Chapter 3: Framed and Stripped of Innocence

"Indeed, Master. Qingcheng is becoming more and more unruly. Yesterday, after we finished offering incense, she insisted on staying behind to play. It was only with great difficulty that I persuaded her to return with us, but who would have thought she would disappear halfway back? You tell me, a young lady like her—what if something had happened to her?" After Second Madam Lin finished her tirade, she let out a sound of feigned sobbing.

"Then why didn't you tell me last night? Why are you only saying this now?" Feng Tiande asked, his voice laced with irritation and resentment.

"Master, please calm your anger. I was only afraid of worrying you." Madam Lin quickly forced a smile. "After I returned last night, I sent people to look for Qingcheng. Fortunately, she has already been found and brought back, but, but..."

"But what?" Feng Tiande asked, puzzled. "Since she has been found, isn't everything fine? Why must you make Qingcheng rush over here?"

"Father, your daughter is here." Having heard enough from outside, Feng Qingcheng walked slowly toward Feng Tiande with a lady-like gait and called out "Father" in a sweet voice.

To be honest, she had no affection for this father. His own daughter had been bullied like this for so many years, yet he had remained completely oblivious; it seemed he was nothing more than a muddled old man.

Feng Qingcheng looked coldly at the people in the room. Second Madam Lin had one daughter, Feng Qingqing, and one son, Feng Qingguo. As far back as she could remember, they had never given her a kind look. However, due to Madam Lin’s slick nature, she always wore a smiling face whenever she was in front of Feng Tiande.

Coupled with the fact that the original Feng Qingcheng was a timid and cowardly person who never knew how to resist, Feng Tiande had remained ignorant of the life his daughter was leading all these years. Or perhaps, he knew, but his love for Feng Qingcheng simply wasn't deep enough.

Madam Feng had only one daughter, Feng Qingyao. In Feng Qingcheng’s memories, this Madam Feng spoke very little but was very respectful toward Madam Lin. Her daughter, Feng Qingyao, and Feng Qingqing were known as the "Twin Beauties of the Feng Family," and were among the most sought-after beauties in the capital, the dream of many noble scions.

"Qingcheng, you're here." Feng Tiande was very happy to see her and asked with concern, "Have you had breakfast?"

Suppressing the dissatisfaction in her heart, Feng Qingcheng smiled and said, "Father, I wonder why you asked me to come here?"

"Qingcheng, you have committed such a grave error, do you still intend to hide it from your father? With you acting like this, how am I, as your mother, supposed to help you?" The Second Madam put on a performance, tears and snot streaming down her face. Feng Qingcheng sneered inwardly; *keep acting. The harder you perform, the more miserable your end will be.*

"Second Mother, what are you saying? What did I, Qingcheng, do wrong? Please enlighten me." Feng Qingcheng blinked her eyes, looking puzzled. She called her "Second Mother" with great reluctance; she had no desire to call such a person "mother," but given the current situation, she had to swallow her pride for the time being.

"Someone, bring Fushun here," the Second Madam shouted toward the door.

A man dressed as a servant walked in from outside. The Second Madam smiled slightly. "Fushun, tell us exactly what happened last night, from beginning to end. Do not hold back a single detail."

"Replying to Master and Madam... last night... last night, I was returning home after offering incense at Fuyuan Temple when I heard unusual sounds coming from a side room. Out of curiosity, I walked over, and I saw... I saw..." The man named Fushun stammered, his forehead already covered in sweat.

"Saw what? Speak!" Feng Tiande let out a cold snort, though a vague sense of foreboding began to stir in his heart.

"I saw... I saw the Eldest Miss lying on the ground, as if she had been drugged. In my desperation to save her, I rushed in. Who would have thought... who would have thought that the Miss had been poisoned with Hehuan Powder? I had no choice but to... to consummate the marriage with the Miss." Fushun kept his head low, speaking in a trembling voice.

"What did you say?" Feng Tiande slammed his hand on the table, lunged toward Fushun, grabbed him by the collar, and threw a punch. "You bastard! Is the purity of a young lady something you can defile?"

"Father, to think Qingcheng would do such a thing. It is truly shameful." Feng Qingqing stood up and glanced at Feng Qingcheng with utter contempt. She was still wearing a veil in broad daylight, as if afraid others wouldn't know she was ugly.

"Indeed, Master. What are we to do? Qingcheng is betrothed to the Third Prince. This... how can we answer to the Imperial Family? This is a crime of deceiving the Emperor!" The Second Madam wore a look of heartbreak, though her heart was dancing with joy. This was exactly the effect she wanted; she had waited a long time for this day.

Feng Qingcheng watched the two of them acting with infinite disdain. The main reason these two were trying to frame her was that long before she was born, her mother had arranged a marriage with the current Emperor’s favorite consort, Noble Consort Bai. The object of that betrothal was the Noble Consort’s son, the Third Prince, Xiao Ruofeng.

However, perhaps because of Feng Qingcheng’s reputation as a useless, ugly girl, she was nearing seventeen and Xiao Ruofeng still refused to fulfill the engagement. Her only memory of him was a fleeting glance during Feng Tiande’s fiftieth birthday banquet when she was twelve.

She didn't know much about him, but she imagined that it was that one glimpse at the banquet that had caused the original owner of this body to never let go of the Third Prince.

It made sense. In a world where men were superior and women inferior, how could she fall for any other man besides the husband she was destined to marry? To remain chaste for the one she loved—perhaps that was the main reason she had chosen to die by hitting her head against a pillar rather than succumb to the aphrodisiac.

"Qingcheng, is what this boy said... true?" Feng Tiande’s voice trembled noticeably. This was something he did not want to see; after all, Qingcheng was the child he had with the woman he loved.