June 6th was unusually hot. Early in the morning, the rising sun in the east was like a raging fire across the sky, and the clouds were much sparser than a few days ago. Fortunately, the summer trees were lush and green, otherwise, in the scorching heat, no matter how important the matter was, Zhao Shu would not be willing to go out.

After washing up, she chose a plain white silk dress with a sky-blue background and water patterns. Since she was going to a flower banquet and would be strolling in the garden, she deliberately chose a dress that was not floor-length. She also styled her hair in a simple updo and adorned it with simple beaded flowers, which was very low-key and ordinary. Overall, it gave people a very cool feeling.

Upon closer inspection, it is easy to see that the fabric and beadwork are extremely exquisite, understated yet not ostentatious, giving the impression of being neither nouveau riche nor shabby.

After having breakfast, she came out of Qionghua Courtyard and saw that there were many things in the courtyard. Chuchun and the others followed her and saw that she was looking at the things that were usually stored away but were now displayed in the courtyard. They explained, "Princess, today is also called the Washing and Drying Festival. We should take out all the things in the house to dry in the sun and get rid of the bad luck."

“I know that today is also called the Sunning Festival. Green Ivy and Winter Don’t need to go with us. Stay at home and take out all the books and paintings in the study to air them out. Granny Zhuang in the main courtyard must know that today, even the Emperor’s carriage will be taken out to air.” She smiled slightly. She was familiar with these customs.

As they spoke, they saw that Prince Yong was already dressed and waiting in the pavilion outside Qionghua Courtyard with Uncle Fu. He was the same as usual today, with nothing special about him.

When Zhao Shu came out, he also left the pavilion, glancing at Zhao Shu's clothes with satisfaction; his daughter looked good in anything.

Sun Yun also arrived at Prince Yong's residence early from the Sun residence, not traveling with the Sun family. Today, she and Zhao Shu had the same idea and did not dress up in a particularly outstanding way. However, she was always exquisite and beautiful. Even though she was just wearing a light blue brocade dress with cloud patterns and a bodice, with her hair styled in a single bun and adorned with two or three magnolia hairpins, she was still very eye-catching.

"Greetings to Uncle Nineteen, Ah Jun." She got off the Sun family's carriage and hurriedly greeted Prince Yong. Calling him "Uncle" felt awkward, so she used Prince Yong's generational name and called him Uncle Nineteen.

Given her status, neither Prince Yong nor Zhao Shu cared, and no one would deliberately nitpick this flaw in her.

Prince Yong glanced at Sun Yun and asked with a kind smile, "Have you had breakfast yet?"

Zhao Shu was surprised. Her father usually didn't say much, but today he asked such a question. Sun Yun was also a little surprised, but she quickly curtsied and replied, "I've used it, thank you, Nineteenth Uncle."

"Let's go, it might get late if we don't leave now." Besides watching the play, she also had other things to do today.

"good."

Zhao Shu and Sun Yun boarded the carriage, Prince Yong mounted his horse, and the group headed in a grand procession towards Jingxin Garden, where the Fourth Prince's Consort was holding a flower banquet.

Once in the car, Zhao Shu handed a piece of paper to Sun Yun. Sun Yun took it suspiciously, read it, and then laughed, "Ah Jun, you're so funny."

“Don’t laugh, it’s true. I showed it to my father yesterday, and I even told Uncle Fu to memorize it. I don’t know how much he’s memorized,” Zhao Shu said very seriously.

Sun Yun smiled and continued reading. After finishing, she was about to read it aloud: "The tricks of domestic infighting are as follows: First, ruining reputation. Common tricks include claiming innocence, and methods include drowning, falling down, drugging, deceiving, falling down, or changing clothes by spilling soup. Second, making things difficult with poetry and songs. Methods include ganging up to attack people, surrounding and annihilating them, changing poems and essays, plagiarism, and making a fuss about the zither, pen, ink, paper, and inkstone. Third, using feints to lure the tiger away from the mountain to achieve insidious goals. That's all I can think of for now. I'll add more later. If you encounter any of these traps, the only way to break them is to fight back fiercely!"

After she finished reading, she tore the paper to shreds and exclaimed, "The Prince's mansion only has two masters and such a small population, yet you've managed to learn all this. I truly admire you."

“There are many more, I will tell you about them slowly another day. Today you came to Jingxin Garden with me, will your grandmother punish you?” She was more worried about this.

Sun Yun snorted coldly, "I am your study companion, what's wrong with me going with you? Besides, my grandmother doesn't need me, and having me is superfluous."

Zhao Shu patted her hand, "Be careful today."

As they spoke, they arrived at Jingxin Garden.

Jingxin Garden was part of the Fourth Prince's dowry. In her previous life, Sun Si did not marry Zhao Bi, so she did not know anything about Sun Si and only knew the name of Jingxin Garden.

Jingxin Garden is one of the three iconic gardens in Beijing. It is located in the most secluded place in the city, surrounded by mansions and villas of noble families. Ordinary people would not know where to step if they passed by.

In his previous life, this garden always belonged to the Sun family and never became part of Sun Si's dowry. It seems that the Sun family put a lot of effort into Zhao Bi.

Upon arriving at the gate of Jingxin Garden, lifting the car curtain reveals a quiet and elegant garden gate. The three large characters "Jingxin Garden" on the gate plaque flow smoothly, like clouds and smoke, giving people an extremely serene and leisurely feeling.

There is also a couplet on the door. The first line reads: "One bamboo, one orchid, one stone." The second line reads: "With integrity, fragrance, and backbone." Every word and phrase fully reflects the style of a scholarly family.

As soon as the two got off the carriage, a servant came over to pay his respects. "This servant greets Your Highness Prince Yong and Princess Jun, and pays respects to Miss Sun."

Zhao Shu glanced at the servant from the Sun family who had spoken. He didn't even need to use the people from the Fourth Prince's residence. Although this person was extremely reasonable and measured, she felt that she had been humiliated today.

Even though the Sun family married their eldest daughter to Zhao Bi, they still acted like a powerful and influential family, looking down on the commoner royal family. One wonders what Zhao Bi was thinking at that moment.

"Lead the way," Prince Yong said calmly, leading Zhao Shu and Sun Yun past the Sun family servants and into the garden.

People arrived one after another. When they saw Zhao Shu and the other two, although they didn't come over to chat intimately, they would smile and greet them from afar. This was so much better than before when everyone would step on their feet.

Jingxin Garden is extremely large, reportedly covering more than ten acres, which translates to over 7,000 square meters. Moreover, Jingxin Garden has a long history, seemingly dating back to a previous dynasty, demonstrating the prosperity of the Sun family.

Entering through the main gate, there are special carriages for guests. It takes another 15 minutes to travel before the pavilion can be seen in the distance, appearing and disappearing among the mountains and rivers. Once the pavilion is in sight, the carriage stops, and the driver says respectfully but not servilely, "Please get out of the carriage, Princess Jun and Miss Sun."

After getting off the carriage provided by the Sun family for their guests, Zhao Shu noticed that the ground was paved entirely with white marble, which looked extremely elegant and clean.

Prince Yong was a man, so he was naturally on a different road from the two. As soon as he got out of the carriage, someone chuckled and said affectionately, "Who do we have here? It's Sister Jun and Sister Liu. You two are late, so you shall be punished with three cups of wine."

A beautiful and dignified woman with a gentle smile walked along the path opposite. She wore a long, flowing brocade dress made of crescent-white satin embroidered with a hundred flowers and butterflies, and her hair was styled in a high bun adorned with a set of white jade hairpins.

In terms of appearance, she bears a slight resemblance to Sun Yun, but her demeanor and bearing are far less elegant than Sun Yun's, appearing rather vulgar.

Zhao Shu and Sun Yun exchanged a glance. It was a common tactic in domestic and palace intrigue—no matter how early or late they arrived, they were all late and had to drink a penalty shot.