Chapter 10 Flower Appreciation Banquet 2
Pei Mingyue was so taken aback by her naive question that she almost choked on her breath.
It's as if she, the most beloved princess of the Qing Kingdom, is not even in the same class as the daughter of a minister!
I lost all face in front of everyone!
Xie Wuyou was also dumbfounded. Her mouth was open, and the words she was about to say to kick someone when they were down got stuck in her throat, making her roll her eyes.
The noble ladies who had just been denouncing the princess now had a variety of expressions on their faces, wanting to laugh but daring not to, for fear of offending the princess.
One by one, they lowered their heads with strange expressions, pretending to adjust their skirts or examine their nails.
Pei Mingyue's chest heaved violently. She felt like a clown who had gathered all her strength but punched cotton!
Xie Sangning's innocent gaze seemed to her to be nothing short of blatant mockery!
"How dare you!" Pei Mingyue slammed her hand on the table, making the cups and saucers clatter.
"Xie Sangning! Are you mocking this princess? Your words are cunning and your attitude is utterly disrespectful!"
She was so angry she almost lost her mind; she had to crush Xie Sangning completely right now!
"Fine! Very well!" Pei Mingyue laughed in anger, her smile filled with malice.
"You don't understand what humility is, so I'll teach you properly today! Didn't you forcibly occupy Miss Xie's courtyard? Since you don't know manners and how to be modest, I'll take charge for you!"
"Today, I demand that you immediately return Ruixue Tower to Xie Wuyou, intact!"
These words shocked everyone present!
Forced return?!
Isn't this a bit too unreasonable and domineering...?
Xie Wuyou could hardly believe his ears!
The Second Princess actually ordered Xie Sangning to return Ruixue Tower to her?!
"Your Highness! Your Highness's kindness is beyond words! I am deeply grateful!"
Overwhelmed with emotion, Xie Wuyou knelt down with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly to Pei Mingyue, saying, "Your Highness's great kindness and virtue will never be forgotten!"
Pei Mingyue held her head high, like a queen bestowing alms on a beggar: "I have always been compassionate and kind. Miss Xie is gentle and obedient, and deserves a comfortable residence. As for you..."
She glanced at Xie Sangning with disdain: "The General's Mansion has plenty of courtyards; just find a quiet place to settle down."
"Remember, this is a favor I bestow upon you, and also a rule I teach you! After the banquet today, I want to hear that you have moved out of the courtyard! Otherwise..." She drew out her words, her threat evident in her tone.
Silence fell over the warm pavilion. Everyone was speechless, stunned by the domineering and authoritarian command.
The gaze directed at Xie Sangning was filled with sympathy and pity.
Inside the warm pavilion, all was deathly silent.
Everyone held their breath, their gazes shifting back and forth between the arrogant princess and the isolated and helpless Xie Sangning.
Suddenly, Xie Sangning smiled.
She actually laughed again!
The ladies of the official families living in the warm pavilion all developed a phobia of Xie Sangning's smile!
She tilted her head slightly, her gaze drifting lightly to Pei Mingyue's face, which was contorted with anger.
Then he went straight to the seat that the princess had arranged for him in the palace—the most inconspicuous and deepest corner of the warm pavilion.
Xie Sangning stood in front of the round stool, took out a handkerchief with her well-maintained slender fingers, and covered her mouth and nose.
"Tsk..."
Pei Mingyue was waiting for her to either rebel angrily or accept her fate in humiliation, but she never expected that she would completely ignore her and go to study a broken stool!
This feeling was even more suffocating than punching cotton. Her chest heaved violently as she shouted, "Xie Sangning! I'm asking you a question! Are you deaf?!"
Xie Sangning then slowly turned around, her face filled with confusion.
She blinked, her voice clear and crisp: "Ah? Is Your Highness calling for me?"
She tilted her head slightly, her gaze finally settling on Pei Mingyue's face, her tone utterly bewildered, "This humble woman was merely looking at this position..."
"Your Highness, I am ignorant and would like to ask you a question. Shouldn't the seating arrangement at this flower-viewing banquet be based on the guests' status and rank, to show the royal favor and to establish a proper order of rank?"
Pei Mingyue was taken aback by her sudden question, and instinctively followed her words, coldly replying, "Of course! Etiquette and regulations are inviolable!"
"Oh, I see."
Xie Sangning nodded as if she suddenly understood, her face showing an expression of having learned something.
Then, she gently tapped the pitifully shabby little round stool in front of her, her tone innocent, tinged with a hint of grievance:
"Then... I understand even less."
"My daughter, Xie Sangning, is the eldest daughter of General Xie Zhenting, the Grand General Who Guards the Nation. My father holds a first-rank official position and is granted the title of Duke of Zhenguo. He commands the military in the northern border and has served the country in defense for ten years, achieving remarkable feats..."
With each word she spoke, Pei Mingyue's expression grew more unpleasant.
Xie Sangning, however, seemed oblivious. With her clear, inquisitive eyes, she looked at Pei Mingyue and continued to hurl probing questions:
"May I ask, Your Highness, according to the etiquette and regulations you just mentioned, why have I been placed in such a remote and obscure place today?"
Before she finished speaking, a series of suppressed gasps filled the warm pavilion!
Good heavens!
Xie Sangning seemed to think that wasn't enough. She frowned slightly and complained in a coquettish voice, "This stool is cold and hard, and the cushion is so rough that it hurts. It's not even as good as the resting place of a third-class cleaning maid in my household. Please forgive me, Your Highness, but I really can't sit here."
Everyone gasped in shock at these words; today's flower-viewing banquet had truly been a spectacular show!
Before everyone could recover, Xie Sangning spoke again.
"Your Highness, I dare to speculate that this was not at your behest. As a princess, you are most knowledgeable in etiquette and compassionate towards your subjects. How could you treat the daughter of a meritorious official so harshly?"
"It must be those servants in your household who are blind, incompetent, and unable to distinguish east from west, let alone social status! They actually arranged for the only legitimate daughter of a first-rank general to be placed in such a wretched place!"
"Wouldn't this be deliberately putting Your Highness in an unjust position, making outsiders misunderstand that Your Highness is harsh and ungrateful, and mistreats the descendants of meritorious officials?"
She paused, as if making a great decision, before resolutely suggesting in a tone that conveyed, "Although I have overstepped my bounds, it is for the princess's good":
"Your Highness! Such a stupid, incompetent, and treacherous servant is a great threat to the household! If she can treat the daughter of a meritorious official so disrespectfully today, who knows what treasonous things she might do tomorrow!"
"In my humble opinion, Your Highness should immediately dismiss all these incompetent and useless people from the palace and never employ them again!"
"Only in this way can Your Highness demonstrate strict governance, clear distinction between rewards and punishments, and uphold the dignity of the royal family!"
"You! Xie Sangning!" Pei Mingyue was so angry that she trembled all over, pointing her finger at Xie Sangning, her fingertips shaking.
Her carefully orchestrated humiliation was countered by the other party, who accused her of being lax in her governance and harsh towards meritorious officials!
They even wanted her to punish her own servants?!
"How I employ people in my household is none of your business!"
"Who do you think you are! How dare you interfere in the affairs of my princess's residence?!"
The temperature inside the warm pavilion plummeted, and everyone felt the princess's thunderous wrath.
Xie Wuyou knelt on the ground, a smile playing on his lips, his mind screaming: Well said! Princess, punish her!
However, faced with Pei Mingyue's reprimand, Xie Sangning's innocent expression vanished instantly.
She stood up straight, slightly raising her delicate chin, looking extremely poised.
The clarity and innocence in his eyes faded, leaving only undisguised mockery.
It's like he's become a completely different person!
She parted her red lips slightly: "Oh?"
Her voice rose slightly at the end, carrying a distinct sarcasm: "So Your Highness also knows the principle that outsiders have no right to interfere in matters of the household?"
She paused deliberately, enjoying Pei Mingyue's instantly frozen expression, as well as the varied and interesting expressions on the faces of everyone in the warm pavilion.
"Then I understand even less!" She took a step forward, her aura no less imposing than that of the enraged princess!
"Since the affairs of your princess residence are none of my business, I, an outsider, should concern myself with! Then may I ask Your Highness, the Second Princess—who should live in my Zhenguo General's residence, and how should my courtyard, belonging to Xie Sangning, be disposed of? And by what right does an outsider like you have to interfere, overstep your bounds, and force its return?!"
"boom!"
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