As the musicians plucked the strings, a melodious tune wafted out. Feng Wan, dressed as Princess Yun'an in the brothel, danced gracefully to the music, her alluring movements and seductive glances directed at the audience below, immediately causing a stir.
Li Qingchen watched coldly for a while, then a hint of interest finally appeared in his eyes. He instructed Yuan Que beside him, "Go and investigate her background."
"Does Your Highness suspect that this woman has a powerful background?" Yuan Que followed his master's gaze and looked towards the brothel.
"With such exquisite disguise skills and outstanding dancing abilities, a person with such skills should not just be a courtesan entertaining people in a brothel."
*
As the sun climbed higher, rays of light streamed through the window lattice, slanting into the gauze curtains.
Her thin eyelids couldn't block out the sunlight, and Wei Shuwan subconsciously raised her arm to rub her eyes. Just then, she heard hurried footsteps pass through the front porch and into the outer room.
Wei Shuwan stretched out her arm and lifted a corner of the gauze curtain, seeing the two maids, Ziqiao and Miaoxiang, whispering to each other. She could vaguely hear words like "Xunfang Pavilion" and "it's all over."
Wei Shuwan felt a slight tightness in her chest, realizing that the rumors outside had not only not stopped, but were spreading even further. Even though she seemed to have let go of the past yesterday, that was just to deceive those around her and tell them not to worry about her. In reality, what woman could truly not take the rumors and slander from the outside world to heart?
Perhaps she shouldn't just sit and wait to die...
While they hesitated, Ziqiao and Miaoxiang noticed the commotion in the inner room. They beckoned to the outside, and in the blink of an eye, a maidservant responsible for serving water and washing hands entered the inner room with a copper basin, salt, and other items to serve them.
After Wei Shuwan washed her hands and rinsed her mouth, the maids withdrew, leaving only her two trusted confidantes, Ziqiao and Miaoxiang, in the room. Wei Shuwan asked directly, "What are they saying outside these days? Is it still those rumors from yesterday that I went to Xunfang Pavilion?"
Zi Qiao quickly shook her head: "There are no more messages for the young lady outside!"
Wei Shuwan assumed that she was trying to comfort her because she was afraid of making her sad, so she pretended to be a little unhappy: "I heard what you were whispering outside just now."
Zi Qiao chuckled and said, "Miss, I really didn't lie to you. No one outside is saying anything about you today, because they're all busy spreading the news about Princess Yun'an!"
"Princess Yun'an? What happened to her?"
"Everyone outside is saying that Princess Yun'an went to Xunfang Pavilion last night and even danced the Green Waist Dance in public!" Zi Qiao said with a smile, wishing she could kowtow in front of the Jing Prince's mansion to express her gratitude: "Isn't this just a convenient way to get you out of trouble?"
Wei Shuwanqing's eyes narrowed, revealing utter surprise. She knew that the real Princess Yun'an would not go to such a place; it was simply that someone had offered a high price to have that prostitute impersonate Princess Yun'an and dance.
However, Wei Shuwan also understood that Princess Yun'an's status was as different from hers as clouds and mud. It was not surprising that someone would make fun of her, but who would be so bold as to make fun of Yun'an?
...
This problem was not only incomprehensible to Wei Shuwan, but also to Zhu Gaozhuo!
With a clatter of cups and bowls being swept to the ground, Zhu Gaozhuo's legs buckled, and he knelt on the ground.
Seated at the head of the table were Prince Jing and his wife, with his younger sister, Princess Yun'an, sitting beside them. She had been weeping and wailing while holding a handkerchief, but now she was clearly frightened by her father's anger and stopped crying, only looking blankly at her father and mother with tearful eyes.
"Tell me, was it you who had that prostitute named Feng Wan disguise herself as a maid from the Wei family?!" Prince Jing roared.
"Yes... but my son didn't know the Wei family would do the opposite..."
"You think they can do whatever they want just because you did the first day of the month? Do you think everyone in this world is a pushover?! Didn't you see the truth after last time? The Wei family is just a bunch of stubborn mules who would rather break than bend!"
"But, but I am truly furious! Last time, that Wei family maid tampered with Mother Consort's incense, causing Mother Consort to suffer such a great embarrassment in the Sheng Mansion. Are you really going to let her off so easily?" Recalling that incident, Zhu Gaozhuo's temper flared up again, and he forgot to be afraid of his father's rage.
Prince Jing was so angry that he gritted his teeth. He reached out to grab something to intimidate his son, but found that he had already smashed everything in his hand. After hesitating for a moment, he simply snatched the teacup from the princess's hand and smashed it at his own son without any mercy!
Originally, Prince Jing only wanted to teach his son a lesson, but he didn't expect that this time the teacup would hit Zhu Gaozhuo so accurately that it went straight for his face!
In a moment of panic, Zhu Gaozhu ducked, and the teacup flew past his forehead, leaving a long trail of blood.
Zhu Gaozhuo had never suffered such humiliation since childhood. He covered his forehead with his hand, which was covered in blood. He was so frightened that his eyes rolled back and he fainted.
Princess Jing, who had remained silent and dared not interrupt, could no longer hold back. She rushed over, picked up her son, and shouted, "Quick! Quickly, summon the imperial physician!"
Prince Jing frowned. Although he regretted his mistake, he felt it was too much to ask the imperial physician for such a minor injury. So he ordered his men to carry Zhu Gaozhuo back to his room and call the royal physician to take a look.
After examining the young master, the physician reported, "Fortunately, the second young master's injuries are not serious. He has only suffered minor cuts and will recover in ten to fifteen days."
Prince Jing and his wife were relieved. After the physician finished bandaging her wounds, he withdrew. The wife covered her eyes and complained in a low voice, "Mother was humiliated outside. As her son, I only wanted to vent my anger for her. How could Your Highness be so heartless?"
“Alas—” Prince Jing sighed and said, “What angers me is not that he is avenging you and Yun’an, but that he only knows these childish tricks that can only hurt people superficially!”
Upon hearing this, Princess Jing's resentment dissipated somewhat, and she looked up at Prince Jing: "Does Your Highness mean that you have other means to deal with the Wei family?"
Prince Jing scoffed coldly and said meaningfully, "With the Wei family's meager resources, it's far from being a matter of 'dealing with' them. They can be uprooted in no time."
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