"Hey, isn't this the formidable female prison guard from the first day of the preliminary wrestling match? When did someone from a family of generations of prison guards become eligible to participate in the princess's coming-of-age ceremony? Could it be that you've climbed up to some aristocratic young master and attached yourself to him?" A disdainful and arrogant voice came from behind Gong Xiaohua.
"Ah Han, how can you speak like this about the palace girl?"
Gong Xiaohua turned around to look at the group of women standing in front of her, and coincidentally, she recognized both of the ones who had spoken just now.
They were Qin Chuhan, the sixth Miss of the Qin family, and Lin Yueru, the legitimate daughter of the Minister of War.
"You have the nerve to come in, but you're afraid of what others might say?" Qin Chuhan said.
"Hahaha..." The women with them burst into laughter.
Gong Xiaohua couldn't be bothered with arguing with these people and turned to leave directly. But before she could take two steps, Qin Chuhan blocked her way.
"You think you can just leave like that? Speak clearly before you go."
Gong Xiaohua recalled the countless admonishments and instructions from her mother before they were separated, that she must not engage in conflicts with others in the palace. So she suppressed her unwillingness and said, "I was invited by the princess herself."
"The princess is so noble, how could she invite someone like you, a lowly person?"
"You keep talking about 'lowly people,' but where do you think your own nobility comes from? Besides, if you want to know whether the princess invited someone like me, you can go and find out yourself."
Having said that, Gong Xiaohua didn't waste any more words and tried to go around her and leave.
Qin Chuhan reached out to block her.
"Move aside."
"I won't move, so what?"
At that moment, Gong Xiaohua grabbed the hand blocking her way and twisted it behind Qin Chuhan, causing her to cry out in pain.
Her cry attracted the attention of many people present, even the group of people in the pavilion, who had stopped their "heated discussion" and were watching from a distance.
"Miss Gong, all Ah Han did was ask you a few questions, was it necessary to resort to violence?" Lin Yueru, who was standing beside them, disapproved and reproached Gong Xiaohua.
So this is the infamous scheming beauty, Ling Long.
Just then, a male voice came from outside the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, today is Ling Long's coming-of-age ceremony. Shall we give this prince some face and let this matter rest? What do you think?"
The crowd parted on both sides, and the person who came was the Sixth Prince, who had just been engrossed in a discussion in the pavilion, accompanied by the young aristocrats.
Upon seeing that the prince had come over, Gong Xiaohua released her grip on Qin Chuhan's hand. As soon as she regained her freedom, Qin Chuhan quickly complained:
"But Your Highness, how can someone of such low status enter the precious palace and participate in the princess's coming-of-age ceremony? She must have come in through improper means. I implore Your Highness to investigate."
"Since Miss Gong says she was invited by Ling Long, we can find out by asking Ling Long's personal eunuch," he said, signaling to a eunuch standing nearby.
The eunuch understood and hurriedly ran off.
Before long, the sweating eunuch, Ling Long's personal eunuch, arrived. Along the way, he also heard the details of the situation.
It turned out that he had been quite absent-minded and forgotten about the princess's instructions.
These young ladies from prestigious families, each one so proud, how could they deign to associate with someone of Gong Xiaohua's humble background?
"Old servant, pay respects to the Sixth Prince. Pay respects to all the ladies and young masters," the eunuch said, bowing.
"I ask you, is Miss Gong your princess's invitation?"
"Replying to the Sixth Prince, yes. Please refrain from troubling the princess's friend."
With the final statement, it was also a way of informing everyone present that Miss Gong was protected by the princess and not someone to be easily bullied.
Seeing that the other party had indeed been invited by the princess, Qin Chuhan felt no guilt in slandering others and maintained a condescending attitude towards Gong Xiaohua, saying, "Hmph, consider yourself lucky."
"Let's go."
"Miss Qin, are you really leaving like this? Is this the kind of upbringing the Qin family has?"
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone looked at Gong Xiaohua in disbelief. They were aware that with the other party's status, they could make life difficult for her and her family.
"What did you say?"
"I said, the facts prove that you have been defaming and slander me. You owe me an apology."
"Miss Gong, you claim that Chuhan defamed you, but didn't you also lay hands on her? Speaking of which, you have your faults too, Miss Gong."
"That's right, no matter what, you shouldn't resort to violence." A group of young ladies standing beside Qin Chuhan and Lin Yueru echoed.
"Miss Lin, may I ask if this place belongs to the Qin family?"
"No, but what does that have to do with you hitting someone?"
"Since it doesn't belong to the Qin family, then may I ask Miss Lin, if Miss Qin used her hand to block my way, am I not allowed to defend myself?"
"You!!"
Lin Yueru didn't expect Gong Xiaohua to be so sharp-tongued, and for a moment, she couldn't find words to refute her.
"And Miss Qin has been defaming and slandering me. So, may I ask Miss Lin, should Miss Qin apologize to me for her insulting behavior?"
"Sigh, if you don't apologize, let it be known that Qin Xiang is the role model for scholars across the world. If this were to spread, who knows what the emperor would think of the Qin family's young lady, who, relying on her status, brazenly insults others?"
There were also some people present who couldn't stand the behavior of Qin Chuhan and Lin Yueru and spoke up one after another:
"Yes, indeed... It's really the young lady of the Qin Xiang family who's too much..."
Upon hearing this, Qin Chuhan's heart began to panic. His grandfather had always been strict with his upbringing, and if he were to find out that today's events were not handled properly, he didn't know what punishment he would receive when he returned home.
So, with a flushed face, he quietly apologized to Gong Xiaohua and fled with the group of people.
The crowd began to disperse one by one, leaving only the Sixth Prince and his entourage present.
Gong Xiaohua bowed to the Sixth Prince, expressed her gratitude, and left with Sun Gonggong.
As the Sixth Prince watched Gong Xiaohua's departing figure, despite her humble status, she possessed both courage and exceptional wit. He was becoming more and more interested.
Unconsciously licking his dry lips, the hunter's desire to capture his prey grew even stronger.
Qin Chuyuan stood behind a large tree, watching Gong Xiaohua leave, the latter always clever and sharp, always able to make others grit their teeth at any time.
"You wouldn't happen to be interested in that girl, would you? She's decent-looking, but a little chubby, though it doesn't matter. Plump women make good wives," came the voice of the Crown Prince from behind.
"When did you develop this habit of peeping on others?" Qin Chuyuan glanced at the Crown Prince disdainfully.
"And what about you? What are you doing?"
Qin Chuyuan couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him and walked straight towards Zhaoyang Palace.
"Hey, Ayuan, you haven't answered me yet. Do you like her? I can tell Sixth Brother has his eyes on her too. If you like her, make your move soon, or Sixth Brother might snatch her from you."
"No need to worry, Your Highness."
"You're not denying it? Do you like her or not?" the Crown Prince asked, following Qin Chuyuan.
In response, Qin Chuyuan showed indifference.
The Crown Prince didn't mind. Watching Qin Chuyuan's figure, he inexplicably felt a sense of joy. It seemed like the thousand-year-old iron tree was about to blossom.
