Best friends dressed up in ancient times to become mistresses? You run, I run too!

"This...could it be...never mind, you should go with Miss Shen."

As he spoke, he winked at Zhi'er, who was standing to the side.

Zhi'er was inwardly groaning.

She cursed the idiot under her breath, but had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it. Just to be on the safe side, she brought a few more people with her, planning to stay far away later to avoid getting splattered with blood.

Abandoned Courtyard

Shen Ningzhu gritted her teeth in anger.

"That bastard, he insisted on making me go back to the main courtyard that night, causing such a scene, and even wanted me to sleep with him. Now that he's got the medicine, he's acting all high and mighty."

What should I do? Should I just leave like this?

After being bullied for so long and suffering so much injustice, are we just going to let it go like this?

No, that would be too easy on the prince.

Liu Zhiyi frowned thoughtfully, "Why don't we leave first? A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years."

Shen Ningzhu sighed.

She knew in her heart that once she left this time, they would probably never see each other again. But there was nothing she could do. Compared to venting her anger, enjoying the future was more worthwhile for her.

"Okay, let's stop worrying about it and stop waiting. We'll leave tonight."

Their things had already been packed, and they were just waiting for nightfall so they could leave completely.

Just then, there was a noise at the door.

"Someone, break down the door for me."

Shen Ningzhu and Liu Zhiyi: ? ? ?

Hearing the familiar voice, both of their lips twitched simultaneously. What was supposed to come hadn't, and what wasn't supposed to have come had.

Fine, since she's so eager to get a beating, there's no reason to let her make a wasted trip.

A glance exchanged between them, and they understood each other perfectly.

When the other person came in, the two best friends were sitting on low stools, each with a plate of melon seeds next to them, leisurely basking in the sun and eating melon seeds under the eaves.

Unbeknownst to anyone, each of them had a packet of powder in the palm of their other hand.

One packet of itching powder, one packet of croton powder.

Since I'm leaving tonight anyway, I don't need to be stingy with these things.

"Shen Ningzhu, the princess has ordered you to go to Qinghe Residence immediately for questioning." Shen Ningxue held her head high, speaking with her nostrils pointing at her two best friends.

Shen Ningzhu smiled and stepped forward.

He patted Shen Ningxue on the shoulder and took the opportunity to sprinkle the medicine powder on it.

"You've worked hard, you're a good dog."

Shen Ningxue was furious, and Liu Zhiyi quickly stepped forward to support her arm and try to smooth things over.

"Miss Shen, please calm down. My mistress has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. In my opinion, you're not a good dog at all; you should be called a sycophant."

What kind of dog is a "lickspittle"?

No, no matter what kind of dog it is, isn't it still a dog?

What a vile servant girl! How dare she insult her! I'll tear that lousy mouth of hers apart!

Before they could even make a move, a eunuch's shrill voice announced, "His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"

His eyes lit up instantly, and he quickly grabbed Liu Zhiyi's arm and pushed it onto himself.

Then she screamed and fell to the ground.

"What are you doing?"

A deep male voice came from behind. Shen Ningzhu turned around and saw Jiang Xuan Yan dressed in fine clothes, accompanied by a eunuch. Standing beside him was Pei Yun Chu, who was also dressed in fine clothes and looked handsome.

The three of them entered the dilapidated courtyard.

In an instant, the entire courtyard was made to appear magnificent and splendid.

Shen Ningxue struck first, tears streaming down her face, and said...

"Your Highness, please do justice for me! I only came to visit my sister, but her maid pushed me without even asking what happened."

"It hurts so much, Your Highness! Look, my palms are all raw and bleeding! Waaah!"

Shen Ningzhu gave Shen Ningxue a cool sideways glance.

"You're quite good at framing people, but unfortunately you forgot that this place happens to be muddy ground, and it rained just two days ago."

Therefore, the marks she left by rubbing her hands on the ground were clearly left in the same spot.

Shen Ningxue's body stiffened.

Jiang Xuanyan followed her gaze.

Sure enough, just as she said, the scratch was circular, clearly caused by rubbing the ground with a hand, not by a normal fall.

But so what?

Did she think he would still be foolish enough to stand up for her?

"Guards, help Miss Shen up. Also, take this ignorant servant away and give her thirty lashes as punishment."

Pei Yun Chu looked panicked.

"Your Highness..."

Jiang Xuan Yan glared at him coldly, and Pei Yun Chu immediately swallowed and shut his mouth without saying anything more.

Shen Ningzhu was dumbfounded and angrily wanted to go forward and argue with him, but Liu Zhiyi quickly grabbed her arm, shook his head at her, and winked.

Shen Ningzhu suddenly realized what was happening.

She hugged Jiang Xuan Yan with a pitiful look on her face, "Brother Yan, she's talking nonsense, please don't believe her, okay?"

Although I don't know why that scoundrel suddenly came here, it's still a good thing.

This is a rare opportunity; let's poison it first.

Liu Zhiyi thought so too.

Even if she gets beaten, she has to deal with that scoundrel first, otherwise the beating won't be worth it.

The man's body stiffened for a moment, then he said sarcastically, "I dare not accept Concubine Shen's address of 'Brother Yan'."

Take it or leave it.

The medicine she had hidden under her fingernails had already been administered to that scoundrel, so she no longer needed to pretend.

Without a second thought, she stepped out of the man's arms, creating distance between them, her expression indifferent.

"In that case, I will take the beating in place of my maid. After all, the reason she did something wrong is ultimately because I, as her mistress, failed to teach her properly."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding temperature plummeted.

Despite the sweltering summer heat, everyone involuntarily shivered.

After staring at Shen Ningzhu for a long time, the man gave a cold sneer, turned around, and strode away.

The eunuch quickly chased after them, but Pei Yun Chu remained where she was.

"Well? After all this time, you should have figured it out by now, right? Do I need to remind you whether it's better to be a master or a servant?"

Liu Zhiyi glanced at him indifferently.

Without looking back, he walked into the house, and Shen Ningzhu followed.

As she approached the house, Liu Zhiyi slowly turned around.

"What a coincidence! I'm not a very ambitious person, I just love being a servant to my Zhuzhu."

After saying that, the two best friends went inside, and the door was slammed shut behind them.

In the courtyard, Pei Yun Chu's face cracked.

"Fine, fine, Liu Zhiyi, this is the last chance I'm giving you. If you don't cherish it, don't kneel before me and beg me to take you one day."

After waiting for a long time, there was no sound from inside the house.

Pei Yun Chu felt like he had punched cotton, and a feeling of suffocation was stuck in his chest, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Born a chosen one of heaven, how could he have ever suffered such a setback?

So, he left in a huff again.

Seeing that no one was around, Shen Ningxue decided to take advantage of her superior numbers to teach Shen Ningzhu a lesson.

Anyway, since the two of them are not favored by His Highness the Crown Prince, no one will care what she does to them.

But before she could do anything, the drug took effect.

An indescribable itch came over me, like termites gnawing at my heart, an itch that seemed to seep into my very bones.

His stomach started rumbling, and then he let out a series of huge farts, filling the entire yard with an overwhelming stench.