Who Bullied My Fiancée?
She was old and senior, and also the cousin of Xiao Ge's biological mother. Even Xiao Ge himself wouldn't have any objections if she taught Consort Jin a lesson.
Consort Jin never expected that simply saying a few words in support of her daughter-in-law would backfire so badly on her.
She was so angry her face turned blue.
Consort of the Prince of Ming was going crazy.
After Zhao Ruxi and Grand Princess Shangde said those words, "the lewd see lewdness," and wouldn't the reputation of "thinking about that kind of thing whenever she sees a man" follow her like a shadow? If Prince of Ming knew this, even if he didn't divorce her for the sake of the Lu Family, he would definitely not like her. If he really ascended the throne in the future, he might be the first to kill her to save face.
Those two women are so cruel.
She dared not target Grand Princess Shangde, and instead vented all her anger on Zhao Ruxi.
She completely forgot that she was the one who first smeared Zhao Ruxi. If it weren't for Zhao Ruxi's eloquence and good interpersonal skills, Zhao Ruxi would be the one now driven to a dead end.
She raised her hand, grabbed the tea from the table, and splashed it on Zhao Ruxi's face, cursing, "How could you be so cruel? You spend all your time among men, you're so dirty and stinking, and you still want to throw dirty water on me. You'll die a horrible death."
After taking the Agility Pill, Zhao Ruxi could dodge even the most skilled imperial guards throwing hidden weapons at her, let alone the tea offered by Consort of the Prince of Ming.
She ducked behind Consort of the Prince of Qian, spilling most of the tea, but a small portion splashed onto Consort of the Prince of Qian's face.
Consort of the Prince of Qian was already trying to keep a low profile, but she was still caught off guard and splashed with water. She cried out, wiping the water from her face with a handkerchief, "What are you doing? What does this have to do with me? Waaah..."
The Fourth Prince's plan was the same as Xiao Lingyan's: to play it safe and develop his strength cautiously in the early stages; and then, when Xiao Ge was old and everyone else was exhausted, he would come and reap the benefits.
So he was involved in everything, but he himself never really stood out. The princess he married was not from a prominent family, but the daughter of a fourth-rank official from a humble background.
Among these princesses and consorts from prominent families, the Consort of the Fourth Prince was always cautious. Now that she had been splashed with water, all she could do was sob and cry; she didn't dare utter a single harsh word.
Seeing that the commotion had subsided, Zhao Ruxi glanced at the clock in the corner of the room, then raised her hand to adjust the pearl hairpin in her hair.
Seeing this, Lu Yun, who was standing next to Lady Zhu, quietly withdrew.
Zhao Ruxi lowered her hand, ignoring Consort of the Prince of Ming, and instead said apologetically to the Consort of the Fourth Prince, "I'm sorry, Consort of the Prince of Qian, I didn't expect Consort of the Prince of Ming to make a move. I instinctively dodged, and I didn't expect the water to splash on your face."
When Consort of the Prince of Ming Ming's attack failed and she had offended the Consort of the Fourth Prince, Zhao Ruxi calmly apologized to the Consort of the Fourth Prince as if nothing had happened. Then, Princess Ming reached over the Consort of the Fourth Prince's back and tried to slap Zhao Ruxi across the face. Zhao Ruxi dodged to the side, and the slap landed on the back of the Consort of the Fourth Prince's head instead.
"Stop!" Noble Consort Cen shouted angrily.
Several maids and servants immediately stepped forward from inside the room, and two of them stood behind Consort of the Prince of Ming to prevent her from hitting anyone again.
The maids and servants brought by Consort of the Prince of Ming panicked when they saw this and rushed forward to protect their mistress.
"The Consort of the Third Prince's Consort is quite the show-off! Not only does she casually insult the Emperor's chosen scholar and his daughter-in-law, stirring up trouble, but she even resorts to violence. What's the difference between her and a shrew on the street? The Lu Family has such good family values; they raised such a fine daughter to be sent as an imperial consort. They're truly remarkable," Noble Consort Cen sneered.
Consort of the Prince of Ming's mother's heart tightened, and she stood up to argue, "It was Zhao Zhiwei who first smeared Consort of the Prince of Ming. Your Highness, please don't distort the truth."
"Oh dear, they're getting more and more unruly. The Imperial Concubine is reprimanding the Prince's wife, and the Lu Family is interrupting. Do they really think the world belongs to the Lu Family?" Grand Princess Shangde said.
"Arrest her and send her to the Imperial Clan Court. On His Majesty's joyous occasion, how dare she cause such a ruckus here? Who gave you the audacity?" Noble Consort Cen pointed at Consort of the Prince of Ming and said.
She turned to Madam Lu and said, "It's none of your Lu Family's business to discipline our royal daughter-in-law. If you're dissatisfied, go directly to the Emperor."
Madam Lu immediately fell silent.
Consort of the Prince of Ming panicked upon hearing this and turned to Consort Jin for help.
Consort Jin quickly pleaded with Noble Consort Cen, "Sister, the child is just being ignorant, please don't be angry. As you just said, this is His Majesty's joyous occasion. If our third daughter-in-law is taken to the Imperial Clan Court, not only will our royal family lose face, but His Majesty will also be Gao Xing. I'll have our third daughter-in-law apologize to you and the fourth and Little Five daughters-in-law, and then come to apologize in person afterward. What do you think? For the sake of our third son and the child, let's not make this a big deal, okay?"
As she spoke, she glared at Consort of the Prince of Ming, signaling her to quickly back down.
The Lu Family was no less powerful than the Cen Family. She had gone to great lengths to choose such a wife for Xiao Lingheng Xiao Lingheng. She and her son still needed the Lu Family's help in the succession struggle; how could they allow the Consort of the Prince of Ming to be arrested and taken to the Imperial Clan Court? What would become of their reputation?
Although today's incident was unsightly, it only escalated due to a heated exchange. Everyone knows the truth, and no one truly believes that Consort of the Prince of Ming is unfaithful.
Furthermore, there is no precedent in the royal family for divorcing a daughter-in-law. Otherwise, if a divorced daughter-in-law remarries, wouldn't her children have to be brothers with the children she had with the prince?
The Lu Family is no less powerful than the Cen Family. Noble Consort Cen's words were just to scare them. As long as they back down, she will likely back down.
"I'm sorry."
Consort of the Prince of Ming was also a woman of flexibility and acting skills. At this moment, she managed to squeeze out tears and pitifully apologized to Consort Cen, the Consort of the Fourth Prince's Noble Consort Cen, and Zhao Ruxi while sobbing.
Noble Consort Cen didn't really intend to do anything to Consort of the Prince of Ming. Seeing that Consort Jin and Consort of the Prince of Ming had softened their stance, she was just about to call it quits when she heard a familiar male voice at the door, "What's going on here?"
Zhao Ruxi was worried that Xiao Lingyan wouldn't be able to get through. Hearing the sound, she was overjoyed and turned to look at the door, where she saw Xiao Lingyan standing there with a serious expression.
"I heard someone say that someone is bullying my fiancée?" Xiao Lingyan walked in, stood next to Zhao Ruxi, and looked directly at the Consort of the Prince of Ming.
The room was filled with royal elders, sisters, and sisters-in-law; there were also relatives of the imperial family, but they were all elderly. As a young, unmarried prince, it was not impolite for him to come here.
On the contrary, his immediate rush to his fiancée's side upon hearing that she was being bullied deeply moved the women present.
"Priceless treasures are easy to find, but a loving husband is hard to come by." Zhao Zhiwei must have been blessed in her past life to have the Fifth Prince so attentive to her.