Chapter 61 His Highness has been tricked by Lord Shen again!
At this moment, Shen Chu was curled up on the bed, hugging a hot water bottle, groaning and cursing Pei Yuan.
Her stomach was protesting fiercely.
Hongxiu fed her the medicine, showing no sympathy whatsoever. "Serves you right. If the eldest and third young masters knew you didn't take care of yourself, they would definitely scold you."
Shen Chu pouted, "Senior Brother wouldn't do that, at most Third Senior Brother would just scold me a couple of times."
Hongxiu snorted, "You really scared me to death today. You shouldn't have gone to such lengths to get your purse back. Not only did you eat spicy food, but you also cut yourself with a knife."
"If the Sixth Prince hadn't knocked the knife away, your hand would be gone by now."
At this point, Chen Chu chuckled, like a cunning little fox.
"Hongxiu, do you think your young master is the kind of person who would suffer a loss?"
Hongxiu was bewildered, then watched as Chen Chu picked up the knife next to her and quickly looked at her arm.
"Ah! Young master."
The knife made a soft swishing sound the instant it touched the arm, and then the entire blade retracted into the hilt.
Hongxiu was speechless.
Shen Chu chuckled, "My third senior brother bought this for me to play with before, and it comes in handy today."
Hongxiu patted her chest, "So this knife has a mechanism! It scared me to death!"
Sun Yan, who was hanging from the eaves, floated away.
His Highness has been tricked by Lord Shen again!
Shen Chu thought that eating a plate of spicy food would cause her stomach to hurt for two days, but she was fine by the afternoon.
Not only did she get better, but she also developed a great appetite and drank another bowl of porridge.
Hongxiu clicked her tongue in amazement, "This is truly strange. In the past, you would have been writhing in pain on the bed."
Shen Chu smiled and put down the bowl, then rubbed her stomach.
"I guess he was in a good mood because he got his wallet back, so he recovered quickly."
She stroked her purse, her expression somewhat wistful.
She was not even seven years old when the incident happened ten years ago.
Before the Northern Rong attacked Liangzhou, she was taken on a trip by her mother, thus avoiding the Northern Rong's massacre of the city.
Later, her father was escorted to the capital, and her mother took her all the way to the capital in an attempt to rescue him.
But in the end, they failed, and the father was beheaded, leaving behind only a farewell letter.
Before her mother passed away, she was instructed to keep it safe and only take it out when she could seek justice for her father.
After wandering for more than a year, she was rescued by her master, who took her to Yaowang Valley in Huzhou and taught her to read and practice martial arts.
Last year, she saved Shen Chu from falling into a valley, and the two became friends as a result.
Later, the Lady of Changning Marquis sent assassins to kill Shen Chu and set fire to the Taoist temple.
When she arrived, Shen Chu was on her last breath.
Before her death, Shen Chu took the jade pendant given to her by Aunt Qiao and asked her to help take care of Aunt Qiao.
After much deliberation, she finally decided to go to the capital to take the imperial examination under the identity of Shen Chu. This would make it easier for her to get close to and take care of Aunt Qiao, and her status as the eldest son of a concubine in the Marquis's mansion would make it easier for her to act.
Seeing that she was fiddling with her purse without speaking, Hongxiu lowered her voice and asked, "Did you find your father's file at the Censorate?"
Shen Chu came to his senses and shook his head. "The Inspectorate has eight warehouses, and the case files are not classified in detail. I am currently reclassifying the case files according to the search catalog. I should be able to go through all the case files in the warehouses soon."
Ten years have passed since my father's case, so it won't be easy to investigate.
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In the Chen family's courtyard.
Shen Qingshuang leaned against Chen's chest and sobbed.
"Mother, that shameless bastard actually seduced the Sixth Prince."
Madam Chen frowned. "Is this really true?"
Shen Qingshuang's eyes were red from crying. "A passing servant saw him pulling and tugging at the Sixth Prince in the courtyard, and even letting the Sixth Prince touch his abdomen."
How could he be so shameless? Mother, please help me teach him a lesson.
"Don't cry, Mother will help you think of a way. I will definitely make that bastard lose all his reputation."
Shen Qingshuang smiled through her tears, but didn't forget to remind Chen, "Don't involve the Sixth Prince. Your daughter will be the Sixth Prince's wife in the future."
"Don't worry, Mother knows what she's doing."
After shooing Shen Qingshuang away, Madam Chen called out to Wang Mama, but received no response. She then remembered that Wang Mama had been beaten to death after the incident at the banquet a few days ago.
Thinking of this, she hated Shen Chu even more.
She pondered silently for a moment, then a sinister smile crept across her face.
"Go to the palace and send a letter. I want to go to the palace to pay my respects to the Empress."
Since she couldn't kill Shen Chu, she would ask her cousin, the Empress, for help. This time, she was determined to ruin Shen Chu's reputation.
Before you know it, it's the Dragon Boat Festival. Every year, the imperial court holds a dragon boat race on Mochou Lake in the east of the city. The emperor and empress, along with civil and military officials, come to participate. Young men from noble families and young officials all participate in the dragon boat race. The emperor and his subjects enjoy themselves together, making it a very lively event.
Shen Chu had no interest in dragon boat racing, but Li Chengxuan insisted on dragging him into a team.
"This year's prize is ten thousand taels of silver, and each of us ten can get one thousand taels," Li Chengxuan excitedly encouraged Shen Chu.
Shen Chu glanced at him. "A young master of such high status, would he be short of a thousand taels of silver?"
Li Chengxuan rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "I certainly don't lack money, but I've got my eye on another prize."
Shen Chu followed his gaze.
On the high stands, a red-tasseled spear stood upright. Its shaft was slender, and its tip gleamed silver in the sunlight, making it look like a sharp and fine spear.
Li Chengxuan stared at the red-tasseled spear, his expression wistful. "Our Duke of Protectorate's Mansion has an ancestral red-tasseled spear. My grandfather relied on this spear to become a legend on the battlefield, but unfortunately it was later lost on the southern frontier."
This was the first time Shen Chu had seen Li Chengxuan with such an expression. "You want to practice spearmanship? The Grand Princess agrees?"
Li Chengxuan was the only surviving son of the Duke of Huguo's family, and the Grand Princess of Chengyang doted on him like the apple of her eye. Although she had him learn riding and archery, she mostly forced him to study, hoping he would become a civil official.
Even if he can't become a civil official, he can still happily live the life of a young nobleman.
“If it’s a prize I won, my grandmother won’t take it away even if she doesn’t agree. I can practice secretly.”
You grew up in the South, so you must be good at these kinds of activities. Ah Chu, please help me get first place, okay?
"I'll give you my share of the silver later; I only want the gun."
Li Chengxuan clasped his hands in a fist salute and looked at Shen Chu with a pleading expression.
Shen Chu couldn't bear to refuse. "Okay, dragon boat racing is a collaborative sport. I can only give it my best, and I'm not sure I can win first place."
Li Chengxuan beamed with joy, "I have confidence in you. As long as you're willing, you can definitely get first place. Achu is the best."
Shen Chu remained silent, wondering where this guy got his confidence in her from.
"Come on, come on, I'll introduce you to my teammates, and you can teach them a thing or two later."
Li Chengxuan pulled Shen Chu enthusiastically toward the lake.
There was a group of young people dressed in shorts gathered together, talking passionately about tactics.
Just as Shen Chu passed by, someone pushed through the crowd and blocked her way.
"Young Master Shen, you've come at the perfect time. My team is short one person. Young Master Shen, please join my team."
The man who spoke was dressed in a short, crescent-white outfit, and had handsome features; he was the Third Prince, Pei Ji.
Shen Chu was somewhat surprised.
She had only been in the capital for a short time and had never interacted with the Third Prince before, so she didn't know why he had suddenly extended an invitation to her.
She politely declined, saying, "Thank you, Third Prince, but I have already joined the Young Master's side, and I'm afraid I will have to disappoint you."
The third prince raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes radiating intense pride.
"Chengxuan's fleet is always ranked last. What's the point of you joining his fleet? Why don't you join my fleet instead?"
Shen Chu smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I have already agreed, and it is not appropriate to go back on my word."
The Third Prince seemed surprised to be rejected. He stepped forward, grabbed Shen Chu's wrist, and whispered something.
Shen Chu was immediately jolted.
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