Upon hearing this, Lord Ji, the one who was left in the capital as a hostage by the Prince of Pingnan, indeed changed his complexion. Apparently, he knew far more than what Shen Li had just said.
Shen Li pretended not to notice his ugly expression and still said unhurriedly, "I guess, for such a trivial matter, Lord Ji won't take it to heart, right?"
"Humph! They are just two illegitimate sons, good - for - nothing things. I surely won't care about them!" Lord Ji showed a look of disdain on his face, pretending to be nonchalant. But any discerning person could tell that he was not as calm as he appeared.
"It's reasonable for Lord Ji to think so. After all, you are the eldest son of the Prince of Pingnan, born of the Princess of Pingnan. Your status is naturally noble. But I wonder why the Prince of Pingnan hasn't petitioned the Emperor to confer the title of heir apparent on you these years?"
Shen Li, of course, knew the answer but deliberately asked to provoke Lord Ji, and Lord Ji didn't disappoint Shen Li.
"These are all our family affairs. Miss Shen is being too nosy! I advise you to spend more time caring about your own business!"
Hearing this, Shen Li just slightly curled her lips, looked at Lord Ji and said, "Of course, these things have nothing to do with me. I'm just reminding you, my lord."
Then Shen Li paused for a moment. Without moving her feet, she leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice, "Only by getting back alive can one have a chance to fight for something. If you even lose your life in the capital, I'm afraid there will be plenty of people who will be happy. Am I right, Lord Ji?"
Hearing this, the anger on Lord Ji's face could no longer be concealed. He looked at Shen Li with a fierce look in his eyes and said, "You're threatening me!"
"I wouldn't dare! I'm just giving you a reminder, Lord Ji!" Shen Li straightened up and didn't deliberately lower her voice. She said, "After all, Lord Ji has made too many enemies. I'm afraid many people are waiting to see your joke even before I take action. They won't let you have an easy time. If you can't return to Southern Fujian, I'm sure many people will be glad to see it!"
Hearing this, Lord Ji showed a sarcastic smile on his face. "Miss Shen is really intelligent! Truly admirable!"
"I'm flattered! I believe you're also a smart man and should know what's more important!" There was always a faint smile on Shen Li's lips. Even when negotiating with the opponent, she looked calm and composed, which really annoyed Lord Ji.
Lord Ji thought for a few moments in his mind. Finally, he waved his hand and pretended to be nonchalant. "She's just an illegitimate daughter. I don't take her seriously!"
Hearing this, Aunt Su, Shen Zhen and Shen Zhang naturally breathed a sigh of relief, but Shen Junming and Shen Miao looked extremely anxious.
"Lord Ji, you... What's going on? Weren't we talking well just now? Why did you change your mind?" Shen Junming immediately walked up to Lord Ji and said with a worried face, "Everything is almost ready. How can you suddenly go back on your word? Don't listen to Shen Li's nonsense. Let's just go on as planned!"
Lord Ji looked impatient. He pushed aside Shen Junming who was blocking his way and strode away, saying, "I've already said that the marriage is null and void!"
"Lord Ji! Lord Ji!"
Shen Junming couldn't stop Lord Ji from leaving and didn't dare to really stop him. He could only sigh regretfully and then turned his anger towards Shen Li.
"Shen Li, you..."
"Uncle, what do you want to say?" Shen Li directly turned around and faced Shen Junming.
Shen Junming originally pointed at Shen Li with his finger. But when he saw Shen Li staring directly at him, although he didn't see any terrifying expression on Shen Li's face, the vigilance and impatience in Shen Li's eyes still startled him, and he put down his finger.
Even the words he originally intended to scold Shen Li with didn't come out. Instead, he said something else.
"This is our family affair. Do you have to interfere? Now the marriage has fallen through and we've offended Lord Ji. Are you satisfied now?"
Shen Li didn't take Shen Junming's so - called accusations to heart at all. Her expression remained unchanged. She said to Shen Junming in a calm tone, "What are you talking about, Uncle? Zhen'er still calls me elder sister. How could I bear to watch her jump into the fire pit? I can't do such a cold - blooded thing!"
"Of course, if Uncle thinks what I did today is wrong, then Uncle can surely use your wisdom to persuade Lord Ji to change his mind again!"
"You... are eloquent and disrespectful to your elders!"
"Uncle, do you have anything else? If not, I'll take my leave now!" Without waiting for Shen Junming to say anything to teach her a lesson, Shen Li directly bid farewell.
After walking two steps towards the door, Shen Li suddenly stopped, but didn't move her body. She said softly, "There's one more thing. Uncle always scolds me with the same few words. I advise Uncle to read a few more books, think carefully and come up with some new words to scold me!"
After saying this, Shen Li didn't stay any longer. She turned around and left, ignoring Shen Junming who was so angry that he was about to jump up behind her.
"Outrageous! Outrageous! How could the Shen family raise such a person who disrespects elders and doesn't know the rules!"
Seeing Shen Junming losing his temper, Aunt Su directly pulled Shen Zhang and Shen Zhen away quietly. They didn't want to be seen by Shen Junming and be blamed by him again.
Seeing Shen Junming smashing a few teacups but still not calming down and still cursing there, Mrs. Shen didn't go up to dissuade him. Instead, she said worriedly, holding Shen Miao's hand, "Now Shen Zhen's matter is over! What should we do now?"
Even with the veil on her face, Shen Miao's angry expression couldn't be concealed. Her eyes were wide open with anger as she stared intently at a spot on the ground.
"This Shen Li has ruined my good deeds again and again! How can I let her off so easily! Just wait and see. One day, I'll make her suffer and kneel down to beg me!"
Due to anger, Shen Miao's face looked a bit ferocious. All she could think about was how to take revenge.
"Miao'er, don't be impulsive! You should endure it for now. After you marry into the Fourth Prince's Mansion, Shen Li won't be able to do anything to you! At the very least, you have to wait until the Fourth Prince returns to the capital. Now that the Fourth Prince is not in the capital, there's no one to support you. So you should endure for some time!"
"We'll have plenty of opportunities to deal with Shen Li in the future! You mustn't be impulsive!"
"Endure, endure, endure! How long do I have to endure! Mother, look at my face. It was all hurt by Shen Li. And today's matter was also ruined by Shen Li! She was born to oppose me!"