Gu Jiangli's friendly reminder made the mistress's face turn even greener.

"Gu Jiangli! You have shown such disrespect to me, your mistress. Even if I don't punish you, if the Prince finds out, he will definitely not let you off easily!"

Gu Jiangli smiled faintly, seemingly unmoved.

"Don't worry, Mistress, I understand. I will not complain to the Prince that you have made things difficult for me."

"Your Highness will only know that you are kind and friendly to me."

She smiled gently, as if everything was under control.

This tactic is called "using someone else's strength against them," turning the tables on them.

Sure enough, the mistress's expression became even more unpleasant.

Before leaving this morning, Prince Yu specifically instructed his mother not to make things difficult for him, presumably because he knew his mother's character and wanted to protect her.

However, the mistress ignored Prince Yu's instructions and insisted on doing things her own way, trying to trip him up. If she told Prince Yu everything about this, he probably wouldn't be happy either.

In this way, if the mistress really wanted to say to Prince Yu that she was ignorant of etiquette and disrespectful to her elders, wouldn't that also be a way of showing that she, as the mistress, was intentionally making things difficult for her, the princess?

How could the mistress possibly contradict herself and complain about herself in front of Prince Yu?

The mistress's gaze turned cold and probing. Knowing she couldn't win an argument with Gu Jiangli, she changed the subject:

"Such eloquence and quick wit are quite different from the rumors of her being quiet and reserved. Have you been pretending in the Gu family for over a decade? Oh right, that makes sense. As a concubine's daughter, you do need to be submissive in front of the legitimate daughter of the Gu family."

Trying to provoke her by bringing up her birth details won't work on Gu Jiangli.

"Reporting to Madam, it is common for rumors to be inaccurate."

"For example, when I was at home, I heard that the mistress was a generous, kind, and broad-minded person. But the petty and calculating you in front of me now is not much like the rumors."

"What did you say?" The mistress was so angry that she stood up from her chair, almost pointing her finger at Gu Jiangli and cursing him.

Just then, a sharp, cursing female voice came from outside the door:

"Who do you think you are to disrespect my mother!"