Duke Jing's younger sister

Yang Lijun sat next to Han Yunning and rolled her eyes at Shen Li who was playing the piano.

Han Yunning seemed a little drunk. He held his cheek with one hand and slipped and fell on Yang Lijun.

Yang Lijun hurriedly helped Han Yunning up, "Sister Yunning, are you drunk?"

Han Yunning's eyes were red, and there were faint tears flashing in them. Yang Lijun was a little confused, "What's wrong?"

Yang Lijun and Han Yunning have known each other since childhood. Her second brother was good friends with Han Yunning's elder brother. When she was young, she often followed her second brother to Han's house to play. After a few visits, the two became familiar with each other.

Now seeing Han Yunning looking frustrated, he couldn't help but ask again, "What happened? Why is Sister Yunning unhappy?"

Han Yunning seemed to hesitate, and slowly said, "I heard before that Duke Jingguo loves his adopted sister more than his biological sister... I thought the rumor was nonsense before, but now it seems..."

She lowered her eyelashes, bit her lip and said nothing, looking like she had felt wronged but couldn't express herself.

Yang Lijun looked up in confusion, glanced at Shen Beiqi, then at Shen Li. One of them was drinking alone, and the other was playing the piano.

But...is there anything worth Han Yunning being sad about?

"Sister Yun Ning, what you mean is that your cousin loves Shen Li especially and ignores you, so you are unhappy?"

Han Yunning's voice was a little choked up, "If it's just love, then it's fine, but I'm afraid that now, his heart is already on Shen Li, and my marriage with him is probably not going to work!"

Yang Lijun understood this time. She was stunned by such a big gossip. "You, you, you...you mean...she and her cousin..."

Yang Lijun subconsciously turned to Shen Li, her face full of surprise.

Well, this Shen Li, I really didn’t realize that she had such thoughts. Being the adopted sister of the Duke’s Mansion is not enough, she also dreams of becoming the wife of the Duke’s Mansion?

Sister Yun Ning is a fairy-like person, how can that vulgar pheasant be compared to her!

My cousin’s beautiful peach blossom eyes are so wasted that he can’t even tell the difference between fish eyes and pearls. He actually wants to break off the engagement with Sister Yun Ning for Shen Li?

She was filled with indignation, and because Shen Li had just been scolded by her mother, the anger rushed into her brain, and she looked at Shen Li with even more displeasure.

Han Yunning restrained his emotions and said softly, "It's a pity that although you and I look noble, we are not as powerful as the Shen family. Even if we know that Shen Li has bad intentions, we can't do anything about it. If we touch her, I'm afraid your cousin will not agree."

Yang Lijun reacted instantly. Yes, the Yang family and the Han family seemed to be on par with the Shen family, but Shen Beiqi actually held the power of 700,000 troops in the northern border.

Although Southern Wu values ​​culture over military affairs, when a real war breaks out, those scholars' pens won't be able to fight the enemy. After all, whoever is more powerful has the final say in this world!

But above the Shen family, there are even more powerful ones, namely the emperor, the crown prince, the princes, and the four princesses!

That’s right, there are four princesses!

Yang Lijun was the same age as the Fourth Princess, and they studied in the same palace school. She got along very well with the Fourth Princess.

Her feelings for Shen Beiqi were known to everyone. If she knew that Shen Beiqi wanted to break off the engagement with Han Yunning for Shen Li, she would be really furious!

Thinking of this, Yang Lijun patted Han Yunning's shoulder lightly, puffed out her chest and said, "Don't worry, Sister Yunning, we can't cure her, but there are people who can. I will definitely find a way to get rid of this anger for you!"

Yang Lijun gave her a firm look, quietly moved behind the Fourth Princess, and whispered something to her ear.

Han Yunning watched coldly until the Fourth Princess's expression changed from anger to fury, and her originally calm gaze turned angrily to the person playing the piano on the stage. Only then did she curl the corners of her lips in satisfaction, and suddenly withdrew her gaze, still with a generous and decent smile on her face.

After the song ended, Shen Li stood up and bowed.

The song "Feng Qiu Huang" that she played was not particularly outstanding, but there was nothing wrong with it either. Even for people who don't understand music theory, it could still be heard to be lingering and refreshing.

But people who understand music will know at once that no matter how well the syllables are remembered, the person playing the instrument has not achieved true unity between person and instrument.

If it does not touch the heart, the sound of the piano will be like all the noise in the world. No matter how beautiful it sounds, it will ultimately fail to arouse empathy in the listeners.

For Shen Li, this is the best.

The Queen Mother smiled indifferently. She could obviously see that Shen Li did not use her true level. She just praised her with a smile and sent someone to get a golden Begonia hairpin and gave it to Shen Li.

Sitting back in her seat, Shen Zhiyan came over, covered her lips with one hand and whispered, "The Queen specially asked you to come to the palace just to let you play a song?"

Shen Li also had doubts in her heart, but she couldn't figure it out, and couldn't guess the key, so she could only shake her head slightly.

Han Yunning came over with a wine glass. Since entering the palace today, she had been chatting happily with Shen Zhiyan, but deliberately ignoring Shen Li.

But at this moment, Han Yunning was acting out of character and started chatting with Shen Li. He not only praised her for her good piano playing, but also said that he wanted to discuss piano skills with her in the future.

As he spoke, Han Yunning raised his hand to toast Shen Li with a glass of wine. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, his body tilted and the glass of wine spilled all over Shen Li's white skirt.

The fragrant wine quickly spread along the criss-crossing veins of the fabric, soaking it in an instant.

"Oh, third sister, I'm a little drunk today. I'm so sorry."

Han Yunning quickly took out a handkerchief embroidered with twin lotus flowers and helped Shen Li wipe the stains on her skirt.

"It's okay. No need to trouble Sister Yunning." Shen Li said, her eyes fell on the silk handkerchief in Han Yunning's hand, and she felt a little strange for a moment.

But she didn't think much about it. Zi Yuan came forward and said, "Miss, why don't we go to the room over there and change our clothes?"

When officials' wives entered the palace to attend banquets, they would prepare two sets of clothes, just in case of emergencies, so as not to lose face in front of others.

Shen Li felt a little uneasy, because Shen Beiqi once told her that in the imperial palace with strict rules, all sudden accidents were hidden behind unknown schemes and means.

She raised her eyes to look at Shen Beiqi. He looked at her with burning eyes, and there seemed to be a warning in his eyes. However, it was indeed not appropriate for her to stay here in this state.

My brother said that I shouldn't walk around alone. Shen Li thought about it and took Shen Zhiyan's hand and said, "Second sister, come with me to change clothes."

Shen Zhiyan naturally agreed. After the two of them quietly informed Yang, they left the table.

The sound of stringed instruments gradually faded away, and the moonlight sprinkled softly on the large blooming peonies. The two followed the fragrant path among the flowers, and just as they reached the edge of the lotus pond, a group of people surrounded them.

Although this place was not as brightly lit as the banquet area, there were also palace lanterns hanging high on the lamp stands. In addition, the moonlight was bright, and Shen Li recognized at a glance that the two people leading the group were the Fourth Princess and Yang Lijun.

Behind them stood several young eunuchs wearing azure palace robes. Xiao Wushuang raised his head and put his hands on his hips, staring at Shen Li with contempt.

"You bitch, you dare to seduce Brother Beiqi, wait and see how I teach you a lesson!"

"Your Highness, have you misunderstood something?" Shen Li gently pushed Shen Zhiyan behind him, ready to pull her away at any time.

Yang Lijun said, "Princess, don't listen to her excuses. She is very sharp-tongued and knows how to coax people!"

"Misunderstanding?" Xiao Wushuang snorted coldly, "I hate women like you the most. You shamelessly cling to Brother Beiqi for wealth and glory. Today, I will teach you a lesson!"

“Run!!”