Zhizhi quickened her pace, placing the gifts Junxuan had just bestowed upon her directly onto a tray. She then turned and walked out through a side door, clearly intending not to run into the person who had come.
There's nothing we can do; our young lady is just too kind and weak, and she's always being bullied, with all her good things being stolen from her.
Shen Yunxi smiled knowingly, her gaze fixed on the doorway.
A slender figure walked in through the door, her steps slightly hurried as she entered the front hall.
"Little Six, I heard that the palace just sent some gifts. I wonder what good things the Empress Dowager has given you this time?" Shen Leyi said as she walked.
Shen Leyi is the fourth young lady of the Shen family. She was born to the third branch of the Shen family and is the fourth child in the family.
Currently, the head of the Shen family is Shen Yunxi's father, Shen Zhong, who is also the current Marquis of Yong'an. Therefore, the Shen family is a powerful and influential family in the capital.
The old Marquis had three sons and one daughter. His daughter married and moved away to a distant place, so the entire Shen family consisted of only the three brothers and their three branches.
Since the old Marquis had not passed away, the Shen family did not split up. Even though Chongyan was the Marquis of Yong'an, he could not bring it up, otherwise people would gossip about it. This is how important it is for aristocratic families to have their descendants living in the same mansion.
The old Marquis did not like Zhong Chen's idea, mainly because Zhong Chen was honest and kind and did not say anything nice, and also because he was born to his deceased wife, whom he disliked.
If it weren't for the strict order of seniority and the fact that the title was bestowed by the late emperor, the position of Marquis of Yong'an would not have been given to Zhong Chen.
The old Marquis's current wife is his second wife, and she has given birth to two sons and a daughter, whom he loves dearly.
Therefore, even though he was the Marquis of Yong'an, he still did not receive his father's love, and this was true from childhood to adulthood.
As the daughter of the heavy-hearted Marquis, Shen Yunxi naturally did not receive the old Marquis's affection, not to mention that the heavy-hearted Marquis also had a mentally challenged son, which made the old Marquis even more disgusted with her.
Shen Leyi was deeply favored by the old Marquis and could get whatever she wanted in the entire Shen family. She loved to visit Shen Yunxi the most.
Before entering the palace in her previous life, Shen Yunxi was very close to this fourth sister. Every time she was unhappy in front of the old Marquis, Shen Leyi would gently comfort her, and she trusted Shen Leyi more and more.
It was only after entering the palace that Shen Yunxi saw the Shen family from a different perspective and discovered that she had received a completely different result than before.
In the past, Shen Leyi always used the pretense of caring for and protecting her to take a lot of Empress Dowager's rewards from her and go out to show off, but she had no gratitude towards Shen Yunxi at all.
She even secretly conspired with someone, all in order to get back at her cousin.
Haha, the two of them colluded, envying and jealous of her status and her engagement to Junxuan, and did a lot of things to hurt her and Shen Anyu.
Do you really think she's easy to bully?
"So it's Fourth Sister. Fourth Sister, please sit down. The Empress Dowager did indeed bestow some gifts today, all of them calming. If Fourth Sister is also feeling unwell, you can share them with Sixth Sister, shall we?"
Shen Yunxi spoke very gently, revealing nothing, just like her usual attitude.
At that moment, Shen Leyi didn't think much of it. She smiled and walked to Shen Yunxi's side, then sat down.
"So the Empress Dowager's gift was just some food. Fourth Sister thought it was rare treasures or priceless brocades again last time." Shen Leyi paused and then said, "By the way, Sixth Sister, you went to bed as soon as you came back yesterday, and Fourth Sister couldn't talk to you. Today, tell Fourth Sister what exactly happened at Yanshan Tang. I heard you didn't look well when you came back. Could it be that the matter didn't go through?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yunxi wore an expression that suggested she had something to say but couldn't.
It was her own foolishness that she had such ill intentions. Shen Leyi clearly had ulterior motives, but she hadn't seen through it at all in her previous life. She had actually listened to her and arranged everything so that people would see her and Junxuan alone together in the pool.
This despicable act of ruining one's reputation was instigated by Shen Leyi.
At the time, Shen Yunxi trusted her fourth sister completely and never doubted her. Even after hesitating for a long time, she still agreed.
In the end, Shen Leyi was only thinking of herself. She was hoping that Junxuan would hate Shen Yunxi and even wanted to replace Shen Yunxi.
If it weren't for her father, Shen Xin, still having some sense and always remembering the late emperor's bestowed marriage, Shen Leyi would probably have already taken action.
Shen Yunxi's mother was the Empress Dowager's close friend. Since the Empress Dowager had no daughters and Shen Yunxi often accompanied her in the palace when she was young, the Empress Dowager doted on her and kept sending good things to her courtyard.
All the good things from the past went to Shen Leyi, and in the end, all Shen Yunxi got was her scheming.
"Fourth Sister, please don't say anymore. Yesterday, I listened to you and arranged everything, but we encountered assassins on the way. Alas, I almost didn't make it back. Luckily, I was far away from the Emperor, but I was still terrified. Blood was everywhere in Yanshan Tang." Shen Yunxi patted her chest, her face still showing lingering fear.
"Is that so? Then all your plans have been wasted?" Shen Leyi's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
Who could have imagined that after all the arrangements were made, an assassination attempt would occur?
Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to think of other solutions.
However, it is certain that the Emperor does not like Shen Yunxi. Otherwise, the late Emperor would have already arranged the marriage when he was alive, and Junxuan would not have taken the initiative to mention it even after a year of his ascension to the throne.
“Yes, Fourth Sister, it seems I can only wait for the Emperor to remember the marriage agreement himself.” Shen Yunxi said tentatively, “But I feel very uncomfortable for forcing the Emperor to give in that way. I always feel that the Emperor doesn’t care about me.”
“You silly girl, feelings can be cultivated slowly. You haven’t even entered the palace yet, so how can you talk about cultivating feelings with the Emperor? Trust your fourth sister, it’s not the Prince of Xiaoyao’s birthday in a few days. He is so important to the Emperor, so the Emperor will definitely attend. At that time, find a way to get close to the Emperor, and it would be best if you could run into him. Your fourth sister will bring people over, that’s all.” Shen Leyi added.
Shen Yunxi lowered her eyelids, concealing the coldness in her eyes.
As expected, Shen Leyi still had this plan, so she naturally couldn't disappoint her.
“In that case, I will listen to Fourth Sister.” Shen Yunxi said awkwardly, looking down as if she was shy.
She didn't have the chance to witness the Prince of Xiaoyao's birthday celebration in her previous life, but she'll definitely go in this one. It's said that the dishes at the banquet are incredibly delicious, but unfortunately, she was confined to the palace and couldn't leave at that time.
“Alright, let’s plan this in detail, and then we’ll follow Fourth Sister’s instructions.” Shen Leyi’s face lit up with joy.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Fourth Sister," Shen Yunxi replied readily.
Having confirmed that Shen Yunxi had not received any good gifts from the Empress Dowager, Shen Leyi made an excuse to leave without further delay.
Watching Shen Leyi's departing figure, Shen Yunxi chuckled softly.
Fourth sister, I hope you have a great time at the Prince of Xiaoyao's birthday banquet. Your little sister will do her best to help you!
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