Chen Mianmian was on the verge of tears—why did things turn out this way? What if the princess really finds out about Jiang Yinjin? Surely the princess won't kill Jiang Yinjin?

Good heavens! Can't we at least give Jiang Yinjin a suspended death sentence? Two years would be fine, let's talk about it after she leaves this place!

Princess Ryan glanced at Liu Xiangning, who was kneeling on the ground and looked weak, and said, "Get up and sit down to talk."

“...Yes, Your Highness.” Originally, Liu Xiangning planned to kneel down to say this, but seeing that the princess had even yelled at Chen Mianmian, she quickly pretended to be more obedient than a dog and scrambled to her feet.

Liu Xiangning sat down next to Chen Mianmian and secretly glanced at her.

Princess Ryan said coldly, "Tell me everything you know, down to the smallest detail. If you do well, I will reward you. But if you dare to conceal anything or deliberately distort the facts, I will let you taste my power."

Liu Xiangning was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she secretly looked at Chen Mianmian with pleading eyes.

Chen Mianmian said softly, "Just say what you know. Her Highness the Princess is discerning and will not wrong any innocent person."

Liu Xiangning breathed a sigh of relief—it was strange, she found that she immediately felt safe whenever she was near Shen Mianmian.

From childhood to adulthood, her intuition has always been very accurate. Yaotaifang is not as poetic and picturesque as its name suggests; it is a place of survival of the fittest and full of dangers.

Because of this intuition, she avoided many deadly dangers.

"It's like this: Lady Xuanping brought Lord Huo and his wife, Lady Zhou, to the Anning Marquis's residence. There they met Concubine Shen, and upon hearing this, the two women started arguing. Lady Zhou insisted that Lord Huo liked Concubine Shen, while Lord Huo denied it."

Later, the gatekeeper received a handkerchief from an unknown person, who said it belonged to Consort Shen. Lord Huo saw it, put it away, and placed it in his study. Normally, since Lord Huo had given the gatekeeper money to keep quiet, Madam Zhou should not have known about this matter, or even if she did, she would have revealed it only after some time.

But Madam Zhou found out the very next day! Taking advantage of Lord Huo's absence, she went into the study and found the handkerchief. It is said that Madam Zhou went to the Marquis of Anning's residence that very day to confront him.

Therefore, this humble woman believes that besides Zhou Shi wanting to harm Consort Shen, there must be someone else who wants to harm her, and it is highly likely that that person is someone close to Consort Shen.

"..." Chen Mianmian—no, this brat, she's not smart when she should be, fighting in front of everyone; and now she's not smart at all, yet she's become Sherlock Holmes? Should we rename her Liu Di Renjie?

The others were taken aback when they heard this.

Princess Ryan immediately looked at Madam Ding, "Ah Xuan, what happened?"

Ding's face was pale, her eyes filled with panic and confusion. "Your Highness, I...I knew nothing about it! If I knew, would I have allowed Mianmian to be harmed?"

Princess Rui'an narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "In your Anning Marquis's mansion, apart from the stubborn Anning Marquis who is not at home and Qingzhou, there are only three masters: you, Mianmian, and Jiang Yinjin. If it is not you, then it must be Jiang Yinjin."

Sleepyhead—Oh no, oh no, oh no! What should I do?

Madam Ding was even more alarmed, "Yinjin? This...no way? Yinjin comes from a scholarly family. Her father was the top scholar in the imperial examination back then, and her brother was also a third-place scholar. When it comes to the Jiang family, who doesn't say that the family has a good reputation? The Jiang family has an upright character? How could this be..."

Princess Rui'an rubbed her temples helplessly. "Just because someone has a respectable appearance doesn't mean they're kind-hearted and harmless. Let's not even talk about that. The women in the harem and the inner quarters all look delicate and lovely, but they're all ruthless. Just consider this: your Anning Marquis's mansion married Jiang Yinjin, but Qingzhou doesn't like her and hasn't even slept with her. How could Jiang Yinjin not have any complaints?"

Liu Xiangning was shocked—what? The young master Bai hadn't even shared a room with his wife for Chen Mianmian's sake?!

How did Chenmian manage to stay asleep?

Princess Ruian likes her, Lady Anning likes her, and Prince Bai remains chaste for her. Is Chen Mianmian perhaps the goddess of slender horses?!

Thinking about it, his eyes unconsciously drifted to the woman beside him.

Shen Mianmian felt the burning gaze and looked in that direction, only to see Liu Xiangning staring intently at her, her eyes sparkling like starry eyes from a comic book.

"Why...why are you looking at me like that?" she asked softly.

Liu Xiangning bit her lip excitedly and whispered, "Because of my admiration! Shen Shen, could you please teach me? Please!"

Chen Mianmian subconsciously moved to the side, "Who's your aunt?"

Liu Xiangning quickly corrected herself, "The Goddess of Sleep!"

"..."

On the other side.

Ding also realized the problem and stammered, "Apart from Qingzhou, we haven't treated her badly at all..."

Princess Ryan scoffed, "How can it not be stingy? Tell me."

Ding's voice was even softer, "He rewarded...some things..."

"Oh? What was the reward?"

Ding then recounted all the gifts she had given Jiang Yinjin since she entered the mansion, only to be met with a sneer from Princess Ruian: "This is all the stuff you've given her, which adds up to less than a thousand taels of silver. Is that supposed to compensate her for being mistreated and living a widowed life after marrying into your family?"

Ding was scolded until her face turned red, "...This humble woman...This humble woman still trusts her very much..."

"How could you trust her? Did you give her the key to your manor's vault?"

"No... no, I... I entrusted her with managing some of the family property..." Ding Shi became more and more guilty as she spoke, because she knew that Jiang Yinjin not only helped earn money by managing the Marquis's family property, but also contributed some money.

Seeing Ding's guilty look, Princess Ruian only sneered a few times and did not continue to kick her while she was down. "Now you know that Jiang Yinjin is resentful, right? Put yourself in her shoes. If you were Jiang Yinjin, wouldn't you hate Mianmian? Wouldn't you harm Mianmian? If I were Jiang Yinjin, I would wipe out not only Mianmian, but the entire Anning Marquis's Mansion!"

Chen Mianmian nodded – Yes, yes, Jiang Yinjin thought so too.

As expected of a leading lady, they all have the same thought process.

Therefore, that naive and innocent lady was destined to be cannon fodder.

Finally abandoning her illusions and facing reality, Madam Ding sighed, "Yes, it is our Marquis's mansion that has wronged Yin Jin, so let's just let this matter go. I will think carefully about how to make it up to Yin Jin later."

"Why should I make it up to her?" Princess Ryan raised an eyebrow, raising her voice as well. "If she hasn't harmed anyone, then she should be compensated accordingly; if she has, I will not let her off the hook. Also, don't be a fence-sitter, listening to whatever people say."

Use your brain! Your Marquis's family may be at fault, but is Jiang Yinjin innocent? The marriage is between the two families. Knowing that Qingzhou brought a woman back, why didn't his family make a scene? Why didn't they annul the engagement? Isn't it because they covet the power of the Marquis of Anning's family?

After the wedding, what actions did Jiang Yinjin take to win the emperor's favor? Did she put any effort into Qingzhou? Regarding what you told me, I haven't heard of Jiang Yinjin making any effort. She's already married into a higher social class; why doesn't she try to curry favor, expecting the dignified heir to fawn over her? Without a noble destiny, where does this air of superiority come from?!