Chapter 140 She fell for their trap
Meng Jinyao held her teacup, took a sip, and casually asked, "What did you say?"
Upon hearing this, Princess Jingning felt that she was pretending not to understand human language and glared at her: "Just a short while ago, we were talking at the last restaurant."
Meng Jinyao showed a look of realization, then smiled again and said slowly, "If I say it's true, the princess may not believe me. If I say it's false, I'll be going against my conscience, and my conscience will hurt."
Princess Jingning was speechless. She really was shameless, subtly implying that what she said was true.
A moment later, Princess Jingning asked again, "So last time in the theater, was it really your sister who tried to push you down, but ended up falling down by accident and being saved by you, and then falsely accused you in front of me?"
Meng Jinyao retorted, "Otherwise what? Does the princess think I'm joking with her?"
Princess Jingning's face suddenly darkened, and she gritted her teeth in anger: "So, she lied to me?"
Meng Jinyao replied, "If I wanted to do anything to her, why would I have helped her? I only helped her to avoid being framed. As long as she didn't fall down the stairs, there's no way to really pin the blame on me."
Princess Jingning's face grew increasingly grim, though she still held onto a sliver of hope that she hadn't been deceived. However, the frankness in Meng Jinyao's eyes shattered that sliver of hope; she had truly been deceived by Meng Jinyu.
She was completely baffled: "I am on good terms with her, what good would it do her to deceive me?"
Meng Jinyao looked up at her. The girl was gritting her teeth in anger, her emotions written all over her face. She was very innocent. She opened her mouth and said, "I heard that the princess likes to stand up for others. She will definitely feel even more pity for this poor little thing."
Princess Jingning choked up: "..."
She just couldn't stand seeing kind people being bullied; who knew she'd be used as a tool?
Meng Jinyao added, "It's a good thing that the princess hates evil, but if she can't distinguish between good and bad, she'll only do bad things with good intentions."
Princess Jingning's expression was displeased: "Are you lecturing me?"
Meng Jinyao smiled faintly, "This concubine dares not."
Princess Jingning snorted and stopped talking. She was still angry and ashamed of being deceived for misjudging people. Who would have thought that her new friend, the one she could talk to, was actually using her? It made her look stupid.
Seeing this, Meng Jinyao ignored her.
Before long, the waiters started serving the dishes.
Qingqiu stood to the side serving food to Meng Jinyao, who ate her lunch with complete focus. The chef at this restaurant was extremely skilled, and she had ordered the more expensive dishes, so every dish was delicious. She already had a good appetite, and she thoroughly enjoyed the meal.
Princess Jingning was born into the royal family and had eaten all kinds of delicacies since she was a child. She was very picky and didn't usually eat much. Even if the food was delicious, she would only eat a few bites. But seeing her eat so heartily, I suddenly had an appetite.
They finished lunch, and there was still plenty of food left.
Princess Jingning's two maids and Meng Jinyao's two maids hadn't eaten yet. After they finished eating, they left the table and sat down to the side. The maids then went to the table to continue eating, since maids couldn't eat on equal footing with their mistresses.
Although the food was all leftovers, the maids used serving chopsticks to pick up the food for their masters, so there was no situation where the maids were allowed to eat the masters' saliva.
Twelve dishes for six people is a lot, but the more expensive the dish, the smaller the portion. Meng Jinyao ordered the most expensive dishes, and all twelve dishes were relatively small in portion. However, they were exquisite and delicious, and the ingredients were all expensive. After the four maids finished eating, there wasn't much left over, so it wasn't a waste.
After a satisfying meal, the group left the restaurant.
Meng Jinyao smiled and said, "Thank you for your hospitality today, Princess."
Princess Jingning glared at Meng Jinyao angrily. Wasn't it just a show of hospitality? The meal cost her over a hundred taels of silver. Luckily, she had plenty of money, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to afford it.
As the saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to him," and having enjoyed a sumptuous meal, Meng Jinyao was very easy to talk to. She asked gently, "Where is Your Highness going next? Would you like me to accompany you? If not, then I shall take my leave."
Upon hearing this, Princess Jingning looked her up and down. Her attire today was bright and elegant, so she nodded and said, "You seem to have good taste. Accompany me to choose some jewelry."
Meng Jinyao readily agreed, since she had nothing else to do anyway, and it would be a way to amuse herself.
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Jin Yu Ge, the largest jewelry shop in the capital.
Meng Jinyao has a good eye; she selected several pieces of jewelry for Princess Jingning.
Princess Jingning was pleased: "Madam Gu, your taste is much better than your sister's. I don't really like the ones she picks for me."
Meng Jinyao smiled gently: "I'm glad the princess likes it. I'll take a look at the others."
Before long, Meng Jinyao took a fancy to a set of white jade inlaid with red coral. The jade was of excellent quality, clear and white, and the coral was deep red. There were no flaws at all, and the quality was excellent. She liked it very much and was about to ask the shopkeeper the price to buy it when she heard Princess Jingning's voice.
Princess Jingning said, "This set of jewelry suits Madam Gu very well. If Madam Gu likes it, she can buy it."
Meng Jinyao turned to look at her, and asked with a smile, "Will the princess give this to me?"
Princess Jingning was stunned: "?"
Seeing that she did not answer, Meng Jinyao said again, "Then this concubine thanks the princess."
Princess Jingning was stunned. When had she ever said she would give it to her? She had seen shameless people before, but never anyone as shameless as her. If there were any foreign enemies invading in the future, she would have to recommend Meng Jinyao to her uncle, the Emperor, so that Meng Jinyao could use her shamelessness to resist the enemy.
She gritted her teeth and said in a low voice, "When did I ever say I was going to give this to you? This set of jewelry is so expensive, you really dare to dream!"
Meng Jinyao blinked innocently and said understandingly, "Did the princess not bring enough money with her today? Then forget it. I thought the princess was well-off."
These words provoked Princess Jingning. She looked at the shopkeeper and said in a wealthy and arrogant manner, "Shopkeeper, put the set of jewelry that Madam Gu has taken a liking to on my tab."
As soon as she finished speaking, Meng Jinyao's smiling voice rang out: "Thank you, Princess."
She smiled, her eyebrows curved, and her eyes gleamed with a cunning light, like a sly fox.
Princess Jingning belatedly realized she had fallen into a trap, a ploy to provoke her. Instantly, she glared at her with wide eyes, gritted her teeth, and said, "You two sisters are both liars!"
Meng Jinyao looked completely innocent: "Your Highness, you are mistaken. When have I ever lied to you?"
Princess Jingning snorted coldly, ordered her maid to settle the bill, and also settled Meng Jinyao's bill. Then she angrily tried to leave Jinyuge, but after taking a few steps she realized she was going in the wrong direction, so she turned around and walked back to the main gate.
Seeing this, Meng Jinyao realized she had gone too far and had actually angered the girl to the point of losing her bearings. She had only thought that Princess Jingning was a bit silly and cute and wanted to tease her, but she didn't expect her to actually ask someone to pay the bill for her. She quickly followed after her.
After leaving the Golden Jade Pavilion, she said gently, "Princess, please don't be angry. If you get sick from anger, it would truly be my fault."
Princess Jingning paused, glanced at her sideways, snorted coldly, and said in a huff, "Alright, stop referring to yourself as 'this concubine' in front of me. Such humility is not like your true nature. After all, you spent more than a thousand taels of silver from me today. No woman has ever dared to cheat me out of my money."
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