After their minds were read, the entire court trembled with fear.

Chapter 212: Rotten Peach Blossom

Governor Xu slowly sat up straight.

This problem has been troubling him for a long time.

He's already forty years old. By this time, most people are grandfathers, but he doesn't even have a son or daughter.

He was in a hurry, so much so that he wished he could marry several wives at once.

The old emperor glanced at the other man and lowered his voice, saying, "Sometimes, men should also think more about themselves."

Governor Xu: ? ? ?

He lowered his voice innocently, echoing the old emperor's tone: "Your Majesty, I have thought about it. The doctor said I am in good health and have no problems at all, but I just don't know why the child hasn't come out."

"Have you consulted any Taoist priests or monks?"

At this point, Governor Xu felt so wronged that he wanted to cry and began to complain to the old emperor.

"Your Majesty, I have already searched everywhere, and it seems my fate isn't so ridiculously tough after all."

Everyone suddenly realized what was happening and looked at Governor Xu in silence.

It's not that ridiculously tough, which means this person's fate is tough.

The case is solved; all those wives died because of him.

When Governor Xu saw that the other party was absolutely certain that he was the one who caused the death, he became anxious.

You should know that there was once a person in the officialdom who was dismissed from his post and demoted to a harsh and cold border region just because he was too powerful.

He didn't want to follow in that predecessor's footsteps.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to explain."

The old emperor nodded: "Go ahead and try to justify yourself."

Governor Xu: ...

[This Prefect Xu probably thinks it's because he's too lucky, but the other party will definitely not admit it. If he did, and the old emperor found out, he'd lose his official position.]

Governor Xu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Who could have made that terrifying sound? Judging from the expressions of the Emperor and the officials beside him, they must know.

[But it's definitely not because of good fortune; it's clearly bad luck in love.]

Everyone:? ? ?

Having followed Shen Zhiyi around for so long, they have developed a very keen sense of smell.

There's a melon inside!

Many people ignored Governor Xu's sophistry and began to lean closer to Shen Zhiyi.

The Eighth Princess, who had heard little, was especially excited.

[This Prefect Xu, having grown up relying on the kindness of many families, was extremely caring towards the villagers. There happened to be a family back home whose only surviving daughter had died, but they still had many relatives. Therefore, the daughter couldn't establish her own household and was instead being exploited by her relatives until the family line ended.]

[Just then, clang clang clang, our Prefect Xu shone like a righteous light upon the girl's face.]

Governor Xu was slightly taken aback; the voice was referring to his half-sister.

[Prefect Xu recognized the other party as his sister, thus protecting her family's property. It was from that time that Prefect Xu's unwanted romantic advances began—no, calling them unwanted romantic advances is too kind; they were clearly doomed romantic advances.]

Everyone's lips twitched in unison.

What is "killing peach blossom luck"? This is the first time I've heard of it.

[Heh, this Prefect Xu is really overdoing it.]

Governor Xu was puzzled; why had he gone to such lengths?

[The reason he didn't speak up was that his half-sister was planning to stage an accident for all her relatives, killing them all outside, so that she would have no relatives left and could then apply for female household registration.]

Everyone was taken aback by Shen Zhiyi's words.

Governor Xu was also startled; his first reaction was that the voice was talking nonsense.

"Your Majesty, this person is talking nonsense!"

The old emperor gave Governor Xu a displeased look.

The others looked at Governor Xu with admiration.

That's amazing! This person actually dared to say that Shen Zhiyi was talking nonsense.

What Shen Zhiyi was thinking was at least 100% true.

But Governor Xu was encountering this for the first time and was unaware of the situation.

He was about to raise his voice when the old emperor glared at him, so he could only lower his voice in a miserable manner.

"Your Majesty, I know my sister's character very well. She wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken, how could she possibly do such a thing?"

[Of course, because Governor Xu interfered, the half-sister abandoned her plan and fell in love with Governor Xu, only to find that Governor Xu truly only saw her as a sister.]

This time, Governor Xu did not refute it.

Because his half-sister did confess her feelings to him, but he rejected her.

His sister is young and hasn't seen many men, which is why she had a misconception about his feelings.

"You're already in your twenties or thirties, are you still young?"

The Eighth Princess appeared behind Governor Xu at some point and spoke in a soft voice.

She was willing to bet that Governor Xu hadn't given a very direct rejection, but rather something like the other person was still young, or that the other person would understand when they grew up...

Governor Xu belatedly realized that his half-sister was already in her twenties or thirties, but in his mind, his adopted sister seemed to be forever fifteen or sixteen years old.

[The younger sister, unwilling to accept this, watched her husband, Governor Xu, get married and have children. Consumed by intense jealousy, she began her hunt.]

Shen Zhiyi shivered violently.

[That look in her eyes...it's like Xu Yingying from a dream, all dressed in pink and delicate clothes, yet she killed without hesitation.]

Because the surveillance footage was too obvious, Shen Zhiyi shuddered and turned it off.

This is terrifying! This is terrifying!

[When Xu, the prefect's adopted sister, saw that she couldn't stop her brother's determination to marry and have children, she simply gave him a drug that would kill him off after he had seen the doctor.]

"hiss."

The men present gasped.

Cruel, so cruel.

The old emperor trembled as he plucked a beard hair from his harem and began to wonder if he had offended any of the many women in his palace.

Governor Xu's face turned pale.

Having no relatives since childhood, his greatest desire in life is to have a family of his own.

So he cherished the opportunity to have a younger sister.

If he were to be with his own sister, he would be worse than an animal.

But he never expected that this action would bring him dozens of deaths and the fate of being childless.

"This can't be real, this can't be real."

The old emperor suddenly summoned the head of the Imperial Medical Academy.

“This Prefect Xu doesn’t look well. Take a look at him.”

"Here."

Shen Zhiyi's soul finally returned. When she saw the physician about to take Governor Xu's pulse, she stared at him intently.

Goodness gracious, how is Governor Xu going to accept this?

After taking the pulse, the court physician looked at Governor Xu with pity in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, Governor Xu may never have any children in his life."

Governor Xu's world has collapsed.

This is truly cutting off one's lineage; it's too cruel.

Governor Xu, who was eager to leave himself an heir, burst into tears.

He grabbed the judge as if he were grasping at a straw.

"Imperial Physician, you must save me! My whole family died when I was young, and I am the only one left. My family line cannot end with me."