"Princess Junxue!" A clear female voice rang out. Shen Lixue glanced to the side and saw Chu Youran, supported by her maid, walking gracefully over. Her pale face was flushed with a few rosy hues, and her complexion was much better than before. Although her body was slender, she no longer appeared so weak.
"Is Miss Chu feeling any better?" Shen Lixue had wanted to visit Chu Youran for a long time, but she had been too busy to find the time.
"Thank you, Princess. My body will be completely fine after a period of recuperation!" Chu Youran smiled sincerely, looked at Dongfang Heng and Shen Lixue, who seemed like a perfect match, and asked, "You and the Prince are out shopping?"
Having stayed in the capital for a while, she learned some things: Shen Lixue and Dongfang Heng were engaged but not yet married.
"Yes." Shen Lixue nodded with a smile. "Has Miss Chu had dinner yet?"
"I've already used it. I'd like to wander around a bit, so I won't disturb you any longer!" Chu Youran smiled slightly, gave a polite bow, and turned to leave. The engaged couple were definitely going to have something to say to each other on the Qixi Festival, so she wouldn't be so tactless as to follow them and disturb them.
"shrew!"
"You womanizer!"
Two whooshing sounds came from behind, followed by the sounds of fighting. Shen Lixue sighed and rubbed her forehead. The two of them still hadn't finished fighting!
"Li Xue, Prince An!" Lin Yan heard the sounds of fighting in the crowd, looked over, saw Shen Li Xue and Dongfang Heng, and quickly walked over.
“Cousin Yan!” Shen Lixue smiled faintly.
"What's wrong with those two?" Lin Yan frowned as he looked at Nangong Xiao and Dongfang Yu'er, who were fighting fiercely.
Shen Lixue glanced at the two of them: "A pair of bickering lovers!"
"We are enemies!" Dongfang Yu'er cried out in alarm, cracking her long whip with a loud snap. Passersby all retreated to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Shen Lixue frowned; she really had a fiery temper.
"And who is this?" Lin Yan saw Chu Youran preparing to leave.
"My good friend, Chu Youran!"
"This is my cousin, Lin Yan!"
Shen Lixue introduced Lin Yan and Chu Youran with a beaming smile.
Beside him, Dongfang Heng looked in one direction, his sharp eyes slightly narrowed: "Li Xue, would you like some chestnuts?"
“Okay!” Shen Lixue nodded, her attention still on Lin Yan and Chu Youran.
"I'll go buy it!" Dongfang Heng turned around, strode into a dark corner, and said coldly, "You've been following me for so long, aren't you tired?"
"I was just passing by, I didn't follow you on purpose!" Accompanied by a proud and magnetic male voice, Dongfang Zhan, dressed in a blue brocade robe, appeared in front of Dongfang Heng. He had a handsome face and cold eyes.
"You lost at the Royal Hunting Grounds, are you not satisfied?" Dongfang Heng looked coldly at Dongfang Zhan.
Dongfang Zhan sneered: "You used despicable and shameless schemes to make me lose, how could I possibly accept that?"
Dongfang Heng sneered, "You dug traps and drugged me to eliminate my prey. I'm merely giving you a taste of your own medicine. How can that be called despicable and shameless?"
"Drugs to kill prey?" Dongfang Zhan was taken aback: "I have never done that!"
The royal hunting grounds were so vast, and there were no rules about which area each person had to guard. They could roam freely while hunting, and poisoning the prey would be a waste of time. He wouldn't be so foolish as to waste time like that. He admitted that he ordered the traps to be dug.
"It's either you or Li Youlan, it's all the same!" Dongfang Heng's voice was icy cold, devoid of any warmth.
Dongfang Zhan frowned deeply: "I have absolutely no relation to Li Youlan, don't confuse us!"
Dongfang Heng's sharp gaze suddenly shot towards Dongfang Zhan: "So, who do you want to be with, Li Xue?"
"So what if it is?" Dongfang Zhan curled his lips, his gaze provocative, a half-smile playing on his lips.
"You don't love Li Xue, you just want to use her." Dongfang Heng stared intently at Dongfang Zhan:
"Back when Shen Yingxue was my fiancée, you went to great lengths to please her, just to use her to hurt me. I don't like her, and I will never marry her. You can do whatever you want, but Li Xue is the woman I want to protect for the rest of my life. In this lifetime, you will never touch her!"
Dongfang Heng emphasized his last sentence, which carried a heavy sense of declaration and warning.
"So confident." Dongfang Zhan sneered, his sharp eyes filled with even more provocation: "Even a horse can make a mistake sometimes. You can't stay by Shen Lixue's side every day!"
Dongfang Heng sneered and said arrogantly, "Dongfang Zhan, from childhood to adulthood, we've sparred countless times. How many times have you won?"
Dongfang Zhan's face was terribly gloomy as he said, enunciating each word clearly: "Just because I won less in the past doesn't mean I won't win in the future!"
"You tried to win over the King of Yunnan, but he didn't submit to you, so you plotted to frame him and force him to rebel, dragging the Fifth Prince into it, all to strike at the Empress and the Crown Prince, and seize the Crown Prince's position!" A series of cunning schemes that could be kept secret came fluently from Dongfang Heng's mouth, without missing a single detail.
Dongfang Zhan was startled and narrowed his eyes instantly, lowering his voice to ask, "When did you find out?" He thought he had done these things very discreetly and no one knew about them, but he didn't expect Dongfang Heng to know everything.
"I knew it long ago, Dongfang Zhan. You have no secrets from me!" Dongfang Heng's sharp gaze went straight into Dongfang Zhan's eyes, as if trying to pierce through all his pretenses and peel away his most genuine secrets:
"You had Madam Ding cry in front of my grandfather's house, hoping to provoke him to death and force me to observe three more years of mourning, thus missing out on Li Xue. Unfortunately, things didn't go as you wished! If the Emperor finds out about these secrets, what do you think his reaction will be?"
Chapter 156: The Imperial Marriage and Wedding Preparations
“Dongfang Heng, you are the Prince An of the Holy King’s Mansion, holding military power and controlling the Imperial Guard. Your father is very wary of you. If you file a complaint against him, he will indeed suspect me, but he will suspect you of having ulterior motives. You are a smart man and you won’t be stupid enough to perish together with me.”
Dongfang Zhan was gentle and refined, with an elegant demeanor. The cold smile on his lips reminded Dongfang Heng that things were a double-edged sword, capable of harming the enemy as well as oneself.
"Dongfang Zhan, if you dare to use Li Xue, even if it means mutual destruction, I will never let you go!" Dongfang Heng looked coldly at Dongfang Zhan, speaking each word with deliberation.
Dongfang Zhan sneered: "Until the very end, anything can happen. I believe I'm no worse than you. Let's each rely on our own abilities to win the beauty's heart. If Li Xue falls for me, no matter how great your abilities are, you can't stop us!" Dongfang Heng relented and wouldn't complain about him anymore, so he had nothing to worry about.
"Dongfang Zhan, in this life and the next, Li Xue will only ever be mine, and will never belong to you." Dongfang Heng's icy voice was like the coldest winter ice, instantly freezing the surrounding air.
"We'll see!" Dongfang Zhan suddenly lowered his voice, his sharp eyes piercing through the dark night as he looked at Shen Lixue in the crowd.
"...Dongfang Heng, Dongfang Heng..." The woman's gentle call rang out, and her light footsteps grew closer and closer.