The man was flustered, quickly turning his back, afraid to look at her. "A misunderstanding, it wasn't me, I didn't do anything," he stammered.
"I am... I am the newly appointed top scholar, currently, currently serving as a Hanlin Academy editor. I truly didn't, I..."
"Silence, you scoundrel! Shameless!" Her eyes welled with tears, her mind a blank. She desperately tugged at her clothes, trying to cover her exposed skin.
Her face burned, an overwhelming sense of shame engulfing her, making her tremble. Helpless, she clutched herself, curled up in the corner of the bed.
After her cry, the door was kicked open, and Shen Qingyun walked in.
"Don't come any closer, I... don't come any closer!"
"Get out, get out!" she yelled at the top scholar.
The top scholar, panicked, scrambled out the door, tripping and falling. The Crown Prince gave a look to his guards, who apprehended him and dragged him outside.
Shen Qingyun sighed, closed the door, and spoke in a low, gentle tone. He stopped at the doorway and tried to comfort her. "I know you're scared, but rest assured, I won't hurt you. I am the Crown Prince. Please trust me, let me help you. I swear no one will know about what happened today."
Lin Ruoyan, hearing his words, lifted her gaze from her arms. Her watery eyes looked towards him. Shen Qingyun, with his back to her, wore a pale green robe, a jade belt cinching his waist. He appeared humble and polite, waiting for her response.
His voice, clean and clear, continued to probe gently. "What family are you from? I can send someone to quietly find your family."
Her voice was thick with emotion and a hint of childishness. "The secondary daughter of the Grand Tutor's estate, Lin Ruoyan."
"My... my elder sister is also here. I want to find my elder sister."
"So you are the Grand Tutor's daughter. Your father is my teacher. Rest assured, I will send someone to find your elder sister right away."
"Ah, Your Highness the Crown Prince, please don't tell my father, okay?"
There are distinctions between men and women, and even to her father, she felt too ashamed to speak of such matters.
Shen Qingyun said, "Alright. Do you need me to help you find a complete set of clothing?"
Lin Ruoyan's cheeks flushed, and she awkwardly lowered her head to look at her dress, which was still intact.
"No, no need."
Shen Qingyun paused for a moment before asking cautiously, "I am the Crown Prince, and this is Anhe Palace. It's a disused courtyard. Before I moved into the Eastern Palace, this was my study. Moreover, this involves officials of the court, so I must understand the entire sequence of events."
"May I come in and understand the situation?"
Throughout the entire conversation, his tone was extremely gentle and patient. He kept his back to her, and even though he was the Crown Prince, he did not overstep any boundaries without her consent.
She tidied her dress and said softly, "Mmm."
Shen Qingyun, clad in embroidered silk, had slightly pursed lips and handsome features. His eyes were gentle, making one feel as if they would drown in his tenderness at a single glance. He exuded an indescribable grace and elegance.
He walked to the bedside, palm facing upwards, and extended his hand towards her. "Come, don't be afraid. With me here, no one can harm you."
The moment he extended his hand towards her, her tense mood eased considerably. However, she did not take his hand. Instead, she stood by the bedside, about to curtsy.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Shen Qingyun gently helped her up. "No need for formalities."
"You must have been frightened. Did he..."
Lin Ruoyan quickly shook her head, her eyes red, tears falling in large drops. She choked back a sob. "No, I didn't. He..."
Although she was not familiar with matters between men and women, she understood that her skirt was intact.
"The Crown Prince arrived in time, so he did not succeed."
She then thought again and said, "Then, then we can't let him off. How can someone like him, who behaved so indecently, be worthy of the title of top scholar?"
Shen Qingyun looked at her with eyes that were both gentle and firm, as if making a promise. "Rest assured, I will severely punish those who bullied you."
Lin Ruoyan, her face still pale from fright, managed a faint smile as she looked at Shen Qingyun. She inexplicably felt a sense of security, and the gloom of the recent moments began to dissipate.
"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"It is nothing. The Grand Tutor is my teacher, and your second sister... also has a considerable connection with me. It is a pity that it has backfired, causing her to misunderstand me. Today, by chance, I rescued you, and perhaps it is a fortunate opportunity bestowed by heaven to dispel your second sister's prejudice against me."
Lin Ruoyan had also heard about her second sister's engagement to the Crown Prince. She didn't quite understand why her sister was so insistent on breaking the engagement. She had never inquired about such things.
"My second sister has her reasons. A forced melon is not sweet. Please do not make things difficult for my second sister."
Shen Qingyun gazed into her eyes and chuckled a couple of times. "How could I bear to make things difficult for her? When she was mentally unwell, I treated her like a sister and took care of her. When she recovered her senses, I was truly happy for her. If she is willing to marry me, I will cherish her alone for a lifetime."
"As Crown Prince, I should always exercise self-restraint and adhere to propriety. When I learned she did not wish to marry me, it was the first time I wanted to try again. But she misunderstood my intentions. It seems to be fate playing tricks."
As he spoke, his usually gentle eyes dimmed, and a bitter smile touched his lips. Lin Ruoyan felt a pang of bitterness in her heart as well.
She had not fully recovered from the shock. Her still distressed face wanted to offer some comfort. She moved her lips, unsure of how to begin.
Shen Qingyun gently pinched her cheek and said, "It was my fault for confiding in you about this when you just went through such an ordeal. But when I see you, I feel you are very special, unlike any woman I have met before."
"Unknowingly, I ended up speaking my heart. But rest assured, I am not a clingy person. Your elder sister has made her feelings clear, and I have long since completely let go."
Lin Ruoyan felt her heart pounding. Her earlobes burned, and she shyly turned her head away, no longer looking at him.
When Lin Yanxi arrived, Lin Ruoyan was sitting on the bed, Shen Qingyun stood beside her, and the top scholar was kneeling on the ground, trembling.
"Sister! Sister..." Seeing Lin Yanxi, Lin Ruoyan's long-held-back tears instantly streamed down again.
Lin Yanxi asked with concern, "What happened?"
Lin Ruoyan pointed at the top scholar on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. "Sister, he was going to bully me."
Upon hearing this, the top scholar quickly knelt and began kowtowing. "It wasn't me, I did not do anything improper. A servant said that the Crown Prince was waiting for me in the study, which is why I came."
Shen Qingyun interjected, "Ridiculous. Why would I, the Crown Prince, see a mere top scholar like you? Furthermore, it is true that this Anhe Palace was once my study, but I have long since moved into the Eastern Palace. Anhe Palace has been deserted for many years. You can't even come up with a believable lie."
His gloomy eyes swept over the top scholar. "Fortunately, I happened to return to Anhe Palace to retrieve some scrolls and rescued the third miss. It was a near disaster."
Lin Yanxi embraced Lin Ruoyan and pulled her aside, whispering, "Are you injured?"
Lin Ruoyan shook her head. "No, the Crown Prince appeared in time and saved me."
"Then he... that top scholar, did he bully you?"
Lin Ruoyan nodded without hesitation. "When I woke up, my clothes were... it was him, he unfastened my clothes."
Her subsequent words were spoken very softly, her head buried low, tears dripping onto Lin Yanxi's hand.
When she woke up, the top scholar was the only one in the room. Who else could it be? She glared at the man kneeling on the ground with shame and hatred, wishing she could cut him into a thousand pieces.
Lin Yanxi tenderly wiped away Ruoyan's tears. "It's all my fault for not taking good care of you."
She blamed herself intensely for having argued with the third princess earlier, causing Ruoyan to suffer such a grievance.
Lin Yanxi looked at the man on the ground with disgust. "Send him to the Court of Judicial Review."
The top scholar looked up in alarm, tears also falling from his eyes. He tried desperately to explain. "I truly didn't do anything. I don't know what's going on. When I arrived, she was already..."
Lin Yanxi slapped him, silencing him.
"Is the reputation of my sister something you can tarnish and fabricate?"
"Nothing happened in this room today, and Yan'er never came here. As for you, you keep saying you didn't do anything, so that's good. Your actions will be investigated at the Court of Judicial Review, and justice will be served."
The top scholar knelt on the ground, looking at them in despair, and said mockingly, "Heh heh heh. I studied diligently for twenty years. The people of the entire county pinned their hopes on me. The imperial examinations are held every three years, and I took them every time, but failed every time. My mother cried and told me we had no more rice in the house, and this was the last year I could study and take the exam."
"I finally passed, and I even gained the favor of the Censor, who promised me his illegitimate daughter in marriage. Now I'm accused of indecency and shamelessness. Although my family background is not as prominent as yours, I have studied the classics and possess the integrity of a scholar. I would never do such a despicable thing."
"You are all children of privilege who cannot distinguish right from wrong. You wreak havoc in the capital, living in luxury. Can ordinary people like us be trampled underfoot at will? Can we be squeezed and manipulated however you please? There is no law or justice in this world!"
Shen Qingyun, angered, said, "Enough. You are lecherous and have committed a grave crime, and now you dare to speak such arrogant words. I don't think there's a need to go to the Court of Judicial Review. Drag him away and execute him immediately."
The Crown Prince's personal guards nodded and grabbed the top scholar's arm, intending to drag him away.
Lin Yanxi's gaze fixed on Shen Qingyun. Based on her understanding of Shen Qingyun from her past life, he was by no means a benevolent person. Today, he was acting kindly, wanting to execute him directly without even going to the Court of Judicial Review?
This urgency went beyond mere kindness.
Moreover, he was right. It was imaginable the effort and hardship a commoner would have to endure to become a top scholar. Even a fool would know that this was the imperial palace, and committing a crime here meant losing one's head.
The Censor's illegitimate daughter was about to marry him. To ruin his future at this juncture was too suspicious.
The top scholar was dragged a few steps before he shouted, "There's no need to go to the Court of Judicial Review. What difference does it make whether I go or not? The Crown Prince has already judged me guilty, who would dare to overturn it!"
Lin Yanxi frowned. "Wait."