Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from not far away. Shen Lixue raised her eyebrows: Shen Yelei is really quick, he brought reinforcements so fast!
"Shen Lixue, how could you condone your servants beating your own brother? He's only nine years old, how could you do that?" A sharp question came from the courtyard, and the gate was pushed open. Shen Minghui stormed into the bamboo garden in a rage!
009 deserved to be beaten.
"Li Xue, I know you're used to being carefree in the countryside, but this is the Prime Minister's residence. We must observe etiquette and rules. You can't just resort to violence at the drop of a hat..." The Prime Minister's wife looked furious, as if she was disappointed in Li Xue.
"Sister Lixue, if you are not satisfied with Mother's arrangements, you can say so. Why did you hit Yelei?" Shen Yingxue's beautiful eyes were filled with tears, looking pitiful as if she had suffered a great injustice.
Ignoring the aggressive questioning from the Lei mother and daughter, Shen Lixue looked at Qiu He with icy eyes. Was she just a simple maid, or a spy sent by the Lei family?
Qiuhe knelt on the ground, her thin body trembling. With a look of grim determination, she stammered, "Master, Madam, Miss, please calm down... It was my fault... I accidentally hit the young master... It has nothing to do with the young lady, please have mercy, Master!"
Shen Lixue lowered her eyelids. Qiu He took the blame upon herself and did not accuse her of ordering her to hit someone. It seemed that she really did slap Shen Yelei unintentionally.
"You wretched servant, how dare you hit the young master! Guards, drag him away and beat him to death!" Even the usually composed Lady Lei couldn't help but angrily give the order. Heaven knows how furious she was when she saw the bright red handprint on Shen Yelei's fair face.
"Wait." Shen Lixue stepped forward, pushed aside the rough maid sent by the Lei family, and shielded Qiuhe behind her.
"Shen Lixue, what are you trying to do?" Lei Shi stared coldly at Shen Lixue. Ye Lei was beaten, and Shen Lixue was the culprit. Lei Shi planned to beat Qiu He to death and then punish her severely. Unexpectedly, she not only did not dodge, but also dared to provoke trouble.
"I asked Qiuhe to hit Ye Lei. Everyone is blaming me, but why don't you ask me why I hit him?" Qiuhe wasn't a member of the Lei family, so Shen Lixue decided to save her and, incidentally, provoke the Lei family.
"Young Miss!" Qiu He looked at Shen Lixue in surprise. Not only had the young lady saved her, but she had also taken the blame for her mistake...
“Yes, sister, don’t rush to conclusions. Let’s hear what the young lady has to say!” Zhao Yiniang, Shen Minghui’s concubine, stepped forward with a smile, contradicting Lei Shi.
Lei was the principal wife and had given birth to the only son of the Prime Minister's family. She always acted superior and would often mock the concubines who had only given birth to daughters. Aunt Zhao had long disliked her, but dared not be too presumptuous because of Lei's status. Now that Lei's proud son had gotten into trouble, Aunt Zhao naturally wanted to take the opportunity to mock her.
Lei glanced coldly at Aunt Zhao. This wretched woman always relied on her favor to openly and secretly oppose her. This time, she seized the opportunity to bark incessantly. Fine, she would teach Shen Lixue a lesson first, and then deal with her severely.
“Ye Lei is young and doesn’t know any better. Even if he makes a mistake, you can just teach him a few words. Is it necessary to hit him?” Shen Ye Lei is Lei’s only son. She has always been very careful to protect him. She treats him like a precious gem, afraid of breaking him or melting him.
But today, her precious son was slapped by a lowly maid. She was heartbroken and furious, wishing she could tear Shen Lixue and Qiuhe to pieces immediately.
"Father, Mother, you must teach this filthy, lowly woman a lesson and vent my anger!" Shen Yelei said, slapping an egg on his face, his mouth twisted and his feet jumping. He glared angrily at Shen Lixue. How dare this country bumpkin hit him? She was so ignorant of her place. He would beat her until she was bruised and bleeding and begged for mercy before he could vent his hatred.
Shen Lixue sneered: "Shen Yelei, you and I share the same father. If I am filthy and lowly, how can you be considered noble?"
Shen Yelei was speechless with anger. His simple sentence contained a complex meaning. If Shen Lixue was a bitch, then he was a little bitch, Shen Minghui was a male bitch, and Lei Shi was a female bitch. He had insulted the whole family.
Aunt Zhao covered her mouth and chuckled: How could someone as shrewd as Madam Lei have given birth to such a foolish son?
The night breeze blew gently by, and Shen Lixue coldly looked at the people in the courtyard who each had their own ulterior motives: "As you can see, Shen Yelei has been cursing and making a ruckus ever since he came to the bamboo garden. I had no choice but to give him two slaps to teach him a lesson!"
“Ye Lei is only nine years old. You can educate him in a more tactful way.” From childhood to adulthood, Lei Shi had never been able to bear to hit Shen Ye Lei. Shen Li Xue actually slapped him twice. Lei Shi wished she could step forward and slap Shen Li Xue dozens of times to vent her anger.
"Nine years old is not young anymore." In modern times, nine years old is a child, but in ancient times, nine years old was not considered young.
Shen Lixue stared coldly at Lei Shi: "An elder sister is like a mother. It's one thing for him to be disrespectful, but to insult him so wantonly is this how a young master of the Prime Minister's mansion should behave? Is this how you've taught him since he was a child? Moreover, Ye Lei is studying at the Imperial Academy. Every action he takes represents the entire Prime Minister's mansion. If he were to insult his classmates in school one day, it would be the entire mansion that would lose face..."
It was precisely because of the excessive pampering and indulgence of the Prime Minister's wife that Shen Yelei developed an arrogant and domineering personality, never taking anyone seriously!
“Sister, Miss is right. Children can be loved, but not spoiled…” Aunt Zhao smiled and echoed Shen Lixue’s words, her heart filled with joy: Lei’s proud son was belittled by Shen Lixue, haha, it’s so satisfying. Let’s see if Lei will dare to show off in front of me again.
"Shen Lixue, stop arguing and twisting the truth. If you hadn't tried to steal Yingxue's Prince An, why would I be here to scold you?" Lei Shi was speechless after being refuted by Shen Lixue. Shen Yelei, unable to contain his anger, joined in to rebuke Shen Lixue.
In Shen Yelei's heart, only his peerless Yingxue sister is worthy of the Azure Flame War God, Prince An. As for other women, they are all ordinary and vulgar, not even worthy of Prince An's clothes!
The noisy courtyard fell silent instantly. People exchanged glances, their eyes flashing with envy, jealousy, and schadenfreude. Everyone in the Prime Minister's mansion knew that Shen Yingxue liked Prince An and wanted her younger sister to marry in place of her older sister. As the eldest daughter of the legitimate wife, it was perfectly legitimate for her to marry Prince An.
Now that Shen Lixue, the legitimate fiancée, has returned to the manor, it's a bit unreasonable for Shen Yingxue to still want her sister to marry in place of her older sister. However, everyone knows that Shen Yingxue has long admired Prince An and often considers herself his fiancée, so she will never easily give up her place.
Shen Yingxue glared at Shen Yelei, secretly furious. This little idiot Yelei, he should have just kept it to himself, why did he have to say it in front of so many people…
With a cold smile playing on her lips, Shen Lixue looked into Shen Yingxue's eyes and said arrogantly, "I had no idea that Prince An had become Yingxue's fiancé?" Her seemingly calm voice was filled with endless disdain and mockery.
Shen Lixue had said long ago that she had no interest in Prince An, but Shen Yingxue kept pressuring her, so of course she wouldn't be polite to them.
Everyone's gloating gazes were all directed at Shen Yingxue. Although Shen Lixue came from the countryside, she was the legitimate eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's family and the official fiancée of Prince An. Shen Yingxue could covet Prince An, but to shout it out in front of so many people was shameless!
Shen Yingxue's stunningly beautiful face instantly changed more than ten colors, her slender hands quietly clenched, and anger surged in her eyes: if she hadn't been born a few months too late, how could Shen Lixue have become the Prince An's fiancée?
"Ahem, ahem, ahem!" Upon arriving at the courtyard, Shen Minghui, who hadn't spoken much, coughed lightly a few times unnaturally. "Li Xue, Ye Lei misunderstood, please don't mind him..."
"Children speak without thinking, I believe Ye Lei spoke Ying Xue's true feelings!" Shen Lixue stared coldly at Shen Minghui. Just now, when Lei Shi and Shen Ying Xue were reprimanding her, he remained silent and let it go. Now that Shen Ying Xue is in trouble, he can't wait to help her. Heh, his heart is really biased!
Shen Minghui sighed softly and said in a deep voice, "Li Xue, I always thought you and your mother had passed away, so..."
"So you were planning to have Yingxue marry in place of her sister!" Shen Lixue looked into Shen Minghui's eyes, her cold gaze filled with mockery: "Now that I'm back, does Father still intend to do the same thing?"
"You're back, so Prince An is naturally your fiancé..." Shen Minghui's gaze was somewhat evasive, whether out of guilt or lying was unclear.
"It's the middle of the night, and the bamboo garden is still so lively!" A familiar teasing voice suddenly rang out. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tall, slender figure sitting on a tree, gently waving a folding fan, with a smug smile on his devilish face.
010 Beauty Trap
"Your Highness!"
Everyone bowed in greeting, but Nangong Xiao ignored them. His ivory-white robes, like rainbows, drew a graceful arc in the air as his tall and slender figure gently landed beside Shen Lixue. His wicked eyes flashed with icy coldness: "Prime Minister Shen, you don't need to pay attention to me. Just continue with your business!"
Shen Minghui's expression remained calm, but his mind was racing: Nangong Xiao was the heir of the Prince of Yun and was highly valued by the emperor. He had probably seen most of what happened in the bamboo garden. If the emperor or the court officials knew that he managed his household in this way, it would probably cause a lot of unnecessary trouble. It was best to be careful.
Moreover, the current situation is very unfavorable for Yingxue. A quick victory is the best policy. After quickly weighing the pros and cons, Shen Minghui's expression changed, and he said solemnly, "Lixue, it's my fault for making you suffer!"
"Ye Lei, go back and copy 'Confucius and Mencius' ten times. You're not allowed to sleep until you finish copying them!" Since the incident was caused by Shen Ye Lei, Shen Ming Hui punished Shen Ye Lei to vent Shen Li Xue's anger and also to stop her from continuing to harass Shen Ying Xue.
"Dad, I didn't do anything wrong, why are you punishing me?" Shen Yelei shouted indignantly, like a rooster with its feathers plucked.