43. Not feeling wronged

◎The lacquer maiden radiated light◎

The Empress prepared a banquet, not only to officially celebrate her daughter's return, but also to connect with these veteran officials, who were all meritorious ministers who had followed His Majesty in conquering the country. Although the war was over, Empress Zhang understood that they were still very important.

Qu Yan was in poor health, but he was handsome. Although he was nearing forty, he paid attention to nourishing his vital energy, so he looked thin, but fortunately his spirit was still good.

He was no longer involved in court affairs, but who would dare to neglect this meritorious official who had made great contributions in the struggle between His Majesty and the Prince of Yan?

Wei Xin, who was standing next to him, was naturally close to the emperor. He had been serving the emperor since Yu County. The two families were neighbors from the same village, so their relationship was naturally even closer. Wei Xin had always been trusted by the emperor.

Apart from her younger sister, brother-in-law, and the Prince Yi and her elder brother who were away suppressing bandits, she also needed to win over the civil officials like the Sima and Gao families. Although they did not follow the emperor in conquering the country, they were noble families that she and the emperor had spent a lot of effort to invite to assist His Majesty in governing the country.

The empresses, princesses, and the families of ministers also gathered in the hall behind.

Qi Gu sat in the first position to the left of the Empress, and Li Qiao sat below her. Li Qiao seemed to want to say something but stopped herself, and Qi Gu pretended not to see it.

Marquis Qu Zhou was adept at social maneuvering. On such occasions, she was like a busy, plump bee, pulling Qi Gu to meet this lady and pay respects to that feudal lord.

Qi Gu's words in court today won the favor of these meritorious officials' wives and noblewomen. These ladies of marquises and noblewomen, along with their husbands and sons, had all fought alongside the emperor and empress to conquer the country.

Having endured hardship and bloodshed alongside the Emperor and Empress to attain their current status, power, wealth, and honor, they naturally felt even more pity for Qi Gu, a woman who had suffered so much.

The white-haired Prince Shou'an held her hand and said, "I think our princess is a blessed person. She has overcome all the previous troubles and good days are ahead."

Fearing that Qi Gu might not know who was in front of her, Marquis Qu Zhou introduced her, saying, "This is the Lady of Shou'an, personally bestowed by your father, the Emperor. She is the mother of your Uncle Wei."

Qi Gu recognized this old feudal lord. "I know you. My father said that when you were in Yu County, your own rice jar was empty, but you still treated my father to a full meal."

Lord Shou'an beamed, revealing his two missing teeth. "That's the Emperor's way of flattering me. What do you mean by full or not full? It's just a bowl of thin porridge that you can see your reflection in.

The women around them laughed at the witty banter. There was a reason why the Wei family was a favorite of the emperor.

At this moment, a young eunuch called out, "The Second Princess and the Ninth Princess have arrived!"

The second and ninth princesses arrived together. One princess wore a dazzling bright yellow quju (a type of traditional Chinese dress), elegant and dignified yet noble, while the other wore a bright vermilion quju, adorned with flowers and vibrant and eye-catching.

“Sister Yuan Chu, it was my ignorance and that of Ninth Sister that day. Please forgive us.” The Second Princess walked up to Qi Gu and sincerely apologized.

If it weren't for the lessons learned in her past life, Qi Gu would probably have forgiven her immediately after hearing her apology.

However, having lived two lives, she knew all too well the Second Princess's tactic of feigning retreat. She stepped forward, slightly raised her hand, and offered a helping hand to the Second Princess.

She was still wearing the same clothes she had worn in Chengming Hall earlier that day, but now no one in the hall dared to look down on her because of her ordinary clothes.

Her posture was that of a person in a high position helping someone in a low position, the posture of an elder sister to her younger sister. “Sister Yongrong, what are you saying? I have never blamed you. However, since you call me elder sister, I have some things I really want to say to you today. Although Father and Mother have worked hard to conquer the world and secure their rule, we have all experienced hardship and should understand the suffering of the people.”

The second princess never expected that this country girl, who had only been a princess for one day, would dare to act like an elder sister and lecture her.

In order to reverse what happened at Shanglin Garden that day, she showed weakness in public as soon as she arrived today. If this country girl was not forgiving, then she would be petty and lack sisterly affection. If she accepted her apology, she would naturally suppress her.

Who would have thought she would actually pin such a huge accusation on me? I really underestimated her!

She thought Aunt Qi had finished speaking, but as soon as she stood up, she heard Aunt Qi say, "Oh dear, I forgot, my younger sister was born at a good time and didn't suffer any hardship or pain. Second sister, please forgive your elder sister for remembering it wrong when you came back."

The Second Princess, who has always been well-liked both inside and outside the palace, is now being openly and subtly reprimanded and ridiculed by this princess who has returned from the countryside. The First Princess, however, is quite bold.

After being away for so many years, on her very first day back, she dared to confront the most favored second princess. Everyone thought to themselves, "We can't see anything else about this eldest princess, but her courage is admirable."

Like mother, like daughter; a woman like the Empress certainly wouldn't have a sick cat.

The usually tactful second princess, who was well-liked in the palace, was rendered speechless by the eldest princess, who had only been in the palace for a day.

She initially looked down on the eldest princess who grew up in the countryside, but she never expected the eldest princess to turn the tables on her. She had truly underestimated her!

The village girl actually laughed at her for not having shared hardships with her father, yet enjoying the privileges of a princess. On the surface, she was saying that the second princess was very lucky, but everyone knew that she was actually mocking her mother for not sharing hardships with the emperor, but sharing the good times with him.

The Ninth Princess, always ready to stand up for others, saw her usually mild-mannered Second Sister looking displeased after being spoken to, and she raised her nose, "As expected of someone raised in the countryside, you're narrow-minded. You still hold onto that little thing to this day. Why didn't you tell my Second Sister and me the truth back then? You were clearly just trying to make a fool of us!"

"Ninth Sister, stop talking, it's all my fault..." The Second Princess's eyes were filled with tears, looking aggrieved and weak, as if she had been bullied by her eldest sister.

In her past life, Qi Gu would have been deceived by her like this long ago. In this life, Qi Gu sneered, "It's all because of my elder sister. Second sister and ninth sister are lucky people. They were born without suffering. They were born in the palace and grew up in the capital. They are broad-minded and have extraordinary knowledge. They will definitely be able to forgive their elder sister who grew up in the countryside."

Qi Gu used the Ninth Princess's words to shut her up. Even if the Ninth Princess was slow-witted, she knew that no matter how Qi Gu answered, it would be wrong. "You..."

“Eldest Princess, you have indeed suffered a lot of injustices growing up in the countryside, but it is not the Second Princess and Ninth Princess’s fault for growing up in the capital. Why are you being so aggressive and disregarding any sisterly affection?”

The voice sounded familiar. Qi Gu turned around and saw it was Gao Ruyu, the second daughter of the Gao family. She was someone she knew.

Someone tugged at Gao Ruyu's sleeve, indicating that today was the eldest princess's day and that she should say less.

Gao Ruyi considered herself a person who upheld justice. She acted uprightly, sat honestly, and spoke out for justice without bias. So what if she was the eldest princess? She did not think she had done anything wrong.

As for whether there was truly no bias, she knew it in her heart, Qi Gu knew it in her heart, and I suppose all the shrewd ladies and nobles present knew it too.

"Lady Hou, the princesses..." Marquis Quzhou was having tea and chatting with the other ladies when someone noticed the discord between the princesses and asked if Marquis Quzhou should intervene.

Seeing this, Marquis Qu Zhou became even more interested, as if waiting to see a show. He quickly waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about it. Let the princesses handle their own affairs. We old folks will just watch. They can't cause any trouble."

"Ah Zhi is still so mischievous." Lord Shou'an smiled and pointed to Marquis Qu Zhou, showing his affection.

However, she shared the same opinion as Qu Zhouhou: we don't need to worry about it.

Young women are never quiet and argumentative; she used to have endless fights with the village girls when she was young.

"Oh, this must be a young lady from the Zuo Situ family."

"Yes, Your Highness." Gao Ruyu was a noblewoman from a prominent family. She was on good terms with the Second Princess, the Ninth Princess, and others. Her father was the Left Minister of Works, and her sister was the future Crown Princess. She was a powerful figure in the capital.

Qi Gu looked at Gao Ruyu's proud face, her smooth neck held straight, like a proud swan.

In her previous life, she married Sima Hong thanks to an imperial edict from her mother. If it weren't for the edict, Sima Hong would have married Gao Ruyu. The two would have been a perfect match, with similar family backgrounds, looks, and talents. Unfortunately, she interfered.

Gao Ruyu finally got her wish and married into the Sima family. Compared to herself, she was the one who was truly recognized by Grandfather Sima and the Sima family as the future mistress of the Sima family.

However, those are things from her past life. In this life, she doesn't care who Gao Ruyu marries, even if he marries the King of Heaven, it's none of her business!

"Miss Gao certainly has the demeanor of Minister Zuo, but you just said that I did suffer a lot of injustice growing up in the countryside?"

Qi Gu walked towards Gao Ruyu, staring at Gao Ruyu's eyes that seemed to be on the top of her head. "When did I say I was wronged? I never felt wronged by growing up in the countryside, nor did I think growing up in the countryside was a shameful thing. On the contrary, Miss Gao, do you think growing up in the countryside is shameful?"

"You...you..." Gao Ruyu felt guilty under her gaze and dared not answer, because the current emperor was also born in the countryside. If she answered, wouldn't she be cursing the emperor as well?

Qi Gu took a step back, and Gao Ruyu felt the oppressive feeling from her subside a bit. Then she heard Qi Gu say calmly, "Since I don't feel wronged myself, Miss Gao doesn't need to feel wronged on my behalf."

"As for your point about the Second Princess and Ninth Princess growing up in the capital, it's not their fault. They can enjoy their lives, that's for sure, but..." Qi Gu stopped looking at Gao Ruyu, whose eyes were filled with panic, and walked back to the Second Princess and Ninth Princess.

She crossed her arms, a gesture not quite befitting a princess, and stared at the two with her dark eyes. "That day, you two kept calling me a lowly commoner and a mere mortal. Let alone the fact that I was in the palace on official business for the imperial fields, even if I were an ordinary citizen, you couldn't take advantage of your princess status to bully commoners at will. If I weren't a princess, how would you two sisters have treated me? Would you have apologized to me? I'm afraid I would have been whipped and beaten by the princesses because of my commoner status, at best injured, at worst losing my life!"

Qi Gu turned around, her eyes sharp, "Miss Gao, do you still want to stand up for the Second Princess and the Ninth Princess...?"

The hall fell silent, and all eyes were on Qi Gu, who was radiating light.

This light wasn't an innate light brought about by her status as a princess. Li Qiao knew that back in Li Family Village, Qi Gu had a similar light.

Unbeknownst to her, she was already standing behind Qi Gu.

Looking at the Second Princess, Ninth Princess, and Gao Ruyu, who were speechless after being rebuked by Qi Gu, Li Qiao thought to herself, "I'm tired of saying this: Why did you provoke her in the first place?"

[Author's Note]

Qi Gu: Indiscriminate attack, dealing damage equally to everyone!

Li Qiao: Don't mess with her. Back in the village, even a passing dog would get slapped by her. [Cracking face]

Bug fixes on September 11, 2025