"Second Miss, it's one thing for you to bully the Eldest Miss in the manor, but why do you have to frame her outside?" Qiu He asked tearfully, feeling indignant on behalf of Shen Lixue.
"Yes, Second Miss, the Eldest Miss has been making concessions all along, so why are you still so aggressive? Do you have to force the Eldest Miss to her death?" Yan Yue wiped her eyes, speaking up for Shen Lixue.
A thoughtful look flashed in everyone's eyes. They had heard rumors about the discord between the two daughters of the Shen family. With the eldest daughter's mother gone, the power in the Prime Minister's mansion was in the hands of her stepmother, so it was true that the eldest daughter was suffering. But the second daughter's arm was seriously injured, and it didn't sound like she was lying...
“Shen Lixue is your master, of course you side with her. The master and servants have teamed up to bully me…” Shen Yingxue wiped her eyes and cried sadly.
Shen Lixue sneered: "Yingxue, the truth is the truth, and no one can change it. There are so many people at Xiangguo Temple, surely some of them have seen the truth. Don't push your luck!"
"Whoever saw the truth, please step forward, explain everything, and prove my innocence!" Shen Yingxue stood gracefully, shouting sharply while sobbing softly, her eyes, hidden behind a silk handkerchief, flashing with cold light.
The scene was chaotic just now, and it was hard to tell what was real and what was fake. Who would pay attention to what was actually happening on their side? Her injury was the best evidence, and it could easily accuse Shen Lixue of being a coward who harmed her younger sister. Shen Lixue, just wait and see what happens.
"Amitabha!" A young monk approached, clasped his hands together, and bowed to the crowd. "Just now, I was standing in the corridor and saw Miss Shen being chased by men in black. She called for help from Miss Shen, and then Miss Shen ran over and stood in front of Miss Shen. The men in black's sword passed over Miss Shen and stabbed at Miss Shen. It wasn't that Miss Shen pushed Miss Shen to block the sword..."
"You're lying! How much did Shen Lixue give you to give false testimony for her?" Shen Yingxue was shocked and angrily rebuked him, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger. Where did this damned monk come from? He actually testified for Shen Lixue.
"Amitabha." The young monk clasped his hands together and bowed slightly. "Female benefactor, a monk does not lie!"
Shen Yingxue gritted her teeth: Damn monk, why don't you go back to the temple to copy Buddhist scriptures and chant sutras instead of coming here to cause trouble?
The gazes of the crowd toward Shen Yingxue instantly turned mocking and disdainful. Xiangguo Temple was extremely popular, and the monks there were all of good character. Moreover, the young monk was someone who served the Buddha, so how could he lie in front of the Buddha?
On the contrary, this second young lady of the Prime Minister's mansion not only bullied her own sister, but also repaid kindness with enmity and framed her sister. Her despicable character is truly unacceptable!
Shen Yingxue gritted her teeth in anger, her face turning red and white in turns. She seized every opportunity to strike back at herself. This bitch has such a tenacious will to live.
A sharp pain shot through her arm, and Shen Yingxue's face turned pale. She clutched the wound tightly, crying out, "It hurts so much! It hurts so much! That wretched Shen Lixue, why didn't that sword hit me..."
"Your Highness!" A cry of surprise rang out. Shen Lixue looked in the direction of the sound and saw Su Yuting helping Zhuang Kexin walk over. Their hair ornaments had fallen off somewhere, and their hair was disheveled, revealing their somewhat messy clothes. They looked extremely disheveled.
"Are you alright?" Dongfang Hong asked softly, standing three steps away from Su Yuting.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am fine." Su Yuting bowed gracefully. "Kexin has injured her leg!"
Shen Lixue looked down and saw a large gash on Zhuang Kexin's leg, staining her white fur trousers red. The bright red blood against the snow-white clothes was a shocking sight.
"Someone, take Miss Zhuang to the front hall." Dongfang Hong gave the order urgently, then explained to Su Yu in a low voice, "Master Yanzhi is treating the injured worshippers in the front hall."
Shen Lixue frowned: Zhuang Kexin and Su Yuting have been together all along. Zhuang Kexin was injured, but Su Yuting was completely unharmed. Does this mean that Su Yuting is the one who knows martial arts? Or is this injury something Zhuang Kexin deliberately created to confuse people and dispel any doubts that she knows martial arts?
The guards continued to clean up the bodies. The young ladies were escorted down the mountain by the guards. Shen Yingxue and Zhuang Kexin were injured and went to the front hall for treatment. Su Yuting also went with them. Dongfang Zhan and Dongfang Hong stood in the pavilion, waiting for the guards' examination results.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, these assassins are secret guards from the Western Liang Kingdom!" the guard respectfully reported the findings.
Dongfang Hong and Dongfang Zhan were slightly surprised: "You're not mistaken?"
"Your Highness, all the secret guards of Xiliang Kingdom bear the mark of the Xiliang royal family on their shoulders. There is absolutely no mistake!" The guard pulled open the clothes of a man in black, revealing the mark on his shoulder.
Dongfang Hong's expression changed slightly: "In broad daylight, the secret guards of Xiliang Kingdom actually dared to cause trouble at Xiangguo Temple. They are truly outrageous and audacious..."
The secret guards of Xiliang Kingdom went on a killing spree in the capital of Qingyan Kingdom, which is truly bizarre!
A faint scent of pine resin lingered in the air. Shen Lixue looked up, and Dongfang Heng's handsome face was close at hand: "How did things go at the front?"
After leaving the Green Bamboo Garden, Dongfang Heng went to the front hall, leaving two guards to protect Shen Lixue. Since Shen Lixue did not encounter any danger, he did not let the two guards show themselves.
"Assassins must be killed without mercy!" Dongfang Heng's gaze was sharp.
"Why didn't you leave any survivors?" Shen Lixue asked in surprise. Leaving survivors would allow her to force the truth out of them.
"They are suicide squads; you can't get any valuable information out of them!" Suicide squads are killing machines; they only obey their master's orders. If a mission fails, they will immediately commit suicide and will never reveal a single piece of information!
"Are they really all secret guards from the Western Liang Kingdom?" Shen Lixue frowned, wanting to confirm again.
Dongfang Heng nodded, his dark eyes unfathomable. Qingyan and Xiliang had always kept to themselves, but this time, a large number of Xiliang guards went on a killing spree at Xiangguo Temple. Something was fishy!
A guard rushed over: "Your Highness, during the fight inside the temple just now, several carriages outside the Xiangguo Temple were destroyed..."
Shen Lixue was taken aback, something flashing through her mind: "Destroyed carriage? How was it destroyed?"
"The carriage was almost completely dismantled, inside and out, as if they were searching for something..." The guard was very puzzled. Inside the temple, a fierce battle raged, with lives hanging in the balance, yet they still had the mind to destroy the carriage...
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow: "Which carriages were destroyed?"
"Miss Zhuang Kexin from the Minister's Mansion, Miss Su Yuting from the Duke of Wen's Mansion, and Princess Chili..."
"What? They ruined my carriage?" Dongfang Yu'er walked over, long whip in hand, bells jingling in her hair, her beautiful eyes blazing with fury: "Those despicable Xiliang guards! If we catch them, we'll skin them alive, tear them to pieces..."
The guard's lips twitched as he listened. "You've already killed him, and you even skinned him alive..."
“Prince An!” A deep male voice came, and Shen Lixue was startled. She looked up at the person who had come. The man stood five meters away, wearing a gray robe, with his hands behind his back. His eyes were sharp and his aura was imposing, making people dare not look directly at him.
The guards lowered their heads, not daring to look at him. Dongfang Yu'er's mouth formed an "O" shape in surprise. It took her a long time to react before she stammered, "You...you are...Royal Uncle!"
The man gave a nonchalant reply and looked at Dongfang Heng: "Three days from now, I will return to the capital to attend court!"
As he turned to leave, whether intentionally or unintentionally, his sharp gaze swept lightly over Shen Lixue!
Watching the man leave, Dongfang Heng looked at Shen Lixue, a complex emotion flashing in his deep eyes. His uncle was very stubborn. For fifteen years, no matter what happened to Qingyan, he had never shown any intention of returning. Just now, when he was drinking with his uncle in the bamboo garden, he hadn't found an opportunity to bring up the matter of returning to the capital. But after seeing Lixue outside the garden, he actually took the initiative to suggest returning to the capital to attend court...
"It's the Imperial Uncle, it really is the Imperial Uncle! I actually met the legendary Imperial Uncle..." Dongfang Yu'er was so happy she didn't know what to do.
"Is your royal uncle very powerful?" Shen Li asked, feigning ignorance.
"Yes, eighteen years ago, besides Duke Wu, he was the most famous. Back then, he was just like my cousin Heng now, both the God of War of Qingyan and the most handsome man. The number of young women who liked the Imperial Uncle could fill half of Qingyan..."
Speaking of that man, Dongfang Yu'er's eyes lit up: "My father told me that when my uncle was young, he was a renowned figure. He defeated a 300,000-strong army from the Northern Desert with only 50,000 soldiers, forcing the Northern Desert to sue for peace. That's how he got the name 'Azure Flame War God'..."