Duke Jing's younger sister

This night was exceptionally long.

The carriage was traveling on the wide and flat street. The lanterns under the eaves on both sides of the road were still lit. The dim red lights swayed in the wind, winding like a swimming dragon.

Yang closed her eyes to rest, Shen Zhiyan leaned on Shen Li's shoulder, breathing evenly, as if she had fallen asleep.

Shen Li was also extremely tired. Physical tiredness was secondary, the most important thing was mental tiredness.

This was the first time she had gotten close to it, or even been in the middle of it, seeing the real power struggles and human calculations.

In comparison, the battle of wits and courage between her and Ren Jiaorui over the years was at best just children playing house and doing minor quarrels.

Although she couldn't see through the whole incident, she had a vague feeling that Concubine Zhao's miscarriage was definitely not caused by the Fourth Princess' unintentional involvement, and there might be a mystery behind it.

The harem is already full of crises, let alone the turbulent previous dynasty.

No wonder...

No wonder he has become different from himself since he entered the court. Only when a person has no worries, can he truly do what he wants and act according to his nature.

Today, he seems to be in power, but in fact he is surrounded by enemies. Emperor Hongyang values ​​him, but he is afraid that he might become a threat one day.

The Crown Prince and the Princes wanted to win him over, but if they couldn't get him, they would probably get angry and go to the trouble of eliminating him.

He planned every step carefully, fearing that if he made a mistake, the Shen family would be overthrown.

It’s a pity that she is a woman and is weak after all. Apart from feeling sorry for him, it seems that she can’t do anything for him.

……

When we returned to Qinghuiyuan, it was almost midnight.

Xingping was dozing off on the desk. When she heard Shen Li's footsteps entering the room, she woke up slowly, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and stood up to greet him.

"Girl, why are you here so late..."

Xingping had just said half of her words when she noticed the redness and swelling on Shen Li's face. The slap marks were clearly visible on her fair skin, and it was obvious that she had been beaten!

"What's wrong with this face? This palace is such a cannibalistic place. A good person went in and came out looking like this!"

Shen Li shook her head and sat down on the edge of the couch tiredly. She was too lazy to even take off her hair. There were still traces of wine stains on her dress, and a faint fragrance wafted from it.

Shen Li lowered her head subconsciously. In the palace banquet, the wine that the women drank was all made from grapes. Even if the wine stains had dried up, it definitely did not have this kind of fragrance.

This fragrance is more like the scent of flowers, slightly stronger than the magnolia, but not as fragrant as the peony. It is faint and almost imperceptible, like orchid but not orchid.

That night she was outside the courtyard in an open area with a cool breeze and bright moon, so she did not notice the strange fragrance on her body.

At this time, if you sit quietly in the room, you can faintly smell it.

Zi Yuan had already gone to the small kitchen to get a boiled egg. She peeled it and wrapped it in a handkerchief, then gently applied hot compress to the red and swollen area of ​​Shen Li.

Shen Li gently pushed her away, stood up and quickly took off his outer robe, and put his nose close to the dried wine stain that left a slightly yellow mark.

The fragrance became more and more obvious. She had never smelled this fragrance before, but she was sure that it was indeed the fragrance of a flower, and not the fragrance of peony.

"Girl?" Zi Yuan asked doubtfully, "Is there something wrong with this dress?"

"Smell it, is there any fragrance here?"

Xing Ping also came over and nodded after sniffing the scent. "Yes, there is a fragrance, it seems to be the fragrance of flowers."

Ziyuan also nodded in response, "It is indeed the fragrance of flowers, but I have never smelled it before."