165. This is what country people are like.

The little girl was a little scared; she sensed the malice her brothers harbored towards her.

The little princess's face turned red with anger, and she pointed at the prince who was egging her on: "You're the ones causing trouble! What right do you have to kick us out?!"

"You dare to talk back?" Wei Zhenhua suddenly stood up. "My mother said that women should obey the three obediences and four virtues and should not argue with men. You don't even understand this basic etiquette. You have no manners at all!"

“My mother also said that one should be reasonable and not bully others!” the little princess retorted. “You are bullying me! Besides, the Three Obediences and Four Virtues don’t say that girls can’t play or talk!”

Seeing Wei Zhenhua's unreasonable behavior, the little dumpling felt that the little princess shouldn't be left to argue alone.

So she mustered her courage and took a step forward: "You can't stop us from playing just because we're girls. That's wrong of you, you're a bad kid!"

"So what if you're a bad kid? This banquet was hosted by our young masters. We didn't invite you girls in the first place, but you came here on your own, and now you think you're right?"

"I invited them!" the young prince shouted. "I am a prince, I can invite whomever I want! If you don't want to, you can leave!"

Seeing that the young prince continued to speak, determined to protect the little princess and the little dumpling, several princes who had been watching the commotion also stepped forward. One of them said, "Young prince, Wei Zhenhua is right. Girls really shouldn't be playing these games with us. It would be bad if word got out."

“Exactly!” another prince chimed in. “We’re here to learn how to get along with the young prince, not to play house with girls!”

Several ill-intentioned princes, one after another, quickly shifted their focus from the young prince and Wei Zhenhua back to the little dumpling and the little princess.

Bai Qingzhong, who was in the corner, watched this scene. After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke in a low voice: "You...you shouldn't say that. Princess Fukang and the little princess did nothing wrong. It's okay for them to play together."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Wei Zhenhua turned and glared at him, her tone sharp: "And who do you think you are? How dare you interfere in my affairs? Nobody wants to associate with you, yet you dare to speak up for others. You're really overestimating yourself!"

Bai Qingzhong's face turned pale instantly. His lips moved, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. His eyes slowly reddened, and he lowered his head even further, almost tearing the tablecloth in his hands.

Wei Liangchun frowned and stepped forward, saying to Wei Zhenhua, "Wei Zhenhua, you've gone too far! He was just stating the facts, you don't need to talk to him like that. Besides, we're talking about whether the girl can stay or not, don't drag other people into it."

He belongs to a neutral party and might lean towards befriending the young prince.

But he really didn't have any intention of protecting the little princess and the little dumpling.

"So what if I said that?" Wei Zhenhua retorted, "They came here looking for a beating, and now they're blaming me? Besides, I'm just stating the facts; girls shouldn't be here in the first place!"

Several princes who chimed in also joined in the commotion, and the scene became chaotic again.

"Who's bullying my sister?" A loud shout came from the doorway. The second brother ran over with a slingshot in hand, followed by the two princes who had just competed with him in slingshots.

He frowned immediately when he saw the little dumpling and the little princess surrounded. He walked over to the little dumpling and shielded her behind him, saying, "What do you want to do? What kind of skill is it to bully people!"

When the little girl saw her second brother arrive, she finally calmed down a bit and pointed at Wei Zhenhua, complaining, "They said girls shouldn't stay here, they're all bad guys!"

"Is that so?" The second brother glared at Wei Zhenhua. "What makes you think girls shouldn't be here? This banquet belongs to everyone, not just you!"

The young prince straightened his back and stood next to his second brother: "That's right! I am a prince, and I will make them stay. If you don't want to, then leave!"

The little princess, holding her son's hand, stepped forward with her head held high. The four of them stood side by side, looking menacingly at Wei Zhenhua and the princes who were chiming in.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the princes who were watching from the sidelines all took a step back and dared not make a sound.

Looking at the stance of the four people opposite her, Wei Zhenhua felt a little uneasy, but she still forced herself to say, "You...you can't think you can bully people just because there are more of you! I'm right, girls shouldn't be here!"

"What a load of rubbish!" the second brother couldn't help but swear. "My mother taught me to respect girls! If you don't understand, go back and have your mother teach you properly!"

Seeing that Wei Zhenhua was losing ground, the other princes who had been trying to help him gradually lost their nerve, and some of them quietly moved back, trying to distance themselves from the situation.

Wei Zhenhua grew anxious and turned to look at Dou Shichen, who was sitting beside him, looking furious from the beginning but remaining silent: "Dou Shichen, say something for me! We are all princes, we can't let girls ride on our heads, can we?"

Among them, apart from the young prince, Dou Shichen has the highest status. As long as he steps in, he is confident that he can drive away the little princess and the little dumpling.

All eyes were on Dou Shichen, waiting for him to speak.

Dou Shichen finally stopped suppressing his anger and stood up abruptly.

Wei Zhenhua's eyes lit up.

However……

Dou Shichen glanced sideways at Wei Zhenhua and said sarcastically, "That's just how country bumpkins are."

Wei Zhenhua froze, pointing at himself in disbelief: "You...you're talking about me?"

“Otherwise what? Fool,” Dou Shichen arrogantly raised his chin, “You’re unreasonable yourself, yet you want to drag me down with you? You’re really from the countryside, you’ve never seen the world.”

Wei Zhenhua was stunned: "You... what did you say? Weren't we just fine a moment ago?"

"What's so great about you? Didn't you come crawling to me trying to curry favor? I've seen plenty of sycophants like you." Dou Shichen was full of superiority.

His gaze swept over Wei Zhenhua and the group of sycophantic princes, as if they were some worthless trifles: "With your limited knowledge, you've probably been staying in the Prince of Xiang's mansion for too long, and this is the first time you've come out to see the world? You actually think that girls can only hide in their rooms to learn embroidery and read 'The Precepts for Women'?"

Wei Zhenhua turned pale with anger, pointing at Dou Shichen: "You...you've gone too far! I'm the heir of the Prince of Xiang, how dare you talk to me like that?"

"Why should I?" Dou Shichen sneered, took two steps forward, and raised his round little chin even higher. "Because I have a mother, my mother is very good, and my sisters are also excellent. Every one of them is better than a fool like you who only uses gender as an excuse."

He paused, his gaze falling on Wei Zhenhua's brocade robe embroidered with gold thread, his eyes growing even more contemptuous: "And this robe you're wearing, the gold thread is crooked and uneven, clearly the work of a third-rate embroiderer. How dare you wear it out and embarrass yourself? Even the servants in my manor wear more exquisite clothes than this. You have the nerve to call yourself a prince? I think you're no different from those wild children who snatch candy at the village entrance."

Wei Zhenhua was so shocked by the rebuke that he trembled all over, his lips quivering, but he couldn't utter a single word.

A young nobleman in a blue robe, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward, saying, "Dou Shichen, don't push your luck! We're just telling the truth; you don't need to humiliate us like this!"

"The truth?" Dou Shichen turned to look at him, continuing his sarcasm. "Your so-called truth is bullying two girls? I think you're just desperate for money. You've been living in your own fiefdom for too long and have never seen the rules of the city, which is why you dare to act so wildly here."

After berating him, she went on to justify her words, pointing to the jade pendant at the prince's waist: "Your jade pendant is of ridiculously poor quality, worth only a few taels of silver. How dare you wear it on your person? The boxes for pastries in my residence are made of jade ten times better than this. And you—"

Dou Shichen then pointed to another prince: "The fan in your hand is all wrinkled. I'm afraid it hasn't been replaced in three or five years. The fan I throw away every month is better than yours."

The princes whose names were called turned pale and then red.

Wei Zhenhua stood to the side, never expecting Dou Shichen to be so ruthless.

Seeing the pitying yet slightly mocking looks from those around him, he couldn't hold back any longer and shouted with tears in his eyes, "Don't stop me! I'm not going to this banquet! I'm ashamed to be with a bunch of ill-mannered people!"