Shen Xihe was extremely sensitive to Duojialuo's scent. However, the Waterside Pavilion was filled with people of status, each carrying their own fragrant spices. As the scents wafted over with the breeze, Shen Xihe found it difficult to pinpoint the direction.
She couldn't help but cast a faint glance at Prince Ding, who had arrived with Prince Dai.
At that moment, Prince Ding Xiao Changtai also looked toward her. He stepped forward, took a cup of wine from Ye Wantang's table, and approached Shen Xihe: "I apologize for startling the Commandery Princess. I shall punish myself with a drink and hope for your forgiveness."
Shen Xihe rose to her feet, separated from Prince Ding by only a table. She could clearly detect the exquisite agarwood aroma emanating from him—warm, mellow, and highly penetrating—but it was not Duojialuo.
It seemed this man was not the one impersonating Hua Taoyi or Cui Jinbai, among others.
"No harm done," Shen Xihe replied, unshaken. She raised her cup in a distant toast to Prince Ding and took a small sip.
Her attitude was quite aloof, and Prince Ding, after expressing his apology, returned to Ye Wantang's side. Shen Xihe glanced at Prince Dai once more. The distance was considerable, and she couldn't be sure whether the scent of Duojialuo was emanating from him.
Although there were only two men present, Shen Xihe wasn't certain if the faint trace of Duojialuo might have been used by a noble lady, blended with other fragrant spices. Yet, the fact that she detected Duojialuo the moment Prince Ding and the others arrived made her ponder further.
"Do you dare to evade my reward?" Li Yanyan spoke lazily. She stood up, dragging her fiery red floor-length skirt as she walked around the table, picked up a shard of a teacup, and slowly approached the young lady she had struck.
The young lady seemed to fear her like a tiger, retreating step by step until she hid behind Prince Dai.
"Yanyan," Prince Dai Xiao Changtian's tall frame blocked Li Yanyan's path, his sharp, thick brows slightly furrowed.
"Oh, protecting her already, and she's not even wedded to you yet?" Li Yanyan's slender, deep-set eyes held a trace of cold mockery. "What, so afraid I'll harm her?"
"Yanyan, stop this nonsense." Prince Dai reached out to grasp the hand holding the shard.
But Li Yanyan evaded him first, stepping back to create distance. She glanced at the young lady behind Prince Dai and fixed her gaze on him. "Do you truly intend to shield her?"
"Yanyan, let's return to the manor." Suppressing his emotions, Prince Dai moved forward to seize Li Yanyan.
Yet, with a nimble spin, Li Yanyan's bright skirt flared like sparks, easily avoiding Prince Dai.
She let out a short laugh. "Since you wish to protect her..."
As she spoke, a sharp glint flashed in her eyes, and she raised her hand to make a swift motion.
Every young lady in the Waterside Pavilion held their breath in shock. It wasn't until blood trickled down Li Yanyan's face that a noblewoman screamed.
"Yanyan!" Prince Dai rushed toward her.
This time, Li Yanyan did not evade but pushed him away forcefully.
A ghastly red gash marred her porcelain-white cheek, a horrifying sight. Yet she remained composed, as if unfazed, tossing the ceramic shard aside. "Since you cherish your new love, I shall apologize to the Commandery Princess myself."
Shen Xihe had long heard of Li Yanyan's ruthlessness and madness, but she was still taken aback.
How much did women in this world care for their appearance? Some cherished their beauty more than their lives, yet she hadn't even blinked.
"Imperial Physician, fetch the Imperial Physician!" Ye Wantang was the first to regain her composure, urgently giving orders.
Li Yanyan smiled faintly. "No need. It's just a cut—it won't kill me."After saying this, she turned and left, her pace neither hurried nor slow, as if strolling through a leisurely garden. Only a trickle of blood dripped from the side of her face, leaving a trail of crimson plum blossom-like stains on the pristine floor as she walked.
The Prince of Dai rushed after her in a single stride, hoisting Li Yanyan over his shoulder from behind. Ignoring her fierce resistance, he snatched her handkerchief and pressed it firmly against the wound on her face.
While dashing out of Ding Manor, he roared at his guards to summon an Imperial Physician.
Shen Xihe, who had no interest in watching dramas, was the first to withdraw her gaze. She noticed the young lady left behind in the hall, staring after the departing Prince of Dai and his consort, biting her lip with eyes filled with both hatred and resentment.
Shen Xihe arched her delicate brows and called out softly, "Lady Liang."
Liang Danpu snapped out of her trance and turned to see Shen Xihe picking up a teacup from the table and throwing it at her.
This time, Liang Danpu didn't dodge. The teacup shattered precisely at her feet.
Seemingly frightened, Liang Danpu's eyes instantly reddened.
Everyone looked at Shen Xihe with confusion and displeasure. Some even felt she had gone too far, but the memory of how she had dealt with Wang Yuhui and others that day remained vivid in their minds. They could only seethe in silence.
After all, Chen Jiaxu had been sent to the Side Court Palace, the House of Xuanping had collapsed overnight, Hu Yingrao had been punished with three days of kneeling in the ancestral temple, and Wang Yuhui had received fifty strikes with the ruler.
Nowadays, even without warnings from their families, none of the young ladies dared provoke Shen Xihe.
At that moment, Shen Xihe picked up another teacup and threw it at Liang Danpu. This time, Liang Danpu swiftly dodged.
"Your Highness, you must not bully others too far!" A young lady who couldn't stand it any longer stood up abruptly to reprimand her.
Shen Xihe merely cast a faint glance her way.
"Fool." Qin Zijie coldly eyed the young lady who had stood up to intervene, spitting out two words.
"You... you..." The young lady trembled with rage, her chest heaving.
"Your Highness..." The Prince of Ding also appeared troubled and was about to speak.
Ye Wantang, lost in thought, tugged at his sleeve and gently shook her head at him.
"You didn't dodge the first time because you knew the teacup would land at your feet. You dodged the second time because you knew it would hit your body." Shen Xihe spoke with a faint, mocking smile. "You should have known that the Princess Consort of Dai's teacup would only land at your feet. Why did you dodge?"
Liang Danpu's eyes quickly welled up with tears. "Danpu doesn't understand what Your Highness means by this?"
Shen Xihe let out a soft scoff. She stood up, adjusting her lilac-colored peony-patterned shawl, and walked gracefully over to Liang Danpu. "You dodged because I was behind you. If the Princess Consort of Dai had injured me, you could have reaped the benefits without lifting a finger."
"Your Highness!" Liang Danpu's face flushed with anger. "Though Danpu is humble in status, I cannot tolerate such humiliation from Your Highness!"
"Humiliation?" Shen Xihe laughed. "Merely speaking the truth counts as humiliation? Would you like to know what true humiliation feels like?"
As she spoke, Shen Xihe lifted her foot, revealing her pearl-adorned cloud-patterned upturned shoes, and swept the three broken teacup fragments into a pile.
"Biyu!"
At Shen Xihe's command, Biyu flashed to Liang Danpu's back, pressed her hands on Liang Danpu's shoulders, forced her to turn around to face the pile of broken porcelain, then lifted her leg and kicked the back of Liang Danpu's knees.
With a thud, Liang Danpu knelt on the shards, letting out a piercing scream. The tears that had been welling in her eyes finally streamed down her face.All the noble ladies present, including Ye Wantang, inexplicably felt a sharp pain in their knees.
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