Chunxue wanted to ask more, but Qiushuang forcefully dragged her away.
"Miss is right. Such a big thing has happened to the Shen Family, Miss wouldn't lie to us. Whether it's true or not, we'll know by asking around. But if we're really trapped in the Royal Residence, who will handle the things Miss told us to do?"
The two maids knew martial arts and didn't dare to go through the main gate. Taking advantage of the lax security, they jumped over the wall and left.
"Master, they have left safely!" Nubi reported.
Shen Lanxi was lost in thought and didn't respond immediately.
The one who poisoned her wasn't Bai Qingling, nor was it Zhou Ruyuan!
It couldn't have been that she had misheard in her past life. Someone deliberately gave her false information, leaving her clueless about who her enemy was even in death. This was a way to make her die without peace, a method born of extreme hatred.
Who exactly harmed her? Who hated her so much?
Shen Lanxi took out the poisoned wine she had exchanged earlier and poured it into a potted plant. The plants in the pot turned black and withered in an instant.
What a potent poison. If Nubi hadn't taken some of the toxicity for her in her previous life, she likely would have died on her wedding night.
If she had died, the crime of harming her would definitely have been pinned on Zhou Ruyuan!
The person who poisoned her wanted to kill two birds with one stone.
This city was like a giant beast with a gaping maw. Thinking of the unseen enemies surrounding her, Shen Lanxi clenched her teeth and fists.
"Nubi, take away the flowerpot and replace it with an identical one. Don't arouse suspicion!"
Her fingers slowly unclenched, and Shen Lanxi's eyes shone with an unprecedented light.
The person who harmed her, even if they hid in the earth's core, she would dig them out and make them pay with their lives!
"Master, Zhou Ruyuan knows about the Shen Family being seized. He's coming this way!"
Shen Lanxi curled her lips in a sneer. "So what if he knows? Does he want to be a lowly person, or does he want to be struck by lightning?"
If Nubi could have a visible expression right now, her eyes would definitely be sparkling.
"Master, you're amazing! Nubi is completely in awe of you!"
"Ah... Master, he's gone back. He can't be a lowly person, and he can't be struck by lightning... How unfortunate!" Nubi's words were filled with regret.
Thinking of what happened in her past life, Shen Lanxi's eyes turned icy.
If Zhou Ruyuan didn't come, someone else would!
A domineering voice of an old woman sounded from outside the door.
"The Prince spent the entire night in the other courtyard last night, and he called for water three times..."
"The Shen Family has committed a crime punishable by extermination of the entire clan. Their home was raided overnight last night, and the whole family has been sent to the celestial prison to await sentencing..."
"All of you, open your eyes and see clearly! Who deserves your respect, and who doesn't. Don't offend the wrong person and end up not knowing how you died!"
Shen Lanxi sat properly in the room. This old woman's arrogance was a bit much, but the question she asked at the end was a good one. She also wanted to know the answer!
Let this old woman be a touchstone, helping her to distinguish who was loyal and who was treacherous around her!
"Madam Li, is what you said true?"
"Madam Li, the Shen Family is finished, what should we do? Our indentures are still in the hands of the young miss."
Madam Li raised her chin arrogantly, clasping her hands, and said disdainfully, "Since you've already entered the Royal Residence, you are naturally people of the Royal Residence. Those who are willing to change their indentures, come with me. After changing the contract, you will be servants of the Royal Residence, eating the Royal Residence's food, and you will have to listen to our Prince from now on. Do you all understand?"
Some people said they understood, while others remained silent.
As Madam Li moved, the servants in the courtyard looked at each other. Seeing that some people followed, they all followed.
People left in a rush, and the large courtyard became silent.
Shen Lanxi walked to the door and opened it.
"Master, Master, there's a family still in the corner!" Nubi reported urgently.
Shen Lanxi walked outside the door and turned to look at the family.
They were the family assigned to serve her.
"They've all left, why haven't you left?"
Her words seemed to awaken the family.
"Your Highness..." The six members of the family quickly knelt down, but didn't know how to address her.
"Call me Miss," Shen Lanxi said. A title was just a label. The Shen Family had been investigated, and now everyone in the Royal Residence considered her, the Princess Consort, to be a mere figurehead. The title of Princess Consort only made her feel mocked.
"Miss, something happened to the Shen Family!" Madam Wang reported urgently.
Shen Lanxi said, "If you follow them, you might still keep your lives!"
Madam Li was very stubborn. "I'm the head servant of the young lady. Even if the Shen Family has problems, it won't affect a married daughter. If we go with those people, we'll be betraying our mistress. Servants who betray their mistress are to be beaten to death!"
She didn't have much memory of these people. After she was poisoned in her previous life, she hadn't seen anyone besides Chunxue and Qiushuang. She figured they were either sold off or dispersed and reorganized. Later, Chunxue and Qiushuang were also killed off under various pretexts.
"Wait!" She turned and went back into the room.
"Nubi, find the servants' contracts!"
In the blink of an eye, the box containing the contracts was in her hands.
"Find your own contracts!" Besides the contracts, she also took out a hundred taels of silver notes and handed them to Madam Li.
"In my current situation, I can't protect you. While they still don't dare to do anything to me, you should take the contracts and money and find another way to make a living!"
Madam Li looked at what was in her hands, too frightened to take it. Shen Lanxi forced it into her hands.
"Hurry!"
Madam Li trembled, glanced at her, and quickly handed the box containing the indenture to her son, telling him to find the indenture. Then, she folded the hundred taels of silver and tucked it into her hair.
Once the indenture was found, she personally escorted the family out.
As soon as they walked out of the back courtyard, a matron came running to block their way.
"The Prince said, no one is allowed to enter or leave Tingfang Courtyard!" The burly matron spread her arms, looking fierce.
Shen Lanxi slapped her directly.
"You dog slave, you dare to block this Wangfei's path? Have you eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's courage?"
The maidservant, whose head had been knocked askew, flinched under Shen Lanxi's imposing aura. Remembering the Shen Family's fall from grace, she immediately mustered her courage.
"This servant is acting under the Prince's orders!"
Shen Lanxi slapped her again.
"Who does the Prince think he is? I can come and go freely in the Imperial Palace. Does he have more power than the Empress Dowager and the Emperor?"
With that accusation, the burly maidservant was cowed and dared not act so brazenly!
Shen Lanxi lifted her chin, her eyes filled with arrogant disdain: "Even if the Shen Family has problems, I am still Lanxi County Princess, most beloved by the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. I am also the Princess Consort of the Zhennan Prince's Residence. Crushing you is easier than crushing an ant!"
The burly maidservant was terrified, and the other maidservants who wanted to help were also terrified.
She was right. A dead camel is still bigger than a horse. What if the Emperor were to pardon the Shen Family?
Who in the entire capital didn't know that Lanxi County Princess had grown up in the Empress Dowager's Palace, cherished like the apple of her eye? They had been foolish, listening to a few words from that woman in the other residence, thinking that the woman before them was now a prisoner and a discarded wife. That woman in the other residence had ulterior motives, pushing them out as cannon fodder. The burly maidservant regretted it with all her heart.