When Shen Xihe returned to the mansion, he found that Shen Yingruo was there. When she saw Shen Xihe, she stepped forward and saluted.
"What's the matter?" Shen Xihe asked calmly.
Shen Yingruo hesitated to speak, Shen Xihe looked at her calmly, and after a while she said, "Today at the horse market, I saw my elder sister..."
Shen Xihe realized: "Are you asking whether the horse market incident was instigated by me?"
Shen Yingruo bit her lip and nodded.
The horse market was not open for the first time, and the people who were doing business with foreign countries would just talk about daily things. How could something go wrong all of a sudden? If something went wrong so easily at the horse market, how could those people dare to leave their posts without permission
Shen Yingruo investigated and found that Shen Xihe did not hide anything. Although she could not find any actual evidence, she guessed that it was Shen Xihe.
"I was the mastermind," Shen Xihe admitted, and then looked at her, "King Zhao wanted to harm me, why did you tell me?"
"I..." Shen Yingruo was speechless.
"Are you worried about me? Do you like me? Do you care about me?" Shen Xihe asked three questions in a row, and then answered for her, "None of them, because we both have the last name Shen. Today, as long as they are from the Shen family, I will not sit idly by, just like you sent me a letter, you don't need to be grateful. I was not grateful for your letter that day either."
Shen Yingruo's face tensed up when she said that: "I know all this, I just want to know why you don't hide it?"
Now I'm afraid that it's not just her who has guessed it, I'm afraid that others have also guessed how many people His Majesty has dismissed because of this matter. Isn't she afraid of making too many enemies, and becoming isolated and helpless in the future, and being surrounded by enemies
"Why should we cover it up?" Shen Xihe asked back, "They plotted against my Shen family first, so they should be prepared to be retaliated by me. If they hold a grudge against me because of this, no matter how well I cover it up, they will still hold a grudge against the Shen family because of you. People who understand naturally know what it means to know the times."
After a pause, Shen Xihe sneered: "I am not afraid of their resentment. If dismissal is not enough, I don't mind sending them on their way, so that they can leave this world that is not suitable for them to live in as soon as possible."
After saying that, Shen Xihe brushed past her and went straight into the inner courtyard.
Shen Yingruo stood there in shock. She turned around and looked at Shen Xihe's back which seemed to be propped up by a ruler. She walked slowly and gracefully, without any sign of forced firmness, but her unyielding pride was displayed to the fullest.
She had never seen a girl like Shen Xihe who was so domineering, self-righteous, and yet made people feel that it was natural.
How unattainable was Gu Qingzhi, the Peony of Kyoto, back then? Wasn't she also confined to the Gu family? Was she suppressed by etiquette, rules, and her identity as a daughter
But her elder sister was different. She was so willful. She dared to question His Majesty and she dared to break into the Duke's Mansion. But she was never the one who got into trouble.
Shen Yingruo left the Princess's Mansion somewhat absent-mindedly.
In the next few days, His Majesty used the horse market as an excuse to rectify the law and order in Kyoto. Shen Xihe also had a rare two days of leisure. In a blink of an eye, it was the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival in Kyoto was more lively than New Year's Eve, because only on this day, people could leave their doors open at night, stay out all night, enjoy the lanterns on the streets without restraint, and officials could walk through every block in the night, accompanied by the bright moon.
Shen Xihe arrived at the East Building early. What he saw from the East Building were lights in every house, music and singing everywhere; there were thousands of lamps lit, clustered like flaming trees.