"Sister Lixue!" A familiar voice rang out, and Shen Lixue turned around to see Su Yuting walking over with a slight smile. She wore a rouge-colored Xiang dress that accentuated her exquisite figure. Her smile was fresh and natural, making it hard to look away. The man walking beside her was tall and handsome in a bright yellow brocade robe, with a calm and composed demeanor. He was none other than Crown Prince Dongfang Hong.
"Miss Su!" Shen Lixue smiled, her cool gaze subtly sweeping back and forth between Su Yuting and Dongfang Hong. The relationship between the two seemed to be more than just ordinary...
"I came to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager, and I ran into His Highness the Crown Prince, so we came out together!" Su Yuting said softly, her eyes full of admiration: "I heard that you performed acupuncture on the Empress Dowager to improve her blood circulation, sister, you are truly amazing!"
"Your Highness!" Shen Lixue curtsied politely.
Dongfang Hong agreed, his face calm and his gaze unfathomable.
"You flatter me, sister. My medical skills are rudimentary and not worth mentioning!" Shen Lixue smiled slightly. Was Su Yuting so eager to explain because she was afraid of misunderstanding? "Miss Su, are you going back to the manor?"
"I need to go to the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace first to borrow a few books from His Highness. If you're free, sister, why don't we go together?" Su Yuting invited warmly, her eyes sincere, her every move natural and graceful, revealing her excellent manners.
Dongfang Hong's gaze sharpened slightly, his brows furrowed for a moment, then returned to normal without saying a word.
"It's getting late, I must bid farewell to the Empress Dowager and return to my residence. I cannot accompany Miss Su to the East Palace!" Shen Lixue smiled. Dongfang Hong disliked her following along, and she didn't want to either.
"Mother often mentions my elder sister in the manor. It's a rare opportunity to meet her today. Why don't you come with me to the Duke of Wen's manor as a guest?" Su Yuting invited with a smile.
"The sun is already setting, it's not appropriate to visit again!" Shen Lixue politely declined. "When we were in Qingzhou, my mother often mentioned Madam to me. I will definitely pay her a visit another day when I have time!" She could tell that Su Yuting didn't seem to want to be alone with Dongfang Hong and wanted to bring her along.
"Then come walk with me, sister. I have something I want to tell you!" Su Yuting's smile froze, and she compromised, clinging to Shen Lixue no matter what.
"Chen Lixue!" A faint scent of pine resin drifted by, and Dongfang Heng walked over. Dressed in white and bathed in golden sunlight, he had a handsome face, sharp and cold eyes, and was like a god of war emerging from the sunlight. His aura was so imposing that no one dared to look him in the eye!
Dongfang Heng! Shen Lixue was startled. What was he doing here?
"Prince An!" Su Yuting smiled slightly, gave a gentle curtsy, and spoke in a bright and melodious voice.
Dongfang Heng gave a faint reply, his voice barely audible, and walked straight past her, causing Su Yuting's smile to freeze slightly.
The Crown Prince smiled politely, his gaze deep and unfathomable: "What brings Prince An to the palace today?"
"His Majesty has something to discuss with me in the palace!" Dongfang Heng's polite voice was tinged with indifference and detachment. He walked up to Shen Lixue, his gaze unfathomable: "The Empress Dowager has ordered me to escort you back to your residence!"
"Really?" Shen Lixue was taken aback. Looking in the direction Dongfang Heng came from, it was indeed Yongning Palace.
"The Empress Dowager is indeed considerate of Miss Shen. It's most fitting for a fiancé to escort his fiancée back to her residence," Dongfang Hong said with a meaningful smile, glancing at Su Yuting. "What do you think, Yuting?"
"Yes!" Su Yuting replied perfunctorily, her voice indifferent, her eyes flickering, and her smile somewhat unnatural.
"It's getting late, let's go!" Dongfang Heng withdrew his gaze and walked steadily forward.
"Your Highness, Miss Su, farewell!" After saying goodbye, Shen Lixue hurried to catch up with Dongfang Heng. Even after walking a long way, she could still feel Su Yuting's gaze on her.
"Dongfang Heng, are Su Yuting and the Crown Prince...?" Shen Lixue didn't finish her sentence, but she believed that Dongfang Heng already understood what she meant.
“Fifteen years ago, more than a dozen century-old noble families suffered heavy losses. The Wen State Duke’s Mansion was one of the very few noble families that were not affected. It is deeply rooted in the capital and has a wide network of connections. It is not surprising that the Crown Prince is trying to win over the Wen State Duke!” Dongfang Heng answered softly, his gaze unfathomable. The wind blew the white hem of his clothes, drawing a beautiful arc in the air.
"So, Su Yuting is going to become the Crown Princess!" Shen Lixue said with a half-smile. The Crown Prince was born to the Empress, and his succession to the throne was legitimate, but he also needed the support of a certain power. He certainly didn't want to miss out on the powerful Wen State Duke's Mansion. However, judging from Su Yuting's appearance, the person she liked was not the Crown Prince...
Dongfang Heng lowered his eyelids and said meaningfully, "The political situation in the court is turbulent, and things are unpredictable." The emperor's thoughts are unfathomable and hard to fathom. It is too early to draw a conclusion about whether Su Yuting will become the crown princess.
"Dongfang Heng, this isn't the way out of the palace!" A cold wind blew by, seeping through her thin clothes and into her skin. Shen Lixue was suddenly startled. Looking around, she saw that the surroundings were overgrown with weeds, and the environment was very unfamiliar, completely different from the clean road out of the palace.
"Didn't you want to see Tian Meiren?" Dongfang Heng suddenly stopped, his white robes billowing in the wind as he walked towards Shen Lixue. Shen Lixue hadn't expected Dongfang Heng to stop so abruptly, and she stumbled straight into his arms.
A faint scent of pine resin lingered in the air, and the powerful pounding of a heartbeat filled her ears. Startled, Shen Lixue quickly distanced herself from Dongfang Heng, a blush creeping onto her beautiful face. "Um, is Consort Tian here?"
Dongfang Heng's obsidian-like eyes flashed with a dark light, and his voice was somewhat hoarse: "The Cold Palace is just ahead!"
The Cold Palace was desolate and remote, with dilapidated houses and overgrown weeds. Tian Meiren stood in front of the house, staring at the food in front of her, gritting her teeth. When she was favored, they would rush to curry favor with her, giving her all the good food and fun things they could. Now that she had fallen out of favor and was in the Cold Palace, they were actually feeding her these moldy pastries. The palace maids were indeed all snobbish.
She heard light footsteps behind her. Thinking it was the maid who had mocked her earlier returning, Consort Tian grabbed a pastry and threw it at her without thinking: "You snobbish woman, take your stinking pastry, I don't want it..."
As the pastries rolled by, several small gray animals darted forward, snatched the pastries, and ran off. A pair of light pink embroidered shoes came into view, standing out against the backdrop of green and yellow weeds. Tian Meiren was taken aback; those were not the shoes of a palace maid!
His gaze followed the light blue Xiang skirt upwards, finally landing on the woman's beautiful face. He gritted his teeth and said, "Shen Lixue, so it was you!"
"Is Your Highness settling in well in the Cold Palace?" Shen Lixue stood in the golden sunlight, her gaze cold and aloof, a half-smile playing on her lips. Consort Tian wore a lake-green palace dress, stained with dirt, perhaps because she hadn't washed it for days. Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were bloodshot, making her look completely different from the alluring and charming woman she had been before…
"Shen Lixue, stop your sarcastic remarks. If I hadn't been careless, you would be the one locked up here right now..." Tian Meiren glared at Shen Lixue, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger, gritting her teeth.
"I have clearly not offended you, so why do you want to kill me?" Tian Meiren hated Shen Lixue to the bone, and she was not going to waste any more words with Tian Meiren.
Tian Meiren scoffed disdainfully: "Shen Lixue, stop pretending. You did overhear our secret conversation, but you didn't hear the whole thing, so it's not very valuable..."
"Secret? What secret?" Shen Lixue frowned deeply. "On the day of the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, I only saw you and Consort Li once in the banquet hall. Then, you framed me. Could it be that you discussed a secret in front of the Empress Dowager and everyone else, and I was close by, so you suspected that I overheard it?"
Tian Meiren's expression hardened, then she sneered, "Shen Lixue, stop pretending. Do you dare say that you went to pay your respects to the Empress Dowager after the meal without passing by the small wooden house?"
"After my meal, I was tricked by a palace maid into seeing Mu Zhengnan, and I didn't even go to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager!" Shen Lixue instantly realized that she must have been tricked: "That matter has caused quite a stir, Your Majesty should know about it!"
Tian Meiren's gaze instantly turned serious: "Is what you're saying true?"
"If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, you can ask the Empress Dowager for confirmation. She didn't summon me after the meal!" Shen Lixue was now 100% certain that she had been framed: "Did Your Majesty personally see me walk past the wooden house?"
Tian Meiren's lips moved, but she said nothing. A dark light gathered deep in her eyes!
"On what basis did Your Majesty conclude that I was the one who overheard the secret? Was it my clothes, my hairstyle, or..." Shen Lixue's eyes were clear as she probed indirectly!
Tian Meiren frowned: "Shen Lixue, you don't need to test me anymore. I won't tell you. I will investigate this matter thoroughly. You can leave now!"
"With Your Majesty confined to the Cold Palace, how can you still interfere in matters outside?" Shen Lixue's lips curled slightly, her eyes clear and bright.
"I have my own way of doing things!" Consort Tian narrowed her eyes, her chest heaving, clearly quite angry.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. Tian Meiren's attitude was firm, and she shouldn't force her. She was sure that Tian Meiren and Consort Li were still in contact. As long as she told Consort Li about it, Consort Li would definitely investigate the matter thoroughly, and the person who framed her would not get any benefit.