The harem is too complicated; the empress, a lazy bum, wins by doing nothing.

Chapter 423 Extra (Establishing a Lifetime 9)

"Father is a wise man. How could he only consider this when choosing the crown prince? In fact, the outcome was already decided six years ago when Father took my third brother and me to Rongcheng..."

Yes!

Jiang Wenying usually didn't pay any attention to the Third Prince, and seemed to care about him very little.

Even if he is the legitimate son, the favor he receives is not even a fraction as much as Jiang Yuxian's.

But just when Rongcheng was suffering from a three-year drought and the people were living in misery, Jiang Wenying took this insignificant prince with him when he went down to the south of the Yangtze River.

She had always thought that Jiang Yuyan's existence was merely a foil for Jiang Yuxian, but now she belatedly realized that everything was reversed!

Jiang Wenying is really heartless!

He showered all his affection on Jiang Yuxian, allowing him to grow up in the spotlight from a young age.

From the day Jiang Yuxian was born, she has never had a good night's sleep.

She is afraid!

You have no idea how difficult it is to raise a prince in the palace.

You should know how many eyes are watching Jiang Wenying's favoritism.

It turns out that none of this was love.

This was all Jiang Wenying did deliberately to protect his legitimate son.

Just when everyone thought that the future crown prince would be Jiang Yuxian.

He had already paved the way for Jiang Yuyan.

Consort Ying coughed suddenly, and a mouthful of bright red blood seeped from the corner of her lips.

"Eniang!"

Jiang Yuxian panicked instantly, "Quick...quickly go and fetch the imperial physician!"
-
The Third Prince's attendants watched her enter the Shen residence before leaving.

Shen Qingwan held the rabbit lantern in her arms, thinking about what had happened that night.

Liu Ruyan suddenly darted out from the corner, startling her.

"What are you doing? You scared me to death," Shen Qingwan said irritably.

This time, Liu Ruyan didn't care about her unpleasant tone. Instead, she peeked outside and asked, "Cousin, didn't you go out with the Seventh Prince tonight? Who brought you back? Where is the Seventh Prince?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingwan abruptly stopped, a smile appearing on her stunningly beautiful face, though it carried a hint of sarcasm: "What's wrong? Did you feel bad when the Seventh Prince rejected you? Didn't the Seventh Prince say that if you really want to go, he can have his attendant find another carriage to take you? What do you say?"

Shen Qingwan clicked her tongue. "I really don't understand. Have you never seen a lantern before, or have you never seen a man before?"

"you?"

Liu Ruyan's face flushed red with anger. She had just raised her hand when Shen Qingwan grabbed her wrist.

"What, are you angry? Want to hit me?" Shen Qingwan sneered. "Did I say something wrong?"

Liu Ruyan's chest heaved several times, and her lips trembled uncontrollably, just as Shen Qingwan turned around.

She glanced directly at the rabbit lantern in Shen Qingwan's arms and pounced on it.

In the instant Shen Qingwan was lost in thought, she threw the rabbit lantern on the ground and stomped on it twice. Shen Qingwan was stunned, staring blankly at the deformed and dirty rabbit lantern for a while before quickly walking over and picking it up from the ground.

She carefully tried to straighten the wooden stick supporting the rabbit lantern, but as soon as she gently bent the deformed wooden frame, it broke with a crisp sound.

Upon seeing this, Shen Qingwan's eyes immediately reddened.

She looked up angrily, her eyes red and glaring at Liu Ruyan.

"What...what do you want to do?"

Liu Ruyan felt a chill run down her spine from her glare, and she even took several steps back in fear.

Shen Qingwan carefully placed the shattered rabbit lantern on the ground and suddenly stood up.

She walked quickly to Liu Ruyan and slapped her across the face.

Liu Ruyan's vision went black after being hit, and a burning pain shot through her cheek. She covered her swollen cheek with one hand, her eyes filled with shock. "Cousin, you hit me? You actually hit me for a rabbit lantern!"

Shen Qingwan didn't give her a chance to say the word "I" before slapping her again.

This time, Liu Ruyan was completely dumbfounded.

The commotion in the courtyard was so loud that both Madam Shen and Shen Wenqian came out of the house.

"aunt……"

Liu Ruyan cried and threw herself into Madam Shen's arms. "Aunt, you must stand up for me! My cousin hit me. She hit me for a rabbit lantern."

Seeing this, Shen Wenqian frowned deeply. He walked to Shen Qingwan's side and looked at her red eyes, tears welling up in her eyes, yet she stubbornly refused to let them fall. His heart ached.

"what happened?"

"Ask her!"

Shen Qingwan picked up the rabbit lantern from the ground and turned to leave, but her arm was grabbed by Madam Shen.

She could clearly feel a sharp pain coming from where she was being gripped.

This is her mother. Whenever it comes to anything related to Liu Ruyan, she always stands by her side without hesitation.

From childhood to adulthood, she has doubted more than once whether she is really her biological daughter.

"You're squeezing me too hard."

Shen Qingwan gritted her teeth and said, word by word.

"You beat your sister like this, shouldn't you apologize before going back? Where have you learned your manners? What kind of lady is a lady from a respectable family, hitting someone?"

"Mother, you know how to talk about rules?" Shen Qingwan sneered. "Since you're talking about rules, then I'd like to ask you, Mother, you and Father only have one daughter, me. So where does this younger sister come from? She's just a cousin. It's one thing for her to come to the capital with us, but does she expect to live in our house every day? If my uncles and the others don't come to the capital, she'll have to live in our house forever. So, everything I have has to be given to her? Just because she calls you 'aunt'?"

Madam Shen felt guilty after being spoken to, and an unnatural glint flashed in her eyes. "You child, what do you mean by 'you' and 'us'? Ruyan is your uncle's daughter, we are family."

“Family? Her surname is Liu, and mine is Shen. When have I ever been family with her? At most, we can only be considered cousins.” Shen Qingwan did not back down at all.

Madam Shen moved her lips, about to say something, when Liu Ruyan suddenly reached out and grabbed her sleeve. "Aunt, please don't say anymore. It's all my fault today. I upset my cousin. I'm staying at your house, so I should be more tolerant. Even if my cousin went out with the Seventh Prince today and came back upset and lashed out at me, I shouldn't have retaliated. Please don't say anything more, Aunt. I'll return to Rongcheng first thing tomorrow morning and won't bother my cousin again..."

Shen Qingwan was so angry she almost laughed. She shook her head.

Anyway, she's gotten used to it over the years...