Qiao Zhao remained silent.

“Feeling guilty now, don’t dare to speak?” Jiang Shiran sneered coldly.

“Miss Li, why aren’t you speaking?” the Empress Dowager asked.

Qiao Zhao kept her head half-lowered, respectfully saying: “In response to the Empress Dowager, it is because in my current posture, it would be inappropriate for me to speak with Miss Jiang.”

She had been maintaining the posture of paying respects to the Empress Dowager while answering her questions. Since the Empress Dowager hadn’t told her to rise, she naturally wouldn’t presumptuously stand up. However, this didn’t mean she had to use this same posture to speak with Jiang Shiran.

“What’s inappropriate about it?” Jiang Shiran, who had never paid much attention to etiquette, didn’t immediately understand.

Qiao Zhao curved her lips: “If word of this spreads, I’m afraid it would damage Miss Jiang’s reputation.”

Both being daughters of ministers, having one young lady maintain the formal etiquette for meeting the Empress Dowager while speaking to another young lady would make the one calmly receiving such courtesy appear too arrogant and ignorant of proper manners.

After Qiao Zhao’s reminder, Jiang Shiran immediately realized this point and felt very frustrated: “You—”

She must have done this on purpose!

“Rise,” Empress Dowager Yang said with a calm tone, though her gaze upon Qiao Zhao was quite profound.

She truly hadn’t expected that the daughter of a mere Hanlin Academy compiler would be so composed, neither servile nor arrogant.

Such a girl, if she chose to do good, would naturally be fine, but if she chose to do evil—

Qiao Zhao straightened up. The prolonged kneeling made her body sway slightly, but she immediately steadied herself and asked calmly: “Could Miss Jiang please repeat the question you just asked?”

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Jiang Shiran gritted her teeth in anger.

This Third Miss Li was not only constantly opposing her but also always acting as if she were superior. She was merely the daughter of a minor sixth-rank official—did she think she was a princess? What gave her the right to speak to her this way?

No, wait, even Zhenzhen spoke to her politely.

“Miss Jiang, you jest. The reason I’m asking you to repeat your question is because I was just concentrating wholeheartedly on answering the Empress Dowager’s inquiries and didn’t dare to be distracted, so I didn’t hear what you specifically asked.”

Jiang Shiran was so choked up that her knuckles turned white from clenching.

Empress Dowager Yang shook her head secretly.

She could see that this girl was sharp-tongued and watertight in her responses. It would be impossible for Jiang Shiran to gain any advantage through words.

Empress Dowager Yang cleared her throat: “Alright, Ran Ran, if you have something to ask, then ask Third Miss Li.”

As Empress Dowager Yang spoke, she glanced deeply at Qiao Zhao, hinting that she should stop engaging in verbal sparring with Jiang Shiran.

Jiang Shiran stared directly at Qiao Zhao and asked: “I’m asking you—you said the medicine you gave me was from Physician Li, so why did Zhenzhen get worse after using it?”

Qiao Zhao smiled: “Miss Jiang keeps saying that Her Highness the Princess got worse after using the medicine I gave, but you’ve never told me where exactly Her Highness is injured. Is it a sword wound or a burn? Are the scars raised or sunken? And in what location?”

“What does that matter?” Jiang Shiran asked dismissively.

“Of course it matters. Different causes, conditions, and locations of scars require different medications.”

“But you didn’t mention needing to pay attention to these things at the time,” Jiang Shiran said rather indignantly.

Even if there were differences, it shouldn’t have made things worse. She was just bullying her for not understanding these things.

Qiao Zhao didn’t deny it: “I didn’t mention it because Grandfather Li’s medicine, regardless of what type of scar it’s used on, even if the effects differ, at least wouldn’t cause adverse reactions.”

Jiang Shiran sneered: “So what excuse do you have left? That medicine wasn’t from Physician Li—you just randomly got something to fool me with.”

She turned to look at Empress Dowager Yang: “Empress Dowager, you heard her—she admitted it herself. Why don’t you punish her to vent Zhenzhen’s anger!”

Empress Dowager Yang looked at Qiao Zhao with a sharp gaze.

However, Qiao Zhao’s face showed no trace of panic. While conversing with Jiang Shiran, she maintained direct eye contact, but when answering the Empress Dowager’s questions, she naturally lowered her gaze: “Empress Dowager, after hearing Miss Jiang’s words, I can be certain that Her Highness the Princess doesn’t just have scars—there must be other problems as well.”

Empress Dowager Yang’s eyes flickered slightly.

The way Zhenzhen looked, it indeed wasn’t just a matter of facial scarring.

“Empress Dowager, might it be convenient for me to see Her Highness the Princess?”

“Third Miss Li, you’ve already harmed Zhenzhen terribly, and now you want to see her humiliation too?”

Qiao Zhao looked at Jiang Shiran with slightly cold eyes, thinking: Miss Jiang, you’re so relentlessly trying to see me fail—I wonder if your father knows about this?

“See what?” Jiang Shiran felt very uncomfortable under Qiao Zhao’s strange gaze.

Qiao Zhao smiled slightly: “Miss Jiang, I cannot accept such words. First, whatever problems Her Highness the Princess initially had should have nothing to do with me. Second, you were the one who came to ask for the scar-removing medicine—I had no idea it was intended for Her Highness the Princess. So when Miss Jiang says I harmed the Princess terribly, you’re overestimating me. Most importantly, the scar-removing medicine I gave Miss Jiang absolutely would not make the situation worse. If the Princess’s condition has indeed deteriorated, there must be other problems.”

She paused here, pressing her lips together, and looked directly at Jiang Shiran: “Miss Jiang won’t let me confirm Her Highness the Princess’s condition, yet wants me to bear this responsibility—isn’t that somewhat unreasonable and lacking in human compassion?”

“You’re talking nonsense—”

Empress Dowager Yang waved her hand and ordered, “Go request the Ninth Princess to come.”

Noble Consort Li, who had been sitting quietly to the side, finally couldn’t help but speak: “Empress Dowager, the Princess just fainted from being unable to bear the shock. I’m afraid she—”

Empress Dowager Yang’s expression darkened slightly: “Zhenzhen is not such a fragile child.”

Among her granddaughters, she favored Zhenzhen the most, not because Zhenzhen was the most beautiful, but because that child had resilience—something essential for an imperial princess.

Noble Consort Li dared not say anything more, her beautiful eyes sweeping over Qiao Zhao with a flash of anger.

Qiao Zhao lowered her gaze and stood quietly, her posture straight as a pine tree.

Empress Dowager Yang said nothing more after that, continuing to play with the walnuts in her hands. The sound of the walnuts rubbing together made Jiang Shiran inexplicably irritated.

Why would the Empress Dowager listen to Third Miss Li and summon Zhenzhen? Could it be that when this matter was resolved, she would be the one in trouble again?

Bah, bah, bah—why was she thinking like this? It must be because the hall was too hot!

Before long, a eunuch announced: “The Ninth Princess arrives—”

From the corner of her eye, Qiao Zhao glanced over and saw Princess Zhenzhen enter wearing a light veil over her face. In just this short time since they’d last met, Princess Zhenzhen had grown considerably thinner, appearing quite frail and delicate.

When Princess Zhenzhen’s gaze fell upon Qiao Zhao, she first startled, her eyes flickering, then withdrew her gaze and walked before Empress Dowager Yang, properly paying her respects: “Imperial Grandmother, may you have peace.”

“Zhenzhen, come sit here.”

Princess Zhenzhen walked to sit at Empress Dowager Yang’s lower right.

“Zhenzhen, do you recognize this young lady in plain clothes?” Empress Dowager Yang asked.

Princess Zhenzhen’s beautiful eyes, visible above the light veil, showed little emotion as she said flatly: “I recognize her. She is Third Miss Li.”

“The medicine you used was given by her to Ran Ran?”

Princess Zhenzhen was silent for a moment, then nodded lightly.

Empress Dowager Yang glanced at Qiao Zhao and said in a heavy voice: “Zhenzhen, remove your veil and let Third Miss Li take a good look.”