Deliberately destroying her reputation

Naturally, Shangguan Qing would not refuse her younger sister's request.

[It was already late that evening. Shangguan Niao deliberately led Shangguan Qing down a secluded alley. Halfway through, several beggars suddenly emerged from the shadows. Though frightened, Shangguan Qing forced herself to stand firm and protect Shangguan Niao.]

[But she had no idea that Shangguan Niao had paid those beggars to come and ruin her.]

[The beggars tore Shangguan Niao's clothes to shreds and deeply slashed Shangguan Qing's face with a knife. At the critical moment, an elderly passerby heard the commotion and drove the beggars away with a shovel.]

[Having achieved their goal, the beggars fled in haste. What they did not know was that Shangguan Niao had smeared arsenic on the silver she gave them.]

[They planned to take the silver to a brothel for some pleasure, only to end up dying in its beds.]

[After Shangguan Qing's face was slashed, rumors spread throughout the capital. Some said she had secretly intruded on someone else's marriage and had her face slashed by the lawful wife. Others said Shangguan Qing was mentally disturbed and often harmed herself, and that she had inflicted the scars on her face herself.]

[All these different rumors caused Shangguan Qing unbearable anguish. She washed her face with tears all day and even considered ending her life.]

[At precisely this moment, Shangguan Niao stepped forward to play the kindhearted sister, urging Shangguan Qing to stay strong. Little did she know that Shangguan Niao had deliberately fabricated the rumors circulating outside.]

Large tears rolled uncontrollably down Shangguan Qing's cheeks.

She clutched her chest tightly. Countless fine needles pierced deep into her heart, densely packed, pressing down until she could barely breathe.

Hearing the system describe the events of that year without a single detail amiss, Shangguan Qing could no longer deceive herself.

Her life had been ruined by the younger sister she loved and trusted most.

Duke Dingguo's face was so dark it looked ready to drip water. Shock and fury mingled within him, and his chest heaved violently, betraying his unparalleled rage.

[After all these years, had Shangguan Qing really never sensed even a trace of Shangguan Niao's malice?]

Was she simply too kind by nature, or did her love for her sister outweigh everything else?

Though she sympathized with Shangguan Qing's plight.

No matter how she looked at it, Shen Yuxi thought Shangguan Qing was... stupid.

The system's answer was decisive.

[No. Shangguan Qing always believed that her fate was fraught with misfortune, that fortune was making a fool of her. In her eyes, her younger sister Shangguan Niao was occasionally willful and prone to little tantrums, but she was not bad at heart, much less did she have any reason to hurt her.]

Shen Yuxi noticed something questionable.

She asked, [His daughter was hurt. Didn't Duke Dingguo investigate further?]

[It's rather laughable, really. No sooner had the beggars entered the brothel than a thief stole the silver in their pockets. Duke Dingguo only discovered that several beggars had died of poisoning in the brothel, but there was no way to establish the source of the poison.]

[A large-scale investigation would certainly have stirred up public discussion. One daughter had her clothes stripped off, while the other had her face slashed. Concerned for his daughters' reputations, Duke Dingguo avoided making a public affair of it, which indirectly caused him to miss the best opportunity to uncover the truth.]

An uproar swept through the hall, followed by utter silence.

No one had imagined that the whole story would be so absurd and laughable.

The elder sister had treated her younger sister sincerely, while the younger sister, jealous of her, had used the cruelest means to ruin her entire life.

"Qing'er!"

Shangguan Qing suddenly went limp. Her slender body swayed twice before she fell straight backward, her eyes tightly shut as she lost consciousness completely.

"Everyone, this happened so suddenly. I must take my daughter home and see to her first." Duke Dingguo cupped his hands, expressing his apologies to the guests.

Apart from Shen Yuxi, who looked utterly bewildered, everyone knew why Shangguan Qing had fainted.

The pain of being betrayed by the person closest and dearest to her was easy to imagine.

The gazes everyone directed at Shen Yuxi held a little more awe.

How terrifying!

Who did not have a few secrets that could never see the light of day?

Once exposed, they could lose their reputation at best, and their life at worst.

Lord Little Shen truly was not someone to provoke.

The banquet continued, but an indescribably strange atmosphere hung over it.

They had thought they would remain there peacefully until it was time to return home.

Who could have expected that a maid would come forward to refill Shen Yuxi's tea, only for her hand to shake and accidentally spill tea over Shen Yuxi's clothes, soaking more than half of them?

"Ah!"

"I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"

Before Shen Yuxi had even voiced a reprimand, the maid dropped to her knees in terror and knocked her head against the floor with repeated thuds, begging for mercy.

It was as though Shen Yuxi were some raging flood or savage beast, ready to eat her alive the very next second.

The enormous commotion once again drew everyone's attention.

"Xi'er!" / "Little sister!"

The whole Shen family called out in alarm. Father Shen and Shen Shiyan were seated in the men's section and could not conveniently come over, while Madam Shen and Shen Tinglan hurried anxiously to Shen Yuxi.

"It's fine. The water wasn't hot." Shen Yuxi took Madam Shen's hand.

The maid asked tentatively, "It must be uncomfortable wearing wet clothes, Lord Little Shen. Why don't you follow me to a side hall to get changed?"

Shen Yuxi's brows knitted slightly. She could not shake an indescribably strange feeling.

Just then, the system's voice suddenly rang out cheerfully in Shen Yuxi's mind, carrying a teasing hint of someone who never minded making a spectacle even bigger.

[Host, there's a good show tonight. Want to go watch?]

Shen Yuxi raised a brow and answered decisively in her heart, almost without thinking, [Of course!]

[Let me tell you, Shangguan Niao bribed this maid to deliberately spill water on you.]

Hearing her inner voice, the maid suddenly shrank back, her shoulders trembling almost imperceptibly as she kept her head firmly lowered.

Shen Yuxi scoffed. [How is she planning to frame me? Don't tell me it's one of those illicit-affair setups?]

Having immersed herself in countless palace-intrigue and household-intrigue novels, she was all too familiar with this trick.

In a world that valued a woman's purity, chastity, and dignity above her life, there was no need for flashing blades or fatal wounds. A mere accusation of "improper conduct," "secretly exchanging gifts," or "defiling the inner chambers" could easily push a young lady from a distinguished family into eternal ruin.

Her reputation destroyed, despised by all, her family disgraced, with nowhere left to stand.

It was the most insidious, most reliable, and most lethal killing move.

Grinding its teeth, the system confirmed, [Exactly. There's a naked man hiding in the side hall right now. Shangguan Niao wants to lure you there and lock you in with him.]

[Today is Duke Dingguo's birthday banquet, and so many people are gathered here. As long as someone sees you sharing a room with a naked man, Host, your reputation will be utterly ruined.]

The Shen family's faces turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Rage flared in Shen Shiyan's heart. His fingers tightened slightly, and the wine cup in his palm shattered into pieces.

What a vicious move.

Without the system's warning, if their little sister really had followed the maid to the side hall, she would probably have had to live with others pointing fingers at her for the rest of her life.

Shen Yuxi's eyes cooled slightly. There was not a trace of fear in her heart; instead, she felt a little more amusement.

[Well, well. I haven't even gone looking for trouble with her, and she's delivered herself right to my door.]

[System, where is Shangguan Niao now?]

Ever since the banquet began, they had seen only Duke Dingguo and Shangguan Qing, with no sign of Shangguan Niao at all.