Zhou Zhenrong stopped her with a smile, affectionately taking her arm and pulling her into her pavilion: "Princess Qin, where are you going? We haven't seen each other in a long time, let's have a chat."

Shen Youying had nothing to say to her, but in front of everyone, with Princess Xuanci waiting to find fault with her, she couldn't very well break off the relationship, so she could only follow her and sit down in the pavilion.

Besides Princess Xuanci, the County Princess of Fucheng, Wang Junting, the eldest daughter of the Wang family, and others were also present.

Upon seeing Shen Youying enter, everyone stopped talking and looked at her, their expressions varying.

Shen Youying quickly glanced at them and noticed that there were only a few chairs at the table, all of which were occupied except for one empty seat. She raised an eyebrow and, before Zhou Zhenrong could react, gracefully walked over and sat down, saying in a gentle tone, "There's no need for formalities, everyone."

She is now the wife of a first-rank prince, and everyone present, except for Princess Xuanci, must bow to her. Even Princess Xuanci must respectfully address her as "Sister-in-law."

Shen Youying didn't like to put on airs like a princess, after all, she didn't really have any real power. But as soon as she entered, she could tell that these people wanted to use the same old tricks as at the Zhou family's villa, so she couldn't be bothered to cooperate with them.

Since she still holds the title of Princess Consort of Qin, these people can only suppress their displeasure.

Her casual remark left the feigning ignorance of the crowd with no choice but to reluctantly rise and bow.

Shen Youying accepted the tea without bias, holding the teacup in her hand and pondering what Princess Xuanci and Zhou Zhenrong were planning to do next.

“Everyone says that the Second Prince has a bad temper, but I don’t think those rumors are true. Isn’t the Princess Consort quite favored since she married into the Prince of Qin’s mansion?” Xuan Ci’s gaze swept over the purple jade necklace around her neck, and he said sarcastically, “The Second Prince even gave the Princess Consort a gift from Father Emperor.”

"Who knows what happens behind closed doors?"

Princess Fucheng covered her mouth with her fan and chuckled as she continued, "I have a distant cousin who married a wealthy merchant after her family fell on hard times. He supposedly treated her extremely well; every time we met, she was dressed to the nines, her clothes even better than mine. My mother used to say she was lucky, that although her family had fallen on hard times, she had married into a good family. But then I heard news about her again, and guess what?"

The county magistrate deliberately kept everyone in suspense, then, clutching her chest, said, "My cousin was actually beaten to death by her husband!"

“When her mother came to my father to ask for justice, we learned that the wealthy merchant, who appeared respectable and benevolent, was actually a cruel and abusive person. Every time he beat my cousin, he would try to appease her with gold and silver treasures, promising never to do it again. My cousin believed his lies and even covered for him in public. Who knew that the wealthy merchant would go too far one time and beat my cousin to death.”

The others exclaimed in surprise, "Your cousin is too foolish. If she had told her family earlier, she could have at least saved her life by getting a divorce."

Princess Fukang glanced at Shen Youying, her brows furrowing slightly, and said, "Who says otherwise?" Then she looked at Shen Youying again, her face full of apology, and said, "Your Highness, please don't misunderstand. I just suddenly remembered this matter, and I didn't mean anything by it."

"My second brother treats me so well, how could I possibly take it personally?" Xuan Ci looked at Shen Youying with wide, innocent eyes: "Don't you think so, sister-in-law?"

Shen Youying put down her teacup with a soft "bang," and looked at Princess Fucheng with a radiant smile: "Princess, you weren't talking about me, so why would I take it personally? But I think your story is quite good. How about I invite the Prince to listen together? I hope you won't mind?"

Upon hearing this, Princess Fucheng turned pale. She glanced at Princess Xuanci out of the corner of her eye and stammered, "These... these are all private matters between women. It's not appropriate to let His Highness Prince Qin hear them..."

Shen Youying said "Oh," and looked straight at her: "The prince likes to listen to stories. I thought the county princess also liked to tell stories."

The official from Fucheng County smiled and said nothing more.

“Being a princess makes all the difference.” Zhou Zhenrong said with a smile, “Your way of speaking is different now than when you were a young lady.”

Shen Youying felt a bit annoyed, not understanding why these people hated her so much that they went to such lengths to cause her trouble. Since these people insisted on disgusting her, she wasn't someone to be molded like dough, so she deliberately adopted a coquettish voice and said, "The Prince said that now that I'm a Princess, I can no longer be bullied like I was in my boudoir. I must maintain the dignity of a Princess, otherwise it would be a disgrace to him." She lowered her eyes to look at her nail-painted fingertips and said, "This is what they call 'a wife following her husband's lead,' isn't it? Consort Zhou probably understands that perfectly well."

These words were clearly meant to belittle her as a mere concubine, and Zhou Zhenrong, feeling her sore spot was hit, immediately darkened her expression.

Seeing this, Wang Junting, who had been silent all along, spoke up softly to smooth things over: "Why keep talking about this? Why don't we bet on which young man will win today?" She glanced at Shen Youying and said casually, "Speaking of which, the Princess Consort's cousin is also participating today."

Lu Minghe is here too?

Shen Youying was somewhat surprised, but that was all. After a moment, she realized that Lu Minghe would come to the Spring Banquet every year, so it was only natural that he would come this year as well. She composed herself and got up to take her leave without being polite: "I suddenly remembered that I have something to do, so I'll take my leave first. Have a good time."

She was the highest-ranking person present and didn't need anyone's permission. After speaking, she turned and left.

Zhou Zhenrong stared at her swaying back, so angry she almost ground her back teeth to powder.

She didn't believe that Shen Youying could live a comfortable life under the King of Qin!

*

When Shen Youying stepped out of the greenhouse, she felt that the air was much fresher.

This time, no one came out to cause trouble. Shen Youying asked the other ladies about Xie Qinglan's tent and then went there with light steps.

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