Ignoring Shen Yingxue's angry, fiery eyes, Zhuang Kexin, supported by her maids, swayed slowly as she walked up to Su Yuting and complained, "That Shen Yingxue is really stupid!"
Su Yuting's gentle gaze swept over Shen Yingxue, who had been severely beaten, and she smiled softly: "It's getting late, let's go back to the manor!"
As Su Yuting gracefully turned around, she saw Shen Lixue not far away. Shen Lixue was smiling slightly, looking fresh and natural, with eyes as clear as glass. Although she was talking to the palace maids and eunuchs, her head was slightly turned in Su Yuting's direction, and even her eyes seemed to be looking at her.
Su Yuting suddenly felt a chill in her heart, as if Shen Lixue was spying on her secret.
After leaving the palace and getting into the carriage of the Duke of Wen's mansion, Zhuang Kexin couldn't help but praise, "Yuting, you're so clever, you devised a plan for Shen Yingxue to go and test us..." Otherwise, Yuting would be the one in trouble now.
Su Yuting smiled gently, her expression unfathomable: "Prince An has spent three years at the border, winning countless battles. The title of 'Azure Flame War God' is not just for show. Even when drunk and asleep, he maintains a certain level of alertness. Trying to outmaneuver him won't be so easy!"
Zhuang Kexin nodded in agreement, then sighed softly, "After what happened with Shen Yingxue, Prince An will be even more vigilant. And Shen Lixue is still alive and well. It will be even more difficult for you to become Prince An's consort!"
“Shen Lixue has three years of mourning to observe, I still have plenty of time and opportunities, there’s no need to rush!” Thinking of Shen Lixue’s all-seeing, cold gaze, Su Yuting’s eyes deepened, and she said in a deep voice, “When you were scheming against Shen Yingxue, no one else saw it, did you hear that?”
"You can rest assured about my work. Those two palace maids carefully checked and confirmed that no one was around before they led Shen Yingxue to Chang Le Palace. No outsiders will know about this!" Zhuang Kexin said confidently.
"That's good!" Su Yuting secretly breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, she felt uneasy whenever she thought of Shen Lixue's meaningful gaze.
Shen Lixue is extremely intelligent. It won't be easy to snatch Prince An from her. We must not be too hasty and must think carefully and plan for the long term!
In the palace, Shen Yingxue had been given fifty strokes of the cane and had already fainted. Blood stained her white fur trousers, her hair was disheveled, and she looked extremely pathetic.
Lei summoned several maids who carefully carried Shen Yingxue to the guest room. She then invited imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital to treat Shen Yingxue's injuries, apply medicine, and bandage her wounds.
After treating the wound, the sun was already setting in the west, and Lei was also covered in sweat. Seeing that the noble families who had come to the palace for the banquet had all left, she could not delay any longer, so she ordered people to carry the unconscious Shen Yingxue onto the carriage and head to the Prime Minister's residence.
The roads in the city were flat, and the carriage was driven very steadily, but there were bound to be some minor bumps. The unconscious Shen Yingxue was shaken a few times but did not make a sound.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the Prime Minister's residence. Lei Shi stepped down first, followed by several maids who carefully carried Shen Yingxue. The moment she stepped off the carriage, Shen Yingxue suddenly opened her eyes and vomited a mouthful of blood, spraying it all over Lei Shi's body and face.
Blood beads covered her face, blurring her vision. When Lei saw the deathly gray in Shen Yingxue's beautiful eyes, as if she were on the verge of death, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Yingxue!" Yingxue was perfectly fine just now. The imperial physician also said that she was young and could withstand fifty strokes of the cane and was already out of danger. How could she have turned into this state in the blink of an eye?
"Someone, summon the imperial physician! Quickly, summon the imperial physician!" Lei's shrill screams echoed through most of the street, startling many passersby.
In the east wing of Chang Le Palace, Shen Lixue carried a bowl of medicine into the inner room. On the soft couch by the window, Dongfang Heng, dressed in white, sat quietly against the headboard, his figure reflected in the green willows and red flowers outside the window, like a beautiful painting.
Dongfang Heng must have suffered serious injuries during his three years in the army; otherwise, he wouldn't fall ill so frequently.
Shen Lixue put down the tray, tested the medicine, and found it to be just the right temperature. She then handed the bowl to Dongfang Heng, saying, "Drink your medicine!"
Dongfang Heng shook his head and waved his hand to block him: "It's just a minor injury, no need for medicine!"
Shen Lixue looked at Dongfang Heng's pale, bloodless face and lips, and said coldly, "You're already so sick, and you call it a minor injury!"
"This injury was faked, it's nothing serious!" Dongfang Heng said calmly, a cold smile playing on his lips, making one feel as if they were in an ice cellar in the dead of winter.
"What do you mean?" Shen Lixue asked, puzzled. Could someone with such a serious injury really fake it?
Dongfang Heng sneered, "I injured Shen Yingxue's internal organs!" Taking advantage of his drunkenness, Shen Yingxue tried to frame him. She's incredibly audacious!
Shen Lixue was taken aback: "But Physician Chen's diagnosis is..."
"The method I used was very ingenious. It was impossible to diagnose the injury immediately after it occurred. The serious injury would only flare up after she had traveled a long and bumpy way back to the Prime Minister's residence!" Dongfang Heng said calmly, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
Shen Lixue raised her eyebrows. When Dongfang Heng knocked Shen Yingxue out of the room, she only suffered superficial injuries. His serious injuries and weakness made him powerless, which everyone could see. Whether Shen Yingxue returned to the Prime Minister's residence and fell into a coma due to serious injuries or died from her injuries, it was not Dongfang Heng's fault. He was really clever!
A cool sensation ran down her neck. Shen Lixue put down the medicine bowl, took the crystal swallow's nest off her neck, and handed it to Dongfang Heng: "Here, take this back!"
Dongfang Heng glanced at Crystal Swallow indifferently: "I never take back what I give away!"
Whether it was Shen Lixue's imagination or not, there was a hint of anger in his calm voice.
"Dongfang Heng, do you really hate Shen Minghui?" Shen Lixue heard Dongfang Heng's rebuttal clearly. He used the marriage contract as a medium to refute Shen Minghui, leaving him speechless and completely disregarding him.
"Hmm!" Dongfang Heng replied, his gaze softening slightly, though his tone remained somewhat displeased.
"Dongfang Heng, my maternal grandfather has passed away, and the Duke of Wu's mansion no longer exists. Don't take that marriage contract too seriously. If you meet a woman you like someday, you can marry her and make her the Princess Consort of Anjun at any time. I won't interfere with you two..."
Before Shen Lixue could finish speaking, Dongfang Heng's sharp gaze shot over like a sword, his deep eyes burning with a raging flame that seemed to incinerate her.
Shen Lixue's comforting words came to an abrupt halt. She looked at Dongfang Heng with confusion in her clear, cold eyes. Had she said something wrong? Why was Dongfang Heng about to lose his temper again?
A white shadow flashed before my eyes; it was Dongfang Heng, who had rolled off the bed and strode out.
"Where are you going?" Shen Lixue stood up, her brows furrowed. Why was Dongfang Heng acting so strangely lately, getting angry so easily?
"Return to the manor!" Dongfang Heng said in a low voice, as if he was suppressing his anger.
Just as her jade-like fingers touched the door, before she could even open it, a black figure appeared out of thin air and respectfully said, "Reporting to the Prince, Ye Qianlong has disappeared!"
Witty Remarks 079: Prince and Qianlong are jealous of each other.
“Ye Qianlong is as innocent as a child and doesn’t know his way around very well. Once he lives in a place, he won’t leave easily. How could he have disappeared?” Shen Lixue walked over quickly and spoke before Dongfang Heng could. The anxiety and worry in her tone made Dongfang Heng frown.
“An hour ago, the guards saw Ye Qianlong leave the second gate alone. They assumed he wanted to relax in the manor and didn't pay much attention. When he didn't return for a long time, the guards felt something was wrong and went to search for him. They searched the entire Holy King's manor but couldn't find him…”
The guards spoke in hushed tones, not daring to look up at Dongfang Heng. Protecting Ye Qianlong was a task assigned to them by the Prince, and now that Ye Qianlong had gone missing, it was their dereliction of duty.
“He was probably feeling down and went out for a walk. He couldn’t have gone far. Have you searched the area around the Holy King’s Mansion?” Shen Lixue frowned and looked at the guard, her gaze cold.
"We've searched everywhere, but we can't find him!" The guards lowered their heads even further. As guards, they had the ability and the responsibility. They knew that the moment Ye Qianlong disappeared, they had turned the area around the Holy King's Mansion upside down.
Shen Lixue frowned: "How far have you searched?" "Near the Holy King's Mansion" is a general term. Within three hundred meters is considered nearby, five hundred meters is also nearby, and even one thousand meters can be considered nearby.
The guard's gaze turned grave: "We've searched several streets near the Holy King's Mansion; it's at least 800 to 1000 meters!"
Shen Lixue frowned. She had searched so far but couldn't find Ye Qianlong. He must not be nearby anymore; he must have gone far away to somewhere else...