The Virtuous Wife

Chapter 23: The Bad Sister Provokes

Last night, Yuan Xi told her that the person sitting in the carriage that day was Bai Min'er, the granddaughter of the Duke of the Guard. Bai Min'er is only nine years old this year, and has always been raised by her family.

According to Yuan Xi, Bai Min'er has been raised according to the standards of the Crown Princess since she was a child. Although she is only nine years old, she has already dabbled in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. The most important thing is that now, the queen has sent her own nanny to teach her the etiquette and rules of the palace. This is self-evident.

That day, Bai Min'er's carriage was startled by a child, and she actually rushed around, knocking over more than a dozen stalls in succession and injuring seven people. The most important thing is that she did not clean up the mess, but went back to the mansion. This directly affected the reputation of the Duke of the Guard. Presumably, she was reprimanded by her elders for this, so she was dissatisfied and full of hostility towards herself.

Jingyi lowered her head and sipped the sour plum juice in the cup. It tasted sour and sweet, and it was extremely refreshing. It must have been chilled in a well or an ice kiln.

"Miss Su, nice to meet you!"

Jingyi raised her head and saw Bai Min'er standing in front of her, looking at her with a smile. Su Jingwei, who was standing beside her, hurriedly stood up and saluted, saying, "Jingwei greets Miss Bai."

Jingyi frowned slightly, and a trace of displeasure flashed across her eyes. She stood up and smiled, "Miss Bai's dress is really beautiful. Please forgive Jingyi for being ignorant. I don't know what the material is called?"

Bai Min'er smiled proudly after hearing this. What she wore today was Yunjin, a tribute from Jiangnan. There were only fifty pieces in total. She was loved by the Queen Aunt, so she was rewarded with one piece. Very few princes and nobles could wear Yunjin.

Bai Min'er had been wearing it to show off on purpose. Now that she saw that Jingyi, who was praised by the emperor, was also envious of her, she felt very good about herself and became even more arrogant.

"This is called Yunjin, which was awarded by the Queen Aunt. Ordinary people may not even have seen it, let alone wear it. How is it? Isn't it beautiful?" After saying this, a show-off expression appeared on her face.

Jingwei hurriedly flattered: "Yes, Miss Bai is valued by the Queen, and she is naturally incomparable to ordinary people."

Jingyi frowned slightly after hearing this. Couldn't Jingwei hear the sarcasm in Bai Min'er's words? She actually agreed with her?

Jingyi chuckled and said: "Miss Bai is so beautiful, so she looks good in anything she wears."

Bai Min'er smiled proudly after hearing this, and looked at Jingyi: "Did you send those injured people to the hospital?"

Sure enough, it got to the point.

Jingyi smiled and said, "Miss Bai, are you talking about the seven people from a few days ago?"

Bai Min'er's cheeks were slightly red, and she was obviously angry about the 'seven people'. Jingyi was reminding her that her carriage had hit seven civilians and left them there without caring!

At this time, four or five noble ladies had surrounded her. They were originally attracted by the clothes on Bai Min'er. Unexpectedly, as soon as they came, they heard the explosive conversation between the two.

One of the tallest ladies said softly, "Sister Min'er, although the material is good, it also depends on the tailoring to show your temperament. Looking at the workmanship, it doesn't seem like something that ordinary people can do." After saying that, she also hinted with her eyes that this was not the place to quarrel.

Although Bai Min'er was arrogant, she was well-educated after all. Naturally, she understood what she meant and nodded, saying, "Sister Cui is still very discerning. She is not like those little girls who are not good at judging. This was specially ordered by the Queen Aunt to be made by the Shangyi Bureau in the palace."

This statement was meant to say that Jingyi was ignorant and did not know the importance of things. She even used such an unbearable word as "not good at judging".

Miss Cui smiled lightly after hearing this and looked at Jingyi. She saw that her face was calm and she was not angry. She could not help but secretly admire her. What a tolerant little girl. If it were not for her conversation with the emperor just now, everyone might think that she was an ignorant little girl, but now it is obvious that people do not think that Jingyi is just an innocent child.

A lady in a pink dress smiled softly, looking at Jingyi with disdain in her eyes, "Miss Bai is right. Who wouldn't envy a lady like you who is of noble status and valued by the Queen? Maybe someone deliberately did something to curry favor with you!" After saying that, she chuckled.

Another lady also echoed: "Miss Bai is right. Everyone in and outside the palace knows that you are a favorite of the Queen. You are naturally very important. Which lady wouldn't envy you? Look at your dress, your temperament and appearance. Which one is not outstanding? Even the princess is inferior to you."

Miss Cui's eyes darkened when she heard it, and she said in a deep voice: "Third sister, don't talk nonsense! How can you make irresponsible remarks about the royal family?"

Bai Min'er was still immersed in the flattery of the crowd, but suddenly heard Miss Cui's cold shout and came back to her senses. She glared at the young lady who had just compared her to the princess, and said angrily: "Don't you see where you are? How can you let others talk nonsense? If others hear it, who knows what crime you will be charged with?"

After that, she glanced at Jingyi and her sister.

Miss Cui smiled at Jingyi and said: "It was my third sister who was ignorant just now. I hope the two Miss Su will not take it to heart." She said this to the two sisters, but her eyes were only on Jingyi.

Jingyi smiled, "Sister Cui, you are polite. Didn't you just praise Miss Bai's beautiful clothes? Where did you say anything beyond the rules?"

With this sentence, it was equivalent to a guarantee. Miss Cui said again: "Miss Su, I am Cui Xixi from the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion, and this is my third sister, Cui Moli. I am fortunate to meet Miss Su today, and I hope you can come to my mansion more often in the future. We sisters will inevitably go to the mansion to bother you, and I hope Miss Su will not despise it." Jingyi saw that she was dignified and beautiful, and spoke politely. She had just helped them out of the predicament and did not deliberately please Bai Min'er. She already had a good impression of her in her heart. Now hearing her say this, she wanted to make friends with her. Jingyi bowed and saluted, "So it's Sister Cui, I'm Su Jingyi. If you don't mind, just call me Yiyi. I have nothing to do at home all day. If Sister Cui is free, please come to my house. I welcome you very much!"

After hearing this, Cui Qianqian's face and eyes were full of smiles. She stepped forward and took Jingyi's hand and said, "Sister is really very smart. Sister is ashamed of herself. It's just that I am a few years older than you, so I can be called sister by you. In the future, when we have nothing to do, let's go out more often. We are all girls, who doesn't have some secrets?"

After saying this, she turned her head and looked at the other ladies. Everyone nodded in agreement, only Bai Min'er was unwilling to accept it. She pouted and said angrily, "Cousin, why are you so close to her?"

Cui Xixi turned her head and looked at her, blaming her: "You! When will you grow up and stop being so petty? You are sisters of similar age, why can't you get along well? If your aunt knew, I don't know how she would scold you!" Bai Min'er lowered her head and stopped talking, but her hands were tightly holding the handkerchief embroidered with lotus patterns. Jingyi saw it and knew that Bai Min'er's anger towards her would not be gone for a while. The few of them talked and laughed quietly for a while, and then went back to their seats. The ministers and ladies said some congratulations to the Queen Mother and the Queen, and then left one after another. Jingyi and Gu and others left Chongwen Hall together and walked towards the palace gate under the guidance of the eunuch. Jingyi felt that something was going to happen, and she couldn't help but feel anxious. Last night, she followed Yuan Xi's instructions and asked Si Mo and Si Qin to return to her side. Tonight, Jing Yi ordered them to guard outside the palace. After all, there were many masters in the palace. If they found that there were secret guards following them, it would be a capital crime of treason!

Soon, everyone arrived at the palace gate, and many carriages had already left. Jing Yi was pulled by Gu and was about to get on the carriage. Jing Yi said, "Mother, please wait a moment. I'll be back soon." As she said that, she ran to another carriage. There was a girl standing next to the carriage. Judging from the mark on the carriage, it should be from the Dingguo Mansion.

After a while, Jing Yi came back and said to Gu, "Mother, let's take a carriage with grandma. Seeing grandma is happy today, I'm afraid she drank two more cups. We can take care of her."

Others didn't say anything, but the old lady's eyes darkened, and a hint of viciousness appeared on her face, while Su Jingwei showed a panic. It was just night and outside, so everyone didn't see it clearly.