On March 20th, the weather was bright and sunny, with birds flying and grass growing tall.
The Princess's Spring Banquet was held as scheduled.
Shen Yunjiao was dressing up in the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, suffering from decision paralysis when faced with her pile of jewelry.
In her past life, she spent most of her time on work and forgot that she was actually very fond of beauty.
Now that I have some free time, I'll naturally do whatever looks beautiful.
“Pear blossom makeup is all the rage in the capital lately. Shall I give you one?” Fu Xia said with great interest.
Unexpectedly, Shen Yunjiao shook her head with little interest, "I don't want to wear makeup."
She would never have wanted to use ancient cosmetics until she developed cosmetics that were beneficial and harmless to human health.
Fortunately, she was young, so all she had to do was draw her eyebrows and apply eyeliner, which immediately made her look lively and beautiful.
"When I went out just now, I ran into the maid from the next courtyard. She said that Miss Fang was also going along."
Ever since Pei Zhixuan ordered that Fang Ziyu be married, a slightly smaller courtyard has been prepared in the mansion.
"Let her go."
Shen Yunjiao finally chose a pair of gourd-shaped white jade earrings and put on a pair of white jade bracelets on her wrists.
They complement each other perfectly.
“This servant doesn’t like Miss Fang,” Fu Xia replied angrily.
Shen Yunjiao smiled and stood up. "Alright, that's enough. Let's go."
This was Shen Yunjiao's first time visiting the princess's residence. As the emperor's most beloved daughter, the residence was naturally extremely luxurious and magnificent.
After entering through the main gate of the Princess's Mansion, there is a large square, full of flowers, and the air is filled with fragrance.
Shen Yunjiao loved flowers, but before she could admire them closely, a respectful maidservant came over to greet her.
She led Shen Yunjiao directly to the banquet hall where the princess was.
The hall was bustling with activity, filled with laughter and chatter. The tables were laden with various delicacies and fine wines, their aromas filling the air.
At a glance, Shen Yunjiao saw all sorts of exquisite beauties.
"Please come this way, Your Highness." The maid led her to her seat, and before she could sit down, she saw the little maid she had seen at Madam Xu's birthday banquet get up and walk over.
She held her chin slightly up, with an arrogant expression.
"Hey, why are you alone? Where's my cousin?"
“I’m not called ‘Hey.’ Logically speaking, the princess should call me ‘sister-in-law.’” Shen Yun said with a smile.
Jiang Rong was slightly annoyed after hearing this, but seeing that the noble ladies sitting next to Shen Yunjiao were all glancing in their direction, she could only greet them crisply, "Hello, sister-in-law."
"Alright, alright." Shen Yunjiao smiled kindly like an elder, which almost made Jiang Rong furious.
"Why isn't my cousin with the Crown Princess?" Jiang Rong really didn't want to call this person her sister-in-law, but in front of everyone, she had to be polite and address him as the Crown Princess was the least she could do.
The thought that Shen Yunjiao was the heir apparent of her cousin, whom she had loved since childhood, made Jiang Rong furious. She only regretted not having a powerful prime minister as her father.
Shen Yunjiao naturally knew what Jiang Rong was thinking, because her thoughts were all revealed on her face, without hiding any emotion.
"He's probably busy," Shen Yunjiao said nonchalantly, her gaze drawn to the duck feet pastry with hibiscus filling on the table.
Jiang Rong watched helplessly as Shen Yunjiao stuffed a large bite of pastry into her mouth without any regard for her image.
Jiang Rong: "...Didn't you eat breakfast?"
"You should try some too."
Before Jiang Rong could refuse, Shen Yunjiao stuffed a mouthful of fragrant pastries into her mouth.
"Ugh!" Jiang Rong stared wide-eyed at the scene, her face full of anger.
Shen Yunjiao said with a smile, "Isn't it delicious? The food at the princess's residence is indeed quite good."
Jiang Rong swallowed the pastry in her mouth. She was about to get angry at Shen Yunjiao, but when she saw Shen Yunjiao's smile, she couldn't help but be stunned.
Shen Yun was extremely beautiful, with fair and translucent skin that seemed to glow, red lips and white teeth, and a captivating smile.
Strangely, although Shen Yunjiao was beautiful before, she always seemed to be shrouded in a gloomy and listless aura, which is completely different from her current poised and generous demeanor.
She's so beautiful, how could her cousin not love her?
Jiang Rong looked at Shen Yunjiao: "I heard that Miss Fang is now living in the Duke's Mansion, and my cousin even arranged a separate courtyard for her."
"And then?" Shen Yunjiao picked up another piece of tender, greenish-white bamboo shoot and put it in her mouth.
"Why aren't you in a hurry at all? My cousin has never brought any woman home before." Jiang Rong grabbed Shen Yunjiao's arm. "Eat, eat, eat, all you know is eating?"
"I wonder what it is about that Miss Fang that attracts my cousin. I heard that in a few days he's going to get her a shop in the capital to open a clinic," Jiang Rong said in a low voice, dissatisfied.
It turns out that Miss Fang was also there for an inspection that day.
It seems she is ambitious.
"Princess Consort, tell me, what exactly does my cousin like about her?"
Just as Shen Yunjiao was about to speak, she heard a commotion in the banquet hall.
She then lazily said to Jiang Rong, "She's here, go ask her yourself."
Fang Ziyu was dressed in a light purple ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with her hair styled in a Lingxu bun. She was exquisitely dressed and had the air of a lady from a noble family.
As soon as she entered, she attracted everyone's attention, and everyone started whispering among themselves.
"Look, this is Prince Pei's precious darling."
"I've heard that she's a highly skilled doctor, of noble character, and kind-hearted. That's what Prince Pei values in her."
"Wouldn't the Crown Princess be furious? She had to beg for her marriage on her knees."
Fang Ziyu pretended not to hear the sounds around her. She walked up to Shen Yunjiao and gracefully gave a curtsy: "Greetings, Princess Consort."
Before Shen Yunjiao could reply, Jiang Rong stomped her foot angrily: "This is not a place you can come to!"
Fang Ziyu glanced at Jiang Rong with a seemingly aggrieved expression, then lowered her eyes and said, "The young master brought me here this morning because he was worried that I would be bored."
Shen Yunjiao gently nudged Jiang Rong at this moment, "The princess's invitation originally stated that all women of the Duke's family could come, but she wants you and she won't allow it?"
Jiang Rong was so exasperated by Shen Yun's tantrums that she almost vomited blood: "You! You'll be waiting for someone to take your place!"
She had just been momentarily attracted by Shen Yunjiao's beauty and even considered helping her.
Unexpectedly, the Crown Princess turned out to be a pretty but useless good-for-nothing.
Jiang Rong glared at Fang Ziyu before returning to her seat.
Fang Ziyu also sat down next to Shen Yunjiao, but she had already put away her pitiful and aggrieved look from before.
“Princess Consort, we should have come with you, but the Prince was a sleepyhead, so we got up a little late.”
Fang Ziyu smiled and said to Chen Yunjiao, "Please don't blame me, Princess Consort."
Even if Shen Yunjiao was oblivious, she could tell that Fang Ziyu was openly provoking her.
LOL, I don't know what's so great about it. Instead, she heard something like a three-year-old in kindergarten showing off a new toy.
She didn't want that spoiled toy, the Crown Prince.
Shen Yun chuckled, "Miss Fang is capable and hardworking, I can't compare to her. I'll have to ask Pei Zhixuan to reward you properly when I get back."
Fang Ziyu's face turned cold: "Princess Consort, there's no need to target me like this. His Highness won't take you to heart anyway."
"oh."
Shen Yunjiao ignored Fang Ziyu and instead stood up, heading towards wherever there was excitement.
Anyway, girls tend to talk about the same things.
Fang Ziyu, being of lowly status, could only sit alone in her seat, her face pale and looking rather unwell, her fingers slightly clenched.
Looking at Shen Yunjiao, who seemed to be the center of attention in the crowd and was smiling brightly, a suppressed hatred gradually gathered in her eyes.
She will soon make Shen Yunjiao experience what it's like to fall from the clouds to the bottom.
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