At this moment, the young ladies who were previously surrounding and chatting with Princess Chaoyang didn’t dare to make a sound, as if they were afraid that any small movement might provoke her anger.

Chaoyang was feeling wronged and frustrated, attempting to maintain her composure for the sake of her reputation: "Why are you all standing outside? Hurry up and go in!"

"Yes!"

The Flower and Bird Pavilion was true to its name, surrounded by colorful, beautiful flowers and filled with various rare and exotic birds kept inside gold wire cages. As soon as they entered, the place was filled with lively chirping.

Xin He casually found a small table to sit down at and began peeling a grape from the fruit plate on the table, seemingly unfazed by the recent events.

She also seemed not to care about the awkwardness that had spread throughout the garden due to her arrival.

It wasn’t her preference to come here, but Chaoyang had asked her to come and stay. By sitting here, Xin He was already doing Chaoyang a favor, she had no interest in managing her mood or that of the unrelated people.

As Shulan prepared some tea for Xin He, she whispered, "Eldest Miss, your servant feels that the atmosphere in the garden is quite stifling. I’m afraid you’ve deeply offended the Princess today."

Xin He sipped her tea and glanced casually at the direction of Princess Chaoyang, saying softly, "I didn’t come here today intending to spare her feelings. She invited me today, probably not intending to let me leave here easily either? Since both of us know each other’s intentions, what’s the need for such concerns?"

Would sparing some face for Princess Chaoyang make her soften her attitude towards her?

Shulan then replied, "Now that you’ve put it this way, your servant feels much more at ease."

She couldn’t help but laugh, "When you deliberately taught that servant of the Princess’s mansion a lesson just now, your servant also felt quite relieved. You didn’t see the Princess’s face at the time."

Xin He chuckled softly, "Hmm."

In the past few days, Shulan had improved a lot. Although she couldn’t compete with Xiaoyu in terms of cleverness and composure, she was no longer as rigid as before, learning to match Xin He’s pace and adapting by looking at her expressions. This was pretty good, it seemed that having Xiaoyu around wasn’t an entirely bad thing for Shulan, as feeling some pressure could lead to faster growth.

At this moment, Xin He was sitting leisurely, sipping her tea, fanning herself, and playing with the Atlantic canary.

She felt quite content.

It seemed that she was probably the only one in the entire garden feeling content at the moment.

The other young ladies were all afraid of offending Chaoyang, so they dared not make a sound, knowing that Chaoyang was in a bad mood.

As for Princess Chaoyang, her face was darkened with anger as she sat alone, looking at Xin He’s contented appearance, and the handkerchief hidden in her sleeve was almost torn into pieces by her grip. Most of the grievances she had suffered in her life came from this woman!

"Princess, don’t be angry. Be careful not to affect the important matters at hand!" An Old Wet Nurse tried to persuade her.

Princess Chaoyang calmed herself slightly and gritted her teeth, "Today, I must make her suffer!"

"Be patient for the greater good. If you want to clear your name in the black bear case, you must endure this moment. Singling out Li Xinhe is trivial. Now that she’s here today, she won’t be able to leave the Princess’s mansion easily. For the greater good, what’s the harm in enduring for a while?"

Chaoyang took a deep breath, "You’re right."

"I heard that Consort Guifei has been delayed by some matters and might not arrive for a while. When the Consort comes, she might even be an obstacle. Why don’t we take advantage of this opportunity..."

A sinister glint flashed in Chaoyang’s eyes as she chuckled, "Good!"

Chaoyang’s expression suddenly brightened, catching everyone off guard. The young ladies were still in shock when they saw her stand up and laugh.

"Just now, I received news that Consort Guifei said she would be arriving late due to some matters. It’s unfortunate, but it’s okay. We can wait. Let’s just postpone the banquet and appreciate the paintings first." Chaoyang’s bright laughter hid a trace of malicious intent.

Xin He raised her eyebrows slightly but did not say anything.

A bystander chimed in, "What the Princess said is right. We came here today to appreciate the new paintings acquired by the Princess. The banquet can certainly be postponed!"

Chaoyang cleared her throat and then instructed her maid, "What are you waiting for? Go and have the paintings brought up."

"Yes." The nanny nodded and left.

In a short while, the nanny returned with several people.

Following the Old Wet Nurse was not a young maid, but an old woman with a hunched back and bowed head, revealing her large waist and aged hair.

Xin He narrowed her eyes. How could a maid in the Princess’s mansion be such an old woman?

As Xin He was feeling puzzled, the woman handed the tray to Princess Chaoyang and knelt on the ground, saying, "Please have a look, Princess."

The color drained from Xin He’s face as she stared at Chaoyang, her eyes filled with ruthlessness.

It’s Lady Ding!

To deal with her, Chaoyang had truly gone to great lengths! She had even gone through the trouble of bringing Lady Ding all the way here; was she really planning to go all out this time?

Looking at Xin He, Chaoyang’s eyes were filled with triumph as she snorted and coldly said to Lady Ding who was kneeling, "Hurry up and present it for me to see."

Trembling, Lady Ding opened one of the paintings. At that moment, Chaoyang "accidentally" splashed her cup of tea all over it.

The tea soaked the painting, destroying a priceless masterpiece.

The ink was blended together into a mess.

Chaoyang angrily slapped Lady Ding’s face, "You worthless thing! You actually destroyed this precious painting I’ve searched so hard for. Do you really want me to sentence you to death?!"

Shaking with fear, Lady Ding quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed, "Princess, spare me! I’ll never do it again, it was an unintentional mistake!"

Chaoyang looked directly at Xin He and snorted, "Don’t say that to me. You should know that this painting was originally intended as a gift for Lady Li. Now it’s ruined in your hands; if she forgives you, I naturally won’t care."

Lady Ding hurriedly turned towards Xin He to beg for forgiveness, but as she looked up and saw her face, her eyes widened in surprise, "You, you, you..."

Chaoyang’s eyes sparkled with malicious joy, enjoying the show, "What do you mean ’you?’ You have quite some nerve to point and yell at the legitimate eldest daughter of Le Yuanhou’s Mansion!"