"Lady Shen has entered, and none of you will bow to this Princess?" Grand Princess Zande interrupted Baili Ziyun's shouting from the side, speaking softly to Shen Xiaoyan.
Although her tone was gentle, she was subtly mocking Shen Xiaoyan for her lack of manners.
Shen Xiaoyan didn't care about this in the first place; she wasn't an ancient person and didn't have the habit of kneeling.
"I'm just a country girl, how would I know how to perform such grand courtesies," Shen Xiaoyan shrugged and said.
"What's 'grand courtesies'?" Grand Princess Zande was stunned. What was Shen Xiaoyan saying? She couldn't understand her at all.
"Mother, why are you wasting words with her?" Baili Ziyun complained.
Grand Princess Zande merely gave Baili Ziyun a cold glance and didn't speak, but it was enough to successfully silence Baili Ziyun.
Looking at her pampered daughter, Grand Princess Zande felt agitated.
She didn't feel like she had indulged Baili Ziyun too much; why was her daughter so audacious?
As soon as she told her that the medicine Shen Xiaoyan gave her was not poison, she immediately shed her cautious demeanor and actually dared to secretly send people to dig up the grave of the other person's mother.
Such a daughter made her feel a little disappointed.
With such a temper, if she were to truly enter the imperial harem in the future, she would be played to death within a year.
However, no matter what she thought in her heart, this was her daughter, her only daughter.
Therefore, she could only try her best to clean up the mess for her.
"Lady Shen, we actually have no other intentions in coming today; we just want to discuss something with you," Grand Princess Zande tidied the expression on her face and tried her best to soften her tone.
"What is it?" Shen Xiaoyan adjusted her sleeves and asked idly.
Grand Princess Zande felt angry at Shen Xiaoyan's attitude, but it was not the time to lose her temper and throw her weight around, so she could only continue to speak calmly.
"It's about my Ziyun. She has a simple temper and is easily misled. Knowing that you didn't give her poison, she resented being deceived by you and, listening to the servants' slander, actually sent people to dig up your mother's grave."
As Grand Princess Zande spoke, she cast a fierce glance at Baili Ziyun, who was looking indignant.
"Fortunately, your mother's grave was empty, so no great mistake was made. Please don't take it to heart."
Shen Xiaoyan was truly amused to the point of anger after hearing Grand Princess Zande's words.
This was truly a family where their thought processes were all aligned.
"Oh my, no wonder..." Shen Xiaoyan shook her head and sighed.
"No wonder what?" Grand Princess Zande frowned, completely bewildered by Shen Xiaoyan's reaction.
She had guessed earlier that Shen Xiaoyan would definitely fly into a rage. At that time, she would give her some money to appease her, and then scare her with her princess title. She figured Shen Xiaoyan wouldn't dare to hold any grudges.
In reality, it wasn't even that troublesome.
Shen Xiaoyan was just an ordinary commoner with no money, no power, and no influence. Such a person, let alone digging up her mother's grave, would not dare to say anything even if they dug up her family's ancestral tomb.
It was only because Shen Xiaoyan had connections and lived in a large residence. If Sima Han were to make a comeback in the future, this matter would bring her considerable trouble.
This was precisely why Grand Princess Zande had brought Baili Ziyun with her after the incident.
"No wonder you could give birth to a daughter like Baili Ziyun. It turns out that compared to her, you are even superior; you are both equally shameless," Shen Xiaoyan mocked.
"Shen Xiaoyan, you wild girl, who told you to speak to my mother like that? You should know that my mother is a princess, the younger sister of the Empress Dowager and the aunt of the Emperor. Is she someone like you can casually comment on?"
Baili Ziyun couldn't stand Shen Xiaoyan's attitude and immediately stood up, pointing at Shen Xiaoyan and cursing.
"So what?" Shen Xiaoyan glanced sideways at Baili Ziyun, seeing her face flushed and her neck thick with anger, and shook her head in disappointment. "What a waste of such a beautiful face; it's being sullied by growing on you."
Grand Princess Zande's face also turned cold. This was the first time someone had dared to scold her to her face; she was furious.
"So, you are unwilling to let this matter rest?" Grand Princess Zande said coldly.
"Of course. If I were to dig up your ancestral tomb and then apologize, would you say it's alright?" Shen Xiaoyan said, flicking her sleeves lightly.
"You dare! My mother's ancestral tomb is an imperial tomb; do you think you can just dig it up if you want to?" Baili Ziyun sneered.
"Let alone an imperial tomb, even the Forbidden City, if I say dig it up, we dig it up," Shen Xiaoyan said, also standing up.
Slowly pacing, Shen Xiaoyan gradually approached Baili Ziyun, her face showing no anger, but her tone grew increasingly murderous. "You ordered people to dig up my mother's grave?"
"Y-yes, I did. What do you want?" Baili Ziyun took a step back, intimidated by Shen Xiaoyan. But then she felt it was too undignified, so she took a step forward, stood in front of Shen Xiaoyan, and said with her neck stiffened, "Not only did I order it, I even stood by and watched them dig, and I personally pushed open the coffin. What do you want?"
Her parents were sitting nearby, and Baili Ziyun was certain in her heart that Shen Xiaoyan wouldn't dare to do anything to her, so she spoke without any reservations.
However, Grand Princess Zande, sitting there, wanted to curse her idiot.
They had come today to reconcile with Shen Xiaoyan and prevent her from holding a grudge over this matter.
Baili Ziyun saying this now would only make Shen Xiaoyan even more angry.
"Since that's the case, then it's easy."
Shen Xiaoyan suddenly smiled, her voice rising slightly, making people feel as if she were happy.
"Easy what?" Baili Ziyun looked at Shen Xiaoyan in confusion. Was this woman driven mad by stress?
"Dig a pit next to my mother and bury you in it, as atonement for guarding my mother's grave. I believe this outcome will satisfy my mother," Shen Xiaoyan said calmly.
"Hahaha..."
Baili Ziyun burst into laughter after hearing Shen Xiaoyan's words. She thought this was the funniest thing she had ever heard.
Someone actually dared to say they would dig a pit and bury her in front of her parents; this was even more amusing than a fool's dream.
"You're not going crazy from anger, Shen Xiaoyan?"
"Do you think I'm joking?" Shen Xiaoyan raised an eyebrow.
"No, I think you're dreaming... Ah!"
Baili Ziyun's mocking words were not finished before Shen Xiaoyan slapped her across the face, and she instantly cried out in surprise.
Shen Xiaoyan slapped her with great force, and Baili Ziyun's left cheek rapidly swelled. In just a few seconds, it went from smooth and fair to as thick as a palm.
"You dare hit me?" Baili Ziyun looked at Shen Xiaoyan in disbelief.
"Shen Xiaoyan, what are you doing?" Grand Princess Zande shot to her feet and quickly walked to Shen Xiaoyan's side, demanding.
"If your eyes aren't blind, you should be able to see what I'm doing," Shen Xiaoyan said coldly.
"I was speaking to you courteously, and you dare to resort to violence. It seems you don't know the immensity of heaven and earth without a taste of my power," Grand Princess Zande said, then ordered Jiangyi, who had been waiting, "Aren't you going to call everyone here and have this Shen Xiaoyan apprehended?"
Jiangyi agreed and immediately ran outside.
Shen Xiaoyan stood still, quietly looking at Grand Princess Zande and Baili Ziyun, not saying a word.