MLIAM Chapter 83

Chapter 83: I Believe Him. The truth is important, but this is my wedding banquet…

Yu Miaomiao stepped forward, closed her eyes, raised her voice slightly, and repeated firmly, “The originator of my incident back then was none other than Prime Minister Wei.”

She stood outside the hall, her hands hidden in her sleeves, her slender body trembling slightly. Facing the scrutinizing gazes of the crowd, her eyes glanced past Wei Yan before she spoke again: “Prime Minister Wei… was my first man…”

The main hall was eerily silent, and everyone widened their eyes, not daring to speak. Only a few slight gasps could be heard, making everyone’s heart tremble even more.

Everyone couldn’t help but look at Yu Shuli.

In the center of the hall, festive red candles were still placed, the candlelight flickering with swaying light.

However, the more festive it was, the more ironic it seemed.

Yu Shuli’s face was very pale because of his headache, making him look a bit weak and frail.

He turned his head, looked at the man beside him, and asked calmly, “Wei Yan, what do you say?”

Wei Yan smiled, his eyes red as he met Yu Shuli’s gaze, and squeezed out the words from between his teeth: “You… don’t you believe me?”

Yu Shuli didn’t answer.

Wei Yan seemed to deflate all of a sudden, losing the strength to struggle. He stared blankly ahead, only shaking his head stiffly: “It wasn’t me.”

Zhao Yong sneered: “Of course he’ll say it wasn’t him. Over the years, he’s done so many dirty things, one by one, does he admit to any of them?”

Yu Shuli’s fingernails dug into his palm as he looked across: “Second sister, tell me, what exactly happened back then?”

Yu Miaomiao’s eyes flickered slightly, and a pitiful, tearful expression appeared on her small, delicate face: “I… I don’t want to talk about it here…”

“If you don’t want to talk, why did you come? To disgust people?” Zheng Shiyi stood up. “If you hadn’t become an idiot after the incident, my old man wouldn’t have pleaded for you in front of His Majesty to spare your life. Now you’re inexplicably healed, and clearly someone living on the estate, yet you suddenly appear at my son’s wedding banquet.” She glanced at Zhao Yong: “It’s hard to say you weren’t instructed by someone with ulterior motives to deliberately ruin the occasion…”

“Third Aunt…” Yu Miaomiao said, tearfully, but hesitated.

“Don’t call me Third Aunt! I’m not your Third Aunt.” Zheng Shiyi sneered, “You people from the second branch, you’re all the same, none of you do human things, it’s a waste that I even pitied you before.”

Meeting Zheng Shiyi’s disgusted gaze, Yu Miaomiao said with a sob in her voice: “Third Aunt… I didn’t deliberately come to ruin Ji’an’s wedding banquet…” She shrank back: “I only just found out… it was His Royal Highness the former Crown Prince who helped me cure my illness… said he’d bring me to seek justice… that’s why I came…”

“He’s no longer the Crown Prince, it’s rare that you trust him so much, and respect him so much.” Yu Huaxin also stood up, his expression complicated: “He said he’d bring you to seek justice, and you believed him? Aren’t you not an idiot anymore? Seeing this scene, you still don’t understand the situation? My son and my son-in-law finally get married, and you’ve made it into what?! ”

“Get out, you’re not welcome here.” Yu Huaxin waved his hand, beckoning to the Imperial Guards on the side: “Come and escort them out.”

“Wait.” Yu Shuli threw the red ribbon on the ground and walked over: “Since you’re already here, let’s just lay everything out on the table and make it clear, lest we wrong someone in the future.”

“With so many witnesses here, wouldn’t it be good for everyone to judge together?” He turned to look at Wei Yan: “What does Prime Minister Wei think?”

Wei Yan lowered his head, “Ji’an, why don’t we discuss this in private…”

Zhao Yong chuckled: “You don’t dare? Are you guilty?”

Yu Shuli gave Wei Yan a deep look: “Wei Yan, if you don’t answer, I’ll assume you’re acquiescing. But if you’re not, why do you always hide the events of these three years so deeply? Is there something I can’t know?”

Wei Yan shook his head, but still didn’t want to say, only saying: “If you have to think I am, then I am.”

Yu Shuli pursed his lips tightly, he really couldn’t figure out what Wei Yan was trying to hide.

This matter could make him give up even his own reputation, letting others insult him.

Thinking carefully, the reason he could compromise like this was probably because this matter also involved him.

Although he had lost his memory, he believed in Wei Yan and couldn’t tolerate him being bullied like this.

Zhao Yong was being pulled by the officials, and couldn’t help but laugh when he heard Wei Yan’s words. He said to Yu Shuli: “Look, you caught a rapist I’ve been hunting for so many years, but the real culprit is actually right beside you, doesn’t that disgust you?”

Yu Shuli looked at him coldly, “What qualifications do you have to falsely accuse others, and what face do you have to say these words? Do you want me to tell all the things you’ve done in front of everyone, one by one?”

Zhao Yong’s movements paused slightly, and he snorted: “You say it.” He smiled: “Back then, it was just that I was young and frivolous, and my father Emperor spoiled me, so I inevitably did some wrong things, but now it’s all in the past, and I’ve made amends, what mistakes can you pick out of me?”

Yu Shuli gritted his teeth, knowing that he couldn’t let him distract him from the topic. Zhao Yong’s crimes weren’t something to be debated right now, so they could only be left unresolved for the time being.

After all, he had brought up the Emperor, and further debate would put the cart before the horse. The Emperor couldn’t have been unaware of the things Zhao Yong had done back then, and he was probably the one who cleaned up the mess. Further involvement would not only fail to clear Wei Yan’s name but would also be seen as disrespect to the Emperor, and then he’d be saddled with a charge of treason, which would be even more troublesome.

But Zhao Yong’s righteous state made Yu Shuli unable to help but suspect that he still had a backup plan, that he had fabricated some evidence to frame Wei Yan.

If clarification turned into confession, it would be really troublesome.

Although he had lost his memory and didn’t remember that the woman who had fallen into trouble back then was his second sister, Chen Li had happened to mention it to him during a chat, and he knew very well that before the case was filed, it was the former Crown Prince who was planning to do bad things. After Chen Li’s sister ran into it, it was also the Crown Prince’s people who investigated afterward. But now Zhao Yong was bringing his second sister, looking as if he was helping to seek justice, and didn’t seem guilty at all, so he didn’t seem like the originator.

This matter… was strange.

Wei Yan’s grandmother had been watching for a long time, and finally couldn’t bear it any longer and stood up: “Investigate! Investigate in front of everyone now! Buddha is above, why should my grandson suffer this unwarranted slander?”

“Grandmother!” Wei Yan turned his head, looked at Madam Wu: “Mother, please take Grandmother back first…”

“What? Can’t this old woman watch?”

Madam Wu also sighed: “Xianqing, since you can’t hide it, then don’t hide it. You and Ji’an finally got together, why create a gap because of this matter? You’ve suffered enough hardship all these years, and the days ahead should all be good. There’s nothing wrong with saying it, Ji’an won’t blame you.”

“My son discussed the matter with me back then, and there is indeed a hidden story, but it’s not what you think.” Madam Wu stood up, walked to Yu Shuli’s side, took his hand, and then pulled Wei Yan over: “Good child, although my son looks cold and indifferent, and isn’t enthusiastic to anyone, his sincerity to you has never been false, I hope you don’t misunderstand him.”

Wei Yan immediately grabbed that hand, holding it tightly in his palm, using a force that almost hurt Yu Shuli.

Yu Shuli was only slightly stunned for a moment, but in the end, he still let Wei Yan hold it.

He forced a slight smile at Madam Wu: “Okay.”

Madam Wu gave a polite smile and looked at Yu Miaomiao: “In that case, Miss Yu, please tell us the situation of that day in detail, there are so many people here, and no one will be biased. If my son really did something wrong, you don’t need to say anything, I’ll be the first to escort him to the Censorate.”

Yu Miaomiao sobbed and glanced at Wei Yan: “Actually… actually there’s no need to escort him… I just want…”

She closed her eyes slightly, and a blush appeared on her cheeks: “It’s enough if Prime Minister Wei takes responsibility for me.”

“How do you want him to take responsibility? You can’t produce any evidence, it’s all one-sided,” Madam Wu turned her head, and saw the General’s wife standing beside her.

Zheng Shiyi sneered at Yu Miaomiao and scolded: “You still want him to marry you? You’re thinking beautifully, dreaming on my son-in-law’s head.”

This was the real heads of the General’s Residence and the Prime Minister’s Residence uniting on the same front.

Madam Wu smiled kindly at Zheng Shiyi, and Zheng Shiyi patted her shoulder, comforting her: “Don’t worry, we naturally believe in Xianqing.”

Yu Huaxin, even at this time as a straight man, heard some clues, he frowned: “Miaomiao, you’re making up these stories, could it be that you simply want to blackmail Wei Yan? You want to force him to marry you?” He moved his beard angrily: “You really are the second child’s offspring, each and every one of you don’t even spare your own family members! That’s your brother-in-law!”

“Of course not! I naturally care about Ji’an… Third Uncle… you don’t misunderstand me…” Yu Miaomiao’s face turned pale in an instant, she wiped her tears: “Back then, it was indeed Prime Minister Wei… he… he took me…”

“If you have something to say, then say it, don’t always say things that are ambiguous, and keep crying after saying a word or two.” Yu Shuli suddenly spoke, “Second sister… can I still call you second sister?”

He smiled bitterly: “Perhaps, you never considered me your younger brother…” He sighed, “It’s just me, remembering the kindness you showed me when you took care of me and covered up my troubles when I was little, I’ve been thinking about it until now.”

Wei Yan looked at his disappointed appearance, his Adam’s apple moved, and he comforted in a low voice: “This is not your fault.”

“Wei Yan,” Yu Shuli turned his head and asked, “Did you know long ago that my second sister’s treatment of me wasn’t sincere?”

Wei Yan was stunned for a moment, and then finally sighed and slowly said “Yeah.”

“I once reminded you, but you… you said that family and relatives are more important to you than I am. If you had to choose, you would choose your second sister…”

His voice sounded unspeakably aggrieved.

Yu Shuli choked in his throat. “So… I broke off relations with you?”

“We quarreled a few times and parted on bad terms. After that, you met your second sister once, and I don’t know what you said. The next time I saw you, you told me to break off relations.” Wei Yan said: “Maybe it was your second sister who, taking advantage of her idiotic state, told you something.”

Yu Shuli looked at him angrily: “Then you wouldn’t fight for it?!”

“I fought for it…” Wei Yan hesitated, he glanced at Yu Miaomiao opposite him and sneered: “But it seems, Miss Yu has provided you with some incredible evidence.”

Yu Miaomiao pursed her lips: “Lord Wei… things have come to this point, are you still unwilling to admit it?” She took two steps forward:

“Then I’ll say it, don’t blame me for not giving you face.”

Zhao Yong laughed, sat down on the side by himself, put on a confident look and sighed: “That’s right, start earlier, and I won’t have to go to so much trouble.”

“Wait.” Yu Shuli stopped Yu Miaomiao, he looked at Wei Yan, softened his voice: “Let’s get married first, okay?”

Everyone was stunned, even Wei Yan didn’t react.

Yu Shuli insisted: “The truth is important, but this is my wedding banquet, which is equally important.” He turned his head to look at Yu Miaomiao: “Second sister has been delayed for so many years, you probably don’t mind this extra moment, right?”

Yu Miaomiao’s eyes darkened: “Of course not.” She gave an awkward smile: “It’s just, third brother, if he really did those things, are you still going to marry him?”

Yu Shuli laughed, took Wei Yan’s hand: “I believe he didn’t do it, so I have the confidence to get married.”

He picked up the red ribbon he had thrown on the ground, and only then did he realize that the other end had been held tightly by Wei Yan, and only he himself had unconsciously thrown it out just now, and his heart trembled again.

This person, Wei Yan ah…

How could he be so heart-fluttering?

Yu Shuli raised his eyebrows and looked at the master of ceremonies cowering on the side: “What are you still stunned for? Let’s go through the process.”

The master of ceremonies looked at Wei Yan timidly and stammered, “Lord… Lord…”

Was there still a need to continue this wedding ceremony…

So many pairs of eyes were waiting to see the outcome of this case! They had to give the victim an explanation, right?

“What are you looking at me for?” Wei Yan hooked his lips and smiled brilliantly at Yu Shuli: “I listen to my husband.”

Yu Shuli tugged on the red ribbon and pulled the person over: “Alright then, husband will take you for a second marriage.”

Wei Yan followed his strength and stood still, and the two of them bowed respectfully in the midst of a strange silence and completed the wedding ceremony.

Stiff blessings sounded all around, matched with the gloomy faces of Zhao Yong and Yu Miaomiao, creating a particularly strange atmosphere.

Yu Shuli lowered his eyes, his thoughts running wild.

In any case, this time, he would never let Wei Yan be wronged again.

There had to be an explanation for the matter of his second sister, and there had to be an explanation for Wei Yan’s decade of waiting.

With so many elders present, he absolutely could not neglect Wei Yan by even a single point.