Chapter 67
"What do you think I will choose?" Shen Yanzhi looked at her with deep eyes, making it impossible to see what he was thinking.
The air seemed to freeze. Xiao Tao stood not far away, too frightened to even breathe.
Song Qingyuan stared at him for a moment. Suddenly, she put down her scissors and picked up another orchid, examining it carefully. Her tone returned to calm, and she even had a faint smile on her face. "Your Highness, what do you think would happen if this orchid was overfertilized?"
Shen Yanzhi raised his eyebrows, not expecting her to ask this suddenly.
"It will burn the roots." Song Qingyuan asked herself and answered, "If the roots are rotten, no matter how lush the leaves are or how beautiful the flowers are, they will eventually wither and die." She raised her eyes, with a wise and dangerous light in them, "Your Highness the Second Prince is the one who applied the fertilizer.
He thought that by fertilizing Li Yushi's 'tree,' he would be able to establish my 'roots.' Unfortunately, he didn't know that if the fertilizer was applied incorrectly, or too much, it would cause trouble.
A hint of admiration flashed in Shen Yanzhi's eyes. He understood what she meant.
"What are your plans?"
"It's not really a plan." Song Qingyuan stood up, walked in front of him, looked up at him, and for the first time, his clear eyes showed an undisguised sharpness, "I only know that if others respect me one foot, I will respect them ten feet.
If anyone tries to cut off my foundation, I will... overturn his desk."
These words were bold, even a little arrogant. A deposed princess actually threatened to overturn the table of a current prince. But coming from her mouth, they carried a convincing force.
Shen Yanzhi looked at her and suddenly felt that his previous judgment of her was too conservative. She was not a knife that could be used, but a volcano with huge energy.
It seems calm at ordinary times, but once it erupts, it has the power to destroy the world.
"What a 'table-turning' move!" He chuckled softly, his voice filled with amusement. "I'll wait and see. But before I turn the table, I have to find a pretext and file a complaint."
"I have submitted the petition." Song Qingyuan said.
Shen Yanzhi was slightly stunned: "What?"
"Early this morning, I asked Xiaotao to go back to the Song Mansion." Song Qingyuan explained slowly, "Firstly, to give my father a statue of Guanyin as a gift. Secondly, to remind him to be careful about some 'cold' foods.
My father may be a bookworm, but he's been an official for many years and isn't stupid. He knew immediately that someone was plotting something bad against him. Given his temperament, he'd definitely go find his best friend, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Metropolitan Censorate, Lord Chen, and have a little chat.
Shen Yanzhi's eyes lit up. Song Jingguo was the head of the Qingliu civil service, and Chen Yushi was the head of the Censorate. The two of them were "chatting" together, and the topic of their conversation was about someone trying to use "food" to frame a high-ranking official. This was a serious matter.
"As soon as Censor Li threatened me at the palace gate, my father went to Censor Chen to 'complain.'
"Your Highness, what do you think will happen if this gets to the emperor's ears?" Song Qingyuan's mouth curled up in a cold arc.
Shen Yanzhi could almost imagine that scene.
The emperor was already dissatisfied with the second prince because of the witchcraft case, and now he heard that he had actually extended his hand to important officials in the court, and used such despicable means.
This is no longer a harem struggle, but a party struggle that shakes the foundation of the country!
"Brilliant!" Shen Yanzhi exclaimed sincerely, "Not only did you resolve the crisis, you also turned the tables on Second Brother. He wanted to use your father to control you, but you used your father's influence to push him into the spotlight."
"He miscalculated." Song Qingyuan snorted coldly, "He thought that my Song family had no one and could be manipulated at will. He forgot that although my father did not take sides, he had many students all over the world.
Half of the civil servants in the court have listened to his teachings. To touch my father is to make enemies with half of the civil servants in the court. Second brother... he is too impatient.
Just then, Lin Feng hurried in from outside, with an unconcealable excitement and relief on his face.
"Your Highness!" He stepped forward and bowed, reporting, "News has just come from the palace. Lord Chen, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, has been kneeling outside the Imperial Study for an hour, accusing Li Wei of misconduct, attempting to frame court officials, and stirring up discord among the princes! The Emperor is furious and has ordered Li Wei's dismissal and sent to the Dali Temple for investigation!"
This news was like a thunderclap, clearing the air in Furong Garden.
Xiao Tao opened her mouth wide, her face filled with disbelief. She finally understood that her master's strange instructions that morning had such profound meaning!
Shen Yanzhi looked at Song Qingyuan, his eyes filled with undisguised approval and... a hint of something called "heartbeat" that he himself hadn't noticed. He had originally thought that he needed to help her shield her from this storm.
However, she didn't expect that she had already stirred up a bigger storm, smashing the opponent's ship directly onto the shore.
"Levi fell, and the second prince lost an arm. He must be so angry that he wants to kill someone." Shen Yanzhi's tone was full of gloating.
Song Qingyuan shook his head, his expression solemn: "No, he won't. With an arm broken, he will be more careful and more vicious. Your Majesty, our opponent is really enraged this time."
She knew she had won this round. But the more beautiful the victory, the more frantic the Second Prince's counterattack would become. The real war had only just begun.
The news that Li Wei was dismissed from office and imprisoned spread quickly throughout the capital like a gust of wind.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was a powerful counterattack by the Seventh Prince, Shen Yanzhi, against the Second Prince, Shen Yanzhao. Within the court, the tide of change had quietly begun. Some officials who had been wavering began to reassess the strengths of the two princes.
The Second Prince's Mansion, which was the center of the storm, was dead silent.
Shen Yanzhao locked himself in his study and didn't come out for a whole day and night. No one knew what he was thinking, but all the servants could feel the oppressive feeling of impending storm.
Unlike the gloomy atmosphere of the Second Prince's Mansion, there was a long-lost sense of ease in Hibiscus Garden.
Xiao Tao hummed a little tune as she dried books in the yard. Those rare copies of military manuals, usually treasured by her master, finally got to see the sun today. As she carefully turned the pages, she furtively glanced at the stone table not far away.
Beside the stone table, Song Qingyuan was teaching Shen Yanzhi...how to make a novel snack.
"Your Highness, this is called 'Snow Mei Niang'." Song Qingyuan placed a ball of snow-white, soft, and glutinous ice skin in Shen Yanzhi's palm. "The key is to roll the skin as thin as a cicada's wing, but not to break. That way, when you wrap the cream and fruit pulp in it, it will have a cool, soft, and melt-in-your-mouth texture when you bite into it."
Shen Yanzhi looked down at the sticky mass in his palm, his brows furrowed slightly. He was a prince who had fought on the battlefield and served in the imperial court, but for the first time in his life, facing a piece of dough, he felt at a loss as to where to start.
His hands were used to hold a sword, a pen, and read military newspapers, not to... play with these things.
"Ahem." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Let the servants do this kind of thing."
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