"That third brother is a bastard!"

The second princess was finally enraged beyond measure.

She violently overturned the mahogany table in front of her, her eyes bloodshot, panting heavily, glaring fiercely at the shattered teacup.

If looks could kill, the Third Princess would have been meeting her ancestors long ago.

However, the Third Princess was obviously not here, so she could only vent her anger on the teacup. But the Second Princess couldn't help pacing back and forth, as if she were a trapped beast, so angry that she couldn't breathe.

After all, being compared to Shen Wangshu like this, even though she felt she had given the Jingbei Marquis's family enough face, not only was she now inconspicuous, but people would also think she wasn't as eager and happy about this marriage as the Third Princess. But heavens begone, she really had tried her best, okay? She wasn't some good-for-nothing like the Prince Luan who didn't attend court and just played around; she couldn't possibly focus all her attention on the young master of the Jingbei Marquis's family.

She was very busy, and the fact that she could express that she cared about the Jingbei Marquis's mansion was already a great show of sincerity.

But while Prince Luan may not excel at much else, he is exceptionally skilled at flattery. He has made Fang Xuan known throughout the capital, and everyone knows that Prince Luan deeply loves the Emperor and is extremely satisfied with the marriage.

As for the marriage arranged for him by the Second Princess... hehe...

The way the Marquis of Jingbei and his family look at the Second Princess has changed.

The Second Princess really couldn't stand her annoying younger sister anymore. In the past, this younger sister was silly and would listen to everything she said. She would be very moved if she was treated kindly. She would turn against the First Princess right away, and the Second Princess was quite happy about it. After all, there aren't many fools like this nowadays, are there?

But what's going on now? Why has the Third Princess changed so much? Not only is she scolding Consort Lin in the palace and causing her trouble outside, but she also seems to have become quite clever. She's also gained favor with the Empress, and she's always been one to snatch the best things; the Empress always gives her the best of everything first.

For some reason, the Empress has recently extended her favor to Fang Xuan, showering him with gifts and clearly being very pleased with him as her son-in-law.

It seemed that overnight, the Empress's attitude towards Fang Xuan changed. She would not believe that the Third Princess had not interfered, even if the Second Princess had been killed.

But this can't go on forever.

It's true that Marquis Jingbei is a natural ally for the Second Princess, but if the Second Princess is compared to him like this again... Marquis Jingbei will also have some doubts in his heart.

The Second Princess was truly at her wit's end. She could no longer tolerate Shen Wangshu's coercion. After a moment of contemplation, her eyes lit up.

Since the third brother likes to play the role of a loving couple, she should just shatter that mask and make sure he can never turn things around again. She should let everyone know how hypocritical the third brother is and make Fang Xuan and the third brother fall out.

So she squinted and thought for a moment, then an idea struck her. She ordered a palace carriage to be prepared, dressed herself up again, and went to the palace. She went to Consort Lin's palace first, but found it gloomy and desolate. Consort Lin sat in the palace, her face pale and haggard. Although she was still dressed in fine clothes, she looked somewhat decadent. Even the once magnificent palace had become somewhat dim.

Upon seeing the Second Princess enter, Lin Guijun's eyes lit up. She hurriedly beckoned her daughter over, and saw her daughter looking around with some dissatisfaction, a faint bitter smile on her face.

"Why is it so dirty?" The Second Princess wiped the table beside her, only to find her hands covered in dust. She immediately frowned.

.

In the palace, if it were this unclean, the negligent palace servants would have been beaten to death long ago.

Lin Guijun sighed.

The Empress has not appeared before him for a long time, nor has she summoned him to her bedchamber. Wherever she goes, she only takes the young and obedient Roujun with her. The fact that he was kicked by the Empress is already known in the palace. Now that the Empress is ignoring him, how can he have a good life?

Not only did the palace servants become negligent, but even requests made of him throughout the palace became perfunctory. After all, the palace was no longer truly his domain. What did it matter if he held the title of Noble Consort? True favor was what mattered. If the Empress wished, she could easily promote a new Noble Consort.

Similarly, Lin Guijun could be asked to disappear.

“Since His Majesty doesn’t see me, they naturally don’t pay much attention to me,” he said with some sadness and resentment.

He couldn't help but think back to those days, when even though he was favored in the palace and the Empress's dislike for Feng Jun was known to all, no one dared to neglect anything concerning Feng Jun.

Not only was he the Empress's rightful ruler, but his noble birth and high status also made him someone no one dared to offend.

Feng Jun's glory comes not only from the Empress, but also from himself.

Palace maids like Consort Lin, who came from humble beginnings, were different.

He came from humble origins, relying solely on the Empress's favor. Without that favor, he would be exposed for what he truly was. This might have been tolerable before, but now that Consort Lin had fallen to such a state, she couldn't help but feel jealous of everything the former Emperor Feng had achieved. She finally understood the difference between herself and Emperor Feng. No matter how proud she was in his presence, she was still a servant. Emperor Feng was the master, and even the entire harem recognized Emperor Feng as the master, while she would forever remain just that lowly palace servant from back then.

Once they fall out of favor, the difference between the two becomes stark.

Lin Guijun even had a lingering doubt in her heart: had she really defeated Feng Jun?

Thinking of this, he unconsciously touched his slightly graying hair.

The death of Feng Jun in the prime of his life, freezing his time at its most beautiful, is perhaps... a good thing.

"These lackeys!" The Second Princess's face turned ashen as she slammed her hand on the table.

She had actually sensed the coldness towards her in the palace, and in the court, due to Consort Lin's loss of favor, some officials had distanced themselves from her, forcing her to work harder and more desperately to win over these officials, otherwise she was really afraid that the eldest princess might kick her to the ends of the earth at any time.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!