Thinking of the person in her heart, Shen Yingxue smiled self-deprecatingly at herself in the mirror. Prince An, he actually likes Shen Lixue, that wild girl from the countryside. She is better than her in every way—status, position, and appearance. Why doesn't he like her?
"Miss, Miss..." A young maid rushed into the room in a panic, urgently reporting, "Miss, Prince An hasn't come out since he entered the bamboo garden last night..."
"Bitch!" Shen Yingxue was furious. She slammed her hand on the table and stood up, knocking everything off the dressing table. Amidst the splatter of face powder, her beautiful eyes burned with rage: "She's actually seducing Prince An again!"
Yesterday, Prince An publicly expressed his feelings for her, and then left drunk. That little slut must have been gloating and taking advantage of the situation to have an affair with Prince An, making the marriage a done deal that no one can change.
And then there's Dongfang Zhan, who used to always dote on her and put her first in everything. But last night he ignored and rejected her repeatedly, his eyes fixed on Shen Lixue. Even when Shen Lixue helped Prince An leave, he wanted to follow her. She tried to chat with him, but he made excuses that he had drunk too much and remained silent, refusing to speak to her.
She knew that he was secretly thinking of Shen Lixue!
You slut! You slut! You slut!
Does Shen Lixue only feel satisfied after she has snatched away all the men who admire her, proving that they are more charming and attractive than her?
"Sister!" A small figure ran into the inner room with a childish call, her pretty face beaming with excitement. Looking at the mess on the floor, she paused for a moment, then asked, "Sister, what happened?"
"It's nothing!" Shen Yingxue was in a bad mood and didn't want to say much, so she casually brushed off Shen Yelei: "Weren't you studying at the Imperial Academy? Why did you come back?"
The maids and nannies quickly cleaned the floor!
Shen Yelei snapped back to reality, his eyes filled with anticipation: "I heard that Prince An seriously injured the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang?"
“That’s right.” Shen Yingxue frowned and looked at Shen Yelei: “You came back just to ask this?”
"Yes, sister, you don't know, as soon as this news spread, all the students in our Imperial Academy admired Prince An!" Shen Yelei danced with excitement, his face flushed. The Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, what a powerful figure he was, actually defeated by his brother-in-law! Just thinking about it made him excited.
Shen Yingxue glared at the unusually happy Shen Yelei and poured cold water on his enthusiasm: "The Prince of An seriously injured the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, not you. What are you so happy about?"
“Prince An is my brother-in-law, so we’ll be family in the future. He’s admired by everyone, so of course I’ll benefit from it too!” Shen Yelei was caught up in his excitement and didn’t care about Shen Yingxue’s contempt at all.
Imagine when he arrogantly announced to everyone at the Imperial Academy that Prince An was his brother-in-law, the students looked at him with fervor. That feeling of being high above everyone and being the center of attention was truly exhilarating.
"Didn't you used to hate Shen Lixue? How come you're helping her now?" Shen Yingxue suddenly raised her voice, glaring hatefully at Shen Yelei. Her only brother had actually turned against Shen Lixue! She was furious!
"What are you saying, sister? When you marry Prince An, he will naturally be my brother-in-law. Did I say something wrong?" Shen Yelei was completely bewildered by the inexplicable scolding and was even more puzzled.
Shen Yingxue was taken aback at first, then beamed with joy. Ye Lei was still on her side and hadn't been bribed by that bitch Shen Lixue. She had misunderstood.
"Sister, please take me to the Holy King's Mansion to find Prince An!" Shen Yelei asked with a grin. He had already made a bet with the students that he could invite Prince An to the Imperial Academy so that the students could admire him to their hearts' content.
Prince An was his brother-in-law, so he could make a small request to have Prince An teach those arrogant students a lesson, and see which of them would dare to laugh at him for being a pig-headed idiot and having poor literary skills.
Shen Yingxue's joyful heart sank again, and she was heartbroken: "Prince An is currently discussing marriage with Shen Lixue in the bamboo garden. I will never become Prince An's consort!"
"How could this happen?" Shen Yelei was shocked. Looking at Shen Yingxue who was sighing, he quickly understood and gritted his teeth: "Did that bitch use some despicable means again?"
“Yesterday, the Prince got drunk… Shen Lixue took advantage of everyone’s inattention… to help him to the bamboo garden, and he hasn’t come out yet…” Shen Yingxue followed Shen Yelei’s lead, speaking softer and softer, her words subtle and suggestive, leaving much to the imagination.
"That bitch, she never stops!" Shen Yelei said angrily, then turned and ran outside.
Shen Yingxue was taken aback: "Ye Lei, where are you going?"
"Go to the bamboo garden and expose that vile woman's ugly true colors in front of Prince An!" Shen Yelei's short legs kept moving as he angrily rushed forward. Prince An belonged to Sister Yingxue. She didn't even look at her own face in the mirror. She was a hundred and eight thousand miles inferior to Sister Yingxue. She was too presumptuous to try and steal Prince An. What a vile woman!
Shen Yingxue was overjoyed. Ye Lei was the only son of the Prime Minister's family. Even if Prince An and Shen Lixue were angry, they wouldn't dare to do anything to him if he caused trouble at the Bamboo Garden.
"Ye Lei, don't be so impulsive!" Shen Yingxue exclaimed in surprise as she saw Shen Ye Lei run out of the Snow Garden. She slowly stood up, took the hand of her maid, and gracefully chased after him.
Ye Lei is still young and easily fooled by Shen Lixue. I'll go over and keep an eye on him to prevent him from being tricked. I'll also give him some encouragement to make sure Shen Lixue loses face.
"Prince An, Prince An!" From afar, Shen Yelei saw the gate of the bamboo garden and shouted in surprise. The maids and nannies looked at him strangely but did not ask any questions.
Shen Yelei, his face flushed from running, was about to step into the bamboo garden when two guards appeared out of nowhere, blocking his way and saying coldly, "The Prince has ordered that no unauthorized personnel are allowed to enter!"
"Brothers, I am Shen Yelei, the future brother-in-law of Prince An. Please inform him that I wish to see Prince An!" Shen Yelei flashed what he thought was an adorable smile, his two beautiful big eyes blinking, making him quite endearing.
Most people would find it hard to refuse his request, but these two guards were not fooled. They remained expressionless and coldly refused: "The Prince has instructed that he will not receive guests today. If Young Master Shen has something to say, this humble servant can convey his message!"
"I'm here to expose that bitch Shen Lixue's true colors. No one else can do it for me!" Shen Yelei roared angrily, his chin held high, nostrils flaring, looking righteous and awe-inspiring. "Do you even know that that bitch Shen Lixue seduced..."
"Slap!" Before Shen Yelei could finish speaking, a slap landed hard on his face. His chubby little face was turned to the side, and a clear five-finger mark appeared on half of his face, burning with pain.
"What right do you have to hit me?" Shen Yelei stared at the guards in shock, his eyes filled with anger. He was the eldest son of the Prime Minister's mansion, a man of noble status. How dare these two lowly guards hit him? They were really asking for trouble. Didn't they hear his identity?
“The Prince of An instructed that anyone who insults the Princess Consort, regardless of age or gender, shall be slapped ten times for each insult. You insulted the Princess Consort twice, so you should be slapped twenty times. I only slapped her once, so I am still short nineteen!”
As he spoke, the guards began slapping Shen Yelei's chubby little face from both sides. With a series of crisp 'slap slap slap' sounds, his supposedly cute little face was turned to the side, then to the side, then to the side again.
Shen Yingxue stood five steps away, watching the guard's hand move rapidly and hearing the crisp sound of the slaps. She was so shocked that she couldn't come to her senses for a long time. When she came to her senses, nineteen slaps had already been delivered. Shen Yelei's cute little face was all red and chubby, and she could hardly recognize him.
"Wow!" From childhood to adulthood, his parents had always doted on him, and no one dared to hit him. This was the first time he had been humiliated like this. Shen Yelei couldn't bear it and burst into tears, holding his burning face. He glared at the guards hatefully: "I am the eldest son of the Prime Minister's mansion. How dare you hit me? You wait, I'll go call my father and beat you to death!"
Stomping his foot hard, Shen Yelei held his face in his hands, crying heartbrokenly, and staggered away.
Shen Yingxue stood there, still not fully recovered from the shock of Shen Yelei being beaten. These two guards had actually slapped Yelei twenty times. Even his father and mother couldn't bear to hit him once.
"Is there something you need, Miss Shen?" The guard asked, noticing that Shen Yingxue was just standing there blankly, neither speaking nor moving.
"It's nothing, it's nothing!" Shen Yingxue snapped back to reality, gave a stiff smile, and repeatedly agreed. She turned around and hurried back. If she dared to say that something was wrong, the guards might slap her twenty times, and her beautiful little face would definitely be ruined!
Inside the bamboo garden, Dongfang Heng held Shen Lixue in his arms as they sat on a soft couch by the window, getting a clear view of the scene at the doorway.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. Shen Yelei actually came to stir up trouble again. He really overestimated himself!
"Li Xue, leave the Prime Minister's residence and come with me to the Holy King's residence!" Dongfang Heng had sharp hearing and overheard the entire conversation between the guard and Shen Yelei. His half-brother dared to be so rude to her; their parents must have tacitly approved and indulged him.
With her mother gone, Shen Lixue had no one to protect her. Shen Minghui was not kind to her either, and the Prime Minister's wife and children all treated her as an enemy. It was easy to imagine that her days in the Prime Minister's residence would not be easy. Dongfang Heng did not want her to suffer, and he did not want her to live in such a place devoid of human warmth.