Chapter 24 is indeed a big mouth.
The one leading the group was none other than the Princess Consort of Chang'an.
Beside her was a girl of about thirteen or fourteen years old.
Everyone assumed the young girl was a county princess from the Prince's mansion, but upon closer inspection, she turned out to be Princess Li Sanqi, the legitimate daughter of the current Empress, with the title of Jiaoyang.
Everyone quickly curtsied and greeted Princess Jiaoyang.
"No need for formalities," Princess Jiaoyang said calmly, her gaze sweeping across the crowd before finally settling on Min Qiaoshi and Wang Zhangshi, who were surrounded by people.
"Who do you think is causing trouble at my cousin's gate? It turns out to be the Dowager Lady of Xuanping, who's been making waves lately!"
Princess Jiaoyang's tone was clearly hostile.
"I just don't know, which family does the other one belong to? I don't recognize him."
She glanced at Wang Zhangshi again; she was indeed unfamiliar with her.
Princess Consort of Chang'an did not recognize Lady Wang Zhang, so she quietly asked the head maid behind her. The head maid quickly whispered in Princess Consort of Chang'an's ear.
Upon hearing this, Princess Consort of Chang'an frowned and quietly told Princess Jiaoyang about Wang Zhangshi's background.
"Who is this, my cousin-in-law?" Jiao Yang glanced at the Princess Consort in surprise, then looked at Wang Zhangshi with disgust. "When did the threshold for a royal birthday banquet become so low? Why are they inviting just any Tom, Dick, or Harry?"
The princess consort smiled awkwardly, and everyone looked at each other, not daring to say a word.
The people who came today were all wives of officials of the third rank or above, and noble families such as dukes, marquises, and earls. Moreover, they were all elderly ladies and matriarchs.
Who knew that Wang Zhangshi would somehow slip into the crowd?
The stewardess behind the princess was now sweating profusely.
She sent out the invitations for the birthday banquet. The invitations for everyone else were prepared in advance, and then the invitations were written and sent out.
Only the document from Lady Wang's household was obtained by someone from the Crown Prince's Chamberlain's Office who came to her door to help her.
The wife of Liu Zhanshi, the Crown Prince's tutor, was a married daughter of the Wang family, namely Wang Zhangshi's sister-in-law, and the younger sister of the deceased Lady Min, the wife of the Marquis of Xuanping.
Although the position of the Crown Prince's Chamberlain is not very high, it carries considerable weight. Once the Crown Prince ascends the throne, he will become one of the Crown Prince's closest advisors.
So when the people from the Imperial Household Department came to ask for the invitation, the old woman did them a favor and sent it out.
At this moment, Lady Liu, the wife of the Grand Master of Ceremonies, was hiding in the crowd, her face flushed red, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the ground.
She and her sister-in-law, Wang Zhangshi, came together. Wang Zhangshi's carriage was ahead, and she only got off a little later. Wang Zhangshi and Min Qiaoshi started arguing.
She didn't want to be caught in the middle between Wang Zhangshi and Min Qiaoshi, nor did she want to get involved and be watched by others. So she stayed in the back, silent.
Hearing Princess Jiaoyang's words, he suddenly felt quite embarrassed.
She knew her sister-in-law's temperament well. But she thought that this birthday banquet was high-profile, attended by top-tier nobles, and that even if her sister-in-law was a troublemaker, she should think twice about whether she could afford to offend her.
But who would have thought that she could get into a fight with Madam Min in such a situation!
Of course, she hadn't expected that Madam Min would dare to attend a public event at this time. Even more unexpected was that Madam Min would abandon her usual policy of appeasement and actually start a fight with her sister-in-law in public.
In short, too many unexpected things happened today.
Wang Zhangshi was truly panicked at this moment, her face flushed with embarrassment, unable to speak for a long time. She just kept searching for someone in the crowd.
Upon seeing this, Lady Liu, the wife of the Grand Master of Ceremonies, quickly shrank further into the crowd.
Unable to find anyone, Wang Zhangshi turned her gaze to the wife of the Minister of Rites, her eyes filled with a plea for help.
The wife of the Minister of Rites frowned, but still forced herself to speak, "Princess, you are, after all, an official's wife."
That means you should at least give them some face.
Princess Jiaoyang scoffed, "Alright, Lady Zhang, is this not a place for someone of your status? Go back."
Wang Zhangshi immediately turned into a boiled shrimp, hastily curtsied, and then turned and fled in panic.
Everyone looked at each other, and they all had a new understanding of the Emperor's only legitimate daughter.
I had only heard that Princess Jiaoyang was deeply favored by the emperor and had a title from birth.
Now it seems that Princess Jiaoyang is quite domineering, with a rather uncompromising attitude.
After Wang Zhangshi left, only Min Qiaoshi remained as the person involved in the disturbance.
"Madam Qiao, why aren't you enjoying some peace and quiet at the Marquis's residence? Why are you here for a birthday banquet?"
Princess Jiaoyang spoke in a sarcastic and sarcastic tone, as if she had driven away one person and was planning to drive away the remaining one as well.
Madam Min Qiao was not intimidated at all. She curtsied and said calmly, "I received an invitation from the Prince's Mansion, so naturally I came. If I didn't come, wouldn't people say I was arrogant and dared not come even if it was an invitation from the royal family?"
Princess Jiaoyang looked at Min Qiaoshi with surprise. Was this an explanation, or was she arguing with her?
In my memory, Madam Qiao was not someone who dared to stand up straight in front of others or get into conflicts with them.
“What Madam Qiao says makes sense. But hasn’t Madam Qiao heard the rumors that have been spreading all over the city lately? Even I’ve heard about them in the palace. Madam Qiao, don’t tell me you didn’t know.”
Princess Jiaoyang looked at Madam Min Qiao with a half-smile, "Coming to my imperial aunt's birthday banquet with such a terrible reputation, are you perhaps just here to get in the way?"
Madam Min smiled slightly and said calmly, "The princess herself said it's a rumor. Since it's a rumor, why should I care?"
Just then, Madam Yang, the wife of the Minister of Rites, interjected, "Madam Qiao, you are mistaken. As the saying goes, there's no smoke without fire, and every event has a cause. Doesn't Madam Qiao have anything to say?"
“That’s right, Madam Qiao, your Marquis’s Mansion received a lot of kindness from the Lu family back then. Now that you’ve crossed the river and burned the bridge, don’t you feel guilty?” someone echoed in the crowd.
"Madam Qiao, is it really your idea to annul the engagement? The Lady of Xuanping Marquis said herself that you are in charge of the Xuanping Marquis's mansion, and that it was your decision to annul the engagement. Even the maid who went to annul the engagement was someone close to you. Do you have any explanation to give?" These words were spoken by the Lady of An'nan.
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes fell on the Lady of Annam.
Good heavens, she really is a big mouth. She's already sold out Lady Xuanping?
However, soon everyone's faces showed expressions of anticipation and excitement.
Is the Marquis of Xuanping's household about to experience a power struggle between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law?
Lady Annan remained oblivious, seemingly unaware that there was anything wrong with her words. She pouted and said, "Why are you all looking at me? It was Lady Xuanping who specifically invited me over to speak to me!"
Everyone was speechless.
The Lady of An'nan has really put the Lady of Xuanping in a difficult position.
So, it turns out that Lady Xuanping didn't just inadvertently let slip that Lady An'nan overheard, or that she deliberately sent someone to say those things?
What does that mean? What does that mean? Think about it carefully!
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