In Xinduli, many people know that Princess Kangle and the plump girl from the Jia family are good friends.
But I've only heard about it a few times; I haven't actually seen it with my own eyes many times.
Seeing it today, it's truly a novel experience.
The Jia family's daughter was greedy; her cheeks were stuffed with food, making her look like a squirrel.
Princess Kang Le not only didn't mind, but also fed Miss Jia water and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.
Looking at the food, it wasn't laid out on the table; it was clearly prepared by Princess Kang Le specifically for Miss Jia.
The ladies were alright, since it was just the two little girls who got along better.
But the girls from each family felt uneasy.
It should be noted that Princess Kang Le had not spoken to any of them since she arrived, nor had she even given them a glance. Instead, she was now lingering around a gluttonous, silly girl.
They are truly blind!
Are these noble ladies not even worthy of Princess Kang Le's glance?
In the end, Princess Kang Le was nothing more than a peasant from a poor family. What was there to be proud of?
Of all the people in the world, women and petty men are the most difficult to deal with.
Among them, the youngest woman's thoughts are the most difficult to fathom!
As a result, many girls became jealous and angry.
The imperial concubine sipped her tea with a gentle smile, glancing occasionally at the performing girls. In truth, she had seen everything and was already harboring some designs on them...
The performances on stage came one after another.
Occasionally, a girl might make a mistake, but most of the time she did quite well.
She plays the zither beautifully, writes calligraphy and painting well, and sings with a clear and cheerful voice.
The Imperial Concubine would occasionally bestow rewards, which made everyone even more enthusiastic.
In just over half an hour, all the girls had finished their performances.
The Imperial Concubine smiled and asked the Third Princess, "Princess, look at these girls, they are really good. Not only are they beautiful and elegant, but they are also very talented."
The third princess is very active and dislikes music, chess, calligraphy, and painting the most. After sitting down for so long, she was so bored that she almost fell asleep.
Upon hearing this, she replied dismissively, "It's alright, I guess. They don't need to take the imperial examinations. They spend over a decade learning music, calligraphy, and painting. It's not surprising that they have this level of skill!"
The imperial concubine seemed somewhat embarrassed, glancing at the crowd below, her expression showing a hint of guilt.
It seemed that because of her words, everyone else was belittled by the princess, and she felt very guilty.
The women in each household were more shrewd; although they were unhappy, they wouldn't say anything.
But the girls had just received their reward and were feeling proud and elated, so they couldn't resist seeing this.
Especially that Lu family girl, who was the first to perform and received the best reward, thought that she had caught the eye of the Imperial Concubine and was about to become a person of high status.
Recalling how Baozhu and Madam Jia had "forced" him to apologize, he could no longer suppress his desire for revenge.
So she stood up and said, “Your Highness, we are of limited talent and learning, and our abilities are certainly not worthy of the princess’s attention.”
"I suppose the princess must often see women who are more outstanding than us? For example, Princess Kang Le, or the Jia family's daughter?"
"Today, we are fortunate to have Princess Kangle and Miss Jia here. Why don't we invite them to showcase their talents and broaden our horizons?"
The other girls who were close to Miss Lu followed suit when they saw her take the lead.
"Yes, Your Highness, please let us broaden our horizons as well."
"The princess's brother is the newly appointed top scholar in the imperial examination. As the sister of a top scholar, she must also be well-read."
"And Miss Jia's cousin is also a newly appointed scholar, so he is naturally proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and is better than us."
The third princess was pampered since childhood and came from a noble family, so she naturally didn't know how to read people's expressions, but she could still distinguish between kind words and unkind words.
These girls are so sarcastic and mean, it's because they're annoyed that she's telling the truth, but they don't dare do anything to her, so they're taking out their anger on Jiayin and Baozhu!
She immediately glared at them and snapped, "Who are you? What nonsense are you spouting! Just because someone else's brother is a newly appointed Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), does that mean he has to be equally learned and talented? Is your brother a Jinshi? If not, then your whole family are idiots!"
The girls were speechless; they hadn't expected the Third Princess to be so quick-witted.
They wanted to argue back, but didn't dare, so they could only show their resentment on their faces.
The Imperial Concubine seemed to be intimidated by the Third Princess's assertiveness and tentatively advised, "Princess, don't be angry. They just wanted to see how learned the Princess is."
"The Li family comes from the countryside and has only been in Xindu for ten years, so their foundation is indeed a bit shallow."
“The fact that a top scholar was produced earlier is already a great achievement, as it has earned the emperor’s favor. It is truly remarkable. The princess may lack in talent, but no one can say anything about that.”
Jiayin didn't want to speak at first, after all, it's better to avoid trouble.
But seeing this, she couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.
It's understandable if the girls from several families stood up to provoke them, but we ignored them.
But if the Imperial Concubine adds fuel to the fire and she doesn't retaliate, it will be considered an admission of guilt.
It's possible that by tomorrow, rumors will be circulating throughout the new capital that the Li family has a shallow foundation, Princess Kangle is as stupid as a pig, and even the Li family's top scholar is just someone the emperor favored, lacking real talent!
She flicked her sleeves, stood up abruptly, and smiled faintly.
"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint Your Highness. Our Li family may not be of high birth, but we have very strict family discipline. My brothers are also very diligent in their studies and are now working hard for Tianwu. Everyone in Tianwu knows this, and it cannot be erased by anyone's casual words."
The "who" in this context refers, of course, to the Imperial Concubine.
The Imperial Concubine looked rather unwell. She didn't want to argue with the Third Princess, but she wasn't afraid of a princess from a peasant family.
"Princess, you misunderstand. No one said anything bad about your father and brothers' loyalty to the country. It's just that they think your talent is not as good as the young ladies present."
"After all, the young ladies from these families all come from prestigious backgrounds and have been taught by renowned teachers since childhood. Don't you think so?"
Jiayin glanced at those so-called ladies who held their heads high and puffed out their chests, her disdain growing stronger.
The knife has already been handed to her. If she doesn't draw blood soon, the word "coward" will be etched onto her head!
"Your Highness, I cannot agree with what you say. Who says that daughters of noble families are necessarily exceptionally talented? There are also fools who are slow to learn, and even after studying for more than ten years, they are probably not as good as me, who falls asleep as soon as I see a book!"
"If Your Highness does not believe me, then how about I have a contest with the ladies present?"
This is about... taking on dozens of enemies single-handedly!
Everyone was stunned, and no one dared to speak for a moment.
They couldn't understand whether Jiayin was truly confident in standing up to everyone, or just arrogant and ignorant of her own limitations.
The Third Princess and Baozhu were genuinely worried that Jiayin would suffer a loss!
Baozhu tugged at Jiayin's sleeve tightly, urgently urging, "Sister Jiayin, no, no! There are so many of them!"
The Third Princess also suddenly stood up and shouted, "No way, Jiayin! You're all alone, how can you compete with so many people? Besides, if you're unhappy, just beat them up, why waste your energy competing with them!"
Jiayin patted Baozhu on the back, gave the Third Princess a look, and laughed, "There's no other way. Since things have come to this point, even if I can't do it, I have no choice but to bite the bullet and rush forward."
"Otherwise, it won't just be me who gets laughed at, but my whole family will lose face too."
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