HomeSheng Shi Di FeiChapter 58: Princess Lingyun's Farce

Chapter 58: Princess Lingyun’s Farce

The moment she fell into the water, Ye Li couldn’t help but want to curse. Although she had been diligently training her martial skills and physical condition over these years, it still fell short compared to her previous life’s training through wind and rain, crawling through mud. Moreover, even though this current body wasn’t favored, it was undeniably that of a pampered noble lady, and upon entering the water, she experienced slight muscle spasms. Fortunately, Ye Li was mentally prepared and quickly adjusted herself, swimming toward Princess Lingyun’s direction and successfully grabbing the struggling princess to drag her deeper into the water.

One glance was enough to tell that Princess Lingyun couldn’t swim at all, and Ye Li couldn’t help but sneer. Should she applaud the princess’s courage to sacrifice herself for love? To jump into the water without knowing how to swim! Well, she should properly experience what drowning feels like—surely afterward, she’ll understand the meaning of knowing one’s limits. Initially, Princess Lingyun wasn’t particularly panicked, knowing someone would soon come to her rescue. But she quickly discovered herself sinking rapidly toward the bottom, causing her to struggle even more frantically. Ye Li inwardly snorted, clearly feeling the water’s movement indicating someone had entered the water. She swiftly moved behind Princess Lingyun and knocked the panicking princess unconscious, then dragged her in another direction until estimating the princess was nearly at her limit before pushing her back.

As if in an instant, everyone in the Imperial Garden had gathered by the lake. The Xiling guards and Imperial Garden guards who arrived first had already entered the water for the rescue.

“There they are!” someone suddenly shouted from the lakeside. Everyone hurriedly looked over and indeed saw a flash of colorful brocade surface, followed by the Imperial Prince’s Consort also emerging, one hand still supporting Princess Lingyun. To everyone’s eyes, it appeared the Imperial Prince’s Consort had saved Princess Lingyun. Ye Li, watching the guards swimming quickly toward them after discovering their figures, smiled at the still-unconscious Princess Lingyun, “Princess, wake up. Princess… someone has come to rescue us.”

Originally, Ye Li hadn’t struck too hard, and Princess Lingyun quickly opened her eyes after being pulled from the water. However, upon seeing Ye Li smiling mockingly at her, Princess Lingyun, disregarding their current situation, shrieked, “Release This Princess!” and began struggling violently.

“Princess, don’t move. Be careful…”

“This Princess doesn’t need your concern!” Seeing the guards had reached them, Princess Lingyun, feeling emboldened, forcefully pushed Ye Li away.

“Very well…” Ye Li, wearing a terrified expression, sank back into the water in the direction of Princess Lingyun’s push, under everyone’s gaze.

As soon as Princess Lingyun reached shore, the waiting palace maids immediately brought dry clothes to wrap around her. Qingyu and Qingxia angrily glared at Princess Lingyun, saying, “Princess, our Lady kindly saved you, why did you push her!”

Princess Lingyun raised her head and indeed saw many people looking at her with condemning eyes, causing her to freeze. This wasn’t according to her original plan! “This Princess didn’t push her!” Hua Tianxiang coldly laughed, “A noble princess dares to act but not admit. If you’re going to lie, at least makeup something believable. Or do you think all of us present are blind?” Princess Lingyun angrily retorted, “She pushed This Princess in, This Princess didn’t need her rescue.” Princess Imperial Zhaoyang sternly said, “So the Princess means to say the Imperial Prince’s Consort pushed you in, then jumped in herself to save you? And now you’re safe while she still hasn’t surfaced? Princess, you’d better pray the Imperial Prince’s Consort is unharmed, otherwise, even if you are a Xiling Princess, my Great Chu won’t let this matter rest!”

“My Lady… they’ve found My Lady…” The anxiously waiting Qingyu called out from the shore, as Qingshuang and Qingluan emerged from the lake supporting the unconscious Ye Li between them. The people on shore quickly helped pull her up and wrapped her in dry clothes, while Qingyu took her pulse. Princess Imperial Zhaoyang anxiously looked at Ye Li and asked, “How is she? Why hasn’t the Imperial Physician arrived yet?” Qingyu looked up and replied, “Thank you for your concern, Princess. My Lady swallowed some water which caused her to faint, but she should be fine. However… My Lady needs a place to rest now.” Princess Imperial Zhaoyang looked around and decisively said, “Chaoxia Palace is closest, take the Imperial Prince’s Consort there.”

The crowd escorted the unconscious Ye Li toward Chaoxia Palace under Princess Imperial Zhaoyang’s lead, while Princess Lingyun, who had also fallen in but was unharmed, was inadvertently ignored. Watching the hurrying crowd depart, Princess Lingyun’s face alternated between green and white.

“Princess…” The Xiling palace maid beside her called out cautiously.

“Get out!” Princess Lingyun raged.

The atmosphere in Chaoxia Palace was heavy. In the inner chamber, Mo Xiuyao sat gravely by the bedside, watching the sleeping woman on the bed, while the Imperial Physician carefully came forward to take her pulse. The Princess Imperial sat to one side, frowning as she asked, “How is the Imperial Prince’s Consort?” The Imperial Physician pondered, glancing at Mo Xiuyao before responding, “Your Highness, Princess, the Lady has no serious ailments. It’s just… she seems to have suffered some shock. I will prescribe some calming medicines and medications to ward off cold.” The Princess Imperial asked, “If there’s nothing wrong, why hasn’t she awakened?” The Imperial Physician replied, “Well… the Lady is after all a woman, and likely fainted from suddenly choking on water. However, the water inhalation isn’t severe, she should wake after some rest.” The Princess Imperial recalled how Ye Li had been supporting Princess Lingyun when she surfaced, only to be suddenly pushed, and her expression grew even graver. She nodded and said, “Go prepare the medicine then.”

“This subject takes leave.”

Only Princess Imperial Zhaoyang and Mo Xiuyao remained in the room. The Princess Imperial stood and said, “Xiuyao, take good care of your consort. Regarding Princess Lingyun, This Princess will seek justice for the Imperial Prince’s Consort.” Mo Xiuyao nodded slightly, “Thank you, Aunt, but let’s wait until Ali wakes before settling this matter.” The Princess Imperial sighed softly and nodded, “As you wish. Stay with your consort. This Princess will take her leave first.”

Watching Princess Imperial leave, Mo Xiuyao wheeled his chair forward, staring at the sleeping woman for a long while before leisurely asking, “Ali, do you plan to sleep through tonight’s palace banquet?” Ye Li’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes, “How did you know?” Mo Xiuyao shook his head, saying calmly, “Intuition.” “Even the Imperial Physician was fooled, how could you tell?” Recalling the Imperial Physician’s strange and confused expression before finally having to claim she was unconscious from shock, Mo Xiuyao’s eyes showed a trace of amusement.

“Ali, I never knew you were so fond of saving people from danger?” Mo Xiuyao calmly looked at Ye Li.

Ye Li replied helplessly, “I had no choice. If I hadn’t saved her, by now I would probably be accused of pushing her in.”

Mo Xiuyao’s eyes flashed, “Outside just now, Princess Lingyun was indeed insisting you pushed her in.”

“Outside… she’s quite persistent, isn’t she? Still making a fuss after all that commotion?” Ye Li marveled. She had given Princess Lingyun quite a struggle underwater, yet instead of seeing a physician, she was still causing trouble. Thinking of the culprit behind her ordeal, Ye Li’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at half of Mo Xiuyao’s handsome face visible to her and said, “Speaking of which, Your Highness… today’s incident was somewhat caused by you. Do you have anything to say?”

Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow, looking at her questioningly. Ye Li snorted softly and said, “Princess Lingyun harbors a deep affection for Your Highness, and she firmly declared she would become the proper consort of the Imperial Prince’s mansion.”

“Xiling’s Princess Lingyun?” Mo Xiuyao frowned. Ye Li stared at him dangerously, “You don’t have some years-old promise with this princess, do you? To be able to deceive even a seven or eight-year-old girl, such a scoundrel… deserves to be beaten to death!”

Mo Xiuyao shook his head, looking at Ye Li seriously, and said, “I can say with certainty that I’ve never met Princess Lingyun.”

“How could she be crying and making a scene about marrying you, even jumping into the lake, if you’ve never met? Unless… it’s because of the Imperial Prince mansion’s status?” Ye Li was puzzled. She hadn’t doubted that Mo Xiuyao would lie about this matter; in fact, the probability of Mo Xiuyao knowing Princess Lingyun was quite low to begin with. By rights… marrying into the Imperial Prince’s mansion didn’t seem to align with a Xiling Princess’s interests. If Xiling wanted a marriage alliance, the best choice would be to marry Princess Lingyun to the Emperor.

Mo Xiuyao glanced at her, seeming somewhat surprised, “How did you know Xiling wants a marriage alliance?”

“Why else would they bring a princess from so far away? Just for a friendly visit?”

Mo Xiuyao said, “Xiling and our Great Chu have never been on good terms. Even though these past few years have been relatively peaceful, everyone knows that war is inevitable sooner or later. Generally speaking, Xiling would never truly send a princess to Great Chu for a marriage alliance. In such circumstances, a marriage alliance is equivalent to taking a hostage—once the two countries go to war, whether you’re a princess or a noble, you’d only be a tragic sacrifice.” Ye Li frowned, “That’s true. In such a situation where both sides are well aware, even if the Xiling Emperor had too many daughters to know what to do with them, there’s no need to send them to his enemies.”

Mo Xiuyao watched her leaning against the headboard, frowning in thought, his eyes softening. “No need to overthink it. Whether they want a marriage alliance will become clear at tonight’s palace banquet.”

When Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao emerged from the inner chamber, the previously whispering crowd in the hall immediately fell silent. The incident in the Imperial Garden had alarmed many people—not only was the Empress present, but even the Emperor had come. Along with them were envoys from various countries, except for the Northern Rong. Upon seeing the two emerge, Mo Jingqi’s gaze first fell on Ye Li before asking moments later, “Imperial Prince, how is your consort?” Mo Xiuyao calmly replied, “Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Ali is fine now.” The Empress nodded with relief, “It’s good the Imperial Prince’s Consort is well. Please, be seated.”

After thanking the Empress, they took their seats. Across from them, Xiling’s Marquis of Zhengnan’s heir, Lei Tengfeng, stood up and announced, “Imperial Prince’s Consort, Lingyun was just startled earlier and accidentally caused you distress. Please forgive her.” Before he finished speaking, Princess Lingyun beside him had already jumped up angrily, crying, “Royal Brother, I’ve already said she pushed me in!” Princess Imperial Zhaoyang frowned at Princess Lingyun, “Princess, everyone present saw the Imperial Prince’s Consort trying to save you, yet you pushed her, already exhausted, into the water, causing her to faint.” Princess Lingyun’s face reddened with anger as she said, “I have witnesses!”

Princess Imperial Zhaoyang frowned slightly and said coolly, “This Princess knows. You just said your maid personally saw the Imperial Prince’s Consort push you in. However… given your behavior toward the Imperial Prince’s Consort in Fengde Palace and the situation in the water, your maid’s words are rather hard to believe.” Princess Lingyun screamed, “Are you saying This Princess is lying!” Princess Imperial Zhaoyang gave her a calm look which, though wordless, spoke volumes.

“Lingyun, cease this nonsense!” Lei Tengfeng sternly rebuked.

Princess Lingyun cried out in anger, saying hatefully, “Fine! Since you don’t believe This Princess, This Princess will prove it with death!” With that, she pulled a golden hairpin from her head and was about to stab it toward her heart.

“Princess, no—!”

“Lingyun—!”

Lei Tengfeng, quick of eye and hand, grabbed Princess Lingyun’s arm and seized the hairpin, looking very troubled at his willful cousin while casting a doubtful glance at Ye Li across from them. Although this cousin had always been prone to making scenes, such an intense reaction was unprecedented—could they have wronged her?

“Imperial Prince’s Consort, might I ask you to explain exactly what happened?” Lei Tengfeng asked, staring into Ye Li’s eyes.

Ye Li met his gaze calmly, saying softly, “I’m not sure what happened either. Princess Lingyun was talking to me, and somehow she suddenly fell into the lake. Then I fell in as well.”

Lei Tengfeng’s brow furrowed deeper, watching Ye Li somewhat warily, “You fell in as well? Then do you know how you fell in?”

Ye Li shook her head, “Princess Lingyun suddenly fell backward, and I was so startled I hadn’t recovered my senses before I was in the lake.”

“The Imperial Prince’s Consort seems to know how to swim,” Lei Tengfeng said.

Ye Li smiled faintly, “I wouldn’t say I know how. I just learned a little because I nearly drowned as a child. But lacking experience, that’s why I…”

Though Ye Li seemed to say nothing specific, everyone present heard everything they needed to. They could even piece together the outline of the entire incident in their minds. Everyone had personally seen Princess Lingyun insisting on pulling the Imperial Prince’s Consort aside to talk—presumably, they were discussing something unpleasant when Princess Lingyun became agitated and fell into the lake, dragging the Imperial Prince’s Consort with her. If that were all, it could barely be dismissed as an accident, but the Imperial Prince’s Consort had saved Princess Lingyun, only to have Princess Lingyun repay kindness with enmity by pushing her underwater, causing her to faint. And then, while the victim was unconscious, she claimed it was the other party who had pushed her in. Instantly, everyone in the great hall looked differently at Princess Lingyun and the Xiling envoys. The Great Chu nobles already had no fondness for Xiling people, and now they liked them even less. What kind of character did these Xiling people have?

“Princess Lingyun need not be so desperate to die. This is, after all, the Great Chu palace—if anything were to happen to a Xiling Princess, wouldn’t that damage the friendship between Xiling and our Great Chu? Though This Consort is but a woman, I would never do anything to harm the peace between our two countries,” Ye Li said, looking at Princess Lingyun with composure. “However, This Consort is somewhat confused. Princess Lingyun and I came from the Imperial Garden, and we both left our maids behind. By rights, from that position… whether the Princess fell in herself or I pushed her in, your maids couldn’t have seen unless they were standing by the lake. How did they personally see This Consort push the Princess in? Your Majesty, Your Imperial Highness, might we summon my maids and Princess Lingyun’s attendants together?”

The Emperor glanced sideways at Mo Jingqi, and seeing no objection, nodded, “Let it be as the Imperial Prince’s Consort says.”

Qingluan and the others quickly entered, along with the maid Princess Lingyun had brought from Xiling. Princess Imperial Zhaoyang spoke first, “Were any of you following the Imperial Prince’s Consort and the Princess?”

Qingyu stepped forward and said, “Your Highness, Princess Lingyun said she wanted to speak privately with our Lady, and she dismissed her palace maids first, so our Lady ordered us to stay back as well.” Princess Imperial Zhaoyang raised an eyebrow and continued, “Then, did you see what happened by the lake?” Qingyu shook her head, “There was an artificial mountain between the lake and the Imperial Garden. We were kept at a distance and couldn’t see what happened because of the mountain.” Princess Lingyun’s maid stepped forward and said, “We saw it. It was the Imperial Prince’s Consort who pushed our Princess in.”

Princess Imperial Zhaoyang said, “This Princess knows that artificial mountain by the lake well—This Princess played there as a child. If you were standing behind it, you absolutely couldn’t have seen what happened by the lake.”

“We weren’t behind the artificial mountain!” the maid blurted out.

Princess Imperial Zhaoyang raised her eyebrows, giving Princess Lingyun a meaningful look before asking, “Oh? Then where were you?”

“We… we were by the peach grove near the lake,” the maid seemed to realize she’d misspoken, glancing nervously at the Xiling delegation before forcing out an answer.

Princess Imperial Zhaoyang nodded, “If you were there, you might indeed have been able to see. But This Princess wonders why you, who should have been waiting behind, would circle almost half the Imperial Garden to appear by the peach grove. This Princess recalls there’s a small river between the peach grove and the lake’s artificial mountain. And the bridge is quite far away.” This… facing so many people, including Great Chu’s Emperor and Empress, even if the maid had enormous courage, she dared not refuse to answer the Princess Imperial’s question. She could only say, “Yes… the Princess wanted us to go there… to go there…”

Princess Imperial Zhaoyang smiled, “Go there for what? If you said to pick peach blossoms in March, that would make sense, but now it’s nearly June—people don’t usually go there at this time.”

“This servant… this servant…” The maid frantically tried to seek help from Princess Lingyun, but by now Princess Lingyun herself couldn’t think of any explanation that would make sense, and could only argue forcefully, “Regardless of why This Princess’s maids were there, at least they can prove they saw her push This Princess into the lake!”

The Princess Imperial, having grown up in the deep palace, wasn’t so easily fooled. Her phoenix eyes fixed unwaveringly on the maid as she said, “Since you say the Imperial Prince’s Consort pushed Princess Lingyun, how exactly did she push her? Was Princess Lingyun facing the Imperial Prince’s Consort, facing away, or sideways? Did she use her left hand or right hand to push? Did Princess Lingyun cry out when pushed into the water? If so, what did she say?” The maid’s face froze, and after a long moment she said, “This servant remembers… the Princess was facing away from the Imperial Prince’s Consort at the time, and the Imperial Prince’s Consort used her left… right hand to push the Princess. After being pushed in, the Princess struggled and called for help.”

At the side, Lei Tengfeng’s face darkened, and he inwardly cursed, “Fool!”

Princess Imperial Zhaoyang’s expression changed as she said sternly, “How dare you! You dare to lie before the Emperor and Empress! The guards patrolling by the lake at the time said they heard no calls for help—they only rushed over when they heard your shout. They only knew someone had fallen in when they saw the water’s surface rippling. How did you hear Princess Lingyun calling for help? Are your martial arts so superior and your senses so much keener than the palace guards?”

“I… I…” The maid, having struggled to fabricate such a long string of answers, was already at her limit. When the Princess Imperial berated her, she collapsed to the ground, “Princess, spare me! Princess, spare me! This servant, this servant was…”

“Silence!” Lei Tengfeng suddenly spoke up, “You didn’t hear Lingyun call for help. When the Princess Imperial questions you, just honestly answer what you know—don’t embellish with things that didn’t happen.” The maid started, hurriedly nodding, “Yes… yes… This servant was wrong. This servant didn’t hear the Princess call for help…”

Lei Tengfeng turned around, smiling as he cupped his hands toward Ye Li in greeting, “Please forgive us, Imperial Prince’s Consort. This maid has been with Lingyun since childhood and hasn’t seen many grand occasions. She must have been nervous and mistaken in wrongly accusing you. Lingyun has always trusted this maid, and being startled today was misled by her… I hope the Imperial Prince’s Consort can be understanding.” Ye Li, noting Princess Lingyun’s unrepentant expression, smiled coldly, “The Prince Heir speaks too seriously. It wasn’t anything significant. However… for This Consort to cause such an incident at her first palace banquet truly brings shame to the Imperial Prince’s household. Perhaps… Princess Lingyun has a point. Isn’t that right, Princess?”

Princess Lingyun snorted and turned her head away, refusing to look at Ye Li.

Princess Ronghua, sitting beside Princess Imperial Zhaoyang, suddenly raised her eyebrows with a smile and asked, “What did Princess Lingyun say that the Imperial Prince’s Consort agrees with?”

Ye Li sighed softly, “This Consort has been so discourteous, bringing shame to the Imperial Prince’s household and His Highness. Perhaps tomorrow His Highness will present This Consort with divorce papers, and there will be a new Imperial Prince’s Consort.”

The Empress gently rebuked, “Nonsense, this was merely an accident. How could the Imperial Prince be so unreasonable?”

Mo Xiuyao, who had been quietly watching the drama unfold, nodded solemnly, “The Empress speaks truly.” Then turning to Ye Li with a smile, he said, “Ali, rest assured, no matter what happens, you are the properly married principal consort of my Imperial Prince’s household. Anyone who questions Ali questions my Imperial Prince’s household!” Princess Imperial Zhaoyang also smiled, “Xiuyao speaks rightly. Whoever dares question the Imperial Prince’s Consort will have to answer to This Princess. Imperial Prince’s Consort, set your mind at ease—everyone knows you were wronged today.”

“Your Highness, Imperial Prince’s Consort, my royal sister was ignorant and misunderstood the Imperial Prince’s Consort. I apologize on her behalf. Please forgive her.”

Ye Li lowered her eyes in silence, maintaining a respectful demeanor of letting her husband handle matters.

Mo Xiuyao said coolly, “Prince Heir, apologies are more sincere when made by the person responsible. Don’t you agree?” Lei Tengfeng started—Mo Xiuyao demanding Lingyun apologize personally was slapping Lingyun’s face, showing no intention of preserving any face. After a thoughtful glance at Ye Li, Lei Tengfeng said, “Lingyun is still young, and it’s my failure as her elder brother to guide her. I should be the one to apologize.” Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow, his lips curling slightly, “Perhaps the Prince Heir should teach the Princess about taking responsibility for one’s actions and facing the consequences of one’s behavior. Today’s incident… should I consider this as Xiling’s provocation against my Imperial Prince’s household?”

Princess Lingyun’s eyes had already reddened with grievance at being rebuked so harshly by the man she had admired for so long.

Lei Tengfeng’s heart skipped a beat—had he known Mo Xiuyao would take such a hard stance, he would have forced Lingyun to apologize from the start. Losing face was better than losing one’s life! Lingyun would have to stay in East Chu, and if she offended Mo Xiuyao, Lei Tengfeng might be able to protect her somewhat while he was in East Chu, but once he left, who knew how she might die? Lei Tengfeng believed that today’s incident was indeed Lingyun targeting the Imperial Prince’s Consort, but he didn’t believe this Imperial Prince’s Consort was as innocent as she appeared. Most critically, Mo Xiuyao had directly elevated this matter to the level of Xiling’s attitude toward the Imperial Prince’s household. Though Mo Xiuyao was now disabled, the Imperial Prince’s household still commanded the feared Black Cloud Cavalry that made the world tremble. If Mo Xiuyao had shown more weakness it would have been better, but his unexpectedly hard stance made Lei Tengfeng even more wary. Xiling currently didn’t need a war.

“Lingyun! Apologize to the Imperial Prince’s Consort!” Lei Tengfeng immediately commanded Princess Lingyun decisively.

“What? You want me to apologize to her!” Princess Lingyun screamed, causing everyone present to frown, even Princess Ronghua curled her lip in disdain. Even though she was known as the most arrogant princess in the capital, she would never be so discourteous in such a setting. The Xiling princess’s upbringing was truly… eye-opening.

Princess Lingyun glared hatefully at Ye Li, “Why should This Princess apologize to her? This Princess is Xiling’s most noble princess—is she even worthy of receiving This Princess’s apology?”

Ye Li frowned, “The Princess refuses to apologize because she looks down on This Consort?”

“What about you is worth This Princess’s respect?” Princess Lingyun raised her chin proudly, looking at Ye Li sideways. These past days, she had thoroughly investigated Ye Li—a minister’s daughter who had been neglected for many years, known in the capital as the “triple-lacking young lady”: lacking talent, virtue, and beauty. Even Prince Li couldn’t tolerate her reputation and abandoned her. She only became the Imperial Prince’s Consort through luck when the Emperor arranged it. As for winning the Hundred Flowers Festival, in Princess Lingyun’s eyes, it wasn’t worth any attention—Ye Li was merely lucky.

A cold light flashed in Ye Li’s eyes as she tried to calm herself: She’s still young, don’t stoop to her level… to hell with “still young”! This girl needs to be taught a lesson—in the army, someone so reckless would have been stripped of their skin long ago. “So… does the Princess look down on This Consort personally, or on the position of Imperial Prince’s Consort?” Ye Li asked.

“You’re simply not worthy of being the Imperial Prince’s Consort!” Princess Lingyun shouted. Ye Li pressed her lips together, smiling at Princess Lingyun while everyone present privately praised her good temper and cultivation, “Then who does the Princess think is worthy of being the Imperial Prince’s Consort? If you have the nerve to say yourself… This Consort will truly admire your audacity.”

Princess Lingyun choked, quickly glancing at Mo Xiuyao. Unfortunately, the falling flowers were interested but the flowing water was indifferent—Mo Xiuyao merely smiled faintly while looking at his consort beside him, completely missing Princess Lingyun’s resentful gaze. Though Princess Lingyun could declare her designs on the Imperial Prince’s Consort position to Ye Li’s face, she didn’t have the nerve to claim before so many people that only she was worthy of the Imperial Prince. As for Ye Li, she marveled at the girl’s resentful expression—this girl had never met Mo Xiuyao before, yet at first sight, could show such… deep feeling… If it were Mo Xiuyao from eight years ago, one could say it was love at first sight, but the current Mo Xiuyao rather lacked the conditions to inspire such feelings. Could hero worship make a young girl so obsessed? Even so, shouldn’t she worship heroes from her own country?

Or was this Princess someone without national boundaries?

“In the past, the Princess looking down on me wouldn’t have mattered. But now… This Consort cannot allow the Imperial Prince household’s ancestors to be shamed because of me,” Ye Li stared at Princess Lingyun. Princess Lingyun said arrogantly, “This Princess refuses to apologize to someone beneath her!” Ye Li raised an eyebrow, “Earlier when the Princess invited This Consort to compare swordsmanship, This Consort declined. Why don’t we have another contest now—if This Consort loses, regarding today’s incident… you can claim I pushed the Princess and deal with me as you wish. If the Princess loses…”

“Impossible!” Princess Lingyun declared, “This Princess will never lose to you!”

Ye Li ignored her and continued, “I want the Princess to kneel and apologize before all the civil and military officials and noble ladies at the palace banquet.”

“You! Fine, This Princess agrees.” Before Lei Tengfeng could stop her, Lingyun had already announced loudly, “If you lose, This Princess wants you to kowtow nine times while walking from the palace gate to the busiest place in the capital, then confess to everyone that you’re unworthy of being the Imperial Prince’s Consort!”

Ye Li calmly nodded, “It’s decided then.”

“Wait!” Princess Imperial Zhaoyang stood up, “This Princess remembers the Imperial Prince’s Consort doesn’t know any swordsmanship.”

Ye Li smiled, “The Princess Imperial speaks truly, so we won’t compete with swords, but with archery. I trust Princess Lingyun knows archery as well?”

“Ha! You want to compete in archery with This Princess?!” Princess Lingyun seemed to have heard something hilarious, looking at Ye Li with contempt as she laughed, “This Princess began learning archery at seven and could hit any target by ten. You… can you even draw a bow?”

Ye Li lowered her eyes with a slight smile, “Does this mean the Princess doesn’t want to compete?”

“This Princess just fears you’ll lose too miserably. Since you’re so presumptuous, This Princess will accommodate you. Tell me, how shall we compete?”

Ye Li smiled with satisfaction and stood, addressing Emperor Mo Jingqi and the Empress, “If so, I trouble Your Majesties to witness this.” Mo Jingqi looked at her and asked, “Imperial Prince’s Consort, are you determined? Have you considered it thoroughly?” Ye Li smiled, “I ask Your Majesty to grant this request. The dignity of the Imperial Prince’s household cannot be trampled upon.”

Mo Jingqi’s expression shifted as he stared at Ye Li for a long while before saying gravely, “Very well, We grant it.”

Ye Li respectfully bowed, “Ye Li thanks Your Majesty for granting this request.” Then she turned to smile at Princess Lingyun, “Princess, shall we?”

“Hmph!” Princess Lingyun turned first and headed out of the hall. Ye Li followed with a calm, gentle smile.

Following behind them, Lei Tengfeng watched the straight, determined back of the woman ahead, and somehow felt an ominous premonition in his heart.

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