The Double-Chapter 597 - 174: True Colors

On the way back, thinking of what Jih Heng had said, Jiang Li couldn’t help but laugh.

Apparently, her laughter was too conspicuous, causing Tonger and Bai Xue to exchange puzzled looks. Tonger asked, "Miss, what did you say to the Duke that made you so happy?"

"It was just idle chat," Jiang Li said.

Indeed, she hadn’t expected that in Jih Heng’s eyes, the former Xue Fangfei would ultimately receive the moniker "beauty." This was somewhat surprising to her, considering that Jih Heng was Northern Yan’s foremost beauty. She had thought Jih Heng wouldn’t spare a second glance for Xue Fangfei. Jiang Li had always believed that appearances were of little importance. Now, the beauty from her past had been humorously referred to as a "beauty" by Jih Heng.

The former Xue Fangfei was probably beautiful. But the current Miss Jiang the Second could at most be described as a pretty girl. To say she was ravishing and city-bewitching was still a far cry from the truth. She thought that facing her present self, Jih Heng would never again describe her as a "beauty."

However, visiting the Duke Residence that night had settled her nerves somewhat. She was gradually discovering that whenever she had to make an important decision, a walk in the Duke Residence, even if it involved irrelevant conversations with Jih Heng, seemed to give her more confidence. Previously, Jiang Li had only heard of the saying "it’s good to lean on a big tree for shade" without really knowing what it felt like. Now, she had fully experienced it.

No wonder so many people in the world resort to any means to secure a "big tree" for themselves.

But even with a big tree, the rest of the matters still had to be managed by oneself. As the carriage slowly made its way back to the Jiang Residence, Jiang Li, now with time to spare, thought that Princess Yongning, recently demoted to commoner status, couldn’t contain herself much longer before seeking out Shen Yurong. Princess Yongning had endured the grievance because of Shen Yurong, once marrying into the Li Family to protect the child in her womb, forced to bear the torment of love in silence. Now that the whole world knew, she didn’t have to hide it anymore. Even the loss of her princess title meant more freedom for Princess Yongning.

But soon, Princess Yongning would come to understand the harshness of reality.

Back in the Shen family, Xue Fangfei had paid with her life to see clearly the intrinsic astuteness and indifference of the Shen family members. All the talk of righteousness and morality was mere illusion. The former noble princess, now deprived of her title and returning to the Shen residence, was likely to be treated with much less reverence than before. It was possible that all the miseries endured by Shen Yurong would be blamed on her.

Princess Yongning was in for a rough time. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

The smile at the corner of her lips became more pronounced, as she looked at her hands and slowly clenched them into a fist.

It was coming soon, the day she had been longing for.

...

Just as Jiang Li had anticipated, the Princess Yongning, who had stayed in the inn for some time, finally arrived at the Shen residence.

She wore a sun hat on her head. Initially, Princess Yongning thought that even if the people of Yanjing City knew of her plight, they wouldn’t dare gossip in front of her. But she was quickly proven wrong, as wherever she went, the stares followed her like shadows. She could distinctly feel the murmurs and snickers among the crowd, which infuriated her. But when, out of habit, she wanted to order her guards to capture those idle gossips, she realized that aside from Mei Xiang, she had nothing.

The tainted reputation seemed branded on her face, and wherever she went, she had to face the jeering stares of the crowd. Princess Yongning was extremely uncomfortable, suddenly understanding why Xue Fangfei, after her affair was exposed, thereafter never left the house, staying only within the Shen residence. Surely, there were reasons related to Shen Yurong’s deliberate confinement, but even if Shen Yurong allowed Xue Fangfei to go out freely, Fangfei would not have dared.

She would likely have drowned in the saliva of Yanjing City’s people.

These lowlifes, Princess Yongning thought bitterly. She could not remember every face in the crowd, so she also couldn’t wait to return to the inn and have Empress Dowager Liu capture all these people. The commoners, as if they knew she had been demoted to commoner status, had no fear, and those who wouldn’t dare to glance at her skirt on normal days were now pointing and discussing her without restraint.

When she could hardly bear it any longer, when she almost didn’t have the courage to step out of the inn’s door, Mei Xiang brought her some beans. Like treasure in hand, Princess Yongning wore the sun hat and hurriedly left, rushing without any sense of direction. Mei Xiang followed behind, and they could hear the malicious laughter trailing them.