"Right, I heard the Sima family has expelled Sima Min, no longer acknowledging her as one of their descendants. Due to Sima Min's actions, the Sima family has become a target of public criticism. Their married daughters have suffered greatly, and their unmarried daughters are no longer sought after."
Great families have always been like this; if any descendant causes trouble, the entire family is implicated.
Sheng Lengshuang felt no sympathy for the Sima family: "If you say the Sima family truly didn't know about Sima Min's deeds, I wouldn't believe it. Furthermore, Madam Sima's indulgence and favoritism alone are enough to cause the Sima family to perish countless times."
"It's also because the Emperor, out of respect for Prince Rui, didn't punish the Sima family."
Madam Sheng understood this: "Prince Rui is a good person, but alas... why speak of this now? You should return to your courtyard and rest well. If you need anything, tell me. Don't worry about Xiao Feng; I will look after him."
Sheng Lengshuang was indeed very tired. After chatting with Madam Sheng and Xiao Feng for a while, she returned to her courtyard to rest.
...
For several days, Sheng Lengshuang and Mo Lingxi were both busy. One was busy dealing with the soil, and the other was busy capturing and interrogating people.
As they were nearing the end of their work, Sima Min appeared with puppets like Tao Li, bringing a large group of innocent civilians to threaten Sheng Lengshuang.
In a restaurant.
Sheng Lengshuang frowned as she looked at Sima Min sitting in the main hall. She glanced at the civilians controlled by the puppets and exchanged a look with Mo Lingxi. In their current situation, they couldn't act rashly.
"Sheng Lengshuang, if you commit suicide in front of me, I will release these people," Sima Min declared, holding her head high as she looked at Sheng Lengshuang.
Before Sheng Lengshuang could say anything, the captured civilians began to cry out.
"Miss Sheng, please be merciful and save us. The lives of so many of us are in your hands."
"Sheng Lengshuang, hurry up and die, just die! It's because of you that I was captured. If I die, I will haunt you even as a ghost."
The surrounding people chattered amongst themselves.
"It's Sheng Lengshuang again. Why are one or two matters related to her? How many people does she intend to harm before she stops?"
"Who told her she has power and influence, and Prince Mingrui to protect her? I'm lucky I wasn't caught by Sima Min, or I don't know if I would still be alive."
Listening to their words, Sheng Lengshuang showed no emotional fluctuation. She raised her hand to stop Mo Lingxi: "There's no need to say anything to them. If it were you or me, in this situation, we would choose to protect ourselves. After all, those people are strangers to you."
Mo Lingxi understood this point; he couldn't tolerate anyone speaking ill of Sheng Lengshuang: "Leave this matter to me."
Sheng Lengshuang shook her head: "No, I'll handle this myself."
She calmly looked at Sima Min: "Are you sure you want to use these civilians to threaten me?"
Sima Min took a teacup from a puppet and took a sip: "Do you have a choice? How about this: kneel down and kowtow to me three times, and then I'll consider whether to leave you a complete corpse."
Sheng Lengshuang ignored the various sounds around her and remained standing still: "Is that all you have to say?"
Sima Min suddenly threw the teacup at Sheng Lengshuang: "Bitch, how dare you disobey my orders."
Before Sheng Lengshuang could dodge, she saw Mo Lingxi swat the teacup towards Sima Min with his palm.
The tea splashed onto the ground, and the teacup flew with sharp force. Startled, Sima Min was about to dodge.
Fortunately, a puppet blocked the teacup with its body, ensuring Sima Min was unharmed.
"Prince Mingrui, are you disregarding the lives of these civilians?" Sima Min shouted with feigned ferocity, "You are the current Prince Mingrui. For a woman, you disregard the lives of the people. Aren't you afraid the people will be disheartened?"
The captured civilians and the surrounding people gasped.
"Prince Mingrui, you cannot ignore our lives. Prince Mingrui, just one person, Sheng Lengshuang, can save so many of us."
"Prince Mingrui, as a God of War, you must protect us; you cannot abandon us."
"I think Prince Mingrui has been bewitched by Sheng Lengshuang, unable to distinguish right from wrong in these important matters. This Sheng Lengshuang is probably a fox spirit reincarnated; she's too good at seducing men."
Mo Lingxi continued to protect Sheng Lengshuang, his fierce dark eyes sweeping across the crowd.
The onlookers were either scared away or dared not say another word, fearing they might truly anger Mo Lingxi.
Mo Lingxi's gaze, devoid of warmth, fell upon Sima Min: "Is this the method of sowing discord your good subordinate taught you?"
Sima Min's heart skipped a beat. Prince Mingrui was indeed Prince Mingrui; he saw through her tactics at a glance.
But she had to admit, this move was indeed effective.
"So what if it is, so what if it isn't? Now, Prince Mingrui, you have two choices. One, continue to protect Sheng Lengshuang, and all these civilians will die before your eyes. Two, you kill Sheng Lengshuang, and I will spare these civilians."
Mo Lingxi scoffed: "Do you take me for a fool? If I agree to you this time, you'll use the same trick to scheme against me or others next time."
Sima Min was not surprised that her intentions were seen through. She covered her mouth and laughed: "However, Prince Mingrui, you have no choice. As the God of War, you must protect these civilians."
"Therefore, I ask you to kill Sheng Lengshuang immediately. I want to see her die before my eyes."
This was truly satisfying; she could finally see that bitch Sheng Lengshuang die before her eyes. Next, she only needed to support a compliant person to seize power, and she would become the most noble woman.
Mo Lingxi would not do as she said: "I'll give you two choices as well. One, obediently release those civilians, and I'll leave you a complete corpse. Two, I'll kill you and leave you with no corpse at all."
Sima Min felt a pang of panic. She instinctively pulled a puppet in front of her: "Since Prince Mingrui says so, then I can only first kill..."
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.*
Several whistling sounds cut through the air.
Sheng Lengshuang watched as the puppet blocking Sima Min, Tao Er'er, was pierced through the brain by an arrow. The arrow carried him away, smashing him onto the ground.
The remaining arrows struck Tao Laoyezi and a few others. One arrow grazed Sima Min's ear.
Terrified, Sima Min screamed and hid under the table, her arrogant and haughty demeanor gone: "Kill them! Kill these lowly peasants, kill them!"
As the puppets were about to move, the whistling sounds continued from all directions, shooting towards these puppets and preventing them from approaching the civilians.
Even though the puppets were fearless of blades and could not feel pain, with so many arrows carrying immense penetrating force, they were unable to get close to the civilians.
Instead, Sima Min became the target of several archers.
"Ah! Help, help!" She used the table as a shield, her face pale with fright, and cried out, "Save me! Save me! Don't worry about those lowly peasants!"