The perfectly timed utterance of the three words "Princess Zhu" elicited a burst of laughter from the quiet courtyard. The innocent children clapped their hands and softly chanted, "Princess Zhu! Princess Zhu, the fair and beautiful Princess Zhu!"

The sound, neither too loud nor too soft, was clearly audible to the Jun family master and servants.

Cai Die looked up and stared at A Zheng, who was eating and drinking as if no one else was around. Her face darkened immediately. "Where did this wild girl come from? How dare you make up stories about our princess like that..."

"Cai Die! Forget it." Jun Qingcheng shook her head, stepped into the courtyard and walked towards the inner table. The rich aroma of spicy and savory food made her feel hungry. A glance at the table revealed the bubbling red oil broth, which made her mouth water.

As she walked to the inner table, she smiled gently and said, "Miss Azheng, you're quite the joker. Mingzhu didn't come here today to beg for mercy!"

“That’s right. Now our little Hua’er is the Princess of Le’an, bestowed by the Emperor himself. Even if others wanted to make her kneel, they wouldn’t have the guts.”

Ah Zheng slowly drank a cup of apricot wine, then glanced at her and said, "But if it's not begging to kneel, then what are you begging for? To beg for food?"

Upon hearing the words "begging," Jun Qingcheng's expression turned ugly for a moment.

She was indeed somewhat interested in these new foods, but not to the point of dining with the villagers.

Cai Die's chest heaved with anger. If it weren't for her master watching, she would have torn the wild girl's mouth to shreds right now. Only Meng Yun'er, who was behind the two, saw this scene and a sinister smile flashed in her eyes. The more ugly the fight between Princess Mingzhu and the Su family was, the better.

"So! It was you who kept humiliating my Hua'er!" Madam Su put down her bowl and chopsticks, her slanted eyes glaring sharply at the two of them. "My Su family's food isn't something just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can come and beg for!"

With that, he waved his hand and said, "Qingdai, Danfeng, throw them out, lest they defile my Su family's territory!"

Whether it's a pig princess or a dog princess from the capital, they dare to bully her daughter, it's unacceptable!

Qingdai and Danfeng strode forward and blocked Jun Qingcheng and the other two's path. "Princess, please."

"Don't go too far!" Seeing this, Cai Die finally couldn't hold back anymore and stepped forward to push Qing Dai and Dan Feng away. However, both of them were skilled in martial arts, and pushing them was like tickling them. They couldn't move them an inch and instead fell to the ground because they couldn't withstand the force.

He waved his hand angrily towards the outside of the courtyard, "Yan Yi, can't you see the princess being bullied..."

"Heh, are the princess and her maid trying to beat someone up again?" A-Zheng scoffed and interrupted, pointing to the plaque outside the courtyard.

"But before you start beating people, you should think it through. Our Su family is now a benevolent family bestowed by the Emperor, and a model for all of Yu. If you dare to touch us even a little, you are trampling the Emperor's face underfoot."

Madam Su Bai nodded, "If you hit me today, I'll go to the capital tomorrow to file a complaint with the emperor. I'll make sure the whole world sees how Princess Mingzhu is defying the emperor's grace and how the Prince of Yan's mansion is allowing its daughter to oppress the people."

“Yes, what Big Tiger Mother said makes sense.” Old Xue swallowed a large piece of hot pot mutton and nodded in agreement. “I’ll go too, and while I’m at it, I’ll ask Jun Shen how he raised his daughter to be such an ungrateful wretch.”

Su Hua was both amused and exasperated; the two elders and the young girl's back-and-forth was perfectly coordinated.

Jun Qingcheng's face turned pale with anger, but when she saw Su Hua's smiling face, she regained her composure and forced a gentle smile again, "Sister Su! The little misunderstanding that happened earlier was just Mingzhu's temper. I'm here to apologize to you."

We are all recorded in the imperial genealogy now, so in a sense, we are family. Today is Sister Su's wedding day, and I have come here especially to congratulate her.

After saying that, he waved to Cai Die, "Cai Die, quickly present the congratulatory gift."

"Yes." Cai Die bit her lip and reluctantly got up from the ground, handing over the gift box in her arms.

One shouldn't hit a smiling face. Seeing the polite attitude of the Jun family master and servant, Qingdai Danfeng didn't accept the offer and instead looked at Su Hua.

Su Hua smiled and said, "There's no need for a gift. Princess Mingzhu, please just say what you want to say. We're just country folk, we don't understand all those roundabout words."

"Sister Su is such a straightforward person!" Jun Qingcheng smiled. "I came here firstly to congratulate you, and secondly, I would like to discuss something with you. This trip was rushed, and there are no inns in Shanghe Village, so I would like to ask if you would be willing to stay with me for a few days?"

"Need to stay overnight?" Su Hua raised an eyebrow.

With all these people in the courtyard eyeing her covetously, how dare she ask to stay overnight? Aren't they afraid they'll just set her on fire in the middle of the night?

Jun Qingcheng nodded slightly, "Yes, in this village, besides Brother Zichen, I only know Sister Su. However, Brother Zichen is a man, and there are differences between men and women, so it is ultimately inconvenient for him. Therefore, Mingzhu can only stay with Sister Su for a few days."

As she finished speaking, a blush quickly spread across her pretty face.

Brother Zichen?

Su Hua's almond-shaped eyes widened slightly, and she subconsciously recalled the words the man had said on the cliff that day: "From now on, don't call me Young Master Xiao anymore. Call me Zichen instead. This is the courtesy name my mother gave me when she was alive. No one else knows it."

"What did you just say? What brother?" Su Bai's heart skipped a beat. Hearing this string of "brother" and "sister," she thought she had misheard. "You mean, Jin Han?"

The remaining members of the Su family also looked up at Jun Qingcheng, their eyes filled with astonishment.

Seeing the different reactions of the crowd, especially Su Hua's stunned expression, the girl's smile deepened. "That's right, Brother Zichen is General Xiao, the General of Zhennan. Aunt Su may not know, but Brother Zichen's mother and my mother have been best friends for decades. Although we are not related by blood, our relationship is closer than that of relatives."

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