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"This concubine has no talent, Madam Wu should find someone more capable."
Jiang Yan was still in the lingering fear of being caned.
Lately, and perhaps for a long time to come, she doesn't want to get into any more trouble.
But Wu Lanyu seemed not to hear her words and continued.
"Sister, Madam Shen, a mere mulberry picker, has been promoted to a concubine. Don't you feel wronged?"
"I'm not wronged."
"Is the older sister lying to the younger sister?" Wu Lanyu laughed sarcastically.
"Why would I lie to you? The Prince favors Madam Shen and elevates her to the rank of concubine, which is perfectly reasonable, isn't it?"
Wu Lanyu fell silent, watching her quietly.
But as the night deepened, she couldn't see her expression at all, so she felt no guilt.
Wu Lanyu continued, "Sister, if Madam Shen wins the Prince's heart, I'm afraid you'll have no chance to recover. Aren't you afraid?"
funny!
What is she afraid of?
She's not herself, she's not one of them!!
"Madam Wu's question is quite strange! Why should I be afraid? Since we are all the Prince's people, what difference does it make who is better? Why must it be better for me?"
Wu Lanyu couldn't help but let out a cold laugh, which sounded particularly eerie in the quiet courtyard.
A chill ran down Jiang Yan's spine!
"Sister, you can't have any wishful thinking while you're in the Prince's mansion. You can't just walk away unscathed by staying out of it. Even if you didn't want to get involved, you wouldn't have a choice. Besides, you're already involved now, so why should you act passively?"
Jiang Yan was horrified by Wu Lanyu's words, which were both blatant and insipid.
She thought she had done it very discreetly and carefully, and that no one would notice.
"Madam Wu, you certainly have a vivid imagination!" Jiang Yan said with an unnatural smile.
"Sister, we'll see!" Wu Lanyu said with a sneer, then took Qingmei back.
Jiang Yan was quite shocked. After she left, it took her a long time to recover.
What choice does she have?
She originally intended to rely on Shangguan Zeyu and get his protection.
But after the caning incident, she realized how ridiculous her idea was.
History books have stated it, history teachers have taught it, TV dramas have depicted it, and novels have portrayed it. Since ancient times, nothing has been above power!
Using one's beauty to please others and being at their mercy will ultimately lead to a bad outcome.
She has to find another way!
Shen Qianqian has already incurred the wrath of many, but she still doesn't know when to stop. She keeps pestering Shangguan Zeyu, either trying to please him or using her charm.
Xiao Yiqing was so angry that she lost her appetite and kept smashing things.
Chunhua was afraid that she would get upset and harm her health, so she made a careful suggestion.
“Your Highness, getting angry won’t solve anything. Why don’t you work together with Madam Wang and Madam Wu to devise a strategy?”
"Those two opportunists! Completely useless!!"
“Your Highness, that is true, but the enemy of my enemy is my friend. As long as we can deal with the same enemy, we need not worry about them not being united.”
Xiao Yiqing gradually calmed down.
After thinking for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he sent Chunhua to invite them.
Wang Qianqian and Wu Lanyu had just announced that they would go their separate ways, but now they are back together because of Shen Qianqian.
Wu Lanyu is in Wang Qianqian's Begonia Garden.
When Chunhua went to invite Wang Qianqian, she also invited her.
The two of them then went to Peach Blossom Village together.
Xiao Yiqing had undergone a complete makeover, sporting a stunning makeup look that was a far cry from her previous pursuit of elegance, grace, and poise.
Wang Qianqian's eyes flashed with surprise, and she bowed respectfully.
May Your Highness have good fortune and happiness.
Wu Lanyu echoed this.
"Please take a seat."
The two of them then sat on either side of Xiao Yiqing.
Wang Qianqian was sitting on the left.
Wu Lanyu was sitting on the right.
Xiao Yiqing did not immediately get to the point. Instead, she watched as the maids arranged the fruits and snacks and invited them to drink before slowly getting to the main topic.
"Madam Shen has been in high spirits lately, quite pleased with herself! Have the two sisters seen her?"
Wang Qianqian glanced at Wu Lanyu: "Madam Shen is too busy to visit Xinghua Manor these days, and I haven't seen my sister for a long time."
Xiao Yiqing looked at Wu Lanyu.
She said, "My sister also happened to run into him once the other day... outside the Pear Blossom Residence."
"You went to Pear Blossom Residence?" Xiao Yiqing had a strong aversion to Pear Blossom Residence, and upon hearing this, her face instantly contorted with rage, and her voice rose sharply.
"Princess, please don't worry. I was just passing by Pear Blossom Residence and did not have any dealings with Consort Liu."
"Has Madam Shen gone inside?"
"This..." Wu Lanyu glanced at Wang Qianqian subtly, "It should be."
"That ungrateful wretch!! When she first came to the Prince's mansion, she cried to me, saying that she had no one to rely on and was willing to submit. Now she's getting so close to someone I despise. She's utterly despicable!!" In a fit of anger, she swept her right hand, knocking the brand-new, exquisitely crafted glazed teacup to the ground, where it rolled a long way.
Wang Qianqian watched as the teacup rolled away and stopped, then looked meaningfully at Wu Lanyu.
Wu Lanyu, however, looked completely innocent and clueless.
Xiao Yiqing: "In terms of status, Sister Wu should be number one. In terms of talent, Sister Wang is number one. That bitch Shen Qianqian! She has neither status nor talent, how dare she vent her anger on you? This princess will not allow it, nor will she permit it!!"
Wu Lanyu: "Princess Consort, I was just discussing with Madam Wang that Sister Shen's bewitching of the Prince, making him infatuated with women, might jeopardize his future."
Wang Qianqian's gaze grew colder and colder as she spoke.
Xiao Yiqing: "Sister Wang, you are the most intelligent and resourceful. Have you thought about how to avoid this?"
Wang Qianqian glanced coldly at Wu Lanyu, who was looking at her innocently, and said.
"His Highness has never been so infatuated with a woman... Perhaps, Madam Shen used something to bewitch him."
Xiao Yiqing suddenly had a flash of insight and realized the truth.
"No wonder! So that's what happened!! This bitch, watch how I make her utterly defeated, never to rise again!!!" She laughed bloodthirstyly.
Wu Lanyu was very proud and excited.
Wang Qianqian remained calm, like an observer, glancing at her and then at Xiao Yiqing.
On the way back, Wu Lanyu stopped her, wanting to say a few words to her, but she was coldly rejected.
However, Wu Lanyu is not flustered at all now, unlike in the past when she would be terrified and panicked at the slightest thing.
She was relaxed and confident, humming a little tune as she enjoyed the scenery along the way.
The phrase "a storm is brewing" is easy to understand, but the turbulent undercurrents beneath the calm surface of the sea are only revealed when they erupt.
On this day, Shen Qianqian dressed up in her finest clothes again to go see Shangguan Zeyu.
Shangguan Zeyu is strange. In the past, he was always in the palace, so busy that you could hardly see a soul. But in recent days, he seems to have nothing to do and is always at home.
Zhang Qin was not by his side to serve him.
Shen Qianqian asked Iris to wait for her outside the Cloud Pavilion, and went in by herself.
"Your Highness~ Your Highness, are you there? Qianqian has come to see you." The soft and soothing voice was like a murmur under the swirling mist, which was very enchanting.
"Come in," Shangguan Zeyu said quickly with a smile.
Excited, Shen Qianqian quickly tidied herself up, put on her most beautiful smile, and pushed open the door.
Shangguan Zeyu was reading a book, his expression serene, displaying a kind of open-mindedness that was unaffected by external gains or losses.
Shen Qianqian took a deep breath, held it, and like a young lady teasing her lover, gently bit her lower lip, smiled, and tiptoed behind him.
Then she quickly covered his eyes, deliberately lowered her voice, and asked in a strange, gruff tone.
Guess who I am?
A faint smile appeared on Shangguan Zeyu's lips.
"I guess... you are..." He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, and just as Shen Qianqian was eagerly awaiting his next words, he suddenly pulled her into his lap.
"This king..." He whispered something in Shen Qianqian's right ear, and Shen Qianqian was so shy that she almost curled up into a hedgehog.
Shangguan Zeyu looked at her calmly, but the words he spoke were extremely seductive.
"I adore your charm and shyness, Qianmei. They make my heart flutter like a deer."
"Your Highness~~" Shen Qianqian said shyly, and subconsciously punched his chest a few times.
He then looked at her with a deep gaze and firmly grasped her delicate hand.
Just as their eyes met and their lips were about to touch, Shangguan Zeyu suddenly and coldly moved his lips away from Shen Qianqian's red lips.
Shen Qianqian could not hide her disappointment and dejection.
Shangguan Zeyu, however, seemed not to have seen it.
"Qianmei, I have something to give you."
Shen Qianqian laughed excitedly again.
Shangguan Zeyu noticed all her changes in expression, smiled slightly, and handed her a long box carved with lilies that was on the desk.
"Open it and take a look."
Shen Qianqian could not hide her joy and slowly opened it.
It is a gold-inlaid jade hairpin.
The hairpin was made of gold, and it glittered.
Half of the hairpin is made of gold, and the other half is carved from white jade.
The golden petals and the white jade petals complement each other perfectly, without any jarring effect. It gives the impression that they were originally one golden flower and one white jade flower, but because they are so close together, they are intertwined.
It was very harmonious.
“This hairpin is called the Mandarin Duck Pendant.” Shangguan Zeyu began to exert his alluring charm again.
He gently rested his chin on Shen Qianqian's right shoulder, murmuring softly through his nose.
"Qianmei, can you tell which one is 'Mandarin Duck' and which one is 'Swan'?"
Shen Qianqian couldn't resist his teasing. Her body went weak and her mind went blank. She could only say it subconsciously.
"I don't know."
"I will teach you."
Shangguan Zeyu parted his lips slightly and deliberately exhaled his warm breath onto her slender, smooth, and silky neck.
Seeing her shrink back and turn red from the discomfort, his cold smile stretched even wider.
“This gold color represents ‘Mandarin Duck’, and this white jade color represents ‘Duck’.”
"Why?" Shen Qianqian's face was still flushed. She turned her neck slightly to the right and asked.
"Because... gold represents me, and white jade represents Qianmei." The voice was again that hazy, indistinct murmur, making one's heart flutter and one's body go weak.
Moreover, he used his well-defined, slender, and smooth hands to hold Shen Qianqian's hands, gently and slowly tracing the place where the golden flowers and white jade flowers met.
Shen Qianqian's face flushed red to the roots of her neck, her shy and charming beauty as rich and mellow as aged wine.
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