It seemed highly likely that the person right in front of her was the culprit. Shen Mingsi couldn't keep things to herself. Just the few glances Shen Mingzhu gave her were enough to expose her flaws.
Sure enough, Shen Mingzhu deliberately fixed her gaze on Shen Mingsi, scanning her inch by inch. When Shen Mingsi subconsciously avoided her eyes, Shen Mingzhu merely curled her lips slightly and said, "Really?"
"Even Third Sister would miss this princess?"
As Shen Mingzhu spoke, her tone was natural, with a bright smile. She walked slowly up to Shen Mingsi and reached out her hand as if to pat her on the shoulder.
But at this moment, Shen Mingsi dodged. Then she came to her senses in a panic and said, "Sorry... sorry, elder imperial sister. Mingsi hasn't seen you for a long time, so I wasn't able to regain my senses for a moment and accidentally got distracted."
Looking at Shen Mingsi's expression, even the stupidest of the other noble ladies present could tell that the relationship between Shen Mingsi and Shen Mingzhu was not as harmonious as it seemed on the surface. There was even some hidden grudge that others didn't know about.
The noble ladies exchanged glances. They knew they might have been used as pawns by Shen Mingsi, so their expressions suddenly turned a bit ugly.
"Since Third Princess and Eldest Princess have met, this humble concubine naturally doesn't dare to disturb you two," a noble lady covered her mouth with a handkerchief and said playfully. She smiled at the two of them. "Your Highnesses, this humble concubine will take her leave first."
Saying so, the noble ladies were all smart people. Naturally, they left in a hurry, leaving only the embarrassed Shen Mingsi standing there, with her head down, seemingly lost in thought.
Xie Lang just stood quietly by the side, curious about what kind of grudge there was between Shen Mingzhu and this Third Princess.
When Shen Mingzhu saw that everyone had left, she continued to fix her gaze on Shen Mingsi and said calmly, "What are you up to today?"
Logically speaking, Shen Mingsi was Shen Mingyuan's younger sister. Back then, Shen Mingzhu had helped the siblings, but unexpectedly, Shen Mingsi had caused trouble out of jealousy. Shen Mingzhu had detected it in advance, so they had no further contact since then.
Shen Mingyuan usually paid great attention to this as well and rarely let Shen Mingsi confront Shen Mingzhu.
It was really strange today. She wondered what had gotten into Shen Mingsi to suddenly come and scheme against her. It was a pity that she was just an unfavored little princess and could only do this much, perhaps it was just an impromptu idea.
Did she hate her that much?
Shen Mingzhu frowned. Seeing Shen Mingsi with her head lowered stubbornly, she couldn't help but sneer and say, "Shen Mingsi, don't be a coward and not take responsibility for your actions."
"Only you could come up with such clumsy tricks," Shen Mingzhu said, with an even colder look on her face. "Why?"
"Why?"
Shen Mingsi raised her head. Compared to Shen Mingzhu, her rather plain face suddenly broke into a smile, full of mockery and an indescribable hatred. "Naturally, it's because you're Shen Mingzhu!"
"Shen Mingzhu! Do you know?"
As Shen Mingsi spoke, the hatred in her eyes was completely unmaskable. She took a step forward. "From childhood to adulthood! I've always had to watch you from the corner. In the end, even elder brother abandoned me and became your good little brother."
"What's so great about you? Even Zhou... Shen Mingzhu, why is it always so easy for you to win the favor of others? As for me, even trying to pick up what's left of yours is so difficult."
Shen Mingzhu was surprised to hear this.
"Your Highness Third Princess,"
Before Shen Mingzhu could say anything, Xie Lang beside her had already taken a step forward and said to Shen Mingsi, "You said that everyone only likes Her Highness. Why is that?"
"Wasn't it you who put the medicine that caused Her Highness to break out in rashes in her medicine, right?"
As Xie Lang spoke, the mockery in his voice grew stronger. "And wasn't it you who abandoned your sick elder brother when you were young just to attend the Queen's banquet, right?"
Hearing Xie Lang say these things word by word, Shen Mingsi's face turned paler and paler. In the end, she was even trembling violently. In a fit of anger, she pointed at Shen Mingzhu and said, "Was it you! Was it you, you bitch, who made up these lies and told others!"
Hearing this, Shen Mingzhu merely glanced at her indifferently and didn't bother to respond.
However, how did Xie Lang know about these things? Although these things weren't major events, only a few insiders from that year knew about them. So how extensive was Xie Lang's intelligence network?
This was actually good news.
At this moment, Shen Mingzhu suddenly thought that if Xie Lang could be used by her, he would surely be the sharpest blade in her hand.
However, Xie Lang was indeed dangerous.
Shen Mingzhu was still observing. For a moment, she showed a bit of hesitation, not knowing whether it was a good or bad thing to get close to Xie Lang.
Although she knew what was on the person in front of her's mind, she still couldn't fully understand all of his thoughts. People's words and actions were always hard to be consistent. Xie Lang was an extremely sharp dagger. If she wasn't careful, she might only end up hurting herself.
"Shen Mingzhu!"
Seeing that Shen Mingzhu ignored her, Shen Mingsi only felt a surge of anger and embarrassment crawling all over her body from the bottom of her heart, making it difficult for her to calm down. So she continued, "What exactly do you want!"
"You're already married! Why do you still keep pestering Brother Zhou!"
So it was because of Zhou Chengyu.
Shen Mingzhu really hadn't thought of this answer at all. Hearing this, a look of surprise couldn't help but appear on her face. Looking at Shen Mingsi, she said, "If you like Zhou Chengyu, then find a way on your own. Why do you have to come and cause trouble for this princess?"
"What? You never dared to get close to this princess before. Now that you've heard that this princess has fallen from grace, you just have to get involved?"
Shen Mingzhu only found it funny. Looking at Shen Mingsi, she continued, "Do you really like Zhou Chengyu, or do you just want to cause trouble for this princess?"
Who would use their sweetheart as bait?
After Shen Mingzhu said this, seeing Shen Mingsi's even more embarrassed expression, she knew she had hit the nail on the head.
"You! How could you, a fickle woman, understand my feelings for Brother Zhou?"
Shen Mingzhu: "..."
Here we go again? So annoying.
Shen Mingzhu subconsciously glanced at Xie Lang who was standing on the side watching the show and winked at him.
Xie Lang understood. Seeing the sly smile in Shen Mingzhu's eyes, he knew that the person in front of him was definitely going to say something strange.
"Really? This princess is fickle?"
Shen Mingzhu smiled.
She was extremely beautiful. At this moment, wearing a red palace dress somewhat similar to Shen Mingsi's, it further set off her snow - white skin and noble temperament. Compared with Shen Mingsi, who showed a bit of timidity beside her, it was simply a world of difference.
Shen Mingsi looked at Shen Mingzhu standing there, beautiful as if she had stepped out of a lady's painting. Yet, every gesture carried that unique arrogance of the Eldest Princess. For a moment, she felt that all her words were stuck in her throat, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
Why was there such a huge gap between herself and her!
"Even if this princess is fickle, so what?"
Shen Mingzhu curled her lips and waved to Xie Lang beside her. "Compared to the magnanimity and tolerance of the consort, he naturally won't say anything."
Xie Lang held Shen Mingzhu's hand and said affectionately, "Those outside are just common flowers. As long as Your Highness's heart is with me, I naturally have nothing to fear."
[Bullshit. Shen Mingzhu, if you dare to bring anything dirty home, I'll throw them into the moat to feed the fish overnight!]
Shen Mingzhu: "..."
Why was Xie Lang so smooth in taking the cue today?
Seeing the complex expression on Shen Mingsi's face and the even greater anger than at the beginning, Shen Mingzhu suddenly felt in a great mood and was just about to pull Xie Lang away.
As a result, when she turned around, she saw a pair of wide - open eyes.