Reborn Young Lady's Peerless Grace

Chapter 53:

After seeing Shen Wanxiu off, Shen Wanqing fell into deep thought. Although she had dealt a blow to Shen Wanru, preventing her from winning a good reputation at the Hundred Flowers Banquet, she herself was in a terrible predicament.

Shen Wanru was scolded by the Queen, and Su Shi was worried about her and would not pay any attention to her for a while. I think Shen Wanru will not have an easy time in the mansion during this period.

After saying this, Shen Wanqing was not too happy. After all, she was in trouble and she had to spend more energy to find a solution.

At this point, it seemed that the matter was not just the Crown Prince's idea, but the Queen was also aware of it. If they were really asked to go to the Emperor to ask for permission, it would be set in stone and nothing would be able to be changed.

At dinner, Jing'er served a number of exquisite dishes, and said enthusiastically, "Miss, come and try some. Madam specifically ordered these to nourish you."

"You guys take it and eat it. I don't have much appetite."

Whenever Shen Wanru thought of the Crown Prince's face and the cannibalistic place that was the Eastern Palace, she felt a headache.

Jing'er was a little worried: "Miss, you are still sick, you should eat something......"

"I'm sleepy and want to take a nap."

Shen Wanqing waved her hands and buried her head in the quilt.

She was not sleepy at all, she just kept her eyes open with a blank look.

Gradually, Shen Wanqing fell into a terrible nightmare.

In her dream, she was in an ancient and eerie castle, surrounded by thick fog that made her lose her bearings. Strange vines covered the castle walls, and black bats flew over her head from time to time.

She walked forward cautiously, the stone pavement under her feet creaking, as if telling an ancient secret. Suddenly, she heard a low and eerie laugh that echoed in the castle, making her hair stand on end.

She quickened her pace, trying to escape the terrifying laughter, only to find herself in a vast courtyard filled with blood-red flowers, their petals as vibrant as blood and emitting a pungent, fishy odor.

In the center of the courtyard, there was a huge black pond, the water tumbling and emitting huge bubbles. Su Jinzhu couldn't help but approach the pond to see what was going on.

At this moment, a pale hand suddenly stretched out from the pond and grabbed her ankle. The hand was icy cold and extremely powerful. No matter how she struggled or resisted, she could not get rid of it.

She looked down in horror, only to see a woman with a distorted face and bloodshot eyes slowly rising from the pond, muttering, "You can't escape. You are his prey, you can never escape..."

Shen Wanqing desperately tried to break free, but was dragged slowly towards the pond. The water began to boil, and thick smoke billowed out. Through the smoke, she seemed to see the prince's hideous face and hear his terrifying voice: "You will never escape from my palm. Become my prisoner!"

Shen Wanqing cried out in despair, her voice echoing through the castle, but no one responded. She felt her body sinking, bit by bit, as the water covered her knees, waist, and chest...

Just as she was about to be completely swallowed by the pool water, she suddenly woke up from her dream. She gasped for breath and found herself lying on the bed in her boudoir, her bedding soaked with sweat.

"Miss, what's wrong with you?" Jing'er heard the noise, hurried in and asked with concern.

Shen Wanqing sat up, still terrified, her forehead covered in cold sweat. Thinking of that horrible dream, she still felt difficulty breathing, as if an invisible hand was tightly gripping her throat.

"It's okay, I just had a nightmare." Shen Wanqing said in a trembling voice.

"Miss, I'll get you a coat and a cup of hot tea."

Shen Wanqing waved her hand, "No, I'm not cold, and I don't want to drink hot tea."

As she spoke, she got out of bed, walked to the table, poured herself a cup of cold tea, and drank it all in one gulp. The cold tea slid down her throat, making her feel a little calmer.

But at this moment, she no longer had any desire to sleep. Her mind was filled with that horrible dream and the Crown Prince's terrifying words. She knew that she must not enter the Eastern Palace, otherwise she would be doomed.

The Queen had already signaled her intention to marry Shen Wanxiu and the Crown Prince. In the capital, who would dare to compete with the Crown Prince for someone else? She had to find a way out of this predicament, and at the same time, she had to escape the Crown Prince's control, both for herself and Shen Wanxiu.

With this in mind, Shen Wanqing went to her study, lit the oil lamp, sat at her desk, and began to write on paper. Her first thought was to persuade the prince to favor someone else, so she wrote the word "transfer" on the paper. But she felt this was too simple and would be easily discovered, so she crossed it out.

She can't rely on others for this kind of thing, and now she can only rely on herself.

She frowned and thought hard, and wrote down strategies such as "creating misunderstandings" and "making mistakes on purpose", but each idea had loopholes, and she could only cross them out again and again.

Time passed by unknowingly, and the sky outside the window gradually turned pale.

"Miss, it's dawn." Jing'er's voice sounded outside the door.

Shen Wanqing finally came to her senses and realized that she had been thinking about it all night but still had no clue. She threw her pen on the table in frustration and crumpled up the paper covered with words and threw it away.

"Jing'er, come here." Shen Wanqing said to Jing'er who was standing at the door.

Seeing the young lady calling her, Jing'er hurried into the study. Seeing Shen Wanqing's exhausted face, she said distressedly, "Young lady, you haven't slept all night. How can your body bear this?"

Before she knew it, she had been thinking about it all night, but still had no clue.

Shen Wanqing sighed, "I'm fine, Jing'er, go get ready. I wrote a message, please help me send it to my second sister. I want to discuss a countermeasure with her."

After saying that, Shen Wanqing picked up the pen again, wrote a post and handed it to Jing'er.

Jing'er took the post and said, "Don't worry, Miss. I'll go right away."

Shen Wanqing nodded, looked at Jing'er's back as she left, and prayed silently in her heart, hoping that she and Shen Wanxiu could find a way out of the predicament together.

After Jing'er left, Shen Wanqing leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and tried to rest her exhausted body and mind for a moment. But the horrible nightmare and the prince's terrifying face kept appearing in her mind.

A moment later, Jing'er came back.

"Miss, the second lady said she received the invitation and asked you to meet her at a teahouse outside the city this afternoon."

Shen Wanqing opened her eyes and said softly, "Okay, I understand."

No matter what, she had to meet with Shen Wanxiu and the two of them could make a decision after a detailed discussion.