“You, you…” Chu Linger retreated, her face turning green. It was as if Zihou’s forbidding aura was forcing her backward. Zihou’s dominant presence plus her “mere princess” statement made Chu Linger really feel as if she was just a tiny, insignificant speck of dirt…

 “Ninth Princess, don’t be angry.” A melodious and moving voice sounded out as a young lady in green drifted over to Chu Linger’s side and patted her shoulder comfortingly.

 A faint smile hung across Zhen Xueyan’s lovely face as she turned her attention to Zihou and said in a soft voice, “Ninth Princess didn’t know about the Emperor’s edict, and you can’t fault those not in the know. Sister Zihou, please don’t put Ninth Princess in a spot.”

 Ha…

 Zihou snorted inside. What a fake white lotus!

 In her memories, Zhen Xueyan had always been a fake white lotus. Whenever someone bullied the former Wei Zihou, Zhen Xueyan would pretend to be nice and try to persuade the bully otherwise, but she always managed to instigate a more terrible fate for Zihou instead. She would somehow end up subtly suggesting an even worse way to bully Zihou.

 That fateful day at the lake, if not for Zhen Xueyan’s wicked manipulations, would the former Wei Zihou have died so terribly in the lake?

 To put things bluntly, this Zhen Xueyan was a white lotus demoness who was adept at making use of others to carry out her wicked deeds.

 “Miss Zhen, how am I putting Ninth Princess in a spot? Wasn’t it Ninth Princess herself who sought me out?” Zihou gave Zhen Xueyan a cold smile. “Also, I only have a brother, I don’t have any sisters. Please don’t address me as Sister, alright?” Zihou’s calm voice carried traces of disdain.

 Zhen Xueyan’s face turned dark for a second, while a flash of malevolence flashed across her eyes. But it was over in a moment.

 “In that case, I will apologize to you on behalf of the Ninth Princess.” Zhen Xueyan was indeed a skillful white lotus. She could still smile so warmly even at a time like this. Even Zihou couldn’t help but inwardly applaud her performance!

 “Oh? You’re apologizing on behalf of the Ninth Princess? On what grounds?” Zihou lifted one brow questioningly as her lips curled with a wicked intention. “Do you mean that the Young Mistress of a mere Prime Minister’s estate is able to represent the royal house? When did the Prime Minister’s estate attain such authority! Or does this imply that the Prime Minister’s estate has been angling after such power all along?” Zihou’s words shook the crowd to the core.

 Everyone instantly turned their eyes toward Zhen Xueyan. There were indeed recent signs that the authority of the Prime Minister’s estate had discreetly surpassed that of the royal house’s. And Zhen Xueyan’s current behavior seemed to support this theory?

Zhen Xueyan’s expression immediately changed. Her usually calm face showed signs of cracking. Panic surfaced in her eyes as her breathing quickened.

 “Wei Zihou, don’t speak nonsense! I’m the Ninth Princess’s cousin. What’s wrong with apologizing on a cousin’s behalf?” It must be said that Zhen Xueyan was really made of sterner stuff. She managed to dredge up this good excuse at such a critical point.

 “So you’re also cousins. No wonder…” Zihou looked as if she just realized something very important. She let her sentence drift off, prompting the rest of the bystanders to let their imaginations fill in the blanks.

 No wonder what? No wonder Zhen Xueyan had stepped in and accused Wei Zihou of making things difficult for Ninth Princess. Anyone could see it was Ninth Princess making trouble for Wei Zihou. This Young Mistress from the Prime Minister’s estate was clearly biased but still tried to act kind and just.

Realizing this, the crowd now looked at Zhen Xueyan with scornful eyes, especially those girls who were usually bullied by her. There was no way they would waste this opportunity to gloat over Zhen Xueyan’s misstep.

 As angry as she was, Zhen Xueyan maintained a gentle and pitiful expression.

 “Sister Xueyan, Sister Linger, why should we spoil our mood over such a person? We should head back to prepare now. There will be many more exciting programs later on!” Zhen Kexin shot Wei Zihou a derisive sideways glance before stepping forward to smile at Zhen Xueyan and Chu Linger.

 The two of them exchanged glances before finally calming down. They shot Zihou withering glares and then returned to their own seats.

 “I hereby announce the start of the Spring Pageant. We invite all the ladies who have prepared for the talent segment to come on stage!” After returning to her seat, Chu Linger finally composed herself and put on a grand smile.

 Many noble ladies started to get busy after Chu Linger’s announcement. They all took mirrors from their maids and checked their reflections over and over, to ensure their makeup remained impeccable. Only then did they start to stand up and head over to the stage.

 It should be pointed out that a large number of eligible young men were in attendance at the Spring Pageant. The performance of the ladies would directly impact their future marriage prospects. If they performed spectacularly and caught the eye of a handsome prince, they would be able to marry into the royal house!

 And so the stage was filled with noble ladies of all shapes and sizes. They tried their best to display their talents, to present their best side to the audience.

 Playing musical instruments, dancing, drawing, calligraphy, poetry recital, singing… all sorts of skills were on display.

 Even Zihou was stunned speechless by the extravagance of it all. She felt like she was watching some ancient version of a talent and beauty competition.

 About two hours later, those noble ladies who had been performing their hearts out finally showed signs of stopping.

 Zihou cast a sweeping glance at Zhen Kexin and gang, who were sitting some distance away, and thought that it was about time the real show started.

 As expected, fresh faces started to appear on the stage. Zhen Kexin stood up with a smile and glanced around. “I will now present my humble performance for this year’s Spring Pageant.” She might have said “humble”, but that smug expression was all but humble.

 Since the Young Mistress of the Prime Minister’s estate had spoken up, the crowd clapped even if they no longer felt like watching anymore.

 After all, the status of the Young Mistress of the Prime Minister’s estate was as high as that of a princess.

 Zhen Kexin lifted the hem of her skirt and drifted over to the stage. She shot Zihou a scornful and challenging glare as she passed her.

 Zihou couldn’t help smirking, as a sly glint flashed across her eyes.

 Under the table, Zihou gently flicked her finger and a black speck flew onto Zhen Kexin’s hair. It immediately dissolved and no one noticed it at all…

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