"Find the medicine!" Shen Lixue answered quickly, without turning her head.
Dongfang Heng frowned: "You can just have a maid fetch it. Why did you have to make the trip yourself?"
"I prefer to go myself!" Shen Lixue frowned and asked the maid to bring some medicine to reduce the swelling. They would definitely start to speculate, and if they were smarter, they would be able to guess the truth. She didn't want the whole city to know about it.
Shen Caiyun's body was covered in bruises, her lips were slightly swollen, and her neck was only lightly pink. She felt no pain, and Dongfang Heng was still quite gentle.
At the end of Chen Shi (7 to 9 in the morning), everyone in the Prime Minister's residence had already eaten breakfast and were doing their own jobs. Shen Lixue carefully avoided the maids and nannies and entered the pharmacy.
The Prime Minister's residence has a physician, and the pharmacy is fully stocked with medicines, including wound medicines, recuperative medicines, and tonics. However, the medicines are not labeled with their functions directly, but rather with their elegant names, such as Five-Stone Powder, Ephedra Decoction, and Ginseng and Lipid-Boosting Pill.
Shen Lixue was not an expert in ancient medicine. Looking at the various bottles and jars in the cabinet, she frowned slightly. Of all these medicines, which one was the most effective?
"The second one on the left!" A detached voice suddenly rang out. Shen Lixue was startled and turned to look at the person who had arrived, her brows furrowing tightly. "Why are you here too?"
"I'm afraid something will happen to you!" Dongfang Heng replied calmly, his eyelids slightly lowered.
"This is the Prime Minister's residence, my home. What could possibly happen to me?" Shen Lixue curled her lip, unconvinced.
"Since you're at home, why are you sneaking around like a thief?" Dongfang Heng raised an eyebrow at Shen Lixue.
"I'm not married yet, and having hickeys on my body isn't something to be proud of. The fewer people who know, the better," Shen Lixue explained, picking up the second bottle of medicine on her left and examining it carefully. "Is this medicine really the most effective?"
"Hmm!" Dongfang Heng looked at the mark on the bottle, a hint of a smile in his deep eyes.
The sound of light footsteps approached from afar. Dongfang Heng and Shen Lixue exchanged a glance, then leaped out of the window and quickly disappeared into the bright sunlight.
The door opened, and the physician of the Prime Minister's residence walked in. He put down his medicine box, looked through the medical books, and browsed the medicinal herbs in the cabinet. His gaze fell on the empty space, and he frowned. Who took that bottle of half-finished medicine?
Leaving the pharmacy, Shen Lixue quickly went to the pond, removed her veil, and used the water as a mirror to evenly apply the medicine to the hickeys on her neck: "Dongfang Heng, how long will it take for the medicine to take effect?"
"A quarter of an hour!" Dongfang Heng replied casually, standing beside the artificial hill, his deep gaze fixed on the azure sky.
Fifteen minutes—the medicine really works fast! After applying the medicine, Shen Lixue carefully examined her reflection in the water. Time passed minute by minute, and the hickeys on her neck showed no signs of fading; in fact, they seemed to be getting brighter and brighter. "Dongfang Heng, are you lying to me again?"
"How could that be? This medicine is indeed the best for reducing swelling and bruising... What else did you write on the bottle besides the name of the medicine?" Dongfang Heng seemed to have just noticed it and carefully examined the markings on the bottle.
Shen Lixue also looked at the bottle: "It looks like a mark!"
“It’s a mark of a semi-finished product!” Dongfang Heng raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement hidden deep in his eyes.
Shen Lixue was taken aback: "What do you mean?"
Dongfang Heng frowned, his gaze deep: "This medicine is incomplete, so it cannot achieve the desired effect. What's worse, it has all the side effects!"
"What are the side effects?" Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow at Dongfang Heng.
Dongfang Heng glanced at the bright red hickey on her neck: "It doesn't remove the swelling, and it even makes the swelling last longer..."
"Dongfang Heng!" Shen Lixue gritted her teeth and angrily punched Dongfang Heng with her little fist. He was the one who left the hickey, and he was the one who chose the medicine. He had planned to keep that hickey with her for a long time.
"It has nothing to do with me!" Dongfang Heng reached out and grabbed her wrist, a hint of a smile flickering in his deep eyes.
"Stop lying!" Shen Lixue said angrily, and swung her other arm at Dongfang Heng.
Dongfang Heng blocked Shen Lixue's attack, easily holding her in his arms, his dark eyes filled with seriousness: "I have something to discuss with you!"
"I'll get married after I come of age? No way!" Looking at the handsome face above her, Shen Lixue gritted her teeth, broke free from her restraints, and threw another punch.
"Sister, Prince An!" A clear female voice called out. Shen Lixue paused and looked to the side. Shen Yingxue was wearing a purple smoky dress, smiling, with one arm hanging in front of her chest and the other hanging at her side, walking gracefully forward.
Wearing a royal blue brocade robe, Dongfang Zhan walked beside Shen Yingxue with a gentle smile, his warm and refined demeanor and handsome face making it impossible to look away: "Prince An, Miss Shen!"
"Prince Zhan!" Shen Lixue pushed Dongfang Heng away and reached out to pull off her veil, only to tragically discover that she had thrown the veil by the pond.
Shen Lixue's slightly swollen lips and the bright red hickeys on her neck clearly caught Dongfang Zhan's eye. His smiling gaze froze, but he said nothing more.
"Sister, what happened to your neck?" Shen Yingxue exclaimed in surprise, her beautiful eyes filled with anger and schadenfreude. She was a virgin and knew a little about matters between men and women. Just now, Prince An and Shen Lixue were hugging tightly and acting very intimately. She guessed that this was a mark left by Prince An on Shen Lixue's neck.
The pale pink color indicated that Prince An was very gentle with her. Shen Yingxue was furious. However, Prince Zhan beside her should have given up on Shen Lixue. He would no longer appreciate poetry with her, suddenly want to eat plum blossom cake (plum blossom cake was always available in the bamboo garden), nor would he suddenly turn around to feed the fish while walking...
"It was a mosquito bite!" Shen Lixue secretly glared at Dongfang Heng and answered coldly.
Dongfang Heng raised the corners of his mouth slightly, but did not speak.
"The Prime Minister's residence is filled with mosquito-repellent spices, so how could you have been bitten by mosquitoes, sister?" Shen Yingxue pressed, looking at the bright red hickey on Shen Lixue's neck. "Such a large swelling couldn't have been caused by ordinary mosquitoes!"
“The bamboo garden has a poor environment and not enough spices, so a big mosquito got in. I’m going to the pharmacy to ask the physician for some medicine to prevent and kill mosquitoes. Sister, please go ahead, Prince Zhan!” With that, Shen Lixue walked past Dongfang Heng and strode toward the bamboo garden.
Dongfang Heng did not chase after her. He watched Shen Lixue's graceful figure walk away into the distance. He did not greet anyone, lowered his eyelids, turned around, and slowly walked out of the mansion.
In the warm sunlight, Dongfang Heng walked slowly forward, his white clothes fluttering gently. His back view was as beautiful as a poem or painting. Shen Yingxue stared at him, mesmerized and unable to come back to her senses.
Dongfang Heng's tall figure walked into the sunlight and disappeared. Shen Yingxue reluctantly withdrew her gaze, a hint of sadness in her beautiful eyes. If it weren't for Shen Lixue, such a perfect man would be her husband.
Fortunately, Prince Zhan was also a handsome, talented young man of noble birth. Marrying him would not be a disgrace to her talent and beauty.
Shen Yingxue gave what she thought was a beautiful and charming smile, then turned to look at Dongfang Zhan, only to find that Dongfang Zhan had already walked away silently, his sapphire blue brocade robe standing out conspicuously in the golden sunlight: "Prince Zhan, where are you going?" Her voice was sweet and charming, full of endless grievances.
"I have matters to attend to. I'll visit the Second Miss another day!" Dongfang Zhan replied without turning his head as he walked straight ahead, his gentle tone revealing a hint of perfunctoriness.
Shen Yingxue glared at his departing figure, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger, gritting her teeth. He had just said that he had finished dealing with everything and had come to see her specifically, but now he was saying that he had something else to deal with. Who was he trying to fool with such a lame excuse?
He sat in the Snow Garden for a while, then found various excuses to go for a stroll. As he walked, he suddenly said he smelled plum blossom cakes. Following the scent, he came to the Bamboo Garden and saw two people by the pond. Suddenly, he no longer wanted plum blossom cakes...
Ha, he's making up so many excuses, but his real purpose is probably to see Shen Lixue!
That bitch, does she have such great charm that Dongfang Heng and Dongfang Zhan are so infatuated with her? Shameless vixen, all she knows is how to seduce men, especially the men she likes.