Shen Ruorou was frightened by his gaze. The three words "honey trap" from her mother's letter circled in her mind. She gritted her teeth and took a step forward: "Your Highness has misunderstood. I just want to... want to ask Your Highness for advice on poetry..."
"Excuse me?" Xiao Yu sneered, tapping the saddle with his folding fan. "Are you asking how to claim Wang Anshi's 'Plum Blossom' as your own new work, or how to sew straw scraps into someone else's clothing?"
This sentence was like thunder, causing Shen Ruorou to tremble all over, and the blood color instantly faded. She looked at Xiao Yu in horror: "Your Highness... How did Your Highness know..."
"In this capital, what else can be hidden from this prince?" Xiao Yu's voice was as cold as ice. "Second Miss Shen, I advise you to behave yourself. If you have any evil thoughts again, this prince doesn't mind sending you to jail and eating cold steamed buns with your mother."
After saying this, he no longer looked at the ashen-faced Shen Ruorou, spurring his horse and whipping it, the sound of horse hooves crushing her last shred of fantasy. The people who had already gathered around pointed and talked, their tittering piercing her ears like needles:
"Look! Isn't that the second young lady from the general's mansion?"
"I heard she was caught plagiarizing, and now she's trying to seduce the Seventh Prince. How shameless!"
"Look at her makeup, she looks just like a clown in an opera troupe. She doesn't even realize her own status!"
Shen Ruorou could no longer bear the humiliation. She screamed, covered her face, and stumbled away. The red gold hairpin on her bun fell to the ground with a ding-dong sound and was trampled into the mud by passers-by. Xiaolian hurriedly followed her, but was drowned out by the crowd's laughter.
Inside the General's Mansion, Shen Weiwan listened to Chuntao's vivid description and laughed so hard that she almost knocked over the teacup in her hand: "You didn't see it, my cousin was so embarrassed by His Highness! Her makeup was so smudged that she looked like a ghost. I'm afraid even her own mother wouldn't recognize her!"
Chun Tao laughed so hard she slapped her thigh: "That's right! The Seventh Prince's words were so satisfying, 'The powder is thicker than the prison walls', how could he have come up with that!"
Shen Weiwan wiped away the tears of laughter, her eyes gradually cold: "Liu is still restless in prison, and she actually taught her daughter to use the beauty trap. She is really desperate and is trying all kinds of methods."
"Miss, what should we do now?" Chuntao asked curiously.
Shen Weiwan walked to the window, looking at the pomegranate flowers blooming in the courtyard, a cold arc appeared on the corner of her mouth: "What should I do? Of course, I have to let them know that offending me, Shen Weiwan, will never end well." She turned to Chuntao and said, "Go to Zuixianlou and Shufang and tell them... Miss Shen Er was delusional and tried to seduce the Seventh Prince, but was humiliated in public by His Highness and even her hairpin fell off."
"Okay!" Chuntao took the order and left, her steps so light that she seemed to be flying.
Within three days, the news that "Miss Shen Er had seduced the Seventh Prince but was rejected" spread like wildfire throughout the capital. In the streets and alleys, in teahouses and taverns, everyone was describing the scene in vivid detail, adding fuel to the fire, and Shen Ruorou almost became synonymous with shamelessness:
"Have you heard? Second Miss Shen wanted to be the prince's consort, but ended up being scolded by the Seventh Prince!"
"That's right, the Seventh Prince said the powder on her face could build a house, hahahaha!"
"Serves you right! You bullied the young lady so much before, now you're getting your comeuppance, right?"
Shen Ruorou hid in the side courtyard, listening to the servants' whispers. She was so angry that she smashed the mirror in her room to pieces. The fragments of the mirror reflected countless distorted versions of herself, just like her own shattered life. She had never expected that her mother's plan would not only fail to save the situation, but would make her the laughing stock of the entire capital.
At this moment, more news came - Liu was caught in the prison trying to bribe the jailer with small change to pass on the message, and now her sentence has been increased and she has been thrown into a deeper dungeon. After hearing this news, Shen Ruorou finally couldn't hold on and collapsed to the ground, crying out in despair.
After Shen Weiwan learned about it, she just smiled faintly at the bronze mirror. The woman in the mirror had relaxed eyebrows and bright eyes. She was no longer the silly daughter who was at the mercy of others in her previous life.
A few days later, Xiao Yu personally came to the general's mansion. When he saw Shen Weiwan, he smiled and said, "Miss Shen, I heard that the people in the capital are now singing the 'good story' of your cousin?"
Shen Weiwan raised her eyebrows and handed over a glass of iced sour plum soup: "Your Highness is too kind, but I just want everyone to know some of the truth."
Xiao Yu took the soup bowl, his fingertips brushing against hers inadvertently, and said with a smile: "I also heard that it was you who asked Chun Tao to spread the news? Saying that Miss Shen was 'wishful thinking'?"
"Isn't it?" Shen Weiwan blinked, a cunning light flashing in her eyes, "She is indeed very delusional."
Xiao Yu looked at her lively appearance and couldn't help but take a step closer. His warm breath brushed against her ear: "In this prince's opinion, there are people who are more delusional than Miss Shen Er."
"Oh? Who is it?" Shen Weiwan pretended to be curious, but her cheeks flushed quietly.
"Of course..." Xiao Yu paused deliberately, looking at her slightly hot earlobe, and whispered, "It's that little fox who always tries to trick this prince into a trap."
Shen Weiwan's heart skipped a beat, and she pushed him away and said angrily, "Your Highness is talking nonsense again!"
Xiao Yu laughed heartily and stopped teasing her. He asked, "By the way, is there any movement from Li Xiu?"
When Li Xiu was mentioned, Shen Weiwan's eyes instantly turned cold. "Him? Ever since the 'broken sleeve' rumors, he's been staying at home like a rat crossing the street. But I heard that he's been trying to use his connections to hold a poetry gathering to redeem his reputation."
"Poetry gathering?" Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow. "Is he worthy of it?"
"Whether they are suitable or not, we have to let him try to know." Shen Weiwan raised the corner of her mouth with a meaningful smile, "After all, the good show has just begun."
Xiao Yu looked at the glint in her eyes and knew that she had a new plan. The sunlight shone through the window lattice on the two of them, stretching their shadows very long. Shen Weiwan looked out the window, thinking of the tragic death in her previous life. There was no more haze in her heart, only full of relief and determination.
"Father, Mother," she said silently in her heart, "Look, not only has my daughter taken revenge, but she is also living a good life. Those who once bullied me will become dust under my feet."
The cicadas outside the window chirped noisily, but they couldn't drown out the laughter of the people of the capital discussing interesting things. Shen Weiwan knew that Shen Ruorou's farce was just the beginning; next, it was Li Xiu's turn to take the stage. And she would continue to perform one brilliant revenge drama after another on this stage of the capital until all her enemies paid the price they deserved.
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