On the day of the Empress Dowager's birthday, my husband's childhood sweetheart, Wendy Shaw, showed up half-naked, wailing that my brother had ruined her purity. The noble ladies pointed at our family and spat. "Miss Shaw is a candidate for imperial consort. I can't believe Mr. Greenwood would do something so bold! He should be beaten to death!" I took out the Imperial Pardon Token that our family received after our father died on the battlefield and begged for mercy. In the end, the Emperor spared my brother’s life and even bestowed a marriage between him and Wendy. But the very next moment, my husband, Eric Jones, struck in public and broke both of my brother’s legs. He leaned close to my ear and sighed softly. “If His Majesty’s anger isn’t vented now, he might remember this later and exterminate the entire Greenwood family.” My brother and I swallowed the humiliation. But seven and a half months later, Wendy gave birth to an eight-pound baby boy. My brother cried out, blood in his tears, “I’ve said it a thousand times, I never even touched a single finger of hers!” He had repeated those words countless times on that day, yet no one believed him. They only mocked him for daring to act but not to admit it. Dragging his crippled legs, he picked up the child and tried to file a formal accusation before the throne, only to have his skull smashed from behind by Eric. I opened my mouth to scream, but his hand clamped around my throat. "Have you ever thought about how Wendy and the child will live if you and your brother take this to His Majesty?" His eyes were ruthless. He strangled me to death, even as I was heavily pregnant. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the very day of the birthday banquet. This time, I directly had my brother bound and locked inside a side hall. Yet Wendy still cried that someone had defiled her innocence. *** Wendy slammed her forehead against the dragon-carved pillar until blood streaked down her face. Sobbing, she collapsed into the arms of several noble ladies, trembling as if the world had ended. “I’ve lost my purity. I’ve shamed the Shaw ancestors, and I can no longer face His Majesty. Just let me die!” The ladies shot me vicious looks, their eyes sharp as knives. Each of them burned with righteous fury, as if they wished to spit on me where I stood. “The Greenwood family has grown too arrogant! Guarding the frontier and then returning to violate a maiden chosen for the imperial consort selection?” “They rely on their military merit to act lawlessly, as if even the Emperor were beneath them!” “They brag about strict discipline in the army, yet dare behave so wildly under the Son of Heaven’s gaze. Who knows how many women at the border he’s already ruined!” I glanced at the man who was standing right next to Wendy. It was my husband, Eric. I suppressed the sneer tugging at my lips and spoke calmly, my voice slow and cold. "Miss Shaw, I'd suggest you think about what you say very carefully. Was it really my brother who raped you?" Wendy's body stiffened, but then she cried even harder. “I already belong to Adam. Why must you humiliate me like this, my lady? I… I might as well die!” She lunged for the pillar again, but the noble ladies hurriedly grabbed her and held her back. Eric walked over to me and dragged me to one side. “Laura Greenwood,” he said through clenched teeth, “your brother committed a beastly crime, yet instead of making him confess, you dare use your status to bully and interrogate Wendy? The honor your Greenwood men won with their blood on the battlefield has been completely ruined by you siblings!” I winced at the pain from his tight grip. But inside, I couldn’t help letting out a cold, silent laugh.
About an hour ago, I personally tied Adam up as if he were a prisoner of war and locked him in a side hall. How could he possibly have slipped out and violated Wendy? I lifted my gaze, fearless, and met Eric’s eyes. “Eric, are you certain it was my brother?” His expression turned vicious. He leaned close, spitting the words at my face. “I knocked that beast unconscious myself, tied him up, and saved Wendy. Do you think I wouldn’t recognize my own brother-in-law?” My heart skipped a beat at those words. Could it be that Adam had broken out of the side hall? "How long are you going to keep this up, Mrs. Jones?" one of the elder matron asked. “As the wife of a court official, instead of easing your husband’s burdens, you shield your scandalous, debauched brother. You are utterly unfit to be the mistress of the Jones household!” “Must Lord Jones twist the law for your sake? Must he protect that disgraceful brother of yours and drive Miss Shaw to her death before you’re satisfied?” Eric glared at me. "Stop embarrassing yourself, Laura!" I snorted and scanned everyone in the room, who thought they were on the side of justice. "Looks like you're going to pin the blame on my brother no matter if Miss Shaw is raped or not today." "What?" Tears streamed down Wendy's cheeks as if she had suffered a huge grievance. She trembled as she took out a handkerchief covered in blood and threw it at my feet. Her voice broke, every word soaked in grievance. “I, Wendy, a sheltered maiden of good family, am I some shameless, wanton harlot who would willingly debase herself? If the Greenwood family refuses to acknowledge this, then I will die here today and never stain your noble name with my presence!” With that, she turned and rushed toward the pillar again. The noble ladies cried out in alarm, grabbing her and holding her fast. "Don't do that, silly girl. It's all that pervert from the Greenwood family's fault! It's already bad enough that you were raped; we can't let you just kill yourself like that. We can't let that bastard off that easily!" shouted the elderly woman. She then turned to me, "Miss Shaw is a candidate for imperial consort. One day she may bear heirs for the royal family! Your Greenwood household is only a minor marquisate. Do you really think you’re some prized treasure, that she would ruin her own reputation just to frame you?" Eric frowned and seized my wrist, putting on the guise of someone acting for my own good. "Stop this nonsense, Laura. Just admit that Adam's behind all of this and make preparations for Adam and Wendy's wedding. After that, you need to beg His Majesty for his forgiveness. His Majesty is benevolent. Perhaps he’ll spare Adam’s life. Otherwise, merely for defiling a consort candidate, extermination of the entire family would be considered lenient." In my previous life, I was tricked by those same words. I believed my brother had truly committed a drunken mistake. Out of guilt, I handed over half the Northern Marquis’ Estate as betrothal gifts to the Shaw family, and treated Wendy like an honored ancestor. In the end, she gave birth to a bastard child after only seven and a half months, and destroyed my entire family. The memory made my stomach churn with nausea. I used all my strength to pull my arm out of Eric's hand. "You want Wendy to marry into our family? No way!" I shouted. Eric's face immediately darkened, his gaze turning vicious. Before he could lash out, a commotion rippled through the crowd. Wendy’s father, John Shaw, hurried in.
His face was livid, his whole body trembling with fury. He strode straight up to her and raised his hand. A loud, sharp slap rang out. The blow sent her sprawling to the ground, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. "Why are you still alive, you embarrassing piece of shit? Guards! Take this whore away and strangle her to death! I don't want her embarrassing the Shaw family!" Two servants of the Shaw family immediately walked forward. "That won't be necessary, Father," cried Wendy as she took off her silver hairpin and stabbed it at her own neck. The hall erupted at once. Some were gasping, some tried to stop Wendy, and others turned to me. "Mrs. Jones, are you just going to stand and watch all of this? If your brother hadn’t done something so vile, would Miss Shaw be driven to this? Where's your conscience?" I watched the spectacle with cold eyes and said nothing. A ruthless look flashed in Wendy's eyes as she pushed the hairpin into her neck. Blood gushed out instantly. All the noble ladies gasped. “Heavens above! The Greenwood family has driven someone to suicide!” Eric's face completely changed. He rushed forward and took the hairpin from Wendy's hand. "Quick! Summon the imperial doctor!" He quickly ripped off a piece of his clothes and pressed it against the bleeding wound on Wendy's neck. Wendy was surrounded by people as she blinked weakly. Yet when her gaze brushed past me, there was no will to die in her eyes, only a faint, triumphant gleam, as if victory were already within reach. After Wendy's wound was taken care of, Eric walked up to me. "You evil bitch!" he cursed angrily and slapped me hard across my face. The blow caused me to stumble and fall. My palms skidded across the cold, hard floor and immediately began to bleed. My left cheek was burning with pain, and my left ear was ringing as well. Eric pointed at me as he looked at me with cunning eyes. "How can you be so ruthless? Do you really want to force Wendy to her death? The Jones family has no place for such a ruthless woman like you! I'll divorce you right now!" All the noble ladies nodded in agreement. They even began clapping and cheering. "You did the right thing, Mr. Jones! You should divorce this evil bitch!" I was bombarded with curses and insults. They all looked like they wanted to throw rotten eggs at me. I swallowed the blood in my mouth and ignored the scorching pain in my palm as I forced myself up from the ground. "Accusations require proof, Mr. Jones. Which one of you has actually seen my brother raping Wendy?" Everyone present looked at each other in a daze. Eric sneered. "Looks like you just don't know when to give up!" He walked quickly to the corner of the hall and kicked a sack that was guarded by a couple of guards. He then bent down and untied the rope, reached in, felt around a little, and pulled out a Silver Cloud Circlet. He held the circlet high and turned to face the others. "Take a look, everyone! This Silver Cloud Circlet is something only a Marquis can wear! Of all the Marquises in the kingdom, only my brother-in-law, Adam Greenwood, is missing! The rest are all present!" Eric's gaze was sharp as a knife. He threw the circlet, which still had a few strands of hair on it, towards me. "What else do you have to say, Laura?" My heart sank at the sight of the circlet. This circlet was indeed the one that Adam was wearing today. Could it be that someone had released Adam after I left? No, that was impossible! John cursed, "Are you still going to say it's not your brother now that we have solid evidence?" I gritted my teeth and looked straight at Eric as I laughed sarcastically. "Well, that's strange. My brother and I have only just gotten back to Impelia from the boarders. We might not have attended banquets often, but we've never caused any problems. Why was it that when I especially told my brother to stay by your side, Eric, to learn proper etiquette, such a thing happened? Who exactly is having an affair with Wendy and wants to frame my brother and family for it?" "That's nonsense!" Eric shouted angrily. He was clearly in a panic. A couple of men held him back. Everyone present shook their heads at me. "You've really lost it! You are actually trying to frame your husband just to protect your brother!" "You really have no conscience! Looks like you want to drag the Jones family down with you!" "I really feel sorry for Eric to have married such a heartless woman!" A couple of kind elders came over and tried to calm me down. "Let's not make things more complicated than they already are, Laura. Just apologize to Eric. We can still work something out." I pushed their hands away and sneered. "Why should I apologize? I did nothing wrong!" Someone present mumbled, "Mr. Jones and Miss Shaw grew up together. If there really was something between them, would Eric have married her?" Everyone present felt the statement sounded a little weird, but soon, realization dawned on them. An elderly lady of the Jones family became anxious and grabbed my arm. "What's gotten into you? All the men of the Greenwood family have died on the battlefield, and your brother's the only man left! If His Majesty and Empress Dowager find out about this, what would they do to your brother?" I couldn't help but recall what happened in my previous life. After Adam's legs were crippled, all he could do was lie in bed all day. His wound became infected and began to rot. He used to be the most talented young general in the army, but ended up being a cripple who couldn't even walk. I couldn't forget the hopeless look in his eyes when he was nothing but skin and bones and wishing he were dead.
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