Even Madam Wang blushed at such a blatant hint.

Madam Liu thought more deeply; Madam Chen's behavior clearly showed that she was unreasonable.

If we can't explain it clearly today, she might go out and spread the word that the two families are interested in getting married.

Even if things eventually come to a clear conclusion, our own family will definitely lose face.

So she immediately stood up and said loudly.

"Madam Chen, how good your daughter is is your business. You can be proud of her and go out of the city to choose a son-in-law!"

“But you don’t need to worry about our son. I said we won’t get married within two or three years, and that’s final!”

"I hope that Madam Chen will not covet other people's sons in the future. If any misunderstandings arise, don't blame me for not warning you."

After saying this, she nodded to Madam Wang and went back to the front banquet hall.

Because of the hot weather, the ladies who came to the banquet couldn't sit still and would occasionally go out for a walk together.

This commotion was naturally heard.

So when Madam Wang persuaded Madam Chen to also appear in the banquet hall, everyone's eyes were filled with a strong sense of gossip.

Madam Chen was just arrogant and proud, but not stupid.

She couldn't sit there any longer, so she made an excuse about having something to do at home and left early.

Needless to say, the Chen family and the Liu family have become enemies.

After the banquet, Madam Liu returned home and immediately explained the matter clearly.

Liu Zhiheng was so angry that he jumped up and down. "That girl from the Chen family lost all face after being taught a lesson by the princess. Later, she spoke arrogantly in the jewelry store and made herself fall off the list of candidates for the imperial concubine selection."

"Who would dare marry such an idiot? They must be out of their mind!"

"Does the Chen family think our Liu family are fools? How dare they covet our son!"

Grandpa Liu was also unhappy. Zhimin and Xiujie had both grown up in his sight, so he naturally doted on them more.

He had recently taken a liking to his old friend's granddaughter and was hoping that once the situation improved, he could try to let the two children spend more time together.

As a result, the Chen family actually shamelessly came to them.

"Hmph, the Chen family probably thinks we're ungrateful! Ignore them, just remember this."

"The situation is not good now. Anyone with a brain won't easily cause trouble."

"Once everything settles down, even if the Chen family doesn't do anything, our family will still teach them a lesson."

Liu Zhiheng and his wife both agreed, deciding to let the matter drop for the time being.

But Mrs. Chen couldn't accept it. For her, it was an immense humiliation that her precious daughter was being rejected.

After she got home, she went to her husband and cried, hoping that he would stand up for her and her daughter.

But Minister Chen was concerned about whether his niece could win the Crown Prince's favor, have children for the royal family as soon as possible, and bring glory to the family.

He has no time to deal with a useless daughter and a nagging old wife.

He'd rather spend this free time cuddling his concubine and listening to her flatter him.

As a result, Mrs. Chen caused trouble outside and sulked at home, almost losing her life in the process.

Once she finally got back on her feet, she started arranging marriages for her daughter everywhere, vowing to make sure her daughter married into a wealthy and influential family.

But these days, reputation is extremely important for a girl.

After all, no one can go to a girl's courtyard and stay there for days to get to know her properly; it's all just hearsay and word of mouth.

Miss Chen's "glorious" deeds were the most widely circulated in Xindu, and even paralyzed old mothers in ordinary households had heard about this exciting story.

Therefore, the good family didn't even include Miss Chen on their shortlist.

However, some merchants or declining families wanted to use Minister Chen's influence to get favors for themselves.

After searching around for a while, Madam Chen was filled with anger and finally resigned herself to her fate.

She took her daughter back to her parents' home in another city for a short stay, and found a scholar with a small family nearby...

Of course, that's a story for another time.

After the lively selection of the concubines, it was time for the third princess to get married.

The princess's residence, which had been built long ago, was located two streets away from the palace, in a place where wealthy families gathered. The Lu family was even only seven or eight households away from the princess's residence.

In the past few days, officials from the Ministry of Rites, along with many craftsmen, have thoroughly inspected the Princess's residence once again, striving to make it even more magnificent, grand, and tidy.

Eunuch Feng was so eager to run around that he would bring over the Third Princess's usual items time and time again, and then arrange them to her liking.

As for the dowry, it will be moved in with the wedding procession when the bride leaves home.

The Lu family also sent many people, bringing along some of the young master's usual items.

But compared to a princess, these things are far less common.

I don't know if it's because the young master is frugal or if he doesn't intend to stay at the princess's residence permanently...

The day before the wedding, Jiayin brought Shuiling and Shuiyun to the palace again to add to the dowry for the Third Princess.

Gu Qingqing, Mei Lan, and Xu Xi, who were unable to attend, entrusted their gifts to Jiayin.

As for Baozhu, Madam Jia was afraid that her daughter would speak recklessly and cause trouble in the palace, so she forcibly stopped her.

In just a few days, the Third Princess had lost a lot of weight. Jiayin felt sorry for her and wanted to comfort her, but she couldn't. Her eyes welled up with tears.

The Third Princess, however, was much more optimistic. She hugged Jiayin and comforted her, saying, "Why are you crying? I'm fine. I'm getting married tomorrow and escaping this cannibalistic cage."

"In the future, I'll have my own princess's palace and so much dowry. Once I have a child, I won't be afraid of anything. We can go shopping and play together then, how carefree that would be!"

Jiayin nodded, trying to control her emotions, and then smiled as she took out the gifts for the dowry one by one.

Xu Xi, Mei Lan, Gu Qingqing, and others listened to advice and prepared everything themselves.

There are round fans embroidered on both sides, mandarin duck shoes adorned with rice grains and pearls, and even gauze curtains embroidered with hundreds of sons and thousands of grandsons.

This all requires a lot of effort, which shows that everyone put in their best effort.

The third princess was very happy, looking at this and touching that, she couldn't put them down.

Of course, what the princess liked most was Jia Yin's set of jewelry and gold and jade pendant.

She joked, "You know me best. With this brand, the manager of Baiyun Pavilion is going to have a headache. I'll have to send someone to fetch freshly baked pastries every day."

"Eat whatever you want, I can afford this little bit of money. Everyone knows my nickname is Little God of Wealth!" Jiayin acted like a nouveau riche with plenty of money, which made the Third Princess laugh again.

After talking for a while, the Third Princess had tea and snacks prepared, and then took Jiayin to the garden to enjoy the breeze and admire the flowers.

As a result, the two ran into the prince as soon as they entered the garden.

The Crown Prince was pleasantly surprised and said with a smile, "I had a headache from reviewing memorials, so I came out for a walk. I didn't expect to run into my two younger sisters."

The Third Princess and Jiayin naturally wouldn't send him away; instead, they invited him to sit with them.

The weather was still as hot as ever, but sitting on the waterside pavilion, the breeze carrying the moisture from the water was quite refreshing and pleasant.

The three were familiar with each other and spoke without any reservations, enjoying themselves immensely.

But then, an uninvited guest barged in, shattering the relaxed atmosphere.

A radiant woman in a light red dress, accompanied by two palace maids, walked gracefully along the way, occasionally stopping to pick a flower or chase a butterfly, fully displaying her beautiful figure and "innocent liveliness".

Two updates today!