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

Chapter 228 Soul Questioning

Shen Yan's face darkened: "I'm worried that she still holds a grudge against me."

"Your Excellency, you are really looking down on my elder sister." Lu Mingyang explained, "My elder sister didn't invite you to Hong'er's first birthday party because she didn't want to cause trouble for you."

Shen Yan was surprised: "Implicated?"

"Isn't it?" Lu Mingyang asked back, "Why did you personally send my elder sister to the prison, and why did you risk your life to save her? Can you explain it yourself?"

Shen Yan panicked and said, "I am an official from the Ministry of Justice and cannot disregard the law; but I also admire your father."

"Really? If that's the case, why do you care what my elder sister thinks of you?" Lu Mingyang looked at his crippled right hand and said calmly, "I thought you were upright and brave, not a pedantic scholar, but it turns out you're just like that."

Shen Yan was puzzled: "Why does the princess say that?"

"There are some things that adults dare not say, so keep them hidden forever. Don't be so shy, it will hurt others and yourself."

After saying that, Lu Mingyang nodded and left.

By the time they returned to the Chengyang Marquis' Mansion, it was already completely dark. Lu Mingyang stayed with his silent sister until she went to bed. On the bed, Yang Nian'er tossed and turned, her breathing now and then ragged and weak.

Lu Mingyang gently stroked her shoulder and asked, "Nian'er, what do you want to do?"

After a long while, Yang Nian'er turned around and said slowly, "I want to report to the police."

Lu Mingyang warned: "You will lose!"

"I'll sue you even if I lose." Yang Nian'er's eyes were determined. "Isn't Old Yang most worried about losing face? I want to see how he can have the nerve to ask for my house in public."

"Nian'er, have you ever thought that the most embarrassing one is actually you." It's just like when he was standing in the court and was attacked for such a ridiculous reason.

But the onlookers blamed themselves.

Yang Nian'er asked back: "Do you think I've embarrassed you?"

Obviously, she could just sign the indenture of the Chengyang Marquis's Mansion first, take back the house, and then tear it up. But she chose a path that was doomed to fail.

"No!" Lu Mingyang shook his head confidently, "I'm very proud to have a sister like you."

The next morning, the two men once again struck the red-lacquered drum in front of the Jingzhao government office. The Jingzhao prefect, with a sullen expression, accepted the confession. However, Lu Mingyang still exercised his privilege.

After submitting a confession, ordinary people would have to wait for a return from the Jingzhao Prefecture before they could be brought to court. This could take as little as half a month, or as long as a year or two. However, Lu Mingyang was worried that the palace would learn of it and cause trouble, so he ordered his case brought to court immediately.

Wei Luo and Yang Tiezhu were summoned to the Jingzhao government office without any preparation.

Jingzhao Yin slammed the gavel and stated the content of Yang Nian'er's complaint with a gloomy face. Wei Luo looked at Yang Nian'er kneeling on the ground and interrupted Jingzhao Yin.

"Sir, I need to go to the bathroom urgently. Can you please wait a moment?"

"Of course!" Jingzhao Yin responded quickly.

Wei Luo went to the back of the hall. As he walked around the wall, he turned back to look at Lu Mingyang, who was hidden among the common people. The secretary understood and hurriedly invited Lu Mingyang to the back of the hall.

Wei Luo looked at the approaching person with a helpless look in his eyes: "Cousin, I really didn't know that Sister Nian'er had a bad relationship with her parents. If she wants it back, I can help her get it back. Can you persuade her and stop making trouble?"

"Nonsense?" Lu Mingyang raised his eyebrows.

"Isn't this just nonsense?" Wei Luo said angrily, "Nian'er is young and doesn't understand many things. Don't you understand either? A woman's reputation is so important. Just because of such a small matter, it will be known to everyone and ruin her life."

"Cousin, I know you treat Nian'er well, but that's your self-righteous kindness, not the kindness she desires. The little things you mentioned are Nian'er's hope to survive and find a place to live in this world."

Wei Luo asked angrily, "Do you think you can win? There are so many people outside, who isn't here to watch us laugh?"

"I'm not!" Lu Mingyang retorted calmly, "I knew I would lose, and Nian'er knew it too. But at least we tried. At least from now on, she won't have to live in the fantasy she created. She'll know what the real world is like."

"As for how she will face the world after the truth comes out, whether to compromise or continue, I will be with her. This is my love for her."

"Cousin, you can love her in your own way, but you have no right to stop her from loving me in my way!"

After Lu Mingyang finished speaking, he turned and left.

The secretary scratched her head and said, "My fourth cousin, why are you talking so strangely?"

"Go back!" Wei Luo's mind was in a mess, and he couldn't tell the difference between the year of Rat and the year of Yin. But he still tried his best to protect Nian'er's reputation.

When asked by Jingzhao Yin, he just said that he bought a house for Yang Nian'er because of his cousin, and then when he saw Yang Nian'er's father coming to the capital, he gave the house to him.

The onlookers started talking about it, and the most agreed-upon conclusion was that Yang Nian'er was Wei Luo's concubine kept in the capital. It was obvious that Prince Wei had grown tired of her and didn't want Yang Nian'er to bother him anymore, so he transferred the house to Yang Nian'er's father.

But she got a house for free, but she was still not satisfied. She stayed with the prince and wanted more.

Even though Yang Nian'er said she gave Wei Luo 1,600 taels of silver, it still didn't suppress these voices. On the contrary, the fact that the house price was far below the market price only intensified these voices.

Seeing that the trial was almost over, the Jingzhao Yin, in order to do the princess a favor and prevent Yang Nian'er from losing too badly, pronounced the verdict: "Since this is the case, I sentence Master Wei to return Miss Yang one thousand six hundred taels of silver."

"That won't do!" Yang Tiezhu thought he was being asked to pay the 1,600 taels of silver and immediately panicked. "Prince Wei said when we signed the contract that my daughter had given him all the silver, so there was no need to pay more. I can't go back on my word. Besides, my daughter's silver is my silver. If you want to return it, you have to return it to me."

Perhaps it was the sheer cost of a single house, or perhaps it was the remoteness of Shangyang Village, where he had no familiar neighbors. Yang Tiezhu's attitude was completely inconsistent with his usual honest image.

The expected shame and embarrassment were completely absent. Yang Nian'er angrily snorted at her father who was kneeling beside her: "Bah, shameless! All that money belongs to me, and you, a loser who only knows how to sell your daughter, have the nerve to ask for my money."

Mother Yang outside the hall shouted anxiously, "Third girl, stop talking nonsense and admit your mistake to your father. Your father won't blame you."

Yang Nian'er stood up and looked outside the hall. She glanced past her mother and looked at the unfamiliar faces. She asked loudly, "Sisters, mothers-in-law and aunts, we worked so hard to earn our money, why can't we spend it ourselves? Do you think we should give it to the men in our families?"

The women in the crowd, young and old, all bowed their heads in silence. It was unclear whether they were afraid to speak or simply sad.

The men in the crowd raised their heads and angrily accused Yang Nian'er.