When the surrounding guests heard this, many of their expressions filled with disdain, their eyes shifting between Ye Wangxi, Nangong Si, and Song Qiutong.

     Someone whispered, “What scum…”

     “Nangong-gongzi is still not angry?”

     “So Miss Song was forced… sigh, it’s not her fault… What can a mere girl like herself do in the face of two gongzi currently in the limelight?”

     Lost in his reenactment, the black-clad man forgot himself for a moment, and got taken by surprise as Tianwen whipped towards him. Fortunately, he managed to dodge in time, and avoided getting seriously injured or trapped by the vine. However, his cloak was still torn, and blood splattered; he let out a muffled groan, and no longer dared to let his guard down, becoming more diligent as he dodged Chu Wanning’s willow vine. Nonetheless, he still didn’t let Ye Wangxi off.

     “Ye-gongzi, Miss Song doesn’t dare to admit to the incident from a few days ago, probably because she was worried it’d cause a rift between yourself and Nangong-gongzi. However, heaven has eyes, and the impartial judge watches from above. Do you really not have the slightest bit of shame? Do you not plan on bowing your head in apology before the public?!”

     Ye Wangxi was furious, but at the same time found this ordeal ridiculous, “I have committed no crimes.”

     “If you’re innocent, does that mean Miss Song is guilty? Although she didn’t retaliate afterwards, the way I see it, that was only because you threatened force. Are you trying to say that she provoked you of her own volition? And that you didn’t force her?”

     Just then, Nangong Si, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly turned around and lowered his head to look at Song Qiutong. He reached out a hand to help her up.

     However, Song Qiutong thought he was reaching out to see the chastity cinnabar on her wrist. She had discovered it missing when she’d woken up this morning, and had trembled with panic; but this matter would only seem worse the more it was pondered, and she had no explanation. She thought that since she would be consummating her marriage with Nangong Si soon, the cinnabar would vanish on its own anyway, so she wasn’t planning on saying anything over the next two days, lest she create a misunderstanding over nothing.

     She never imagined that someone would slander her like this…

     She thought about how she had indeed been saved by Ye Wangxi, and how she had indeed once been Ye Wangxi’s personal attendant. Then, she thought about how the cinnabar had vanished, how the red mole on her thigh had been clearly pointed out. There was nothing she could say to defend herself. For a moment, her mind buzzed with noise and she didn’t know what to do.

     Amidst the chaos, she raised her soft, watery eyes, and gazed towards the crowd. She saw those people watching her with both disdain and pity as they whispered gossip amongst themselves, then she saw Ye Wangxi standing there alone, sullen, as he was accused by thousands, spurned by all the guests.

     The black-clad man was still running all over the hall, being chased by Chu-zongshi’s willow vine. He kept yelling, “Ye Wangxi! You and I have a deep grudge, and today I will expose you! You are nothing but a hypocrite! You’re committing adultery with the young madam, forcing yourself on a respectable girl, how vile!”

     Song Qiutong was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood what she had to do. It was impossible to clear her name at this point, but judging by the black-clad man’s tone, he seemed to have some profound grudge with Ye Wangxi, and was trying to ruin his noble reputation at all costs. She couldn’t afford to bear the crime of adultery, but if she went along with the accusations of that black-clad man and said she had been forced by Ye Wangxi, then at least…

     She yelled, almost hysterical, “He forced me!”

     Nangong Si’s hand suddenly froze, and he stood there aghast, completely stupefied, as if he couldn’t believe his fiancée had been dirtied by his father’s right hand.

     Song Qiutong covered her face and wept, her voice choking up as she said, “Yes, it was Ye-gongzi who violated me. He… he forced me… I never agreed…”

     Nangong Si stared at her, the flickering candlelight reflecting in his eyes as his gaze filled with gloom. A moment later, he dropped the hand he’d extended to Song Qiutong. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse, the tension almost seeming to cause sparks, “Do you know what you’re saying?”

     Song Qiutong grew even more nervous at his rage, and she wept, “Gongzi, I’m sorry… I was afraid gongzi wouldn’t accept me, so… I never… I never dared say anything… I was even more afraid… more afraid that once I told, it would ruin gongzi and Ye-gongzi’s relationship. He’s such a trusted aide to the Sect Leader, if enmity starts between you, how could it benefit Rufeng Sect?”

     She bowed down on the ground as she spoke, her long sleeves pooling around her. Her slender shoulders trembled incessantly, making her look pitiable and lamentable at the same time.

     “Qiutong really didn’t know what to do… I didn’t dare to turn to the Sect Leader for support, so I could only conceal the humiliation I suffered… Gongzi, Qiutong has wronged you, but… but my heart is true…”

     However, Nangong Si’s face was pale, and he shook his head as he backed away, repeating as he did so, “Do you know… Do you know what you’re saying?”

     Song Qiutong’s fine black hair spread over her sweet shoulders, shimmering in the candlelight like the finest silk, making her appear delicate and fragile. She wept, “It’s all Qiutong’s fault, I shouldn’t have kept it from gongzi, but I’m all alone in this world, I—”

     Nangong Si shouted in a rage, abruptly cutting her off, “Do you know what you are saying?!”

     “I…” Song Qiutong shuddered violently at his shout. She looked up, her delicate and beautiful face streaked with tears, “I…”

     “You actually did such a thing?! You, you actually dared… you actually dared to do such a thing!”

     The guests frowned and exchanged looks amongst themselves when they heard Nangong Si’s words.

     Some people couldn’t help but whisper, “I’ve long heard that at Rufeng Sect, men are venerated and women are degraded, but I didn’t realize that when something like this happened, the one gongzi would blame would not be Ye Wangxi, but Miss Song, who suffered humiliation for no reason. It’s truly disheartening.”

     “Yeah, he really can’t distinguish between good and bad.”

     Chu Wanning had already withdrawn the willow vine when he heard Song Qiutong admit it herself. But seeing Nangong Si react like this, he was also somewhat at a loss. In his memory, although Nangong Si was arrogant and willful at times, his character was righteous and he was definitely not a man who lacked common sense. If this rumor was true, then when looking for someone to blame, it should be Ye Wangxi, not Song Qiutong.

     But from the looks of things, Nangong Si’s rage was all directed at Song Qiutong… How could that be?

     Amongst the guests, only Mei Hanxue was sitting peacefully at the table, drinking as he watched the spectacle. If Xue Meng were here, he would notice that Mei Hanxue’s temperament was completely different from how it had been earlier. Right now, the man certainly appeared to have the same dissolute roguishness he’d had at the Peach Blossom Springs; his gaze was laced with sensuality, his gestures languid and charming.

     Song Qiutong was still sobbing as she made her weeping claims, blaming Ye Wangxi for the entire mess. Ye Wangxi seemed to be so shocked by her accusations that he couldn’t speak a single word, only staring blankly with wide eyes and a pounding heart as he watched the girl he’d saved from Xuanyuan Pavilion.

     “It is Qiutong who was weak and didn’t have the courage to end my life to sustain my chastity when Ye-gongzi made his advances. Qiutong is but a wandering drifter, and all that I have is bestowed by gongzi. Now… now that I admit my crimes… I… will accept gongzi’s punishment…”

     After Nangong Si listened to her weeping, he suddenly raised his head and closed his eyes. The candlelight that had once been lively and welcoming, now shone on his face with nothing but swirling shadows. His lashes quivered, and he seemed to be holding something back with all his might.

     Both his hands were clenched into fists, nails digging into his flesh, and the jut of his throat bobbed, his heart in turmoil. He restrained himself, the edges of his cheekbones standing out starkly and the veins on his forehead bulging; he restrained himself, his bones shuddering violently as raging fire flowed in his blood, burning his heart.

     He restrained himself, but in the end still couldn’t hold back, and let out a furious curse, pulling his sword out and cleaving the table in front of Song Qiutong in half! Cups and pots were strewn about in disarray.

     “Song Qiutong, did you know… that in all my life, the one thing I absolutely hate, and cannot tolerate the most is lies!!!”

     He shouted abruptly, “YE WANGXI!”

     “...Gongzi.”

     “Ye Wangxi, come here!”

     “...”

     He whipped his head around, his eyes bloodshot and damp, “Come here!”

     Ye Wangxi walked over. The crowd watching the show thought that in the very next second, Nangong Si’s sword would aim for Ye Wangxi’s heart, directly slashing open the stomach of this vile beast, digging out his heart and tossing it to the ground. They held their breaths, nervously watching everything in front of them.

     Nangong Si gasped for breath, then stared at Ye Wangxi for a while before saying hoarsely, “...You, undo the voice-changing spell.”

     “The voice-changing spell?” Everyone was stunned as they looked at each other in dismay, “What does this have to do with the voice-changing spell?”

     “I don’t know. But it’s so strange, what would Ye Wangxi need a voice-changing spell for? Is his original voice so terrifying that it’d scare others? Or is it that there’s something shameful about his original voice?”

     However, Ye Wangxi lowered his gaze and said, “Gongzi, it can’t be undone.”

     Nangong Si was startled, and stared at him in disbelief, “What did you say?”

    “The voice-changing spell has been cast since I was thirteen, and I have used this voice for over ten years without removing it. The voice-changing spell has already seeped deeply into my spiritual core.” Ye Wangxi paused for a moment, then continued calmly, “My original voice can never be recovered.”

     Nangong Si took a step back, greatly shaken. After a long moment, he looked up at the man sitting on the highest seat with an indiscernible expression. He murmured, “Father?”

     Nangong Liu finally spoke, “Si-er, this is indeed a pity, but the voice-changing spell was done of Ye Wangxi’s own will. For it to have reached this point was also unexpected, but there’s no need for you to think too deeply.”

     “But…”

     Nangong Liu walked down from the high platform and stood behind a group of guards, his hand folded neatly behind his back, “I know that you and Ye Wangxi are childhood friends, and I am grateful for his loyalty and devotion to duty all these years. But this is a separate matter. He… committed adultery with Song Qiutong, recklessly disregarded morals, and offended his master. This is a capital offense.”

     Nangong Si never imagined Nangong Liu would say such a thing, and he was stunned, “Father!”

     Nangong Liu waved his hand, and a blue light flashed past, trapping Nangong Si in a binding barrier. Nangong Si was taken aback at first, but soon after, he started yelling and thrashing at the barrier furiously.

     However, this barrier was the Barrier of Discipline, passed down through the generations of Rufeng Sect. Since there had once been a case of patricide in the name of taking the sect leader’s seat, the sons of the sect leader would sign blood pacts with their fathers at a young age. This barrier was specifically used for fathers to detain their sons, and would last a good half hour. Even if Nangong Si’s martial arts were superior, he wouldn’t be able to break free. The words he shouted inside of the barrier were also sealed, unable to be heard by the outside world…

     Now that things had come to this, it was better to admit that Ye Wangxi and Song Qiutong had an affair than to reveal more of Rufeng Sect’s secrets.

     Nangong Liu came before the black-clad man and cupped his hands in respect, “Although I don’t know what grudges xiansheng has with Ye Wangxi, I am much indebted to your guidance, otherwise misfortune would’ve truly befallen my family.”

     The black-clad man replied lightly, “Sect Leader Nangong is too courteous.”

     “Guards, arrest Ye Wangxi immediately! Take him to—”

     “Hold on.”

     The black-clad man suddenly stopped him. Nangong Liu felt uneasy, but he still smiled unflinchingly, “Does xiansheng have any other advice?”

     “I was thinking… your son just said a few words about the voice-changing spell, so why is Sect Leader-xianjun in such a hurry to have Ye-gongzi imprisoned?”

     Nangong Liu coughed, “Ahem, this is the private matter of Rufeng Sect, it is inconvenient to speak of it in detail…”

     The black-clad man laughed, “For the sake of Rufeng Sect’s reputation, Sect Leader-xianjun is really clear about what it means to abandon the pawn to save the knight. Poor Miss Ye has risked her life for your sect for more than ten years, only to be sacrificed to take the fall for the sake of protecting your family’s dignity.”

     With that, though everyone else was wrapping their heads around the statement, Nangong Liu’s face changed abruptly.

     At the seats below, Mei Hanxue smiled, poured himself another pot of wine, took a sip, then set it back down.

     Nangong Liu’s face appeared somewhat pale under the candlelight. After a long time, he finally asked, forcing a smile, “What Miss Ye? Xiansheng, you…”

     The black-clad man’s eyes blazed brightly, and his voice was loud and clear as it echoed clearly within the great hall as he enunciated each word; every word was shocking to the core.

     “Ye Wangxi isn’t a man at all.”