Despite knowing that the Marquis of Zhennan’s wife couldn’t control Chu Yuehua, Princess Imperial Yuning still redirected her anger toward her.

She said icily, “I don’t know,” and then pulled Ye Yaming away from the hall, fuming.

They were currently in Prince Kang’s main hall, which was extremely spacious, with many people standing or sitting in small groups, exchanging pleasantries.

Everyone had been curious about Ye Yaming, and now that they knew she was meeting her future sister-in-law, and given that Lu Guanyi and Lu Guanyu were practically enemies, these future sisters-in-law were destined to have a contentious relationship. Gossipy by nature, everyone stopped their conversations to watch the scene unfold like spectators at a drama.

Everyone had witnessed Chu Yuehua’s rudeness.

Seeing Princess Imperial Yuning storm off angrily, Prince Kang’s wife was startled and hurriedly rose to follow her.

The knife-like gazes of everyone else turned toward Chu Yuehua.

Some of the older female imperial relatives shook their heads: “County Princess Qingrong is truly lacking in manners. She has been corrupted by Madam Shi.”

As members of the imperial family, they could choose not to return the bows of officials’ wives, but this depended on circumstances.

Chu Yuehua was merely a County Princess, not a Princess Imperial. While Ye Yaming might have had humble origins, she had married into the household of a first-rank general, held a fourth-rank title herself, and both Lu Zhongyong and Lu Guanyi were frontier commanders respected even by the Emperor himself. From this perspective alone, Chu Yuehua should have treated her courteously.

Moreover, Chu Yuehua was engaged to Lu Guanyu, which meant Ye Yaming would be her elder sister-in-law in the future. Without the imperial family status, when the two met, Chu Yuehua should have been the one to bow to Ye Yaming first.

With the imperial status factored in, they each had a certain standing, and they should have treated each other as equals.

Not to mention that Princess Imperial Yuning’s face was at stake.

Thus, Chu Yuehua’s behavior appeared exceedingly disrespectful.

Outside, Prince Kang’s wife kept apologizing to Princess Imperial Yuning.

“This isn’t your fault,” Princess Imperial Yuning said. “If anyone should apologize, it should be the Marquis of Zhennan’s wife. My royal sister-in-law, you shouldn’t take responsibility for everything.”

She continued, “I will certainly speak to my sixth royal cousin about this, and ask him to discipline his daughter properly, to avoid bringing shame to our imperial family.”

Prince Kang’s wife couldn’t respond to this, so she turned to smile at Ye Yaming instead: “Lady Lu, please don’t take this to heart. That girl has no birth mother, and her current stepmother, the Marquis of Zhennan’s wife, cannot manage her properly, which is why she has developed such a temperament.”

Ye Yaming smiled but said nothing.

She couldn’t say she didn’t care.

Chu Yuehua was a member of the imperial family with a second-rank position, significantly higher than her fourth-rank status. When someone of a higher rank doesn’t acknowledge you or return your courtesy, it’s somewhat understandable. She had no right to express grievance.

But if she were to express indifference or show magnanimity, where would that leave Princess Imperial Yuning, who had already openly shown her displeasure? If Chu Yuehua was truly being disrespectful, it was a slight against Princess Imperial Yuning.

“Alright, you go find others to socialize with,” Princess Imperial Yuning said, not wanting to put Ye Yaming in a difficult position. “I have matters to discuss with Prince Kang’s wife. It’s not convenient for you to stay.”

“Yes,” Ye Yaming curtseyed to both of them. “Yaming takes her leave.”

She didn’t return to the hall but left the main courtyard. After asking a maid from Prince Kang’s household about Madam Chen’s whereabouts, she headed toward the pond with Zi Yuan and Qingzhi.

Princess Imperial Yuning was straightforward by nature, and with her status, she didn’t need to consider others’ feelings. Since Chu Yuehua had disrespected her, she naturally wouldn’t respect the Marquis of Zhennan either.

She immediately had Prince Kang’s wife arrange a location and summoned the Marquis of Zhennan, recounting Chu Yuehua’s behavior to him.

“It’s not that I want to defend an outsider and criticize my niece on their behalf,” she said. “But who raised Yuehua? Everyone in the Great Jin knows. Now, instead of keeping a low profile, she dares to slight the wife of the Xuanwu Marquis’s heir, and even disregards me, her aunt. Where does she get such confidence? Besides you, who else is backing her?”

These words made the Marquis of Zhennan break out in a cold sweat.

Princess Imperial Yuning’s words were devastatingly pointed.

At first, when Princess Imperial Yuning started speaking, he didn’t take it seriously. It was just a child being a bit willful, not showing respect to the wife of the Xuanwu Marquis’s heir—not a big deal.

As members of the imperial family, they could afford to be imperious.

But when Princess Imperial Yuning spoke those words, he could no longer remain seated. Princess Imperial Yuning was practically pointing at his nose, suggesting he thought himself more powerful than the Duke of Weiguo, which was why he indulged Chu Yuehua’s arrogance.

The Duke of Weiguo’s household was now taboo, a subject that no one dared mention.

“Not at all, not at all. The Lu brothers have always been at odds. Since Yuehua is engaged to the second young master, Lu, isn’t it normal for her to show a poor attitude toward the first young master’s wife? Why bring other matters into this? If she truly had such schemes, she wouldn’t have openly disrespected someone, would she?”

He stood up and bowed to Princess Imperial Yuning: “Yuehua was disrespectful before my royal sister. I, your cousin, apologize to you. Please, with your generosity of spirit, forgive her this once.”

He continued seriously: “Rest assured, I will discipline her strictly when we return. I won’t let her cause trouble outside again.”

Princess Imperial Yuning stood up: “I don’t want to interfere in your messy affairs. I’m speaking up today not because I care about Yuehua’s disrespect toward me, but because I hope we can all get along and not anger the Emperor. If you think I’m stirring up trouble, then pretend I said nothing. You’re on your own.”

With that, she left with her maids.

The Marquis of Zhennan stood there for a long time before gritting his teeth and saying, “Let’s return to the front.”

Leaving now would only spark more gossip. What had been a small matter was now being blown out of proportion. So the Marquis of Zhennan could only endure.

When the banquet was nearly over, he pretended to be drunk and sent word to the rear quarters, summoning the Marquis of Zhennan’s wife to bring Chu Yuehua out.

Upon returning to their residence, he ordered Chu Yuehua to kneel before the Buddhist prayer hall.

The heir to the Marquis of Zhennan, Chu Zonghua, immediately stepped forward to stop him: “Father, what are you doing now? Don’t be provoked by a few inciting words into punishing your sister. Sister lost her birth mother at a young age, which is pitiful enough. If you don’t cherish her, what life will she have?”

The Marquis of Zhennan’s wife secretly rolled her eyes.

Wasn’t this implying that she, the stepmother, had bewitched the Marquis of Zhennan and caused him to find fault with Chu Yuehua?

Over the years, the three stepchildren, fearing that she would have a good relationship with their father, had instigated, framed, and sabotaged her despite their young age, even poisoning her son. Her poor son had to take medicine like food from a young age. This undoubtedly had Madam Shi’s fingerprints all over it.

If it weren’t for her beautiful appearance, which won the Marquis of Zhennan’s favor, and the fact that she became pregnant and gave birth to a son shortly after marrying into the family—a son whose condition now made the Marquis feel guilty and pity her, causing him to no longer believe the three siblings’ instigation and framing—who knows what situation she would be in now.