Shen Weiwan sat in front of the mirror and let Chuntao comb her hair. A sneer appeared on the corner of her mouth: "Playing the green tea trick with me? She's still a little naive." She picked up the red gold hairpin on the table, and the oriental pearl on the hairpin sparkled in the sunlight. "Want to take my things? Ask me first if I agree."
Chun Tao helped her insert the silver hairpin and asked curiously, "Miss, the Spring Festival Banquet is coming soon. Are you really going to let the Second Miss wear that skirt with the itchy grass sewn on it?"
"What else?" Shen Weiwan raised an eyebrow and took out a bag of dried wild rose thorns from her dressing table. "Last time, she was itchy for half the time. This time, she must be itchy for the whole time." She carefully sewed the thorns into the lining of her pink gauze skirt. "And by the way, give her some extra ingredients, so she knows what 'surprise' means."
As she was speaking, the old housekeeper knocked lightly at the door. "Miss, the Second Madam had the accountant deliver this month's salary. She also said... that she wanted you to go to the storehouse to pick out the fabric for the dress for the Spring Festival Banquet."
When Shen Weiwan heard this, a gleam flashed in her eyes: “Oh? Liu has changed her nature?”
The old housekeeper whispered, "It's not that she's changed, it's that the noble ladies in the capital are all saying that the Second Young Lady scratched her face because of an itch at the Spring Festival Banquet. The Second Madam is afraid of losing face, so..."
"Afraid of losing face?" Shen Weiwan put down her needlework and smiled meaningfully, "She should have been afraid a long time ago. Go tell the accountant and say that I thank my aunt for her kindness. I can prepare the clothes myself and don't bother her."
After the old housekeeper left, Chuntao couldn't help asking, "Miss, why don't you take the materials from the warehouse? They are all good stuff!"
"Good stuff?" Shen Weiwan picked up the half-worn plain skirt. "Would Mrs. Liu be so kind? She might have tampered with the material again. Instead of wearing the clothes she prepared, I might as well prepare a 'surprise' myself."
She handed the sewn pink gauze skirt to Chun Tao: "Hide this well. On the day of the Spring Festival Banquet, find a chance to put it in Shen Ruoruo's suitcase."
Chuntao took the skirt and felt an itch in her hands. She looked down and saw that there were indeed many tiny thorns hidden in the folds of the skirt. "Miss, what are you doing..."
"Wild rose thorns," Shen Weiwan curled her lips and smiled, "I guarantee that she will be so itchy that she wants to peel her skin off."
Three days later, the Spring Festival Banquet arrived as scheduled. The peonies in the Taifu Mansion were in full bloom, and the garden was filled with noble ladies in splendid attire. Shen Weiwan, wearing a half-worn plain skirt and a bamboo-colored maid's coat, deliberately stood in a corner nibbling on a snack, attracting the attention of many noble ladies.
Shen Ruorou, wearing a brand new moon-white skirt embroidered with lotus flowers, was surrounded by a group of noble ladies, but she would occasionally glance at Shen Weiwan with undisguised contempt. She casually walked towards Shen Weiwan, teacup in hand, and with a flick of her wrist, spilled the scalding tea all over her plain skirt.
"Oh! I'm sorry, sister!" Shen Ruorou immediately showed a panic expression, but her voice rose a few notes, "It's all my fault for being clumsy and dirtying your clothes. I brought spare clothes, if you don't mind, can you change into them first?"
Shen Weiwan looked at the smug look that flashed across her eyes, and sneered in her heart - here it comes. She looked down at the wet hem of her skirt, revealing an embarrassment: "How can this be embarrassing...but my figure is a little fuller than my sister's, I'm afraid I can't wear it?"
"Hey, what are you talking about, sister!" Shen Ruoruo held her hand affectionately, but her nails secretly exerted force, "Put it on to cover up the ugliness first, it's better than getting wet." As she said that, she pulled Shen Weiwan to the changing room without saying anything. The bag of itchy grass clippings that had been prepared long ago in her sleeve rustled in her cuffs.
Shen Weiwan let her pull, but her fingertips were pinching another bag of even finer wild rose thorns in her sleeves. When the carved wooden door of the dressing room creaked shut, Shen Weiwan looked at the moon-white skirt that Shen Ruoruo couldn't wait to take out, and a sly smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
“Sister, you are so kind to me,” Shen Weiwan took the skirt and deliberately touched the hem, “I just don’t know if it fits…”
"It will definitely fit!" Shen Ruorou urged, "Hurry up and put it on. I'll wait for you outside."
As soon as Shen Ruorou left, Shen Weiwan immediately shook the wild rose thorns from her sleeves onto the lining of her moon-white skirt, and secretly stuffed the itchy grass scraps that Shen Ruorou had prepared into the pocket of her plain skirt. She adjusted the corners of her clothes in front of the mirror, with an innocent smile on her face.
Not long after, Shen Ruorou saw that Shen Weiwan had not come out yet, and pushed the door in impatiently, only to see her staring at the mirror in a daze: “Sister, why haven’t you changed yet…”
Before she finished speaking, she saw Shen Weiwan still wearing the wet plain skirt: "Why aren't you wearing my clothes?"
“Oh, sister, I really can’t wear your clothes,” Shen Weiwan said apologetically, “Maybe I’m too fat. But it doesn’t matter, I can just wear the maid’s coat.”
Shen Ruorou was so angry that she almost fainted, but she could only force a smile: “Well, sister, come out quickly, Madam Taifu is still waiting.”
When Shen Ruorou changed into her moon-white skirt and came out, Shen Weiwan was standing next to Madam Taifu, pointing at her wet skirt and said aggrievedly: "Madam, it's all my cousin's fault for accidentally spilling tea on me..."
Seeing this, Madam Taifu immediately ordered someone to bring a new skirt for Shen Weiwan to change into. Shen Weiwan thanked her, turned around and saw Shen Ruoruo coming over, and immediately showed a worried expression: "Cousin, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"
Everyone then noticed that after Shen Ruorou came out of the dressing room, she had been scratching her arms and waist unconsciously, and her face looked a little strange. At first, everyone thought it was a pollen allergy, but she scratched more and more, even starting to scratch her neck, and her makeup was all messed up.
"I, I'm fine..." Shen Ruoruo grimaced from the itchiness, but she didn't dare to get angry in public, "Maybe... it's because the weather is too hot."
“Really?” Shen Weiwan pretended to be concerned and moved closer, “But I see that my cousin is very itchy, do you want to go and rest?”
As she spoke, she stretched out her hand to help Shen Ruorou adjust her collar, but "accidentally" touched her neck. Shen Ruorou shrank suddenly, and she almost cried out in itchiness, attracting the attention of the noble ladies around her.
“What’s wrong with Miss Shen Er?”
"Look at the way she scratches, it seems to be very itchy..."
"Could it be that he's been possessed by some evil spirit?"
The discussion became louder and louder. Shen Ruorou was filled with shame and anger, and she wanted to find a crack in the ground to hide in. She glared at Shen Weiwan fiercely, covered her face and ran to the rest area. Shen Weiwan looked at her back, and a triumphant smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
Playing the weak and pitiful? Green tea tricks? Shen Ruorou, you're too naive to play with me. Do you like this "surprise" of the Spring Banquet?
Hiding behind a rockery, the Seventh Prince, Xiao Yu, took in all of this and couldn't help but chuckle. He looked at the girl standing in the sunlight, her smile sly and bright, a flicker of interest in his eyes. This daughter of the general's family was truly even more interesting than the stories in the novels.
Shen Weiwan seemed to have noticed something and looked up in the direction of the rockery, but saw only a green area. She shrugged, turned and walked towards Madam Taifu, ready to perform the next "poor little cutie" scene.
The farce of the Spring Banquet has just begun. And Shen Weiwan's road to revenge is getting smoother and smoother in this series of ridiculous "sand sculpture operations". Liu and Shen Ruoruo, are you ready for the next "surprise"?
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