Kneeling beside Shen Xihe, Shen Yingluo felt her face burning with increasing pain. She cautiously glanced at Shen Xihe, who remained kneeling with a ramrod-straight back, an expressionless face, and solemn features.
"Oh dear! The ground is cold, County Princess. Please rise first. Whatever the matter is, you may discuss it with His Majesty inside. His Majesty summons you." Liu Sanzhi hurried over, also feeling troubled by Shen Xihe.
But Shen Xihe remained kneeling. "I trouble Eunuch Liu to relay this: Zhaoning has brought her younger sister to plead guilty. Zhaoning witnessed Princess Anling insulting and striking her younger sister and, momentarily enraged, laid hands upon the Princess."
Only then did Liu Sanzhi look at Shen Yingluo beside her. The sight made him gasp—half of Shen Yingluo's face was swollen, with five purple-bruised finger marks starkly visible. How heavy must the blow have been?
Her originally delicate and pretty face now looked horrifying. He knew this was no trivial matter and had no choice but to report to the Youning Emperor. As the Emperor emerged, Princess Anling rushed after him. Seeing the Emperor, she threw herself to her knees, weeping. "Your Majesty, you must uphold justice for your daughter! Zhaoning has overstepped her bounds—she dared to slap me! She shows no respect for authority and acts with utter lawlessness!"
The Youning Emperor looked at his tear-streaked daughter. Though her face bore red marks, they paled in comparison to Shen Yingluo's injuries. That single slap on Shen Yingluo was truly shocking.
Even as a princess, she should not strike the daughter of a high-ranking official so severely, especially since Shen Yingluo was also her cousin.
Regardless of Shen Xihe's relationship with Shen Yingluo, they shared the same surname, Shen. This slap had dishonored the entire Shen family.
"Did you slap Huaiyang first, or did Zhaoning slap you first?" the Youning Emperor asked Princess Anling sternly.
Princess Anling's sobs faltered slightly. "Your daughter had a disagreement with Huaiyang and, unable to contain my anger, slapped her once. As a princess, striking her once is something she ought to endure. Yet Zhaoning retaliated by striking me—she holds no regard for Your Majesty!"
Under normal circumstances, if Princess Anling had merely slapped Shen Yingluo once, it might have been dismissed as a minor quarrel, like siblings squabbling or fighting. But with Shen Yingluo's face in such a state, the Youning Emperor could not gloss it over as a sisterly spat or accuse Shen Xihe of making a mountain out of a molehill.
"Look at Huaiyang's face yourself!" the Youning Emperor pointed at Shen Yingluo.
Only then did Princess Anling look past Shen Xihe at Shen Yingluo. She was startled by what she saw. "Your Majesty, this wasn’t done by your daughter! I only slapped her lightly…"
As she spoke, she seemed to realize something and pointed at Shen Xihe. "It was Zhaoning! Zhaoning framed me!"
"How did she frame you?" Shen Yingluo's face bore only the imprint of a single hand, clear and distinct. Even if Shen Xihe were capable, could she have landed multiple slaps in the exact same spot?
Naturally, that was impossible. Shen Xihe had indeed slapped Shen Yingluo, but it was no more than a light pat, intended only to smear scented powder from her hand onto Shen Yingluo's face. This powder irritated the skin, and the already injured area, being more sensitive, reacted more strongly, making Princess Anling's slap mark appear far more pronounced.
Princess Anling was left speechless by the question. They had, in fact, been pursuing Shen Xihe all along. Shen Xihe had slapped Shen Yingluo briefly at a corner, and by the time they caught up, they saw Shen Xihe dragging Shen Yingluo straight toward them.Logically speaking, Shen Xihe couldn't possibly have inflicted additional injuries on Shen Yingluo, especially such a perfectly centered palm print.
Princess Anling stammered incoherently while the Youning Emperor watched Shen Xihe kneeling upright—ostensibly seeking punishment but actually issuing a threat.
If he didn't intervene justly, Shen Xihe would continue kneeling there with Shen Yingluo under the pretext of atoning for injuring a princess. If court officials and envoys witnessed this, it would disgrace the imperial family.
"As a princess and model for noblewomen, you should hold yourself to higher standards. Your virtue and composure are lacking—to inflict such severe harm on your sister over minor disagreements. I sentence you to copy Admonitions for Women one hundred times and apologize to Huaiyang. Do you accept this punishment?"
"Your Majesty, your daughter..." Princess Anling's tears fell, feeling utterly wronged.
Yes, she had struck Shen Yingluo first, but Shen Xihe had retaliated with a slap—a fierce one! Now she was being forced to apologize to Shen Yingluo!
"Do you refuse to comply?" the Emperor asked.
"Your daughter obeys your decree," Princess Anling choked out.
The Emperor spent considerable time comforting Shen Yingluo and Shen Xihe before dismissing them.
"Your Majesty, the County Lord's injury seems... peculiar," Liu Sanzhi remarked while serving tea after everyone had left.
Such a palm print could only come from a man's strength—Princess Anling lacked that kind of force.
"Peculiar? Would summoning the imperial physician reveal anything?" the Emperor asked. "Zhaoning dared kneel before the Hall of Bright Governance because she holds all the cards."
Later, the Emperor indeed summoned physicians to ostensibly treat Shen Yingluo's wounds while actually examining them. No anomalies were found. As for the fragrant residue on her face, the physicians didn't investigate deeply—it was common for noblewomen to wear scented powder. With countless fragrance varieties, they merely detected a generic scent without identifying specific components or medicinal blends.
He wanted to defend his daughter, but was it within his power?
Neither Anling nor Yangling could match Zhaoning—confronting her only brought them suffering.
"Your Majesty, Princess Changling..." Liu Sanzhi hinted delicately.
"Changling's matter wasn't Zhaoning's doing," the Emperor stated firmly.
Shen Xihe's first visit to the hunting grounds occurred when no one else was present—she couldn't have executed such a flawless scheme. Before the incident, the Crown Prince had relapsed, vomiting blood. Unless he had foreknowledge and feigned the episode... but three physicians confirmed the authenticity of his condition. Had he truly anticipated events, he would've prevented Zhaoning from entanglement rather than using fake illness to punish Changling.
With the most likely suspect for aiding Shen Xihe eliminated, the Emperor remained perplexed about the true mastermind.
Unless Changling had been genuinely provoked into such inexplicable actions.
Changling's death remained profoundly mysterious, compounded by the giant serpent at the hunting grounds—making the Emperor wary of the entire location.
"Thank you, Elder Sister," Shen Yingluo said after leaving the palace, bowing to Shen Xihe.
Shen Xihe glanced at Zhenzhu, who retrieved a box of medicinal cream from the carriage and handed it to Tan Shi. "Apply this for two days," Shen Xihe instructed. "The bruising will fade without scarring your complexion."
After boarding the carriage, she added dismissively, "Save your gratitude. You bear the Shen name."
No one could repeatedly insult the Shen family in her presence. This wasn't merely about humiliating Shen Yingluo—it was about trampling the entire clan's honor. Shen Xihe would never tolerate such disrespect.Princess Anling slapping her once was one thing—she was a princess, and Shen Yingluo herself didn’t resist. But if she dared try again, she would have to ask whether Shen Xihe would allow it!
OpenNovel