Even though Consort Li was well-traveled and accustomed to conversing with people of high status in the palace, she had never met anyone like Su Xiaoqi who so frequently brought up her own identity. It was as if she was afraid others wouldn't know. Furthermore, the way she leveraged her status made others grit their teeth in annoyance. Truly, no one else could be like her.
"Ah, alright, you two are both princesses, at least mind your princessly image. Making such a scene, what kind of decorum is that?" Consort Li said, winking at Princess Yi Jiang. It was her way of signaling that her words weren't aimed at Yi Jiang but were merely a tactic to provoke Su Xiaoqi.
"Consort, you speak the truth. Princess Yi Jiang indeed comes from a barbarian land and has not received the enlightenment of the Great Liang imperial court's culture. It is therefore understandable that she doesn't know the rules. Your Highness need not worry; just be patient and guide her more."
Uh…
As the words fell, it was as if several flocks of crows flew across the sky in unison. The atmosphere was incredibly awkward. Consort Li, in particular, wished she could use her embroidered shoe to dig a hole through the Persian embroidered silver fir carpet. How could Su Xiaoqi be like this? It was completely beyond her expectations. This was utterly playing by no rules. Wasn't she speaking about Princess Yi Jiang just now? Didn't she understand that?
Consort Li was deeply angered. She clutched her chest, bit her lip, and glared at Su Xiaoqi, about to explain. Then, she heard Su Xiaoqi speak again, "Consort, don't be angry. Anger is merely punishing yourself for others' mistakes. No matter how much dissatisfaction you have towards Princess Yi Jiang, no matter how ill-mannered you think she is, you must endure it. As for what she said to me, she doesn't fancy your son, so she won't be your daughter-in-law…"
"What…" Consort Li's eyes widened, and she glared at Princess Yi Jiang. How dare she slander her son behind his back?
Princess Yi Jiang froze for a moment before realizing that Su Xiaoqi's words were unassailable. That was because she had indeed said something like that. She had said that if she were to marry, she would only marry Shen Yun, and that she disdained Liang Jingning, calling him weak and incapable, certain to have no claim to the position of crown prince. But she had only whispered these remarks to her personal maid in the official guesthouse. She had never said them in front of others. Could Yueyue have betrayed her?
With this thought, Princess Yi Jiang missed the best opportunity to refute. By the time she thought to deny it, Consort Li's fury had already erupted. She quickly lowered her head, not daring to speak to her while she was angry. However, this demeanor, in Consort Li's eyes, was a sign of guilt. After her initial anger, Consort Li had calmed down a bit and hadn't truly believed Su Xiaoqi's words. But seeing Yi Jiang's reaction, she finally believed them.
"Yi Jiang… as a princess, though you are not of the Great Liang, how could you spread gossip so carelessly?" Consort Li's tone was light, but her expression was stern. "In the palace, speaking carelessly can result in having your tongue cut out, regardless of status." Consort Li said ominously.
Princess Yi Jiang was startled and shrunk her head, remaining silent. When she looked up again at Su Xiaoqi, she saw her smiling brightly at her. That smile looked undeniably schadenfreude-filled. She suddenly awoke to the fact that they had brought her into the palace to cause trouble for her. How could she let a few words from Su Xiaoqi shatter their alliance? Realizing this, Princess Yi Jiang quickly stepped forward, grabbed Consort Li's hem, and signaled to her with her eyes.
Consort Li was still angry, but Princess Yi Jiang's reminder brought her back to her senses. She wiped her face with a handkerchief. She thought that while Yi Jiang was annoying, Su Xiaoqi was a greater threat, and dealing with her was the priority. She changed her mind and began to attack Su Xiaoqi.
However, between the two women, one was a lady residing in the deep palace, and the other was a princess from afar. To Su Xiaoqi, who was adept at navigating the world of business, they were trivial matters. Dealing with them was a matter of minutes. Therefore, she quickly angered both of them until their faces turned red and their necks flushed. Finally, Yi Jiang couldn't stand it anymore and, finding an excuse, attacked Shen Mingzhu. She even invoked her own status, claiming that the bow Shen Mingzhu performed upon entering was not standard, and ordered her to rise and perform it again.
Shen Mingzhu was startled by this and instinctively stood up. Su Xiaoqi reached out to stop her, but it was too late. Princess Yi Jiang, seeing Shen Mingzhu's tearful expression, became gleeful. She cast a triumphant glance at Su Xiaoqi. She saw Su Xiaoqi also standing, looking anxiously at her sister-in-law. Princess Yi Jiang felt triumphant. She knew she had finally found the right person. She thought to herself, since she couldn't torment Su Xiaoqi directly, she would target her sister-in-law and torment her for fun, to anger her to death.
Shen Mingzhu stood up and performed a standard bow. As soon as she arrived in the capital, Su Xiaoqi had hired palace tutors to teach her many etiquette rules. Therefore, performing the bow now was not a problem. However, Princess Yi Jiang was deliberately picking a fight. She nitpicked and constantly claimed Shen Mingzhu's bow was not standard, ordering her to do it again.
"Again, your hand was in the wrong position." Princess Yi Jiang said with a smile, thoroughly enjoying herself. "Wrong, wrong, again. Miss Shen, do you not understand palace etiquette? How about this, Consort, do you have a嬷嬷 (momo - a female attendant or governess) who knows palace etiquette? Have her come and teach Miss Shen in front of everyone." As she spoke, Princess Yi Jiang winked at Consort Li. Seeing her smug expression, Su Xiaoqi felt like slapping her. She didn't just feel like it; she actually stepped forward and slapped Yi Jiang.
When the sound of the slap, "Pa," echoed, the palace fell silent. Everyone quietly watched the unfolding scene with inexplicable expressions. "Ah…" The first to react was Princess Yi Jiang, who had been slapped. She let out a loud cry, her anger soaring. Forgetting all about her status and image, she lunged at Su Xiaoqi, accurately grabbing her hair. But with her movements, how could she possibly touch Su Xiaoqi? Zhang Yu, who had been standing behind her, accurately grabbed her wrist.
"Ah… Mei Li, are you blind? Didn't you see this princess being bullied? Hit her!" Princess Yi Jiang, with her wrist restrained, roared at her maid to come forward. But Mei Li was no match for Zhang Yu. Seeing her approach, Zhang Yu pushed Yi Jiang aside and, in a few moves, grabbed Mei Li and pulled her over. With two slaps and a kick, Mei Li was sent sprawling to the ground, unable to get up.
Seeing that the situation was not in her favor, Princess Yi Jiang quickly looked at Consort Li for help. Consort Li, seeing how things had escalated, decided to drop all pretense. Since it was already chaos, whatever happened next could be excused as being too chaotic. Relying on her numbers, she waved her hand, ordering all the palace maids to attack Su Xiaoqi. She shouted as she did so, "Heavens, this is rebellion, rebellion! Princess An Qi has hit Princess Yi Jiang and is trying to kill someone! Quickly, quickly, pull them apart." Consort Li cried out hypocritically. However, the maids behind her understood her well and all rushed towards Su Xiaoqi, intending to subdue her. Unfortunately, none of them were a match for Zhang Yu.
Su Xiaoqi sat in the armchair with her hands crossed, a cold smile playing on her lips, quietly watching the farce unfold. She didn't need to lift a finger. These delicate palace maids were no match for Zhang Yu; she could handle ten of them with ease. "Ah…" "Hiss…" Cries of pain echoed throughout the palace. Consort Li's face grew darker and darker, while the smile on Su Xiaoqi's lips deepened. The real show was yet to come.