"Ignorant?" Xiao Yu unfurled his folding fan, tapping it lightly against the ground. Each tap felt like a blow to everyone's heart. "Slandering the prince is punishable by death according to the law." He paused, then turned his gaze to the old patriarch. "Considering the Shen family's long history of loyalty, I ask the elders to send Miss Shen Er to the Ministry of Punishment for sentencing."
"No! I won't go!" Shen Ruorou suddenly burst into a scream, and pounced on Shen Weiwan like an enraged female beast, scratching her cheek with her nails, "It's all you! You ruined everything for me! You bitch!"
Chun Tao quickly stood in front of Shen Weiwan, grabbed Shen Ruoruo's wrist and twisted it back. In the chaos, Shen Ruoruo's mother-of-pearl hairpin fell to the ground, revealing the unwashed pot ash on her temples, which was the trace left by her when she disguised herself as a beggar and spread rumors on the street the day before.
"So my cousin has this 'disguise talent'?" Shen Weiwan bent down to pick up the hairpin and shook it in front of the candlelight. The mother-of-pearl shimmered with colorful halos in the light. "How about I build you a skybridge stage tomorrow. Once my cousin sits there, she will definitely make a fortune with this face."
The servants watching could no longer hold back, and a series of chuckles erupted. Several white-haired elders also turned around, pretending to straighten their robes to hide their laughter. Xiao Yu walked over to Shen Weiwan and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Shouldn't this prince thank you? You've saved me the trouble of dealing with half a bowl of wine."
Shen Weiwan winked playfully, the teardrop mole at the end of her eye trembling slightly in the candlelight: "If your highness feels bad, why don't you treat me to sweet and sour fish at Zuixianlou? I want the kind with double the pine nuts."
"Deal." Xiao Yu raised the corner of his mouth and suddenly raised his voice, "Someone! Take Miss Shen away!"
When the imperial guards approached, Shen Ruorou was still struggling frantically, her hair disheveled like a ghost: "Chen Weiwan! Don't be so complacent! My mother will not let you go! One day I will want you..."
"Let's talk about it after you come out of the Ministry of Punishment." Shen Weiwan shook her sleeves and said lightly, "Oh, by the way, remember to ask the jailer to help you clean the cotton in your stomach, don't cover yourself up and get prickly heat."
Outside the ancestral hall, the June sun was blindingly blazing. Shen Weiwan watched Shen Ruoruo's shabby back as she was dragged away by the imperial guards. Her white skirt trailed on the ground, stained with dust and broken grass, like a discarded rag. Remembering the beating in the snow that had taken her life in her previous life, the ice in Shen Weiwan's heart finally cracked, and rays of sunlight seeped in.
Chuntao handed over a cup of iced sour plum soup and whispered, "Miss, what do you think she can do this time? If she keeps going on like this, I'm afraid she'll end up in a mass grave."
"Don't worry," Shen Weiwan took a sip of sour plum soup. The sweet and sour juice slid down her throat, dispelling the last trace of coldness. "She won't be able to jump around for a few more days." She looked at the gorgeous sunset in the sky, which was like an overturned rouge box, dyeing the sky crimson.
Xiao Yu chuckled softly and tapped his palm with his folding fan. "Next time there's a 'surprise' like this, remember to inform this prince in advance. Watching Miss Shen's extravagance is more entertaining than watching the acrobatics at Jinming Lake."
"Then Your Highness must prepare two pounds of melon seeds," Shen Weiwan raised her eyebrows, a cunning light flashing in her eyes, "The next drama will surely be even more exciting than today."
The two smiled at each other. Shen Ruorou's unwilling cries could be faintly heard amid the cicadas' chirping, but as if separated by a layer of frosted glass, blurry and distant. Shen Weiwan knew that this was just another footnote on the long road of revenge. She would take back those who had trampled her into the mire, one by one, with interest.
As the sun sets, the eaves of the general's mansion are coated with a layer of warm golden light. Shen Weiwan looked up at the sky and whispered softly: "Dad, Mom, did you see it? Your daughter did not let you down."
The evening breeze blew, bringing the fragrance of the magnolias in the backyard and dispelling the last traces of filth from the ancestral hall. Shen Ruorou's farce had ended, but Shen Weiwan's life had just begun. She gripped the round fan tightly, feeling the cool warmth of the fan ribs against her fingertips. It was the strength left by her mother, and the courage she had forged through all the obstacles. This round, she won, and every round to come, she would continue to win.
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