As Sheng Moshi listened to the increasingly unrestrained chatter of the crowd below, his expression grew increasingly grim.
She glared at the whispering ladies below, her teeth clenched, filled with resentment.
These idiots! They actually gossiped about her right and wrong in front of her.
Every single one of these people will be taught a lesson once she becomes the most honored woman in the world!
Old Madam Sheng noticed Sheng Moshi's unusual behavior, glanced at her, and said in a low, cold voice:
"Stop your thoughts. Your marriage is not to the Crown Prince. Don't covet what is not meant for you! Since you are a daughter of the Sheng family, you should plan for the future of the Sheng family! If you dare to have any more wild ideas and disregard the interests of the Sheng family, don't blame the Sheng family for abandoning you!"
Madam Sheng never expected that this girl would develop such inappropriate feelings for Si Mingye.
The Sheng family has always been aligned with Prince Rui, and they are destined to be intertwined with Prince Rui's mansion.
The only way for this young lady to get that position is to marry Prince Rui.
She and the Crown Prince could have a romantic relationship, because that would help solidify the Sheng family's position in Yandu.
But this young lady can only marry the heir of Prince Rui…
"Yes, Grandmother, Mo Shi understands! Don't worry, for the sake of the Sheng family, Mo Shi will keep her heart in check..."
Sheng Moshi's eyes were slightly red, making her look like a sacrifice for her family's interests, having given up her beautiful love...
In truth, she never intended to sacrifice herself for the Sheng family.
She was the daughter of the eldest princess of the Great Yan Kingdom, and was a noble princess in her own right.
If possible, she should marry her cousin to be considered a good match.
Why should she give up the man she loves for the sake of her family's interests? She's not even a true member of the Sheng family...
But she didn't want to give up on Prince Rui's side either, because if things went well with Prince Rui, she could become the most honored woman in the future.
...
Seeing her obedient appearance, Old Madam Sheng nodded in satisfaction.
"You know that's good. Alright, calm down. The coming-of-age ceremony is about to begin!"
As soon as Old Madam Sheng finished speaking, Sheng Lingtian stood on the stage and began to shout:
"Welcome everyone to the coming-of-age ceremony of my son, Mo Shi..."
After Sheng Lingtian said some polite words, the elaborate coming-of-age ceremony officially began.
In the Great Yan Kingdom, the coming-of-age ceremony for women usually involved the woman's mother personally tying her hair.
The so-called mother refers to the head wife of the household; concubines were not qualified to adorn their daughters' hair with hair ornaments.
The Chu family had already fallen out with the General's Mansion and didn't want to get involved in this matter.
But Sheng Lingtian wanted the world to see that he and Chu Shi were still a harmonious couple, as loving as ever.
They insisted on pestering the Chu family to make Sheng Moshi wear a hairpin.
These days, he comes to bother her in the courtyard every day, but Madam Chu is too lazy to even look at Sheng Lingtian's face.
So he agreed to personally give Sheng Moshi a hairpin, but only for two thousand taels of silver.
Although Sheng Lingtian was reluctant to spend the money, Madam Chu was unyielding and refused to attend the coming-of-age ceremony without giving him money.
He had no choice but to compromise for the sake of the General's Mansion's reputation.
Today, Madam Chu was dressed in white, her makeup simple and elegant, her face without any powder, and her lips had a sickly pale color...
This state of Chu was like a pear blossom in the rain, so withered and pitiful.
The appearance of Madam Chu further confirmed the rumors that the Sheng family favored their wives over their concubines, and that Madam Chu was living a miserable life in the Chu family.
Some of the officials who were attending the coming-of-age ceremony were immediately excited, and some even began to draft memorials in their minds.
Unfortunately, the incident where the illegitimate son of General Chu was struck by lightning last time caused such a huge uproar and had a powerful deterrent effect. Now, all the officials and their children in the capital are behaving very well, fearing that one day they might commit too many misdeeds and also be struck by lightning…
This has left these officials with absolutely nothing to do; if this continues, they'll probably be unemployed soon...
Sheng Lingtian and Mu Rou'er, who was standing next to him in her finest attire, were both furious upon seeing this.
Only they knew how comfortable Chu's life was in the East Garden, and that dressing up like this was clearly a deliberate attempt to smear their reputation.
"Chu Lan, what exactly are you trying to do by dressing up like this today?"
With a concerned expression, Sheng Lingtian leaned close to Chu Shi's ear and spoke fiercely.
"What do you mean, 'what do you want to do'? I don't understand what the general is saying!"
Chu replied calmly.
Why are you dressed up like this?
Sheng Lingtian gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger.
"Isn't it because we don't want to steal the spotlight? Today is Mo Shi's coming-of-age ceremony. Although we are not in the same age group..."
But people always compare me to her, and I dress so plainly because I'm afraid of stealing her thunder!
As she spoke, Chu glanced meaningfully at Mu Rou'er.
Mu Rou'er understood the meaning behind Chu's words. Wasn't she referring to the time when Chu tried to make Sheng Moshi gain fame by stepping on Chu's former title of the most talented woman at Sheng Wanwan's birthday banquet?
She was indeed comparing Chu Shi to her own daughter at the time.
Chu used this incident as an excuse, which infuriated her!
"Sister, even if you don't want to steal Rou'er's thunder, you shouldn't deliberately dress yourself up so haggard! Won't this make outsiders misunderstand our General's Mansion? People who don't know better will think that our General's Mansion has mistreated you!"
"Aren't you trying to get the general impeached by those censors?"
Mu Rou'er suppressed her anger and smiled as she took Chu Shi's hand.
To outsiders, it would seem that Mu Rou'er and Madam Chu had a good relationship and were whispering to each other.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
