The county princess turned to look and saw Sheng Yiran walking forward and standing beside Ye Qingcheng.
The county princess's expression turned even uglier.
"Prince An, you are the one who asked us to come today, you cannot let us be insulted like this!" she then said to Ye Qingcheng, "I am, at the very least, the County Princess of Jiacheng and the legitimate daughter of the Xu family. Why were we not sent an invitation?"
Ye Qingcheng also knew that her actions were impulsive. Regardless of the County Princess of Jiacheng's character, she was at least a county princess appointed by the former emperor and the legitimate daughter of the Xu family. With the powerful backing of the Xu family, she should have received an invitation.
Alas, it was her own willfulness.
Just then, the sound of a wheelchair was heard, and Xiao Wangye's voice came from behind.
"It was this king who did not wish to send you an invitation."
Everyone was stunned.
Then they bowed, "Greetings, Your Highness."
The County Princess of Jiacheng's face turned even paler.
"Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?"
Xiao Wangye glanced at his younger brother standing beside him, a hint of helplessness in his eyes, "Does this king need to be more direct?"
The County Princess of Jiacheng looked at Prince An and, seeing his indifferent demeanor, instantly understood that she had been used as a pawn. If the prince hadn't sent her an invitation and she hadn't come to cause trouble, at least some face would have been saved. But now, all her dignity was lost, and she had gained a reputation for being petty. Although it wouldn't cause any major problems, it would still become gossip.
Therefore, without the prince's urging, the county princess left in embarrassment.
Xiao Wangye looked at his brother, "You come with me."
Prince An followed Xiao Wangye into the room and was immediately slapped by his elder brother upon entering.
Prince An covered his face and roared, "What are you doing?"
Xiao Wangye was furious, "What am I doing? Don't you know what you've done? Do I need to say it in front of Grandmother?"
Prince An instinctively looked at his grandmother and then smiled, "Brother, you are slandering me. What have I done?"
Xiao Wangye sneered, "Hmph! Done nothing? Then why did you bring the county princess here?"
Prince An waved his hand indifferently, "Then you are truly wronging me. She wanted to come, and I also wanted to come, so I brought her along. What's wrong with that? Who knew she would suddenly fly into a rage and shout that my sister-in-law didn't send her an invitation."
This statement was not believed by anyone present.
"What you're saying is meant to fool the unintelligent. Do you think I'm unintelligent? Or is it that couple from the Xiao family who sent you?"
Prince An chuckled, "Brother, saying this will make Father and Mother very sad. It's true, you've either been with Grandmother or grown up in the palace since birth, so you're naturally not close enough to your family!"
Xiao Wangye, "So this is your reason for wanting to replace me."
As Prince An was about to say something more, he suddenly heard his grandmother's command, "Enough, stop quarreling. How can brothers quarrel like this? Wang Yan, you will go and apologize to your sister-in-law properly later."
Xiao Wangyan said feebly, "Yes." Then he added, "Since there is nothing else, I will take my leave."
Just as he reached the door, Xiao Wangye called out to him.
"Xiao Wangyan, you had best stop your petty tricks, otherwise, I can consider the greater good and disown you."
Xiao Wangyan paused in his stride. At that moment, he could completely believe that his elder brother would do as he said.
The day's banquet finally ended.
Ye Qingcheng was so tired she could barely stand. She constantly complained to Bixi, "Do you know, my face is tired from smiling today?"
Bixi, holding the washing water, chuckled, "That's because everyone in the capital now knows the princess consort's status in the prince's heart. No one will talk about you anymore."
Ye Qingcheng smiled and said nothing, bracing herself to wash up. Actually, she wanted to say that she could live a good life without relying on Xiao Wangye, but she thought that telling this to a woman from a feudal society would only be considered rebellious.
After washing up, she lay on the bed and, in a daze, realized that it had already been half a year since she arrived in this world. She wondered how he was doing.
Bixi blew out the candles and left, plunging the entire room into darkness.
Although she was already very tired, she tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.
Thinking back to her arrival here, it felt like it had just happened yesterday. At that time, she hadn't left because she had no money. Now, the restaurant business was getting better and better, and she was making money. So why hadn't she left yet?
Ye Qingcheng pondered, then decided not to think about it anymore. She would simply go sightseeing, fishing, and relax tomorrow.
The next morning, Xiao Wangye did not see Ye Qingcheng.
"Where is the princess consort?"
Yu Jian replied, "Reporting to Your Highness, the princess consort left early this morning, saying she wanted to go sightseeing."
This was a simplified version of what Yu Jian had actually said.
Ye Qingcheng's original words were: I want to smell the flowers of Jiangnan, see the snow of Liangzhou, and experience the lonely smoke in the desert. I just don't want to be confined to this courtyard anymore.
But Yu Jian dared not tell this to the prince.
Xiao Wangye nodded upon hearing this. She had indeed worked hard these past few days, so it was good for her to go out and have some fun.
However, on her very first outing, her luck turned bad, and she encountered robbers.
Bixi was so frightened that she hid in Ye Qingcheng's arms, trembling.
Fortunately, Lin Xiao was worried and had brought a few hidden guards who knew martial arts. However, the battle was quite fierce.
This resulted in the hidden guards, despite their good martial arts skills, being outnumbered and facing opponents who also knew martial arts.
Ye Qingcheng looked at the chaos outside and said to Bixi, "Bixi, take the money. I'll count to three, and we'll run out."
Bixi was very indecisive now and just wanted to move towards a safe place: "No! Princess consort, let's just stay here! We still have our people fighting!"
Ye Qingcheng looked at her with exasperation, "Are you stupid? We are in the carriage right now. What if they take the carriage and run? We'll still be dead."
Bixi suddenly understood, thinking it made sense.
So she took the money, lifted the curtain, and ran out.
However, Ye Qingcheng had overlooked one point. The enemy was numerous, and upon seeing two women emerge, their eyes immediately turned red, and they charged forward.
Ye Qingcheng, panicking, quickly pulled Bixi and ran. As a knife was about to strike, Ye Qingcheng pushed Bixi away and closed her eyes.
She heard the sound of flesh being torn, but Ye Qingcheng felt no pain. Puzzled, she opened her eyes, and the scene before her directly stung her eyes.
She never expected that a hidden guard would block the fatal blow with his own body.
Seeing the hidden guard slowly fall, he still managed to say, "Princess consort, hurry and escape..."
Ye Qingcheng stared fixedly at this scene.
Bixi could not stop screaming. Seeing that the situation was not right, she covered her mouth.
As the robber was about to swing his knife again, Ye Qingcheng became enraged.
She didn't know how she had mobilized her internal energy. She flashed forward and struck the robber with her palm, a silver needle clenched within it.
Perhaps Ye Qingcheng's internal energy was meager at the moment, but she was a doctor, and she had been studying Xiao Wangye's poison. That silver needle was coated with the poison. If the robber had internal energy as strong as Xiao Wangye's, he would be fine, but unfortunately, he did not.
The robber died instantly.
This was the first time Ye Qingcheng had killed someone in this world.
However, she felt a sense of relief, a thrill from killing someone who enjoyed killing.