After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

Zhao Yuwan glanced at Lü'e and curled her lips downwards.

"How dare a mere maidservant use the Princess's residence to intimidate me?"

Her voice rose a few decibels, drawing the attention of several noble ladies around her.

"When did it become my place to interrupt in front of me?"

Shen Jingque darted behind Lü'e, covering her face with her small hands and wailing, "Sister Lü'e, they're bullying me! They even tried to hit me!"

Zhao Yuwan is the kind of person who's used to bullying others by relying on her power; reasoning with her is a waste of breath, it's better to just call for reinforcements. I wonder where her beautiful father and the princess are wandering around, whether they can come and support this weak and pitiful girl.

Green Calyx glanced back at her, a look of heartache flashing in her eyes, and stepped to the side to completely block Shen Jingque.

Wen Qianrou, standing to the side, smiled and pointed her fan in the direction of Shen Jingque.

"I see now. You two are both servants of the Princess's household, and you're using your master's name to cause trouble today, aren't you?"

She tapped her palm with the rib of her fan, her tone dismissive: "You offended us today. Even if we beat you two lowly maids to death, we'll compensate the Princess and the others. I doubt His Highness will say anything more."

Green Calyx's face turned completely cold, alarm bells rang in her mind, and her hand was already on the hidden clasp at her waist.

These people must have lost their minds; they might actually dare to make a move.

His Highness has entrusted Miss Shen to her care. If anything goes wrong today, she will be held responsible even if she dies a thousand deaths.

"Young lady, please be careful what you say."

Zhao Yuwan raised her chin and gave a wink to the servants behind her.

"Take him down."

Two burly servants stepped forward and reached out to grab Shen Jingque.

When Shen Tingyun saw that rough, large hand reaching towards his sister, his mind went blank.

Before she could even weigh the options, her body instinctively rushed forward, spreading her arms to shield Shen Jingque.

"My younger sister is young and doesn't understand things, please, young lady, have mercy..."

Her knees buckled, and she knelt down with a thud.

"I apologize to everyone on her behalf."

Zhao Yuwan looked down at Shen Tingyun kneeling on the ground, her face darkening inch by inch.

"Shen Tingyun, are you really going to oppose me?"

She took a step forward, looking down from her vantage point.

"Today you're protecting outsiders and slapping me in the face. Go back and consider the consequences yourself."

Shen Tingyun knelt on the cold stone slab, trembling and afraid to get up.

She knew all too well the price of kneeling today. After returning home, Zhao Yuwan would surely exaggerate the situation to her grandmother, making Du Yuerong's predicament even more difficult.

But what could she do? Just watch helplessly as her younger sister was taken away and beaten?

She can't.

Shen Tingyun raised her head, trying her best to calm herself down.

"Sister Yuwan, please calm down. There are too many people at the lantern festival today. If this really escalates to the authorities, it will not look good for the Marquis's family."

She paused, then added in a low voice.

"Grandmother values ​​appearances the most. If word gets out, my eldest sister will also be questioned."

Zhao Yuwan's eye twitched.

A crisp "snap" sounded.

A heavy slap landed on Shen Tingyun's face.

"You lowly brat, how dare you use your grandmother to intimidate me?"

The surrounding noble ladies fell silent, staring in horror at the scene before them.

Wen Qianrou's smile froze on her face; she hadn't expected Zhao Yuwan to actually take action in public.

This has blown up.

She subconsciously took a half step back, pondering how to extricate herself from this matter.

Shen Tingyun was hit so hard that her body swayed, and half of the gold filigree hairpin on her head slipped off, with stray hairs falling to the side of her face.

She braced herself against the ground to steady herself, half of her face quickly swelled up, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

The whispers around me pierced my ears, each word like a needle pricking me.

Shen Tingyun suddenly found the gorgeous clothes she was wearing ridiculous.

She went to great lengths to enter the Marquis's mansion and learn to be a respectable young lady from a prominent family.

But Zhao Yuwan slapped her in front of everyone on the street, as casually as if she were hitting a dog.

The dignity of the Marquis's mansion never belonged to her.

Shen Jingque was pretending to be a quail behind Lü'e's back, but the moment she saw Shen Tingyun being beaten, her anger flared up instantly.

No, no matter how much she and Shen Tingyun didn't get along, that was a private family matter that they would argue about behind closed doors.

Who does Zhao Yuwan think she is, some nobody? What right does she have to hit her family?!

A fire was ignited in her heart, and Shen Jingque darted out from behind Lü'e, rushing towards Zhao Yuwan like a small cannonball.

She was a head shorter than Zhao Yuwan, so she could only desperately grab Zhao's sleeves with both hands, hanging all her weight on them and pulling her down.

"What right did you have to hit my sister!"

Zhao Yuwan had never seen such a tantrum before. She stumbled as the woman pulled her, her hairpin fell to one side, and her clothes were ripped into several wrinkles.

"Let go! You wild girl, let go of me!"

Wen Qianrou screamed at the top of her lungs, "Where are the servants? Are they dead?! Get this little madwoman away right now!"

Just as the two servants were about to pounce, Lü'e slid in front of Shen Jingque. She raised her leg and kicked the first servant right in the back of the knee.

"Ouch!" The burly man with the iron tower knelt down with a "thud".

Without even turning her head, she used a backhand shove to push another servant into the crowd of onlookers, knocking several of them down on the spot.

Zhao Yuwan finally freed her sleeve from Shen Jingque's clutches.

She took two steps back, her hair a mess, and she was so angry that her face turned red and her neck bulged.

When has a legitimate daughter of a noble family ever suffered such humiliation as having her clothes ripped off in the street?

Humiliation and anger surged to her head. Taking advantage of her height, she swung her arm and shoved Shen Jingque hard.

"Bastard!"

Shen Jingque was already quite thin, and she lost her balance, leaning backward.

His back slammed hard against the stone railing of the white jade bridge, and before he could even cry out, he was tumbled over.

Is she going to die?!

"Jing Que!" Shen Tingyun's face turned pale, and he rushed over to grab her.

But her fingertips only managed to catch the edge of the rabbit fur cloak, and the fur slipped through her fingers.

With a splash, water flew high into the air.

How freezing is the river water in the twelfth lunar month?

Shen Jingque felt a chill as if a thousand needles were piercing her skin simultaneously, and her mouth opened uncontrollably. "Gurgle... I'm so... you're so... big ...

She struggled desperately, but her limbs were powerless in the icy water. Her clothes, soaked with water, became incredibly heavy, like a giant hand dragging her down.

The bridge erupted in chaos.

"Someone has fallen into the water!"

"It's a little girl!"

Zhao Yuwan stood at the bridgehead, the color draining from her face in an instant.

Her hand was still in the pushing posture, frozen in mid-air.

It’s over.

In front of half the people on the street, she pushed the person into the river.

What if someone actually dies...

On the long street a few dozen steps away, Shen Yan was anxiously searching for his daughter in the crowd.

The scream pierced through the noisy crowd and drilled into his ears, making him feel as if all the color had been drained from his body.

"Sparrow!"

The usually gentle and refined scholar pushed his way onto the bridge like a madman, shoving aside pedestrians who were blocking his way, completely unaware that his sleeve was torn by a vendor's bamboo pole.

When he stumbled and fell to the bridge, he saw a familiar clump of white rabbit fur floating on the river, rising and falling in the current.

That's his daughter; his daughter is in the water.

Shen Yan's eyes were bloodshot, and he clung to the railing, trying to climb down.

He couldn't swim, but he didn't hesitate at all at that moment.

A tremendous force suddenly came from behind his collar.

Xiao Mingyue grabbed his collar and pulled him back.

If Shen Yan, with his frail physique, were to jump down, he would not only fail to save anyone, but would also lose another life.

"Blue Kite!"

Before she could finish speaking, Qingyuan had already leaped off the bridge railing and disappeared gracefully into the water.

Shen Yan was pulled by Xiao Mingyue and leaned against the railing, his eyes fixed on the water, his lips trembling so much that he couldn't utter a complete sentence.

"Your Highness...it's so cold...Que'er is so small, she can't swim..."

His voice was hoarse and broken, and his eyes were filled with tears.

Only one thought remained in my mind:

If something happens to Que'er, what's the point of his life?

At this moment, Ji Qianshang also squeezed to the edge of the bridge. After seeing the situation on the river, his expression changed drastically, and he turned to the guards behind him and shouted sternly.

"What are you standing there for! The carriage is coming over, get a thick blanket and a hand warmer, hurry up!"

How did the little bean fall into the river in the blink of an eye?

That brat, he hasn't even finished teaching her yet!

Green Calyx knelt by the bridge railing, her hands gripping the horizontal bar tightly, her eyes red-rimmed.

"It's all my fault for being incompetent and failing to keep an eye on Miss..."

Fortunately, not long after, there was a "splash" of water.

Qingyuan lifted Shen Jingque out of the water with one hand, supporting her by the back of her collar.

The little girl was soaked to the bone, her rabbit fur cloak wrapped tightly around her body, her lips were purple from the cold, and she was curled up in a tiny ball.

Xiao Mingyue finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She slowly turned around.

His gaze swept over the servants lying haphazardly on the ground, finally settling on Zhao Yuwan, whose face was deathly pale.

The lamplight cast shadows on her face.

The powerful princess, who held considerable military power, remained silent, but the chilling aura emanating from her eyes was more piercing than the river water in the twelfth lunar month.

The moment Zhao Yuwan met those eyes, her knees buckled and she knelt down.

"Your Highness...the Eldest Princess..."