A warm late spring breeze blew through the tasseled curtains of the Prime Minister's residence, swirling the fragrance of tea and candied fruit into a ball. Fifteen or sixteen noble ladies in splendid attire gathered under the winding corridor, waving their round fans rapidly, their eyes like searchlights, all fixed on the entrance. The protagonist of today's tea party should have been Shen Ruorou, who had just returned from the ancestral temple, but now she had become the laughingstock of her absence.

"Hey, have you heard?" Li Yanran, the daughter of the Grand Tutor's family, lowered her voice, her round fan covering half her face, but she glanced at the empty main seat. "Miss Shen from the General's Mansion rubbed her aunt's hand a few days ago!"

"Rubbing your hands to pieces?" Zhang Mingzhu, the daughter of the Minister of Revenue, exclaimed, nearly knocking over her teacup. "How did you rub them?"

"Need I ask?" Li Yanran curled her lips and deliberately raised her voice. "It was her aunt who wanted to cheat her mother out of the red gold hairpin, but she ended up bringing a basin of 'grains and cereals' with stones on it and insisted that her aunt 'wash her hands and offer it to her mother'. She rubbed it until it was a bloody mess! The servants were so stifling their laughter that they got internal injuries!"

The noble ladies around burst out laughing, and someone couldn't help but say, "I also heard that her cousin, Miss Shen Er, gave her a thorny hairpin and wanted to prick her scalp, but she twisted it back and pricked Miss Shen Er's hand, causing blood to flow!"

"Is this true?" Someone was shocked. "Isn't Miss Shen always gentle?"

"What's so gentle about that!" Zhang Mingzhu put down her teacup, her tone contemptuous. "My mother said that the Second Lady of the General's Mansion withheld the food of the legitimate daughter and fed her rotten tofu. As a result, Miss Shen brought rotten rice all over the mansion, shouting, 'Aunt loves me and reminds me of the good old days.' The old lady knew about it, and she punished the Second Lady by not giving her her monthly salary for half a year!"

The tea party instantly exploded, the ladies whispering amongst themselves, their faces brimming with excitement, unable to conceal their fans. These rumors spread like wildfire, spreading from the mouths of the servants in the general's mansion. With the help of the housekeepers of the various mansions, they were now the hottest topic of conversation among the noble ladies of the capital.

"If you ask me," Li Yanran said, waving her round fan, her eyes twinkling, "I'm afraid Miss Shen is no longer stupid. Just think about it, she was so naive before, and now? She repeatedly puts her aunt and cousin to shame, and even the Seventh Prince frequently invites her to banquets!"

"Seventh Prince?" Everyone exclaimed. Everyone knew that the Seventh Prince Xiao Yu was arrogant and never bothered to get involved in the internal struggles of the noble families. How could he look at Shen Weiwan differently?

"That's right!" Li Yanran approached mysteriously. "My brother is on duty in the palace. He said that the Seventh Prince personally supported Miss Shen at the Royal Flower Viewing Banquet a few days ago and even gave her a red gold and kingfisher hairpin!"

At this moment, the sound of jingling rings came from the end of the corridor, and Shen Ruorou, accompanied by Liu, came in late. She was wearing a plain green dress, and her face was covered with thick lead powder, trying to cover the dark circles under her eyes, but it couldn't hide the stiffness at the corners of her mouth.

"Hey, isn't this Miss Shen Er?" Li Yanran deliberately raised her voice, "You injured your hand a few days ago, how come you have time to come for tea today?"

Shen Ruorou's face paled, her fingertips tightly gripping the handkerchief. The story of her being pricked by a hairpin at the Royal Flower Viewing Banquet had already spread throughout the capital, and being brought up in public now was like rubbing salt into her wounds. Liu quickly tried to smooth things over: "My little girl accidentally injured her hand a few days ago. I'm sorry to hear that you ladies are concerned."

"Accidentally?" Zhang Mingzhu sneered, "I heard that she tied the hairpin herself when she gave it to her cousin. Miss Shen is really 'careless'."

A suppressed sneer sounded around. Shen Ruorou could no longer hold back, her eyes reddened, and she turned around and wanted to leave. Liu was angry and anxious, but she could only force a smile: "I'm just a kid playing around, sorry to make you laugh."

"Play?" Li Yanran stood up and walked in front of Shen Ruorou, smiling, "Giving a thorny hairpin is also playing? Miss Shen, this joke is a bit too much."

Shen Ruorou was so blocked that she couldn't speak, and tears finally fell. Seeing this, Liu no longer cared about her dignity and hurriedly pulled her away. Behind her came the undisguised laughter of the noble ladies.

In the Tinglan Courtyard of the General's Mansion, Shen Weiwan was facing a bronze mirror, inserting the red gold and jadeite hairpin Xiao Yu had given her. The phoenix-winged design shone brightly on her temples. Chun Tao entered, carrying a freshly cut honeydew melon, laughing heartily. "Miss, have you heard? Second Miss Shen was made to cry at the tea party at the Prime Minister's Mansion! Now the whole capital is talking about how she gave you a thorny hairpin and got pricked in return. It's become a huge joke!"

Shen Weiwan raised her eyebrows in the mirror, and the green feathers on her hairpin trembled: "Oh? It spread so quickly?"

"That's right!" Chun Tao handed her the honeydew melon. "And there's more! They say you rubbed the Second Madam's hands so well that everyone in the mansion knows about it. Even the Empress Dowager heard about it and praised you for 'having your mother's style'!"

Shen Weiwan took a bite of the honeydew melon, the juice so sweet it tingled with her heart. After her death in her previous life, her mother's family had declined because of her humiliation. Now, the Queen Mother's words, "Like mother's style," were undoubtedly a disguised form of support. She remembered that her mother had once been the daughter of a famous military commander in Beijing, and a trace of nostalgia flashed in her eyes.

"By the way, Miss," Chun Tao leaned closer mysteriously, "His Highness the Seventh Prince has sent another invitation, inviting you to go horseback riding at his villa on the outskirts of the city tomorrow!"

Shen Weiwan took the gilded post and traced the words "Xiao Yu" with her fingertips. Thinking of his eyes that were always smiling, her heart moved slightly. Since the Royal Flower Viewing Banquet, Xiao Yu's invitations have become more and more frequent, from the polo match to the flower viewing banquet, and now to the suburban villa. His intentions are obvious.

“Got it,” Shen Weiwan put the post on the dressing table, “Reply and tell me I’ll be there on time tomorrow.”

Chun Tao looked at her calm appearance and couldn't help gossiping: "Miss, the Seventh Prince is so good to you, isn't it..."

"Don't think too much," Shen Weiwan interrupted her, picked up the account book and flipped through it, "He just thinks I'm interesting." Having said that, she remembered the undisguised appreciation and exploration in Xiao Yu's eyes every time he looked at her, which was by no means simply "interesting."

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!