Song Tangxue shook her head and smiled faintly at Song Tangli's feigned faintness. For Song Tangli now, this was already a great humiliation.
The greatest insult was being seen by the person who had once knelt beneath her when she was at her most wretched. This stark contrast filled Song Tangli with grief and indignation.
But there was nothing they could do.
Just then, Haitang finished praying to Buddha and arrived at the mountain gate to meet Song Tangxue. She saw Song Tangxue's smiling eyes, which were as gentle as a spring breeze, and she was charming and beautiful.
Song Tangxue led her people back into the mountain gate. After walking a few steps, she saw Princess Tingyu, and the maid was quietly reporting to her.
Princess Tingyu also raised her eyebrows triumphantly and looked towards the mountain gate, where she met Song Tangxue and her servant.
Princess Tingyu walked over with bright eyes: "What a coincidence that we bumped into each other here."
Song Tangxue slightly turned to curtsy, but was stopped by Princess Tingyu: "Why are you and I talking about these formalities?"
Song Tangxue replied with a smile, "I wasn't feeling well for a while, so I thought I'd come here to pray for myself."
Song Tangxue followed Princess Tingyu inside. Princess Tingyu followed up by asking, "Are you fully recovered now? The *** mansion has a resident physician with excellent medical skills. I'll have him come and take a look at you."
After thanking Princess Tingyu for her kindness, Song Tangxue asked, feigning ignorance, "Was the princess waiting for someone at the mountain gate just now?"
Princess Tingyu raised her eyebrows high, her eyes filled with a smile: "You don't know, I finally got my revenge today. That Song Tangli disgusted me last time, and this time she talked back to me, which made me find fault and punish her by making her kneel on the mountain gate."
Song Tangxue smiled genuinely: "I was wondering why she didn't come up earlier."
The two chatted idly and enjoyed their conversation immensely.
After talking with Princess Tingyu for a while, Princess Tingyu got tired, so Song Tangxue got up and returned to the pilgrim's residence.
With nothing to do and the Empress Dowager not yet arriving, he casually picked up a book to pass the time.
Springtime was beautiful, and Song Tangxue felt at peace. She wished things could stay this calm forever.
But someone had to defy her wishes and prevent her from enjoying this moment of peace. Song Tangli arrived uninvited and pushed open her door.
Song Tangxue lazily lifted her eyelids to glance at her, then returned her gaze to the book.
The pain from her clenched palms made the scene of kneeling on the mountain gate keep replaying in her mind: "Sister, it wasn't my intention. His Highness the Crown Prince insisted on giving me this golden hairpin. I felt uneasy, after all, you are the Crown Princess."
His voice was even stronger than the tea beside Song Tangxue.
Song Tangli lost face today, and what she couldn't tolerate the most was that Song Tangxue saw it.
Having received Li Zhaoxian's reward, he rushed over in a hurry, seemingly to fill the emptiness in his heart.
In the past, such stimulation would often make Song Tangxue secretly shed tears and feel depressed for a long time.
Song Tangxue looked at the gold hairpin in her hand, which was not even one ten-thousandth the size of the hairpin on Princess Tingyu's head. It was something she had just given away casually.
She wouldn't even look down on this kind of stuff.
The pages of the book in my hand turned steadily as I watched Song Tangli perform her one-woman show.
Song Tangli gritted her teeth: "Sister, please don't mind. I will talk to the Crown Prince properly and ask him to treat everyone equally."
The affected manner made Song Tangxue's forehead twitch slightly. She closed the book in her hand and gently placed it on the table: "Song Tangli, don't put on this delicate and weak act in front of me. No one here will applaud your superb acting skills."
"If you want to pretend, go do it in front of your Crown Prince brother. Only he's blind."
Song Tangli assumed that Song Tangli had finally lost her temper and was jealous, so she raised her eyebrows and resumed her haughty demeanor as the Second Miss Song: "Sister, please don't be angry. I didn't mean it. My brother, the Crown Prince, felt sorry for me and insisted on giving it to me. I refused, but I had no choice..."
Song Tangxue calmed herself down, picked up the book in front of her again, and began to read, trying to block out the annoying voice in her ears.
So they didn't notice the approaching footsteps outside.
As Song Tangli watched, she fell to the ground, tears streaming down her face, looking like a delicate and pitiful little white flower.
When Li Zhaoxian opened the door and came in, he only saw Song Tangli sitting on the ground with Song Tangxue standing next to her, seemingly unconcerned. He immediately became anxious, stepped in, helped Song Tangli up, and gently pulled her into his arms.
Song Tangxue was truly astonished; could someone really stage an accident for fraudulent purposes?
"Are you determined to drive your sister to the brink of despair before you're satisfied?! We haven't even settled the score with you for what just happened, and now you're pushing your sister down!" Li Zhaoxian accused angrily.
Considering that Song Tangxue was his betrothed, and after Xie Qianzhong's words of advice, he thought he should at least give her some face and not pursue the matter at the mountain gate.
Unexpectedly, this person showed no remorse whatsoever. Seeing that he was not being punished, he even bullied Ali more severely.
Li Zhaoxian tenderly wiped away Song Tangli's tears with his thumb, frowning as he comforted her, "Alright, Ah Li, don't cry. I'll stand up for you! You're incredibly unlucky to have such a vicious sister!"
Song Tangxue laughed in exasperation, throwing the book in her hand onto the table with a dull thud, the rich, fragrant sandalwood scent unique to temples filling the air.
"Your Highness is truly blind. How could I possibly push her from such a distance to your heart? She fell on her own, and you're blaming me? It's utterly unreasonable." Song Tangxue found the two of them extremely annoying and utterly inexplicable.
They pin all sorts of baseless accusations on others.
Li Zhaoxian clearly didn't believe it. He pulled Song Tangli along, protecting her behind him as if afraid she would be bullied: "If you're going to make up an excuse, at least make it believable. Why would someone as kind as A-Li fall to the ground on her own? Are you trying to frame me?"
Song Tangxue sneered several times in anger. How deep was the Crown Prince's filter for his good sister? Even after what happened at Emerald Manor, he still trusted Song Tangli without a doubt.
I don't know whether to scold him for being too stupid or to praise Song Tangli for her amazing methods.
The sobbing Song Tangli behind him remained silent, yet she captivated Li Zhaoxian, who then swept her gaze over him with a venomous look.
"What's wrong? Can't you speak?" Li Zhaoxian pressed.
"No, I just think you really should see the imperial physician to treat your eye condition," Song Tangxue retorted without any politeness.
Li Zhaoxian's eyes narrowed, and he was about to make a move.
"The Empress Dowager has arrived!" A sharp voice from outside pierced the tense atmosphere that seemed to be brewing a storm. Song Tangxue opened her eyes and saw Li Zhaoxian reluctantly suppressing her temper, giving her a glare.
Song Tangli's eyes were also filled with resentment, but she dared not show it in front of the Empress Dowager, as it would be a loss to leave a bad impression on the Empress Dowager.
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