The capital city seemed unusually lively today. The daughters of various princes and nobles set off for the Princess's residence early in the morning in their carriages. It turned out that Wuxiha had received an imperial decree from the Fourth Prince, sending invitations to all second-rank officials with daughters, inviting their princesses to a gathering at the Princess's residence today for a flower-viewing party. However, they all knew that the flower-viewing party was merely a pretext; the real purpose was to select future wives for Prince Hongzhou. These princesses had their servants dress and groom them before dawn, fearing they wouldn't be the most outstanding and thus fail to attract Prince Hongzhou's attention. They all understood that marrying into the royal family would not only bring glory to their ancestors but also ensure their own lives of luxury and privilege.

One carriage after another arrived at the princess's residence. The sweltering summer heat did not deter the princesses; they remained as enthusiastic as ever, fearing that their carriages might be late.

"Oh, isn't this Princess Lin? What brings you to the flower viewing party? I thought the proud and aloof princess wouldn't be interested in such a thing." The speaker was none other than the legitimate daughter of Minister Zhang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. She had the typical princess face, with delicate features and could be considered quite beautiful, but she always relied on her father's high position to act arrogantly. She had heard that Lin Jun'er was coming to the flower viewing party and planned to embarrass her there.

The princesses nearby began to whisper among themselves, "I heard that this is the daughter of Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Justice. Her family dotes on her and has been grooming her since she was a child, hoping that she will marry into the royal family!"

"You don't know yet, do you? The one she's talking about is a princess from the Lin family of the Duke's mansion. I heard that once at a gathering, everyone got into the mood to compose poems, and when it was Princess Zhang's turn, she didn't know how to answer for a long time, her face turning red with embarrassment. In the end, it seems that Princess Lin came to her rescue. Unexpectedly, instead of repaying her kindness, she spoke rudely to her. Fortunately, Princess Lin is well-mannered and didn't hold it against her, so the matter was dropped. I didn't expect her to come looking for trouble again today..."

"Oh, blame it on this princess herself. Why did she have to show off like that? She's just flaunting her vast knowledge and erudition!" someone said, kicking her while she was down.

"Hey... how can you say that, Zhou Gege? You were trying to help someone, but in the end, it turned out like a dog biting Lü Dongbin. If it were you, could you stand this?" The surrounding discussion grew louder and louder. Everyone was a daughter of a high-ranking official, and no one was afraid of anyone else. No one was willing to hold back their words.

Lin Jun'er, who had just gotten off the carriage, did not intend to get entangled with Zhang Ke any longer and was about to go straight in. "What do you mean by that, Princess? Sister Lin was invited to attend the flower viewing party hosted by the princess today. Besides, flower viewing is a pleasant thing. How come it sounds like something undignified to you?"

The speaker was Hou Muci, the young lady of the Hou family. She had always been on good terms with Lin Jun'er, liking her peaceful attitude and elegant nature. She herself happened to be impatient and always liked to be quick-witted. The two were like sisters. Today, seeing Lin Jun'er being bullied by Zhang Ke, she naturally couldn't suppress her anger.

Fortunately, everyone understood that they were there to attend the princess's flower viewing party and could not afford to start a fight at the entrance. So they suppressed their anger and stopped talking amongst themselves.