If it weren't for Lei's secret intervention, Shen Yingxue would have really rushed up and fought Shen Lixue to the death.
"With so many people in the Prime Minister's residence, why are you so sure I am the culprit?" Shen Lixue retorted calmly, without any haste or anger.
"Because I saw you harm me with my own eyes!" Shen Yingxue's beautiful eyes were filled with tears, looking pitiful. She looked at Shen Lixue with hatred, as if she wanted to devour her alive. She had harmed her and could still so easily make excuses and refuse to admit it. She was truly shameless.
"Then do you have any evidence to prove that I harmed you?" Shen Lixue's lips curled up, looking at her with a half-smile: "Anyone can talk, anyone can lie. If you want people to believe you, please produce evidence!"
“You…” Shen Yingxue looked at Shen Lixue, her eyes burning with anger. She didn’t know what method Shen Lixue had used to make her unable to move or speak instantly, like a helpless lamb, at the mercy of others. She had heard Zhan Wang mention before that there was a skill that could make people like this, what was it called again?
Acupressure!
Shen Yingxue's eyes lit up, she glared at Shen Lixue, and said through gritted teeth, "You've acupunctured me!"
Shen Minghui instantly understood, and coldly stared at Shen Lixue: "You know acupuncture, you are very knowledgeable about acupoints, you used acupuncture on Yingxue to frame her, and you even managed to leave no evidence against her. Are you very proud of yourself?"
Shen Lixue looked at Shen Minghui and sneered, "Silver needle acupuncture is to unblock qi and blood, not to press acupoints. What you call pressing acupoints requires internal energy. I don't have any internal energy at all, so how can I press her acupoints? As the Prime Minister of Qingyan, you don't even know this basic common sense?"
Shen Minghui's face instantly turned as black as ink: "You're even mocking your own father to clear your name?"
"I'm not being sarcastic, I'm just reminding you. I almost forgot, Father is a civil official and doesn't know anything about acupuncture points. It's perfectly normal for him to use acupuncture on them. Send someone to call the imperial physician. He'll tell you whether I'm lying or not!" Shen Lixue said sarcastically. While ordinary doctors' acupuncture needles were indeed only used to unblock qi and blood, she had studied various uses of acupuncture needles. In addition to unblocking qi and blood, they could also be used to press acupoints. This was a secret, and she wouldn't tell anyone.
Shen Minghui's eyelids instantly darkened. Looking at Li Xue's appearance, she was very calm and not flustered at all. Could it be that she really didn't do it?
"Father, don't believe Shen Lixue's words! She's the one who harmed me! She really is the one who harmed me!" Shen Lixue's smile was particularly irritating to Shen Yingxue's eyes. She roared hysterically, so angry that she was about to lose her mind. She had harmed her and then mocked her. She was speechless. Bitch, bitch, bitch!
Shen Minghui and Lei Shi glared fiercely at Shen Lixue, gritting their teeth!
Shen Lixue smiled faintly: "Yingxue keeps accusing me of harming her, please produce the evidence, let the evidence speak for itself!"
“Caixuan, you were the last person to have contact with Yingxue and Lixue. Before you left, did you see the two of them together?” Lei Shi secretly winked at Shen Caixuan, subtly hinting at something.
The moment Shen Caixuan saw Shen Lixue, she was shocked. She and Shen Yingxue had plotted against Shen Lixue, but in the end, Shen Yingxue was in trouble while Shen Lixue was unharmed.
Her heart was pounding with panic, but she was also relieved that she had gone to the kitchen to stop Qiuhe. Otherwise, she would definitely have been in trouble too. Shen Lixue was too smart, too powerful, and too ruthless. She couldn't afford to offend her. Just as she was thinking of finding a suitable opportunity to slip away and no longer get involved in this matter, Lei suddenly pushed her in front of everyone.
Shen Lixue was formidable, and she dared not offend her again. However, she and her mother, Aunt Li, had always been dependent on Lei Shi and dared not disobey Lei Shi's orders. After much deliberation, she decided to side with Lei Shi, because Lei Shi was the mistress of the Prime Minister's mansion, while Shen Lixue was just a young daughter without a mother's love or a father's affection, and could not bring her much benefit.
Shen Lixue's gaze was too cold, and Shen Caixuan dared not look directly at her. She lowered her head, looked at the ground, and stammered, "Yes...yes...when I went to the kitchen, my second sister was helping my drunk eldest sister to the bamboo garden...I don't know what happened after that..."
"Shen Lixue, what else do you have to say?" Lei glared angrily.
Shen Lixue looked at Shen Caixuan's smile, a bright smile that was like a sharp sword, making her afraid to look up. Her small hands tightly gripped a silk handkerchief, so nervous that they were almost twisted into a pretzel!
Shen Lixue snorted coldly, raised an eyebrow at Lei Shi, and was about to speak when Qiu He spoke first: "Third Miss, just now in the courtyard, you clearly said that when you left, the eldest young lady was already sober, and the three of you sisters went your separate ways. Why is it that now it's the second young lady supporting the drunk eldest young lady?"
Qiuhe blinked her adorable big eyes, her gaze filled with confusion.
Everyone instantly realized that Shen Caixuan was lying. Their previous expectations and trust in her vanished without a trace, and their gazes towards her were now filled with mockery and disdain.
"Third sister wants to frame me. Please come up with a better plan. You can't even make your own words coherent. This kind of scheme is too clumsy!" Shen Lixue shook her head and sighed softly, her beautiful eyes full of regret.
Shen Caixuan's face turned red as she stammered, "No... I'm telling the truth..." When she left the guest room, Shen Lixue was indeed unconscious, but she had lied to Qiu He, and now that she was telling the truth, no one believed her.
"Shen Lixue, you're the one who ruined me, you're the one who ruined me!" Shen Yingxue looked at Shen Lixue's smug smile with anger in her eyes, wishing she could rush forward and strangle her immediately. She wrapped herself tightly in the thin blanket and tried to stand up with all her might, but unexpectedly, a surge of blood rose in her chest, a sweet and metallic taste rose in her throat, and her vision went black. She fell to the ground unwillingly.
"Yingxue!" Lei exclaimed, scooping up Shen Yingxue and roaring urgently, "What are you standing there for? Quickly, fetch the royal physician!"
The stunned maids and nannies all reacted, some carrying people away, others calling for a doctor, and the small inner room was in complete chaos.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. Shen Yingxue was so angry that she fainted. However, she kept accusing herself. Given how much Shen Minghui doted on her, this matter was not over yet!
Shen Minghui ordered someone to put clothes on Lei Cong, take the small piece of his tongue, and send it to the Grand Commandant's mansion. He then walked out of the small house, went to the courtyard, looked up at the starry night sky, his gaze uncertain.
Shen Lixue dismissed Qiu He and followed him out alone, knowing that Shen Minghui had something to say to her.
"Li Xue, it's just the two of us here. Tell me the truth, did you orchestrate this?" Shen Minghui suddenly turned around, his sharp eyes flashing with cold light.
"No!" Shen Lixue answered without hesitation. It was Shen Yingxue's scheme, and she was playing along.
"Really not?" Shen Minghui's cold gaze was fixed on Shen Lixue, not missing a single expression on her face.
"Of course not. If you don't believe me, go check it out yourself!" Shen Lixue coldly threw out a sentence. Shen Minghui seemed to be letting it go, but in fact he wanted to trick her into saying something and find fault with her. She was speechless at her father's favoritism to this extent.
After observing for a while, Shen Minghui couldn't see anything amiss. He softened his tone and sighed, "Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. Although only people in our household saw Yingxue lose her virginity, it will soon spread throughout the capital and everyone will know. Yingxue is the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's family and the granddaughter of the Grand Commandant's family. She has a noble status. If she has such a scandal, the Prime Minister's family will be slandered, and the reputations of you sisters will also be affected..."
"Father, stop beating around the bush. Just say what you want to say!" Shen Minghui's words were not subtle, and Shen Lixue easily understood that there was something more to his words.
"Li Xue, you'll have to bear the stigma of losing your innocence because Lei Cong forcibly took it from you!" Shen Minghui looked at Shen Li Xue with a serious expression, not a hint of joking.
Shen Lixue stared coldly at Shen Minghui, her eyes flashing with a chilling light that made one feel as if they were in an ice cellar in the dead of winter: "Why? Your Prime Minister's mansion has countless maids, and two concubine's daughters. Why don't you let them bear the blame? I am also the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion. If my reputation is ruined, will your mansion be better off?" Shen Yingxue was vicious and deserved to be in trouble. Why should she bear the blame for her bad reputation?
“Yingxue is the daughter of the Prime Minister’s family, and the rumors that spread will definitely be directed at her. If we let the maid take the blame, it would only make matters worse. Caiyun is already the Crown Prince’s woman and will marry him tomorrow, so she shouldn’t bear the blame. As for Caixuan, she grew up in the Prime Minister’s family. If she takes the blame, it would be a veiled criticism of the Prime Minister’s family for its lax discipline. And you…”
Shen Minghui glanced at Shen Lixue, then lowered his head and pondered, "You grew up in Qingzhou and don't understand the rules. It's perfectly reasonable for you to have a scandal. Putting the blame on you won't arouse suspicion!"
Shen Lixue raised her lips, but couldn't even muster a cold laugh. This father was truly the worst of the worst, the scum of the scum: "I grew up in the countryside and was raised by my mother. My adultery was due to my mother's poor discipline, and it has nothing to do with you, my father, nor is it much related to the Prime Minister's mansion. It's all my and my mother's fault. Heh, you've come up with a really good excuse!"
Shen Yingxue has lost her chastity, and Shen Minghui can no longer use her to climb the social ladder. Yet he still protects her like this. He's really biased. Or is it that Shen Minghui believes Shen Yingxue's accusations and wants to pin the blame on himself to make himself infamous and avenge her?
Shen Minghui frowned and said unhappily, "It was forced possession, not adultery. Lei Cong has wronged you, and it is only right that he compensates you. I know you are unwilling, but in order to protect the reputation of the Prime Minister's Mansion, you should make a sacrifice and take the blame!"
"I've only been in the Prime Minister's residence for a little over a month. The people here have neither raised me nor recognized my talents. Why should I sacrifice myself to protect the reputation of the Prime Minister's residence?" Even with her excellent patience, Shen Lixue was about to be enraged by Shen Minghui's shamelessness.
"I am your father, I gave you life, and you sacrificed yourself for the Prime Minister's mansion, shouldn't you?" Shen Minghui roared at Shen Lixue.
"Fifteen years ago, when the old house caught fire, you abandoned my mother and me. If my mother hadn't risked her life to carry me to safety and escape the flames, how would you have the chance to stand here now and ask me for the debt of giving birth to you?"
Shen Lixue glared at Shen Minghui, her cold eyes burning with anger: "You are Prime Minister Qingyan, a man, but have you ever done anything a man should do? Fifteen years ago, you lived by selling my mother's dowry, and fifteen years later, you want to sacrifice me to protect your and another woman's reputation. Is this all you can do to please me and my mother? Do you even remember how much you owe us? Do you have the right to ask me for the debt of giving birth to you?"