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Jiang Xi was brought into the Sky Blue Courtyard where the ladies gathered.
She arrived a bit late, and many noble young ladies had already taken their seats in the well-ventilated Flower Pavilion, sipping tea and chatting, creating a lively atmosphere.
"Your Highness, Lady Jiang has arrived," a maid announced, and in an instant, the room fell silent.
All eyes turned towards Jiang Xi. A girl in a pale yellow dress, holding a teacup, spoke up with a sour tone, "Jiang Jiao, isn't that your elder sister? Why didn't you come together?"
Jiang Jiao was somewhat surprised by Jiang Xi's sudden appearance. However, harboring resentment over the three thousand taels of silver she had failed to obtain, she joined in the mockery, "Elder Sister, I went to the Regent's Palace last night. Even if I wanted to come with you, there was no chance."
Huai'an Princess Lin Jia stood up and walked towards Jiang Xi, confronting the snide young ladies. "There is a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children; respect and hierarchy must be observed. Jiang Xi is Feng Yang's only Eldest Daughter. It's perfectly normal for Jiang Jiao not to accompany her. What’s there to question?"
As she spoke, she took Jiang Xi's arm. "Lady Jiang, come sit over here; don't mind them."
Seeing how the birthday girl treated Jiang Xi today, the others felt a pang of jealousy.
Jiang Xi felt a stir in her heart; Huai'an Princess seemed not as domineering and spoiled as rumored but rather somewhat amiable.
At that moment, a woman spoke up sarcastically, "Jiajia, this Princess doesn't want to sit with someone of questionable character. Arrange for Lady Jiang to sit elsewhere."
As soon as these words were spoken, the air in the Flower Pavilion thickened, and several women at the table wore expressions of anticipation.
The speaker was Fong Le, the Little Princess of King Duan's mansion and a cousin of the current emperor. She was of the same generation as Eldest Princess and even Huai'an Princess had to address her as cousin aunt.
However, due to their similar ages and both being Royal Relatives, such distinctions had long been overlooked; they simply called each other by name when they met.
Upon hearing this remark, Huai'an Princess frowned slightly and said, "Lady Jiang has come all this way. Fong Le, don’t make things difficult for her."
Fong Le sneered, "Make things difficult for her? The rumors in the imperial city yesterday—what wasn’t said about this Lady Jiang? If she dares to do those things, why should she fear what others say?"
Jiang Xi silently observed them, pondering: These noble families still look down on me just because my mother came from a merchant background. How ridiculous these people are.
The girl in the pale yellow dress chimed in again, "Exactly! Since she has done shameless things, she should bear the criticism. But after all, a daughter of merchants is different from us; she probably doesn’t even know what shame is."
Suddenly, a loud slap echoed through the room as someone struck the girl speaking before she could finish her sentence.
Startled and furious, the girl stood up and shouted loudly, "How dare you hit me?"
Han Yue shook his hand and spoke with authority, "My name is Han Yue, and I am a guard of the Regent's Palace. I am here under the orders of my lord to protect the young lady. Anyone who dares to disrespect her will face my wrath. If anyone has objections, they can take it up with my lord."
His words rang out powerfully.
The woman who was about to explode in anger suddenly changed her expression, covering her face and sitting back down with a thud, her face extremely unpleasant, unable to utter a single word.
The other women lowered their heads in embarrassment, feeling both disdain for Jiang Xi and intimidated by Regent Fong Yang's iron-fisted presence. For a moment, no one dared to speak.
Seeing this, Han Yue couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and contempt. He thought to himself: How dare the daughter of a noble family look down on my lady? Why does she fall silent at the mention of my lord's name?
Jiang Xi smiled faintly and elegantly took her seat, calmly saying, "It seems that I am not only famous among the gossiping aunties; even you young ladies of the Princesses are so interested in my affairs. Princess Fong Le just mentioned that I did those things, but I truly have no idea what I did. Perhaps you could enlighten me?"
Princess Fong Le looked coldly at Jiang Xi. "You know very well what you've done. How dare you ask this Princess for clarification? What do you think you are?"
Jiang Xi leisurely sipped her tea. "Hmm. I indeed do not consider myself anything special. However, Fong Yang has said he wishes to marry me, and soon enough, Princess Fong Le will have to call me that. I wonder if that qualifies me?"
At these words, Princess Fong Le jumped up in fury, shouting, "Are you dreaming?"
Jiang Xi smiled lightly as Han Yue chimed in cheerfully, "The young lady is not dreaming; my lord truly has said he wishes to marry her. We are just waiting for her approval."
Princess Fong Le's face froze completely; she still couldn't believe that Uncle Emperor would be interested in a woman as ordinary as Jiang Xi.
The other women exchanged glances; the Regent was someone even the emperor feared, and they were all apprehensive about potential repercussions. Jiang Xi looked over and calmly said, "Princess Fong Le, you still haven't clarified things for me."
Princess Fong Le slammed down her teacup with a cold snort. "Who doesn't know that you abandoned Huo Xingwen for Uncle Emperor? Do you really think no one is talking about your actions?"
Fong Miaomiao also sneered softly, "Exactly! Even if you silence us, can you silence the voices of the world?"
Jiang Xi's lips curled slightly as she gazed at them with calm eyes. "Why can't we silence them? Just pull out the tongues of all those who speak ill and make sure they can never speak again—wouldn't that do the trick?"
The noble ladies shivered, their faces turning as pale as death.
As the Eldest Daughter of Feng Yang, she had always been bullied and ostracized by the daughters of noble families simply because her mother came from a merchant background.
Jiang Xi attended Huai'an Princess's birthday banquet and was once again subjected to cold mockery from royal ladies.
Yet Jiang Xi remained unperturbed, her gaze calm as she looked at those around her. What was so difficult about silencing gossip? Just pull out the tongues of those who spread rumors and ensure they could never speak again—wasn't that an easy solution?
“ Han Shuang, tell the prince to start sending people to patrol the imperial city from tomorrow. Anyone who dares to speak ill of me and the prince should be captured and have their tongues cut out.”
Upon hearing Jiang Xi's words, Han Shuang coldly replied, “Yes, I will certainly convey this to the prince.”
Without hesitation, the noble ladies felt a chill run down their spines, their faces turning ashen.
Jiang Jiao forced a smile and said, “Sister, why get so worked up? We were just joking; you shouldn’t take it to heart.”
Jiang Xi raised an eyebrow slightly. “You joke about my reputation. Han Yue, make sure to remember everything they just said and let the prince hear it when we return. Let’s see if he thinks it’s a joke.”
Han Yue chirped, “Understood. I will relay every word without missing a single one.”
Princess Fong Le stared intently at Jiang Xi, her eyes filled with sarcasm, as if mocking her silently.
Jiang Xi didn’t care at all; Fong Yang’s title was useful—why not use it?
These noble ladies, who considered themselves superior, were also relying on their backgrounds to suppress others. If it came down to skills, who among them was truly better than her?
Having suffered too many losses in her past life, she would not let anyone take advantage of her in this life except for compensating her mother and Fong Yang.
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