On the high platform, Qingjiang Junzhu looked at Lu Ke'er and his two companions who were walking up the steps, turned the crystal cup in her palm, and asked softly to those around her: "Is that the last one? I seem to have seen him before?"

  "The young lady has a great memory!" Zhen Li, the senior maid, flattered her with a sentence before continuing, "Wasn't it last year at the Boling Hou Mansion that the eldest miss brought you in front of everyone? At the time, she even presented you with a pair of sachets and you praised her craftsmanship to her face!"

  "No wonder." Qingjiang County Master nodded and narrowed her eyes, "The Hengshan Wangfu is indeed generous, looking at that talent, appearance, and temperament, it's even better than the Ke'er sisters! Obviously, they were carefully raised."

  Zhen Li smiled and said: "If I didn't have some dignity, how would I dare tell you?"

  By this time Lu Qiao'er and the other two had already come up, so the master and servant ceased their discussion.

  "It's been a few days since I saw Sister Duan, and she looks even younger now. Her complexion is like that of a newly opened peach blossom - pale with a hint of red, smooth and moist, as if it would drip water if pinched." After the formalities, Lu Ke'er warmly asked, "Sister, have you eaten or used something good? You can't keep it from me!"

  "I'm at this age and can still compare to peach blossoms?" Qingjiang County Master said with a smile as she hosted the banquet, although only inviting unmarried girls, but her own age could be their mother, "It's almost as bad as the mud under the peach blossoms!"

  "And when will you be like real flowers?"

  Lu Kui'er scolded her for being hypocritical, and then pulled Lu Jia'er over to say: "I said that Diao's older sister looks like she's around our age, but she won't admit it! Jia'er, you come and judge, is this right or not?"

  Lu Chai'er naturally nodded vigorously - Qingjiang Junzhu said a few words to them with an air of "it's not that it can't be done, but it can't be helped", her gaze fell on Song Yixiao who had been smiling silently all along: "I remember last year when the Yuan family girl brought you to see me, you weren't as quiet as you are today?"

  Song Yi has always been aware of yielding to others, never stealing the spotlight from Lu Qiao's sisters, who would have thought that keeping quiet would attract attention instead?

  Feeling the sharp gaze of Lu Ke'er and Lu Chai'er, she hastily smiled: "Sorry, County Master! I didn't mean to dampen the mood, it's just that my mouth is clumsy. After hearing what Miss Lu Ke'er and Miss Lu Chai'er said, I became even more unsure of what to say, so I was momentarily speechless."

  "There's no need to be so formal." The mistress of Qingjiang County had a very gentle attitude, so gentle that it made the Lu sisters look at each other sideways. "I remember you're quite skilled with embroidery? I also learned for a few years when I was your age, although I wasn't particularly good at it, but I really enjoyed it."

  Song Yi Xiao smiled and took out a brand new embroidered handkerchief from her sleeve, presenting it with both hands: "This was only embroidered two days ago, I hope the young mistress won't despise it!"

  Qingjiang Junzhu didn't say polite words, Song Yi's embroidery skills were indeed good - after all, she had a natural talent for it, and in her previous life, those few years of being confined to the back house of the Song family, she had nothing else to do but needlework.

  Looking at the two lifelike fish on the silk handkerchief, so vivid that they seemed to be about to jump out of the fabric at any moment, Qingjiang Junzhu couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. She patted the seat beside her and said: "Come sit down and let's have a good chat, what stitches were used on this, and how many colors of silk thread?"

  Song Yixiao had only met the county lord's daughter once before, and that was just a formal greeting - she didn't know much about her temperament. Now, without Yuan Xueying by her side to offer guidance, although she felt like Qingjiang County Lord's daughter seemed to be intentionally paying attention to her, based on what she knew of the county lord's daughter, she wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse.

  After much deliberation, I decided to take it one step at a time.

  After a brief greeting, he moved to the side of the princess and sat down, explaining the embroidery on her handkerchief in detail.

  Song Yi Xiao had originally planned to perfunctorily say a couple of sentences and then wrap things up, so as not to neglect the Lu sisters. However, it was unavoidable that Qing Jiang County Master's daughter herself was good at needlework or not, but as the eldest princess's daughter, having grown up surrounded by luxurious silks and satins since childhood, her eyesight and insight were placed elsewhere, and if she really had to get to the bottom of things, she would have no choice but to concentrate her mind and explain.

  Lu Ke'er and Lu Jie'er were completely thrown aside!

  The two sisters are after all the flesh and blood of King Hengshan, when have they ever been treated so coldly?!

  Especially compared with the one in the Wangfu who is still under someone's roof - the legitimate master is hung high!

  The girls were so angry their faces turned blue!

  Fortunately, Zhen Li still remembered them and glanced at Qingjiang Junzhu, who was pointing to the embroidered handkerchief without lifting her head. She quietly walked forward: "My family's Junzhu has recently been infatuated with women's red (embroidery), seeing what she likes and loving it... If Junzhu and Miss are not interested, I can send someone to accompany you two for a walk nearby?"

  "I was just thinking of going to the nearby cherry blossom forest!" Lu Ke'er didn't want to be seen by the guests who would arrive later, looking so embarrassed, and wouldn't refuse her kindness. She forced a smile and stood up, "Thanks for your trouble!"

  Although she and Qingjiang Junzhu are both junzhus, she is the legitimate daughter of the clan. However, since she only has the title of junzhu without a specific title, whereas Du Yurou, who is merely an outsider's niece, was granted the title "Qingjiang", it's clear which of the two junzhus holds more imperial favor - otherwise, why would she start off by flattering and praising her cousin Du?

  Although being ignored by Qingjiang County Master nowadays, she didn't dare to show her resentment in front of her, and instead put all the blame on Song Yixiao's head!

  After getting down from the high platform, she found an excuse to send the little servant girl who led the way far away, and then whispered to Lu Chai'er: "What kind of soul-stirring soup did this cheap woman give to Sister Du?! Sister Du actually left us to listen to her talk about that nonsense embroidery technique——Sister likes embroidery, what kind of embroidery girl can't be found, why bother with her?!"

  "Could it be that we just spoke carelessly and offended Eldest Sister Duan without realizing it?" Lu Jia'er couldn't believe that an outsider would be more favored by the young master of Qingjiang than her own sister, so she guessed, "Eldest Sister Duan is unhappy in her heart, and that's why she's using her as a pretext to teach us a lesson."

  Lu Ke'er thought it made sense, but the two sisters deliberated for a long time and then called over the people on both sides to ask one by one. They didn't know how those few sentences had offended the young master of Qingjiang County earlier.

  "In short, it's all Song Yixiao's fault!" Lu Ke'er thought for a moment, then slapped her hand and gritted her teeth, "We arrived early, later when more people come, they'll all go to pay their respects to Duan sister, how can Duan sister possibly care about her at that time?! Later, Guizhi, you arrange it, get rid of her..." she made a ruthless gesture.

  Lu Chai'er was, after all, a concubine's daughter. She had always been cautious and careful, but today she couldn't help feeling jealous when facing Song Yixiao, who seemed to be overflowing with joy. As the situation unfolded, Lu Chai'er hesitated: "Isn't this going too far? Grandmother said that as long as we keep Song Yixiao by our side today, everything will be fine, and we don't need to do anything else?"

  "Grandma, did you know that this little scoundrel actually gave us such a big loss of face?!" Lu Ke'er said indignantly. "Even in the presence of Zhang Xing and Yu Shan, Diu sister-in-law has never treated me like this before!"

  Changxing Princess and Yushan Princess are the two golden branches of our dynasty, both spoiled and willful young ladies. Although they are sisters from the same clan, Lu Ke'er is also extremely cautious when interacting with them.

  With such a contrast, it's no wonder she still resented the scene with her cousin. "Besides, we are Grandma's own granddaughters, what is that little cheap thing?! Even if we were beaten to death, would Grandma feel sorry for us?"

  Lu Chai'er thought for a moment, but still had some reservations about Qingjiang Junzhu, and reminded her: "But this is Duan Taijie's private garden, and Duan Taijie will be very enthusiastic towards her. What if...?"

  "You're so stupid!" Lu Ke'er said discontentedly, "Today with so many people around, to capture that cheap woman, why did it have to be us who took action?"

  She saw that her younger sister was still clueless, so she gave Lu Zhuo'er a hateful glance and said in a low voice, "Cui Jianlian is also coming today. She was humiliated and sent back to the Cui family because of Xiao Jianshen back then, and until now, she doesn't dare to come to our Wang Fu. In the past two years, whenever we met her outside, didn't she always ask about Xiao Jianshen's situation with hatred in her eyes? Today is such a good opportunity, let's not push the waves and help them out. As long as we find her and tell her where Xiao Jianshen is, then we can just watch the show!"

  He sneered, "This one has the support of Prince Taizi and Imperial Consort Cui, unlike us who are wary of Di Xiaojie!"

  Lu Chai'er suddenly said: "Sister is still more clever!"

  But didn't know this remark a moment later one by one reported to Qingjiang County Master!

  Qingjiang County Master had just listened to Song Yixiao's explanation of the embroidered handkerchief, and with a pleasant smile, she called out a maid to take her down for a stroll: "It's said that you're invited to dinner, but don't always call you to be confined here. The flowers are in full bloom this season, go take a look, later when there are more people, it won't be as quiet as now."

  Song Yi smiled and responded with a hint of surprise - she had just been taken away, and then Zhen Li informed the Lu sisters of their plan, smiling and asking: "Does the young mistress want me to go and intimidate them?"

  "If it weren't for provoking them to take action, why would I lift this Song girl in front of them?" Qingjiang Junzhu waved her hand and said calmly, "This girl's talent, appearance, temperament, conversation, and needlework are all quite good. So, let's use the Xiang'er sisters' plan to see how much inner beauty she has, is it worth me putting my mind to it!"

  Zhen Li said: "I'll go and remind those people below later, lest they misunderstand!"

  "Right, anyway I'll go to Yao Fang Pavilion later and coax that little ancestor out for a walk. He must give me an explanation!" The Qingjiang County Master suddenly remembered this matter and couldn't help but pinch her brow, saying helplessly, "Otherwise, how can I return to the Imperial Capital and explain to the Empress Dowager?"

  "Today, all the excellent ladies have arrived, and even if Lord Jian is picky, he can't possibly not find any of them satisfactory?" Zhen Li comforted, "If they still say that none of them are satisfactory, then there's nothing that can be done! How could Her Majesty the Empress Dowager blame you?"

  Qingjiang County Master was not really worried about the empress dowager's blame - after all, she was also the empress dowager's legitimate grandniece - this would make her sigh repeatedly, but because: "You say why this little ancestor doesn't understand? The imperial grandmother advised him to get married, what did he think of? Wasn't it for his own good!"

  "He's already seventeen, even if he was raised in the palace since childhood, at this age, even princes have to leave the palace to avoid suspicion, let alone him being just an outsider grandson?! Especially now that he has taken office, where can he still go in and out of the palace like when he was a child? With a wife, not only can she take charge of the Yan State Duke's Mansion on his behalf, but also run errands for him instead of having to communicate with the Emperor's grandmother?"

  Thinking of the current situation, his face turned gloomy. "The matter of Wu Huan, although the grand ceremony is over and rewards and punishments have been decided, when will the secret machinations subside? He now appears to be noble and favored, but in reality, he is extremely sinister! This entire court, except for the Crown Prince who takes care of some things, has no other helpful forces. That Yuan Xuepei is close to him, but unfortunately, his leg was disabled and he cannot enter officialdom. If he were to have a relationship with the palace again, would it be beneficial to him?"

  Zhen Li held her breath and listened attentively, only speaking after she finished: "I will definitely tell these words to Young Master Jian!"

  "These words, the Empress Dowager must have repeated to him over ten times!" Qing Jiang County Master gritted her teeth and said, "You go to Yao Fang Pavilion and ask him: is he coming out obediently by himself or do I need to personally go drag him out by his ears——the Empress Dowager loves him so much that she can't bear to take action, but this older sister of mine can be ruthless!"

  "He's got great martial arts skills! He can even fight me, his own sister!"