Everyone looked at Shen Lixue with shock; she had actually managed to stand the egg upright using this method.
"You cracked the eggshell, that doesn't count!" Shen Yingxue shrieked sharply, scolding Shen Lixue.
"Did I say you can't get a scratch?" Shen Lixue looked at Shen Yingxue and asked coldly.
"If I had known earlier that it was permissible to get a scratch, I could have stood it up too..." Shen Yingxue retorted indignantly.
Shen Lixue sneered: "Besides saying 'if only I had known,' can't you say anything else, Yingxue? It's the same strategy, but you think it's simple after others have come up with it. Why didn't you come up with it before them? Anyone can be a hindsight expert. When will you be a real Zhuge Liang?"
"She couldn't come up with a plan, so she could only resort to hindsight..."
"To be foolish yourself and yet mock those who are intelligent is truly overestimating your own abilities..."
"I've never seen such a shameless person in my entire life..."
The crowd's mockery and disdain came crashing down on her, and Shen Yingxue's beautiful face flushed red and then turned pale, changing colors more than ten times in an instant.
Shen Minghui gritted his teeth in anger, glaring fiercely at Shen Yingxue. He knew that from this day forward, Shen Yingxue's reputation was completely ruined and could never be cleared...
"Excellent, excellent, truly a brilliant plan!" The Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, dressed in white, clapped his hands lightly and slowly stepped forward. His arrogant gaze locked onto Shen Lixue, looking her up and down before nodding. "Miss Shen is clever and quick-witted, and I like her very much. She is the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's family and is qualified to be my concubine. Prime Minister Shen, let's settle this marriage. I will send someone to deliver the betrothal gifts tomorrow!"
Chapter 098: The Prince 'Angrily Kills' the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang
His words caused a stir, and everyone stared at the arrogant, rude, and disrespectful Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang.
If he were to marry another young lady, that would be one thing. But for an unmarried woman without a marriage contract, it would be quite normal for her to marry into the Southern Frontier as a concubine of the Crown Prince, for the sake of relations between the two countries.
But the woman he was proposing to was Shen Lixue, the Princess Consort of Anjun who had been engaged to Dongfang Heng fifteen years ago.
Shen Minghui's expression stiffened slightly as he reminded him, "Your Highness, my daughter Lixue is already engaged to Prince An..." Prince Zhan, Prince An, and many of his colleagues were watching from the sidelines. As a father, he had the right and the greatest obligation to tell the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang the truth and protect his daughter.
The Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang raised his thick eyebrows, his plain face appearing even more rugged in the candlelight of the hall: "It's just an engagement, not a wedding. I've traveled all over Qingyan and seen countless beauties, but I fell in love at first sight with your daughter's intelligence and beauty. If the Prime Minister doesn't dare to make the decision, then I will go to see the Emperor of Qingyan. For the sake of our diplomatic relations, I believe the Emperor will agree to bestow your daughter upon me in marriage."
Shen Minghui frowned deeply: "Your Highness, Qingyan values etiquette the most. Once engaged, one belongs to the husband's family. Li Xue is the future Princess Consort of Anjun. If you ask to marry her again, it would be stealing a wife!"
Shen Lixue is the future royal bride. If he dares to marry her to the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, he will offend the entire Qingyan royal family and will not have a good ending. The Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang is pressing him aggressively because of his status, so he said the harshest words and threw the problem to Dongfang Heng, letting the royal family stop it. As for whether he can persuade the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, it is none of his business.
The Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang nodded thoughtfully: "It is indeed wrong to snatch someone's fiancée for no reason. To make up for his loss, I will make my pure and innocent sister his primary wife, and his unmarried fiancée my secondary wife. That way, neither of us will suffer a loss!"
The crowd erupted in uproar, staring in shock at the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang. It was not surprising that beautiful concubines given by others were merely playthings, and that they could be exchanged after one had had their fill. But Qin Ruoyan was the Princess of Southern Xinjiang, his own sister, and he actually wanted to exchange her for a concubine? This was simply too shocking.
Lin Yan's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "Crown Prince Qin, it is against etiquette to marry your sister Huan. How can you say such rude things? Besides, you didn't even ask Prince An, Li Xue, or the princess for their opinions before making the decision. It is too disrespectful."
The Southern Border Crown Prince's gaze fell on Lin Yan. The man was young and handsome, and although his clothes were expensive, they were not embroidered with any royal patterns. It was clear at a glance that he was a subject of the Azure Flame.
He frowned, his eyes full of disdain: "You, a mere Qingyan official, dare to challenge me?"
"The Crown Prince of Qin is rude in speech and improper in conduct. Everyone has the right to point it out!" Lin Yan said coldly, without backing down.
Qin Ruoyan looked at Lin Yan through her veil: "Minister Lin, you have misunderstood. I am very fond of Prince An and would be happy to marry him as my principal wife. My brother is extremely fond of Miss Shen. He marrying Miss Shen and I marrying Prince An are two pairs of people who are destined to be together. It is not the unreasonable exchange you mentioned!"
Lin Yan sneered again: "Breaking up Prince An and Li Xue to make you and your brother happy, is this what you call fate?"
The Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang glanced at Lin Yan, his rugged face appearing somewhat gloomy in the firelight: "Minister Lin, the woman I'm marrying is Prince An's fiancée, not yours. What are you shouting about?"
Lin Yan was still furious. Li Xue was the noble eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion, yet the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang treated her like a commodity, exchanging her at will. He was truly arrogant and disdainful of everyone.
"I have no interest in the Crown Prince's sister!" A cold voice rang out in the living room, carrying a chilling sharpness. The Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang looked in the direction of the voice and saw a noble and elegant young man.
The man had a face as white as jade, and was incomparably handsome. Beneath his sword-like eyebrows that slanted upwards to his temples, his sharp eyes were long and cold, and his gaze was as ever-changing as the stars. Below his straight nose, his lips were slightly pursed, revealing a chilling coldness. He wore a white brocade robe embroidered with an exquisite cloud and sea pattern, with dark patterns of wild grass around the edges. The Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang knew that this was the everyday clothes of Prince Qingyan. The man in front of him was none other than Prince An, Dongfang Heng, Shen Lixue's fiancé.
The Azure Flame War God, Dongfang Heng, was a name the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang had long heard of. The arrogance in his eyes was concealed, replaced by a friendly attitude: "My sister is young and beautiful, with superb Gu skills, and is the most favored princess of Southern Xinjiang. She is a perfect match for you, Prince An. Why don't you like her? Although your fiancée is also beautiful and charming, she is just the daughter of a minor minister. My sister is a princess of Southern Xinjiang, and her status and position are several levels higher than hers. If you exchange her with me, you will only benefit and not lose out."
Everyone saw that the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang's face darkened again. Qingyan had a very serious distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, and between principal and concubine. Concubines and mistresses could be exchanged, but the principal wife was the original spouse and had to be respected and not treated carelessly.
As the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, he must have known this, yet he still forced Prince An to give up Shen Lixue. He was truly arrogant and violated a major taboo of Qingyan. Moreover, he took a liking to Shen Lixue without even asking Prince An's opinion before making his own decision to exchange her with someone else. He was truly arrogant and conceited.
Furthermore, the Southern Frontier Princess wears a veil all day long, and no one has ever seen her true face. She and the Southern Frontier Crown Prince are siblings born of the same mother, so they must look somewhat alike. Judging from the Southern Frontier Crown Prince's appearance, she is not much more beautiful.
Dongfang Heng, observing the arrogant and unreasonable behavior of the Southern Xinjiang Crown Prince, narrowed his sharp eyes slightly, a cold smile playing on his lips. He strode to Shen Lixue's side, and amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd, gently took her hand and held it tightly. He glanced sideways at the Southern Xinjiang Crown Prince, his dark eyes like a deep pool, gathering points of icy starlight.
"Crown Prince Qin, Li Xue is the wife I will marry through proper channels, not a commodity. In my heart, no woman, however beautiful, can compare to even a fraction of her beauty. In this life, I will only love her. No matter how beautiful or wonderful your sister may be, I have no interest in her..."
Dongfang Heng, who was always cold and sparing with words, spoke fluently like a vow, which surprised everyone present. This was not a rejection of the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, but a confession to Shen Lixue.
Shen Lixue and Dongfang Heng had known each other for a long time. She thought it was normal for him to give orders coldly and kill people ruthlessly, but she felt it was too abnormal for him to say such tender words of love.
Dongfang Heng is a deep thinker who likes to keep many things to himself. When he says that he only loves her and will only marry her, it is no joke. Could it be that he is confessing his love to her in a roundabout way?
Shen Lixue looked up at Dongfang Heng, meeting his unfathomable dark eyes. Her image was clearly reflected in his pupils, and the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, forming a faint smile, extremely faint, yet captivating.
Looking at the two gazing deeply into each other's eyes, Dongfang Zhan remained silent. He picked up his wine glass and took a large gulp, his gaze fixed on the candlelight in the hall, a cold, eerie light veiling his gentle eyes.
Su Yuting's beautiful smile froze slightly, and she lowered her eyelids to conceal the cold glint in her eyes.
Shen Yingxue gritted her teeth in anger. "You shameless hussy! What kind of seductive tricks did you use to bewitch Prince An like this? And you even flaunt your affection for him in public! You have no shame!"
“Miss Shen, I am the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, the future ruler of the country. If you marry me, you will soon become the Imperial Consort of Southern Xinjiang, enjoying endless wealth and honor. Your status and position will be highly respected, far more noble than your humble status as the Princess Consort of An County!”
Unable to find a breakthrough with Dongfang Heng, the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang changed his strategy and focused on Shen Lixue. He wanted to marry her, and as long as she agreed, Dongfang Heng, no matter how unwilling, couldn't stop him.
When coercion failed, he resorted to bribery; he's truly shameless!
Shen Lixue glanced coldly at the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, her tone indifferent: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. However, I do not like wealth and honor, nor do I want to be a concubine of Southern Xinjiang. The position of Princess Consort of An County is more suitable for me. Moreover, the respect and care that the Prince shows me is something that Your Highness cannot give me."
The Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang's face instantly darkened, his rugged features contorted in the candlelight: "Miss Shen thinks I am inferior to Prince An?" He is the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, the future ruler of Southern Xinjiang, how could he tolerate others saying he is inferior to a mere Prince Qingyan?
The young ladies secretly curled their lips. Although the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang was of noble status, his plain and unremarkable appearance and his irritable and domineering temper made him uninteresting. If it were them, they would definitely choose the handsome and dashing Prince An.