"No! This is a misunderstanding!" Shen Ruorou was completely panicked and explained incoherently, "It was Shen Weiwan who framed me! She was jealous of me..."
"What are you jealous of?" Xiao Yu suddenly asked, his voice not loud enough to silence the whole room. "Are you jealous of me stealing my eldest sister's heirloom, or of you using grass scraps to harm others?"
Shen Ruorou was speechless when asked. Looking at the cold smile in Xiao Yu's eyes, she suddenly realized that she had provoked someone she shouldn't have provoked. This Seventh Prince seemed to be idle, but in fact, every word he said was like a knife stabbing her heart!
"Enough!" The Third Elder's beard trembled with anger. "Chen Ruorou has bad behavior and a vicious heart. From now on, her house arrest will be increased! No one is allowed to visit her without my order!"
Several maids came forward to hold up the limp Shen Ruorou. She was still crying and trying to defend herself, but it only earned her louder laughter from the servants. As she was dragged out of the main courtyard, she heard Shen Weiwan's clear voice behind her:
"Cousin, take care! Remember to have the maid dry the box more often. It's hard to clean if there's too much dog hair on it!"
Shen Ruorou froze, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. She knew that from the moment the dog hair and grass debris were turned out, her reputation in the general's mansion and even in the entire capital was completely ruined.
Looking at Shen Ruorou's embarrassed back, Shen Weiwan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Chuntao handed over the iced sour plum soup and asked in a low voice: "Miss, how did you know there were grass clippings in her box?"
"Guessed." Shen Weiwan blinked, "People like this always have to keep a backup plan when doing bad things." She paused and saw Xiao Yu looking at her with approval in his eyes, "How come Your Highness has time to come here?"
"This prince has come to see," Xiao Yu took a step closer and lowered his voice, "who has driven the famous 'talented woman' of the capital to the ground?"
Chen Weiwan curled her lips: "Compared to your Highness, what I did was just a small fight." She suddenly remembered something and moved closer to Xiao Yu, "By the way, your Highness, have you heard? The storyteller in the west of the city has started telling the story of 'the legitimate daughter of the general's mansion abusing her concubine's sister'."
"Oh?" Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow. "How was your speech?"
"That's a wonderful story," Shen Weiwan picked up a piece of honeydew melon and bit it until the juice flowed out. "They said that I bullied my cousin by relying on my status as a legitimate daughter, and hid her heirloom to frame her." She looked at the smile in Xiao Yu's eyes and suddenly grinned, "But they don't know that the real show has just begun."
Xiao Yu looked into her sparkling eyes and suddenly felt that this woman could always surprise him. He put away his folding fan and gently tapped her forehead: "What new ideas do you have?"
"Secret." Shen Weiwan blinked and stuffed a piece of honeydew melon into Xiao Yu's hand. "But tomorrow morning, would you like to try the osmanthus cake at the Chengxi Teahouse?"
Xiao Yu looked at the honeydew melon in his hand, then looked at Shen Weiwan's cunning smile, and couldn't help laughing: "Okay, this prince will accompany you to the end."
As they were talking, Butler Liu rushed in and said, "Miss, this is bad! People are saying that not only did you hide your cousin's jewelry, but you also let your dog hurt people!"
Shen Weiwan was not in a hurry, but smiled: "Oh? It spread so quickly?" She turned to look at Xiao Yu, her eyes flashing with confidence, "Your Highness, it seems that our 'social death' drama needs to be intensified."
Xiao Yu nodded, his eyes full of admiration: "This prince is waiting to see your amazing operation."
Looking at Shen Weiwan's high morale, Xiao Yu suddenly felt that the capital would be bustling again. And he was happy to accompany this quirky woman and watch how she played one brilliant move after another on the chessboard of the capital.
Shen Ruorou, oh Shen Ruorou, did you think being caught stealing jewelry was the end? You're wrong. This was just one small step in Shen Weiwan's plan. When the "surprise" of dog hair and grass clippings was revealed, the real storm of public opinion was just beginning to brew. And now, Shen Ruorou, confined to her room, wept heartbreakingly in front of the mirror, unaware that an even greater scene of "social demise" was still waiting for her.
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