Chapter 91 Arrival

Jiang Qingning lowered her eyes and followed the maid who led the way into the garden where the unmarried women lived.

Her appearance was like a drop of water falling into a boiling oil pan, and Jiang Qingning's familiar gaze reappeared around her.

Her jawline was extremely taut and her back was as straight as a bamboo.

"Look, who's here?"

A proud female voice sounded, attracting Jiang Qingning to look in the direction of the voice.

At the end of the flower path, a girl in gorgeous dress appeared, surrounded by stars like the moon.

The fiery red riding clothes outlined her agile figure, with a soft golden whip tied around her waist, her black hair tied up high, and a dazzling red gold and kingfisher feather hairpin in her hair.

Her eyebrows were raised, like the scorching sun at noon. Her beautiful yet sharp almond eyes were fixed on Jiang Qingning, and a proud arc appeared at the corners of her lips.

Princess Shanyang Li Youwei.

Jiang Qingning positioned her in his mind.

"Isn't this our Miss Jiang who just came out of the palace as a reward?"

A noble lady quickly agreed, her face filled with joy.

Li Youwei pushed through the crowd and walked straight to Jiang Qingning, raising her chin slightly as she scanned Jiang Qingning's entire body.

The noble ladies formed a circle around Jiang Qingning and Li Youwei.

Seeing that Li Youwei, the host, did not say anything to stop him, he could not help but speak boldly:

"They say the palace's feng shui is good for health, but why does Miss Jiang look like she's been drained of energy?"

"I almost forgot that Lord and Mrs. Jiang went to Lingnan to serve the country. Is Miss Jiang overly worried?"

Every word was wrapped in sharp thorns, carrying a sense of gloating, piercing Jiang Qingning's apparent calmness.

Jiang Qingning quietly clenched his hands in his sleeves, his nails digging deep into his palms, bringing a sharp pain, barely suppressing the blood surging in his chest.

She raised her eyes and met Li Youwei's bright and curious eyes. Her lips moved slightly and she was about to speak.

Li Youwei's eyebrows were filled with impatience, and she shouted arrogantly, "Shut up, my princess! When did the noble ladies of the capital learn to act like such a sycophantic woman?"

Jiang Qingning was surprised and looked up at Li Youwei. He keenly caught the embarrassment in Li Youwei's eyes and was slightly stunned.

"What are you looking at? Be careful or I'll be rude to you!"

Li Youwei looked at her and took a big step back in an instant.

A sudden commotion came from the direction of the moon gate, interrupting the strange atmosphere at the scene.

Jiang Qingning and Li Youwei turned around and saw a woman in a brand new lilac dress walking in slowly, carefully supported by two maids.

Her belly was slightly protruding, and she walked slowly, holding her lower abdomen with both hands.

Jiang Ruyi's face was sickly pale, but her eyes were extremely resentful. She looked at Jiang Qingning with hatred in her eyes.

Li Youwei noticed her gaze and asked loudly, "Who is she?"

Jiang Qingning saw Jiang Ruyi's show-off attitude and sneered.

After a brief moment of astonishment, the garden suddenly erupted with even more blatant sneers and whispers than before.

"Isn't this Jiang Ruyi, the daughter of the Jiang family's second branch, who married the Earl of Anping two months ago?"

"I heard that she was imprisoned in the Jingsi Hall of the Anping Marquis's mansion because of her cruel methods and her attempt to persecute the Anping Marquis' concubine?"

"Her parents went to the Anping Marquis's residence and made a scene on the second day of her wedding, but it didn't change anything. It seems she was able to come out because she was pregnant."

"Look at this belly, it might be a double blessing in advance."

"The eldest branch of the Jiang family has one father and brother exiled, and the second branch is pregnant before marriage. This is the Jiang family's tradition, huh."

As soon as Jiang Ruyi walked in, she heard these malicious taunts.

Her body shook noticeably, her face was as pale as paper, the hand that was holding her belly was trembling, and her resentful eyes were fixed on Jiang Qingning.

"Bang!"

The sound of breaking porcelain suddenly rang out, startling the noble ladies present.

Li Youwei had returned to the main seat and sat down without her knowing. At her feet was a pile of fragments of precious white porcelain teacups. Tea splashed everywhere, wetting her bright red skirt.

Her pretty face was filled with anger, her eyebrows were raised, one hand was on the golden whip at her waist, and she shouted angrily at the stunned ladies in the garden:

"It's so noisy. Do all the people have tongues that can only chew maggots? Isn't this buzzing annoying?"

Li Youwei's voice was clear, with an unquestionable pampering and arrogance, instantly suppressing all discussions. Her almond-shaped eyes swept across the room sharply, finally landing on Jiang Qingning's calm face.

"You, Jiang Qingning, right? Come and accompany this princess to see the peonies!"

Li Youwei raised her chin and ordered Jiang Qingning, "What are you standing there for? Come here quickly and stay away from these chatterboxes!"

After she finished speaking, she turned around and strode towards the peony garden with her head held high, regardless of the shocked reactions of the people present.

Jiang Qingning stepped up to follow, adapting to Li Youwei's unique domineering and rude way of resolving the situation.

The two walked one after the other until they arrived at a magnificent peony garden.

Jiang Qingning stopped a few steps behind her, waiting quietly for Li Youwei's next move.

Li Youwei's fingers fiddled with the dark purple petals somewhat roughly. The scorching sun fell on her fiery red riding clothes, and golden spots of light danced.

"snort."

Li Youwei suddenly snorted and said in an awkward tone, "Don't think I was helping you just now. I just hate those people more. They're hypocritical, noisy, and like a group of flies circling around rotten meat."

Jiang Qingning couldn't help feeling nauseous when listening to her vivid metaphor.

"And you, with your submissive, willing-to-be-ruled-up appearance, even watched this princess feel humiliated. You're the daughter of a military commander, and you've got so little backbone?"

Jiang Qingning opened his mouth and agreed helplessly: "The princess is right."

Li Youwei was obviously very dissatisfied with this answer. She turned around abruptly, her bright almond-shaped eyes filled with scrutiny and an inexplicable irritation.

"This princess is asking you, are you really in love with Qin Xiu?"

Jiang Qingning was stunned and blinked, "Your Highness and I..."

"This is the new tribute from Lingnan, Concubine's Smile. It's said that with the abundant rain this year, the sweetness is just right. Would you two like to try it?"

The two of them were shocked and turned around suddenly.

Li Youwei was shocked and ashamed of being caught, while Jiang Qingning was shaken when he thought of what Qin Xiu had said before.

Behind the bright flower shadows, Qin Xiuxin's tall and straight figure appeared, strolling leisurely in the garden.

He was wearing a dark black brocade robe with dark cloud patterns and a jade belt around his waist, which made his broad shoulders and narrow waist look naturally noble.

"Jiang Qingning, do you want to try it?"

Qin Xiu raised the bamboo basket in his hand and handed it to Jiang Qingning. It was full of tempting red lychees.

"This is a recent gift from His Majesty. When I heard you were here, I sent it over for you to try. Why did you end up here?"

Jiang Qingning suddenly raised his eyes and met Qin Xiu's bottomless eyes.