Chapter 411

When Princess Yuanqing appeared at the flower‑viewing gathering, all the noble ladies froze for a moment, their gazes snapping toward the garden gate.

Ordinary commoners probably aren't aware of the inside story, but the fathers, elder brothers, sons and nephews of these noble ladies mostly hold posts in the court.

Back then, in that suburban temple, the disgraceful conduct between Princess Yuanqing and the Third Prince was laid bare for all to see—not just one or two people, but a whole crowd witnessed it.

Consequently, when they returned home they would chat about these matters with their families.

They had expected Princess Yuanqing to restrain herself a little, given that such shameful conduct is despicable; yet they never imagined she would not only fail to reflect, but stride arrogantly to the Shang Jing ladies' flower‑viewing gathering, clearly treating those past scandals as nothing.

Although everyone looked down on this woman, after all she is a princess of Bei Di.

Several people had no choice but to rise and pay their respects to Princess Yuanqing.

Princess Yuanqing slightly lifted her chin, coldly gazing at the woman before her, her expression haughty and dismissive.

Not long after, another carriage approached, having come out of the palace.

A delicate, frail young lady was helped down from the carriage; her figure swayed gracefully, her attire splendid and noble, yet her face was veiled with a thin gauze.

This was none other than the rumored Princess Fuqing, who had contracted a strange illness and had her visage ruined.

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When Princess Yuanqing previously visited Southern Qi as a guest, the princesses of Southern Qi had to come out to accompany her.

Now that Princess Changping has encountered such a major incident, she has been sent to a temple in the suburbs of the capital to observe Buddhist practice with her hair left uncut.

These diplomatic receptions and farewells fall to Princess Fuqing, who must shoulder this important duty.

Earlier, several small banquets had already been held in the palace; Princess Fuqing stood in for Princess Changping, handling both receptions and arrangements without a single mistake.

Recently, Princess Fuqing has gradually gained the favor of Emperor Longqing,

even the Empress Dowager Ning'an considers her, despite her young age, to act with such steadiness and has given her additional praise.

This time, with Princess Yuanqing's arrival, Princess Fuqing had no choice but to stand beside her as a companion.

Princess Yuanqing looked at her and felt a surge of hatred. If it weren't for this lowly wretch falling ill and being unable to marry, why would she have come from Bei Di to Southern Qi to suffer this undeserved humiliation?

Xiao Yin has now been poisoned, his life or death unknown; unexpectedly, the Southern Qi emperor assigned her a eunuch as a consort, and she genuinely cannot bring herself to like this person.

Everyone this time is waiting to see her make a fool of herself, yet she insists on showing the world that she remains a Bei Di princess, not some joke.

If she wished, the noble ladies present would find it hard to escape her poisonous hand.

Princess Fuqing appeared beside Princess Yuanqing, and for a moment the noble ladies in the garden rose one after another to greet the two princesses.

Princess Yuanqing did not return the greeting, taking the seat of honor.

Princess Fuqing frowned slightly; the seat of honor is normally the host's place, yet she never expected this Bei Di woman to be so arrogant and overbearing.

Without showing any emotion, she ordered a cushioned stool to be moved, placed it in the same spot of honor, then carefully lifted her skirt and sat in the upper seat beside Princess Yuanqing.

Although both were seated in places of honor, Princess Fuqing's rank still outweighed that of Princess Yuanqing.

Princess Yuanqing's brows knit tightly; she was about to flare up, but Princess Fuqing was conducting these rites according to protocol.

Wanting to erupt but finding no opening, she merely gave a cold snort, sat upright, and idly pinched the fruit before her to eat.

The surrounding noble ladies also sat cautiously at the side, each feeling a twinge of resentment.

Having finally found such an opportunity to go out for an spring outing and enjoy the scenery, the sisters sipped a few cups of sweet wine and exchanged anecdotes from their boudoirs.

Unexpectedly, Princess Yuanqing sat there prim and proper; they wanted to speak but dared not, so they could only sit quietly beside her.

For a moment the flower‑viewing gathering grew dull, as if they were seated in a Buddhist hall chanting sutras.

"Hmph, truly boring."

Princess Yuanqing tossed the fruit pit from her hand onto the table, then uttered wild words.

"When Gu Jiu Ling that wretch was alive we could still hold polo matches for some fun."

"Now that wretch is dead, you all act as if you've lost your backbone—speak up, why are you just standing there?"

Princess Yuanqing's remarks were somewhat unreasonable, repeatedly calling her a wretch, insulting and cursing the deceased consort of the Prince Rui's mansion; the surrounding noble ladies' faces instantly shifted.

Suddenly a woman dressed in a plain‑colored liuxian robe rose to her feet.

The ladies turned toward the sound and saw it was Lin Rujun, the eldest daughter of the An'guo Gongfu.

This Lin family young lady is not one to be trifled with; she usually enjoys martial practice, and lately she has become even more fearless.

Both Lady Lin and the elderly matriarch have long since stopped trying to manage her, letting her nature take its course.

She even mingles daily with the young marquis of the princess's manor; it is said that Young Marquis Chengming built a drill field in the suburbs, training elite troops and studying military tactics.

This has left the An'guo Gongfu in distress from top to bottom; the Lin family young lady has strayed ever further from the path of a proper lady, and now there is no pulling her back.

These days the old matriarch Lin is truly worried about her granddaughter's marriage prospects; nowadays hardly any matchmakers come knocking, and looking across Shang Jing, whose daughter is as madcap as the Lin girl, constantly consorting with bands of men, her reputation having long since spread.

The old lady Lin fell seriously ill from anger, after which Lin Rujun finally restrained herself a bit, calming down to attend her grandmother for a period.

Seeing her become increasingly obedient, the grandmother's heart relaxed a little.

Coincidentally, today the noble ladies of Shang Jing are holding a flower‑viewing gathering, so the old lady Lin let her attend as well, to learn from other aristocratic families' proper ladies how to be a qualified young woman—only then would anyone come forward to propose marriage.

Lin Rujun, suppressing her nature, had already been sitting in this grove for a long while, hearing only the boudoir topics she found uninteresting.

Embroidered handkerchiefs, the young masters of the eastern family, the gentlemen of the western house—she had heard enough to make her ears callous; she would rather be dancing swords in the drill ground for comfort and satisfaction.

These days, at the princess's manor drill ground, aside from finding Chengming displeasing to the eye, everything else was utterly wonderful.

Today she had originally planned to wait until the banquet ended, then go to the drill ground to rehearse tactics with Chengming; but just as she was about to rise, Princess Yuanqing and Princess Fuqing arrived.

These noble ladies naturally could not leave immediately, so they could only suppress their impatience and wait.

Unexpectedly, Princess Yuanqing, arrogant and domineering, need not have spoken at all, but as soon as she sat down she began cursing the deceased consort of Prince Rui's mansion.

Repeatedly calling her a wretch, the other noble ladies felt nothing in particular, after all Gu Jiu Ling's reputation in Shang Jing was not great to begin with, and their acquaintance with her was rather shallow.

Yet hearing it, Lin Rujun found it especially grating; she could no longer suppress the anger rising in her chest, she slapped the table and stood up.

"Your Highness Princess, although you are an honored guest from Bei Di, the Princess Consort of Rui is also a Princess Consort of our Southern Qi."

"Besides, the deceased deserves respect; he has already perished in the fire at the Chunwan Tower, and it is one stone three clear—now Your Highness keeps calling that wretch, which seems improper; could it be that the upbringing of your local aristocracy is also like this?"

Yuanqing originally felt indignant; everyone says Gu Jiu Ling was burned to death—could it be that what he saw in the temple before was a ghost? He clearly was schemed against by Gu Jiu Ling, yet no one believes him; even now, with his shortsightedness and still someone speaking up for Gu Jiu Ling, he cannot utter a word.

He was merely relying on these maidens being timid, not daring to talk back, never expecting that a hot-headed youth would actually show up and confront him.