Glory

Although Princess Yu Ning knew that Princess Consort Zhennan had no control over Chu Yuehua, she still directed her anger towards her.

She coldly uttered, "I don't know," before grabbing Ye Yaming's hand and storming out of the hall in a huff.

They were currently in the main hall of Prince Kang's residence—a vast space where many guests were either seated or standing in small groups, chatting amiably.

Everyone had already been curious about Ye Yaming. Now, knowing that she was about to meet her future sister-in-law, and considering the nearly hostile relationship between Lu Guanyi and Lu Guanyu, it was inevitable that these two future sisters-in-law would not get along. Thus, everyone was eager for gossip, halting their conversations to watch the drama unfold.

Chu Yuehua's rudeness was witnessed by all.

Seeing Princess Yu Ning leave in anger, Princess Consort Kang was startled and quickly rose to chase after her.

The rest of the crowd turned their sharp, dagger-like gazes toward Chu Yuehua.

Some of the older royal women shook their heads and remarked, "Lady Qingrong has no manners at all. She's truly been corrupted by Shi Shi."

As members of the royal family, they were not obliged to return greetings from the wives of lower-ranking officials, but the situation mattered.

Chu Yuehua was only a lady of the county, not a princess. Even though Ye Yaming came from a humble background, she had married into the household of a first-rank general and held a fourth-rank Imperial Mandate herself. Moreover, Lu Zhongyong and Lu Guanyi were both frontier generals, and even the emperor treated their family with respect. Given this, Chu Yuehua ought to have treated Ye Yaming with courtesy.

Furthermore, Chu Yuehua was engaged to Lu Guanyu, making Ye Yaming her future elder sister-in-law. Without the royal status, Chu Yuehua should have been the one to greet Ye Yaming first.

With their respective royal and marital statuses, they were essentially equals and should have treated each other as such.

Not to mention, Princess Yu Ning's dignity was also at stake.

Thus, Chu Yuehua's behavior was seen as exceedingly disrespectful.

Outside, Princess Consort Kang repeatedly apologized to Princess Yu Ning.

"This is not your fault," Princess Yu Ning said. "If anyone should apologize, it's Princess Consort Zhennan. Your Highness, you mustn't take responsibility for everything."

She added, "I will definitely speak to Sixth Imperial Cousin about this and have him discipline his daughter, lest she bring shame to the royal family."

Princess Consort Kang found it difficult to respond to this and instead turned to Ye Yaming with a smile. "Madam Lu, please don't take it to heart. That girl has no biological mother, and the current Princess Consort Zhennan neither can nor dares to discipline her, which is why she has developed such a temperament."

Ye Yaming smiled faintly but said nothing.

She could not claim she didn't mind.

Chu Yuehua was a member of the royal family, holding a second-rank title, which was indeed much higher than her own fourth-rank Imperial Mandate. It could be argued that Chu Yuehua was within her rights not to return the greeting or show respect. Ye Yaming had no standing to express grievance.

Yet, if she acted magnanimous and claimed she didn't mind, where would that leave Princess Yu Ning, who had openly reacted to the insult? The true disrespect lay in Chu Yuehua's disregard for Princess Yu Ning's dignity.

"Alright, you may go and socialize with the others," Princess Yu Ning said to Ye Yaming, not wishing to put her in an awkward position. "I have matters to discuss with Princess Consort Kang. It would be inconvenient for you to stay."

"Yes," Ye Yaming replied, bowing to both of them. "Yaming takes her leave."

She did not return to the main hall but instead exited the central courtyard. After asking the maids and matrons of Prince Kang's residence for Madam Chen's whereabouts, she headed toward the pond with Ziyuan and Qingzhi.Princess Yu Ning was a straightforward person by nature, and given her status, she didn't need to spare anyone's feelings. Since Chu Yuehua had shown her no respect, she saw no reason to save face for Prince Zhennan either.

She immediately had Princess Consort Kang arrange a private room and summoned Prince Zhennan to recount Chu Yuehua's behavior in detail.

She said, "It's not that I'm siding with outsiders to criticize my own niece. But who raised Yuehua? Everyone in the Great Jin knows! Instead of lying low, she dares to snub Madam Heir Apparent of the Xuanwu Marquis and even disrespects me, her own aunt. Where does she get such audacity? Who else but you is backing her now?"

These words made Prince Zhennan break out in a cold sweat.

Princess Yu Ning's remarks struck at the heart of the matter with deadly precision.

Initially, when the princess began speaking, he hadn't taken it seriously. He thought it was just a young girl's willfulness—showing disrespect to Madam Heir Apparent of the Xuanwu Marquis wasn't a big deal.

As members of the imperial family, they had the privilege to be willful.

But after Princess Yu Ning's pointed words, he could no longer remain seated. She might as well have pointed at his nose and accused him of thinking himself more powerful than Duke Wei, thus emboldening Chu Yuehua to overreach her station.

The Duke Wei's household was now a forbidden topic, something no one dared mention.

"It's not that serious, not that serious. The two Lu brothers have never gotten along. Since Yuehua is engaged to the younger Lu, isn't it normal for her to be cold toward the elder Lu's wife? Why read too much into it? If she were truly scheming, would she openly disrespect someone like this?"

He stood up and bowed to Princess Yu Ning. "Yuehua was rude in front of you, Imperial Sister. As her cousin, I apologize on her behalf. Please be magnanimous and forgive her this once."

He added solemnly, "Rest assured, I will discipline her strictly when we return. I won't let her cause any more trouble outside."

Princess Yu Ning rose to her feet. "Frankly, I have no interest in meddling in your messy affairs. I spoke up today not because I care about Yuehua's disrespect toward me, but because I hope we can all stay on good terms and avoid angering His Majesty. If you think I'm stirring up trouble, then pretend I said nothing. You know what's best for yourself."

With that, she left with her maids.

Prince Zhennan stood frozen for a long time before gritting his teeth and saying, "Let's return to the front hall first."

Leaving now would only fuel gossip. What should have been a minor incident was being blown out of proportion, so he forced himself to endure.

When the banquet was nearly over, he pretended to be drunk and sent word to the inner quarters, instructing Princess Consort Zhennan to bring Chu Yuehua out with her.

Back at the mansion, he immediately had Chu Yuehua dragged to kneel before the family shrine.

Chu Zonghua, the heir of Prince Zhennan, rushed forward to intervene. "Father, what is this about? Don't punish my sister just because someone provoked you. She lost her mother at such a young age—isn't that pitiful enough? If even you won't cherish her, what hope does she have left?"

Princess Consort Zhennan rolled her eyes inwardly.

His words implied that she, the stepmother, had bewitched Prince Zhennan into targeting Chu Yuehua.

Over the years, her three stepchildren had constantly feared that she and their father might grow close. Even at a young age, they had schemed, framed, and sabotaged her—even going so far as to poison her son. Her poor child had to take medicine daily as if it were meals. And behind all this, Shi Shi's influence was undeniable.If it weren't for her stunning appearance that had won Prince Zhennan's favor, and the fact that she had become pregnant shortly after marriage and given birth to a son—a son who had now ended up in such a state—Prince Zhennan wouldn't have felt guilty and taken pity on her. Had he not stopped believing the instigations and false accusations of those three, who knows what would have become of her by now.

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