As soon as Madam Lei left, the maids and nannies followed. Aunt Zhao glanced at the disheveled Aunt Jin and sneered disdainfully. For so many years, they had been unable to produce a son, and now they were all thirty years old. Aunt Jin was still trying to take advantage of the situation and get pregnant again. What a pipe dream! She was overestimating herself. Sons were not so easy to give birth to.
After everyone left, Aunt Jin, who had been staring blankly, suddenly stood up. Her furious gaze seemed to want to tear someone to pieces, and she roared as she lunged at Chen Lixue: "You betrayed me! I'll fight you to the death..."
Shen Lixue turned around gently, and Aunt Jin missed her target. Her petite body crashed heavily onto the table, and a sharp pain spread throughout her body. She bent over in pain, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
“Aunt Jin, we were discussing seducing Father in ten days. I didn’t know you were going to do it today. How could I betray you?” Shen Lixue asked, feigning ignorance.
"Stop pretending! If you hadn't betrayed me, how would Madam have known that the Prime Minister was in my bed..." Aunt Jin glared at Shen Lixue hatefully, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger.
Shen Lixue sneered: "Aunt Jin, Madam Lei is the mistress of the Prime Minister's mansion, in charge of everything in the backyard. Most of the maids and nannies are her people. How could she not know that you lured Father here from the study..."
"When I invited the master here, I did it very discreetly, so no one else would have noticed," Aunt Jin said, her pale face flushing red and then turning pale as she continued to argue defiantly.
“Aunt Jin, I am a girl and I will get married in the future. I can’t take much of the Prime Minister’s property with me. The biggest threat to your son is Shen Yelei, not me. Madam wants to harm your child even more than I do.” Shen Lixue’s voice was gentle and persuasive.
"You want me and Madam to fight each other, so you can reap the benefits in the end. He is your brother, your own brother! He was so innocent, yet you secretly murdered him like this. Do you have no conscience?" Aunt Jin glared at Shen Lixue with hatred, her angry eyes blazing.
Shen Lixue scoffed: My own brother? We can talk about that after I give birth to my son...
“Even if I wanted to take advantage of the situation, I would wait until you were both exhausted before I did. You couldn’t even withstand a single move from Madam, and she was unharmed. She is still the powerful Prime Minister’s wife. Whose advantage should I take? Besides…” Shen Lixue glanced at Lei’s flat belly: “I’m still hoping that the child in your belly will be born and draw Madam’s attention away. Why would I harm him now?”
"This..." Aunt Jin was speechless after being refuted. Shen Lixue was right. The longer her son lived, the safer she would be. She had no reason to harm her child.
Looking at the sad and distressed Aunt Jin, Shen Lixue said calmly, "Aunt Jin, don't underestimate Madam. Besides being the Prime Minister's wife, she is also the legitimate daughter of the Grand Commandant's family. Her methods and scheming are far superior to yours!"
Aunt Jin lowered her head, her eyes dim, and remained silent. It was because she was too hasty and too careless that Lei Shi discovered her scheme, which harmed herself and her child...
"Aunt Jin, don't be sad. If you fail this time, there will be another time!" Aunt Jin must be heartbroken after losing her beloved son. Shen Lixue didn't say anything more and slowly walked out of the room.
Behind her, Aunt Jin's wailing began, but Shen Lixue ignored it, looking up at the starry night sky with a strange smile playing on her lips.
Aunt Jin is already thirty years old and hasn't taken the medicine given by Shen Lixue, so the chances of her getting pregnant are very small. Lei Shi is in charge of the inner quarters, and even if Aunt Jin doesn't reveal that she's seducing Shen Minghui, Lei Shi will find out tomorrow. At that time, Aunt Jin will still be unable to escape the fate of having to drink the contraceptive soup.
Shen Lixue brought Lei Shi here so that she could tamper with the ginseng soup that had been mixed with contraceptive tonic. If Aunt Jin hadn't yelled at her and bumped into her like a madwoman, she would have told Aunt Jin the truth.
Aunt Jin is foolish and distrustful of people. Lei is clever and capable, and very good at reading people. If Aunt Jin shows any sign of something wrong, Lei will notice it. Shen Lixue plans to keep the truth hidden for the time being and reveal it when the time is right!
After leaving Jin Garden, Shen Lixue did not return to Zhu Garden, but went to Elegant Garden where Lei Shi lived. Although Aunt Jin had seduced Shen Minghui and given him a contraceptive potion, Lei Shi must have felt somewhat uncomfortable. Shen Lixue wanted to see what kind of special reaction Lei Shi would have.
Night had fallen, and the elegant garden was empty. Lei dismissed his attendants and sat alone at the table, writing and drawing. His face was gloomy, and he tore apart sheet after sheet of Xuan paper with great force. Looking around, the ground was covered with rotten paper balls. The white paper and black ink reflected each other, creating an indescribably eerie scene.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. Lei Shi's way of venting her anger was by writing and painting. That was really special. It seemed that Aunt Jin's seduction of Shen Minghui to have a child had made her extremely angry. But was Lei Shi planning to write and paint here all night?
Just then, a man appeared in Lei's room. He was dressed in black and had his back to Shen Lixue, so she couldn't see his face. She only saw him bow and respectfully greet Lei, "Madam!"
"Send this to the Grand Commandant's residence!" Lady Lei handed over an envelope.
"Yes!" The man took the envelope, put it away, and jumped out of the window.
Shen Lixue's gaze sharpened, and she quickly followed. Aunt Jin's seduction of Shen Minghui was a family matter, and Lei Shi had already dealt with it. There was no need to tell the Grand Commandant's mansion. Shen Minghui and Grand Commandant Lei had fallen out, and Lei Shi hadn't returned to her parents' home for a long time. Now, she suddenly sent someone to deliver a letter to Grand Commandant Lei, which seemed suspicious.
The man in black left the Prime Minister's residence silently, striding forward at great speed. Shen Lixue chased after him, turning several corners before finally catching up. Her slender fingers tightly gripped a silver needle, slowly aiming it at the man's acupoints, about to strike. Suddenly, the man's cold shout rang out: "Who goes there?"
Shen Lixue paused, and the man in black in front of her suddenly sped up. Shen Lixue narrowed her eyes, about to give chase, when a gleaming figure appeared in front of her, blocking her path, and said coldly, "Who are you?"
The man was about twenty years old, wearing silver armor and a silver helmet, holding a gleaming longsword. His face was stern, his aura was cold and ruthless, and his imposing presence stared directly at Shen Lixue.
"That man in front is a thief, catch him quickly!" Several more guards stood beside the armored man, completely blocking Shen Lixue's path. Shen Lixue could no longer chase after the man in black, so she pointed in the direction of the man in black and asked these guards to help catch him.
"Miss, don't be so mysterious. Besides you and us, who else is here?" The armored man turned around and looked away, and the man in black jumped over the high wall and disappeared.
Shen Lixue blinked helplessly, unsure whether to say the armored man turned around at the perfect moment, or the man in black scaling the wall at the perfect moment; he turned around, and he disappeared just as perfectly…
"Miss, who are you?" The armored man turned around and continued to ask, his face cold and his presence imposing, clearly indicating that he was about to interrogate her.
“The Prime Minister’s daughter, Shen Lixue!” Shen Lixue answered calmly, glancing at the armored man. Judging from his attire, he was the head of the guards in charge of the streets…
"Why is Miss Shen here alone in the dead of night?" the armored man asked again, his tone arrogant and cold.
"There was a thief at the Prime Minister's residence, so I came out to catch him..." Shen Lixue said perfunctorily, her gaze darkening slightly. The armored man's attitude was so rude. Even if it was an official dealing with a commoner, there was no need to be so arrogant. Something was wrong.
The armored man scoffed disdainfully: "The daughter of a high-ranking official, why would she be out here catching thieves? Staying up in the middle of the night and appearing here for no reason, clearly you're deliberately disrupting order. Guards, take her away!"
"Wait!" Shen Lixue stared coldly at the armored man: "Qingyan didn't issue a curfew order, did it?" She was just about to shoot the man in black with her silver needles when the armored man appeared with his men. Although they appeared from her side and it was understandable that they couldn't see the man in black, they wouldn't listen to her explanation and only suspected her. Something was very wrong!
"No, but Miss's identity is too mysterious. This commander suspects that you are related to the people of Southern Xinjiang..." The armored man's lips curled up slightly, and his eyes flashed with a bloodthirsty and sharp cold light as he looked at Shen Lixue, with a hint of hatred in them.
“This can prove my identity!” Shen Lixue’s eyes narrowed slightly. He hated her, he knew her! A piece of green jade pendant hung in her hand, one side was carved with simple and ancient patterns, and the other side was imprinted with the flowing character “Chen”. It was the Shen family’s heirloom jade pendant.
"It's just a jade pendant; anyone can fake it. It proves nothing!" The armored man glanced at it coldly, once again denying Shen Lixue's identity.
Shen Lixue slightly raised the corners of her mouth. She was now 100% certain that the armored man before her was deliberately trying to cause her trouble. She waved her hand to put away the jade pendant and said calmly:
"I never imagined that the dignified Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards couldn't even distinguish between real and fake jade. Oh well, it's normal for someone who practices martial arts to be ignorant of refined matters. You will come with me to the Prime Minister's residence, and that will prove my identity..."
The armored man's face instantly darkened. She actually mocked him for being ignorant and incompetent: "In the dead of night, the masters of the Prime Minister's residence have already gone to sleep. How could I, the commander, disturb Prime Minister Shen for the sake of a lowly person like you? Guards, seize her, lock her in the torture chamber, and beat her until she confesses!"
"Yes!" the two guards replied, reaching out to grab Shen Lixue.
Shen Lixue slapped the guards away and coldly stared at the armored man: "You convict people without asking any questions and abuse your power. Is this how you guards protect the people?"
"As a commander, my duty is to protect the people. If I encounter a troublemaker like you who resists arrest, I will naturally punish him severely!" The armored man's eyes were piercing, and his words were firm and righteous.
Shen Lixue scoffed: "With your attitude, even the best citizens will be driven to become troublemakers!"
"You..." The guard captain pointed at Shen Lixue, his eyes blazing with fury, and gritted his teeth: "Men, seize her and beat her severely!"
Several guards obeyed the order, wielding longswords and swarming forward. Shen Lixue snatched the sword from one of the guards, kicked him away, and slammed it hard into the armored man. The armored man dodged the guard, his eyes blazing with fury as he looked at Shen Lixue.