Xiao Yu walked slowly to Shen Weiwan's side, looked at the figure floundering in the pool, and laughed softly: "Miss Shen's trick of 'killing with a borrowed knife' is really clever."
Shen Weiwan tilted her head to look at him, her eyes curved into crescents: "Your Highness, I am just speaking the truth. But Your Highness, how does this osmanthus cake taste?"
Xiao Yu looked down at the half piece of cake in his hand and suddenly smiled: "It's sweet, but unfortunately not as sweet as Miss Shen's mouth."
3. The Backlash: Shu Brocade and Realgar Playing with Green Tea
That night, the lights in the west wing of the general's mansion were on until three o'clock in the morning.
Shen Weiwan sat in front of the dressing table, playing with a piece of snake skin in her hand, listening to Chuntao reporting the rumors outside, and couldn't help laughing.
"Miss, you haven't seen how miserable the people in the Lin Mansion are!" Chun Tao exclaimed as she took off her hairpin. "I heard that when Miss Lin was fished out of the pond, half of the pearls on her head had fallen off, and all the powder on her face had faded. She looked like a clown!"
Chen Weiwan snorted and chuckled. "That's just the beginning." She placed the snake skin next to the lamp, watching the scales shimmer in the candlelight. "Chun Tao, tomorrow when you go to the silk shop, tell them I want to order ten rolls of Shu brocade. I want the color... the color of a freshly shed bamboo leaf green snake. The brighter the better. Also, go to the medicine shop and buy two pounds of high-quality realgar powder in a celadon bottle."
Chun Tao was stunned: "Miss, what do you want these for? Could it be..."
"Of course, I'm going to apologize to Miss Lin." Shen Weiwan blinked, a sly look flashing in her eyes, "Doesn't she like snakes? I'll give her a room full of snakes and let her keep the Emerald Jade Spirit company every night."
Three days later, Lin Ruoxue received a gift box sent by Shen Weiwan.
The box was made of fine pearwood. When it was opened, ten rolls of emerald green Shu brocade unfolded, each embroidered with a lifelike bamboo-leaf green snake in gold thread. Its eyes were inlaid with rice-sized rubies, which shimmered faintly in the light. Next to the brocade sat a palm-sized celadon bottle. Upon opening the lid, a strong medicinal aroma hit me—it was realgar.
Lin Ruoxue was so angry that she was shaking all over, her nails almost digging into the wooden box. She was about to throw the things to the ground when a child's song suddenly came from outside the window. The childish voice was particularly clear:
"Ms. Lin, you have a bad heart.
Send poisonous snakes to harm people;
The sky thundered, the earth cracked,
The venomous snake was so frightened that it buried itself in the soil..."
She suddenly opened the curtain and saw several beggars in patched clothes clapping, singing and dancing around the corner gate of the Lin Mansion. Many people gathered around to watch the fun, and their pointing and talking drifted in on the wind:
"Have you heard? This Miss Lin wanted to harm the general's daughter, but was exposed by the Seventh Prince!"
"Tsk tsk, giving a poisonous snake as a gift, she actually thought of it!"
"That's right. I just saw her maid secretly hiding the antidote..."
Lin Ruoxue felt a surge of blood rushing to her head. She grabbed the celadon bottle on the table and rushed out, trying to drive the beggars away. But as she reached the door, she tripped and fell on the steps with a "clatter", and the entire bottle of realgar powder spilled onto her clothes.
"Ah! Snake! There's a snake!" She suddenly screamed, tearing her clothes like crazy and running around in the yard. "Kill it! Kill it!"
The people looked at each other in bewilderment. Seeing her disheveled hair and body covered in realgar powder, they all shook their heads and said, "This Miss Lin... could it be that the snake frightened her to death?"
4. The Prince Feeds: True Hearts Hidden in the Candied Haws
Shen Weiwan stood on the gate tower of the General's Mansion, watching the farce in the direction of the Lin Mansion in the distance, and the smile on the corner of her mouth could not be suppressed.
"Miss Shen has good tricks." A familiar voice suddenly sounded behind her. Shen Weiwan turned around and saw Xiao Yu leaning against the vermilion pillar, shaking a string of red candied haws in his hand, the sugar coating sparkling in the sunset.
“Why is Your Highness here?” Shen Weiwan raised her eyebrows, her eyes falling on the candied haws in his hand.
Xiao Yu shook the candied haws and walked up to her, his tone a little teasing: "I heard that Miss Chen was very busy today, so I specially brought some sweets from the imperial kitchen to cheer you up."
Shen Weiwan took the candied haws and felt his cool fingertips touch hers, her heart skipping a beat. She bit off a hawthorn, the sweet and sour juice blooming on her tongue. "Your Highness, aren't you afraid of being impeached by the censor, saying you're having an affair with a foreign minister's daughter?"
Xiao Yu took a step closer, his warm breath brushing against her ear. He lowered his voice very low, "What are you afraid of?" He looked at her slightly red earlobe, and the smile in his eyes deepened. "Tomorrow I will go to my father and ask for his permission to 'give' you to me. That way, it won't be considered a 'secret meeting'."
"Your Highness, please be careful with your words!" Shen Weiwan almost choked on the hawthorn kernel, her cheeks suddenly flushed red, as if stained with the sunset glow on the horizon, "This...this is outrageous!"
Xiao Yu chuckled softly and reached out to brush away a strand of hair from her temples. His movements were so natural, as if he had done it a thousand times before. "Why is it so inappropriate? Men should get married when they are old enough, and women should get married when they are old enough." He paused, his eyes falling on the candied haws in her hand. "As for you, if you really receive an imperial edict tomorrow, don't be so scared that you swallow all the candy."
After saying that, he turned around and left without waiting for Shen Weiwan's answer. The moon-white hem of his clothes was blown by the evening breeze, like a butterfly spreading its wings. Shen Weiwan stood there, watching his back disappear around the corner of the street, the candied haws in her hand gradually stained with body temperature.
Chun Tao came over and said with a small smile, "Miss, your face... is redder than a candied haws."
"Go to hell!" Shen Weiwan glared at her, but couldn't help but touch her burning cheeks. The evening breeze blew, bringing with it the faint sound of drums in the distance, which also disturbed her mood.
She returned to her boudoir and placed the remaining candied haws on her dressing table. In the candlelight, the red fruits sparkled, reminiscent of the smile in Xiao Yu's eyes just now. She recalled the coldness of the snow in her previous life, the hypocritical faces, and then looked at the warm sweet treat before her, and suddenly smiled softly.
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