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

When Shen Jingque was lifted ashore by Qingyuan, her wet hair was plastered to her forehead, and she was shivering all over.

Shen Yan staggered over, took the thick cloak handed to him by Ji Qianshang, and took Shen Jingque from Qing Yuan's arms.

"Sparrow, sparrow! Can you hear your father?"

Shen Jingque's jaw was chattering as she huddled in his arms, managing to squeeze out a sentence:

"Dad, I'm fine, it's just... I'm almost frozen solid."

Shen Yan pulled his cloak tighter around himself, rubbing her back repeatedly with his hands. His moon-white brocade robe was mostly soaked by the river water, but he didn't even bother to look down at her, choking back tears as he comforted his daughter.

"Father is here, Father is here, Sparrow is not afraid."

Shen Jingque had originally wanted to tell a hellish joke to lighten the mood, but when she heard his trembling voice, her nose stung with tears.

"Dad, don't cry, I'm really fine."

Ji Qianshang reached out and placed his hand on Shen Jingque's wrist, his brows furrowing for a moment before relaxing.

"I swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, and the cold air entered my body, but my lungs and internal organs are temporarily unharmed."

Shen Yan hurriedly asked, "Will it leave any lasting health problems?"

"She's young and has a weak constitution. If she's not treated properly tonight, she'll be prone to coughing and wheezing when she gets cold in the future."

Ji Qianshang took out a small porcelain bottle from the medicine box, poured out a crimson pill, and handed it to Shen Jingque's lips.

"Hold it in your mouth, don't chew, let it dissolve slowly."

Shen Jingque obediently took it in her mouth, and the spicy medicinal aroma spread from the root of her tongue, which relieved the tightness in her chest.

"Master Ji, what kind of medicine is this? Give my dad one too, his face looks even scarier than mine."

Shen Yan scolded her in a low voice, "Don't talk nonsense at a time like this."

Ji Qianshang stuffed the medicine bottle back into his sleeve and gently tapped her forehead with his fan.

"This is medicine, not candy; you can't just eat it."

He shook his head helplessly, took the hot water bottle from the servant and put it in Shen Jingque's arms. "You still have the energy to banter with me, so it seems like you're not in any serious trouble."

With her back to everyone, Xiao Mingyue's face was illuminated by the lamplight, revealing a pair of icy, piercing eyes.

Her gaze fell on the group of noble ladies and servants.

"Who did it?"

His tone was kind, but an invisible pressure spread out, and everyone on the bridge felt a chill down their spines.

Zhao Yuwan helped her maid to her feet, straightened the crooked hairpin on her forehead, and bit her lip as she bowed.

"Your Highness, please forgive me, this humble woman did not mean it."

Xiao Mingyue said, "What I'm asking is, who did it?"

Zhao Yuwan raised her head and said with forced composure, "This young lady claims to be from the Princess's residence and her words are rude. I was afraid that someone might use Your Highness's name to flaunt their status, so I stepped in to reprimand her."

Wen Qianrou quickly chimed in, "Your Highness is wise; Sister Yuwan was only considering Your Highness's good reputation."

Xiao Mingyue ignored her and only asked Zhao Yuwan, "If you suspect she is impersonating someone else, why don't you send someone to the Princess's residence to verify?"

Zhao Yuwan's lips were pale: "The lantern festival is crowded, and I acted rashly in a moment of panic..."

"You're bullying a child in the street?" Xiao Mingyue interrupted sharply, taking a step closer. "You're of marriageable age, she's only twelve."

"You led your servants to ambush a child, and then you personally pushed her off the bridge."

"Miss Zhao, what a grand display of power!"

Zhao Yuwan looked alarmed and hurriedly explained, "Your Highness, she was the one who started tearing my clothes."

Xiao Mingyue raised her hand to stop Zhao Yuwan from speaking, and turned her head to look at Lü'e, "You tell her."

Green Calyx immediately stepped forward, her face full of anger.

"Your Highness, when I arrived, Miss Zhao and Miss Wen were leading a group of people surrounding Miss Shen, hurling insults at her, calling her a servant, and ordering their servants to arrest her."

Zhao Yuwan immediately said, "You're one of her people, so naturally you'll speak up for her."

Green Calyx raised her head: "If Miss Zhao thinks I am talking nonsense, there are so many people on and under the bridge who can all testify to this."

An old man selling lanterns in the crowd mustered his courage and spoke up: "Your Highness, I saw it. It was those noblemen who stopped the young girl from speaking first."

The woman next to her added, "They said they were going to capture him, and now both servants have already started to grab him."

Someone else whispered, "Miss Zhao pushed the little girl before she fell into the water."

Zhao Yuwan's face grew increasingly grim: "What do you know? The scene was chaotic just now, and she couldn't even stand up on her own."

Holding the hot water bottle, Shen Jingque asked softly, "Miss Zhao, I can't stand steadily. Can I fly off the bridge railing?"

Someone nearby couldn't help but chuckle, but quickly stopped.

Green Calyx felt a surge of anger again when she thought of the slap she had witnessed when she arrived.

She pointed at Shen Tingyun and said, "And her! She's clearly Miss Shen's older sister, and when I arrived, I caught her slapping Miss Shen!"

Shen Tingyun's body trembled violently.

She was already huddled to the side, and when she heard Lü'e's words, she felt as if she had been stripped naked in public.

She dared not look at Shen Jingque, much less at Shen Yan.

Green Calyx grew angrier as she spoke: "She helped outsiders bully her own sister, thinking that this would please Miss Zhao, but in the end, Miss Zhao still slapped her in public."

"If our daughter hadn't been trying to protect her, she wouldn't have rushed out and started fighting with Miss Zhao."

Shen Yan suddenly looked up, and the moment he saw Shen Tingyun clearly, most of the color drained from his face.

He once enlightened Shen Tingyun, teaching her to read and write, and to understand principles and uphold righteousness.

He also once sheltered the two sisters by his side on a winter night, using his not-so-broad shoulders to shield them from the wind.

He knew that if Tingyun followed Du Yuerong into the Marquis's mansion, her life might not be entirely smooth sailing.

But he never expected that in just a few days, she would help an outsider and slap her own sister in the street.

Shen Tingyun met her father's disappointed gaze, and a lump formed in her throat.

"father……"

Shen Yan didn't respond to her, but instead hugged Shen Jingque even tighter.

When Zhao Yuwan heard Lü'e mention Shen Tingyun, her anger finally found an outlet.

All her current predicament is due to the sisters Shen Tingyun.

If it weren't for her younger sister Shen Tingyun, and if Shen Tingyun hadn't overestimated herself and pleaded for that girl...

How could she be interrogated by the princess and pointed at by these lowly people?

Anger consumed Zhao Yuwan's last shred of reason, and she raised her hand to strike Shen Tingyun.

"It's all your fault, you wretched maid!"

Before her hand could fall, Qingyuan had already stepped in front of Shen Tingyun and grabbed Zhao Yuwan's wrist.

"Miss Zhao, be careful in His Highness's presence."

Zhao Yuwan struggled twice but couldn't break free; her face turned bright red. "I'm hitting my own family member, and the Princess has to interfere?"

Xiao Mingyue looked at Zhao Yuwan, her eyes growing even colder.

"Even the maids in my household know that one should not bully others in the street. Miss Zhao, all those years of studying poetry and etiquette have gone to waste."

After saying that, she gestured for Qingyuan to release Zhao Yuwan. Zhao Yuwan staggered back a step, gritting her teeth as she said:

"Your Highness's words were rather harsh."

"I am the eldest daughter of the Yong'an Marquis's family. My grandmother and the Empress Dowager have known each other since childhood, and their relationship is extraordinary."

"Does Your Highness truly intend to cause trouble for the Empress Dowager over a mere girl of unknown origin?"

The bridge fell silent for a moment.

Shen Jingque nestled in Shen Yan's arms, clicking her tongue and shaking her head.

This girl is really courting death.

There were already undercurrents between the eldest princess and the empress dowager. Bringing up the empress dowager to put pressure on others at this time is just adding fuel to the fire.

As expected, Xiao Mingyue gave a cold laugh.

"The Empress Dowager?"

"It seems that using power to oppress others is a family tradition of the Marquis of Yong'an."

"No wonder he's so good at bullying people."

Zhao Yuwan's expression changed, and she opened her mouth as if to say something.

But Xiao Mingyue had already walked up to her, raised her hand and grabbed her by the back of her collar, like grabbing a disobedient kitten.

Zhao Yuwan cried out in surprise, frantically trying to pry Xiao Mingyue's fingers away. The hairpins in her hair were about to fall off, and she looked utterly disheveled and undignified.

"You...Your Highness, what are you doing! Let me go!"

The next moment, Xiao Mingyue pushed her arm, and Zhao Yuwan jumped over the bridge railing and fell into the river with a splash.

The bridge was deathly silent.

Wen Qianrou's fan slipped from her hand and fell to the ground with a thud. She took two steps back, her legs so weak that she could barely stand.

crazy.

The eldest princess has gone mad.

She actually threw the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Yong'an's family into the river!

The onlookers all gaped in astonishment, and even their whispers fell silent.

Xiao Mingyue clapped her fingers and turned to glance at the servants of the Marquis of Yong'an's residence.

"Since Miss Zhao is used to using her power to oppress others, then today I will teach her a lesson in the same way."

"Go back and tell Zhao Heng."

"If the Marquis of Yong'an's residence feels that my teaching methods are inappropriate, they may come to the Princess's residence at any time to settle accounts with me."

The two servants, their faces ashen, scrambled to their feet, kowtowed, and rushed to rescue their young mistress.

Xiao Mingyue then turned around and looked down at Shen Jingque, who was nestled in Shen Yan's arms.

The gaze that had been so cold and sharp just moments before, capable of freezing a person to the bone, softened somewhat when it fell upon her.

Shen Jingque was looking at her with bright, sparkling eyes.

She smiled slightly and gently stroked Shen Jingque's wet head.

"Return to the residence."

Shen Jingque looked on with adoration, her eyes practically brimming with love.

My goodness, the eldest princess is practically a queen, a mother figure, so cool.

Strong women are awesome!

As she was thinking, a crisp notification sound suddenly rang in her mind.

[Ding—The mission to encounter the male lead Xiao Jingchen has been completed.]

[Rewards being distributed: The basic version of Shennong Space will be permanently retained; full version access will be enabled.]

Shen Jingque's eyes widened.

and many more.

When did we bump into each other? How come she didn't know?!