Shen Lixue frowned deeply. Had Zhou Wenxuan gone mad from reading too much? His words were mediocre, and after all that, it was all nonsense: "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhou, I don't want to be some kind of noble lady. I just want to take back what's rightfully mine!"
“Shen Lixue, one should learn to help others and be modest, especially since the other party is your own sister. Your willingness to give up Prince An shows that you are magnanimous…” Zhou Wenxuan frowned at Shen Lixue, his words were firm, and his face was almost red with anger. As expected of a country bumpkin, she had no manners and was unreasonable.
"If I don't give in, am I despicable, shameless, and narrow-minded?" Shen Lixue glanced coldly at Zhou Wenxuan. He liked to help others achieve their goals, and being a coward was his business. Why should he expect others to be like him? Talking to someone whose brain is completely rusted is just asking for trouble.
Shen Lixue glared at Zhou Wenxuan, then turned and walked away, saying, "Mr. Zhou, I have other matters to attend to, so please excuse me!"
"Shen Lixue, you ignored my advice first, so don't blame me for taking action later. Men, arrest her!" Zhou Wenxuan angrily ordered the two guards. The guards drew their long swords and stabbed at Shen Lixue, but not in a vital spot. Their intention was to capture her, not to kill her.
The pedantic and despicable Zhou Wenxuan!
Shen Lixue's eyes turned cold. She dodged the sword in the guard's hand and her slender body instantly appeared in front of the horse. To Zhou Wenxuan's astonishment, she kicked him off the horse.
"Shen Lixue, how dare you kick me!" Zhou Wenxuan quickly sat up, about to angrily rebuke Shen Lixue, when a fist punched him in the mouth, knocking him to the ground. His mouth stung with pain. How could this vulgar woman be so fast?
"I hit you because you deserved to be hit, I kicked you because you deserved to be kicked. You're so pedantic and stupid, how could Qingyan produce a scholar like you!" Shen Lixue kicked him again, and Zhou Wenxuan rolled around on the ground like a ball.
The two guards stood not far away, dumbfounded, not knowing what to do. What was going on? What was going on?
"Shen Lixue, I am an official of the imperial court. You are breaking the law by kicking me like this!" Zhou Wenxuan rolled on the ground, trying to get up, but every time he had the chance to stand up, Shen Lixue would kick him down again.
She secretly resented that country girls were indeed vulgar and uncouth, not even a fraction as gentle as Yingxue. How could they be worthy of Prince An? Yingxue realized that she had made the right decision to drive away Shen Lixue.
"You two, quickly capture Shen Lixue!" Zhou Wenxuan remembered that he had brought men with him and hurriedly asked for help.
The guards snapped out of their daze and drew their swords to stab Shen Lixue. Shen Lixue grabbed Zhou Wenxuan and pressed a sharp hairpin against his neck. Her cold gaze swept over the two guards who were about to pounce: "If you dare to take another step forward, I will not be polite to him!"
The guards exchanged glances but dared not step forward. Zhou Wenxuan angrily said, "Shen Lixue, how dare you disrespect me?" She was a country bumpkin, crude and vulgar, and should be locked up in jail for ten years of reformation.
"If you shout again, I'll stab your throat and make sure you can never speak again!" Shen Lixue threatened coldly.
The hairpin tip pressed against his skin again, the icy touch seeping into his heart through his neck. Zhou Wenxuan shivered and didn't say anything more, but the raging anger in his eyes showed that he was very angry, very angry!
"Miss Shen, don't be impulsive!" The Third Prince, Dongfang Zhan, descended from the sky. Shen Lixue, dressed in a snow-blue long dress, had a cold face and icy eyes. Even in the alley, her slender figure was still undeniable.
Looking at Zhou Wenxuan again, his blue brocade robe was covered in dust, and his headband had fallen off somewhere. His black hair was loose and covered most of his face, and his exposed cheeks were covered in dust. He looked very disheveled, and there was no trace of his former dashing appearance. Dongfang Zhan's lips twitched slightly.
When Dongfang Zhan appeared, Zhou Wenxuan felt more confident and said urgently, "Prince Zhan, Shen Lixue is trying to kill me..." His loud complaint stopped abruptly because Shen Lixue's sharp hairpin had already cut his skin, and beads of blood were seeping out.
"Miss Chen, please release Zhou Wenxuan first, and we can talk things over slowly!" Dozens of guards surged into the alley behind him, but Dongfang Zhan remained calm and composed as he dealt with them.
"Your Highness, the truth is, Zhou Wenxuan ordered his guards to kill me. I had no choice but to injure him. Do you believe me?" Shen Lixue's gaze was cold. If she released Zhou Wenxuan now, she would be thrown into prison.
Dongfang Zhan looked at Zhou Wenxuan, as if asking, "Is what Shen Lixue said true?"
"I was just advising her to cultivate her character, and she wanted to kill me..." Zhou Wenxuan said urgently, no one would be stupid enough to admit their crime in public.
"Does advising me to cultivate my character require me to bring two guards into the alley?" Shen Lixue's tone was icy.
"Those two guards were protecting me!" Zhou Wenxuan explained, unwilling to give up.
"How did you appear behind me when they were protecting you?" Shen Lixue coldly retorted. If she didn't know martial arts, where would she be sent if Zhou Wenxuan captured her? Qingzhou? Or some secret prison? In any case, she wouldn't have a good ending. Zhou Wenxuan had no good intentions towards her, so she didn't need to be polite.
“Because…because…” Zhou Wenxuan’s eyes darted around as he racked his brains for an answer.
As astute as Dongfang Zhan was, he had already guessed the whole story from their conversation: "Miss Shen, Young Master Zhou, the capital is at a critical moment. Let's not fight amongst ourselves. Let's wipe the slate clean!"
"no……"
Shen Lixue threw a punch, and Zhou Wenxuan's objections vanished instantly. His cheek swelled up, and the guards' lips twitched slightly. This daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion is truly formidable!
“Your Highness Zhan is very polite. As fellow Qingyan people, we should fight together in this critical moment. I will not hold a grudge against him!” Shen Lixue looked at Dongfang Zhan with a cold gaze: “Now that I have released Zhou Wenxuan, can Your Highness Zhan guarantee that he will stay quiet?”
066 The warmth in Xiangguo Temple
"As long as Miss Shen releases Zhou Wenxuan, I guarantee he will never cause you any more trouble!" Looking at Shen Lixue's stubborn figure, a hint of surprise flashed in Dongfang Zhan's inquisitive eyes.
"Qingyan Zhanwang is quite trustworthy, I'll trust you this once!" With that, Shen Lixue kicked Zhou Wenxuan hard towards the two guards, then turned around and floated away.
Dongfang Zhan is the Azure Flame King. In front of so many guards, he will definitely keep his word. Shen Lixue is not worried that he will attack her from behind.
Zhou Wenxuan's tall figure loomed over them, catching the two guards completely off guard. They were slammed to the ground with tremendous force, their bones feeling as if they were shattered, and they groaned in agony, "It hurts...it hurts so much...Young Master, please get up..."
"Help me up!" Zhou Wenxuan's injuries were no less severe than the guards'. His waist ached as if it had been broken. His lips twitched as he asked the guards behind Dongfang Zhan for help. It wasn't that he didn't want to stand up, but that he didn't have the strength to do so.
He's so useless to be beaten like this by a weak woman!
The guards, disdainful in their hearts, slowly stepped forward, grabbed Zhou Wenxuan's arms, and helped him up roughly. Zhou Wenxuan cried out in pain, "Careful, be careful..."
Dongfang Zhan stood still, his gaze following the figure in a snow-blue dress. The girl walking along the street had her long hair simply tied up, her eyebrows and eyes were like paintings, and her snow-blue dress fluttered gently, making her skin as white as fine porcelain and as clear as jade. Her dark hair hung down like a fine brocade draped behind her.
The wind blew, lifting her hair and revealing her stunningly beautiful face. Her cool eyes flashed with an imperceptible arrogance and sharpness.
Dongfang Zhan narrowed her eyes slightly, her dark eyes filled with unreadable emotions. She had grown up in the impoverished Qingzhou for fifteen years, yet her aura surpassed that of a young lady born into a noble family in the capital. Was it due to the excellent teachings of her elders, or was it simply her nature?
"Where is Shen Lixue?" Zhou Wenxuan was helped up by the guards. He looked around but couldn't find the culprit. He gently rubbed his aching back, his eyes blazing with anger: "You hit someone, and now you're afraid of taking responsibility, so you ran away?"
Dongfang Zhan turned to look at Zhou Wenxuan. His blue brocade robe was covered in dust, his dark hair was disheveled, and his face was red and black in patches. He stood weakly against the guard, looking extremely disheveled.
"I promised her that if she released you, I would let her leave, and the score between you would be settled!" Dongfang Zhan looked back at the front of the alley. The figure in snow-blue had already disappeared. A gentle breeze blew by, bringing a fresh fragrance.
“Your Highness Zhan, Shen Lixue is cunning and willful, and narrow-minded. She needs careful discipline to become a great person. Otherwise, she will be too indulgent…” Dongfang Zhan had already agreed to let Shen Lixue go, so Zhou Wenxuan could not continue to pursue the matter. Like a rambling schoolteacher, he talked endlessly about how to discipline Shen Lixue.
Dongfang Zhan remained silent, his brows furrowing slightly. "Zhou Wenxuan is exceptionally talented, a true genius, but he's too rigid and inflexible. He's stubborn and doesn't know how to adapt. Brother Zhou, you're seriously injured. It would be best if you returned to your residence to recuperate. As for guarding the streets, I will explain that to the Crown Prince!"
Leading troops to guard the streets is the duty of military officers. It would have been fine if Zhou Wenxuan, a civil official, had come to join in the fun, but he was seriously injured by Shen Lixue. His incompetent and pathetic appearance was seen by the guards, so how could they possibly order him to send him back to his residence to recuperate and prevent him from making a further fool of himself?
Dongfang Zhan gave a signal, then, supporting Zhou Wenxuan's guards, he strode forward, his arm under Zhou Wenxuan's arm. Zhou Wenxuan's shrill cry rang out: "Slow down! I'm seriously injured and shouldn't move quickly. I'm wounded; you need to consider my situation..."