Just then, the crisp sound of horse hooves echoed from the street corner, the bluestone pavement clattering underfoot. Seventh Prince Xiao Yu, riding his majestic horse, rounded the corner and saw the tightly packed crowd. His brow furrowed slightly, but then, catching a glimpse of a familiar figure in the center of the crowd, a smile flickered in his eyes. He reined in the reins, his dark brocade robe billowing in the wind. The black jade on the belt buckle at his waist gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
"What's going on?" Xiao Yu dismounted, his boots clattering steadily on the stone slabs. His gaze fell on the sweaty, pale-faced Li Xiu, and a faint smile curved his lips. "Mr. Li, what kind of melodrama are you acting out in front of the General's Mansion?"
When Li Xiu saw the Seventh Prince, he was like a drowning man grasping at a lifeline. He fell to his knees with a plop, his forehead hitting the stone slab with a dull thud. "Your Highness! You've come just in time! Chen Weiwan...she misunderstood me! I'm infatuated with her, and heaven and earth can bear witness to that!"
Xiao Yu raised his eyebrows and slowly walked to Shen Weiwan's side, whispering in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Are you digging a hole again?" Shen Weiwan smiled slyly in response, the dimples at the end of her eyes faintly visible, and immediately put on an aggrieved expression. She pointed at the handkerchief on the ground and said to Xiao Yu: "Your Highness, look, Mr. Li said that this handkerchief was lent to him by my cousin to wipe his sweat, but my cousin clearly said that it was a handkerchief she was going to give to her future husband as a token of love!"
Xiao Yu looked down at the crooked lotus flowers embroidered on the handkerchief, then at Li Xiu's flustered expression as he rubbed his hands. He instantly understood about half of what was going on. He deliberately put on a stern face and spoke in a resounding voice, loud enough for the people around him to hear clearly: "Mr. Li, men and women shouldn't touch each other. How can you and Miss Shen, secretly exchange a token of love? How can you expect Miss Shen to cope with this if word gets out?"
"I didn't!" Li Xiu was so frightened that his soul was about to be ripped out of his body. He kowtowed to Xiao Yu repeatedly, and soon a red and swollen bump appeared on his forehead. "Your Highness, please understand! Miss Shen and I are innocent. This handkerchief is really borrowed! If I tell even a single lie, make me...make me crippled for the rest of my life!"
"Innocent?" Chen Weiwan immediately added, pointing at Li Xiu's trembling hands, her voice full of "innocence", "Then why did you deliberately block the door of my house, saying that you wanted to 'protect' me? Does protecting me mean taking my cousin's engagement handkerchief and dropping osmanthus cake all over the floor?"
The onlookers laughed even louder, and someone pointed at Li Xiu and shouted: "Mr. Li, do you want to marry the eldest daughter or the second daughter? You may be lame in your feet, but your heart is not! That's right, if you want to eat swan meat, you have to see what you look like!" Li Xiu was asked with a pale face, and could only kowtow continuously. The bump on his forehead hit the stone slab, and he grimaced in pain, but he didn't dare to stop.
Xiao Yu watched the cunning glint in Shen Weiwan's eyes, secretly thinking that this girl's methods of deceiving others were becoming more and more sophisticated. With just a few words, she had forced Li Xiu into a desperate situation. He cleared his throat and said to Li Xiu, "Mr. Li, I will report this matter to His Majesty and verify your innocence with Miss Shen Er. You should return home first, and do not make a noise in front of the general's mansion, disturbing the peace and tranquility."
Li Xiuru was as if he had been pardoned. He crawled to his feet, not even bothering to pick up his fallen handkerchief and crutches. He limped away from the scene at the fastest speed in his life. The people's undisguised laughter and pointing and talking behind him made him wish he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for rescuing me." Shen Weiwan bowed to Xiao Yu, but there was a sly smile in her eyes, like a little fox who had stolen honey.
Xiao Yu looked at her and suddenly felt that this daughter of the general's mansion was becoming more and more interesting. She always managed to surprise him unexpectedly. "It's just a piece of cake." He paused, pulled out a gilded food box from his sleeve, and handed it to her. A faint sweet fragrance emanated from the crack in the lid. "I just passed by an old shop in the south of the city and saw that they had just released osmanthus cake, so I bought some."
Shen Weiwan took the food box, and her fingertips touched the warmth of the box, and her heart warmed. "Your Highness, how do you know that I like to eat osmanthus cake?"
Xiao Yu chuckled and pointed at the half-piece of cake that Li Xiu had dropped on the ground. His eyes were filled with amusement. "I know someone dropped some osmanthus cake on the ground just now. I'm afraid it's not as fresh as this one."
Shen Weiwan's cheeks flushed slightly, and she glared at him angrily, but she couldn't help but open the food box. The snow-white osmanthus cake was sprinkled with finely crushed sugared osmanthus flowers, and the sweet fragrance was so fragrant that she couldn't help but take a bite. The soft, sweet taste melted on her tongue, and it was countless times more delicious than the piece that Li Xiu had dropped on the ground.
Chuntao was laughing secretly, watching her young lady and the seventh prince talking and laughing. Her heart was filled with joy, and she quietly stepped aside to give the two of them some space.
Xiao Yu climbed onto his horse and gave Shen Weiwan a deep look before leaving. His tone was filled with a hint of imperceptible doting: "There's no need to worry too much about people like Li Xiu."
Shen Weiwan watched him depart. The sunlight shone on his dark brocade robe, outlining his tall figure. She clenched the food box in her hand and whispered to herself, "Don't worry, Your Highness. This cripple dared to come and cheat on me. Next time, I'll make him know what it means to be unable to live or die."
Chun Tao came up to her, eyes full of admiration: "Miss, that move you made just now was so powerful! It frightened Li Xiu so much that his face turned pale, as if he had seen a ghost!"
Shen Weiwan raised an eyebrow, a cold glint in her eyes. The scene of her past life, in which Li Xiu and Liu had teamed up to murder her, flashed through her mind. The piercing pain seemed to remain in her bones. "This is just the beginning," she whispered, her fingertips tightly gripping the edge of the food box. "Li Xiu, Liu, Shen Ruoruo... I will take back everything you owe me in my past life, bit by bit, with interest."
She turned and walked into the General's Mansion. Sunlight streamed through the corner gate, casting a golden armor over her. The drama of Volume Three had begun. And the nightmare of that lame scumbag had only just begun. Next time, not only would she expose Li Xiu and Shen Ruorou's affair, but she would also brand him a "homosexual," condemning him to complete and utter oblivion in the capital, forever forfeiting his chance to rise again!
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