The explosive accusation rang through the main hall, stunning everyone present. Even Shen Yangge was a beat slow to react. "Huh?"
Kneeling on the floor, Shen Heqian broke into a cold sweat. She knew just how mercurial this Crown Prince was, though the rumors circulating among the people described His Highness as gentle, modest, and courteous.
But she could not forget the scene she had witnessed outside the palace gates, when he had killed someone.
Those sinister eyes still haunted her to this day.
Shen Yangge had no idea what was going on. He silently puzzled over why Chu Xuanzhen was displeased.
But before he could give it much thought, Chu Xuanzhen raised his hand.
The moment that slender, jade-white hand with its well-defined knuckles appeared, Shen Yangge felt his scalp twitch. He immediately said, "Your Highness, let's talk this through."
Chu Xuanzhen did not seem to care whether he wanted to talk it through. He seized the front of Shen Yangge's robe and dragged him close, his expression icy. "Hmm?"
His slightly cool breath brushed Shen Yangge's face, tickling his skin and making his cheeks warm and his heart race.
"Talk this through...?"
Chu Xuanzhen's low, husky voice swept past his ear and sank into it, languid with a trace of aristocratic elegance. No matter how displeased he was, his face seemed to maintain that same unchanging indifference.
Except...
When he was taking liberties with Shen Yangge.
Shen Yangge tried to reason with him. "Your Highness, you came to question me without even explaining why. How am I supposed to know who this woman you're referring to is?"
As he finished speaking, Shen Yangge fixed his almond-shaped eyes on Chu Xuanzhen and tugged at the front of his robe with both hands, only to find that he could not