"Just now, the daughter of the Ministry of the Imperial Household came to pay her respects. Didn’t the General’s wife notice?"

Yu Tingwan said as a matter of course, "That’s an interesting question. My mind wasn’t on her."

Seeing the Palace Maid’s face grow darker, Yu Tingwan lost patience and smiled wryly, "What’s the matter with you, Palace Maid?"

"If it’s understandable for me to be ignorant, how about you, serving next to the Princess? Is it that you don’t understand either?"

Her tone was leisurely.

"Everyone in Shangjing knows I’m Yu Tingwan, a countrified and uncultured person, lacking in etiquette. These days, I’ve troubled my mother-in-law terribly."

"This morning, the Emperor even sent an Imperial Physician, oh, and the Fifth Prince came too. Before leaving, he specifically instructed me to prioritize my husband’s health over everything else."

"If I’ve done anything wrong, I ask you to bear with me and not to quarrel with a coarse woman like me. I’ve said over and over that I’ve forgotten, so it must have been difficult. Why didn’t you, a Palace Maid, teach me?"

"If you taught me, and I learned, wouldn’t I have paid my respects?"

"Never mind paying respects, if you were to ask me to jump from a window today, hesitating for even a moment would be disrespectful to the Princess."

"Yet you dare to bully me, relying on the Princess’s power. Those who don’t know might think I slighted the Princess, or that the Princess came out of the palace just to let you, a Palace Maid, deliberately make things difficult for me."

Pausing her words, Yu Tingwan looked at Ying Changyi, maintaining a respectful demeanor even in anger.

"Princess, do you want me to teach this troublesome maid a lesson for you?"

"Just by looking at her face, I feel this maid has bad intentions."

What a skillful mouth, full of contradictions!

Ying Changyi wanted to rebuke her.

The Palace Maid was her confidante. If she hadn’t scolded her, it meant it aligned with her thoughts.

But...

Yu Tingwan was countrified, longer hair than knowledge, and looking at her expression, she might really not understand.

Ying Changyi couldn’t hold onto this point either.

She only wanted to scare and make things difficult, not dare to clash with Yu Tingwan, who had strong backing.

Furthermore... had the Fifth Prince gone to the Wei Family?

Ying Changyi’s expression stiffened slightly.

The Eastern Palace had already offended the Duke Shun Mansion and the Grand Tutor Mansion, if...

Realizing this, she turned to scold.

"Shut up! I didn’t speak, and you jump out! Back off now!"

The Palace Maid hurriedly stepped back, "This servant deserves to die, this servant misspoke."

Seeing this, Yu Tingwan quickly and kindly said, "If you knew you deserved to die, that would have sufficed. Don’t repeat this next time."

She truly was kind-hearted.

"Princess, you are a merciful person. On account of my plea for her, don’t be offended with her."

Shen Zhiyi: ...

Learned it well.

Even black could be painted white by your words!

And it really seemed believable!

Ying Changyi felt a lump in her throat, nearly unable to maintain her smile.

She looked coldly at the maid, "Aren’t you going to thank for the grace?"

Ying Changyi added, "It’s not easy for me to come out of the palace. Outside, there’s no need to be overly meticulous with rituals."

Yu Tingwan breathed a sigh of relief, "Princess, your notorious reputation preceded you before I came to Shangjing. The people secretly gossip that you often misbehave. Just now when you entered, I was really flustered."

She patted her chest, relaxing, "Good thing the Princess wasn’t here to provoke."

"The Princess is still quite reasonable."

Ying Changyi: ?

I was here to provoke!

You’re just too dense to notice!!

She couldn’t scold Yu Tingwan, bottling up her anger, clenching her eyes as she slapped the table, "Outrageous! Which brazen person dares to speak of me like this!"

Yu Tingwan’s hand trembled holding the teacup, though no tea spilled.

Oh, not enough force.

Adding more force, tea spilled out, and as she loosened her hand, the teacup tumbled.

With a clatter, it hit the table, rolling several times.

But Yu Tingwan couldn’t worry about anything else, hurriedly covering her tea-tainted hand with a handkerchief.

"Hiss."

Tan Jiang dashed over, fearing something had happened.

"Madam."

Could there be poison in the teacup water?

But she had clearly checked, there wasn’t!

Tan Jiang thought she was really culpable!!!

It must be her oversight!

Yu Tingwan winced in pain, "I’ve been scalded."

Tan Jiang froze.

Shen Zhiyi: ...

But you were drinking cold tea!!!

Yu Tingwan: "I’m truly useless."

"I meant to pour tea for the Princess but couldn’t hold it steady."

She timidly mimicked Zhou Yurou’s earlier tone, "Absolutely not from being frightened by you, Princess."

Ying Changyi’s face turned ashen.

At that moment, laughter drifted in from outside the door.

Xiao Huaian pushed Wei Zhao in, "Is it true that all the citizens of Da Jin privately speak of you, Princess? Why aren’t you aware?"

Xiao Huaian: "Your reputation, not to be rude, is pretty bad."

"Instead of reflecting on yourself, why frighten the Young Madam of the Duke Shun Mansion?"

Wei Zhao remained silent, his eyes deep as he looked at Ying Changyi.

The Ninth Princess was furious, but meeting his eyes, her back inexplicably broke out in a sweat. She had suffered too many losses under Wei Zhao.

Her fingers trembled, considering the Eastern Palace’s current weakness, she bit her teeth, angrily leaving.

"Princess, Princess, where are you going?"

Yu Tingwan followed feigning concern, "Aren’t you staying to listen to the music?"

"Did I say something wrong again? Or..."

The Ninth Princess would never admit she left in humiliation and anger.

She didn’t leave the teahouse.

Because she didn’t want to be laughed at by others.

"Too many people, I find it cramped,"

she said, gritting her teeth as she turned to the next room.

With a bang, the door was kicked open again.

Within moments, the young heirs listening to the music inside stepped back in panic, vacating the elegant room.

Yu Tingwan stood at the doorway.

Shen Zhiyi beckoned her, "Aren’t you coming in?"

"Look at them."

"What about them?"

Yu Tingwan sighed, "They’re sensible enough."

Xiao Huaian, having pushed Wei Zhao inside, left him alone and sat next to Shen Zhiyi.

But before he could speak, Yu Tingwan sat beside Wei Zhao with a pitter-patter, her gaze falling on Xiao Huaian.

Xiao Huaian, noticing her gaze, said, "Sister-in-law, what’s the matter?"

Yu Tingwan, "Just looking at you."

"Saying that," she nonchalantly added, "I wanted to see if what Shen Zhiyi said was true."

"What did she say?"

"Oh nothing, just nothing much?"

Yu Tingwan, true instigator, "Just that the young actor performing downstairs looks more handsome than you."

Shen Zhiyi: ??

She had said they were equal.

Xiao Huaian laughed in slight fury. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

He had noticed while downstairs that the young actor’s face was covered in makeup, clearly not a proper person.

"Shen Zhiyi, what kind of eyesight do you have?"

Not one to submit easily, Shen Zhiyi immediately retorted, "Yeah, that’s what I said. So what?"

"That young actor downstairs is indeed good-looking."

"Once, a young lady even had eyes for him, wanting to forcefully snatch the young man, attempting to boldly take him away midway for a wedding."

Yu Tingwan listened with interest, "Did she succeed?"

"No, the young actor would rather die than submit."

Shen Zhiyi, "It shows that outstanding men must protect themselves when out and about. However, Heir Xiao surely doesn’t have such concerns."

Xiao Huaian wanted to call it absurd.

Wei Zhao wearily chimed in, "I’m familiar with this matter."

The boomerang eventually hit its mark.

But Yu Tingwan boasted in satisfaction!

Indeed! She had the energy and means!