RWNEFE -Chapter 353 Zhou Yunxue Leaves

At Chaoyun Hall, after receiving the news, Consort Shu’s face darkened, and she angrily smothered the palace-raised civet servant to death.

“Your Highness, please calm down. That Second Prince… what is he even? How can he compare to our Third Prince? There must be something strange going on.”

Consort Shu recalled the reports from the palace yesterday. Her well-maintained face twisted in anger.

“I knew it. Last night, His Majesty summoned Shen Lanxi so late—now I understand why.”

“Your Highness, I also heard from others that the Second Prince was only allowed to leave the mansion because of Shen Lanxi’s intercession,” the senior palace maid Yushu asserted.

Consort Shu’s expression darkened even further.

“Have someone summon Shen Lanxi to see me.”

Yushu said, “Your Highness, everyone is currently keeping Shen Lanxi in mind. We can’t be the one to stand out—we shouldn’t approach her first.”

Consort Shu sneered, disdain dripping from her words: “It’s only because His Majesty favors her. Were it not for him, what is she even?”

Yushu: “Your Highness, you forget—our Third Prince just took Shen Lanxi’s younger sister as a secondary consort. By reason and propriety, Shen Lanxi should help our Third Prince.”

Consort Shu’s expression softened slightly at this.

“Even if she can’t be my son’s wife, she is at least his brother-in-law. In the eyes of outsiders, she’s already aboard my son’s ship.”

Yushu: “Your Highness, I heard the secondary consort wants to return to her natal home. I wonder if the prince will accompany her?”

Consort Shu’s face darkened again.

“She’s only a secondary consort, yet dares to ask my son to accompany her? Does she think she’s the principal consort?”

Yushu: “Your Highness, it’s also because there’s no matriarch in the residence, no one to supervise her.”

A gleam flashed in Consort Shu’s eyes: “Choose a time when my son isn’t in the mansion and have that secondary consort come kowtow to me.”

“Understood.”

…

Zhou Yunxue came to bid farewell to Shen Lanxi.

“Lanxi, my husband didn’t pass the exam this time. In a few days, we’ll be returning to the Western Mountains,” Zhou Yunxue said, her sorrow clearly visible on her face.

Shen Lanxi asked, “Why didn’t you bring Lanjie and Brother Huge today?”

A trace of bitterness appeared on Zhou Yunxue’s lips but was quickly hidden.

“Lanxi, I really envy you.”

Shen Lanxi glanced at her: “Yunxue, what I said before still stands.”

Zhou Yunxue shook her head: “Seeing you in the capital this time makes me happy. Beyond that, I no longer force anything.”

Shen Lanxi’s eyes caught the bruise on her wrist. Her expression changed immediately, and she reached out to lift the sleeve.

“Lanxi, don’t~” Zhou Yunxue hurriedly grabbed her hand, embarrassed.

Tears fell uncontrollably, dripping onto Shen Lanxi’s hand.

“Lanxi, please give me some dignity, will you?” Zhou Yunxue whispered, her shame so intense she had to muster all her courage to speak a full sentence.

Shen Lanxi saw it all—the way Zhou Yunxue was pushed by her husband to come, struggling in the mud, torn between gifts and words.

“Yunxue, if I killed Fang Wenting, would you hate me?”

Zhou Yunxue froze for a moment, then said firmly, “Yes.”

She took a deep breath and continued: “No matter how despicable he is, he’s the father of my two children. Without their father, they’d be rootless and open to abuse.”

Shen Lanxi’s gaze darkened. She spoke softly: “If you’re gone, your children will be without a mother. Your husband will take a new wife. Your children will become the new wife’s targets—they will live just as harshly.”

Zhou Yunxue clenched her fists: “Lanxi, I will protect my children.”

Shen Lanxi sighed silently: “I’m reminding you to protect yourself first. Only if you are safe can the people you care about be safe.”

Zhou Yunxue stared blankly, wiping her tears in silence.

Soon after Zhou Yunxue left, Shen Yuantang arrived.

“Big Sister, greetings!” Shen Yuantang bowed.

Shen Lanxi looked at her younger sister, now dressed as a proper woman, glittering with jewels—the waves of emotion in her heart were now very small.

“Why do you have time to come today?”

Shen Yuantang lifted her chin slightly, her face radiant: “There’s no curfew at the prince’s residence. I come and go as I please. The prince gave me control over the household staff and the backyard.”

Shen Lanxi noticed the hint of showing off in her words. She was Zhou Ruyuan’s ex-wife, and her sister was flaunting her in front of her?

“Zhou Ruyuan treats you well,” Shen Lanxi remarked casually.

Shen Yuantang blushed, recalling Zhou Ruyuan’s athletic posture and handsome face during training.

“Big Sister, although the prince and I were together by a twist of fate, I already like him, and he likes me. If not for the previous matter with the Jining Hou mansion, this arranged marriage would have made me the principal consort of the Zhen’nan Prince’s residence.”

Shen Lanxi glanced at her assertive younger sister, a trace of ridicule in her eyes.

Her sister really knew how to frustrate her!

“Did you see that woman in his mansion?”

Shen Yuantang paused: “Which woman?” Then she realized.

“Big Sister, do you mean the woman who had previously entangled the prince?”

Shen Lanxi’s eyes scanned her sister from hair to toe.

How could a person change so much?

Or perhaps she had always been like this, and she just hadn’t realized it?

“Yes,” Shen Yuantang said proudly. “I’ve already asked—the woman was dealt with by the prince long ago. He no longer likes her.”

She couldn’t bring herself to speak about her big sister and the prince’s wedding night. Although the two had already divorced, saying it felt awkward. She also didn’t want to mention it.

She trusted that her big sister, in front of the current wife, would not mention it either.

Shen Lanxi: “I heard that woman gave birth to a child. I even saw him once at Consort Shu’s Chaoyun Hall—a healthy, lively boy.”

Shen Yuantang stiffened, her expression turning sour.

“Big Sister, on my wedding day, you had to say that? Are you trying to stab my heart?”

Shen Lanxi’s gaze grew colder: “I thought you came today to flaunt how well Zhou Ruyuan treats you in front of me, his ex-wife. Aren’t you stabbing my heart instead?”

Shen Yuantang’s lips stiffened, frustration flashing in her eyes: “Big Sister, I didn’t mean that. I just wanted to tell you the prince treats me well, and I’m doing well. Don’t you want me to be happy after marrying?”

Shen Lanxi stared straight at her: “With your brain, you couldn’t think of these words on your own. Who told you to come?”

Shen Yuantang couldn’t even smile anymore.

“Big Sister, how can you think that way about me? No one forced me—I came to visit of my own accord.”

Shen Lanxi’s smile was faint and teasing: “Really? Then why do you only say ambiguous things? Are you trying to rekindle old feelings between me and Zhou Ruyuan so we might fall for each other again?”