As soon as Dugu Jing finished speaking, Xie Jue supported Lan Ningzhen as they entered the hall. Lan Ningzhen looked frail, almost leaning entirely on Xie Jue. She knelt beside General Lan, glaring angrily at Dugu Jing. "Ninth Prince, your marriage proposal was unsuccessful, and now you act out of humiliation and anger—not only trying to kill me, but also Mr. Helian. What did Mr. Helian do wrong? Are we to presume that whenever the Ninth Prince proposes marriage, if the woman declines, you would resort to murdering her, or coercing her by force?"
"Lan Ningzhen, do not distort the truth. It was clearly you and Helian Feng who conspired to trap me. Now, everyone condemns me while you and Helian remain untouched. Helian Feng is merely a strategist in my Second Brother's household, yet he dared to sabotage our marriage from behind the scenes with malicious intent. He cannot be allowed to stay. Father killing him is merely removing a source of trouble for my Second Brother."
