The two sat on the plum tree without saying a word.
The crisp fragrance of plum blossoms, along with Jiang Wei's scent, filled Xiao Zhan's nostrils.
Xiao Zhan wanted to ask her several times if she remembered him, but he swallowed the words back.
Jiang Wei sat quietly, looking ahead, occasionally fiddling with the plum blossoms beside her.
Until Xiao Zhan sensed that she was a little cold.
"Let's go back!" Xiao Zhan stood up, picked up Jiang Wei, and jumped down from the plum tree.
After Jiang Wei regained her footing, Xiao Zhan walked away from another direction.
Jiang Wei returned to the flower hall alone, where it was noisy and bustling.
Jiang Wei looked around inside, where the noble ladies were looking at her with either curiosity or disdain.
Gao Youlan came over and took her hand, "Where have you been? I've been looking for you for ages."
Jiang Wei asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? I just went to the plum garden to admire the plum blossoms."
She glanced at the gazes directed at her and asked Gao Youlan, "Has something happened?"
The maid helped Hong Xinyue over and asked her with a smile, "Miss Jiang, did you go to the southwest corner to admire the plum blossoms?"
Could it be that when General Xiao told her there were people, they were her people?
Or perhaps she and General Xiao were seen admiring the plum blossoms in the plum tree?
That's impossible. If she were admiring plum blossoms, she would be sitting in a high place. Wouldn't she have noticed someone walking by?
Even if she can't find out, can't General Xiao find out either?
Then it can only be when General Xiao said there were people there.
She didn't answer.
Jiang Rou, her eyes red, rushed over and said, "Sister, I'm so glad you're alright. You have no idea how worried I was about you. I hope that thief didn't hurt you!"
So they were trying to set her up and frame her.
She wanted to see what dirty tricks they had up their sleeves.
Gao Youlan was about to reprimand her when Jiang Wei took her hand and squeezed it.
"What thief? I've never seen one. Where did you see the thief, and how many of you saw him?" Jiang Wei asked calmly, showing concern for them.
"Where did Miss Hong go, to the southwest corner where she was..." She paused again, indicating that she understood.
"Since you went with Miss Hong, you should have seen what the thief looks like! Are you alright?"
"You really are something, knowing that Miss Hong has difficulty walking, you still went so far with her." Jiang Wei shook her head to express her dissatisfaction with Jiang Rou's lack of consideration.
Before they could speak.
"You haven't told me yet what the thief did to you. As soon as I came in, you asked me if I needed any help or if I had any corroborating evidence. Although I didn't see it, Miss Hong's name is important." Jiang Wei asked with genuine concern.
Hong Xinyue wanted to pounce on her and throw her, but she didn't expect Jiang Wei, that bitch, to be so unreasonable and twist the truth.
"I'm talking to you. Why are you dragging me into this? I was just asking out of concern for you." She glared at Jiang Wei with a vicious look. "You really are an ungrateful wretch. You're so ungrateful, you must be secretly meeting your lover over there."
“Hong Xinyue, she only said a couple of words to you when she came in, did you really mean to insult her like this? How could the daughter of a prime minister be so vicious?” Gao Youlan couldn’t hold back any longer.
"What? Are you feeling guilty?" Hong Xinyue sneered.
"Since Miss Hong saw me having an affair, what were you doing at the time? And why didn't you expose me then? As the saying goes, you have to catch a thief red-handed or an adulterer in the act." Jiang Wei asked her.
"How could I have seen you having a secret rendezvous? Of course someone saw you." Hong Xinyue said matter-of-factly, knowing that as soon as she spoke, someone would naturally rush to her defense.
"Who?" Jiang Wei asked succinctly, without any emotion.
Hong Xinyue looked at the woman beside her, who stepped forward and pointed at Jiang Wei, saying, "I saw it. Miss Jiang was having a secret rendezvous with a man in black under a plum tree in the southwest corner. I was alone at the time, and I was afraid that I had stumbled upon a secret and would be killed to silence me, so I quietly retreated. Miss Hong saw that I was scared and comforted me, asking me what had happened that made me so flustered, so I told Miss Hong."
The woman's account was so detailed and convincing that she probably really did see her with Xiao Zhan at that time.
The woman spoke again, "I swear I'm not lying, Miss Jiang, do you dare swear?"
More and more noble ladies gathered around, watching the spectacle and waiting for Jiang Wei's reply.
Jiang Wei did not answer within a few breaths.
The group of noble ladies seemed to have already convinced themselves that Jiang Wei was a promiscuous woman who had been having a secret rendezvous with someone in the plum garden that afternoon.
She's so shameless and has no self-respect. Even if no one wants her anymore, she could at least cut off her hair and become a nun in a nunnery, at least she'd still be innocent.
Hong Xinyue and her group wore smiles on their faces. Today they had trampled her into the mud, and she would never be able to turn her life around.
Jiang Wei walked step by step toward the woman. "You think you can make me admit to your slander with just empty words? Do you think I'm stupid enough to be manipulated by you? Let me ask you, did you really see me meeting with a man in secret?"
Jiang Wei approached her, her eyes cold and sharp. "You'd better think this through. If my reputation is ruined because of you, you'll see if I let you off easily."
The woman was clearly frightened. Jiang Wei already had a bad reputation, and she had nothing to lose.
But she still has a long life ahead of her, and she's afraid.
Princess Consort Shen frowned. Organizing a banquet was exhausting; she had only been there a short while, and the place was already in chaos again.
What's going on with these girls?
"What's wrong? Has something happened?" Princess Consort Shen asked.
The woman who had just accused Jiang Wei hurriedly knelt before Princess Shen, pleading, "Your Highness, save me! Jiang Wei wants to kill me!"
The amount of oil added...
Xiao Zhan followed beside Prince Shen, glanced at the woman on the ground, and the group walked to their seats and sat down.
Princess Consort Shen sat down next to Prince Shen and said, "Tell me in detail what happened." She didn't tell her to get up.
The woman had no choice but to kneel and move to Princess Shen's side, kowtow, and explain the whole story.
Gao Youlan pointed at her nose and scolded, "How can you talk such nonsense? The Prince's mansion is heavily guarded; no thief could possibly get in."
"You're clearly talking nonsense. Just now, when the Princess came in, you said Jiang Wei wanted to kill you. Who here heard her say that? You're clearly slandering her." Gao Youlan glanced at Hong Xinyue and said pointedly, "I wonder who instructed you."
Jiang Wei felt a warmth in her heart; she had gained another person who truly cared for her in this life.
"Don't be angry, they don't deserve it." Jiang Wei took Gao Youlan's hand. "My maternal grandfather gave me two bolts of shimmering brocade. I'll give you one in a few days to make clothes."
Jiang Wei acted as if the story was about someone else, as if she were completely detached from it.
Jiang Rou and Song Fangfang were extremely jealous; these things should have been theirs.
That bitch, now she'd rather give it to a stranger than give it to her.
Xiao Qi twirled the teacup in his hand. He had made the right decision. She was indeed very favored in the Chen family, and they would bring out all sorts of good things for her.
Today is the perfect opportunity. When she's all alone and helpless, he can speak up for her and that'll be how he gets her.
Hong Xinyue, seemingly unintentionally but actually deliberately, said things to ruin Jiang Wei.
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