The Ji Clan's ancestral hall was once again filled with elders, inner members, and hushed tension. Candles flickered against ancient scrolls of law. But this time, the clan wasn't merely facing scandal—it was facing alleged crime.
Ji Chuyan sat in silence, eyes lowered and expression unreadable.
At the center stood Madam Mu Qinyi, her face carved with fury, lips curled in contempt.
Above them all, on the high dais, sat Ji Zhongtian—the patriarch and former general—watching the proceedings like a weathered mountain unmoved by wind or rain.
And before them, kneeling on bruised knees, was Lin Hao.
A furious voice erupted from the crowd of elders.
"On the very night of his wedding, this shameless dog entered the wrong chamber—and climbed into the bed of his sister-in-law, Yuqing!"
Gasps exploded like thunderclaps. Robes rustled. Fans dropped. One old matriarch clutched her chest and fainted outright.
All eyes turned toward Ji Yuqing, who sat trembling behind a silk screen. Her face was crimson; her voice a breathless whisper.
"I—I was changing… and then he barged in… and… he stared. From head to toe…"
A silver-bearded elder stood, shaking with outrage.
"He defiled her—with his gaze!"
"Death by flogging!" someone shouted.
"Drive him out of the clan!"
Lin Hao remained kneeling, head bowed—but a slight twitch at the corner of his lips betrayed amusement.
Then Ji Zhongtian's deep voice cut through the storm.
"Lin Hao. Is this true?"
Lin Hao raised his chin. His eyes were clear, calm.
"I entered a room," he said. "But it was dark. No one informed me that the guest rooms in the west wing had identical doors and lanterns."
"Excuses!" barked a hawk-nosed elder. "He knew what he was doing!"
"Poor Chuyan… married to a lecher."
Lin Hao's eyes sharpened.
"Punished—for walking into the wrong room in the dark?"
He sighed and gave a faint smile.
"Where I come from, there's a saying: If a man walks into a wall, do you blame him—or the architect who built it?"
"You insult the manor's design now!?" cried another elder.
"No," Lin Hao said coolly. "I insult your logic."
He stood, brushing dust from his robe.
"Listen carefully. There was a thunderstorm. The hallway was pitch-black. I had been given plum wine at the wedding feast—spiked, no doubt, to ensure I 'perform.' I walked into what I believed was my bride's chamber. I saw a silhouette undressing and assumed it was Chuyan."
He turned to Ji Yuqing, meeting her gaze.
"I turned away the moment you screamed. Did I not?"
She flinched, then nodded.
"You… did."
"Did I touch you?"
"No…"
"Did I speak even one indecent word?"
"No…"
Lin Hao turned to face the crowd again.
"Then what exactly is my crime? A mistaken entrance? No intention, no act, no harm done."
Silence.
The crowd shifted uneasily. Eyes darted away.
Mu Qinyi finally broke the silence, her voice sharp as shattered jade.
"Intent alone is enough! That gaze you carried—it humiliated my daughter!"
Lin Hao's smile returned—lazy, cutting.
"Intent? Then should I accuse Ji Chuyan of murdering me daily? With every cold glance she throws, I die a little inside."
Snorts of laughter escaped from the younger disciples before being hastily suppressed.
He raised his hand and recited:
"In lands where logic once prevailed,
A man was judged by what he failed—
But here, it seems, before I sin,
You've all begun to skin my skin."
Ji Zhongtian rubbed his chin, eyes narrowed.
"And what do you expect us to do, boy? Ignore the shame?"
Lin Hao's tone turned solemn.
"No. I acknowledge shame has occurred. But if I'm to be punished for an accident, then punish the one who designed this hallway of identical doors as well."
A servant in the back paled.
"I—I only followed the blueprint…"
"And what about the one who spiked my wine?"
A pudgy elder began to sweat, tugging at his collar.
"Finally," Lin Hao said, his voice like a blade, "if seeing a body is a crime, then every cultivator who witnesses a stripped enemy in battle must also be flogged. Are we all perverts, then?"
Dead silence.
Ji Zhongtian let out a long breath.
"Boy… you are dangerous."
Lin Hao bowed.
"I'm honest. And if I ever truly intended to defile someone—believe me, they'd know."
Ji Yuqing's face turned scarlet as she looked away.
Madam Mu Qinyi's jaw tightened.
"This matter is not over."
Lin Hao met her gaze, calm and cold.
"Then let's end it properly."
All eyes turned toward him.
"I demand," he said, pointing toward Yuqing, "that she be wed to me as compensation."
Outrage exploded.
"You dare!?"
"You wretch!"
"Trying to turn scandal into a harem, are you!?"
Lin Hao merely shrugged.
"You claim I stole a glance? Then let me pay in full. I'll marry her. That way, your clan's honor stays intact. Or… would you rather punish her too—for being looked at?"
The Next Morning
Servants gossiped like birds after a bloody battle.
"He looked at her undressing, then asked to marry her? Ha!"
"They're calling him the 'Wrong-Room Groom' now!"
"I heard he's limp down there. Claimed the wine was spiked!"
"Honestly, I'd rather marry a corpse than lie with that disgrace."
The door slammed open with a boom.
Ji Chuyan stormed into Lin Hao's room, eyes blazing.
"You idiot! You humiliated me—again!"
Lin Hao sat calmly, reading a scroll.
"You're welcome."
"For what!?"
"Now your sister won't be mocked behind her back. She's a legitimate concubine candidate."
"You…!"
She marched toward him, fists clenched.
"You really thought I'd stay silent forever, Ji Chuyan?" he said, voice soft but sharp. "You gave me a broken body, a fake wedding, a hostile family… and now you're angry because I spoke?"
She faltered.
"I never told them to treat you that way."
"But you didn't stop them, either."
Silence.
"You use words like weapons," she finally said. "But all you're doing is dragging everyone into your personal hell."
"Then maybe they should stop setting the fire."
He stood and stepped close. She didn't back away.
"Don't worry," he said, voice quiet. "I won't touch your sister. I can't."