At this moment, Shen Qingwu no longer concealed the fury in her eyes.
While she intended to appear weak to win the Grand Princess’s sympathy, as the daughter of Yongyi Hou, she could not lack courage.
Indeed, after those slaps, the Grand Princess’s gaze toward her brightened noticeably.
To avoid exposing her cultivation, Shen Qingwu only used brute force, but she applied it with full strength.
Having been struck, she naturally intended to repay it doubly.
After four slaps, Shen Qingxi’s face was only slightly red and swollen, yet she deliberately covered her head with one hand and clutched her chest with the other, breathing so rapidly she seemed on the verge of collapse. Her eyes were unfocused as she murmured, “Mother… Mother… I feel so unwell…”
Shen Wushi no longer cared about anything else and rushed over to embrace her: “Xi’er! My Xi’er! Don’t scare your mother!” Before she finished speaking, Shen Qingxi suddenly turned her head and vomited sour liquid onto Shen Wushi’s moon-white brocade skirt, her face as pale as water-soaked paper.
“Ugh…” Shen Wushi felt nauseated. She sharply raised her head, her eyes venomous as she glared at Shen Qingwu, “How can you be so cruel? How could you strike so hard? She’s your own cousin!”
“Didn’t she take the risk to substitute the marriage for your sake, for the sake of the Marquis Estate? And this is how you repay her!”
Even now, she hadn’t forgotten to maintain the fabricated “favor of substitution.”
Attempting to pin the label of ingratitude on Shen Qingwu.
Shen Qingwu innocently parted her lips, then sighed and touched her own still red, swollen, and stinging cheek, marked clearly with a handprint: “Aunt, you jest. I’ve been frail since childhood and can’t even practice ordinary techniques—where would I get such strength? These four slaps combined probably don’t compare to the one cousin gave me earlier.”
Everyone had witnessed her coughing up blood after being struck by Shen Qingxi.
Yet no one noticed that, moments before, she had deliberately struck Shen Qingxi’s Taiyang acupoint and the fragile areas of her skull.
Having spent over a decade in Medicine King Valley, she had mastered exceptional medical skills. She knew how to use the most concealed force to inflict internal injuries without leaving traces.
Shen Wushi was momentarily speechless, her throat moving as she failed to utter a rebuttal. But looking down at her daughter’s pained, curled-up form, she gritted her teeth in resentment, her eyes filled with malice.
“So this is what it feels like to have parents’ protection,” Shen Qingwu murmured softly, her tone as light as the wind. Yet her words struck Shen Wencong and Shen Wushi like a heavy hammer.
“Enough!” the Grand Princess snapped sharply, her gaze filled with disgust as she looked at Shen Wushi and her daughter, as if regarding something filthy. “Daring to play such clumsy tricks before me—Shen Second Young Lady’s ‘kindness and propriety’ are truly unworthy of their reputation.”
She turned her eyes to Shen Wencong, her tone cooling with the authority of the royal family: “Shen Wencong, is this the fine daughter you’ve raised?”
Shen Wencong, terrified, dropped to his knees with a thud, his forehead hitting the ground heavily, his voice trembling: “Your subject has failed in discipline, embarrassing the Grand Princess! I will confine and punish her severely upon returning!”
Noticing from the corner of his eye that Shen Qingxi was still moaning on the floor, his anger at being reprimanded by the Princess instantly turned on his daughter. He grabbed Shen Qingxi’s arm and forcibly pulled her up: “Hurry and apologize to the Grand Princess!”
Shen Qingxi was already severely dizzy, and with his tug, she began to retch as soon as she tried to speak, a sour and foul odor spreading through the air. The Grand Princess instinctively frowned and took half a step back, covering her nose with a handkerchief, her expression darkening further.
Shen Wencong’s heart trembled with fear. He raised his hand and struck Shen Qingxi’s back, his palm landing swiftly and heavily: “How dare you offend the Grand Princess! I’ll beat this wretched creature to death…”
The Grand Princess turned her face away irritably, neither stopping him nor wanting to watch.
She turned her gaze to Shen Qingwu, her eyes instantly softening: “Why don’t you come stay with me at the princess’s residence? I’ll have the imperial physician treat your injuries properly and help you recuperate.”
Hearing this, Shen Wushi stopped crying, and Shen Wencong ceased his beating. They both looked over simultaneously, their faces filled with concern.
If Shen Qingwu agreed to go to the princess’s residence, how would they carry out their plans? She was the only one left!
Shen Qingwu caught their expressions out of the corner of her eye. She bent her knees slightly and respectfully declined: “Thank you for your kindness, Grand Princess, but this humble girl would prefer to live in the place where my parents and elder brothers once lived. This is my home.”
“I believe my second uncle and aunt will surely take good care of me.” As she spoke, she turned her head to look at them, the corners of her lips curling into a faint smile. “Isn’t that right?”
For some reason, that smile sent an inexplicable chill down Shen Wencong’s spine. He could only force a dry smile and nod repeatedly: “Of course, of course!”
Seeing that Shen Qingwu had made up her mind, the Grand Princess did not press further. Her gaze swept over the Fourth Prince’s displeased expression. She rubbed her temples and said gravely:
“I hereby declare today’s wedding annulled.”
She looked at Shen Qingwu affectionately: “Once you have recovered from your injuries, I will personally select an auspicious date for you. The ceremony will surely be grander than today’s.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingwu glanced at the Fourth Prince, waiting for his refusal. After all, based on the scenes from her dreams, he and Shen Qingxi had long been secretly involved.
To her surprise, the Fourth Prince showed not a hint of hesitation. He bowed directly and said, “Thank you, Imperial Aunt.” Then, he gave her a charming, graceful smile.
Disgusting.
Shen Qingxi’s taste was poor, and she was foolish enough.
The Grand Princess nodded at the Fourth Prince with satisfaction.
At that moment, Shen Qingwu bowed gracefully, neither subservient nor arrogant, and said, “This humble girl declines.”
“What?!” The smile on the Fourth Prince’s face instantly froze. He looked at her in disbelief, quickly followed by overwhelming fury at being publicly humiliated.
He hadn’t even looked down on her for being a sickly invalid, and she dared to refuse him?!
Was being his principal consort beneath Shen Qingwu’s dignity?
Shen Wencong and Shen Wushi both thought she had gone mad.
Even the Grand Princess’s expression darkened slightly. Shen Qingwu was publicly slapping the imperial family in the face.
“Grand Princess, please calm your anger. It is not that this humble girl is ungrateful or scorns the imperial favor. Earlier, the Fourth Prince himself declared me a ‘lowly commoner,’ a ‘deceiver,’ and a ‘thief,’ with clear and overflowing disdain.” Shen Qingwu knew what the Grand Princess valued. She knelt on the ground, but her words were firm and resounding.
“The Emperor’s decree of marriage was originally a great act of grace to comfort the orphaned and weak and to honor the loyal departed. If, because of this humble girl, the Fourth Prince were to feel aggrieved, would that not betray the imperial favor and distort the benevolent intent of His Majesty?”
“My father and brothers shed blood on the frontier, sacrificing themselves for the nation, all for the stability of the realm and the well-being of the people. Their loyal and heroic names must not be tainted in the slightest. If this humble woman agrees today, would the world think that the Shen daughter is relying on her father and brothers’ merits to cling obstinately and forcibly seek imperial kinship?”
“This humble woman refuses to let His Majesty’s compassionate intentions be sullied, to let the royal family’s benevolence and virtue be impaired, and even more, to let my father and brothers suffer criticism in the afterlife because of me! I beg the Grand Princess to see this clearly!”
Her words, combining reason and emotion, placed the imperial family and the Shen family’s loyalty at the forefront, positioning herself in the most humble yet most devoted and filial position.
The Grand Princess gazed at her with a complex expression. How could she not see that this was her excuse? But these words were truly exquisite, completely silencing everyone. If she pressed further, it would only make the imperial family appear unkind.
She finally let out a long sigh and personally helped Shen Qingwu up: “Good child, it is difficult for you to be so principled and thoughtful. I was mistaken. Enough, forced matches are never sweet. This matter, I will truthfully report to the Emperor. This marriage arrangement is hereby annulled.”
“Thank you, Grand Princess, for your understanding.” Shen Qingwu bowed again, but caught a fleeting glimpse of unwillingness and greed in the Fourth Prince’s eyes…
She frowned slightly… she had been targeted by something filthy.
“Alright, no need for such courtesy with me.” The Grand Princess gently patted her hand, her gaze falling on Shen Qingwu’s still swollen cheek and blood-stained collar, filled with heartache. “Your injuries cannot be delayed. Chang Momo, quickly summon the imperial physician.”
After giving the order to those behind her, she took Shen Qingwu’s hand and headed straight for the inner courtyard of the Marquis Estate.
Shen Wencong and Shen Wushi hurriedly stood up to follow, looking disheveled as they directed the servants to clean up the aftermath.
The crowd understood that the spectacle was over and gradually dispersed.
The Grand Princess did not leave until the imperial physician had examined Shen Qingwu’s injuries and prescribed medicine. As soon as she departed, the second uncle, second aunt, and the servants also scattered quickly, all attending to Shen Qingxi who was complaining of discomfort.
Exhausted from the ordeal and thinking that her second uncle and his family would have no time to deal with her now, Shen Qingwu simply closed her eyes to sleep and recuperate.
It felt like only a momentary daze, but Shen Qingwu’s heart “buzzed” as a strange sensation of weightlessness suddenly seized her!
Shen Qingwu abruptly “opened her eyes,” only to discover—
She was floating above the Marquis Estate!