As they talked, the eldest princess had already arrived outside the Delan Palace.
The eldest princess did not come alone. Behind her was a face that Gu Jiangli recognized. That person was the nanny who served the Empress Dowager. The nanny was also holding the hand of a five or six-year-old boy, who must be the eldest princess's child.
The woman was in her early twenties, with a beautiful face. She wore luxurious and sparkling jewels and an expensive floor-length dress. The dress was covered with begonias embroidered with gold and silver threads, and the hem was adorned with dozens of pearls, making it dazzling.
She wore a piece of jadeite with a full green hue on her hand, which was priceless.
Even the jade crown her son wore at a young age was something that ordinary people could only dream of.
If it weren't for the fact that she was the eldest princess, she would surely have thought she was the wife of some nouveau riche.
"Oh, so you're Gu Jiangli, who was just made a concubine. You're not that good-looking."
"Greetings, Princess." Although Gu Jiangli was somewhat dissatisfied with this arrogant princess, she always preferred to be polite first and then resort to force, so she maintained the proper etiquette.
However, the eldest princess did not seem to be willing to accept this courtesy.
“Consort Chen, this etiquette is not proper. I am the Emperor’s own sister, while you are just one of his many concubines. You should pay me the respects of a higher degree.”
The eldest princess had an arrogant expression, with a mocking smile on her lips.
She sat to the side, waiting for Gu Jiangli to perform the full kneeling ceremony for her.
Gu Jiangli smiled. This princess was really in a hurry; she wanted to give her a hard time as soon as she entered the door.
Kneeling in worship is impossible; it will never happen in this lifetime.
"Princess, to be honest, I don't perform this kneeling ceremony very often, and the recipients are always the same."
"First, there is the Empress Dowager. She is my elder, His Majesty's birth mother, and the woman of the highest status in the Yun Sheng Dynasty. I should kneel before her."
"Secondly, His Majesty, he is my husband and the only emperor of Yun Sheng, and I should also pay my respects to him."
"Thirdly, I am a member of my Gu family's ancestors. Although they were not of high status, they were all dead. Living people should not compete with the dead for proper etiquette, so I should also pay my respects to them."
"The Princess wants to receive my kneeling obeisance. I wonder which of the above points she has the advantage of?"
"In terms of status, you are naturally no match for His Majesty and the Empress Dowager. You are alive and well now, so you can't possibly compare to the ancestors of my Gu family."
"How about this: when you pass away, Princess, I will definitely kneel and kowtow three times before your grave to fulfill this duty."
Before the princess could even sit down properly, she jumped up.
"How dare you!"
When she got angry, all the palace maids and eunuchs in the room immediately knelt down, not daring to raise their heads, for fear that the princess's anger would be directed at them.
Gu Jiangli, on the contrary, remained calm and unmoved. "Look, the Princess is of such high status that I don't need to kneel before you. There are plenty of people who would bow to you."
"Consort Chen, I heard before I came that you were eloquent and had a mouth that could infuriate people. Now I have seen it for myself."
"Thank you for secretly investigating my character, Your Highness. I am very grateful for your help."
The princess stared fiercely at Gu Jiangli with her round eyes, but then a smile crept onto her lips.
"Hmph, Consort Chen, you are my imperial brother's woman. The matter of the formalities is one thing, but..."
She paused, walked past Gu Jiangli, and went to the lotus flowers behind her. Looking at the lotus flowers with a malicious smile, she said:
"But the palace servants in your palace are all lowly servants. When they see my Chu royal bloodline, they should kneel and kowtow three times. I was in a bit of a hurry when I came in, and I don't think I saw them perform such a grand ceremony."
“Your manners in the Delan Palace are lacking. I can’t punish you, but I can certainly teach your palace servants a lesson.”
The eldest princess snorted coldly, "Guards! Send all these palace servants in this hall to the Censorate! Each of them will receive twenty strokes of the cane!"
At this point, she pointed her finger at Lotus's nose and said, "This palace maid deserves thirty strokes of the cane!"
"Princess, spare me! Princess, spare me!"
"Your Majesty, please save this servant! Someone will die!"
Several eunuchs rushed in from outside the palace, as if the princess had arranged for them to be ready outside long ago. As soon as she gave the order, these people rushed in and took the person down.
The hall was filled with wailing.
The two eunuchs walked straight toward the lotus flowers, but were blocked by Gu Jiangli.
Upon seeing this, the eldest princess immediately sneered, "Consort Chen, I know that she is a palace maid who has been by your side since you entered the palace, but she is too ignorant of the rules. That's how it is in the palace. She doesn't know the rules, so I'll teach her the rules."
"In the end, it's still Consort Chen's fault. If you had been respectful to me from the beginning and hadn't made me angry, why would I have taken my anger out on you palace servants?"
The eldest princess's words were meant to incite all the palace servants to direct their resentment towards Gu Jiangli.
The reason they were beaten was because Gu Jiangli disobeyed the Princess's wishes. If Gu Jiangli had been more humble to the Princess, these palace servants wouldn't have been beaten.
In an instant, the way several palace servants looked at Gu Jiangli changed.
The eldest princess continued, "How about this? As long as Consort Chen is willing to perform a grand salute to me, this matter will be over. If I'm in a good mood, these palace servants won't need to be punished. What do you say?"
Several palace servants kneeling on the ground looked at her expectantly, hoping to see her nod.
Only the lotus flower, with red eyes, shook its head at her.
It is true that the eldest princess has a noble status, but Consort Chen is also a consort personally bestowed a title by His Majesty. Performing a simple curtsy is already considered to be a very proper etiquette. How can she perform a kneeling ceremony like a servant?
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