Wen Shuyu asked innocently, “Sister, why aren’t you at the birthday banquet in the main hall? Instead, you’ve come to the backyard to see me. Did you come especially to visit me?”
Yun Wanshuang’s expression stiffened almost imperceptibly before she smiled again. “Of course. I came specifically to visit you since you’re unwell.”
“Thank you for thinking of me, Sister Wanshuang,” Wen Shuyu said weakly, coughing lightly and signaling to Fuling beside her with her eyes. “Fuling, go and accept the gift Sister Wanshuang prepared for me during her visit.”
Fuling: ? What gift?
But after years of following her young lady and witnessing many things, she understood instantly. She walked over to Yun Wanshuang and extended her hand. “This servant thanks Miss Yun on behalf of the princess.”
Yun Wanshuang’s face darkened like spilled ink. This fool, when did she prepare a gift? Was this idiot blind?
But seeing the circle of eunuchs and palace maids from the Eastern Palace around them, she gritted her teeth inwardly. She took out a high-grade elixir she had purchased at a high price from her Storage Pouch, clenched it tightly, and reluctantly handed it over, letting it fall into Fuling’s hand.
Yun Wanshuang’s body trembled slightly, perhaps from anger.
She forced another smile, her gaze sweeping over the many eunuchs and palace maids in the pavilion. Her eyes flickered before she turned back to Wen Shuyu. “Princess, may I speak with you privately?”
Wen Shuyu smiled, her eyes curving like crescents, and nodded. “Alright.”
She rose slowly from the couch, coughing twice more, looking frail and delicate.
Addressing everyone, she instructed, “Sister Wanshuang wishes to speak with me alone. I’ll go to the lotus pond to have a few words with her. Fuling, you, Sister Wanshuang’s maid, and the others may wait here. I’ll return shortly.”
Fuling bowed her head. “Yes.”
Beside the lotus pond.
The clear, cold pond water rippled in the faint light. The budding lotuses, though damp, remained vibrant, with water droplets rolling on their petals, refracting fragmented rays of sky.
Wen Shuyu still had the mood to admire the beautiful scenery in the water, but Yun Wanshuang beside her grabbed her arm harshly, forcing her to turn around.
She spoke bluntly and coldly, “How long do you plan to stay in the Eastern Palace?”
“Wen Shuyu, you, an unmarried woman, insist on shamelessly clinging to the Eastern Palace. You truly have no shame.”
“Let me tell you, His Highness and I grew up together. I will definitely be the future Crown Princess. Don’t you dare follow him around every day without any sense of decency! Look at yourself—a useless person who can’t even achieve Foundation Establishment. Are you worthy of following His Highness?”
“His Highness is kind-hearted, which is why he hasn’t driven you away. He must despise you to the core! I advise you to crawl back to the Prime Minister’s residence sooner rather than later. Don’t bring trouble upon yourself!”
Earlier, in front of the eunuchs and palace maids of the Eastern Palace, Yun Wanshuang had pretended to be civil. Now, with only the two of them present, she couldn’t be bothered to keep up the act.
Moreover, Wen Shuyu had just taken her high-grade elixir, adding fuel to her anger. She wished she could slap Wen Shuyu right then and there.
Wen Shuyu blinked, then suddenly smiled. “Sister Wanshuang is in quite a temper. You’ve hurt my arm.”
She was exceptionally beautiful, like snow carved with ink. Her smile was like a spring breeze brushing away winter snow, dimming the surrounding scenery by comparison.
Yun Wanshuang hated nothing more than that face of hers. If it weren’t for Empress backing Wen Shuyu, she would have long ago slashed Wen Shuyu’s face to shreds, saving her from seducing His Highness the Crown Prince like a vixen every day.
She flung Wen Shuyu’s arm away, her eyes dark and venomous, her voice filled with hatred: “Shameless wench! Stay away from His Highness the Crown Prince, do you hear me!”
Wen Shuyu “feebly” staggered back a few steps, her eyes innocent, but her words nearly infuriated Yun Wanshuang to death:
“Sister Wanshuang, why are you so angry for no reason? You’ve bruised my arm. What if His Highness sees it when I accompany him for his bath tonight?”
Pausing for a moment, her tone gentle, as if out of genuine concern: “Sister Wanshuang, don’t worry. I will definitely say I did it myself by accident, and it has nothing to do with you.”
“What did you say?”
A vicious glint flashed in Yun Wanshuang’s eyes, her voice sharp: “Say that again! Wench! You truly have no shame, seducing His Highness again!”
She could no longer hold back, raising her hand to slap Wen Shuyu, but considering their family backgrounds, the slap did not land. Instead, she pushed Wen Shuyu hard with both hands.
Yet in that instant, Wen Shuyu did not fall backward. Instead, she seemed to “lose her strength” and fell sideways into the lotus pond beside them.
With a loud “splash,” the calm water surface shattered into pieces, water splashing everywhere in the pond, the droplets even breaking lotus petals and scattering them into the water.
Wen Shuyu had fallen in.
The moment she hit the water, she calmly disheveled her hair bun and scratched her ankle, leaving a shocking wound.
Then, her gaze calmly met the horrified Yun Wanshuang on the shore, revealing a fleeting, icy smile.
She closed her eyes, letting the cold pond water engulf her…