"Help! Adults are bullying children... Waaah..." The shrill child's voice rang out again, like a demonic sound reaching Shen Lixue's eardrums. Her confused thoughts instantly cleared, and she suddenly opened her eyes. It was him!
With her delicate white hands, she pulled away Dongfang Heng's arms from around her, stepped forward, and lifted the curtain: "I'll go down and take a look!"
In front of the carriage, a little boy lay on the ground, rolling around and crying. His loose cloth clothes were covered in dust, and his little face was also covered in grime, streaked with black and white from the tears, making him look like a dirty little kitten: "Help... Is there no justice in this world... Adults are bullying children..."
Pedestrians gathered around, pointing and whispering as they watched the carriage and the little boy.
"What happened?"
"The child has bumped into the carriage..."
"Was it a deliberate collision, or was it an accidental hit by the carriage?"
"I don't know..."
Shen Lixue got off the carriage, looked at the little boy who looked like a tabby cat, frowned slightly, and softly called out, "Shen Yelei."
The little boy paused, his crying stopped abruptly, and he turned to look at the woman in front of him. She was wearing a light pink silk dress, and her jet-black hair was loosely tied into a simple bun, adorned with a few pearl flowers, which made her beautiful little face even more radiant and charming.
Seeing that familiar face, Shen Yelei's anger flared up. He quickly stood up, pointed at Shen Lixue, and cursed, "Shen Lixue, you bitch..."
"Slap!" A slap landed hard on Shen Yelei's face, mercilessly interrupting his words. Zi Mo's cold gaze was sharp as a knife. Prince An once said that anyone who dared to disrespect the Princess Consort would be slapped.
Shen Yelei's thin face was turned to the side by the blow, and a bright red five-fingered mountain instantly appeared on one side of his cheek. A trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. His small body trembled, and he took the opportunity to squat down on the ground, glaring hatefully at Shen Lixue. He rolled around and cried out in alarm, "Everyone saw it... Adults are bullying children... Shameless, shameless..."
Shen Lixue smiled. "Grand Commandant Lei, Shen Minghui committed a serious crime and his entire family was executed. Shen Yelei is still young and not old enough to be executed, so as the descendant of a criminal, he was demoted and sold into slavery. Judging from his attire, he should be a servant from some family. He shouldn't have fallen so low as to commit fraud on the street."
He faked a car accident to frame Zi Mo, he must have been instructed by someone: "Shen Yelei, which household servant are you from?"
Shen Yelei's small eyes rolled around, and he wailed loudly, "I was the one who got hit by the carriage, not my master, why are you looking for him?"
"You're just a child, you don't understand anything. If something happens, of course we'll have to talk to your master!" The carriage had just returned to the capital and hadn't even arrived home when it encountered such a show of force. That person arranged for Shen Yelei to frame Zi Mo, hoping to smear the Holy Prince's Mansion and give it a bad reputation for bullying the weak. How could Shen Lixue let him have his way?
Shen Yelei wiped away his tears and sobbed, "Master's name is too noble for me to mention." He was just a child who had been hit by a carriage. If he argued with the Holy King's Mansion in the name of a child, passersby would side with him and he could severely punish Shen Lixue.
His master is an adult. If he were to discuss this matter with Shen Lixue, it would definitely be resolved peacefully and without any further trouble. How could he possibly punish Shen Lixue and make her lose face?
"In Qingyan, there are very few people whose names are so noble that people dare not mention them. Could it be that your master is the current emperor?" Shen Lixue deliberately guessed, looking at Shen Yelei with pity. Shen Yelei, influenced by the Lei family and Shen Minghui, was still somewhat clever. She couldn't get anything of value out of him. She had to take a different approach to get the information she wanted.
The emperor lived in the palace, and the men around him, apart from eunuchs, were guards. Shen Yelei, being the descendant of a disgraced official, was not qualified to be a guard, but he might be able to become a eunuch.
Shen Yelei looked at Shen Lixue's pitying gaze and his eyes blazed with anger. He was the young master of the Prime Minister's mansion and the grandson of the Grand Commandant's mansion. Even if he became the descendant of a disgraced official, he would still live with dignity. How could he become a eunuch? "Shen Lixue, listen carefully. I am a dignified man. My master is Prince Zhan, not the Emperor!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Shen Yelei suddenly realized that he had been tricked. He glared at Shen Lixue hatefully, gritting his teeth in anger. Damn it, she actually tricked him into revealing information indirectly.
"Where is Prince Zhan now?" Shen Lixue's clear voice was amplified with internal energy, spreading rapidly through the air and across the street. Her cold gaze suddenly shot towards a window; she had long since noticed someone watching her every move on the street from behind the window.
Before her eyes, a tall, slender figure gently landed in front of Shen Lixue. His face was handsome, and his azure robe was tailored to fit him perfectly, making his figure appear even more upright. The collar and cuffs were embroidered with exquisite dark patterns in fine silver thread, and a gold sash was tied around his waist. His figure was elegant and extraordinary. It was none other than Zhan Wang Dongfang Zhan.
Looking at Shen Lixue's bright face and cool gaze, Dongfang Zhan smiled gently. She was back, exactly the same as when she left, without any change: "What happened?"
Shen Lixue pointed to Shen Yelei, who was lying on the ground, and said, "The servant of the Zhan Prince's Mansion and the carriage of the Sheng Prince's Mansion accidentally collided. What does the Zhan Prince think should be done to resolve this matter?"
Zhan Wang glanced at the filthy Shen Yelei: "The servants of Zhan Wang's mansion are unharmed, and the carriage of Sheng Wang's mansion is not damaged. Let's leave it at that. What does the Princess Consort think?"
"That's wonderful!" Shen Lixue smiled politely. Dongfang Zhan bought Shen Yelei to come back to the mansion as a servant. She really didn't know what he wanted to do.
"Chen Yelei, can't you watch where you're going? How dare you crash into the carriage of the Holy King's Mansion?" Accompanied by an angry and charming female voice, Ye Qianmei walked over gracefully, a smug smile on her proud little face. Her golden Xiang dress shimmered in the sunlight, her beautiful golden splendor shining brightly.
"Waaah, it's not my fault! There was no sign of the Holy Prince's Mansion on the carriage. Otherwise, even if I had run it over or died, I wouldn't have dared to cause trouble for Princess Anjun of the Holy Prince's Mansion." Shen Yelei wiped his eyes and cried sadly, secretly mocking Shen Lixue as a ruthless troublemaker. He knew that getting involved with her was courting death.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. It was probably not Dongfang Zhan who instructed Shen Yelei to crash the carriage, but Ye Qianmei. The two of them were singing in unison, portraying the Holy King's Mansion as arrogant, domineering, and invincible.
Many days have passed since the massacre of the entire Mu family of Xiliang. This incident caused quite a stir and spread very quickly. Along the way, Shen Lixue heard many people talking about it, and Ye Qianmei must have heard about it as well.
Is framing me and the Holy King's Mansion to avenge the Duke of Mu's Mansion? Or is it to give me a warning? This tactic is far too naive.
“My carriage does not have the mark of the Holy Prince’s Mansion. However, the driver, Zi Mo, is the secret guard of Prince An and often works by his side. Ye Lei has seen him many times and should know him. How could he not know that this is the carriage of the Holy Prince’s Mansion?” The implication was that Shen Ye Lei only bumped into the carriage when he saw Zi Mo, thus damaging the reputation of the Holy Prince’s Mansion.
Shen Yelei's eyes flickered unnaturally, and he stammered, "The carriage was moving so fast, how could I see the driver's face clearly?"
"Shen Yelei, do you know that colliding with the carriage of Prince An and Princess An and causing an incident will result in being beaten to death?" Since this matter was planned by Ye Qianmei, it is definitely not as simple as framing Shen Lixue.
Although Shen Yelei was young, he had a very bad temper. He deliberately crashed into someone else's car and then falsely accused the Holy King's Mansion. The guards of the Holy King's Mansion beat him to death in a fit of anger. He had taken a life in front of everyone, and if he went out on the street, he would be pointed at and talked about.
Shen Yelei was taken aback: "Really?" He used to be a high and mighty young master who never cared about the lives of his servants. He didn't know that Qingyan would have so many harsh requirements for his servants.
"If you don't believe me, you can go to Shuntian Prefecture and ask Qingyan about the laws." Shen Lixue was completely certain that Ye Qianmei was using Shen Yelei. She wanted her to kill Shen Yelei, but she refused to do so, hoping to awaken Shen Yelei's fiery temper and make him fight with Ye Qianmei.
"Thank you for sparing my life, Princess Consort!" Shen Yelei glanced at Ye Qianmei, taking in the anger and resentment on her face. He clenched his fists tightly. Those despicable Ye Qianmei and Shen Lixue, bullying me and using me. When I gain power, I will never let you go.
"At such a young age, you should learn to be forgiving. A fiery temper, a stubborn attitude, and a petty nature that refuses to forgive even when you're in the right are the worst things to do." Shen Lixue said coldly, then suddenly felt dizzy and her body went limp, and she uncontrollably fell straight to the ground.
"Li Xue!" Dongfang Heng, who was sitting at the entrance of the carriage, was startled. He rushed to her side, reached out his arm to support her falling body, and called out urgently, "Li Xue, Li Xue!"
Shen Lixue's eyes were tightly closed, her face was slightly pale, and she showed no reaction.
Dongfang Zhan and Shen Yelei were both taken aback: What happened? How could she suddenly faint?
Zi Mo hurriedly reminded him, "Your Highness, there's a clinic up ahead!"
Dongfang Heng scooped Shen Lixue up in his arms and strode into the clinic: "Doctor, please take a look at Lixue's condition."
"Please come in!" There weren't many patients in the clinic, so when the doctor saw Dongfang Heng carrying the unconscious Shen Lixue in, he quickly ushered them into the inner room.
Dongfang Heng carefully placed Shen Lixue on the bed. The doctor took the pulse pillow and carefully took Shen Lixue's pulse. Feeling the light beads of pulse sliding under his fingers, the doctor's gaze narrowed slightly, and he examined her again carefully.
Seeing the doctor's grave expression, Dongfang Heng's sharp gaze narrowed slightly: "Doctor, how is Li Xue's condition?"