Chapter 9: 009 毒蝎心肠

Shangguan Erya had already taken note of all the Princess Consort of Gong's expressions just a moment ago, so she took several quick strides forward to block her line of sight, making a preemptive strike!

Before her transmigration, the warlord aristocratic family Shangguan Erya lived in was filled with all sorts of conspiracies. Her father's dozen or so concubines fought bitterly with one another, and the children of various branches harbored hidden schemes. She had long since grown accustomed to such things; the Princess Consort of Gong's little tricks were simply not worth mentioning!

Standing by the bedside with her back to everyone, Shangguan Erya appraised the woman before her—Shangguan Yunzhu—with an indifferent expression.

This was also the first time she had seen her own appearance on someone else's face. In truth, whether in terms of facial features or stature, she could indeed be called a peerless beauty. However, Shangguan Yunzhu's beauty was merely skin deep; beneath her glamorous exterior lay a heart as poisonous as a scorpion, and her conduct was no better than that of a beast.

Shangguan Yunzhu was startled by Shangguan Erya's unfamiliar gaze. She tried to sit up several times, but was held immobile by Shangguan Erya's hand pressing down on her shoulder. Her heart couldn't help but leap in shock—since when did Shangguan Erya possess such profound internal strength?

Her eyes widened, and just as she was about to speak, Shangguan Erya beat her to it, saying with sudden realization, "Could it be that the person the Grand Dowager said wanted to marry Second Young Master Ning is you, Yunzhu?"

By calling out Shangguan Yunzhu's name loudly in two consecutive sentences, she left the girl with nowhere to hide.

Immediately after, Shangguan Erya turned around and knelt before the Grand Dowager of the Duke of Fuguo's manor, speaking in a cold, measured tone, "I beg the Grand Dowager, Mother, to seek justice for Erya. You cannot allow Erya to suffer such a baseless injustice!"

Shangguan Yunzhu also knelt in a panic, crawling on her knees to the feet of the Grand Dowager and the Princess Consort of Gong to kowtow. "I am the real Shangguan Erya! It was I who sent my maid today to invite the drunken Second Young Master Ning to meet, for it is true that Erya has long admired Second Young Master Ning. Since I, Shangguan Erya, have done it, I dare to admit it! I only ask that the Grand Dowager, Mother, see my sincerity and fulfill Erya's wish!"

The surrounding female guests whispered among themselves; they had truly never seen a lady from any household so shameless.

The sequence of events had already been fabricated very clearly by Shangguan Yunzhu. It was just that Ning Lei was not in the room at this moment. Normally, it would be best for as few people as possible to know about such an incident, but to create public opinion, she had deliberately allowed the guests and female attendees to stumble upon this farce.

She wasn't even afraid of shooting herself in the foot!

Shangguan Erya asked in a heavy voice, "Since you want to marry Second Young Master Ning, then what is the meaning of changing into clothes identical to mine?"

"Nonsense!" Shangguan Yunzhu was finally incensed by shame, "You... Shangguan... Yunzhu...!"

"Me what? Sister, why don't you say it?" A flash of mockery appeared in Shangguan Erya's eyes.

Shangguan Yunzhu almost called out the wrong name. Being subjected to Shangguan Erya's continuous questioning, she lost her composure even further. After thinking repeatedly in her heart for a long time, she finally said, "I want to ask you as well, why did you change into clothes identical to mine!"

If she wanted to prove she was Shangguan Erya, she had to refer to Shangguan Erya as her own name. In this way, she could not slander the other party, otherwise, she would be slandering her own reputation.

Only after she regained her true identity later would she avoid having a bad reputation.

Shangguan Yunzhu was extremely conflicted—conflicted to death!

Shangguan Erya had naturally realized this long ago. She glanced sideways at the gloom-faced Yunzhu and said, "You say you want to marry Second Young Master Ning? If that is truly the case, why use a method that destroys your reputation? Although you are a concubine's daughter, if you simply approached Mother to express your feelings, there would be no reason for Mother not to agree! Or is it that in your heart, you know Mother will never stand up for you, which is why you are willing to ruin your own reputation?"

Upon hearing Shangguan Erya's words, the surrounding discussions grew even louder.

"That makes sense. A vassal king and the Duke of Fuguo's manor are considered a well-matched pair, and both are from concubine lineages. Logically, there is no reason to do such a thing by ruining one's reputation. Could it really be the Princess Consort..."

Everyone turned their eyes toward the Princess Consort of Gong, whose face was so cold it was practically crumbling. They felt that perhaps her true thoughts had been hit upon; otherwise, why was her expression so terrible?

Old Madam Wang pondered for a moment before speaking to break the deadlock, "What does the Princess Consort of Gong think?"

The Princess Consort of Gong stared fixedly at Shangguan Yunzhu and sighed, "Erya, although you were not raised at my knee, I have treated you and your sisters with equal fairness. Your thinking of me this way truly breaks my heart. However, since things have come to this, seeing how devoted you are to Second Young Master Ning, Mother will certainly seek justice for you!"

She was indirectly refuting the recent discussions, and furthermore, she was revealing that Shangguan Erya was nothing more than an ungrateful, white-eyed wolf!

Shangguan Yunzhu was both ashamed and enraged. She hated it so much that she immediately pointed at Shangguan Erya's nose to scold her, but doing so would be like scolding herself. She could only endure her fury and cry out, "Mother, it is your daughter who is ungrateful and has failed your great love. I harbored secret intentions and did not dare let you know, which is why I came up with this method! It is I, Shangguan Erya, who is wrong; it is I who am filthy, despicable, and shameless!"

Shangguan Yunzhu cried with such a torrent of tears and snot that she appeared deeply moved. She had made up her mind to ruin Shangguan Erya's reputation completely!