CHAPTER 49: 49: COLD AND RECKLESS (PART 1) _1

The officer pondered for a long while before he said, "Bring Mr. Liu to the court."

This Mr. Liu was exactly the person who had examined Liang Yixuan.

Dong Huiying suddenly felt dizzy, her vision turning utterly dark, and she almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, a man moved behind her just in time for her to lean on him.

When she turned her head to look, she first saw a handsome chin, belonging to Liang Zhichen.

He looked up at the officer above and did not gaze at the woman leaning on him. But his left hand supported her waist, using his own body to bear her weight.

Dong Huiying shifted slightly, intending to leave, but the man suddenly tightened his grip on her waist.

"Don’t overexert yourself," he whispered in her ear, still appearing calm and composed.

Dong Huiying glanced at him, and like a noodle, her previously upright frame simply collapsed, her body’s weight now leaning heavily on him.

With his words, she really couldn’t hold herself up any longer.

Mr. Liu, sweating profusely, rushed into the hall, and upon entry, he first knelt down and saluted the officer. Then, with trepidation, he asked, "Officer, may I know why I have been summoned?"

From the platform, the officer asked, "Mr. Liu, I had ordered you to examine Liu Lang. Is it true that this person is no longer chaste?"

"This..."

Mr. Liu hesitated and then, gritting his teeth, said, "Officer, your discernment is appreciated, the individual is indeed no longer chaste."

Fang Lanshan shot Mr. Liu a glance, sneering inwardly.

Mr. Liu was Liu Xiu’s cousin, and Liu Xiu had accepted bribes from Zhu Xingfang.

Fang Lanshan particularly disliked the character of these two individuals, especially Liu Xiu, who was arrogant, having gathered a bunch of underlings who emulated their leader, giving rise to a trend of corrupt behavior.

Fang Lanshan considered whether she should file a complaint against Liu Xiu when Dong Huiying once again demonstrated her sharp wit.

"May I ask the officer, what constitutes the loss of chastity? That Yixuan was taken advantage of is a fact, but it was against his will. Dayuan men place great emphasis on their reputation, and Yixuan is indeed a gentleman of integrity; the fault lies only in Zhu Xingfang’s excessive lust. Moreover, I would also like to inquire of Mr. Liu here, based solely on those suggestive marks on Yixuan’s body, how could you conclude that Yixuan is no longer chaste and then so readily label him with a cap of infidelity and impurity? Could this be inappropriate?"

Mr. Liu inwardly sensed trouble as Dong Huiying counterattacked.

She pulled someone from behind her and rolled up the person’s sleeve, pointing to the inner side of the arm joint and said, "Ordinarily, chaste men all have this—a line of flesh similar to the ’maiden line’ women had in ancient times. Just now in the jail, I saw such a line on Yixuan’s elbow, which proves he is still a man intact. Yet Mr. Liu has declared otherwise recklessly, and I must confess I find it hard to believe."

Up on the platform, the officer was startled.

A line of flesh?

This was something he had not paid attention to.

Dong Huiying was not making it up—such a ’line of flesh’ in her time was referred to as a ’virgin line.’ It was located on the inner side of the arm joint and moved an inch or so towards the palm.

But of course, to determine whether a man is a virgin, you couldn’t rely on this method—it was unreliable. However, according to Taoist body cultivation knowledge, this line of flesh mainly symbolized whether a man’s body had abundant vital energy.

If the body was healthy, replete with yang energy, and one knew how to preserve health and practice abstinence, even if not a virgin, the vital energy would not deplete too quickly, and the body could replenish it promptly.

Therefore, some men still had this line of flesh after marriage. But conversely, if a man let his vital energy dissipate and did not practice self-control, the line would gradually fade away.

It was at this moment, the person Dong Huiying had pulled from behind suddenly withdrew his arm.

Dong Huiying paused, looking at the individual, who was also looking back at her.

The man’s eyes were serene; his originally fair complexion was tinged with a faint pink. He appeared nonchalant, but his body was stiff—clearly uneasy.

Dong Huiying felt something was off. This person was Liang Shujun, wasn’t he? But it seemed... he was thinner than Liang Shujun?

Moreover, his pallor was poor, sickly even, and his entire being exuded a chill unlike Liang Shujun’s roguish demeanor.