Su Yushan took Chang Yue's hand and examined it closely, only to discover a long red mark on her fair wrist, a scratch from the sharp hairpin. She felt a pang of pity.
"That guy is truly ruthless!"
"That was all because her master indulged her; an ordinary maid would never dare to do such a thing."
Yes! Jin Minjing tacitly approved of Xin'er's behavior; otherwise, Xin'er wouldn't have been so bold. Gently patting the back of her hand, Su Yushan softly comforted her:
"Don't worry, I won't let you suffer for nothing."
After returning to her room, Chang Yue redid her hair and put on new hairpins, inviting her to the banquet again, but Su Yushan was unwilling to go through the trouble.
“Gege Jin is clearly targeting me. If I go to the banquet again, she will try to cause trouble again.”
"But we can't keep avoiding her because of this, or she'll think you're easy to bully!"
Su Yushan does have a very good temper and will not fight with people unless absolutely necessary, but that does not mean she is easy to bully. She knows a principle: tolerance will not earn her any respect, but will only make the other party more aggressive!
Chang Yue's injuries will not have been in vain, nor will her broken hairpin have been for nothing. She will definitely avenge this! But how to take revenge still requires careful planning. "A head-on confrontation is not a wise move. We need to ask Fourth Master for help."
"When Fourth Master comes over tonight, Princess, please tell him about this and ask him to take charge for you." Recently, Fourth Master has been frequently visiting Princess Su, so Chang Yue naturally assumed he would come tonight as well. However, Su Yushan thought it unlikely.
"Today is Princess Gao's birthday. Fourth Master is busy at noon, but he will definitely be with her in the evening. Why would he come to Tingfeng Pavilion?"
"That's hard to say," Chang Yue said with a smile, admiring the beauty in the mirror. "Perhaps Fourth Master will only have dinner with Princess Gao, and then he will come to keep you company."
While others were unaware, Su Yushan knew what was to come. Hongli was the future Emperor Qianlong! His status and the era he lived in destined him to be unable to be devoted to any one woman.
Because she understood this, Su Yushan always remained rational and did not naively hope that Hongli would favor her exclusively.
"Exclusive favor will only breed resentment and cause one to lose oneself, which is not a good thing. Whether one is favored or not is impermanent, so there is no need to care too much about it."
As Su Yushan had predicted, Hongli did not come that evening. After celebrating Gao Xiuwen's birthday, he took the opportunity to rest at Lanyue Pavilion.
Gao Xiuwen is well-educated and reasonable, and she was his first woman. Recently, his attention has been drawn to Su Yushan, and he hasn't been to Lanyue Pavilion for a long time. Today is Gao Xiuwen's birthday, and he should stay and keep her company, both out of courtesy and reason.
A man's body and mind can be separated. In Hongli's view, this is perfectly acceptable. Fortunately, Su Yushan is detached from her role as a maid and will not foolishly care about such things. She will not be sad about it. On the contrary, she feels very relaxed. Finally, she can sleep in a big bed by herself and roll around as she pleases!
As the sun rose and birds chirped, Su Yushan slept soundly that night. After waking up and finishing her breakfast, she was about to read a book when a servant came to report that Princess Lan had arrived.
As soon as Xi Lan arrived, she began listing Jin Minjing's crimes and poured out her grievances to her.
“That Jin Minjing has always been arrogant and domineering. When Fourth Master went to her place before, she had her period but did not report it. There is a rule in the manor that a maid cannot stay overnight when she has her period. This is a rule set by the old master. So that night, Fourth Master took a detour and came to my place.”
Because of this, Jin Minjing harbored resentment towards me and was always looking for trouble. The Fourth Master rewarded me with a bolt of silk, which I used to make new clothes. She then deliberately let her pet lion dog try to tear my new clothes; its sharp claws snagged and ripped them. She then blamed the dog, which the Fourth Master had given her. I was helpless and could only suffer in silence.
Xi Lan was still angry when the past was mentioned. Su Yushan suddenly realized why Xi Lan disliked Jin Minjing so much. It turned out that the two had a grudge from the beginning. "Have you told Fourth Master about this?"
Shaking her head, Xi Lan sighed softly, "She was the one who was most favored by the Fourth Prince before. What's the use of me saying this? She will definitely make excuses, and the Fourth Prince will definitely side with her. Wouldn't I just be making a fool of myself?"
When this was brought up, Xi Lan went along with it, saying, "Now that Fourth Master dotes on you, you can tell him about being bullied by Jin Minjing yesterday, and he will definitely help you get revenge."
Upon hearing this, Su Yushan couldn't help but feel wary. After all, she was not familiar with Xi Lan and didn't know if Xi Lan's idea was truly for her benefit or if he wanted to use her to avenge himself.
Since one cannot discern a person's true intentions, Su Yushan did not agree to anything without first feigning sorrow and sighing.
“My family has no power or influence, and I have no one to rely on. How dare I fight with Jin Ge? I would be the one who suffers in the end.”
Xi Lan scoffed, her crescent-shaped eyes unable to conceal her mockery. "What does your maternal family matter? Here, it's the Fourth Master's favor that truly matters."
However, the shortest thing in this world is Hongli's favor. "Fourth Prince's interest in me is just a passing fancy! He didn't come over last night."
"Last night was a special case, but let's see tonight. As long as he comes to you tonight, you can complain to him and cry your heart out. Fourth Master will definitely soften his heart."
Xi Lan kept giving her advice, which made Su Yushan both amused and exasperated. Why did everyone think that Hongli would come tonight? They were overestimating her!
Helpless, Su Yushan smiled wryly and said, "We'll see when the time comes!"
Xi Lan was hoping that Fourth Master would definitely go to Tingfeng Pavilion tonight, but Jin Minjing was thinking that since Fourth Master finally didn't go to Su Yushan last night, but went to Gao Xiuwen's place, he should come to her place tonight, right?
She even took a bath and burned incense, waiting for the Fourth Prince to come, but unfortunately, she waited until almost 7 p.m. and still didn't see Hongli.
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