The protagonist committed numerous evil deeds.

Chapter 79: Past Life Chapter 6

Shen Yingsi met Wen Li again in the spring of the following year.

That day, the peach blossoms outside the backyard of the Eastern Palace were in full bloom. He sat in the courtyard, worrying about the floods in the south.

The peach tree outside the courtyard made a sound, and Shen Yingsi looked over warily, immediately spotting the girl.

Wen Li! What's she doing here?!

Seeing Wen Li looking over, he quickly picked up the memorial on the table and pretended to read it seriously.

Wen Li casually tossed the specially selected stones in her hand.

The little girl in the tree had rosy lips and white teeth, and her bright eyes were full of curiosity as she stared at the little boy reading inside the wall.

This is Shen Yingsi? The one everyone likes and admires. He doesn't seem any different from her, the one everyone hates.

With no one around, Wen Li carefully chose the angle and controlled the force before throwing the stone in her hand with all her might.

The stone smashed Shen Yingsi's forehead, and blood flowed out instantly, running down his left eye.

Shen Yingsi's heart paused for a moment.

She hit him; did she hate him?

He subconsciously looked up, only to see the little girl who had done the wrong thing looking flustered.

Suppressing his own distress, Shen Yingsi comforted her, saying, "Miss, it's alright, I'm fine."

Hearing this, Wen Li calmed down. The boy's forehead was bleeding quite a bit, but he still smiled and comforted her.

Is he an idiot?

Wen Li completely relaxed, gripped her sword, flew into the courtyard, and openly looked him over.

"My name is Wen Li, and I'm Shen Yannan's good friend. I'm here today to warn you: keep your dogs under control! If they dare to bully Shen Yannan again, I'll beat you up too!"

As she spoke, Wen Li raised her fist to scare him, and seeing that he didn't react, she gracefully climbed over the wall and left.

Shen Yingsi, who remained rooted to the spot, was unable to recover for a long time.

Shen Yannan was his older brother, so he naturally knew who he was. When he was three years old, Shen Yannan tried to push him into the pond to drown him. A year ago, Shen Yannan was banished from the palace by the Empress Dowager for poisoning him, and was forbidden from entering the palace except for festivals.

Shen Yingsi couldn't understand why someone as good as Wen Li would stand by Shen Yannan's side.

Peach blossoms drifted down, landing quietly on the memorials lying on the stone table, and no one brushed them away all day.

*

In the study of the Eastern Palace, Wen Zhi'en was discussing political affairs with Shen Yingsi and Xie Wanzhou, while outside the door, Wen Mingzhu pestered Xie Xiao to find out Shen Yingsi's preferences.

"What does the Crown Prince like to eat?"

Xie Xiao thought for a moment: "His Highness eats everything and doesn't dislike anything. He'll take a bite of every dish on the table, but I've never seen him take an extra bite of any dish."

"What does the Crown Prince like to play?"

Xie Xiao silently shook his head amidst Wen Mingzhu's expectant gaze: "His Highness doesn't have time to play. The Emperor is playful, and His Highness handles most of the court affairs. But our His Highness likes to catch demons, and he goes out to catch demons whenever he has free time."

Wen Mingzhu then asked, "Does he have someone he likes?"

Xie Xiao nodded this time: "His Highness likes all the people in the world."

Wen Mingzhu was both angry and anxious upon hearing these answers. She stamped her feet and said, "What kind of answer is this! I finally got to see my brother, the Crown Prince. What am I supposed to say to him later?"

Inside the study, the three had just finished discussing serious matters when Xie Wanzhou, unusually, started chatting about family matters.

"Ji-eun, why do you always bring your daughter with you wherever you go?"

A rare hint of doting appeared on Wen Zhi'en's face: "My daughter is naughty and insisted on coming along."

“Mingzhu is only two years younger than Ying Si, and she seems to be a good match for him.”

Shen Yingsi was still looking at the memorial he had just read when he heard this and looked up and said, "Uncle, don't talk nonsense."

"Yes, yes, yes, they're all still kids. Why are you saying all this? If you ask me, you should worry about yourself. You're only a few years younger than me, and you're still single. How about I introduce you to a few more girls later, so you won't be jealous that I have a daughter?"

Looking at Wen Zhi'en, who looked like a happy old father, Shen Yingsi couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Wen, I heard that Miss Wen has returned recently, but I haven't seen her at all."

Wen Zhi'en's face stiffened, but she quickly recovered: "She's too unruly. So I sent her to the Xuanling Sect for training."

Xie Wanzhou naturally understood Wen Zhi'en's concerns and immediately changed the subject: "Let's not talk about this. By the way, Zhi'en..."

Once the two people of similar age started chatting, Shen Yingsi had no chance to interject.

While chatting, Wen Zhien suddenly remembered Wen Mingzhu's instructions and suggested that the group go to the Wen residence for a meal.

Wen Zhi'en said proudly, "Your sister-in-law's cooking skills are unparalleled. I'm telling you, when you're looking for a wife, you should look for someone like your sister-in-law."

Xie Wanzhou: "Alright, alright, everyone knows you married a good wife."

Shen Yingsi stood up: "Uncle, Uncle Wen, you two can go ahead. I just remembered that I have some important matters to attend to."

Xie Wanzhou and Wen Zhien did not insist, but Wen Zhien still advised, "Then we will go first, but Your Highness, you should not suppress yourself too much. It is necessary to relax occasionally."

Shen Yingsi replied, "I understand, Uncle Wen, please rest assured."

The study door opened, but only two adults came out. Wen Mingzhu grabbed her father's arm: "Where is the Crown Prince? Why didn't he come out!"

Wen Zhi'en: "Your brother, the Crown Prince, has important matters to attend to."

"You promised to invite my brother, the Crown Prince, to our house for dinner! You liar!"

Wen Mingzhu was so angry that she kicked Wen Zhi'en and ran away.

"Mingzhu, wait for your father!"

Watching Wen Mingzhu's departing figure, they felt helpless and could only follow behind her with Xie Wanzhou.

"Wanzhou, hurry up and keep up! My daughter is still so young and can't be left alone!"

"Your guards are still waiting outside the East Palace, there's no need to rush. Besides, I haven't even said anything to you yet. You invited me to dinner, but it turns out you were after my Ying Si."

Wen Zhi'en turned around and pulled Xie Wansheng's arm forward: "Don't talk nonsense! You're not happy even though I'm inviting you to dinner, you're so slow."

Even after the commotion outside subsided, Shen Yingsi couldn't calm down for a long time.

He gripped the memorial tighter, thinking he felt some pity for the little girl named Wen Li.

He always felt that someone with her personality should be a pampered young lady.

But nowadays, people misunderstand her, and even her own father has never shown her any affection.

"Thank you, Xiao."

The door opened, and Xie Xiao stepped inside.

"What's wrong, Your Highness?"

“I suddenly feel that the salary of Xuanling Sect is a bit low. Let’s double it from today onwards.”

Xie Xiao exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? The salary of the Xuanling Sect is already high enough. If it doubles, it'll almost catch up with mine!"

Shen Yingsi picked up his pen and began to correct the memorials: "Don't you still have the share that the Empress Dowager gave you? Every time you sneak into the palace behind my back, you bring back a lot of things."

Xie Xiao wanted to protest: "Isn't it because Her Majesty the Empress cares about you? Since you don't come to the palace to accompany her, she has no choice but to ask me for news about you. In the end, Her Majesty truly loves you. Every time you go on a mission, she prays before the gods and Buddhas for several days. That Xie family head is just better at sweet talk than you, but in the end, Her Majesty loves you the most."

Shen Yingsi didn't look up, knowing: "I don't need you to tell me, I already know all this."

"Hehe, Your Highness, I'll head out to take care of my business first."

Shen Yingsi thought for a moment, put down the memorial in his hand, and stood up: "Wait a moment, I'll go myself. You take these memorials that you've finished reviewing to the palace."

"what?"

Xie Xiao watched Shen Yingsi's departing figure, somewhat puzzled. Why did His Highness need to handle such a trivial matter personally?