"You didn't injure her, but you're not entirely to blame!" Shen Minghui glared at Shen Lixue hatefully. Yingxue was his most prized daughter, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Now that she had injured her arm, her talents would be unable to be displayed for a while. How could others see her excellence?
And the culprit behind all this was his daughter! Shen Minghui looked at Shen Lixue with anger that was almost spitting fire. Ever since she came to the Prime Minister's residence, no one in the residence had had a single good day.
"Why don't you ask Yingxue why she was injured?" Shen Lixue stared coldly at Shen Minghui. Without asking about the facts, he made a hasty conclusion. Is this how Prime Minister Qingyan behaves?
“Yingxue is gentle by nature. If she got hurt, it must be because someone plotted against her!” Shen Minghui’s gaze was firm. Even if Yingxue plotted against someone, she must have been forced to do so.
Shen Lixue scoffed disdainfully. Shen Minghui really doted on Shen Yingxue. It was clearly her own fault, but coming from Shen Minghui's mouth, she claimed that her injury was in self-defense. Ha, what a wonderful excuse...
"Father, if you're so capable, go and catch the real culprit and punish him. Why are you taking your anger out on me here?" Shen Lixue looked at Shen Minghui, her cold eyes full of mockery and disdain. She had nothing in common with this kind of infinitely biased father, and she had no intention of arguing with him. Let him do whatever he wanted.
"Who is that person?" Shen Minghui asked abruptly.
"Who is it?" Shen Lixue didn't react for a moment.
"Who is the man who injured Yingxue?" Shen Minghui asked again, his eyes blazing with anger. Was she playing dumb with him?
“That person’s identity is very special. I promised not to reveal anything about him. You are Prime Minister Qingyan, with immense power. You can investigate yourself!” Shen Lixue replied casually, a faint, yet unmistakably sarcastic, smile playing on her lips.
I wonder what Shen Minghui's reaction will be when he finds out that it was the Crown Prince of Xiliang who injured Shen Yingxue?
Ye Qianlong is of noble birth, and Qingyan and Xiliang have always maintained peaceful relations. The Qingyan Emperor certainly doesn't want anything to happen to Ye Qianlong in Qingyan. If Shen Minghui avenges Shen Yingxue, he will offend both the Xiliang and Qingyan Emperors. In that case, he will definitely lose his official position. If he doesn't do anything to Ye Qianlong, he will be left with a belly full of resentment, stuck in a rut, which will definitely be very uncomfortable...
In short, once Shen Minghui finds out who the real culprit was who injured Shen Yingxue, he'll definitely be so frustrated he'll vomit blood...
Shen Minghui's suppressed anger suddenly flared up: "Shen Lixue, you ordered someone to injure Yingxue, and I haven't settled the score with you yet. You should be grateful. Don't push your luck. Tell me who injured her, and you'll go back to the Bamboo Garden and reflect on your actions in seclusion for a month. You'll also copy the Peace Sutra a thousand times for Yingxue, and that will be the end of this matter. If you don't hand over that person..."
"How is it?" Shen Lixue asked calmly, her clear, cold eyes as still as an ancient well, undisturbed. She was already used to Shen Minghui's favoritism and unreasonableness, and was no longer surprised by it.
"You will take the punishment for that person, lose an arm, and return it to Yingxue!" Shen Minghui looked at Shen Lixue with a gloomy gaze and a cold tone devoid of any warmth.
"What if I don't hand over the person, and I don't want to lose my arm?" Shen Lixue asked in a low voice, her eyes unfathomable beneath her eyelids. She had completely lost hope in her scumbag father, Shen Minghui. No matter how biased or ruthless he was, he could no longer arouse any anger in her.
"That's not up to you!" Shen Minghui gritted his teeth, enunciating each word clearly. His angry gaze turned towards the door, and he said coldly, "Guards, sever Miss's arm!"
"Yes, Your Excellency!" Ding Mama, Xia Rou, and Xia Jin responded softly and strode in, carrying sticks and ropes, and quickly approached Shen Lixue.
Shen Lixue raised her eyebrows slightly and sneered. So, they were prepared all along. The moment she stepped into Xueyuan, she was destined to be bound and have her arm severed. But thinking about it carefully, it made sense. Shen Yingxue was Shen Minghui, the apple of Lei's eye, and was loved dearly. She had broken her arm. How could Lei and Shen Minghui let her off easily?
"Young Miss, we're so sorry!" Ding Mama, Xia Rou, and Xia Jin looked at Shen Lixue with sinister sneers in their eyes, as if she were a lamb to the slaughter!
"Young Miss, it might hurt a bit when your arm is severed. Let me tie you up so you don't hurt yourself!" Xia Jin walked forward arrogantly, holding a rope to tie up Shen Lixue. Suddenly, she tripped and fell face down to the ground in a sorry state. Her nose was broken by the hard ground, and blood flowed freely. Her eyes immediately filled with tears.
"Bang!" A vase fell from the table and hit Xia Jin squarely on the head. Blood seeped from the roots of her hair. Xia Jin screamed in pain, her voice sharp and piercing the eardrums. The servants nearby frowned and covered their ears.
"Shen Lixue!" Shen Minghui glared at Shen Lixue, his eyes blazing with fury. She had seriously injured Xia Jin, which was an act of defiance against him. How dare she defy him in public!
"Prime Minister, there's no need to shout so loudly, I can hear you." Shen Lixue replied casually to Shen Minghui, "Xia Jin is really something, how could she be so careless? She tripped over the rope she was holding and knocked over the vase on the table. This vase is Yingxue's favorite antique vase, it's quite valuable..."
Shen Lixue suddenly raised her head, her cold gaze like a sharp blade, piercing Ding Mama and Xia Rou who were holding sticks: "Ding Mama, Xia Rou, hurry up and use the torture, otherwise, Father will scold me again!"
Shen Lixue smiled faintly, but when she saw the indescribable coldness and eeriness in the eyes of Ding Mama and Xia Rou, and then looked at Xia Jin, whose head was broken and whose face was covered in blood, the two of them were so shocked that they retreated one after another. They dared not step forward to torture her anymore.
"Father, Granny Ding, Xia Jin doesn't dare to use torture. Would you like to come in person?" Shen Lixue looked at Shen Minghui with a cold gaze and a faint smile on her lips, which revealed boundless coldness.
Looking at Shen Lixue's smile, Shen Minghui felt a sudden chill run down his spine. This daughter was too clever, too enigmatic. In just over a month since returning to the Prime Minister's residence, he had watched her transform from an unknown country girl into the renowned daughter of the Prime Minister, known throughout the capital, and even gain the favor of the Empress Dowager and the Prince of An. This daughter shouldn't be so dazzling, much less surpass Yingxue!
Xia Jin's cry of pain drowned out Shen Yingxue's, startling Lei Shi out of the inner room. Looking at the tense situation before her, she explained softly:
“Li Xue, your father severed your arm simply to teach you a lesson so you won’t repeat the same mistake. He didn’t mean anything else. The imperial physician in the inner room specializes in treating severed limbs. Since your arm is broken, he will treat you immediately with the best medicine from the Prime Minister’s residence. You won’t be crippled, and you won’t be left with any scars…”
"So what? Are we going to continue the execution?" Shen Lixue glanced at Shen Minghui and Lei Shi, her cold eyes filled with sarcasm. They had broken her arm and then used the best medicine to heal her. Did they think the Prime Minister's mansion had too many medicines to use, or did they think she was a three-year-old child who was easy to fool, using such a crude reason to appease her?
Shen Minghui broke her arm, clearly intending to cripple her and disqualify her from competing with Shen Yingxue.
Lei looked at Shen Minghui and whispered, "Master, Yingxue's arm is broken, it's extremely painful and very difficult to treat. Please don't let Lixue suffer like this anymore..."
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. Lei Shi was ostensibly pleading for her, but in reality, she was complaining to Shen Minghui that she had caused Shen Yingxue to be seriously injured and in great pain...
Shen Minghui's anger subsided somewhat, and he looked coldly at Shen Lixue: "Ya Rong pleaded for you, so I will spare you this time. However, while you may be spared the death penalty, you will not escape punishment. Go back to the Bamboo Garden and reflect on your actions in seclusion for a month, and copy the Peace Sutra a thousand times for Yingxue..."
Shen Lixue sneered again. The reason Shen Minghui compromised was because she refused to yield and was in a stalemate with him. He couldn't do anything to her for the time being.
The dignified Prime Minister Qingyan couldn't even control his own daughter. If word got out, he would definitely lose face. Lei's timely appearance and reconciliation gave him a way out and established his image as a loving father, so of course he wouldn't refuse.
"Thank you, I will return to Bamboo Garden immediately and reflect on my mistakes!" The air in Snow Garden was too polluted, and Shen Lixue did not want to stay there for even a moment longer.
Just as they turned to leave, a royal physician emerged from the inner room. Shen Minghui and Lei Shi hurried forward, their faces filled with anxiety as they asked, "Royal Physician, how is Yingxue?"
The imperial physician stroked his beard and said, "The treatment was timely. Miss Shen's broken arm bone has been stabilized. After a period of rest, once the bone heals, she will be fine and can play the zither and paint as before!"
"Thank you, Imperial Physician, thank you, Imperial Physician..." Shen Minghui and Lei Shi thanked the Imperial Physician repeatedly.
Shen Lixue walked out of the room, her brows furrowing slightly. Shen Yingxue's arm was almost healed; it seemed Qianlong's palm strike had been too lenient...
Bamboo Garden was located in a relatively remote place. It was already very late at night, and everyone had gathered in Snow Garden. The bluestone path was quiet, and there was not a single person in sight. The red lanterns on the corridor swayed in the wind, casting long shadows that looked somewhat eerie from a distance.
"Chen Lixue!" An aged voice suddenly rang out, its long trailing tone making it particularly eerie in the gloomy atmosphere.
Shen Lixue was suddenly startled. An overwhelming chill instantly spread through her limbs, and her mind went blank for a moment. She quickly turned around and saw a figure standing in a pavilion not far away, hidden in the shadows. Her appearance was not clear, but her sinister eyes were terrifyingly bright. Her clothes, which were almost blending into the night, added to the horror in the dark night, making her look like a ghost traveling at midnight.
"Chen Lixue!"
"Chen Lixue!"
Two white figures floated towards Chen Lixue from the left and right. They were dressed in white with long black hair hanging down. Coupled with their cold and eerie voices, they seemed like female ghosts coming to collect debts.
Shen Lixue's cold eyes narrowed instantly, and she cried out in alarm in all directions, "A ghost! A ghost! Come and catch the ghost..."