After giving her contraceptives, she went mad, criticizing the prince for turning white-haired overn

The sound of sticks hitting the ground echoed through the Shen family courtyard.

After being hit more than a dozen times, Shen Rou couldn't hold on any longer and pretended to faint.

When the tenth blow landed, Shen Yue suddenly felt unwell and bled profusely, which terrified the head executioner.

The old woman hurriedly ran into the front hall and told Madam Yu what had happened.

"Why is she bleeding all of a sudden? Quick... quick, help Yue'er back to her room!"

"Not a single word of this matter is to be leaked."

The head maid readily agreed and immediately ordered someone to help Shen Yue up and hurriedly head to Lan Yue Garden. She also sent someone to fetch a doctor.

"This isn't fair! We were all punished together, so why did Fourth Sister only get ten strokes and then leave?"

As Shen Ning spoke, she tried to get up from the bench, but was firmly held down by the nanny.

She suddenly lowered her head and bit the old woman's arm hard. The old woman screamed in pain and quickly pulled her hand back.

Taking the opportunity, Shen Ning got up from the bench.

"Second Miss, how can you be so unreasonable!"

Shen Ning, panting, sneered, "Grandmother ordered the three of us to be punished together. Now that Fourth Sister has left, why should I stay here?"

The old nanny said, "The second young lady is becoming increasingly difficult to manage. This old servant will go and report to the second madam immediately to see how she deals with you!"

After she finished speaking, she turned and headed towards Lanyue Garden.

After the old woman walked away, Bai Zhi quickly went forward to help Shen Ning back to her Zhaohua Courtyard.

As she left, Shen Ning glanced coldly at Shen Rou, who was slumped on the stool pretending to have fainted, her eyes showing no trace of pity.

In this life, Shen Yue probably won't have the chance to go on a spring hunt.

As soon as Shen Ning returned to Zhaohua Courtyard, Shen Yan followed her in.

When he saw Shen Ning, his previously gentle expression suddenly turned cold.

"Ning'er".

Shen Ning lay on the soft couch, knowing what Shen Yan wanted to say.

She used to obey Shen Rou without question, but today she is behaving completely differently.

Not only did he contradict her to her face, but when he saw Shen Rou's appearance just now, he showed no pity whatsoever.

"What is my brother trying to say? Does he also believe that I hid those letters under my bed myself?"

Shen Yan said, "That's not what I meant, brother. I don't want to delve any further into the truth of this matter."

"But our father is far away in the borderlands, and my eldest sister manages the entire household by herself. We sisters should get along harmoniously. Why are you so aggressive?"

The words "aggressively pressing" pierced Shen Ning's heart like needles.

She looked at Shen Yan, feeling both heartache and helplessness.

Shen Rou has been the eldest daughter of the main branch of the family for twenty years.

Originally, there was a marriage agreement with the Kangping Earl's family, but later, the Kang heir's mother passed away, and he had to observe three years of mourning, so the engagement was called off.

Shen Rou remained unmarried in the Shen family.

Now, the eldest brother Shen Yan, the younger sister Shen Wan, and even the second brother Shen Feng have long regarded Shen Rou as the backbone of the main branch of the family.

If this were told to Shen Yan, he would never believe that Shen Rou was not of the first wife's bloodline.

Instead, it would alert the enemy and cause a rift between the siblings.

"What you say is true, brother, but why don't you consider why my elder sister insisted on taking me to Putuo Temple today?"

"Why did I happen to run into His Highness Prince Chen? And why were those letters found under my bed?"

"Don't you ever suspect these coincidences, brother?"

"I always felt that my eldest sister didn't look like any of us siblings."

"She often advised us to listen to our second aunt, eldest brother, you..."

"That's enough, Ning'er," Shen Yan interrupted her.

"Perhaps you have misunderstood your elder sister. She has loved us since childhood, and I absolutely do not believe that she would harm you."

"Have you been feeling unwell lately? I feel like your personality is quite different from before."

As Shen Yan spoke, he slowly approached Shen Ning and reached out to touch her forehead.

But his gaze inadvertently fell upon the faint red marks visible beneath the brocade on her neck.

His fingertips paused slightly, then he withdrew his hand.

"No fever."

"Ning'er, did anyone bully you at Putuo Temple today?"

"If so, you must tell your brother, and I will not let him off lightly."

Shen Ning lowered her eyes, unsure of what Shen Yan meant by those words.

Could it be that they've come to suspect her?

The person who bullied her was Xie Linyuan, wasn't he?

However, Shen Yan and Xie Linyuan have always been on good terms, and Xie Linyuan often secretly comes to the Shen residence to discuss matters.

In her past life, she met him at the Shen residence in this way. She didn't know when it started, but Xie Linyuan developed romantic feelings for her.

"I'm fine, no man bullied me."

"If you have time, brother, why don't you go and visit your sister?"

"Alright." Shen Yan slowly stood up, stared at Shen Ning for a moment, and finally hesitated to speak.

Reaching the door, he turned back and said calmly, "Father is far away beyond the Great Wall; my siblings and I should be even more harmonious. Let's find a time to visit our eldest sister."

"Big brother."

Shen Yan paused and turned to look at Shen Ning.

"What's wrong?"

Shen Ning asked, "Does Big Brother trust me?"

Shen Yan was silent for a moment, then said, "Of course I believe you're my sister."

Shen Ning took a deep breath. "If you don't believe that my elder sister would harm me, there's plenty of time."

"Today, there is something else I need to tell my elder brother."

Shen Yan frowned. "What is it?"

Shen Ning said, "The spring hunt will be in a few days."

"If a maid accidentally wets your clothes during a spring hunt, you must not go to the side room to change alone."

Shen Yan frowned slightly, feeling confused by what he was being said.

"When did Ning'er learn fortune telling? She can even predict the little things that happened during the spring hunt."

Shen Ning: "If you don't believe me, you'll find out whether what I'm saying is true or false in due time."

"Okay, I'll listen to you, big brother." Shen Yan's eyes were full of affection.

They assumed Shen Ning was just being mysterious and didn't take it to heart.

But only Shen Ning knew that what happened at the spring hunt would cause her older brother, Shen Yan, to fall from the high platform into hell.

After Shen Yan left, Bai Zhi came in with a smile, holding a medicine bottle in her hands.

"It's thanks to Miss's thoughtfulness that she placed something soft behind her beforehand; otherwise, she might have been beaten unconscious like the eldest young lady today."

She carefully leaned close to Shen Ning's ear and whispered, "I heard that Fourth Miss is bleeding profusely from her abdomen, and Second Madam has secretly ordered the nanny to go out of the manor to fetch another doctor."

"I wonder why the Fourth Miss is acting like this all of a sudden today. Could it be that she is menstruating?"

Shen Ning said calmly, "Perhaps."

She knew, but didn't want to point it out.

In her past life, Shen Yue stole the show at the spring hunt, and after returning to the Shen family, she went to her younger sister Shen Wan's courtyard to make sarcastic remarks.

They said Shen Wan was too weak to be a good match for the Prince of Huainan.

In this life, Shen Yue was injured and had no chance to go on the spring hunt.

"What about Bailu? How is she?"

Bai Zhi pursed her lips: "The young master resorted to torture... and she confessed."

"He confessed?" Shen Ning frowned.

Bai Zhi nodded: "I'm afraid the eldest young master knows the whole story and won't let anyone leak a word of it."

"Bai Lu has already been sold off."

Shen Ning then remembered that Shen Yan was a high-ranking official in the Court of Judicial Review, so how could he not know the truth?

It's probably all to protect Shen Rou, to avoid any unpleasantness among the siblings, and to cover things up.

Shen Ning was hit ten times, but it didn't seriously injure her; she only suffered minor injuries.

After Bai Zhi applied the medicine, she fell asleep without realizing it.

The candles in the room went out, and only the faint spring light shone in through the window, falling on her delicate and exquisite face.

In her hazy state, Shen Ning seemed to smell a faint scent of agarwood.

She remembered that fragrance very clearly; it was the scent she often smelled when she was intimate with that man in bed.

Shen Ning suddenly woke up from her dream, gasping for breath.

The quiet room was so quiet that you could hear the wind rustling through the treetops outside.

As she sat up, she caught a glimpse of a tall, slender man sitting in a chair in the shadowy room.

"Miss Shen, it seems you've forgotten what I said."