Song Huiru: "...Miss, I..."

Lin Shuang had long seen through this charade; it was clearly arranged by Song Huiru. Since Xi Que had already caused such a commotion, she couldn't just stand by and help her own people.

With a quick thought, Lin Shuang stepped forward and said to Song Huiru, "Miss Song, you'd better not go looking for a beating. Our Miss Xique is the most valued person by the Princess and the Prince. Miss Xique also has a token personally bestowed by the Prince. If she hits you, it's the same as being hit by the Prince."

"You will soon be entering the Prince's residence, and will then be considered a member of the Prince's household; even if we were to complain to the Emperor, he wouldn't be able to interfere in the affairs of the Ninth Prince's residence."

Song Huiru narrowed her eyes slightly.

That girl has such a clever tongue!

They are a hundred times more difficult to deal with than those reckless bandits.

The reason why that bandit queen is so favored is probably because of this girl. It seems that we need to think of a way to win her over first.

"Miss, let's not provoke these bandits. If we have any grievances, we can talk to the Ninth Prince about them later. Let's not suffer this loss for nothing." Seeing that her mistress was considering backing down, Chun Tao quickly offered her a way out.

Chunxing also came up to help Song Huiru walk: "Miss, let's go back first. These bandits are too scary. Let's stay away, okay?"

Song Huiru then adopted a delicate and vulnerable demeanor and was pulled away by the two maids;

Those eyes and expressions spoke volumes:

It's not that I don't want to save you, it's just that these bandits are too terrifying, and I'm powerless to help them.

But people actually fall for her act.

After this incident, Song Huiru gained enough fame.

The people of Kyoto had even higher expectations for Song Huiru to take over the Ninth Prince's residence than for Princess Zhaoping.

The sparrow was so angry that it didn't eat for two meals, and it wished it could rush to the Song family mansion and tear Song Huiru apart: "Sister shouldn't have stopped me that day, I should have beaten her to death that day!"

“Miss Xique, the intricacies of the inner quarters are not so simple; since she has set up such a scheme to use you to gain fame, she must be absolutely certain that she won’t be beaten to death; if you really hit her, things will only get worse,” Lin Shuang said patiently.

"What's so bad about it? It deserves to be beaten!"

At that moment, Ji Fengyao's voice suddenly came from outside.

The three maids inside were delighted to hear this and quickly got up to greet them.

Ji Fengyao was dressed in a practical riding outfit, with a bright red down brocade cloak over it, looking quite dashing. The fluffy white fur around the cloak made her skin appear even whiter and more translucent, and her face, without a trace of makeup, was fair and rosy, making her look charming and lovely.

"Miss!" Xi Que happily went up to her, tightly grasped Ji Fengyao's hand, her eyes slightly red, her gaze filled with anxiety, anger, and grievance.

"Good magpie, I heard about Song Huiru's matter on my way back. It's not your fault, you did the right thing." Ji Fengyao comforted magpie by holding her hand. "Come on, let's go inside and talk."

The three maids welcomed Ji Fengyao into the house.

Lin Shuang and Bai Lu quickly helped her bathe and change, and brewed hot tea before sitting around the stove in front of the soft couch.

"Your Highness, I was wrong." As soon as she sat down, Lin Shuang took the initiative to bow her head and admit her mistake.

Ji Fengyao smiled gently and asked softly, "Since you've taken the initiative to admit your mistake, tell me, what did you do wrong?"

"This servant shouldn't have stopped Miss Xique..." Lin Shuang said meekly.

Ji Fengyao shook her head: "It seems you don't know you're wrong, and you harbor resentment. You think I've been biased towards Xique without any bottom line because she's my personal maid who's been by my side since childhood, isn't that right?"