Li, whose face was not pleasant, glared at everyone before turning her gaze back to Guarjia. She secretly tugged at her own anger to calm herself down, and soon her expression returned to normal. Then, shamelessly, she said to herself, "Why are you being so stubborn, Guarjia? Are you afraid that I'll say something that will hurt you?"
The Fujin scoffed, thinking to herself: Li Shi is truly shameless! Guarjia Shi didn't mean it that way at all; she just didn't want to hear it.
Geng, Hesheli, and others suppressed Li's shamelessness, while secretly applauding her audacity and anticipating her performance.
Jiaming glanced at Li Shi and chuckled.
Li understood the mockery perfectly. Suffocating, she clenched the handkerchief in her hand, but her expression remained unchanged.
"Just now, my sister said that I don't mind and even let you practice more. This is a good thing for my sister, but it may not be so for the master who is teaching her."
Jiaming: "You mean, because of teaching the guzheng, I wasted my time?"
Madam Li was surprised. "Isn't it obvious? After all, you are a prince, and you are in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. You also have matters to attend to in court that have been ordered by the Emperor. You are very busy."
Upon hearing Li's words, Jiaming immediately realized that Li probably wanted to use some "grand principles" to persuade her.
She seemed oblivious to everything, calmly picking up her teacup, elegantly drinking her tea, putting down her tea spout, and wiping her mouth with a handkerchief.
After waiting for a long time, seeing that Jiaming didn't react at all, Li couldn't help but look at Jiaming resentfully, "Guarjia sister, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but as women in the master's harem, we should be obedient and try to reduce his troubles and not let him waste too much time in the harem. The master has important things to do. So, you know what I mean."
Jiaming looked at Li with a blank and innocent expression, "I don't understand!"
Fujin: "..."
Geng, Song, and others: "..."
Hesheli couldn't hold back any longer, "Stop pretending, Guarjia!"
Jiaming immediately looked at Hesheli with a wronged expression, as if to say, "How could you say that about me? I wasn't pretending at all."
Everyone: "..." Guarjia clan is amazing! It's so obvious, yet they still managed to keep acting!
Hesheli couldn't hold back any longer. "Heh, Guarjia, what are you still pretending for? Li has already made it so clear. You should take the initiative to tell the master that you are no longer learning the guzheng from him, so as not to delay the master's time for important matters."
When Hesheli said this, partly out of envy and jealousy that the Fourth Prince was teaching Guarjia, she was genuinely thinking of the Fourth Prince's best interests. After all, the Crown Prince had been deposed, and the struggle for the throne would definitely require time and effort. She was doing this for the Prince's own good.
Jiaming didn't care what Hesheli's intentions were. All she needed to know was that the other party was targeting her, and all she had to do was fight back and make the other party unhappy.
"Consort, are you sure you mean the same thing Consort Li meant?" Jiaming was still putting on an act when she asked in surprise.
This time, Lady Li couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out, "Sister Guarjia, I think your intelligence is normal, right? Even Consort Hesheli understood such an obvious meaning, don't you understand yet?"
Upon hearing this, Jiaming couldn't help but smile, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve upwards.
Hesheli: That sounds so strange!
The princess held a handkerchief and covered her mouth, secretly laughing.
After the others realized something was off about Li's words, Hesheli also noticed it. She glared at Li angrily, "Wait, Li, what do you mean by that? What do you mean by 'Even Consort Hesheli understood, and you still don't get it?' Are you saying that I, Consort Hesheli, am not very smart?"
Li finally realized the problem with her words. When questioned by Hesheli, she stammered and didn't know how to answer.
Seizing the opportunity, Jiaming added fuel to the fire, saying, "Oh dear, Consort, the meaning of these words is so obvious, why ask Consort Li? Could it be that Consort wants an explanation for a thoughtless remark from Consort Li? But even if it was unintentional, it's still what you think in your heart, which is why you blurted it out."
Upon hearing this, Hesheli glared angrily at Li, who in turn glared angrily at Jiaming, secretly resenting Jiaming's instigation! What could have been explained with a single sentence had been turned into something else entirely by the other party adding fuel to the fire, making them the target of hatred. How blatant!
Jiaming ignored Li's anger and was instead delighted to seize the opportunity to provoke Hesheli's anger towards Li.
However, that wasn't all. She continued speaking to Madam Li, "Oh, we've gotten back to the topic. We were just talking about how Grandpa taught me to play the guzheng. Let's not go off-topic."
Who went off-topic!
How are you?!
But that's fine too!
Hesheli and Li exchanged a glance. Li gave Hesheli an apologetic smile, while Hesheli snorted coldly, thinking to herself: Once you've settled things with Guarjia, we can continue our business!
After the two reconciled for the time being, Li immediately turned to Jiaming and smiled, "Oh, has Sister Guarjia come to her senses?"
Jiaming nodded and returned the same smile: "I've figured it out!"
"That's wonderful!" Li Shi looked delighted, as if victory was in sight. Hesheli Shi and the others were no exception, their faces showing expressions of pride and joy.
The Fujin looked at Jiaming suspiciously, feeling that Guarjia would not give in so easily.
Just as the Fujin had expected, Jiaming said cheerfully, "However, isn't there a term called 'work-life balance'?"
Li and the others froze, sensing something was wrong. The next second, reality told them that something was indeed wrong.
Guarjia's "understanding" was not what they thought. The women immediately realized that they had been tricked, and their faces turned ashen.
Jiaming looked at their dark faces with amusement and continued, "Whether I'm busy or not, and what important things I'm busy with, I know best! Besides, am I the kind of person who would put personal matters before public ones?"
Li and Hesheli's expressions darkened further, while Geng, Song, and others looked disappointed, as they understood that they had lost the verbal dispute against Guarjia again. The Fujin and others who did not participate glanced at Li and the others with sympathy.
Jiaming didn't care about their flirtatious banter; all she knew was that her counterattack wasn't over yet, and what she should do now was press her advantage.
"No, it's obvious that I'm not like that! My obvious quality of not letting personal matters interfere with public duties—can't you see that, Consort Li and Consort Hesheli? Whether you can see it or not, you don't even believe me, it's simply..."
Jiaming stood up angrily, her finger trembling as she pointed at Li Shi, then at Hesheli Shi, before turning to the Fujin sitting above her and accusing her, "Fujin, how dare they treat the Master like this! It's outrageous!"
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