or later..." Her gaze turned icy, sweeping across Madam Wen's still-charming face like a venomous snake, "I will take care of you both."

Madam Wen clenched her hands tightly, tears streaming down her face: "But I really don't know what happened. I was just sitting here, I didn't go anywhere..."

Upon hearing her words, the Duchess of Su's anger surged, but was persuaded to calm down by the nanny beside her.

"You just wait!" Lady Su said threateningly, then strode away.

In an instant, the people inside the hall dispersed.

However, their gazes remained fixed on the Duke of Wen and his wife.

Duke Wen squatted down and personally helped Lady Wen up.

“My lord…” Madam Wen said with tears in her eyes, “This matter was truly not done by me.”

Duke Wen patted her hand: "I'll take you back first."

Upon hearing this, Madam Wen's heart skipped a beat.

She looked up, but she couldn't discern his thoughts from the Duke of Wen's expression.

This farce has completely humiliated her.

She couldn't wait to leave this place, so without thinking twice, she followed Duke Wen.

As Duke Wen walked faster and faster, Madam Wen's ominous premonition grew stronger.

As soon as you step out of the palace gate, you are greeted by the Duke of Wen's face, which is as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Speak!" Duke Wen threw the handkerchief at Madam Wen's face and demanded sharply, "When exactly did you and him begin your affair?"

Lady Wen was shocked. She opened her mouth, but before she could utter a word of rebuttal, Duke Wen cut her off again: "This handkerchief is clearly embroidered by you! I can see it clearly! Now, do you still want to deny it?"

"I'm innocent!" Madam Wen grabbed his sleeve urgently and protested, "I was at the banquet just now, I didn't go anywhere. That Fang woman is clearly making trouble for no reason!"

"My lord, you saw me! How could I possibly have had the chance to... have an affair with the Duke of Su!" Mentioning the Duke of Su made her feel deeply humiliated, yet she had no choice but to try her best to prove her innocence at this moment.

Her maternal family seemed to be living a life of luxury, but they maintained their wealth and status by marrying their daughters. For her, Duke Wen was her only support, and she could not lose his favor.

However, all she received in response was a cold snort from the Duke of Wen.

The carriage sped towards the Duke of Wen's residence. The couple, each lost in their own thoughts, were unaware that someone else had been left behind in the palace.