Chu Lian frowned as she looked at a few noble young ladies standing not too far away from her.

What was going on?

The conflict in the original novel didn't happen at the Plum Pavilion, but at the Steady Wave Pavilion. Furthermore, these noble ladies weren't the main characters in the story, so why was it that even the princesses were eyeing her now?

Chu Lian felt a headache coming on. She didn't even know the identities of these noble ladies …

Since she didn't know the identities of these young ladies, she could only curtsied slightly towards them.

"Big Sister Yuanqin, is she the woman that Brother He abandoned?"

The slightly older young lady standing at the back chuckled.

This was Zou Yuanqin, the fifth daughter of Marquis Dingyuan. She had just reached marriageable age and was one of Princess Leyao's study companions.

The sudden sound that Chu Lian heard just now was made by her.

"Princess, you have a good eye."

Princess Leyao was wearing a dress similar to Chu Lian's today. She even had a ruby headpiece on as well.

However, her dress was exquisitely made and made of rare materials. The color of her long, aqua red dress was a gradual gradient from top to bottom. There were many beautiful and complicated patterns at the hem of the dress, and there were even pieces of gemstones embedded on the dress. When the sun shone on it, it reflected the light.

She was elegant and dignified.

In contrast, Chu Lian's dress, which was similar to hers, paled in comparison.

It was just that Chu Lian was delicate, beautiful, and had a slender figure. She was at the prime of her youth, and her figure was exquisite. Despite wearing a simple red dress, she exuded a unique charm. How could a ten-year-old girl like Princess Leyao compare to her?

The two of them stood facing each other, each with their own merits.

However, in terms of dress alone, Chu Lian's dress was indeed lacking. The ruby hairpin on her head was originally delicate and beautiful, but compared to Princess Leyao's hairpin, it paled in comparison.

The crowd began to whisper amongst themselves, and they looked at Chu Lian with disdain.

"How shabby!" Princess Leyao pouted.

As soon as Princess Leyao said this, the voices around Chu Lian grew louder. The voices that she could normally ignore began to enter her ears.

"The reason why the Ying household was able to establish ties with the Duke Jing 'an household is because the daughters of the Chu clan are easy to conceive."

"Did you guys hear? He Jiasan abandoned his family and left the capital two days ago."

"Haha, what a joke. Without a man, it's useless no matter how strong your stomach is."

"That's right, he's just an impoverished family, yet he came to the Ding Yuan Manor dressed like this. What a disgrace."

"I'm afraid you don't know this, but Sixth Miss Chu has a bad reputation. I'm afraid He Sanlang was forced to leave because he despised her!"

…

Madam Rong of the Duke of Ying's Public House had just returned from a trip to the West Pavilion (the ancient latrine) when she heard the commotion outside the Plum Pavilion. She had just looked over in confusion when the di daughter of the first branch, Sister Su, quickly walked over and hugged Madam Rong's arm. She said with a pale face, "Madam Rong, Sixth Younger Sister has been bullied."

The eighth daughter of the second branch, Sister Yuan, also came over. She rolled her eyes in disdain. "You were abandoned by your husband as soon as you got married, and you still dare to come out and embarrass yourself!"

Sister-in-law Rong's expression changed. She first glared at Sister Yuan, then asked Sister Su, "What's going on?"

He Changdi had left for the Northern Territory the day before yesterday. Originally, Duke Jing 'an's Estate had kept this news a secret, but they didn't know how it got out.

However, Sister-in-law Rong, who was deep in the residence, didn't know about this. When she heard Sister Su's words, her expression darkened.

"You said that Princess Leyao, Princess Duanjia, and County Princess An Min are all here?"

"That's right. From Princess Leyao's words, she seems to be quite dissatisfied with Sixth Younger Sister."

Sister Yuan stomped her foot angrily. "When did this scourge offend the princess?

Now she's going to implicate us.

We shouldn't have let her marry into Duke Jing 'an's Estate in the first place! "

"Sister Yuan, what nonsense are you talking about?" Sister-in-law Rong reprimanded her in a low voice.

After all, this wasn't the Duke of Ying's Public House. Sister-in-law Rong didn't allow them to speak out of turn. No matter how unfavored Chu Lian was in the Duke of Ying's Public House, she was now married, and she represented the Duke of Ying's Public House. It didn't matter if she wasn't here, but since she was, how could they just ignore her?

At this moment, Chu Lian really wanted to curse He Changdi. What 'Brother He'? When did this guy hook up with the princess?!

Moreover, this princess didn't look very old at all. This … this child was a little too precocious!

Princess Duanjia stood beside Princess Leyao. She was more than a head taller than Leyao, and her expression was cold as she stared at Chu Lian.

Wei Fengzi, who was sitting nearby, also saw the situation outside the corridor. The corners of her lips curled up slightly. When she saw that Chu Lian was standing in the crowd and didn't send her maidservants to ask for help, she was happy to watch the show.

County Princess An Min glanced at Chu Lian disdainfully. "Since you've seen them, Leyao, let's go."

As soon as County Princess An Min said this, the noble ladies turned and left at the same time. Zou Yuanqin, the fifth daughter of Marquis Dingyuan's Estate, turned around and glanced at Chu Lian. When she saw that Chu Lian didn't look like she was enduring any pain, her face contorted slightly, and she threw her a disdainful look.

Then, she followed behind the ladies of the imperial family.

The corners of Chu Lian's mouth twitched. She looked at the backs of these noble ladies. What?

Did this group of people come here to mock him?

That was too childish!

Sister-In-Law Rong was about to come over to help, but when she saw Princess Leyao leave with her people, she heaved a sigh of relief.

But before he could relax, another woman's scream came from the other side.

"Ouch!"

Chu Lian only felt her body being violently hit and swaying twice. Then, something with a sweet smell spilled all over her and rolled on the ground.

She looked down stiffly and saw the longevity peaches rolling on the ground.

The person who had bumped into her was already kneeling on the ground and crying.

Chu Lian's face darkened.

The noble ladies who hadn't gone far seemed to be attracted by the commotion at the Plum Pavilion and turned to look.

The madams and young ladies who had gathered around immediately made way for the sight of the noble ladies.

Zou Yuanqin's gaze swept over and finally landed on the longevity peaches on the ground. Her eyes widened in anger and she walked over quickly, pointing at Chu Lian, trembling with anger.

"You!

How dare you destroy the birthday gift that my mother gave to my grandfather! "

Birthday gift?

With these "shoddy" longevity peaches?

Young lady, don't joke around. Is it appropriate to push me into a pit that you dug?

When Zou Yuanqin said this, someone in the crowd exclaimed, "Look at the appearance, it must have been made by Mr. Wang of De 'an Restaurant!

How could it be destroyed just like that!

What a pity! "

Chu Lian's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

This group of half-grown girls not only framed her with a plate of longevity peaches, but also bragged about this "shoddily made" plate of longevity peaches so awesome. What on earth were they doing? Where was the trick of falling into the water to frame her in the original text?

Why was it so low in quality …

The longevity peaches on the ground were just white steamed buns with a little red dot. What was this top-notch longevity peaches that seemed to have been made by some powerful person?

Please, don't joke around, okay?

How could the crowd know about Chu Lian's crazy complaints?

The crowd parted again and a dignified woman in her forties walked out. Chu Lian looked up and saw the woman's sharp eyes sweeping over. She asked angrily, "What the hell is going on!"

This woman was none other than Madam Huang, the wife of Marquis Ding Yuan, whom Madam Zou had previously brought her to visit.

She was also Zou Yuanqin's mother.

Kneeling on the ground, trembling, was a maidservant wearing a ginger dress.

She replied in a trembling voice, "This … this servant was about to bring the longevity peaches to the banquet in the front courtyard when I was suddenly … suddenly bumped into by this madam. Please forgive this servant, Madam! Please forgive this servant!"

Chu Lian was speechless.

She hadn't moved at all, so how could she have bumped into someone?

But at this time, no one stood up to speak up for her.

In the eyes of these noble ladies, her marriage into Duke Jing 'an's estate was already considered to be a social climber. A few days after her marriage, He Changdi's sudden departure pushed her to the peak of the secular world. Many people were already waiting to see her make a fool of herself. Even if they knew that she had been wrongly accused, no one would speak up for her.

Moreover, the person who wanted to deal with her wasn't an ordinary person, but the wife of Marquis Ding Yuan, or perhaps the emperor's most beloved Princess Leyao?

Eldest Sister-In-Law Rong stopped in her tracks.

Sister Su opened her mouth slightly in shock. After a moment, she regained her composure and turned to her eldest sister-in-law. "Eldest sister-in-law, we … we …"

"Don't say anything. Wait a little longer!"

Eldest Sister-In-Law Rong hesitated.

If Princess Leyao and her entourage had intentionally ridiculed Chu Lian earlier, then it would be the princess's fault. It was only right and proper for Eldest Sister-In-Law Rong to step forward to protect her. Even if she had to offend the princess, her good reputation for protecting her sister would spread.

However, things were different now. She hadn't seen who had bumped into whom earlier, but no matter who had bumped into her, it would be Chu Lian's fault for knocking over the birthday gift that Marquis Ding Yuan's wife had specially prepared for the old Marquis Dingyuan.

If she went forward now, she would be facing Marquis Dingyuan's wife and Princess Leyao. Not only would her reputation be ruined, but she would also be accused of covering up for her sister.

Eldest Sister-In-Law Rong was the wife of an aristocratic family, and she was also the mistress of the Duke of Ying's household. The Duke of Ying's gradual decline had also tempered her into this type of person.

Sister Su anxiously looked at the crowd. Just as she was about to step forward, she was pulled back by Eldest Sister-In-Law Rong.

Eighth Miss Sister Yuan hid behind Eldest Sister-In-Law Rong. She couldn't help but smile when no one saw her.

Xiao Bojian stood outside the corridor, his right hand tightly gripping the vermilion handrail. His eyes were fixed on the opposite side.

Heir Zheng raised the folding fan in his hand to block the light. He said thoughtlessly, "Senior Xiao, something seems to have happened over there. Why is even the princess here? It seems to be very lively."

The third floor of the Breeze Pavilion was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood. There was no one walking back and forth inside. It was incomparably quiet.

The window that faced the lake was half open, and a slender figure could be seen peeking out from the small window.

On the side of his face that was as sharp as a knife, a pair of green eyes fell lazily on the Plum Pavilion opposite him.

The man gently waved his hand, and a figure flashed to the side.

"Master, what are your orders?"

"Go to the Plum Pavilion. If Chu Liu is really being punished, save her."

"Understood."

The figure flashed again and disappeared.