With a crash, the crowd instantly retreated several feet away. "How shameful!"
The scholars covered their noses with their folding fans, their eyes filled with disgust. Some shared Yu Huankun's disillusionment: "Miss Yuyao has always been virtuous, and wherever she passed, there was a scent of fragrance. How could she have been stained with such filth?" Others suddenly realized: "No wonder Second Miss Jiang acted so strangely just now. It turns out she was too ashamed to show her uncleanness to see others."
Jiang Yuyao stood there stiffly, her ears buzzing.
The admiring gazes that had once inspired her with poems and paintings now transformed into sharp, razor-sharp scrutiny. She subconsciously clutched her collar, her fingertips touching the sticky stain, and her stomach churned again.
Yao Zhe wanted to step forward, but Jiang Jinzhao stopped him with his arm crossed: "Mr. Yao, please respect yourself!" He turned and glared at Yu Chuwei: "Miss Yu is so calculating!"
Yu Chuwei was about to cry: "I just can't stand Miss Jiang's slander of the county lady..."
Xinyi Zigu originally thought that the person Jiang Jinzhao was protecting was Jiang Songyi, and was planning to rescue her later, which would surely make this country girl fall in love with him.
His mother had recently urged him to marry a consort. Although Jiang Songyi's behavior was crude, she held the title of County Lady and had a reputation for exorcising evil and saving the people, making her worthy of the position of a prince's consort. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the beautiful consort and the talented and beautiful concubine shared the same husband, emulating the legend of Ehuang and Nvying?
But he never expected that the vulgar woman being pointed at by everyone was not Jiang Songyi, but Jiang Yuyao, whom he personally promised to take as his concubine!
Looking at the yellow stains on Jiang Yuyao's clothes and listening to the sneers from all around, Xinyi Zigu felt completely humiliated - how could she be worthy of being his concubine with such a filthy appearance?
Su Sheng also did not expect to run into Jiang Yuyao here. What was even more strange was that after realizing that the person who made a fool of himself was not Jiang Songyi, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
This discovery shocked him. The village girl treated him like a servant and used threats and inducements to bully him. Why would he be worried?
Yao Zhe was even less interested, curling his lips and saying, "If you're not the Princess of Linchuan County, why would Zhang Dingqian call you? Seeing how protective Young Master Jiang is of his child, he might have thought it was his own sister!"
Yuan Tong shook his round head proudly, "I told you it wasn't the County Princess! This frail figure that falls over with the wind must be Jiang Yuyao. But you all insisted on believing that Zhang Dingqian's nonsense!"
He spat on the ground. "That bastard should have broken off the engagement, but he also went so far as to throw dirty water on the Jiang family girl, saying she had a serious illness and couldn't have children. What a piece of shit!"
Xinyi Zigu frowned and looked at Jiang Yuyao, disgust in his eyes almost condensed into substance: "What's wrong with you?"
Jiang Yuyao trembled all over, her nails digging deep into her palms. Yu Chuwei's move was too cruel, making her lose face in front of the Fourth Prince! Listening to the whispers around her, she wished she could faint on the spot. But Xinyi Zigu's question made her burst into tears: "Your Highness... I..."
A beautiful woman weeping should be pitiful, but with the filth on her chest, it's easy to avoid her. A few soft-hearted scholars were about to speak, but their eyes caught sight of the yellow stain and they hurriedly turned their heads away—even the most beautiful flower, stained with feces, would be unappetizing.
Jiang Yuyao wiped her tears and winked at Liao Xianxian. If she were the maidservant of the past, she would have fallen to her knees and taken all the blame. But Liao Xianxian stood there with her cheeks red and swollen, and even though her eyelids were about to cramp, she remained motionless like a wooden stake.
Jiang Jinzhao glanced at Yu Chuwei coldly, then turned and said softly, "Yuyao, go to the carriage and change your clothes first."
Jiang Yuyao's words had a different meaning to her—even her eldest brother thought she was embarrassing! She bit her lower lip, tears streaming down her face. "My eldest brother also dislikes me..." Before she could finish her words, she heard a sneer from the crowd.
"Could it be that the Second Miss is suffering from morning sickness?" Yuan Tong pinched his nose and yelled, "My eldest sister-in-law also had acid reflux when she was pregnant with my nephew!"
This remark caused everyone to laugh, and Xinyi Zigu's face became even uglier.
Jiang Yuyao's vision went dark. Just as she was about to argue, Su Sheng approached, fanning himself. "I'm afraid you all must have misunderstood. Didn't Young Master Yuan just say this was sour tea soup?" He deliberately stretched out his voice. "I've heard that Second Miss Jiang is an expert at brewing tea. Could this be the newly developed 'Jade Liquid'?"
The laughter got louder.
The color drained from Jiang Yuyao's face, and she looked at her brother for help, but she saw that Jiang Jinzhao had already avoided her gaze!
She looked at Xinyi Zigu with tears in her eyes and choked up, "Your Highness, please understand. This filth... was not vomited by Yuyao, but by Xianxian..."
The words stopped abruptly here, but it had already caused everyone to imagine - what a wicked servant who betrayed his master!
Then consider her current predicament: Though she bears the title of Second Miss of the Yongding Marquisate and is destined to be the future imperial concubine, who knows she is actually descended from the bloodline of the Marquis of Chansi? Rumors of her birth mother, Liao, giving birth to a ghost child still linger in her ears, and her identity as a daughter of illicit love is etched in her very bones. Such a noblewoman of both talent and beauty, dragged down by her past, has fallen into this morass. Now, even a servant dares to insult her master. How can this not be a cause for regret?
"Such a wicked slave should be beaten to death!" Some scholars have already spoken out angrily.
Jiang Jinzhao and Jiang Baichuan's gazes were like icy blades piercing Liao Xianxian. The maid trembled all over and suddenly threw herself at Jiang Yuyao's feet: "Yuyao, you can't--"
"Shut up!" Jiang Yuyao interrupted harshly, and then put on a sad look: "Although Xianxian made mistakes, she is still the maid given to me by Sister Songyi..." These words were said in a roundabout way, and everyone immediately recalled the rumor in Jindu - the old story of the Princess of Linchuan County pushing people into the icy lake twice.
"No wonder a mere maid is so arrogant. It turns out she has the support of the county lady!"
"I heard that he humiliated Miss Yuyao in front of the Fourth Prince a few days ago, and now he's using such vile means. How cruel!"
"Poor Miss Yuyao, living under someone else's roof, even her personal maid was given to her by her enemy!"
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