Chapter 1 Chapter 1 If you dare to talk nonsense again, believe it or not...

It was spring, the time of the year in February when the sun was warm and the season of hibernation was coming to an end. The elegant spring gathering at the residence of Duke Xue of Qi was a lively scene.

The flowing water is full of flowers, and spring is far away. The noble ladies of the aristocratic families are like clusters of spring flowers, their faces bright and beautiful. At this moment, they gather at the Yangliu Pond Terrace to enjoy tea, listen to the zither, and chat and joke.

"That's Nie Xiangyi? Why is she here?"

Whispering accompanied by the gentle sound of piano came, and everyone's curious eyes fell on the absent-minded girl not far away.

The girl they were looking at was holding her chin with her hand, as if she was staring at the peach blossoms blooming beside the water pavilion in a daze.

Different from the elegant and graceful beauty that is currently sought after in the capital, Nie Xiangyi's face is extremely beautiful and undeniably gorgeous.

Her skin was as white as jade, and her features were picturesque. Her cat-like eyes, slightly tilted upward, were particularly lively and intelligent. A small red mole on the tip of her delicate, radiant nose gave her an indescribable, lazy charm.

"I heard that Nie Xiangyi was confined to his home by Yongyi Hou for offending the mistress."

As he spoke, someone gently touched the hand of a beautiful girl beside him with his arm, "Yuan Wei, why was she released?"

The girl she mentioned seemed to have some similarities in her eyes and eyebrows with Nie Xiangyi who was not far away.

But compared to Nie Xiangyi's beauty, Nie Yuanwei is more graceful and elegant, and her every move is more dignified, with a bit of the steady demeanor of a lady from an aristocratic family.

She pursed her lips and smiled softly at the girls, her words hinting at helplessness, "My eldest sister is of noble status, and father wouldn't be willing to confine her for too long."

With these words, everyone understood.

It’s not that I’m reluctant, but I don’t dare.

Everyone knows that the Nie family of Yongyi Marquisate is now just a ruined marquisate with an empty title.

However, Nie Xiangyi's mother, who died young and was the first wife of Marquis Yongyi, was the most beloved daughter of General Anxi.

After the wife of Marquis Yongyi passed away in her prime, General Anxi took pity on Nie Xiangyi, who had lost her mother at a young age, and brought her back to Shanzhou to take care of her personally, doting on her.

As a result, she developed a willful and indulgent character, which was very different from the other noble ladies in the capital.

"Is that Nie Xiangyi?"

Suddenly, a beautiful and dignified woman set her eyes on Nie Xiangyi, looked her up and down, and said disdainfully, "As expected, you are born with a somewhat arrogant look."

Her voice was neither loud nor soft, but just loud enough for Nie Xiangyi to hear.

Nie Xiangyi then looked in the direction of the voice and recognized the woman as Pei Lang, Miss Liu of the Pei family.

The Pei family is a well-known family of integrity in the capital. Pei Lang's grandfather was a Jinzi Guanglu doctor and had once been the teacher of the current emperor. Now he teaches the princes and is extremely prestigious in the court.

Sure enough, someone echoed her, saying, "That's right, she's incredibly arrogant! She's incredibly willful and capricious. Just ask Yuan Wei and you'll know!"

Seeing that they mentioned herself again, Nie Yuanwei seemed to have something to say but couldn't express it. She just pursed her lips and smiled bitterly without saying a word.

"Why bother asking her?" someone else chimed in. "She's probably already famous in the capital. At the welcoming banquet she held when she returned to the capital a few days ago, she praised Wang Jiawulang's handsomeness in public, making him blush!"

"Not only that! A few days ago at Qingji, she saw the Third Prince and chased after him enthusiastically."

When the Third Prince was mentioned, everyone couldn't help but widen their eyes.

The Third Prince they were referring to was the current Third Prince, Xie Zhi, the son of the current Imperial Concubine. Born with a graceful figure, his demeanor was as serene and noble as a cold moon in the sky, aloof and aloof.

Many noble ladies in the capital admired him.

Someone curiously asked, "Is the Third Prince blushing too?"

"How could that be? The Third Prince is such a self-disciplined and respectful person that he didn't even pay any attention to her. It was Nie Xiangyi who fell down and went back with her skirt dirty."

Everyone couldn't help but sigh, "This is so shameless. She doesn't even have the dignity of a girl. She's afraid that others don't know that she's returned to the capital to discuss marriage."

There was already a hint of contempt in his words.

"Who told her grandfather to be so powerful and dote on her?"

Someone tutted, "She's so rude and frivolous, and has such a willful and capricious temper. Even the Yongyi Marquis's wife can't control her! Yes! It was Yuan Wei who told me that she made the Marquis's wife so angry a few days ago that she couldn't get out of bed."

Nie Yuanwei just smiled awkwardly and kept silent.

All these discussions reached Nie Xiangyi's ears from time to time.

She has always been a flamboyant person, and she couldn't help but sneer when she heard such criticism of her.

"So this elegant gathering in the capital is no different from a street market. With all this chatter, I thought it was just some village maid gossiping."

Her voice was lively and brisk, and even such sarcastic words were made playful and lively, almost like a joke.

As she spoke, she covered her mouth and laughed, not hiding the contempt in her tone at all.

It seems to be getting worse.

Everyone's expression changed when they heard her sarcastic words.

Nie Yuanwei's expression also changed slightly, so she smiled gently and tried to smooth things over. "Don't be angry, elder sister. The girls just said a few extra words because you didn't recognize me. There's no other meaning behind this."

Pei Lang chuckled at her words, and said with a hint of meaning, "That's right. We've only ever heard that Yuan Wei is the eldest daughter of the Nie family. How could another Miss Nie suddenly show up? We can't recognize her."

Nie Xiangyi could hear the sarcasm in her tone and couldn't help but compete with her.

"You don't know that I am the first wife and legitimate child of the Yongyi Marquisate. I just haven't lived in the capital."

She raised her chin and glanced at Pei Lang and Nie Yuanwei, snorting softly, full of pride and arrogance, like a kitten with its head held high.

"When my mother was still alive, the second girl's mother was just a concubine."

Sisters had always been affectionately addressed by nicknames. Now she was calling her "Second Miss" all the time, and publicly pointing out the background of Nie Yuanwei's mother's second wife was tantamount to insulting her.

Nie Yuanwei's dignified and gentle face suddenly froze. She lowered her head slightly and used a silk handkerchief to cover up her embarrassment.

Nie Xiangyi was too lazy to waste time talking to them.

She had just returned to the capital from Shanzhou and was unfamiliar with these noble ladies. Only Zhong Lingyu, the wife of the Crown Prince of the Duke's Mansion, was her cousin and someone she knew very well.

It was just that a distinguished guest came to the front yard, and her cousin had to go and accompany him, leaving her alone.

I'm at my cousin's house today, and I can't cause her any trouble.

So Nie Xiangyi stood up on his own, walked to the edge of the waterside pavilion in the distance, climbed down a peach tree from the side branches, held it in his hand and admired it, no longer paying attention to the crowd.

It was spring, and the trees were in full bloom. Seeing the gorgeous petals, two or three noble ladies stood up hand in hand and walked to the waterside pavilion, looking up to admire the clusters of peach blossoms.

"The color of Miss Nie's clothes today matches the peach blossoms."

She wanted to stay away, but someone wouldn't let her go and started looking her clothes up and down.

Although this is a nice thing to say, it always sounds a bit sarcastic.

Today she wore a peach-pink, gold-sprinkled pleated skirt that accentuated her slender figure, her skin as smooth as cream and as radiant as a peach blossom. She also held a branch of peach blossoms in her hand, complementing the two, making her look like a fairy in a painting.

She looked down at the hem of her skirt and didn't feel anything was wrong.

Pei Lang, who was standing by, scoffed at the girl's words and said, "It's just a vulgar man paired with a vulgar flower. It ruins the elegance of this waterside pavilion."

She slowly approached Nie Xiangyi, glanced at the peach blossoms, and giggled, "Miss Nie, your bright pink dress looks like a country girl coming to the market."

His words were full of sarcasm and his expression was contemptuous.

She returned the ridicule she had just made against them as "country maids".

After saying this, the girls around couldn't help but cover their mouths and laugh.

Even Nie Yuanwei couldn't help but raise the corners of her lips slightly, but seemed to feel that it was inappropriate, so she covered it with the silk.

"You are so elegant!" Nie Xiangyi retorted.

She had been spoiled by her grandfather and had become spoiled and willful. Now she was being bullied for no reason and was not let off again and again. How could she bear to suffer this loss in silence?

She pinched the peach blossom in her hand, half-closed her eyes, looked Pei Lang up and down with her usual arrogant eyes, and sneered.

"He's so plain, as if he's in mourning at home!"

The noble families in Beijing tend to pursue the beauty of elegance and grace, and do not like bright and vivid colors.

In order to achieve the elegance of their sky-blue silk robes that flow to the ground, most of the noble ladies present wore light and elegant colors such as moon white and light green. Even their head ornaments were mostly made of green jade.

Nie Xiangyi's words about mourning caused everyone's faces to change.

"you!"

Pei Lang was so choked by these words that he didn't know how to refute them. He clenched the silk in his hand in anger and glared at Nie Xiangyi for a long time before saying angrily, "It's just as the rumors say! Unruly and arrogant, he doesn't follow the rules. He's so vulgar!"

Nie Xiangyi just looked at her with his chin raised proudly and snorted.

Seeing her so arrogant, everyone started to talk more.

"How rude! You're even talking about something as cursed as mourning!"

"We're both girls from the Nie family, so why is the second girl so dignified and polite? Could it be that the mistress of the Marquisate hasn't taught her any manners?"

Nie Yuanwei smiled awkwardly upon hearing this, revealing a somewhat awkward expression, "Mother... her status as the eldest sister is different from mine after all..."

There was a hint of unspeakable grievance in his tone.

"How could the mistress of the Marquis' Mansion teach her?" Pei Lang snorted coldly, "I'm afraid even her own mother failed to teach her well, so she's not right from the beginning."

Nie Xiangyi's expression suddenly turned cold. "What did you say?"

She suddenly tossed the peach branch into the pond, letting it drift with the current. She took another step closer to Pei Lang, her upward-slanting eyes lowering slightly, a sharp, piercing look in her eyes.

Pei Lang was frightened by her gaze, and for some reason he saw a sense of oppression in her eyes.

But she refused to give in. She looked at Nie Xiangyi approaching her and sneered, "What's the matter? Are you still planning to fight? Living in a remote area for so long, you've picked up all the barbaric habits."

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a huge force on her shoulder, pushing her hard.

"So what if I take action?"

Pei Lang stumbled back two steps, and with the help of the maid beside him, he finally came to a halt at the edge of the waterside pavilion.

Unexpectedly, Nie Xiangyi actually dared to take action. The noble ladies couldn't help but stare wide-eyed, not knowing what to do for a moment.

Only Nie Yuanwei pursed her lips slightly, and walked forward with the others to try to persuade them kindly.

Pei Lang had just stood firm by the waterside pavilion when Nie Xiangyi's water scallion-like finger pointed at the tip of his nose.

"If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will tear your mouth apart!"

"you!"

Nie Xiangyi looked coldly at the look of shock and anger on Pei Lang's beautiful face, glanced at her, and not wanting to get entangled with them any further, turned around and was about to leave.

But before she could turn around, someone pushed her hard forward on the waist.

Her center of gravity was unstable, and she suddenly staggered and pounced towards Pei Lang.

Pei Lang was already at the edge of the waterside pavilion, and before he could recover from his shock, she pounced on him, and his feet were tripped by the pavilion's low corridor.

There was a loud "thump" and Nie Xiangyi's ears were filled with screams one after another. For a moment, people and horses fell to the ground.

Suddenly water splashed everywhere.

Pei Lang fell into the water like this.

The ladies immediately cried out in panic, "Oh no! Miss Nie pushed Miss Pei Liu into the water!"

Upon seeing this, the servants in the mansion jumped into the pool to rescue him.

The incident happened suddenly. Nie Xiangyi stood by the waterside with her eyes wide open, watching Pei Lang suddenly fall into the water. Her cat-like eyes showed some helplessness, and she subconsciously reached out to pull her.

Hearing them say this, he couldn't help but grit his teeth and said, "I didn't push her! Someone else..."

Before she could finish her words, Nie Xiangyi heard the panicked sounds of people behind her bowing.

"Your Highness."

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