RWNEFE -Chapter 117 Are the Pastries You Snatched from Someone Else Delicious?

Ever since this concubine-born younger sister entered the household, Shen Lanxi had been observing her closely.

If going through one lifetime of life and death had brought her true enlightenment, then what had Shen Yuanxin realized after being pushed off a carriage by her sisters and thrown into a crowd of refugees?

If all she had learned was how to harm her own blood relatives—then sorry, that path would not work with her.

“Yuanxin, you’re being far too impatient!” What she was doing now was nothing short of utterly foolish.

Shen Yuanxin stiffened, then immediately put on an innocent smile. “Eldest Brother, what are you talking about? I don’t understand at all.”

Shen Lanxi looked at her coldly. “Are the pastries you snatched from someone else delicious?”

Shen Yuanxin’s expression changed instantly. Thinking of a certain possibility, her face turned deathly pale.

“Eldest Brother, what do you mean? I really don’t understand!” When she had done it, there hadn’t been a single person around.

Unless—

Shen Yuanruan had tattled on her!

“Eldest Sister, are you talking about the pastries Sister Yuanruan gave me? What did she tell you? Those pastries were given to me willingly. Don’t believe her nonsense! After she did something so shameless, nothing she says can be trusted!”

Shen Lanxi coldly looked at the person still trying to argue and cut her off with a single sentence.

“She didn’t tell me anything. She didn’t come looking for me either.”

“Then what are you afraid of?”

Hearing this, Shen Yuanxin’s face turned even paler.

“Eldest Sister, I’m not afraid of anything—really, truly!” Shen Yuanxin looked at her with tear-filled eyes, trying to appear weak and win sympathy. But the moment their gazes met, she felt as though she had been completely seen through.

As if everything she had done, every little scheme she harbored, was laid bare.

“Eldest Sister…”

Shen Lanxi spoke quietly, “I usually don’t strike women—or my own family.” Unless her bottom line was crossed.

Fear and panic surged in Shen Yuanxin’s heart. She unconsciously clenched the corners of her clothes.

“You’ve already taken the revenge you wanted. A smart person knows when to stop. Do you understand?” Shen Lanxi said each word slowly, pressure hidden in her tone.

If Shen Yuanxin had still been harboring a bit of hope just now, that hope was completely shattered by this single sentence.

“Go back and think carefully about what I said. Before we reach Xiguan, don’t leave your room.”

Eldest Sister was putting her under house arrest?

On what grounds? What right did she have?

At that moment, Liu Yanhui hurried over to summon Shen Lanxi.

“My lord, the Northwest King’s ships are about to catch up to us!”

Shen Lanxi’s gaze sharpened, and she immediately turned and left.

The others on the ship also learned that the rioters were catching up, and chaos broke out.

“It’s all because of those two from the Shen family! Beating them with whips was going easy on them—they should’ve been caught by the rioters and eaten as food, burned as firewood!”

“There’s not a single good one in the Shen family. The old drag us down, the young drag us down too. Throw them into the sea to feed the fish!”

“Yes! Throw them into the sea—lighten the ship so we can sail faster!”

They shouted right outside the Shen family’s door, clearly making sure they could hear.

Old Madam Shen was so frightened that she quickly ordered the doorway to be barricaded tightly.

“What sins has our Shen family committed…” Old Madam Shen was full of regret now. If she had known that the rioter leader would return so quickly, she would never have let them go ashore to buy things.

Now it was only giving those lowly people another excuse to bully them!

“Mother, don’t worry. Lanxi is so capable—she’ll definitely have a solution,” Shen Conglian spoke up.

“That’s right, Mother. With Lanxi here, those people outside won’t dare come in,” Madam Liu quickly added in support of her husband.

The harsh shouts of the constables rang out, driving away all the prisoners blocking their door.

Only then did Old Madam Shen finally breathe a sigh of relief.

…

“Their ships are all tied together!” Shen Lanxi noticed it the moment she arrived.

Wei Dongzhu didn’t see anything wrong with it. “That keeps the ships stable.”

Shen Lanxi glanced at him. From that answer alone, it was clear he had never fought a naval battle.

Liu Yanhui’s eyes gradually lit up. “They definitely won’t be able to catch up to us. If we hold on a bit longer, they’ll surely give up!”

Wei Dongzhu looked at him. “How are you so sure?”

Liu Yanhui said, “You can tell you’re a landlubber. People who truly live by the sea never tie their ships together. They grow up immersed in the water—how could they be afraid of a little wind and waves?”

Shen Lanxi nodded in agreement.

“If we used fire attack, not a single one of those linked ships would escape,” Shen Lanxi said with a smile.

Liu Yanhui’s eyes brightened. “My lord, should we try a fire attack?”

A glint flashed in Shen Lanxi’s eyes. “Just scare them. Don’t drive a dog into a corner.”

Understood—she was worried they’d fight desperately when cornered.

He got it.

Wei Dongzhu had grown up in the northwest, fighting on land his entire life. Since childhood, he had been taught land warfare, knowing he would one day defend the northwest. He had never learned naval combat.

Who would have thought that someone destined to die on horseback would one day fight a battle on water?

He never could’ve imagined it, even in his dreams.

Fortunately, his ability to shoot arrows with deadly accuracy earned him back a bit of pride.

“My lord, they’ve stopped their ships!”

The flaming oil wrapped around the arrow ignited upon hitting the enemy’s sail, and flames spread rapidly.

Once one ship stopped, the three connected to it were forced to stop as well!

Looking at the direction of the billowing smoke, Shen Lanxi let out a soft laugh.

“Full speed ahead!”

“Yes!”

Another hour passed, and there was no sign of pursuers left on the sea.

With a favorable wind and the sun at its peak, she ordered a rest.

“Eldest Brother, Yuanxin injured her foot while serving Grandmother. She probably won’t be able to come out to practice martial arts for a while,” Shen Yuanjing said worriedly.

Shen Lanxi gave a light “Mm,” acknowledging it without comment.

“Does your back still hurt?”

When Shen Yuanjing saw that his eldest sister was concerned about him, he subconsciously straightened his back—only to tug at his wounds, making his face twist in pain.

Forcing a smile, he deliberately spoke lightly. “I’m fine. Doctor Zhang used good medicine. Once it was applied, it didn’t hurt anymore!”

Afraid she’d worry, he reassured her instead. “I know you did it for my own good. I won’t make the same mistake again. Master Hu’s people didn’t really hit that hard—it just looked scary. I know.”

Anyone who had been whipped by constables couldn’t even get up for days.

And that was only one or two lashes—he had taken twenty.

“Eldest Sister, I snuck out to see you. If those prisoners saw I could still walk, they’d definitely notice something was off. I’ll have to go back and lie down later. Doctor Zhang said that unless I stay prone for ten days or half a month, this won’t heal at all.” His tone unconsciously became lively.

Shen Lanxi casually pointed to a box in the corner.

“If you’re lying down anyway, take a couple of books back to read when you’re free. Don’t neglect your studies.”