In her memory, the original owner's mother and the Marquis seemed to have no problems in their relationship, but only the two of them truly knew. However, the Marquis doted on the original owner quite a bit.
When Shen Nanzhi came back last time, he said that Lord Mu would return to the capital in the middle of the year. As for the handling of Lu Wei, as long as Lu Wei doesn't cause trouble during this period, it can only be completely resolved when the Lord returns.
"Fortunately, she brought this upon herself. Now that the power of the Marquis's mansion is in your hands, you'd better teach her a lesson."
Xue Jiajia then started gossiping about her and Fu Junheng.
"You don't know yet, now everyone says that you seduced Crown Prince Junheng when you were still the Crown Princess. They also say that you are unchaste and shameless, keeping General Shen on your side while having an ambiguous relationship with Crown Prince Junheng."
Mu Chenshuang already knew what Xue Jiajia was saying, but she didn't care about the gossip behind her back at all, because she wouldn't integrate into the so-called circle, and their rumors were meaningless to her.
"Tell me, do you prefer General Shen or Crown Prince Junheng?" Xue Jiajia waited expectantly for Mu Chenshuang's answer.
However, Mu Chenshuang gave her a cold glance and said, "You're so gossipy, what's the difference between you and those women who like to talk about others behind their backs?"
Xue Jiajia was taken aback, and said indignantly, "I was just curious, I didn't talk badly about anyone behind their back or form cliques."
"It's best not to be curious about these things."
Seeing that Mu Chenshuang was unwilling to answer and that her expression was not good, Xue Jiajia did not press the matter further.
Two daughters of prominent families had already finished their performances of singing, dancing, and playing the guqin, drawing repeated praise from the Empress, creating a harmonious atmosphere.
Until Feng Anxue suddenly spoke up, "Your Majesty, today the garden is full of spring flowers, a riot of colors. Wouldn't it be a waste of such a beautiful time if we didn't compose poems and sing verses? How about we have a poetry relay on the spot?"
The Empress nodded. "That's fine then."
"How about I start?"
The Queen nodded in agreement.
Feng Anxue slowly stood up, and a line of poetry came to her lips: "Beyond the green willows, the morning chill is light; on the red apricot branches, spring is in full bloom."
Then, each person recited a line of poetry in turn.
As Mu Chenshuang's turn approached, Xue Jiajia began to get nervous. She hated competitions involving reciting poetry and painting, as she knew nothing about them.
When it came to Mu Chenshuang.
Feng Anxue said, "Princess Weiyang, it's your turn."
Mu Chenshuang stood up, looked directly at the Empress, bowed with her hands clasped, and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner, "Your Majesty, I am a person with crude martial arts skills and am not good at poetry and songs, so I am indeed unable to handle this impromptu poem."
As Mu Chenshuang spoke, her calm and composed demeanor made it seem as if there was nothing wrong with what she said. In fact, it would be shameful to mock or belittle her.
Feng Anxue was surprised that this woman would be so frank as to say that she didn't know how, and felt annoyed as if she had punched a cotton ball.
The Empress naturally did not make things difficult for her.
Just as the Empress was about to say something, Feng Anxue spoke up: "Indeed, Princess Weiyang is a martial artist and naturally does not have the refined tastes of a scholar, but Princess Weiyang should not spoil everyone's fun."
As Feng Anxue spoke, she then looked at the Empress and said, “Your Majesty, the last time we saw Princess Weiyang and the guards from the Southern Frontier compete in martial arts, it was truly unsatisfying. Why don’t we have Princess Weiyang perform a sword dance so that we can feast our eyes on it again?”
Feng Anxue's deliberate targeting of Mu Chenshuang is obvious to everyone.
Consort Rong and the Duchess of the State echoed their sentiments.
"What the Empress and Princess said makes sense. Since Princess Weiyang cannot recite poetry, why not give a performance to make up for everyone's disappointment?"
The Empress's brows furrowed, and she looked at Mu Chenshuang, asking, "What is the Princess Weiyang's decision?"
Unable to protect Mu Chenshuang in front of so many people, the Empress directly posed the question to Mu Chenshuang.
Mu Chenshuang could easily see that if she refused directly, Feng Anxue could make a big fuss about it, and the Empress had left the decision to her, so she simply couldn't refuse.
"This humble woman may perform."
The Queen nodded, satisfied with her answer.
Feng Anxue's lips curved into a smile, her eyes gleaming with a mysterious light, and she slowly said, "Since it is a sword dance performance, it naturally needs music to accompany it in order to bring out the charm of the sword dance. Second Brother's zither skills are superb. I wonder if Second Brother would be willing?"
Before Feng Moran could answer.
A deep, penetrating voice rang out, "This palace is indeed capable of serving as a supporting character for Princess Weiyang."
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