"There's something wrong with the person in that sedan chair." The sedan chair was simply made of wooden planks and light gauze, and it wasn't very heavy. Even if there was a 200-pound fat man sitting inside, the four sedan chair bearers shouldn't have had such a hard time lifting it.
Dongfang Heng glanced at the sedan chair: "There are three people sitting inside, still moving vigorously. Of course, it will be difficult for the sedan chair bearers to carry them."
Dongfang Xun was taken aback. Three people? Violent movements? What was going on?
Amidst the confusion, a gust of wind blew by, lifting the sedan curtain slightly. A young man appeared in Dongfang Xun's sight, his clothes disheveled, his small eyes gleaming with lust. He had two young and beautiful women, their clothes half-open, embracing each other. He kissed the woman's delicate breasts on the left and her exquisite collarbone on the right, occasionally letting out bursts of lewd laughter. He was truly immersed in a world of tenderness, oblivious to the passage of time.
"That's... Li Fan!" Li Fan was quite the connoisseur, whispering sweet nothings to a courtesan in a sedan chair.
"It's him, Prime Minister Li's grandson, and Dongfang Zhan's cousin." Dongfang Heng withdrew his gaze, picked up the wine jar, and slowly drank the wine.
"That sedan chair is an official sedan chair. When did Li Fan become an official?" Dongfang Xun frowned slightly as he looked at the markings on the sedan chair. Li Fan had neither talent nor martial arts skills, and he failed the imperial examinations every time, yet he still became an official.
"Li Fan was born in a year, month, day, and hour of Yang. In order to enable him to suppress the so-called natural disasters, the Emperor arranged for him to be a seventh-rank county magistrate." The Emperor also knew that Li Fan had no talent, and arranging a high position would be a complete waste. He was the eldest son of Prime Minister Li's family, and being a lowly guard was too insignificant. The position of seventh-rank county magistrate was very suitable for him.
“Li Fan only knows how to enjoy himself and doesn’t understand how to solve cases at all. If he becomes the county magistrate, the people will have nowhere to seek redress when they have grievances!” Dongfang Xun shook his head, his tone quite helpless.
"Oh dear... Lord Li... you're hurting me..." came the woman's sweet, coquettish voice, so sweet it was sickening.
"Lord Li...you're squeezing me so tight I can hardly breathe...please loosen your grip..." The woman's coquettish voice was so sweet it could melt anyone's bones.
"Hehehe, you little vixens, let's see where you can hide..." Li Fan lewdly groped the two women.
A series of tearing sounds, mixed with the woman's ambiguous moans, rang out. Dongfang Heng frowned tightly, his wide sleeves billowing slightly. He unleashed a powerful burst of internal force, striking the sedan chair squarely. The swaying sedan chair instantly toppled to the ground, and the three people inside, engaged in a passionate and ambiguous act, crashed heavily to the ground, screaming in pain.
"How did you carry this sedan chair?" Li Fan climbed out of the sedan chair, his clothes disheveled, his hair messy, his hair ornament askew, his handsome face swollen, half of his body numb, and he bared his teeth as he roared angrily at the sedan chair bearers.
The sedan bearers quickly lifted the sedan chair, bowing obsequiously, "Sir, we walked very steadily. It was your movements that caused this..."
"Are you blaming me!" Li Fan was furious and raised his hand to hit him, but a stone suddenly flew over and hit him hard on the forehead, instantly swelling up into a large bump.
Li Fan screamed again, clutching his forehead and looking around at the empty space, shouting angrily, "Who the hell hit me? Get the hell out here!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The answer to Li Fan wasn't a human voice, but a fierce rain of stones, skillfully striking various pressure points on his body, causing him to scream in agony: "Ouch! Ouch! It hurts like hell! Go, go away..."
Ignoring the two courtesans lying on the ground, Li Fan quickly climbed into the sedan chair and urged the porters to leave hastily.
Dongfang Heng watched the sedan chair disappear quickly into the night, his gaze slightly deepening. With a grandson like Li Fan, Prime Minister Li's lifelong brilliance would ultimately be ruined.
"...Give it back to me...Give it back to me..." A faint, urgent female voice suddenly rang out. Dongfang Heng was startled, dropped the wine jar, quickly floated to the ground, and hurried into the room.
On the large bed in the inner room, Shen Lixue's eyes were tightly closed, her brows furrowed, and her flushed face showed urgency and panic as she kept murmuring, "Give it back to me...give it back to me..."
Dongfang Heng hurried to the bedside, picked up Shen Lixue, gently patted her little face, and called out urgently, "Lixue... Lixue... wake up, wake up quickly..."
The gentle call, like a long, drawn-out ancient bell, slowly reached Shen Lixue's ears. Her eyelashes trembled, and she suddenly opened her eyes. Looking down at the bulge on the blanket, she let out a long sigh of relief. Her fair hand gently stroked her swollen belly, feeling the presence of the fetus. Her tense heart slowly calmed down. Thank goodness, it was just a dream.
"She had a nightmare." Dongfang Heng gently wiped the cold sweat from Shen Lixue's forehead with his sleeve. In all the time they had known each other, this was the first time he had ever seen Shen Lixue have a nightmare.
Shen Lixue nodded, her eyes dark and clear as water, her long eyelashes casting two deep shadows on her eyelids like butterfly wings. Her petite body pressed tightly against Dongfang Heng's chest, her breathing a little rapid, still shaken.
"What nightmare scared you like this?" Dongfang Heng poured a glass of water, tested the temperature with his lips, and when it was neither too hot nor too cold, he brought it to Shen Lixue's lips. The Shen Lixue he knew had never been afraid of anyone.
Shen Lixue drank some warm water, her eyes flickered, and she said in a deep voice, "I...I dreamt that Dongfang Zhan took our child away..." The dream was very long, and she was a light sleeper, so she couldn't remember the whole thing, but she vividly remembered the scene of Dongfang Zhan fiercely fighting for her child, as if it had just happened.
Dongfang Heng's fingertips trembled, and he glanced to the side at the outside. Dongfang Xun outside the door was also startled by Shen Lixue's words. Dongfang Zhan was indeed trying his best to seize Dongfang Heng's military power. What was the meaning of Lixue's dream about having her child taken away?
“Dreams are always the opposite, don’t worry.” Dongfang Heng patted Shen Lixue’s back. He could feel her unease and worry, and gently comforted her, “With me here, Dongfang Zhan can’t take our child away.”
Shen Lixue blinked and thought carefully. In her dream, when Dongfang Zhan snatched the child, Dongfang Heng didn't seem to be by her side.
Looking at Dongfang Heng's gentle and comforting gaze, she changed the subject of her question instead of saying it: "Don't you have something else to take care of?"
Dongfang Heng was dressed in a neat white brocade robe, and the jade crown in his hair was also worn properly. He looked like he was working: "I just finished my work and was about to rest."
Looking out the window, he realized it was already midnight. He and Dongfang Xun had been sitting on the roof for most of the hour.
He waved to close the door, took off his outer clothes and inner clothes, changed into a bathrobe, lifted the quilt and lay down next to Shen Lixue, reaching out to pull her into his arms.
Dongfang Heng had just drunk some wine, and his body carried a faint scent of alcohol mixed with a subtle hint of pine resin, which smelled quite pleasant. Normally, Shen Lixue would have urged him to take a bath, but she had just had a nightmare, and with Dongfang Heng by her side, she felt inexplicably safe. Her alabaster arms gently embraced his neck.
Dongfang Heng smiled, pulling Shen Lixue even closer into his arms. He watched as she closed her eyes, breathing softly, and slowly drifted off to sleep. His expression gradually grew serious.
Whether it's the forced surrender of the military token on the high platform or the snatching of the child in Shen Lixue's dream, it all shows that the struggle between Dongfang Zhan and him is inevitable. Dongfang Zhan is already actively preparing for the battle, and he also needs to be prepared to protect his wife, children, parents, and relatives.
Dongfang Heng, as the Prince of Qingyan An, was extremely particular about the fabric, color, and subtle patterns of his clothes. The Holy Prince's mansion had a vast stock of fabrics, but Shen Lixue couldn't find anything particularly suitable. Just then, new fabrics were released by various silk shops, so she went to the largest silk shop in the capital to select her clothing.
"Waiter, let me see that white cloud brocade." Shen Lixue walked into the silk shop and immediately saw the fabric. It was ivory white, very pure, and the dark patterns resembled branches and leaves but were not branches and leaves. It was very special and would be very suitable for making an outer garment.
"Alright." The waiter placed the fabric in front of Shen Lixue. Her fair hands gently pinched a corner of the fabric, feeling its softness and comfort. She looked up, about to ask the waiter the price, when suddenly a pair of slender hands reached out from the side, took the fabric, and gently pinched the soft cloud-patterned brocade. The person praised repeatedly, "Not bad, this cloud-patterned brocade is really nice. Waiter, how much is it? I'll buy it."
Shen Lixue looked at the arrogant woman and said coldly, "Princess Zhan, there should be a first-come, first-served order in everything. I took a liking to this cloud-patterned brocade first."
“Princess Consort, when I entered the shop, the fabric was on the counter, and no one said they wanted to buy it.” Looking at Shen Lixue’s cold and displeased eyes, Li Youlan smiled brightly and radiantly.
Feeling bored at the Zhan Prince's residence, she went out for a walk and unexpectedly encountered Shen Lixue. Shen Lixue's bulging belly and eyes full of happiness deeply stung Li Youlan's eyes. Therefore, she snatched Shen Lixue's fabric to make her unhappy.
"I was just about to say I'd buy it when you snatched it away." Shen Lixue looked coldly at Li Youlan, her words laced with sarcasm: "Being willful and reckless, stealing someone else's fabric like a robber, and then arguing your way out of line—that's not the demeanor expected of a Princess Consort of Zhan."
Li Youlan smiled slightly, unconvinced: "The shop is a fair business. Whoever says they want to buy first should get the fabric. The Princess Consort was a step too slow and had the fabric snatched away. You can't blame anyone else but yourself. Waiter, please help me wrap up the fabric."
"This..." The waiter looked at Shen Lixue with difficulty. This lady had seen the cloth first, and it was really not good for them to sell it to someone else.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and wrap it up." Li Youlan urged, took out a silver note and threw it to the waiter. The more she looked at the white cloud brocade, the more pleasing it became: "The texture is so beautiful. It would be so beautiful to make a few new clothes for you to wear."
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow at Li Youlan: "Princess Zhan, the pattern on this cloud-patterned brocade is very beautiful, but it is more suitable for men's clothing. It looks a bit awkward for you to wear this fabric in the street!"
Li Youlan's face instantly turned as black as ink. She had been so focused on Qi Chenlixue that she hadn't paid much attention to the fabric. Now, upon closer inspection, the leaf and branch patterns on the fabric were exquisite and elegant, and indeed, it wasn't very suitable for a woman to make clothes for herself: "Can't I make clothes for Prince Zhan?"