RWNEFE -Chapter 225 If You Look Down on Women, You Are Looking Down on Yourself!

Zhou Yunyue cried. Since leaving the Cold Palace, she had never cried like this.

“Shen Lanxi, you’ve humiliated me to this extent. If today’s events reach the capital, and any member of the royal family hears of it, the entire Shen family will be executed!”

“Don’t forget—your Shen family is still in the capital. By humiliating me, you are humiliating the entire royal family.”

Shen Lanxi sneered: “I guess I’m quite capable!”

Ban Sicao and the others chuckled quietly.

“Let me release you, that’s fine—but you must tell me what’s in this bowl,” Shen Lanxi said, tapping the bowl of brown sugar water with her long sword.

Zhou Yunyue’s eyes flickered, but she lowered her head in silence.

Shen Lanxi: “This bowl was truly gifted by the Princess. If you can correctly name it, I will recognize you as worthy of the Princess’s favor.”

Most of the people present suddenly realized the significance. They looked at Shen Lanxi again, their eyes filled with deep fear.

Zhou Yunyue glared at Shen Lanxi with hatred. She was clearly seeking revenge! The poison—it had to have been her doing.

She was so cruel. Just to get back at her, she had poisoned everyone here.

Shen Lanxi was truly vicious!

“Not saying?” Shen Lanxi’s lips curled in a half-smile, half-sneer.

“Bring her! I want to peel the skin off her face! Let’s see what kind of person hides behind this face.”

Ban Sicao drew a dagger from his waist and advanced toward Zhou Yunyue with a wicked grin.

“N-no! Don’t peel my face! It’s brown sugar water! The bowl contains brown sugar water!”

Shen Lanxi said slowly, ominously: “I don’t believe you!”

Zhou Yunyue was already terrified. Shen Lanxi had humiliated her in front of so many people—she would surely peel her face if given the chance.

“Really! It really is brown sugar water. If you don’t believe me, I’ll drink it for you!” Pale and trembling, Zhou Yunyue staggered to the table, lifted the bowl, and drank it all in one go.

“It’s really brown sugar water! Really!” Perhaps from fear and tension, she felt her stomach hurt less.

Shen Lanxi nodded. “Now I believe you are not a foreign impostor.”

Zhou Yunyue’s heart had just slightly eased when Shen Lanxi’s voice, like a demon’s, rang out.

“I’m curious—why would a Princess gift me brown sugar water?”

Zhou Yunyue stared at Shen Lanxi as if looking at a terrifying being.

Why?

It was to mock her, to belittle Shen Lanxi as a woman unfit for great responsibilities, to make her appear ridiculous, and to humiliate her in front of everyone.

Zhou Yunyue feared Shen Lanxi deeply—she was a lunatic.

When she went mad, she didn’t even care about the Shen family in the capital.

“I…” Zhou Yunyue couldn’t speak.

Shen Lanxi scanned the yard. Most of the people had rushed off to relieve themselves; aside from Zhou Yunyue, the rest were her men.

“Let me remind you.”

“Brown sugar is generally used by women to warm the womb. It’s not expensive, and ordinary families can afford it.”

“Your gift of brown sugar has two meanings: first, to remind everyone of my identity as a woman; second, to mock me, Shen Lanxi, as only deserving of such a cheap supplement.”

“But don’t forget—you are also a woman. No matter how cheap brown sugar seems, when your body is unwell, you too would drink brown sugar ginger water.”

“Zhou Yunyue, when you look down on women, when you belittle them, remember—you are a woman yourself. By belittling women, you belittle yourself. You think women are inferior, but in others’ eyes, you are an inferior woman. Whoever humiliates others will be humiliated in return!”

Zhou Yunyue clenched the fabric of her dress so tightly the seams nearly tore.

Did she need Shen Lanxi to lecture her?

She had her status—noble blood, dragon’s son, phoenix’s daughter.

Shen Lanxi was merely a discarded royal woman, a criminal descendant—what right did she have to swagger in front of someone so noble?

Zhou Yunyue’s eyes swept over the men surrounding Shen Lanxi, and she sneered disdainfully.

Without these men, Shen Lanxi was nothing.

Why did these men help her? Surely not for loyalty—it was because of her seductive face.

Her gaze lingered on Shen Yuanjing for a moment, snorted, and spun away in anger.

Ban Sicao watched her leave and said coolly, “Seems like she didn’t listen?”

Xiao Fang glanced at the bowl of brown sugar water and asked Ban Sicao, “She looks fine now. Did you neutralize the poison?”

Ban Sicao rolled his eyes, looking at the bowl.

“She accidentally hit the right mark!”

Xiao Fang: “What do you mean?” This chemist was cryptic.

Ban Sicao thought for a moment and said, pensive: “Brown sugar can help a bit, if it’s hot, maybe the stomach pain wouldn’t appear. But alas, she drank it cold.”

Xiao Fang hurriedly asked, “Cold? What happens then?”

Ban Sicao grinned mischievously: “It just hurts even more!”

Shen Yuanzu: “She brought this on herself.”

Ban Sicao mocked: “Ah, the pain…”

Han Mingxuan had originally intended to interfere, hiring guards to stop Shen Lanxi—but after this incident, he didn’t dare question her.

The court quickly replied.

“By the Mandate of Heaven… Special orders for Shen Lanxi: hire extra guards along the route, ensure full cooperation from all officials; anyone obstructing the mission will be punished as a traitor.”

Shen Lanxi received the imperial decree, followed by the verbal instructions of the imperial messenger.

“The Emperor said the court will send officials to investigate the poisoning. General Shen, you must swiftly lead the marriage convoy to the northwest—no delays!”

Shen Lanxi glanced at Zhou Yunyue and asked the messenger: “Did His Majesty mention the Princess’s health?”

Messenger: “No, only that anyone who dares delay the journey to the northwest—regardless of identity—will be severely punished.”

Hearing this, Zhou Yunyue collapsed to the ground.

She had thought that delaying the journey might give her a chance to maneuver. She had heard palace rumors that many princesses on diplomatic missions took years to travel. Some even returned home gloriously after seeing the foreign capital destroyed and gained fame.

Why was her situation different?

After sending the messenger away, Shen Lanxi turned: “You’ve heard the decree. Pack immediately and depart—no mistakes!”

“Yes!”

Zhou Yunyue sat in the courtyard for an unknown time before being escorted into the carriage by palace maids.

Once out of sight, Shen Lanxi opened the secret letter.

Seeing that the Ministry of Personnel’s Vice Minister Qiu Mingjue had been demoted three ranks, she raised an eyebrow and continued reading.

The Shen family had thought the capital was secure, but they did not realize the capital was just as perilous as a battlefield.

Storms would soon sweep through the city, and by the time she returned, the court would be a completely different scene.