Chapter 69 Tacit Understanding
Jiang Fei was sitting next to Wei Ciying. She heard about 70% of what the maid said. She immediately looked at Princess Anping.
Princess Anping's face darkened. She supported herself on the table and prepared to stand up when a woman came in with her maid.
"I'm sorry to have come here uninvited, ladies and young ladies."
The last time Jiang Fei visited Princess Anping, she had seen this person in the Zhang family's backyard. She was Zhang Zheng's concubine, Aunt Zhou.
Aunt Zhou bowed gracefully and said, "I heard that Miss Wei was having a birthday party. It would be rude of me not to join in, so I took the liberty of coming aboard."
Everyone present was whispering to each other.
"Why is she here?"
"How dare a concubine come aboard to attend Miss Wei's birthday banquet? Where does she get the courage?"
The girl glanced at Princess Anping and lowered her voice, saying, "It's because she's been spoiled by the prince. The prince favors his concubine over his wife, and even the princess has to give in."
"Did you see what the princess said? Look, it hit people in the face."
Wei Ciying glanced at Princess Anping, who looked uneasy, and said calmly, "You are so thoughtful. Guests are welcome. Please find a seat."
"I'll just sit next to my sister." Aunt Zhou said with a smile.
Before she could even reach them, Princess Anping suddenly stood up. Aunt Zhou said, "Are you leaving? My husband specifically told me when he sent me here that he would pick you up later and we could go together."
Listen, sending her there was intentional, and picking up the princess was just a side job. He slapped Princess Anping in the face in public, and Princess Anping could tolerate it.
Jiang Fei was so angry when she heard this. This was the same old story of green tea that had been lingering for years. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Princess Anping shaking her head at her.
Princess Anping said, "I'm going out for a walk."
Jiang Fei also stood up and whispered to Wei Ciying, "I'll go take a look."
Wei Ciying nodded, took Jiang Fei's hand and said, "Please try to comfort her. Don't let anything happen to her."
The two walked outside. The sun was high in the sky, and even though there was an awning on the deck, the heat wave still hit them.
Princess Anping walked to the railing, her fingers tightly gripping the handrail, her knuckles turning white.
"Princess." Jiang Fei called softly.
"Rufei, do you think I'm useless?" Princess Anping suddenly spoke in a hoarse voice, "Even a concubine can bully me."
Jiang Fei pursed her lips, unable to bring herself to say "no".
"I just don't understand. The princess is clearly in a high position, and you can even use your power to bully others. Why do you keep putting up with it? Is it because of Mr. Zhang?"
Princess Anping turned away with tears in her eyes.
Jiang Fei sighed, "Princess, tolerance is not a virtue, but a sign of weakness. People must first learn to love themselves before they can love others."
Princess Anping stared at her blankly, tears welling up in her eyes, "But..."
"No buts." Jiang Fei looked her straight in the eyes. "Since the county lord has married you, you are the mistress of the house. Why do you have to live your life as a humble servant? You are always tolerant, and in return you only get others' contempt. Women should respect themselves. This is not virtuous, it is self-degrading."
The river breeze ruffled the loose hair on Princess Anping's temples.
Jiang Fei shook her head and turned away, leaving Princess Anping alone to calm down.
Someone must have advised Princess Anping with similar words, but Jiang Fei had said all she had to say. It was impossible to wake up someone who was pretending to be asleep, so she just let it go if she really didn't want to hear it.
When turning the corner, Jiang Fei almost bumped into someone around the corner, and they both took a step back.
Aunt Zhou smiled awkwardly, "I was worried that my sister was in a bad mood, so I wanted to come and see her."
Princess Anping is willing to endure this humiliation, but Jiang Fei has no obligation to indulge Concubine Zhou. Anyone can kill a green tea lady.
"If you want to eavesdrop, then eavesdrop. How can you pretend to be a caring person?"
Jiang Fei slowly stepped forward, and Aunt Zhou was forced to take two steps back. "Miss Jiang, what are you saying? I am just..."
"Hey, big sister, please stop pretending. We are all women, why are you pretending to be weak in front of me?"
Aunt Zhou's cheek twitched, and the softness on her face disappeared, replaced by a cold smile, "Second Miss Jiang is so majestic."
Jiang Fei said coldly: "If my prestige is not strong enough, how can I blow away the nauseating strong smell of old green tea from you?"
Aunt Zhou raised her sleeve and sniffed in confusion.
She'd even specially scented her clothes, so where did the tea smell come from? Could it have been accidentally spilled on them?
Jiang Fei looked at Aunt Zhou who was seriously smelling her sleeves and couldn't help but sneer, "Don't smell it, your stench comes from your bones, no amount of incense can cover it up."
Aunt Zhou's face suddenly turned pale. "I have no grudge against Miss Jiang Er, why..."
"There's no feud?" Jiang Fei interrupted her. "That day at Zhang's house, you deliberately blocked my path, trying to use me as a pawn to poke the princess in the heart. If that's not a feud, then what is? I was smart enough not to fall for your scheme, do you think we can just let it go?"
In a tavern on the shore, Pei Jing leaned against the carved railing and saw from afar Jiang Fei confronting a woman on the deck of the pleasure boat.
The woman was so angry that her face turned red and her neck became thick, but she was calm and composed, and even knew to fan herself leisurely with a round fan.
"Who is that person?"
Duan Jiu stretched his head to look out the window and said, "It looks like Miss Jiang Er."
Pei Jing gave Duan Jiu an expressionless look.
Duan Jiu was startled by the look and quickly changed his words: "Your Highness, the woman next to Miss Jiang Er should be Zhang Zheng's concubine, Aunt Zhou."
In case Pei Jing didn't remember who Zhang Zheng was, Duan Jiu explained, "Zhang Zheng is the husband of Princess Anping."
Pei Jing nodded. "Ms. Wei even invited a concubine?"
"I'm not sure whether it was Miss Wei who invited me or whether she came uninvited."
After saying that, Aunt Zhou left the deck angrily.
Pei Jing saw Jiang Fei standing there for a while. After a while, the little maidservant who usually stayed beside her came over. The two of them huddled together and talked about something.
Pei Jing laughed, "As soon as I saw her expression, I knew she was scheming."
…
"As soon as I saw her expression, I knew she was plotting something." Jiang Fei gritted her teeth and said, "How dare you speak harshly to me."
When Aunt Zhou left, she left behind a sentence "Just wait and see". That person was probably used to being domineering at home and didn't know how to measure her own weight when she went out. She really thought that everyone would give in to her like the people in the Zhang family.
Jiu Tao looked confused, "What should I do then?"
Jiang Fei touched her chin and said, "Last time she tried to scheme against me, she failed. This time, I'll just let her wait and see."
"But I heard that the county lord loves Concubine Zhou very much." Jiu Tao said, "What if we offend the county lord?"
"He's a Phoenix man who relies on his wife's family. What if I offend him? Besides, I..."
Jiang Fei quickly took back the rest of her words. She had wanted to say that she could only live for a year or so, and she had to curse and scold him as much as she wanted in order to live happily. If conditions allowed, she would even go to the emperor and curse him as a stud.
Besides, in life, when you want to rant, you should stand up and don't let your resentment boil down to nothing. Instead of wasting your energy, it's better to just go crazy.
She simply couldn't imagine how happy a carefree and crazy person like Pei Jing could be.
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